Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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ID |
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Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
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A52814
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The Lord Stafford's ghost, or, A warning to traitors with his prophecie concerning the blazing star.
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Ness, Christopher, 1621-1705.
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1680
(1680)
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Wing N458; ESTC R31712
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2,020
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6
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THE Lord Staffords GHOST OR A Warning to TRAITORS WITH His Prophesie Concerning the Blazing-Star Printed in the Year 1680. THE LORD Staffords Ghost c. FRom Stygian shades lo my pale Ghost doth rise To visit Earth and these subluhar Skies For some few moments I'm in Mercy sent To bid my Fellow Traytors to Repent Repent before you taste of Horrid Fate Your Guilt confess before it be too late I am not here arriv'd on Earth to tell The hidden secrets that belong to Hell Not am I sent to publish for declare Who are tormenters whom tormented there For now I know that it is Heavens decree These things to Mortals still shall secrets be Who have fantastick Dreams and nothing know Of what is done above or yet below But I have seen with my immortal Eyes Things that with horror do my Soul surprize Too late alas too late I see my sin With strange Chymera's I 've deluded been By a curs'd brood who sounded in my ear Dye obstinate no Chains of Conscience fear Upon us firmly let your Faith be built We can and do Absolve you from your Guilt And after this you need no more Repent For you a Martyr dye and Innocent O cursed Men who on Wretches thus intrude And thus poor souls Eternally delude Whilst they believe what these deluders say Life is snatch'd from them and they drop away And falling down by Charon Death they 'r hurl'd Into the Mansions of a dismal World Where Conscience stands and stares them in the face Shewing a Table of Eternal Brass In which in noted Characters are wrot Their whole lifes crimes which living they forgot With Conscience these have an Eternal strife And curse the vain delusive dreams of Life With torment now their crimes read o're and o're And wakeing see they did but Dream before Too late and than too late what plague is worse They see their folly and themselves they curse They curse themselves because they did believe And doubly curse those who did them deceive When to the fatal Scaffold I was brought I said and did what I was bid and laught Tho' Conscience said I did not what I ought Stoutly the Guilt as I was bid deny'd And for the Cause I Romes great Martyr dy'd I that Religion then esteemed good And gladly would have seal'd it with my Blood Because I then no better understood Let not the World to vain delusions flye I â—id for Treason not Religion dye Tho' on the Scaffold I would not confess My Ghost alas too late can do no less Let all Complotters warning take by me The World we may delude but God doth see Tho' what we did should never come to light It can't be hid from the Almighty's sight Give God the Glory and confess your Crime Confess your horrid Treason while you 've time Publick Confession shews you do Repent And is the best way to grow Innocent â—â—e too late I have been led astray And by Error far from Truth was led away For that Religion never can be good That would erect it self by Humane Blood I pin'd my self upon anothers sleeve And blindly I did as the Church believe What my delusive Guides did bid me do That I believ'd was Holy Just and True With Zeal Facted and hop'd for Applause Of Men and Heaven in so good a Cause But oh I sigh and now my Airy Ghost Shivers to think what Blessings I have lost The broad way to Destruction then I took And Vertues Road my blinded Zeal mistook But you my Friends who yet are left behind Now to your selves and to your Souls be kind Open her Eyes and be no longer blind Pry my sad End do you your Errors find Confess your Crimes before it be too late Confess confess before you yield to Fate Before from Life and from the World you go Before that you descend to Shades below Before your Souls taste of Eternal Woe Truth cannot Dye it stronger is than Death Remains when Mortals have resign'd their breath To amazed Souls with Conscience she appears To aggravate and to increase their fears Confess her while you live though drawn to Sin Repentance with Confession doth begin Believe no longer that Accursed Brood Who on the Necks of Kings have proudly trod Nor him who thinks himself an Earthly God Those Hectoring Jesuits who so Zealous be Who think to Rule the world by Policy Who to the Gallows seem with joy to come To be the Martyrs and the Saints of Rome When Life is fled and they are gone from hence In tumbling down are waked into Sense Where all amaz'd and wondring where they 've bin They howl and cry and wish to Dye agin Beware I say be fool'd no longer here For Rhadamanthus is a Judge severe Hark! I am call'd I must descend below But let me Prophesie before I go See the bright Star which o're your heads doth shine I can as well as Gadbury Divine What the bright stream of Radient Light doth mean VVhich every Night so frequently is seen Hear me O Rome though in your Cause I dy'd Nigh is the setting of your Pomp and Pride That Star doth shew that Day is neer at hand That Rome no longer shall the World command And many years it hath not now to stand By that bright stream which still points to the East The Everlasting Gospel's Light 's exprest Which just is breaking forth and doth bespeak That its most Glorious Day 's about to break VVhen Peace and Truth and Righteousness shall stand Everlasting Pillars set in every Land And Christ in Power alone the world command Then shall the World shine with Eternal Glory And I perhaps may then leave PURGATORY Finis