blessed roll Of them are mark'd to follow th' holy Lamb Who for thy sins from highest heav'ns down cam Then follow thou my soul w th speed I say And to thy Saviour do thou alwaies pray That thou in him for evermore may live And to his Name most worthy praises give For all the goodnes he hath given to thee So far beyond thine own expectancie For he hath freely given to thee much more Then erst was in thy wicked mind before To crave of him then do thou sing his praise And his great blessings do thou ever blaze O're all the earth that they may know and see The bounty great of the bless'd Deitie To thee poor man who had a happy place In Paradice but thy own want of grace Did throw the thence even unto the ground Where thou received's that deadly mortal wound Which none can cure but that the blessed Lord Himself did freely of his own accord Say he would send one of the womans seed Should bruise break the wily serpents head Which he perform'd in this his only Son Who from the heavens down to this earth did come And there endured as thou by faith mayst see The torments great of right were due to thee In lieu whereof thy Saviour doth but crave That he thy heart to himself may onely have A poore requitall for his grievous pain Wherein he doth not seek for his own ' gain But onely thine then do thou let him have That is his own which he doth onely crave â—or he hath dearly purchased the same Which all in darknesse did till then remain And into darknesse shall again return And in that darknes evermore shall burn Except it please thy Saviour thence it call For thou dost nought but he alone dost all For thou still dost as hereto thou hast done Forsake both Father and his onely Son To gain a thing which is at best but losse For fairest pleasures are in substance drosse And now being got they are with th' wind now gone So that the pleasure proveth to be none Then fie fond man thus to be drawn forsake Thy Saviour sweet who freely did thee make To be capable of eternall blisse Then do not thou give him a Judas kisse For it was solely in his breast alone To have made thee tree or liveles stock or stone But he did breath upon thy slimy face The breath of life for which his bounteous grace Thou art bound to give him all whatso'r thou hast Who in that posture thee being earth hath plac'd Whereby thou now by faith maist re-obtain The place if thou hast grace in it t'remain And in him trust who hath so deerly bought This place for thee yet thou fond man dost nought But on this earth rest take thy delight And for a bable sell even all thy right And hope of heaven O fie most wicked fie That thou hat'st life and lov'st so well to die Was ever mad-man seen so far bereav'd Of sense as thou who hast thy soul bequeath'd From him that bought it and to thee it gave Then give 't again that thou w th him maist have A blessed place among that heavenly quire Where all enjoy whatsoe'r they doe desire And more then so for ev'ry one of them That dwels with him in that Jerusalem Are fil'd with joy and so shall ever be From time to time for all eternitie To which they cannot with their wishes crave What they do want or what they do not have O thither mount my minde and do thou stay Thy self in that the best and happiest way Which leads to life where thou shalt surely see The glorious face of the sacred Trinitie Without all fear which ne'r yet any one But Moses did and onely he alone Was pent up close within the rockie cliff And there was covered in that stony riff With Gods own hand till he himself past by For none his face could ever see but die Then God withdrew his hand and Moses he The hinder parts of this great God did see O joy that 's far beyond all other joyes When thou behold's with these thy fleshly eys Even every part of the sacred Trinitie Which creature man as yet could never see Stay there my minde and do thou ruminate These heavenly joyes which ne'r determinate And onely Saints and Angels doe enjoy Who are solely freed from all kind of annoy And ever more in his glorious presence live Who for thy sins his life did freely give And yet doth he but even desire thy heart In recompence of this his cruel smart O that he should thus easily be content To take again what he hath onely lent And yet vile wretch dost thou at this repine So as thy heart doth daily still decline From heaven to earth freely there complies With him w th whom there is none deals but dies Then elevate my soul thy self again And strive an Angels glorious place to obtain For this a place of wicked warfare is Where all must strive that care to come to blisse And that they conquer then they may be sure To gain a crown of glory shall endure For evermore and therefore do thou strive And do not thou at thy wicked heart connive Whose nature is to love this massie earth Whereon at first received its vital breath But do thou love the Lord thy God alone And to him onely do thou make thy moan That he may please to elevate thy minde Up to the heavens where thou art sure to find Thy Saviour sitting in his glorious throne Who gladly hears all suites denying none Are made to him then do not thou delay But fast and heartily to thy Saviour pray That he wil please his spirit of grace thee send That thou thereby thy sinful life may mend And do thou strive for to obtain that place Which none can have but onely by his grace Then lift thy heart up to the heavens and say Come sweet Lord Jesus come Lord I thee pray And take my soul good God into thy hands To free it from all these sinful earthly bands Which bind it strongly sore against 't will From what is good to that is ever ill Safe keep it Lord I humbly thee require That it may have what is its soule desire Which is to dwell in thee my heavenly king And evermore thy worthy praises sing Lord keep me there then I am sure to live And hearty thanks to thee shall ever give For all thy goodnesse freely given to me That am unworthy even to lift my eye Up to the heavens the place where thou dost dwell Whose wond'rous works there is no tongue can tell No not so much as th'wind which we do know Doth ore our heads and on us daily blow Yet cannot we with reason comprehend From whence thou dost it daily please to send For he that seeks or goeth about to finde The cause thereof shall surely lose his wind And labour both and therefore do thou see That thou submit
thee go Then keep me Lord shield me with thy wing That under it I may thy praises sing For out of thee good God there is no rest Nor any safety in my fleshly brest For flesh and blood cannot in them contain The thoughts are hourly hatched in my brain Which rovening run and reel from side to side And on no good thing they 'l be drawn abide Sweet Jesus please to bounder them in thee Or else they 'l not be boundered for me But wander often quite without my reach Which sometime causeth in my soul a breach For that by force I cannot them retain That they in thee might evermore remain Call them good Lord and do them firmly bind That I may know with thee I shall them finde For no occasion ever comes amisse To draw my mind from th' heavenly king of bliss O glorious king vouchsafe it so command My thoughts b guided by thine own â—ight hand For it alone most either make them stay Or else good God they 'l not b drawn obay My silly soul within me drooping lies And without help good Lord in hell it dies Then help Lord help let help come w th speed To rouse this soul that liâ—th w th griâ—f half dead And of its health it justly might deâ—pair But that it knows my Saviour is so neer Yea neerer much then th' hart of man can ween But that his wonders have on earth been seen To save his chosen elect children all When in red Sea did wicked Pharaoh fall With all his host and yet did Gods own hand Bring his elected safe y to the land Whose way was after guided by a cloud And hunger staid by heavenly Angels food In th' wildernesse where they did â—eel no cold Nor yet their cloaths did wear or waxen old And had a river brought out oâ— the rock In great abundance with a little knock An Angel ever guiding them their way From all annoy wheres'ere God leâ—s'd they stay And when o're all the face of earth was night Then did the cloud afford to them good light And yet even they for who 's own onely sake That great Jehovah did these wonders make Which they beheld with their own fleshly eyes And many more as great besides all these Did they forget to bear them in their mind Tho in their brests they might them easily find Whereof they were themselves eye witnesses Yet when the Lord did but a while leave these Tho they were these the chosen and elect Whom he alone did to himself select Even them that were the seed of Israel ' Gainst this good God did trait'rously rebell And â—oully too from him did fall away Who was their sole preserver and their stay Unto a God which their own hands did make And this their kind and loving Lord forsake O stay my soule with ravishment admire That God sent not from heav'n consuming fire To burn them all from off the face of earth Whose horrid sins deserved horrid death Yet did this good Lord this vile deed forgive And on repentance suffer them to live And all those blessings they do still enjoy Whereby he freed them from all kind annoy O think O think and do thou think again What weaknesse did in these weak men remain Who left their God and that so suddenly When he left them awhile their strength to try May it be possible that there 's any can Conceive such weaknesse in this creature man Whom God was pleas'd so far before the rest Of all he made this man hath onely blest With a precious soul in some is reasonable Thou of it self it self is far unable To guide it self by that its reasons power If God shall please to leave it one half hour Were these that seed the chosen of the Lord Who said his wonders also heard his word And all of them in compass of their sight Yea more apparent then the sun so bright Least that impression in their inward minde Could not be hid but Satan made them blinde For mortall eyes can have no power of sight When God's away by whoÌ„ they have their light Since that the serpent he did make them so As of themselvs nothing that 's good they know And what is ill they ever like and love But all that 's good it comes from God above Now rest my soul and keep the ever there Where thou art freed from al this worldly care And of his wonders do thou contemplate VVho doth thee thus poor soul illuminate With these good thoughts Odo thou them retain And let them alwaies w th thee stâ—l remain For they will banish those â—hy thoughts are ill Which often use restrain thee of thy will And bring thee this great God and Lord to love Who sends al good things froÌ„ the heav'n above And doth them likewise plenteously bestow On such as are his servants here below Then drooping soul do thou in me revive Now rouse thy self and do begin to live For with Gods help thou maist safely say That chearful hope hath driven dispair away Then put thy trust in him alone that lives And able is and also freely gives Even all good things unto all them that crave And do desire of him good things to have Then fast and pray my soul and do repent And give God thanks for his great blessings sent And then of mercy the deepest sinners sure For that his mercy doth for aie endure From age to age to all of them beleeve That he for them his deerest life did give Make use of this his bount'ous great mercy Bestowed on them deserved well to dy Besides the blessings he them freely gave The like whereof no other Nation have Nor ever had but onely them alone For he such blessings ever gave to none Besides his wonders they did daily see For to preserve them from indempnitie And yet from him ungratefull these did fall And worshipp'd wors then that th'painted wal And wilfully this gracious God forsake Who lovingly did them in mercy take From danger great which was most desperate But that their God himself besides them sate Then live by hope and do thou leave to fear Since God no doubt is all his servants neer That trust in him then faithfully do so My soule and live and to him freely go But stagger not my soul nor do not shrink As Peter did for fear that he should sink When Christ his Master walked on the Sea Whom his Disciples did afar off see And Peter pray'd him that he might do so Then God him call'd and will'd him so to do With that did Peter leap out of the boat And walked along aloft the Seaâ—on foot Untill the winde did cause a little wave And then cry'd Peter good Lord do me save To whom did Jesus then put forth his hand And so brought Peter safe again to land Now thou my soul observe here Peter's saith With willing minde to do what 's Mr. saith Leap into Sea without delay or
whatsoe're he doth thee Unto the Lord who made the heav'n earth And all therein even with his only breath O stay my soul and there do thou admire The wond'rous greatness of that flaming fire Appear'd to Moses in the pillary cloud Which did his chosen children Israel shrewd Untill their sins stir'd up his heavy wrath And then he did as now of late he hath Done to this I le wherein we wretched live To whom his goodnesse did such blessings give As never land on earth had more then we And yet of peace we wretched cannot ' gree So that the son 's against the father's set And father he against the son doth fret And brother ' gainst his brother often wars And so will not let fall these wofull jars Till God shall please that his most heavy hand For to withdraw from o're this sinfull land And give us grace we may in hart repent And yeeld him thanks for his great blessings sent Which we unthankfull did as yet forget And for that cause each brother's blood is set Against it self like as did wicked Cain When as his brother Abell he had slain Sweet Jesus please to stay this thy sharp sword And stead thereof to send thy blessed word That thou thereby mayst beat down growing sin The want whereof hath doubtles only bin The real cause of this our mortall fewd which doubtless doth from our hard hearts proceed Sweet Jesus please to mollifie them so Like Peter's when he solely wept for woe Or like Manasses when he came be bound By Ashurs host who fell upon the ground And gained pardon for his grievous sin Whereby with speed he was restor'd again To Juda's crown and it so long enjoy'd Untill by death he was from thence destroy'd Sweet Jesus grant that we have many such And then without doubt it will help us much To further peace for which we daily pray That thou wilt please in thy great mercy stay This sword of thine and sheath it up again That we in peace may here hence now remain And live like loving brothers in this land VVhich thou hast kept with thine own pow'rfull hand From foreign fos tho now there be none such As we our selves domestick ones by much Sweet Jesus help good Lord we daily pray This bloody war of ours with speed to stay And put us once in happy peace again That we in peace may here hence now remain And praise thy name and that incessantly For giving us this bounteous great mercy And this must thou and onely thou alone Or else Lord Jesus other there is none Can yeeld us help in this our greatest need For now is nothing can stand us in steed But onely thou then come Lord Jesu come Or else deer God we are utterly all undone For them elected to the publique good With purging ill have bred in some ill blood And th' weaker sex it is become so strong T is doubtfull Lord the other sex to wrong So as between two are esteemed extream Most suffer much tho they retain the mean For now ther 's no part of this wretched I le Tho it enjoyed a blessed peace ere while But t is grown now unto a bloody war For many a one thinks their honest neighbor far More quiet then he and so with grief repines At 's neighbours good and then his malice finds Some hole or other in his neighbours coat Tho the quarrel be but for one single groat To make complaint to them that are of power To plunder him by strong hand in an houre For some old wrong as then but newly done Perchance betwixt the Father and the Son O blessed Lord that this the German plunder Which whilom was in peaceful England wonder Should now so well with us be understood As any other usuall English word Whereby revenge in England's grown so rife It tends to take away non-nocents life For Satan o're this Isle bears such a sway As by his wiles he draweth many away From thee that is their only God and King Who are rather bound thy worthy praises sing For all thy goodnes to this wofull land Tho now it feel thy dreadfull heavy hand Sweet Jesus send some blessed Angel down To quell this hellish Satans furious frown And force him Lord as thou was pleased then When he made suit he might go into th' swine Who huried him headlong into the sea Lord drown him there that he n're more have powr To come within this spacious Ile more But we instead of blood may ly and groan In brinish tears and therein make our moan To God on high he will vouchsafe to please This cruell war of ours with peace to cease And then that we who are true English all May all one way on the name of Jesus call Vouchsafe good God that we may so accord In holy service of that heav'nly Lord As tho we differ some of us in part Yet we may all as one agree in heart And let our hearts good Lord in prai'r remain Lest in our sins we wretched may be slain When worthies dare to stand look on death Tho with that look they lose their deerest breath Brave Britains keep your ' forwon antient fame Least antient terrour turn to novell shame And since your valour cannot well be known Untill by you some valourous act be done Then look your swords be sharpe for foreign foe Whose joy 's encreased by our cause of wo's Lest we bewaile this great efflux of blood When t is too late to do us any good And worthies all in time for death prepare Since all in th' end shall fall unto death's share But look you still prefer an honourable death Before a shamefull beastly cowardly life Seeing God alone the day of death doth know But when or where no earthly man can show O then le ts pray and that incessantly To him that lives and shall eternally Come let us sing and all due praises give To him that died that we by him might live And alwayes yeeld praise to his holy name Who was is now and ay shall be the same O let us all with heart due praises sing To this our God and glorious heav'nly king Whose dwelling is above the heavens most high Whereto the best of sinners come not nigh Whose heavy judgement is for to descend Since none come there but they who do ascend Then strive my soul and do thou aye aspire To keep thy self out of that irksome fire Which burns and yet there is no light appears But pain and grief and dreadfull horrid fears Sweet Jesus please to keep my soul from hence And draw it up to th'high'st heavens that thence I may have help for without help from thee There is no comfort in extremitie Then teach me Lord with heart mouth to pray That I in thee may ever live and stay And never more so wander up and down From place to place as I poor wretch have don Sweet Jesus please
to keep my soul with thee Or else dear God I am sure it cannot be Kept safe on earth where that fierce dragon flies And doth so dazle most of all mens eyes As few are able to behold the sun Except it please the blessed Lord to come And clear their sight that they with joy may see There is no safety but O Lord in thee Then come Lord Jesus I thee humbly pray And make my soul with thee to live and stay Or else good God I can it no where hide Nor here on earth it cannot long abide Within this fleshly mansion of mine Whereon the sun hath never power to shine But by thy leave then let it Lord so be That this thy sun may please to shine on me And shield me safe from that common enemie Who doth envy both thee and them are thine From whom good God be pleas'd keep me and mine We do not prove like to the Gadarens Forsake our Saviour for to save our means But teach us Lord that we may call to minde How 'fore all worlds thou said and so assign'd That man should spend his life-time on this earth Where he at first receiv'd his vital breath And there should serve his maker God Lord As is appointed in his holy Word That when this glasse on earth shall be out-run Then doth an end of all created come And one land then against another rise And all men also arms shall exercise And yet as then shall sorrows but begin To them are clogged with their deadly sin For on this earth must be great tribulation Before that dreadfull day of desolation When shall the glorious sun all darkned be And eke the moon at that day none may see And thâ—â—e bright stars down from the sky shall fal And powrs of heaven shal then be shaken al Whereof our cannons thundring in the aire With fiery flashes flaming out their fire Which sends its smoak up to the starry skies And not unlike to mighty clouds there flies And trumpets eccho sounding every where So as no place with us is thereof clear Are perfect types of that most dismal day When th' trump shal sound loudly cal away All souls on earth their bodies for to take And 'fore the Lamb a perfect reckoning make Of each mans talent which the Lord them lent And for which cause they all were hither sent And then there shall be loud and hideous cries For hils to fall and cover them from th' eyes Of him that doth both see and knoweth all That on this earth was done or did befall Since Adams time for there is nothing can Be hid from him that first did make this man No not the secrets of the best mans heart Tho he the same did ne'r as yet impart To any creature for Jehovah he Doth all things know eke doth all things see This son of man whose glory shall appear Above the clouds of heaven up in the aire Whose glorious greatnesse then shal all men see With thousand millions in his companie Who shal collect from all these the four winds Whom s're have bin even so as he them finds And then laid ope shall be a perfect Book Wherein all flesh shall freely thereon look And each one see as it were in a glasse His guilty conscience telling what he was And then shall he set th'sheep on his right hand And keep his left side for the goatish band And then the King shall say unto the sheep Come now and take the kingdom I do keep For you that are the blessed of the Lord Who willingly obey'd and heard his word And to the wicked then the King shall say Go ye accursed and be you a pray Unto the fire which is in hell prepar'd For cursed Satan and his hellish guard O horrid fear beyond all other fears Whose force even plainly in the face appears VVhich sends its blood unto the secret heart VVho cals for help from every other part And leave the loins supporting so appal'd Like as if death on suddain had them cal'd And thereby they are all so sore aston'd As that they fall down flat upon the ground Where they do differ nought from fearful death But that as yet appears a parcell breath Which for a while a little life retains And in that passion death-like it remains Untill it please the King our blessed Lord To say to me that comfortable word Come now thou blessed hear O do thou hear What difference great between this joy fear To the righthand men come o come you blesd And to the left hand go o go you curs'd O joy beyond all other heavenly joyes Which freeth the heart from all kind of anoys And is thereby so fully fild with gladnesse That it expels from every part all sadnesse And forceth them which even now fell aston'd To leap for joy and skip above the ground And tho w th fear of late they look'd like death Yet now with joy the 're fild with store of breath And those parts which with sorrow then were dumb Do now aloud with joy cry come Lord come O come sweet Jesus I thee humbly pray Vouchsafe be pleased in my weak heart stay And strengthen't so as it may ever stand One of the blessed which are at thy right hand That I may there thy praises ever sing Which o're the earth all the heav'ns do ring O sing my soul and be thou never weary But in thy Saviour be thou alwayes merry And have a care no earthly joy remove Thy fleshly heart from th' heav'nly joy above But therein alwaies do thou take delight And in it spend thy time both day and night O let thy solace ever be therein And it will keep thee from all deadly sin And teach thee loath all earthly things to love And take delight in serving God above O love him love him that thou dead maist live And to thy Saviour be thou sure to give All that which he hath freely given to thee And then shalt thou no doubt his servant bee O blessed Lord where have I this while been Hath not my soul my sweet'st Saviour seen Or 't is some vision did to me appear Whereby it hath discovered plainly where My Saviour sitteth in his glorious throne And judgeth all on earth himself alone And there pronounceth sentence come or go The only words of greatest joy or wo That ever came to any creatures ear To make a difference betwixt joy and fear And then shall sheep and goats both of them see What they have been and what they now shall be And This sort shall of future hope dispaire Any that other not so much as have a care For their downfall but aye shall sit and sing Even allelua to our heavenly king Whose final sentence and pronounc'd decree Shall firmly stand for all eternitie From which herehence there can be no appeal But all must then have either wo or weal. O stay my soul a while and contemplate
not be tyed to th' best mans leasure Therefore this day do thou give o're thy pleasure And think of death who 's knocking at thy door And enter may perchance within an hour Except thy hearty prayers him prevent Being made to that Jehovah hath him sent Then sue to him who is thy Saviour sweet And on thy knees most humbly him entreat That he will please to safe keep thee from sin Which all thy life thou hast lov'd and lived in And pray that henceforth thou maist live aright Being ever mindful thou art in his sight As if this were of life thy longest day And thou mightst here on earth no longer stay But yet before this day might have an end Thy Saviour should for thee this servant send And call of thee to make a strict accompt Of sins whose sum I fear will highly mount As well thy thoughts and idle words and deeds As what thou dost nor do nor think nor heeds And then wilt thou intreat him he will spare Thee yet a while that thou maist thee prepare To make thy reck'ning such as may be streight Which thou ne'er dream'dst it should ere come to light Or if thou didst thy sin 's so much the more That being known thou didst not do 't before Whil'st thou hadst time because in time thou might Have made thy reck'ning such as should be right But now th' art taken in that Satans snare Because thou didst not thee in time prepare Then think my soul in what case thou art in O'recome with thy own best beloved sin Whereof thou alwayes hast more reek'ning made Then of thy Saviour was for the betrayed And suffer paines of death for thy sins sake That free from death he might thee sinner make Although himself did never sin at all But to preserve thee that thou shouldst not fall O what a loving kinde sweet Saviour's this Who came from heaven that glorious place of bliss Down to this earth where he did freely give His life that thou through him mightst ever live Then live in him and do him ever love This thy good God Jehovah who 's above Here stay my soul a while and ruminate What blessings came by Christ to thy estate Even the onely death of this thy God and king And evermore to him due praises sing For he doth well deserve the same alwayes Then sing with joy to him eternal praise O sing my soul and now let 's jovial be That this thy Saviour pleas'd to dye for thee But if it were for thee thy Saviour dyed Then must thy life to his be thus applyed Have I lived so as my Saviour Christ hath done Although he were God's own and onely Son Who never had but one poor simple coate And that even plain not laid with lace I wot But was all woven without any seam Marke well this coate for it 's a worthy theam To think upon since it so well became Both childe and man and alwayes was the same And grew as he grew yet it did not wear Nor waxed old but did indeed appear As fresh at last when as it was put off As 't was at first when as it was put on He had nor hat nor band nor had he boots Nor any change had he of other suits For head and feet he did not like thee care But all his life he ever ware them bare And when he prayed his knees were ever such For his fleshly corpes he ne'er respected much But kneeled alwayes down upon the ground For cushions were as yet not to be found I do not hear that he did eat his fill Of too much meat there ever cometh ill But I am well assured that he did fast Till fourty dayes were ended all and past Nor do I read that he did use drink much For doubtless sin is often seen in such Nor did he look to lye so very soft As most of men will now a dayes do oft But on bare earth was ever his best bed Whereon he alwayes us'd to lay his head If lye at all And yet for all of this The earth it self and all therein were his Now thus my soul say to my sinful heart If thou expect in Christ have any part Dost thou not fine apparel like and love For by it thou thy self art set above Some neighbours who much better do deserve But that thy cloathes 'fore them do thee prefer Whereby thy heart is somwhat touch'd with pride If there be nothing in it else beside He was not wont to alter his old fashion But us'd the same in every several Nation Hast thou done thus I stand in fear on 't much For now in England fashion is not such But thought it better out of th' world have been Then out of fashion in the world been see But know betimes who use this fashion follow Shall bring their soul in th' end to mickle sorrow Hast thou my heart observed his bare head Or dost thou keep thine own uncovered Even in the temple since example 's much For there be many fools are led by such Or dost thou use in thy privy chamber so When to thy Saviour art resolved to go I know to th' most thou wilt put off thy hat And yet sometimes there may be pride in that And here observe what thou thy self hast seen How many fashions have in England been Of these same hats which sure at first were sent But for an idle needless ornament And yet of them one fashion will not stand Scant twice twelve months within our English Land If thou have a suit unto an earthly lord That he 'l but please to speak for thee a word I hope thou'lt then come with thy hat in hand Although 't be made but for some smal demand And yet now when thy life and all 's at stake And thou alone must to thy Saviour make Who 's King of kings and also Lord of lords And makes them by his own and onely words Yet in his presence thou base earth wilt stand Yet not vouchsafe to have thy hat in hand Consider well and think what this may be I am sore afraid of a fearful sin in thee When thou dost kneel are both thy knees then bare Or dost thou kneel at all but onely there Among the chosen congregation Whereas this kneeling is an usual fashion And dost thou do it then on God's bare ground As thy sweet Saviour oftentimes was found If not I fear thou hast thy God offended Because thou prayedst and yet thy knees unbended Hast thou been used barefooted for to go I fear thy heart will tell thee truly no. Hast thou forborn being hungry eat thy fill Or hast not thou oft-times even eaten till Thy stomack did desire to have no more If so there were of pleasing viands store Nay hath not thine offence been sometimes such As that thy stomack did desire too much Or hast not thou been often choice of meat Or else with pleasing pallat couldst not eat Nay hast not thou
most heavy rod Powr blessings upon blessings ev'n far more Then erst was in my heart that time before To ask of him O thou hard stony heart That 's flinty grown in every sevâ—rall part Harder by much then th' hardest marble made VVhich neither gifts nor any threats invade Nor yet those judgments God hath justly sent On sinners such as did not then repent So as my sin in justice now doth call For vengeance great on me vile wretch to fall And if his mercy were not even much more And all his other Attributes before I do deserve in every minutes space To be cast out from off the massie face Of this his earth whereon he hath me set To serve my God whom I do still forget For every part of mine is set to sin And no part 's free but every sev'rall limb Doth smite with these my wicked sinful heart And each one doth perform his utmost part To further sin for when did wretched I Speak many words which were without some lye How often did I think but any thought Which had not in it somthing which was nought Yea often tending unto murther much Revenge or envy or some else was such As malice lust and other sin what not When as my Saviours sufferings are forgot Then presently the wicked enemie's in And every severall part procures to sin Untill he please to let some Angell come And thrust this legion out his wonted room Sweet Jesus bind him bind him blessed Lord As thou hast promis'd by thy sacred word From all temptation for to keep them free Who in tentation heart'ly come to thee Now take me Lord 't please me safe to keep Who for my sins have justly cause to weep For Satans self yet still deludeth me By trusting him my utter enemie Who draweth me to do whats're is ill That he by it my silly soul may spill Except thou please good God vouchsafe me send Some help from heaven and further to me lend Thy holy spirit that it may comfort me In this the greatest of extremity For he hath hereto had on me such pow'r As he hath drawn me from thee every hour Vouchsafe good Lord be pleas'd take him away That he do n're o'recome my longer stay From thee my God my helper and my King But that here hence I may for ever sing Thy worthy praise for all thy blessings sent And by thy help my sinfull life repent For without thee sweet Jesus I am nought Sinc Satan he hath me and mine so wrought As that no part thereof good Lord is free From his most sleightfull guilefull gullerie Help Lord help Lord I on my knees do pray And keep me free from out this satans way For where thou art good Lord there dare not he Once to come near nor in thy sight to be Sweet Jesus please vouchsafe to keep me there That crafty Satan never come me near For if he shall I know I have no pow'r Within my self to shut him out of doore Except thou please good God the porter be And then away all hellish fiends will flee For th' house that 's built upon that stable rock Will bide all floods and subtill Satans shock But mine is built upon the slippery sand Which either must be kept by Gods own hand Or else it shakes with every rising flood Because th' foundation of it is not good Sweet Jesus please to set this house of mine Upon that rock where it may stand and shine And ' bide all floods whats're against it beat And ever force them from it to retreat Here stay my soul upon this firm set rock Where thou art free from wicked Satans shock And recollect thy self with joy and go To th' Savior sweet who suffered so much wo To bring thee back to that most happy place VVhere thou maist live if endued with grace My wandring thoughts be pleas'd good Lord to stay That they from henceforth never from thee stray But always rest in thee both day night And everâ—ore therein take their delight Sweet Jesu let them never wav'ring run From place to place as hereto they have done But be thou pleas'd good God the mark to be VVhereat my thoughts may aim continually And tho som times they do both rove rome Vouchsafe good Lord to be their only home For they in thee good God are onely blest And out of thee they 'r sure to have no rest For they are boundlesse ever when they stray From thee their God their comfort their stay Then thou my soul be sure build there thy nest And let him build within thy bony breast VVhose presence onely's able to expell Ev'n all the fiends that do belong to hell O do thou make much of that blessed guest And alwayes love to have him in thy breast O bid him welcome there with all thy heart And then be sure that thou shalt have a part And comfort great in his bitter sufferings The very chiefest of those great blessings Which he so freely hath bestowed on thee Untill this time from thy very infancy O yeeld him thanks for they are well deserved T is he alone who hath thy life preserved And saved the wretch from that eternal death Was due to thee with th' first received breath O do not thou so much neglect him then Who these great blessings gave unto thee when Thou knew'st not from whence this goodness came But that his bounty was to thee the same That formerly it hath for ever been Tho thou didst live so long in mortal sin Now then repent and do no longer stay For there 's no greater danger then delay And that 's all th' hope the cruel enemy hath To bring thy soule unto eternal death For all his other cunning gullery's seen And no delay by him doth interveen To keep thee still within his hellish power Who 's danger 's great tho 't be but for 1. houre O fly fond man O fly and do not thou Delude thy self and unto Baal bow Who seeks thy ruine and thy overthrow By this delusion which is now delay Whereby thine own heart doth it self bewray That thou art guilty of that horrid sin Whereto thy conscience hath as yet not bin Consenting but hast even most wilfully Forsaken him who did for thee so dy O what a fearfull horrid thing is this To sell all hope of that eternal blisse For lesse by far then Esau got for his Stay there my soul and deeply contemplate In what great danger now is thy estate Whereon dependeth thine eternal blisse Or else the losse of all true happinesse And think how thou thy time on earth hast spent Which doubtlesse God hath onely to thee lent That thou in 's service it should solely spend Since he ordain'd it for no other end And see how much thereof's already gone And how much now at most can be to come And how that 's spent which is already past By which thou 'lt have a good and perfect
fear Because he saw his Master was so neer And then his want of faith when as he sawe His body like to sink with a little wawe And then his prayer to that blessed Lord Who did preserve him by his onely word Observe my soul this passage seriously There 's in it great and deep divinity The Apostles being in a Ship aboard Upon the Sea they did espy their Lord But not discerning that it should be he They said it is some spirit which we do see But he well knowing this their cause of fear He cryed to them and said t is I is h re And then when Peter did his Master know He did intreat that he might to him go Desirous greatly to be him more nye Whom at some distance he did then espie And so by that it did right well appear His faith had then abandoned all fear For when his Master cryed and bid him come He did not then delay his time as some Do use to do but suddenly he leaped down Into the deep sea and yet did not drown But on the same did stand aloft upright For then his Saviour was within his sight His faith well knowing that there is none can Sink where there is that blessed Son of man And now his faith here hoist him up aloft So as it bore him on the water soft As if it had bin on the Sea dry shâ—aâ—e Because had faith his body then upboare And so presuming still that he had faith Which was sufficient for to keep him safe He went on boldly untill that he sawe A puft of wind did raise a little wawe And then his faith begun within him fail For faith in flesh is oftentimes but fraile And being let but even a little down Wiâ—hin the Sea which now begun to frown His faith was then turn'd into white pale fear Although his Saviour was hard by then neer And then did Peter with himself thus think Without some help I shall be sure to sink And knowing well where help did onely ly He to his Saviour did addresse his cry So he ne're sought for help at th'wooden boat Although she were hard by on Sea a float But on his Saviour solely set his eye And cryed help Lord help Lord or else I dye And then his Lord did reach to him his hand And bid him boldly on the water stand But yet reproved him and thus to him saith O wretched thou can'st have so little faith Why did thou doubt for surely thou dost know My power doth reach unto the deeps below And out of them I 'm able thee to fetch If 't be my pleasure O thou faithlesse wretch Who hast so long been in thy Master school And yet dost show thy self to be a fool Canst thou forget to think what Jonas did When in the Whales wide belly he was hid Or when the Sea did make it self a wall To save all them who on my name did call Or Jordan deep was made like to a sand To bring mine over as on hard dry land Then set thy self to go to school again And do thou learn where all help doth remain That thou mayest not be likened unto them Who never seek for Christ but onely then When they have need and then aloud they cry Help Lord help Lord or I am sure to dye Stay here my soule a while and meditate And with thy self a little thus debate Can it be possible that Peter saw His own good Master yet did not him knaw His thoughts sure then were not with him at home When he did not remember him on whom His heart was alwayes bent to think upon Which was on Christ and onely him alone To serve with zeal untill his dying day Which as he did good Lord grant that I may But when at last he did his Master know His humble heart did then begin to bow And prayed that he might safely come to him To whom before he had vow'd every lim Whom God accepted and strait bid him come Sweet Jesus grant that it may be my doom Then he neglected all that brittle hope Of help might rise out of the wooden Boat Or yet by active laboring of the lim Tho he were skilfull on the water swim Or any other help from earth may rise For by such earthly helps there 's many dies But putting all his trust upon the Lord Who to him now had only said the word Without all fear of greatest danger he Did boldly leap into the raging Sea Which stood as tho 't had been a rock of stone For God himself and onely he alone VVas able and the sea did so command And then did Peter light as on a Sand And walk'd along from imminent danger free As on safe ground untill that proudly he Presuming faith in his own power too much For this presumption overthrows all such As on their own strength onely do relye If that their Saviour please not to be nye For when the winde begun a little blow And force the sea to rise and make a show As if it ment to swallow Peter in Then Peters faith begun to fail with him And he in lieu of faith had then some fear When as the Sea forbore him up to bear And he begun on it a little sink He then himself did of some help bethink To save himself for death was surely there But that his Saviour did even then appear To whom with zeal he did himself addresse And prai'd him pleas he wold vouchsafe to bles Him with some help or else without it he Might surely sink into the raging Sea Now God well knowing th'sorrow was in 's heart VV ch did it self to his Saviour Christ impart He did with speed stretch forth to him his hand And bid him boldly on the water stand O blessed Lord that thou should alwayes be So ne're to them that put their trust in thee Although their sins do prove be ne're so great If they from them do but in heart retreat And turn again and to their Saviour go VVho is onely able and saith no man no. And then had Peter strength of faith again So long as he in Jesus did remain And safely stood on th' wavering sea upright Because he then was in his Saviours sight Now do thou think what joy was Peter in VVhen he repented of his faithlesse sin For God did hear him then most willingly At the very first when he did on him cry O blessed Lord be pleas'd vouchsafe to be On all occasions so ne're unto me As that this Legion thou may'st please to rout which my weak strength O Lord cannot keep out For he hath hereto had on me such power As he still haunts me every day and houre Yea when my heart is set resolved to serve My God and king even then I do observe He 's bustling hard within my bony breast And will not let my silly soule take rest O thou blind soul which art not able see VVhere God is not no good
rest there can be The cause I fear thou hast at all no faith Since faith is such as our sweet Saviour saith T is able make the greatest mountain move Except thou canst procure it from above Sweet Jesus help this want of faith in me Is so apparent unto every eye As each observer may discover well That by my actions I intend for hell Since my faith is not like to Peters tho He saw his Master yet did not him know Nor when he seem'd in sea a little sink He well discern'd it and of help did think Nor when he durst not on the deep sea go Untill his Master did command him so Or when as he his Master did forswear Because his heart was troubled then with fear Nor when his Master he did disobay In sleeping then when his Master bid him pray For tho he did not know him at first sight He heard his voice and apprehended right And when in Sea he did a little sink He had hope rais'd him to the waters brink And when he durst not on the deep Sea go He had faith to think that he might well do so And tho his Master he did thrice deny He did it through the flesh infirmity And when for praying he did fall a sleep It was because his Saviour did him keep O wretched beast look in thy breast thou'lt see That thine to his is infidelitie Confesse a truth dost thou thy Saviour know I fear thy heart within thee will say no Perchance thou 'lt say thou could if should him see O shamelesse man then there 's no faith in thee Since thou didst see him nail'd upon the cross For to refine thee from thy sinfull drosse May be thou'lt say that thou did not him hear T is true indeed or else thou wouldst forbear To peirce his side with every severall sin Which like to darts thou freely throws at him O wretch O wretch hast thou a heart to think If thou like Peter in the Sea should sink That thou hadst faith to raise thee up again Thy conscience tels thee thou shalt there remain And deeper far then that the deepest Sea Where seeming faith wil stand for no good plea Then have a face and faith for to confesse Thy sins are such as well deserve no lesse And then there 's hope thou hast some faith in Be pleased good God vouchsafe this faith to me Speak conscience speak durst t' on deep Sea go I fear thy heart will tell thee truly no But thou wilt say thy Saviour did not call Then hast t'not seen him nail'd on crosse at all For if thou didst thou might both hear and see Him search his arms and loudly calling he Yea thee by name If thou wilt but confesse Thy sins are such as well deserve no lesse Say so my heart and thereof do repent And then thou 'lt see that Christ for thee was sent Now speak a truth hast thou not Christ forsworn Or canst thou say that he for thee was born I fear that truth will in thee justifie Thou dost thy Saviour every houre deny For tho he call and call and call again Yet doth thy heart even still in sin remain And tho sometimes thou dost behold his blood Thou canst not say it doth thee any good For thou at his loud cry forbears to come Sweet Jesus grant that word may be my doom Speak on thou cōscience hast thou Christ obeyd Thou 'lt say thou hast him oftentimes denayd And slept in sin when Christ was not the keeper Peter's was great but thy sin much the greater His Saviour then was praying hard for him And now for thee yet thou 'lt not leave thy sin Tho Peter's fault were much against his mind Yet thou to Satan art in heart so kind As thou wilt follow him tho that Christ say no Blessed Jesus free me from this word of Go. And now do thine with Peter's faith compare Thou 'lt say thy self that they much diffring are And so much differ will thy conscience say As white from blak or this word yea from nay For if thou couldst do th'least what Peter did Then might thou say faith in thy hart was hid But tho thou say that thou hast faith in thee Yet I fear none nor thou thy self dost't see For that Christ saith t is gift of God above And them that have it mountains can remove Which is well known thou art not able do Then cry for help of him who can do so For want of faith is cause of all thy sin Then break thy heart that faith may enter in For broken hearts are they will win the crown Then break thy heart beat presumtion down For this presumption causeth many a sin In hope of time for to repent them of in Beware of Satan such he often useth And with such shifts fond man he oft abuseth Then fly this fiend and fear to come him nye For he is subtill and in carriage sly And doth delight in ranging th' earth about Then hide thee from him lest he find thee out And do thou strive to mount thy self aloft And make thy prayers to thy Saviour oft That he will thee and thy poor soul safe keep Both when th' rt waking and when thou dost sleep For except he please vouchsafe to set the scout Thou art not able keep the enemie out Then please good God to me some angel send VVhom thou thinkst good to my safeguard commend He that did father Abrahams servant guide When he went forth a wife for to provide For 's master Isaack or did Lot preserve From Sodoms plague which it did so deserve Or he that open'd Peter th' iron gate When surely death was doom'd to be his fate Or one of them our Saviour said did keep These little ones as his beloved sheep Or whom thou please to my safeguard command For to preserve me out of Satans hand Sweet Jesus keep me keep me Lord this day From all tentation I thee humbly pray For Satans rage encreaseth every where Because the gen'rall Judgement draweth near Or else that honest angel Raphael Whose company holp that yong Tobias well But doubtlesse Tobies heart was firmly bent For to obey that strict commandement His father gave him long before his death which was that he while there was in him breath Should alwayes set the Lord before his eyes And that his will should ever sin despise And he shall aye observe the Lords commands And duly labour with his fleshly hands And true and just in all his doings prove For such are they whom God doth onely love Then to their actions he will surely send A prosperous and a good successefull end And have a care thou freely alms do give For so must they that do intend to live Enjoy where is their blessed Saviour For none come there that do not pity th' poor Seeing alms is esteemed a goodly gift Before th' most high to them that use to give 't From filthy whoredome do thou safely
it will freely tell thee When death comes what it is that shal befall thee For though thy conscience now securely sleep ' Gainst th'day of death it will thee waking keep Then be not thou like to the Libertine Who guls himself with saying All is mine Come eat and drink and now let 's merry be When morrow comes then we shall surely die But yet when death doth to him come indeed Then this mans fear a deep despair doth breed And he to death as that King Ahab did Unto Elias thinking he was hid Hast found me out O fearful than O than Comes death most dreadful to the dying man But thou my soul thou know'st tâ—'assured way To make this death thy only happiest day If that thy porters be not lulâ—'d asleep Whilst they these outer gates of thine should keep And suffer thieves at them to enter in who 'll steal thy good and leave behind thy sin Then watch and pray and do thou waking keep And fast and pray and so prevent thou sleep And then let death come whenas God shal please Can do no hurt but do to thee great ease For then shalt thou from earthly labours rest And live with whom thou shalt be ever blest Live there my soul and then thou needst not care Come life come death to thee both equal are The fool would fain he might do that at last Which the wise-man thinks fit be done at first For that thinks time is ever in his will But this doth know that time is going still Seeing if man sleep this time it doth not rest But still keeps pace and flieth on full fast For though that all men are ordain'd to die Yet none know when or where 't is they must lie Man stands in need prepare for death and will not But death wil com to this man when he would not And such may well be likened to a beast Who 's feeding fat like this man at a feast Till th'slaughter-axe give him his fatal blow And then his stubborn heart begins to bow Yet struggles hard this death-stroke to resist But now too late he mourns out had I wist For all of life we very careful are But for this death we not at all prepare So many come this death-stroke to abide Before they do themselves for death provide And then are they to go to learn to die When death appeareth palpably in th' eye Then willingly doe thou perform that part Which needs thou must tho 't be against thy heart And thou my soul do thou in thy youth-dayes Remember death for so the Wise-man sayes Before that those thy ill dayes come along For then thou 'lt sing another sorrowful song When age and sickness both of them appear Thou hast no power good councel then to hear But heart and mind are both so hurried hence With age and sickness they are void of sense Is this a time then to prepare for death When 't is a burthen heavy to have breath When Doctor physick for thee doth prescribe And Lawyer he is going with his bribe And Parish-Parson for thy soul doth pray And friends neighbours round about thee stay And wife and children sadly weeping are Content of death to take from thee a share If so they might to ease thee of thy pain Which all the earth unable is to gain But thou art left unto thy self alone To make an answer for thy sins each one When powerful death hath entred on thy eyes And into all parts of the body pryes And stayes the organ of the nimble tongue Lest it might utter ought may tend to wrong And by chill cold doth fall upon the feet And takes from them their blood and nat'ral heat And so ascends to every other part And then at last it seizeth on the heart Who now with sobs and sighs somes out its breath Which by and by is staid by powerful death And at his entrance on this flesh and bone Gives Conscience leave to lord it all alone Who nere till now had audience of a word By help of death is made a puissant Lord And then that heart was stony-hard before Is now made soft lamenting more and more But nere till death had struck him with his dart Gave any way for Conscience play his part Who hath recorded all what heart hath done And lays them ope that it may see the sum And cast it up before the day of doom Which grant good God it may to me be Come Being hard at hand as plainly doth appear When heart and hands and feet are all in fear Who nere till now did ever think of death That he would come to fetch away its breath For who by flesh was highly monarchised By Conscience now is basely vassalised And so doth yield to what the conscience saith That till death came he had not any faith For health and wealth so pufft it up with pride Save only pleasure it minded nought beside And now intreats to have a little time With full resolve for to amend its crime But Conscience saith whom now it doth believe That death is sent it of its life bereave And so no hope of pardon to be got But like its life so death fals to its lot Which conscience tels it then it is dejected And doth confess it justly is rejected Without all hope of any pardon sending For that this life is now at point of ending Then this proud heart with terror conscience pricks And it to hell with horror down he kicks And tels him plainly that the poorest swain Whom in his pride with scorn he did disdain Being naked begging at this proud hearts dore In Abrahams bosom him shall sit before And in requital of this hard proud heart Was loth to yield to Lazarus any part Of his vast store wherewith he did abound Is now by Lazar trodden under ground And lets it see whom it did scorn before He would be glad he might beg at his dore But conscience tels him he is now debaâ—'d ' Cause pride in wealth did poverty not regard So this proud heart who poverty held in scorn Doth beg of death a while to be forborn But conscience tels him 't is not in deaths power For that he cannot spare him now one houre Because his time is limited by God Whom he nere knew so did not fear his rod Which now he feels by conscience information That he must hence into some other nation Where soul must suffer for the bodies sin And horrid life which it hath lived in Without so much as any care for th' soul But all for th' self although in substance moul Which then by conscience is in heart confessed And better life if time is now professed When time is past to it a period's put And ' gainst this soul the gates of heaven are shut So then in lieu of hope comes in despaire And tels it now it must for hell prepare Because it did not think of this in time So soul must
taught thee how thou ought to live In serving God and to him praises give Praise him praise him praise him continually Who was so pleas'd for sinfull man to dy Forget not then when canst not see the sun To think how Christ down to this earth did come To gain thee to him and with him to live Then yield him thanks and to him praises give Who did endure the torments due to thee A wretch a wretch a wretch most unworthy Follow his example then thou needst not fear Tho th' Prince of darkness do to thee appear For if he shall he hath no power to hurt thee If thou hast faith fear not Christ will defend thee And grant thee strength for to withstand his powr Tho he assault thee every day and hour But thou must strive and ne'r be drawn to yield For if thou dost be sure to lose the field Expect this Fiend to have him fall upon thee Since he spar'd not thy Saviour who did make thee But carried him into the wilderness Making expression of great holiness For when he fasted had full forty dayes Being hungry then the tempter to him sayes If thou be Christ the Son of God indeed Comand these stones that they may be made bread But he replied Life 's not by bread alone But by the words which come from God each one And yet the tempter did not leave him thus No marvel then if he do so with us But set him on the Temples highest stone And will'd him thence to throw his body down Seeing it is writ his Angels shall protect thee Lest dash of stone at any time may hurt thee But answering he replied this holy word 'T is writ thou shalt not tempt thy God the Lord. Yet still the tempter did not give him over But set him higher where he might discover Even all th' earths kingdoms then within his eyes And th'glory of them did to him descrie And said if he would fall and worship him He freely would bestow them all on him But Jesus then bid Satan to be gone Saying thou shalt worship only God alone And only him none other shalt thou serve Doe so my soul 't will thee from death preserve So Satan left him and the Angels came And fed him then in great Jehovah's name Observe my soul the subtlety of this Spirit Alleadging Scripture ' gainst the meaning of it To private ends his fancy for to please Without respect how it did God displease Then fear the spirit make trial if 't be of God Or else be sure he 'll send his heavy rod To punish such as aim to wrest the truth But cleave to it as did to Naomi Ruth Take th' sacred sense beware of any wresting With holy things be sure there be no jesting Apply not places to thy private sence Lest pleasing thee may give thy God offence Read with great rev'rence when thou readest such An humble heart helps understanding much Make use of this and here observe with care How by ill spirits the Scaiptures wrested are And uses made unto some wicked end The Lord of life me from such spirits defend For these Expositors Scriptures do expound ' Gainst ancient writers men much more profound Who spent their lives in following that profession which is now gain'd by some few mouths possession They studied hard before they could obtain it But some new teachers think but light to gain it And when they purpose to the people preach They think it Gospel whatsoere they teach Without respect what our forefathers told Or what hath been in those the dayes of old As though by nature Learning now were gain'd When God doth know it is by some profan'd But thou my soul such shallow places read As thou maist wade them without any dread And leave the deeps for such have art to swim Whatsoever seas of deeps they do come in Learn no such art but leave 't to them that think No sea so deep wherein they cannot sink The Lord of host deliver me from such thought For his sweet sake hath me so dearly bought And keep me safe from this presumptuous sin And many more which I have lived in For ' spiring minds are seldom satisfied Although their wisdom be but folly tried But thou my soul let others folly teach Thee be content with that 's within thy reach Make godly use of what thy God hath given And by such use thou l't keep the way to heaven Keep that way still let nothing turn thee out Then God will prosper all thou goest about Though for the present he may please to try Lest in affliction thou wilt him deny As that just Job whom Satan could not touch Although the Serpents power did tempt him much But he us'd all temptations to good ends Observe his strength for to withstand his friends Take his example when thou tempted art And have a care thou do perform his part Observe his carriage let his patience move thee To serve thy Maker who entirely loves thee Although he teach thee with his heavy hand He will in th' end give thee thy hearts demand But then thou must not curse thy God and die For if thou dost 't is death eternallie And such a death as cannot be redeemd With all th' earths wealth how much soer esteemd Respect no pleasure nor no cruel pain Whatsoere thou suffer so that heaven thou gain Let no affliction alter thy resolve Altho't be such as life on earth dissolve For that this life on earth cannot be long And then there 's hope thou l't sing a heavenly song Among the Saints where glory doth abound Beyond the reach of th' best on earth are found For earthly minds unable are conceive What heavenly comfort Saints in heaven receive By th' glorious presence of that King of Kings Who doth abhor the sight of sinful things But casts them down to that infernal lake Where all must live that do of sin prrtake Then fear to sin and always it eschew Like death it self lest thou may come to rut And fall to curse the time of thy birth-day And to thy self thou thus lament and say Have I spent full out seventy years in sin Have I this while in them uncareful bin What shall befall me after I am dead What is it I have oft had in my head Have I esteemd this life as if immortal And after death of life to be but mortal Have I so much this wicked world esteemd As of this death I have but only dreamd Have I felt limbs how they grow stiffe and weak And cannot see how fast my life doth break Have I observed that my eyes grow blind And cannot know that even so doth my mind Have I discernd my memory to fail And cannot find my vital parts to quail Have I seen wrinkles in my withered skin And cannot see my life is weak within Have I observd my hair to fall away Yet cannot feel my life is in decay Doth not the baldness of my
thy decay O wo's my heart will not observe that end For which thy God did time unto thee lend Thou art careful know by th' clock what 's time of day Yet careless how thou setst this time away O wo's my heart thinks time well spent in toyes And cannot relish ought tends heavenly joyes O wo's my heart will spend thy time in play Which conscience knows thou'lt rue another day O wo's my heart is ever apt to ill Though soul and body both of them it kill O wo's my heart that conscience can me tell How I ' gainst conscience often did rebel O wo's my heart shall conscience me accuse My conscience knoweth my Saviour I refuse Must my own conscience make my sins accompt It knoweth that they do many millions mount O wretched heart thy conscience can now say That thou thy conscience never wouldst obey O wretched heart conscience blames thee for all Thou wouldst not hear though God himself did cal O wretched heart thy conscience doth now show How all thy life thou didst to Baal bow O wretched heart that is bewitched so With that which brings both soul and body wo. O wretched heart so taken with that 's ill As to that 's good thou 'lt not restraine thy will O wretched heart thus to be drawn away With that which onely tends to thy decay O wretched heart that hast been hardned so As 't never stood in fear of this word Go. O wretched heart 't is thee and thee alone Who beareth blame for senses every each one For they say plainly they were bound to obey To what the heart said they did ne'er say nay Thy ey seeth nothing but what th' heart approves Yet oftner ill then any good it loves The hands feel nothing but what th' heart commands And sometimes that which th' law of God withstands The ears are deaf unless the heart give way But to that 's ill they seldome do say nay The palat's pleased with nought if th' heart say no Yet oftentimes with that brings th' body wo. The nose is stopt except the heart comply But what doth please it seldome doth deny The will mongst these doth seem to carry a stroke Yet heart at pleasure can the will revoke All other members of the corps give way Unto the heart and it they all obey So as the heart guides all by its own will And is the root of all the bodies ill O wretched wretched wretched heart to see That all what 's ill proceeds alone from thee Which conscience knows and will at large relate What thy sins are and what shall be thy fate And then thou 'lt see that Apple Adam eat Did prove to him and his a poisoned meat For thy desires are for the most part such As do partake of Adams sin in much And are indeed even so insatiate As reason is not able moderate Say 't were in thee for to obtaine thy will 'T is to be thought 't would have less good then ill If thou mightst do whatsoere thou dost desire Canst think 't would free thee from th' infernal fire Hast thou not been even often overtaken Desiring things though Christ thereby forsaken Have thy desires at best been ever such As they were free from wicked sinful touch Let conscience say what thy desires have been 'T is but too true they 'll be condemn'd for sin Thou cursed heart wilt ne're be able see how subtle Satan hath deluded thee Shall th' Serpent dwell within thy hollow heart And wilt thou ne're admit him to depart Thou canst not chuse but know that he is there And yet thou wilt not will him to forbear It seemes thou dost approve on 's company well Although thou know'st it doth conduce to hell Or else would'st thou refuse to harbour him Who doth indeavour invite all to sin O wicked heart wilt ne're amend thy course But still continue each day worse and worse Lay but thy hand upon thy hollow heart And feel if heaven or hell have better part But it doth use and love for to dissemble And hazard all before 't will turn or tremble And yet confess it follows needful things But hear thy Saviour who is king of Kings And he will tell thy double fleshly heart That Mary she hath chose the better part Then take this better and forsake that worse Lest thou incur that fearful doleful curse Of Go thou cursed Go receive thy hire A just reward even hell eternal fire O turn O turn O turn thou wicked heart Or ne're expect in Christ have any part Now hear thy Saviour hear him he doth call Thou 'lt be but so as Agrippa said to Paul Thou hast almost turn'd me O do thou turn Except thou mean in hell for ever burn Though 't be but little yet it may in time By helpe of Christ wash off thy sinful crime Pray for his help laid down his life for thee For he desires that thou maist live not dye Sweet Jesus further my desire of turning That it may free me from this fearful burning Examine th' conscience it will not dissemble But tell the truth if thy hard heart do tremble Be often rubbing it to keep 't from sleep At death be sure it will thee waking keep Guide all thy actions by thy conscience square And it will help thy way to heaven prepare O sweep thy house and let thy Saviour come 'T is he alone must free thee from that doome Of Go thou cursed into fiery hell And there do thou with Satan ever dwell In that dark fire which Dives knoweth is hot Although nor soul nor body there do rot But still continue fuel without wasting And so shall be without end everlasting O horrid horrid wilt thou not return But still resolve in that black fire to burn Will nothing fear thee from this future wo As if thy heart did love this word of Go Art yet the same which thou hast ever been Will nothing fright thee from beloved sin Canst thou conceive 't will equalize thy paine From whence be sure shalt n'ere return againe Bewaile thy case and now observe cock-crow And call to minde how Peter he did so When he heard cock he went out streight to weep I hear him crow yet keep my bed and sleep When he heard cock he went out at first crow I hear him often yet will not do so Peters denials they were onely three But mine if counted more then millions be He saw his sin and then he did refraine it I see my sin but yet I still retain it He lov'd his Master and did follow him nigh But I lov'd sin and from my Saviour flie He heard the cock and then he saw his sin But though I see it I still retain 't within Peter was sent that he to me might preach Yet have his words no power my heart to reach His words and life are both I see even such I know they are but not respect them much He heard the cock and then
he did repent I heard him often yet will not relent Though Peter sinn'd repentance gain'd remission I commit sin yet to repent omission When Peter sinn'd he saw it and did refuse it I see my sin yet still resolve to use it O wretch O wretch O wretch wilt ne'er return Till thou be doom'd in that dark fire to burn Will nothing draw thee say this Satan no As though thou lov'st this fatal word of Go Canst thou expect thy Saviour shall retaine thee When thou dost know that Satans self hath gain'd thee Thou art ready prest hear Satan at first call But thy blest Saviour thou'lt not hear at all Peter heard th' cock made use of his preaching Thou hearest Peter without use of his teaching Each creature taught this Peter for to pray But all created thy sin cannot stay Peter was left to bring unto thee life Yet thou lov'st sin as Satan loveth strife Peter did weep and did his sin forbear But thou sinn'st still yet cannot shed one tear With Peters sin his heart was mollified But mine with sin is rather stupified O wicked heart art not ashamed to see How all thy sins have nothing softned thee Art so resolv'd as nothing shall remove thee To leave this Satan though thou seest he loves thee Consider well the cause of this his love Because thou hast forsworn thy God above O Jesu Jesu have I thee forsworn Who came from heaven and on this earth was born For to redeem me from this bond of sin And horrid life which I have lived in And here endured the paines of death for me In hope I should from this foul Satan flie And notwithstanding shall I follow him still Forsaking good and following what is ill O weep O weep even rivers of salt tears To keep thee free from greatest of all feares Shall Satan say thy Saviour is forsaken Who dyed on earth and then to heaven was taken Desirous thou shouldst do as he had done Live here a while and then unto him come Yet thou a wretch a most ungracious wretch Whose sufferings are not able thee to teach That thy hard heart is harder far then steel Wilt not be drawn thy Saviours sufferings feel O weep O weep let tears fall from thine eye For him who shed both tears and blood for thee O weep O weep now spend thy time in sorrowing For to redeem thy time is spent in sinning O weep O weep let Peter teach thee weep And it will teach thee from thy sin to keep O weep O weep let tears fall from thy eyes That they may prove for sin a sacrifice O weep O weep with tears produce thy grief If thou do hope for sin to have relief O weep O weep let tears make soft thy heart If thou expect in Christ have any part But how can I expect in Christ a part When there 's in me not any good desart For I have spent most of my time in sin And my amendment is yet to begin Can I presume then God will pardon him Who hath liv'd all his life in deadly sin With what face can he now for pardon pray Hath so offended deeply every day O hypocrite thy conscience can thee tell That thou dost think ther 's neither heaven nor hell For if thou didst it surely would appear That thou didst stand of this great God in fear Seeing thou didst see his plagues on Egypt sent When Pharaohs heart would not be drawn repent Untill the Lord had so decreed and doomed That he and his should in the sea be drowned And his elected safely brought to land Through the read sea by great Jehovahs hand For which did Moses sing praise to the Lord Who did preserve them by his onely word And Miriam she did lead the maides a dance Which highly did the praise of God advance Her Timbrel sure did make a joyful noise With which hearts hands feet keep equal poise Good God! what diff'rence now in this new world How it is alter'd from it was of old Though our solemn Revels make a stately show Yet these to them cannot compare I know Their dance set forth their joy was in their hearts But this the practice of the outward parts That shewed their thankes for a great deliverance These only th' state is in a courtly dance Such are the Masques and shows to court are sent Whose cost are cause make many a youth repent What other good in them I do not know Yet this new worlds proud humour it doth show But there leave court let country shew its skill How apt it is to practice what is ill Where Pipes and Shawms and Fiddles fill the street With filthy tunes for chast ears most unmeet And yet to these will men and women dance As though they meant the praise of hell advance Here Miriams timbrel sure hath not been heard Or if it were it was with light regard Her timbrel sounded out a heavenly tone But these do pipe or little good or none Their musick mounted hearts up to the heaven But these keep souls with bodies station even If one should dance as David did 'fore th' arke There 's many Nichals would him readily mark But now his like on earth 's not to be seen Nor many such as he have ever been Or like to Miriam are not many more Though such as Michal now there are great store Not many Miriams on our English ground Though millions like to Michal may be found Whose light behaviour in their dancing's such As doth conduce to sinful lust in much And no great need where all are apt to ill Though this their aptness soul and body kill When Miriam danced 't was with fatal fear Of that Jehovah who had plac'd them there And in their songs his praises they do sing Whose wondrous works o're al the earth do ring But now our Michals songs are nothing so For they are such as bring their souls to wo. Their dancing sent a most sweet smelling savour But ours casts us out of our Makers favour Good God! that this our English fertile land Should harbour such as will not understand How much they 're bound unto this gracious God Though now we are beaten with his heavy rod Because we have neglected him to serve VVho with his blood did us from death preserve VVithin this Isle wherein his Sun did shine Like to that blessed land of Palestine O Wicked world behold how God hath lest thee And Satan he of all good hath bereft thee For Abraham's seed can hardly now be found Except it be in graves are under ground When who 's a Christian hardly can be known If by their works their faith it must be shown Though we profess and say that we have faith Our works deny it so sacred Scripture saith For all the world so madly runs awry As most forget they 're born to live to dye O what a wicked wretched world is now When most of men do unto Baal bow Though they
this thy nature 's such And that thou art not able alter't much Art now become a very naturalist Even such is every sensless natural beast As are the untamed Lion Bear or Bull Or like to that the beastly horse or mule Yet all of these their nature so do heed As bounds of nature they do ne'er exceed For canst thou make a horse by force to eat When stomack doth not serve him to his meat Or canst thou make him 's belly for to fill Or yet to drink if 't be against his will Examine conscience it may chance to say There is some man offended hath this way So as these creatures may right well arise To teach fond man how to become be wise But thou I hope hast more in thee then so Or else hadst thou ne'er been made man I know Thou hast I am sure a living soul in thee But thou being blind this soul thou wilt not see Yet when thy eyes are ope thou plainly dost And careful art that it should not be lost O then have care keep ope these eyes of thine That they may make thy soul within thee shine In sight of him who did it in the make And gave his life even for thy own souls sake Then to him to him do thou freely go And pray that he will please thy eyes keep so Thou maist be bold to look up unto him Without all dread or any deadly sin For he alone it is must thee defend Or else there 's danger great of thee at th' end Then fall before him on thy bended knees Who heart and thought and all thy actions sees And pray and pray and pray to him againe That he will please within thee to remaine And ope thy eyes so as thou maist well see The cruel torments he endur'd for thee And ever have them constantly in minde And then thou shalt not fear to become blind But such thou art and such wilt ever be If that thy Saviour shall a while leave thee Then pray to him and pray continually That he will keep thee for eternity Pray without ceasing do thou never lin Lest that thou enter into horrid sin For if thou shouldst neglect to God to pray Be well assur'd he will no longer stay O stay with me sweet Jesu in my heart That I from thee herehence do ne'er depart But ever praying to thee night and day That in thy service I may alwayes stay With heart and soul and all is in my minde But all of these are apt to become blinde For now my conscience doth me plainly tell That all even all of me is nothing well For that I see my thoughts do love to range And think of things are uncouth and most strange Against my setled resolution quite From what is good to that which is not right And yet O Lord it is not in my power To make them stay no not for one half hour But they are gone I do not well know where Sometimes far off and sometimes also neer And never rest upon one stable theam But often flying out beyond the Realm So as from gadding they 'l not stay for me I know not well what th' cause thereof should be But by experience I do too well finde They 'l not be guided by that is my minde Which solely's set to serve my God and King And evermore to him due praises sing And strive to keep them in that blessed way Nor never wander out nor go astray But then even then my wandring thoughts are gone And that perchance to some strange region And never use ask of me any leave But of my good thoughts they do me bereave Whereby apparently I understand That my own thoughts are not in my own hand Nor is' t in me with force them to restraine Where I desire that they should aye remaine But suddainly they roam and run about To finde that rest which cannot be found out So as I am not able make them stay But they are gadding still some other way For though I strive with heart to make them think What I am writing with this pen of ink Yet 'fore I get but half of one line done They are to seek and from me quite out gone Though I desire with all my very heart That they should stay and not from me depart Till I have done what I in heart desire And what my soul doth in it soul require Which is to cause them rest alone in thee Who hath me made and likewise them in me But sure if God did them unto me send He sent them doubtless for some other end And not to reel and ramble up and down From this to that and then to th' t'other town And never stay where I wish they should be But alwayes running out abroad from me Whereby doth rise a case full of some doubt VVhat this may be which runneth thus about From heaven to hell and then to heaven againe But yet being there will not in heaven remaine Where I desire that they should ever rest Because I know that place is ever blest VVith the glorious presence of my Saviour sweet With whom my heart desires my soul may meet And there to stay and ever with him live Whose goodness did it freely to me give And then I doubt not but my soul shall rest VVhere I desire and do in heart request Thou wilt vouchsafe within me bless them so As they shall never from thy service go In the mean time till thou vouchsafe to say Come thou the blessed come and with me stay Here bide my soul and now set up thy rest For by him solely thou art onely blest And have a care thou from him ne're depart Nor in thy thought nor in thy very heart For this I fear will prove too much in blame Because I am not able th' other tame For if my heart were of it self upright It would not wander nor be out on 's sight VVho freely gave it for no other end But him to serve even world without all end O wretched wretched beast that thou shouldst be Hast lived so long and yet live wretchedly Not minding th' end for which was 't hither sent Forgetful also of thy sins repent VVhat shall I think of this vile ill condition That after so much godly admotion Of weakness great if so I rightly call it But I think rather strength I may so term it For sure I am that it doth o'recome me And by my minde it will not ruled be For I desire with all my very heart My secrets solely to my God impart And in him wholly by true faith confide And in him solely in my soul reside Yet I am drawn I cannot well say how To think of things which I do not know now For such are often got into my thought Which are not worthy of remembring ought If I should have desire them to recall Which is a thing not possible at all And if they could by me be spoke againe As
me come Was ever comfort heard of like to this Which brings thy soul into eternall bliss Where all the Saints with joyfull noyse accord To sing the praises of the heavenly Lord Who was and is and evermore shall be Till th' end of Time and thence eternally Let all the earth joyn and due praises sing To this our God and glorious heavenly King ' Mongst these my soul do thou set up thy rest Here none abide but them are onely blest Then do thou strive this blessedness to gain That thou with them mayst evermore remain And always joyfull Alleluja's sing To Christ thy Saviour and thy heavenly King Who hath thy soul thus far enlightned so As 't may be freed from that most dolefull wo And wofull word of Go from hence thou curst Of all that ere was heard the very worst Sweet Jesus please for to preserve me so As I may never hear this word of Go Which is so fearfull to my fleshly heart Which makes it grieve and inwardly to smart Come blessed Lord be pleas'd vouchsafe me cure Of this my grievous pain which I endure For very sorrow of this horrid fear More heavy then I am able to bear To think what danger this my soul is in By my long life spent all in deadly sin But that my Saviour pleaseth comfort me When I remember how he dy'd for me And that his coming was for this intent To call me to him that I might repent Then please sweet Jesus sinfull me to call And so as I do never from thee fall But ever worship thee my God and King And with a joyfull heart thy praises sing Amongst that glorious heavenly Angels Quire Whose joys are full beyond all hearts desire And with them sing to thee continually And so shall do for all eternity The worthy praises of that heavenly King Whose wondrous works ore heaven and earth do ring Then sing my soul and ever jovial be The praises due to him that dy'd for thee Let all the earth conjoyn and praises sing To this our God and glorious heavenly King Both Father Son and eke the holy Ghost Who 's God alone and of all might is most And worthy is of all be ever blest And here my soul do now set up thy rest And have a care serve him continually And then be sure that thou shalt never dye Vouchsafe good GOD to this to say Amen SAMUEL BRASSE O Almighty ever-living most mercifull God and to me a most loving and kind Father I the work of thy hands unworthy even the very least of thy benefits unworthy so much as to lift up mine eys towards thy divine Majesty much less worthy to call unto thee for mercy or to receive any mercy thy hands Yet gracious God for that thou hast appointed all them that are heavy laden to come unto thee and thou wilt ease them I most entirely beseech thee of thy abundant goodness to ease me of this burthen of sin vnder which I have spent most part of that time thou hast been pleased to bestow upon me for thy own service soly Lord lay them not upon my soul now at my departure but wash them away w th the pretious blood of thy dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ bury them in his wounds dear Father that they may never rise up against me either in this life or that everlasting but please good Lord at my death to vouchsafe me this comfort of all others most comfortable Come thou blessed receive the Kingdom I have purchased for thee In full assurance whereof I commend my soul into thy hands Lord keep it there for his sake who so dearly bought it w th his pretious blood in whose Name I make bold to call unto thee in that perfect form of prayer he himself hath taught me saying Our Father which art in Heaven c. To my dear and onely Son WILLIAM BRASS SON these three letters imply three distinct persons Father Mother and Child these their severall offices the Father to educate his child in the fear of God and provide for his livelihood the Mother to assist as a helper the Son to obey both and observe them with a filiall care I thank my God there hath been no neglect of any part since you had your being and now at my departure I have left you this litle Book useful in this woful time of War though not against lime and stone yet against that active Enemy is ever ready upon all occasions to assault you and therein also you may view the infirmities life and by them apply some good use to your own Other wealth I am likely leave but a little since God hath so appointed it should be reft from me by the Sabeans Esteem this as your Fathers last Will read it with deliberation meditation and contemplation there may happily some thing be found in it will redound to your good when I am in grave Keep it in your pocket and peruse it often it may prove more worth then much wealth and as you tender your own good or your Fathers command I charge you upon all accasions which doubless will be many have recourse to the first Lines and in assurance thereof I shall live and die your loving Father Samuel Brasse A Note of the principal Points casually handled in this Book OF our Saviours passion 1 Of the Mind 18 Of Englands broyles 30 Of Moses 25 Of Dooms-day 35 Of joy and fear 37 Of Hell 39 Of lameness 41 Of accompt of time 48 Of repentance 49 Of King David 53 Of dreams 56 Of wonders 59 Of mans frailty 60 Of Peters walk 63 Of Faith 67 Of Angels 72 Of Toby 72 Of the alteration of times 82 Of the Soul 91 Of the Sacrament 93 Of the abuse of creatures 95 Of hunting 96 Of Death 52 Of the Bed 69 Of the Stair to heaven 73 Of the Garden 77 Of Adams fall 79 Of the Sun 82 Of the Spirit 86 Of Jobs patience 88 Of lamentation 89 Of woe 99 Of the Heart 105 Of Peters Cock 108 Of dancing 112 Of dissimulation 114 Of Englands tears 118 Of accompt of sin 122 Of the Prodigal 125 Of Pleasure 128 Of the end of mans creation 134 Of Madness 143 Of Repentance 146 Of our Saviours life 150 Of wandring thoughts 160 Of the use of Senses 220 Of sinfull thoughts 224 The Authors Prayer 229 Reader Some Numbers of the Pages are mistaken in the book but the order of the Contents is rightly observed FINIS