ALICE Ben. Ionson Vpon the Religious Meditations of Mrs. ALICE SVTCLIFFE TO THE READER WOuld'st thou fraile Reader thy true Nature see Behold this Glasse of thy Mortality Digest the precepts of this pious Booke Thou canst not in a nobler Mirrour looke Though sad it seeme and may loose mirth destroy That is not sad which leades to perfect ioy Thanke her faire Soule whose meditation makes Thee see thy frailtie nor disdaine to take That knowledge which a Womans skill can bring All are not Syren-notes that women sing How true that Sexe can write how grave how well Let all the Muses and the Graces tell THO MA To Mr. IOHN SVTCLIFFE Esq upon the receipt of this Booke written by his Wife SIr I receiv'd your Booke with acceptation And thus returne a due congratulation For that good Fortune which hath blest your life By making you the Spouse of such a Wife Although I neuer saw her yet I see The Fruit and by the Fruit I judge the Free My Praise addes nothing to it That which is Well done can praise it selfe and so may this To be a woman 't is enough with me To merit praise For I can never be So much their Friend as they have heretofore Deserv'd although they merited no more When therefore to their Woman-hood I finde The love of sacred Piety conioyn'd Me thinks I have my duty much forgot Vnlesse I praise although I know them not But when to Woman-hood and good Affections Those rare Abilities and those Perfections Vnited are to which our Sexe aspire Then forc'd I am to Love and to admire I am not of their mind who if they see Some Female-Studies fairely ripened be With Masculine successe doe peevishly Their worths due honour unto them deny By overstrictly censuring the same Or doubting whether from themselves it came For well I know Dame Pallas and the Muses Into that Sexe their faculties infuses As freely as to Men and they that know How to improve their Guift shall find it so Then ioy in your good Lot and praises due To Him ascribe that thus hath honor'd you Geo. Withers Vpon the Meditations of Mrs ALICE SVTCLIFFE I Have no Muse my owne but what I see Worthy of praise that is a Muse to me Divinity the highest theame will find No fitter subiect then an humble mind And as in scorne of them that are more fit By instruments lesse notable expresseth it Almes and Devotion Zeale and Charity Might for thy Sexe beseeming Scripture be But when thou speak'st of death and that iust doome Which shall on all conditions ages come And thence descending to Philosophie Teachest weake Nature how to learne to dye It seemes to me above thy Sex and State Some heavenly sparke doth thee Illuminate Live still a praise but no example to Others to hope as thou hast done to doe Live still thy sexes honour and when Death With whō thou art acquainted stoppes thy breath Fame to Posteritie shall make thee shine And adde thy Name vnto the Muses nine PET HEYVVOOD AN ENCOMIVM vpon the Authoresse and Booke GReat Ladies that to vertue are inclin'd See here the pious practice of a wife Expressed by the beauties of the Mind And now set forth in Pictures of the life Wherein matter and forme are both at strife Who shall be Master but i' th end hands shooke For that they have a Mistresse to theyr Booke Whose Language I must needs in truth admire And how such Elegance should from her spring Vntill I thinke of Zeale that Caeliquefire Which might transport her soule by Cherubs wing In Prose or Numbers piously to sing Precepts of Praise worthy your approbation For she is Rara Avis in our Nation And though her youth gives her no SYBILS name Nor doth she Prophecie as they of old Yet she 's indu'd with the most sacred flame Of Poesie Divine and doth vnfold Nought but the truth and therefore may be bold Whose holy paines and study here exprest Shall Register her name amongst the blest VRANIA is her most heavenly Muse Which flyeth vpwards where her minde is placed She sings such Songs as DEEORAH did vse When she and BARVCH had their foes abased For which with Lawrell shee may well be graced And stil'd the Paragon of these our Times In her sweet Prose and true composed Rimes But thinke not Ladies that I doe contrive Numbers to mend ought that is done amisse Or that I meane to keepe her name alive VVhen she is gone and pass'd to greater blisse For I ne're knew her when I framed this Onely I read her lines which forc't me praise The Picture of her minde with this course bayes FRA LENTON THE Contents of the ensuing Treatise I. VVHerie the vncertainty of Mans life expressed and of the fearefull end of the Wicked Fol. 1. II. Motiues and Jnducements to true Godlinesse Fol. 53. III. Of the Peace of a good Conscience and the Joyfull end of the godly fol. 57 IIII. Of the deferring of Repentance how dangerous it is and of the deceivablenesse of Worldly Pleasures fol. 74. V. Comforts for the weake Christian and to bee ware of Back-sliding fol. 101. VI. That man ought to bee wonne to follow Godlinesse in respect of the Eternall happinesse fol. 114. MEDITATIONS OF MANS Mortality I. Wherein the vncertainty of Mans life is expressed and of the fearefull end of the Wicked WHen I behold the Heavens the earth the workemanship of the Almighty and see in 〈◊〉 all Creatures both for commodity and pleasure which as a store-house preserue all things for the behoofe and benefit of Man I cannot but vse to my selfe the saying of the Prophet DAVID Psalm 8. Lord what is Man that thou shouldest thinke on him or the Sonne of man that thou shouldest be mindfull of him thou hast made him but a little lower then the Angels thou hast crowned him with honour and worship by reason of which I thinke him to be onely happy and a God vpon earth and that there is no blessednes beyond this but looking into him with more deliberation I find his breath is in his nostrils and that hee is as the Beast that perisheth Eccles 3. I find his wife to be but a span and the perpetuity of his Happinesse no better then a flower which flourisheth to day and to morrow is out downe and withereth and that his habitation is but a Pilgrimage hee hath no certaine abiding I perceiue there is no building of Tabernacles heere this is no place of rest I remember the foole that sayd to his soule Luke 12. There was much laid up for many yeares but that night his soule was taken from him and how that after Death hee must give an account of his Stewardship for they are not his but lent him of the Lord neyther to abuse through excesse nor niggerdice but to put them foorth to the best vse and to the glory of him who is the giver of all good things For it is true that
Children Father and Friends with his whole Estate Honour Riches Youth Health Strength and Life it selfe thereby thinking to shake his hold for this subtill enemy knoweth they are not lost without griefe which are possessed with Love yet fayles he of his purpose for it is certaine hee that in this life knoweth of fewest delights least of all other feareth Death so he having never prized them otherwayes then they were in themselves parteth from them with the lesse trouble yet weake nature strugling with him may a little dazle him but calling to minde the Words of his Saviour who sayth Mark 10. He that forsaketh Father Mother Wife Children house and lands for my sake shall receive an hundred fold hee gaines strength and with the greater joy his Soule answers Oh sweet IESVS I shall I not willingly forgoe all these who for my sake suffered the Viols of thy Fathers wrath due to me for sinne to be powred out upon thee and in thy body indured that which I deserved It was for my sake thou wast borne in a Stable and layd in a Cratch for me thou flying into Egypt livedst seaven yeares in banishment for me thou didst fast thou didst watch thou didst run hither thither thou didst sweate Water and Bloud thou didst Weepe and thou didst prove by experience those miseries which my sinnes deserved and yet thou wast without sinne neyther was there guile found in thy mouth neyther hadst thou offended but wast offended for me thou wast taken forsaken of thine denyed sold beaten with fists spet upon mocked whipped crowned with Thornes reviled with blasphemies hanged upon the Crosse Dead and Buried thou wert not onely forsaken of all externall things but also of the Divine comfort as thy owne Mouth testified when thou cryedst out My God my God Math. 27. why bast thou forsaken mee Oh the height of Loved Oh the depth of unmeasurable humility Oh the greatnesse of Mercy Oh the bottomlesse Pit of incomprehensible Goodnes Oh Lord if I be so greatly indebted to thee because thou hast redeemed mee what doe I not owe thee for the manner by which thou hast redeemed mee thou hast redeemed mee with most great dolours with contumelies and ignominies not to be borne insomuch that thou wast made a reproach of men and the scorne of the whole world through thy reproaches thou hast honoured me through thy accusations thou hast defended me through thy bloud thou hast washed me through thy death thou hast raysed me and through thy teares thou hast freed me from everlasting weeping and gnashing of teeth thine were the Wounds that healed my sores thine was the backe that bare my sorrowes thine was the prize that quit my scores thou assumedst my flesh to redeeme me here and thou raignest as King to crowne me hereafter Thus by those miserable Torments thou didst free me from all evill and shall I be unwilling to suffer the deprivation of a little happinesse and the induring of a few paines to come unto thee who hast thus dearely purchased me for thy selfe these Meditations so ravished his soule that with aint PAVL he thinkes himselfe in the third Heaven hee hath drunke so freely of the River of Paradice one drop of which is greater then the Ocean which alone is able to quench the thirst of the whole World that he loatheth these puddell Waters accounting all things but drosse and dung in respect of Christ all is to him in comparison no more then the light of a Candle is to the glorious beames of the Sunne he is now so farre from esteeming eyther them or life that he desires to be dissolved and be with Christ he longs for the day of his dissolution life being to him a Prison and with often groanes and sighes cryoth Come Lord Jesus come quickly and with DAVID hee sayth O how I long to appeare before GOD. If life were offered him with all the pleasures thereof hee would despise it for hee is fitted for God he is no man for the World his Soule hath too exactly looked into the worth of it to be deceived with all the glithering shewes thereof the which hee findes to bee vayne and fleeting and nothing permanent in this Life IIII. Of the deferring of Repentance how dangerous it is and of the deceiveablenesse of worldly Pleasures HAving now seen the quiet Happinesse and happie Blessednesse of the Godly at the houre of his Death mee thinkes it should incourage every man to prepare himselfe for his end in the time of Prosperity least when the time of changing shall come they bee found naked and bare and so lye open to all the assaults and batteries of Sathan many there bee to whom the Day of Iudgement seemes terrible not remembring the day of theyr Death which is the first Iudgement the which whosoever passeth on such the second shall have no power as Saint IOHN sayth in the Revelation The deferring of Repentance proves dangerous Yet some inreligious man will say When I am come to old Age I will runne to the remedy of Repentance Dare mans frailtie presume thus much of himselfe seeing hee hath not one day of all his Life in his owne power for though God hath promised Pardon to the Penitent yet he hath not promised to morrow to a sinner therefore whilst it is called to day Hebr. 5. heare his voyce and hearden not your hearts least you enter into temptation Follow the counsell of that Kingly Preacher make no tarrying to turne unto the Lord Eccles 5. and put not off from day to day for soda nly shall his wrath come and in the time of vengeance he shall destroy thee besides there is another evill sinne having no restraint but free liberty to runne on in his owne current how dangerous doth it proove and how hard is it to stop the course thereof being once growne to a custome Is it not usually knowne that hee that driveth a Nayle into a Post fasteneth it at the first stroke that he giveth it but more firmely at the second stroke but so fast at the third that it can hardly bee pulled out againe and the oftner he striketh it the faster it sticketh and is pulled out againe with the greater difficulty So in every one of mans wicked actions vice is driuen deepely into their soules as if it were with a Mallet and there it sticketh so fast that it can by no meanes be pulled foorth but by the bitter teares of Repentance which are seldome and very hardly found this same thing our Saviour shewed in the raysing of LAZARVS being foure dayes dead whom he called foorth Ioh. 1. with groaning of spirit whereas he raysed others that were dead with farre easier tokens of difficulty signifying to us thereby how great a myracle it is that God should convert one buried in the custome of sinning yet not considering these things how doth time passe on and what numberlesse sinnes are committed without feare to offend or care
to provoke him to anger through whose Gates thou must enter before whose feet thou must lye prostrate will thou nill thou whose mercy thou must sue and deplore Thou art piunged in the Gulfe of sinne he onely must rayse theee thou art wounded he onely can healt thee thou art sicke to the death hee onely can give thee life Oh then feare to offend him of whose helpe thou standest in need every moment Isa 30. tremble to provoke him to anger who hath for unrepentant sinness prepared a deepe and large pit the Piller thereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord like a streame of brimstone doth kindle it beware of going on in delights without remembring your end lest you be like the Fishes that sports themselves so long in the delightsome streames of the River Jordan that unawares they plunge themselves in Mare mertuum from whence there is no Redemption many are the baytes and snares which are layd for man in this life covered over with glittering wealth and delightsome Pleasures but bare these deceits and cause them to appeare in their own likenesse and thou shalt finde this World to bee a Casket of sorrowes and grievances a Schoole of Vanity a laborinth of Errors a dungeon of Darknesse a Market-place of Cousonages a way beset with Theeves a ditch full of mud and a Sea continually tost and troubled with stormes and Tempests what other thing is the world but a barren Land a field full of Thistles and Weeds a Wood full of Thornes a flourishing Garden but bringing forth no fruit a River of Teares a Fountaine of Cares a sweet poyson A Tragedy pleasantly framed a delightfull Phrenzie the Worlds rest hath labour the Security of it without ground the feare of it is without cause the Labour of it without fruit the Teares without purpose and the purposes without successe the Hope of it is vayne the joy feyned and the Sorrow true the Glory of this World is but the singing of Syrens sweet but a deadly Potion a Viper artificially painted without but within full of venemous poyson If the World fawne upon thee it doth it that it may deceive thee if it Exalt thee it doth it that thy fall may bee the greater if it 〈◊〉 thee merry it doth it that it afterwards with sorrow may breake thy heart it giveth all her goods with a mixture of incomparable heavinesse and griefes and that with the greatest usurie if a Sonne bee borne to thee and soone after dye thy sorrow will be seaven fold greater then was thy Ioy the thing lost more afflicteth then found joyeth Sicknesse more excruciateth then Health gladdeth Injury more tormenteth then Honour contenteth to conclude what good things are found in the World which are not counterfeit and what 〈◊〉 vill which are not 〈◊〉 deed If these things he so indeed as they are wherefore should man desire to stay any longer in this land of Aegypt to gather stubble who would not flye out of this Babilon who would not desire to be delivered from this fire of Sodome and Gomorrah seeing therefore that the World is beset with so many snares and that so many downfals and break-neckes are in the way and the flame of Vices doe so burne us who at any time can bee secure and safe as the Wise man sayth Prov. 6. Can a man take fire in his bosome and his cloathes not be burnt or can a man goe upon Coales Eccles 13. and his feet not burnt he that toucheth Pitch shall be defiled with the same estrange then thy minde from these ycie Vanities listen and thou shalt heare CHRIST who seeth the danger thou art falling into calling unto thee that hee may teach thee a way to prevent thy hurt and saying Behold I stand at the doore and knocke runne and open to this Physitian of thy Soule O refuse him not neyther delay his entrance for thou art sicke and he will give thee to drinke of the water of Life neyther for money nor by measure but freely and taking thy fill without limitation and freely too being of his owne Grace and Mercy Can you then knowing to whom you are to open stand with delayes as I cannot yet I will anon but this I cannot yet I will anon is deferred so long that this heavenly ghest goeth away without a Lodging by reason of which he will hardly bee brought againe without many teares Oh then I be ready at the first knock to open I meane the first good motion so shall you receive a ghest whose company is sweeter then the honey and the honey Combe On heart more hard then stone that can refuse him if considered who it is it is CHRIST the well-beloved Sonne of his Father it is hee in whom God the Father is so well pleased that all thy sinnes are forgiven being covered with the robe of his Righteousnesse it is he that suffered Rebukes Buffetings Scornings Spittings on and at the last death I and that the most cursedst death even the death of the Crosse as it is written Cursed are every one that hang on a Tree Galat. 3. These things being so have you not hearts harder then an Adamant thus to oppose his entrance Oh doe not deferre this purchase to the time to come for one minute of this time which now vainely slydeth from thee is more precious then the Treasure of the whole world Be like unto a wise Marchant Math. 13. that having found a precious Pearle goes and sels all he hath to purchase it what thing more precious then the Sonne of God which heere offereth himselfe unto thee why art thou so slacke in giving him entertainement thinkest thou him not worthy because thou beholdest him in his Humility poore and despised or doth thy flesh puffe thee up with a conceit beyond thy merites if it doe cast thy eyes upon thy selfe and consider what thou wast before thou wast borne what thou art now being borne and what thou shalt bee after Death before thou wast borne thou wast filthy and obsceane matter not worthy to be named now thou art dung covered over with snow and a while after thou shalt be meat for Wormes why then shouldest thou bee proud seeing thy Nativity is sinne thy Life misery and thy End putrifaction and corruption Having considered thus with thy selfe tell mee if thou hast not the greater reason to open with the more celerity Semel hee of himselfe being willing to passe by these thy Infirmities wouldest thou not account that man most heathenish who having a Friend that had indured seaven yeares imprisonment to keepe him from that bondage at the last payed his Ransome at so deare a rate as thereby his estate were for ever ruined otherwise hee himselfe to indure perpetuall Slavery if this man I say should come and knocke at the doore of his Friend desiring admittance and acquainting him with who it was and hee for this his love should seeme not to