subtile Agent stand With all his wicked Instruments at hand Ready and glad to be employ'd while we Make haste to Hell by our impiety Till youth and vigour with its power decrease And cause our evil appetites to cease From wicked acts yet he 'll not give us o'er Nor quit us so He has new sins in store When wrinkled age adorns us with gray hairs He terrifies our hearts with high despairs Shews us the ills that we have done too great For pardon are and now too late to treat With Heav'n having resign'd our selves to Hell No holy Charm can e'er dissolve that Spell And dictates thus to our affrighted sense Repentance cannot balance our offence Who have so many years our God refus'd So many ways his Laws and Grace abus'd That in his Justice he can ne'er forgive Our Crimes Thus he torments us whil'st we live When flattering objects fail he thus presents Our fancies with despairing arguments That we must never hope to see God's face 'Cause we have sinn'd beyond the reach of Grace Out-gone the merit of Christ's Blood and have Done things beyond the power of God to save Thus by degrees he leads us to despair Never to hope for better than we are And thus by doubting God's Omnipotence To aggravate his wrath and our offence Unless our great and glorious God do please To free us from this Devil and this Disease So deadly to our Souls and let us see We may be yet redeem'd by Piety If we get Grace to pray and to repent With constant fervent zeal and full intent For ever to forsake and truly hate Those horrid Sins we doted on of late If we get faith to love and serve God thus No doubt he doth already pity us And will in time forgive there 's no dispute But Mercy is God's highest Attribute Severe in Justice yet of Grace not scant When chief of Sinners was the greatest Saint Our Reason must unto our Faith Submit LOrd I have search'd my heart but do still doubt It is not pure enough not clean throughout Nor can be till the Holy Ghost comes in And do assist in casting out of sin That so he may possession take for thee And I may hold my heart in Fealty To pay my God a thousand Thanks a day While thus thy Holy Spirit does bear sway O Holy Ghost when thou art once possess'd I shall not dare disturb so bless'd a Guest With a vile act or a vain thought that may Lessen my Bliss and drive my God away Thy presence will my wavering heart direct To Heaven and will from Enemies protect My Soul and me while thou art my defence Who dares contest with thy Omnipotence So cleans'd and so inform'd I shall soon learn To worship thee aright and shall discern The Mystery of Faith my Reason teach How to submit to what it cannot reach Faith shall take place my Fancy shall retire And I will be contented to admire The mighty Secrets of thy glorious Throne Which thou reserv'st unto thy self alone Lord tho' my heart can never understand The manner nor the motion of thy hand Nor all my Zeal and Fancy raise a thought To comprehend thy Essence as I ought I can persuade my Reason to give way Unto my Faith for if thy Gospel say 'T is so it is enough I do believe Tho' wonder how a Virgin did conceive And bring a Son who was both God and Man And do not doubt thy holy Spirit can Dwell in my heart and teach me to prevent Doubting that Christ is in the Sacrament Or searching of thy high Divinity How the Godhead becomes a Trinity I can see thee now in the Creation Full as great as in the Resurrection Though I know not how all these come to pass Thy Word says so it is and so it was And I believe 't while thou art mine my Faith No curiosity nor doubting hath To the Ambitious Envious Man DOes that Man's honour and his wealth abound Is his felicity sufficient ground For thee to envy what he does possess When thou dost feel no want though thine be less Such envy dwells not in a noble heart Yet I will teach thee a mysterious art Shall make ambition and thy envy swell As high as Heaven and yet thou shalt do well Thou want'st not understanding nor a wit But want'st the will and grace to manage it Let the dull Clown still multiply his Cows And make 't his business to enlarge his Mows The wary Merchant traffick on the Seas The Souldier kill as many as he please The Usurer injoy his full-stuff'd Bags And the gay Courtier boast his golden Rags And greatest Lords to highest Titles born Search all the World they never can adorn Themselves with wealth or glories that shall last Unto eternity Then do not waste Thy life on trifles let thy envy rise Do thou contest with those that Heav'n do prize With all that do pretend a better right Than thou to be God's greatest Favourite 'T is a noble and a brave Religion That allows thy envy and ambition To trample on the World in spight of fate Until thy forehead knock at Heaven Gate To the Luxurious Man ARe thy brave Statues Pictures Jewels Plate Which cost so many thousand pounds of late Destroy'd Is thy vast Building with thy Land Torn from thee by some unjust powerful hand And dost thou sit computing the great cost Of all thy Pleasures and this Treasure lost With a half broken heart and dost not see All this is to deface thy Luxury Which did thy Soul besot Till these were gone Thou hadst no leisure time to think upon Thy God who thus in Mercy and in Love Doth that calamity from thee remove That thy free heart may only Him adore And so be richer than thou wert before If Heaven and Earth be God's and he be thine Thou ought'st to thank him rather than repine Then will thy long-sick Soul recover health And thou possess an everlasting wealth Free from the Cares and Fears that daily hap To Men that seek their Bliss in Fortune's lap Love thy Neighbour as thy self IT is a prime and great Commandment To Love our Neighbour as our selves God meant Us happiness on Earth that did impose Severest Laws to make us love our Foes Including that our Friendships would not need A Law when hearts in unity agreed But we that still his Will prevaricate Do change this pleasant Precept into hate Throughout the World the daily Mischiefs show That Neighbourhood but little love do know We see the best of Men do often do What they themselves would not be done unto And few of us there be that do believe Our plenty should our Neighbour's wants relieve How few the sick do visit or endure The smallest Charges for a poor Man's Cure And yet we hope our God our selves will bless Who neither Love nor Charity express To love our Neighbour as we ought would be Mongst Men angelical Felicity My Toke is easie and
therefore beg thy holy Spirit may Direct my Faith and teach me how to pray On a Reprobate's Repentance I Thank my God that now my Zeal doth burn Like the joy'd Prodigal 's in his return Tho' not adorn'd with glorious Robes and Rings To fix the reconciled Sons of Kings I meet my Father with his smiling face After his anger and my just disgrace Who will so great a Reprobate embrace And with bless'd Comforts make my heart aspire To such a Sonship as I most desire Such as may Adam's Innocence excell In paradise before he finn'd and fell The Hope of a true Penitent LOrd now my Soul does relish a delight In thee I am assur'dly in the right And will not doubt but my addresses may With hope encourage my joy'd heart to pray For a prime place in the great Judgment-day Where no Man's Vertue can by merit claim Such Mercy as belongs to God's great Name Where Sorrow only and Repentance can Restore to savour a relapsed man Thus will the solitary hours I spend In worshipping of God in glory end If I perform the Sonship I pretend On Faith with Repentance LOrd let thy grace and mercy never cease To make my joy and gratitude encrease By hating my beloved former Crimes And repetitions in these purer Times Since now 't is clearly taught and understood That we are ransom'd by our Saviour's Blood When worthily receiv'd with faith and love 'T will comfort bring and sure Salvation prove With what care then as an invited Guest Should I prepare for this celestial Feast Where Penitence with Faith assur'dly brings Full pardons unto Beggars as to Kings Words quickly said and are as soon forgot As our past sins which we remember not So often as we ought with grief and shame Nor long rejoyce to be thus freed from blame That by a miracle of mercy gain Eternal bliss through our great Prophet slain On a good Man's desire to be in Heaven THose who dare shake the Hour-glass in Death's hand To make the quicker passage for the Sand Have mounting Souls with a serene delight To hasten us to God's beatick sight And surely may a better welcome gain Than those that longer would on Earth remain To a careless Sinner THou dost not sure believe that thou shalt die Or never think'st upon it seriously Because thou liv'st as if thou didst disdain After this life ever to rise again Else thou wouldst set a higher price upon The Glories of thy Resurrection For 't is not possible a Man of sense Can always hold so ill intelligence With Heaven as not to wish or not to fear He never may or never would come there Some Caveats WHen petty Pleasures are procur'd with Gold When youth is gone and we decrpeid old There 's no more Gusto than a Tale twice told The greatest Monarchs while they flourished Were honour'd and ador'd but being dead Were soon forgot and only pitied So that whatever Marble Tombs pretend All their gay glories never can defend Their pamper'd bodies from the Beggar 's end Caesar and Alexander both became The highest splendor of a glorious Name And yet in some things both deserved blame So that when Men have all the World subdu'd They may themselves and all their Fame delude Unless they do in Piety conclude Those mighty Hero's car'd not to be good But brave because they never understood The sacred Sanction of our Saviour's Blood But those who saw the Miracles he did And heard how boldly he their Crimes forbid Are justly scourg'd instead of being chid What 's our due then who do believe yet run The course which that accursed Crew begun To flight God and re-crucifie his Son Which shews Men want some Caveats to restrain The idle Fancies of a busie Brain That frequent losses bring instead of gain These serious Thoughts are Caveats to despise Such Crimes as from our idle hours may rise And captivate our Senses in disguise Till by a power divine we can obtain Such bright serener joys as will sustain Our Souls and to eternity remain For we are born to learn and to express By daily actions what we do prosess To purchase everlasting happiness On Poverty PUre honest Poverty in former times Was no disgrace but now our latter Crimes Have introduc'd new kinds of punishments To expiate our sins for old Contempts In luxury and such profuse expence That we are now chastiz'd for that offence With Penury to make us own our shame And free all present accidents from blame Which from God's mercy now to us is sent To make our most obdurate hearts repent And yet there may such poverty proceed From wicked Men whose malice have decreed Our ruine to get wealth for their support In spight of right or their damnation for 't And such absurd base scandals do invent That no man's innocence can e'er prevent From such Devils good Lord deliver me As hate all those who truly worship thee And with profound repentance do submit To all the judgments that our God thinks fit And make the poverty I now endure For all excesses past a perfect cure On Pride OF all the Vanities I know 't is Pride Which all the World most justly may deride That like an Ass with golden Trappings dress'd Thinks himself 'bove all other Beasts the best And when he brays does all that hear him fright Mistaking their amazement for delight Like gilded Fools that only learn of late To strut and make loud noise when they do prate For Pride did ne'er the greatest man adorn Nor free him from God's hate and wise Men's scorn Satan for Pride and for Ambition sell With his accursed Crew from Heav'n to Hell On Pride's Kindred PRide's next of kin are such as do despise Their Neighbours for the Motes in their dark Eyes Who first their own Beams should remove then learn That Rule by which they may such Motes discern And by this caution constantly prevent Such rash Censures that do raise discontent Between good Friends who seldom will endure A blind Man's Precepts till himself he cure On this Day 's Sacrament received Septemb. 3 1693. LORD I Did believe but not such joy conceive As since I did thy Sacrament receive To ratifie thy mercy and my zeal By adding of thy Holy Spirit 's Seal Upon my heart to manifest thy love And all my doubts and fears by faith remove Which made me shrink from death but now my voice Shall Hallelujah's sing and Soul rejoice To celebrate this Victory obtain'd O'er all my fins by thy bless'd Conduct gain'd How great then is my Obligation grown If thou wilt this day my Election own By adding joys on joys and grace on grace Till I in glory come to see thy face And now adore and worship thy great Name With warm addresses from this sacred Name On Adoption I Have read that he who lives in a constant uniform Obedience to the Gospel and performs the Conditions required in it departs sincerely from iniquity and
Mid-night and Daily Thoughts In PROSE and VERSE BY Sir WILLIAM KILLIGREW LONDON Printed for Randal Taylor near Stationers-Hall M DC XC IV. To Sir William Killigrew On view of his Book of Mid-night and daily Thoughts WHen first I read your pious Sheets it wrought Within my Soul such sympathetick Thought I seem'd your Transcript joying so to be Or else transported as your Simile Thus ravish'd with my self I further tried To gain converse with you that amplify'd I found and more improv'd what I had took Your constant Practice doth expound your Book With this difference only I might call That the Copy you the Original I am so full of you whate'er I write Flows from your Pen and you do mine indite Your Dream of Heaven is so drawn and plac'd As if of Heaven it self you had a taste And prepossession which will ever last And your angelick Thoughts so scatter'd where If Heaven can be on Earth sure it is there Your Dream of Hell I cannot barely name Vnless I snatch my Finger from your Flame I feel the sting of your Expressions so As if in pain and forc'd to undergo Death you 've drawn to life so clear that I In love with life by reading chuse to die Vnless I liv'd like you exalted quite With future Ioys and holy Anchorite Your Poems run so natural you indite It seems a self-denial not to write 'T is much that in your Age of Eighty eight Your Mind 's so full of vigour and of weight Truly inspired and as your Days decline The more you write still that is more Divine There 's nothing languid all your Lines last long Like Honey in a Lion sweet and strong Proceed bless'd Sir and prove exemplar even To make Disciples here and Saints in Heaven Ri. Newman On Sir Willian Killigrew's Nightly and Daily Thoughts WHat Muse a lofty Fame for him can raise Whose whole Ambition is to fly from praise Or fix him gracious with the Multitude Who only courts a sacred solitude Whose Commerce when awake in Vision lies When sleeping dreams him up into the Skiesâ— All that his Friends can do is to invite Others to reap what he alone can write Without the help of Learning or of Toil As genuine Plants spring from their native Soil And that 's true Fancy which one cannot shun Flowing like Emanations from the Sun Most Poets strive to make the World admire To be believ'd is all he needs desire Whose Doctrine to gain Faith wants no relief But his high untaught Pen strains our Belief Sincere Devotion Midwife to his Brain Bows to the lowest his angelick strain And his Example Grace abroad do breed Making him read by those who cannot read A broken Spirit is his soundest part And th' humble Style suits best his soaring heart Hen. Birkett To my Honoured Friend Richard Newman Esq SIR I Live so much alone that I have not found a Friend to whom I could communicate this new Bundle of my Mid-night and Daily Thoughts on which I dare not trust my own Judgment nor shew to any of my own Relations who are such Criticks in Devotion Eloquence and Wit that my mean Talent doth beget Contempt left I should suffer in the World's Opinion Yet it is not my Design to flatter you or to commend my self but to beg a real Favour of you to read them And if you do without a Compliment think them fit for the meanest Understandings to gain Profit by them they shall be printed else not I want skill to search Learned Authors for a lofty Strain to gain Applause and only write such Emanations as my dull Brain afford me From whence the Benefit I find and Pleasure that I have in spending my solitary Hours thus is ample Recompence besides the Hope of doing good to others beyond the Vanity of being praised Who am Your most Humble Servant W. Killigrew To Sir William Killigrew SIR SInce you are pleased to communicate to me before others the Book of your Mid-night and Daily Thoughts and in the Front thereof ennobled my Name by way of Dedication I have not only diligently but devoutly pernsed and applied the same to my own Heart and find my self both elevated and bettered by it I have also imparted it to some of my most dear and learned Friends who stick not to say with me That they admire such Heavenly Inspirations which cannot be called by any other Name and with they could write the like and all agree to pray you that it may be forthwith printed for the Devotional Part thereof transcending for some Uses all the deep Notions and Learning in the World one Practical Page thereof being in my Opinion more acceptable to GOD and comfortable to the Reader than a Library of critical Authors And methinks I can say as our Blessed Saviour in another case I thank thee O heavenly Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto Babes Even so Father for so in seemeth good in thy sight Luke 10.23 I shall only add this That whereas you seem in your Letter to give me leave to put out any of your late Meditations or to correct or transpose any of them because of some Repetitions you are told are in them I must really tell you I am afraid of doing any such thing for fear or violating such sacred Raptures casting with my self that though they seem to me Repetitions yet they are no more to be rejected than the Repetitions of the Lord's Prayer which hath been so used and sanctified by our Saviour's own Lips Thus concluding I and my Friends nameless desire you to have them printed before you die From Your Affectionate Friend Ri. Newman An Answer to my kind Friend's Preface in his Letter SInce God Himself is pleas'd to guide my Pen To rectifie the Steps of unlearn'd Men I am much pleas'd yet dare no Praises own All which I know are due to God alone But daily pray that I may take delight To practise these great Lessons that I write Tho' I 'm afraid this Book will have the fate That better Books than mine have had of late To be laid by when once it is read o'er And ne'er be look'd on nor e'er thought on more Like those Romantick Stories that are writ To shew their Author's Eloquence and Wit But when good Meditations fill a Mind Which by the Holy Spirit is refin'd Each Paragraph which such good Men shall read Devotion will receive and in them breed Fresh flaming Zeal produc'd by holy Seed Whose Soul 's with various Joys will entertain And let their still-encreasing Stock remain Till their devout experimental Part By Faith the intrinsick value of this Art Shall such Angelick Fire in them create As may with them Heaven's Bliss participate And as their glitt'ring Bubbles do decay Their lightned Souls with holy Vigour may So fix their Minds and all their Hopes imploy Make them assur'd of their