regaine a desperate debt which is as good as nothing be the fruits and sign of a bad conence God help the good Come tell not mee of griping and Oppression The world is hard and he that hopes to thrive must gripe as hard What I give I give and what I lend I lend If the way to heaven bee to turne begger upon earth let them take it that like it I know not what ye call Oppression The Law is my direction but of the two it is more profitable to oppresse then to bee opprest If debtors would bee honest and discharge our hands were bound but when their failing offends my bags they touch the Apple of my eye and I must right them His Punishment BUt hah what voice is this that whispers in mine eare The Lord will spoil the soul of the Oppressors Prov. 22. 23. Pro. 21. 22. Rob not the poor because he is poore neither oppresse the afflicted in the gates for the Lord wil plead their cause and spoile the soule of those that have spoyled him Ezek. 22. 19. The people of the land have used oppression and exercised Robbery and have vexed the poor and needy yea they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath Zach. 7. 9. Execute true judgement and shew mercy campâ—ssion on every man to his brother and oppresse not the widow nor the fatherlesse nor the stranger nor the poore and let none of you imagine evill in your hearts against his brother But they refused to hearken therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of Hosts His Proofes Bernard p. 1691. We ought so to care for our selves as not to neglect the due regard of our neighbour Bern. ibid. He that is not mercifull to another shall not find mercy from God but if thou wil'st bee mercifull and compassionate thou shalt bee a benefactor to thy owne soule His Soliloquy IS it wisdom in thee O my soul to covet a happinesse or rather to account it so that is sought for with a judgement obtained with a Curse and punished with damnation And to neglect that good which is assured with a promise purchased with a blessing and rewarded with a Crowne of Glory Canst thou hold a full estate a good pennyworth which is bought with the deare price of thy Gods displeasure Tell mee what continuance can that Inheritance promise that is raised upon the ruines of thy Brother Or what mercy canst thou expect from heaven that hast denyed all mercy to thy Neighbour O my hard-hearted soul consider and relent Build not an house whose posts are subject to be rotted with a curse Consider what the God of truth hath threatned against thy cruelty Relent and turn compassionate that thou mayst be capable of his compassion on If the desire of Gold hath hardened thy heart let the tears of true Repentance mollifie it soften it with Aarons oyntment untill it become wax to take the impression of that seale which must confirme thy Pardon His Prayer BUt will my God bee now entreated Is not my crying sin too loud for pardon am I not sunk too deep into the jaws of Hell for thy strong arme to rescue Hath not the hardnesse of my heart made me uncapable of thy compassion O if my teares might wash away my sin my head should turne a living Spring Lord I have heard thee speake and am affraid the word is past and thy judgements have found me out Fearfulnesse and trembling are come upon mee and the Jaws of hell have overwhelmed mee I have oppressed thy poore and added affliction to the afflicted and the voyce of their misery is come before thee They besought mee with teares and in the anguish of their souls but I have stopt mine ears against the cry of their complaint But Lord thou walkest not the ways of man and remembrest mercy in the middest of thy wrath for thou art good and gracious and ready to forgive and plenteous in compassion to all that shall call upon thee Forgive mee O God my sins that are past and deliver me from the guilt of my Oppression Take from mee O God this heart of stone and create in my breast a heart of flesh Asswage the vehemency of my desires to the things below and satisfie my soul with the sufficiency of thy Grace Inflame my affections that I may love thee with a filiall love and incline me to relie upon thy fatherly providence Let me account godlinesse my greatest gaine and subdue in me my lusts after filthy lucre Preserve me O Lord from the vanity of self-self-love and plant in my affections the true love of my neighbours Endue my heart with the bowells of compassion and then reward me according to thy righteousnesse Direct mee O God in the wayes of my life and let a good Conscience be my continuall comfort Give me a willing heart to make restitution of what I have wrongfully gotten by oppression Grant me a lawfull use of all thy Creatures and a thankfull heart for all thy benefits Be mercifull to all those that groan under the burden of their owne wants and give them patience to expect thy deliverance Give me a heart that may acknowledge thy favours and fill my tongue with praise and thanksgiving that living here a new life I may become a new creature and being ingraffed in thee by the power of thy grace I may bring forth fruit to thy honour and glory The Drunkards Jubile VVHat Complement will the severer world allow to the vacant houres of frolique-hearted youth How shall their free their joviall spirits entertain their time their friends What Oyle shall bee infused into the lampe of deare society if they deny the priviledge of a civill rejoycing Cup It is the life the radicall humour of united soules whose love-digested heat even ripens and ferments the greene materialls of a plighted faith without the help whereof new married friendship fals into divorce and joyn'd acquaintance soon resolves into the first Elements of strangenesse What mean these strict Reformers thus to spend their houâ—e-glasses and bawle against our harmless Cups to call our meetings Riots and brand our civil mirth with stiles of loose Intemperance where they can sit at a sisters Feast devoure and gurmundize beyond excesse and wipe the guilt from off their marrowed mouths and cloath their surfeits in the long fustian robes of a tedious Grace Is it not much better in a faire friendly Round since youth must have a swing to steep our soule-afflicting sorrows in a chirping Cup then hazard our estates upon the abuse of providence in a foolish cast at Dice Or at a Cockpit leave our doubtfull fortunes to the mercy of unmercifull contention Or spend our wanton dayes in sacrificing costly presents to a fleshly Idoll Was not Wine given to exhilarate the drooping hearts and raise the drowzie spirits of dejected souls Is not the liberall Cup
comforts then His Sentence COnsider O my soule and know that the day will come and after that another wherein for all these things God will bring thee to judgment Eccles. 11. 9. Prov. 14. â—3 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowfull and the end of that mirth is heavinesse Eccles. 2. 2. I said in my heart Goe to now I will prove thee with mirth and therefore enjoy pleasure and behold this also is vanity I said of laughter it is mad and of mirth what doth it St. James Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton ye have nourished your hearts as in the day of slaughter Eccles. 7. 4. The heart of the wise man is in the house of mourning but the heart of fooles is in the house of mirth His Proofes Isid. in Synonymis Pleasure is an inclination to the unlawful objects of a corrupted mind allured with a momentary sweetnes Hugo Sensuality is an immoderate indulgence of the flesh a sweet poyson a strong plague a dangerous potion which effeminates the body and enerves the soule Cass. Lib. 4. Ep. They are more sensible of the burthen of affliction that are most taken with the pleasures of the flesh His Soliloquy VVHat hast thou now to say O my soule why this judgment seconded with divine proofes backt with the harmony of holy men should not proceed against thee Dally no longer with thy owne salvation nor flatter thy owne corruption Remember the wages of flesh are sin and the wages of sinne death God hath threatned it whose judgements are terrible God hath witnessed it whose words are Truth Consider then my soul and let not momentarie pleasures flatter thee into eternity of torments How many that have trod thy steps are now roaring in the flames of hell and yet thou triflest away the time of thy repentance O my poor deluded soul presume no longer repent to day lest to morow come too late Or couldst thou ravell out thy dayes beyond Methusalem tell me alas what will eternity be the shorter for the deduction of a thousand yeers Be wisely provident therefore O my soul and bid vanity the common sorceresse of the world farewell life and death are yet before thee Chuse life and the God of life will seal thy choice Prostrate thy self before him who delights not in the death of a sinner and present thy petitions to him who can deny thee nothing in the name of a Saviour His Prayer O God in the beauty of whose holinesse is the true joy of those that love thee the full happinesse of those that fear thee and the onely rest of those that prize thee In respect of which the transitory pleasures of the world are lesse then nothing in comparison of which the greatest wisdom of the world is folly and the glory of the earth but drosse and dung How dare my boldnesse thus presume to presse into thy glorious presence What can my prayers expect but thy just wrath and heavie indignation O what return can the tainted breath of my polluted lips deserve but to bee bound hand and foot and cast into the flames of Hell But Lord the merits of my Saviour are greater then the offences of a sinner and the sweetnesse of thy mercy exceeds the sharpnesse of my misery The horrour of thy judgments have seized upon me and I languish through the sense of thy displeasure I have forsaken thee the rest of my distressed soule and set my affections upon the vanity of the deceitfull world I have taken pleasure in my foolishnesse and have vaunted my self in mine iniquity I have flattered my soule with the hony of delights whereby I am made sensible of the stink of my affliction wherefore I loath and utterly abhor my self and from the bottom of my heart repent in dust ashes Behold O Lord I am impure and vile and have wallowed in the puddle of mine own Corruptions The Sword of thy displeasure is drawn out against me and what shal I plead O thou preserver of mankind Make me a new Creature O my God and destroy the Old man within me Remove my affections from the love of transitory things that I may run the way of thy Commandements Turne away mine eyes from beholding vanity and make thy testimonies my whole delight Give mee strength to discern the emptiness of the creature and inebriate my heart with the fulness of thy joyes Bee thou my portion O God at whose right hand stand pleasures for ever more Be thou my refuge and my shield and suffer mee not to sinke under the corruptions of my heart let not the house of mirth beguile me but give me a sense of the evil to come Accept the free-will offerings of my mouth and grant my petitions for the honour of thy Name then will I magnifie thy mercies O God and praise thy name for ever and ever The Vain-glorious mans vaunt VVHat tell'st thou me of Conscience or a pious life They are good trades for a leaden spirit that can stand bent at every frown and want the braines to make a higher Fortune or courage to atchieve that honour which might glorifie their names and write their memories in the Chronicles of Fame 'T is true Humility is a needfull gift in those that have no quality to exercise their pride and patience is a necessary grace to keep the world in peace and him that hath it in a whole skin and often proves a vertue born of meer necessity And civil honesty is a fair pretence for him that hath not wit to act the Knave and makes a man capable of a little higher stile then Foole And blushing modesty is a pretty innocent quality and serves to vindicate an easie nature from the imputation of an il-breeding These are inferiour Graces that have got a good opinion in the dull wisdome of the world and appeare like water among the elements to moderate the body Politique and keep it from combustion nor doe they come into the work of honour Virtue consists in Action and the reward of action is Glory Glory is the great soule of the little world and is the Crowne of all sublime attempts and the point whereto the crooked wayes of policy are all concentrick Honour consults not with a pious life Let those that are ambitious of a Religious reputation abjure all honorable Titles and let their dough-bak'd spirits take a pride in suf-ferance the Anvile of all injuries and bee thankfully baffled into a quiet pilgrimage Rapes murthers treasons dispossessions riots are veniall things to men of honour and oft co-incident in high pursuits Had my dull Conscience stood upon such nice points that little honour I have wonne had glorified some other arme and left me begging Morsells at his Princely gates Come come my soule Id factum juvat quod fieri non licet Fear not to doe what crownes thee being done Ride on with thy Honour and create a name to live with faire Eternity Enjoy thy purchas'd Glory
crookednesse of my condition can expect nothing but the Fornace of thy indignation I know the insolence of my corrupted nature can hope for nothing but the execution of thy judgements Yet Lord I know withall thou art a gracious God of evill repenting thee and slow to wrath I know thy nature and property is to shew compassion apt to conceive but readier to forgive I know thou takest no pleasure in destruction of a sinner but rather that hee should repent and live In confidence and full assurance whereof I am here prostrate on my bended knees and with an humbleheart Nor doe I presse into thy holy presence trusting in my own merits lest thou shouldest deale by me as I have dealt by others but being encouraged by thy gracious invitation and heavy laden with the burthen of my sinnes I come to thee O God who art the refuge of a wounded soule and the Sanctuary of a broken spirit Forgive O God forgive me what is past recalling and make me circumspect for the time to come Open mine eyes that I may see how vaine a thing I am and how polluted from my very birth Give me an insight of my owne corruptions that I may truly know and loath my selfe Take from me all vaine-glory and self love and make me carelesse of the worlds applause Endue me with an humble heart and take this haughty spirit from me Give me a true diâ—covery of my owne merits that I may truely fear and trembâ—e at thy judgements Let not the worlds contempt deject me nor the disrespects of man dismay me Take from mee O God a scornfull eye and curb my tongue that speaks presumptuous things Plant in my heart a brotherly love and cherish in me a charitable affection Possesse my my soule with patience O God and establish my heart in the feare of thy name that being humbled before thee in the meeknesse of my spirit I may be exalted by thee through the freenesse of thy Grace and crowned with thee in the Kingdome of Glory The Covetous Mans care BEleive me the Times aâ—e hard and dangerous Charity is grown cold and friends uncomfortable an empty Purse is full of sorrow and hollow Bags make a heavy heart Poverty is a civill Pestilence which frights away both friends and kindred and leaves us to a Lord have mercy upon us It is a sicknes very catching and infectious and more commonly abhord then cured The best Antidote against it is Angelico and Providence and the best Cordiall is Aurum potabile Gold-taking fasting is an approved soveraigne Debts are all humours and turne at last to dangerous obstructions Lending is a meer consumption of the radicall humour and if consumed brings a patient to nothing Let others trust to Courtiers promises to friends performances to Princes favours Give me a Toy call'd Gold give me a thing call'd Mony O blessed Mammon how extreamly sweet is thy all-commanding presence to my thriving soule In banishment thou art my deare companion In captivity thou art my precious ransome In trouble and vexation thou art my dainty rest In sicknes thou art my health In griefe my only joy in all extremity my only trust Vertue must vaile to thee Nay Grace it self not relisht with thy sweetnes would even displeas the righteous palates of the sons of men Come then my soul advise contrive project Go compasse Sea and Land leave no exploit untryed no path untrod no time unspent afford thine eyes no sleep thy head no rest Neglect thy ravenous belly uncloath thy backe deceive betray sweare and forsweare to compasse such a friend If thou be base in birth 't will make thee honorable If weak in power it will make thee formidable Are thy friends few It will make them numerous Is thy cause bad It wiâ—l make thee Advocates True wisedom is an excellent help in case it bend this way and learning is a gentile Ornament if not too chargeable yet by your leave they are but estates for term of life But everlasting Gold if well advantag'd will not onely blesse thy daâ—es but thy surviving children from generation to gâ—neration Come come et others fill their brâ—ines with deare bought wit turn their pence inâ—o expenceâ—ull charity and store their bosomes with unprofitable pâ—ety let them lose all to save their â—maginary consciences and begger themâ—elves at home to be thought honest abroad Fill thou thy â—aggâ—s and barnes and ay up for many yeâ—rs and take thy rest His Proofs BUt O my soule what follows wounds my heart and strikes me on my knees Thou foole this night will I take thy soul from thee Luk. 12 20. Matth. 6. 24. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon Job 20. 15. He hath swallowed down riches and he shall vomit them up again God shall cast them out of his belly Prov. 15. 17. He that is greedy of gaine troubles his own house but he that hateth gifts shall live 2 Pet. 2. 3. Through covetousnesse they shall with feigned woâ—ds make merchandize of you whose judgement now of a long time lingâ—eth not and whose damnation slumbreth not Nilus in Paraenes Woe to the covetous for his riches forsake him and hell fire takes him Augustine O thou covetous man why dost thou treasure up such hidden mischiefe why dost thou dote on the Image of the King stamped on coine and hatest the Image of God that shines in men Augustine The riches which thou treasurest up are lost those thou charitably bestowest are truly thine His Soliloquy VVHat thinkst thou now my soule If the judgement of holy men may not inform thee let the judgements of thy angry God enâ—orce thee Weigh thy owne carnall effections with the sacred Oracles of heaven and light and darknesse are not more contrary What thou approvest thy God condemnes What thou desirest thy God forbids Now my soul if Mammon be God follow him if God be God adhere to him Thou canst not serve God and Mammon If thy conscience feele the hook nibble no longer Many sinnes leave thee in the way this followes thee to thy lives end the root of evill the canker of all goodnesse It blinds Justice poysons Charity strangles Conscience beslaveâ— the affections betrayes friendship breaks all relations It is a root of the Devils owne planting pluck it up Think not that a pleasure which God hath threatned nor that a blessing which heaven hath cursed Devoure not that which thou or thy heire must vomit up Be no longer possest with such a Devill but cast him out and if he be too strong weaken him by Fasting and exorcize him by Prayer His Prayer O God that art the fulnesse of all riches and the magazeen of all treasure in the enjoyment of whose favour the smalest morsell is a rich inheritance and the coursest poulse is a large portion without whose blessing the greatest plenty enriches not and the highest diet nourishes not How have I an earthworm and no man fixt my whole heart upon this transitory world and neglected
makes us the happiest of all subjects makes us the happiest of all people A land of strength of plenty and a land of peace where every soule may sit beneath his Vine unfrighted at the horrid language of the hoarse Trumpet unstartled at the warlike summons of the roaring Cannon A land whose beauty hath surpriz'd the ambitious hearts of forrain Princes and taught them by their martiall Oratory to make their vaine attempts A land whose strength reades vanity in the deceived hopes of Conquerours and crowns their enterprizes with a shamefull overthrow A land whose native plenty makes her the worlds Exchange supplying others able to subsist without supply from forraigne Kingdomes in it selfe happy and abroad honorable A land that hath no vanity but what by accident proceeds and issues from the sweetest of all blessings peace and plenty that hath no misery but what is propagated from that blindness which cannot see her own felicitie A land that flowes with Milk and Honey and in briefe wants nothing to deserve the title of a Paradise the Curbe of Spaine the pride of Germany the ayde of Belgia the scourge of France the Empresse of the world and Queene of Nations She is begirt with walls whose builder was the hand of heaven whereon there daily rides a Navy Royall whose unconquerable power proclaimes her Prince invincible and whispers sad despaire into the fainting hearts of forraigne Majesty She is compact within her selfe in unity not apt to civill discords or intestine broyles The envie of all nations the ambition of all Princes the terror of all enemies the security of all neighbouring States Let timerous Pulpits threaten ruine let prophecying Church-men dote till I beleeve How often and how long have these loud sonnes of Thunder false prophesied her desolation and yet she stands the glory of the world Can pride demolish the Towers that defend her Can drunkennesse dry up the Sea that walls her Can flames of lust dissolve the Ordnance that protect her His overthrow BEe well advised my soule there is a voyee from heaven roare louder then those Ordnance which saith Thus saith the Lord The whole land shall be desolate Jer. 4. 27. Esay 14. 7. The whole earth it at rest and at quiet they break forth into singing Yea the Firee trees rejoyee at thee and the Cedars of Lebanon sing c. Yet shalt thou be brought down to hell to the sides of the Pit Ier. 5. 12. They have belied the Lord and said it is not he neither shall evill come upon us neither shall we see sword or famine 1 Cor. 10. 12. Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall Luke 17. 26. They did eat and drink and they married wives and were given in marriage untill the flood came and destroyed them all His Proofs Greg. Mor. A man may as soon build a Castle upon the rouling waves as ground a solid comfort upon the unceriaine ebbs and fluxes of transient pleasures St. Augustine Whilst Lot was exercised in sâ—ffering reproach and violence he continued holy and pure even in the filth of Sodom but in the mount being in peace and safety he was surprised by sensuall security and defiled himselfe with his owne daughters Our prosperous and happy state is often the occasion of more miserabl ruine a long peace hath made many men both carelesse and cowardly and that 's the most fatall blow when an unexpected enemy surprises us in a deep sleep of peace and security Greg. Mag. His Soliloquy SEcurity is an improvident carelesnesse casting out all fear of approaching danger It is like a great Calme at Sea that sore-runs a storme How is this verified O my sad soule in this our bleeding nation Wer 't thou not but now for many yeares even nuzzlâ—d in the bosome of habituall peace Didst thou foresee this danger Or couldst thou have contrived a way to be thus miserable Didst thou not laugh invasion to scorne or didst thou not lesse feare a Civill war Was not the Title of the Crown unquestionable And was not our mixt government unapt to fall into diseases Did we want good Lawes or did our Lawes want execution Did not our Prophets give lawfull warning or were we moved at the sound of judgements How hast thou liv'd O my uncarefull soule to see these prophesies fulfill'd and to behold the vials of thy angry God pour'd forth Since mercies O my soule could not allure thee yet let these judgements now at length enforce thee to a true Repentance Quench the Firebrand which thou hast kindled turne thy mirth to a right mourning and thy feasts of joy to humiliation His Prayer O God by whom kings reign and kingdoms flourish that settest up where none can batter down and pullest down where none can countermand I a most humble Sutor at the Throne of Grace acknowledge my selfe unworthy of the least of all thy mercies nay worthy of the greatest of all thy judgements I have sinned against thee the author of my being I have sinned against my conscience which thou hast made my accuser I have sinned against the peace of this Kingdom wherof thou hast made mee a member If all should doe O God as I have done Sodom would appeare as righteous and Gomorrah would be a president to thy wrath upon this sinfull Nation But Lord thy mercy is inscrutable or else my misery were unspeakable for that mercy sake bee gratious to me in the free pardoning of all my offences Blot them out of thy remembrance for his sake in whom thou art well pleased Make my head a fountaine of teares to quench that brand my sinnes have kindled towards the destruction of this flourishing kingdome Blesse this kingdom O God establish it in piety honour peace and plenty Forgive all her crying sinnes and remove thy judgements farre from her Blesse her Governour thy servant our dread Soveraign endue his soule with all religious civill and princely vertues Preserve his royall person in health safety and prosperity prolong his days in honour peace or victory and crown his death with everlasting glory Blesse him in his royall Consort unite their hearts in love and true Religion Blesse him in his princely issue Season their youth with the feare of thy Name Direct thy Church in doctrine and in discipline and let her enemies bee converted or confounded purge her of all superstition and heresie and root out from her whatsoever thy hand hath not planted Blesse the Nobility of this Land endue their hearts with truth loyalty and true policy Blesse the Tribe of Levi with piety learning and humility Blesse the Magistrates of this kingdome give them religious upright hearts hating covetousnesse Blesse the Gentry with sincetity charity and a good conscience Blesse the Commonalty with loyall hearts painfull hands and plentifull encrease Blesse the two great Seminaries of this kingdom make them fruitfull and faithfull Nurseries both to the Church and Common-wealth Blesse all thy Saints every where especially those that have stood