to proceed from God Nor from the dictates of meer flesh and blood The preservation of them also may Though none in time so antient be as they â—nduce us to beleive and eke accord That all the Scriptures are God's holy word Experience shewes the power of God in them Even by their humbling and exalting men And when God's spirit shall our hearts incline For to beleive these Misteries sublime And also write them in our inward parts We shall beleive them with beleiving hearts Of GOD. GOd is most glorious wise and doth excell All future things he knowes and can foretel He sees into each corner of our hearts And knowes the secrets of our inner parts This great Iehovah is Omnipotent Yea good and gracious and omniscient A God of love his love to his sincere More then their fathers or their mothers were He loves all things that he did ever make And loves his Son and his for his Sons sake His mercy 's great he succors his in need He did Elisha by the Ravens feed He is most just in works in word and will Rewarding good detecting what is ill Of the Trinity GOD is one perfect Essence full of Bliss Whose being of himself eternal is Yet in this Essence there are persons three Distinct subsistances Singula sunt in singulis omnia in singulis singula in oÌ„nibus unum omnia Aug. lib. 6. de tri cap. ult these persons be And yet in substance all these three are one Gods Essence is without distinction And yet the persons in this Essence be Distinguish'd by the Holy Trinity The Father Son and Holy Ghost Divine Names Orders Actions do them best define The first the Father 's named in respect Of Christ his Son and then of his Elect. The second person then the Son is nam'd Because he 's of his Fathers nature fram'd And of his substance is by generation Th' Eternal Son of God not by Creation The third the Holy Ghost who by spiration Receives his Essence not by generation And is so called both in this respect That he proceeds and sanctifi's th' elect So by the order several things we see The several workings of the Trinity The Father works by th' son and holy spirit Yet each for dignity of equal merit None first none last save order is excepted One God all God all equally respected The Glotious Essence wholly in all three And in each perion of the Trinity And by the Counsel of Gods holy will He rul'd the world Kingdome of God his eternal decree and so doth rule it still And hath determin'd all things by decree From time to time from all Eternity Some unto life some unto death there be Predestinated by this great decree From hence we learn and so all Christians may God deals with Dust as Potters do with Clay The Creation GOd did of nothing all things fitly frame And made them good for Glory of his name For in six dayes created were by him The world and all things that were made therein And when he had all other creatures made Man Male and Female he did then create And into them immortal souls infus'd With Righteousness and Holiness indu'd In his own Image he did them create Both free from sin and in a holy state And God was pleas'd a Covenant to frame And ty'd them to performance of the same And life to them and their posterity Did promise if they kept it perfectly They were indu'd with liberty of will And freedome had his statutes to fulfill To them all earthly Creatures were made free For meat and use excepted was one tree That was forbidden under pain of Hell They are thereof The fall of man so Male and Female fell Pride puff'd them up they did beleive the Divel They tasted of the tree of good and evil And by this sin eternal misery Intayled was on their Posterity Three things Gods Providence each Christian may observe froâ— hencâ— God's Power Wisdome and great Providence Who order'd all to Holy ends herein Yet was no Author of this grievous sin By Adam's fall all men have inclination To every sin and all their Generation And are bound over to the wrath of God Curse of the Law and his destroying Rod. Now see compassion in this woful case God offers Man Of the Covenac of grace a Covenant of Grace That all th'elect by Faith might saved be Both Jew and Gentile none excepted he Beleive and live God offers Christ to thee â—f thou accept him hel 'e a Saviour be A Prophet Priest and eke a Royal King Right Heire of all things is this Holy thing Head of the Church Redeemer of the same â—udge of the world Christ Jesus is his name Twixt God and man he is the great Peace-maker â—urely for Saints the only Mediator Equal with God yet did assume the nature Of Adams seed faln man a sinful creature Yet without sin but not infirmities He had a sence of all man's miseries Conceaved by the Holy Ghost he was And through the Virgin Maries Womb did pass And of her substance also did pertake And yet his God-head he did not forsake Without Conversion or Confusion there Godhead and Manhood both conjoyned were And doth remain without a seperation Both God and man the God of our salvation Who was Anointed with the holy spirit That he might mediate for man and merit He undefiled was and full of grace And fitted for a Mediators place And from his Father he receiv'd command Who put all power and judgement in his hand To undertake and execute the same For th' good of man and glory of his name That God and man might reconciled be And Christ do all things that might make him freâ— Christ did this Office freely undertake And did discharge it for his servants sake Which none could do but he he did fulfil The Law exactly and his Fathers will His soul and body under sufferings were His blessed body The Passion of Christ peirced with a Spear This blessed man on'th Cross was Crucifi'd And for our sins our blessed Saviour dy'd To save the Saints and free their Souls from paiâ— He dy'd for them that they might live again Who all were dead by Adam's sinful Fall But now revived by Christ's Funeral Who all were slaves till Jesus made them free Till Christ did dye and climb the cursed Tree When death dominion got the power it kept Till the third day Of Christs resurrection and assention our Blessed Saviour slept Without Corruption then he rose again And conquer'd death and Hell and deadly pain And the same body which in earth did lie Assended up into the Heavens high And is exalted to the Throne of Grace By God his Father in a glorious place There to remain until he shall descend To judge the world when it shall have an end Our Saviour was a Holy Sacrifice One offer'd up to God which satisfi'd â—â—s Fathers justice and hath reconcil'd â—im
By fained horrors with the trembling heart Which is perplexed with most grievous pain And restless anguish doth therein remain And brings the Patient into such a rage That he his present horrour to asswage Would rather die then live and choose to dwell With Hellish Furies in the Pit of Hell Such are the terrours of a troubled mind Bruised and wounded in this woful kind As may appear both by the desperate cry Of Cain and Iudas damn'd eternally As also by the mournful sad complaints Of Iob and David and such glorious Saints These flames of horrour how shall we endure What Balsome can a wounded Conscience cure In friends not Physick nothing's to be found The Blood of Christ An admonition to the unconverted can only cure this wound Ye unconverted be perswaded then To turn to God for unconverted men Though they awhile in pleasant places dwell They 'l be transplanted in the Pit of Hell Then t is too late Repentance then is past Redeem the time whilst thy short life doth last Forsake not mercy but thy sins forsake God freely offers Christ his offer take If thou refuse how wilt thou then avoid The wrath of God which wicked men abide Art sick and senceless dost thou feel no smart Thou hast the symptom of a stony heart When Conscience stings and sins in Battail ray Do set themselves then in the evil day What wilt thou do those Lions then will tear Thy trembling heart and thee confound with feare Then subtil Satan he will play his part And shoot tentations at thy fainting heart He was thy Master thou dist him obey Thou didst walk with him in the damned way Now in thy sickness thou wouldst him forsake But now the Devil doth advantage take And doth indite thee for thy evil acts And now thy Conscience proves thy filthy facts Thou tookst ful draught of carnal peace and pleasure Thou dist carrouse tipple in great measure Thou didst God's faithful Ministers despise And with thy tongue by slanders scoffs and lyes Didst much abuse them and with great despight Didst labour much to quench the â—â—ving light Thou didst thy will and power and purse imploy God's faithful Saints and servants to destroy Such crying sins as these and many more Stand on the unconverted sinners score Ye that are washed from the filth of sin An admonition to the Converted Free'd from that damned state your souls were in Flie sinful Lusts defile your souls no more By such Rebellion as you did before Sin is most hateful in the sight of God And doth procure his smart correcting rodd God loves all creatures that he ever made But hateth sin with everlasting hate Sin wounds the soul brings men to misery Sin was the cause that God's dear Son did die Sin Satan made sin sunk him into hell Sin sunk the Pit where all the damned dwell Sin God offends sin is the greatest evil Sin damns the soul sin is the rankest Devil Object Is sin so ugly why doth most delight In sinful waies why doth not sin affright Them from pursuing of their Carnal pleasures And make them strive to get eternal treasures Answer Now Satan puts on sin in such a case A seeming fairness on a hellish face He paints this Harlott in a handsome dress And souls to sin draws by deceitfulness Were this deformed Hagg without false hair And painted face she could not scules insnare The grisly face of sin would men affright But by false colours it seems fair and bright Thus Satan covers sins deformity And makes it pleasant to the sinners eye Though of it self it 's filthy foul and naught Compar'd to meat thrust out into the draught All other filth the body doth defile but sin's contagious and the soul doth soyle It 's most infectious like a Leprosie Infects the walls the cloathes Posterity The sin of Adam to his seed remains Till Christ's warm Blood doth wash away the staines The misery of Man not Reconciled to God in Christ O Wretched man where shall my Muse begin To state the case that thy poor soul is in Who art condemned to eternal death Adjudg'd to Hell before thou drawest breath Thy Father Adam was by God created In innocence in Paradise was placed That he and his Posterity might have â—mmortal life and conquer Hell and Grave To him all earthly Creatures were made free For meat and use excepted was one tree That was forbidden under pain of Hell He ate thereof and so thy Father fell Pride puff'd him up he did beleive the Devil He tasted of the Tree of Good and Evil By this foul fall eternal misery Intailed was on his Posterity And made them subject to sore punishment Whilst they like thee remain impenitent Finis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A DIVINE POEM OR A Confession of FAITH Composed in Meeter By E. Manlove Esq Of the Scriptures and Argments to prove them the Word of God BY God's good word the way unto salvation Is truly taught by holy Inspiration O then beleive it and the same obey Give no such credit to Appocrypha Nor to traditions of the Romish See All saving truths in Scripture written be And are recorded for Divinity By truth it self the holy Trinity Depending not upon the testimony Of any Church the Pope of Rome or any But God the Author our most blessed Lord Receive them therefore as his Holy word But we by witness of the Church may deem The Scripture worthy of a high esteem O prize it highly 't is a pretious thing Sweet tidings of Salvation it doth bring The stile and doctrine challenge reverence The efficacy gives great evidence Of Gods known will it makes a full discovery And shewes the way for sinful man's recovery Though mortal man of Scripture was the writer Yet God's good spirit was the sole Inditer Some Secretaries God did set apart Who spoke and wrote but he inspir'd the heart These Writers did for Holiness surpass All Popes and Doctors of the Romish Mass And by their works such depth of wisdome shoâ—â— As learned men could not attain unto Yet never trained up in Learned Schooles With them compar'd Phylosophers are fooles The Prophet Amos he did far surpass Some learned Rabbies yet a Heardsman was And Peter Iames and Iohn but fishermen Admired by the Elders of Jerusalem Amongst the writers ther 's a sweet concord Which proves the Scripture is the Holy Word None disagree at which we may admire For God himself the Penmen did inspire They wrote such things as never wit could hatch No History this History doth match And what they wrote was full of Majesty Profoundness Wisdome and Authority Commanding Credit to be had to them Denouncing threats against all wicked men The end and scope of all the Scriptures be For God's great glory and mans felicity The writers antient for Antiquity Aoses more antient then the Heathens be The deadly hatred that the Divels beare â—gainst the Scriptures yet believe and fear Do prove them plainly
their part We have not visited the sick We have not cloath'd the naked We have not log'd the stranger nor Him compassionated Our souls and bodies are unclean By thoughts and words and actions We have defil'd our sinful souls We have corrupt affections And rotten speeches do proceed From our corrupted hearts Our eyes and ears do let in sins Which poyson every part We have not made a Covenant With hearing sight and senses We have not watch'd and pray'd and fasted We have not shun'd intemperance We have not used all good means To further the estate Neither of our selves or neighbours but Have been inordinate We have not labour'd to maintain Or justly to defend Our neighbours credit or good name For any holy end We have not been contented with Our Callings and Estate But have unjustly coveted Our selves to elevate Now Lord since we have sinned so And done so wickedly We justly merit to inherit With Dathan's family Eternal pain and misery VVithin the pit of Hell And with the Divel and the damn'd We do deserve to dwell For if thou didst not Angels spare Which had such glorious stations But hurl'st them down from Heaven high And from their habitations Into the place and pains of Hell In darkness there to lye Who sinned once and sin'd but once Against thy Majesty And our first Parents did'st expel From pleasant Paradise Who broke one law and them to that The Divel did intice What vengeance then may we expect For all our filthiness Who dayly sin like water drink And dayly do transgress And have not broken only one But all thy Lawes most holy Thy Precepts Statutes and Commands We have neglected wholly Sin upon sin we heaped have And do deserve the sentence Due unto those that thee oppose And sin without Repentance We all are vile and wretched men Thy Law our souls condemns Yet Lord thy Gospel us assures Thy Grace thy Law transcends Thy goodness doth delight to raigne Where sins do most abound Thy mercies master all thy works Thy mercy wears the Crown O therefore Hallowed be thy name Who of thy self art holy Thy judgements just do shew the same Thou art a God of Glory Thou art Jehovah Lord of Hosts Thy power is very great Thou Father Son and Holy Ghost We humbly thee intreat Give us such knowledge of thy self And of the Trinity And of thy word and works that we Thy Name may glorifie Good Lord let us thy word beleive And fear thy dreadful name Good Lord grant us fidelity To Sanctifie the same O Lord make us fear thee alone Give us Humility And Patience that we from hence May yield most willingly And may submit our selves unto Thy just correcting rod Who dost in love correct th'elect And art a gracious God O give us Grace that we may praise And hallow thy great name And by our Conversations may Give Glory to the same Lord let not sin nor Satan reigne But let thy Kingdome come And let thy spirit in our hearts Strive for Dominion Abolish Satans Kingdome Lord And from captivity Inlarge thy Saints and break their bands And set thy servants free Collect and gather thine Elect O do it speedily And to that end do thou set up A faithful Ministry And let the blessing of thy spirit Accompany thy word O slay the sins of all thy Saints By that two edged Sword And dayly more increase the gifts And graces of thy spirit In all thy Saints and servants that Thy Kingdome shall inherit And by thy word and spirit rule The hearts and lives of them Kill their corruptions curb their lusts And make them watchful men Raise up Religious Magistrates That truly may adore The Beauty of the Spouse of Christ And hate the Romish Whore Root out dumb dogs and purge the Church From all impurity Remove those Rocks that give offence Root out Idolatry Root out all greedy Wolves O Lord Root out those Currs with speed That fleece and fley and snarle and bite And take no care to feed O finish Lord with hast and speed The Kingdome of thy Grace Call all th'lect that are uncall'd Give thine a glorious place Come quickly Lord dissolve the world Destroy this earthly station Shew thy respect to thine elect O hasten their salvation Stir up thy strength and come at length Thy deadly foes destroy Who do oppose both thee and those That love thy Majesty On thee we rest thy time is best Thy blessed will be done O grant we may from day to day Obey thee every one And that we may thee so obey Lord grant that we from hence May willingly submit to thy Good will and providence And all at once may now renounce Our evil inclinations The World the Flesh and Satan's will And labour for Salvation And may the Angels imitate And Saints that are in Heaven And such obedience yeeld to Christ As should to him be given Give us this day our dayly bread O Lord we thee intreat Give life and health and cloathes and wealth And food for us to eat And give us grace on thee to place Our trust and confidence Till life doth end let us depend Upon thy Providence Forgive our debts as even we On debtors pity take Remit our sins and blot them out For Jesus Christ his sake And lead us not into temptation But free us from all evil And grant to us thy preservation From World and flesh and Devill Now unto thee all prayses be O Lord that didst elect Us to salvation before Creation And others didst reject Lord thy free Grace in this great case Most plainly doth appear That such as we should saved be And Christ our scores should clear O blessed Son thou hast well done To die for thine Elected For thou wast slain and sufferedst pain That we might be protected Great was thy merit with holy spirit Thou fully wast anoynted And full of Grace fit for the place Thy Father had appointed To mediate and undertake For us poor sinful creatures Thy Fathers will thou didst fulfil And didst assume our natures And in due time the Cross did'st Climb And suffered'st grievous pain Wast after dead and buried And then didst rise again And through the skie to Heaven high Unto a glorious place Then didst thou go and mount up to Thy Fathers Throne of Grace And reconcile that bloody broile That Adam's sin procured Which being done by Gods own son His Saints are all secured Thou art indeed the womans seed That broke the Serpents head And with a flood of thy own blood A Pardon purchased Thy sacrifice did pay the price For us poor sinful creatures Lord thou didst dye and satisfie Sin suffered in our natures O blessed son since thou hast done This mighty work of merit The same apply effectnally By thy most holy spirit That thy redeem'd may be esteem'd By God and godly men Thou blessed son O still go on And interceade for them In thy good word thou dost record A perfect Declaration