thing God now is all Love makes all Common for it makes all One Zeal for good Works Patience in bearing wrong Were the true Marks by which Christs flock was known Had not Christ added this convincing Seal Tongues Miracles and Sanctifying Grace The Wonder of Redemption is so great That Faith to unbelief must needs give place Apostles Mortal were before they Die For future Ages they Christs sacred word His Deeds Laws Doctrine by the promis'd Spirit To guide the Church infallibly record As Moses gave the Iews the only Law Which following Priests and Prophets were to Teach So th' Holy Ghost by the Apostles wrote The word which after Ages were to Preach As Moses Law was Seal'd with Miracles When such the following Ages did not need So Christs Apostles did by Wonders Seal Those Records which the after Ages read The Spirit promis'd to the Apostles was To lead them to all needful saving Truth And bring Christs words to their rememberance What they by his Commission did Christ doth Their Writings are the Holy Ghosts own Book Though human Imperfection do appear In Modes and Phrases it 's no just offence But leaves the Truth and Use still sure and clear Words but the Vehicle of matter be Gods Spirit owns not the Translators words But if as signs they with his Words agree The Sense and Matter of them is the Lords This Spirit helps the Church but not to bring Another Gospel Law or Word from Heav'n Nor mend or change Gods Laws in word or sense But to preach and obey the word once given To bring new Laws or Messages from God A Prophets Office is and not a Priests To forge such or make Laws for all the Church The Authors prove false Prophets or false Christs Christian Religion is one stablisht thing Which all the Church from first to last may know It is not human changeable or new Nor doth by Mens decrees increase and grow If Canons no part of Religion be But Laws for Rites and things indifferent Why must all Christians needs in these agree Or not agreeing by Church-Wars be rent The Church hath all one Head one perfect Law All justified be by Christs Blood and Merit All that are true though weak Christ doth receive For all are Sanctified by one Spirit The Holy Ghost in all true Christians dwells He doth illuminate and make them New This is Christs Agent and his Body formes His Witness proving that his Word is true This Spirit did the Gospel first Indite And on it did Gods Image first Ingrave And then by it as his great Instrument That Image Prints on all that he will save Though it be long of their resisting Will That any of this Grace deprived be Yet Scripture and Experience clearly tell That diffrencing electing Grace is free In Children it appears when God doth choose He gives a reachable and willing Mind Good Dispositions and Capacity By Grace their Nature is to good inclin'd Grace chooseth Parents careful of their Souls Helps them to educate them in Gods fear To commend Virtue and disgrace all Vice Teach them Gods word causeth them to hear Gods Seed in such is often early Sowd And as they grow it springs up by degrees As Plants and Fruits by Sun Moisture grow'd Whose present growth and motion no Man sees The first beginnings of the Spirits work Is in a learning Mind and fear of Sin A love and liking of good things and Men 'Gainst Sins for Duty Conscience strives within Grace watcheth over them provides them helps Meet Teachers Books Examples Company Keeps off temptations causeth them to hate Lying bad Words and Deeds and Ribaldry Bad Childrens Hearts are quite averst to good They love not Virtue relish not Gods Law Tempting Discourse Examples Vanities Catch on their Hearts as Fire doth on Straw If early helps Parents and Teachers fail And Sin the childish Mind and Life pervert If Folly Flesh and tempting Baits prevail Yet God his chosen will in time convert Hee 'l either give them better Company Or better helps and Teachers whom hee 'l Bless Or bring some useful Book unto their Eye And make their Snares their Temptations less Or hee 'l some sharp Affliction on them lay Which may awake the hardened sleepy Heart Or Conscience shall some quickning motion feel Tell them their Sins their Danger and Desert O! How the Case with Sinners now is chang'd Things all appear now in another Shape Sin now is Madness Mad he calls himself For loving Death and thinks now how to Scape Now God is Holy Just his Word is True He is in earnest though Sinners be in jest The Face of all his Works and Ways seem New Those things seem worst which formerly seem'd best The common Texts and Truths he daily heard Do now begin to have some Life and Sence He wonders how he past them by before As if they had been of no Consequence That wounds shames and grieves and breaks his heart Which formerly was his Delight and Pleasure That 's Vanity and mortal Poyson now For which he hungred as his Food and Treasure Now the Mad Prodigal comes to himself Perhaps the World doth him its Husks deny Why saith he did I leave a Fathers House There none do want here I must starve and die O that I had not tasted Satans Bait Nor Pampred Flesh and pleas'd vain Appetite Neglected Grace and things of greatest Weight Nor medled with Sins poysonous Delight But the time lost can never be recal'd The works of Madness cannot be undone I have undone my self is there no help I know all else is Vain there is but one A Fathers Love affordeth me some hope The World gives none I must return or die I 'le go and humbly all my Sin confess And cast my self upon his Clemency But God is Just and Holy how can I Defil'd with Sin and Guilt stand in his sight Now the sick Soul a sure Physicion needs There is one Saviour who is Gods Delight He is the Way by whom Men come to God He is the Truth to save the World from Errour He is the Life to save from endless Death Self-Murdering Souls subject to Hellish Terrour And now the Gospel's better understood Redemption seemeth not a needless thing His Thoughts are precious of Christs precious Blood His Mediator Prophet Priest King The Gospel now is Tydings of great Joy Pardon of Sin Adoption Peace with God Freedom from Terrour Satan Sin and Hell Mans self-made and Gods just Revenging Rod. He sees why Love in Mans repair must be As much Admir'd as Power in our Creation Sinners cannot immediatly God see But by a Mediator have Salvation Now all things else seem loss and dung for Christ Wisdom is folly where Christ is left out To know him is the true Philosophy The rest doth teach Men but to prate and doubt Some glimps of God and Heav'n blurd Nature yields But it s but as a Candle to this Sun Others towards God
can never have Access From it their Canon-Law receiv'd its Birth To which they all obedience profess But the false name of Councils-General Is now a Cheat to serve the Roman-King Where are those Councils whence who must them call Who them from all the Earth together bring Could not our Lord without all this adoe Have made sufficient Universal Law But our Religion must have so much new Which th' ancient Christians never heard or saw Communion's made Subjection by this Cheat None can be Sav'd that are not Canon-proof Obey them or they 'l say you Separate They Build the Church beginning at the Roof Thus can the Flesh such Learned Men deceive And make them love their Enemies as Friends And rule their Faith and make them all believe That all is good which serves their Worldly Ends How Wise and Holy should that Person be Whose Daily Business is to search Gods Law Who should in Heavenly Pleasure Live but he That Heaven and Hell as in a Map still saw Doth Pride and Envy bitter Strife and Wrath Church Tyranny or Hatred of the Good Become that Man who such an Office hath To Preach Gods Love Seal'd with Christs Flesh Blood What is his Calling but Souls to Convert And Build them up in Faith and Love with Peace In what Art should he rather be expert Then to breed Love and Hurtfulness suppress If he love Christ he 'l gently feed his Sheep Cherish and Love the good strengthen the weak The Flock from Wolves hurtful Beasts he 'l keep And not against the Just and Upright speak Self-contradicting is a Madmans mark Judg then what these Malignant Preachers are Self-damning Self-confuting in the dark Heart Tongue Hand are in a constant War They are Church-Shepherds yet hurtful Wolves They Preach for Love to Foes yet hate Christs Friends Preach Life to others choose Death to themselves Heavenly words they speak for Worldly Ends. They Pray that Gods great Name may Hallowed be Which they profane by pleading it for Evil They Pray as if Christs Kingdom they would see But mean their own that 's ruled by the Devil They hate Gods Will Pray it may be done Ev'n as it is in Heaven A high degree Yet if one plead Gods Will against their own Who 's hated more or used worse than he They Pray for Daily Bread for Life Health But without Plenty are not satisfi'd But seek Preferment Fulness Rule Wealth And grudg if Fleshly Lust be but deny'd The' ask pardon of the Sin they Love Cherish And that but as themselves forgive another Yet to fear God Sin Hell as loath to perish They 'l not forgive to a dissenting Brother They pray God not to lead them to Temptation Yet tempt themselves love most tempting things Strong baits of Flesh are their chief consolation Greedy of all that deadly pleasure brings They ask deliverance from all that 's ill Yet Sin the worst they love and will not leave They ask what 's full against their Vicious Will That which God offers and they 'l not receive They seem to own a God They Preach his Law But Man and Flesh must be before him serv'd The World 's more lov'd of Man th' are more in awe As if God but the Tongue Knee deserv'd The Image is their God and hath the Heart God's made an Image and hath but the name Religion is with them meer Form and Art Kept up for Peace by Custom Fear Shame Christ is their Saviour call'd their King Lord To Preach his Grace and Glory is their Trade But to be Sav'd from Lust Sin 's Abhor'd And he an Underling to Flesh is made They say they do believe the Holy Ghost But his refining work will not be born A Fleshly Worldly Life doth please them most The Spirits Name Work some make a Scorn And yet for Holiness who hath more Zeal Meaning great Names Interest of their own They against Sacriledg to God appeal As it would Rob their Flesh and it Dethrone It s none to hurt Christs Flock withhold their Food His Faithful Ministers to Alienate Nor feed proud Flesh with what belongs to God All 's Holy that to it is Dedicate Religion ends with them as it begun They were Baptiz'd and made the Sacred Vow But this was by a strange Godfather done It s with great Grief that I must tell you how It s known an Infant hath no Will to choose The Parents Will and Choice do stand for his Till he be capable his own to use He in the Power of his Parents is And God obligeth Christians to devote Themselves and Theirs in Covenant to Christ This he accepts as many Scriptures note The Parent being Dedicated first But now some other doth the Parents part Vows for the Child and its due Education And though he never meant it in his heart To see it Taught all needful to Salvation Atheists and Infidels and Sadduces Their Children are all freely taken in If they have but such Godfathers as these Baptism is said to save them all from Sin Men forbid Parents Godfathers to be And Ministers their presence to require Foreign Kings stand for those they never see Poor Men get such as they for Money hire Parents these Undertakers do not ask Will you these Vows and Promises perform Baptismal Vows are made a formal task Thus they began Thus Men Christs Laws reform Thus Christians by false Ceremony made Religion 's made a Ceremony now Not minding what Suborn'd Men Vow'd or said They boldly break what others falsely Vow'd And when in Play Sin their Childhood's spent For Canting a few words not understood Mindless what Faith is or their Baptism meant Confirm'd they boldly claim Christs Flesh and Blood A Lifeless Image being thus receiv'd More Forms and Ceremonies it adorn And Hypocrites by Shadows thus deceiv'd The unknown Holy Life do Hate and Scorn Thus Life is fool'd away till Death seem near Which doth disrobe their splendid cheating Sins But to ease Conscience waken'd now by fear Forc'd Penitence Mans Absolution wins And at the Grave when Men as bad as he Do hear that God in Mercy took his Soul And Charity for this hope pleaded be False hopes which should be broken are kept whole Thus Sinners are befoold till time is done From first to last spent in Hypocrisie And endless sorrow when all hope is gone Tell them what Mercy they did long deny Yet still the reverend Masters of the Game Cherish the Malady with Zeal and Art Being themselves diseased by the same By mortal habit both of Head and Heart Tradition Ceremony Pomp and Rule A humane Image without Divine Life By Pharisees was used as the tool Of self-deceit and of malignant strife Dead Saints they honour'd and the living killâ—d The Dead molest them not by their reproof Their Relicks Days and Monuments they held In their Devotion as of great behoof Yet none were fiercer Enemies of Christ
ADDITIONS TO THE POETICAL FRAGMENTS OF Rich Baxter Written for himself and Communicated to such as are more for serious Verse than smooth LONDON Printed for B. Simmons at the Three Golden Cocks at the West-end of St. Pauls 1683. A Supplement TO THE POETICAL FRAGMENTS I. Grace GOds perfect Power did this great World Create Gods perfect Wisdome all in Order Plac't Gods perfect Goodness made all very Good But Sin Gods Image on Mans Soul defac't Power caus'd Necessity and Wisdome Order And both by Goodness caused Harmony All in one perfect Frame Gods Glory shew Praise him and please him with pure Melody Sin could not change Necessity nor that Disorder which God fixt above Mans reach But the Free Lord Free Agents also made And there by Sin Fâ—â—â—e-Will did make the breach This Breach to Man was Punishment it self For God before had order'd Nature so That Poyson would cause Pain Wounds cause smart And Sin to Sinners Misery and Woe Goodness is Love delighting to do good Wisdome resolves this fowl breach to repair And make advantage of Mans Sin and Woe Iustice and Mercy largely to declare Hurt is soon done the Wound was quickly made The Cure must be performed by degrees A Saviours Grace must exercised be Wisdome with Love to do the Work decrees Mans Soul Incorruptible Substance is Essential Life not made it self to die It s final State then like it self will be Durable Happyness or Misery But it is plac't in Corruptible Flesh And the Compounded Frame that 's called Man Must be dissolv'd for Sin hath caused death And Flesh must turn to Earth whence it began But He who Mans Salvation undertook Is perfect Primitive Life Light and Love And will give Compound Life again to Man In joyful Glory with Himself above But as in Nature God great difference made Stones are not Men all have their proper place Men are not Stars and Stars are not the Sun So he will make great difference in Grace Man is not helpless left to mear despair Life is again made possible to all The former terms of Innocence now cease Mercies all Sinners to Repentance call A Law of saving Grace is newly made All that accept it and consent shall live Trust but a Saviour for that blessed Life And he will freely Grace and Glory give But yet Mans Life on Earth a Warfar is Gods Grace and Satans Malice daily Fight And all that will be Sav'd must overcome Sin 's vanquished by Grace Darkness by Light Each part their Captain have they their bands Not made by Force but Doctrine and Consent Each Man as Rational and Free Commands One draws to Sin the other to Repent Sin hath its Punishment the worst within When for neglect of Grace God it suspends But the correction of the Flesh for Sin Furthers Repentance and the Soul amends Thus all on Earth have some degrees of Grace Which Reason tells us they should not abuse Which bringeth some so far to Adam's case They stand or fall as they these Mercies use But God will not his Grace at randome give And leave the event to uncertainty But hath his Chosen who shall surely live In whom his saving Grace shall never die The two first Brothers did this War begin he killed and conquer'd who was first by birth He that seemd Conquer'd Triumphed by death The Victor's a curst Vagabond on Earth This War continu'd is unto this day Between the Holy and the Serpents seed These Brothers the prognostick Instance were Of all that ever after should succeed But the worst War is inward Grace and Sin The controversie daily there debate That which the Final Victory doth win Determineth Mans everlasting state A Law of Grace thus made to all Mankind In Adam and Noe common roots of all Ill entertainment with fall'n Man did find Who mostly to Idolaty did fall The strength of Sin is Love to Flesh and World And averse strangness to a better life It stronger grew by custome and abhor'd All motions tending to the Souls relief But Gods Electing Grace shall not be void In Abel Henoch Noe he this declar'd But specially in Abraham whose great Faith He with a special Promise did reward Not calling back the common Law of Grace He chose his Seed as a peculiar Nation Gave them a proper Law and of them rais'd The Lord Incarnate Author of Salvation Yet was their Dignity most Typical As was their Law to shew what God would doe When he the Nations unto Christ would call And build his Church as Catholick anew Sin soon prevail'd their Land was dry and small Seldome from under Enemies and Wast But they Gods Oracles preserv'd for us And from their Vine we all Salvation tast But as in Nature God works by degrees From Seed to Infancy from thence to Youth From thence to Manhood and Maturity So did he in revealing Grace and Truth Faln Man his Infancy and Childhood had In the old Laws dark Types and Prophesies But in times fulness God Incarnate came The Sun of Righteousness to Man did rise Three Laws he did fulfil one as a Man Once made for all Another as a Jew The third as Saviour proper to himself Then for his Church he made another new He Preacht Gods Will Proclamed saving Grace Brought to light Life and Immortality Declar'd Gods Love shew'd Man Gods pleased Face A Sacrifice for sinful Man did die He came to conquer Satan destroy Sin And heal sick Souls of Worldly Fleshly Love To raise the Earthly Mind of Man to God And bring him to a better Life above Words were too weak for this his works must do it He was to teach Man how to bear the Cross To deny Life and live above this World For Heav'n to count all here as Dung and Loss Wonder of Wonders God appears in Flesh Preacheth to Sinners calls them home to God Dies for them as a Sinner on a Cross Till the Third day among the Dead Abode Himself the greatest Wonder many wrought Heal'd all diseases gave the blind their Sight Raised the Dead by present bare Command Long before many in the open Light The Third day rose from Death stay'd Forty days Describes his Laws Church-Covenant and Seals Commissions his Apostles promiseth His Spirit which all saving truth Reveals Ascendeth up to Heaven before their Eyes And before Multitudes at Pentecost Gives them the gift of Miracles and Tongues By giving them the promis'd Holy Ghost They Preach Christ to the World speak various Tongues Work Miracles Heal Sickness Raise the Dead Convey this Power and Spirit unto others Thus through the World the word of Life they Spread These many Wonders not in Corners wrought Converted Thousands Conquer'd unbelief But above all his great Convincing Works The Spirits Sanctifying Grace was Cheif The erring know the Truth Fools are made Wise The Proud made humble Wrathful ones made meek The worlds fondâ—lovers now do it despise Kill fleshly Lusts and Heavenly Glory seek Sin is a hated
For any other Life than this short Span. If Cloathing hide thee from thy Neighbours sight Let it not hide thee also from thine own Look on thy self thy Nature is a Light Shall knowing Souls be to themselves unknown Now know thy self before thou art undrest And tho through flesh Men cannot see thy heart Open thy Eyes unveil thy Face at least That Men may see thou hast a better part How vile a thing is Man if Flesh be he Can he look high who thinks himself so base His bruitish sleepy Thoughts and Life must be A dreaming doating or despairing Case Where was that Flesh one Year before thy birth What is it now but warmed moving Clay What will it be e're long but common Earth To this thy Pomp and Pleasure is the way Where did Gods Art that curious Body form As in a Dunghil even in Natures sink Though Skin and Cloathing now do it Adorn 'T was bred between the Dung and Urins stink What was it made of but the Mothers Food Curdled and quickned by the Makers pow'r And there it lay in darkness filth and blood Unmeet for sight till Births appointed hour In pain and danger then it is brought forth A speechless helpless and polluted thing Entring the World with crying at its Birth Foretelling greater griefs which time will bring How long by patient Mothers care and love Doth feeble useless troubling Age subsist Should Man continue such we could not prove That he in kind is better than a Beast Long do these unripe fleshly Bodies keep The Soul from shewing its essential Power Sense Rules while Reason lyeth half asleep Vain toys and folly spend our Childish hours By use and prepossession flesh gets strength Resisting Light and all that 's Wise and Holy Till Reason be its servile slave at length And greatest Wit become the greatest Folly Then Carnal Man lives like a crafty Beast Only to pamper Flesh and please its Lust To make the Worms and Hell a costly Feast When Souls must part and leave Flesh to the Dust. If Flesh be Man how many Men are one From Birth to Death when as the Rivers flow Daily new Flesh succeeds that which is gone And none is what he was one Year ago That beauteous Face that pamperd Body stood But lately on thy Table as thy Meat 'T was Mutton Bief Pork Chicken or such Food What now thou art is what thou then didst eat Part of a Fish a Swine a Calf or Lamb Is turn'd into a Lady Lord or King This Metamorphosis of Beast to Man Is surely done by some great unseen thing Yea all of Man that 's seen did lately grow In Fields and that was Corn or Fruit or Grass Which now is Flesh or from the Springs did flow To shew what Flesh will be by what it was Vain Man knowst thou no deeper than thy Skin Go see an opend Corps and that will shew What Garbage Filth and Dung are hid Within What thy vile Body is thou there maist know Think that thy noisom stinking Excrement Is one part of that Sumptuous Pleasant Food Whose other part a while of better scent Is turned into that proud Flesh and Blood If yet deceitful Beauty cheat thy Eyes Look on a Face that 's crusted with the Pocks Or a white Breast where stinking Cancers rise And pity fools whom Fleshly Pleasure mocks If Health Wealth Pomp or Pow'r delude thy mind Go to the greatest dying sick Mans Bed Ask him what safety he in these doth find Yea go yet further look upon the Dead Here much unlike to what it was before Is that now loathsom Flesh that ghastly Face What hath it now of all its Power and Store Remember this must shortly be thy Case How long the sight and scent can you abide Of your Dead greatest wisest dearest Friend Unless some Art the frightful Visage hide And from the smell your tender Sense defend We can devise no better a dispose Of dearest Friends than a deep darksom Grave Where to lie rotting we may them repose The living from their sight and scent to save The worms without repulse there feasted be They feed on Heart and Face without offence VVhat pamperd Bodies are there you may see If you dig up that Corps a few Months hence But though what 's out of sight grows out of mind Pictures and guilded Tombs are also set The sensless Hearts of Men further to blind That what Flesh is they may the more forget Yet the next opened Grave casts up in sight The Skull whose holes of Eyes Mouth you see Where enter'd formerly the dear delight Think then thus shortly it will be with me The harmless pretty Bird with Pleasure sings Not so deform'd in Life or Death as we The cruel Bowels of great Lords and Kings To her an honourable Tomb may be Save that to be devoured by bad Men Turns guiltless things into a guilty wight And makes them sinful and more fetide than If they had rotted in the open light The labouring Ant less burdensome Flesh hath Thousands in peace in one stor'd heap can dwell In peace by crowds they travel the same path And being dead annoy none by their smell The working Bees in peace together live Fetching their Hony home from many Flowers Dwelling in quiet order in one Hive But Man destroys them and their store devours God who by Nature gives them flying Wings And their rare mellifying power gave Doth give them also their defensive Stings Their House and Young and Property to save Men kill them and eat up their gathered Food But make the like no King no Artist can Their Work yea their dead Corps are sweet good But sweetest things corrupt and stink in Man How swiftly do thâ— unwearied Swallows flee And mount and sport even to an unseen height Their active fiery part is quick and free Not clog'd as Men are by a fleshly weight The mounted Lark hovering with nimble wings Dwells above Earth till strength and spirits sail And peering towards the Sun she sweetly sings But falls down mute when earthly parts prevail Some say all motion tends to ceasing rest Of Earths forc't lifeless motion this is true To Spirits perfect Action is the best Uncessant Love and Pleasure is their due Experience sadly tells Man that his Soul Is clog'd by Flesh perverted by its bent So that dark heathens did its case condole As for old Sins into this Body sent Did not Gods Holy Spirit quicken ours And cause us unseen things by Faith to see Renew and raise our dead corrupted powers None could from Flesh Lust Sin Hell saved be Flesh is not Sin it s made for Holy use In it Souls here must seek and serve the Lord But it s the tempting object of abuse While we its Life and Lust too much regard The Body as a Servant we must love But Souls have Sense and Sense to Flesh is ty'd And so drawn down from God and things above The Soul that hath
Nor did his Truth and Servants more oppose None with more Zeal for Holy Blood did thirst None did more mischief to the Church than those Wolves in Sheeps cloathing by their Fruits are known By hurtful fangs devouring bloody jaws As Thorns and Bryars prick Men to the Bone So these by hurtful Hands and cruel Laws They 'r humble Ministers but Rule as Lords Servants of all yet Vice-Kings under Christ On pain of Hell all must obey their words If you will serve God you must serve them first Heav'ns Keys are theirs their right we must not doubt To curse and cast out those whom Christ takes in These they by words themselves indeed shut out By mortal fleshly and malignant Sin Christ's House a place of Merchandize is made Children cast out his Table spread for Dogs To make sound Christians odious is their Trade To curse Gods Saints cast their Pearls to Hogs The Holy Catholick Church is in their Creed Which is all true Believers upon Earth Of whom Christ only is the King and Head To him they joyned are in the New Birth But these Men mean one corrupt Sect alone About the Fourth Part of the whole are they Cut off and separate from the rest as none Their Pope and Councils that do not obey The Saints Communion they in words profess Themselves and Dead Mens Images they mean None pass for Saints who do not wear their dress The best if not their Subjects are unclean Call them but Hereticks and they may kill A Thousand Saints and by it Heaven may win Such is the Power of a Papal will To make a Vertue of the greatest Sin On Catholick Communion they lay Not only all Mens Duty but Salvation For Schism rends Men from the Church say they And so from Christ therefore brings damnation Yet that 's Mans Duty which they Schism call To own no human universal King No Legislative Power over all In Councils Pope or any human thing None 's capable to Rule all but the Lord Give Church or State Law Judgment or Defence Mans Universal Soveraignty's abhor'd By Nature Reason and Experience Among the Mad those Princes Monsters are Who subjects be to this Church-Soveraigns claim And yet with Scorn and just disdain would hear A Universal Civil Soveraigns Name VVhen certainly it is a harder thing To Rule all Earth by the Church-power word Than for the wisest Parliament or King To Rule the whole world by the Civil Sword Thus they impossible Communion make And yet Damn all that do not it observe None can tell whom for Soveraign we must take Nor which the Laws are from which none must swerve Must Pope or Council this Great Soveraign be Is 't Monarchy or Aristocracie Or is it mixt and must they both agree Or is it the diffus'd Democracie Whom must we take for Pope Who must him choose Which is the Pope when there are two or three Must they that give the Power which they use Superiors Equals or Inferiors be When one at Rome one at Avignion was And each a Council had which took his part Which for the true Communion then must pass Which was the Chuch from which none must depart Must all th' Abassians and Armenians know And in Cosmography so Skilful be Whither there 's such a place as Rome or no Whither there be a Pope and which is he Is 't the whole Church on Earth that he must rule Why then hath not the whole a choosing Vote Is all the world save Rome but the Popes Mule And that his Crown 's Elective all do Note It s like that all the Church consents they 'l say Then he 's no Pope whom three 4th parts disclaim How shall three parts then know whom to obey Will any serve that will usurp the Name When Popes damn Popes Councils damn them all And Popes damn Councils what must Christians do When they each others Laws damn recal How shall we know whose Power then was true The French say Councils have this Soveraignty The first Three Hundred Years it was not so The Soveraign Power the Church doth Unifie Was it then none or how could Men it know An Universal Council never was 'T was but one Empire that did make that name Now that 's dissolv'd how should it come to pass That any Prince on Earth should do the same Hath any one the common Rule of all Or will Turks Papists and all Kings agree Such a true Council when and where to call Or can one third part Universal be The Church of Councils Power is not agreed Therefore this doth not it now Unifie Those that stand for their Soveraignty indeed Which were those Councils differ shamefully Some are for four some six some eight some all Some such as by the Pope approved were Divers each other Hereticks did call And which we must obey cannot appear And is Church Unity no better known And yet is necessary to Salvation And to all those that Christ himself will own What fallows hence but general Damnation An Universal Council none shall see Till the world have an Universal King This the Triple-Crown'd Pope pretends to be Though not the name he challengeth the thing The poor Fifth Monarchy Seekers they pity As seeking that which long hath extant bin No Monarch ever matcht the Holy City By his Church Keys thus rules the Man of Sin And if we knew which Powers to obey Which be the Canons which so needful are If some who knows them if all then are they More necessary than Gods Scriptures far Christ hath the Terms of Church-Communion made These wiser Men who make so many more Will shortly find their Legislative trade Among their greatest Sins set on their Score Baptism Christ made what was thereto requir'd The Church still knew by Gods mercy knows The words then us'd the requisites desir'd Scripture and sure Tradition fully shews The Church by Baptism was specify'd Christ did command all such to love each other Holy Communion was to none deny'd All were to take a Christian as a Brother Till by some Heresie or great offence He brought his Covenant-keeping under doubt And having added prov'd impenitence Was not so much cast as declared out None were Baptized into Peters Name Much less to General Council or the Pope They had one God one Christ their Creed the same One Spirit Body and one future hope But as the Serpent tempting Eve at first By Pride and promis'd knowledg did Man kill So from the pure simplicity of Christ By promis'd Wisdom he befools Man Still To know this Subject better read a Book Call'd the remains of Fulk Grevile Lord Brook V. Man VAin Man Why is thy Being no more known Why seeking knowledg readst thou not thy self How many books in vain dost thou take down Thy own Book standeth on the nearest Shelf Should vital knowing Spirits cloath'd in Flesh Mistake so Course a Garment for the Man And live as if they did not hope or wish