Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulness of sin. The life…Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulnesse of sinne. The life…

and as ever thou hopest to have the sweat of thy brow abated, or the care of thy heart remitted, or the curse of the Creature removed, cast thy self down before God, throw out thy sin, awake thy Saviour with the cry of thy repentance, and all the storms will be suddenly calmed. Certainly the more power any man hath over the corruption of his nature, the less power hath the sting of any Creature over his heart. Though thou hast but a dinner of herbs with a quiet conscience, reconciled unto God, thou dost therein find more sweetness then in a fatted Ox with the contentions of a troubled heart. When ever therefore we find this Thorn in the Creature, we should throw our selves down before God, and in some such manner as this bewail the sin of our heart, which is the root of that Thorn. Lord, thou art a God ⟨p. 88⟩of peace and beauty, and what ever comes from thee must needs originally have peace and beauty in it. The Earth was a Paradise when thou didst first bestow it upon me, but my sin hath turned it into a Desert, and cursed all the increase thereof with Thorns. The honour which thou gavest me was a glorious attribute, a sparkle of thine own fire, a beam of thine own light, an impress of thine own Image, a character of thine own power; but my sin hath put a Thorn into mine honour, my greediness when I look upward to get higher, and my giddiness when I look downward for fear of falling, never leaves my heart without anguish and vexation. The pleasure which thou allowest me to enjoy is full of sweet refreshment, but my sin hath put a Thorn into this likewise; my excess and sensuality hath so choked thy Word, so stifled all seeds of nobleness in my mind, so like a Canker overgrown all my precious time, stolen away all opportunities of grace, melted and wasted all my strength, that now my refreshments are become my diseases. The Riches which thou gavest me, as they come from thee, are sovereign blessings, wherewith I might abundantly have glorified thy Name, and served thy Church, and supplied thy Saints, and made the eyes that saw me to bless me, and the •ares that heard me, to bear witness to me, wherewith I might have covered the naked back, and cured the bleeding wounds, and filled the hungry bowels, and satisfied the fainting desires of mine own Saviour in his distressed members;

and as ever thou hopest to have the sweat of thy brow abated, or the care of thy heart remitted, or the curse of the Creature removed, cast thy selfe downe before God, throw out thy sinne, awake thy Saviour with the cry of thy repentance, and all the stormes will be suddenly calmed. Certainely the more power any man hath over the corruption of his nature, the lesse power hath the sting of any Creature over his heart. Though thou hast but a dinner of herbes with a quiet conscience, reconciled unto God, thou dost therein finde more sweetnesse then in a fatted Oxe with the contentions of a troubled heart. When ever therefore we finde this Thorne in the Creature, wee should throw our selves downe before God, and in some such manner as this bewaile the sinne of our heart, which is the roote of that Thorne. Lord, thou art a God