seem to be Unto the world if I am light in thee Oh let him grope in everlasting night That will not own thee for the chiefest Light Be thou oh Lord my Light my Guide my Way Then shall I never err nor go astray He need not fear in slippery waves to slide That is supported by so blest a Guide A guide whose goodness can as well direct In power as he in mercy can protect Be pleas'd oh Lord to bring my feeble sight From my Caemerian darkness to thy light Oh give me light enough to let me see My horrid darkness let my object be Thy mercies then shall my eclipsed eyes Have light enough to see my miseries Lord let me see my sins for sin and I Even like the Bas'lisk first discover'd die Then may I sing with a most heav'nly mirth The death of sin gives Righteousness a birth The death of sin does period all our strife The life of sin is but a dying life Thus subtle death lies lurking in our sins To catch us when we struggle in his gins But they that will avoid his crafty snare Must first discover it by faith and prayer And when discovered it may well be said The crafty traytor is himself betray'd Although he exercise his power so fast Yet he himself shall be destroy'd at last Whilst we then glorify'd shall sit and sing Death where 's thy power oh Grave where is thy sting Then why should we fond mortals fear or dread The thing that cannot hurt us if we spread Our arms to Heav'n he 'l take us by the hand And safely lead us to the promis'd Land Then shall we have no cause to fear or doubt We that come weeping in go smiling out Happy are we if we the truth imbrace Though we were born in sin we die in grace The Midwives hand even dragg'd us to our Birth Whilst we poor lumps of senseless living Earth Lie crying in her lap but know not why Yet every tear is then a prophesie The tender Infant does no sooner break The prison of the Womb but seems to speak To this effect Behold see I am come Naked and shiftless from my Mothers womb What shall I do I have nor feet nor hands But what are useless griping sorrow stands Ready to snatch me from my Mothers brest Not suffering me to take a minutes rest Is this the world that fondlings dote upon Oh that I had but power to be gone I quickly would find out a place should be Exempt from all encroaching misery This is no place of rest I may deplore My self ah lass I never cry'd before What was I born to cry strange kind of Birth Hard fate indeed all Sorrow and no Mirth Could I have kept my fleshly Cloyster still I never than had known th' effects of ill But since my Birth hath brought me to distress My patience and my prayers shall make it less But stay alas my Birth is not the cause Of my sad sorrows but the breach of Laws 'T is that 't is that which wounds me to the heart 'T is I that sinn'd 't is only I must smart 'T is only I 't is I that must prepare To bear the burthen of mine own made care Who yelds to sin except he does repent As well must yield unto the punishment If we do well we then expect reward But if we sin we sin without regard How dis-ingenious are we in our wills To goodness how ingenious in our ills These are the things for vvhich our guilty Land Is now afflicted and convicted stand 'T is but in vain to plead except it be To mercy for our quick deliverie We 're our own Goalers yet we have not power To give our selves the freedom of an hour Our turn-key sins does lock us up so fast We cannot stir we must contrive to cast Away our crimes and then we must prepare By heav'nly art to pick the lock by prayer This is the way to freedom Now I find My own mistake free mercy is so kind That neither lock nor door nor bar can be Infringers of a Converts liberty A sigh will melt the doors and break the lock Nothing opposes when by Faith we knock And if the Hammer of our zeal be strong We shall not need to give attendance long Knock and it shall be open'd seek and find There 's nothing hard unto a willing mind Run and ye shall obtain Lord give us grace That in our running we may mend our pace Oh let thy mercy with our sorrows meet And then we shall have wings as well as feet And then we shall be sure to run the race Of mercy and to take our flight in grace For when in flight or running we shall spend Our zealous strength oh Lord be thou the End The RE-CALL STrange times my Masters what unusual sight Hath terrify'd you to this sudden flight Still full of jealousies and fears no hope Of a re-settlement ah give not scope Too much to your own fancies but incline To bend your hearts to what is more Divine But stay perhaps ye 'ave lately had a sight Of your own sins and that has caus'd this flight Then fly untill your eyes of faith have found The Grand Physician that must make you sound Fly till your wings are tyr'd fly night and day Mount in your flight and in your flying pray Pray till the fervent heat of true bred zeal Shall melt your wings your melting will reveal Your penitency and Repentance brings A good Embassage from the King of Kings Faith is the souls Embassador and prayer The Embasie the Hosts of heav'n prepare His entertainment Sun and Moon and Stars Are the swift Laquies that fore-run his Wars Thus whilst in hostile manner he appears Judgment beats up the Drum for Volunteers What shall we do dear Country-men our crimes Are so out-ragious that the vvorst of times Is our expectance let 's contrive and think What 's best to do for we are at the brink Of speedy ruine and our senseless Land Is crush'd in pieces by an Iron hand An Iron hand of Justice and 't is vain T' oppose except by faith nay we shall gain More blows by opposition than I 'm sure 'T is possible for nature to endure For what is nature in her greatest povver But vveakness and that vveakness every hour Subject to sad mutations humane skill Like Josiah's Sun goes backvvard or stands still Alas vve are like bull-rushes inclin'd To shake vvith every feeble blast of vvind We have no perminancy every minit Brings a most sudden alteration in it For vvhat is man if rightly understood But a poor fabrick cemented vvith blood Daub'd o're vvith flesh vvhich one poor shovver of rain Washes avvay thus momentary vain Is silly man a perfect Coin of sorrovv Receiv'd to day and paid avvay to morrovv Although at first he vvas a noble Coine Stampt vvith that image vvhich vvas all Divine Yet by his own endeavours he defac'd Himself and by his fall
Air Expressed their sudden fright and present care Nay I have known such fear has been among Those clam'rous Birds that they have left their young Why does the City thus persue the Court Knowing ah lass this is no age for sport For Gaming 's out of fashion in these times Yet we may stake and pray away our Crimes The looser's only happy for he wins That looses by Divinity his sins But stay Kind Reader let 's a little pause And see if we can finde where lies the Cause What think'st thou of a sinful heart that lies Groaning beneath his griping miseries What think'st thou of a sin-infected brest That is by nothing but it self opprest What think'st thou of a Nation whose sad crimes Hath so infected our perplexed times That t is impossible by humane skill To give a Remedy to so much ill Call all thy faculties and let them joyn Themselves together and by faith combine Let 's search each cranny of our sinful hearts And let us weep as we have sung in parts Le ts weep untill our tears do over-flow Our sorrow let us sigh untill we know What 't is to barter happiness for grief 'T is only Faith can Crown us with relief Now courteous Reader give me leave to make A small digression Know t is for thy sake That I endeavour by a faithful art To give a Cordial to each bleeding heart When once t is known where the distempets lie We may the sooner hope for remedie That Patient much in understanding fails That will not tell his Doctor what he ayls Oh! who would not his thankful patient be Where Physick and advise are both so free His Physick hath such operative power That it gives ease in less then half an hour Oh depth of mercy oh unbounded skill Oh rare prescription of a sacred will Then do not fly but let your hopes encrease Repent and then he surely will speak peace Till then t is but in vain to move or fly Oh! look upon him with a watchful eye Then shalt thou see how soon he will impart His heavenly joyes to a contristed heart Remember he is not a God of blood But takes delight to do a sinner good Remember those blest Tears which once he shed Over Jerusalem and how he spred His mercy over Israel and pours His goodness on our heads in liberal showers He is a God whose mercy knows no bounds His balm of grace being pour'd into our wounds Does so compleat our Cure and ease our pain That the Disease will ne'r return again And being from our malladies set free The gold of prayer is all the Doctors Fee The Scriptures are our guide 't is that which tells Where this most kind and blest Physician dwells Faith Hope and Charity those sacred three Are his House-keepers and Humilitie His lodging Chamber and the faithful Brest The Kitchin where his Diet must be drest Oh Lord we know thy Table 's alwayes spred Oh give us faith that we may eat thy bread And since thy goodness thou hast thus exprest 'T is no presumption Lord to be thy guest Thou freely doest invite and shall not we Answer thy invitation and be free To make our near approches Lord enable Our hearts that we may come unto thy table And then O Lord thy table being spred Bless us with grace and we will eat thy bread We 'l eat thy heavenly Manna without strife And feed our souls to everlasting life We 'l praise thy name for what thy goodness sent As we have sinn'd we 'l labour to repent That so thou may'st commis'rate and remove Thy Judgments and then Crown us with thy Love Then shall our thankful hearts proclaim and tell What thou hast done for thine own Israel Then shall our joyful lips proclaim a peace Whilst grace and mercy ever more encrease And let us know when Judgment comes so near That ruine or repentance must appear Delayes are dangerous let 's therefore pray And call upon him whilst 't is yet to day That so our timely sorrows may remove His heavy Judgments and intreat his love Once more to shine upon us that we may Injoy the comfort of a glorious day Oh let 's consider we have long bin free But still ungrateful for our libertie Oh let us think how long we have bin fed Yet seldom prais'd that hand which gave us bread Oh let 's remember how forgetful we Have bin and how abus'd prosperitie Oh let 's consider how Religion stood Not long since more then Ankle deep in blood Let 's call to memory when our hearts decay'd How Heaven reviv'd us and encreast our Trade What store of mercy have we to perswade us To bless that hand that both preserves and made us For should we own his mercies with neglect We may injustice every day expect New punishments who studies to offend Must not expect a peace or happy end Oh let us not against our maker Kick 'T is too much honey that hath made us sick How wanton have we bin in former times And still make idols of our bosome Crimes Thus we persisting in our Follies dare Just Heav'n to strike whose goodness does forbear Whilst we ev'n hug our ruine and invite Judgement to make an everlasting night But if Poetick Lines have any power Let me perswade my Reader from this hour To be considerare And thus begin To ruminate Alas it is my sin Hath caus'd these Judgments Therefore i' st not fit That I who did industreously commit So many Crimes should by my fervent prayer Endeavour to extenuate my care There is a balm in Giliad can make sound And Cure the anguish of the deepest wound The Heav'nly Chiron hath so great a store That he can find a Salve for every sore He that hath promis'd will in mercy please To give unto the heavy Laden ease We may be confident and boldly trust In him that is both merciful and just How happy is our flight as oft as we Fly from our selves oh Lord and fly to thee Not do we ever with Devotion pray But thou dost meet our language half the way And when our zeal does once begin to burn Then doest thou bless us with a quick return Then why should we distrust so good a God That alwayes shakes before he strikes his Rod Thy mercy keeps us in the darkest night Nor dost thou in a sinners Death delight Oh let thy goodness spare us for thine ire We know full well is all-consuming fire It is thy mercy Lord must make us blest Alas we are but stubble at the best O turn us Lord or else we cannot turn For as we are w' are only fit to burn And if we needs must burn oh Lord reveal Thy self unto us till we flame in zeal Such holy flames oh Lord will so aspire That thou wilt take a pleasure in our fire A zealous flame gives a most glorious light A Christian like a Glow-worm shines at night I care not Lord how dark I
oh here 's the Cure But vvhere 's the thanks it vvas he that did endure But vve that sinn'd oh love exceeding measure His pain vvas the fore-runner of our pleasure His stripes has made us whole what need we more But thankes accept it Lord 't is all our store 'T is a thin gratitude thou art Divine Oh therefore turn our water into Wine And when dear Lord thy mercy is about Such works of wonders turn our insides out Oh heal our Leprosie of sin and then We 'l boast that we are more then perfect men Thou that canst Cure the blind the deaf the lame In healing us wilt get a double same For we are more then deaf or lame or blind Therefore oh Lord be unto us more kind For we have cripple consciences each heart Of ours is dead oh raise them by thy art And let our eyes make such a sea of tears That we may walk upon it without fears And when thy judgment brings us to the brink Oh let 's remember Peter did not sink And when thy Cock of mercy Lord shall Crow Let 's turn about and weep away out woe And let 's remember but the Cripples touch And then oh Lord we 'l throw away our Crutch Oh let 's remember but the blind mans sight And we shall come from darkness into light Oh let 's prepare our hearts and then vve may Instead of running from thy Judgments stay And staying may most happlly imbrace The vvelcome glory of thy spreading grace That so our faculties may all combine To give thee praise that makes our visage shine Then shall we live in a most prosperous peace Our Corn and Oil shall ever more encrease Want then shall be a stranger to our Land And lib'ral mercy take off Judgments brand Then every one with freedom shall encline T' injoy the fruitful Fig-tree and the Vine Thus mercy shall appear unto our Land And lead in welcome blessings by the hand Then shall our joyes encrease as 't was of old The Wolf and Lamb shall Cabbin in one fold Religion shall increase and bless our dayes With sound Divinity immortal praise Shall fly to him whose mercy was so free To own us in our great extremity Judge Reader judge with what a pleasing eye The patient looks to see his Doctor by The Gally slave that ruggs the painful Oare Rejoyceth when he seeth a pleasant shoare And shall not we that wander in our crimes Rejoyce to see illuminated times And let us say whose lives are but a span VVith double admiration VVhat is man Lord what is man that thou art so inclin'd To have him seated alwayes in thy mind And shall we not return our thanks with prayer That alwayes make our miseries his care Shall we whose sins do more and more increase Beny If we repent a proffor'd peace Shall we that have a long time been at warrs Deny to put a period to our jarrs Shall we whose sad calamities increase Deny to say thrice welcome welcome Peace And shall not vve incompas'd vvith a throng Of mercies let Hosanna be our song Shall we be silent and contented be To eat the fruit and not applaud the Tree Oh let not such ingratitude be laid Unto our charge oh let it not be said That we in times of mercy can be mute And kill the tree that gives us pleasant fruit Oh let us not like sucking Children bite Our Nurses Nipple let us not delight In youthful vanities oh let 's not cry Because w' are fed let not our delug'd eye Find quiet rest untill our sins appear Minute like Atoms in a day that 's clear Oh let us whilst it is to day repent And understand that Judgments oft are sent In tender mercy zealous David found Himself a King indeed when he was Crown'd With his affliction Patience is a Jemm Saul seeking Asses found a Diadem VVhist others oh I pity them Ah lass Looking for Diadems do find an Ass Our ancient Records tell us planly how An Ass spoke once w 'ave many do so now By which we fully may perceive what then Were Miracles are common now to men Englands Tears STay passenger and let thine eyes Survey my ample miseries Stay and give ear unto my story How I lost my former glory The mask of Judgment now does shroud My visage with a sin-black cloud Sin hath got the upper hand And Judgment ruleth in my Land My raging sorrowes much encrease And I have lost my wonted peace Nor do I know which way to bend My course or find a constant friend I am infected from my Crown Even to my sole the angry frown Of Heaven persues me and torments My heart with sullen discontents My Soule is sick my Spirits fail And I am to my self a Goal Imprison'd in my sins I lye For want of good security He that was wont to set me free Infringes now my libertie Oh rashness how am I mistaken 'T is he indeed was first forsaken That now forsakes oh 't is but just To blow away presumptious dust Dust so audacious that it flys Into the heedless makers eyes And to reward so great a Vice He turns presumptuous dust to Lice Oh tell me tell me what is worse Then Egypts sin and Egypts curse He whose mercy could not win Now justly scourges us for sin If sin will needs presume to rain It must be crown'd with grief and pain Nor is it fit a King should be Without attendants Miserie Is sins Life-guard there 's no relief Except it be successive grief When Judgment sounds a charge what arms Can save us from those fierce alarms There is no running Horse and Foot Must be prepared to stand to ' it And when he sees his foes decline He gives the word Vengeance is mine What weakness is it then to boast Our selves against the Lord of Host I' st not a madness then to be Souldiers without Artillerie For if our Ammunition fail We are quite routed and turn tail Nay here lies the greatest spight W' are most in danger when in flight And so we shall both see and feel Judgment can wound us in the heel But if we will avoid a Rout We then must wisely face about And so we may by mild degrees Conquer Heaven upon our knees The Gun-shot of our hearty prayers Will make the Bull-works melt like tears We shall be Masters of the field When true repentance make him yield Oh that plunder must be good That is obtain'd with tears not blood Wil't not be a happy chance To take and keep his Ordinance Oh 't will be good to fortifie The Castles of our hearts and try The power of Sathan who will run If he but sees a Heavenly Gun Though he loves fire he proclaims How much he hates those heavenly flames The way t'void so bold a guest Is to keep flames within our brest And then we need not fear nor fly We may be wounded but not die Nay every wound we have shall be Th' assurance of
our Victory And if we chance to bleed oh then Let 's dress our wounds and to 't agen Let 's neither face nor wheel about Untill we give a perfect rout Then then we shall be sure to lie Guarded with security He prayed and the Plague ceased PRayer and the Plague are two most pow'rful things Being both derived from the King of Kings The Plague is sent to punish us but prayer Extenuates our grief and crowns our care With quick deliverance for he that sent His Plague must give us mercy to repent He heal'd those waters which in former times Receiv'd infection from the peoples Crimes Prayer is that Balm of Giliad which makes sound A heart that bleeds it self into a wound A wounded heart heav'n never can despise Wounds are best cleans'd with waters from our eyes Heark Reader heark what now my Muse resounds We may want streams but never shall want wounds Heaven bottles up our tears let us deny Our selves and then those bottles needs must fly Fly till th 'ave made more then Duc alians flood Who swims in mercy cannot drownd in blood Let 's but remember the reward of Vice The very dust being turned into Lice The croking Plague of Frogs may make us know No sin can be exempted from a woe And since we have out-sinn'd that former age We well may now expect a double rage Since multiplyed crimes so much encrease 'T is Errour not to bid adue to Peace 'T is fit oh Lord that we should know that Air Which is infected must be clear'd by prayer If not we must expect most fatal times For Judgments are still incident to crimes If we transgress Lord can we think that thou Canst look upon us with a candid brow Needs must we think out sorrow will encrease When we unto ourselves will speak no peace Oh Lord how more then desp'rate fools are we That by our sins make open vvar vvith thee What 's our Artillery vvorth our best defence Must be thy grace and our ovvn innocence Oh give us grace since sorrovv makes us flee To flutter from our selves and rest in thee But thou art angry Lord how shall we dare To came to thee that hast lio cause to spare Such obstinate offenders Lord how oft Have we abus'd thy mercies nay and scoft At petty judgments they that will not own The lest of mercies must resolve to groan Under the greatest Judgment when our sins Has made us ripe thy Judgment then begins To shake the tree which makes us rudely fall And bruise each other to our Funeral But Lord if we can make it but our care First to repent it will be thine to spare Oh Lord we must submit unto thy powers Mercy is thy delight and sin is ours What shall we say or do all we can say Is this we'ave sinned and we have no way To shun thy Judgment therefore vve must flee First from our selves oh Lord and then to thee But what are vve the better if vve fly From our ovvn selves unto an angry eye An eye that 's so consuming that one frovvn Has more than povver enough to cast us dovvn Nay cast us dovvn so lovv that vve must be In desperation of recovery But if vve pray to heaven his hand has povver To raise us in one minit of an hour And shall not then his glorious name be prais'd Oh let us think hovv Lazarus vvas rais'd Novv Reader give me liberty to make A small digression my ovvn self must take My self in hand and to the vvorld express My thanks to him vvho in despight of ill Preserv'd me as I hope to do his vvill 'T vvas so that fortune lately brought me dovvn So lovv that I vvas suuk ready to drovvn But by a povverful arm he thought it good In mercy to preserve me from the flood And shall I then despair no let my Friends Still gaze upon me Job had no bad ends Though some rash words Lord let my sorrows be Upon me till in Faith I turn to thee Oh turn me for indeed I am so weak I cannot turn my self nor can I speak Till thou unty'st my tongue which if by thee Unty'd my language shall be truly free The language of a sinner to his God Pronounc'd in zeal impedes the powerful Rod From lashing him oh Lord I truly know Thy Rod is kindness rightly us'd not woe Witness thy servant who thrice happy stood Assured that affliction was his good And since 't was so oh give me grace to see Being good for him it must be good for me Affliction like good Physick must be sure To make us sick before it makes a Cure Oh happy 's he that this grand truth can tell He 's truly sick indeed in being well Affliction 's no disgrace 't is but a sign That all the graces joyntly do combine T' administer the freeness of their will To part the grieved Patient and his ill And thus th' inclining graces gently strive To keep th' impatient patient still alive That so he may with bounty give the Fee Of humble thanks to him that set him free Suppose thou wert impris'ned with the Gour So tortur'd that thou couldst not go about Thy necessary business wouldst thou be Ungrateful to that hand that set thee free Consider wouldst thou nay consider well Think once again and having thought then tell Tell what thou thinkst me thinks I hear thee say Heav'n bless that hand that took my grief away He heal'd me shall not gratefull I advance My Thoughts and sing forth my deliverance Oh give me Davids Harp and Davids Heart Then vvill I sing his praise in every part That so at last I gravely may express Full Diapasons of my happiness And vvhen his mercies I have truely found I 'le run Division on a pleasant ground I le tune my self to such a perfect strain That every Note shall ravish every brain That vvere old Orpheus living he should say His Musick vvas but discord to my laye Needs must that song be ravishing and true When Heav'n makes th' Musick and Musician too Oh let me be vvell sounded vvith desire And thou vvilt play most svveetly on thy Lyre Thy sacred fingers vvill touch every string With such perfection that vvhilst Angels sing Man shall admire in Raptures and proclaim Perpetual Hallelujahs to thy Name FINIS