made thee to have thought there was no God then thy God manifested himself to thee when he would have had thee taken pleasure in the vaine delights of this wicked world then thy dear father having a watchfull eye and a carefull minde over thee sent a heavy dulnes into all the powers of thy soul body inforcing thee as it were to leave those earthly vanishes because neither soul nor body could take delight in those things which others call pleasures by reason of thy exceeding heavy dulness Then dost thou my soul think that a most severe punishment on thee from thy father when thou sawest others injoy the blessings of thy God with great contentment Then in the height of this distemper wert thou my soul almost brought to the pit of despair When as the enemy pictur'd before the eyes of thy soul the sad appearance of the anger of thy God and still he persisting in his pernicious temptations bid thee leave his service telling thee it was to no purpose to be so carefull to serve him for thy prayers were not heard thy tears not regarded thy heaviness not removed and if Gods word be true he hears all that cals upon him and removeth from them their griefs Thus subtly delt my enemy with me thinking to havein wrapt me in his hidden nets of most pernicious temptations First making me to think my God was angry then that he heard not my prayers and that his word was falfe thus by consequence faine would he have made me to have doubted of thy being O my eternall and ever-being Father By these snares would he have bereft me of the hope I had in thy word by which I was brought to know thee Thy creatures teach us I acknowledge O Lord to know that there is a God but they cannot teach us to know how to come to this God or how to finde comfort in thee our God 't is onely thy word can declare to us what thou art and thy spirit it is that must assure us that this word is thine It was thy selfe O Lord who art able to performe what thou hast decreed that hast brought this flinty heart of mine to the knowledge of thee My Lord I must needs confess thy powerfull working in framing this heart of mine to the belief of thy word and thee for before thy spirit mollified this heart of mine thy word was to it like water gliding over the hardest marble no whit entring or piercing the same My gracious Lord thy divine Majesty in all the changes and chances of my life hath had a most peculiar care of me for now hast thou taught me to know that those temptations and those perplexities in which my soul was in have been all disposed for the good and happiness of my Soul Now thou makest me to know that thy word is true and that our grief doth work for our good for though our temptations be never so great thou canst and wilt deliver thy children It was thy Majesty that kept me from doubting of thy being it was thy fatherly goodnes that stupified the powers of my Soul and Body with that heavy dulness not because thou wouldest punish me for my sins no! thou didst teach me to know that my gracious Saviour had already indur'd the punishment that my sins deserv'd My Lord thy Majesty did not lay that dejection on me proceeding from thy justice but thy mercy For my God! I must confess to thee that which thou then didst know for then I did love the world more then I loved thee and because thou wouldst have me love the pleasure that should never end thou madst me to take no pleasure in these delights which never end but in sorrow That heaviness was then a bitter pill to purge my Soul from the grosse humours of earthly love that afterwards she may be made more fit and apt to receive the sweet blisse of thine everlasting love This thy love to me kept me from falling into the miserable pit of despaire thy loving kindnesse it was that moved thee to let that word of comfort with which thou sustainest thy servant St. Paul sound ever in my ears That thy grace should be sufficient for me without which grace of thine I not having sufficient strength of my self should have fallen into the gulf of everlasting misery Thy love likewise kept me constant to thee and thy service kept me from doing or saying that in my dispairing thoughts that had not been fit for thy servant to doe or utter Thy unwearied love and great wisdome it was that sent those tryals and temptations to me in my youth that thou mightest sanctifie my youth to thy service and make me carelesse of those pleasures that my young years were too much addicted to For if thy Majesty had suffered me to have run on to have taken pleasure in those vanities till I had been in wrapt in them and had set my whole delight in those vanishing pleasures Then had it been more hard and grievous to me to have left them But thou O my Lord didst deal more graciously with me for before I knew what pleasures meant thou took'st from me the love of pleasure for which great mercy of thine I render thee most hearty thanks My Lord When I consider of these thine infinite mercies I cannot chuse but admire thy goodness and admiring say unto thy heavenly Majesty O Lord what am I that thou shouldest have such a peculiar care of me I am not worthy to be in thy thoughts much more unworthy to be belov'd of thee yet it doth evidently appear that thou dost love me in that thou takest off from me the love of the world for my Lord-unless thou lovest me thou wouldest not have cared for my love and I know that it was in love that thou weanedst me from the world because that I should love thee alone and not the world The Angels Joy YOu blessed Angels by my Father are we honoured to have you for our attendance Sure your lovely faces could not but look sad when my Saviour suffered for methinks it was a sad sight to behold your loving Lord hang tormented on a cursed tree and for those too whose sins caused his torment and then for you to hear him cry out in the bitterness of his Soul My God my God Why hast thou forsaken mee Methinks it should have so incens'd your wrath against us poor mortall creatures that you should have petitioned to your All-powerfull Lord that all humane flesh should have suffered endlesse torment seeing they had so justly deserved it rather then your righteous Lord should have dyed But whether my Soul in the deep consideration of the undeserved suffering of thy righteous Saviour dost thou run Shall the Angels which are our attendants be grieved at our happinesse My Soul wrong not those blessed spirits with such vain thoughts for God was not pleased nor his wrath appeased towards us till that time Oh sad time yet
will come as in thy Son His Robys shall hide my shame He is my Spouse and my lov'd Lord In him thou lovest me I to thy will would still accord And with him still agree In his bright Robes I will present My selfe to thee and say To doe thy will is my intent In him I thee obey Thou canst not now Lord me reject Thou must me perfect see His beauty both on me reflect I 'me beautifull to thee The Dart. SHoot from above Thou God of Love And with heav'ns dart Wound my blest heart Descend sweet life And end this strife Earth would me stay But I 'le away I 'le dye for love Of thee above Then should I bee Made one with thee And let be sed Eliza's dead And of love dy'd That love defi'd By a bright beam shot from above She did ascend to her great Love And was content of love to dye Shot with a dart of Heavens bright eye Of Poetry POets they say are always poor But t is not they are at thy door They cannot chuse but wealthy be For why Rich poems flow from thee 'T is they that clime the hill is none of thine But goe for aid unto the Muses Nine No wonder though such fools are poor That goe for Alms to a wrong door They seek to them to get their wealth Who have too little for their selfe To the King writ 1644. TO thee Great Monarch of this Isle I send my Babes pray make them smile For yet methinks t is in thy power To make them smile or let them lower They 'r children to that Prince of might Who is the Prince of peace behight Do not with war my Babes affright In smiling peace is their delight My Prince by yeelding won the field Be not too rigid dear King yeeld Examples that are great and high I hope you 'l follow fix your eye On my great prince that is your King He left a Heaven you peace to bring A Kingdome I 'de not have you leave But rather three reform'd receive All blisse and peace I wish to you Let us in peace your presence view To the Queen of Bohemiah LOng since it was by me defir'd To see that Queen so much admir'd But well I knew t' was not for mee Great Princesses to goe to fee. But thraldomes key did let me out And trouble brought my wish about By thraldome then I freedome gain'd By trouble my desire obtain'd I then did see her so admir'd And thy rich graces Lord inspir'd A minde so great and bravely beare What in the most breeds care and feare A spirit high so humble bee To deigne her sweet regards to me Her I admire and for her pray On earth she may live many a day And when this earth she shall forsake That into heaven thou wouldst her take Where ou a Throne she may be Crown'd And with bright Angels compast round The Lover COme let us now to each discover Who is our friend and who our Lover What art thou now asham'd of thine I tell thee true I me not of mine And you will say when you him see That none but he defir'd can bee He is the onely pleasing wight Whose presence can content my sight For He 's the purest red and white In whom my soule takes her delight He to the flowrs heir beauty gives In him the Rose and Lilly lives His pleasant haire with feemly grace Hangs by his faire sweet lovely face And from his pleasing eyes do dart Their arrows which do pierce my heart These beauties all are richly grac'st For on his head a crown is plac'st Of glory which doth shine so bright As mortall eye can see this light This lovely Lord's the Prince of Peace In him my joyes will still increase For he 's the true and constant friend Whose love begun will never end From Heaven he came with me to dwell And sav'd my soul from direfull hell 'T is he alone my heart doth gaine That keeps me from eternall pain While here I live here he will bee Death cannot separate him from me And when I dye he will me place Where I shall ever see his face Into his glory hee 'l take mee This doe I know this shall you see And now you know my loved friend My loves begun it will not end The renowned King LAdies if beauty you desire Or to high fortunes doe aspire Come now with me I have descride A Prince that to all can you guide He is a King of great renown And on your head can place a Crowne And with immortall beauty blesse Can you wish more yet wish no lesse If you desire this Prince to see Then leave the world and goe with me To true Elisian fields I 'le guide You where I this great Prince espi'd The holy leaves of Sacred writ Are those Elisians there let 's gett Where with joy we shall him finde This glorious Prince will please your mindâ— He 's like the Rose in Sharon fields Pleasant to sight and sweetnesse yeelds With sweet and faire from his bright face The Lilly and the Rose gets grace With serious thoughts now him behold If you him love you may be bold And in his presence ever bee His beauty will reflect on thee If thou get beauty from his face He will you take from your mean place And on his Throne he will set thee Where with his Crown thou crown'd shalt bee That beauty still with thee will stay Time will not carry it away That Crowne shall no man take from thee But thou shalt wear 't eternally To my Sister S. S. SWeet Sister Let us in Heaven greet Since here on earth we cannot meet Hard by that stream of Christall pure To meet thee there I will be sure That streame which from this Throne doth rise Whose waters pure cure our ill eyes Then let us sit us downe and rest No enemies shall us there molest Le ts leave our bodies here as dead When thus our Soules to heaven are fled Where we possesse a ravisht joy When as the world lies in annoy Let 's take those waters now and drink 'T will make us then no more to think Of these base follies here below Dear Sister let us both doe so Then let us set us down and tell By whom we were redeem'd from hell T' was he that sits on you bright Throne Wrought our redemption all alone Who would not now their soules prize high For whom so great a Prince did die Come let us up those streams and see Where those bright glories sitting bee There Three in One conjoyn'd we see And yet each Person differing be There sets our powerfull God alone Upon his glorious heavenly Throne At his right hand sits his dear Son Oh! Who would think he 'd let him come From that bright Throne to suffer here And for our sakes vile to appear Ten thousand thousand Angels bee Tending about his Throne you see They sing the praises of that King Oh hear how
I my deserts consider My judgement thus I must deliver Into the pit and dungeon deep Where Satan is adjudg'd to keep Where fire and brimstone raging be Where pain abides perpetually Into this place of misery There should I goe when that I dye Go leave thy thoughts thy own thoughts leave And from thy God answer receive From that fierce place of misery Thee for to save the Lord did die And though no sin he did commit He of his goodnesse thought it fit To take thy sins and quit them all And bid thee then no more to fall And tells thee thou needs not to fear For why of thee he takes the care And that on earth while thou dost live For tendance on thee he will give His Angels charge thee to protect And be the guard of his Elect His mercy is the onely reason We are secur'd from Satans Treason Felicity I Am my Gods and he doth let me see In hima true and sweet felicity Those springs of joy that rise still fresh in me Proceed my dear sweet heavenly Prince from thee On sudden Death IF thou in hast shalt send for me Great God to live in Heaven with thee Though to some minds it sodain be It is not sodain unto me Heaven LOrd thou dost bring a heaven with thee Then where I am a heaven must be For thou art ever Lord with mee The Giver engaged to the Receiver THou saist thou art ingag'd to me For what I give when I 'm to thee Thou dost accept a gift that 's poor For it I have ten thousand more The Sun Beames THy blessings like the Sunbeams bee Reaching from heaven to earth on me Like a rich Canopy they show Spreading from Heaven doth round me flow 'T is not abundance rich makes me But a sufficiency from thee To my Brother ELiza saies when as she dies Shee 'l banish tears from all your eyes Unlesse for envy you will weep That you could not her blest soul keep From her eternall blisse and joy Tolive with yours in earths annoy When you have brought me to my grave Then tell the world t is what I 'de have Yee need not say you left me dead But say I am laid in my bed Where I shall safely lye and sleep For heavens great Emperor doth me keep 'Mong Kings and Princes that attend Till to our glory we ascend What I Love GIve me a Soule give me a Spirit That flyes from earth heaven to inherit But those that grovell here below What! I love them I 'le not do so The onely bound MY boundlesse spirits bounded be in thee For bounded by no other can they be The Christians happinesse GOds high Spirit shall thee direct His Angels shall thee still protect They shal thee guard while thou dost sleep They from all evill shall thee keep So thou no evill needs to fear Because of thee God takes the care The Retribution IF thou art pleas'd to have my heart Accept it Lord from me Sith thou dost chuse it for thy part I give it none but thee Mine eyes to thee I doe present Accept them now of me For thou unto me hast them lent They doe belong to thee Thus heart and eyes and all are thine That doe belong to me Before I knew that they were mine They were all made by thee Gods Commands easie MY Lord how easie is thy will Do as I would be done unto Thy holy Law I then fulfill And give the Lord his praises due Why should I to another doe What I would not have done to me All praises to thee Lord is due For all we have proceeds from thee Praise GLory to my gracious Lord Who to my wishes doth accord While here I live I must thee praise For as in Heaven I spend my dayes For nought doth here my soul annoy But I possesse a Heaven of Joy And when from this blisse thou'le take me In glorious Heaven my soul shall be The Companion WHo doth an heavenly Muse injoy Regards not this vain worlds annoy Nor can they ever be alone Heavens Muse is there Companion Vpon the losse of my Brother WHen losse of ought would thee torment Cry 't is thy will Lord I 'me content My love must not divided be 'Twixt Earth and Heaven thou 'lt have me see My brother from me thou hast tane But yet content I must remaine A Brother and a friend was he But much more thou wilt be to me When thoughts of absence moves a tear Thy will is that I should forbear He went not but by thy decree And I must not displeased be On the Sun AT height of noon it cannot be That I can fix mine eyes on thee But when at setting I am bold With setled eyes thee too behold Converter of Atheistick thought Thou wert to me when as I sought A remedy against that sin Which I too deep was falling in Some one above thee must make thee Thou govern'd by a God must be Being told she was proud MY body it must surely dye Off to be proud then what have I. Yet proud if they will have me be My high-borne soule it is of thee But Lord my Soul is none of mine Shall I be proud of what is thine As being thine from pride I 'me free It is enough I 'me freed by thee My pleasing Life SWeet quiet sweet obscurity Here in this life best pleaseth me Till from earth's thrall I shall be free To live in glorious blisse with thee When from earths tumults I am free To contemplate great God on thee A heaven of blisse in thee I see How can this life but pleasing be Nothing of thee merit I can But yet when free from thrall of man I can thee serve with heart more free Then from that thraldome still keep me To a Lady unfaithfull Madam THe Prince of heaven being in love with you Did to his glorious Kingdom bid Adieu The heaven he was awhile content to leave To see if you would his chast love receive You did belong to him when he you sent Into the world but you from him soon went And his chast love so pleasing and so sweet You left your wanton Paramour to meet With his unlawfull love you pleas'd your selfe Fye Madam leave him he is but an Elf. See what your dear sweet Prince hath done for you 'T is very strange but yet t is vety true When he did see you wantonize with them Who were professed enemies to him He then with his fierce enemy did fight To reingain you as his ancient right He lost his royal bloud to purchase you How can you then but to this Prince prove true Can you a Coward love and stain your name By being false unto this Prince of fame Your want onlovers actions hate the light And you 'r asham'd to act them in our sight Then here I le tell you if you know not it All your actions and vain thoughts unfit Your true and lawfull Lord doth straight espie He
pleasant time the time of thy most gracious dying Sad in respect of thy torments O blessed Saviour yet pleasant in respect of the unexpressable liberty and endless happiness which by thy powerfull dying we obtain'd Oh Blessed Spirits I cannot now thinke that you were displeas'd with us for your nature doth so concur with his will that it cannot be opposite to it But yet God was angry yea to the very apprehension of his onely Son What else made him cry out so grievously My God Why hast thou forsaken mee God was angry then with his Son for us you had reason then of grief for him not anger towards him but yet sure to see him angry with his Son and to see his onely Son so grievously tormented you could not but be mov'd what then must move you sure it could be nothing but our sins for which he suffered Oh you heavenly Spirits I finde you rejoycing when we had our Saviour born and sure you could not but rejoyce when the worke of our salvation was finished your joy was then intermingled with your sorrow if you be capable of sorrow for you could not but sorrow to see your God so grievously to suffer you could not but rejoyce to see that they on whom you attended should be so happy that by his death they should be admitted to injoy eternall life If you joy at our repentance sure your joy at our forgivenesse and then was the time of our forgivenesse come when he willingly yeelded up his life that we might live eternally then was our debts paid when as thy now glorified body Oh Son of glory was debar'd of the heavenly appearance of thine eternall Godhead Yee blessed Angels yee joyed in your sorrow and not we but our sins were hatefull to you which were the cause of his most grievous suffering More bitter then grim death could be My sin my Lord was unto thee Because I sinn'd my Lord did dye Because he dy'd hate sin will I. On Earthly Love FRom thee O Heaven of glorie flowes that celestiall stream that being taken hath power to make us forgetfull of our earthly love the which must vanish and alone can set us free from those tormenting passions Thou sweet stream having cur'd us of those distempered passions hast then the power to work in our hearts a more peaceable and durable affection earthly affection ever brings distemper sometimes distraction but that sweet love which thou O pearly fountain raisest in our breast flameth in our hearts peace rest joy and it worketh a perpetuall assurance of still injoying what we love wish or can in heart desire My Lord My soule is ravisht with the contemplation of thy heavenly love and I cannot chuse but infinitely admire thy mercies to me thine unworthy servant for grievous were the perturbations which I was subject to when I was infected with the poison-bane of earthly affections the which a time thou wert pleas'd to let reigne and tyrannize in my brest which like a thorne in the flesh not being drawne out by the hand of art lies throbbing and working torment not onely to the place where it hath taken up its abode but brings distemper to the whole body So that unruly passion having taken up his place in my heart did not onely tyrannize there but wrought destraction in my Soul and bred distemper in my body But blessed be thy Majestie for that distemper for in that time of my weaknes thou Oh all-powerfull hand by thy most heavenly art didst draw from my heart that tormenting passion and by the addition of thy heavenly love which thou didst leave in the room thereof thou repairedst in me the breaches that that unrulie passion had made When I was sick I thought that I should dye I did mistake 't was earthly love not I. HOSEA 2. 19. My Contract MY Lord Doth not thy Majestie send thy messages of love and favour to those that will take hold of them and beleeve there shall be a performance of what is promis'd Thy Word tels us That they that beleeve in thee shall have eternall life My Lord I do beleeve it and that this Message sent by thy royal Embassador belongs to mee aswell as to any other I will marry thee to mee for ever Thou art righteous and wilt perform it who would now refuse so great and so good a King I disdain not marriage I desire it with this great Prince who is the Prince of Kings and at whose foot-stool they must one day lay down all their Crowns and bring in all their riches at his command The greatest of them must confess they hold their Scepters of him and to him they must doe service at his will This is a Prince of such exact perfection that I cannot see any thing in him any way to be dislik't When I consider any creature I can finde in it but little to be belov'd but a great deal of inconvenience with it to be dislik't why then should I set my minde on the creature of so little worth and not wholly have my minde intent on the Creator who alone is excellent Most mighty Prince I must confess my self unworthy to be the least servant in the Court of so magnificent a King much lesse to be one who shall have the honour to be marryed to thee but because I doe thinke my selfe unworthy of thee shall I be such a fool to refuse so great a fortune No I will not My Lord I now challenge thy promise for I doe think thou hast prepared me a minde for thy selfe for thou madst me long since to be ambitious of perfection but when I saw it was not to bee obtain'd in this world how slightly did I esteem of all things in it thou having prepared my mind for thy self by the dislike of all imperfect creatures and the love of perfection Thou madst me to see a clear perfection in thy self and wroughst in me a love to thee and because I dare not presume to the thoughts of possessing thee thou seeing my desires sent that comfortable message to me and to all that doe sincerely love thee that thou wil receive us to thy selfe and wilt marry us to thee for ever I being wedded to Heavens King As his blest Spouse must his praise sing The Soules Agitation MY great and glorious God! In what a strange agitation is my Soul being assail'd by two contrary considerations the one of my heavenly bliss in which thou didst at first make me and to which thou hast and wilt in the fulness of time againe restore me the other of the fordid and vile condition in which I had by my rebellion inwrapt my selfe The thoughts of the first fils me with a sweet contenting joy the consideration of the other with a hatefull detestation of my selfe for when I record in my minde how thou at the first mad'st me a creature of a rare composition one part of thine owne divine spirit the other of earth purified by thy
perfume that ever proceeded out of the earth was joyn'd with the odoriferous scent of righteousnesse from heaven Blessed Ioseph knew thy perfect body needed no imbalming That pure Balsam that came from heaven at the beginning kept thy precious body from corruption On the crosse was all that that was to be suffered in the body finished God would not suffer his holy one to see corruption truth made hast and sprung the third day from the earth and righteousness shewed her selfe from heaven in thee met mercy and truth righteousnesse and peace there kissed each other Now are they in thee conjoyn'd never againe to be separated 'T is not for ignorant man seeing thou hast not reveal'd it to examine what thou didd'st with thy precious soul when thy body was in the grave My Lord I will not search into those secrets kept in thine owne Cabinet Thou hast reveal'd enough to confirme my faith and to make me happy Thou hast told me That righteousnesse looked downe from heaven I will not expect thy coming from any other place The Acknowledgement MY Omnipotent God faine would I say something to thee but I am afraid But shall my womanish fear make thee loose thy glory My God it must not Thy glory must so dazle mine eyes that I must not regard the censure of the world And if thou O all-seeing eye seest ought of my selfe in what I write or say restraine my hand from writing and my tongue from speaking but if thy glory be the intention of my heart let not my hand and tongue be asham'd to confesse that I cannot but see those infinite blessings that thou hast bestowed on me which thou hast not as yet bestowed on all My Lord I were a fool if I did not see them I were a beast if I did not acknowledge them but thou hast taught me to know the onely true God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent into the world to take away my sins this wisdome given me by thee inlightens mine eyes to see thy blessings and that I must not be like a beast which receives many favours from thee without acknowledgment Then with infinite thankes I doe acknowledge to thy glory thou hast inriched me with a multitude of thy blessings And that I may know that whatsoever is in me tending to good is from thee there are times that I cannot see any thing that hath any appearance of good in me for when by thy mercies I lay me down in peace to take my rest being happy in the consideration of thy infinite mercies and full of thy goodnes yet in my fleep I finde my thoughts busied in nothing but a multitude of confused follies and vaine imaginations which plainly represent to me my naturall condition that by nature I cannot think a good thought but thou remembring thy mercies in the morning againe restorest to me thy gifts and graces in which I was happy the night before So that thou makest me to lye downe in peace and to rise with joy when I see that thou dost each day renue to me thy heavenly gifts for thou art to me as thou art to all that fear thee the light of my eyes the joy of my heart and a Crowne of glory to my head My Lord shall not these blessings of thine be acknowledged by me to thy praise and glory for fear the world should say I were proud of them Most people glory in something or other and thou hast said Let them that glory glory in the Lord. My God! thou hast heard my prayer that I leanrt of thy fervant that thou wouldst give me a glorying heart and now thou makest me with him to rejoyce in the God of my Salvation My Lord experience hath taught me to know that if I delight in earthly things thou wilt take them from me for thou wilt not have thy children delight in any thing more then in thy selfe But if we love thee thou wilt manifest thy selfe to us and wilt give us more full possession of thy desired selfe But my beloved Lord if after the expression of my excessive joy for being thine I shall through the frailty of mine owne nature and thy sufferance fall into any great transgression to make thee for a while to withdraw from me the pleasing and joyfull light of thy countenance My tender Father assure me that thou wilt againe restore me to the joy of thy salvation here in this world or thou wilt in thy mercy take me to a more full possession of thee in the felicity of thy chosen where I shall perpetually rejoyce with thy children But to make me carefull of my selfe let me remember thy warning Let him tha thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall The invincible Souldier MY Lord the Lord of Hosts I being in sweet security under thy banner cannot but acknowledge with thankes thy mercy to me for the meanes that brought me to this felieity Thou art mercifull to me in letting me be borne of Parents who were listed under thy command and to be brought up by her that did survive who knew thy service was perfect freedom She that was happy in being a Souldier of thine used her authority by love to bring her children under the obedience of that Generall whom she serv'd and â—o make me love him in my child-hood whom her experience had taught to love and admire inforc'd me to read his Royall story wherein I might see his victorio us conquest who was neverfoil'd There did I see his enemies had all their forces from him wherewithall they resisted him His wisdome his power his valour stole into my heart a little desire to follow him But when I came to consider what a great Prince I should serve what impenetrable weapons and armour he had provided for me to defend my self what rewards he had promis'd to give to all that did overcome I began to contemn the thoughts of serving any but that victorious Prince of glory And seeing greaâ— God thou hast bid us take that impenetrable armour I will not willingly ever goe without it Then dear Prince bestow on me the Girdle of Truth and put on me the brest-plate of thy Righteousnes and let my feet be shod with the Gospel of peace and let me have the shield of Faith and set on my head the Helmet of Salvation and instruct me how to weild the Sword of the Spirit and when I am so arm'd I shall not fear the fiery darts of the assailing enemies Though they be principalities and powers and rulers of darknes in this world My Prince whom I serve is a Ruler of those Rulers and will assist me yea the stars shall aid us in their courses against our adversaries That bright morning star shall arise on our side to enlighten us and to dazle and afright our weak-sighted resisters with his exceeding brightness The sweet influence that flows from that over-ruling star shall make us to renew our strength each houre to maintaine the
their great and powerfull protector for delivering them out of all their troubles needs must thou be compassed about with Songs of delight thou couldst not chuse but sing thy Self too those Songs thou diddest teach to thy chief Singers that they might inclose thee in the sweet aire of delighting praises and with thee my Soule must desire to sing when with thee I am so protected Saint Stephen GOd can make our faces to shine like Angels to daunt our enemies and he here can make us to see his face to shine in glory to comfort our Souls Why then should we fear our fiercest enemies why then should we not be confident of the aide of our loving and powerfull God Thy blessed power is like thy Light But our frail fear is like our night MY Soul being plac'st on the wings of contemplation with them raises me to the Regions of felicity The foundation and felicity MY great God! Thou that hast aided me in laying the foundation of assurance assist me still now towring in the turrets of contentment and set all know that they can never with safety ascend the turrets of delighting contentment if they have not first laid the true foundation of assurance Vpon the Temptation of the doubting of Heaven MY Soul Though that subtle enemy of thine and of all men doe seek to seduce thee by his insinuating perswasions to doubt of that unexpressable and immortall felicity of thy Soul and body yet my Soule faint not For if the holy Writ be true thy felicity is certaine the which my gracious God I doe most confidently believe to be the written word of the God of all the world by whose word and will I and this Fabrick were created though that pernicious enemy seeks to perswade me that it is a fancy of a studious braine and writ to keep people in awe to human obedience And because nothing doth please our Souls but the thoughts of eternall blisse nor afright them but the dread of eternall punishment therefore have they fained a heaven for reward of the vertuous and a hell for punishment of the disobedient and that those felicities of which I have written are but fictions of my owne braine and somewhat like they that invented it and partly taken out of it But my gracious God keep me that I fall not by these temptations but let me know why he is and hath been so busie in drawing me to doubt of thy being and of that glorious heaven which I do notwithstanding his temptations believe I shall possesse with thee My God is it to draw me to a loose liberty of my life and so by disobeying thee I might live in fear of being cast out of thy favour to eternall punishment if so I will tell him that he may cease his labour for if that which I beleeve to be the holy word of God be a fancy of any braine it is so just and pleasing to my soul that with all my power and might I will endeavour to lead my life according to the direction of that exact and royall Law and so hatefull is any thing to me that is contrary to it that when thorow my frailty I doe what in it is forbidden I am hatefull to my selfe till I am assured that that offence be washed from me and that something within me assures me that the breach of that transgression is pardon'd This is a strong argument to me against that temptation and of the divinity and eternity of my Soul for if my Soul were not to be eternally either happy or miserable why should the expectation of eternall misery trouble me and the assurance of eternall blisse so exceedingly joy me Tempter goe Reason and experience teacheth us to see that likenesse breeds love our Souls our minds for such things there are can never love nor delight in what is not but our Souls affect eternall glory then sure such a thing there is but be it so or be it not such a thing is presented to our consideration and if I am not to live a life of eternall blisse hereafter yet for the happinesse of my present life I will so neer as I can run in the paths that lead to that heaven which I so much affect that I might live with a confident hope that I shall possesse it for nothing can truely satisfie my Soul but a heaven of eternity and with these thoughts I can live on earth in a heaven of felicity Tempter Thou art like to loose thy labour for I must take up that resolution not to live a sensuall and vicious life for if I have no grace such a life is hatefull to my disposition and such a life would not I live were there no God to give blessednesse Devil to torment But one thing more I have now to tell thee I in the Sanctuary of the great God of all the world presenting my petitions to him that by something I might be assur'd that thy wicked suggestions to make me doubt of his being were false I was directed to consider the glorious Sun which then shined bright in mine eyes so that I plainly see that great God of whose being thou wouldst have me doubt doth aid and assist me against thy wicked temptations for it cannot be but a great God that can make and governe so glorious and so great a light the God that made that made me that God I did offend in my first parents and since in my owne person but to him am reconciled in his first borne Son Jesus Christ who is God and man and for his sake shall I possesse a Kindome of felicity here and at the last a Kingdome of eternall glory To him be Glory On the Sun-rising AS the appearance of the Sun-beams disperseth the clouds of darkness which brings sadness to the earth so let the bright shining beams of thy Spirit O heavenly Son of light disperse the clouds of darke despairing thoughts and vaine imaginations the which do darken the brightness of my Soul and bring sadness to my heart Let them purifie and raise my minde that I may still be singing praise and let me ever say To my great God all glory be Who makes his light to shine on me Heaven upon Earth MY Lord Though thou wilt not take me from earth to live in Heaven with thee yet thou comming from heaven to live on earth with me makes me on earth to live in heaven with thee The Temple MY God! Is my body the Temple of the Holy Ghost What Palace can there be in this small Fabrick fit to entertaine so great a Prince yet thou hast said If â—ny love thee thy Father will love them and thou and â—â—ee and thy holy spirit which cannot be separated from thee will come and make thy abode with him My Lord and King thou knowest I love thee for â—ong since I was willing to have left the world and all â—he blessings that thou hast given me in it to have gone to