Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A85693
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Rules of life: being good wishes to the clergy and laiety; for whose use the Asse's complaint was written. / By Lewis Griffin.
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Griffin, Lewis.; H. W. Balaams reply to the asse.
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1663
(1663)
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Wing G1983; ESTC R227025
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17,979
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46
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down they fit and Condole T is a poor silly superstitious soul These are the Scoffs and Jeers the cruel hits That wicked heads invent in drunken fits To vex good men and exercise their wits O wicked World O Monstrous Commonweal When men with great applause might kill and steal Sensure was Saintship Sacriledge was Zeal When Churches lay like stables Altars bare Or turn'd to Mangers Priest and Organs were Both silenc'd none might preach unless they 'd sware No Musick in the Church but Widows cries No Sacraments but Oaths no Rites but lies No Christian Burial and no sacrifice But thanks be to our gratious God for why He heard our prayers and harken'd to our Cry And thereupon turn'd our captivity We' are all in peace long may we so remain May the Crown flourish on our Soveraign And Aarons Rod blosom and bloom again May all the Kings and Churches Enemies All their plots projects and conspiracies Be blown away like silly Gnats and Flies And now my Lords since we to you have cry'd And nothing that concerns us from you hide Pitty our sorrows pardon us beside O Father Abraham how canst thou see The bondman scoff at Isaack and not be In love to him offended presently Alass we don't sigh and complain because Our honours lie at stake but the good laws Your reputation and the Churches cause T is time t is time my Lords or to keep in For your own safeties or go armed when The Lyon's couchant in the Asses skin I 'le say but this take 't on a Levits word When once the Asse doth of his own accord Thus kick Sir John Hee 'l quickly fling my Lord. Written by H. W. THE APOLCGY Of the AUTHOR of the Asses Complaint against Balaam Rage on Ye proud Philistins of the Land I scorn your Weakness and like Samson stand Arm'd with an Asses Jaw-bone in my hand Sure he that tells me of John Baptist jests And of the Tyrants and their Solemn Feasts 'T is I that combat with Ephesian Beasts Hark! Hark! how Isgrim howles and Bruin roares Had Dives kept such Ban-dogs at his Doores They 'd Worried Lazarus not lick'd his Sores They tell us of a Pillory What then We hope to see a Resurrection when The Harmlesse beast shall have his Ears agen Nay they may take his Life a worthy prize Yet he that spills his Blood cannot be wise For Asses ne're were us'd in Sacrifice But must he Die pray give him leave to pause Is the poor Asse condemn'd by Lydford Laws Sure if he Die you 'll let him know the Cause What think you then If he that doth declaime ' Gainst Drunkennesse and Swearing merits shame Then he that writ the Cry was much to blame Or if those men of Israel who with tears Complain'd of Eli's Sons were Mutineers Then Balaam's Asse deserves to lose his Ears But if amongst the pious Learned train Dunces are crept who their profession stain Be patient Sirs our Cry was not in vain What shall the Asse forsake his Masters crib And follow those that use to swear and bib No He fears neither Pillory nor Gib Let Fools and Traytors dread such things not I Who in the Dangerous times of Tyranny Own'd that which now they say I do deny I that oppos'd Presbytery when Some Comply'd and Flatter'd Others were struck dumb 'T is known how oft I pray'd Thy Kingdom come His Sacred Majesty I have ador'd And alwayes reverenc'd the Mitred Lord And will defend them both with Pen and Sword I quarrel not with him that bows the Knee Toward the East Although the Altars bee Mere Stumbling-stones to Some th' are none to Mee For well I know the King and Parliament Our Lawfull Lords may by a joynt consent Make Necessary of Indifferent As for the Harmless Tapers let them burn Yet when the Bridegroom wakes her from her urn These will not serve the Sleepy Virgins turn To Gownes and Surplices I am a Friend Let Others Cavill they that will contend About these things have sure some farther end But yet how prudentlie the King prevents The Churches Rape Hee sees their base intents That 'gin to Rifle her of her Ornaments Nor must false Acban long enjoy his wedge Justice prepares a Halter and a Sledge These are the bitter fruits of Sacriledge These deep-dy'd Rebells Hyppocrites in grain That Swallow'd Bishops Lands oh what a pain Was it for them to belch them up again Then welcome Loyal Hearts that scorn'd to take Those dangerous Oathes that did Three Kingdoms shake You that were sequestred for Conscience-sake Shine forth again Yee Pious and Devout Sons of the Church your Sufferings without doubt Did onlie snuff your Light not put it out Yet there are Some whose Age and former smarts Have much impair'd their Learning and their Parts Enough to crack their Brains and break their Hearts And plead wee against these no let my tongue Be Curs'd for ever if I do them wrong They shall not bear the burden of my Song He that hath suffer'd poverty disgrace Sicknesse and banishment from place to place Heav'n blast that Hand that throws dirt in his face Yet Priests there are who neither have been true To God nor Caesar Oh'tis here the Shooe Doth pinch the Devil hath His Martyrs too And now me thinks the Reader pittyes us And cryes What kind of Beast is this Whom thus The Asse calls Ignorant and Scandalous Went he to th' University What then So the French King with twenty thousand men Went up the Hill and so came down agen What did hee there he ate and drank and slept Hee playd at foot-ball and at last he crept Into a Hood Then in t ' Pulpit stept How hap'd it then that he was not refus'd By th' Bishops Friends pray let them be excus'd The Prelates oftentimes have been abus'd As in this Case A Patron of our age Presents one Mopsus to a Viccarage Far fitter for a Bear-ward or a Stage Now for a Handsom trick they cast about This Mopsus was A soul unlearned Lout And knew the Bishop soon would find him out Then learned Corydon in Mopsus name Went and obtain'd the place for which he cames And now Sir Mopsus doth possess the same Thus a Good Prelat may be soon betray'd When the loose Patron Pins a Chamber-maid Upon Sir John her Dowry must be paid Should these things hold What 's Learning or the 'T is Mony rules the Worlds and some inherit Their Parsonages by favour not by merit This this Begat the Courtryes scorn and hate And made their Squeamish Stomachs nauseate That Pow'r which now hath broke the Serpents pate But lo a Reformation oh sing praise To Heav'n for now the Bishops clearer rayes Will chase these fogs and give us better-dayes Ye rigid Presbyters lay down your Pride And Joyn you Know once when a Case was try'd Shee had no interest that said Divide Yea Dippers now baptize your selves in tears And be not Drawn to Error by the ears In spite of Hell Let 's all be Cavaliers Shall our Religion be like Josephs coat Motly and bloudy Then the World will note 'T is a true sign wee cut our Master's throat Yee Consciencious Romists why do wee Wrangle with you Is it not time t' agree Take you our Faith Lend us your Charity Oh! If all these would lay aside their passion How would the Gospel flourish in the Nation Free from old Legends and new Revelation Then Englands Church would out-shine other Spires Like the Bright Moon amongst the Lesser fires And this is all that the poor Asse desires Now as for that ingenious pen that writ Balaam's reply I shall not carp at it His Verses savour both of grace and wit But yet I wonder much how hee mistook The Asses Meaning if again he look Sure he May read without a Const'ring-book Banish but Passion wee shall soon agree I bow unto the Prelates and will bee As true and faithfull to the Church as hee I ever will obey their Just Commands And pray to God to Keep them from their hands That Hate their Persons and yet love their Lands But I should Grieve to see these Men of God That sit in Moses chair and sway his Rod Prove Grandsires to a Fatal Ichabod I would vex my Soul to see Lewd Phinehas race Or any Pulpit suffer that disgrace To lose a Man and have a Beast in 's place Sound powerfull preaching is the thing wee want Yet I abhor their Rhetorick that do rant In vindication of the Covenant And is'c for this the Asse is made a Mock By Pamphleteers And grown a Laughing-stock Base ill-bred hounds that would destroy the Flock Then oh ye Gospel-Shepheards do not keep Such Currs Although to you they fawn and creep That Dog that Bites an Asse will Worry Sheep Lewis Griffin FINIS * It hath been a Den of Lay-Theeves long already * Yet the Patron in this Case had no such corrupt intent
Black Patches are an abomination in the sight of the Lord And I believe that when God and Sathan shall divide their flock it will be as with Laban and Iacob the spotted and ring-streaked will fall to the Devils share Joyn not therefore thy Self unto an Harlot unlesse thou hast a mind to Hire a Guide to Hell 31. But let it be thy main endeavour to wed thy Soul unto Christ which will be the happyest match The Mariage of the First Adam was not so Honorable as that of the Second will be Glorious for then will hee give unto his Spouse Fullness of Ioy for a Possession and make her a Joynture of everlasting Pleasure whereas the chiefest Iewell that the Flesh the world and the Devil can boast of is Deaths head set in the Ring of Eternity This Christian Reader is pat of the Doctrine of the Asse as Good Advice as my Sick Head can at the present afford thee But when the powerfull voice of Almighty God shall command a Calm in the troubled Sea of My distempered Mind I shall present thee If not with better matter yet in a better Method In the mean time accept of this form him who is Thy Servant in him who became a Servant to make us free LEWIS GRIFFIN THE ASSES COMPLAINT AGAINST BALAAM OR The Cry of the Country against Ignorant and Scandalous Ministers To the Reverend Bishops YEE mitred Members of the House of Peers The Kings Church-wardens and Gods Overseers Fathers in Christ we your poor Children cry Oh give us Bread of Life or else we die For we are burd'ned with our old Sir Johns Who when we ask for Bread do give us stones And only cant a Homily or two Which Daws and Parrots may be taught to do Drunkards Cannonical Unhallowed Bears That name God oftner in their Oaths then Prayers Into what darknesse will our Church be hurld If such as these be call'd The light o' th' World These that have nought to prove themselves devout Save only this That Cromwell turn'd them out Mistake us not we do not mean those Loyal And Learned souls who in the fiery tryal Suffer'd for King and Conscience sake let such Have double honour we shall nere think much But this our tender Conscience disapproves That Ravens should return as well as Doves And croak in Pulpits once again to bring A second Judgement on our Church and King Though England doth not fear another losse ' Cause God hath burn'd his Rods at Charing-crosse Yet Clergy sins may call him to the Door Ev'n him who whip'd and scourg'd them out before Oh therefore yet that read the sacred Laws Eject their Persons and disown their Cause God and the King have both condemn'd this crew Then let them not be patroniz'd by you 'T is not their Cassocks nor their Surplices We quarrell at there is no hurt in these We own their Decency yet every Foole Cannot be call'd Monk that wears a Cowle Were grace and learning wanting by your leaves We would not pin our faith on your Lawn-sleeves 'T is Aarons Breast-plate and those sacred words Become a Churchman best THAT THAT my Lords Which pious Baxter makes his livery Would all our Curates were but such as he Pardon my Lords we do not make this stir To vindicate the Factious Presbyter We hate his wayes and equally disown The Zealous Rebell as the Idle Droan And beg as oft to be deliver'd from The Kirk of Scotland as the Sea of Rome We pray for Bishops too Oh may ye stand To heal the sad distractions of the Land Then give us Priests loyall and painfull too To give to Caesar and to us our dues Who maugre all the pow'rs of Hell have stood Men that are neither drunk with Wine nor Blood God save King Charles our Christian Faiths Defender And bring Religion to its wonted Splendour Written in the behalf of the Country by Lewis Griffin A Supplement to the Asses Complaint against Balaam Or the Cry of the Country against Ignorant and Scandalous Ministers AVaunt ye Smooth-tongu'd Flatterers of the Age Praesto ye Meal-mouth'd Prophets clear the Stage Enter the Asse again who though he Kneel Unto the Higher Powers lifts up his Heel Against all those who make Gods house a Den Of Clergy Theeves Have at them once agen But hark I hear a Country Parish crye Were ever Christians in such slavery Must we be taught by an Illitr ' ate Bear Hee Preach Hee 'll only teach our Boyes to swear Is then your Priest a Swearer Hah must he That taunts a Bishop taste a Pillory And 't is but Just and right yet who controules Him who Blasphemes the Bishop of our Souls What Is an Oath lesse poenal than a Word Or is the Servant greater than this Lord No He that Swears commits the fouler Sin And more deserves to lose his Ears than 'T is true Seditious Spirits that Deny Obedience to the Sacred Hierarchy Merit Severe Correction let them hae't They 'r the Disturbers both of Church and State Yet Prelat's Zeal would be much better shown In striking Gods offenders than their Own Nay Gods are theirs for he that wears lawn sleeves Like Christ is murder'd 'twixt a brace of Theeves Both shew their enmity but Divers wayes The Presbyter denyes but This betrayes Now tell me gentle Reader which were Greater The sin of Judas or the crime of Peter Then let the Bishops cast them out for thus They do but Justice to themselves and us Like the wife Mariners who to appease The fury of the Raging Winds and Seas Threw Jonas over-board such was his sin There was no Cannon Law to keep him in Nor is it Reason all should be maintain'd i th' Church who took Degrees and were Ordain'd For He that after proves a Drunken Beast Degrades himself from Man much more from Priest And such they were who caus'd our Bloody War When Levy's tribe were kick'd by Issachar For though Men speak with a not so thy Sons Yet God reprov'd them with the voyce of Guns Phanaticks those Philistins wan the field Whilst our poor Israel were forc'd to yield For Ely's boyes had lost the Ark of God Each Phinehas begot an Ichabod Then Oh ye Bishops heal these sad disasters We do not call for Rectors but for Pastors A Priest should lead his Parish as a Guide Not leap upon their galled backs and ride For 't is our Mother Churche's grand disgrace That these black patches stick upon her face Writen by Lewis Griffin BALAAMS REPLY TO THE ASSE OR THE CLERGIES Answer TO THE Countryes Complaint To the Reverend Bishops You Learned Prelates of the House of Peers That sit in Moses Chair and bow your ears To Widows just Complaints and Orphans tears Grave Fathers of the Church to you we come Begging for Justice though they say we are dumb If we were so indeed 't were well for some To you we render our complaints alasse None fitter then an Angel to appese The fray betwixt poor Bala'm