wherewth helhound he Continually poor wretch tormenteth me And bind him lord I thee most humbly pray That he doe never more lead me away As he hath done but that I sinfull may From this fowl Legion totally fall away But 't is not in me nor my power O Lord Except thou pleas vouchsafe to me the word Then please sweet Jesus I thee humbly pray That blessed word of comfort to me say That thou in me and I likewise in thee Shall rest and so for evermore shall be Freed from tentation of that wicked fiend The mortall enemy of all humane kinde Which hurrieth this my weak fleshly mind More wavering much then is th'instable wind Which wandreth like the sun from east to west And when 't comes there then there it doth not rest But roving runs up to the Starry Skies And by and by unto the Deep it dives And mounts again up to the highest ayre But yet can finde no firm fast footing there For though it be even now at hand hereby T is gone again in th'twinkling of an eye For t is so swift as there is nothing can Force it to stay so long as man is man Not much unlike unto that Noah's Dove Which found no footing but in th' Ark above It flies aloft and hovers in the ayre To find that rest which cannot be found there Except thou please vouchsafe to take it Lord As thou hast promised by thy sacred word For to safe keep all whom soever shall Upon the name of our Lord Jesus call Then bend you knees of my most wicked heart Which guideth all this the inferiour part And humbly pray and pray and pray again And in that posture do thou still remain Untill our Saviour please thy suit to hear And to thy prayers vouchsafe to turn his ear And do not thou if so at this repine That he hears not these sinful prayers of thine For many causes doubtlesse there may be That he as yet doth turn his ear from thee And all of them of thee thy self arise Who is at best but onely worldly wise And savours not the things that are above Which do proceed from that good God of love But diving down-wards seldom or ne're heeds That althings good frō heav'n alone proceeds And yet wilt thou unto the earth encline Distasting things are spiritual and divine And when thou seest it's onely reall cause It may be then th'wilt stop and take a pause And pray again yet still thou sinful art Extreamly troubled with a double heart Which boat-man like doth seem to make a shew Of looking upward yet doth downward draw With all its force unto this massie earth Where it at first receiv'd its vital breath And doth so clog the inward spiritual part As it doth yeeld unto the wicked heart And so they both are downward led away From thee their Saviour and their onely stay And runs so fast down Sions steepy hill As that to Babel needs these wretches will Except thou please sweet Jesus lend thy hand And force them both to stop and make a stand And climbe with speed up Sions hill again Which cannot be without excessive pain Unto the heart whose loins are stife and weak And painful climbings forceth them to break Unlesse sweet Jesu thou wilt please to be Their Comforter in this extremity And grant them strength that they may re-obtain The top of blessed Sions hill again Then come sweet Jesu I the humbly pray Come quickly Lord and do thou make no stay For the glasse is now at point to be out-run Then come Lord Jesu come Lord Jesu come And send my soul some speedy present aid Or else deer God it meerly is betrayed By a fawning friend who seems to make a shew That he to it ent'rest love doth owe. And yet indeed its deadliest enemy Who kils it self to make my soul to die O help sweet Jesu help I humbly pray My silly mind from thee thus drawn away By this foul flesh that 's foul in every part Because it s govern'd by a fleshly heart That domineers within my hollow breast And will not let my silly minde take rest For all my members they do so combine As that from heaven to earth they do encline Yea even the head wherein is onely placed The senses all which neither live to taste Nor hear nor see nor scent nor yet to feel Ought what is good but all whatsoever is ill And th' apprehension it doth still project Nothing that 's good but all things good neglect And memory it ever more forgets These blessings great and bounteous benefits Which thou hast pleased in mercy heap on me The very picture of base misery Who cannot think so much as one good thought But it is mixed with something which is nought Nor yet to presse into the Lords presence To pray for ought without some great offence For then and there I often plainly finde My minde is hurried as if with the winde O're all the earth well it know's not where Nor matter 's much so as it be not there Where it should be but alwayes runs astray Like to the blinde man that hath lost his way And is in danger ever for to fall Into a Ditch where he doth lye and crall And cry for help but if there be none by The blind man's likely in the Ditch to ly Then help sweet Jesus help I humbly pray That this my wicked wandring mind may stay And fix on thee and on thy grievous pain To bring it back to that right way again And being there I humbly pray the Lord Vouchsafe to bind it w th strong Sampson's cord When his hair was cut that it may always stay And never more so gad and run astray But ever keep within those blessed bounds To think on thee and on thy grievous wounds How thou endurd'st those bitter pains for me Of all man-kinde a wretch most unworthy Except thou please vouchsafe give me a call As thou did'st Peter or that blessed Saul Who persecuted thee and them were thine Yet at thy call did never once repine But presently he at that call became A painfull Preacher of thy sacred Name Now call sweet Jesu call I humbly pray That I from thee in sin no longer stay But come and wash thy blessed feet with tears Who hath freed me from all those horrid fears Were justly due unto my stony heart If it had had its onely due desert And then I hope my wearied soul shall rest In thee alone by whom 't is onely blest And wait on thee at this thy loving call Before that glorious heavenly Tribunal Where Angels sing 'fore thee continually The praises due to th' sacred Trinity There thou my minde do now set up thy rest For therein shalt thou certainly be blest And in that place be sure to spend thy life And do not prove like Lot his foolish wife But still aspire to mount aloft my soule That thou may'st be one in that
must we for him provide Hath been your servant and so good a guide And then the son unto the father said We by his means so happy a journey made As I think half of what we have in store Is little enough if it were so much more With all my heart the old man then repli'd For he hath prov'd to us a blessed guide I am content he shall have half we have And more then half if he do more but crave Then call him in and know what is his mind Since he hath prov'd to us so firm a friend Then Tobie call'd and Raphael he obey'd And then unto him thus the old man said We know not how we shall your pains repay But half we have do take with you away It is your own for we do freely give it And more then half if you but please to have it Then he repli'd give unto God the praise For he alone it was that did you raise And he alone it was did this great thing Then be you thankfull and his praises sing For I am but that Raphael one of th' sâ—ven His holy Angels wait on him in heaven And did present to him your liberall alms And praises which you sung to him in Psalms So I am onely but the instrument 'T is he alone who hath me to you sent That I might shew to you his wonders great For I as yet did ne'r take any meat Although I seem'd indeed to you to eat And therefore now give unto God the praise And do you laud his holy name alwayes And fast and pray from praying do not lin That he may keep you from all grievous sin And let your alms be suiting to your store Of lesse give lesse and then of more give more And have a care you to him thankfull be For these great blessings he bestow'd on ye And praise sing praise to him for evermore Who is sole giver of your plenteous store Him serve him praise him do you ever fear And then will he unto your pray'rs give ear And nothing will this good God now deny Then praise sing praise to him that fits on high And look that you do all these wonders write And so did he depart out of their sight Then they down on their bended knees did fall And on the name of th' only God did call That he would please continue's blessing still If so it might stand with his blessed will And al their lives his praises they do sing Whose wondrous works o'r all the earth do ring And thankfull are for blessings he doth send And so continue unto their lives end Observe my soul what was old Tobies care To teach his son the way how to prepare Unto the place which he in heart desired The place was heav'n heav'n alone required And for direction left his son his Will To guide him th' way unto Mount Sions hill For it appears by that his will it self He car'd not much for any worldly pelf So he got heaven he sought not any more For he held that ev'n alsufficient store But few such now when most of men seek wealth And more respect it then they do their health Since want doth make most poore men be dejected And worldly wealth most rich to be respected But thou my soul tho God have made thee pore Fear not to want seeing Christ is at thy dore And will come in if thou wilt but provide An upright heart that he that may there abide For he nor likes nor loves for to be there Where th' heart lives not within its Saviour's fear But if he find a heart which proveth such Then that heart he respecteth very much And loves it dearly and will 't surely keep As one of those his well beloved sheep Here stay my soul for here is perfect love Which cometh solely from Jehova 'bove Then gain this love whats'ere it may thee cost For this love doth of all concern thee most Make use of this and here my soul observe What love it is which doth a man preserve Not love of wealth as some men use to say Nor yet of health as most do use to pray No nor of peace which all the earth desire When war hath set this wicked world on fire But peace of conscience that is aye the best And that my soul hold thou worth all the rest And doubtlesse that shalt thou thy self obtain And in that peace shalt all thy life remain Untill thou change this life on earth and then No doubt but this thy soul shal obtain heav'n There stay my soul and there set up thy rest For heaven of all homes is th' onely best And if thou canst though dearly purchase that No King on earth is seis'd of such a state Then lay out all thou hast for that rich field Where hidden treasure lieth unreveal'd It matters nothing though thou hast no more Thou shalt be rich altho thou beest made poore Stay there my soul do not here hence range But think of heav'n and of this earthly change VVhose soul though bounder'd here on earth with clay Know then no bounders that this soul can stay O what a weaknesse doth abide in me Cannot conceive what this thing soul should be Which ought all other parts in me controul Yet cannot my wit circumscribe this soul Which I well know I have in the somewhere Within my corps yet do not I know where Though each sence have its sev'rall seat beget Yet do not I know which is my souls seat Whereby I see that I my self am such And weaker far then most of men by much Since I with all that little wit I have Where my soul is I can it not conceive For I can neither see nor yet it feel Nor taste nor hear nor yet it seent or smell Still am assur'd and do right well it see That I have now a living soul in me And I do further perfectly it feel And chiefest care is for its onely weal I do it likewise in me also taste And loth I am it should within me waste I well observe my living soul I hear Pray unto God that it may live in 's fear And many a time in soul I use to smell A seent of sin when as it is not well O what a strange and hard Enigma's this Which none doth know but only th' God of blisse For he alone did it unto me give And by him onely it in me doth live For he had power to have made me a stone And then a soul had I had in me none Or if he 'd pleas'd he might made me a tree Nor then had been a living soul in me But he infus'd into this clayie slime A living Soul within his pleasing time I hope with joy shall to him go again And with him ever shall in joy remain And then I hope my weary soul shall rest In him alone by whom 't is onely blest O blessâ—d Lord which diâ— to me it give Grant it may
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
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