dye The Serpent thought here is no fence This man he is with hunger crost Distrusting of Gods providence Sharp hunger Esau's birth-right lost Could I but bring him to despaire His case were mine and I the heir While Isaac then through hunger great Vnto his father loud did cry Came Ishmael and shew'd him meat And did present it fore his eye But did intend to give him none But mock him till his breath was gone He seeing food for food did cry Restore my birth-right then quoth he No Ishmael I le rather die Then sell my birth-right unto thee Though hunger doth my soul affright Yet will I not resigne my right If thou refuse the means to live It sheweth but a stubborn will For man must take when God doth give The law doth say Thou shall not kill If thou wilt live lay hold in time For murther is a deadly crime What cruelty was that in Saul On his own sword to fall and die Ahitophel's sinne was not small Which hang'd himself as wickedly Wilt thou be strangled with sins coard Or run thy self on hungers sword Or canst thou change these stones to bread Thy hungry body to sustein Or dost thou think for to be fed With Manna here yet once again What hope hast thou to finde red resse Within this desert wildernesse When Abraham returned faint From that great slaughter of the kings His hungry soul did make complaint Melchisedech him succour brings And he his life for to defend Did take such food as God did send What need I reason any more Or why dost thou contend in vain What measure thou didst mete before I le measure now to thee again For if thou live thou must resigne Or if thou die the right is mine Though thou have bread and I have none Though thou be strong and I be weak Yet man lives not by bread alone But by each word which God doth speak Vpon each word I will relye Although I should for hunger dye When God did Abraham command To offer up his onely sonne The knife was ready in his hand He said Oh Lord thy will be done He knew Gods promise was not vain His might could raise him up again To leave the means which God doth give Is God to tempt death may ensue To sell my birth-right for to live Is to distrust that God is true As if Gods justice truth and might Could not give life to maintain right The law which saies Thou shalt not kill It doth reprove all other evill And teacheth to obey Gods will And not submit unto the Devill If I through hunger faint and pine That is Gods sword and none of min Saul spent his daies and time in hate Neglected truth and equity Therefore his end was desperate Did hopelesse live and hopelesse die His life nor death resemble mine But life and death and all is thine Ahithophel grew to despair Because his counsell might not stand And hung himself up in the aire The Tempter being at his hand Therefore I do no counsell crave From such as wicked counsell have Melchisedech to Abraham Did bring a blessing with his meat But this doth come from cursed Cham And brings a curse if I do eat I le rather fast and dying win Then eat to live and die for sinne Dost thou to me what thou dost crave That I to thee should do again Then justice thou shalt surely have Thy labour is not spent in vain I hunger thou dost keep thy store But thou shalt hunger evermore Though I can change no stones to bread Nor God from heav'n no Manna rain The Spirit which me hither led Will surely bring me hence again No subtle plot nor hungers lust Shall make me in my God distrust This arrow being spent in vain He did provide another shaft I le shoot quoth he yet once again Experience hath taught me craft Trust and distrust did both conspire And Esau's crown laid in the mire When he by birth was plac't on high And seated on the highest Tower Gods providence was alwaies nigh His Angels watching day and hower Vain confidence did work his fall Neglecting means neglected all The Hart and Hinde were Esau's game And fish and fowl both small and great With other beasts both wilde and tame And Venison was Esau's meat He daily hunting daily found Which made him daily to abound And therefore laid up none in store Nor did for any want provide But vainly trusting to have more Did tempt the Lord set means aside And once dismissed of his game He lost his birth-right and his name But now I see that hungers sword Cannot bring this man to despaire But still he feeds upon Gods word I le take him up into the aire And set him on a Tower hie There prove if he will live or die His faith is firm I now will prove And trie him if his hope be sure If so I le tempt him in his love And prove if I can him allure If he can stand out all these three Then I shall know that this is he The Serpent then did thus begin Quoth he I am not void of pitie Thou seest that I have brought thee in The compasse of this holy Citie And freed thee from the wildernesse VVhere thou didst lie in great distresse And now I cleare and plainly see That fire water famine sword No beasts nor fishes cruelty Can make thee to forsake Gods word That is thy buckler sword and shield Wherewith thou dost maintain the field And sure it is that God is just And true for he did never fail Those to preserve which in him trust His eye is alwaies in the sail No hight nor depth can fright or scare That man which liveth in his fear I call to minde how God did save Daniel in the Lions den The fishes wombe was Ionah's grave Yet God did bring him out agen Three holy men walk't in the fire Which had no pow'r to sienge their tire Eliah was by Ravens fed VVhen as the famine first begun One handfull meal gave daily bread To him the widow and her sonne That little oyl and meal did last Vntill that famine great was past And God did David still preserve From cruel Saul's pursuing sword Such men I say which do not swerve But still do feed upon Gods word Gods love to them cannot be cold They cannot perish though they would Now thou art freed from hungers power Her 's food enough within this town But how shall I come from this Tower Leap off from hence cast thy self down No danger can lay thee on board While thou dost feed upon Gods word His Angels have charge over thee If that thou be his Holy-one Thou canst not fall by his decree Nor dash thy foot against a stone This is the writing of Gods hand What God hath written that must stand But it is written then again Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God Then labour thou no more in vain For I will settle mine
abode Here in this place to void offence Till God send means to bring me hence If thou wilt not leap from this Tower Tell me wherein thy hope then lies Pale hunger will thy soul devoure VVhile plenty stands before thine eies Thy misery and great distresse Is worse then in the wildernesse If I should bend unto thy will My self cast down and falling die The law which saies Thou shalt not kill VVould tell me I had gone awrie I will not like a blinde man grope But live in faith or die in hope Those men which walked in the fire In hope did live by faith did win But those which wrought the kings desire Did hopelesse die to cast them in And Jonas in his jeopardye Did cast hopes ankor in the sea VVhen hopelesse Saul began to frown Then hopefull David he must flie Yet David's hope did win Saul's crown And hopelesse Saul must hopelesse die Eliah's hope was not in vain VVhen he did pray and hope for rain The Prophet in the Lyons den By faith did live through hope endure And hope did bring him out agen His cause was just his life was pure But his accusers they must try The Lyons force and hopelesse die That God which shut the Lyons jawes To shew his false accusers spite And bound their strong and cruell claws That they could neither scrach nor bite And by his mighty hand did keep The Prophet Ionas in the deep That God which did bring Ioseph out That desolate devouring pit Where envy hate and malice stout Had thrown him in there for to sit In deep despair and fainting dye VVhere no man should heare Ioseph cry That God which by his mighty hand Did once devide the raging sea And made the foming waves to stand Like walls to shew his strong decree And close again at his command To swallow up proud Pharaoh's band That God which in the wildernesse So many thousand souls did feed And succour them in their distresse And made their enemies to bleed And by his strong and mighty hand Possesse them in that holy land That God which Ieremy did call For to accomplish his desire Out of that dungeon of thrall VVhere he lay strugling in the mire And with one handfull meal did save Eliah's body from the grave That God which alwaies did defend His servant David in his thrall And did him means and comfort send VVhen he pursued was by Saul That God which on proud Saul did frown Brought lowly David to his crown That God which doth restrain the force Of burning and consuming fire And make the waters change their course To part or close at his desire Gives Lyons power to save or kill And makes the Whale attend his will That God which hath from age to age Been alwaies mercifull and just And hath preserv'd from tyrants rage His servants which did in him trust What should he now when all is done Forsake his own and onely Sonne Though thou do now my soul pursue And think I am forsaken quite Yet I do know that God is true And will not cast me from his sight In him alone is all my trust For he is mercifull and just The Serpent being at a stoun Amazed thus to hear him speak Thought should I cast him headlong down His faith is strong though he be weak And faith will win hope being by Will swallow death in victory But what is faith or what is hope If love be wanting all is vain For want of love doth make men grope And blindlings seek for to attain And catch at any thing they finde When want of love hath made them blinde With that he took him up again And set him on a mighty mount Where he did lay a subtle train To call him to his last account There he must either lose or win And thus the Serpent did begin I found thee in the wildernesse A desolate and barren field Where thou didst lie in great distresse And almost ready for to yeeld Thy vitall breath and there to die In extream grief and misery Hunger had compast thee about No means there was food to attain Nor any way for to come out Not one to whom thou might'st complain Such was the place such was thy state Forsaken waste and desolate There I did come and bring thee meat Requiring thee but for to yeeld But thou refusing for to eate did'st put on faith to be thy shield And like a Captain bould and stout did'st fight and stand that combate out But then to prosecute this ditie Thy faith yet further for to try I brought thee to the holy Citie And set thee on a Tower high Where plenty was of bread and wine Though thou refuse to eat of mine There thinking for to prove thy faith If that thou would'st leap down and eat But then it was the Scripture saith Thou shalt not tempt thy God for meat Then hope did bear the greatest sway To come down thence some other way But now thou art left destitute Of faith or hope for to attain For now I see that thou art mute Thy faith thy hope and all is vain This is thy last extremity Then either yeeld to live or dye Iust Abraham denide his wife When he in Gerar went to dwell And all was to preserve his life Least beauty should ring murders knell Of him that promis'd Isaac came And art thou more then Abraham When famine was in Canaan And Isaac in much perill stood He did forsake his land and ran Vnto Abimelech for food And more then that to save his life He did deny his lawfull wife And Iacob to prolong his daies When hunger would have strok him dead Did call his sonnes and left delaies And sent to Aegypt to fetch bread Three holymen in one agree And art thou more then all these three Then yeeld or else for hunger sterve Think not the widows meal or oyl Or Ravens shall thy life preserve Give up thy right and end this broyl For life and death stand equall nigh Then eat and live or fast and die For thou art bound in hungers bands No hope thou hast for to get free What God can pluck thee out my hands What power can deliver thee Thy faith must fail for all thy trust Doth now lie bleeding in the dust Though I be ready for to sterve And see no means how to get free Yet know the God which I do serve Is able to deliver me And though he do forsake me still Yet will I not yeeld to thy will With that the Serpent did transform Himself his glory did appear And said All this is but a storm A calm will follow do not fear Nor fall thou not into despair I will make thee my onely heir Nothing I see will make thee yeeld Thou shalt be now my sole delight If thou wilt not forsake the field But wilt maintain my lawfull right All what I have all what is mine Do thou but crave it shall be thine And now behold
bent to hate nor strife Quoth Iacob then t is hunger slayes Isaac's first born so Esau die Thou shouldst provide so well as I. That man doth kill that will not save A man from death if in his power For God I say will mercy have Not cruelty for to devoure Quoth Esau then let mercy move And do not break the band of love Sell me thy birth-right then quoth he And I will lave thy hungry soul But thou shalt sweare twixt thee and me That it shall stand without controul Which being done I then will save Thy fainting body from the grave Then Esau with himself at strife Began to reason in his minde Should I through hunger lose my life VVhat comfort should I therein finde To sell my birth-right were a shame An endlesse blemish to my name Should I refuse for to consent And yeeld unto my brothers will And perish so through discontent The law which saies Thou shalt not kill Would soon reprove this evill fact And judge it for a murdrous act Should I unto my brother give My birth-right for a messe of broth I were unworthy for to live I should exclude my self by oath From Canaan the worlds delight Mine heritage by law and right Should Esau Jsaac's first-born die VVithout his blessing he would grieve Should he through hungers cruelty Perish unblest who should relieve His dying soul in this distresse And bring him unto happinesse Two evills hold my soul in thrall I must choose one I le choose the least Lose life I lose my land and all And more then that shall die unblest To live is bad to die is worse To lose a crown and win a curse Should I not shun sharp hungers blow And seek my self for to defend How should my father Isaac know VVho brought his first-born to his end I le sell my land and hold my blisse For live or die the land is his And yet to live in this disgrace Is worse then languishing to die For where shall Esau finde a place For him and his posterity When Jacob is by oath possest For Esau's seed there is no rest Better had Esau been unborn And never to have seen the light Then thus to be with hunger torn And live or die to lose his right Oh Jacob heare thy brothers cry Give me some broath I faint I die Sell me thy birth-right thou shalt have Both bread and broth to save thy life But thou must yeeld to what I crave And by an oath must end this strife What hopes can Esaus birthright give If Esau die and Jacob live Thus Esau was at length compel'd When he was weak could hardly stand Through cruell hunger for to yeeld Vnto his brothers full demand To sell renounce and binde by oath His birthright for a messe of broth But yet alas this was not all A greater wo was yet to come This but an entry to his fall A passage to his finall dome For now he lost laws right alone The promise lost then all was gone As he grew up in yeres and strength So did he grow in worlds delights And took to him two wives at length Both daughters of the Cananites Whereat Rebekah mourn'd and pin'd They were a grief to Isaac's minde But Isaac waxing old and blinde His glasse then being almost run His first-born came into his minde He called for his eldest sonne Let Esau come let him appear Father quoth he thy sonne is here My sonne quoth Jsaac I am old And almost ready to depart My first-born Esau is enrold Within the bowells of my heart Make haste my sonne and be not slow Take thou thy quiver and thy bow And get thee gone into the field Provide for me some pleasant meat Such as the woods and forrests yeeld Such as thy father loves to eate That I may feed thou standing by My soul may blesse thee fore I die Rebekah hearing what had past When Esau to the field was gone She called then in all the haste For Iacob her beloved sonne Who letting other matters fall Attended on his mothers call Thy father hath sent Esau out With all his instruments to hunt My sonne quoth she be bold and stout Thou must yet stand another brunt And I will be thy instrument Thy brothers blessings to prevent He that our mother Eye misled And did beget that wicked seed VVhich stroke our father Adam dead And made our brother Abel bleed And held mankinde in fetters bound Till God the world in justice dround Then did deride his fathers shame Almost brought Sarah to despair That vertuous and godly dame Distrusting how to have an heir And in my wombe did make such strife That I was weary of my life Shall he which was accurst in Cham In Hagars sonne was made a slave Be blest again in Abraham And in Isaac the promise have Then will he still himself advance In Iacobs true inheritance VVhile Esau Venison doth kill Bring thou two kids out of the fold It shall misse of a womans will If he which then his birth-right sold Lose not his blessing now again And Jacob unto both attain I will provide thee dainty meat And thou shalt bring it unto him Such as his soul desires to eate He cannot see his eies be dim Stand thou but by while he doth feed Thou shalt be blest in Esau's stead Then Iacob to his mother said My brother Esau he is rough And I am smooth therefore afraid With Esau's Heifer for to plough Though he be blinde I stand in doubt That he will feel and finde it out Thus doing I may him provoke Sharply to punish this offence And bring me under Esau's yoak A just reward and recompence For such a fact Nay that is worse My blessing may turn to a curse My sonne quoth she be not afraid But hearken to thy mothers voice Thou onely do what I have said Out of the goats take thou the choise Bring me two kids fat and well fed Then let the curse light on my head In all the haste then Iacob went And did his mothers minde fulfill His brother Esau to prevent He brought two kids and did them kill Rebekah she made pleasant meat Even such as he did love to eate And to attain to her desire All other things then being done She took her eldest sonnes attire And put it on her yongest sonne The yong goats skins she then did take His neck and hands rough for to make Then she did put into his hand That pleasant meat which she had drest Go thou quoth she at my command And bring it him thou shalt be blest When he came to his father near He said My father I am here Quoth Isaac then but who art thou Thy first-born Esau then quoth he I bring thee pleasant meat even now I have done as thou baddest me Arise and eate father t is I Give me thy blessing fore thou die Then Jsaac rising from his bed Began again for to demand How is my sonne so
in flaming fire But now again in brief to shew The subtle Serpents cruell spite How he did seek to overthrow Grace mercy justice truth and light And to maintain and nourish sinne That cruell murther still might win An eye I must have in the sayle Quoth he I will not let him rout For he beginneth to prevail And many men begin to doubt His wonders do amazement strike Because no man can do the like But if he now be come to reigne I le keep him out by open wrong I le put him to reproch and pain And make himsing another song I and the woman will combine To murder him then all is mine But yet the woman shall not know VVhat is my purpose and intent By striking of this deadly blow Although she be my instrument She shall accuse and I will judge That I may once revenge my grudge Fair Sarahs fancy once I fed When she was almost in despair She layed Hagar in her bed That Abraham might have an heir Now will I draw her unto mine That she may be my Concubine And now I must no longer stay It cometh now upon the knip Much danger lurketh in delay If I occasion let slip I le round the woman in the eare And set before her hope and fear Sarah quoth he Princesse divine The wife of heavenly Abraham All blisse in heaven and earth is thine For thou shalt bear that blessed Lambe VVhich shall subdue and conquer all And bring the world in servile thrall Thou shalt conceive when strength is spent And beare this sonne when hope is gone Then let not Hagars sonne prevent The right of Sarahs lawfull sonne You know how Abraham full well Did love his first-born Ishmael For Abram's love to his first-born Made Ishm'el Isaac to disdain But Sarah took it in great scorn And did to Abraham complain Quoth she to ease my heart of doubt The hand-maids sonne must be put out If Abraham yet once again Hath caused Hagar to conceive How should it misse it is most plain So Sarah constantly believe Her time of bearing will draw near And blessed Isaac shall appear This man he is thy hand-maids sonne VVho is his father no man knows If so this thing by God be done It still most plain and clearly shewes This is he which did Isaac flout And Hagars sonne must be put out When Abraham to Gerar went To dwell he did deal craftily For fearing of some ill event His loving spouse he did deny Least that the beauty of his wife Should cause the king to take his life And in that land was Isaac born That sonne of promise for to reigne Whom Jshmael did mock and scorn Yet Sarah did his right maintain And Ishmael thrust out of door Though Abraham did grieve therefore But when Abimelech did see That God for Abraham did stand And Abraham by Gods decree Grew rich and mighty in his land And that he had a lawfull heir Abimelech did half despair And he with his chief Captain stout In hast to Abraham did ride Saying Oh man I stand in doubt For God I see is on thy side That thou wilt turn me out of all And bring me and my house in thrall If thou wilt vow thou wilt refrain To injure either me or mine Then thou shalt deal with me again As I have dealt with thee and thine When as a stranger thou didst come To sojourn here I gave thee room Then Abraham without delay To put him out of servile fear Did covenant with him that day And to Abimelech did swear That love with love he would requite And not deprive him of his right And that Abimelech might see He sought not to possesse his land He did perceive his constancie When God did Abraham command To sacrifice that promis'd seed He would have made young Isaac bleed For Abraham was nothing slack He would not fail in any case But lai'd the wood on Isaac's back To carry it unto the place To which his father him then led Where he should have been offered An altar there he then did make While Isaac by amazed stood He bound his sonne and did him take And laid him up upon the wood Then took the knife into his hand To execute the Lords command An Angels voice then to him came Descending down out of the skie Which called unto Abraham Who said My Lord lo here am I Thy sonne quoth he thou shalt not slay I see thy love for to obey These things do clear and plainly shew If Sarah will but ope her eies This is the ground where truth doth grow From hence the substance must arise For Abraham did shew the way For thee to walk in and obey If thou the truth hereof wilt finde And bring an end unto this strife Then say thou hast thy right resign'd And art no longer Abram's wife Thou dost not sleep in Abram's bed The Emperour is now thy head Him now thou must obey and fear And bow unto his royall might And hold the oath which thou didst swear By seeking to maintain his right And not to injure him nor his Then nothing can be done amisse Then apprehend this stumbling stone This fellow which makes all this strife And bring him unto Cesars throne And let him there plead for his life Then shalt thou finde if thou do so Whether he be thy King or no. Bring him before the judgement seat Accuse him of some wickednesse That I with rods his back may beat Vntill he truly doth confesse What things that he hath done amisse And tell me true from whence he is If he be mocking Ishmael I le mock him with a thorny crown That will please Sarah passing well For she will lead him out of towne And make him there an open scorn When back and sides with rods be torn For if this fellow should prevail And all the people to him cleave The Roman forces will assail Your Towns and Cities and not leave Till they have thrown all under foot And leave you neither branch nor root If this be Isaac from above Most sure it is he shall not die No other way thou hast to prove The truth and know the certainty By life or death thou must it know Whether he be thy sonne or no. If this be Isaac which shall reigne To whom the promises were made He shall come from the crosse again The substance must be like the shade Yea in the last extremity He shall come down and shall not die If that he die upon the crosse Thou hast no cause at all to fear For Sarah can sustain no losse T is not the sonne which she should bear If that he be thy Hand-maids sonne Then there is but a mocker gone Suppose that he some Prophet were One that had done no wickednesse It needfull is that one should beare The peoples sinnes and trespasses Gods favour once again to win And to appease his wrath for sinne If he be Isaac understand A thing it is must come
water for her childe And fil'd her bottle to the brink And gave her sonne thereof to drink But now when Jshmael did flout Abram's faith and Isaac's hope And Hagar did cast Isaac out The Serpent did provide a rope To strangle love and hatred send To bring true love unto his end Hate would not wait for a command And malice would be nothing slack For she did take him by the hand And lay a tree upon his back And made him bring it to the place Where hatred would true love disgrace She nailed him fast hand and foot Vnto the tree which he had born For to complain it was no boot Thus he was made an open skorn And gainst all nature law and grace She mock't her sonne ev'n to his face She thought he was the most accurst And at his torments she did wink When pangs of death did make him thirst She gave him Vineger to drink VVhich done he yeeled up his breath And dying he did vanquish death Herode and Pilate did consent They did agree upon one day Isaac and Jacob to prevent But guiltlesse Isaac first to slay Then scatter Iacob by their might To take away his lawfull right VVhen Jshmael had Isaac slain He thought to lock him in the grave But Isaac did come forth again And made proud Ishmael deaths slave And bound him fast in mortall bands Till he be slain by Isaac's hands VVhen Herode heard he rose again Edom his maliee did renue And Jsaac's males he would have slain For hopefull James this tyrant slue And faithfull Peter kept in bands To murder him by cruell hands VVhen he escaped Edom's rage And that Gods Angell set him free Then Jshmael came on the stage To act his cruell tragedie And faithfull Peter did deride For to cut off the Christian guide When faith and hope had lost their right The Serpent did through malice move These tyrants both with all their might To murder and to vanquish love That Ishm'el might for Isaac reigne And Esau Jacobs blessing gain Then John they catcht within their claws On him their tortures they did prove Love pluck't him out the Lyons jaws For malice could not murder love Love had before his life laid down For Jsaac's promise Iacob's crown VVhen Isaac shall come down again His childeren for to advance That they with him might live and reigne In Canaans inheritance Then Jshmael shall play his part That he may have his due desert For Pilate then shall work his will By his edicts and tyranny The Males in Galile to kill Or bring them into slavery That Jsaac comming there may see All boued again what he set free But then Rebecca shall complain To Herode of this open wrong This is the land where thou dost reigne VVhy dost thou suffer him so long My Males be slain by Pilate's hand Where thou dost rule bear command Herode shall give her good content And say I will thy Males set free And Pilate's malice will prevent If thou wilt vow and swear to me Never to injure me nor mine Then will I stand for thee and thine And thus Rebecca to get free And be releast from Jshm'els bands Shall enter into slaverie She and her Males in Edom's hands That when as Isaac comes in fight They all shall lose their lawfull right For when as Isaac shall appeare Her love and constancy to try She will not then of Isaac heare But flatly shall her man denye Then Bashemath and Edom stout Shall thrust both her and Iacob out When Edom hath by cruellty Got Iacobs birthright for to reigne He then shall think as subtlely His blessing likewise to obtayne But when this thing shall come about Jsaac will feel and smell him out For though he once deceived was And cast his first-born out the nest Yet God did bring it so to pas He blest him whom God would have blest Which Jsaac soone did understand To be the work of Gods own hand When Edom subtlely therefore Shall come unto his father first Isaac shall turn him out a dore And curse him whom God will have curst The blessing shall on Jacob rest He blessed him he must be blest But when as Edom bould and stout Hath by a strong and cruell hand Thrust Iacob and Rebecca out For to possesse their native land Then shall the Iew come in again Which hath so long liv'd in disdain For then the Lord he will awake And unto his remembrance call The covenante which he did make With Abraham and Sarah shall Conceive and beare that promis'd seed Which on the Serpents head shall tread His judgments shall be just and pure And he shall reigne from Sea to Sea So long as Sun and Moon endure In glory strength and majesty The Kings to him shall bring their store All Kings I say shall him adore Then Sarahs love shall not be vain Though she did offer up that Lambe For she shall then come in again Her constant love to Abraham In all her troubles then shall win The love of God to bring her in If then Rebecca do the same VVhen like temptations provoke She shall again come out of blame And Iacob cast off Esau's yoak So he do not his promise break Which unto Laban he did make VVhen Sarahs time is come to bear That she delivered shall be Then cruell Pharaoh shall appear He shall arise out of the sea And come again upon the earth To kill this childe ev'n at his birth But God attending to her cry VVhen she is ready for to bear Shall with his power stand her by And free her from the Dragon's fear And take her sonne up to his thronc For he must reigne and rule alone For her he shall prepare a way Into the wildernesse to flie Lest that the Dragon should her slay And shew on her his tyranny There shall she learn to know his waies Thousand two hundred threescore daies There shall she learn to live in aw And from her God no more depart For there the Lord will write his law Within the tables of her heart All shall his holy name confesse Ev'n from the greater to the lesse Then shall those witnesses appear Which were with Jesus in the mount To bring the world in servile fear And call them to their last account For murder theft adultery And all their other cruelty If any man will do them wrong Then fire out of their mouthes shall go They shall be powerfull and strong To work their adversaries wo And Moses Rod which once did bud Shall turn the waters into bloud And sundry plagues bring on the earth If they their prophesie disdain Eliah he shall bring a dearth Vpon the world for want of rain And so their enemies shall kill Till they their prophesie fulfill But when their prophesie is done Then Ishmael and Edom stout Their strength shall both combine in one To cast these holy Prophets out These witnesses shall then be slain And then the world shall laugh
again But as these witnesses before Came down with God to testifie That Love which he had kept in store His onely Sonne which came to die Gods wrath and justice to appease And all mankinde from death release So then they shall go up again When all this wickednesse is done And unto God they shall complain For they shall witnesse with the Sonne And call for justice at Gods hand For breach of every command The n God in wrath and great disdain When he doth hear their plaint and moan VVill send his Sonne yet once again To overthrow the Serpents throne And Jacob's seed for to advance In Canaans inheritance Then all the soules of holy men Which do under the Altar lie Even all the Chikens with the Hen Which now to God for vengeance cry Shall then behold sinnes overthrow When the seventh trumpet gins to blow The seventh seal shall be then undone Then earthly men shall all despair The seventh plague then shall light upon The Prince that ruleth in the aire Then Loves revenge shall surely come For God will be no longer dome The Serpents throne he will divide And rend his kingdome into three And over throw all tyrants pride All Aegypts bands and slaverie Sodoms foul sin and Babels jar And make an end of bloudy war He shall to Edom come in white As he him once to Pilate sent And Edom shall condemne by right T is then too late for to repent He will him not to Pilate send That Pilate should his quarrel end For Edom must lay down his life For murder done by him before Then lying with his fathers wife To make his mother play the whore Such facts Gods wrath they do procure And justice can them not endure From Edom he shall go in red As Hagar did him once attire And set a crown on Ishm'els head Of pricking thornes then flaming fire Shall burn and lay all under foot And leave them neither branch nor root Yet shall his bloud be justly shed The law will take away his life He did defile his fathers bed And made a harlot of his wife Injustly then when this was done Did crucifie Gods onely sonne Then Hagars spite and foul disdain Her gould shall then appear but drosse He shall reward her for her pain Whom she doth still mock on the crosse And cast out Hagar and her sonne For all the spite that they have done The Winepresse he shall tread in red And with a massie rod of steel Shall break in twain the Serpents head Because that he hath bruis'd his heel The cup is full up to the brink And bloud for bloud shall be his drink Proud Egypt shall be drown'd in bloud When Israel shall be set free They shall not know where Babel stood For they shall all in one agree And Sodoms sinne and foul desire Shall vanquish't be in flaming fire Then shall he plant his dwelling place Vpon the top of mountains high That nations may see his grace His glory and his majesty And all may come with one accord Vnto the mountain of the Lord. That they may learn to live in aw And be instructed of the Lord From Sion shall go forth his law And from Jerusalem his word For he shall judge in truth and right And men shall learn no more to fight Their swords and spears they then shall break And shall not use them any more But shall them sithes and mattocks make To dresse the earth and bring in store That men may reap the earths encrease And live in perfect joy and peace The wolf shall with the lambe then dwell The leopard lye with the kid The calf feed with the lyon fell A little childe shall them forbid The bear and cow together eat Their young ones lying at their feet No Asp no Cocatrice annoy Vpon the mountain of the Lord There shall be nothing to destroy But all shall then obey his word By justice he shall rule and sway And with his lips the wicked slay For when this trumpet ' gins to blow Christs kingdome then is at the door For he himself on earth shall show To save the needy and the poor The widow and the fatherlesse To succour in their great distresse All prophesies be then fulfil'd All shadows ended gone and vain That Lamb which once on earth was kil'd Shall then come down on earth to reigne He bought his kingdome with his life And won it with an endlesse strife He dide that man might ever live He strove to bring in endlesse peace Because the earth again might give Her fatnesse and her full encrease Her children all alike to nurse When he had tane away the curse The poor in heart he will sustein The mourners shall be comforted The meek with him on earth shall reigne The hungry soul it shall be fed The mercifull shall mercy gain For mercy then they shall obtain The pure in heart shall God behold Peace-makers shall his children be Such as unjustly be control'd Shall in his kingdome be made free Such as men now do most disdain Shall with him in his kingdome reigne The rich he will not once respect Such as rejoyce shall mourn and cry The haughty minde he will reject The glutton shall for hunger die He which no mercy had in store Shall mercilesse be judg'd therefore The unclean shall not see his face Peace-breakers peace shall never finde Such as do persecute and chase Shall be rewarded in their kinde And such as do revile and hate Shall never come within his gate This King is righteous and true In all his combates he shall thrive And shall his enemy pursue Vntill he take the Beast alive And apprehend his learned Clark Which makes most men receive his mark Also his image to adore And at his greatnesse to admire Them will he cast alive therefore Into a lake of burning fire A sword shall out his mouth proceed Which all the rest shall make to bleed They shall be justly judg'd to die Their sentence shall come from above Distrust despaire and cruelty The breach of faith of hope and love Shall them to endlesse torments bring Then men Hallelu-jah shall sing Then the old Serpent which did crave When he had slain the worlds pure light To have a stone laid on his grave That none should take him out by night And have him lock't and sealed in Before his Sabbath did begin Shall then be chained at the last And cast into a groundlesse pit The door upon him sealed fast That he shall not come out of it The world to cumber nor molest While Christ is taking of his rest Then shall there be no more complaints No anguish sorrow grief nor pain God will give judgement to his Saints And they a thousand years shall reigne VVith him in perfect joy and peace Before the Serpent he release When thousand years be come about He shall be losed in his gail Then the old Serpent shall come out And in the world shall much prevail And Gog and Magog shall combine To execute his last designe And like the sand upon the shore In multitudes they shall come down To make the Saints appear no more But God will at their malice frown And burning fire from heav'n shall send To bring them all unto their end The Serpent which did them beget And drew them unto his desire Shall then be taken in the net And cast into the lake of fire To be tormented evermore With them that were cast in before There shall they ever scorch and senge In endlesse torments never die And love shall have his full revenge On them for all their cruelty Then Loves reward shall come to his When they shall see him as he is For then the judgement shall appear And all shall rise both great and small Each one shall then his sentence hear For they shall then be judged all And death and hell which did aspire Shall go into the lake of fire Then shall come in mans perfect joy And sorrows then shall have an end None shall be left for to annoy Jerusalem shall then descend That blessed Bride from God shall come Trim'd and adorned for her grome He then shall end her dolefull cries Release her from all grief and pain And wipe all tears off from her eyes And death shall then no longer reigne For then he will make all things new His words be faithfull just and true FINIS A Post-script to the Author THose that so quaintly in such gaudy dresse Trim their vain lines their vainer Loves to prove May come and view thy Poems comelinesse Here they shall see the mighty pow'r of Love Behold that brand that everlasting stain Which Envie mark't upon all Adams breed Almighty Love hath rinz'd it out again With better bloud then could young Abel bleed Thou Broaker car'st not for to set it forth For Love thy subject is and Love's thy end Thou bear'st the labour and the charges both For love unto thy Country and thy Friend Thy usefull Lines may well be seen in Print Vnlesse the Stati'oner or the Devill be in 't R. RAVEN