is a Brand of originall fire raked up in the Embers of flesh and blood uncoverd by a naturall inclination blown by corrupt communication quencht with fasting and humiliation It is raked up in the best uncovered in the most and blown in thee O my lustfull soule O turn thy eare from the pleadings of Nature and make a Covenant with thine eyes Let not the language of Dâ—lilah inchant thee lest the hands of the Philistims surprize thee Review thy past pleasures with the charge and paines thou hadst to compasse them and shew me where 's thy pennyworth Foresee what punishments are prepar'd to meet thee and tell mee what 's thy purchase Thou hast batterd away thy God for a lust sold thy Eternity for a Trifle If this bargain may not bee râ—cald by teares dissolve thee O my soule into a Spring of waters If not to bee reverst with price reduce thy whole estate into a Sack cloth and an Ash tub Thou whose â—iver hath scorcht in the flames of lust humble thy heart in the ashes of Repentance and as with Esau thou hast sold thy Birthright for Broth so with Jacob wrestle by prayer till thou get a blessing His Prayer O God before whose face the Angels are impure before whose clear omniscience all Actions appear to whom the very secrets of the hearts are open I here acknowledge to thy glory and my shame the filthinesse and vile impurity of my nature Lord I was filthy in my very conception and in filthines my mothers wombe enclosed me brought forth in filthinesse and filthy in my very innocency filthy in the motions of my flesh and filthy in the apprehensions of my soul my words all cloath'd with filthinesse and in all my actions filthy and unclean in my inclination filthy and in the whole course of my life nothing but a continued filthinesse Wash me O God and make me clean cleanse me from the filthinesse of my corruption Purge me O Lord with Hyssop and create a clean heart within me Correct the vagrant motions of my flesh and quench the fiery darts of Satan Let not the Law of my corrupted members rule mee O let concupiscence have no dominion over me Give me courage to fight against my lusts and give my weaknesse strength to overcâ—me make sharpe my sword against this body of sinne but most against my Dalilah my bosome sin Deliver me from the tyranny of temptation or give me power to subdue it Confine the liberty of my wanton appetite and give me temperance in a sober diet Grant me a heart to strive with thee in Prayer and hopefull patience to attend thy leisure Keep me from the habit of an idle life and close mine eares against corrupt communication Set thou a watch before my lips that all my words may savour of sobriety Preserve me from the vanity and pride of life that I may walke blamelesse in my conversation Protect me from the fellowship of the unclean anâ— from all such as are of evill report Let thy grace O God be sufficient for me to protect my sâ—ule from the buffetings of Sataâ— Make me industrious and diligent in my calling lest the enemy get advantage over mee In all my temptations let mee have recourse to thee Be thou my refuge when I call upon thee Forgive O God the sinnes of my youth O pardon the multitudes of my secret sinnes Encrease my hatred to my former life and strengthen my resolution for the time future Hear me O God and let the words of my mouth be alwaies acceptable to thee O God my strength and my Redeemer The Sabbath-breakers Prophanation THe glittering Prince that sits upon his regall and imperiall Throne and the ignoble Peasant that sleeps within his sordid house of Thatch are both alike to God An Ivory Temple and a Church of Clay are priz'd alike by him The flesh of Buls and the perfumes of My he and â—assia smoak his Altars with an equall pleasure And does he make such difference of dayes Is he that was so weary of the New-Moones so taken with the Sun to tie his Sabbath to that only day The tenth in tithes is any one in ten and why the seventh day not any one in seven We sanctifie the day the day not us But are we Jewes Are we still bound to keepe a legall Sabbath in the strictnesse of the Letter Have the Gentiles no priviledge by vertue of Messiahs comming or has the Evangelicall Sabbath no immunities The service done the day 's discharged my libertie restored And if I meet my profits or my pleasurer then I 'le give them entertainment If businesse call me to account I dare afford a carefull eare Or if my sports invite me I 'le entertaine them with a cheerfull heart I 'le goe to Mattens with as much devotion as my neighbour I 'le make as low obeysance and as just responds as any but as soon as Evensong 's ended my Church-devotion and my Psalter shall sanetifie my Pue till the next Sabbath call Were it no more for an old custome sake then for the good I finde in Sabbaths that Ceremony might as well be spared It is a day of Rest And what 's a Rest A relaxation from the toile of labour And what is labour but a painfull exercise of the fraile body But where the exercise admits no toile there Relaxation makes no Rest What labour is it for the worldly man to compasse Sea and Land to accomplish his desires What labour is it for the impatient lover to measure Hellespont with his widened armes to hasten his delâ—ght What labour for the youth to number musick with their sprightly paces Where pleasure 's reconcil'd to labour labour is but an active rest Why should the Sabbath then a day of rest divorce thee from those delights that make thy Rest Afflict their soules that please my rest shall be what most conduces to my hearts delight Two houres will vent more prayers then I shal need the rest remaines for pleasure His extirpation COnscience why start'st thou A judgement strikes me from the mouth of heaven and saith Whosoever doth any worke on my Sabbath his soule shall be cut off Exod. 31. 14. Exod. 20. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day six dayes shalt thou labour and doe all that thou hast to do but the seventh day c. Exod. 31. 14. Ye shall keep my Sabbath for it is holy unto you Exod. 31. 13. Verily my Sabbaths thou shalt keep for this is a sign betwixt me and you throughout your Generations Luke 23. 56. And they returned and prepared spices and oyntments and rested on the Sabbath day according to the Commandement His Proofs Gregor. Wee ought upon the Lords day to rest from bodily labour and wholly to addict our selves to prayers that whatsoever hath been done amisse the weeke before may upon the day of our Lords resurrection be expiated and purged by fervent prayers Cyr. Alex. Sin is the storehouse of death and misery it
thee the only desirable good I blush O Lord to confesse the basenesse of my life and am utterly asham'd of my own foolishnesse I have placed my affections upon the nasty Rubbish of this world and have slighted the inestimable Pearl of my Salvation I have wallowed in the mire of my inordinate desires and refused to bee washt in the streams of thy compassion I have put my confidence in the faithfulnesse of my servant and have doubted the providence of thee my gratious Father I have served unrighteous Mammon with greedinesse and have preferred drosse and dung before the pearly gates of New Jerusalem Thou hast promised to be all in all to those that fear thee and not to fail the soul that trusts in thee but I refused thy gratious offer and put my confidence in the vanity of the Creature But gratious God to whom true Repentance never comes unseasonable that findest an eare when sinners finde a tongue regard the contrition of a bleeding heart and withdraw not thy mercy from a pensive soule Give mee new thoughts O God and with thy holy Spirit new mould my desires inform my will and sanctify my affections that they may rellish thy sweetnesse with a full delight Create in me O God a spirituall sense that I may take pleasure in things that are above Give mee a contented thankfulnesse for what I have that I may neither in poverty forsake thee nor in plenty forget thee Arm me with a continuall patience that I may chearfully put my trust in thy providence Moderate my care for momentary things that I may use the world as if I used it not Let not the losse of any earthly good too much deject me lest I should sinne with my lips and charge thee foolishly Give me a charitable hand O God and fill my heart with brotherly compassion that I may chearfully exchange the corruptible treasure of this world into the incorruptible riches of the world to come and proving a faithfull steward in thy spirituall houshold I may give up my account with joy and be made partaker of thy eternall joy in the Kingdome of thy glory The Self-lovers Self-fraud GOd hath required my heart and he shall have it God hath commanded truth in the inward parts and he shall be obeyed My soule shall prayse the Lord and all that is within me and I will serve him in the strength of my desires And in common Cases the tongues profession of his Name is no lesse then necessary But when it lies upon a life upon the saving of a livelyhood upon the flat undoing of a reputation the case is altered My life is deare my faire possessions pretious and my reputation is the very Apple of mine eye To save so great a stake me thinks equivocation is but veniall if a sinne â—f the true loyalty of mine heart stands sound to my Religion and my God my well-informed Conscience tels me that in such extremities my frighted tongue may take the priviledge of a Salvo or a mentall reservation if not in the expression of a faire compliance What shall the reall breach of a holy Sabbath dedicated to Gods highest glory be tolerated for the welfare of an Oxe May that breach be set upon the score of mercy and commended above sacrifice for the savegard of an Asse And may I not dispence with a bare lippe deniall of my urg'd Religion for the necessary preservation of the threatned life of a man for the saving of the whole livelyhood and subsistence of a Christian What shall I perish for the want of â—ood and die a Martyr to that foolish conscience which forbids me to rub the eares of a little standing Corne Iacob could purchase his sick fathers blessing with a down-right lie and may I not dissemble for a life The young mans great possessions taught his timerous tongue to shrink from and decline his hearts profession and who could blame him Come if thou freely give thy house canst thou in conscience be denied a hiding room for thy protection The Syrian Captain he whose heart was fixt on his now firme resolv'd and true devotion reserved the house of Rimmon for his necessary attendance and yet went in peace Peter upon the rock of whose confession the Church was grounded to save his liberty with a false nay with a perjur'd tongue nay more at such a time when as the Lord of life in whose behalf he drew his sword was questioned for his innocent life denied his Master and shall I be so great an unthrift of my blood my life to lose it for a meere lippe-deniall of that Religion which now is setled and needs no blood to seale it His Retribution BUt stay my conscience checks me there 's a judgement thunders Hark He that denies me before men him will I deny before my Father which is in heaven Matth. 10. 33. 2 Tim. 3. 1 2. Know that in the latter dayes perillous times shall come For men shall be lovers of their owne selves Isai. 45. 23. I have sworn by my selfe the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousnesse and shall not returne that unto me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall sweare Rom. 10. 10. With the heart man beleeveth unto righteousnesse and with the mouth confession is made to salvation Luke 9. 26. Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in Glory His Proofs Augustine The love of God and the world are two different things if the love of this world dwell in thee the love of God forsakes thee renounce that and receive this it 's fit the more noble love should have the best place and acceptance Theoph. It is nâ—t enough onely to beleeve with the heart for God will have us confess with our mouth every one that confesses Christ is God shall finde Christ professing to the Father that that man is a faithfull servant but those that deny Christ shall receive that fearful doom Nescio vos I know you not His Soliloquy MY soule in such a time as this when the civill Sword is warme with slaughter and the wasting kingdom welters in her blood wouldst thou not give thy life to ransome her from ruine Is not the God of heaven and earth worth many kingdomes Is thy welfare more considerable then his glory dar'st thou deny him for thy owne owne ends that denied thee nothing for thy good Is a poore clod of earth we call Inheritance prizable with his greatnesse Or a puffe of breath we call life valuable with his honour in comparison of whom the very Angels are impure Blush O my soule at thy owne guilt He that accounted his blood his life not worth the keeping to ransome thee a wretch lost by thy own rebellion deserves he not the abatement of a lust to keep him from a new crucifying My soule if Religion binde thee not if judgements terrifie thee not if naturall affection incline
as the merit of thy renowned Actions and let thy memory entaile it to succeeding Generations Make thy owne game and if thy conscience correct thee check thy saucy Conscience till shee stand as mute as metamorphos'd Niobe Feare not the frownes of Princes or the imperious hands of various Fortune Thou art too bright for the one to obscure and too great for the other to cry downe His Verdict BUt harke my soule I heare a voice that thunders in mine eare I will change their glory into shame Hos. 4. 7. Psal. 49. 20. Man that is born in honour and understandeth not is like the beasts that perish Prov. 25. 27. It is not good for to eate too much boney so for men to search their own glory is not glory Jer. 9. 23. Thus saith the Lord Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom neither let the mighty man glory in his might nor let the rich man glory in his riches But let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth mee that I am the Lord Gal. 5. 26. Let us not bee desirous of vain-glory c. His Proofes St. August The vain glory of the world is a deceitfull sweetness an unfruitfull labour a perpetuall fear a dangerous bravery begun without providence and finished not without repentance S. Greg. He that makes transitory honour the reward of a good worke sets eternall glory at low rate His Soliloquie VAin-glory is a Froth which blowne off discovers a great want of measure Canst thou O my soul be guilty of such an emptinesse and not bee challeng'd Canst thou appeare in the searching eye of heaven and not expect to be cast away deceive not thy self O my soul nor flatter thy self with thy own greatnesse Search thy self to the bottome and thou shalt find enough to humble thee Dost thou glory in the favour of a Prince The frown of a Prince determines it Dost thou glory in thy strength A poor Ague betrayes it Dost thou glory in thy wealth the hand of a thiefe extinguishes it Dost thou glory in thy friends One cloud of adversity darkens it Dost thou glory in thy parts thy own pride obscures it Behold my soul how like a Bubble thou appearest and with a sigh break into sorrow the gate of heaven is strait canst thou hope to enter without breaking The Bubble that would passe the Floodgates must first dissolve My soule melt then in tears and empty thy self of all thy vanity and thou shalt find divine repletion evaporate in thy Devotion and thou shalt recruit thy greatnesse to eternall Glory His Prayer ANd can I choose O God but tremble at thy judgements or can my stony heart not stand amazed at thy threatnings It is thy voice O God and thou hast spoken it It is thy voice O God and I have heard 〈◊〉 Hadst thou so dealt by me as thou didst by Babels proud King and driven me from the sons of Men thou hadst but done according to thy righteousnesse and rewarded mee according to my deservings What couldst thou see in mee lesse worthy of thy vengeance then in him the example of thy justice Or Lord wherein am I more uncapable of thy indignation There is nothing in me to move thy mercy but in misery Thy goodness is thy selfe and hath no ground but what proceedeth from it self yet have I sinned against that goodnesse and have thereby heaped up wrath against the day of wrath that insomuch had not thy Grace abounded with my sin I had long since bin confounded in my sin and swallowed up in the gulph of thy displeasure But Lord thou takest no delight to punish with thee is no respect of persons thou takest no pleasure in the confusion of thy creature but rejoycest rather in the conversion of a sinner Convert mee therefore O God I shall be then converted make me sensible of my own corruptions that I may see the vilenesse of my own condition Pull downe the pride of my ambitious heart humble mee thou O God and I shall bee humbled Weane mee from the thirst of transitory honour and let my whole delight bee to glory in thee Touch thou my conscience with the feare of thy name that in all my actions I may fear to offend thee endue me O Lord with the spirit of meeknesse and teach me to overcome evill with a patient heart moderate and curb the exorbitances of my passion and give me temperate use of all thy creatures Replenish my heart with the graces of thy Spirit that in al my ways I may be acceptable in thy sight In all conditions give me a contented minde and upon all occasions grant me a gratefull heart that honouring thee here in the Church militant before men I may be glorified hereafter in the Church triumphant before thee Angels where filled with true glory according to the measure of grace thou shalt be pleased to give me here I may with Angels and Archangels praise thy Name for ever and ever The Oppressors Plea I Seeke but what 's my owne by Law It was his owne free Act and Deed The execution lies ◠for goods or body and goods or body I will have or else my money What if his beggerly children pine or his proud wife perish They perish at their own charge not mine and what is that to mee I must be paid or he lie by it untill I have my utmost farthing or his bones The Law is just and good and being ruled by that how can my faire proceedings bee unjust What 's thirty in the hundred to a man of Trade Are we born to thrum Caps or pick straws and sell our livelihood for a few teares and a whining face I thanke God they move mee not so much as a howling Dog at midnight I 'le give no day if heaven it selfe would bee security I must have present money or his bones The Commodities were good enough as wares went then and had he had but a thriving wit with the necessary help of a good merchantable Conscience hee might have gained perchance as much as now hee lost but howsoever gaine or not gaine I must have my mony Two tedious Termes my dearest gold hath laine in his unprofitable hands The cost of Suit hath made me bleed above a score of Royals besides my Interest travel half pints and bribes all which does but encrease my beggerly defendants damages and sets him deeper on my score but right 's right and I will have my money or his bones Fifteen shillings in the pound composition I le hang first Come tell not mee of a good Conscience a good conscience is no parcell of my Trade it hath made more Bankrupts then all the loose wives in the universall City My conscience is no foole It tells mee that my owne 's my owne and that a well-cramm'd bagge is no deceitfull friend but will stick close to mee when all my friends forsake mee If to gaine a good Estate out of nothing and to
Sabbaths I have doted too much on the pleasures of this world and like a Droane have fed upon the hony of Bees If thou O God shouldst be extreme to search my wayes with too severe an eye thou couldst not choose but whet thy indignation and powre the vialls of thy wrath upon me look therefore not upon my sins O Lord but through the merits of my Saviour who hath made a full satisfaction for all my sins what through my weaknesse I have fail'd to doe the fulnesse of his sufferings hath most exactly done In him O God in whom thou art well pleased and for his sake bee gracious to my sin Alter my heart and make it willing to please thee that in my life I may adorne my profession Give me a care and a conscience in my calling and grant thy blessing to the lawfull labours of my hand Let the fidelity of my vocation improve my Talent that I may enter into my Masters joy Rouze up the dulnesse and deadnesse of my heart and quench those flames of lust within mee Assist mee O God in the redemption of my time and deliver my soule from the evilnesse of my dayes Let thy Providence accompany my moderate endeavours and let all my employments depend upon thy Providence that when the labours of this sinfull world shall cease I may feel and enjoy the benefit of a good conscience and obtain the rest of new Jerusalem in the Eternity of glory The proud mans Ostentation I 'Le make him feel the weight of displeasure and teach him to repent his saucy boldnesse How dare his basenesse once presume to breath so near my person much more to take my name into his dunghill mouth me thinks the lustre of my sparkling eye might have had the power to astonish him into good manners and sent him backe to cast his minde into a fair Petition humbly presented with his trembling hand But thus to presse into my presence to presse so neer my face and then to speake and speake to me as if I were his equall is more then sufferable The way to be contemn'd is to digest contempt but he that would be honour'd by the vulgar must wisely keep a distance A countenance that 's reserv'd breeds fear and observation but affability and too easie an accesse makes fooles too bold and reputation cheap What price I set upon my owne deserts instructs opinion how to prize me That which base ignorance miscalls thy pride is but a conscious knowledge of thy merits dejected soules craven'd with their own distrusts are the worlds Footballs to be kickt and spurnd but brave and true heroick spirits that know the strength of their owne worth shall baffold basenesse and presumption into a reverentiall silenâ—e and spiâ—e of envie flourish in an honourable repute Come then my soule advance thy noble thy ubâ—imer thoughts and prize thy â—elf according to thoâ—e parts which all may wonder at â—ew imitate but none can equall Let not the insolent affronts of vassals interrupt thy Peace nor seem one scruple lesse then what thou art Be thou thy selfe respect thy selfe receive thou honour from thy selfe Rejoyce thy self in thy self and prize thy selfe for thy selfe Like Cesar admit no equall and like Pompey acknowledge no superiour Be covetous of thine owne Honour and hold anothers glory as thy injury Renounce humilitie as an Heresie in reputation and meeknesse as the worst disease of a true-bred noble Spirit Disparage worth in all but in thy selfe and make anothers infamy a foyl to magnifie thy glory Let such as have no reason to be proud be humbled of necessity and let them that have no parts to value be despondent But as for thee thy Cards are good and having skill enough to play thy hopefull Game vie boldly conquer and triumph His Desolation BUt stay my soule the Trump is yet unturn'd boast not too soon nor call it a faire day till night the turning of a hand may make such alterations in thy flattering fortunes that all thy glorious expectations may chance to end in losse and unsuspected ruine That God which thrust that Babylonian Prince from his Imperiall Throne to graze with beasts hath said The Lord will destroy the house of the proud Prov. 15. 25. Prov. 11. When pride cometh then cometh shame but with the lowly is wisedome Ier. 11. 15. Heare ye and give eare and be not proud for the Lord hath spoken Esay 2. 12. The day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty and upon every one that is lifted up and he shall be brought low Prov. 16. 5. Every one that is proud in heart is abomination to the Lord St. James God rejecteth the proud and giveth grace to the simple His Proofs Isidor Hispal Pride made Satan fall from the highest heaven therefore they that pride themselvs in their virtues imitate the Devill and fall more dangerously because they aspire and climbe to the highest pitch from whence is the greatest fall Greg. Mor. Pride grows stronger in the root whilst it braves it selfe with presumptuous advances yet the higher it climbes the lower it fals for he that heightens himselfe by his owne pride is alwaies destroyed by the judgement of God His Soliloquy HOw wert thou muffled O my soule How were thine eies blinded with the corruption of thine owne heart When I beheld my selfe by my own light I seem'd a glorious thing My sunne knew no eclipse and all my imperfections were gilded over with vain-glory But now the day-spring from above hath shind upon my heart and the diviner light hath driven away those foggy mists I finde my selfe another thing My Diamonds are all turn'd Pebbles and my glory is turnd to shame O my deceived soule how great a darknesse was thy light The thing that seemd so glorious and sparkled in the night by day appeares but rotten wood and that bright Glow-worme that in darknesse out shined the Chrysolue is by this new-found light no better then a crawling worm How inseparable O my soule is pride and fâ—lly which like Hippocrates twins still live and die together It blinds the eye befools the judgement knows no superiours hates equals disdaines inferiours the wisemans scorne and the fooles Idoll Renounce it O my soule lest thy God renounce thee He that hath threatned to resist the proud hath promised to give grace to the humble and what true Repentance speaks free mercy heares and crownes His Prayer O God the fountain of all true Glory and the giver of all free grace whose Name is onely honourable and whose workes are onely glorious that shewest thy wayes to be meek and takest compassion upon an humble spirit that hatest the presence of a lofty eye and destroyest the proud in the imaginations of their hearts vouchsate O Lord thy gracious eare and hear the sighing of a contrite heart I know O God the quality of my sin can look for nothing but the extremity of thy wrath I know the