drinks such Healths Even now in their reformed Common-wealths Mark how Ierusalem runs forth to see This prodigie of new sobriety VVhich Noah though i' th' Flood preserv'd did lose And Moses bred o' th' waters did not choose But as at first Creation on the waves The Plastick Spirit mov'd so here it saves VVhat cannot water do weaknesse is lost VVhen that the Inmate is the Holy Ghost VVater inflames inspires blowes up warms Grace And washes souls but us'd to clense the face Besprinkled with such Holy Water Jew Thou art re-born and circumcis'd anew The Sacerdotal Knife cuts not the Evil These drops drive out the VVorld the Flesh the Devil How highly ought this Sacrament be priz'd Be then baptiz'd but be not re-baptiz'd Iohn was no Anabaptist people came But once to th' Font and Christ did just the same A seven-times washing was for Naaman One dipping will suffice a Christian Preparatory Graces bring in God He fits a lodging for his own abode First Iohn and then a Iesus Penance hath The happinesse to usher saving Faith Safe in thy Desart hadst thou there remain'd Prophet thy vertues to the Court 's proclaim'd Where thy rough Doctrines thy Destructions are So did our Court dispatch a long-liv'd Parr His by a change of diet no excesse Kill'd thee the Court was a fine wildernesse Herod the Beast o' th' Forest whet his sword And did behead our Prophet for a word For a non licet to his lawlesse lust First to the prison then the Axe thou must Methinks in these our later dayes I see Great Saint thy now re-acted Tragedie Onely our age out-strips that horrid thing And does behead not onely Priest but King Thou that but once and that i' th' womb didst dance For joy thy Saviour to thee did advance Art at a dancing Ladies loose request Depriv'd of life but by it higher blest So that thy triple Baptisme standeth good By VVater first next Spirit then by Blood On the Feast of Saint Peter WHat honour Great Apostle is not due To thy renown'd Confession first you I am no Thover started that great word Which made that Article Lord from the Lord And God of very God no Flesh can tell Unlesse inspir'd whence that great Issue fell Th' Eternal Generation was too high For mortal reach and is a Mysterie Reveal'd not understood the motions know Of Divine actions in thick darknesse go Or cloth'd in light that 's inaccessible Hid by their brightness Angels cannot tell Though they desire to peep into it and Shall our unequal souls hope t' understand Not Peter while he spake did comprehend Himself if so he 'd not deny'd it 'fore his end Yet worthily thy name was chang'd a Stone A Rock sirnam'd for this Confession And upon it not thee the Churches Faith Is laid may I believe as Peter saith I do believe by the same Grace not boast My self but give the praise to th' Holy Ghost Peter did so the honest Fisherman Nere dreamt of what the Petropolitan And Denizens of Rome have since contriv'd Nor would have worn three Coronets had he liv'd The Chaire Infallible perchance that he Might well have wish'd before's Apostacie How weak was the Man Peter for to lay A Basis on should last untill this day When that a wave and something weaker too A pitifull wench made him his faith forego But weakness is made strong when Teares precede And high Repentance wash'd away that deed I don't upbraid thy known Apostacy But balance it with their new Primacy VVhich Roman Catholicks kinde souls bestow On thee insensible of things below VVe all allow thee the First Confessour VVhere Iames was President in Chaire and Pow'r VVe all confesse thee prais'd by Christ when one VVas more belov'd the Eagle-ey'd Saint Iohn VVe ne're deny to thee the Keyes of Heaven But of those Keyes there were beside Eleven VVe all applaud thy Heaven-dropt sheet whereby The Faith broke forth into Community VVe all confesse thee Apostle of the Iewes Though now the Roman thee their Primate choose Unkind repulse when Paul to th' Romans wrote Alone and to their Faith such honour got VVe allow thee Bishop of Christs Flock Twelve equall Pastors a most Royall stock Feed then successive Angels that 's your care Feed the poor Lambs they 'r Wolves that do them tear The Legend of Saint James called Major one of the Sons of Zebedee and Apostle of Spaine ARt thou Red Letter'd Yes the Almanack Preserves thee though the Holy-day we lack VVe keep the Fair 't had been good policy If that the Church could it these times foresee Had made the Twelve Apostles Marts then they Might all whereas now some have a Saints day Dame Zebedee so full of zeal ne're thought His Honour should to so low ebb be brought The right hand and the left was her bold boon And that in Heaven her sons both Iames and Iohn Might be advanc'd how would the woman pout If she had known on earth they were put out And that he is deny'd the pay by some Of honour to his glorious Martyrdome Herod thy person murder'd Holy Saint Our mighty men of VVar thy Day why mayn't We hope to see as in those dayes befell Our Herods as that Herod fall as well It was not long before Revenge did seize That Deify'd Orator struck in a trice Pimme had not all the worms it once may please Vengeance to smite not only Conscience But their Apostate body's with close Lice Who onely spoyle and murder solemnize But these and Herod differ in some things Herod kills Prophets These both Them and Kings Herod imprisons for popular applause How many have been coop'd upon that cause But by a finer word Imprisoning Securing's call'd Robbing is Sequestring But Herod speeches it and gives no praise To God O but these do in our good dayes There 's not a Murder not a Plund'ring but They do the Pulpits with Thanksgivings glut Had you now liv'd you Sons sirnam'd of Thunder Then fire from Heaven you could not have ask'd under Nor would have been deny'd but 't is as well Their fire is sure if not Above from Hell Upon the Legend of Saint Bartholomew THe Gospel's sound though the whole world is run Now hear it preach'd where Inmate is the Sun On India's parched ground the East the West Wealth that few Merchants get and yet the best Who dare upbraid the Lord at latter day And say this newes did never come in 's way Shall he be damn'd for what he could not know No Arguer thou shalt not if 't be so No Gospel slighted no Apostle slain No Faith rejected no eternall pain God by no absolute Decree does list Men to damnation maugre Calvin's Twist Conditional are his Decrees and they Mulcted alone who gainsay disobey We fondly therefore to Iamaica sent To convert Indians when for Gold'twas meant Saint Bartholomew full sixteen hundred years Ago as in Eusebius Chronicon appears Preach'd to those Heathen Folk who did
like Ezekiel's Vision dry bones lie Look to be raised from mortality But then how naked shall we be how far From any thoughts of an unnatural war That we shall Mountains wish and highest Hills To cover us for acting here such Ills. For as at Herod's Inquisition And bloody Quest away fled Mary's Son And as when Peter drew th' revengefull sword No countenance was given by his Lord But a V ae Gladio and a certain doom Pronounc'd upon blood-drawing men to come So will his second coming be to right The suff'ring Christian punish them that fight That will he will he will not be controul'd But say His Kingdome shall in this world hold These men are Star-gazers led out o' th' way With whom false Ignes fatui do play And run them into pit-falls but beware Come regulate your motions by this Star This Star the Gentils conduct let it be The Badge and Order of Christianity This Star our Phosphorus which did fore-run The rising of th' Eternal Righteous Son VVhich doth enlighten that which rules the day And clears all Heathen Ignorance away Let stars the VVise men lead and VVise men Fooles Let Shepherds teach their Sheep Pastors the Schooles So that this Stars renown'd Epiphany An Universal Guide to Christ may be Upon the Conversion of S. Paul IS Saul among th' Apostles what that Saul Who men and women to the Judge did hale Who held the cloaths of those accursed ones Did devout Stephen unto death with stones 'T is strange but it is he Stephen no doubt Thy dying words this wonder brought about When at thy Vision of the Trinity Thou pray'dst that charge might not against him lie How potent are the words of martyr'd Saints VVho from the Scaffold can obtain such grants VVhich shall convert their enemies such words Like those of thy late crucified Lord's Are of a vast effect Father forgive They know not what their malice doth contrive Did intimate that Providence ore-rules All humane Projects bad men are the Tooles VVhereby it works unseen the greatest good VVho'd think a Salve should rise from shedding blood VVhat Iudas Pilat Jewes act 'gainst thy Son Proves their own Guilts the worlds Redemption Thus the Salvation of Mankind was struck As Light once out of Darkness Chaos-muck From flints and stony hearts and blest events May issue yet from bloody Presidents VVho could imagine a blood-thirsty Saul Should mount a Pulpit and turn preaching Paul But many are not call'd like Saul few are VVe must not then presume or mischiefs dare Upon some singular Examples Saul And one Thief are precedents that is all Two that no man despaire and yet but two That no man should presume like acts to do Then view this form Champion of the Devil Commission'd from the Synagogue for evil The High Priests Letters in his pockets are And what these VVarrants for such speciall care Hast Secrecy and Guards alas to seize Poore people at their holy Services Now to Damascus full of bitter spleen His sword then his enraged heart less keen He and his Troopers march poor upper roomes Look to your selves and Votaries Saul comes But his design is frustrate for a Light This Fury and his Firebrands doth benight See the struck man whose eyes did sparkle now VVith rage hath ne'r an eye his way to shew The Horseman is dismounted hurl'd to th' ground And his Horse-party all in a sad sound How weak is humane force when Heav'n will fight One Angel puts an Assyrian Host to flight A word or two's an army of such force Enough to scatter a good Troop of Horse Trust not in wrong and robbery trust not In Horse nor Guns nor Iron Chariot Look upon Pharaoh and his vanquish'd Host By weakest means a heap of waters lost Look upon furious Saul who did rejoyce His work so nigh confounded with a voice Look on Belshazzar Fortunes Tennis-ball Dis-Emperor'd by a writing on a wall Thus is this Heros in an instant quell'd The Billow-brook with so much malice swell'd Tame as his persecuted souls he 's led To Ananias for new eyes to 's head It is in vain to kick against such pricks VVhich wound the striker hurt the person kicks New light with his new eyes appeares the man Is chang'd a very perfect Christian A Souldier for the Cross to which he stood Stout to the last and with his life made good Read his Engagements what set Battels he In person pass'd and got the victory How many dangers both of Sea and Land Tempests and Starvings Frosts and Iron bands Torments Imprisonments Scourges Stocks and Stones VVhat had he not of Persecutions At Lystra some at Ephesus come see His prize with Beasts oh Inhumanity In Chains led through Ierusalem and beat His death so long'd for some forswore their meat They 'l fast for ever but his blood they 'l have Religious Murderers what Food they crave But that all mischief might be heap'd on thee Nero thou Prince of vast Impiety Paul is reserv'd for Rome there is the stage VVhere this most active Saint shall feel the rage Of that fierce Lion who had burnt his Rome And quench'd the Flame with Christian Martyrdome He playes and sings away their lives what other Usage from one the murderer of 's Mother Peter and Paul in one day felt his rage Two Saints not parallel'd in any age Saint Peter crucify'd with reverst head A bashfull Martyr in that honour'd Bed Saint Paul indulg'd as learned Seneca Bled by high courtesie his life away So because He a Roman was by Birth The Ax dispatch'd his headed Corps to th' earth Upon the Purification of the Blessed Virgin THe first and onely birth of the chast Womb Is by a long us'd Rite to th' Temple come A holy Offering to his Father he Was offer'd thus from all Eternity The Priest for ever the Melchisedeck Both Priest and Sacrifice without a speak Now in the Temple on the Cross anon Offer'd but not in shew as Abrahams son Who by a bleating Proxie dy'd this Lamb Dies pers'nally relieved by no Ramme In this all Sacrifices Bulls and Goats Whose impure blood and insufficient throats Had neither worth nor vertue ceas'd the Creature Was then redeem'd by th' death of the Creator The Type unto the Antitype gives place This onely is the Holocaust of Grace But what had Mary's Virgin-womb just cause To give submission to these womens Lawes Who had Lucina's help or rather none The Holy Ghost being present cause alone Both of Conception and Delivery Mary was laid without their Midwifery No need of them of this same Rite no need For Defaecation after produc'd Seed Of a Piamen but as her great Heire Endur'd the Knife when eight dayes ended were Then took Baptismall washing when from Above Father in Voice was Witness Spirit in Dove So all these Ceremonies were undergone Not for Necessity or Good thereon Unto His sacred Person but to shew What We not He unto the Law did owe He
was the Sampler of Obedience A scandall made but never gave offence To any Order or Professions thus In 's Flesh he pleas'd the Jew in Water Us. So Mary mirrour of her sex appeares To th' Priest and th' common Thanksgiving heares Veyl'd as the Jewish custome was this done She doth present her Dove and Pigeon The poor childs commutation and ne're That Superstition thought which they did there Then with a lowly duty to the place She had retir'd but Simeon full of Grace And full of Prophecy takes up the Child In 's arms as much as his old arms could weild Then sings a Swan-like note Lord let me die Dissolve me in this instant Lord whil'st I Have my Salvation in my arms the Light Which doth dispell the Gentiles long dark night The Glory of thy people Israel Is in my feeble arms now visible So ended this old Custome and the Priest The Antheme sung dissolv'd and was with Christ. A Hymne of the Resurrection I. ARise arise Dead soul arise Alas I cannot ope ' my eyes The heavy Lethargy of sin Hangs on my faculties within II. Arise arise thy Saviour's rose Sin Death and Hell are conquer'd foes Why do'st thou yield to enemies Whose stings are lost arise arise III. Then lend thy hand thou blest First-fruit Of those who sleep i' th' Land o' th' Mute Say thou Come forth and quickned thus My soul shall rise like Lazarus IV. All Cords of Vanity I 'le break Propt up by thee their tyes are weak Like unshorn Sampson I 'le make way Through every Sin and Dalilah V. But if thou do thy Grace substract Alas I can no noble act Unless it be to pull on me My ruine and mortality VI. Yet from those Ruines and Grave-stones By thee shall rise my naked bones And from their Charnel-houses all Come forth new clad at thy last Call VII Those heaps of skulls with hollow eyes Unhair'd un-flesh'd shall clothed rise Dead tongues shall sing their song shall be My Lord is rose wee 'l follow thee Hymnus Ascensionis I. THe Lord 's ascended see the Fiends And their captiv'd Black Prince doth cleare the aire A cloud of all his martyr'd Friends Receive him while th' amused world doth stare II. Gone in a Cloud but in a Glory Returns with all his shining Heavenly Host In such a pomp this worlds vain-glory United ne're could make could never boast III. Gaze not Apostles gaze no more But lift your hearts up after not your eyes He is not gone but on this score To make good all his Royall Promises IV. As they continued all devout Praying and Fasting and with one accord Three things pretended by our rout Which never yet accorded but i' th' Sword V. At the good time of Pentecost The very time we now call Whitsontide In fiery-Tongues the Holy-ghost On them descended on his Church abide VI. No more Descents no other Light Unless by him who can himself disguise Into an Angel for deceit As at this day 's apparent to our eyes Upon the Pentecost I. O Holy Spirit help me to indite No pen can of thee unless by thee write Inspir'd by thee rude Fishermen speak high Meaner proportions lower Gifts ask I. II. Not such a bright Irradiation As was t'enlighten every Nation When the whole world was dumb and deaf and blind It was high time that fiery Tongues then shin'd III. The lisping of those tongues is speech enough We well may see by that Light 's twinkling snuff For with their persons that exceeding light Except some glimmerings is extinguisht quite IV. Those twelve inspir'd Illustrious Heads were all Thy Churches Rulers Apostolicall And their Successors are the envy'd Starrs At which both Heresie and Scisme make warrs V. To out that Light derivative from them How fierce these men blew off Ierusalem And when the Jew could not extinguish it He gave the Light to subtil Mahomet VI. Who blew that Light into a two-fold flame And dimmed Christ's and blew up his own name So that his Taper is of double twist A Mahomet extoll'd a deprest Christ. VII Yet still the Light doth shine do what you can Either by Talmud or by Alcoran Others I shame to name it have this Light But in dark Lanthorns keep it from our sight VIII Or as when Whirlwinds raise the numerous dust The interposed Atomes 'twixt us thrust And the bright beames of the eclipsed Sun Darkned by magnify'd tradition IX But ' ware of little bellowes these at last Have with some help made a most dang'rous blast Sectarian Puffers joyn'd to th' Jesuit Have e'n blown out our once Apostolick Light X. Come then and re-instate thy Candlestick Come Holy Ghost thy Church is more then sick Dead as to sight re-quicken her again And make Apostacy's Invasions vain XI Let Ignes fatui to their Fens return Let nothing but the Lamp o' th' Temple burn And let the Church-moths that in numbers flie About the light be sing'd and after die Upon the Festival of the Blessed Trinity falling upon May 29. 1659. WElcome thou double Jubilee such things Are dark the Mysteries of God and Kings Uncomprehended that and this unseen Yet we believe they are shall be have been Enthroned Elders fall and worship Thee Most Sacred and Eternall Trinity But our exalted Elders pull down Kings And do themselves create Omnipotent things Yet we who love th' Old Revelation Do as those Beasts which did surround the Throne Not ruine it cry a perpetuall Song To God and for the King O Lord how long Tri-unity and Uni-trinity Shall stand and a perpetuall Basis be Not so of Kings whose delegated Crowns Are in subjection to the Doners frowns By me Kings reigne is Gods Commission And he pulls down and setteth up alone Yet do the Heathen rage and do strange things Disturb the Offices and Rights of Kings Murder their Persons and the Heire throw out Kings are no better then Their Lord no doubt Yet shall the Anthem still the Beast become These Christs both are and were and are to come Is there an Evil that of punishment Or vengeance on a cursed Nation sent And is it not from him who raiseth Seas And can as soon the peoples rage appease Boast not thy self thou high Babelick-man The Lord hath hooks for thee Leviathan And though thou swell in thy conceited height With Asies thou must forrage this same night Nor with a multitude go on the cause Is not by number good but by the Lawes The earth the lowest of the people will Open and rise 'gainst such as their Kings kill What is it for a season a short day A vapouring Massinello for to play Murder and plunder burn and spoile and then Be made a laughing-stock of God and men Much better they who not being given to change Nor State nor their Religion never range From the Old way in which they firmly stood These sixteen hundred yeares accounted good That touch not Aarons Censers nor provoke The Earth it self with
for a Race would ever imagine that the Dutchman should come first to the Goal wherefore with great care and wisdome hath the Church of England called the first day of this Quadragesimal Fast Ashwednesday Dies Cinerum a day of the most low prostration of our Mind and Flesh to all acts of Humiliation In my University it is the day of convoking or convening our determining Batchelors the Lamb-skin hopes which the Mother lately yean'd into the first degree of Academick honour These Cyens Grafts of early learning meet at a Latin Sermon where the Concionator excites them gravely and appositely to both sobrieties the abstinence from Lusts and Meats the Nerves and Sinews of the other that these young men might be as Solomon wished his Rememberers of their Creator in the dayes of their youth with which severe pickle if that age be seasoned you have a Poets warrant Servabit odorem testa diu aliquid haerebit Their whole life will smell of the ingredients if it took a due and handsome tincture This introductory Sermon is the Parent of many more solemnly perform'd in another Pulpit at S. Peters in the East and so held on till the Religious grief of the whole Lent ends in a joyfull Resurrection Sermon in that place and two at S. Mary's which all are and have bin of late years most excellently repeated by two successive admirable sons of Pia Mater memoria Which circumstances premised I shall to the matter of this Meditation which is the things for which we fast and from which we fast Our Saviour could not be imagin'd to undertake the latter part of this whose pure and guiltless soul as it could not be tainted so it needed none of these auxiliaries for its pious support Holinesse it self essentiall Purity wants no Fulcra Pietatis those props are for us mortals made of fragile composures which are apt to faell and break if not corroborated and strengthened by continuall covers and shields of Grace and Prayers And for the things for which we fast unlesse it were the glory of his Father Christ also needed not to have undergone this miraculous Lent which no man could ever keep but himself although some do not forbear to think and say that any man butterest up in Grace may attain to such perfection It were to be wished indeed but never to be hoped for therefore the Montanists of old and the Racovians of late and the Roman Catholicks pretenders to highest Discipline may prescribe much but never can take this Dose of Penance nor observe the Rules they teach others Nor was this Example of our Saviour set for an adaequate Rule to be imitated either by his Apostles which were otherwise assisted then any of us or by any of us who though our spirits perchance may be willing yet he knowes our flesh is weak Deus non requirit ab homine quod non habet and our measures of Grace are proportion'd to our capacities If we are by Divine assistances holy men yet men are men still and not Gods Let no Pharisaicall presumption delude us into a wildernesse for the experience of our strength and spirituall valour for fear Satan that vigilant spie of all our devotions smell out the pride or hypocrisie which first were of his instilling and while we think to be Similes altissimi like Christ in this duty fall down and worship what he never could the Devil himself In my small observation I never found the most Atlantick professors both in Civil and Religious resolution and practice those Hectors for Monarchy and the Hierachy in times of peace I found them fall in the dayes of temptation most sadly Saint Peters verbal magnanimity and great challenge what a poore come off hath it how does it end This Dimock for Christ layes downe the Cudgels at the Quaerie of a poor Damosel turnes an Apostate of a Cavalier untill a Cock the valiant'st of creatures allarum'd his affrighted heart and made him know that it is not good to crow before the Christian Engagement be begun 't is not he that putteth on but he that putteth off the armor knows the success of the battel This diversion pardoned I shall succinctly touch for I intend a speech rather then a Tract the Res substrata or subject of a Fast And first the things we fast for are Faith assistances of Grace and for gifts of Prayer whereby so assisted we may persevere in that Christian state wherein we finde our selves for not onely resolutions of amendment of our lives but reall changes For both charities that principal of the love of God and our Neighbour which indeed is the summary of the Law and the other lesser of the hand which will be opened and enlarged as the heart is enflamed within for fire is of a dilating and expansive property which no clutch'd fist can ever hold We fasted also or should for Righteousnesse Justice Meeknesse Temperance Obedience Patience Thankfulnesse and all Christian and Moral Vertues and if we fast soundly He that onely can quench that thirst and appease that appetite will distill into your dry floores such comfortable showers as the dew of Sion and Hermon hills cannot excel in fragrancy nor fertility This is to fast for life for everlasting life and the Bread of life that came down from Heaven will again descend by his Spirit into your hearts and fill you full of all spirituall joy and assurances of Heaven which are only certified to us by our constant sanctification ietched out in fear and trembling A Christian is alwayes under a Caveat in his most Souldierly posture upon his armour this is the Word Cave pedibus miles look to thy foot take heed lest thou fall The whole Armoury of S. Paul is but little enough to defend these Militia-men against three such enemies which sometime lie in Ambuscadoes sometime attempt them with open hostility and batteries and dangerous onsets besides underminings wherefore knowing you are to fight whether in the Wilderness in a single Duel or in Campania in the open Field or Pickeering that is against one particular vice Cape arma sta in procinctu be harnassed be girt and let the word be Sit Deus nobiscū let God be with us and then you shall so fast and so fight that a joyfull victory will follow or quick delivery which is as good Which hints unto me the second things from which we are to fast which are most excellently enumerated in that singularly well composed Prayer of the Letany of our Churches Liturgy wherein we pray God to deliver us from all Evil and Mischief from Sin from the Crafts and Assaults of the Devil Which if avoyded by necessary consequence Gods wrath and everlasting damnation will be escaped And take the concluding Prayer into your Fasts and say From all Sedition and privy Conspiracy begot by arising from false Doctrine and Heresie and from hardness of Heart which is now called tendernesse of Conscience and contempt of