THE GOSPEL-CALL In METRE Compiled by W. V. Whereunto is added Twenty Five Considerations OF THE PAINS prepared for SIN After this Life WITH A SERMON Preached on Acts VII 60. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound Psal 89.15 To day if you will â—ear his voice harden not your hearts Ps 95.7 8. Hear and your soul shall live Isa 55.3 Rise he calleth thee Mark 10.49 LONDON Printed for Richard Butler in White-Lion-Court in Barbican 1688. THE PUBLISHER TO THE READER Honest Reader THE sad Degeneracy of the Age we live in makes it appear but too great a Truth That such Books as these were never more necessary or more seasonable And therefore I hope there needs no Apology for publishing this The following Papers came recommended to me from Persons of known Honesty and Integrity Our Author has thought fit in Modesty to conceal his Name and I will not trouble my self or thee with impertinent Guesses Nor will I pretend positively to determine why he has cloath'd part of his Conceptions in a Poetick Dress since Examples are not wanting in all times in this kind The Royal Prophets David and Solomon have excell'd in Divine Poesie And we are not wanting in our own Age of great Men famous in our Generation who have oblig'd the World with their Excellent Labours of this Nature witness the Famous Quarles Inimitable Cowley Facetious Donne and the Divine Herbert to name no more who gives this Excellent Reason A Verse may find him who a Sermon flies And turn Delight into a Sacrifice As for the following Discourse 't is plain and honest fitted to the meanest Capacities which I hope will render it universally acceptable It treats of things of the greatest Moment and highest Consequence no less than the Concerns of Eternity I will no longer detain thee from the Perusal which I wish may redound to thy great benefit I heartily recommend it to thee and thee to the Grace of God. I am Thine R. B To the Author of the Gospel-Call THY Gospel-Call Dear Friend has out-done all Those gaudy florid Strains Which puzzle Vulgar Brains Thy Book has Worth Which needs no setting forth By my weak Pen The Praise is thine For which thy Name shall shine Bright like the Morning-Star Which ushers in the Day from far Until the Restitution of all things agen T. D. To the Author of the Gospel-Call AWake my Muse how can I silent be When I these pious Works of David see They that peruse this little Book may find The wise Suggestions of the Author's Mind How wittily this Worthy does impart His Sentiments with Judgment and with Art In Stile most Elegant in Sence profound In Morals practical and Doctrine sound Who like a Geographer does here display To Heaven the surest and the safest way In Gospel-Colours does delineate The lively Landschape of our future State. Dull Soul chear up here here 's thy chiefest Good 'T is not Terrestrial but Celestial Food A. T. THE GOSPEL-CALL In METRE READER awake awake my Soul and all That is within me hearken to the Call Of God most gracious who calleth thee His Name to hallow and to glorifie And from vile lusts vain glory cheating pelf Invites thee to Communion with himself This is thy chief end thy Felicity Thy greatest good thy highest dignity Here is Light Life Love all that 's meet Needful and useful holy right and sweet And all which truly fills the heart and eyes Elsewhere is nought but emptiness and lies Jehovah calls the Father and the Son The Holy Ghost Blest Three in Essence One. Nothing but God the Father Son and Spirit Can fit and fill thy Soul 's vast appetite The Soul 's a Spirit and while not unite To God who is a Spirit Infinite It wandreth seeking rest but findeth none Nor ought that gives it contentation Immortal Souls in things which fade with time Cannot find rest Come restless soul to him Who in Eternity hath his abode And is from and to everlasting God Who changeth not with whom is no mutation Nor any shadow of an alteration Who is and was and shall be still the same Whose Name alone is I am that I am When thy heart fails thy hearts strength he will be And thy sure Portion to Eternity God Infinite in wisdom only wise Calls Wilt thou fool Wisdom's advice despise It 's God Almighty who doth thee command Wilt thou frail wretch Omnipotence withstand Since the most Holy calleth upon thee To disobey were gross profanity Since the most Just most justly doth thee press To disobey were meer unrighteousness He who thee calls is good and gracious To anger slow in mercy plenteous He 's lovely loving Love who calls on thee Wilt thou from love grace goodness mercy flee He who doth call most faithful is and true Trust Truth it self and thou shalt never rue The Great Creator calls whose Word did call What was not and of nothing formed all Who all thy Members wrought most curiously And form'd thy Spirit in the midst of thee He gave and still he life to thee doth give Thou liv'st in him wilt thou without him live Thou mov'st in him from him move not away From him in whom thou go'st go not astray In him thou dost exist and canst thou be Without him who gives being unto thee Where art thou Adam when the Lord doth cry Where 's God my Maker Man should then reply When he in whom thou liv'st and doth consist Commands how dares thou for thy life resist When he in whom thou mov'st doth thee command To come to him how dares thou lingring stand Lord what is Man that thou so much should'st make Of such a nothing and such knowledge take Of Man who is but dust and fading grass And which is worse a loathsome filthy Mass Of darkness horror lust profanity Unrighteousness of sin and misery Conceiv'd in sin form'd in iniquity A slave to divers lusts lusts of the eye Lusts of the flesh and to the pride of life To anger hatred malice wrath and strife All in him is corrupt and vitiate His heart 's deceitful wicked desperate Estrang'd from God straying as soon as born Inclin'd to lies apostate and forlorn This Man whom thou O Lord didst once create In thine own Image in a happy state Hath quite dis-made himself He who was light Is darkness now he who was made upright Is now perverse ungodly and unjust Conform to Satan to his will and lust Without the Lord under Gods curse and wrath Liable to the first and second death To plagues in this life which were long to tell And to the easeless endless pains of Hell. Lord what but Grace and Mercy could thee move Upon thy hateful Foes to set such love To speak to them who hearken not to thee To follow them who from thy presence flee To shew thy self to them who shut their eyes On thee and turn them unto vanities To stretch thy arms to those which turn their
makes changes strange of things It life from death sweet from bitter brings Peace out of trouble out of darkness light Out of the Eater meet from grief delight What of it self did to destruction tend Grace makes it in salvation to end As for Christ's Cross be not at it offended For it can never be enough commended O! it 's a holy pleasant stately thing To be conform'd to him in suffering Remember oft his oft repeated word The Servant is not greater than his Lord It is enough and very fair that he Who 's a Disciple as his Master be Is thy condition mean canst thou not find Accommodation unto thy mind Hast thou no harboury no house nor hold To shelter thee from storms look and behold The First-begotten to the world brought in In an Out-house and not into the Inn. He unto whom the Angels worship paid Is in a Manger not a Cradle laid Foxes have holes and each fowl hath its nest Christ had not whereupon his head to rest Want'st thou wherewith to buy thy daily bread Some of their substance to him ministred Or art thou from thy Native Soil exil'd Christ driven was to Egypt when a child Art thou reproached Vile iniquities Were cast on him calumnies and lies Vile drunkenness sensual gluttony Collusion with Devils blasphemy Madness deceit and friendliness to vice And all that crafty malice could devise Was charg'd on him whom they proclaim'd abroad An Enemy to Coesar and to God. Do Friends turn Foes or do they faint and flee From thee in straits to Jesus turn thine eye His own Disciples did leave him alone They to their own were scattered and gone He was by Judas traiterously betrayed By Peter thrice most shamefully denied Art thou a Prisoner and hardly used Pursu'd to death and scornfully abused Christ as a Thief was apprehended bound As a mock-King in purple cloath'd and crown'd With pricking Thorns a Reed put in his hand As a mock-Scepter then they do command That he hood-wink't should tell who did him smite To shew at him as Prophet their despite They spit on him and scourge him cruelly And lead him out upon a Cross to die A lingring shameful painful cursed death On which he bore our sins and divine wrath These were the weights that did his soul distress His sweat was blood when bruised in this press The Cross as Christ hath left it we may say Is light Christ took its greatest weight away He wrath the bitterness of death drunk up And left no vengeance in his peoples cup For wrath and death he love and life puts in Which Marab's waters make more sweet than wine Take up his burden it is light and meet And drink his cup it healthful is and sweet To bear about the dying of sweet-Jesus Will not us kill but quicken strengthen ease us They 're highly honoured who suffer shame For Jesus sake and for his glorious Name Reproach for Christ is Riches much more great Than Egypt's Pleasures Treasures Honours State Shame for him honour is and loss is gain In death for him is life and ease in pain When all day long they 're killed for his sake Like sheep for slaughter burned at a stake They Conquerors and more than Conquerors prove Through him who them eternally doth love Turn thine eyes from the dark side of the Cross On which appears dishonour pain and loss And turn upon the lightsome side thine eye Where pleasure gain and glory thou maist see Christ's own Example will us best direct How of the Cross to take a right prospect The Son of man is glorified he said And God in him is also glorified If God in him thus glorified be God shall in him himself straight glorifie He Glory saw in being crucified He saw God by his suffering glorified He saw the heavenly glory to ensue Keep still this Triple Glory in thy view Sigh not then at the Cross as sad and sorry But shout in triumph Glory glory glory Live to God's Glory for his Glory die It is thy Glory God to glorifie If by thy death God glorified be Thou shalt in Glory live eternally They who with Christ do suffer with him reign And bearing palms eternal triumph sing If for the Name of Christ reproach'd thou be The Spirit of God and Glory rests on thee These momentary crosses which are light Work endless Glory of exceeding weight Yet go not from thy way to seek a cross Follow thy calling to God's way keep close That Cross which thy wise Lord for thee thinks meet Is in thy way in the great King 's High-street That thou must take it up or else go wrong Medling in what doth not to thee belong If in thy sufferings thou wouldst have delight See that thy call be clear the cause be right Take up thy Cross in Christ's Name and his strength That of thy race thou maist run all the length Pray to be strengthen'd by his glorious might To suffer with all patience and delight Tho thou wert burned yet if thou hast not Love burning will not profit thee a Jot Unto thy hungry Enemy give food Love those who hate thee vanquish ill with good And pray that those who do impoverish thee With the true riches may enriched be That they who cause thee wander far abroad May from their wand'ring be reclaim'd to God. Those who from Earth pursue thee till thou die Endeavour to draw them to Heaven with thee Our blessed Lord when hanging on the tree Prayed for those who did him crucifie He to his Father for their pardon pray'd And did say for them all that could be said How far was Stephen from leaving of his death On those who ston'd him witness his last breath He kneel'd and cri'd this sin Lord do not lay To their charge Thus in love he slept away O lovely blessed sleep O sure 't will be A heavenly thing in love to live and die Love is the way to Heaven love is the flame In which the soul surmounts the starry frame This is the work and life of Saints above To love and loved be for God is love He 's light and love he freely doth impart Light to the mind and goodness to the heart With his resplendent Glory fill thine eye And in his goodness place thou all thy Joy. Come see and taste Come come and taste and see With goodness fill thy heart with light thine eye The Father Son and Spirit Persons three Who are in Essence one do call on thee To come from dolesome darkness unto light From ill to good from sorrow to delight From death to life from guilt to righteousness From the vile filth of sin to holiness From want to fullness from weights which thee load To rest and ease from Satan unto God From Hell to Heaven from lusts base drudgery To that high service God to glorifie Not that we can unto his Glory add For it is boundless He hath ever had And hath and shall have to
Christ The woman will not dive so deep To dispute his Commissions extent To whom he was to whom he was not sent But kindly came and humbly him ador'd Prest her suit and cries out Help me O Lord. It is not meet to cast to dogs the bread Says Christ with which the children should be fed She storms not at a Dog 's disgraceful Name But wifely makes advantage of the same Since I 'm a dog saith she for crumbs I plead Give me some crumbs Lord of children's bread Christ praised her great faith and did fulfil All her desire and gave her all her will. Tho Christ withdraw seek him he will appear He hears thy cry when he seems not to hear Tho he seem strange unto him kindly come Tho thou be call'd a dog yet seek a crumb If Satan say thou art a reprobate That by a dispute dark and intricate Concerning secret things and depths profound He may affright thee and thy mind confound Listen not to a lying murthering cheat Enter not with him on that great debate Come on Christ's call effectual vocation Will free thee from the fears of reprobation All whom he draws are called in effect And were from all Eternity elect But if thou say I fear the bitter smart Of a repenting prickt rent broken heart I must confess my sins with grief and tears And watch against my lusts with careful fears And thus my mirth is marr'd and my gladness Is turn'd to grief and melancholly sadness I answer that it is of God's free grace That for repentance there is any place Justice might say go weep in Hell and burn It 's grace that says Sinner repent and turn The pricking of the heart lets out the sin Which festers and destroys when kept within It 's for thy health that thy hard heart be rent That so thy vile impostume may be vent It 's not a Foe 's but a Physician 's wound God breaks the heart to make it whole and sound The Lord doth heal the broken in their heart Their pain is gain there 's pleasure in the smart There 's peace and safety in their watchful fears The Oil of Joy is mixt with Gospel-tears The Lord is broken by our whorish heart Should not our heart then break with grief and smart When Christ was bound our sins did make the bands They were the Nails that pierc'd his feet and hands They were the Thorns that tore and rent his head They were the Spear that made his heart to bleed The lashing Whips the Fists that did him beat They made his body weep a bloody sweat His outward pains the Agony within His troubled soul procured were by sin Look on him whom thou pierced Oh! look on still That grief thy heart and tears thine eyes may fill That kindly thou maist weep and mourn like one Who mourneth for a first and only Son. Sin is against the Lord breaks his laws It mars his Image and from God withdraws Thy sin doth vex and grieve the holy Sp'rit Should thou with grief for sin contrite They shall find mercy who confess and turn Comfort is promised to these who mourn The Oil of Joy the Lord for mourning gives And he the humble contrite heart revives If godly sorrow will not thee destroy It tends to life its tears are seeds of joy Gospel-grief which melts the heart aright Is sweeter far than all the world's delight And even godly grief the sweeter then All the delights of all the sons of men Who can the peace of God who doth transcend And pass all understanding comprehend Their Joy that 's full of glory who is able To express for it is unexpressable Christ calleth on thee Sinner to repent And he exalted is for this intent To give repentance and remission Imploy him to remove thy heart of stone They who are turn'd from sin to God by grace Find Wisdom's paths both pleasantness and peace The Word the Sacraments Prayers and Praise Are lightsome pleasant and delightsome ways Blessed is he who knows the joyful sound And who can say O Lord thy words were found I did them eat and thy word was to me My heart's delight and joyful melody Admire the Lord's low condescendency That he would speak and write to such as we And write so plainly that each hungry one Tho simple findeth food to live upon And so sublimely that the Learned might Not nauseate but search desire delight And in such useful sweet variety For to prevent loathing satiety Here Histories of grace and ancient things Of persons good and great of Saints and Kings Examples rare of Faith and Self-denial Of patience under the fiery Trial Of hope when Sense spoke nothing but despair Of Love over-coming ill with good O rare Of Fortitude join'd with a broken Sp'rit Of warlike courage in a heart contrite And wit to rule an Army and a Nation With wisdom that made wise unto salvation But O! the History of Histories So full of Miracles and Mysteries The Son of God his Incarnation His coming with life and salvation These good news are and will be ever fresh That God was manifested in the flesh And dwelt with us then on the Cross did die Rose from the Grave ascended up on high Much may be seen of God in the Creation But he 's more clearly seen in man's salvation For here appears God's wisdom manifold His spotless Justice doth it self unfold Suing the guiltless Surety till he died Not quitting him till he had satisfied Here Love shines bright as in its proper place Upon the Mercy-seat the Throne of Grace Lo this is love God who is Love did give His Son to death that Enemies might live His own beloved loving lovely Son Only begotten with his Father one In Essence one in Mind and one in Will who all his Father's Precepts did fulfil Who holy harmless spotless was yet he Got a command for the lost sheep to die To die both in their stead and for their good To wash away their sins with his own blood Christ lov'd the Father and he lov'd the sheep And so took pleasure this command to keep O matchless love it passeth all degree The Judge doth for the Malefactors die It was his meat to do his Father's will His work to finish Righteousness fulfil He went from place to place still doing good Healing the sick giving the hungry food Delivering from all maladies and evils Relieving them who were opprest with Devils He was most meek lowly in heart and mind Most merciful most affable and kind Easie he was to be intreated all Who call'd him found him ready on a call When called to a Marriage he went And made their water wine when wine was spent When call'd he went with Publicans and Sinners And even with Pharisees unto their Dinners All who did come for good got all they sought And often better than they askt or thought The man sick of the Palsie laid before Christ on a bed seeks health Christ giveth
find A hiding place to hide him from the wind And they whom a tempestuous storm doth beat With pleasure to a covert make retreat Tho thirsty when in a dry place they see Rivers of waters thither they will flee If travellers see a great high Rock stand In a Sun burnt and scorched weary land Tho they be weary yet they mend their pace To find in its cool shadow some solace The drowning man longs at the Rock to be The chased man into a strength doth flee Yet all these things when they together twist Are but meer shadows when compar'd with Christ He is the Truth true Light true Life true Food A refuge from all ill He 's all that 's good To buy this Pearl all things are wisely sold For it 's a treasure that cannot be told Riches unsearchable in Christ do meet In this one Pearl all treasures are unite Earth's Riches upon which poor worldlings dote Tho they appear to be yet they are not They are uncertain yea uncertainty And certainly they will make wings and fly They are but shadows when they seem to stay And are found nothing when they flee away These many things to nothing do amount When in Death's shadow men cast the account Oft-times in life these Riches take their wing When death is come they signifie nothing Except to vex the rich they cannot free From death nor him in death accompany But here true wealth riches unsearchable Eternal riches substance durable With many things vex not thy heart or head Since in one Pearl all good is treasured Rest not in hear-say come himself behold And thou shalt see much more than hath been told Buy without price or money O! cheap rate And calculate for our poor mean estate Sure it 's free grace which hath this match made Where all things good may be for nothing had Put to thy hand fear not thou maist be bold Since he himself commands thee to take hold Since sweetness better by the taste than eye Or ear is known O come and taste and see How good the Lord is eat that which is good Fatness and Marrow soul-delighting food Drink wine that 's well refined on the Lees Drink poverty away and miseries Be filled with the Spirit do not fear Lest thou exceed there is no excess here Drink thirsty soul and drink abundantly He who drinks most liveth most soberly This drink doth not the sence and head confound It clears the eyes makes mind and judgment sound It doth not pervert but right the heart And from all evil to all good convert They reel not for the Spirit doth them lead They safely go their paths are stablished Their Mirth 's not madness it is solid pure Ends not in sadness but doth still endure They who are filled with the Spirit rejoice Make melody to God with heart and voice They Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs do sing Give thanks to God through Christ in every thing These Joys begin the perfect melody Which is above come taste and sing and see Ah carnal wretch who knows no other Feasts But such as common are to men with beasts Who seeks no better meat nor better drink Than what corrupts and turns to filth and stink Thy belly is thy God thy glory shame Thy pleasure is the shadow of a dream Which goes in coming when it comes it goes And leaves a filthy stain upon the soul It leaves a sting for thy vexation And guilt which binds to condemnation Thy momentary mirth thy pleasures vain Brings on most real and eternal pain Thy fill is emptiness thy mirth is madness The laughter of a fool that ends in sadness Thy fleshly lusts tho they seem to delight Against thy soul most fiercely they do fight Their fond embraces are death's cruel grasps Their seeming sweetness is the gall of Asps The money 's spent for that which is no bread But is the bane whereby thou' rt poisoned Thy labour 's spent for vexing vanity Which doth torment but cannot satisfie When wilt thou come unto thy self and say Ah! I am famished I pine away With hunger I am cheated poisoned I feed vile lusts by them I 'm murthered I hear of bread indeed and bread to spare And of a Feast where all things ready are Since I am called shall I not make haste And run before I die But Oh! the Feast And the Feast-maker are just at my hand Before the door tho closed he doth stand He knocks and doth me lovingly invite Since he 's so near alas shall we not meet If any man what ere he was before My voice hear and to me open the door I will come in and sup with if he Poor thing have nothing he shall sup with me These are his words if I had ears to hear Lord open them give me the hearing ear Since Lord thou art so near do not depart Stand not without ah shall a door us part Make the King's Keys or since thou' rt not for breaking Right the split lock it is of thine own making I have it split it will not budge nor gee For any thing that can be done by me Lord thou canst mend it put thy hand within Open my closed heart thou know'st the gin When David's Key in thy Almighty Hand Doth open none can shut or thee withstand Come in O mighty one and dispossess Satan and Lust which do my soul oppress Of thy own goodness Lord the Feast provide Enlarge my heart and my mouth open wide And fill it for both hunger and the fill Proceed from the good pleasure of thy will. Without thee I am nothing nothing have And nothing good can think will do or crave Unless thy Spirit help my infirmity And grace perfect all that concerneth me I cannot come except that I drawn be Draw me O Lord and I will come to thee O wretched sinner cry for mercy cry When Christ the Son of David is so nigh Blind Bartimeus heard that Christ past by He takes the tide and doth for Mercy cry Many did think his crying a disgrace And charged him that he should hold his peace But he the more did lift his voice and cry O Son of David mercy have on me Jesus stood still he thought it not a shame To be thus call'd but answer'd to his Name The Beggar being called made no stay But in his haste did cast his Cloak away He seeks for sight obtaineth his request He came in faith in love he follows Christ Let nothing which Devils or Men can say Scare thee cast all impediments away Since the great Master calls make no delay Turn a deaf ear to all who him gain-say Do as the woman of Canaan did From whom Christ tho retir'd could not be hid She crieth out Have mercy on me Lord Christ hears her cry but answers not a word And when he speaks his words discourage more Than did the silence which he kept before I am not sent but to Israel 's lost sheep Says
more He first forgiveth his Iniquity Then cures his body of its malady To teach the sick to seek more earnestly To be from sin than from their sickness free Christ sees a Widow following the Bier Of her dead only Son he draweth near And on the Widow hath compassion Restores to her alive her only Son. Thus he prevents her expectation With unexpected consolation His piercing eye is sharp to see to see His Israel's affliction his eye Affects his tender heart with feeling stounds And all his bowels mercies mercies sounds He quickly comes with all convenient speed And helps and succours in the time of need In Christ all persons of each rank and station May see a pattern for their imitation Church-Members learn of him to countenance God's Servants and each holy Ordinance Jesus when eight days old was circumcis'd He heard John preach would be by him baptiz'd He loved Church-communion for he When others were baptiz'd baptiz'd would be He kept the Passover and after that His own Supper he himself did eat He sought and took each fit occasion For spiritual communication And did from earthly things occasion take Of divine heavenly purposes to speak Vile men things holy wrest to vile abuse He sinful things drew to an holy use He pray'd with others taught them what to say And in what order they to God should pray To pray that God's Name may be hallowed His kingdom come his will accomplished In Earth as it 's in Heaven then he allows To seek for bread not things superfluous And to seek more for liberation From sin and snares than from affliction Our hearts when we begin our prayers to raise To God in Heaven and end them in praise Pastors from the great Pastor learn to preach Who truth with all authority did teach His words were right words plain and words of grace Sweet sharp and suited to his hearers case He smote proud Hypocrites with Thunder-darts He pour'd the Oil of Joy in broken hearts And as a Hen her brood under her wings Gathers so would he gather wandring things He call'd and prest his hearers to repent And to believe on him whom God had sent On fools who to believe of heart were slow He with much patience did great pains bestow In prayer he prais'd their knowledge tho but weak And of their little Faith right much did make He wept o're those who from him turn'd away And would not know nor ponder in their day The things which did belong unto their peace While they were visited with Gospel-grace And by their slighting of Christ's Visitation Brought on themselves ruine and desolation To Christ let Children Servants Subjects look How pleasantly he bare Subjections Yoak To Joseph and his Mother due respect He gave and did himself to them subject He payed Tribute he would not offend And in his Doctrine he did recommend To give to Caesar what to him belong'd He was most patient when by Rulers wrong'd He served Rulers yea he thought it meet To serve his servants and to wash their feet Let all whom the most High hath set above Their Fellow-Creatures learn of Christ to love And condescend to those of low degree This lowly love adorns Authority Meekness and Mercy Lowliness in Christ With Majesty and Justice well consist Because of Truth Meekness and Justice he Rides prosperously in stately Majesty He glorieth in goodness mercy grace His kingdom stands in righteousness and peace And Joy spiritual O! happy they Who learn of Christ to rule and to obey Learn of Christ to suffer and to die He had his sufferings often in his eye And to Jerusalem did set his face Went foremost in a more than usual pace Went to the Garden which his Foes did know And when they came himself to them did show He did meet Death before his strength was lost He cried loud when he gave up the Ghost He from his Father's Hand the bitter Cup Receiv'd most pleasantly and drank it up Pure Nature hath a sinless aversation From wrath and death and loves self-preservation So that it cannot chuse but fear and shrink When sin-revenging wrath doth mix the drink This Humane harmless will Christ giveth up Unto his Father's will and drinks the Cup Freely submits his inclination And says Lord not my will but thine be done With fervent cries and tender tears he pray'th And multiplies the acts of Love and Faith. For my God my God Abba Father prove The strength of Faith and fervency of Love. When that the Sword through his pure Soul was thrust He did his Spirit to his Father truft And to the hand which did him bruise and smite In Faith and Love he did his Sp'rit commit And as his love was wonderful to men At all times so it was most wondrous then When sorrows fill'd and did his soul surround His kindness and compassion did abound Tho he fore-saw his torment and reproach And saw the Prince of this World make approach And found his soul with trouble so much prest That its grief could not be by words exprest Yet none of these his loving heart diverts From comforting his sad Disciples hearts Before the Passover when Jesus saw His hour was come and that he should withdraw From this world to the Father having lov'd His own t'ward the world he constant prov'd Lov'd them unto the end Since now he went To God from whom he came his love must vent Like a kind Friend who from his Friends must part In his farewel pours out his loving heart In words and deeds and sufferings O! how His love bursts out and doth all bands o're-flow He girds himself to be for service meet He stands stoops washes wipes his servants feet To teach them not to lord it as above Their fellow-servants but to serve in love The Passover he did most heartily Desire to eat with them e're he did die The Paschal-Lamb slain roasted which they eat Meant Christ slain scorch't in Wrath's just burning heat But Christ Death Pains Agony Sweat of blood Lov'd as they were our life ease peace and food He straitned was till all was finished And his blood-baptism accomplished Behold again his love will represent His death our life in a new Sacrament Two feasts one end O rare in such a night â—n which he was betray'd to take delight To act his own sad death once and again A death in which blood shame and lingring pain And which was worst of all a Curse did meet To make his terror every way compleat He ante-dates his death for their behoof Turns his sad death in a sweet feast of love He gives his broken body for their food And for their drink he gives his precious blood The Sword of Justice against him awoke It stroke him broke him he did bear the stroak The Shepherd bore it who God's equal is That the poor little ones the stroak might miss His body broken for them in their stead Is life-procuring and life-giving bread The
Eternity Perfection infinite but that poor we With mind heart mouth acknowledge and confess His glory as he doeth it express In all his Works and in his holy Word And in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord And that in eating drinking in each thing We do God's Glory we may still design But surely it is wonderfully sweet To see Gods Glory and man's good unite In these same acts by which they glorifie The Lord they do enjoy his company And these same acts which do unite the soul Unto the Lord his Glory do extol By acting Faith and hoping in his Word They praise the Grace Truth Power of the Lord By acting Faith they in their heart receive The Lord to dwell in them great peace they have Whose mind and heart upon the Lord is staid Of evil tidings they are not afraid When they themselves most quietly do hide Under the shade of his wings and abide In the most secret place of the most high What harm of evil can to them come nigh Munition of Rocks doth them secure Their bread and water are to them made sure God with broad Rivers them surrounds that so No Ship nor Galley can against them go Since in them God is Glory and a wall Of sire about them surely they have all Glory within their mind and heart to fill A fire without to guard them from all ill How can they but be safe who have salvation For VValls and Bulwarks for their preservation The more they trust the more they glorifie God and his wondrous loving kindness see Which he to them hath greatly magnified Within a city that is fortified No outward force disturbeth their solace When they thus guarded see and taste his grace Love doth at once the Lord himself embrace And glorifies his goodness love and grace While we above all things the Lord do love We in our heart set him all things above While we desire him and do in him joy We move to him and God himself enjoy Yea every act whereby we glorifie The Lord in it we do the Lord draw nigh And God to us Thus are his servants blest For all their service is their interest Christ from himself servants sent not away His word is come follow me with me stay If any serve me let him follow me And where I am there shall my servant be Since Christ is foremost sure the way is right Since he 's the way the Leader and the Light The way is safe take courage talk no more Of fear and danger since God is before The way is pleasant it 's a sight most sweet To see the steps of Jesus lovely feet And to walk in them in them to walk on Since our fore-runner in these paths hath gone Tho he be gone before yet he is near He 's on the front and also on the rear And still on thy right hand thee to uphold Yea in thy heart to make thee humbly bold As he walks in them this of them is crav'd That they walk in him as they him receiv'd It is his promise to be with them still That they be still with him is his good will. Thus all the service he to them commends To Glory Union and Communion tends Their Master's Service is their interest In glorifying God they 're truly blest This is thy chief end God to glorifie And to enjoy him to eternity Come to the Mediator Jesus Christ In him alone the Lord with man's well-pleas'd Come unto God by him though thou be'st lost He will thee save unto the uttermost Come take himself and take his fulness all Deny thy self follow upon his call Follow him fully follow him with delight His yoke is easie and his burden light His holy Ordinances are most sweet His Rod is needful and his Cross is meet All service he requires is reasonable All Rods and Crosses needful seasonaable It 's only for a time if need there be That trials come in great variety And though they sadning be yet they are blest And tend to Holiness Praise Glory Rest Come come thy service all all thy distress Is for God's Glory and thy Happiness Now since by God the Father and the Spirit Thou art from sin and torments infinite Called to come through Christ the living way To Fellowship with God which lasts for aye Behold by whom from what through whom to whom Thou called art all calls on thee to come The Spirit and the Bride say Come let all who hear Say Come and let them come who thirsty are Here is Life's Fountain whosoever will Of living water freely take thy fill That all who hear may come Lord draw that we May come and run and follow after thee Come with thy Grace and Glory speedily Lord Jesus come Amen So let it be FINIS Twenty Five CONSIDERATIONS OF THE PAINS prepar'd for SIN After this Life WITH A SERMON Preached on Acts VII 60. I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me Write From henceforth Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord even so saith the Spirit for they rest from their labours and their works follow them Rev. 14.13 LONDON Printed for Richard Butler in White-Lion-Court in Barbican 1688. Twenty Five CONSIDERATIONS OF THE PAINS prepared for SIN After this Life I. AMongst all the means which God useth towards the Children of Men to move them to this Resolution whereof I treat the strongest and most forcible to the common sort of men is the consideration of Punishments prepared by him for rebellious sinners and transgressors of his Commandments Wherefore he useth this Consideration often as may appear by all the Prophets who do nothing else almost but threaten plagues and destruction to Offenders And this means hath often times prevailed more than any others that could be used by reason of the Natural Love which we bear towards our selves and consequently the Natural Fears we have of our own danger So we read that nothing could move the Ninevites so much as the foretelling them of their imminent destruction And St. John the Baptist John the 5th Matth. the 3d. altho he came in a simple and contemptible way yet preaching unto the people the terror of Vengeance to come and that the Axe was now put to the Trees to cut for the fire all those which repented not he moved the very Publicans and Soldiers to fear which otherwise are people of very hard metal who came unto him upon his terrible Embassage and asked what they should do to avoid these punishments II. After then that we have considered of Death and of God's severe Judgment which ensueth after Death and wherein every man hath to receive according to his works in this life as the Scripture saith it followeth that we consider also of the punishments which are appointed for them that shall be found faulty in that account Hereby at leastwise no other consideration will serve to induce Christians to this Resolution of serving God For as I have noted before If
life he altereth his course of dealing he turneth over the leaf and changeth his stile of a Lamb he becometh a Lion to the wicked and of a Saviour a just and severe punisher What can be said or done more to move us that is forewarned and seeth his own danger before his face and yet is not stirred and made more wary or fearful thereby but notwithstanding will come or slide into the same may well be pitied but surely by no means can be helped making himself incapable of remedies that may be used FINIS A SERMON Acts VII 60. And when he had said this he fell asleep THese words contain in them the happy closure and upshot of Stephen's life wherein we have Three Particulars First The Person that fell asleep Secondly The Speech he made when he fell asleep Thirdly What he did when he had finished his Speech First We have the Person that fell asleep and that was Stephen He was a man full of Faith and full of the Holy Ghost as you may see Acts 6.5 He was the first Martyr that ever suffered for the Cause of Christ Hence I might gather this Doctrine viz. That the best of men are subject to sudden and violent Deaths Stephen that was full of the Holy Ghost was stoned to death and John the Baptist that was full of the Holy Ghost from the very Womb was beheaded Peter was crucified and so was Andrew Isaiah was sawed asunder Jeremiah was stoned and Zacharias was slain between the Temple and the Altar But I shall pass this The Second part of the Text is the Speech that Stephen made when he fell asleep Hcc dicte obdormivit That is when he had finished his Prayer he fell asleep Hence observe this That it is an excellent way to close up our Life with prayer To die praying is a most Christian way of dying the stoned Stephen calling upon God. After this manner Christ died he prayed Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit and having thus said he gave up the Ghost This he did that it might be a pattern to all Christians Prayer is a necessary duty at all times but especially when we are a dying And that for these Reasons First Because when we are to die we have most need of God's help for then the Devil is most busie and we most weak Secondly Because when we are to die we are to beg the greatest boon of God that is That he would receive us into his Heavenly Kingdom Now Prayer is the chief means to obtain this mercy for it is Porta Caeli Clavis Paradici the Gate of Heaven a Key to let us into Paradice Therefore we have great reason to die praying Thirdly Because when a Saint of God is dying he is then to take his last farewel of Prayer In Heaven there is no praying but all thanksgiving There is no need in Heaven therefore no praying in Heaven now a Saint of God being to take his leave of prayer when he is to die therefore it is fit to die praying I beseech you remember this pattern in the Text St. Stephen died calling upon God. Let us die praying as that Emperor said Oportes Imperatorem stantem mori So may I say Oportet Christianum mori precantem It behoves a Christian to die praying Quest But what was the Substance of Stephen's prayer Ans He prayed for himself Lord Jesus receive my Spirit ver 59. Secondly He prayed for his persecutors Lord lay not this sin to their charge ver 60. I will not enter upon this part of the Text for it would swallow up all my time Therefore I shall wave it and come to the Third part which is that that by God's assistance I purpose to speak unto to wit what Stephen did when he had finished his Prayer When he had said this he fell asleep that is he died Behold here the Magnanimity the Piety and the Christian Courage of Stephen The people were stoning of him and gnashing their Teeth upon him and the good man dies with as much quietness of mind as if he had died on his bed He fell asleep while they were stoning him while he died he prayed and while he prayed he died But what made Stephen die thus quietly Read the 55th Verse and you shall see the Reason of it Being full of the Holy Ghost he looked up stedfastly into Heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This made him die with such a sweet quiet and calm Temper he saw Jesus Christ standing at the Right Hand of God ready to receive his Soul and that made him to die with such an extraordinary quietness of mind Death in Scripture especially the death of God's Children is often compared to a sleep It is said of David 1 Kings 2.10 that he slept with his Fathers And it is said 1 Thes 4.3 I would not have you ignorant concerning them that are asleep that is concerning them that are dead And 1 Cor 11.50 For this cause many are weakly and sick among you and many sleep that is many die This Expression is a Metaphorical Expression and will afford us many rare and pretious Instructions And therefore the Grace of God assisting me I desire to spend the rest of the time in opening this Metaphor The Doctrine is this viz. That when a child of God dies though his death be never so unnatural and violent yet it is nothing but a falling asleep Or A Child of God though stoned to death though burnt to ashes though it be never so violent or unnatural is nothing but a falling asleep When he had said this he fell asleep Somnus est mortis Imago Sleep is the Image of Death There are many notable resemblances betwixt sleep and death some of which I shall speak of at this time First Sleep is common to all men no man can live without sleep A man may live long without meat but no man can live long without sleep So it is true with death Death is common too It is appointed for all men once to dis and therefore David saith he was to go the way of all flesh Statutum est omnibus semel mori omnibus est calcanda semel Lethivia All men must sleep the sleep of Death or else be changed which is a metaphorical death Secondly As sleep ariseth from the Vapours that ascend from the Stomach to the Head and tie the Senses and hinder their Operations so Death came into the World by Adam's eating the Forbidden Fruit and by the poysonful Vapour of sin that brought death upon him and all his Posterity By one man sin entred into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned Rom. 5.12 Had Adam never sinned Adam should never have died But in illo die said God But in that day thou eatest the forbidden fruit thou shalt die the death Sin brings omni modam mortem all kinds of death