Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A26987
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Poetical fragments heart-imployment with God and it self : the concordant discord of a broken-healed heart ... / by Richard Baxter.
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Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.
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1681
(1681)
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Wing B1349; ESTC R5795
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56,143
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158
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Or playing on a Bag-pipe or a Fiddle But hath not learned how to Live and Die Nor where his Soul must dwell eternally God and all wise men judge him but a fool Who is not wise enough to save his Soul When Heav'n's made sure all Knowledge then is good For Faith and Love can turn it into food It 's pleasant then to study any Book When we see GOD the sense where ere we look When as the way to Heav'n we know each place And see God's beauty in each creature's face And when we stick not in the form and letter But all our Knowledge tends to make us better When still the more we Know the more we Love And draw more with us to the Joys above Fine Fancies are not like clear minds nor those Like Love by which the Soul with God doth close Wisdom it self will make the Mind most wise He that ascends to God doth Highest rise Sure Pisgah was Parnassus or the Mount Where three Apostles did three Glories count Christ's living streams are the true Helicon None make true Poets but Heav'ns springs alone What poor low toyish work make frothy wits Like Bacchus Scholars in their Pot-wise fits Like Childrens Poppets drest with Lace and Pin Like handsom Pictures something wants within A painted Feast carv'd with a painted Knife A Living Soul can feel it wanteth Life Without a Holy Subject End and Spirit True Wisdom's sacred Titles none can merit O my Dear God! how precious is thy Love These are the drops what are the streams above Immortal thanks my Soul doth owe my God For his well-order'd needful healing Rod The Book and Rod do well befit thy School Correction is the portion of the Fool The Rod it self will make the Sluggard rise The Rod and Book make foolish Children wise I felt or fear'd no evil at the first But my Soul's misery which is the worst Whilst for a Soul-remedy I did look Thy angry storm my Body overtook Languishing weakness shortens strength breath Consumes my flesh and threatens speedy death And what I felt reviv'd the fears of more For now my Judgment seemed at the door I knew not but it might be a foretast Of greater woe which I might feel at last My new awaken'd Soul amazed was To think that unto Judgment it must pass And see the unseen World and stand before The dreadful God whom Heav'n Earth adore I was unready to behold thy face Having no more assurance of thy Grace Having but lately too familiar been With my seducing flesh and hateful sin My Thoughts of Thee were terrible and strange And of so great and an untimely change The threatned Ruine I did thus condole O must my scarce-born unprepared Soul Before my dreadful Judge so soon appear And the decisive final Sentence hear And all my Reckonings so soon bring in And give account to God for every sin Before I do my Soul's condition know Or any scaled Pardon have to shew What if I prove an unconverted Wretch And Justice should my Soul to torments fetch How know I but the endless flames of Hell May be the place where next my Soul shall dwell Mercy would save me but I did reject it Christ's Blood would cleanse it but I did neglect it And though I am not hopeless who can bear To die uncertain under so great fear I O that my Tunes had all been better spent And that my caâ—â—y Thoughts had all been bent In preparation for the Life to come That now I might have gone as to my home And taken up my dwelling with the blest And past to everlasting Joy and Rest O that the pleasures of my sports and toyes Had all been turn'd to man-like holy Joyes And those Delights which Vanities engrost And spent on fleshly Lusts were worse than lost Had all been sweet Rejoycings in the Lord And in his holy Service and his Word O that I could my wasted Time call back Which now my Soul for greater works doth lack What would I give now for those precious daies Which once run out in pleasures and delaies O had I liv'd a strict and holy Life Though under hatred and malicious strife Though Men's and Devil's fury I had born And been the world's reproach contempt scorn Then welcome Death would but have quencht my thirst And bid the envious world now do their worst Their malice would but to my Joyes accrew And well-spent Time be sweet to my review O happy men whose portion is above Whose hearts to God and to his Service clove Who made him and his Word their chief delight And walkt in uprightness as in his sight Approv'd their Hearts and Waies to him alone As ready to appear before his Throne Now I had rather far be one of them Than one of worldly Wealth or Princely Stem O now my undrest Soul is passing forth I see both what the World and Christ are worth Thus did the face of Death my Soul awake The bonds of dead stupidity it brake Strict holy Truth I easily confest I saw that Godliness is not a jest My late besotted mind is now past doubt That Folly's careless Wisdom is devout I saw more clearly than I did before What lies on an ungodly Sinners score For what man's pow'rs were made what is their use To what all means and mercies do conduce What is man's business while he 's here below How much his creatures to their Maker owe Whether the Saint or Brute be in the right Whether it 's best to live by Faith or Sight What is true Wit what Learning 's most sublime How I and all should value precious Time I saw it 's not a thing indifferent Whether my Soul to Heav'n or Hell be sent Death also further taught me how to pray And made me cry unto thee every day It set me on the trying of my state Lest I should prove deceiv'd when 't was too late Often and carefully I searcht my heart Whether in Christ by Faith I had a part It shew'd me so much work to do at home That alien needless matters found small room It curb'd my Pride and buryed my Ambition Made me not only bear a low condition But chuse it and all things to estimate As God my Soul and Heav'n should set the rate For now as clearly as I saw the Sun I saw in lines which they may read that run That Endless things are All when we compare And transitory trifles Nothing are That Worldlings in their sleep do talk and go And all their lives are but a dreaming shew Only the true Believer lives awake And doth not spend his daies in meer mistake That all who are not Saints are worse than Brutes These O my Father were thy Rod's first-fruits O my Dear God! how precious is thy Love Thus we rebound up to the Joyes above Long thus before my God I lay prostrate Begging for healing mercy at his gate And for some longer time to know his Truth And
Come Lord when Grace hath made me meet Thy blessed Face to see For if thy work on Earth be sweet What will thy Glory be 8. Then I shall end my sad complaints And weary sinful daies And joyn with the triumphant Saints That sing Jehovah's Praise My Knowledge of that Life is small The Eye of Faith is dim But it 's enough that Christ knows all And I shall be with him This Covenant my Dear Wife in her former Sickness subscribed with a cheerful will Joh. 12. 26. 10. A Psalm of Praise To the Tune of the 148 Psalm 1. YE holy Angels bright Which stand before God's Throne And dwell in glorious Light Praise ye the Lord each one You there so nigh Are much more meet Than we the feet For things so high 2. You blessed Souls at Rest That see your Saviour's face Whose Glory even the least Is far above our Grace God's Praises sound As in his sight With sweet delight You do abound 3. All Nations of the Earth Extol the World's Great King With Melody and Mirth His glorious Praises sing For he still reigns And will bring low The proudest Foe That him disdains 4. Sing forth Jehovah's Praise Ye Saints that on him call Magnifie him alwaies His holy Churches all In him rejoyce And there proclaim His Holy Name With sounding voice 5. My Soul bear thou thy part Triumph in God above With a well-tuned heart Sing thou the Songs of Love Thou art his own Whose precious Blood Shed for thy good His Love made known 6. He did in Loves begin Renewing thee by Grace Forgiving all thy sin Shew'd thee his pleased face He did thee heal By his Son's Merit And by his Spirit For Glory Seal 7. In saddest thoughts and grief In sickness fears and pain I cry'd for his relief And it was not in vain He heard with speed And still I found Mercy abound In time of need 8. Let not his Praises grow On prosperous heights alone But in the Vales below Let his great Love be known Let no distress Curb and controul My winged Soul And praise suppress 9. Let not the fear or smart Of his chastizing Rod Take off my fervent heart From praising my Dear God What ere I feel Still let me bring This Offering And to him kneel 10. Though I lose friends and wealth And bear reproach and shame Though I lose ease and health Still let me praise God's Name That fear and pain Which would destroy My Thanks and Joy Do thou restrain 11. Though humane help depart And flesh draw near to dust Let Faith keep up my heart To love God true and just And all my daies Let no disease Cause me to cease His joyful Praise 12. Though sin would make me doubt And fill my Soul with fears Though God seem to shut out My daily cries and tears By no such frost Of sad delayes Let thy sweet Praise Be nipt and lost 13. Away distrustful care I have thy Promise Lord. To banish all Despair I have thy Oath and Word And therefore I Shall see thy face And there thy grace Shall magnifie 14. Though Sin and Death conspire To rob thee of thy Praise Still towards thee I 'll aspire And thou dull hearts canst raise Open thy Door And when grim Death Shall stop this Breath I 'll praise thee more 15. With thy Triumphant Flock Then I shall numbered be Built on th' Eternal Rock His Glory we shall see The Heav'ns so high With Praise shall ring And all shall sing In Harmony 16. The Sun is but a Spark From the Eternal Light It s brightest beams are dark To that most glorious sight There the whole Chore With one accord Shall praise the Lord For evermore 11. The Complaint WHat mean impatient men to call it Pain That do the creatures wrath alone sustain But alas how much greater is my woe That must God's sharp displeasure undergo If a Worm's fury seemeth hard to bear Who dare before an angry God appear I thought my God had blotted out my sin And it no more remembred should have bin And wilt thou now call up what 's past and gone And charge upon me all that I have done Why then where is my Saviour ' where 's his blood Shall not thy Promises be all made good Where are thy tender bowels where 's that grace That shew'd me once thy reconciled face Dost thou repent or can God changed be O no! it 's I that falsly turn'd from thee Yet be not angry with me O my God! If thy Child cry and plead against the Rod Not daring to accuse thy narrow path But humbly bold to deprecate thy wrath Is it thy pleasure to behold my grief When thou canst with a word send full relief Dost thou delight to see me drencht in tears And overwhelm'd with doubts and horrid fears Wilt thou stand by and see my Soul thus sink While wasting flesh doth stand at the pits brink Shall grief and sickness leave but skin and bones And shall I know no breath but sighs and groans Have I no passions left but griefs and fears Are groans the only musick for thine ears And have I sense only to feel my woe And reason only misery to know And wilt thou suffer sinful unbelief To banish Joy and keep out all Relief How can that gracious Lord my woe desire That did so much to save me from the fire How can that Saviour be against my good That dy'd in love and washt me by his blood Can the same voice now pass so sad a doom That from my sin so lately call'd me home Wilt thou now frown me down to fears death That lately gav'st me a new life and breath Or can that hand that snatcht me from the flame Tear me and cast me back into the same Pity my God this sinking trembling Soul And let the hand that wounds me make me whole Friends would but cannot all their help is vain But thou canst quickly give me joy for pain What can friends do but make my grief their own And will not give me leave to die alone They can but add their fruitless tears and moans To joyn in a sad consort with my groans Their pity doth but make my wounds more deep While in compassion they stand by and weep Through me thou woundest them my pains are theirs And every tender friend a portion bears They can but pray for that which thou must give They strive in vain if thou wilt not relieve O spare me Lord and press me not too low Lest I should pievish and impatient grow Lest I should have unworthy thoughts of thee Forgetting what thy Love hath done for me Lest blind distrust get ground against my faith And I grow mindless what thy Promise saith Lest griefs consume the soul which thou hast made And lest thy Praises with my Comforts fade Lest I thine antient Loves no more rehearse But all my Thanks as a mistake reverse And lest unruly grief should make me break