Sin Reason dethrones its self Sense without fear Usurps the Throne wild Passions domineer The Will yields freely her Imperial right To the tyrannic Lusts of Appetite O Chaos of Confusion whence such Pride Do Masters lacquey whilst their servants ride And Kings make up their subjects humble Train Of captive Vassals to confirm their Reign Awake the Earth's great Monarch will he have Ought but the Title of a Royal Slave Let him be King of and in Man to none Subject but his great Lords Eternal Throne Of whom he holds his Diadem in Fee By whom Kings reign and Princes do decree Knock off his Chains let him to purpose know Himself the rightful Lord of all below So shall the people of the Air Sea Field Pay humble Homage and due Tribute yied For hold they not of thee their breath and lives From whom mans Throne its Origine derives Their eyes wait all on thee thy copious hand Fills all their mouths with good by sea and land Thou giv'st them meat in season they rejoice To gather it when thou conceal'st thy voice They mourn in silence when thou hid'st thy Face Their beauty falls and all their goodly Grace When thou withdraw'st thy breath their spirits flye And they resolved into ashes dye And should thy Pow'r one moment but suspend Its act whole Nature makes a sudden end Heaven and distant Earth would soon come near Each Star drop down from its transparent sphere The Moon would cease to yield her various light And Sun himself be darkned into night The Fire for want of heat would chill to death The Air breathe out its last in one groans breath Mountains would skip away like frighted Rams And all the little Hills like fearful Lambs VVater and Earth would be again commixt As when no order was in Nature fixt The Elements confus'd in one rude Mass Yes all would swift into prime Nothing pass Nor were it hard that then thou should'st renew This ruin'd Theatre to publick view VVhose Word could in a thought bring on the stage The peaceful worlds most happy Golden Age Thy Majesty in all thy works renown'd Beyond all time sends an amazing sound How when he frowns the earth distracted shakes As with a strong Convulsion groans and quakes And rends with grief at what his fury can To unrelenting Rocky-hearted man The smitten Mountains smoak belch out and burn As if they would all into embers turn But what art thou fierce Aetna which dost raise VVith flaming Rivers the Cicilian Seas To them which the consuming fire did rain On Sodom's and Gomorrah's sinful Plain And they but puny sparks to that great lake Of Flames prepared for the damned's sake There burn yet never burnt the godless sp'rits Of evil men and Angels which the lights Of Nature Grace and Glory would despise Beyond redress with bold contemptuous eyes But we whilst being lasts Immortal King VVill thy great Names exalted Praises sing VVe thy Delight and thou our Joy shalt be In us thy Glory and our Bliss in thee Glory to God the Father Son and Sp'rit One boundless Fountain of Eternal Light As ever 't was before all time begun So is and ever shall when time is done The End of the Second Part. OF GOD IN THE CREATURE PART III. THus sung these Nymphs but as the clearest day Is not without some passing Clouds so may And often doth the most Celestial Mind This side the Moon molesting passions find Passions in bounds moving to proper ends Commence not Rebels but are Reasons Friends Friends to Devotion what diviner proves Than holy raging holy mourning loves Such mudless Floods fill'd and all day opprest The holy God-mans unpolluted breast Stoicks are stocks or else 'twixt them and Gods 'T is hard to find out any real odds No They 'r above by their grave Senate's voice God's calm by Nature they by gen'rous choice Egregious Pride vaunt men an Apathy Not found in Angels Immortality They joy when we do well then no doubt weep To see us buri'd in Lethargick sleep So these dear Twins from joy to sorrow turn To think how Vice triumphs and Vertues mourn Some whiles a profound silence occupies Their lips and looks then tears flow from their eyes PHILARETE speaks At length Philarete alas our age Exil'd from Converse to a Hermitage Good God! why might not vertue sometimes fear An Inter-Regnum of thy Royal Care Seeing her vanquisht self so trodden down And her proud Rival circl'd with a Crown THEOPHOBE To say the world in a blind Atom-dance Stumbled into its beauteous form by chance More Phrenzy speaks than that without a hand Sweet David's Psalter should be writ in Sand Nor is it less to think 't is left to lye Without its Makers over-ruling eye Rich Sheba's Queen without sight or report Of the wise Jew might see him in his Court Such Beauty shows the Lord's Magnificence Its constancy his watchful Providence When Nature in a Sea floats there and here There needs some constant Pilot at the Steer PHILARETE All this is plain but that a special eye Is fixt on men dumbs all Philosophy 'T would rather speak a Goddess Fortune blind To raise the base depress the noble mind THEOPHOBE Philosophy must grant that active love Which on the dark Abyss did gently move To hatch the World and now with tender wings Kindly protects the Universe of things Leaves not their Lord Compendium of them all For making whom it did a Council call Of the most wise Three-One a clear presage Of some dear Offspring in its own Image This were to null the Laws of all wise Love And make it like the cruel Ostrich prove Whose Iron Bowels leave her harmless Egg To wait the crush of every chancing Leg And yet indeed Philosophy can't sound The depths of Providence which know no ground Much more exceeding shallow humane brain Than shells fall short of the unfathom'd Main Shall men explode a Being without end Because no finite can it comprehend Question the Ocean too you may as well Because you cannot hold it in a Shell Question a real Sun you may as soon Because not to be lanthorn'd at high-noon This knew the ancient Hero's and the more For adverse fate did meekly this adore Making their Reason when they saw it fail In these great deeps to strike to Faith the sail By Fortunes looks 't was never understood How to discern the vicious from the good For that bright Saint the man of Gods own Heart Had both of smiles and of her frowns his part PHILARETE Yet they complain'd their Faith fail'd to behold Vertue in rags and Vice in vests of Gold Yes famous singers of the inspired Quire Not with a common but Seraphick Fire THEOPHOBE Their Faith recoil'd yet trembling till it whole Return'd like Magnet-needles to the Pole It shook not fell as by a strong surprize The Fort of Life and Spirit swoons not dies Such conflicts Sister bring forth happy fruits As well-set Trees by storms get firmer
mighty Flowing Streams Of clearest light to make an open way For Glories perfect O Eternal Day No VVaxings VVanings vary this Nor Clouds or fear of Clouds draw near To fully or disturb its Bliss So far above the Atmosphere III. Father of Lights then of thy Love Send down thy Spirit which may prove As Salve to clear from Scales my Clouded Eyes That I may see thy Sun when he doth rise And all my observations take By thy most sacred Rules which make The simple wise and with unerring hand To steer their Course to the Eternal Land In roughest Storms through proudest Seas O make this day one advance more Most blest Three-One to the true ease Of its most-to-be-wished Shore IV. But Night 's far spent and day 's at hand Am I in dark Oblivion's Land Shall my Soul lie worse than a stupid beast Not to Salute fair light from yonder East O mind me how that sweet-lookt thing Did first from thee great Good-Word spring VVhen thou the obscure Chaos did'st refine And Beauteous form in Nature 'gan to shine But say 't is done let there be light In my dark Soul which still lies in The dismal shades of Ghostly Night And deep in the Abyss of sin V. But Night 's far spent and day 's at hand Am I in dark Oblivion's Land Shall my Soul lie worse than a stupid Beast Not to Salute fair light from yonder East O! let it mind me what did shine Great God-Man when thy Stars Divine To humble Shepherds did glad tidings Sing Of thy amazing Birth Immortal King Glory to God in highest peace On Earth to sinful man good will VVhich never now again can cease Since God to Man 's United still VI. But Night 's far spent and Day 's at hand Am I in dark Oblivion's Land Shall my Soul lye worse than a stupid Beast Not to salute fair light from yonder East O mind me of that dawning Day VVhen thou thy rising did'st display Great God in pow'r and splendor from the dead As well became after thy setting red Give Life and Light that I may leave My Grave of sin as Bed to run In thy blest strength which I receive To worship thee my Rising Sun VII But Night 's far spent and Day 's at hand Am I in dark Oblivion's Land Shall my Soul lye worse than a stupid Beast Not to Salute fair Light from yonder East O let it mind me of that Light To which Good God! our Noon is Night Blest Shechinah where thy great Clemency Hath carr'd in Triumph our Humanity Refine my Nature from dross Dregs That I may presently contend And tho alas with heavy Legs Make where first Fruits thou didst ascend VIII But Night 's far spent and Day 's at hand Am I in dark Oblivion's Land Shall my Soul lye worse than a stupid Beast Not to Salute fair Light from yonder East O let it mind me of what light VVhen thou com'st Judg in Clouds most bright When at thy Trumpets New-Creating call The Dead from their Dust-beds shall start up all O may I live that sleep to take VVith which thou dost thy dear ones bless That when thou callest I may wake To see thy Face in Righteousness IX The Night 's far spent and day 's at hand Am I in dark Oblivions Land Remains my body like a stupid Beast Not mov'd by nimble light from yonder East Which flows full through the Hemisphere And tells the busie Sun is near Up up thy foreheads sweat justly decreed Must now to pleasing ease and sleep succeed Then make thy face God! on me shine That with new Sp'rits and vig'rous Joy I may pursue thy Work and mine O prosper Lord in just employ Hymnus Vespertinus OR The EVENING SONG THrice Blest my God and King The only Spring Of every good and perfect Thing Thou hast preserv'd my ways Accept my Praise This and all other my past days And now the Shades come on O Living Sun Go not out of my Horizon Stream forth thy glorious Light That I by Night May count my past days sins aright But how shall I recall These Errors all Which under numbers will not fall O hide them in that night Which from our sight Did take and hide the Worlds great Light To thy all-piercing sight My darkest Night Is clearer than to us Noon-light O let this thought me bring To keep within My heart and hand from secret sin When I my Clay undress Do thou me bless From rags of all Unrighteousness Who knows where I may have My Bed for Grave O then receive my Soul and save Great VVatch on whom no sleep Doth ever creep In grateful rest I pray me keep From all malignant things Which darkness brings Under the shadow of thy Wings Dart forth thy healthful beams Dispel these steams Which cause or cherish hurtful dreams Pitch round me Angels Tent And from thee sent Let them blest Visions represent As in thy Jacob's Night A Ladder bright Thee on the Top my Shield and Light Whilst they to thee ascend And from thee bend By turns thy Jewels to defend So shall I in thy arms Circled from harms Be lull'd to bliss with sweetest charms Whilst gently from above Thy favours prove My safeguard and my bed of love When I awake move me To sing of thee And meditate on thy Mercy And with the Mornings wings As Light begins To flye to thee great King of Kings TO THE Candid READER NOW because amongst all Moral Christian Vertues which indeed differ only as the rude and the compleat draught Christianity being but summum Morale Morality refined and sublimated to an heroical and diviner pitch humility and meekness are of all other most eminently exercised by an All-Wise Holy Just and good particular Providence and by its exercitations rendred more conspicuous and resplendent I therefore thought it not impertinent to annex as an Appendix to the foregoing debate a Poetical Sermon on each of these most Divine and Metropolitan Graces Nor may the name of Sermon here applied offend any with a seeming incongruity that have but cursorily read not to say any thing of the most harmonious Sermons of the Royal and other sweet Singers of Israel the excellent composures of at least the Prince tho not the King of Latin Poets exhibiting Instances of the like both Nature and Title And because these Mother Vertues Humility and Meekness never look more like themselves than in their genuine and most true begotten Daughters Repentance and Obedience particularly that which hath for her proper and immediate object humane Power Obedience to God never evidencing it self more than in a reverent and facile subjection to those his most Wise and most Good Providence hath thought meet to set over us I have therefore moreover added a Penitential Song in Four Parts and Three Anti-Phanatical Poems Anti-Phanatical I call thim for Phanatical and disobedient to humane Powers if deliberately inspected will appear to be in truth convertible Terms
Nor could I be disanimated from these endeavours by supposing Poetry wholly unbecoming Divinity for the first Theology of the Heathen as Antiquity tells us was sung by Linus Orpheus and other succeeding Poets who in a special manner were esteemed their Priests and Prophets but passing by these rather cast an eye at your pleasure on the true and select Worshippers of the One only true God Here 't is easily observable that in both the Jewish and Christian Churches the most ample and cheerfullest gratulations for the manifold and innumerable Benefits daily poured on the whole Creation by his Eternal Majesty together with the most worthy Praises of both the Essential Infinite Perfections and Excellencies of the Divine Nature and also of its communicated Vertues and Transplantations of Goodness to and in all rational Beings particularly Humane nature were ever esteemed an essential and most peculiar part of Divine Worship and the celebration thereof principally performed in Psalms Hymns and spiritual Songs This in brief may be a competent Apology for at least the kind of my assays to dress Divinity in Poesie tho not perhaps for the quality of my Attempts to wrap so noble and high-born a Creature in such swadling Clouts as are the inventions and composures of an unfortunate and flagging Fancy And yet those homely productions may serve a little to display the admirable Beauty of Providence in the most wise disposition of things viz. one in order to the advancement and commendation of the good and Glory of another and all to the good and Glory of man Lord Deputy of the World but still with most humble Subordination to the Glory and good Pleasure of the supreme Lord of Lords who is both Alpha and Omega the one only absolutely first Beginning and ultimate End of all things visible and invisible for the Beauty of this sensible World consists chiefly in a well-proportioned variety gradually proceeding from lesser to greater Perfections from gross and heavy Earth to the thinner and more active body of Water from water to more pellucid and spirit-like Air from Air to Fire the subtillest and most vigorous of the Elements from Fire to Light the most nimble and purest of sensible Beings Were the World all Sun or Stars 't would not be the Ten Thousandth part so beautious as now a parcel thereof is Earth the dulness and opacity of the one as Opposites use to do setting forth and amplifying the beauty and splendor of the other And the Earth it self is never so beautiful as when dedala Tellus as Lucretius speaks almost in his first strains arrayed in her Spring Coat of divers Colours that which is sad and grave mightily setting forth and commending her gay and flowry parts Nor is it the least Glory of the Sun Moon and Stars that one Star differs from another Star in Glory Even so in the World of Spirits is there the like gradation in a most proportioned variety of Perfection from the spirit of Plants which is educed out lives with and dies with its subject containing only the powers of vegetation there is an assent to the spirit of Animals which is likewise educed out lives and dies with its subject but besides the powers of vegetation contains moreover the faculties of sense From the spirit of bruit Animals there is another assent to the intelligence of man unitable and actually united with matter but in her self and most genuine operations immaterial and immortal a rational mind vertually comprizing both the vegetive and sensitive souls from the spirit of Man at length the ascent is to Angels noble intelligences abstracted from all matter and material conditions From Angels the last ascent is to the Father of Spirits an Infinite Intelligence absolutely abstracted as to all act and possibility not only from all matter and material but from all finite conditions an eternal and immensible Sea of Perfection of which all created Perfections are essentially dependent derivations and compared with which were they all sublimated into one quintessence the same would be infinitely less considerable than the minutest drop of a Bucket in competition with the whole material and visible Ocean Amongst the Angels as we are assured from the sacred Oracles there is a great variety as to superiority and inferiority of Order and Office so by all rational inference must there be a diversity of degrees of Perfection answerable to their respective Orders and Offices But in that part of the intellectual World which comprehends men and humane society he that runs may read the greatest variety both in body and mind of natural and acquired Perfections and as vast a difference of happiness in the action and exercise of either as great might I say almost as of Faces All which variety abundantly declares the infinite fulness and fecundity of the supreme Fountain For every good giving and every perfect gift of what nature and quality soever how mean and contracted or how large and noble soever it be cometh down from above from the Father of Lights with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning And tho there are diversitits of Gifts and diversities of Operations yet they all flow from one most Simple Infinite Spirit of All-Wise Goodness which gives and manifests in the World the lesser Wits not only for an agreeable ministration to the lower and more scanty apprehensions but likewise as foils to set forth and commend the lustre of the more large and nobler capacities So that Readers of both sorts the sum of all is this You which are of the meaner and more contracted parts may read these with gratitude to Heaven for providing you such suitable food And you which are of the more large and nobler endowments may read likewise and bless Heaven in a more ample manner for its amplier and more magnificent diffusions of goodness to you than to others so both and all together may contemplate admire and adore the Infinite Wisdom of the Divine Providence in its so excellent contrivance of the whole system of the sensible and intellectual World to be its own most beautiful Picture by a wonderful commixture of Light and Shade in and throughout all its parts that each one should serve to the good and Glory of each other and all together reflect the Image of the immortal Glory Which one only Most worthy End Heaven grant that we may all eternally answer in our respective capacities Farewell SERMON I. The Subjects Kingdom On Matth. V. 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven BLEST are the minds inrich'd with poverty For them a Kingdom waits above the Sky Laid here in grace which as a pledg begins That Glory which compleats them after Kings Their infant Stature in their own Conceit Makes them the men in Heavens measures great VVhich still delights to give the humble Grace But thunder-strikes with frowns the Mountain Face Making God rising Herod's openly Egregious proofs of brag'd Divinity The Voice of