And seeing neither the manner of my education nor the course of my life nor the performance of this worke though I will not iustifie my selfe can yet appeare to be such as may disparage the Church to receiue these endeauours at my hands So much confidence haue I in your Fatherly dispositions towards all well affected persons of what outward condition soeuer they be that I am verely perswaded you would not for a few ouer-sights sleight all my paines but rather to the encouragement of others for no affront in these studies can dishearten me graciously vouchsafe in some measure to accept what I here make humble proffer of vnto your RR ces Which if you please to doe I shall euer acknowledge my selfe obliged for your Christian respect and study such things as perhaps will make me hereafter more worthy of your esteeme So presuming that if I haue deliuered Reason it shal be with your Wisedomes euery whit as Authenticke as if I had begun continued and ended this Epistle with the Prouerbs or ouer-worne Sentences of olde Authors I humbly wish according to the custome of my Countrey on this day a happy NEVV-YEERE to all your RR ces and to the whole Church in her seuerall afâ—â—ires a most prosperous successe Ianuary the 1. 1621. A Table of the Songs Song Pag. 1 The first Song of Moses 1 2 The second Song of Moses 6 3 The Song of Deborah c. 15 4 The Song of Hannah 24 5 Nehemiahs Prayer 29 6 King Lemuels Song 34 7 The first Song of Esay 38 8 The second Song of Esay 42 9 The third Song of Esay 45 10 Hezekiahs Prayer 50 11 Hezekiahs Thankesgiuing 53 12 The Prayer of Daniel 59 13 The Prayer of Ionah 6â— 14 The Prayer of Habakkuk 6â— THE First song of MOSES Exod. 15. The Argument and the Vse THis Song as appeares in the history of Israels deliuerie out of Aegypt was sung by Moses and the people to the praise of God for their wonderfull preseruation and the seuerity which he vsed against their enemies the Aegiptians in the red Sea Wherein they glorifie the Lord for his Power his Knowledge in warre his Maiestie his incomparable Dietie his Sanctitie his Awfulnesse his Fame his merueilous Acts and the eternitie of his Kingdome Moreouer they here set forth the malitious violence of their aduersaries before their destruction the sudaine ruine of those that were destroyed with the terrour which this ouerthrow should strike into their suruiuing enemies And lastly they doe at once prophecie and pray for the possession of that promised Land in which the holy Temple should be builded This Song was made and ordained by the holy Ghost to be sung as well by euery Christian Congregation as by Moses and the Iewes For this preseruation of theirs was a tipe of our deliuerance from the bondage of our Spirituall Aduersaries Pharaoh which in the originall tongue signifieth Vengeance being Mistically and anagogically considered was a Tipe both of Antichrist a temporall aduersarie of the Church and of our enemie the Deuill who pursues to ouerthrow vs in our voyage towards heauen which was also in a third sence figured by the land of Promise Pharaohs hoast signifieth all kindes of persecutions sinnes and temptations The Red Sea which we passe through and wherein they are drowned meaneth our Baptisme 1 Cor. 10.2 By Palestine and Canaan which were names of the promised Country before the Church was remoued thither and which the holy-Ghost here saith shall grieue and faint at the newes of our regeneration are those vnderstood who haue falsly and wrongfully vsurped the priuiledges belonging to the faithfull congregation By the Dukes of Edom with the Princes of Moab who are said to tremble at this deliuerie all the seuerall powers of the kingdome of darkenesse are vnderstood Now euery good Christian may at any time sing this Hymne to the praise of his Redeemer and in memory of the Churches with his owne particular deliuerance from the slauerie of Sinne and the Deuill Yea and not vnfitly vpon some temporall deliuerances But it will be indeed most properly vsed both in publike and priuate after the administration of Baptisme Seeing the passage through the Red Sea and the destruction of the Aegyptians there was a type of that Sacrament according to the Interpretation of St. Paul The Song Then sang Moses and the Children of Jsrael this Song vnto the LORD and spake saying NOw to the Lord my song of praise shall be Who hath a most renowned triumph woone This is the Lord that makes me strong For in the sea the horse and horse-man he Hath both at once together ouer-throwne Hee is my safety and my song My God for whom I will a house prepare My Fathers God whom I on high will reare Well knowes the LORD to war what doth pertaine And for that reason is the LORD his name He Pharo'hs Charr'ots and his armed Traine Amid the Sea ore'-whelming overcame He in the Ruddy-sea hath drown'd His Captaines that were most renownd The deeps a couering ouer them hath throwne And to the bottome sunke they like a stone LORD by thy power thy right hand 's famous grow'n Thy right hand LORD thy foe destroyed hath Thou by thy glorie hast thy Foes ore-thrown And stuble-like consum'st them in thy wrath Thou by thy nostrils angry blast The waters backward driuen hast And rowl'd on heapes the billowes and the floud In middle of the Sea congealed stood I will pursue them thus the Foe did crye I will ore'take them and the spoile enioy My pleasure on them now fulfill will I With sword vnsheath'd my hand shall them destroy Then with thy breath thou didst but blow And ouer them the Sea did flow Where they the mighty waters sanke into As we may see a peece of lead will doe LORD who like thee among the gods is there In holinesse so glorious who may be Whose praises so exceeding dreadfull are Or who in doing wonders iâ— like thee Thy right hand thou aloft didst reare And in the earth they swallow'd were Whil'st thou didst by thy mercy forward lead This people whose redemption thou hast paid Them by thy strength thou hast been pleas'd to bear Vnto a holy dwelling place of thine The Nations at report thereof shall feare And they shall grieue who dwell in Palestine On Edâ—ms Dukes will horror fall Yea Moabs mightie Princes shall With trembling shake when they of this heare tell And they shall faint that doe in Canaan dwell By that great power which in thine Armâ— thou hast Let feare and terrour vpon them be brought Stone-quiet make them till thy people passe LORD till this people pas which thou hast bought Then to thy hill let them repaire LORD plant them there where thou art heire Eu'n where thy place of dwelling is prepar'd That holy place which thine own hands haue rear'd The LORD shall euer and for euer raigne No ending shall his large dominion know For when as Pharaoh
to delay Lest that their Aduersaries prouder growne Should when they saw it thus presume to say This not the LORD but our high-hand hath done· For they a people are in whom No Counsell is And neuer will their dulnesse come To iudge of this Oh! would their wisedome this might comprehend And that they would consider of their end How should one make a thousand runneaway Or two men put tenne thousand to the foile Except their Rocke had sold them for a pray And that the LORD had clos'd them vp the while For with our God their God compare They neuer may And if our foes the iudges were Thus would they say But they haue Vines of those that Sodome yeelds And such as grow within Gomorrha fields The Grapes are gall that grow vpon their vine Their Clusters are extreamely bitter all Yea made of Dragons venome is their wine And of the cruell Aspes infectious gall And may I this forget to beare In minde with me Or shall it not be sealed where My treasures be Yes mine is vengeance and I will repay Their feet shall slide at the appointed day Their time of ruine neare at hand is come Those things that must befall them haste will make For sure the LORD shall giue his people doome And on his Seruants will compassion take Yea when he sees their strength is all Bereft and gone And they shut vp in prison shall Be left alone Where are their Gods become then will he say Their Rocke on whom they did affiance lay Who eate the fattest of their sacrifice Who of their drinke oblations dranke the wine Let those vnto their succour now arise And vnder their protection them enshrine Oh! therefore now consider this That I am Hee That I am Hee and that there is No God with mee I kill and make aliue I wound I cure And there is none can from my hand assure For vp to heauen I my hand doe reare And as I liue for euer this I say If once I whet my sword that sparkles cleare And shall my hand to acting vengeance lay I will not cease till I my foes With vengeance quite Nor till I haue repaid all those That beare me spite And in the bloud which I shall make to flow I 'le steepe mine arrowes till they drunken grow My sword shall feed on flesh and bloud of those That either shall be slaine or kept in thrall When I beginne to quit me of my foes Then with his people Ioy you kindreds all For he their bloud that serue him will With bloud pursue And all his foes repayeth still With vengeance due But to his land will mercy shewing be And those that are his people pitties He. THE Song of Deborah and Barak Iudges 5. The Argument and Vse IN the booke of Iudges Chapter 4. you may read that the ouerthrow giuen to Sisera by Deborah and Barak occasioned this Song of deliuerance and therefore referring you thither to be informed concerning the particular circumstances I will here shew you the generall scope of this Hymne to be a Thankesgiuing for a great ouerthrow gotten on their enemies Wherein many things are remarkable First in their Introduction attributing the glory to God and inciting all Potentates of the world to consider it they set forth with what Maiestie the LORD came to their deliuerance Secondly the excellency of the benefit receiued is illustrated by the great desolation they were formerly in the little meanes they had to protect themselues and the happie tranquillity which they should afterward enioy Thirdly they shew the cause of their former distresse to haue beene Apostacie from God Fourthly they memorize those who were forward in that iust warre and vpbraid such as drew backe in so good a cause Fiftly they declare what powerfull enemies they had and what miraculous assistance God vouchsafed Sixtly a curse is denounced against such as refuse to fight the LORDS battailes and She is blessed who was the happy Instrument of their deliuery Lastly here is a description of the manner of Siserah's death an Ironicall expression of the Aduersaries vaine hope of preuailing and a propheticall imprecation that all Gods enemies may so perish to the aduancement of his Church Jt is obserued by the Auncients that there is no Song mentioned in the Old or New Testament but it was composed vpon some extraordinary benefit or deliuerance which the Church receiued and that in all the songs of the old Testament especially there is beside the plaine literall sence some Mistery of the Christian Religion prophetically aymed at couertly or openly vnder the passages thereof And therefore this Song is not onely to be sung of vs Christians to glorifie God in memorizing his protecting our mother the Church among the Iewish Nation in her Infancie But wee are to vse it also as a thanks-giuing for euery particular deliuerance which is vouchsafed to the visible Church in these times As in memoriall of our miraculous preseruation in the yeare 1588. when our Princely Deborah the Queene of this kingdome gaue an ouerthrow to the Spanish Sisera For then the powers of heauen apparantly fought against him as it is said in this Song The Sea more terrible then their brooke Kishon swept most of them away And euen then as the mother of the Cananitish commander is here scoffed at by Deborah for her vaine expectation So the whore of Babilon who was mother to that other Sisera in vaine longed to behold him returne a conquerour till being ridiculously confident of the spoile she was by the true Church laughed to scorne for her presumption And then also this propheticall imprecacation which we finde in the Epilogue of this Song was partly fulfilled Thine enemies oh LORD shall perish but they that loue thee shall be as the Sunne when he riseth in his might For as the first Sisera was shamefully ruined by a woman so God gaue that last Sisera with his seeming inuincible forces into the hand of a woman whose honour with his shame was thereby spread through as great a part of the world as the Sunne shineth ouer at mid-day This Song as J said before would properly be sung also vpon many other deliuerances which the Church hath or may haue As for that of the powder-Treason and such like For were it not that J should be ouer-large in my Prologue to this Song J could make it very probable how the holy Ghost was so farre from making this Hymne to fit the Iewes after that victory onely as that the names therein mentioned doe well enough expresse any that are or shall be Instruments against the peace of Gods Church or for the protection thereof The Song Then sang Deborah and Barak the sonne of Abinoam on that day saying SIng praises to the Lord That Isre'l to acquite The people of their owne ac-cord Went forth vnto the fight You Kings giue eare you Princes heare I to the Lord will raise My voyce aloud and sing to God The Lord
thereon shall tread Their way is right that righteous are Whose path thou well dost heed Vpon thy Course of iudgements wee Oh LORD attending were And to record thy Name and Thee Our soules desirous are On thee my minde with strong desires Is fixed in the night And after thee my heart enquires Before the morning light For when thy righteous Iudgements are Vpon the earth discern'd By those that doe inhabite there Vprighnesse should be learn'd Yet sinners for no terror will Iust dealing vnderstand But they continue doing ill Eu'n in the righteous land Vnto the glory of the LORD They will not heedfull be Thy hand aduanc't on high oh LORD They will not daigne to see But they shall see and see with shame That doe thy people spight Yea from thy foes shall rise a flame That will deuoure them quite Then LORD for vs thou wilt procure That wee in peace may be Because that eu'ry worke of our Is wrought for vs by thee And LORD our God though we are brought To other Lords in thrall Of thee alone shall be our thought Vpon thy name to call They are deceast and neuer shall A farther life obtaine They die and shall not rise at all To tyrannize againe For to that end thou visited And wide dispers't them hast Vntill their fame was perished And vtterly defac'st But LORD encrea'st thy people are Encrea'st they are by thee And thou art glorified as farre As any lands there be For LORD in their distresses when Thy chast'ning on them lay They vnto thee did hasten then And without ceasing pray As she with Childe is pain'd when as Her throwes of bearing be And cryes in pangs before thy face Oh LORD so fared We. We haue conceiu'd beene pain'd and all Was for a windie birth The world no safetie yeeld's nor fall The dwellers of the earth Thy dead shall liue they rise againe With my dead body shall Oh you that in the dust remaine Awake and sing you all For as the dewe doth hearbs renewe That buried seem'd before So earth shall through thy heau'nly dewe Her dead aliue restore My people to thy Chambers fare Shut close the dore to thee And stay a while a moment there Till past the furie be For loe the LORD doth now arise He commeth from his place To punish their impieties Who doe the world possesse And now the earth no longer shall The blouds in her conceale But shee shall be compelled all Her murthers to reueale THE Prayer of HEZEKIAH Esay 37.15 The Argument and the Vse IT is recorded in the 36. and 37. of Esay that Senacharib King of Asiria sent an army against Ierusalem and that Rabshakah his principall commander not onely threatned to take it but blasphemed also against the power of God Which when Hezekiah receiued notice of it is said he repaired vnto the house of the LORD and made this Prayer there Wherein hauing by the attributes there giuen him acknowledged how able God was to be auenged he desires the LORD both to heare him and to consider the blasphemy of his aduersarie Then to manifest the necessitie of assistance He vrgeth the power of that foe ouer those that serued not the true God And as it seemes desireth deliuerance not so much in regard of his owne safetie as that the blasphemer and all the world may know the difference betweene the power of the LORD and the arrogant braggs of Man This Prayer may be vsed by the Church whensoeuer her powerfull and open aduersarie the Turke or any other Aduersarie whom God hath suffered to preuaile against false worshippers shall thereupon growe proud and threaten Her also as if in despight of God he had formerly preuailed by his owne strength And the name of Senacharib may be mistically applied to any such enemy Moreouer it may serue any of vs Christians for a prayer against those secret blasphemies which the Deuill whispers vnto our soules Or when by temptations he seekes to make vs dispaire and threatens to be our ruine maugre our Redeemer laying before our eyes how many others he hath destroyed who seemed to be in as good estate as we For this is indeed the Enemie who hath ouerthrowne whole Countries and Nations and he doth at this day ruine many thousands with their gods euen the meanes whereby they trusted to be safe for strength temporall power riches superstitious worships the wisedome of flesh and bloud vnsanctified Moral vertues worldly policie Idols such like wherein many put their trust are the works of mens hands and may he rightly termed the gods which that misticall Asirian Prince and our aduersarie hath power to destroy The Song And Hezâ—kiah prayed vnto the LORD saying O Lord of hoasts and God of Isra-el Thou who betweene the Cherubins dost dwell Of all the world thou God alone art King And heau'n and earth vnto their forme did'st bring Lord bow thine eare to heare attentiue be Lift vp thine eyes and daigne oh LORD to see What words Senacharib hath cast abroad And his proud message to the liuing God Truth LORD it is that lands and kingdomes all Haue to the Kings of Ashur beene a thrall Yea they their Gods into the fire haue throwne For Gods they were not but of wood and stone Mens work they were men therfore spoil'd them haue Then from his power vs LORD our God now saue That all the kingdomes of the earth may see Thou art the LORD and onely thou art hee Hezekiahs song of Thanksgiuing Esay 38.10 The Argument and Vse WE finde this Song in the 38. Chapter of Esay where is set before it this Title The writing of Hezekiah King of Iuda when he had beene sicke and was recouered of his sicknesse By which you may perceiue the occasion of it And if you consider the Song it selfe many particular circumstances are remarkable whereby the Author sheweth Gods mercy to haue beene exceeding great vnto him First in respect that he should else haue beene cut off in the best of his Age and perhaps when his sinnes might haue made him ripe aswell for hell as the graue Secondly in regard he should neuer haue seene againe the Temple of the Lord to praise him there with the rest of his people Thirdly if he had beene then taken away His dwelling that is his posteritie had beene cut off for at that time he had no children and so he had not lost his life onely but the hope of the Messias his Redeemer Fourthly his disease was so violent and vnsufferable that he thought not to haue liued out one day Fiftly God deliuered him when he was not tormented in body onely but when he suffered also extreame agonies of the Soule Lastly the greatnesse of Gods mercy is here praised in that when be deliuered him from the terrors of death he forgaue him also his sinnes which were the cause of that sickenesse Then seeming to haue entered into a serious consideration of all this He confesseth who they are
Isra'l through those Countries all In which they far or nigh dispersed be Because of that transgression wherewithall They haue transgressed and offended thee To vs our Kings our Dukes and Fathers doth Disgrace pertaine oh LORD for angring thee Yet mercy LORD our God and pardon both To thee belongs though we rebellious be For as for vs we sore haue disobey'd The Lord our God his voyce and would not heare To keepe his lawes which he before vs laid By those his seruants which his Prophetâ— were Yea all that of the race of Isra'l be Against thy law extreamely haue misdone And that they might not â—isten vnto thee They from thy voice oh LORD are backward gone Which makes both Curse and Oth on them descend That in the Law of Moses written was The seruant of that God whom we offend And now his speeches he hath brought to passe On vs and on our Iudges he doth bring That plague wherewith he threatned vs and them For vnder heau'n was neuer such a thing As now is acted on Ierusalem As Moses written Law doth beare record Now all this mischiefe is vpon vs brought And yet we prayed not before the LORD That leauing sinne we might his Truth be taught For this respect the LORD in wait hath laid That he inflict on vs this mischiefe might And seeing we his voyce haue disobay'd In all his workes the LORD our God's vpright But now oh LORD our God who from the land Of cruell Aegypt brought thy people hast And by the power of thine almighty hand Atchieu'd a name which to this day doth last Though we haue sinned and committed ill Yet LORD by all that righteousnesse in thee From thy Ierusalem thy holy hill Oh let thy wrath and anger turned be For by those wicked things which we haue don And through our fathers sinnes Ierusalem Yea thine owne people haue the hatred won And the reproach of all that neighbour them Now therefore to thy Seruant's suite encline His prayer heare our God and let thy face Eu'n for the LORDS deare sake vouchsafe to shine Vpon thy now forsaken holy place Thine eares encline thou oh my God and heare Lift vp thine eyes and vs oh looke vpon Vs who forsaken with thy Citty are The Citty where thy name is called on For we vpon our selues presume not thus Before thy presence our request to make For any righteousnesse that is in vs But for thy great and tender Mercies sake LORD heare forgiue oh LORD and weigh the same Oh LORD performe it and no more deferre For thine owne sake my God for by thy name Thy Citty and thy people called are THE Prayer of IONAH Ionah 2. The Argument and Vse AS Ionah fled from the presence of the LORD he was followed by a tempest whose furie would not be allayed vntil the offender was cast into the Sea where God had mercie on him and sent a Fish to preserue him Which in humane reason seemed a more terrible danger then that he was deliuered from But the safetie which at his first entrance hee found in so vnsafe a place made him sensible of Gods fauour and begat in him a firme beliefe that he should be totally deliuered And thereupon being yet in the Fishes belly made this Prayer to praise God for deliuering him in so great an extremity And he did it as speaking of a thing already done the better to shew vs the soundnesse of his faith The things remarkeable are these The place where he prayed the terrible and vnauiodable danger that compassed him the dispaire he was nigh falling into the timely application of Gods mercy the comfort it infused into him the occasions which draw men into these perils the vowe made vpon this deliuerance and lastly the reason of that vowe Now this buriall of Ionas in the fishes belly and his deliuery from thence was a signe of the buriall and resurrection of our blessed Sauiour Mat. 12.40 And therefore we must not thinke he made this Prayer onely in his owne person but in the misticall body of Iesus Christ also For by contemplating the circumstances of his danger and deliuerance and hauing the spirit of prophecie he apprehended the misteries of our Redemption By the ship ready to be sunke through that tempest in which he was cast away he conceiued the wrath of God against the world for sinne and that it would not be appeased without satisfaction By his owne offence he foresaw hâ—w Christ hauing taken our sinne vpon him should to bring peace vnto the world be deliuered ouer vnto the rage of Pilate and the Iewes By his being receiued into the fishes belly and there preserued aliue he foresaw how Christ should be swallowed vp of the graue and yet remaine vncorrupted And by the fore-sight he had of his owne comming safe to the shore againe he apprehended that ioyful resurrection of our Redeemer whose misticall body the Church lay all that while as it were in the very Jawes of death and hell These things Ionah apprehended through the spirit of prophecie and by the obiects aforesaid composed this Prayer to set forth the mercies of God and to expresse in what a fearefull estate mankinde was vntill Christ was risen againe in victory And therefore J thinke as it will become vs Christians often to sing it in memory thereof so especially vpon that day which we celebrate in memoriall of our Sauiours Resurrection The Song IN my distresse I cry'd to thee oh Lord And thou wert pleased my complaint to heare Out from the bowels of the grauâ— I roar'â— and to my voyce thou didst encline thine eare For I amid the Sea was cast And to the bottome there thou plung'd me hast The flouds about me rowling circles made Thy waues and billowes ouer-flow'd me quite Wherewith alas vnto my selfe I said I am for euer-more depriu'd thy sight Yet once againe aduance shall I Vnto thy holy Temple-ward mine eye Eu'n to my soule the waters clos'd me had Or'e-swallow'd by the deepes I there was pent About my head the weedes a wreath had made Vnto the hils foundation downe I went And so that forth I could not get The earth an euer-lasting barre had set Then thou oh LORD my God oh thou wert he That from corruption didst my life defend For when my soule was like to faint in me Thou didst oh LORD into my thoughts descend My prayer vnto thee I sent And to thy holy Temple vp it went Those who giue trust to vaine and foolish lies Despisers of their owne good safetie be But I will offer vp a sacrifice Of singing praises with my voice to thee And will performe what vow'd I haue For it belongs to thee oh LORD to saue THE Song of HABAKKVK Habak 3. The Argument and Vse BEfore the following Song is vsually this TITLE A Prayer of the PROPHET Habakkuk vpon Sigionoth or as most Translations haue it For the ignorances that is for the comfort and better information of the people