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
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
THE Citizens Flight With their RE-CALL To which is added ENGLANDS TEARS AND ENGLANDS COMFORTS By JOHN QUARLES London Printed in the Year 〈◊〉 THE CITIZENS Flight and Fear c. WHat does the Whale persue a shole of fish Whether so fast no safety but in wish Whether ah whether will ye take your flight Gods Arrows fly by day as well as Night No Path's without a Judgment Do not waste And spend your times bring danger by ye 'r haste Stay stay lest in your hasty flight ye meet Your hearts must bring your safety not your Feet The thing you flie from Judgment knows no bound And he that lurkes most close is soonest found Can the poor tim'rous game lie hid or bauke The furious Talons of the Quick-ey'd Hauke The all-discerning eye of Heav'n can see That ill which lurks in most obscuritie And he that hides himself does but discover Himself because Gods Judgements alwayes hover And fly aloof there is no way to shun The piercing heat of the Meridian Sun They must expect more Pestilential times That lives in th' Equinoctial of their Crimes The Dog-star of our lusts does now excell And governs to a perfect Miracle What shall we sin and think our sins shall pass Without reward shall we do good Alas And that we seldom do and not expect To bring our labour to a good effect We cannot act but Heaven will sure regard Our actions and afford us our reward Especially if good 't is each mans-deed That either heals his wound or makes it bleed The hand of Heaven strikes sure and he that flies To save his life oft in his flying dies But if we needs must fly let our flight be Lord from our too too sinful selves to thee If not we only flutter in the night Not knowing how nor where we take our flight We fly to th' terra incognita and there Our flights rewarded with perpetual care But if we to the Land of promise fly We enjoy the blessing of a serene Skey There 's there 's the place where neither cold nor heat Are in extreams all things are good and great No diminutions but compleated Fate Is still supported in a constant State My Muse is grown melodious and it sings wings We need not fear our flight when Heaven gives Angelick plumes can neither flag nor tire No air so pow'rful as a good desire A good desire is like a Chymick heat Constant and fervent not to small nor great For if it be not constant it retards Putrefaction and he 's happy that regards The end of his beginning he that begins In Mercy is to blame to end in Sins He sins indeed that sins against the light Of his own knowledge let perpetual might Be still intayl'd on him that will not say He knows a difference betwixt night and day Yet sin and ignorance makes all things dark Light though contain'd in the smallest spark Is light enough to let our darkness know There is a God whose goodness did bestow These lights upon us a dark Lanthorn may Be light to others yet to me 't is day Though heaven himself did oftentimes appear And speak in Clouds yet was his language clear Though he appear'd in fire he checkt the flame The bush was unconsum'd though Moses came To see his face yet he was glad at heart To know his fore-side by his hinder part I 'm sure oh Lord thou hast no other face But what I want and what is that 't is grace Lord I am satisfy'd and I will be Content to feel the thing I cannot see And let my last experience make it good Thy hand is seal'd with my Redeemers blood I hope the Bond 's uncancel'd if it be Lord thou art paid I hope and I am free I mean from my Original but Lord I must confess I 've lately past my word And I have broke my promise Lord the Gaol Must be my refuge for I have no Bail Except thy Mercy which I have so oft Abused Lord and at thy Judgements scoft That should I now presume to make a tryal I ' Justly might expect thy just denial Yet why shouldst thou deny me had the Thief His pardon and shall I have no relief Lord pardon this my rashness how dare I Expostulate with thee or ask a why My lips are sealed yet oh Lord I dare Give me but Grace to open them by Prayer As thou hast given Prayer for my heart So give my heart for prayer let me not part Till I am answer'd nay I will if prayer Has any power extenuate my care On purpose to enlarge it I will be An Orator till thy Divinitie Shall melt as Clouds drop fruitful showers of Rain And make me only fit to beg again All other Judgments wispers this cries loud Let 's Judge the tempest by th' approching cloud Oh how unhappy is that purblind Land That takes the little Finger for the Hand Judgment will make us tremble by degrees Reader remember great Belshazars knees Needs must that woful Nation be acurst Suspect Religion when Divines flie first They have forgot what was the Israelites hap When powerful Moses sentenell'd the gap Will Moses fly from Aaron oh hard-heart 'T is a bad sign when loving Brothers part How shall poor hungry Infants get their bread When their hard-hearted Nurses all are fled Oh cruel tyranny what can be worse When the poor Infant 's murther'd by the Nurse Hard-hearted Nurse that can be so unkind To fly away and leave her Babe behinde Fly Nurses fly to any secret place But be so kind to leave the Babe of grace I mean your Charities and then we shall By our Diseases thrive when you will fall By your dispair endeavour to be true Then praise your God with soul and body too For he that made them both hath the same power To save them both from an unhappy hour Be careful and amidst your cares be just There is no greater sin then sad distrust Distrust invites a Plague when humble zeal Can palliate by degrees th' infected weal. Prayers Sighs and Tears being well composed can Cure all distempers incident to man If this be then our Cure let hearts and eyes Agree together let our storms arise And never cease untill they 've spent their showers When we have spent our store Heaven shows his powers Our end is his beginning let us end Our sins and he will soon begin to send His Mercy to compleate a happy story For blest beginnings alwaies end in glory Prayer is an introduction to our bliss And makes th' offender and the offended kiss Not kiss and part but kiss and so conjoyne And turn our tears of Water into Wine Wine Sacramental mercy makes it sweet Oh! happy time when sin and mercy meet Meet not to stay together but to part For both cannot be welcome to one heart Have I not seen a flock of Birds whose flight Has bin occasion'd by a sudden fright Fly up and down and clamoring in the
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