Two treatises. 1. The holy exercise of a true fast, described out of God's…

it coming unto us not alone, but accompanied with so long a peace, with so great a wealth, so plentiful abundance of all things, as this Land hath never or seldom used, other Lands about us have long looked after: maketh our guilt a great deal more, because that in thy so great a largess towards us, we have been ⟨p. 66⟩so ungracious towards thee again. Here therefore is an other Stair, whereby our sin climeth higher: For that we, in the commodities of this life, surmounting our ancestors of the same profession of the Gospel, in King Henry and King Edwards time; are, for the fruits that such a liberality asketh at our hands, a great deal worse then they: and going beyond (other lands in these outward blessings, are out-run of them, even in the very outward testimonies and tokens of our obedience towards thee. And besides this huge heap, and (as it were) reek, of our general & common sins, we have to confess (at the bar of thy judgement ⟨p. 67⟩seat) the particular sins that we have kocked up in our several estates. For our governors, O Lord, for the most part, being more mindful of the fulfilling of their affections, then either of thy glory, or of their good estate, which are committed unto them, have not held so steady a hand as they ought to have done, either for the stablishing of the Laws, by which (under thee) they should have ruled us; and we by them, should have bin governed of thee; or for the thorough execution of so many, and so far forth as they have been well established. Our Judges and other Ministers of Justice likewise, have either ignorantly, or corruptly ⟨p. 68⟩declined from righteous judgement: or giving sentence for the trueth, they have done it (divers of them) with no conscience of thy true fear, or love of trueth; but for respect, either of vain glory, or of persons. The Ministers, which should have been Lights unto all estates, have for the most part, no light in themselves: and their estate, in whose good constitution and sound health, the rest should have recovered their health, is of all other, the most sick unto death. For if the whole number be surveyed, scarce the hundred will be found, to be in the lot of a faithful Ministry. For ah alas, how many are there, which occupying the ⟨p. 69⟩