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
out go them both Sir Fulk Grevil Lord Brook a man of great note in his Age hath a Poem lately Printed for Subjects Liberty which I greatly wonder this Age would bear There are no Books that have been Printed these twenty Years that I more wonder at that ever they were endured than Richard Hookers eight Books of Ecclesiastick Policy dedicated by Bishop Gauden to our present King and vindicated by him and these Poems of Sir Fulk Grevill Lord Brook Davie's Nosce Teipsum is an Excellent Poem in opening the nature Faculties and certain Immortality of Man's Soul But I must confess after all that next the Scripture Poems there are none so savoury to me as Mr. Herbert's and Mr. George Sandys's I know that Cooly and others far excel Herbert in Wit and accurate composure But as Sencca takes with me above all his Contemporaries because he speaketh Things by words feeling and seriously like a man that is paâ—â— jest so Herbert speaks to God like on that really believeth a God and whose business in the world is most with God Heart-work and Heaven-work make up his Books And Du Bartas is seriously Divine And Sandy's Omne tulit punctum dum miscuit utile dulci. His Scripture Poems are an elegant and excellent Paraphrase But especially his Job whom he hath restored to the original glory O that he had turned the Psalms into Metre fitted to the usual Tunes It did me good when Mrs. Wyat invited me to see Boxley Abby in Kent to see upon the old Stone Wall in the Garden a Summer-house with this inscription in great golden Letters that In that place Mr. G. Sandys after his Travels over the World retired himself for his Poetry and Contemplations And none are fitter to retire to God then such as a retired with seeing all the vanities on Earth Sure there is somewhat of Heaven â—â— Holy Poetry It charmeth Souls into â—oving Harmony and Concord We â—â—we two Brothers in this City of â—hom one hath written a Book called â— friendly debate to make those seem â—ious or contemptible who were aâ—â—inst his way It had too much sucâ—â—ss and so far destroyed Love and â—oncord as will not easily be recoveâ—â—d in this age His Brother Mr. Paâ—ike of the Charter-house hath with â—â—ous skill and seriousness turned into â—new Metre many of David's Psalms â—â—d the advantage for holy affections â—â—d harmony hath so far reconciled â—â—e Non-Conformists that divers of â—â—em use his Psalms in their Congreâ—â—tions though they have the old â—â—es Rouses Bishop Kings Mr. Whites â—â—e New Englands Davisons the Scotsâ—â— â—â— agreed on by two Nations in â—â—mpetition with it But I digress too â—â—r All that I have to say for these Fragments is 1. That being fitted to Women and vulgar wits which are the far greatest number they may be useful to such though contemptible to those of higher elevation expectation 2 And being suited to afflicted sick dying troubled sad and doubting persons the number of such is so great in these calamitous times as may render them useful to more than I desire 3. And if my present grief may but excuse the Publication he that needeth them not may let them alone Some of them need an Exposition which I must not give the world I have added two or three Printed heretofore that they may be altogether The Lord by his merciful providence and his Grace tune up our dull and drooping Souls to such joyful praises as may prepare us for his everlasting praise in Heaven Amen London At the Door of Eternity Aug. 7. 1681. Rich. Baxter LOVE Breathing THANKS and PRAISE The First Part. ETernal God this Worm lifts up the head And looks to Thee by Thee encouraged Cheer'd by thy Bounty it would speak thy praise Whose wondrous Love hath measur'd all my daies If thou vouchsafe to make a Worm rejoyce Give him a thankful praising heart and voice Thy shining Glory blessed Angels see Angels must sing thy Highest praise not we But if thy warming beams cause Worms to speak Their baser part will not the Consort break When Time was yet no measure when the Sun It s rapid motion had not yet begun When Heav'n Earth Sea were yet unfram'd Angels and Men and all things else unnam'd When there did nothing else exist but Thee Thou wast the same and still the same wilt be When there was none to know or praise thy Name Thou wast in perfect Blessedness the same The Father Word and Spirit One in Three Trinity doth with Unity agree Th' Eternal Life that quickens all that lives The soul of souls the Light which all Light gives Immense and boundless present every where Beyond all place and creatures thou art there Uncomprehended comprehending all Foreknowing whatsoever shall befall Uncaus'd thou causest all that hath a Being Unknown thou know'st unseen thou art all-seeing Though necessary yet without constraint Unmov'd yet moving all dost never faint All things depend on Thee and Thou on none And changing all things art unchang'd alone One in th' innumerable multitude Perfectly ordering things which seem most rude Infinite Power one accent of whose breath Can sentence Heav'n and Earth to life or death Yea by one act of efficacious Will Canst make and unmake worlds give life and kill Reason transcending all created Reason Not only knowing all things in their season But with a Knowledge perfect infinite Knowing Thy self in Thine Eternal Light A knowledge which doth utterly excel The Knowledge of the Earth the Heav'ns Hell To know ten thousand worlds were but to know The finite streams which from thy Will do flow Existents Futures all Contingencies Conceal'd from man are naked to thine eyes Of every thing thou know'st the Form and Cause As giving all their Nature and their Laws Nature's whole frame is but one piece to thee The Place and Use of all things thou dost see The Globes of Heav'n and Earth are in thy span Thou seest not things by parcels like poor Man Our narrow minds see here and there a letter Not rightly plac'd and therefore read no better We make the Events of this day our sorrow Because we know not what will be to morrow Things present past and future old and new Thou see'st entirely with one single view Thou seest all at home that 's understood Loving thy self thou lovest all that 's Good Goodness it self and perfect Excellence Transcending humane Reason Will and Sense Good in thy self and to thy self alone Before thou wast to any creature known Blest in thy own Eternal pleasing sight Thy own Eternal Love Thy own Delight Those that can find in Thee no greater Good Than that thou giv'st them life and health food And bountifully from thy ample Treasure Blessest thy creatures with desired pleasure Set up themselves and do the worst they can To make themselves the Gods and Thee the Man They that can love thee but for loving them Make thee the casket and themselves the gem To love
Can turn away from or despise the bait Flesh Must I be made the foot-ball of disdain And call'd a precise fool or Puritane Spirit Remember him that did despise the shame And for thy sake bore undeserved blame Thy journey 's of small moment if thou stay Because dogs bark or stones lie in the way If life lay on it wouldst thou turn again For the winds blowing or a little rain Is this thy greatest love to thy dear Lord That canst not for his sake bear a foul word Wilt thou not bear for him a scorners breath That underwent for thee a cursed death Is not Heav'n worth the bearing of a flout Then blame not Justice when it shuts thee out Will these deriders stand to what they say And own their words at the great dreadful day Then they 'd be glad when wrath shall overtake them To eat their words and say they never spake them Flesh How Forsake all Ne're mention it more to me I 'le be of no Religion to undo me Spirit Is it not thine more in thy Fathers hand Then when it is laid out at sins command And is that sav'd that 's spent upon thy lust Or which must be a prey to thieves or rust And wouldst thou have thy riches in thy way Where thou art passing on and canst not stay And is that lost that 's sent to Heav'n before Hadst thou not rather have thy friends and store Where thou maist dwell for ever in the light Of that long glorious day that fears no night Flesh But who can willingly submit to Death Which will bereave us of our life and breath That laies our flesh to rot in loathsom graves Where brains and eyes were leaves but ugly caves Spirit So nature breaks and casts away the shell Where the now beauteous singing bird did dwell The secundine that once the infant cloath'd After the birth is cast away and loath'd Thus Roses drop there sweet leaves under-foot But the Spring shew's that life was in the root Souls are the Roots of Bodies Christ the Head Is Root of both and will revive the dead Our Sun still shineth when with us it's night When he return's we shall shine in his light Souls that behold and praise God with the Just Mourn not because their bodies are but dust Graves are but beds where flesh till morning sleep's Or Chests where God a while our garments keeps Our folly thinks he spoils them in the keeping Which causeth our excessive fears and weeping But God that doth our rising day foresee Pitties not rotting flesh so much as we The birth of Nature was deform'd by sin The birth of Grace did our repair begin The birth of Glory at the Resurrection Finisheth all and brings both to perfection Why should not fruit when it is mellow fall Why would we linger here when God doth call Flesh The things and persons in this world I see But after death I know not what will be Spirit Know'st thou not that which God himself hath spoken Thou hast his promise which was never broken Reason proclaims that noble heav'n-born Souls Are made for higher things than Worms Moles God hath not made such faculties in vain Nor made his Service a deluding pain But Faith resolves all doubts and hears the Lord Telling us plainly by his holy Word That uncloath'd Souls shall with their Savior dwell Triumphing over Sin and Death and Hell And by the Power of Almighty Love Stars shall arise from graves to shine above There we shall see the glorious face of God His blessed presence shall be our abode The face that banisheth all doubts and fears Shuts out all sins and dryeth up all tears That face which darkeneth the Sun's bright rayes Shall shine us into everlasting joyes Where Saints and Angels shall make up one Chore To praise the Great Jehovah evermore Flesh Reason not with me against sight and sense I doubt all this is but a â—ain pretence Words against Nature are not worth a rush One Bird in hand is worth two in the bush If God will give me Heav'n at last I 'le take it But for my Pleasure here I 'le not forsake it Spirit And wilt thou keep it brutish flesh how long Wilt thou not shortly sing another Song When Conscience is awakened keep thy mirth When sickness death comes hold fast this earth Live if thou canst when God saith Come away Try whether all thy friends can cause thy stay Wilt thou tell Death and God thou wilt not die And wilt thou the consuming fire defie Art thou not sure to let go what thou hast And doth not Reason bid thee then forecast And value the least hope of endless Joyes Before known vanities and dying toyes And can the Lord that is most just and wise Found all man's duty in deceit and lies Get thee behind me Satan thou dost savour The things of Flesh and not his dearest favour Who is my Life and Light and Love and All And so shall be whatever shall befall It is not thou but I that must discern And must Resolve It 's I that hold the stern Be silent Flesh speak not against my God Or else hee 'l teach thee better by the rod. I am resolved thou shalt live and die A servant or a conquered enemy Lord charge not on me what this rebell sayes That alwaies was against me and thy wayes Now stop its mouth by Grace that shortly must Through just but gainful death be stopt with dust The thoughts and words of Flesh are none of mine Let Flesh say what it will I will be thine Whatever this rebellious Flesh shall prate Let me but serve thee Lord at any rate Use me on earth as seemeth good to thee So I in Heav'n thy Glorious face may see Take down my Pride let me dwell at thy feet The humble are for earth and heav'n most meet Renouncing Flesh I Vow my self to thee With all the Talents thou hast lent to me Let me not stick at honour wealth or blood Let all my dayes be spent in doing good Let me not trifle out more precious hours But serve thee now with all my strength and powers If Flesh should tempt me to deny my hand Lord these are the Resolves to which I stand Octob. 29. 1659. Richard Baxter 8. The Prayer of the Sick in a Case like Hezekiahs To the Tune of the 51 Psalm The First Part. 1. ETernal God whose name is Love Whose mercy is my hope and stay O hear and help me from above That in distress to thee do pray Ashamed to lift up my face Hence from the dust to thee I cry Though I have sinn'd against thy Grace Yet unto it alone I fly 2. I was at first in sin conceiv'd Then liv'd a vain and sinful life Rebellious flesh which I receiv'd Is still against thy Grace in strife Long it was Lord alas too long Before I knew my self or thee Vanity rul'd my heart and tongue And O that yet my Soul
Run fastest when the Truth 's behind No Heresies with you are sown There 's not a Truth but all will own A mixture we get here by rote And Errour keeps the major Vote There Pride and Faction cannot enter There 's no Division in the Center The Saints there play not Satan's part They use not any Carnal Art Their Righteous Brethren to Defame And by untruths to blot their Name There you are Comely and not Black Each One hath All yet None do lack What sin or smart can you befall Where SELF 's put off and God is All. Look up and see now VINES is gone Are not the Stars the more by One No but One fewer in our sight For we have forfeited his Light And such an One as all do miss Save those whose pleasure darkness is And who can Number Stars above When Saints so fast to Heav'n remove If but three such in all our times As USHER GATAKER and VINES Were taken hence by fatal sleep Three Nations should consent to weep And if an Age this loss repair The Church will think it very fair They shine in Glory now to God Who shin'd and burn'd here to a Clod. May such a sinful Worm as I Aspire and ascend so high That Kingdom 's mine in Hope and Right Which you possess by Love and Sight That God that Christ hath loved me Whose Glory blessed VINES doth see We were both washed in one stream And both enlightned by one beam One Garment also did us cloath At once One Pulpit held us both Much more One Church for we agreed Both in One Method and one Creed One Evil we did both condole As animated by One Soul Methinks where thou art I should be Although the lowest in degree Though thou art gone and I am here Yet is my Passing-hour near Time is at work both Night and Day Even when it seemeth to delay My Grave and Coffin are at hand My Glass hath but a little Sand Now I am writing and anon They 'l also say of me He 's gone Then I shall see the shining face Which is the Glory of your Place But lest in vain I hope and run Lord perfect what thou hast begun 14. A Dialogue between Death and the Believer A Rustick Song set to a pleasant Tune Death COme with me poor Mortal Quickly come away My Name is Dreadful Death Through this narrow Portal Come without delay For here I 'le stop thy Breath Presently my Dart Shall pierce thee to the Heart And away thy Life I 'le have It is in vain to fly Or any Friend to try For there 's none that can thee save Believer 2. Welcome friendly Death What canst thou do to me ' That I have cause to fear Though thou shalt stop my breath Yet I in Life shall be When thou shalt not be there And though the Gate be streight It leads unto that height Where I shall defie thy Dart Willingly I yield As armed by that Shield That will save my nobler part Death Come away frail Man And open now thy Breast And take thy mortal wound Let Friends do what they can And Physick do its best They 'l all too weak be found Lay now aside thy mirth And turn unto thy Earth I will give thee the fatal blow It is in vain to wish Thou canst not save thy Flesh For my Power thou shalt know Believer 4. Readily I come As being not the first That hath past through thy door Thou shalt but help me home When thou hast done thy worst And thou shalt be no more By drawing out my blood Thou shalt but do me good And ease me of my grief And though thou look so grim Thou shalt bring me to him That will give me full relief Death 5. Thy Flesh I 'le turn to Clay And all thy Bones to Dust And leave thee in the Grave Make no longer stay For come away thou must It is in vain to crave Cloathed from head to feet But with a Winding-sheet My Prisoner thou shalt be Bearing my loathsom Mark Thou shalt lie in the dark And the face of no man see Believer 6. Thou shalt but dig the ground Where God his Seed will sow And raise it at the Spring And there I shall be found And Christ his own will know And unto Glory bring When here I cease to live A better Life he 'l give Which thou shalt not destroy And though This Life thou spill My Soul thou canst not kill Nor again with fears anoy 7. When thou put'st out these Eyes I shall receive my sight My Day will all be Noon Above the spangled Skies Where never shall be Night Nor need of Sun or Moon The Grave also shall keep My Dust in quiet Sleep Till the Coming of my Lord That Flesh shall shine with God That now is but a Clod And must lie as a thing abhorr'd Death 8. Thy merry Daies are gone Thou shalt no longer stay Thy Life shall end in pain Thy Time and work is done And all thy Sport and Play And never shall come again Here take thy leave of Health And of thy Goods and Wealth And of every pleasant Friend Bid farewel to them all For here thy Corps shall fall And the World to thee shall end Believer 9. Boast not O conquered Foe For thou could'st have no strength But what comes from my sin My Lord will overthrow Thy Power at the length And will thy Prisoners win Thou could'st not keep my head When he lay in thy Bed But he rose and now doth Reign He 'l take away thy sting And endless Life will bring And with him shall I remain 10. How oft have I undrest me And laid my Garments by And dyed till the next day I do but go to rest me And shall rise speedily My Lord will not delay When thou hast broke this shell My Soul with Christ shall dwell And with Saints and Angels bright This World is but the Womb From which my Soul must come Into the Eternal Light 11. And what though Death be painful The pain is quickly past My Soul shall soon be freed My Lord shall make it gainful The gain shall ever last And Joy shall Grief succeed And though the Place seem strange And Nature fear a change Yet I with Christ shall be And when with him I dwell I know I shall be well And his glorious Light shall see 12. Thou shalt but kill my sin And crown my painful Race And end my Grief and Fear Thou shalt but let me in To see the blessed face Of my Redeemer dear And is it any loss To follow with my Cross Till I attain the Crown It 's he that truly dyes That Mercy doth despise And at last God will disown 13. I knew that from my Birth I was a mortal man My frailty is confest I knew my Flesh was Earth My Life was but a span And here is not my Rest If thou canst say no more All this I knew before And yet thy threats defie Have I long sought in pain And would I not obtain Joyful Eternity 14. O feeble thing How canst thou conquer Christ And make his Promise void First overcome my King And his Command resist By whom thou art employ'd First win the World above And conquer endless Love And then I 'le be thy slave Kill an immortal Soul And we will all condole And fear a darksome grave 15. It 's Christ that doth thee send To bring about his end And him thou must obey He is my dearest Friend And doth no harm intend In calling me away And why should he fear ill Whom Love it self doth kill And numbreth with the Blest Why should not Death fulfil His good All-ruling WILL My SPRING my GUIDE my REST. Hoc migraturus scripsi sub imagine Carmen FArewel vain World As thou hast been to me Dust and a shadow such I leave to thee The unseen Life and Substance I commit To him that 's Substance Life Light Love to it Some Leaves and Fruit are dropt for soil seed Heaven's Heirs to generate to heal and feed Them also thou wilt flatter and molest But shalt not keep from Everlasting Rest Vel Munde dolose vale mihi vera palestra fuisti Perficitur Cursus certa corona manet Vita fugax cessat Praestant aeterna caducis Mens superos visit Pulvere pulvis erit Excipe Christe tuum Tibi vixi Errata remitte Spe tibi commissum perfice Christe tuum Tu mortis mors es Vitae tu vita perennis Gloria nostra Tua est Gloria Lumen Amor. Non loca non coetus non hinc sperata videntur Optimus Omnividens Maximus illa videt THE English Verses written on a fair Marble over the Grave where my Wife and her Mother are buried in the upper end of Christ's-Church Chancel broken and lost by the fall of the Church when burnt were these Thus must thy Flesh to silent Dust descend Thy mirth and worldly pleasure thus will end Then happy holy Souls but woe to those Who Heav'n forgot and earthly pleasures chose Hear now this Preaching Grave without delay Believe Repent and work while it is day FINIS Mar. 3. 20. 21. 2. Cor. 5. 13. Matth. 20. v. 21. Matth. 19. v. 29. * Thuanus Davila * The Earl of Orery's Answer to a Petition * He dyed suddenly on the Lord's Day at night after he had Preacht and Administred the Sacrament * Mr. Anthony Burgesse was Minister at Lawrence Church Mr. Love succeeded him and was beheaded by the Remnant of the Long Parliament which cut off the King for sending Money to some about the present King Mr. Vines succeeded him * Those that saw me stand in his Pulpit at Lawrence Church between his Leggs when I Preacht for him because he could get no other Room in the Church understand this †See his Letter in the end of my Confession