Selected quad for the lemma: city_n
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A42148
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Some prison-meditations and experiences with some hints touching the fall of the mother of harlots, and the exaltation of the son of God upon the throne of David / written ... by John Griffith ...
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Griffith, John, 1622?-1700.
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1663
(1663)
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Wing G2004; ESTC R11497
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73,641
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162
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Earth and she shall be at length A desolation none in her shall dwell But Owls and Satyrs and those Fiends of Hell But now it may be some there are that will be asking When God will these things fulfil My answer is to such It will be then When God shall break the yoke of all those men Of Rome which season is of his appointing Which he will do because of the Anointing For when he sends the Spirit from on high Then will the time begin undoubtedly When all those plagues shall hasten and will come Upon the Scarlet Whore and Pope of Rome But yet before this time may come or be The Lord will make his people all to see How much they have by their unholiness Uncomely walking and unthankfulness Their mis-improvement of rich mercy when God gave them plenty to enjoy and then Their carnal worldly-mindedness that life When they so liv'd in want of love and strife Contention and debates their pride and pleasure They walked in for many days together Their want of love to Christ and zeal that they Have for some time let very much decay Their great indifferency to Heav'nly things Which coldness to Apostasie some brings All which if timely they are not prevented They will not by the Lord be well resented For if they be'nt repented of in truth The Lord all such will spew out of his mouth Besides all these the Lord will have them see Their unbelief and their great lenitie Their diffidence appears now in the sight Of him with whom they have to do whose bright And piercing eye can see and look within Discern and sype out ev'ry secret sin By which things they the lord did much provoke And have as 't were against him done and spoke And yet these things there 's few do lay to heart And fewer do as yet from them depart Few faithfully perform the work of searching And fewer do perform the work of purging There 's few that are in bitterness of soul For their high provocations which so foul So great and many were with which they God Have much provok'd to bring on them a Rod For 't must confessed be that by their sin The Name of God hath much reproached bin Gods people have undoubtedly been such Who have the wicked caused very much Him to blaspheme and his most holy Name Hath by their evils suffer'd much defame These things I say the Lord would have us see That so for them our souls might humbled be And in the sence of them we might abhor And loath our selves and mourn in secret for Those Evils that we ev'ry day commit Against the Lord who notwithstanding yet His Remnant he hath not forsaken so But their oppressors may for certain know When he shall turn his hand on them again And purely purge their dross and take their tin Away and then when he shall wash the filth Of Zions daughter and restore to health Jerusalem by purging of her blood And cleanse her from her filth which like a flood Runs in the midst of her which by chastisement The Lord will do by burning and by judgement For such a spirit will he send I deem By Judgement God will Zion then redeem And when this is accomplished will he Restore their Judges and they then shall be As at the first their Counsellors shall stand As at the first beginning in their Land And then despised Zion shall be nam'd Which lieth in the dust so much defam'd The City of Righteousness Zion she The faithful City then will called be And then Jehovah will create upon The dwelling-place that is in Mount Zion A cloud and smoak on her Assemblies all The shining of a flaming fire which shall Be there by day and likewise so by night Which never shall depart out of her sight Jehovah then will ne'r depart from thence On all the glory shall be a defence But some it's like will yet be asking me Within what year or month this time will be Because they would precisely this time know They would that I to them that time should show Or else prefix the time in which God will Arise against the Whore and her so fill With all those plagues she may for ever be A by-word unto all posteritie To them I answer that the seasons stand In no mans power the times are in the hand of God alone there 's none but he can tell The day nor month no nor the year nor well That is his great prerogative to show The times or seasons day or hour to know But yet before these things accomplish'd be There wil be signs in Heav'n which some my see And likewise on the earth which will fore-run Those plagues wil make Rome quake ere they have don Besides signs of the times which signs the wise Can well discern and do as highly prise But Babylon must fall that 's out of doubt And then there will be such a dreadful rout As never was in any time before Such howling and lamenting of the Whore For all her sorrows shall come in one day Just like a flood that will not stop nor stay Both death and mourning famine also will Pursue her hard and all her borders fill And she shall utterly be burnt with fire Which now she little dreads doth less desire For strong 's the Lord that God which judgeth her Who now will plague her for her sins and for Her cruel usage of his Saints as she Rewarded them she shall rewarded be Then now those Kings that with her have committed Such fornications and that her permitted To reign and rule o're them who with her have Liv'd so deliciously so fine and brave Shall now bewail her and lament her sore When they shall see her burning smoke before Their eyes as they from her afar off stand For fear the torments of her should command Them also they cry oh alas alas See what a mighty great City this was Yet in one hour is her judgement come Her woful fall her dreadful dismal doom The Merchants of the earth shall also weep And mourn for her for they their goods may keep For though they have of Merchandize great store Now none will buy their Merchandize no more Though rich and gallant Merchandize they be As Gold and Silver precious stones as the So Cordial Pearl and Linnen fine and good With Purple Silk and Scarlet and Sweet-Wood Their Ivory Vessels of all sorts and manner With other things wherewith they did adorn her As Vessels of most precious Wood and Brass Of Iron Marble with these things alas As Cinnamon and Odours Oyntments too Sure here 's enough this old Whore to undo But more as Frankinsence and Wine and Oyle See what a great and utter total spoile Will come upon her and her Merchandise And on them all that how believe her lyes Nay yet here 's more her Flower and her Wheat Which she had got her stollen Bread was sweet Her Beasts her Sheep her Chariots her
SOME Prison-Meditations AND EXPERIENCES WITH Some Hints touching the Fall of the Mother of Harlots and the exaltation of the SON of GOD upon the Throne of DAVID Written in Newgate by JOHN GRIFFITH a Prisoner there My heart is inditing a good matter I speak of the things which I have made touching the King Psal 45.1 Thou wilt shew me the path of life in thy presence is fulness of joy at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore Psal 16.11 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee Psal 73.24 25. And there followed another Angel saying Babylon is fallen is fallen that great City because she made all Nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication Rev. 14.8 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion Psal 2.7 Printed in the year 1663. The Epistle Dedicatory To all in every place that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and Truth and that wait for his glorious appearing more especially unto that Remnant to whom I stand more particularly related Grace be multiplied with encrease of Faith and Love from God the Father and his Son Jesus the Anointed through the Comforter Christian Salutation Well-beloved ITs matter of comfort to the Lords poor despised people in a dark day that he is pleased not to leave his nothing-ones that either have or do suffer any thing for the sake of blessed Jesus without some signal tokens of his comforting and strengthening-presence with them by which they are in a good measure kept from fainting and that he doth seal up instruction to their souls leading them to the Rivers of Pleasures causing them to drink deep of his Love and Free-Grace in his dear Son Oh what a choice Mercy it is that the Most High God should so far condescend as to have regard to such worthless Creatures who in the day of their fulness so much provoked the Eternal God by their unthankfulness and mis-improvement of such Choice Mercy as the Mercy of the Gospel is It is wonderful Grace that God should notwithstanding such provocations wherewith he hath been provoked by Congregations in general and by every Member in particular still continue the good savour of his Grace upon the hearts of any of them or that he should account any of his poor servants worthy to suffer Reproach and Bonds for his sake Which Mercy which I esteem very choice and sweet to my soul he hath been pleased for some time to let me enjoy which is wonderful in my sight that such a nothing empty Creature as I am should be employed by him in such a Noble Work and in such a Noble Cause as to suffer Bonds for the sake of blessed Jesus Yet notwithstanding the length of time I have been in durance I find my heart is not so cleansed and brought to the foot of Christ as I hope it may and wait it should And if it so please the Lord to sanctifie these Bonds that I may by the help of his holy Spirit so crucifie the remains of Corruption that I find still in my heart and subdue and bring in subjection every vain imagination that every high thing that exalts it self may be brought in obedience to the King then may I bless the Lord for the day that ever I lay in Newgate The which I may say I am engaged and not without cause already to do for asmuch as God hath let me see my self and the baseness of my own heart the unbelief and diffidence that lodgeth there in some measure which giveâ— occasion to me to magnifie the Grace of God the more in that he should be graciously pleased to accept such an unworthy Worm as I am in his dear Son A clear evidence of which through Grace I can say I am not without in my soul yet not so as wholly to be without ups and downs occasioned by temptation working upon my Frailties which my dear Lord Jesus is pleased to assist me in and cause them to work for good unto my soul Blessed be Jehovah I have in this Poem rudely scattered here and there some of those MEDITATIONS and EXPERIENCES that God hath been pleased to visit my Soul with the which I present to the view and commend to the serious thoughts of all the Faithful but more particularly to that Remnant and chosen ones to whom I stand more immediately and particularly related in the bonds of the Gospel Hoping all the Spiritual will take them in good part and judge of them in the Spirit of Love to whose Christian correction I readily subject my self and Labours hoping also thâ—â— they will put the fairest construction and interpretation both upon them and me that Brotherly Love and Duty binds them to I could not willingly pass to the Conclusion of this poor Work until I had first hinted something touching the Fall of Mysterie Babylon that old and great Whore and of the Exaltation of our dear Lord the thoughts of which now in my bonds makes me very merry and is as a cordial to comfort my poor heath for which I wait and to which time I trust he will keep that which I have committed to him My dear Brethren 'T is but a very little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry In this time of our Pilgrimage let us labour to exalt him in our hearts that he may be chief and rule as Lord and King there that when we come to lay down this house of clay we may be cloathed upon with our House from Heaven and be found of him without fault at his coming To which end wait diligently upon the Lord in his Word and Ordinances Be much with God in Prayer praying for all Saints and for me the most unworthy Servant of Christ that I may be kept faithful to death and let your walks be in Heaven So shall the King greatly desire thy Beauty for He is thy Lord and worship thou Him Farwell Grace be with you all Amen From my poor pitiful Study in Newgate Septem 22. 1663. Your Brother in the dear love of Jesus JOHN GRIFFITH COurteous Reader by reason of the Authors absence many faults have escaped the Press which thou art desired to mend with thy Pen. SOME Prison-Meditations AND EXPERIENCES c. AS I in Prison lie I sometimes muse What should the reason be they me so use That they contrary unto Law Reason Should keep me here in Jayle so long a season No crime or charge against me can they lay Yet I shall lye in Prison still they say I think their will 's their Law I cannot see But that the reason is they thus use me What should the reason be they nought will have But what 's their will to keep me as their slave Within stone walls and bars of iron strong As if I had done unto them such wrong