th' end of generation No place exempt but even in every nation Doth Adams seed partake of th'punishment For Adams sin without distinguishment Then fear to sin seeing God is so severe As for one sin to punish every where From time to time till th' end of time be come Sweet Jesus grant that word may be my doom But how can I expect this doom to me Of many millions one most unworthy Or what 's my hope who thousand sins committed That th'least of them to me may be remitted When many millions for one sin condemned And without Christ no hope to be redeemed O fearful fearfull What more fearfull is Then for one sin mankind depriv'd of bliss Consider wretch what thy whole life hath bin And then thou 'lt see no houre without some sin If th'dost but mark what thou thy self hast done Thou hast forsworn both Father and tho Son For knowingly thou hast him disobeyed Let conscience say if this can be denyed See it be judge of all thou go'â—t about T wil say tha 'st sin'd even all thy life throughout And so thâ— sins to millions will amount If thou wert able of them keep account But though thou fail in numbring of them all Thy Saviour can and will t' account thee call And then thou lt wish that thou hadst nere bin born In sin to live in sin to dye forlorn Then well consider what was Adams sin Once disobeying Gods command therein What for that sin was Gods just punishment And it will strike thee with astonishment Then think how many sins thou hast committed And what 's thy hope that they may be remitted When for one sin mankind was all condemned If that by Christ they shall not be redeemed And then thou l't think what may be due for thine Think of this deeply and think on 't in time Keep 't in thy mind thou cannot keep 't too much A goodly theam do thou conceit it such And leave not thinking of it all thy life Lest justly thou be punisht like Lots wife For God is ready of an instant smite thee And so is Satan ever to endite thee And for that purpose he 's on thee attending And so will be untill thy life be ending In thought of this be sure to have a care That Satan do not smite thee with despaire But still be mindfull Christ did die for thee And will defend thee for eternity But then must thou obey him in thy heart And look each sin do breed in thee a smart When dost remember Adams only sin For all of thine what danger thou art in But that thy God doth suffer thee to live And for thy sins such blessings doth thee give As thou maist justly say his mercy 's great When by his bounty he doth thee intreat To come to him and faithfully him serve As conscience knows his goodness doth deserve Then for his goodness fear him to offend Retain such fear until thy life shall end And it may help for to amend thy cours Which conscience knows is each day wors wors Because thou minds not that thy God is just And on a sudden may smite thee to dust Remember these and none of them forget They 'll be a means that Christ may come to set Thee with himself where thou shalt live for aye And sing his praises in a joyful raye So sing my soul the praises of this God Who gives thee blessings in lieu of 's heavy rod Be yielding thanks to his most holy name VVho was is now and aye shall be the same Let all thy life shew thou dost thankful prove To this good God the God of peace and love VVho doth desire that thou maist leave thy sin And lieu of Satan let thy Saviour in Look he be always in thy inward thought And he will let no ill to thee be brought And aim at nought but what gives him content Or if rhou dost be sure of it repent Canst thou observe the rising of the Sun And then not think the Son of mans to come Thou seest the glory of it doth appear Throughout the world to all both far and near Thou dost discern the greatness of that light Doth make a difference between day and night Thou hast the sense to see it comfort brings To every kind whatsoere created thingâ— Th' effects of both to all on earth are shown As well to strangers as to those his own All creatures are of its great good partaker And in their kind for it they praise their Maker Observe the greatness of its glorious shine Whereto none's like it saving that Divine Then if in th'creature there such glory be What is in him that made both it and thee Th' Arabians they do find its extream hot But th' English feel its goodness tho remote The Indians they some black some tawny turn'd But th' English we with scorching are not burn'd With us it makes the earth it self rejoyce And all therein with joy lift up their voyce When Birds and Bees and every creeping thing Sing forth the praises of their heavenly King And every beast and creature of the field To this their Maker all due thanks do yield Save thankless man who hath received more Then all the rest of Gods abundant store Because forgetfull of this gracious God And for our good beat with his heavy rod. Thou shameless man let these poor creatures move thee Like them with joy to praise this God above thee And yield him thanks for all his goodness given To thee unworthy lift thy eye to heaven Where great Jehovah knoweth by his power The lighting down of th' sparrow at they dore And every secret that thy heart can think Whereof take notice lest thou come to sink Into that Tophet which God hath prepar'd For such as do not yield him due regard Thou thankles man think how this God hath blest thee Before he send his servant Death t' arrest thee Observe with care of what good thou partaker When some do worship this the Sun for th'maker What difference great between the day and night They live in darkness though we live in light Then since thy God hath shew'd himself to thee Unworthy wretch towards him to lift thine eye Prove not forgetfull of this good the greatest To thee poor man of millions one the meanest When thou perceives the Sun reflects on thee Forget not then for sinners Christ did dye And when he yielded up his glorious Ghost The Sun did then forgo his brightness most As though it sorrowed for to see him die Who yet doth live and shall eternally Canst thou but mark the setting of the Sun And then forget the Son of man did come Down from the heavens where glory doth abound Unto this earth where nothing can be found But earthly things ' mongst whom he lived here And took on him the shape which thou dost beat Both flesh and bone and every several lim Yet always free from the least thought of sin Whereby he
it will freely tell thee When death comes what it is that shal befall thee For though thy conscience now securely sleep ' Gainst th'day of death it will thee waking keep Then be not thou like to the Libertine Who guls himself with saying All is mine Come eat and drink and now let 's merry be When morrow comes then we shall surely die But yet when death doth to him come indeed Then this mans fear a deep despair doth breed And he to death as that King Ahab did Unto Elias thinking he was hid Hast found me out O fearful than O than Comes death most dreadful to the dying man But thou my soul thou know'st tâ—'assured way To make this death thy only happiest day If that thy porters be not lulâ—'d asleep Whilst they these outer gates of thine should keep And suffer thieves at them to enter in who 'll steal thy good and leave behind thy sin Then watch and pray and do thou waking keep And fast and pray and so prevent thou sleep And then let death come whenas God shal please Can do no hurt but do to thee great ease For then shalt thou from earthly labours rest And live with whom thou shalt be ever blest Live there my soul and then thou needst not care Come life come death to thee both equal are The fool would fain he might do that at last Which the wise-man thinks fit be done at first For that thinks time is ever in his will But this doth know that time is going still Seeing if man sleep this time it doth not rest But still keeps pace and flieth on full fast For though that all men are ordain'd to die Yet none know when or where 't is they must lie Man stands in need prepare for death and will not But death wil com to this man when he would not And such may well be likened to a beast Who 's feeding fat like this man at a feast Till th'slaughter-axe give him his fatal blow And then his stubborn heart begins to bow Yet struggles hard this death-stroke to resist But now too late he mourns out had I wist For all of life we very careful are But for this death we not at all prepare So many come this death-stroke to abide Before they do themselves for death provide And then are they to go to learn to die When death appeareth palpably in th' eye Then willingly doe thou perform that part Which needs thou must tho 't be against thy heart And thou my soul do thou in thy youth-dayes Remember death for so the Wise-man sayes Before that those thy ill dayes come along For then thou 'lt sing another sorrowful song When age and sickness both of them appear Thou hast no power good councel then to hear But heart and mind are both so hurried hence With age and sickness they are void of sense Is this a time then to prepare for death When 't is a burthen heavy to have breath When Doctor physick for thee doth prescribe And Lawyer he is going with his bribe And Parish-Parson for thy soul doth pray And friends neighbours round about thee stay And wife and children sadly weeping are Content of death to take from thee a share If so they might to ease thee of thy pain Which all the earth unable is to gain But thou art left unto thy self alone To make an answer for thy sins each one When powerful death hath entred on thy eyes And into all parts of the body pryes And stayes the organ of the nimble tongue Lest it might utter ought may tend to wrong And by chill cold doth fall upon the feet And takes from them their blood and nat'ral heat And so ascends to every other part And then at last it seizeth on the heart Who now with sobs and sighs somes out its breath Which by and by is staid by powerful death And at his entrance on this flesh and bone Gives Conscience leave to lord it all alone Who nere till now had audience of a word By help of death is made a puissant Lord And then that heart was stony-hard before Is now made soft lamenting more and more But nere till death had struck him with his dart Gave any way for Conscience play his part Who hath recorded all what heart hath done And lays them ope that it may see the sum And cast it up before the day of doom Which grant good God it may to me be Come Being hard at hand as plainly doth appear When heart and hands and feet are all in fear Who nere till now did ever think of death That he would come to fetch away its breath For who by flesh was highly monarchised By Conscience now is basely vassalised And so doth yield to what the conscience saith That till death came he had not any faith For health and wealth so pufft it up with pride Save only pleasure it minded nought beside And now intreats to have a little time With full resolve for to amend its crime But Conscience saith whom now it doth believe That death is sent it of its life bereave And so no hope of pardon to be got But like its life so death fals to its lot Which conscience tels it then it is dejected And doth confess it justly is rejected Without all hope of any pardon sending For that this life is now at point of ending Then this proud heart with terror conscience pricks And it to hell with horror down he kicks And tels him plainly that the poorest swain Whom in his pride with scorn he did disdain Being naked begging at this proud hearts dore In Abrahams bosom him shall sit before And in requital of this hard proud heart Was loth to yield to Lazarus any part Of his vast store wherewith he did abound Is now by Lazar trodden under ground And lets it see whom it did scorn before He would be glad he might beg at his dore But conscience tels him he is now debaâ—'d ' Cause pride in wealth did poverty not regard So this proud heart who poverty held in scorn Doth beg of death a while to be forborn But conscience tels him 't is not in deaths power For that he cannot spare him now one houre Because his time is limited by God Whom he nere knew so did not fear his rod Which now he feels by conscience information That he must hence into some other nation Where soul must suffer for the bodies sin And horrid life which it hath lived in Without so much as any care for th' soul But all for th' self although in substance moul Which then by conscience is in heart confessed And better life if time is now professed When time is past to it a period's put And ' gainst this soul the gates of heaven are shut So then in lieu of hope comes in despaire And tels it now it must for hell prepare Because it did not think of this in time So soul must
may to thy soul reveal The secret vertue of his death and blood Which he so shed for thine eternal good Here do thou build here 's good foundation Freed from all danger of inundation The onely rock whereon stands saving health Which is more worth then all this worldly wealth For herein solely's perfect happiness The very essence of all blessedness Here build my soul and do thou build so high That th' building reach above the starry skie Where thy blest Saviour sits himself alone Upon that blessed glorious heavenly throne Which none beholds but them are onely his And by his passion enter into bliss For all th' accursed are from thence thrown down By God above with such a furious frown As they shall ne'er enabled be to see The face of th' sacred glorious Trinitie O fear O fear beyond all other fears The thought whereof my very heart even tears Then if thou wilt this hideous fear prevent Remember th' cause for which was 't hither sent And if thou dost not that thy end forget It may procure a place for thee to sit Among that glorious heavenly angels quire VVhich is thy soul 's it chief and sole desire O be not thou so far then overseen As thou hast all thy lifetime hereto been To sleep in sin and that so securely As though in it thou didst intend to dye But now 't is time to rouze thy self from sleep If thou intend from sin thy self to keep Or else be sure in lieu of sleeping sink Into that horrid fearful place of stink Where thou shalt live depriv'd of heavenly bliss Or sight of heaven where thy sweet Saviour is Then sleep no more but rise and stand and pray And to thy Saviour do thou alwayes say Come blessed Lord vouchsafe on me to call That I do never herehence from thee fall But if I do then call good Lord againe That I from sin my self may now refraine And freely come to thee at this thy call And so in time prevent that fatal fall From whence no hope that thou canst rise againe But ever live eternally in paine Then stand in fear to fall if thou be wise And from thy sleep in hast do now arise And fast and pray and fall upon the ground That blessings may from heaven on thee abound And these thy prayers do thou iterate That they thereby thy paines may mitigate And heav thy soul up to the heavens from whence If not thou must receive due recompence For sin the wage whereof assure thy self is death VVhich thou must pay with loss of deerest breath Then do thou look upon this death againe And see if he be now the very same He seem'd to be when justly thou condemn'd Thy self of sin which did so fore offend Thy God and King who't was did place thee here That thou mightst alwayes live of him in fear And then thou shouldst not need have any care Though death did come and take thee to his share Death hath no power that man at all to harme Who is defended by Jehovah's arme And though that death indeed o'recometh all He onely comes when God himself doth call For God makes death to be his instrument To strike when he by God alone is sent Then make thy suite to thy blest Saviour sweet As 't is thy duty and not all is meet That he will please both thee and thine defend From deadly sin until thy life have end And then fear not for sure thou shalt not miss Of gaining that is thine eternal bliss Which is prepar'd for all that onely cry Upon their blessed Saviour heartily But this most sinful hollow heart of mine Doth stay my soul that it can never shine As it desires but forced is comply With my hard heart which daily doth deny To entertaine ought that shall tend to good But ill it loves like as doth stomack food Vouchsafe good Lord I do most humbly pray Be pleas'd to take this tempter quite away For it is he who maketh me thus blinde And leads this man even up and down with th' winde For wheresoere the winde doth turn to blow That way doth he entice me likewise now O teach O teach me Lord I humbly pray That I in thee may ever live and stay And so to shun each ill occasion Which doth proceed of that illusion Of him is wont and yet still leadeth me To take his bait and so to forsake thee Deceitful bait which did me so entice The apple eate and yield my life the price O wretch O wretch that will so wretched be Was never born a man so blinde as thee Thus to be gull'd as thou hast ever been To loose thy life in lieu of a little sin Was ever sinner seen so fool'd as thou To such a feind as Satan is to bow Yea though thou seest him plainly 'fore thy face Yet thou dost hold it for no great disgrace To be led by him as thou willing art Because he 's harbour'd close within thy heart O call thy wits about thee now at last When all thy dayes are done and life is past Look at thy end thou canst not chuse but see How subtil Satan hath deluded thee Whereby thou now art brought to such a stay As neither devil nor yet this death can fray Thee from thy sin O see man do thou see What is that sweet in pleasing sin can be Whereby th' art brought to be so overcom'd As all thy senses are indeed benum'd For Satan makes thee so insatiate As thy case now is grown be desperate Did ever man by any pleasure gaine When by that pleasure he was in it slaine Is not he mad that will of poison eat Although he have not any other meat Will any drunkard pleasing poison drink When suddain death doth make him down to sink To th' deepest hell and there in it remaine Without all hope of turning ere againe And yet art thou more mad by much then he And wilt not from this thy great madness be Reform'd but still in madness thou runst on Till thou hast gain'd thy self confusion Both of thy body and thy soul and yet Thou wretched dost thy self so far forget As thou wilt not so much as think of th' end For which thy God did to this earth thee send Hast thou thy sense to take a taste of food And difference make betwixt the ill and good And which of them doth best thy pallat please And by thy sense art able judge of these But yet if thou didst know of poison there I hope thou wouldst not take it without fear And yet mad man so taken art with sin Though worse by much then poison be therein As that thou wilt not this thy sin forbear But thou wilt act it boldly without fear Art thou not mad nay further more then so Thou runst from heaven that thou to hell maist go And yet 'twixt these there is a difference great He that is mad hath no tast of his meat And so
And Maker-like thou sinner might have stai'd If thou thy maker had'st in heart obey'd But willingly thou wretch didst lose that grace And so became a miserable sinful race Of runagates from ought that tends to good But that thy Saviour shed his precious blood To bring thee back to that happy state again If thou had'st grace being there in it remain Praise him praise him and for thy self do pray That thou in him may'st ever live and stay And on his passion daily ruminate To work in thee of horrid sin a hate And keep in heart for what cause he was sent To call poor sinners that they may repent For without that be sure thou hast no part Nor any portion in thy Saviours smart But thou thy self dost him still crucifie Whom thou oughtst rather even to glorifie Repent betime if thou hast any grace Or else in heaven expect to have no place For no unclean thing can ascend on hy Where Angels sit and sing continually The Praises due to that heavenly holy one Who made all creatures by his word alone And is desirous for to have them all To come to him and doth them often call Then go with speed thou wretch and do not stay For great 's the danger of one hours delay And if thou shalt thy Saviour now deny He 'll not be heard when thou dost to him cry Then thou beware of being drawn away By him that seeks thy ruine and decay And doth delude thee by some slie deceit Enticing thee with his sweet sinful baite To overthrow thy soul and body there Where nought appears but onely horrid fear Of ugly feinds whose mouthes like lions roare And with their teeth do rend and eke devour All such as come within their hellish reach Then learn by others thee thy self to teach Of sinful life and death to stand in fear Lest soul and body both these hell-hounds tear And torture them in that most fearful place Where all must live do not partake of grace Then fast and pray and fast and pray againe That thou with Christ in heaven maist aie remain And do repent thee of thy sinful crime And be thou sure thou do 't whiles thou hast time For time 's not tyed no not to th' best mans leasure Therefore this day do thou give ore thy pleasure And strive to please thy heavenly God and King And to him alwayes his due praises sing And give him thanks that he hath spared thee Till thou hast time thy sinful life to see And blame thy self for thy hard stony heart Since that thy God hath plaid a loving part In often calling and recalling thee To search thy heart and secret sins to see For though thy conscience hourly thee accuse Yet to repent thou sinner do'st refuse So that death's due for this thy great neglect But that thy God doth lovingly thee respect And though thy sins do justly death deserve Yet still thy life this good God doth preserve And stead of death he heapes on thee blessings By sparing thee and eke long-sufferings To try if thou'lt thy sinful life forsake And to this good God thee thy self betake Who poureth out his blessings on thee still To try if he by gifts may win thy will To follow him O do thou follow then And follow fast withouten all delay This thy good God and from him do not stay With all thy heart and that unfeignedly And free from that vile sin hypocrisie Lest sleeping conscience justly thee accuse That thou thy self do'st thee thy self abuse By seeming other then indeed thou art But God above seeth th' secrets of thy heart Though man believe thou art the very same Which thou dost seem as if free from all blame Or blot of sin but what to them appeares In outward show or to their fleshly ears Report doth bring but sinner be thou sure Thy Saviour cannot this vile sin endure Thus to be mock't with that the outward part Which differs far from the inward sinful heart For he desires to have thy heart alone Then give him that or else thou givest him none For soul and body are ordain'd to go At th' end together whether they will or no To th' great accompt and therefore do thou see Thou daily use to obey the Deitie And be not thou with this wicked world beguiled For then a sinner thou art sure be stiled But have a care that thou do daily use Of daily sins thy self for to accuse And keep a strict account of thy weak state And then by that thou wilt discern thy fate Which must be hell or else that heavenly bliss Fie flie from that and care to cleave to this Where be assur'd thy Saviour thou shalt see Who hath endur'd the torments due to thee To suffer death as Christ himself hath done For all of them that to him freely come Then freely go and that without delay To him that putteth no man off with nay But willingly with love embraceth all Who on the name of Jesus onely call Then call and call and do thou call againe That thou in him may'st evermore remaine And then fear not but thou shalt with him finde Eternal joyes yea far beyond thy minde For be assur'd no earthly creature can Express the real happiness of that man That cometh there and therefore do thou strive At that great happiness that thou mayest arrive Where Saints and Angels sing continually To him that lives and shall eternally O let both heart and tongue and all agree To sing his praise so lovingly dyed for thee Let all the earth the worthy praises sing Of Christ our Saviour our heavenly king And join themselves in prais w th one accord To sing the praises of the heavenly Lord On whom th' arch-angels daily do attend And shall for aye e'n world without all end And all of them do all times sing To God our Saviour our heavenly king O mount my soule and strive to apprehend These heavenly joys which never shal have end And set thy song to that glorious Angels Who joys enjoy beyond all harts desire quire Even that the presence of our Saviour sweet The very Essence of all joy compleat Sweet Jesus please my soul may there reside And in thy Passion faithfully confide And thereby draw from hence this terren part As onely guided by a fleshly heart Subjects it self unto the inferiour power Who doth not cease torment it ev'ry houre With sundry passions it cannot resist But willingly complyes to what he list For to command untill he so shall please My Saviour sweet to grant to me some ease Of this tentation wherewith wretched I Have still been govern'd from my infancy Then come sweet Jesu and that presently Or else Lord Jesu I shall surely dye In this my sin except good God thou wilt With thy dear blood wash of my sinful guilt And take from me this wicked Legion out Of my poor heart and cause be put to rout All the tentations
whatsoe're he doth thee Unto the Lord who made the heav'n earth And all therein even with his only breath O stay my soul and there do thou admire The wond'rous greatness of that flaming fire Appear'd to Moses in the pillary cloud Which did his chosen children Israel shrewd Untill their sins stir'd up his heavy wrath And then he did as now of late he hath Done to this I le wherein we wretched live To whom his goodnesse did such blessings give As never land on earth had more then we And yet of peace we wretched cannot ' gree So that the son 's against the father's set And father he against the son doth fret And brother ' gainst his brother often wars And so will not let fall these wofull jars Till God shall please that his most heavy hand For to withdraw from o're this sinfull land And give us grace we may in hart repent And yeeld him thanks for his great blessings sent Which we unthankfull did as yet forget And for that cause each brother's blood is set Against it self like as did wicked Cain When as his brother Abell he had slain Sweet Jesus please to stay this thy sharp sword And stead thereof to send thy blessed word That thou thereby mayst beat down growing sin The want whereof hath doubtles only bin The real cause of this our mortall fewd which doubtless doth from our hard hearts proceed Sweet Jesus please to mollifie them so Like Peter's when he solely wept for woe Or like Manasses when he came be bound By Ashurs host who fell upon the ground And gained pardon for his grievous sin Whereby with speed he was restor'd again To Juda's crown and it so long enjoy'd Untill by death he was from thence destroy'd Sweet Jesus grant that we have many such And then without doubt it will help us much To further peace for which we daily pray That thou wilt please in thy great mercy stay This sword of thine and sheath it up again That we in peace may here hence now remain And live like loving brothers in this land VVhich thou hast kept with thine own pow'rfull hand From foreign fos tho now there be none such As we our selves domestick ones by much Sweet Jesus help good Lord we daily pray This bloody war of ours with speed to stay And put us once in happy peace again That we in peace may here hence now remain And praise thy name and that incessantly For giving us this bounteous great mercy And this must thou and onely thou alone Or else Lord Jesus other there is none Can yeeld us help in this our greatest need For now is nothing can stand us in steed But onely thou then come Lord Jesu come Or else deer God we are utterly all undone For them elected to the publique good With purging ill have bred in some ill blood And th' weaker sex it is become so strong T is doubtfull Lord the other sex to wrong So as between two are esteemed extream Most suffer much tho they retain the mean For now ther 's no part of this wretched I le Tho it enjoyed a blessed peace ere while But t is grown now unto a bloody war For many a one thinks their honest neighbor far More quiet then he and so with grief repines At 's neighbours good and then his malice finds Some hole or other in his neighbours coat Tho the quarrel be but for one single groat To make complaint to them that are of power To plunder him by strong hand in an houre For some old wrong as then but newly done Perchance betwixt the Father and the Son O blessed Lord that this the German plunder Which whilom was in peaceful England wonder Should now so well with us be understood As any other usuall English word Whereby revenge in England's grown so rife It tends to take away non-nocents life For Satan o're this Isle bears such a sway As by his wiles he draweth many away From thee that is their only God and King Who are rather bound thy worthy praises sing For all thy goodnes to this wofull land Tho now it feel thy dreadfull heavy hand Sweet Jesus send some blessed Angel down To quell this hellish Satans furious frown And force him Lord as thou was pleased then When he made suit he might go into th' swine Who huried him headlong into the sea Lord drown him there that he n're more have powr To come within this spacious Ile more But we instead of blood may ly and groan In brinish tears and therein make our moan To God on high he will vouchsafe to please This cruell war of ours with peace to cease And then that we who are true English all May all one way on the name of Jesus call Vouchsafe good God that we may so accord In holy service of that heav'nly Lord As tho we differ some of us in part Yet we may all as one agree in heart And let our hearts good Lord in prai'r remain Lest in our sins we wretched may be slain When worthies dare to stand look on death Tho with that look they lose their deerest breath Brave Britains keep your ' forwon antient fame Least antient terrour turn to novell shame And since your valour cannot well be known Untill by you some valourous act be done Then look your swords be sharpe for foreign foe Whose joy 's encreased by our cause of wo's Lest we bewaile this great efflux of blood When t is too late to do us any good And worthies all in time for death prepare Since all in th' end shall fall unto death's share But look you still prefer an honourable death Before a shamefull beastly cowardly life Seeing God alone the day of death doth know But when or where no earthly man can show O then le ts pray and that incessantly To him that lives and shall eternally Come let us sing and all due praises give To him that died that we by him might live And alwayes yeeld praise to his holy name Who was is now and ay shall be the same O let us all with heart due praises sing To this our God and glorious heav'nly king Whose dwelling is above the heavens most high Whereto the best of sinners come not nigh Whose heavy judgement is for to descend Since none come there but they who do ascend Then strive my soul and do thou aye aspire To keep thy self out of that irksome fire Which burns and yet there is no light appears But pain and grief and dreadfull horrid fears Sweet Jesus please to keep my soul from hence And draw it up to th'high'st heavens that thence I may have help for without help from thee There is no comfort in extremitie Then teach me Lord with heart mouth to pray That I in thee may ever live and stay And never more so wander up and down From place to place as I poor wretch have don Sweet Jesus please
to keep my soul with thee Or else dear God I am sure it cannot be Kept safe on earth where that fierce dragon flies And doth so dazle most of all mens eyes As few are able to behold the sun Except it please the blessed Lord to come And clear their sight that they with joy may see There is no safety but O Lord in thee Then come Lord Jesus I thee humbly pray And make my soul with thee to live and stay Or else good God I can it no where hide Nor here on earth it cannot long abide Within this fleshly mansion of mine Whereon the sun hath never power to shine But by thy leave then let it Lord so be That this thy sun may please to shine on me And shield me safe from that common enemie Who doth envy both thee and them are thine From whom good God be pleas'd keep me and mine We do not prove like to the Gadarens Forsake our Saviour for to save our means But teach us Lord that we may call to minde How 'fore all worlds thou said and so assign'd That man should spend his life-time on this earth Where he at first receiv'd his vital breath And there should serve his maker God Lord As is appointed in his holy Word That when this glasse on earth shall be out-run Then doth an end of all created come And one land then against another rise And all men also arms shall exercise And yet as then shall sorrows but begin To them are clogged with their deadly sin For on this earth must be great tribulation Before that dreadfull day of desolation When shall the glorious sun all darkned be And eke the moon at that day none may see And thâ—â—e bright stars down from the sky shall fal And powrs of heaven shal then be shaken al Whereof our cannons thundring in the aire With fiery flashes flaming out their fire Which sends its smoak up to the starry skies And not unlike to mighty clouds there flies And trumpets eccho sounding every where So as no place with us is thereof clear Are perfect types of that most dismal day When th' trump shal sound loudly cal away All souls on earth their bodies for to take And 'fore the Lamb a perfect reckoning make Of each mans talent which the Lord them lent And for which cause they all were hither sent And then there shall be loud and hideous cries For hils to fall and cover them from th' eyes Of him that doth both see and knoweth all That on this earth was done or did befall Since Adams time for there is nothing can Be hid from him that first did make this man No not the secrets of the best mans heart Tho he the same did ne'r as yet impart To any creature for Jehovah he Doth all things know eke doth all things see This son of man whose glory shall appear Above the clouds of heaven up in the aire Whose glorious greatnesse then shal all men see With thousand millions in his companie Who shal collect from all these the four winds Whom s're have bin even so as he them finds And then laid ope shall be a perfect Book Wherein all flesh shall freely thereon look And each one see as it were in a glasse His guilty conscience telling what he was And then shall he set th'sheep on his right hand And keep his left side for the goatish band And then the King shall say unto the sheep Come now and take the kingdom I do keep For you that are the blessed of the Lord Who willingly obey'd and heard his word And to the wicked then the King shall say Go ye accursed and be you a pray Unto the fire which is in hell prepar'd For cursed Satan and his hellish guard O horrid fear beyond all other fears Whose force even plainly in the face appears VVhich sends its blood unto the secret heart VVho cals for help from every other part And leave the loins supporting so appal'd Like as if death on suddain had them cal'd And thereby they are all so sore aston'd As that they fall down flat upon the ground Where they do differ nought from fearful death But that as yet appears a parcell breath Which for a while a little life retains And in that passion death-like it remains Untill it please the King our blessed Lord To say to me that comfortable word Come now thou blessed hear O do thou hear What difference great between this joy fear To the righthand men come o come you blesd And to the left hand go o go you curs'd O joy beyond all other heavenly joyes Which freeth the heart from all kind of anoys And is thereby so fully fild with gladnesse That it expels from every part all sadnesse And forceth them which even now fell aston'd To leap for joy and skip above the ground And tho w th fear of late they look'd like death Yet now with joy the 're fild with store of breath And those parts which with sorrow then were dumb Do now aloud with joy cry come Lord come O come sweet Jesus I thee humbly pray Vouchsafe be pleased in my weak heart stay And strengthen't so as it may ever stand One of the blessed which are at thy right hand That I may there thy praises ever sing Which o're the earth all the heav'ns do ring O sing my soul and be thou never weary But in thy Saviour be thou alwayes merry And have a care no earthly joy remove Thy fleshly heart from th' heav'nly joy above But therein alwaies do thou take delight And in it spend thy time both day and night O let thy solace ever be therein And it will keep thee from all deadly sin And teach thee loath all earthly things to love And take delight in serving God above O love him love him that thou dead maist live And to thy Saviour be thou sure to give All that which he hath freely given to thee And then shalt thou no doubt his servant bee O blessed Lord where have I this while been Hath not my soul my sweet'st Saviour seen Or 't is some vision did to me appear Whereby it hath discovered plainly where My Saviour sitteth in his glorious throne And judgeth all on earth himself alone And there pronounceth sentence come or go The only words of greatest joy or wo That ever came to any creatures ear To make a difference betwixt joy and fear And then shall sheep and goats both of them see What they have been and what they now shall be And This sort shall of future hope dispaire Any that other not so much as have a care For their downfall but aye shall sit and sing Even allelua to our heavenly king Whose final sentence and pronounc'd decree Shall firmly stand for all eternitie From which herehence there can be no appeal But all must then have either wo or weal. O stay my soul a while and contemplate
most heavy rod Powr blessings upon blessings ev'n far more Then erst was in my heart that time before To ask of him O thou hard stony heart That 's flinty grown in every sevâ—rall part Harder by much then th' hardest marble made VVhich neither gifts nor any threats invade Nor yet those judgments God hath justly sent On sinners such as did not then repent So as my sin in justice now doth call For vengeance great on me vile wretch to fall And if his mercy were not even much more And all his other Attributes before I do deserve in every minutes space To be cast out from off the massie face Of this his earth whereon he hath me set To serve my God whom I do still forget For every part of mine is set to sin And no part 's free but every sev'rall limb Doth smite with these my wicked sinful heart And each one doth perform his utmost part To further sin for when did wretched I Speak many words which were without some lye How often did I think but any thought Which had not in it somthing which was nought Yea often tending unto murther much Revenge or envy or some else was such As malice lust and other sin what not When as my Saviours sufferings are forgot Then presently the wicked enemie's in And every severall part procures to sin Untill he please to let some Angell come And thrust this legion out his wonted room Sweet Jesus bind him bind him blessed Lord As thou hast promis'd by thy sacred word From all temptation for to keep them free Who in tentation heart'ly come to thee Now take me Lord 't please me safe to keep Who for my sins have justly cause to weep For Satans self yet still deludeth me By trusting him my utter enemie Who draweth me to do whats're is ill That he by it my silly soul may spill Except thou please good God vouchsafe me send Some help from heaven and further to me lend Thy holy spirit that it may comfort me In this the greatest of extremity For he hath hereto had on me such pow'r As he hath drawn me from thee every hour Vouchsafe good Lord be pleas'd take him away That he do n're o'recome my longer stay From thee my God my helper and my King But that here hence I may for ever sing Thy worthy praise for all thy blessings sent And by thy help my sinfull life repent For without thee sweet Jesus I am nought Sinc Satan he hath me and mine so wrought As that no part thereof good Lord is free From his most sleightfull guilefull gullerie Help Lord help Lord I on my knees do pray And keep me free from out this satans way For where thou art good Lord there dare not he Once to come near nor in thy sight to be Sweet Jesus please vouchsafe to keep me there That crafty Satan never come me near For if he shall I know I have no pow'r Within my self to shut him out of doore Except thou please good God the porter be And then away all hellish fiends will flee For th' house that 's built upon that stable rock Will bide all floods and subtill Satans shock But mine is built upon the slippery sand Which either must be kept by Gods own hand Or else it shakes with every rising flood Because th' foundation of it is not good Sweet Jesus please to set this house of mine Upon that rock where it may stand and shine And ' bide all floods whats're against it beat And ever force them from it to retreat Here stay my soul upon this firm set rock Where thou art free from wicked Satans shock And recollect thy self with joy and go To th' Savior sweet who suffered so much wo To bring thee back to that most happy place VVhere thou maist live if endued with grace My wandring thoughts be pleas'd good Lord to stay That they from henceforth never from thee stray But always rest in thee both day night And everâ—ore therein take their delight Sweet Jesu let them never wav'ring run From place to place as hereto they have done But be thou pleas'd good God the mark to be VVhereat my thoughts may aim continually And tho som times they do both rove rome Vouchsafe good Lord to be their only home For they in thee good God are onely blest And out of thee they 'r sure to have no rest For they are boundlesse ever when they stray From thee their God their comfort their stay Then thou my soul be sure build there thy nest And let him build within thy bony breast VVhose presence onely's able to expell Ev'n all the fiends that do belong to hell O do thou make much of that blessed guest And alwayes love to have him in thy breast O bid him welcome there with all thy heart And then be sure that thou shalt have a part And comfort great in his bitter sufferings The very chiefest of those great blessings Which he so freely hath bestowed on thee Untill this time from thy very infancy O yeeld him thanks for they are well deserved T is he alone who hath thy life preserved And saved the wretch from that eternal death Was due to thee with th' first received breath O do not thou so much neglect him then Who these great blessings gave unto thee when Thou knew'st not from whence this goodness came But that his bounty was to thee the same That formerly it hath for ever been Tho thou didst live so long in mortal sin Now then repent and do no longer stay For there 's no greater danger then delay And that 's all th' hope the cruel enemy hath To bring thy soule unto eternal death For all his other cunning gullery's seen And no delay by him doth interveen To keep thee still within his hellish power Who 's danger 's great tho 't be but for 1. houre O fly fond man O fly and do not thou Delude thy self and unto Baal bow Who seeks thy ruine and thy overthrow By this delusion which is now delay Whereby thine own heart doth it self bewray That thou art guilty of that horrid sin Whereto thy conscience hath as yet not bin Consenting but hast even most wilfully Forsaken him who did for thee so dy O what a fearfull horrid thing is this To sell all hope of that eternal blisse For lesse by far then Esau got for his Stay there my soul and deeply contemplate In what great danger now is thy estate Whereon dependeth thine eternal blisse Or else the losse of all true happinesse And think how thou thy time on earth hast spent Which doubtlesse God hath onely to thee lent That thou in 's service it should solely spend Since he ordain'd it for no other end And see how much thereof's already gone And how much now at most can be to come And how that 's spent which is already past By which thou 'lt have a good and perfect
suffer for the bodies crime Which conscience offer'd often to inform But pride of heart held conscience aye in scorn And would not hear when it made suit to speak For worldly affairs such suits do always break And so the soul is now depriv'd of bliss Or sight of heaven where its sweet Saviour is And that proud flesh of earth at first was made Must to the earth and there a while be staid For crawlers meat till that loud trump shall blow When soul and body both must undergo That final doom by God himself pronounced Because in life this God they have renounced And that most justly doth the conscience tell Depriv'd of heaven and doom'd to th' deepest hel Where they must live but wishing still for death Which they did fear at parting with their breath So what in heart in life was always loathed Will after death in heart he ever loved But not obtain'd as Diver doth thee tell Decreed for ever now to live in hell O eloquent death hath done more in one day Then Moses did with all that he could say Or yet the Prophets by their crying out These eighty years or now neer thereabout Yet all unheard or not in heart believed Till this hard heart of life is like bereaved O powrful death whose presence without speaking Hath done what Prophets could not by their preaching This conscience knows doth at large relate What th' heart hath done and what shall be its fate But out of time because it would not hear That it should come be laid on th' fatal bear Which now stands ready waiting at the dore To carry away who did it scorn before Is this a time then now for thee begin To think in what state thou at death art in For now thy conscience guilty of sin will say That th' weight of it to Topher doth thee sway Without all hope of thee for ere returning Whâ—n th'souls before and in that Tophet burning So all thy helps are surely now but weak If thou didst not in former times bespeak Them at his hands who always willing is And able also to bring thee to bliss If thou hast made the way for it before Or else there 's danger of it at deaths dore Thou foolish man observe the harmless Bee Who summer-time doth fill her downy thie And in her storehouse hoards up plenty of meat Against the time when there is none to get Look likewise on that little creature Ant Who being careful how to prevent want Foreseeing winter to be coming on In time of summer makes provision These little creatures teach thee time well spent In its due time and that with good intent May gain unto thee blessings happily Which shall continue for eternity But th' old man he is blind and cannot see And th'young man he is stout and will not be Correct with death this death which only can As all things else unmake this creature man And that being done then all this massie earth Unable is for to regain him breath And therefore now be sure whilsâ— thou hast power For to remember death comes at an hour When 't is not look'd foâ— like unto the thief When man 's in health and is of full belief That he shall live and so he still expects The length of daâ—eâ— but th'day of death neglects And yet doth know that he 'fore all the rest Who dyeth well thus only shall be blest For if a man were able spend his time Dâ—void of sin or any sinful crime And prove an Atheist but for one half hour And therein comes his blessed Saviour And doth demand what only is his own And roâ—peth there where he hath never sown O what a case may this man now be in Who long liv'd well yet dy'd in deadly sin Since th'tree as 't grows that way it surely fals And as the thief doth come so God he cals For th'foolish Virgins had their final doom For want of oyl shut out of th'marriage room O what a fearful horrid case is this For one houres pleasure lose eternal bliss Then watch my soul and do thou always say Good Lord give us our daily bread this day For after one day filthy worms did eat That precious Manna which was heavenly meat Because that they who every day would have Should every day for daily blessings crave And knew those worms did food of Angels eat Within a while will of the flesh make meat And though thy soul it cannot then be there Yet soul and body are decreed to beare Their share alike at the last reckning day Then do not thou this reck'ning now delay For wretched man this time doth draw fast on Neer unto death by computation And every day thy sins they do increase Time for repentance daily doth decrease And if repentance by grace be obtained There 's satisfaction also must be gained Or else I doubt repentance very much Without repayment cannot prove be such As it should be and then I greatly feare There will no dayes be longer granted there For death is strong and will not be orecome By threats nor treats whenas the day doth come Then thou fond man who seeing thy sick friend Wilt not say to him he is neer his end Till he be likely to yield up his breath And then thou wills him he should think of death Lest that the name of death should fearful be To him that is now at the point to die Then fear this death before he so neer come For 't is too late to do 't at th'day of doom Seeing if deaths warrant shall but once be sealed There is no wealth can cause it be repealed And therefore now have care prevent the worst Lest thou doe hold thy day of birth accurst When hils nor mountains are not able hide But this thy life must then be justly tride By thine own conscience 'fore that dreadful King Who knows and sees even every secret thing And sendeth this his servant powrful death To take away from thee thy dearest breath O then have care thou do thy dayes spend well If thou intend to keep thy soul from hell And be thou often thinking of this death How 't is his office to take away thy breath And do it daily since each day thou may Even lose thy life in that one dayes delay And so by this accustom'd daily count Thou 'lt see thy sins how they decrease or mount And if th' hast wealth thy care is so much more To leave'â— then he that is esteemed poor O living look thou stare upon deaths face That dying thou maist know his comely grace For familiarity will only bring A loving liking of a loathed thing Then thou my soul acquaint thee with this death Before he come to fetch away thy breath For tho his physnomie be pale and grim If daily seen thou 'lt stand no fear of him Then do thou look upon him every day As he were coming to call thee away By so much oftner that thou
dost him see By so much more familiar you will be And do esteem him always as a friend Seeing he may greatly stead thee at thy end Assure thy self he 's stout and will not flie But he is always waiting on thee nie For he is one of whom thou shalt be found Tho thou wert hidden underneath the ground And if thou think from him to run away Then he 's so swift that he will make thee stay O view him love him and him look upon His countnance's comely so 's his complexion Though it be pale yet sweet 't will be to thee But th'hinder parts shalt nere be able see For he doth always forwards towards thee come And never backwards he is seen return He feareth no mans face nor yet his strength But overcometh all whatsoere at length There 's neither King nor Keisar he will spare But all in th' end do fall unto his share Though there be millions of arm'd men in field If he but throw his dart at them they yield There are no guns so great can make him flee For none on earth but only he 's shot-free His dart is always very sharp and keen And flies so fast it cannot well be seen Do but observe the nature of his dart It always aimeth at the very heart The strongest wals that ere with hands were made When he doth come by them he 'll not be staid He hits his mark as well in darkest night As when the sun doth shine tho nere so bright Then do not thou this deaths acquaintance shun From whom the swiftest of all cannoâ— run And who will cause the stoutest stand in fear If of his coming they by chance do hear Make much my soul of his acquaintance then If thou dost love him he will tell thee when He means to come if thou do often use Of him and his condition for to muse O then love thou this death his company well There 's in it more then I am able tell Yet this my soul I do in him observe That his acquaintance may in time preserve From second death which is a kindness such More worth by far then all the earth by much Thâ— make accompt of such a special friend Who is so powerful with thee at thy end As by his means there 's hope thou maist procure A happy life which shall for aye endure Amongst that blessed glorious company Who live and shall for all eternity And evermore the worthy praises sing Of Christ our Saviour and our heavenly King Then thou my soul make now a standing there And yet some more do thou of death enquire Since he is such and of so sweet a nature Whom some esteem to be of horrid feature But by observance I do in him find To thoâ—e that love him he is very kind And th'more I look upon his comely face The better still I like his comely grace As though he scorn'd the greatest earthly Kings Esteeming them to be but even base things And more then so I in him this observe If I have grace my self in time preserve From sin that then he can do me no harm If I do so I do him quite disarm For he no weapons with him bears about But with my own sins he doth beat me out From off this earth where wretched I do live But mine own sins mine own death-stroke do give So as I find if I from sin were free That then were death not able conquer me For now I see 't is only my own sin The wicked harbinger to bring death in Then do thou beat this harbinger but out And then fear not thou shalt put death to rout For if there were no sin within thy heart Then thou wert able take away deaths dart O then my soul hear this O doe thou hear Thy sin 's the cause of all thy greatest fear Then fear to sin and thou art able fray This thing calâ—'d death and force him flie away And if thou leave thy sin thou may be sure Th' art able then the sting of death to cure Then use all helps to leave thy loved sin And let slip none may bring thy Saviour in But set a watch and guard thy heart about To keep thy Saviour and shut Satan out For if thy mind be set on God above And thou resolv'd to follow him in love Then all thy actions which thou dost intend Are helps to bring thee to a happy end And no occasion can come then amiss May help to bring thy soul to th' King of Blisse Nor none let pass without some godly use Which some are wont with wickedness abuse But godly minds are ever apt to good And more for th'souls then for the bodies food Think with thy self how dost thou thee behave Canst go to bed and then not think on grave Since it 's more sure then is thy laid-down bed Shall not that surety enter then thy head Canst thou prepare to go to take thy rest And nought prepare for him hath so thee blest Thou knowst thy sleep may wel be said like death Save only that affoords a little breath Which this doth take and all what else is thine Then think of death and think on 't now in time In sleep no sense no not of greatest pain And so in death if heaven by it thou gain Then aim at heaven let it be all thy care Or else be sure have hell fall to thy share Canst thou uncloath thee to thy naked skin And then forget to cleanse thee of thy sin Hast thou the care thy bed may be made warm And then no care to keep thy soul from harm Canst thou be careful see thy linnen sweet And not remember that thy winding shee Hast thou the sense to feel thy bed is cold And yet no feeling that thou art grown old Canst thou have care thy bed should be made soft And then no care to lift thy soul aloft Canst thou be carefull for thy bodies rest Yet careless how the soul may come be blest Is flesh and blood of more esteem with then Then th' soul for which thy Saviour so did dâ—e Dost thou not know when body goes to grave The soul expects a place in heaven to have Dost pamper flesh for filthy worms to eat And starve thy soul for want of spiritual meat Thou sayst th' art sure of a living soul in thee And yet thy life doth shew it cannot be Shal no occasion slip for th'bodies good And none be found to furnish â—h'soul with food Can any think that man hath any sense Cares all for th'corps and nought for th'souls offence Is flesh and blood with thee of more esteem Then that thy soul whose care is only heaven Those go to ground from whence at first they came But this to God in whom is onely its aim Let conscience say for soul and bodies care How little 's that how great this others share So as it seems thou more esteems of monle Then dost of that thy
taught thee how thou ought to live In serving God and to him praises give Praise him praise him praise him continually Who was so pleas'd for sinfull man to dy Forget not then when canst not see the sun To think how Christ down to this earth did come To gain thee to him and with him to live Then yield him thanks and to him praises give Who did endure the torments due to thee A wretch a wretch a wretch most unworthy Follow his example then thou needst not fear Tho th' Prince of darkness do to thee appear For if he shall he hath no power to hurt thee If thou hast faith fear not Christ will defend thee And grant thee strength for to withstand his powr Tho he assault thee every day and hour But thou must strive and ne'r be drawn to yield For if thou dost be sure to lose the field Expect this Fiend to have him fall upon thee Since he spar'd not thy Saviour who did make thee But carried him into the wilderness Making expression of great holiness For when he fasted had full forty dayes Being hungry then the tempter to him sayes If thou be Christ the Son of God indeed Comand these stones that they may be made bread But he replied Life 's not by bread alone But by the words which come from God each one And yet the tempter did not leave him thus No marvel then if he do so with us But set him on the Temples highest stone And will'd him thence to throw his body down Seeing it is writ his Angels shall protect thee Lest dash of stone at any time may hurt thee But answering he replied this holy word 'T is writ thou shalt not tempt thy God the Lord. Yet still the tempter did not give him over But set him higher where he might discover Even all th' earths kingdoms then within his eyes And th'glory of them did to him descrie And said if he would fall and worship him He freely would bestow them all on him But Jesus then bid Satan to be gone Saying thou shalt worship only God alone And only him none other shalt thou serve Doe so my soul 't will thee from death preserve So Satan left him and the Angels came And fed him then in great Jehovah's name Observe my soul the subtlety of this Spirit Alleadging Scripture ' gainst the meaning of it To private ends his fancy for to please Without respect how it did God displease Then fear the spirit make trial if 't be of God Or else be sure he 'll send his heavy rod To punish such as aim to wrest the truth But cleave to it as did to Naomi Ruth Take th' sacred sense beware of any wresting With holy things be sure there be no jesting Apply not places to thy private sence Lest pleasing thee may give thy God offence Read with great rev'rence when thou readest such An humble heart helps understanding much Make use of this and here observe with care How by ill spirits the Scaiptures wrested are And uses made unto some wicked end The Lord of life me from such spirits defend For these Expositors Scriptures do expound ' Gainst ancient writers men much more profound Who spent their lives in following that profession which is now gain'd by some few mouths possession They studied hard before they could obtain it But some new teachers think but light to gain it And when they purpose to the people preach They think it Gospel whatsoere they teach Without respect what our forefathers told Or what hath been in those the dayes of old As though by nature Learning now were gain'd When God doth know it is by some profan'd But thou my soul such shallow places read As thou maist wade them without any dread And leave the deeps for such have art to swim Whatsoever seas of deeps they do come in Learn no such art but leave 't to them that think No sea so deep wherein they cannot sink The Lord of host deliver me from such thought For his sweet sake hath me so dearly bought And keep me safe from this presumptuous sin And many more which I have lived in For ' spiring minds are seldom satisfied Although their wisdom be but folly tried But thou my soul let others folly teach Thee be content with that 's within thy reach Make godly use of what thy God hath given And by such use thou l't keep the way to heaven Keep that way still let nothing turn thee out Then God will prosper all thou goest about Though for the present he may please to try Lest in affliction thou wilt him deny As that just Job whom Satan could not touch Although the Serpents power did tempt him much But he us'd all temptations to good ends Observe his strength for to withstand his friends Take his example when thou tempted art And have a care thou do perform his part Observe his carriage let his patience move thee To serve thy Maker who entirely loves thee Although he teach thee with his heavy hand He will in th' end give thee thy hearts demand But then thou must not curse thy God and die For if thou dost 't is death eternallie And such a death as cannot be redeemd With all th' earths wealth how much soer esteemd Respect no pleasure nor no cruel pain Whatsoere thou suffer so that heaven thou gain Let no affliction alter thy resolve Altho't be such as life on earth dissolve For that this life on earth cannot be long And then there 's hope thou l't sing a heavenly song Among the Saints where glory doth abound Beyond the reach of th' best on earth are found For earthly minds unable are conceive What heavenly comfort Saints in heaven receive By th' glorious presence of that King of Kings Who doth abhor the sight of sinful things But casts them down to that infernal lake Where all must live that do of sin prrtake Then fear to sin and always it eschew Like death it self lest thou may come to rut And fall to curse the time of thy birth-day And to thy self thou thus lament and say Have I spent full out seventy years in sin Have I this while in them uncareful bin What shall befall me after I am dead What is it I have oft had in my head Have I esteemd this life as if immortal And after death of life to be but mortal Have I so much this wicked world esteemd As of this death I have but only dreamd Have I felt limbs how they grow stiffe and weak And cannot see how fast my life doth break Have I observed that my eyes grow blind And cannot know that even so doth my mind Have I discernd my memory to fail And cannot find my vital parts to quail Have I seen wrinkles in my withered skin And cannot see my life is weak within Have I observd my hair to fall away Yet cannot feel my life is in decay Doth not the baldness of my
hoary head Discover how my inward parts are dead Can I feel stitches in my hollow side And cannot feel my life away to glide Have I a shortness in my inward breath And will not know it tendeth towards death Hath not my head endur'd excessive pain Not taking notice death hath seiz'd my brain Do I feel stomack grown exceeding weak And cannot feel how fast my life doth break Do I perceive my ears grow thick of hearing And such my eyes will not see death appearing Shall I not taste this pill of bitter gall Though I discern that death doth daily call Will nothing draw me th'scent of death to smell Till he have thrown me down to th' deepest hell Are not my senses sensless grown even all Yet not discern 't is death that doth them call Will nothing make these sensless creatures fear Till they be thrown upon the fatal bear Are they all agreed to struggle with this death Tho with that strugling they do lose their breath Hath not death taken my right eye away And I not think my left eye shall decay Do I know thousands thousands slain in field And can forget that I to death must yield Can I think how my dearest friends are dead Yet my own death not once to trouble my head Are there not some my children gone before And I not think my self shall make them more Do I discern my bony teeth decay And cannot see my life 's in the same way Have I felt weakness in my body all And cannot feel how God doth on me call Are not my ears grown very slow to hear And such my eyes will not see death appear Have I been sick and stood no fear of death But still in hope I should retain my breath Have I liv'd full out seventy years and three And still expect that I shall live till eighty Have I escaped dangers great and many And therefore think death will not come with any Hath not my heart took much more great delight In doing wrong then doing that is right O wretched beast art so to sin given ore As thou l't comply with Satan more and more Will nothing draw thee for to serve thy God Till thou be beaten with his heavy rod Am I so taken with beloved sin As my amendment I will nere begin Wilt not be frighted with the sight of hell Till thou be thrown into it there to dwell Will my stiff heart for sickness sigh and groan And for its sin will not so much as moan Can I observe my marrowless bones grow drie And cannot see that now my death is nie Have I run out all this my life in pleasure And for repentance never could find leasure Hath not my conscience often me reproved And have not I therewith been nothing moved Have not my senses all of them offended And have not I been often reprehended Heth not my heart been pleased even much more In serving Satan then my Saviour Hath not my heart delighted in delay And have not I wisht in my sin to stay Have I not dearly lov'd this fleshly lust And still forgot my self to be but dust Have I not watched opportunity That I might sin with much more delecacie Have I such horrid wickedness committed And have I many such good deeds omitted Have I sought time that I might commit sin And none could find that I might repent in Have I had care for gaining worldly wealth And nere respected any spiritual health Have I been going Babels way tâ—ll now And shall I still my knees to Baal bow Have not my members always sin obeyed And spiritual motions have they not denyed Hath not my heart been ever hardned so As thought of death could breed in it no wo Hath not my heart so hard and stony been As judgments moved not though by me seen Have I seen some were suddenly struck dead And yet it bred no scruple in my head Have I heard sin reprov'd with greatest zeal And it from s n me nought at all repeal Have I heard hell to be at full described Yet I thereby was nothing terrified O wretched heart thy conscience can thee tell That thou hast wisht there was nor heavn nor hell For if not so it surely would appear That thou didst stand of this great God in fear Say couldst thou take it for a friendly deed If friend with beâ—ting make thy body bleed Wilt thou imagine it a friendly part For to endeavour stab thy friend to th' heart Canst thou presume retain a faithful friend By abusing him for gaining thy own end Canst thou conceive that flesh and blood should suffer Such vile abuse as thou to Christ dost offer Canst thou ere think to gain thy fathers blessing When thou turn'â—t back with thy heel dost kick him Canst see thy father come unto thee kneeling And yet it work in thy hard heart no feeling Canst see thy father in thy quarrel suffer Yet no assistance thou wilt to him offer Canst see thy father slain in thy defence And yet it work in thee no penitence Canst see thy father only for thy sake All bloody gasping and no help wilt make Canst see thy father by thy enemy slain And yet that enemy thou'lt in love retain Canst see thy father kneeling fore thy face Yet thou 'lt revile him with all soul disgrace Canst see thy father kneel unto thee weeping Yet thou to slight him with a countnance laughing Hath any man a heart is hardned so Will not relent to see his fathers wo Are these affronts unto an earthly father And yet are none unto thy heavnly Saviour Canst think no d fference 'twixt an injury done Unto thy Saviour and to thine own son Canst thou presume that God will pardon such Wherewith an earthly father would think much When father friend nor son nor self nor all Are with thy Saviour worthy of name equal O wretched wretched wretched heart that sees Th' art fild with such some far worse then these And yet canst think thy conscience may dissemble Because all these cannot make th' heart to tremble Have I them all and many more such seen And yet my heart thereby no better been Have I esteem'd more of an earthly father Then I have done of that my heavenly Saviour Have I more dreaded father to offend Then him who did my life unto me lend Have I beheld him bleeding for my sake And yet that blood my heart could nothing shake Do I delight in gulping up sweet wine And yet forget Christ shed his blood for mine Am I as joyful to Jehovah pray As with my friend to trifle time away Hath not my heart been joyd in jesting more Then pouring prayers to my sweet Saviour Have I not joyd with friend to jest and talk More then with Jesus sadly for to walk Have I in me a heart is made of steel â—o hard as it no good at all can feel Can I retain a fear lest man should see And care not though
he did repent I heard him often yet will not relent Though Peter sinn'd repentance gain'd remission I commit sin yet to repent omission When Peter sinn'd he saw it and did refuse it I see my sin yet still resolve to use it O wretch O wretch O wretch wilt ne'er return Till thou be doom'd in that dark fire to burn Will nothing draw thee say this Satan no As though thou lov'st this fatal word of Go Canst thou expect thy Saviour shall retaine thee When thou dost know that Satans self hath gain'd thee Thou art ready prest hear Satan at first call But thy blest Saviour thou'lt not hear at all Peter heard th' cock made use of his preaching Thou hearest Peter without use of his teaching Each creature taught this Peter for to pray But all created thy sin cannot stay Peter was left to bring unto thee life Yet thou lov'st sin as Satan loveth strife Peter did weep and did his sin forbear But thou sinn'st still yet cannot shed one tear With Peters sin his heart was mollified But mine with sin is rather stupified O wicked heart art not ashamed to see How all thy sins have nothing softned thee Art so resolv'd as nothing shall remove thee To leave this Satan though thou seest he loves thee Consider well the cause of this his love Because thou hast forsworn thy God above O Jesu Jesu have I thee forsworn Who came from heaven and on this earth was born For to redeem me from this bond of sin And horrid life which I have lived in And here endured the paines of death for me In hope I should from this foul Satan flie And notwithstanding shall I follow him still Forsaking good and following what is ill O weep O weep even rivers of salt tears To keep thee free from greatest of all feares Shall Satan say thy Saviour is forsaken Who dyed on earth and then to heaven was taken Desirous thou shouldst do as he had done Live here a while and then unto him come Yet thou a wretch a most ungracious wretch Whose sufferings are not able thee to teach That thy hard heart is harder far then steel Wilt not be drawn thy Saviours sufferings feel O weep O weep let tears fall from thine eye For him who shed both tears and blood for thee O weep O weep now spend thy time in sorrowing For to redeem thy time is spent in sinning O weep O weep let Peter teach thee weep And it will teach thee from thy sin to keep O weep O weep let tears fall from thy eyes That they may prove for sin a sacrifice O weep O weep with tears produce thy grief If thou do hope for sin to have relief O weep O weep let tears make soft thy heart If thou expect in Christ have any part But how can I expect in Christ a part When there 's in me not any good desart For I have spent most of my time in sin And my amendment is yet to begin Can I presume then God will pardon him Who hath liv'd all his life in deadly sin With what face can he now for pardon pray Hath so offended deeply every day O hypocrite thy conscience can thee tell That thou dost think ther 's neither heaven nor hell For if thou didst it surely would appear That thou didst stand of this great God in fear Seeing thou didst see his plagues on Egypt sent When Pharaohs heart would not be drawn repent Untill the Lord had so decreed and doomed That he and his should in the sea be drowned And his elected safely brought to land Through the read sea by great Jehovahs hand For which did Moses sing praise to the Lord Who did preserve them by his onely word And Miriam she did lead the maides a dance Which highly did the praise of God advance Her Timbrel sure did make a joyful noise With which hearts hands feet keep equal poise Good God! what diff'rence now in this new world How it is alter'd from it was of old Though our solemn Revels make a stately show Yet these to them cannot compare I know Their dance set forth their joy was in their hearts But this the practice of the outward parts That shewed their thankes for a great deliverance These only th' state is in a courtly dance Such are the Masques and shows to court are sent Whose cost are cause make many a youth repent What other good in them I do not know Yet this new worlds proud humour it doth show But there leave court let country shew its skill How apt it is to practice what is ill Where Pipes and Shawms and Fiddles fill the street With filthy tunes for chast ears most unmeet And yet to these will men and women dance As though they meant the praise of hell advance Here Miriams timbrel sure hath not been heard Or if it were it was with light regard Her timbrel sounded out a heavenly tone But these do pipe or little good or none Their musick mounted hearts up to the heaven But these keep souls with bodies station even If one should dance as David did 'fore th' arke There 's many Nichals would him readily mark But now his like on earth 's not to be seen Nor many such as he have ever been Or like to Miriam are not many more Though such as Michal now there are great store Not many Miriams on our English ground Though millions like to Michal may be found Whose light behaviour in their dancing's such As doth conduce to sinful lust in much And no great need where all are apt to ill Though this their aptness soul and body kill When Miriam danced 't was with fatal fear Of that Jehovah who had plac'd them there And in their songs his praises they do sing Whose wondrous works o're al the earth do ring But now our Michals songs are nothing so For they are such as bring their souls to wo. Their dancing sent a most sweet smelling savour But ours casts us out of our Makers favour Good God! that this our English fertile land Should harbour such as will not understand How much they 're bound unto this gracious God Though now we are beaten with his heavy rod Because we have neglected him to serve VVho with his blood did us from death preserve VVithin this Isle wherein his Sun did shine Like to that blessed land of Palestine O Wicked world behold how God hath lest thee And Satan he of all good hath bereft thee For Abraham's seed can hardly now be found Except it be in graves are under ground When who 's a Christian hardly can be known If by their works their faith it must be shown Though we profess and say that we have faith Our works deny it so sacred Scripture saith For all the world so madly runs awry As most forget they 're born to live to dye O what a wicked wretched world is now When most of men do unto Baal bow Though they
world well known O weep O weep that all the earth may see For our great sins how penitent we be O weep O weep let each one of us weep And every one strive from sin himself to keep But my hard heart good God is hardned so It oft forgets the cause of all my wo. O weep O weep let heart and eyes agree That 't is for him who gave his life for thee O weep O weep with tears wash off thy sin If thou intend a new life now begin O weep O weep now spend the night in weeping Which thou art wont to sot away in sleeping O weep O weep both day and night and all Least th' wrath of God do justly on thee fall O weep O weep how great thy cause to weep Because thou wilt not from thy sin thee keep O weep O weep from morning untill night Such weeping may help keep thy way aright O weep O weep spend all thy dayes in sorrow For such in time may help thy soul to borrow O weep O weep let eyes forbear to wink And let thy tears serve for thy daily drink O weep O weep in tears eat thou thy bread And with them likewise water thou thy bed O weep O weep at bed and boord and all And never cease on thy sweet Saviour call O weep O weep now when thy dayes are done Thy tears may help prevent thy death to come O weep O weep let ne'er thy cheeks be dry And all too little till the day thou dye O weep O weep and to thy Saviour say Good God me pardon I thee humbly pray O weep O weep till thou have pardon sent And till such time ne'er cease but still repent O weep O weep to wash thy heart from sin Till it be clean be sure Christ comes not in O weep O weep to cleanse that hollow place Mak 't free from sin and fill it up with grace O weep O weep till Christ shall to thee say Come now thou blessed come and with me stay O weep O weep untill thou hear this saying And mixe thy tears be sure with harty praying O weep O weep till Christ be pleas'd to hear And to thy pray'r vouchsafe to turn his ear O weep O weep with heart and soul and all Untill such time as he shall on thee call For without him thy tears are all but nought Receive me Lord whom thou hast dearly bought For my own strength good God 's of no availe Except thy blood sweet Christ for me prevaile For in my self good Lord help there is none But by thee onely and by thee alone For all my tears cannot me heaven obtaine Except thou please good God with me remaine Then come sweet Jesus and with me reside That I in thee may evermore abide But 't is not in me nor my power O Lord Except thou please vouchsafe to say the word Then say to me that blessed word of Come Without it Lord I am utterly undone Then be thou pleas'd good God on me to call Else heart and tears and soul are wasted all Sweet Jesus send me send me Lord I pray Thy holy Spirit to keep me in the way The way to life I have so long neglected I do deserve of thee to be rejected And justly too except thou so shall please Of thine abundant goodness grant me ease Of this illusion hath me so deluded As I am justly now from heaven excluded But that I know that thou dost not desire A sinners death but rather dost require That he may live and praise thy holy name Who was is now and aye shall be the same Lord finish that the great desire of me That I do never herehence from thee flee But love to follow thy most holy will And by thy help attaine to Sions hill For by thy blood Lord and by it alone I must have help or else I can have none For my hard heart good God is hardned so As it doth deserve this fatal word of Go Except thou please to call unto me Come Sweet Jesus grant that word may be my doome Then call sweet Jesu call me Lord I pray That I in thee for evermore may stay And by thy help I may have strength withstand This fatal enemy of all humane kinde Sweet Jesu help help me good God I pray That I in sin do now no longer stay But at this present I may now begin To make a reck'ning of each several sin And by thy help call this day to account And therein see how those my sins do mount And not ingross them all in one gross sum Lest that their weight my memory may benum But let each hour arraigne its own offence And so the next produce its penitence Make this accompt from morning untill night And well observe thou take thy aime aright From one till two and then from two till three And in that order look thy reck'ning be And when thou hear'st the Artists clock to strike Have care thy natural clock may do the like Observe thy care how great for earthly toyes And then how light it is for heavenly joyes Thou 'lt not forget to know when 's time to eat But this thy care is not for spiritual meat Thou 'lt know by th' clock when 's time to go to bed But when to heaven it doth not trouble thy head All earthly actions by the clock thou 'lt square Then look for heavenly such may be thy care Thou 'lt say the clock hath struck 't is time to go But not to heaven let once thy heart say so If thine occasions rest upon an hour Thou 'lt ask what 's clock at every neighbors door And if thou finde that thy set hour is past I hope thou'lt then redeem it by thy hast Do these for earth with those for heaven compare And look for these as for those be thy care And then no doubt but thou shalt surely finde Thy Saviours sufferings constantly in minde Begin at th' secrets of thy hollow heart And then from thence to every other part And draw thy thoughts into a narrow roome That thou maist gaine this blessed word of Come And call them all unto a strict account Lest let alone they may to millions mount For they are swift and like an arrow flie Once by their aime they 're sure to run awry Then have a care they alwayes aime aright Or ne'er expect that they can come to light Collect them often lest thy memory faile Which if it do thy conscience cannot quaile Examine it for each particular hour What service in it had thy Saviour And then I doubt it easily will appear Thou hast serv'd Satan most part of the yeer For though it seem at present sound asleep Assure thy self a reckoning it doth keep And will disclose all at that doleful day When for thy pleasure hell shall be thy pay Then let thy Centinels alwayes lye Pardue That they may tell when th' enemy comes in veiw Make hast to run and think
they are hourly hatched in my braine A man might well be thought to be but mad Who in his head such idle thoughts hath had Wherein is neither sense nor any reason Nor ought which is befitting any season And some will say such hath a giddy head I think most men are of that stampe indeed VVhen they 'r not stable in their inward minde But alter so as doth th' inconstant winde I marvaile not if some such there should be For such I am sure is I my self I see And yet my wit cannot it comprehend Why I this madness in me cannot mend Though I resolve to force it with me stay VVithin an instant it will me oresway And many times to somethings that are ill And that directly ' gainst what is my will So I am not able of my self to say VVhat this may be which hurrieth me away For though I set my minde to accomplish this I am about which is not much amiss As I conceive yet in me is it so My wandring thoughts are carryed to and fro So as I cannot these my thoughts confine From end to end of one poor silly line Though I do strive and often them invite Help me these mean and simple lines endite Which I begun in hope of gaining good To be obtain'd by Christ his precious blood Though still I finde to my no little grief I have as yet receiv'd but small relief Because my thoughts they will not be my own But from my Saviour they still press me down So as I cannot in sweet Jesus stay Not one half hour no not in one whole day VVithout some idle interruption Intending deeply my destruction For I do plainly of it thus conceive 'T is want of grace which cause my thoughts to rave Since I may well compare them to the Kite Who puling soares aloft a mighty height Untill he spy some beastly carrion Then down he comes in hast to seize upon That filthy thing whereon he falls and feeds His gorge so full that he for ease must needs Take rest a while and after that againe He doth return and feeds thereon amaine And never far is drawn depart from it So long as there is left one little bit But flies about within sight of his prey Except he be by a stronger forc'd away And if he be he 'l by and by retreat To feed againe upon that pleasing meat Even so these wandring thoughts of mine surmount The starry skie where I do make account That they should stay but presently they come Down to this earth where they do love to roam And roave yea rave and there do run about Untill they finde some pleasing pleasure out Whereon they rest themselves a while and then They reel againe and ramble like mad men Are fighting for they cannot well tell what Nor matters much so as it be not that Whereon they ought in heart to think upon Which is my Savours bitter passion And it they neither relish sent nor feel So as by that I see they are not well Nor will not be except sweet Jesus please Of his abundant goodness grant me ease Of this my madness for indeed so 't is It doth deprive me of that heavenly bliss Which thou O Lord of thine abundant love Hast promis'd them are mark'd for heaven above Who onely call on thy most holy name And in thy service do resolve remaine For calling is but to a little end Without my life I seek for to amend And that I see is not in my own power Except good God thou please shut out of door This wicked legion that still leadeth me From heaven to earth and then unto the sea And back with speed unto the earth againe And there he suffers me a while remaine Till I begin O Lord to come to thee Then he begins that legion trouble me And puts me off with some fair slighty tale Whereby I set all former hopes to sale For some fond pleasure the subtle Serpent showes Which I accept and so it down me throws From out the presence of my blessed Lord Who hath me promised by his sacred word If that I will but to him freely come He will redeem me from that doleful doom Of Go thou cursed into the hell of fire Which all thy actions seem for to desire Since thou thy self dost lovingly embrace Whatsoere is set before thy sinful face By that foul feind and even with greatest joy Though it do tend to thy greatest annoy And utter ruine of thy whole estate Which few but fools will buy at any rate VVho never aime at any other end But what this earth to them on earth doth send For hence these wretches never think to go Till they be hurried hence into all wo. For though my conscience even now telleth me That death at door I do most plainly see Yet I presume that he will make no hast And so in sin my life I utterly waste Not minding these thy bounteous great blessings God gives to me by his long-sufferings In hope that I 'll my sinful life repent Performing duly wherefore I was sent Which was to serve my God both day and night As all they do who love to live in 's sight But I poor I a miserable wretched beast Of all things else of that most needful least So as I finde there 's nothing is in me But onely death-deserving crueltie And that I do with very great hearts delight And the reason is because it is not right For what I onely ought to think upon That either's now from me already gone Or else I do it with a most dull sprite Which showes I have but an ill appetite For to perform that which I ought to do Both with a minde and willing heart thereto But these I finde alwayes are alwayes apt to ill And that they 'l do though it be ' gainst my will And further therein they do take delight Though conscience say that they are not in right But conscience is not able these two guide For even ' gainst conscience they away do slide From heaven to earth where these two both do lye Without respect who 't is that sits on high So as with grief I do most plainly finde That there is alwayes something in my minde Which should not be if I could tell to mend it But 't will be so till God shall please to help it Sweet Jesus therefore please to come to me That I in heart may also come to thee And on thy passion stedfastly e're think And ne'er depart or from thy suffering shrink But alwayes have it constantly in minde And there my thoughts be well assur'd to finde Where I desire that they should ever be With thee dear God dear God alone with thee Sweet Jesus grant if 't be thy blessed will Vouchsafe be pleas'd to keep them with thee still And never let them far from thee depart But keep both them and also my poor heart Out Satans reach that he do never