triangle of judgments what shall I do but imitate them in their crying and conversion unto thee saying with him I have sinned I am in a great straight let me fall into the hands of thee O Lord for thy mercies are great O faith as thou hast an eye so thou hast an ear too wherefore give attention For thy King named thy Jesus because he shall save his People from their sins even he who only on Earth hath power to forgive sins makes his answer in the mouth of the Psalmist even to be the eccho of thy submissive Petition The Lord forgiveth all thine iniquities and healeth all thy diseases and redeemeth thy life from destruction and crowneth thee with loving kindness O miracle of goodness how experimentally and thankfully ought I with that penitent Saint to publish thy excelling mercy since I had no sooner said that is intended I will confess my transgression but thou forgavest me the iniquity of my sin Come hither come hither all yee true Israelites whom the sight of these Philistines and their armed Troops ready for the Battel have made you to tremble and to hide your selves Behold your Standard-Royal your Prince your true Jonathan for him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins who hath trodden the Wine-press of Gods wrath alone and of the People there was none with him And Jonathan-like with incredible pains hath assaulted the Adversaries our sins ruining their Fort viz. the curse of the Law for the strength of sin is the Law being made a curse for us where by dying he hath put to death all our Enemies according to that of the Apostle in whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins having made peace through the blood of his Cross in the likeness of sinfull Flesh and by sin condemning sin in the Flesh. Further he is not only the God of the Valleys but of the Mountains also having not only overcome for us our infirmities but all even our Mountainous our scarlet transgressions witness his promise though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow Again I will be mercifull to their transgressions and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more To conclude this point this his great Victory as it tryumphs over all sins so it is not confined to some times or Persons as he so it being the same in efficacy yesterday to day and for ever as testifies St. John If any Man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole World O all powerfull Victor upon whose thigh is written King of Kings Lord of Lords who art gone forth conquering and to conquer leading captivity captive and receiving gifts for Men forgiving all our trespasses and blotting out the hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us taking it away and nailing it to thy Cross who hast spoyled these Principalities and Powers and made a shew of them openly triumphing over them in it My Soul thy off-spring like Jephtha's Daughter with the melodious harmony of gratefulness and praise runs forth to meet thee my Father my Saviour earnestly desiring to be offered up unto thee as a thanksgiving and with Manoah's Angel to ascend to thy presence in the flames of pious affections Did Moses Miriam and the rest with Timbrels and dances magnify their delivery and thy Conquest over the drown'd Egyptians and shall not my Musick of gratulation be tuned to an higher key my Song be raised to a loftier pitch whose numerous Enemies thou hast drentcht not in a red Sea of Water but of thy infinitely precious Blood Did the Virgins of Israel by their penetrating acclamations as it were engrave this glorious Inscription on their Champions forehead Saul hath slain his thousands David his ten thousands How ought my ejaculatory Prayers to pierce the Heavens and meet thy eares who for my sake hast slain not thousands but millions of thousands yea millions of millions Those protections were corporal these spiritual those by mediate Instruments this by thy Self those were temporary this eternal O omnipotent goodness since my finite beeing cannot extend nor proportion an acknowledgment requisite to thy infinite merit accept as in other duties thou art pleased my desire which continually sigheth for an infinite expression And as thou hast O thou which art that Stone cut out without hands that Corner-stone of thy Church by thy self bruised the Head of the Serpent that Goliah Sathan slain and disbanded all his Troops my sins yea choakt them in the Sea of thy blood be further pleased that their gall being broke that is their guilt and bitterness extracted they may for ever be covered with those crimson waves and be sunk down deep and intomb'd into that gulf of mercy that the eye of justice may never view them nor its power raise them again to my destruction How fitly and consonant to the word of truth is the Church upon Earth called militant her Children Souldiers their life a warfare and their spiritual graces the armour of God Amongst which how aptly is faith made our Shield and prefer'd before the rest in the Apostles Discipline Above all take the Shield of Faith For whereas the breast-plate safe guards that part the Helmet secures the Head the other pieces the inferiour Members the Shield of Faith is a moving an ubiquitary defence Sometime it interposes it self as you have formerly heard to save the Head that is the understanding and the rest of the Superiour faculties from the fiery darts which those spiritual wickednesses in high places throw down upon us Sometimes it is opposed breast high in defence of the affections against the deceitfull allurements and assaults of the World as shortly shall be shewed And in the conclusion of this spiritual combat when the Enemy groveling under our Feet puts forth his mortal sting of death c. descends and receives it where fixt it carries it in tryumph to our spiritual home so that O death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy victory But of this in its place The particular Church of Israel in her transmigration into Canaan is a type of the Church Universal seeking an Heavenly Canaan and warring for her spiritual inheritance As it was with them so with us There is during our whole lives peregrination no intermission of Armes every true Christian being environed about with implacable and malicious Enemies being in respect of malice as well as local position in the midst of the World so that every one of us hath cause to groan out Davids Lamentation Woe is me that I sojourn in Meseâ—k that I dwell
adversaries an Angel pointing out a living Fountain to all thirsty Hagars even that Spring of grace his Prophetical Office Thirsty I say for none but such taste present and perfect comfort and refreshâ—ing from hence Encouragement indeed all others may have from this Office which are not yet called to enâ—deavour and exercise themselves in the means which beget faith and repentance notwithstanding the resisting impossibility of their nature as beholding the free promise and enabling gift of God in Christ. But the Covenant and the blessing belongs and is effectual to those sensibly and chiefly That hunger and thirst after righteousness For they shall be filled To proceed then let all Men observe with me two spiritual streams or works flowing from this Office The first is the Divine Revelation of the will of God so far as it was necessary for his Church by the Mouths and Pens of the Prophets and Apostles and that through the immediate inspiration and instinct of the third Person in Trinity his most Holy Spirit All which issuing from the living Fountain the Lord Jesus who is in the midst of his Garden the Church as so many Rivolets do make glad the City and water the Paradise of God This is that work that is wâ—ought without us yet with an end to work within us and upon us all being according to St. Paul that Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles upon which the Church is built Jesus Christ himself being the chief Corner-stone O Eternal Beeing who art as mercifull as great a Father God to me thy unworthy Creature should I in this prospect of my weak faith carelesly oâ— silently pass by so high a favour so gracious a work of thine as this towards my Soul Thou mightest justly take my object or my sight or both from me for such unthankfulness Is the revelation of secrets the greatest expression of friendship And to be of the Kings Council the chiefest honours And shall not I as a Christian apprehend apply and be gratefull for such â—avours as these confer'd by a far greater Person in a far greater manner and measure upon a far unworthier object than ever they can sample If the Letters and mandates of Princes are received with so much reverence preserved with so much care esteemed honoured and obeyed How much more the Words and Scriptures of God the Prince of Princes Are Books but the Soul in Print the Beams of Mans wisdome what is this but the life of the Soul the Book of Wisdome and the Book of Books Here is the height of Metaphysicks as revealing what so ever can be known either of God or Angels The use and summe of both Phylosophies in the Creation and Decalogue The knowledge of Astronomy in Job The exactest Geography and truest Chronology in Genesis and Chronicles The mystery of Numbers in the Levitical Ceremonies Daniel and the Revelations The exercise of Rhetorick throughout the Prophets especially in Esay The marrow and art of Logick in Saint Paul's Epistles and in all which is above all as the Sun amongst the Planets the whole Body of Divinity Here are Politicks for the Statist in Ecclesiastes Oeconomicks for the House-keeper in Proverbs Instruction for the Woman from Solomon's Mother And David's Poesie for the Poets Lastly here 's wisdome for the ancient for it maketh wise unto Salvation Here 's a beautifull Spouse and love Canticles for the youthfull and religious Amorist And here is Milk from the Sacramental Teaâ—s for the new-born Babe Yea what can my heart seek Lord which thou hast not placed in this Book of Life in this library of my Soul It remains nâ—w only that I beseech from thee the true use thereof viz. the knowledge and worship of thee So shall I be not only a hearer and Reader but a doer of thy Word not deceiving my own Soul From this work of Gods Spirit iâ— the Word without us I proceed to that second work of the Spirit wrought within us viz. Sanctification being a conformation of our willâ— unto his O my Soul here is that thou seekest for The knowledge of the greatest happiness without possibility of fruition is not the least of torments And to behold the Crown Robes and Priviledges of a Christian without either visible means to obtain or a true propriety of weaâ—ing them makes but our misery more miserable Thou weart even now lifted up and cast down exalted with joy and humbled with sorrow For looking upward thou beholdest with holy Stephen Heaven open and the Lord Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God But alass whilst thou weart ravisht with this Vision a multitude of thine Enemies not much unlike nor less cruel than his Persecutors thy original Corruptions have blind-folded thy eyes and manacled thy hands separating for the present both it from thee and thee from it But now be of good comfort though thou liest dead in sin and intranc'd in astonishment the Lord of life is come down unto thee Who manger all these Hell-hounds that watch over thee will give thee part in the first Resurrection He is thy spiritual Elisha and the Prince of the Prophets who will lay his Mouth to thy Mouth that so thou maist praise and confess him his Eyes to thy Eyes that thorough faith thou maist behold him his Hands upon thy Hands that in deeds thou mayest obey him yea his whole and living Body upon thy dead Body that so thou maist revive and live in him Behold there Him of whom his own saying concerning John the Baptist is evidently verified A Prophet yea and more than a Prophet even the God of the Spirits of all Prophets Who least thy weak and sinfull nature should fear to approach unto or lend an Eare unto his Word hath vailed his glorious Deity with humanity therein being typified by Moses when he covered his shining Face as well as prophesied of him saying A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you amongst your Brethren like unto me Like unto Moses indeed as being a Man an Israelite a Prophet full of Miracles meekness of the Spirit yet with this difference of degrees the one was comparatively the other perfectly full the one a Vessel the other a Fountain the one the Servant the other the Son according to that of the Apostle This Man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses in as much as he who hath builded the House hath more honour than the House Moses being faithful as a Servant but Christ as a Son Next whereas O my Soul thou objectest the deadness of thy nature thy sleeping in sin I confess indeed thou art so But hearken unto thy Saviours Tryumph which doth not only pierce but give thee Eares Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light The hour being come and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live
and to each true Member thereof Behold thou art fair my love behold thou art fair thou hast Doves eyes as holding forth by that meek spleenless and loyal Bird the sweetness revengelesness and purity of thy Saints Be graciously pleased I beseech thee to Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me that my Eyes may be Dove-like chast and faithfull to thee my spiritual husband remembring thy Word that whosoever looks upon a Woman to lust after her hath committed Adultery with her already in his heart O give unto me therefore such a measure of grace as thou gavest to thy Servant Job to make a Covenant with my Eyes why then should I think upon a Maid Shall I in my Flesh see God whom I shall see for my self shall these mine Eyes behold thee my Redeemer and not another O make me now carefull and watchfull not to defile them with any vain or impure objects But since I cannot now immediately behold thee let me mediatly contemplate and view thee and all thy excellencies and attributes in the Glass and mirror of thy Creatures for by thee all things were made and without thee was not any thing made that was made and by thee all things consists So shall my Eyes by this help and perspective of nature look into Heaven and be in a kind and degree glorified and inable my mind to behold thee so vastly distant from me Yea they shall be the two Wings of my Soul and carry it with happy Paul into the third Heaven and behold thee there in thine unutterable and inconceivable glory Lord shall my Eyes at the Resurrection be so lovely beautifull and radiant suffer them not now I pray thee to be purblinded by unlawfull or unsatiable lust nor to be put out by bribes which make blind the Eyes of the wise nor bleared nor deformed by excess or drunkenness For Who hath redness of Eyes They that tarry long at the Wine they that go to seek mixt Wine Let them not be blood-shotten with malice nor stormy with pride and ambition nor squinting after the things of this vain World not fiery with passion and sinfull anger nor dull and heavy through sloth idleness and an evil melancholy nor winking through subtilty and deceit But let my Eyes O Lord be enlightened by thee and be chast and loving like the Dove Yea let me through Justice scatter away all evil with my Eyes and shut them from seeing evil Let my Eyes through faith wait upon thee even as the Eyes of Servants look unto the hand of their Masters and as the Eyes of a Maiden unto the hand of her Mistris yea give me pure Eyes like thee who canst not behold iniquity so shall not my Eyes betray my Soul but watch over it not poison it but enliven it be beautifull in thy Eyes and in the Eyes of thy Saints and shine here with holiness and purity hereafter in Glory Amen As the Eyes are the Espials so the Eares are the Intelligencers of the Soul by which it receives a general information of all things and are very usefull in this miserable life wherein sin ignorance and all manner of troubles abound for its reproof instruction and consolation But this is not only their use together with that grace and Ornament they add to the Head they being in the rank of the principal Members of the Body For they are not only the common receipt of all vocal sounds and so of great profit and emolument to the Soul But they are the curious ports inlets and artifice of nature to conveigh unto the Soul all other sounds whether they be such as are pleasant and musical for the delight thereof or of such noises as are of use to premonish and give warning or of such sounds also which are wonderfull terrible harsh and unpleasant and ought to raise a holy fear reverence and admiration in the Soul to wit of God the cause and Creator of them Such as are the out cries and skreeking of Creatures rational or unrational the hideous bellowings and terrible roarings of wilde Beasts the hissing of Serpents the Cataracts of Waters the raging of Seas the blustering of Winds and Tempests and the Worlds astonishing and affrighting noise of all kinds of Artillery Earth-quakes and Thunder besides many other sounds of like nature Having observed and declared the principal uses and exercise of the sense of Hearing in this life I shall with the greater clearness hold forth and distinguish of the much differing use and far more excellent exercise thereof after the Resurrection in the glorified body upon the renewed Earth Now our sight is far more quick and extensive than our hearing as is demonstrable in our beholding the flame of the Powder and the flash of lightning some time before we can hear the report of the Cannon or the clap of Thunder although the light in both is contemporary with the sound Now we cannot hear the Voices and Hymns of Angels by reason of their spiritualness and the groseness and earthliness of our sense unless they in condescention to our weakness as they did to the Shepwards at the birth of our Saviour imitate a humane voice But then I humbly conceive that sense shall be so strengthened heightned and spiritualiz'd that it shall be as perfect and quick as the sight and by it we shall both hear and understand the Angels heavenly Language that we may joyn in one consort with them in the praising of God And in holy Alleluja's as the Apostle John seems to imply in his Visions I heard saith he as it were the voice of a great Multitude and as the voice of many Waters and as the voice of many Thunders saying Alleluja for the Lord God Omnipotent raigneth And again I heard the voice of many Angels round about the Throne and the Beasts and the Elders and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdome and strength and honour and glory and blessing The like conâ—unct praises and acclamations of glorified Saints and Angels we may read also in the Revelations Chapter the 7. Verse the 9 10 11 12. which for brevity sake I omit Now this sense administers terror as well as pleasure to the Soul as hath been shewed by tremendous sounds Yea Adam after his fall for fear hid himself amongst the Trees of the Garden when he heard the voice of God And the Children of Israel said let not God speak with us lest we dye and holy Paul and John could not hear the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ without falling to the ground and astonishment But in the new Earth where there shall be no more curse there shall be no sounds that are harsh and affrighting
and drink as our Saviour did thrice after his Resurrection probably to shew not only that his Body was truly raised and that his stay upon Earth was a figure and pattern of his Saints first degree of Glory here after their Resurrection as his was his first degree of glory and exaltation after his but also that they should accidentally and at pleasure as he did although not out of a positive and natural necessity eat drink and make use of the Creatures Shall thy body not only have a kinde of secondary nourishment as our first Parents had in Paradise conveighed unto it with a far more exceeding and extraordinary delight that they had because of the excelling transcendency of the subjects and their much more sanctified and spiritualiz'd condition But shall the Taste also administer to thee continually much delight and knowledge from the unexpressible sweetness and wonderfull variety of innumerable Vegitives as to their admirable natures and qualities to thy great content and ravishment and thy Creators glory O do not therefore now vitiate and pollute it with gluttony or drunkenness nor make it a slavish Handmaid to any fleshly and inordinate appetite Be wise and guide thy heart in the way be not amongst Wine-bibers amongst riotous eaters of flesh for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty Who hath woe who hath sorrow who hath contentions who hath babling who hath wounds without cause who hath redness of the Eyes They that tarry long at the Wine they that go to seek mixt Wine Look not thou upon the Wine when it is red when it giveth its colour in the Cup when it moveth it self aright at the last it biteth like a Serpent and stingeth like an Adder Thine Eyes shall behold strange Women and thy Heart shall utter perverse things yea thou shalt be as he that lyeth down in the midst of the Sea or as he that lyeth upon the top of a Mast They have striken me shalt thou say and I was not sick they have beaten me and I felt it not when I shall awake I will seek it yet again O my Soul in that new life thou shalt only eat and drink as the Apostle exhorts to the glory of God and more for pleasure and delight and that as to spiritual ends than for necessity but in this sinfull life if thou be given to appetite put a Knife to thy throat and watch over thy gust eating and drinking more for necessity than for pleasure as one that eats to live not lives to eat not making like those wicked ones reproved by the Apostle Paul thy Belly thy God But like thy for ever glorious and blessed Saviour at all seasonable Feastings do thou turn Water into Wine that is be a holy and Christian Phylosopher or Chymist extracting Life and Spirits out of every thing thou eatest or drinkest as tasting in the various gusts sweetness and vertues of the Creature the super-excelling sweetness wisdome and goodness of thy God the bountifull giver and the wonderfull Creator Do not with the Swinish and dropsical Drunkard turn Wine into Water but in thy Non-age so train up this Childish sense in all holy temperance and sobriety that it may be prepared and fitted for its sublimer exercise in thy Man-hood of Glory O my Lord and Saviour who art both our example and our Law-giver and therefore hast commanded us not to labour for the Meat that perisheth but for that Meat which endureth unto everlasting life and doth exhort and precaution us to take heed to our selves that our hearts be not over-charged with surfeiting and drunkenness lest that Day either of Death or Judgment come upon us unawares and hast also declared by thy Apostle that Meats are for the Belly and the Belly is for Meats but God shall destroy them both and therefore didst exhort and teach us how to purify and spiritualize our fleshly gust and appetite by faith offering thy self to be drunk and eaten by us when thou saidest My Blood is Drink indeed my Flesh is Meat indeed affording to us such an excellent nourishment that who so by faith spiritually eateth thy Flesh and drinketh thy Blood shall not dye but live to Eternity Yea further thou holdest forth to us that thou art that Bread that camest down from Heaven of which the Manna in the Wilderness was but a Type which whosoever eateth by faith that is by believing in thee shall not dye but live for ever as also that thou art that Water of Life of which whosoever drinketh shall thirst no more O Lord I cry unto thee with the Emauites Lord ever give unto me to eat of this Bread and to drink of this living Spring then shall I be so fully satisfied that I shall never hunger or thirst more after any of the things of this World The lusts of the Flesh the lusts of the Eyes or the pride of life yea Lord I shall not only have enough for my self but such plenty as there-with to feast others also as being enabled to say with thy beloved Apostle That which was from the beginning which we have heaâ—d which we have seen with our Eyes which we have looked upon yea that which we have tasted and our hands have handled of the Word of Life declare we unto you that yee may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and his Son even with thee O Lord Jesus Christ Lord give unto thy Servant an internal taste as well as thou hast given me an external sense that I may with holy David both taste and see how good the Lord is and binde the one Apprentice to the other making it serviceable to my Soul and unto thee Then shall I enjoy a double relish and sweetness in every drop of drink and bit of meat as being a love-token from thee and an earnest of Eternal Life and nourishment in thee so shall my Earthly Pallate at no time injure deceive or pollute my spiritual sense as Noah's and Lot's did by ignorance surprise and the sweetness of the Grape but be kept in order and in obedience sharpning not blunting the edge of my Meditation and Charity as the full Meats of Nabal and Dives did watering and enlivening not drowning my piety and obedience as it is probable Wine and strong Drink did Nabal and Abihu O Lord it is true that the Beasts of the Field partake and have the use of this sense as well as Man O that they might not one Day shame and rise up in Judgment against the Epâ—curisme of many Men Doth nature moderate the Horse and the Oxen as to their eating and drinking O let the addition of thy grace so order and sanctify my taste and appetite that in their sweetness I may admire thy delectableness mercy wisdome and goodness so shall this sense begin my glory
prime Of wit in Sonnets or such Rhime As leaves behind The Savour of a tainted mind Maâ—gre their Witts I tell you true I enjoy none but such as you Not that I know your Birth and Blood Springs high but that I see a good That sets you off Beyond the bitter reach or scoffe Of those loose Tongues Which blast it in their drunken Songs Think no work lovely sweet or witty That is not tun'd to Cupids Ditty On Lovely Sir I speak the truth From Him you think on in your Youth Hee 'l not forget This Labour or Essay but set A mark of note Vpon those Hours which you devote Vnto his Service and will Pay Richly at All-Saints Holy-Day Mean while he pawns his Word to be A Friend unto your hopes and he That never Rights The meanest of his Favourites Will raise your Stock And prove your Sun your Shield your Rock Perfume your Name and make 't as dear As his that dyed the Hopeful Peire Long may the Noble Paire to whom You own your Breath next God become Sutors for you That labour to repay the due You owe to them From whom you Sprang a hopeful stemm To which you have the Heart and Hand Of him that rests Yours to Command W. Mewes MEDITATIONS UPON THE CREATION MANS Fall and Redemption BY CHRIST Presented to his Parents in the XXI Year of his Age. Anno Dom. 1627. London Printed in the Year 1669. Prayer and Meditation are Twins therefore A Preparative Prayer O Almighty God and most gracious Father from thy goodness I acknowledge all good gifts do proceed therefore I humbly and earnestly do beseech thee to illuminate my Soul by thy Spirit that my Vnderstanding being raised above all Earthly Cogitations may through thy merciful assistance so meditate of thee and thy wonderful Works that contemâ—â—ng all Worldly Vanities my delight may only consist in beholding of thy Majesty The Consideration of it being best able both to humble my proud Heart and create in it a love and fear to all thy Precepts that so I beginning although in weakness to live the life of grace here I may through thy favour in Christ live the Life of Glory with thee hereafter Amen DIVINE MEDITATIONS OF GOD'S Majesty IN THE CREATION ALL sublunary things tend and press towards their Centre The Sea-man's Needle always points North and South Nature thereby as it were Lecturing our Souls to behold and move towards none but thee O God our North-Star our Centre Lord I confess it had been a vain presumption in Mortality being defiled with sin to have once conceived a thought of thy Holiness had not thy mercy in Jesus Christ revealed unto us in thy word and promises not only to give us leave but commanded us to know thee that conceiving of thee aright we might love thee with all our hearts fear thee in all our actions and serve thee with our best endeavours Why madest thou Man with his Face erected towards the Heavens when Beasts walk groveling upon the Ground unless thou hast ordained that all Eyes contemning Earth as tramled under Feet should stand open towards the Skies that our Souls through those Casements might behold the Starry out-side of the â—irmament though but a dark reflexion of thy brightness and might view in the Suâ—s splendour a petty Embleme to lead us to the Infiniteness of thy Glory and beautifulness of that new Jerusalem in which thou crownest the Inhabitants with a perpetual Day of Happiness These Objects O Lord damme up the Mâ—uth of Wickâ—dness being sufficient though dumb Witnesses to condemn the wilful ignorance of Senceless Atheists Who behold much Art in a costly Fabrick and applaud not the skill of the Architector Who sees exquisitness in any work and is not forc'd to acknowledge the Work-mans perfection and what Eyes can be so purblinded with folly and perverseness as not to spell out in each Leaf of Natures Book thy Divinity Open thou my Lips O Lord and my Mouth shall shew forth thy Praise Of the Creation THe beginning of all Created Substances was nothing who but thou O Lord Infinite in Power of no Materials could frame so vast a Chaos Before each particulars composure darkness as a Canopy covered the confused Lump of intermixed Bodies when by thy Word O Father of Light was light created the happy Morning to so great a Night the huge Concave of the Firmament being the purest extraction of that gross heap is made to Circle the Earth separating the Waters above from those below by thy Command Where was the naked Earth visible when the Waters covered the Face thereof untill thy will gave them both name and bounds How rude an object were the Towring Hillâ— and humble Valleys then destitute of thy Livery their Ornament until Grass Herbs and fruit-bearing Trees clothed them by thy Ordinance When the Heavens wanted their Ornament the Times and Seasons their Order and distinguishments thou madest two great Lights the Sun to Rule by Day the Moon and Stars to Rule by Night For thy Mercy endureth for ever Were the waste Places of the deep inhabited or the Regions of the Aire fathâ—med before thy Power made the Seas bring forth all manner of Fowles and Fish even that Leviathan whose Scales are his Pride shut up together as with a close Seal which by his neesing a Light doth shine and his Eyes are like the Eye-lids of the Morning upon Earth there is none his like who is made without fear Did not thy Wisdome O God fill the Desarts with wilde Beasts the Earth with creeping things Who made Behemoth which moveth his Tayl like a Cedar His Bones are as strong Pieces of Brass his â—â—â—es are like Barres of Iron he is the chief of thy ways O God thou that madest him canst make thy Sword approach unto him What shall I say Who can express thee which art far beyond expression I will conclude with the conclusion of thy Works the â—â—â—ation of Man In his Body rightly termed a little World as â—â—ing a mixture of the four Elements who can 〈…〉 â—â—e symmetry and proportion of each Member and comâ—linâ—ss of â—â—ch part so â—urious a structure being only a â—iâ— manâ—â—on 〈…〉 〈◊〉 Tenant as the Soul in whose praise which speakâ— thy pâ—â—ise I will only say two words calling it according to thy Word thy â—â—â—ge What is Man that thou art mindful of him or the Son of â—â—an that thou visitest him Thou hast made him little lower â—â—an the Angels and hast Crowâ—â—d him with glory and honour â—â—ou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands â—â—ou hast put all things under his Feet Therefore bless the Loâ—d O my Soul all that is within mâ—â—less his holy name bless the â—ord in all his works in all places of his Dominion bless the Lord O my Soul Of Man's Fall and of God's Mercy and Goodness in our Redemption THe
and Night else I would not have lost my sleep nor travelled all Night only to see such a transitory delight as a Horse Race where usually our precious time our wisdom and our Moneys run faster away from us than our Horses The night of Ignorance and the Moon-shine of Unsanctified Reason is of all times most dangerous to Youthful Travellers who when they dream that they are galloping on the palfrey of Pleasure towards Paradice are before they so much as think of it upon the edge yea often fall head-long into that bottomless Pit of Hell Lord thy Word saith It is not good for a Man to be alone yet Experience teaches me also that Companions in sinful Vanities are great Incendiaries Thy merciful Providence Lord at this time mad'st my Companion in Vanity the Instrument of this great Deliverance and also made thy Word good for had not my friend whose Elder Years and Experience gave him knowledge of the way and danger even in that instant of time cried out and stopt my career I had unrecoverably fallen both Horse and Man into a deep and horrible Pit even into Death Wherefore dear Lord let me hence-forth never be alone but let a truly enlightned Conscience which is my best and intimate Friend be alwayes present with me especially in the Night of Temptation to fore-warn me from falling into the dangerous Pit of Sin which to all thine is the Figure as well as the deserver of the bottomless Gulph of Hell Amen The PIT Ejaculation or Hymn on the former Subject LOrd in this Night-peece there is drawn to Life The Day-peece of our Youth wherein most rife It is for Vs to travel in the Night Of Ignorance and by the Moon-shine light Of our unhallowed reason After Sin And Pleasures till we fall are taken in Their Gulph and snares how oft in Holy Writ Is Death Hell and Affliction call'd a Pit Yea every Sin especially a Whore Which Man and Beast Soul Body doth devour What cause have I that in my Youthful Days Have scap't these dangers for to render praise To Thee Preserver of Body and Soul From Death Hell trouble and from Sins controul Thou went the Voice behind me that cryed stay Avoid each sinful Pit This is the way Conscience thou also gav'st me to fore-warn Me as a trusty Friend of every harm Wherefore I offer Soul and Body both A living Sacrifice to thee by Oath Covenanting for to serve Thee whil'st I live That doest new Life from Sin and danger give ARGUMENT Vpon God's merciful deliverance of me in Three great dangers of Drowning twice upon the River of Thames and a third time in Rutland when being a fishing alone I slipt from off a Tree into a River Soliloquium or Discourse O Incomprehensible Creator and loving Father how delightfully ravishing and comfortably supporting is the Meditation and experimental knowledge of thy gracious Omnipresence to thy Children whereas the thought and belief of it to the wicked thy Enemies is most terrible for to all such our God is a consuming Fire O Lord thou art not only the God of the Mountains and of the Vallies of the Earth but of the Rivers also and hast been mercifully present to deliver and preserve me as thou didst thy Servant David and Paul in Perils of Land and in Perils of Water else had I sunk down into the deep Waters Yea the Floods had gone over my Head and Soul as well as in these three dangers they fearfully washt my Body and Cloaths In the two distresses upon the Thames when the Water-men were all at a non-plus thy only powerful providence preserv'd steer'd and rowed me into safety In the third when my own Feet slipt and betrayed me and the Tree I held by broke and fail'd me thy Hand alone saved and drew me out of a watry muddy and perilsome Pit If every lesser mercy O Lord calls for a tribute of praise how much more such as these which are thy so suddain and opportune reprieves from Death since it is a truth although spoken by the Father of lies Skin for skin and all that a Man hath will he give for his life Wherefore since our lives preservation is the greatest corporal mercy open thou my Lips O Lord and my Mouth shall shew forth in these Lines yea sing forth thy praise for three so great deliverances in this following Psalm of Thanksgiving The TEMPEST Ejaculation or Hymn on the former Subject NOt humane Courage Wisdome did direct To use or build Boats Ships The Architect Of these our floating Chariots was the Lord Who fram'd the Earth Heavens he by his word To Noah first i' th Ark a Pattern drew Vnparallel'd that we might it renew In little which is now so often done That in one first bold Drake durst like the Sun Incircle Earth and Seas live and lie Within an Intch of Death and yet not die Vpon a spawn of one of these I plow'd The back of Themasies when loe aloud The Wind beats up a charge on Sins old Jar Retwixt these Elements Renews the War I interpos'd by chance these Combitants As strangers often fall into made Rants By which rash act the force and strokes I bore Of both Maâ—gre two seconds arm'd with Oares Who spent and wearied gave up to the Wind My wooden Fort who entring us to bind And drive along Thames jealous grew Of such bold Seasures claim'd us as her dew And enters with a troop of Waves our Hull Erects her watry Streamers fills us full With churlish Billowes ordering us to lie In her deep muddy Dungeon till we die The Wind inrag'd with this affront us tore From out her Bands and drove us to the shore Thereby declaring the third Elements right To us her Subjects as it were in spightâ— Thus far I take a Poet's liberty To shaddow forth my danger Now unty O Lord my Sailes the affections of my Soul That fill'd with thy free spirit without controle Of an unthankful calme I may lanch forth Into thy Sea of Mercy praise thy worth O Lord my Soul iâ—barkt in Flesh sailes in Continually a Sea of Lust and Sin On which the Prince of th' Aire that evil spright Blowes raiseth fearful Stormes by Day by Night Filling the Sailes of my Affections With evil Aires raising my Passions Like swelling Billowes sometimes watry Waves Of Worldly sorrow fills me then the braves Of Earthly joyes o're lades me till a Train Led by mad Anger casts them out again Next in the Whirl pool of sad doubts and fears My Bark is whirl'd about neer drown'd with tears But if a calme succeeds these stormes then he Sends forth his Sirens Women-like to me His Tritons â—errâ—ne Pleasures and Delights That harkning to their Songs and Charms I might In such security run foule upon The shelves of Lust call'd Love Presumption And Prides high Rocks or if I take not care Be swallowed up
Then to Heaven thy Marriage â—ed ARGUMENT Vpon God's goâ—dness and gracious Providence to me in his choice and gift of a rich beautiful fruitful and which is above all faithful and religious Wife Soliloquium or Discourse HAving expended above the third part of my life in a single condition both God and Nature taught me that it was not good for Man to be alone no not in innocency much less in a state of corruption and temptation Wherefore after many motions interviews and disappointments the good and all-wise ordering Providence of my most gracious God and Father chose for and gave to me as a fit loving and helpful consort and yoke fellow The eldest Daughter and Co-heir of a worthy Person that was a Knight Alderman and Lord-Major of London a Wife not only fruitful in Children but in many other blessings As being a builder up of my Family by a large Portion One of Natures best Pieces for beauty and proportion The Psalmists Olive and Vine for fruitfulness And which is above all and the rarest perfection of that Sex a Person chast faithful and religious For favor is deceitful and beauty is vain but a Woman that feareth the Lord she shall be praised Of whom as far as my Observation reaches at this Day I can truly say with Solomon Many Daugâ—ters have done virtuously but she hath excelled them all An eminent Witness of this her Vertue was her publick spirit care and love to me and her family In her voluntary sale and parting with her Jointure and own Land yielding a considerable Revenue and an unparallel'd House and Seat for the payment of Debts and making provision for our Children yea which is much more to her perpetual honour she was blessed be God to be his great and chiefest Instrument for the restoring part of the estate to the Heir and for the maintenance of the Family to which during my above Eight Years separation she remains to be under God a most careful Supportress Which great blessing O Lord continue to me and the Family in giving her health and long life that she may eat the labour of her hands and see her Childrens Children and peace upon Israel And as my thankful and perpetual acknowledgment and remembrance of such a plenitude of blessings Accept this my humble Hymn of Praise in the hand of my dear Saviour in whom thou hast given me these and all other Mercies Amen The Good WIFE Ejaculation or Hymn upon the former Subject O Lord that out of Man the Woman made And in blest Marriage her to him repaid Making two one a new That he and she Might be one Cabinet of Chastity A choice Elixar of Society And fruitful Seed plot of Posterity I bless thy Name that dost me dignifie Not only to declare and testifie Thy gracious wisdome in this mysterie Of Wedlock But me Tenant made in Fee To these rich blessings by thy choice and lone Of all these Mercies Treasur'd up in one When in this Worlds couzening Lottery Where for one Prize a hundred Blanks do lie My self I ventur'd Thou O Lord draw'st out For me a Ring of Gold set all about With precious Stones One was a Diamond Of Chastity next it in the same round Saphires of Faith and Hope with the Onyx Stone Of Sun-like Charity divinely shone A fift was a fair Rubie of sweet modesty Joyn'd with a Jasper of Fidelity An Emrauld next was set of Constancy With a rich Topaz of true Prudency Sweet Ametists of Loves which loyal are Incircled this Ring and Jewel rare And for to give a splendor to each Eye All those were fill'd with much Humility With this thou didst me Wed givest me to wear Till now neer Six and Thirty Year Blest be thy Grace no Hearts dividing far Disturbing Vs by a Domestick War She is O Lord that blessed Vine by which Thou dost o're-spread my House and it inrich With Sixteen hopeful Branches unto whom Drie Breasts thou gavest not nor miscarrying Womb Yea thou allaidst to her the curse of Sin The pains of births and breeding she was in And which doth much exceed all Earthly wealth Thou gavest Vs both a great degree of health Pelican-like thy Instrument of good Did feed her young ones thrice with her own Blood When others lessen portions through expence She made hers greater by her Providence And was thy help during my happy faâ—e To more than double our Patern Estate And when thou mouldrest it to nought her pains Was thy blest means for to restore again A part of what was lost that she might be Mother and Father to her Family To Vs from Parents Lord descends our Land But prudent Wives are gifts from thy own Hand What 's wanting here to her perfection View in her Picture drawn by Solomon Lord hast thou multiplied thy loves And thus By doubling Vnits caus'd an Overplus Of blessings Let me not divide by Sin Thy Mercies nor substract them in And by Ingratitude Let my sum be Addition of Praises unto Thee And pious fruits so shall my Tongue and Life Be one like Soul and Body Man and Wife A living Sacrifice of Thankfulness A free-will Offering till I thee possess And in that Vnion there most clearly see Of holy Marriage the great Mystery Amen ARGUMENT Vpon the great and Holy Mystery held forth to Vs by God in Marriage Soliloquium or Discourse MArriage is honourable amongst all Men and the Bed undefiled but Whoremongers and Adulterers God will Judge Wherefore Wives submit your selves unto your own Husbands as unto the Lord For the Husband is the Head of the Wife as Christ is the Head of the Church Therefore as the Church is subject unto Christ so let Wives be unto their own Husbands in every thing Husbands love your Wives even as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself for it so ought Men to love their Wives as their own Bodies For no Man ever hated his own Flesh but nourisheth and cherisheth it even as the Lord the Church For we are Members of his Body of his Flesh and of his Bones For this cause shall a Man leave his Father and Mother and be joyned unto his Wife and they two shall be one Flesh. This is a great mystery but I speak of Christ and his Church Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his Wife even as himself and let the Wife see that she reverence her Husband Thus far the Apostle Eph. chap. 5. vers 22 23 24 25 28 29 30 31 32 33. From whose words especially his conclusion This is a great mystery I infer that Marriage although not in a strict and Popish sence yet as to a larger meaning and construction of the Word may be called a Sacrament as holding forth by outward and visible signes and things spiritual mysteries and instructions Of this nature in Scripture and many instances as the Ark Rain-bow Red Sea Rock Manna
which from the middle story my vil'd heart Flamed through my Eyes Balcons and fill the highest part My mind with smokie darkness so that Flakes of Fire Indangered thence my Neighbours House yet hath not thy just Ire Good God left me thus foolishly by my own act To be burnt down but in remembrance of my firm contract To thy dear Son my Spouse thou didst bind up restrain Sathan that unclean Sp'rit the Wind that blew that Flame Yea pour'd by th' hand of faith thereon my Saviour's blood Which dampt those Fires repair'd and made thy Structure good Lord am I a Bankrupt unable to repay My Debt of Gratitude for favours every Day Deliverances from many Dangers Temporal What shall I render for these Mercies spiritual Lord I am wholly thine by right of Creation And thy Son's purchase constant preservation Wherefore accept thy own my all Let it suffice Since Soul and Body is thy living Sacrifice Amen ARGUMENT Vpon God's gracious preserving of me from being Burnt in my Lodgings in Summerset House Soliloquium or Discourse DAy unto Day uttereth Speech and Night unto Night sheweth knowledge as to the constant gracious and wonderful Providences of the Lord for the preservation of his People Amongst whom to the praise and glory of his free grace be it spoken I have had a large share witness the foregoing Records and this deliverance when in the conclusion of some Hours spent alone in Fasting and Prayers and I ready to arise from my Knees and to change my Cushion for my Bed at Ten a Clock at Night I heard a great crack as of a Pistol issuing from behind the Hangings and corner of the Chamber within two Yards of me at which suddain noise I arose up and pulled back the Hangings saw a Barrel full of small-Cole all of a flame occasioned by the innocent carelesness and thrift of my Fire-maker who had cast back some live small Coales into the Tub the breaking of whose burnt Hoops gave me this timely Alarm which had it been delayed but a few Minutes I and my Servant had been a Bed and asleep and lockt up in my Bed-Chamber within that Dining-Room And the Hangings that hung over the Barrel certainly Fired together with that Room and that whole stately Structure O Lord whilst we are faithfully imployed in thy service and worship we are assuredly under thy Almighty Protection who hast promised to those that make thee their Refuge That there shall no evil befall them nor any Plague come neer their dwellings That thy Angels shall take charge of them to keep them in all their ways that they shall bear them up in their hands lest they dash their Foot against a Stone O how sweet how comfortable how incouraging to thy People is the most firm belief of the constant presence watchful and powerful assistance of thy glorious Angels whom thou hast made Ministring Spirits for the good of thy Elect As thy Servant at this time found by experience Such gracious Providences as this being most probably timed acted and discovered by an Angel as the laying of the Train and kindling of the Fire and inflaming of the Barrel might possibly be the malicious contrivance of a wicked Spirit Who as the Scriptures witness are as constantly Instruments of evil to Man-kinde although the wicked World are ignorant thereof as the others are of all good to thy Children Lord probably it was the Devils will and design that the Barrel should not have flamed forth so soon by a quarter of an Hour and then without any noise that so the Chamber being empty and we a Bed and asleep and the Hangings on Fire we might have been first certainly smothered and afterwards burnt A Roman-like Obsequie But thy All-wise providence suffered him as thou didst his Guy Faulkes to bring his Plot to an accomplishment and then ordered thy Angel thus strangely and opportunely to discover to thy greater glory his disappointment and thy Servants wonderful Salvation and serious Observation of this thy most Fatherly love care and watchfulness over me thy poor Child and Creature Blessed God and Father how hast thou through our Adoption in Christ meliorated our condition so that our greatest Enemies in all their malicious actings against us are now made but Carriers to convey thy love-tokens unto us yea all our troubles and dangers are so many choice and faith-strengthning experiences of thy Power Goodness and mercy so that now instead of fearing of them we can rejoyce and triumph in and over them And give to our selves and others a satisfying reason why thou sufferest Devils and Diabolical Men thus to act rage and persecute thy Saints when thou couldest in a moment cast them all into Hell Why thou leadest us into various Temptations afflicts us with Diseases sufferest us to be Daily incompast about with troubles and dangers when in an instant thou couldest renew and make again this Earth our Paradice Is it not O Lord as well as to exercise and brighten our Graces and to purge out our sins that in and by these Trials thou mightest also have a frequent and fit occasion to manifest thy self unto us in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ in all thy glorious Attributes of Power and Wisdome Justice and Faithfulness Love Mercy and Goodness Thus O Lord this great danger of Burning was to me the Mother of a far greater mercy thy wonderful preservation and shall now and for ever be the subject of my praise and thanks-giving which I humbly present to thy most gracious Majesty in this Memorial and the following Poem Amen The DELIVERANCE A Corolary Poem on the former Subject O Lord how aptly doth thy sacred Word compare Men unto Travellers whose toilsome Journeys are Begun even from the Womb whence natures pass they have And make some short some longer steps unto the Grave Our common home fulfilling thy Decree most just For sin That Earthly Bodies shall return to Dust But is this all 's held forth by this comparison No our Life and Way like theirs is tiresome O're Hills through Vailes now high then low through passages That cragged Woody are untrode where Ambushes Of sundry mischiefs troubles Thief-like us engage Such hath my course been Lord throughout my Pilgrimage Instance amongst the rest of my Life 's Narrative This following danger and thy loves preservative Who would have thought dead small Coals laid some yards from fire Vnused for five Hours space should as it were conspire Behind my Hangings without sight or scent of fume Or crackling me and a great Pallace to consume Or that my harmless Maid should ignorantly lay A train o're Night to burn us all before next Day By her too careless thrift in casting back some Coales Inkindled when she made my Fire Who could controle But thou O Lord this dreadful fate of causes set Within few Minutes to produce a sad effect Thou forcest the dead Barrels Hoops i' th nick of time To sound
Mercies and Deliverances O Lord thy many favours have so indebted me that I am a Bankrupt and unable to repay Wherefore I humbly beseech thee to seize upon all that I am and have to thy use and service yea nail my Ear to the Door of thy House that I may be thy Servant for ever so shall I still be a great gainer for thy service is perfect freedom And I had rather with King David be a Door-keeper in thy House than to dwell in the Tents of Wickedness or to sit upon the Thrones of the KINGS of the Earth Gracious God and Father let me not here forget that when thou didst thus frequently preserve us from the Infection of this Disease thou didst then at several times deliver from Death and dis-figuring Eleven of our Children even when some of them were in great danger thereof by this Malady Lord are my Children living Images and legible transcripts of my self yea self-multiplyed Then surely their Reprieves from Death and danger is mine and so to be acknowledged by me Wherefore in all Gratitude I offer them up to Thee as living Sacrifices of Praise Humbly intreating that my Sons and Daughters may be thine here in all fillial Obedience and that thou wilt please to be mine my Wife and Childrens Portion in this thy Kingdom of Grace and our Eternal Inheritance in thy Kingdom of Glory Amen The HOVSE of CORRECTION A Corolary Poem on the former Subject COme hither proud white Clay and sadly view Pride plum'd of all her Feathers in her new Denuded of her Silks and Sattins Webs of Worms Imbroideries Tissues and her rich Perfumes Her precious Jewels Pearles Her Lovers pawnes Her o're-fine Hollands Cambricks Cobweb-lawnes Her Flanders Lace all which poor Tenants wrack She carrying Farmes yea Mannors on her back This is that Day that fearful Malady In and by which the sinful Bravery Of Zion's Daughters shall be tain away As saith the Lord Their Ornaments most gay Tinklings about their Feet their Cawles round Tires Much like the Moon their Chaines Bracelets Attires Call'd Mufflers Bonnets Adornments of Legs Their Head-bands Tablets and those other dregs Of Pride their Ear-Rings and Nose-Jewels Rings Their divers sorts of Clothing Mantles Crisping-Pins Wimples fine Linnen Glasses Hoods and Vailes And whatsoever fills Prides swelling Sayles Tell me ye vaunting Nebuchadnezars Proud Herods and ambitious Caesars Ye painted Jesabels Herodiases False Delilahs and unchast Bernices Of our worst times What will you trembling say When Sergeant Pox arrests you And that Day Confines you to your Chambers binds you fast Vnto your sickly Beds long time then cast You into Burnings like to Hell next spots Your Body like a Toad confounds besots Your mind and senses makes you speechless lie Extending Tongue and Throat to strangling nie Shuts up your Eyes with Scabs denies your sight As clowding quite its Medium the Light Next he scalds-off your Absalon-like Hair That hath so oft been wanton with the Aire And nobler Creatures swells your Head and Face Big like your mindes and the Gigantick race Covers your Face with a corrupted Mud Which eats out your Complexion all that 's good And least it should a Resurrection have He buries it in Pits as in a Grave Yea your whole Body he scurffs o're with Scabs To teach you Pride shall cloth'd be with such Rags Lord hast thou me preserv'd unto this Day And my Consort from this deform'd Hidra Of pain and evils this Complication Of Maladies to Admiration Yea when thou Four and Six times visited Mine and her dwelling freely ransomed Eleven Children from dis-figuring Although the fruit of theirs and of my sin Who have been and still am most apt to be Guilty and sick of Pride Idolatrie As to all Gifts and Graces Children Wife House Land and other good things of this Life Which are thy Tallents put into my Hand To use and to repay at thy Command Not mine who now can nothing call my own But sin and its wages Hell Death Corruption O Lord accept my thankful heart thy Gift Which I return with Eyes and Hands up lift For thy Protections Ten-fold Antidote 'Gainst these infections ne're to be forgot Wherefore let my whole Man my Life my Pen Thy Praises Register for aie Amen ARGUMENT Vpon God's gracious Preservation of Me and my Wife from Poysoning or any Distemper after we had drank off a Tankard of Beer at the bottom of which we found dead a great venemous Spider Soliloquium or Discourse AS in my former Recovery from a Surfeit of Meat There was Mors in Olla Death in the Dish so here also Death lay in ambush in the Cup. For no sooner was Nature plentifully refresht but that at the sight of a great venemous Spider which lay dead at the bottom of the Por we had reason to fear that our Refresher would prove our Destroyer and our Drink our Poison At the discovery of this Enemy we were both afrighted and the more which may seem extraordinary and strange because it was dead whereas usually living not dead Adversaries are hurtful Whither this black and ugly Creature was as full of Malice as Poison and therefore burst her self in the Beer in a kind of Revenge For or as the effect of her drowning I know not nor had we time to be Coroners since our present danger did not admit of any delay as to the seeking for and taking an Antidote Our fear as is usual not neglecting or betraying such means and succors as reason offered Viz. The taking a good draught of the Oyle of Olives which by the blessing of our gracious God drown'd both our fear and danger we both remaining without the least Distemper in perfect health O Lord how true is that Proverb Latet Anguis in Herba that poysonous Asps lie covered in Cleopatra's Basket of Fruit and Flowers and that in a spiritual sense as well as corporal When hath my Soul been more in danger of the sting and venome of sin than in prosperity and in the sweet enjoyments of the lawful and necessary delights and refreshments of this life Such as Meat Drink and Cloathing Wife Children Relations great Offices and Preferments Riches Friends and Recreations Honors stately Houses and great Revenues In and under all which sin and deadly corruptions lurk and lie hid Wherefore blessed Lord and Saviour who art the power and wisdome of the Father and art by him made unto me Wisdom Teach me that in the use and enjoying of all these thy temporal blessings I may neither be superstitiously abstemious nor presumptuously secure that so whensoever I shall discover the venomous Spider of Sin lie in the bosome of any Earthly delights or refreshments I may instantly resort to my Antidote the Oyle Olive of thy Grace called in thy Word the Oyle of Gladness the Anointing So should sin break and cast out its Poison in any vicious temptation
whatsoever piece of his workmanship hath this glorious stamp or pourtraiture erazed or defaced must needs remain useless naked and without honour To apply this to my own Soul Is it thus How miserable then and deformed is the Person of every Man by Adam with and in whom we have lost our God our selves and all our perfections Hast thou heard O my Soul of that material and obscure darkness which the Egyptians felt On thee there was and upon all natural Men there is the like obscurity Only they differ in this Man feels it not That darkness being no more empty of light than the mind of Man is vacant of the knowledge of God the worship of God and his own eternal happiness witness that of the Apostle The natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto Him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned that is by the light of the Spirit In Egypts deficiency of light no doubt it was a part of their torment to mistake one thing for another so in this sinfull deprivation such is the vanity of the mind that it calls good evil and evil good It takes sweet for bitter and bitter for sweet Salvation the contrary to damnation being in his understanding in the end only free from its mistake or fruition Noah was not more drunken with the strength of Wine than the understandings of wretched Men with the strength of sin to which the Prophet alludes saying They are drunken but not with Wine they stagger but not with strong Drink Neither was Eutichus more dead asleep when he fell even into Death then the prodigal Sons to whom justly God hath given the spirit of slumber Eyes that they should not see Eares that they should not hear Sin as sleep deprives Man of the true use of all those sences which should serve for the use of his Soul The Man possest in the Gospel is the miserable and true Figure of an unregenerate Soul We finde him possest with a Devil and tormented with a Legion of Devils And is not the accusing conscience of a wicked Man as a thousand Witnesses We read that he only lived unto himself avoided society the Tombes being the fittest mansions for such unsociableness His actions there were to be his own Executioner and enemy Night and Day crying and cutting himself with stones O my Soul proceed but to bring the substance to the shaddow and thou wilt confess how lively this Satanical lunary acts the tragical part of a depraved conscience Cain the first that received and took away life from Man affrighted with the terrour of his bloody conscience was forced to fear and flie the face of Man his own tongue bellowing out his own misery in that tormenting Exclamation My punishment is greater than I can bear The distempered and melancholy â—its of Saul which the Holy Ghost calls an evil spirit we are partly occasioned without doubt by the barking fury of his conscience Such Hell of minde being seldome without a Devil to add fuell to the flame and torment to the tormented Let Judas conclude all and by the conclusion of his life who went out and strangled himself preach to all the conclusion of that Soul which spurd with guilt thinks to flie from its self and from the uppermost Hell of despair leaps into the nethermost Hell of pain Bearing still about him what he shun'd even that only immortaliz'd Worm of insect sprung from corruption which then shall gnaw more furiously Eternity and despair of remedy doubling the unmeasurableness of the torture Should my thoughts now pass from the conscience some consciences would at least in their own conceits account themselves like those of Laodicea to be rich and increased with goods and to have need of nothing when as they are indeed wretched and miserable and poor and blinde and naked Therefore that we may all know that we are miserable the better to confess Gods mercy the more to thirst after his salvation we must know that there are hardned Pharaohs aswell as a despairing Judas As that Body is most dangerously diseased whose external parts the vital and animating spirits having as it were made a recess are left insensible and without feeling So that Soul is in a deadly that is damnable estate whose conscience the quickning power of the holy spirit being utterly with-drawn remains speechless and cauterized Of this condition were many before the Flood notwithstanding the preaching of righteous Noah After the Flood the Sodomites Under the Law Pharaoh and some of the Israelites in the Wilderness Under the Gospel the Scribes and Pharisees of whom our Saviour observes that God had blinded their eyes and hardned their hearts that they should not see with their eyes and be converted that he might heal them He is no friend that is not an eye a hand a tongue unto his friend to fore-see his peril and to fore-warn and assist him in danger Nor can that conscience be a faithfull inmate to the soul whose searching sight the sun-shine of the World hath bleard whose awakeing touch custome in sin hath deaded and whose sharp point and wounding edge the Devil hath rebated the delights of the Flesh prooving a Sibyls sop unto this Cerberus a Dalilah unto this Sampson That part which the Chyrurgion intends to cut off he first benums And those Persons whom the Lord determines to rescind from the visible Body of his Church he commonly hardens as were those spoken of by the Apostle whose Consciences were seared as with an hot Iron Lord let my conscience be neither like Nabal's heart dead as a stone within him Nor yet like Dives tongue tormented in merciless flames But like Peter's Cock never ceasing to crow until I weep bitterly Yea let it be my Nathan who am as David a sinner my Samuel who am disobedient as Saul So shall my conscience be unto me a happy copesmate one whose words are better unto me as a friend than her kisses as an enemy Of all the faculties of the Soul the will is most dependent its act and operation being moved by the determination or suggestion of the rest viz. the minde understanding and affections For before any thing is done by Man there is a consultation had in the Soul where after a disputation pro con at length this thing or that is agreed of to be the bonum which in due season the will as the â—ouls agent puts in execution Now there is Gods bonum such a one as we shall finde in holy Chronology exprest in the Frontispiece of every good Kings life Instance in Hezechiah He did that which was right or good in the sight of the Lord. And there is Mans bonum also so called not because positively or simply so in it self but in relation to purblinde Man who so esteemeth it Witness that sacred and historical annotation
of God for thy Salvation and the voice of God for thy acceptation Who but an experienced Christian can express the sweet of these yet how far short are his expressions of these streams of comforts which flow through the Priestly Office to every true Believer from the unexhaustible Fountain of Gods mercy What spots doth not this wash off What soares doth not this Jordan heal Yea what lameness and imperfection doth not this Bethesda cure O the consolation of Christs intercession in this imperfect state of grace Is my love weak and unstable as Water This love O Saviour is stronger than Death Is my obedience imperfect By thy obedience many are made righteous Is my zeal defective Lord Thy zeal of thy House hath eaten thee up Is my Faith small and subject to doubting O Saviour thou wilt give a blessing even to a grain of Faith as of Mustard-Seed And hast promised not to quench the smoaking Flax nor to break the bruised Reed Is my Prayer full of weakness ignorance and imperfection Thy Spirit it self maketh request for us with sighs which cannot be expressed Yea thou art entred into the very Heaven of Heavens to appear now in the sight of God ever living there to make Intercession for us To conclude Is my inherent righteousness imperfect And am I a transgressor of the Law Thy imputative righteousness is perfect and thou art a fulfiller of the Law For thou art the end of the Law for righteousness unto every one that believeth Yea that all further objections may be answered that all other defects may appear supplied behold here a gift as large as Mans wants and as full of mercy as he of sin Christ Jesus of God is made unto us wisdome and righteousness and sanctification and redemption Our Saviour Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life that Jacob's Ladder whose foot as expressing his humanity toucheth the Earth and whose top as respecting his Divinity reacheth unto Heaven This threefold office may be considered as the parts of this Heavenly ascent Upon whose first degree my faith which is the eye the hand and the foot of the Soul hath begun to ascend It remains now that I mount the next staff belonging to his Priestly office which is satisfaction the inseparable consequent of which is Justification The parts of which forgiveness of sins and imputation of righteousness do necessarily follow the former Our mercifull High Priest and Redeemer satisfying by suffering that our sins for which he suffered might be forgiven fulfilling the Law is continually interceding that his righteousness might be to us imputed So that to our comfort and confirmation be it spoken that when faith hath gaind footing upon satisfaction and intercession it must needs have hand-hold on remission and imputation Can the Lord be less righteous than Man Doth not the cancelling of the Bond succeed the absolving of the debt The satisfaction and releasement of the Prisoner follow the not guilty of the Jury O the perfection of all the ways of God especially of this his great work towards the Children of Men wherein mercy and justice do sweetly kiss each other He being just towards Man in his fall into Death that he might be mercifull in raising him to life And that he might spare his adopted Sons he spares not his only begotten Son O what is Man that thou art mindfull of him or the Son of Man that thou visitest him To proceed Justification by some Divines made an act of Christs Kingly office is that mercifull and yet just sentential act of God the Father whereby a believer is absolved from sin and death and the inherent righteousness of Christ is imputed unto the faithfull applyer for the attaining of life everlasting Hereby waving our debt and supplying our want at once delivering us from guilt and corruption Behold here is an Olive Branch which faith the Dove of the Soul brings home unto it in the time of Gods vengeance and in the midst of the great Waters of Sin Here 's a Golden Scepter held forth by the incensed King of Kings to every faithfull and humbled Esther Now I may say to my Soul as once the multitude to the blind Man See he calls thee Not in his strong Wind by which he rents the Mountains of pride Not in his Earth-quake by which he shakes secure and presumptuous sinners No nor yet in his consuming Fire with which he devours unexcusable Hypocrites But in his mercy even with a still small voice of compassion and pardon O my Soul Thou art not come unto the Mount that burnd with Fire and that might be touched nor unto blackness and darkness and tempest nor to hear the voice of those words which voice they that heard entreated that the Word should not be spoken to them any more But thou art come to Mount Sion and to an innumerable company of Angels and to Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant and to the blood of Sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel and to God the Judge of all whom thou maist hear with comfort proclaiming Himself unto thee as once before Moses thus The Lord the Lord God mercifull and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sin Forgiving sin O what good news is this unto my Soul How truly is this called the glad tidings of the Gospel Tell me yee which shall hereafter read my thoughts even from the testimony of your own Souls For only experience can make you fit Judges in this case If there be any joy like to the joy of a justified sinner Any blessing like that of David Can I consider into how fearfull an estate sin hath cast me and unto what punishment Justice hath condemned me and not from thence proportion out and acknowledge the greatness of this deliverance Doth not the truth-speaking Word of God which is neither cruel nor partial tell me that I am a sinner For there is no Man that sinneth not That I am a debtor Since we must all pray forgive us our debts That I am a condemned Person For by the offence of one judgment came upon all Men to condemnation That I am a bond-slave to death and to him that hath the Power of Death the Devil all my life time being subject to bondage That I am a dead Man For We are all dead in sins and trespasses That I am an enemy to God and Christ and lastly by nature a Child of Wrath And shall I account remission of all my offences Satisfaction of all my arrearages Liberty from servitude Life in stead of death Nay more resurrection from death no mercy Can my powerfull Enemy be made my friend and Father my irefull Judge become my Mediator and Saviour and I not highly favoured gratiously yea
in respect of righteousness and charity towards my poor Brethren are rather like Simeon and Levy Brethren in cruelty full of iniquity and ready to shed blood So that O Lord having so many wide breaches in this Bulwark of my Soul through which mine Enemies continually enter how can I with quiet and comfort of heart relish and feed upon thy promises obey thy Commandements and cease to grieve thy holy spirit May I not justly fear the miserable lott of that wretched back-slider in thy Gospel into whom the unclean Spirit which was gone out returned bringing with him seven other Spirits worse than himself So that the last estate of that Man was worse than the beginning Wherefore sweet Jesus since thy Body as well as thy Soul suffered for me let thy Consolation Sanctification and Salvation be extended to both in me also that being not particularly but wholly thine and at one in my self and with thee I may wholly and only praise and serve thee That sin hath miserably metamorphosed thy Body and shamefully deformed mislead and corrupted thy Members is true O my well-beloved And no marvail For thou wast shapen in iniquity and in sin did thy Mother conceive thee And Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean Not one Yet be not thou discouraged nor dismaid for though thou art a Naaman I will be thy Elisha Yea to save such sinners am I come What though thou beest even white over with Sins Leprosie I am thy High Priest to heal thee and pronounce thee clean Have I cured thy Soul doubt not the cure of thy Body since all my works are perfect And if I gave freely and unaskt forgiveness of sins together with health of Body to many whilst I walkt upon Earth shall I not much more give thee spiritually both also When as I rais'd up Lazarus I could have left his Soul still spiritually dead for I give many health of Body to whom I deny Salvation But to whom I grant spiritual life as unto thee I bestow all lesser things as included in the greater So that having said unto thee as once unto the Cripple Thy Sins are forgiven thee thou maist be confident that thou art healed of thy spiritual lameness strengthened to arise from thy couch of Sin and enabled to walk in the ways of godliness towards thy heavenly home as having the Image of holiness imparted upon all thy members and the marrow thereof running throughout all thy bones The Trees root being quickened the Body thereof must needs flourish And thy Soul being sanctified all the parts of thy outward Man must needs wax green in an holy conversation and bring forth fruits unto righteousness As a Fountain at the same place cannot send forth sweet Water and bitter no more can the members and consequently the actions which as streams proceed from a regenerate Soul be polluted and impure Notwithstanding what hath been said that thou maist be firmly established and assured of this truth receive apply and lay up these my gracious and particular promises Have thine Eyes been full of Sin vanity and Idolatry thou shalt now look to thy Maker and thine Eyes shall have respect unto the holy one of Israel Art thou spiritually blinde and canst make no good use of outward objects I will anoint thy Eyes with Eye salve that thou mayst see my goodness Are thine Eares closed up to my Word Now shall the Deaf hear the words of my Book and the Eyes of the blinde shall see out of obscurity and darkness Yea thine Eares shall hear a Word behind thee saying This is the way walk thou in it when thou turnest to the right hand or to the left Further have thy Nostrils been inlets and entertainers of vanity Exhautasting the sweet of my Creatures for the serving of sinfull pride and voluptuousness Henceforth thou shalt make them serviceable to thy Soul not thy sence only but thy minde also being by them delightfully recreated imitating herein my beloved Spouse in the Canticles Who from the natural perfumes of Spices and sweet Flowers and the distilling sweetness of fragrant Lillies doth affectionately meditate of and set forth the excellencies of my Word and Ordinances and the mellifluousness of my promises and instructions Yea thou thy self also shalt be sweet unto me in thy obedience and good works which are an odour of a sweet smell a Sacrifice acceptable and well-pleasing unto God Next thou complainest that thy Pallate is naturally the Cook and factor of Epicurisme Drunkenness and Gluttony be of good chear for thou shalt now experimentally confess That Man lives not by Bread only but by every Word that proceedeth out of the Mouth of God Neither shalt thou labour any more for the Meat which perisheth but for that Meat which endureth unto everlasting life which I the Son of Man will give unto thee for my Flesh is meat indeed and my Blood is drink indeed But in this spiritual nourishment remember that it is the Spirit that quickeneth the Flesh profiteth nothing Hast thou formerly pleased and glutted thy self with dainties even to my dishonour and the abuse of my Creatures Thou shalt now hunger and thirst after righteousness and be both blessed and filled For I am the Bread of Life he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst Yea thou shalt be able to make a spiritual as well as a natural use of my Creatures chearfully and tastingly saying with my Espoused Church that in respect of my delightfull and all-surpassing graces I am as the Apple Tree amongst the Trees of the Wood and that my Fruit is sweet unto thy taste And with my Servant David that my words and judgments are sweeter than the Hony and the Hony Combe Further hath thy Touch been a snare unto thee and administred fuell to thy corruption Have thy Hands and Feet been slow in my ways but swift to commit iniquity Hath thy Tongue been silent in my praises and a ready Advocate and Pleader for Sin Know my command is gone forth and my gracious Decree is now efficatious to strengthen the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees to make the lame Man leap as an Hart and the tongue of the dumb to Sing and say Praise the Lord call upon his Name declare his doings amongst the People make mention that his Name is exalted Now shall thy hands with my Spouse in the Canticles drop with the pretious and sweet smelling Myrrh of holy and fervent endeavours shaking off their former sinfull sloath and drowsiness Now shall all those Members which thou hast heretofore yielded as Servants to uncleannesse and to iniquity be Servants to righteousness unto holiness For whilst thou weart in the flesh The motions of Sin which were by the Law did work in thy Members to bring forth fruit unto Death
exchanges Earth for Heaven even for the City of the ever living God the new Jerusalem her Earthly associates for the beatifical vision and presence of the glorious Trinity those many Myriads of Angels the general Assembly of the Church of the first-born and the spirits of all just Men made perfect As for the overplus of her treasure uninherited she hath and doth take order by good works as by so many Bills of Exchange for the receipt of them above herein obeying the precept and counsel of our Saviour to lay up treasure in Heaven Lastly a Sceptre is not a Bar neither doth the massy weight of a Crown nor felicity of terrene things depress the high-soaring affections of this Christian Soul King David's choice is hers rather To be a Door-keeper in the House of God than to dwell in the Tents of wickedness Neither is there fear of loss where it is The Fathers will to give a Kingdome For The Lord God is a Sun and a Shield the Lord will give grace and glory no good thing will he with-hold from them that walk uprightly O Lord of Hosts blessed is the Man that trusteth in thee Man being a compositum a sensible Creature is naturally deeply apprehensive of pain therefore impetuously an abhorror of separation Hence a third fearfull and violent assault of Death so powerfull and prevalent that it hath brought the strongest of Gods Warriours upon their knees and to a marvailous astonishment Hence as some interpret the reiterated and strong cries the wonderfull and bloody sweat of our great General Christ Jesus But because his apprehension and suffering are mysterious unconceivable and extraordinary see the conflict and hear the complaint of a dying sick Man Holy therefore truly royal Hezechiah I shall go saith he to the Gates of the Grave I am deprived of the residue of my years I shall behold Man no more with the Inhabitants of the World God will cut me off with pining sickness from Day even to Night wilt thou make an end of me I reckoned till Morning that as a Lion so will he break all my Bones Like a Crane or Swallow so did I chatter I did mourn as a Dove I might further instance here the mournfull Lamentation of Job and David upon the like occasion But what need I when every one of us in our healths can witness that in our Meditation of our dissolution we have often felt strong sits of this dead Palsey I will therefore hast to the Allay or Antidote them O my Soul I confess I have undertaken a hard task to perswade against Natures prescription and sence For what more universal more common more necessary and therefore more natural than the marriage of Soul and Body What amity more ancient or more diffusive than this betwixt these two friends Yea what expresses the glory and regal Power of the one what gives an active beeing and lively existence to the other but this mutual communion and effectual union Neither wants there negative arguments to dishearten and weigh thee down my Soul in this thy Eagle-like flight as being the unwelcome concomitants fearfull consequents and direfull defects of this unwilling separation Such the darkning of the Sun Moon Light and Stars I mean the Eyes the obscuring of those that look out of the Windows viz. the receding of the Soul by reason of the debility of the optick Nerves as the holy Ghost elegantly expresses such the palsyness of our hands the keepers of our house of Clay the weakness and binding of the Legges the strong guard thereof the want of motion in the Teeth the mills and grinders of our food such the bringing low of the Daughters of Musick by deafness in the Eares and hollowness of voice such thy many and present fears equal if thou beest ancient unto thy gray haires white like the blossoming Almond-Tree The losing of the silver Cord viz. the evaporating of the natural and vital Spirits the drying up the marrow and the relaxing of the Nerves and sinews the ligaments of the Bones such the breaking of the golden Bowle Pitcher or Wheele at the Fountain or Cistern viz. the rending in two of the heart-string those last pangs disabling it to force the blood extracted from the Liver as being the Fountain into the Veins and to perform its circular motion But all these are but the associates and symptomes of Death the followers they are far more terrible and distractive such are the privation of life the Pallace of the Soul being now a dungeon of corruption the pale hue of the Face and Body the breathless Carcass now as it were mourning for her Spouses departure Such the strange deadness of the late sparkling Eyes yellowed now like unto a fallen Star To conclude the whole Microcosme of the Body deprived of her created light and of that Spirit that moved in her and informed her the Soul becomes nothing less than a motionless lump an obscure and deformed Chaos These considerations O my Soul at the first sight I confess render Death a terrible Goliah before whom most of the Armies of Israel turn their backs Yet do not thou fear for a stone or two chosen and taken out of those running and pure streams of Gods Word from that Rock hewen out without hands shall from the Sling of every faithfull David not only pierce his forehead but also swallow up terminate and intombe Death in death Is thy sick-Bed through the fury of this adversary as full of torture as the hot glowing Gridiron of holy Lawrence yet such a Metamorphosis will thy high-soaring Contemplations and the power of faith work in thee that the full sence and influx of Heavenly joyes and raptures shall make thee senseless of thy pains and sufferings Thy feavourish fits being but Eliah's Chariot thy cold sweats but thy passage through Jordan into the Heavenly Canaan Hast thou not seen a fierce flame in thy Chimny suddenly to damp and recoyle when the Sun shines full upon it Did any Conqueror feel or regard his wounds when about to ascend his tryumphal Chariot And can the weak blaze of Deaths consumption out-vie the shining of Gods face and not be swallowed up of glory Can Deaths wounds be felt in the neer apprehension nay fruition of Immortality Surely no. Thou mayest as being in nature mourn a day or two with Mary but when thy Christ approaches thus neer doubtless thou wilt forget thy grief and run not out of thy Doors but out of thy Body to meet him Swan-like singing with David As the Hart panteth after the Water-brooks so panteth my Soul after thee O God my Soul thirsteth for God for the living God when shall I come and appear before God Wherefore O my Soul or whosoever thou art that readest these Meditations amidst thy great pangs as the Apostle exhorts Look unto yea follow the example of Jesus the Author and finisher
bottomless Pit of Hell Death and Sin out of which eternal love in Christ free grace and infinite mercy hath taken thee Call upon and bless God for this infinite depth of mercy Yea exalt and magnify the height and depth the breadth and length of this love which passeth knowledge O my Soul the mighty Angels leaving their first state as ambitiously seeking a greater as the learned conceive were cast down for their pride and discontentedness from the highest Heaven into the deepest abyss of Hell And our first Parents for the like ambition and desire of bettering their condition were cast out of Paradise From which examples I have reason to think should Man have had a thought or design of or by himself to be possest of so glorious a life prerogative state and condition as our gracious God hath freely given us in Christ It had been so high and unwarrantable a sin and ambition as would have justly deserved as great a curse and punishment O from this experience of infinite love for God is love pray incessantly in return thereof not only to be enlarged and raised to the highest and greatest love and thankfulness that a Creature can be made capable of But that thou mayest hence-forth have no will but his which shall be thy great wisdome in all things submitting all thou hast and thy whole Man solely to his most gracious and All-wise dispose whose free gifts bounty and unconceivable liberality are not such as Creatures bestow on their favourites but such as becomes the Majesty and immensness of a God who gives to his Saints benefits and blessings temporal spiritual and eternal not only above their prayers hopes and expectations but as the Apostle expresses above what we can either ask or think O my Soul shall thy body be incorruptible and immortal defile it not with lust any more neither let sin abound because grace hath abounded Since thou must know that thy incorruptability and immortality must in a true Scripture and spiritual sence begin in this life although they are to be perfected in the next Therefore our Saviour saith He that believeth on him hath everlasting life And the Apostle affirmes that we are made to sit together in Christ in Heavenly places And Saint John declares 1 John 5.12 That he that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life And blessed Paul affirms If Christ be in us the Body is dead because of sin but the spirit is life because of righteousness Again dost thou live in Christ and Christ in thee Art thou even as to thy body the Habitation and Temple of the Holy Ghost and spiritually and inseparably united to God in Christ and is thy life hid with God in Christ Dally no more with sin for there can be no communion betwixt light and darkness And know this although thou canst not dye eternally yet thy backslidings in wilfull and presumptuous sinnings may through thy Spouse his righteous with-drawing and desertion cast thee into such a swoon and transe that thy life peace and Heaven here may as to thy feeling be turned into emnity death yea and to an Hell upon Earth Give not that subtil destroyer Sathan occasion or advantage by spiritual adulteries and reiterated Rebellions to sue out a divorse in the Court of thy Conscience betwixt thy Spouse and thee For know this that although Whom Christ loves he loves to the end And his gifts and calling are without Repentance and that though thy Husband hath loved thee with an everlasting love yet such a suite will be very troublesome and chargeable and may cost thy Spirit many and unexpressible sighs groans and lamentations And may as it were break thy bones or make thy Body a very Sceleton only fit for a Grave Lastly for as much as the Children of God were partakers of flesh and blood Did the Son of God himself likewise take part of the same that through Death he might destroy him that had the power of Death viz. the Devil to deliver them who through fear of Death were all their life time subject unto bondage And did not take on him the nature of Angels but took on him the Seed of Abraham from which hypostatical union of the two natures in one Person and the union of thy Person to his Person by the Eternal Spirit is given unto thee eternal life in a far higher and more excellent way and manner than to the Elect Angels Did the Lord of Heaven and Earth the Heir of all things not only marry himself to thy nature but also unto thee For I am married unto you saith the Lord in the Prophet and is the honourable Ordinance of Marriage therefore called by the Apostle a great Mystery because even in Eves formation and in its first Institution it was to be a Type and lively Figure of this thy spiritual Marriage and union to the second Adam Hast thou through infinite mercy received assurance hereof that thou art thy Beloveds and that thy Beloved is thine Is the Marriage Day and Supper appointed and declared and in the interim hast thou an Espousal contract subscribed to by thy faith and by his Spirit O be exceeding watchfull and carefull of offending such a loving Spouse and glorious Bridegroom by any sinfull relapses and backslidings into any sin that may move him to jealousie For as jealousie is the rage of a Man so the anger and jealousie of thy God is said to burn like Fire against such unfaithfull and spiritual Adulteresses O as thou tenderest the love of thy God and of thy Spouse and thy peace of Conscience and thy Heaven upon Earth venture not to blot or blur so blessed an assurance and evidence of thy Eternal happiness union and life in him by sin or any presumptuous iniquity and rebellion Nor to crust it over by customary sinning or delay of repentance But by an holy chast and religious walking Keep it so fair written and legible that all other Saints but principly thy self at all times but especially in the time of trouble temptation and hour of death may read it Then though thy Eye-strings are broken the eye of thy faith shall behold it and see thy Name written in Heaven and in the Lambs Book of Life O blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who art the Resurrection and the Life and hast declared in thy Word of Truth that this my vile Body shall be raised and made a Heavenly and spiritual Body like to thine give me to behold this wonderfull change continually by faith the eye of my Soul then shall I not be abashed or dismayed at the baldness and gray-headedness of old age at my hollow Eyes wrinckled Cheeks blindness deafness my toothless Gums and pale countenance nor at the Palsiness lameness and decrepitness of my Hands Feet and
and a learned Man was declared an Heretick for holding there was an Antipodes or a new World before its discovery so may possibly these my weak notions and contemplations although of a Divine subject because not heretofore searcht into by others that I know of and therefore if the Lord in his providence shall order them to come to a publick view I only recommend them to the devout perusal and judgment of holy humble regenerate and practical Christians who although in the Body do by divine Meditation as it were live out of the Body and have been so far changed into the Image of Christ and taught and renewed by his holy Spirit that they have brought their Bodies and Senses unto such a spiritual frame and exercise as is declared and exhorted to in the foregoing discourse These will rightly judge of this personal Raign of Christ with his Saints upon Earth and how uncharitably and unjustly and I may add ignorantly many in other respects learned religious and to be honoured have ignominiously and falsely branded this Doctrine as though it was New Epicureal and Sensual whereas the truth is it is a most antient and Primative Doctrine and nothing else but the declaration and affirmation of that glorious condition of Christ and his Saints that he himself the Holy Scriptures and Prophets indited and inspired by his Holy Spirit have throughout witnessed to and promised as by the Scriptures quoted in the Margin besides many others is sufficiently proved That he the second Adam should come to renew and restore all things in this lower Creation freed from the curse of sin to as good yea a far better condition than they had before the Fall When God saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very good Now did not God make this so excellent a work for his Glory and for his Creature Man to enjoy and to serve praise and glorify him in the fruition thereof and in the admiration of him in this its excellency and goodness But did any of Man-kinde but only two Adam and Eve enjoy the Earth and the Creatures thereof in their Primitive and created excellencies and that but for a Day or two How then shall God have his end the Glory of his Power wisdome and goodness and Man the enjoyment of all his liberality and bounty and be Trumpets and witnesses of his excellencies in the Creatures How shall Gods promise be fulfilled Of making a new Heaven and a new Earth and restoring all things by his Son the Heir of all things If Man I mean all the Elect in his Soul Body and Senses shall not be renewed and live personally with Christ at this Renovation of all things for a thousand years according to the Scriptures to enjoy what God hath made and Christ hath purchased for them and to admire adore and glorify him in the Primitive end use and enjoyment of them These then that deny this and in a fervent I forbear to say ignorant hast because every Age hath its measure of light would seat the raised Saints in the highest Heavens before their time and before Gods promises and great designs be fulfilled what do they else in the declining of this great truth but force themselves upon false and Allegorical expositions of cleer and literal Scriptures making ineffectual his promise yea do they not affirm contrary to that undeniable maxime that God made these Heavens and this Earth and all the wonderfull Creatures and admirable Ornaments thereof in vain as not known nor made use of by them for whom at first he created it and again renewed it I might here add many more Arguments for the defence of this truth but I shall at this time no further digress but return to my former Method of Meditation upon this glorified Sense of Feeling Referring the Reader to those most excellent Treatises of Dr. Homes Mr. Archer and many others upon this Subject O my Soul shall this Sense be not only continued but exercised upon such excellent subjects in Glory shall it with thy Body be spiritualiz'd and as to its sensability incomparably exceed what it is now O be carefull not to effeminate or pollute it disdaining to vassalage it to pride covetousness lust or vanity But as it more than all the other Senses declares and manifests thy living in the body So let it by an innocent sober chast and holy acting testify Christs living in thee The Lord Jesus hath taken off all legal impositions such as Touch not taste not but not his Gospel and Spiritual restraining Therefore abuse not nor make use of this Christian liberty which he hath purchased for thee to fulfill the Lusts of the Flesh For if thou livest after the Flesh thou shalt dye but if through the Spirit thou mortifiest the deeds of the Flesh thou shalt live Take heed of covetousness which hath not only its seat in the Eye but in the Hand desire not with Mydas in the Poet that every thing thou touchest may become Gold but remember the issue and moral of the Fable his starving and perishing in his enjoyments Neither imbrace thou the bosome of a strange Woman for he that toucheth her shall not be innocent for her ways draw neer to death and her steps take hold of Hell she being compared by the spirit of God to a deep Ditch and to a narrow Pit out of which very few get out and are delivered For although as in the Poet Ixion-like in the height of thy lustfull pleasure thou thinkest to infold in thy Armes a Juno a Goddess The conclusion will be but the grasping of an Airy Cloud nay which is far worse a Pestilential vapour an inflam'd and killing Granado O my Soul since whilst thou art in this vain World and in this sinfull body thou art incompast about with Legions of evil spirits with innumerable snares and with secret and subtile temptations which with those in the Prophet call good evil and evil good which put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter which call light darkness and darkness light abusing lawfull things and turning them out of their right Channel by excess that so they may overflow and drown the Earth again with a far more dangerous Flood than that of Water which destroyed only a temporal Life even a deluge of sin and of flaming Fire long since foretold the cause of that Fire and without true repentance of Eternal Death watch thou therefore and pray lest thou fall into temptation and this sence be adulterated by thy pride excess and luxury and made instrumental to cause those good Creatures the soft Silks of Persia the warm Furs of Muscovia the fine Wools of Britan and Segovia given thee by God to cover thy sinfull nakedness to become a covering of sin and a Banner of pride and vanity Take heed also that this sense be not bewitched and overcome through voluptuousness and corrupt thee by an
comfort declaring to them to the praise and glory of God thy experiences thy consolations and Divine manifestations And for as much as thou art zealous of spiritual gifts seek that thou maist excell to the edifying of the Church that spiritual Body of Christ whereof thou art a living Member And since God as the Apostle excellently observes hath set some in the Church First Apostles secondly Prophets thirdly Teachers after that Miracles then gifts of healing helps Governments diversities of Tongues Covet thou earnestly the best gifts For there are diversity of gifts but the same spirit But the manifestation of the Spirit is 〈◊〉 to every Man to profit withall To one is given by the Spirit the Word of Wisdome to another the Word of Knowledge by the same Spirit to another Faith by 〈◊〉 same Spirit to another the gift of Healing by the same Spirit to another working of Miracles to another Prophesie to another discerning of Spirits to another diâ—vers kinds of Tongues to another the interpretation of Tongues but all worketh that one and the self same Spiâ—rit dividing to every Man severally as he will For 〈◊〉 the Body is one and hath many Members and all the Members of that one Body being many are one Body 〈◊〉 also is Christ. If they were all one Member where weâ—â— the Body The Eye cannot say to the Hand I have 〈◊〉 need of thee again the Head unto the Feet I have 〈◊〉 need of you Now we are the Body of Christ and Memâ—bers in particular Therefore O my Soul since 〈◊〉 Tongue as to all divine and spiritual gifts is now thâ— principal Agent and Expressor And shall be then 〈◊〉 as a Member of Christ mystical Body in this his glorious Kingdome thou shalt be plac'd in thy Function and respective administration be not spiritually idle but â—it and exercise thy Tongue continually in declaring to others according as it shall be revealed to thee by the Holy Spirit the Magnalia Dei the wonderfull ways and works of God Freely thou hast received freely give O my Soul shalt thou then be as one of Christs Viceroyes over all inferiour Creatures shall thy Dictates Orders and Commands be received and obeyed by them as the voice of God O let not then thy speech now to them be mixt with oaths and cursings according to the woâ—t and fashion of the wicked of the Earth whose behaviours towards the poor Brutes are more like to Devils than Men or Christians Yea let thy employment of them and rule over them be gentle milde and moderate not cruel or oppressive since the good Man with the Scripture is mercifull towards his Beast And 〈◊〉 tenderness of thy God towards them exprest as 〈◊〉 of the reasons of his commanding a seventh Days 〈◊〉 That thy Beast may rest as well as thee teaches what respect and considerate pitty and compassion he expects from thee towards them as being fellowâ—Creatures suffering what servitude they undergo for thy sin and from which they shall be freed and delivered in thy glorious liberty But instead of speaking evil of or to the inferiour Creatures do thou now as thou shalt do in the World to come with thy Heart and Tongue praise and glorifie thy God after the Example of holy David Psal. 148. throughout in and for them admiring his love and goodness to thee to them as also 〈◊〉 unexpressible yea unconceivable power and wisdome declared in their various formes wonderfull strength 〈◊〉 qualities excellent virtues and uses as being 〈◊〉 great end of theirs and thy Creation as the Lord â—â—clares to Job when he bids him behold Behemoth and â—â—â—iathan and leaves upon Record for our Instruction and Imitation so large a description of them and of others of his Creatures This holy exercise both of mind and voice in the contemplation of the Creatures was without doubt a chief employment of Adam in his innocency Let it be thine then in thy return and travailing to this second Paradise that what is begun by thee here in grace may be perfected there in Glory O glorious God and mercifull Father O infinite loâ—ing and gracious Saviour and Redeemer O holy and Eternal Spirit my Sanctifier three infinitely glorious Persons One Omnipotent onely wise and Eternal God Blessed blessed blessed from everlasting to everlasting who hath so highly honoured and dignified me a 〈◊〉 Worm and no Man As to love me freely in thy Eterâ—nally begotten and only beloved Son the Lord Jesus God-Man and in him from before all beginnings to elect me unto Eternal Life and Salvation Creating 〈◊〉 unto immortality and glory by giving me an immortaâ— Soul and a Body that shall assuredly be raised to life and glory by thy Almighty Power and by the virtue of the Resurrection of my Head and Saviour who hast miraculously raised me from a sinfull death unto a spiritual life in my effectual Calling through Adoption the Sanctification and Inhabitation of thy holy Spirit as 〈◊〉 freely justified me in thy Son the Lord my righteousâ—ness and by this blessed and inseparable union to 〈◊〉 in thy Son by the Holy Ghost given me assurance 〈…〉 Life and Glory which shall indubitably begâ—◠〈◊〉 my Soul at my dissolution and be compleat at the â—â—â—union of Soul and Body aâ— the Resurrection of the 〈◊〉 What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits O God my heart is fixed I will sing and give praise 〈◊〉 with my glory Awake my Heart awake my Tongue 〈◊〉 self will awake early and joyn with the Arch-Angels and Angels and the Church Tryumphant in Heaven and with the Holy Catholick Church upon Earth in 〈◊〉 Heavenly exercise of praise and thanksgiving O Lord whose only prerogative it is to search the heart knowest that these are the desires and petitions of 〈◊〉 Soul yet with holy Paul I cry out that to will is present with me through thy grace but how to perform know not Blessed Saviour give me of thy fulness so soâ—â— to receive grace for grace Yea be pleased to add 〈◊〉 to grace since thou alone workest in us both the will and the deed and the Heaven aspiring piercing 〈◊〉 of praise ariseth only from thy Divine Fire of Knowledge and holy affections Eternal Father let not this noble Instrument of thy Glory my Tongue be tuned to the vain and wanton Layes of the World and Sin lest thereby being crackt unstrung and made untunable for thy service here it and my whole Body with voluptuous Diveâ— be cast 〈◊〉 useless into the Fire of Hell where a drop of cold Water will not be 〈◊〉 to cool a flaming lascivious Tongue But let me O Lord be continually chaâ—â—ing the Magnâ—lia Dei and be singing those Evangelicalâ— and prophetical Songs of the four Beasts and four and twenty Elders the figure and representative of thy holy Church saying and singing
with thy Neighbours Wife to defile thy self with her The Adulterer and Adulteress shall surely be put to death Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor abusers of themselves with Man-kind shall inherit the Kingdome of God Mortifie your Members which are upon the Earth fornication uncleanness inordinate affection evil concupiscence For which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the Children of disobedience And commit not Fornication as some of the Israelites committed and fell in one Day three and twenty thousand Without the new Jerusalem are Whoremongers who shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with Fire which is the second Death Out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts which are an abomination to the Lord. Wherefore hate all vain thoughts Let them not lodg within you for the thought of foolishness is sin I understand your thoughts afar off and am a discerner of the thoughts and intents of your hearts Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouths but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace to the hearers But fornication and all uncleanness let it not be once named amongst you as becometh Saints Neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor jesting which are not convenient but rather giving of thanks For because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the Children of disobedience Be not therefore partakers with them I say unto you every idle word that Men shall speak they shall give account thereof at the Day of Judgment For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned Whosoever looketh upon a Woman to lust after her hath committed Adultery with her already in his heart Wherefore with holy Job make a Covenant with thine Eyes that thou think not upon a Maid to lust after her For when thy Eye is evil thy Body also is full of darkness The Eyes of the wicked shall faile But chiefly them that walk after the Flesh in the lust of uncleanness Having Eyes full of Adultery and that cannot cease from sin and are reserved to the Day of Judgment to be punished and to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever The Night is far spent the Day is at hand therefore cast ye off the works of Darkness and put on the Armour of Light walking honestly as in the Day not in rioting and drunkenness not in Chambering and wantonness But put ye on me the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die but if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live Let not Sathan who is a lyar from the beginning and the Father of lyes fill your hearts to sin against the Holy Ghost who is the Spirit of truth that ye be not strucken with sudden Death as was Ananias and Saphira Ye shall not lye one unto another but every one speak the truth with his Neighbour For ye are Members one of another For I will destroy them that speak leasing and the mouth that speaketh lies shall be stopped The Earth mourneth and fadeth away the World languisheth and fadeth away the haughty People of the Earth do languish the Earth also is defiled under the Inhabitants thereof because they have transgressed the Laws changed the Ordinance broken the everlasting Covenant I am the Mediator of the new Covenant sealed unto you in my Sacraments of Baptisme and my Supper Tread not then under foot the Son of God nor count the blood of my Covenant wherewith ye are sanctified an unholy thing nor do despight unto my Spirit of grace For vengeance is mine I will recompence yea I will judge my people It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God When thou vowest a vow unto God defer not to pay it for he hath no pleasure in fools Pay that which thou hast vowed The Lord thy God will surely require it of thee and it would be sin in thee That which is gone out of thy Lips thou shalt keep and perform to God and to Men lest thou be excluded my holy Hill and suffer alike Judgement with King Zedekiah for shall he escape that doth such things Or shalâ— he break the Covenant and be delivered Surely where the King dwelleth that made him King whose Oath he despised and whosâ— Covenant he break even with him in the midest of Babilon shall he die Thou shalt not desire thy Neighbours Wife neither shalt thou covet thy Neighbours House his Field or his Man servant or his Maid-servant his Oxe or his Ass or any thing that iâ— thy Neighbours Woe unto him that covered an evil covetousness to his House that he maâ— set his Nest on high that he may be delivereâ— from the power of evil He that maketh haâ— to be rich shall not be innocent No covetouâ— Man who is an Idolater hath any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God Take heed and beware of Covetousness For woe unto him that buildeth his House by unrighteousness and his Chambers by wrong Beware of Ahab's sin and his punishment No Man can serve two Masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other Ye cannot serve God and Mammon Therefore I say unto you take no thought for your Life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink nor yet for your body what ye shall put on Is not the life more than meat and the body than rayment For after all these things the Gentiles seek for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things Wherefore having food and rayment be therewith content for I have said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown Men in destruction and perdition for the love of money is the root of all evil which while some coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows Wherefore love not the World nor the things that are in the World if any Man love the World the love of the Father is not in him There is that scattereth and yet increaseth and there is that with-holdeth more than is meet and yet tendeth to poverty The liberal Soul shall be made fat and he that watereth shall be watered also himself There is an evil which I have seen under the Sun and
that laugh now for ye shall mourn and weep For your miseries that shall come upon you Your riches are corrupted and your Garments are Moth-eaten your Gold and Silver is cankered and the rust of them shall be a witness against you and shall eat your flesh as it were Fire ye have lived in pleasure on the Earth and been wanton ye have nourished your hearts as in a Day of slaughter Behold the Judge standeth before the Door and my coming draweth nigh when all such shall receive the reward of unrighteousness As they that count it pleasuâ—e to riot in the Day time and living in pleasure are dead whilst they are alive Spots they are and blemishes sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you feeding themselves without fear Clouds they are without Water Trees whose fruit withereth without fruit twice dead plucked up by thee roots Raging Waves of the Sea foaming our their own shame wandring Stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever Beloved remember the words which were spoken before of my Apostle who told you there should be mockers in these last times who should walk after their own ungodly lusts These be they who separate themselves sensual having not the Spirit Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God These are those scoffers in these last days walking after their own lust and saying Where is the promise of his coming For since the Fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the Creation Let us eat and drink for to morrow we shall die For as in the Days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage and knew not until the Flood came and took them all away so shall also my coming be Watch therefore and pray lest ye fall into temptation For you know not what hour your Lord doth come Therefore be you ready for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh But if with that evil Servant you shall say in your hearts my Lord deferreth his coming and shall smite your fellow-Servants and eat and drink with the drunken I will come in an hour which you are not aware of and cut you asunder and appoint you your portion with the Hypocrites there shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth Solomon the Preacher the Son of David King of Israel was great and increased more than all that were before him in Jerusalem who kept not from his Eyes whatsoever they desired and with-held not his Heart from any joy For his Heart rejoyced in all his Labours whose wisdome also remained with him when he looked on all the works that his Hands had wrought and the Labour he had laboured to do as is before at large enumerated by him makes this acknowledgment Behold All is Vanity and Vanity of Vanities and Vexation of Spirit and there was no profit under the Sun Therefore love not the World nor the things of the World For all that is in the World the Lust of the Flesh the Lust of the Eyes and the Pride of Life is not of the Father but iâ— of the World And the World passeth away and the Lusts therefore but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever Be ye not weary of well-doing for in due season you shall reap if ye faint not He that soweth to the Flesh shall of the Flesh reaâ— Corruption But he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting Are there any so foolish as to begin in the Spirit and to think to be made perfect in the Flesh If any Man have run well let none hinder you that you should nor obey the truth Remember Lot's Wife No Man having put his Hand to the Plough and looking back is fit for the Kingdome of God If any Man draw back my Soul shall have no pleasure in him But ye are not of them that draw back unto Perdition but of them that believe unto the saving of the Soul The back-slider shall be filled with his own ways but a good Man shall be satisfied from himself Let back-sliding Children return and I will heal their back-slidings and will love them freely When the unclean Spirit is gone out of a Man he walketh through dry places seeking rest and findeth none Then he faith I will return unto my House from whence I came out and when he is come he findeth it empty swept and garnished Then goeth he and taketh with himself seven other Spirits more wicked than himself and they enter in and dwell there And the last state of that Man is worse than the first For if after Men have escaped the pollutions of the World through the knowledge of Me the Lord and Saviour they are again intangled therein and overcome the latter end is worse with them than the beginning For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness then after they have known it to turn from the holy Commandements delivered unto them But it is happened unto them according to the true Proverb The Dog is turned to his own Vomit again And the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the Mire I am the Vine ye are the Brances he that abideth in Me and I in him bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing If a Man abide not in me he is cast out as a Branch and is withered and Men gather them and they are cast into the Fire and they are burned As the Father hath loved me so have I loved you continue you in my love If ye continue in my Word then are ye my Disciples indeed And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free Whoso looketh into the perfect Law of Liberty and continueth therein he being not a forgetful Hearer but a doer of the work this Man shall be blessed in his deed I am the Lord the hope of Israel all that forsake Me shall be ashamed and they that depart from Me shall be written in the Earth because they have forsaken me the Lord the Fountain of living Waters But he that endureth unto the end shall be saved If any Man see his Brother sin a sin which is not unto Death he shall ask and I will give him life for them that sin not unto Death There is a sin unto Death I do not say that he shall pray for it For it is impossible for those who were once enlightned and have tasted of the Heavenly Gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good Word of God and the Powers of the
World to come If they shall fall away to renew them again unto Repentance seeing they crucifie unto themselves Me the Son of God afresh and put Me to an open shame For the Earth which drinketh in the Rain which cometh often upon it and bringeth forth Herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiveth blessing from God But that which beareth Thorns and Briars is rejected and is nigh unto Cursing whose end is to be burned If then ye sin wilfully after that ye have received the knowledge of the truth there remains no more Sacrifice for Sin but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and Fiery indignation which shall devour the Adversaries He that despised Moses Law died without mercy under two or three witnesses Of how much soarer punishment suppose ye shall be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot Me the Son of God and hath counted the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despight unto my spirit of grace Wherefore I say unto you that all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men But the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto Men. And whosoever speaketh a word against Me the Son of Man it shall be forgiven him but whosoever sinneth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him neither in this World nor in the World to come But beloved I am perswaded better things of you and things that accompany Salvation though I thus speak Pray therefore that you may be kept back from presumptuous sins and that they may not have dominion over you So shall you be innocent from the great transgression My Children forget not my Law but let your hearts keep my Commandements For length of Days and long life and peace shall they add unto you Be not slothfull in business but fervent in Spirit serving the Lord. As Enoch and Noah walked with God and Moses seeing him who is invisible So walk you as Children of the Light and by the same Rule since your fellowship is with the Father and the Son And you are made partakers of the Divine nature and being joyned unto me are one Spirit My Children attend to my words incline your Eares unto my sayings let them not depart from your Eyes keep them in the midest of your hearts These things write I unto you that ye sin not and that your joy may be full And if any of you sin I am your Advocate with the Father and the Propitiation for your sins Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin for his Seed remaineth in him Have respect therefore to all my Commandements And keep your selves from your Iniquity Repent and turn from all your transgressions with a godly sorrow not to be repented of So iniquity shall not be your ruine Yea let Rivers of Waters run down your Eyes because Men keep not my Law Watch and pray always lest you run into temptation through Me that strengthens you you shall be able to do all things And be more than Conquerors and saved from your Enemies and from the hand of all that hate you Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness nor go in the way of evil Men but rather reprove them Set me always before you And whether you sleep or wake be together with me Lay hold on Eternal Life since the things that are seen are temporal but the things that are not seen are eternal For you know that if your Earthly House of this Tabernacle was dissolved you have a building of God an House not made with Hands Eternal in the Heavens Hate evil thoughts and let not vain thoughts lod within you Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life Yea out of your hearts proceed evil thoughts Murders Adulteries Fornications Thefts False-witness Blasphemies Be not high-minded but fear For God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble Be angry but sin not Let not the Sun go down up on your wrath Let your Conversation be without Covetousness and be content with such things as ye have For I have said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee A meek and quiet Spirit is in the sight of God of much Price Exercise your selves to have always a conscience void of offence towards God and towards Men. Speak not lies in Hypocrisie not have your understandings darkned nor your Consciences feared with an hot Iron Happy are you if you condemn not your selves in those things which you allow since he that doubteth is condemned For whatsoever is not of faith is sin Have your Hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience And follow after the things which make for peace and things wherewith one may edifie one another It is good neither to eat Flesh nor to drink Wine nor any thing whereby your Brother stumbleth or is offended or is made weak Speak evil of no Man Take heed to your ways that you offend not with your Tongues Let not wasting and destruction be in your Paths nor wast your substance among Harlots Wherefore do ye spend Money for that which is not Bread And set your Eyes upon that which is not If riches increase set not your Hearts on them For riches certainly make themselves Wings and flie away as an Eagle towards Heaven Vanity of Vanities all is Vanity Therefore honour the Lord with your substance and with the first-fruits of your increase Cast your Bread upon the Waters for after many Days you shall finde it Give a portion to seven and also to eight He that hath pitty on the poor lendeth unto the Lord And that which ye have given will he repay you again Make to your selves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness that when ye faile they may receive you into everlasting habitations Give Almes of those things you have and lend looking for nothing again Say not to your Neighbour Go and come again to morrow I will give when you have it by you Nor shut your hands from your poor Brethren Lest I say unto you Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels For I was an hungry and ye gave me no Meat I was thirsty and ye gave me no Drink I was a stranger and ye took me not in Sick and in Prison and ye Visited me not For inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these my poor Members ye did it not to me See then that ye walk circumspectly
down and destroyed And that without my suffering of any considerable loss Soliloquium or Discourse OF all inanimated Instruments of God's curse for sin none have been so violent irresistable and destructive to Man as the four Elements because of all sublunary things they possess the largest extent and therefore have the greatest power and influence Witness the Earths tremendious swallowing up the Tents and Families of rebellious Korah Dathan and Abiram and the destructive and ruinating Antiochian Earth-quakes The Universal Deluge in Noah's time by Water The great Mortality and destruction of the Israelites in the Wilderness and our late dreadful Pestilences in London proceeding from the corruption of the Aire and the fearful and unparallel'd Visitation of Sodom and Gomorrah by Elementary Fire Of which four Fundamental Simples and sole Ingredients of our lower Creation None is so terrible so tormenting so swift and so indomitable as the Element of Fire and therefore not only the unsupportable pains of Hell are held forth to us in Scripture by Fire But flaming Fire is already irrevocably ordained by the Lord as the blessed Apostle Peter witnesseth to bring up the rear and to be the last and the most desolating Judgment upon this wicked World The sad yet lively figures of this last Fiery Destruction are the Burnings of Houses Towns and Cities particularly that of the great famous and ancient City of London in the Year 1666. Against which City those Ignation Fires marcht with such a large and fearful front that they destroyed and laid in Ashes in three Days the glory labours and expences of two thousand seven hundred of Years O gracious God! hath Fire been so raging unmerciful and desolating to many thousands of Houses and Palaces in London and England hath it now and heretofore impoverisht and undone many thousands of Persons and good Christians what cause have I a sinner above others to record and acknowledge thy great and continued mercies for no less than Eleven times quenching the Fires begun in Four of my Houses lately in my possession and for preserving our Goods from any considerable Damage O let thy Goodness and Mercy that was virtually Water to allay and put out these judicial and terrene Fires kindled by my sin as well as though the malice of Enemies and carelesness of Servants be as Oyle to cause the Flames of my Love and thankfulness so to mount aloft that they may be heard and seen afar off even of all that serve and trust in thee in these three Nations That they in the consideration of these and of others thy marvellous loving kindness to me declared in this my poor work may praise thee with me also Yea let this holy and Heavenly Fire consume and burn up whatsoever is not thy goods and furniture in me and destroy every Image of Jealousie any Lust that Sathan hath set up in thy Temple my Body or upon thy Altar my heart so shall my whole Man like thy House consecrated by Solomon be replenisht with thy brightness and glory yea being thus filled with the Holy Ghost my Life and Soul shall shine like holy Stephens Face thy Proto-Martyr and Confessor here and both Soul and Body hereafter to Eternity shall be made like unto my Saviour's glorious Body For we know that when Christ who is our life shall appear we shall also appear with him in Glory Amen The EXTINGVISHER Ejaculation or Hymn upon the former Subject HOw blest and Heaven-like was Man's State in Paradice When nakedness with goodness cloth'd was of a greater price By far than Cloth of Gold imbost with Diamonds Rubies great orient Pearles and other precious Stones There was no need nor pompous use of Houses fair To live lodge Banquet in or fence from Wind cold Aire Or Summers heat Grass ever green imbrodered With various colour'd Flowers was his sweet Bed The Earth his Table was spread with variety Of gustful Plants and Herbs yea every fruitful Tree As Servitors present his Smell Eye Hands and Tast With all kinds of the varest Fruits and delicates Above the rest was that Nature-preserving Tree Of Life giv'n him to feed on to Eternity By Day his large previllion was the Azure Skie Glorious like Heaven through the Sun 's light his Canopie Also by Night it was though chang'd and altred clean As being spangled o're with Stars like a new Scene O wretched Man who by thy own rebelliousness Hast forfeited this Patent of true blessedness And art most justly out-law'd and by sin cast out Of this thy first condition And be-set about With miseries hence is it that each Element Of which thou art compounded is revengeful bent Against thee that the glorious Sun whose Heavenly Fire Was made to warm and cherish thee is through God's Ire By its refracted Beams thy great Tormentor Hence The Aire is full of Thunders Tempest and with cold condenst Powers forth the down-Snow and canded Hail with Rains Like Floods Witness the Indian Spouts and Hurricanes The Seas and Rivers now have leave to pass their bounds And make that Sea again or Lakes that was drie ground Hence is it that our Mother Earth out of whose Wombe So many kindes spring forth unnaturally becomes Their Tombe before their time And with a trembling Jaw Devours her Off-spring swallowes up in her vast Maw Whole Townes yea Towring Cities and the swelling Streames Of Rivers deep making proud Mountains humble Plains Hence is it that wild Beasts rebel 'gainst Man their Soveraign Lord Nimrods oppress and Brothers fall by Brothers Sword These fearful fruits of Sin and of first Adam's Fall Was the ground Plot Impulsive cause Original Of Houses Towns and Cities Then necessity Was Man's Surveyor But now Pride and Luxury Which changed hath our Fathers Caves Tents Cottages To Castles Towers like Babel stately Pallaces And costly Buildings Four such Lord for my rich lot Thou gavest me once built furnisht to my hand what not Nay more that love and mercy might thy bounty match Eleven times thy good providence kept only watch And blest the meanes to quench those Flames that had begun To Ceize House Goods upon sins Execution Yea once the side pience of a Garret was on Fire put out Without the knowledg help of any Person wonderful throughout In all these Fires our Damages was very small When Neighbours lost fair Dwellings Houshold-Stuff and all Their precious things Wherefore let this thy goodness be By me O Lord Recorded to Posterity That what 's deficient here to celebrate thy praise May be supplyed by them in time and length of Days Dear God to give preserve from harm Four pleasant Seats Was thy great act of love and care made more compleat In giving gracing me poor sinful Hut of Clay To be thy Temple and thy dwelling Night and Day But wretched Man I am and mad that in return Have oft essai'd thine yea my one House to burn By Flames of Lusts
Alarm and discover this design Else had I quickly slept in Death been smothered Consum'd as on a Roman Pile upon my Bed At which great noise which did direct my Eyes and Hand I rose with-drew the Vaile and cast the flaming brand Into my Chimny-Fire converting prayer to praise And vowes of gratefulness unto thee all my Dayes Which here I pay adding this Application That when one of the Sex first in transgression Inflam'd by some wanton Insects the Gun-Powder of Lust Barrel'd up in my Heart like that kindling dust I' th Night the Sun-set of thy Grace which Coles did lie Smothering sometimes behind the graceful Tapistry Of my Christian profession yea when that Fire With noise and Hell-assisting fury did conspire To burn and break the Hoops and Bonds of Chastity That so the Dining Room on Fire my Body suddainly My surpriz'd Soul its Guest might sleeping burn and â—lie With all her goods thy grace in this Catastrophie Then didst thou fright my Conscience by guilts Thunder-clap And raised me up with holy speed for to draw back The hangings of hypocrisie And to cast in The renew'd Fire of Zeal this Hell-like Fire of Sin And to pour on the Waters of repenting teares With Daily Prayers and Fasting which this Devil fears Casts out O Lord thy temporal deliverances Of Body have been great but thy Indulgences And Mercies to my Soul exceeds as far As doth the Heaven the Earth the light of Sun a Star For by the one thou hast spun out the slender thread Of my expiring life but by the other thou instead Of Death Eternal the reward and fruit of sin Hast giv'n me Glory everlasting Life in Him Who is my hope O that I had the thankful Tongue Of Men and Angels that I might inrich this Song Of praise for thy redoubled favours and free love Which are beyond expression yea which soar above My weak conceptions Lord accept this Widdowes Mite Because I offer all I have for it 's thy right To me for sin belongs confusion shame of Face But to thee O Lord forgiveness mercy through free grace Amen ARGUMENT Vpon God's most gracious and wonderful Providence in preventing and delivering me from being Slain and from committing of Man-slaughter in my Lodgings in Sommerset-House about the Year 1647. Soliloquium or Discourse HE that dwelleth in the secret of the most High shall abide under the shaddow of the Almighty Gracious God I humbly and thankfully acknowledge that thou hast performed to me this thy promise although I come far short of fulfilling the condition For thou art no hard Master as the sloathful Servant slandered thee but the most liberal and bountiful Lord whose grace is free who gives without upbraiding and who savest us temporally spiritually and eternally for thy own Name sake Even when there is but a step betwixt Us and Death This truth was both verified and manifested when I and my Servant in my Lodgings in Somerset House were suddainly awakened out of our sweet and quiet Nights sleep about break of Day on a Summers Morning by a great noise upon my Stairs head seconded by the most forcible breaking open of my Dining Room Door though defended by two great â—olts and a strong Spring-Lock which first assault gave us only time to step out of our Beds in our Shirts to my Chamber-Door with our naked Swords and wound-up and ready-prim'd Pistols charged with Bullets against which Door without any Parly another assault was made by a kind of a Roman battering Ram which 〈◊〉 out and cast into the Flore three strong Staples the security of my Lock and Bolts The Door wide open a Person unknown to me with others following him with drawn Swords would have entred the Chamber not once answering my loud deâ— and of what they came for Whereupon they pressing upon me even to the point of my Sword I verily believed they intended to murder me and the rather because not long before reports were spread abroad of a design of massacring in one Night all the then Parliament Men in their Beds Wherefore in self-defence I presented my Pistol and struck Fire against the Brest of the Leading-man without effect which failure in all likelihood might have encouraged and provoked him and his associates to have rusht in upon us naked Men and to have hew'd us in pieces but certainly there was more with us than was against us else had not a valiant tryed Officer with some Files of Souldiers for such I understood them to be afterwards at the sight only of two Men in their Shirts been struck with such a pannick fear that they suddainly and with great speed ran back through the Dining-Room not stopping in their flight nor recollecting their spirits until they came to the bottom of my Stairs To which Stairs top I in my Shirt with the like speed pursued them where upon a second demand of their intentions and who they were the Officer told me he was sent by Order from Major General Skippon to search a House in Somerset-House Yard and to apprehend two dangerous and disaffected Persons which before they could attach were slipt out of their Beds into the Cellar of that private House which by reason of the height of that great House above that Lean too had a Cellar under the Cellar belonging to my Lodgings from whence forcing up a board of the Flore they crept up into my Cellar and from thence to my Stare-case under which they hid themselves and after our parly were there found and taken These Persons he told me he and his Souldiers pursued through the same Hole into my Cellar and Lodgings supposing all to be but one and the same House whereupon I telling him my Name and rectifying the mistake The Officer came up to the Stair-head and craved pardon for his rash and dangerous Error I returning to my Bed and he with his Prisoners the same way that he came my Door into the House Court or Quadrangle being all this time fast lockt and bolted as we left it at our going to bed O Lord how did this ignorant and innocent mistake by thy all wise permission and ordering involve me into a double danger that thou mightest redouble Mercies had these Souldiers 〈◊〉 more knowing in their actings I had been more ignorant of thine yea if I had not been in so great danger I had not been so graciously delivered Thus to the answering and satisfying of all murmurings and objections against thy Government of the World thou dost exalt and justifie thy Holiness Power Wisdom and Righteousness in bringing forth Light out of Darkness and that not only out of things casually evil as here but out of what is morally evil as in Adam's fall which thy Omnipotency could have impeded did not the conjunction and greater shining forth in the midest of this black â—oile of thy Wisdome Justice Mercy and all other thy Attributes through the darkness and
Kingdome Nor are we only Kings but dignified above such expressions the Image of the only true God being renued and imprinted in us For through our Lord Jesus Christ 's most great and precious promises are given unto us that by them we should be partakers of the Divine Nature Hath Saul chosen David to be his Son in Law yea and he esteemed it an honour worth the hazarding of his life But behold what love the Father hath given to us that we should be called the Sons of God Was Mordecai so publickly honoured by Ahasuerus God doth far exceed in his free favours towards his Witness St. John saying I saw round about the Throne four and twenty Seats and upon the Seats four and twenty Elders sitting clothed with white Rayment having on their Heads Crowns of Gold Come hither O thou loytering Soul that carest not to ascend the Mount with Abraham and Isaac but stayest below with his Servants and Asses that choosest rather to stand still and become a barren and unmovable Pillar of Salt with the faithless Wife of Lot then with no less hast than good speed to travel toward Zoar a place of safety with her righteous Husband The Poets tell us a Fable of one Tantalus whose hunger-starved Mouth covetously gasped after Golden Apples which continually fled from him I would O half Believer thou hadst his hunger his thirst then would our Saviours loving invitation be joyfully obeyed If any Man thirst let him come unto me and drink such living Waters which shall not flie from but into the longing Soul Art thou Adam's Son O here behold a Tree of Life whose Root is only transplanted from Paradise to Heaven that so the Fruit might hang down to Earth Here is now no prohibition to restrain thy ambition but a commission to warrant thy affection Take and eat O take it even Christ in his Word and Sacraments not carnally as Adam but spiritually with the hand of thy Soul which is a saving and applying faith Next relish it by Meditation and digest it by prayer Then shall thine eyes be enlightned and thou shalt perceive thy nakedness that so Christ may cloath thee with his righteousness here and his glory hereafter Then shalt thou behold the vanity of earthly pleasures riches and honours confessing that God is all these yea all in all unto thee That the happiness of Divine knowledge consists most in fruition That it is better to acknowledge God to be Immanuel with Isaiah then Daniel's God with Darius To imbrace Christ in our armes by faith with Simeon than to see his Star afar of with Balaam To rejoyce in God our Saviour with the blessed Virgin then to confess Jesus to be the Son of the most high God with the Legion of Devils Then shall that virtual and spiritual Figure of God which according to our capacity the holy Spirit hath shadowed out by attributes in his Word and Works be appropriated unto us by Faith That so those glorious rayes of his to wit his Holiness his Justice his Power which before our Souls were Eagle-fighted our minds illuminated rather scortcht than cherished dazled than enlightned us meet all in the centre of his mercy Jesus Christ and from him as it were by reflection powerfully work upon us and comfortably refresh the whole Man renewing justifying and sanctifying thee here and glorifying thee hereafter All this while O my Soul thou hast been viewing the first draught of Faith rudely painted after a Landskip fashion and therefore ever beheld at distance Now observe a second model limb'd out more exactly having in every part a seeming perfection O that the Colours would be but as lasting as lively The defect then of this Pourtraiture is a false ground manifested and proved by its short continuance The truth of which since it cannot aptly or charitably be demonstrated or discovered by any extant piece I know lest I should seem to be my own Judge or judge my Brother I will with reverence look into our Ark the sacred Scriptures wherein as there is the two Tables of the Law for our instruction so there is a Pot of Manna to encourage and strengthen our obedience An Aaron's Rod to tell us what we have been are and should not be There I doubt not but to finde some Antiquities of the infant Age before the Law or the middle Age under the Law and some in the old Age of the World that last measure of time under the Gospel Which although dusted by death survived in those living characters for instruction and our purpose All humane judgments may erre Neither is there any Seat of Judicature upon Earth no not Peter's Chair altogether free from injustice and false opinions If it be the certain condition of Man to be uncertain in all his ways Nam humanum est errare it is his Custome to erre How can he then which is a stranger at home make a true discovery abroad He that stumbles in a known and even path cannot choose but fall headlong if he ascend craggy passages He that is ignorant of earthly things cannot be spiritually judicious The best oft-times are deceived by their own hearts For the heart of Man is deceitfull above all things who can know it much more by others Those which in the false Ballance of our understanding have seemed down weight being placed in the Scales of the Sanctuary have been found wanting as may appear in these following examples Who although they out-went the prospect of Men in the right way towards Heaven in the outward acts of Faith yet afterwards either stood still or wanting Oyl for their Lamps were benighted and strayed in the broad Paths of prosperity Cain the first draught of humanity that ever Man drew the first born to whom hereditarily belonged the blessing and the double portion the fourth part of the then visible Church and a sacrificing Priest before God viz. by his birth education offering proved to be a Member of the Church a Professor by his Prayers implyed as the inseparable Companions of Sacrifices the fruits of that profession are manifest so that to the superficial view of Man he seems not only practically Religious but also to parallel faithful Abel Yet behold in process of time his want of perseverence shewes his defect of Sincerity the murder of his Brother his former Hypocrisie and afterwards concluded of and punished with the Curse of God the Hatred of good men and his self Despairation Lots Wife was a member of the apparent Church and as it is probable forsook her native Country her Fathers Gods to be a sojourner a stranger in a remote Land with Abraham And no doubt while she lived in that sinful Sodom was a frequent Hearer of that Doctrine of Repentance which her Righteous husband Preached with so unhappy success Yea in conclusion she forsakes Sodom being not only aided by the presence but led by the hand of an Angel
toward Zoar that Type of Heaven But no sooner did the Angel leave her but her eyes reversion discover her minds aversion Which her self would have seconded had not the Almighty in Favour to her Husband and in Mercy to Us made her an examplary Monument in a Pillar of Salt Next under the Law behold Saul not only a Member but chosen of God to be the Captain over his Church A man every way well qualified first for his Body his Proportion was so excellent that there was none like him amongst all the people And for his Mind it was endowed it seem'd both with Divine and Moral Vertues witness his joyning in Prophesie his performance of many Pious Duties as his Sacrifices at his Coronation his asking Counsel of God and inquiry after Sin confession and humiliation after Samuels Reproof his humility at his Election his patience and mercy at his Rejection and Defamation his Fortitude against the general and open Enemies of the Church the Ammonite his Zeal against the private and secret Enemies of Religion viz. all Witches and Wizzards Here then is a spring of Piety a profession and expression of Religion a Gourd whose glory may not only serve as a Canopy of state to Saul but as a shade to one of the Prophets A gourd indeed and so it faded For the eave of his last day ruined that frontispiece of Vertue which his whole lifes best Actions had raised towards Heaven For had he been with the Prophets and joyn'd with them in Prophesie His ignorance and wants now send him to enquire of the Devil Did he Sacrifice before to God Now behold the reward of Divination and Witchcraft are in his hand He whose custom was to ask counsel of God now seeks after a Witch and he whose seeming Zeal condemns his Righteous Son for tasting of an Honey-comb although ignorant of any restraint now contrary to his Oath and Covenant made with God without humiliation and judging of himself or confession of his fault willingly and wilfully swallows down the very gall of Sin His Humility did not more grace him when he lay buried in the peoples Stuff than his Pride did debase him when he presumed to be one of Gods Council That patience fortitude and mercy which abounded yea was extended towards others is now deficient to himself For he falls all along upon the Earth becomes sore afraid no strength is left in him and yet he refuses to Eat For having no conscience towards God no wonder if his Body wants the charity of Nature When the Creature abuses the Mercy of the Creator he must expect to taste of his Justice And when he ceases to know Himself he shall be made to know his Punishment Saul hath forgotten both his God and himself and therefore justly is he now forgotten and hears his Funeral censure pronunced by him who never spoke nor wished better to man To morrow shalt thou be with me Forewarning fore-armes not Sinners he that doubted of his Choise though from the mouth of Gods Prophet credits his refusal and death from the Devils Oracle Extraordinary Blessings are the free and voluntary gift of God and not believed of Sinners before enjoyed But his punishments are the due Burden of sins desert and therefore are expected before divulged The Soul being often-times aforehand sensible of that which the Body afterwards endures None but a false or temporary Faith hath a final cessation but such is this of Saul he now beleeves onely that he might dispair The first degree of a true Faith being usually the false ones last step God lifting up the one from the sense of judgement to the faith and sight of Mercy Sin dragging the other from the belief of punishment into the gulf of Despairation Though Saul hath his last day marked out even the morrow yet neither the love towards his Sons whose Lives bore the same date with his nor care for himself begets the least endeavour by delay or otherwise to out-live the fore-going Prophesie inevitable are the Judgements of God nay rather he hastens it shortning his flight that he might shorten his life And that sin according to its nature might have a companion he moves his Armour-bearer to be a traitour to his own Soul by example whom his precept could not force to be a traitour to his Prince For he falls upon his Sword which instead of Defence becomes a weapon of Offence So often-times God deals with the Wicked who as in life themselves are their worst Enemies so in death they prove their own Executioners Thus the Sacred Annals before and since Moses hath by the Deads example given most lively arguments to prove this falshood of the deadness of this seeming life of faith O admire here the infinite extent of the Mercy of God! who out of the carcase of this Lyon Sin this Eater Death brings forth both meat and sweetness for his Sampsons his Nazarites making the Downfal of the Fathers the Rises of the Children their Ignorance our Knowledge their faults and blindness apt spectacles to help the weakness of our sight It now remains that the holy Records of the faithful and powerful Gospel as the Eccho of the Old Testament consort in the like precedents that by so consonant an Harmony the dissonant and ungrounded judgement of the most hypocritical and temporary Believer may be convinced if not converted The purest Gold hath its Dross the best Wheat its Tares Yea the Moon is then most full of Spots when least empty of Light The Church of God in the Primitive times in its Infant Age had many who although they were deemed Members of Christ had not yet put off the Old man The Old Adam Many whose Image and outward Superscription seemed to be our Cesars yet proved to be false and unvaluable Coyn when they came to their test or exchange Witness Ananias and Sapphira a pair doubly united by Sin and Wedlock who before their trial were esteemed as Members of the True Church as Beleevers of the Apostles Doctrine and no doubt baptised in that Faith the effects of which seemed to lead them on to forsake the world for they sold their possessions to works of Charity and Piety And laid it at the Apostles feet Who would not here have parallel'd these with sincere Joses since both parties did the same duty though not with the same heart the one acting truly that Christians part which the other only play'd Mans natural light is comparatively darkness and the height of his Knowledge advantageth him only with a larger prospect of his ignorance he knowing most that confesses to know nothing The conscience of our want being the perfection of our science Only thou O Lord art the Fountain of Knowledge and Wisdom thou triest the Heart and the Reins and seest not as man seeth Shalt not thou who planted the Ear hear Thou that formed the Eye see Thou that teachest man Knowledge know Thou O