glory still increase Be thou Lord ours and make us to be thine And bless these Isles with Christian joy and peace Then shalt thou joy in us and we in thee And spread thy glory through earth's spatious rounds That all its Nations may come in and see Thy saving health and how thy grace abounds Amen Epigram HOw crooked in this age is mankind grown Some give offence and others take where's none All flock like Larks to Day nets and most flie To a false glass in stead of Heavens bright eye Opinion guideth most and she by faction Is quite beside her self in high distraction Our wanton hearts each spark take tinder-like That Rome's and Spain's false steel stone do strike But ah beware lest blown into a flame Those sparks devour our Nation and our Name They had ere now did he not them prevent From whose pure truths they charm us to dissent By broaching sapless Schisms fruitless Dissentions Teaching for truths their own accurst inventions Lord re-unite us ere we ruin'd be Make us at odds with them but one with thee Amen The bitter sweet 1. LOrd it's a time of changes oh be pleas'd To change us so that we may be appeas'd In every change submit our stormie wills To thy disposals silence passion stills And meek embracement of sharp dispensations To us-wards for our great prevarications Retard ensuing judgements I might say Prevents them since it doth thy wrath allay 2. Lord it's a time of troubles trouble me Most for my sins since they most trouble thee Impow'r me Lord to trouble them as well Who are the Achans of thy Isra-el Let them have trouble 'till they troubled die Sunk in oblivion to eternity These curs'd Aegyptians still have thee withstood Drown them in the Red-sea of thy Sons blood 3. Lord it's a time of war arm thou my soul Against my lusts and my corruptions foul Which with world flesh and devil united stand Encampt against me Thine Almighty hand Alone can save make me resolv'd and stout That I by grace these restless foes may rout Teach me thy sp'ritual armour so to weild That they subdu'd with shame may flie the field 4. Lord it's a time of sickness oh I faint Sin is my sickness make it my complaint Dear Christ be thou my doctor or I die No doctor else can cure my malady It 's a contagious botch hereditary A leprosie that doth infection carry Through all man's generations all man's line 'T is blood must cure't and no blood can but thine 5. Lord it's a time of death teach me to die Aright to sin that I may live thereby To righteousness then as that death pleas'th thee Death natural will pleasing prove to me Whilst in thee I shall die death shall but hurry Me from this vale of tears to endless glory Grant these two deaths who once didst die for me I first may die to sin next die in thee Chorus IN changes troubles war sickness and death My sweet's above my bitter still beneath Mos Mundi The broad way 1. TO drink to drab to dance and sing To swear and swagger roar and raunt Carouse and Hats up fling Laugh boast and vaunt Jeer and taunt Jest and Jibe Like Thraso's tribe To flatter cog and lye Pack Cards and trip a Dye Frolick and feast And play the beast Have mirthful parts accounted been Yea noble qualities esteem'd But wise men when they such have seen Them rather mad then merâ—y deem'd 2. To fast be chaste demurely talk Hate Oathes debauch'd behaviour flie And soberly to walk Jests to defie And each lye Truth to speak Wrath not to wreak But leave revenge to God Are all held humours odd Who such is turn'd Is mosily scorn'd The world so impudent is grown That sin gains glory vertue shame Astraea is to Heaven flown And Grace on Earth hath lost her name Sic transit gloria mundi Praesentis non futuri Eternity ETernity Ah dearest Lord assist My shallow Muse for she 's quite overwhelm'd In this vast Ocean she 's of footing miss't Toss'd on the surging waves like ship unhelm'd Depriv'd of terminus à quo from whence Her voyage to begin and the ad quem Where it should end since he 's depriv'd of sence Who in eternity doth seek for them She no beginning had nor end shall have But from eternal to eternal be VVas is and shall be when death and the grave The Earth the Sea the Heavens which we see Were all meer nothing unborn unbegotten Whilst they their time ordain'd continue shall And when they all are vanish'd and forgotten She 'll stay unmetamorphosed at all In her nor time nor age can change effect Nor all the pow'rs of Earth and Hell prevayl To make a wrinkle in her sweet aspect Nor frost one hair though joyntly they assayl VVhen Heav'n shall moult her Stars like a roul Involved be in flames that shall consume The world's whole fabrick save mans deathless soul And God shall in a moment us assume Chang'd to himself Yet she shall still remain Immutable by his divine decree Who her impowr'd that sameness to retain In self-fruition to eternity Old Idol-makers emblemiz'd her by A snake turn'd round whose mouth and tayl did meet VVhich endless form shew'd forth a deity VVhose everlasting being could not fleet Nor end receive but still revert again To its beginning Others pourtray'd her In youthful shape so ever to remain Both in the right and yet both out on 't were Though everlasting and unchangeable She 's but a creature so they erred both In de-ifying her yet no man's able Of her deep Essence to conceive the troth She 's of too lofty birth too deep conception For our low shallow apprehensions reach The thought whereof should move us to reception Of humbled hearts and soul-submission teach To our and her great God whose wonders woo Our way-ward hearts from transitorie joyes To will what he doth will and that to do To fix on him and so abandon toyes Sacred Eternity should make us slight These shadow-pleasures short delights below False creature-comforts and to eye that light That leads to true and lasting joyes we know Those soon shall fade And our immortal souls Run parallel unto Eternity In wo or weal. Who then but heedless fools Will loose firm joyes to joy in vanity Heark fearless Dolt hammer thy steeled heart On this firm Anvil Oft in minde revolve Eternity that she may make thee part From thy embosom'd lusts the stone dissolve That 's in thy breast thy crusted conscience soften Impow'r thee Satans wiles more to resist To do good oftner and not sin so often For fear of everlasting had I wist This single word in brief doth comprehend All the surpassing joys that Heav'n affords And all the torments that the damned find In Hell them to express need no more words For though the joys of one be infinite In number weight and measure and as well The others torments no less infinite Eternity
1. LIfe thou dost flatter and betray My heedless soul to sin to day On thee presuming And hopes assuming Of penitence hereafter And so thou lead'st me sheep-like to the slaughter 2. Thou in thy warfare careless art Though Death hath got Letters of Mart Soon to surprize thee VVhere-e'er he spies thee A foe that will not trifle But surely speed and will thee shortly rifle 3. Why shouldst thou faithless to me be 'T is to thy self as well as me Cease then to flatter And thy baits scatter To hook my foolish fancie For thy allurements work like necromancie 4. 'T is a black Art and dark thou hast VVho danger vail'st till time is past Of it preventing And mak'st repenting Late unavailing to us And by thy Syren's songs dost quite undo us 5. VVe silly mortals quite mistake VVhen thee for our chief friend we take Death is more friendly And deals more kindly VVho summons us to heaven VVhen thou would'st keep us here of joy bereven 6. Nature on thee doth too much dote VVhose humour 't is to love by rote VVhil'st reason 's blinded And sense most minded Our souls by thee are lulled Secure asleep and of salvation gulled To DEATH 1. DEath how do sinners thee abuse VVho thee most grim to pourtray use They quite mistake thee VVho uglie make thee Thou to the good art comely Though worldlings deem thy presence course and homely 2. Thou art out Moses who dost show Our way from Egypt here below To Can'an's glory Thou dost us hurry From this worlds dayly sorrows To joyes eternal where to day wants morrows 3. It is thy father makes thee grim Thou lovely art wert not for him He dwells within us And he doth win us To hate thee without thy desert Thy Father's sin and thou his wages art 4. A father strange that hates his child And wages too you 'ld deem him wild As we count wildness For death's sweet mildness Is shown still to the holly Sin 's their chief foe and counts their goodness folly 5. Death is God's Hâ—… who calls away His servants to receive their pay But to his debtors And their abertors His under-Sheriff cruel Who them imprisons where flameâ— ne'er wantâ— fuel 6. Death lays our bodies here asleep Whilst festivals our souls shall keep 'Till our exciting And re-uniting In joys passing all beneath Ah fit me Lord for thee and welcome death The Resurrection DRead Lord what harmony my soul doth find In all the wondrous works by thee design'd Or consummate past present or to come Oh! how disorder bringeth order home This days confusion sure will far surpass The Chaos that at the Creation was And this days order will the perfect'st be That men or Angels ever yet did see The sad confusion of thy Goat herds train Exceeds all thoughts conceiv'd by mortals brain And the sweet order of thy shepherds sheep Will Angels strike with admiration deep What hurly-burly here shall we descry ' Mongst Nimrod's fell Tyrannick progeny How loath this day will their proud ashes be To re-unite when they thy Son shall see Whose members they have persecuted here In cloud-clad glory come what rueful cheer What horrour and amazement will confound Their loathsome souls when that last trump shall sound And they be summon'd forthwith to appear Before that Judge whom they condemned here Pilate will wish his heart had washed been When he his hands did wash but for a screen To cover horrid murther Wilful Jews That roar'd out Crucifie him at this news Struck with astonishment will surely wish They had been all born dumb or mute as fish But empty wishes nought avayl them here For will they nill they all men must appear At this last great Assize and render in Compleat account of what hath acted been By them here in the flesh and not alone Of act 's but of their words and thoughts each one According whereunto they shall their doom Receive for all that endless time to come Save those for whom the Lamb was born and dy'd Who shall by faith not by deserts be try'd And bathed in his blood shall shine more bright Then Phaebus doth when he gives purest light These shall have all the tears wip'd off their eyes And be enthroned with the deities With great Tri-une Jehovah they shall be The Bridegroom's Bride to all eternitie And raign with him in bliss for evermore Who them redeemed hath and pay'd their score Lord these do groan for this great day and cry Come come Lord Jesus Oh come quickly hy To set us free from sin and from all those That persecute us thine and our fierce foes When shall we be avenged when wilt thou Ascend the throne and make all mortals bow Before thy foot-stool when again restore All pow'r unto thy self for evermore Lord re-assume it for it is thy due Thou hast it lent a while to men 't is true But they bad stewards prove and miss-employ Thy talents and deserve not to enjoy Thy slighted favour Lord call in again That pow'r and let the Lamb for ever raign Then shall the Church triumphant sing his song With Hallelujah's from the Angel-throng For he alone is worthy to ascend The throne eternal whose rule shall not end Whose Kingdom and dominion ne'er shall â—…se Who is the Prince of everlasting peace Who from beginning was ordain'd to die That he his chosen flock might glorifie To whom all glory be ascrib'd and then Shall Saints and Angels cry Amen amen The Epigram JUdas prepare thy bag thy day is come When for thy pains thou shalt be payd full home But Oh! thy mind is chang'd thou would'st Essoyn Thy self this court rather then take this Coin Though take it needs thou must and when thou hast it 'T will last for ever for time cannot waste it Yet thou wilt finde thy state had been more thriving Had'st thou refus'd those thirty pieces living This is a maxime though of my own making Men grow not always truly rich by taking Misers whom love of coin on earth o'er-sway'd Shall this day in their own coin be repay'd For Sion's Lamb when he ascends the throne Will prove himself a debtor unto none But will requite both good and ill that 's done By all man's off-spring since the world begun A Soliloquie on the Resurrection CHeer up my soul exalt thy head on high For thy long-look'd Redemption draweth nigh Lo thy sweet Saviour comes in glory bright This day to put an end to day and night Whence times alternate course away shall fly Issuing forth into eternity One everlasting day whose splendor clear Will need no Sun to give us light and chear Our Sun shall be the Sun of Righteousness Which never sets whose light no cloud makes less In his coruscant glory He shall shine Into thine eyes my soul with light divine And yet not dazzle them to hurt thereby They 'l dazled be with sweet satiety With joy and admiration to behold Israels shepherd with his flock and
be thereto wise men demurr'd But I 'll resolve that doubt whoe'er thou be Atheist approach and feel draw neer and see And doubtless thou shalt have full satisfaction For thy nice question and each godless action Thou' rt right i' th' way no guide needs yet know this Death will most surely shew thee where it is Heaven ETernal Majesty who here dost raign My Muse assistance by thy Spirit daign In mercy pardon this my bold adventure The holiest of holies thus to enter Oh! circumcise my heart my foul lips touch VVith thy great Altar's cole ere I approach Thy honour's dwelling Sanctifie my verse Let this its Our ano-graphy rehearse Soul-charming strains that ravish may with love My self and others of the things above I kiss thy threshold Lord and so creep in VVhere 's no approach for ought defil'd with sin Not that i 'm pure but foul yet purged cleer Lo Lord my sacrifice and Priest are here At thy right hand of glory with thee one The glory both of thy right hand and throne The wonder of thy mercy love and grace VVho bears all Heavens joys summ'd in his face The Heav'n of Heav'n Men cannot wish more bliss Then to behold thy sacred face and his Though but a moment who such sight might have Would hug the silent hushtness of the grave Kiss death yea woo Hells self on the condition When time 's spent to the snuff to have fruition Of that transcendent joy Oh grace divine Incomprehensible save by the Tri'ne It forc'th my tongue-ty'd Muse rapt with delight To stutter forth a far-short Epithite Oh su-per-su-per-su-su-per-la-tive Stupendious Love Into whose depth to dive Would non-plus Heav'ns Angelick Hierarchy VVonder-strike all the Saints to Lethargy Yet as if these essentials of that joy VVere too too small for mankinde to enjoy Too slight a guerdon for a sinful worm VVhose sting death-stung the Lord of Life whose form First most divine is self-deform'd by guilt God for augmenting circumstantials built This New Jerusalem Joys splendid throne A City whose high walls are precious stone Her streets transparent gold her unshut gates Of Orient pearls all of unvalu'd rates VVhere needs nor Sun by day nor Moon by night For God's great glory gives eternal light The Lamb 's the Lamp thereof within it walk Earth's saved Tribes whose musick and whose talk Are Allelu-iahs whose white Robes out vie The purest snow in candor such no eye Of Mortal ever saw nor heart of man Can half conceive where Jesus leads the Van Of sacred Myriades host of Lord of hosts VVith millions of Angels for the posts And scouts of that Coelestial Army grac'd VVith many thousand-thousand Kings all plac'd In thrones of glory crown'd with endless peace And sceptred with triumphant Palms where cease All oppositions to eternity For all their Enemies subdued lie Chain'd up in deathless flames in sulph'ry smother Tormenting and tormented by each other Doom'd to so horrid and immense a curse As God himself can wish his Foes no worse But what need Joys Antipathetical Where Sympathetical drown heart and all In sweet satiety and pleasing fulness Blessedly void of nauseating dulness This feast's cates cloy not ne'er so freely ta'en The Ghests need fear no surfeiting or bane Yet it 's a lasting everlasting feast Like free for all the greatest or the least Here winged Cherubims bring in the Ghests From all Earth's quarters after Death's arrests That Vinegar prepares their appetites To feed on unexpressible delights For that 's Gods wonted way as all Saints know who 'll feast above must taste sowre sauce below Afflictions are Preparatives to bliss VVho rightly bear one rarely t'other miss I might say never Lord what fools are we VVhom sense misseads to doat on what we see Hear feel smell taste with Organs physical Sense-comforts have Soul-poyson in them all The Spider sucks them thence and heedless Bees Fixing on them their ' fore-got honey leese And labour too Avaunt avaunt dear souls Let Faith's bright eye aspire beyond the Poles And view those everlasting Mansions there Void of disturbance anguish care or fear Of all that discontents all that annoys And full refert with boundless endless joys Here the celestial choristers declare Their maker's glory chaunting hymns most rare Sweet odes and Epithalamies they 'll sing To celebrate the nuptials of their king Mount Sion's Lamb Lyon of Judah's tribe Whose bless'd inauguration they 'll describe In soul-amazing notes that ravish quite All ears with sweet excess of choice delight The Heav'n and Heav'n of Heavens ring with peals Of acclamations at the open'd seals The mystery of God fulfill'd they 'll see And joy therein to all eternitie Methinks I hear the most melodious songs The none-such ditties warbled by those throngs My towring soul transmounts the cast back skies Sensing in her degree those rhapsodies Hyper-noetick strains that quite transform My lowly muse into a lofty form Make nature lethe-drunk inflame my heart With restless longing there to bear a part Where who the least part bears shall bear a weight Of countless endless glory great yet light A crowning burthen burthenless who bear The Cross right here shall there the crown right wear An Amarantine Crown of glory lasting Further beyond then 't is to everlasting Lord why doth this dull lump of earth detain My mounting soul from their consort that raign With thee in glory I should groan to be Dissolv'd that I thy presence bright might see Whereof a glympse I spy but sinful flesh Still conjures up desires of life afresh Of life not worth desiring now I view The difference 'twixt it and this that 's true True life is only here our life below Is but a mock-life meerly life in show But real death Lord that I here might stay And wait at my Redeemer's feet for aye But ah it cannot be I must descend And re-invested be in flesh to end My task by thee appointed me beneath Till summon'd by thy Pursevant grim death Or judgement's change I re-appear before Thy throne to be with thee for evermore Dear God in mercy dangers all prevent That may affayl my soul in this descent From sin-defilement keep her pure and free And then thy will be done O Lord on me Yet ah i 'm loath to part my soul much fear'th To fall from highest heav'n to lowest earth Guide me and her Lord while we there remain And then ere long we shall return again The Epigram OH what all-dazling lustre's here whose bright Corruscancy deprives all eyes of sight All tongues of words expressive and all hearts Of comprehensive thoughts all these weak parts Are stupifi'd hereat yet this great throne Was made for worthless man's fruition What miracles hath mercy more to do What! forgive sins give sinners heaven too There needs no more of mercy for man's lot Get hea-ven and get all that need be got Of getting other things learn the forgetting For when all 's got heav'n's all that 's worth the getting Valedictio
that raigns for evermore 10. To Father FArewel my being's instrumental Cause Assign'd by him from whom all beings flow Who my new Father is and old one was Ere you were so methinks my heart doth grow With grief to part But yet part needs I must From all relations that Heav'ns Canopy Surrounds to find the merciful and just Who 's Father to us all whose Progeny Are all man-kind whose wonderful affection By his Son's blood redeem'd me who before Made love sole ground of my poor souls election For which I 'll sing his praise for evermore Father if you are loath I gone should be Come but to him you 'll surely come to me 11. To Mother FArewel dear mold where in my mortal clay First by th' eternal potter formed was In pain that baâ—'st me nine months night and day And after grievous travel gav'st me pass Into this vale of tears thy torments bind Me to a boundless love yet wonder not If I now leave thee for a new I find Who hath me born again since 't was thy lot A mother militant who hath prepar'd A third triumphant for me who doth dwell Where never to approach a foe yet dar'd Above the fear and spite of Earth and Hell Oh let me fly and haste thee after me For she to both of us will mother be 12. To Children FArewel sweet implings quick Epitomes Of me and my dear second I must leave Your lov'd society death 's Writ of Ease Doth me remove yet not of life bereave That 's length'ned by my change you I commit Unto a faithful guardian yea a father To me and you with whom I go to sit In everlasting glory who will gather You all to me again when his time comes Only be faithful to the death and he Will give you crowns of life when your bless'd homes Shall be th' imperial Heaven where with me With Angels Saints and Martyr's crowned throng You 'll sing for ever Sion's Lamb 's sweet song 13. To Wife FArewel my better half life of my life And sub-celestial comforts we must cleave One heart in two at parting dearest wife As we made one of two at meeting leave Spare those heart-melting cries those thriftless tears Thy frailties to bewail in those streams swim Home to thy harbour where my faith me bears There my Bridegroom and thine doth mansions trim For us with everlasting ornaments With whom we both shall newly marri'd be And raign eternally fill'd with contents Passing what heart can think ear hear eye see I do but go before and thee expect Among the number of the Lord's Elect. 14. To all Joyntly FArewel World Europe Britain native Shire And Parish too servants acquaintance friâ—…ds Kindred with Father Mother children dear And dearest Wise have all contented mindes Fot I am to so high preferment call'd That if you lov'd me you would urge me on To haste away that I may be install'd A death-less prince crown'd King by him whose throne Is over all whose Scepter sways at once Heav'n Earth and Hell with their inhabitants That Triple Crown that girts the pride-puft sconce Of Antichrist who there of falsly vaunts Is this Kings right alone stil'd in truth's words The only King of Kings and Lord of Lords The Charge BRitain thy glory 's sunk swoln are thy sins To an o'erwhelming torrent that begins Thee to o'erwhelm thy erst indulgent God Hath turn'd his hand against thee see his rod Begins to whip thy follies whose dread sword Did lately fight thy battels whose pure word Made the earth's Goshen thou begin'st to grope In an Egyptian darkness many hope To see th' unbottom'd pits black mists o'ercloud Thy splendent Sun yea thy own sons have vow'd To put out that great light to raise thereby Their ignis fatuus light of phantasie Father of lights frustrate their curs'd design The comfort shall be ours but glory thine Let not the pit's black torches smokie fumes Eclipse thy Sun-shine here though he presumes To see it so who is the man of sin Who among us those false fires usher'd in To light us on to darkness Lord return Those fires into his bosom let them burn Mysterious Babylon their heat calcine The scarlet whore and beast to ashes fine Their light discover Antichrist to all That they and their false fires together fall Quench'd in eternal flames and then on high And here beneath thy Church shall glorifie Thy aweful name But ah Lord we betray Our selves to them by sin wildely display Our nakedness and what defects we have Thy hand 's not shortned that it cannot save Nor thine ear heavie that it will not hear But our iniquities O God most dear Have separated us from thee our sins Have stockt our feet in their intangling gins Our gross abominations in thy sight Have thee provok'd to take from us the light That we so long unworthily enjoy'd Thanklesly too which made the favour void Our disesteeming of thy sacred light Perverting it to doctrines of the night To schisms and errours heresies and factions Have justly brought on us these sad distractions And since so many of us dare to scoft it Thou justly may'st henceforth deprive us of it Thou may'st remove our candlestick to those who 'll bring forth better fruit then our vain shows Our painted leaves and blossoms which discrie Our faith but fain'd our zeal hypocrisie Provoke thy patience to fierce wrath's effusion And woo thy vengeance to our own confusion But Lord forbid forbid dear God the sins Of us poor nothings who have nothing in 's But sin and folly ever should out-vie Thy boundless mercy force thee to defie Fond weakling worms yet thy own creatures Lord Create ' Redeem'd preserved by thy word And those whom thou hast lov'd Oh rather turn Us from our sins to thee for them to mourn Then thee from us to view them and in wrath For them to punish Lord thy mercy hath Ways to prevent thy justice and can give Light unto all that all may see to live Hoping to live to see the gen'ral call Of nations to the light by all in all Who shall have all the glory that redounds Eccho'd from Heav'ns and earth's remotest bounds And when all other Kingdoms are o'erthrown Pow'r and dominion shall be all his own Which hasten Lord that we may see with joy To thine Elect and to their foes annoy And oh prepare us for that glorious day Turn us from each perverse and crooked way Wherein we wander fit this Island 's ghests For thy bright coming and for the arrests Of death and judgment that whate'er befal The glory may be thine joy ours in all But Lord our sins have at such height o'erbore us That they transcend all Nations past before us It well may make at sight of our base pride Lucifer blush to see himself out-vi'd And we have those by us'ry and oppression Who would wrest Mammon's self out of possession Fraud and deceit to such a height are grown That most men
that hate verse 18 All comfortless Zion spreads forth her hands Concerning Jacob God his foes commands To hem him round and poor Jerusalem Is as a menstrous woman made by them verse 19 The Lord is righteous for against his Laws I have rebelled Oh! I pray you pawse All people hear and see my sorrow bred By my young men and Virgins captive led verse 20 I call'd my lovers but they me deceiv'd My Priests and Elders were of life bereav'd In City while they sought meat for relief verse 21 Behold O Lord me in distress and grief My bowels vexed and my heart is quelled Since against thee I grievously rebelled The sword abroad bereaves and death at home verse 22 My foes have heard i 'm comfortless become And that I sigh in trouble They rejoyce That thou hast done it Lord thy sacred voyce Hath call'd a day which thou wilt bring to be And they shall then be all like unto me verse 23 Look on their wickedness and them reward As thou hast me for my transgressions Lord For many are my sighs and numerous My heart is faint for thy afflicting us CHAP. II. verse 1 HOw hath the Lord in anger covered Poor Zions Daughter with a cloud o'eâ— spreaâ— And cast from Heaven his imperial City Down to this dunghil earth the splendid beauty Of Israel and calls not now to minde His foot-stool in his day of wrath assign'd verse 2 The Lord hath swallow'd up all Jacob's Tents And pitiless in Judah's holds made rents And brought them to the ground he hath defil'd The Kingdom and the Princes all exil'd verse 3 In his fierce wrath he'th cut off Isr'els horn His right hand from foes presence back is born ' Gainst Jacob like a flaming fire he burneth Which round about devoureth and o'erturneth verse 4 His bowe he foe like bent with his right hand He stood as adversary with death fan'd All those that pleasant were unto the eye In Zions daughters Tabernacle high He pour'd his fury forth like flaming fire verse 5 The Lord was foe and swallow'd in his ire All Israel her palaces and all Strong holds and mourning hath increas'd withall verse 6 With Judah's daughters wo with violence His Tabernacle he remov'd from thence Even as a garden and destroyed rests The place of his assembly solemn feasts And Sabbaths he hath caus'd to be forgot In Zion King and Priest he heeded not verse 7 In his wrath's indignation God hath cast His Altars off abhorr'd his Temple wast Her Palace-walls he gave up to her foes By them a noise in the Lord's house arose verse 8 As in a solemn feast God purpos'd hath Destroying Zion's daughter's wall in wrath He hath stretch'd out a line neither withdraw'd His hand from ruining he therefore made The rampart and the wall both to lament They languish'd joyntly both in discontent verse 9 Her gates are all interr'd her bars are broke Her King and Princes under Gentiles yoke The law is fled Prophets no vision see verse 10 And Zion's daughters elders silenc'd be Sitting on ground dust-headed sack-cloth-girt Jebus her Virgins hang down heads in dirt verse 11 Mine eyes do fail with tears my bowels vex'd My liver poured out on earth perplex'd For the destruction which my people meets Children and sucklings swoon in City-streets verse 12 They ask of Mothers corn and wine and swoonded As those that in the City-streets are wounded VVhilst in their mothers bosoms thus they cry'd They poured out their souls expir'd and dy'd verse 13 VVhat thing shall I to witness take for thee To what by me may'st thou compared be verse 14 O daughter of Jerusalem what shall I equal to thee that I may let fall Some drop of comfort thy sad soul to chear O Virgin Sions daughter it is clear Thy breach is Ocean-like in magnitude verse 15 Who can thee heal thy Prophets have seen rude Vain foolish things for thee would not display Thy sins thy captive state to turn away But have for thee seen burthens false and causes verse 16 Of banishment By-passers all make pauses Clap hands and hiss and wag their heads at thee Daughter of Jebus crying Is this she Beautie 's perfection term'd joy of the earth verse 17 Thy foes all gape against thee and in mirth Hiss gnash their teeth now certainly they say VVe have her swallow'd up this is the day VVe looked for which we have found and see verse 18 God hath what he devised done and he Fulfilled hath his word of old commanded He hath thrown down not piti'd and hath banded Thine enemies against thee to rejoyce Set up thine adversaries horn and voice verse 19 Their heart unto thee Lord aloud did cry O wall of Sions daughter from thine eye Let tears run down like rivers night and day And give thy self no rest thine eyes no stay verse 20 Arise make nightly cries when watch begins Pour out thy heart like water for thy sins Before God's face and lift thy hands on high To Him for thy young babes that fainting lie verse 21 On top of every street O Lord behold Consider to whom thou hast done what 's told Shall women eat their fruit a span-long child Prophet and Priest be in the Temple kill'd verse 22 The young and old lie groveling in the streets The sword my virgins and my young men meets Thou in thy day of wrath hast slain them all Thou hast them kill'd and let no pity fall verse 23 Thou summon'd hast as in a solemne day My terrours round about that none away In thy wrath's day escaped or remain'd The children that I swaddeled and train'd Brought up and cherish'd and to keep presum'd My mortal enemy hath all consum'd CHAP. III. verse 1 I Am the man that hath affliction seen verse 2 By his wrath's rod. By him led have I been Into obscurest darkness grief to tell But not into the light save that like Hell verse 3 Surely against me is he turned right His hand is turn'd against me day and night verse 4 He hath made old my flesh and skin and spilt verse 5 My broken bones He hath against me built With gall and travel he hath compass'd me verse 6 Like dead of old in the dark places he Me fet He hath me hedged round about verse 7 Made my chain heavy that I can't get out verse 8 My pray'r he shuts out when I shout and cry verse 9 He curv'd my paths and wall'd my ways up high verse 10 VVith squared stone He was a bear to me Lying in wait and lyon-like was he verse 11 In secret place My wayes he turn'd aside And into pieces he did me divide verse 12 And made me desolate He bent his bowe Made me his shafts-mark so to shoot me through verse 13 He caus'd his quiver's arrows in my reins verse 14 To enter deep And in their merry veins Distressed I the people's laughter was verse 15 And song all day He me hath fill'd alas VVith bitterness with
shalt drunken fall verse 22 And make thee naked Zions daughter high The punishment of thine iniquity Accomplish'd is he will no more thee carry Captive away O Edom's daughter wary The Lord will visit thine iniquity He will thy sins discover and descry CHAP. V. verse 1 O Lord remember what upon us comes verse 2 Consider our reproach Behold our homes Are turn'd to aliens our inheritance verse 3 To strangers we are fatherless orphans verse 4 Our mothers widowes are We drunk our water For money wood is sold unto us after verse 5 Our necks are under persecution We labour and of rest have no fruition verse 6 To Egypt and to Ashur hands we gave That we to satisfie us bread might have verse 7 Our fathers sin'd and are not we bore their verse 8 Iniquities servants our rulers were And none out of their hands delivers us verse 9 Getting our bread our lives are perilous verse 10 Because of wildernesses sword Our skin Was ov'n-like black because of famine thin verse 11 But terrible In Zion ravish'd they The women and by force with maydens lay verse 12 In Judah's Cities Princes hang'd appear By their fierce hands the elders faces were verse 13 Not honoured They made the young men grinde The children fall under the wood behinde verse 14 The elders from the gate have ceas'd young men verse 15 From musick our heart's joy is ceased when verse 16 Our daunce is into mourning turn'd The crown Off from our head is likewise fallen down verse 17 Wo unto us that we have fin'd For this Our eyes are dim for these our heart faint is verse 18 Because of Zions mountain desolate verse 19 The foxes walke on it Thou Lord in state Remain'st for ever and thy throne is set verse 20 From age to age why dost thou us forget For ever and so long forsake us see verse 21 Turn us to thee and we shall turned be Return our days as in the time of old verse 22 But thou O Lord as if thy love grew cold Hast utterly rejected us thou art Exceeding wrath against us hence we smart Confessio Petitio 1. GOD hath chalk'd us out a way Leading unto peace and life We rebellious run astray In the pathes of death and strife Did not mercie us preserve VVhat we chuse we best deserve Peace and Life we loath and wave Death and Strife we love and have Turn us Lord or we shall never Turned be but stray for ever 2. Thou to us Lord hast made known What shall in the end bring peace VVhen the Rule shall be thine own And all Tyranny shall cease VVhen all Pow'rs on earth that be Shall depend alone on thee VVhen the Lord shall peace compose But we still thy ways oppose Turn us Lord or we shall never Turned be but stray for ever 3. When thou shalt our Rulers chuse Who can doubt of happy dayes Since no people ere did lose Ought by walking in thy wayes Oh that we that time might see When we shall be rul'd by thee Haste it Lord and let it come But we still do stray and roam Turn us Lord or we shall never Turned be but stray for ever 4. We in Changes run our course Not to change from bad to good But to change from bad to worse Though by thee to better woo'd Since in changes we delight Lord direct our changes right That from bad to good we change And us from our sins estrange Change us Lord or we shall never Changed be yet change for ever 5. Can a Blackmore change his skin Or a Leopard his spots Then may we forsake our sin VVhich accustom'd us besots And allures us more and more To worse courses then before So impossible a change Unto man to Thee 's not strange Change us Lord or we shall never Changed be yet change for ever 6. VVe are froward and perverse Cross to thee in all our wayes Prone to bad from good averse Cold in prayers thanks and praise Faith is bashful hope too bold Charity benum'd with cold Conscience in a Lethargy All religion like to dy Change us Lord or we shall never Changed be yet change for ever 7. Thine Almighty hand alone Can this pow'rful change effect To make supple hearts of stone And their secret depths detect Whose meandred windings lie Intricate beyond our eye And in us no pow'r is left Since thereof by sin bereft Turn us change us else we never Shall be turn'd or chang'd for ever Change us turn us then shall we Truly turn'd and changed be Amen Postscriptio sed Praemonitio BRitain thy sins have stupifi'd thy sense Of sin of danger though not purse-expence There thou' rt too quick of feeling ' ware the trash Thou striv'st to keep prove not thy fatal lash Thou' rt blind and seest not sweetest mercie 's guide In thy sweet way of peace wilt not confide In men or means that God hath rais'd for thee As instruments of thy felicity Thou' rt deaf yea wilful deaf and wilt not hear Thy Gods Prescripts nor his Election bear Thou' rt Nose-pent canst not smell the powder-plots Of thy grand foes whose craft thee quite besots Thy taste dis-relisheth the Cates of Heaven Yet chew'th the Cud upon thy musty leaven Thy Passover may not with that be tane Take heed thy love of old bring not new bane Accept what God doth give never confound Thy self and thine to run the world 's wild round Wilt not God's will feel see hear smell and taste Then do thine own But thou wilt rue't at last Yet when thou hast proclaim'd thy self God's foe His will shall stand whether thou wilt or no When thou mayst feel his Iron Rod strike home See this thy Paradise Desart become Hear the loath'd noise of thy triumphing foes Smell thy dead corpses to annoy thy nose Taste wanting what to taste through Famine thin The bitter fruits of thy unequall'd sin Reverte Te inverte diverte converte Ut se vertat Deus ad te haec avertat à te Ne te evertat Amen Amen Cura Malorum 1. ENgland why hanker'st in times fatal nick On various projects which dicotomize Thy vital parts why though at heart death-sick Wilt not accept of physick or advise Miss-dyet render will thy grief past cure Fie fie forbear doubtless thy doctor's skill Merits thy confidence his physick 's pure Nought can obstruct its working but thy will Accept Urania's bountiful advise Take for thy Lot the Lot be well be wise 2. Curb then thy wayward will sâ—…e selfâ— proud sway Let thy dissenting parties re-unite In the most equal sortilegious way Whereto both God and good men thee invite A fairer path freer from just exception To cement jars no Nation ere enjoy'd Nor ever shall it 's worthy thy reception Lest by refusal thou be soon destroy'd Accept Urania's bountiful advise Take for thy Lot the Lot be well be wise 3. Rinse thy obstructing sins with early tears Leâ—… Finer's fire and Fuller's sope supply Late penitences place prevent thy fears By turning to who calls thee lest thou dy Beloved Nation 't is thy dearest Lord Summons thy will to homage hailes thee in Strike sayls stoop in submit unto his word And flie his vengeance threatned for thy sin Accept Urania's bountiful advise Take for thy Lot the Lot be well be wise One and All. OFt' calls made unjust judge late notice take Take thou thy Lot lest thou thy Lot do take FINIS
times And re-committed after penitence And vows against them which must needs incense A just and holy God whose piercing eye Sees the least Atome-sin and can espy Damn'd guilt in deeds which men have deem'd most glorious Yea which some have imagin'd meritorious Tell me think I as well the Sea doth burn The spheres stand still and rouling earth doth turn As that base mâ—n can just appear to thee Who in his life such horrid blots dost see Each heart's imaginations thou dost spie Ill wholly only and continually Yet so it is Lord thou hast found a way By which man as it were deceive thee may And blind thy Justice plead thy Sons desert For our im-merits thou contented art Admired mercy Love stupendious Our Creditor should pay the debt for us Due to himself whereof we ne'r could pay The smallest mire nor the least charge defray Else had we in eternal torments lain But thou both payd'st the debt and bor'st the pain That thy divinest Justice might receive Full satisfaction lest she else might grieve To be o'ercome by mercy so dost thou Punish our sins in Christ and disavow Our acting of them And unjust it were To punish us since he our sins did bear He hath for us fulfill'd thy Law and born Most hellish torments and earths basest scorn That faith in him might make us fair to thee Who else should in thine eyes like Devils be Nay worse then they since mercy we contemn And proffer'd grace which thou ne'r deign'st to them Doubtless hadst thou ordain'd thy Lamb to die Them to redeem as well's man's progeny Whose blood might have redeem'd them all as well There had not been a Devil now in Hell Pardon me Lord if I hyperbolize Or in opinion too much charitize Towards thy foe and ours It 's but to shew Ouâ— dead depraved nature markt by few Mended by none nor mendable by any Save thee alone Our breaches are so many Lord re-enliven this dead corpse by grace Rebuild its breaches all its sins deface Say to it Be thou just and it shall be Just in thy sight and from defilement free An Epigram on the same BAd good day night the swarthest blackmoor white Injustice just in Gods all-seeing sight Is he deceiv'd can his eye blinded be Love makes him undertake to over-see And take upon himself man's sins Our score He cleared hath Oh let us sin no more Lest he repent him of the mercy shown us And see us like our selves and so disown us For it transcends all wonder sinful dust Should in the great Creators eyes be just On man's Sanctification GOd us creates redeems and justifies By means without us which he did devise And all by works of wonder past all thought In love and wisedom infinite he wrought Whereby he us engag'd beyond all hope Yet still his love proceeds to find new scope Wonders to work within us To renew Our nature by his grace to make false true To sanctifie unsanctified man A work that quite confounds my heart to scan Here 's nature mortifi'd yet living still Grace vivifi'd and rectifying will Yet Will by Nature clean a verse from Grace And Grace and Nature ne'er well brook't one place Here 's Sin still dying and yet still reviving Using all means to live and yet not thriving The Prince of Darkness still the soul assailing Though never quite beat off nor yet prevailing Conscience and Reason daily are in fight Yet Conscience hath sweet peace and Reason right The Flesh oft seeks to undermine the Spirit VVith self-conceit presumption and false merit And many other wayes her up to blow As Man renew'd to his great griefe doth know Mean while the Spirit with inforcâ—d agility Doth countermine against them with Humility Which sweet mild saint o'ercomes them all But then VVhen she low thoughts of self hath wrought in men Satan doth re-assault with furious force Attempting them from God quite to divorce By fell Despair and raiseth batteries To storm the fort where Faith enfeebled lies VVho when the fight grows dangerous and hot Pulls in a Lamb betwixt her and the shot And under his protection overthrows All Satans Bulwarks and routs all her Foes Foes that would quickly all mankinde undo Were not our Lamb Judah's Tribes Lion too VVhose everlasting pow'r with ease can quell The joyned force of all the Fiends in Hell Then let the roaring Lyon seek abroad Whom to devour throughour the worlds great road Rage rave and plot and send his subtle spies Th' unbottom'd pits black locusts whose quick eyes See all earth's Globe at once fear not my soul Although thy foes conspiracies are foul Their combinations strong their plots most deep Israels Keeper slumbers not no sleep Skreens up his eyes who all their plots will dash And thee deliver from their horrid lash Remit thy sins obliterate thy folly And make thee holy as himself is holy Till thou be with the Lamb who 's Judah's Lion Rapp'd up to reign for ever on Mount Sion And sing with that Coelestial Quire above Sweet Hallelujahs to the God of Love An Epigram on the same SAnctification is the Tree of Life Not that false tree that fool'd our grandsires wife Whereby we from our innocencie fell This is the way to Heav'n that was to Hell Whoso on this Tree's sacred fruit doth feed Shall be in all things like to God indeed Sin MOnster of Monsters who hast monstrous made Nature it self in us who natures had First pure and holy and to good inclin'd Till by thy falshood we to bad declin'd And thy meer essence is extream averse From God and good but prone to ways perverse All that the great Jehovah made was good VVhen he created it and had they stood Angels and Men had so continu'd still But they would needs be gods and had their will So far that they Creators were of thee VVhom they created both their falls to be A Creatures Creature and so vile a one That Heav'n Earth Hell so bad besides have none Rake Topher's cinders sift the Serpents seed And keep the worst yet will that damned breed More fair in Gods all-seeing eyes appear Then Sin which summon'd them together there Sin made God angry Men and Angels fall Made God make Hell and Sin made Dev'l and all Ah! cursed caitiff how can we delight In the embracement of such wretched wight A hideous Elf abhorr'd of all that 's good Our dear Redeeme's Murtherer whose Blood By cursed sacrilegious hands was spilt To wash our souls from sins polluting guilt Our soul 's the precious game for which she fishes Which to destroy eternally she wishes Yet we bewitched wâ— most dearly love her Too dearly sure as all will find that prove her Whose souls shall purchase Oh the dearest gain For sins short pleasure their eternal pain 'T is sure some witchcraft some inchanting spell Whereby she trains us on asleep to Hell And stupifies our senses blindes our eyes Obthures our ears and phantasms doth devise
To charm our fancies and besot our reason And make our selves against our selves work treason Nor have we in our selves pow'r to resist Her winning wiles noâ— from her love desist That pow'r supernal is O dearest Lord Grant us this pow'r thy help to us afford Then shall we force thy greatest Foe to yeild And make our temptingst sin forsake the field An Epigram on the same THe Devil 's a Witch our Proverb tells us thus But Sin 's the Witch that witch'd both Him and Us. Him past all cure but We may cured be If we by faith can Jâ—sus feel and see Great God assist us and it shall suffice For we must have from Thee both hands and eyes Pride the Seed of Sin GReat fall of Men and Angels Heavens hate Wert thou as good as thou art seeming great Thou would'st the fairest Vertue be of many But art the most deformed Vice of any Scorn of all good a bastard mungrel Evil Begot betwixt relapsing Man and Devil Though both quâ tales thy own creatures be Begetters of and yet begot by thee A monstrous spawn of Incest sp'ritual That Viper-like hadst life from parents fall And yet thou vaunt'st boasting thy birth and blood When no progenitor of thine was good Surpassest in thy self-conceit by odds Those humbler souls descended from the gods Whose most heroick race and princely birth Farther transcendeth thine then heaven doth earth Bold Queen of Vices thou ledst on the Van Of that Black Regiment that foiled Man Under Gods elbow by the Prince of Hell Lucifer thy Lieutenant Colonel Under the subtile Serpents shape disguis'd Thereby presuming to make man despis'd In his Creators eyes for evermore VVhose Mercie sent his Son to clear that score VVho brake the Serpents head thy daring skill Did legions of sacred Angels fill VVith God-unthroning plots whereby they fell To all eternity cast down to Hell The glory of thy conquests yet thy gain Appears but small for they subdu'd again Thee their subduer and have forc't thee since To act in service of their direful Prince Who by Self-merit and Presumption Thy fatal Daughters hath more souls drawn on In everlasting-fire-chains to be ti'd Then by all other sins and sâ—…res beside Mother of Antichrist thou first set'st on The founding of Mysterious Babylon The Beast is but thy Creature and the Whore Thy eldest unmach't Daughter I therefore A Mate will motion to her though a mad one Yet not unfit it is the great Abaddon Who shortly will to her a Kingdom give Wherein though dying she shall ever live For here her time is short as I compute And will be found so without all dispute Therefore translate her hence unto the place Before all worlds prepared for her was It is her portion Oh detain it not Do her no wrong but let her have her lot And then the Lord of Life shall rule again And under him his humble Saints shall reign Amen Lord Jesus haste it on for lo The whole Creation groans to have it so The Angels Saints and Martyrs cry aloud To have thy vengeance poured on the proud For of all sins that bar poor man from bliss To Them and Thee Pride the most hateful is None doth in Man thy Image more deface Nor any makes us in thy sight so base VVhat Necromantick Philter us hath charm'd And both of sense and reason so disarm'd That we should glory in our greatest shame Our Fig-leaf cloathes do but our fall proclaim VVas that worth boasting of Then thy gains scan Proud prinking pranking prating parret man And brag on spare not kneaded lump of clay Thy seal'd damnation 't will at last display Handful of dust coagulate short span Of putri'd earth such art thou proudest man Thou vaunt'st of thy descent and may'st do 't well Never was greater then from heav'n to hell Thy pedigree I 'll shew I dare aver To be Angelick from great Lucifer Thy parts and gifts of body and of soul Are fair and comely but pride makes them foul Thou aimst at great atchievments buildst high hopes Sand-founded structures On whose towring tops Are batt'ries rais'd against the walls of Heav'n But all thy Cannon-shot of force bereav'n Retort from those unpierced edifices Upon thy self and so thy fond devices Are self-crush't And what self not ruinates Death briefly seizeth and annihilates Proud fool go rake great Alexander's dust The ashes of those Hero's whose meer lust Their pow'r transform'd to law whose very word Made Empires tremble whose devasting sword Made seas of blood and robb'd the lands of breath Divorcing souls from bodies by grim death And see how calm they are how voyd of pride As if all Histories had them bely'd Draw neerer home and open late-made tombs Of thy progenitors within whose wombs Their nigh-corrupted flesh sends forth a stink Which thou abhorr'st to smell yea loath'st to think How noysom 't is And tell O tell me then If there be reason for such pride in men Dost thou their flesh-devested bones there see Such Skeleton be sure thy self shall be If not by providence to worse ordain'd For worse corruption many have sustain'd And truth to say most proper 't were for thee Should thy dead corpse by fowls devoured be Who living in self-thoughts didst soar on high And so when dead on others wings shalt fly Pride is Lust's Bawd Broker to Avarice Mother of Envy and each hateful Vice Excesses Vintner Brewer Cook and Baker The Souldiers and the Lawyers Cavil-Maker Ambitious Engineer Wars shoo-horn so Were't not for Pride souldiers might bare-foot go VVho now march booted to advance the shew Of her vain-glorious self-conceited Crew Shoo-makers Haberdashers Jewellers VVith Lapidaries Goldsmiths Pewterers Cutlers and Armourers all sorts of Drapers Fencers and Fidlers Dancers cutting capers Those that make Buttons Bandstrings Tires and Borders Teeth Eyes and Periwigs and mend disorders In ugly Faces with a countless number Of other Trades who us with changes cumber Chameleon Dyers who by Art do vary Their colours to the same that others carry Attend her train all plague-sick of the Fashion Led on by Taylors pest of English Nation VVhose Proteus-like changing quite out-braves In mutability the Moon and VVaves VVho Frenchifie our men and women so That who are English we can hardly know VVho a new Fashion do affect so well They 'l have it though they knew it came from Hell Did they the Dev'l in Uncouth Habit spie They 'ld sue for his Old Suit to cut New by These are which I think cannot be deny'd Gentlemen-Ushers to the Devil and Pride A Letany to beg deliverance From these were very fit Here and in France VVhich two fond Nations they have stultifi'd This last-past Age more then the world beside Pride would fear banishment if they should fall VVho are supporters of her Devil and all I think few wise men deem this censure hard If Laws were mended Taylours would be marr'd And women made more wise and poor men too VVho now betwixt them
both have much to do But sure ere long I hope the time to see VVhen English Laws shall so amended be That pride the subject now of admiration Shall be scorn's subject throughout all the Nation VVhen we shall glory not in gawdy cloaths New-fangled fashions or in horrid oaths Or spotted faces with like souls within Or hair like those that in a Mill have been Or self-conceited gestures speech or looks The Devils new devised baits and hooks To catch poor souls But shall with joynt accord Gloâ—y in this that we do know the Lord And that he is our God and will us own He knowing us and being of us known VVho will suppress the proud exalt the meek And then his people shall to Sion seek VVith joy and peace Oh haste the time dear Lord Let thy Church say Amen with one accord An Epigram on the same HEll-maker why so high I stile thee well For thou mad'st Devils and they made God make Hell Apollyon destruction is thy trade For thou marr'dst man and man marr'd all God made Let reason rule the rost quit thy old score Mend what thou marred hast or vaunt no more Avarice the Root of Sin HUnger-starv'd plenty what a Monster 's here A greedy stomach pin'd in midst of cheer Yet wants nor hands nor mouth nor teeth to feed With these she tears devours grinds those that need Opus and Vsus all the means of profit Opus that gets it makes not Vsus of it This gnawing worm its Mothers intrails rends To line fat bags nay it s own spirits spends Indangers soul and body that to gain Which is but kept with fear when got with pain And never us'd joy'd in but not injoy'd At fullest still complains of being voyd All put to Vse and yet none Us'd at all A fine Fools Paradise I may it call Wherein wise worldlings much delight to walk Though to their endless pain they think and talk Plot and project and waste out day and night In carking care to get by wrong or right Or any means what gotten but annoyes And is the worst of vanities and toyes This greedy Dame made thievish Achan run A course that Isr'el had almost undone That brought on him and his most sad confusion This cursed Caitiff caus'd the great effusion Of Ahabs Races blood a numerous crew Of Royal Imps whom furious Jehu slew Then out of pride and greediness to reign Return'd to Jeroboam's sin again Who had through Avarice in time of old Stock't Dan and Betâ—el with curst Calves of gold She made the great Assyrian Monarch plunder The sacred Temple once the worlds rare wonder 'T was greediness not neediness of wealth Provok'd that Prince to sacrilegious stealth She 't was when Christ did preach that deafness wrought In learned Scribes and Pharises who taught The people most exactly yet were blind Themselves the while through Avarice of minde And seeing could not see nor hearing hear Those Truths which in their Scriptures written were This hellish Hag betray'd our dearest Lord Made Judas sell him for a price abhor'd Who a self-strangling and damnation got As Over-plus of purchase for his lot She to the holy Ghost to lye inclin'd Poor Ananias and Sapphira's minde For which on them that fearful Judgement fell Of sudden Death if not of sudden Hell She made wise Simon Magus Sophimore Thinking by Coin which none but fools adore To purchass that unvaluable Gift Of God's most holy Spirit but his drift Was at his Gain and so he gained hath Lasting Reproach if not e'erlasting Death She wrought the Pythonesses girles masters On Paul and Silas to bring such disasters In old Philippi And at Ephesus Diana's Zealot blinde Demetrius To raise an uproar and an Idol prize Beyond the Lord of Life where were his eyes Not on his goddess but his god his gain For whose sole sake he that hot Zeal did fain This made unhappy Felix leave Paul bound Although no cause of his restraint he found Yet in that passage Avarice we see Procur'd unwonted affability And since that Scripture is undoubted true I 'll instance it to give the Dev'l his due Leprous Gehezi I could here bring forth And many more examples notice-worth In Histories sacred and forraign too But that will endless be for me to do It might be for my pleasure not my gains For sure no miser would requite my pains Covetousness might find me lasting work Should I into her secret corners lurk Survey her bags and baggage tricks together And yet in my expressions ' bate of either She 's prides sworn sister but that pride 's too dear Oft-times for her who still loves to go near She loaths prides hand-Maid Cost who makes her smart For none but she and loss do pierce her heart The world and coin of all round things she loves And of square dealings mostly she approves Save in her self for there she 'l all confound Make that seem square which others know is round Uneven even basest wrong seem right Light make of darkness and bright day of night Her train are Under-Sheriffs Bayliffs Brokers Pursivants keepers and such men-provokers Their loading is of papers parchments waxes Which terrifie men more then new-rais'd taxes These all like Cannibals the coast do scour And Devil-like seek whom they may devour These Anthropophagi are nearest friends To avarice by whom she works her ends Mercy 's her wonder mildness she deems wild And thinks severest justice much too mild If harshest cruelty her gain procure She will baptize it courtesie most pure If not meer charity she 's Satans bawd And can like him by her sublimed fraud Assume an Angel's shape whilst she commits Rapes on poor innocents and racks her wits Widdows and Orphans to devour her faith Is Pharisaick falshood which betray'th All those that trust her though relations near Vicinity's forgot if gain appear It 's she wise Heathens term'd the root of evils VVhich in no Garden grows except the Devils Unfit for Christian heart to entertain Or to be lodged in a Converts brain Her heart 's the mint of all dcceits the sink Of bloodi'st crimes that heart of man can think The Devil is chief coiner in this Cell And stamps the Cash to buy him slaves for Hell Her she insinuation screws into Corrupted nature and doth us undo Insensibly her none-such subtilties ' Mongst men inveigles mostly the most wise And ablest parted masters of most reason Before perversion If a heart she season VVith love of gain that heart 's bewitched quite And ' reft of reason truth peace love delight Of mercy conscience and of all that 's good And grudgâ—th its sole-lov'd self both cloaths and food Scrapes all it may from whomsoe'er it can Without respect of friend foe God or man Yet gotten cannot will not use it why If you know not no more doth he nor I Unless the Devils inchantments so prevail To blind his sense and make his reason fail For inclinations unto other sins Mostly
decay in age but this strength wins And grows with age it self the elder still A miser grows more griping grow he will A judgement sad a man should labour most For what he least doth need spend time and cost In that which he must forthwith leave to others And knows not unto whom mean-while smothâ—… His souls desires of seeking grace indeed That is the gain he most of all doth need Perhaps with Magus he befools himself Hoping to purchase grace with worldly pelf There 's no such barter feasible One grain Of grace exceeds the wealth of earth and main In truest value God and Mammon prove Incompatible masters whoe'er love One must despise the other God loves peace Mammon's contention 's Prince strife cannot cease In hearts by him o'ersway'd Treasons and Wars Bloodsheds oppressions violence and jars Are his hearts-solace And all other evils Are rife in him as in the very Devils Lord fortifie our souls by thy free Spirit Against this slavish sin whose justest merit Is guerdon of Injustice for she swayes And corrupts Justice by her bribing wayes Throughout the earth And take this at farewel Though here thou do'st thou shalt not do 't in Hell An Epigram on the same HArd-handed Mammon why do'st gripe so fast Thy gain will surely be but small at last Thy muck is ordure thou art a gold-finder Thy close-fist griping doth thy holding hinder 'T will squeeze betwixt thy fingers and be lost Unless thou gape to save it Oh haste post And lest thy sweet beloved ware should fall Hold fast with arms with hands teeth mouth and all Take take it all And then withall take this Thy body 's rob'd of rest thy soul of bliss All cannot unto either of them buy A moments ease to all Eternity Lust A branch of sin GIve leave to venial Sin the lists to enter She 'll soon display the height of your adventure And prove the Whore that gave her that slight name A lying gossip though a mincing dame Lust hath both botch and blain of sin's worst pest And therefore mortal is as well's the rest Nay none is so infectious she strikes dead By glance of eye by sight of clothes or bed Of parties not infected yea each sense She poisons with her flaming pestilence Sight hearing smell taste touch and all infect By secret Magick her enamour'd sect A smile a song a sent a cup a kiss Heart-wounding and most mortal to them is Yea which her venome more admired makes Of pest-free people she the plague oft takes At distance vast Oh most stupendious wonder Of parties many hundred miles asunder Their Lust hath sometimes on a picture fir'd Which shadow made the substance more desir'd And thus the Jewish Dames did doat of old When they did Chaldee counterfeits behold Nay her insinuating Necromancy Works where's no real Object on the fancy And stupifying reason sense and all Makes some in love with meer Idea's fall Whose souls of judgement she hath made so void To joy in that that cannot be enjoy'd And Lust contemplative hath so produc'd Incestuous Monsters 'twixt self-thoughts abus'd Lust is the Devils fueller makes fires And blows into a flame unchaste desires Contriving ever by deceits to win Others to be partakers of her sin And mostly if it end in publick shame They each on other strive to lay the blame Which shews in hearts where lust hath got possession A great aversness to a plain confession Which should blaze penitence This fire obdures And crusts the conscience where it once inures She 's now become one of the chief commanders Of the infernal Legions for her panders Are pride excess and sloth yea avarice Dotes mostly more on her then any vice If she come cheap But if the price be high Her flames at thought thereof expire and die Lust is on earth grown a commandress great Who ere the Crown do wear she keeps the seat The Throne and Scepter royal she doth sway And for the most part Monarchs makes obey Our first that title got of faith's defender Prov'd herein a notorious faiths offender A King perhaps most Christian may be stil'd Or Catholick and yet be so defil'd With lust's pollution as to merit scorn From Catholicks and Christians yet unborn Who will hereafter see with clearer eyes Then this dull age their covert Crimes espies For palaces and earth's most large possessions Are most deprav'd by lust excess oppressions And such like vices which have often been Lust's bawds whereby we Saints intrapt have seen For Ammon's sword had spar'd Uriah's life And he had not been drunk but that his wife Was grown by lust's enchanting forceries A pearl at once in both poor David's eyes What he abhorr'd to think she made him do Blinding his eyes of soul and body too And his son Amnon by his incest foul Wrought his own drunken death and wrong'd his soul Whose fratricidious brother past all shame Out-vi'd his incest as a sin too tame For such a roister who in Sol's bright eye Before all Israel in contempt did lie With his dear Fathers Concubines a fact Fitter for Devil then for man to act This sin inveigled had two brothers more Of their twelve Patriarchs in times of yore Reuben and Judah both herewith defil'd Wittingly one but t'other was beguild Nor could burnt Sodoms cinders terrifie Heav'n-rescu'd Lot from lust's Nicanthropy Nor both their judgements afterwards prevent The Benjamitish Gibeah's punishment The subt'ly wicked Prophet Balaam blew This cole in Isr'els hearts so them orethrew Whom his inchantments could not hurt at all Being Devil-proof and yet by lust did fall Old Eli's sons hereby Gods wrath provok't To his Ark's loss and Isr'els being yok't Under Philistims and their own sad deaths Which robb'd one 's VVife both's Father of their breaths The Preacher wisest of meer mortals who Knew most of men knew so much women too That lust infatuated the most wise Wresting his wisdom to Idolatrize So he to whom Jehovah twice appear'd To Chemosh Molech Milcom Altars rear'd To Ashtaroth and all the host of Heav'n For which his son was of ten Tribes bereav'n Whence Jacobs seed dicotomiz'd remain Their kingdom never unifi'd again Herod's base lust dish't up the Baptist's head Lust the Corinthian laid in 's father's bed The Gentile's great Apostle she disturb'd And could not by his praying thrice be curb'd At least not conquer'd Since as well's before She hath been Satans messenger to more She 's both to us and heathens though she mince Leidger Embassadour for Hell's black Prince And Rome's sly Nuntio's Machiavilians pure Did ne'er attain their errands ends more sure Aegypt's great Cleopatra fair grown foul By lust's pollution lost both soil and soul The greater Hercules whose very name Wonder-strook men was blasted by this flame All whose twelve matchless labours fam'd persever And yet his fame 's eclips'd by lust for ever The greatest Jupiter by lust o'ercome From God turn'd beast and was a bull become True 't was a faigned
Catarrhs yea Pox that mouts The feathers of our courtiers coxcombs so That they wear borrow'd heads lest they should show Their scalded crowns excess and drink prepares Their minds and bodies for those torrid wares Which they so dearly pay for that oft times They a bone-ague get to plague their crimes Excess of sickness-breeders is the King Most if not all diseases from her spring Yet cures she none hunger and thirst excepted Which might by temperance be intercepted With much more thrift to soul and bodie too As well's estate excess doth all undo Sardanapalus of great Nimrod's race And Heliogabalus that glutton base Feel this firm truth confirm'd And many more Great Emperours and Kings lie on the score Doom'd to eternal hunger thirst and pain Yea triple-crown'd earth-gods who erst did reign In Babylon mysterious are no doubt Where they with their false Keys can ne'er get out Epicurism hath tainted Peters Chair Most of all thrones on earth Romes very air Doth stink of surfeits it therewith infected All Christendom and made that vice neglected But ah poor England thou hast since out gone Thy giddy Mistress and art past by none Though Dutch and Dane go far it 's all our shame To be Deform'd in Deed Reform'd in Name Reformed Cburches Reformation need In Manners more then Doctrine if we heed How universally this sin doth reign ' Mongst us more rare in France abhor'd in Spain The Germans bought Excess at famines rate Speedy ensuing Lord prevent that fate From scourging ours and win our hearts with love Off from the creatures to the things above Spiritualize our appetites and then Feed us the fullest of all mortal men Indeed Lord so thou dost provide us store So great as never Nation had before But we thy Manna loath as did of old Thy people Israel our stomacks cold Are squeazy grown and turn the bread of life To noysome humours faction schism and strife Yea heresies are bred and foster'd by Thy means ordain'd for Truth and Unity Fulness hath wantoniz'd our appetites That one in this t' other in that delights A third in none knows what Yea oft the Cook Makes bad meat lik'd the Authors unread Book The Preachers Doctrine took on trust are priz'd Most men affect what 's vented or devis'd By those of their own faction howe'er bad Some all for old some for the new stuff mad That many preachers cook-like strain their wit For ev'ry coxcombs palate sawce to fit Whilst some like all some-none yet all are right In their own fancies darkness so is light Ah sharpen Lord our souls weak stomacks more To truth and unity then heretofore Evacuate those humours gross afford â—ls true digestion of thy sacred word That may pure nutriment abroad diffuse Into our Churches bodie grown profuse Not only stain'd with fleshly drunkenness And surfeiting but with soul-giddiness And Spirit'al intoxication Glutted with food of life Ah stupid Nation That none but you should strength of wit devote Poison to suck out of your Antidote To make your cordial suffocate your life The curing word of peace breed killing strife This drunkenness of spirit far exceeds â—n its malignity that which proceeds â—rom drinks inebriation that makes men â—egrade themselves to beasts and this agen â—romotes them with the mischief to be Devils â—oth are inflaming fuming flatuous evils â—otti-fer's spirit giddifies the first â—he last the sp'rit of Lucifer accurst â—ord sheild us from them both but most of all â—rom that most mortal which is Sp'ritual â—inse Lord our Nations from that beastial sin â—f bodily excess we wallow in â—hat we thy blessings temporal may use â—ith temperance and never more abuse â—…ur peerless plenty Ah! But rinse us too â—…om drunkenness of soul which will undo Both Church and State unless thy grace prevent Impow'r us Lord of both so to repent And both so to renounce henceforth that we From thy impending Judgements freed may be An Epigram on the same WHat Man turn'd Beast is Reason grown a yoke Tiresome that thou it sell'st for drink and smoke Are Health and Knowledge contemptible both That thou preferr'st to them Excesse and Sloth Is grace thy scorn thy body and thy soul Neither worth saving Then continue foul And so foul beast farewel Soft here 's another Both have one Father but not both one Mother Satan gets one of Flesh t'other of Spirit The last's his darling though both shall inherit His dismal Kingdom he doth her affect As his choice sieve to sift the Lords Elect She best resembles him though both are evil The first 's a Beast the last's a perfect Devil Presumption one of sins tops MAke room for Rome's great Sov'raign who hath worâ— The triple-crown e'er since 't was made whose horâ— Pushes at Stars and shakes the Host of Heaven At least those seeming so whose hand hath given More fatal wounds to self deluding souls Then there are Stars betwixt the worlds two Poles Presumption 's Highness who loves room so well She takes up most part of the room in Hell For her attendants whom she rocks asleep With songs of heav'n till they approach that deep And vast Abyss whence none was ever freed Such dangers from security proceed Presumption flatters mankinde to damnation With false Plerophory of their salvation And so they run relying on dead faith Hand over head unto eternal death Perfidious Traytor thou hast Myriads slain Who deem'd their state secure till in that pain That hath nor ease nor end they plagued were And saw that thy seducements brought them there Thou hadst a hand in Mans and Angels falls Thou didst of old first found proud Babe's walls Which brought on Adams progeny confusion And probably was cause of the effusion Of all the blood that hath in war been spilt In all the ages since O horrid guilt For change of tongues to change of hearts inclin'd Had they one Tongue kept so they might one Mind She martial'd Aegypts people and their King Themselves away in the Red Sea to fling Who having tri'd Gods wonders oft before Would madly needs provoke him to one more VVhereby sad extirpation them befel Whose souls the sea did waft from earth to hell She ston'd the great Goliah whilst he braves And makes the Philistins to Isr'el slaves Most likely 't is the wisest Solomon VVas train'd to sin by foul Presumption As well as by strange women for a man Of his great knowledge and experience can Hardly great sin commit or grace withstand Unless Presumption have therein a hand Next his son Rehoboam ten Tribes lost By this proud Dames provoking him to boast Vaunting Sennacherib th' Assyrian King Play'd blasphemies upon thy untun'd string To humble Hezekiah's loathing ears Till he retreated fill'd with shame and fears When sudden vengeance from his camp had call'n A hundred fourscore and five thousand fall'n And afterwards to his eternal pain In Idol-worship by his sons was slain The greater Nebucadnezar presumes To make new gods the old gods
right assumes Unto himself boasting great Babylon Built by his wit and pow'r mad thereupon Is forthwith doom'd among the beasts to live Till he do honour to Jehovah give The young man in the gospel whom Christ lov'd Thought he had done whatever him behov'd Fulfil'd Gods Laws yet was his case most foul Who lov'd his riches better then his soul The bragging Pharisce conceiv'd no less Of his proud self yea did so much express Yet his hypocrisie so great we see The Publican was judg'd more just then he Presumption magnifies our merits in Our own blear'd eyes and puffs up self within Begets low thoughts of others who exceed Us in sincerity it ere we heed Breeds blind opinion of our happy state Till she hath brought us home to Hell's black gate Then we discover what we thought not on Our high-priz'd faith but false presumption And oh what horrour will it cause to see Too late in what a sad estate we be She charms and stupifies our senses so That in what case we are we scarcely know Till we withal know that inevitable Our danger is and irremediable She us inveigles as she did of old Laodicea's Church nor hot nor cold Of lukewarm temper senslesly to vaunt Of riches goods increase and nothings want Whilst she was wretched miserable poor Naked and blind though he knock'd at the door Well nigh prepar'd to spue her out his mouth Who no such temper in his Bride allow'th This is Goliah's ghost sent sorth by him Whoâ— is Hell's Prince the Sp'ritual Philistim He by presumption dares God's sacred hoast Who of her great atchievments well may boast By whom bright Stars have fall'n and falling be Stars in our eyes though not in God's decree For Comets greater seem to judgmenâ—… rude Then fixed Stars of vaster magnitude Presumptioâ—s potions soporiferous A sad soul-apoplexy cause in us Which whilst we think we draw securest breath Lulls us asleep into eternal death She makes Hell's flames which neer shall quench or dy The first dark light we see our errors by Accurst deluder thou dost never cease With Syren's songs and lullabies of peace With promises of blisses sweet fruition To train men unawares into perdition Thou draw'st a curtain 'twixt us and the face Of divine justice that we may not place Our eyes on her lest she should scare from sin Or make us question what way we are in Thou unvail'st Mercie 's picture falsely painted With shameless sinners round about besainted Therein profan'â—… her nature and her name She saves but sinners who of sin take shame With many more such cheats to sin thou win'st Crocodiles tears sometimes perhaps thou whin'st For commonly on false repentance follow Presumptioâ—s counterfeits of faith which hollow The whole workâ— of poor mans conversion And cause from God's wayes more a version Dear Lord How subtle is this foe of ours VVe cannot her oppose without thy pow'rs And fresh supplies sincere humility Is the chief Engineer that can descry Her plots and storm her works a faith well grounded The Cannon shot whereby she is confounded Lord grant us both and then full safe are we And from presumptuous sin Lord keep us free An Epigram on the same INchaunting Circe sure thy slights are odd Thou Angels Devils mad'st the Pope a god Them thou didst fool with hopes they gods should be Him thou mad'st god a Devil most men see I question which was greatest of the evils Thy making him a God or else them Devils It matters not for present we shall see VVhen both thy gods and Devils together be Desperation sins other top HEll upon earth thy ghastly look affrights Beyond the visage of infernal sprights It strikes more terrour in a wounded soul Then all Hells Devils can Thou dost controll Faith hope and charity at once in us Thou wound'st and kill'st them all and dost win us Self-condemnation still to harp upon As if our sins could heavens God unthrone Transcend his mercies or surpass his grace Or we could do what he cannot deface Thou whisper'st horrid treason in the ears Of our disturbed souls distract'st with fears Of a defect of morcy in that God In whom defect can never have abode VVho is all mercy although infinite And makes sweet mercies works his chief delight Thou sowr'st our sweetest joys foul'st our most fair And spondent hopes thy breath 's invenom'd air Blasts worse then lightning thy lowd voices thunder Out-roars those cracks that rend the clouds asunder This grim-fac'd fury is Hells Charioteer Who drives on headlong souls that once draw neer She force most violent upon them lay'th When they have true remorse and want but faith In order to salvation She extends Sin 's too vast body to destructive ends She maimes faith's hands and puts out both her eyes She makes us fondly proferr'd grace despise She lies in ambush in the darkest nook Of light 's blest path and oft hath sliely took Dejected souls at penitence lane-end Preparing to lay hold upon their friend The Lord of life by faith when they are tir'd With trotting sins rough ring and deeply mir'd In their own filth she whips and spurs them on Into the boundless deeps who left alone Might sue forth pardon and the grace obtain Of being by faith's hand reliev'd again And so her wiles deserted souls do win To turn sin-sorrow's sacred self to sin She ruin'd earths great Heir apparent Cain When he had juster Abel basely slain She barr'd him this worlds joy and oh sad doom Depriv'd him of the joys of that to come She foyl'd the faithful Abrahams Heir's first born VVho lost a double birth-right for a scorn Yea lost his blessing too though grown more wise In vain he sought it with distilling eyes She wrought upon the Isra'lites first King VVitch-craft to use after abandoning That direful art and then provok'd him further VVith his own hands his loathed self to murther She forc't the traytor Judas who had sold His Master the great Shepherd of God's fold To hang himself his conscience to appease To haste from Earth to seek in Hell for ease VVhere if he found it none was found before Nor found shall be thenceforth for evermore After his sad revolt from sacred truth Mark but how eagerly this Fiend pursu'th Apostate Julian who despairing cry'd Vicisti Galilaee and so dy'd Great Bajazet the Turkish Emperour Brain'd his proud self incensed by thy pow'r And our third Richard Englands quondam King By usurpation wilfully did fling Himself away at Bosworth twice o'ercome By foes in field and by despair at home But what need I historick Cinders rake Examples to produce whereas they spake But sparingly of mens despair for sin One well known modern pattern sure had been Proof strong enough of desperation's force Poor Francis Spira man ne'er heard a worse VVho by seducing wiles of Antichrist Was drawn t'apostatize from real Christ Whenceforth he ne'er felt comfort more on earth But had a Hell within him curst his birth
Roar'd howl'd and cry'd and dy'd in deep despair Although he had good men's advice and prayer Despair's a Polititian whose black Art Makes man upon himself act Satans part Accuse condemn torment repel free grace Refuse to give his proferr'd pardon place Tempt to the highest sin and then to tell His sadded soul No place for thee but Hell And so when man the Devils work hath done He payes him wages who desired none The Poets Momus she out-strips in spight VVho hated others for his own delight She hates both God and Man Angels and Devil And her self too yea all both good and evil Save her despairing humour which alone She cherishes and strives to dote upon And to her everlasting torment feeds The gnawing worm that in her conscience breeds She 's sick to death yet will no cordial take Casts off all physick which her pains might slake Her wound is deep and cure she doth desire Yet throws her plaisters all into the fire A spirit frenzifi'd within her raigns She ease desires yet needs will keep her pains Merciful Lord defend us from afflictions VVherein are manifest such contradictions Assist us with thy grace to persevere Unto the end and then we need not fear O'erwhelming in this deep abyss wherein So many heav'n-bound vessels sunk have been Strengthen our faith against despair uphold Our feeble souls and bring them to thy fold An Epigram on despair DEspair avaunt eternal death attends Thy very touch Hell's at thy fingers ends The Cockatrices optick poyson's weak Asps tactick venome slight to thine thou l't break Hearts all in shivers by a single thought Yea murther souls too though most dearly bought By God-man's blood thou mak'st men spill the price And slight their mercies by thy rash advice Lord grant a better Counsellor to me For sure such Counsellor deserves no Fee On Presumption and Despair OLd Poets all mistake who all agree In one to make the fatal Sisters three It's one too many for but two they are But two more fatal then their three by far Daring Presumption that her cheats may pass Puts Mercy in a multiplying-glass So magnifies her past proportion'd measure Makes her a Patroness for lust and pleasure Whilst Cowardly Despair to dim her worth Peeps through a Perspective whose wrong end 's forth VVhich less'ning glass when mercy's through it view'd Semi-annihilates her magnitude They oft change glasses and Despair puts sin Into Presumptions glass whilst she agin Views Justice through Despairs false Perspective VVhich makes them both erroneous judgement give A cure for both I 'll briefly thus devise Let both their glasses break and trust their eyes Presumption stoop to Poenitence Despair Arise to Faith 't will make their ways both fair So shall Despair true Poenitence become Presumption saving Faith to bring us home For one is still too low t'other too high Neither will let us unto God draw nigh Repentance DRop on sweet lymbeck-eyes till you distâ—l Those high-priz'd waters that Gods bottle fill Drop spare not this the richest water is That Earth affords and Heav'n hath none of this Save in Gods handkerchief those tears â—…ip'd off Their glorified cheeks whom earth did scoff Water of life it is if truly made Oh that the avaricious world would trade For this rich ware one drop whereof out-vies East and West-Indies bought at highest price In its true worth add to it for 't will need As much faith as a grain of mustard-seed This composition valu'd is most high In the esteem of Jove's great majesty 'T is worth more worlds then heav'n hath stars shoar sands Sea drops or single blades of grass earth's lands Stream on pure fountains with your hysop water Your nitred springs my sin-stain'd soul bespatter Sope-lave it in your pearly rills that fall From sorrow's source but still have care to call For Lamb's blood intermixt by faith which brings True vertue to your mundifying springs It cleanseth all the stains in nature left And those we added since our Parents theft Blow on serenest sighing wind and calm My stormed conscience and abate the qualm That seiz'th my wounded spirit clear the air Dispel the clouds with gusts of zealous pray'r VVhich force ope heaven and commit a rape Upon th'Almightie's ears we shall escape How fierce soever our assault be made Thou art the wind drives all who heav'nward trade By thee they must un-anchor and set forth Or else their voyage will be little worth Fill up our sails for we shall finde rich ware That hidden lies beyond the fixed sphere Yet blow as faith may steer aright know well VVho sayl by heav'n pass neer the gates of Hell 'Twixt Scylla and Charybdis we must pass Presumption and despair and these alass Are full of danger one 's a floating Rock T'others a gulf shifting like weather-cock Its place with each neâ—… wind On if we stay They 'l both most surely cross us in the way And for the most part he that one doth fly Is shipwrack'd on the other instantly Whiff not with boyst'rous blasts into the deep Let thy gales us in fathom'd shallows keep Blow well to Leeward though a Rock appear 'T is Christ the Cape of our good Hope no fear For never vessel which that Rock did miss Arrived at the wished Port of bliss Nay more unless that Rock we hang upon Our vessel 's split and we are all undone Oh see where it appeareth yond' before Haste on I 'm sea-sick put me there ashoar The floating Rock and shifting gulf I see Approaching neer they both in kenning be Blow strong bear in on that Rock run aground Strike sail cast Anchor for our Port is found If that firm Rock do make the Anchor bend Hope's Anchor steel with faith at either end She with one finger if we Anchors want Can moâ—e us on a Rock of Adamant Such is the Rock on which we must depend That thee my soul from shipwrack must defend An Adamantine Rock whose vertue lay'th Magnetick force on all that 's steel'd by faith Help sighs sad heart my dâ—…ie eyes help tears Such wind and water souls on this Rock bears To steel Hope well with stedfast faith endeavour Then shall we Anchor on it safe for ever Epigram on Repentance BLow wind drop rain Repentance much endears Our souls to God such musick charms his ears Let faith hold fast and then full safe are we These sisters are and must not parted be Both of one birth most strange intwined twins Where the first ends mostly the last begins Which should be elder great Divines do doubt But we 'll not sift such needless scruples out God grant us both in truth of soul and mind And which is first we need not pry to find Faith STrongest of creatures whose eternal Base Is firmer fix'd then earth's foundation was Whose everlasting force none can withstand Surviving change in Heav'n Hell Sea and Land By thee the Elders good report did take Thou teachest us Gods Word the world did make By
Give her a Vomit of Repentance true Steept well in tears and taken next the heart Till that be broke each day the same renew A paradoxick Cure in physick 's Art Purge oft by fasts and prayers till thereby An Issue thou procure in either eye 11. Take a good quantity of detestation Of hatred and abhorrencie of sin Chiefly of that neer to thee in relation Which hath thy Darling and Beloved bin Thy right hand thy right eye cut off pluck out And cast from thee these wounds will cure no doubt 12. When thou hast soundly thus evacuated Thy sinful humours if thou faintish grow And feel thy strength somewhat too much abated By Faith this Cordial take that I thee show A dose of God-mans blood mixt with his merits 'T will thee restore and cheer thy heart and spirits 13. The greatest Doctor ere on earth did tread A better med'cine ne'er prescrib'd to man This life restores to men whole ages dead Nay this eternal life procure thee can But after vomit still beware returning And in and after purging keep zeal burning 14. This will restore God's Image lost by sin Make thee his son thee with his Spirit fill Free thee from keeper and the jayl thou' rt in Hereby thou mayst both covenants fulfil Open thy windows and unclose thine eyes And higher mount then Lark or Eagle flies 15. By this thou may'st flie higher then the spheres Out-mount all mortal thoughts and live most free From worldly thraldoms crosses cares and fears Have God's imperial throne prepar'd for thee To King it in when thou from hence shalt soar To raign with him in joy for evermore The Epigram MY soul take my advice It 's good no doubt Thou and thy Jayl were both turn'd inside out Pray him that made you both for Jesus sake He 'll thee henceforth thy keepers keeper make 'T would main advancement to his glory be Could'st thou o'er-rule this wretch that now rules thee Another on the same TRanscendent wonder that who 's born most free A slave unto himself should freely be That the diviner soul of god-like birth Should be a vassal to a lump of earth But she had never thus imprison'd bin Had not this body captiv'd her by sin Mortifie thou this body for 't and then Thou shalt regain thy liberty agen Subdue its lusts break its proud heart asunder Then by Christ's help thou 'lt keep thy keeper under To Christians rigidly censorious DEar fellow-members of that mystick head Who is our Jesus and our Christ should be Who ever must be so acknowledged By those that hope his face with joy to see Cease all rash judgment look on me a worm The most unworthy member of you all Who cannot as I would base self reform Yet trust in him to do 't who 's all in all Who sees and governs hearts with much more ease Then men can actions let his love divine Calm your incensed spirits and appease Your zealous hearts forbear to judge of mine Or others mens estates by bare surmise To stumble at our failings for we stand Or fall to our great master who espies The thoughts words deeds of each heart tongue and hand And judgeth all uprightly whom nor fear Nor favour e'er can sway nor bribe corrupt Happy are you that can your wills forbear And them subject to his who interrupt Lusts passions and affections natural By his assisting grace for thereby 't is Alone that you can stand and though we fall Often and much rob us not of the bliss Of your conniving Charity but give Mild censures of our states for our desires Like yours are infinite wishing to live In each particular as God requires But ah corrupted nature so much sways In our frail hearts and all our duties taints We leave his pure to walk in our vain ways No less might you wer 't not for his restraints Forbid Lord that I here should plead for sin In customary practise unoppos'd It 's crimes in which we fall not wallow in Our hearts the while being otherwise dispos'd Death's body that is in us towes us on To do what our oppressed souls abhor Whence none can us deliver but who 's gone Yet staies with thee our pardons to implore On whom alone for mercy we depend Since 't is thy will who won shall wear the prize His merits not our own our cause defend And they alone thy justice can suffice Our morning-dews our menstruoâ—s raggs are full Of emptiness as well as filth that soiles Our souls with self-conceit which renders dull And dead our duties and our graces foils So whilst we in our selves for something look We overlook our souls Pau-pharmacon And swallow Satans subt'lest bayt and hook Which so besots mysterious Babylon Self-merit which can ne'er God's test endure Though we may hug our selves in high-flown hopes They 'll vanish soon and we shall stand impure In his pure eyes who 'll storm down all self-props Dear brethren militant who here wage war Against world flesh and Devil our common foes If any of you herewith tainted are As many doubtless are though who none knowes Let me beseech your interchange of pray'rs For us to graces sacred throne and ours Shall be for you this mutual love repaires All Christian breaches cry with all your powers For our more strict obedience and we 'll cry With ours for your humility the while And let 's all cry for Christian unity Betwixt us all divisions do defile Our mothers face they sully her fair skin And schism hath branded truths sweet self with lies Whilst we neglect the danger we are in And foster errors which our foes devise Purposely to divide that they may raign And ruine undescri'dly Church and State To bring us back inslav'd to Rome and Spain Oh haste prevention lest it prove too late Let 's joyn hearts hands and heads let 's cry aloud With true repentant tears for our high crimes Which cry for vengeance and are yet allow'd Frist mend our selves then we shall mend the times For we have marr'd them and till we reform They 'll grow but worse in spight of wit of force Or policy And we shall have a storm Insensible by all our foot and horse Defend dear Lord defend these sinfull lands From thy impending judgments and retract Thy unsheath'd sword and let not their fierce hands Thy just revenge on these vile Nations act Who are thy foes and ours though our deserts Plead strongly so to have it but reclaim Our sinful lives and turn our stubborn hearts That we at last may at thy glory aim And scorn self-ends the Idol of this Land Lest self-ends bring us to self-ends indeed As well as in intention Lord thy hand Alone can save us blessed God proceed Wonders to work within us In our change As thou hast long without us wonders wrought Turn us from bad to good thy plagues estrange Which unrepented sins have on us brought Restore us unity and peace divine Let thy sweet Gospels
once and I dare say The rest will throw down arms and run away She is thy castle's porter she lets in World Devil and all that may provoke to sin Call self forth to the bar thou needst not try her She 's both judg'd and condemn'd go crucifie her Methinks as did Copernicus I ' spy The world with all her trinkets round to fly At that brave sentence Satan sneak away As one that in the field hath lost the day Like black Cur scar'd with tail betwixt his legs Seeing he sate abrood on addle eggs Walk on brave heart now thou' rt a man indeed Now thou hast done the work no more then need Hadst not thou hadst for ever been undon Run cheerly forth thou 'lt come to Heav'n anon An Epigram on the same MAn know thy self and wherefore thou wert made Not wealth to seek or make deceit a trade Deceit 's a trade that will deceive at last Greatest Deceivers when th' accounts are cast If thou wilt needs deceive deceive thy foes Who have and do deceive thee at thy nose The devil world and flesh all three at once I 'll shew thee how to do 't if thou have sconce Thou hast two men within thee here 's the skill Cast out the old and keep the new man still This new-mans sent alone packs them for ever 'T will conjure better then Tobiah's liver Age. MAn 's no stay'd creature Lo he now appears Transform'd from what he was his hoary hairs And baldness shew that Winter's neer when late 'T was but high harvest Ceres out of date Pursues her sister Flora on with speed Blow'th to bespeak of her for next years seed Thus times revolve and then return but man Review's no more what 's past the strongest can But one time have and but once have that time To Platonize in Christians is a crime Grave Sir time present's only in your power The past and future times are none of your You can't the first recal nor latter tell What it shall bring to pass this you know well If you but lose the present your time 's lost Irrevocab'ly gone nay more 'T will cost Your loss of labour body soul and all And that for ever Oh! let this appal Your subtle heart rouze your clogg'd memory Time to redeem lest you eternally Rue that neglect you 're wise pray therefore weigh How your state stands for he that did conveigh All to you that you have or can have here Past it but for six days not for a year Four of the best expir'd if rightly cast Infancy childhood youth and manhood past You now are in the fifth at Fryday's stage But Saturday left for your doating age And that 's half pain half play the school-boys maze And old mens too for then their life 's a blaze Like a spent candle which if let alone Burns dim then flashes and is forthwith gone But ah look further then comes on the day That should thy Sabbath be the day of pay 'T will be to all for all shall have their hire As they deserve though not as they desire Who finde it not a pleasure-day of rest Finde it a pain-day not to be exprest Oh then begin to think and cast about With care how to work your salvation out I know your care is great those things to save Whereof no use at all you 'll shortly have You 're penny-wise pound-foolish nay much worse You 're body-wise soul-foolish O dire curse You to advise as others were too bold Might jealousie provoke since you are old Should I to you Put off the old man say You 'll think I bid you cast your self away That 's a fond errour pray mistake me not It will not shorten health or life a jot Suppose the worst if you should thereby die 'T will screw your life up to eternity Work work your change for now the days are neer Of which you 'll say in sorrow pain and fear I have no pleasure in them when your sky Sun Moon and Stars shall dark'ned be on high And Clouds shall follow rain House-k eepers tremble The strong men bow themselves and grinders nimble Through paucity shall cease the window-peepers Be darkned and the street-doors shut by keepers When you shall undergo those other woes That Isr'el's royal preacher quaintly shows Desire shall fail your dust to earth return Your soul to God your carkase to the urn 'T will be too late to work when death's dark night Hath you envelopt robb'd of light and sight Sure none defer their work but thriftless fools 'Till dotage hath depriv'd them of their tools That they should work with think you he that gave Men souls and bodies with endowments brave To do him service can contented be In his foe's work them all imploy'd to see And take the Devil's gleanings we such folly Would highly scorn And can our God most holly An wise be so deluded Man remember Thy yeer is almost past it 's high December Work ne'er so hard who 'll give thee a yeers pay To work for him 'twixt this and new-yeers day Yet God will do 't if thou wilt faithful prove And serve him in true fear with fraudless love Give him thy heart and less thou canst not give Nor craves he more So thou shalt surely live Live beyond date of death or force of fear Where nothing that offends shall more come near What canst expect thy gain more to advance Then thy life's change for firm inheritance Such an inheritance earth ne'er did see Thy self thy everlasting heir shalt be A better Lord was never tenant had If thou refuse him thou art worse then mad He 'll make thee co-heir with his own sole son The Lord of Heaven and Earth and with him one Haste haste accept the motion whilst thou may'st 'T is a cheap purchase whatsoe'er thou pay'st And he expects no more but thy old clothes Thy carnal habits which he likewise lothes But will 's thou cast them off for he retains No servitor on whom such ragg remains He 'll clothe thee in white Robes of righteousness Whose glory Cherubims cannot express Add to the pow'r he gives but thy endeavour And thou shalt sit inthron'd with him for ever Quick shift thy vestments and go hide thee in Those splendent Robes cast off thy rags of sin Let lusts and passions a new Master get Speed lest thou be prevented by Sun-set Now now 's thy time to do 't for who doth know Whe'er thou shalt live a minute more or no This done thou 'lt reap invaluable gains And I 'll require but thanks for this my pains Nay if thou give me none content I 'll be He for whose glory 't is will pay them me Epigram GRay Hair with graceless Heart a guilded tomb Greedy yet fruitless like a barren womb It 's Harvest high and yet no fruit appears This plague's far worse then Egypts fruitless years Those Harvests fail'd but they had Grain in store Here 's no fruit now nor hopes of
hath seen Say Princess great why is thy look so grim To what 's meer man being so fair and trim To gracious souls it's but the fear of change That makes thee so And yet oh wonder strange Want of change caus'th that fear man hear my breath Change but thy self thou'lt ne'er fear change by death Death's visage is a looking-glass wherein Thou view'st thy foul deformity by sin It 's guilt of that breeds fear of death in man Whilst rinsed souls with joy embrace it can See see besotted earth-worm who hast run The race of man and nought but cob-webs spun Sow'd rotten seed death thy race terminates Cuts off thy warp thy harvest antidates And makes it dreadful which might joyful be If thou thy way of safety couldst but see Death is a bond-mark-bridge to Heav'n and Hell On yonder side On this to earth as well Three spatious Kingdoms yea the three and all On this side are two roads which equal fall At the bridge-end the roads of joy and wo And every man in one of them doth go On t'other side two spatious Inns are built The one for innocence t'other for guilt To entertain the Travellers that pass The former roads In these a boundless mass Of joyes and woes are treasur'd up in store Where they shall joy or mourn for evermore Both Inns are at Bridge-end on t'other side One hath a narrow gate the other wide Whoe'er in either enters ne'er returns But there eternally or joys or mourns Joy's road is narrow rough and thorny woe 's Broad plain and smooth wherein the whole world goes Have care to chuse thy path and rightly judge For there 's no changing paths beyond the bridge But each of all the num'rous pilgrims throngs Lies in that Inn that to his path belongs And there remains for ever Heed thy walk It 's of concernment high whereof we talk Tread the straight path then death will be thy friend And guide thee to joy's Inn at journey's end For she presents the ghests in both the places And is chief Umpire in all doubtful cases For many seem to walk in way of zeal Whose specious shews do good opinion steal Ev'n of the best Yet tri'd by death's true test Lie down in sorrows Inn among the rest Others but few may seem to walk the ways That lead to wo whom death at last displays To be the joy-house ghests who there sit down And for their crosses here enjoy a crown Death is both ferry-man and boat whereby We launch the Ocean of eternity The Poets Charon who doth waft alone Souls to Elysium or to Acheron It is the intermitting point whereby We time divide from perpetuity Our time dies with us though time 's self remain Unto the time when we shall rise again In brief it 's but a blank at life's line 's end To bad men mortal foe to good a friend It 's amiable in a faithful eye But horrible to Belial's progeny Fond man cease death to fear make right thy heart Faith steeps in Balsamum death's surest dart Trans-forms its wounds to cures for thou shalt live Eternally by the wound death doth give The Epigram PAle Princess spare thy threats we know thy force Thou su'st the soul and bodies short divorce It lasts but one night's rest and that 's a toy For in the morning they shall meet with joy Thou wounded'st once our brother Lord and King And in that wound drone-like didst lose thy sting Now thou canst hurt no more save such mad elves As bring thee a new sting to kill themselves 'T were better for them death had kept his sting Then they be stung to death by stings they bring Though plain perire be a fate past jest Pennis perire propriis grave est Judgment HArk hark rebellious man the trumpet sounds Thy judgment-march the earth for fear rebounds Rocks rock the mountains tremble all the world Is ague-shook into hearts passion hurl'd Tellus keeps open house the grave 's unfraught Thetis re-renders up the dead she caught Both now their captives forth to judgment bring Before the throne of Heav'ns eternal King They can't detaine a dust of good nor bad But re-deliver must whate'er they had The ratling flames with horrid whirling roar Drink up the Sea and eat at once the shoar It 's quite in vain to mountains now to cry Or rocks to hide they all like atoms fly Hence in the beams of fire-light Oh! look look Sun Moon and Stars have Firmament forsook They fall like mellow fruit in blustring storms The spheres are shrivel'd up and loose their forms The Elements do melt the fixed Stars Fall down pel-mel as soldiers drop in wars The Heavens can no canopy afford No curtain thee to hide for in a word Both Heav'n and earth are nonplus'd at this blast And shall together in new molds be cast Thou' rt past advising now appear thou must Thy sentence to receive which will be just That 's all thy comfort and small comfort 't is To those who in this life have done amiss For all accounts shall here be fully cast And each man have full pay for labour past See yonder where the Judges books are come Whereby he judges and will pay all home According as appears by those records Whose counterparts thy own scar'd soul affords And still hath kept lockt up in conscience-chest But now must bring them forth among the rest Both she and thou and all know all is true In those records so there needs no review Sentence will soon be past the judge will say To you of his left-handed herd Away Depart from me ye cursed into fire That lasts for ever fitted for your Sire The Devil and his Angels Oh sad doom Yet ne'er to be revok'd for time to come Wer 't but to death or to annihilation The pains would end by senses deprivation But in these torments life and sense remain Yet neither life nor sense save those of pain Pains measureless and endless pour'd on thee Where wronged mercy will most cruel be Millions of ages past thy pains appear As far from end as when thou first wast there Their measure is as much as Devils can Devise of torment to inflict on Man Or an Almighty God can storm on those Who have declar'd themselves his mortal Foes There needs no more be spoke Ah wretched wight Think on this day before eternal night Prevent thy thinking on 't by being in 't Fence off the blow before thou feel the dint It 's true in God's as well's in Nature's school QUIS EXPECTAVIT is a cure-less fool If hearing man be told that death is nigh And scorns to heed it he must surely die Heed heed thy way of peace in this thy time Repent each former shun each future crime Redeem thy time to come none can what 's past Spend thy first hour as if it were thy last Think still thou dost the trumps loud summons hear ARISE you Dead to Judgement quick appear With penitential water
lave the blurs That in thy book appear Make no demurs In thy great suit for pardon get it out With restless speed in thy proceedings doubt Lest Errour be in thy Original Or any other Writ and make sure all As thou go'st on cast often thy account And see to what thy sums receiv'd amount And how expended what thou see'st amiss Amend in future by more carefulness For past debts take Repentances keen knife And raze them out then to avoid all strife Smooth it with Faith's rough pummice o'er and o'er Thy Creditor never will charge it more This play seems foul but is not though he know Thy crafty trick he loves to have it so And though such tricks may Merchants seem to stain It both augments his glory and thy gain Now shall the Earth-amazing Dooms-day be A day of joy and comfort unto thee Thy hearts chief solace in the saddest fits Whose thoughts might formerly have scar'd thy wits Look how the chased Hart desires the Brooks The blind Gods Herd their living Idols looks As Mariners nigh shipwrack'd wish for shore Or tyred School-boyes learning to give o'er As poor deserted Souls for faith do long The faithful for Plerophory so strong Will thy desires wishes and longings be To see that day once terrible to thee Thy soul once thus sublim'd will ever cry With yerning Bowels Come Lord Jesus Hye And with the Spirit and the Bride will say Come come Lord quickly while it is to day That Trump whose very thought the world doth fray Will be thy Cock-crow to eternal day The Epigram STout Man why quak'st to think on this days sound Thy fear doth from thy inward guilt redound Sweep clean thy conscience mundifie thy Heart Through-captivate thy will to his whose art Of love did thee redeem thence Judgements trump Will cheer thy soul whose thought now doth it dump At this Assizes fear not to appear The Judge will read thy Neck-Verse for thee here Plead guilty and condemn thy self before Confess and so be sav'd for evermore Lord what vast difference herein appear'th Betwixt thy Laws of Heaven and ours of earth Hell HOrrid'st of Creatures who wast solely made To please Eternal Justice thy black shade Abounds with Contradictions freezing fires With torrid chilness Infinite desires Void of the least attainments Howling theams Compos'd all of Exordiums fiery beams Flashing yet light-less This school's Alphabet Abjures Omega they who there are met To roar out Palinodes and Elegies Are still beginning Cain if there he lies Is no whit farther in his lesson come Then he that last went hence to that sad home Nay Lucifer grand-paedagogue of all Hath not learn'd A. B. C. since his first fall Though our and his great Master taught him better The Dullard is not yet past the first letter His lesson's now as far from learning out As 't was when first he troopt the Angel-rout Into Rebellion and the Lesson's dire 'T is wo and lamentations in a fire Tormenting not consuming burning still Still killing yet doth never fully kill Eternal labour with eternal loss Uncessant cares and yet uncessant cross A death-less death a life-less life remains Which multiplies the terrour of the pains Measureless endless hapless hopeless fate Whoe'er comes here findes it too soon too late Too soon to sense the pain but to prevent That sense too late since too late to repent Ah careless cureless heedless headless man Leap not into the fire out of the pan Whilst here Afflictions Cauldron thou dost shun Thou darest Hell and so art quite undone Temporal crosses may be better born Then those eternal do not counsel scorn That 's good and given gratis strike thy sails Stoop thy top-gallant Will it nought avails Poor Sculler these to mount in a Bravado When he 's in viron'd with a strong Armado If thou stand out thou' rt sunk and lost for ever Submit submit to change thy will endeavour Look ere thou leap thy foot is at pits brink Move but a hairs-breadth forward thou must sink And sink eternally see here the Chasm Against whose wounds there is no Cataplasm Who falls here wounded is beyond all cure And must beyond all time his pains endure This Dungeon hath nor joy nor rest nor ease Nor comforts nor a hope of ought like these But desperation of them and assurance Of perpetuity of pain 's endurance View view bewitched man this place of wo Jehovah's Magazine of Terrour Lo This Den from beatifick Vision is Excentrick quite exterminate from bliss Its Ghests all captive mourners who delight Each other to torment and to affright Mutual Assassinates and merciless Unsatiate in fiercest cruelness VVhose hideous howlings raving roaring cries Gnashing of teeth loud shreeks would rend the skies Shake all the earth to shivers melt proud man Into a floud of tears make beauty wan Strength feeble and his specious frame dissolve To nothing once to hear them Oh! revolve This frequently in heart lest Hells dark flame The thought whereof should wildest Mortals tame Prove the first light that gives thee sight of sin And sense of second death when once thou' rt in There 's no Redemption Poenitence too late VVill but increase thy torment not abate Here shalt thou see Nimrod's stern progeny Tyranniz'd o'er as they lov'd tyranny Gygantick Cyclops may tormented be By Pygmey feinds t' augment their misery The pompous Dives there shall not command One drop of water from a Lazar's hand Nor it obtain yet begging heartily To cool his parched tongue although it fry Abaddon and Apoll'on here do raign Great Lords of mis-rule o'er the damned train ' Mongst whom confusion is the perfect'st order And greatest mercy worse then horrid'st murder Where Lucifer and Beelzebub now ly Inflicting pains and pain'd eternally These lapsed Angels knowing their own fate Irrevocable are incens'd with hate Against both God and man but wanting power God to infest they seek man to devour Whom living they by flatt'ry strive to win But dead torment most justly for his sin Their first plot is Gods image to deface Once stampt on us now re-ingrav'd by grace Since our base forfeitute of that great favour In Paradise by breach of good behaviour Whilst sweet redemption crusht that curst design They now do re-inforce to undermine Us by our neerest friends the world and flesh Yea self on self fiercely assaults afresh And did not an Almighty pow'r defend us These our three friends to those our soes would send us Blessed Redeemer with thy banner shield us Oh let thy Spirit still assistance yeild us Against those subtile falshoods fly devices VVhereby Hell 's regent our poor souls intices Confound his plots and by thy grace relieve us And from this dismal dungeon Lord reprieve us The Epigram SEâ— man thy creature's creature this curst place Of endless torment thy sweet meats sow'r sawce Thy honey's gall house of thy sins foundation Tophet the cell of thy deserv'd damnation Critical Atheists have a question stirr'd VVhere it should
running A way chalk'd out by thine and our most cunning And mortal foes a way devis'd at Rome VVhich will these lands to desolation doom Our bodies to sharp sword and famine thin Our souls ro utter darkness for our sin Deprive us of thy candlestick that live And to posterity dark Lanthorns give To guide in pathes of death and to deceive Our progeny false Gospels to believe Unless thy grace prevent Bless'd God arise And let thy foes be scatter'd that despise And persecute thy truth and people thus Draw us to thee and be thou GOD WITH US Cease our divisions chase all schisms and errours All Heresies and Ath'ism hence with terrours And with confusion unto those that broach'd them And recantation to those that approach'd them Let Reformation true at last come in To our distracted Church and State which sin Hath long kept off let love with truth and peace And blessed union daily more increase In these distressed lands chase hence the swarms Of black-pits locusts whose inveigling charms Dicotomize the world whose industry Makes King fight King and men make war with thee Lord let eternal mercy turn us thus From all our sins and all thy wrath from us For none but thine Almighty hand can cure Our desp'rate wounds thy enemies make sure Shortly to sway these lands and therewithal To ruine thy reformed Churches all Unless thy grace prevent Help Lord at need It 's in the mount it 's time thou help indeed For vain is mans false help we fools have try'd By Egypt's friendship to be fortifi'd Whose broken reeds have pierc'd our heedless hands And drawn thy judgments on these sinful lands Avert them Lord and turn us unto thee Thy fury just from us else lost are we Thy stock of wonted mercies we have spent And are undone unless thy grace prevent We set up Princes Lord but not of thee Rulers whom thou know'st not who'll fatal be Unto this land and make us soon repent Our foolish choice unless thy Grace prevent Oh let the BRANCH spring forth and bud and bear If thou so will'st whilst we are pilgrims here The birth is at wombs mouth Oh God help strength To bring that bless'd production forth at length Which our sins keep obstructed in the womb And let the Son of David's Kingdom come But out great crimes defer that blest event And urge thy wrath Lord let thy Grace prevent Prevent our just-deserved ruine Lord Let love obliterate our crimes abhor'd Recruit our stock of grace so vainly spent And our just fears Lord let thy grace prevent Angliae Omen OH stupid England how hath S. befool'd thee Not to give ear to what thy G. hath told thee But to F. P. thou willingly canst hearken Which will I fear thy brightest glory darken E. and D. fight like fools by J. deceived To make S. sport unless by G. relieved G. chalk'd thee out a way yet thou refusest Therein to walk his mercies thou abusest Pervert'st the means of grace to schism and faction Wrest'st profer'd peace into perverse distraction P. B. is spil'd whence P. in mirth exceedeth Whil'st P. spoyls P. the heart of C. C. bleedeth And thou still glorying in thy shame abidest Sweet mercies scornest judgments fierce deridest Exceed'st in pride oppression blood and thieving Excess and bold profaneness never grieving For all thy horrid acts whose exclamation Rings up to Heav'n and croaks thy desolation For which thy crimes one of these are attending Thy soon repentance or thy latter ending It is not to me unknown that divers exquisite pens have poëtically translated the following Lamentations whose Labours I honour and aym not herein to detract from neither strive I to claw mans ear or tickle his fancie but have as neer as I was enabled kept the very words of the Text it self in our most usual English Translations hoping the divine gravity and interwoven plainness of that stile may prove powerful above all mans ingenious flourishes hereon as fitting best the parallel times and people whereâ—n and for whom they were first written Amen Hodie mihi Cras tibi Let Jury Britain's warner be Let Jebus London teach That we Gods ways may heed and see Whilst Jews to English preach The Lamentations of Jeremiah in metre CHAP. I. verse 1 HOw doth the thronged City sit desert How art thou widowed O thou that wert The great among the Nations Princess took Of Provinces and now in tributes yoak verse 2 Her nightly tears make torrents o'er her cheeks In vain she comfort from all lovers seeks Her friends perfidious all are foes become verse 3 Judah's gone captive from her native home Because of servitude and great affliction Among the Heathen she finds no refection Her persecuters 'twixt the straights o'ertake her verse 4 Zions wayes mourn since solemn feasts forsake her Her Priests do sigh her gates are desolate verse 5 Virgins afflicted She in bitter state Her soes are chief and prosper for the Lord Hath her afflicted for her most abhorr'd And multipli'd transgressions and her Sons Her enemies led captive all at once verse 6 All Zions Daughters beauty is departed Her Princes are like Harts in pastute thwarted verse 7 As finding none and they are strengthless gone verse 8 Before pursuers Jebus now thinks on Her pleasant things in days of old enjoy'd By miserie 's afflicting hand made voyd Her Sons faln in the hands of enemies Quite helpless foes her Sabbaths did despise verse 9 Jerusalem hath sinned grievously Therefore removed of her friends cast by Who saw her shame she sighs backward turns verse 10 Her filth is in her skirts and she adjourns The day of her last end whence she descends To wonderment yet voyd of cheering friends Lord view my sorrow for the foe doth boast verse 11 And snatch our pleasant things we value most She in her Temple sees the Heathen Nations Whom thou forbad'st t' approach thy Congregations verse 12 Her people sigh and seek their bread they give Their pleasant things for food them to relieve See Lord consider for I vile am grown verse 13 Is it to you as nothing have yee known O all by-passers any grief like mine In his fierce angers day by sacred Trine verse 14 Afflicted fire from Heaven he hath sent Into my bones his net spread with intent My feet to trap Yea he hath turn'd me back And made me faint and desolate alack verse 15 His hand hath bound the yoak of my transgressions Which wreathed mount cause my neck 's oppressions My strength he made to fall he gives me over Into their hands from whom I can't recover verse 16 In me he trampled on my men of might Assembled those that crush'd my young men quite As in a wine-press he that wears Heav'ns crown The Virgin Judah's Daughter hath trod down verse 17 For this I weep mine eye mine eye fleets on Because from me the Comforter is gone That should relieve my soul And desolate My children are ' cause those prevail'd
wormwood made me drunk verse 16 VVith gravel stones my teeth he broke and sunk verse 17 Me under ashes And far off from peace My soul thou hast remov'd In me doth cease verse 18 Prosperitie's remembrance And I said My strength and hope is from the Lord decai'd verse 19 Recording mine affliction misery verse 20 The wormwood and the gall my soul still shy In their remembrance humbled is in me verse 21 This I re-call to minde and thence hope see verse 22 'T is the Lords mercy we are not o'erborn verse 23 ' Cause his compassions fail not Ev'ry morn They are renew'd great is thy faithfulness verse 24 My soul doth say the Lord my portion is verse 25 Therefore I 'll hope in him The Lord is good To them that wait for him to souls that woo'd verse 26 His face It 's good for man to hope and wait verse 27 The Lords salvation quietly though strait verse 28 The youth-born yoke is good which having born verse 29 He sits in silence still And doth adorn His mouth with dust if so there hope may be verse 30 He gives his cheek to smiters fill'd is he verse 31 Full with reproach for God will not for ay verse 32 Cast off And though he causeth grief to day He will compassion have according to verse 33 His mercies multitude God doth not do That willingly that may afflict or grieve verse 34 The sons of men to crush and not reprieve verse 35 Earth's pris'ners under feet to turn awry The right of man before his face most high verse 36 The Lord approves not to subvert man's cause verse 37 Who 's he that saith and it doth come to pass verse 38 When God commands it not Both good and ill Proceed they not out of the Lords mouth still verse 39 Wherefore doth man complain man for his sins verse 40 Just punishment Let 's search and try what 's in 's verse 41 And to the Lord rerurn to God in heaven verse 42 Let 's lift our hearts and hands for we have even Transgrest rebell'd and pardon thou gav'st none verse 43 With anger thou hast covered alone And persecuted us thou hast us slain verse 44 And hast not pitied Thou dost detain Thee in a cloud that our prayers should not pass verse 45 Thou hast us made as the off-scowring as verse 46 Refuse in peoples mid'st And all our foes verse 47 Open'd their mouths against us fear snare woes Destruction desolation on us lie verse 48 Rivers of tears do run down from mine eye For the destruction that is come upon verse 49 My peoples daughter Mine eye trickleth down And ceaseth not without all intermission verse 50 Till God look down from heav'n on her condition verse 51 And it behold Mine eye affects my heart Because of all my cities daughter's smart verse 52 Mine enemies me chased very sore Ev'n like a bird without a cause wherefore verse 53 They have cut off my life in dungeon throw'd verse 54 A stone upon me And the waters flow'd Over my head I am cut off said I verse 55 And in low dungeon on thy Name did cry verse 56 O Lord thou hast me heard hide not thine ear verse 57 At my sad cry and breathing Thou drew'st near I' th' day that I did call on thee and said'st verse 58 Fear not O Lord thou my souls causes plead'st verse 59 Thou hast redeem'd my life Thou see'st my wrong verse 60 Judge thou my cause Thou hast seen all along verse 61 Their vengeance and their thoughts against me Thou Hast their reproaches heard O Lord and how verse 62 Against me they imagine lips of those And their device that up against me rose verse 63 All day Behold their sitting and their rising verse 64 I am their musick Lord for their devising Render them recompence according to verse 65 Their handy-work Give them heart-sorrow wo verse 66 Thy curse unto them Persecute destroy In wrath them from beneath thy throne of joy CHAP. IIII. verse 1 HOw is the gold come dim the fine gold chang'd In each streets top the Temples stones estrang'd verse 2 Are poured out How Zions pretious sâ—…nes To fine gold comparable are at once Esteem'd as earthen pitcher potters creature verse 3 Ev'n dragons draw the brest and give by nature Suck to their young my people's daughter is Cruel become like to the ostriches verse 4 In wilderness For thirst the suckling's tongue Cleaves fast to his mouth 's roof the children young verse 5 Ask bread and no man breaks to them They that Fed delicately are now desolate I' th' streets the scarlet brood dunghils embrace verse 6 My peoples daughters punishment takes place Of Sodom's sin's high punishment o'erthrown In moment when on her stay'd no hand known verse 7 Her Nazarites purer then snow more white Then whitest milk in body ruddy bright More then the rubies were their polish'd hew verse 8 Was saphire and their visage now we view Blacker then coal in streets they are not known Their wither'd skin cleaves fast unto the bone verse 9 It 's stick-like ' come They whom the sword hath slain Are better then whom hunger rid of pain For these pine thorow-struck for field-fruits want verse 10 Pittiful womens hands have in the scant Sodden their children they their meat were after In the destruction of my peoples daughter verse 11 The Lord his fury hath accomplished He hath pour'd out his anger fierce kindled A fire in Zion and it her foundations verse 12 Devoured hath Earth's Kings and all the Nations O' th' world would never have believ'd the foe And adversary enter should into verse 13 Jerusalems gates For her Prophet's crimes And for her Priests iniquities oft times That in the mid'st of her just mens blood shed verse 14 As blind men in the street they wandered With blood themselves polluted so that men verse 15 Could not their garments touch they cryed then Depart it is unclean touch not depart When they did flie and wander they with smart Among the heathen said They shall no more verse 16 There sojourn The Lords anger hath full soâ—e Divided them he 'll them no more respect The Persons of the Priests they quite neglect verse 17 They favour'd not the elders As for us Our eyes for our vain help yet failed thus In watching we have for a Nation watch'd verse 18 That could not save our steps they hunt catch'd That we can't walk the streets our end is neer Our days fulfilled are our end is here verse 19 Our cruel Persecutors are more swift Then Heavens Eagles they had us in drift Upon the mountains for us they laid wait verse 20 In wilderness In their pits by their bait Our nostrils breath the Lords anointed was Surpris'd of whom we often said alas Under his shade ' mongst heathens live shall we verse 21 Rejoyce O Edom's daughter and glad be Who dwel'st in Uz-land but the cup pass shall Thorow to thee and thou