warming-pan all this is Hope Fear 's Antidote the Proto-pharmacon Of grim despair or else sure there is none Doubt's prime discusser who doth her arraign At mercie 's bar where she by faith is slain Hope's Jacob's ladder which doth pierce the Sky Whereby enfeebled faith may mount on high Strength to renew and act more lively on In order to the souls salvation She is the constant'st grace that can be nam'd To stead us here and never makes asham'd Charity SWeet cement of the Bridegroom 's sweetest Bride Whereby her distant parts are unifi'd Strong Ligament of love that linkest fast Her dislocated joynt's thy very tast Is full of Heav'n and thy corruscant face Transcends the Cherubims and ev'ry grace However good and great is without thee Like a dead corpse whose limbs unfouled be Miracle-working faith is void and vain Unless the soul thee likewise entertain And God-compelling prayer 's an empty blast Where thou art absent and shall off be cast When thou unit'st no distance earth affords That can divide their hearts that are the Lords Thou joyn'st the members militant of Christ All in one bodie and so joyned ty'st Them in firm union with the rest above Who are triumphant so that all by love Joy the same joy think the same thoughts and pray The self same pray'rs in heart both we and they In Spirit now are one and so shall we One bodie mystical hereafter be Though now this flesh polluted taint our pray'rs Our thoughts and joys whence ours come short of theirs In actual perfection soul-desire Wing's our Intentionalls as high to spire As theirs inthron'd though we imprison'd lye And unreleasable until we die But then eternal love shall work alone When Hopes fruition and faith's vision Shall them determine in immortal glory And they be needless as these transitory Unsatisfying sublunary joys We dote on here the quintessence of â—oys Divinest love was privie counseller When God elected us and she past o'er His six days labour with delight when he Created us and what for us shâ—ld be All these loves wonders pass our admiration But oh when we relapst our renovation By a redeeming Jesus makes us see Much more then love if more then love can be Yet sure 't was love alone procur'd that bliss But such a love as neer was love like this Love is the glew that hold's so long together Heav'ns goodly frame and all that is beneath her For did not she prevent it our least sin Would ruine us the world and all therein And tumble all the creatures down pell-mell Into the lowest worst of creatures Hell Ah sacred Charity what tongue can raise A Trophy fitting thy deserved praise The Cherubims and Seraphims that be Most glorious creatures stand amaz'd at thee Thy lustre dazles them their pure eyes fail To view thy purer face without a vail And none but three in one and one in three Hath pow'r with fixed eyes to look on thee I 'm sure thou blindst my muse for she is flown A flight beyond what common sense will own And now she 's at her pitch must re-decline To Christians Charity from love divine Charity suffers long and kind she is She envies not nor vaunts her self amiss She is not puffed up nor doth behave Her self unseemly nor her own doth crave She is not soon provoked thinks no ill Nor in iniquity rejoyce she will But in the truth she beareth all things too All things believes and her hopes all things woo And she all things endures she 'l never fail When prophecies and tongues shall nought avail And knowledge quite shall vanish for all these Are but in part and consequently cease When our prefection comes but Charity Remaines entire to all eternity This sacred writ records of her perfection A testimony that should win affection As will as credit Sure were man not blind With pride and envy and too much inclin'd To base self-self-love sheep of our shepherd's fold Would never let their Charity grow cold As many do in this sad age who by A false-fir'd Zeal extinguish Charity Had we hearts to let Charity work in us She from our schismes and factions so would win us Which now nigh prove what we have earst heard told Quot homines sententiae toâ— of old As to unanimate both Church and State Which both are grown inanimate through hate And interchanged jealousies that neither Can well endure what 's good for both or either And God would soon foundations settle here Of that bless'd government which shall appear Ere long in all opposers spite and last When all Dominions else shall down be cast And shall in perfect peace all scepters sway In earth's vast round and all shall it obey When Jews shall called be as Scriptures told And with the Gentiles fulness make one fold And have one faithful shepherd o're them all Melchisedeck whom we Christ Jesus call Lord re-unite our hearts in love that thou May'st perfect that great work and all may bow Before thy throne when thou in peace shalt raign Through Heav'n and earth through the sea main Epigram on Charity SHall I by rules of convertibles pry Into a secret and not soar too high If God be love love God then Charity Is elder sister to eternity Or rather morher as is plain to see If one Creator t'other creature be These theo-critical conceits may enter Into thy thoughts my muse but do not venture To scan them far lest thou shouldst lose thereby The god of love the love of god and dy Weak-winged â—ouls whâ—… stormy winds do roar Flutter below dare not a loft to soar Forbear poor flea to wade within the brim Of that abyss where Elephants must swim PATIENCE 1. VIctorious Queen that foyl'st all Potentates That dare assail thee By thee prevail we When Faith and Hope are non-plus'd by cross fates Thou can'st them both recover And keep us that we give not over Nor yeeld the day before the field be won Wer 't not for thee poor Christians were undone 2. In persecution thou the Cordial art That our hearts easest And us releasest From passions that would else breed endless smart Thou mak'st our burthen lighter Though thou disclaim'st to be a fighter No Christian Champion ever won the field Where thy tri'd valour forc'd not foes to yeeld 3. Our God-man general by thee o'ercame Earth and Hell's crosses And salv'd our losses Whose Patience unparallel'd became She was the primest feather In his triumphant plume And either She in our Helmets must be worn or foes Will win the day and we the prize shall lose 4. She from the manger to the garden chear'd Our dearest Saviour VVhose meek behaviour Astonish'd men and his Condemner fear'd Gethsemane nigh tiring VVith blood-sweat passion fear inspiring VVhen God and Man were both nigh at a loss She chears to Golgotha and climbs the Cross Epigram on Patience AS Palm-tree press'd or Plantine trod best grows So Patience by suff'rings foes o'erthrows To LIFE
faith meek Abel off'red sacrifice More excellent and pleasing in God's eyes Then Cain's his elder brother Enoch's faith Caus'd his translation that he saw not death By faith did Noah warn'd the Ark prepare Wherein he and his houshold saved were By faith the faithful's father Ur forsook And to an unknown place himself betook By faith he and his seed did sojourn there In a strange land their Tabernacles were By faith old Sarah Issue did receive And quite past age had strength seed to conceive By faith tri'd Abram Isaac offered Accounting God could raise him from the dead That Isaac blessed his two sons hereby And Jacob Joseph's sons when he did die By faith departing Joseph mention made That Isr'el out of Aegypt should evade By faith was new-born Moses three months hid And when he came to yeers refuse he did The Title of King Pharao's daughter 's son And rather chose to bear affliction With God's poor Israel then for a season Sin 's pleasure to enjoy faith was his reason Hereby he Aegypt left Passover kept And sprinkling blood lest he should them have swept Who the first-born destroy'd By this they post Through Red-Sea dry-shod while th' Aegyptian Host The like assaying were o'erwhelmed all By Faith the Walls of Jericho did fall And Rahab saved was But should I tell Of Gideon Barak Sampson Samuel Jephta and David of the Prophets all Whom faith to do or suffer forth did call Whose faith wrought righteousness Kingdoms subdu'd Obtained promises and stop'd the rude And savage Lyons mouths and quencht fierce fire Escap'd the sword made weakness to aspire To be most strong wax'd valiant in fight And turned Aliens Armies all to flight How women have their dead reviv'd receiv'd And others tortur'd would not be reliev'd With the unnumbred wonders faith hath wrought Unparallel'd and passing humane thought Time would me fail for no tongue can express Faith's famous miracles were they much less Whose all-subduing pow'r none can resist She makes th' Almighty God do what she list For if faith as a grain of mustard-seed Can Mountains move as in truth's word we read None can imagine any thing is hard To a firm faith from sinful doubt debarr'd Faith is the clew that in earths pilgrimage Convey's the Lord's elected heritage Through the world's labyrinth and brings them home Unto the King of glorie 's presence-room She is the souls perspective glass whereby She spies what friends or foes in kenning lye If Pyrates cross us or we victual want Faith 's both our ammunition and provant She is the winde that drives the needle card And Pilot that directs she is our guard Nay she 's our Sun by day our Moon by night Our Star that brings us to our Saviours sight Next whom she 's all in all to those that sail For Bliss-port and without her all must sail Epigram on Faith MY soul thou' rt bliss-ward bound make faith thy friend Eternal bliss is at her fingers end He that the same bestows is in her eye who 'll cease to be as soon as her deny Stupendious wonder God should stoop so low As to be creature-rul'd yet I will show True reason for 't and briefly that is this It is his will whose will true reason is Hope FIrm Anchor of our souls that moar'st them fast Unto the sacred Rock when thou art cast On what side ere thou fall'st thou hold fast tak'st And in that adamant impression mak'st When our weak faith's Sun-beams eclipsed are We sail by thee alone our only Star In those dark obfuscations which sometimes Becloud the best at sight of their high crimes Which interpose a foggie mist between Our faith 's dim'd eyes and Christ and like a screen Repel the light and heat that should proceed From his bright Rayes unto our souls in need Then thou our Pilot ready art at hand When we are toss'd in deeps to drive to land Thou art the Master's Mate though faith be chief And in her absent actings yeeld'st relief When she 's asleep or else unactive grown And we upon the quick-sands well-nigh thrown Thou bring'st assistance with thy gentle gale That we a while may with a by-wind sail Till faith do re-enliven and recover Until her soporif'rous fit be over When she awakes and wash'th her spethom'd eyes In Penitences laver thou dost rise And succour her enfeebled arm and hand Depriv'd of their late holdfast thou dost stand And her support who if thou wert not nigh Would languish in those fainting fits and die VVhen Faith is mir'd in pudly sink of sin And tired quite thou wad'st through thick and thin To draw her out rub'st her benummed limbs Till by regain'd agility she climbs And tow'rs aloft and tramples down her foes And conquers all the pow'rs that her oppose In sad desertions when the wounded soul Studie's by art to make her fair parts foul Hope gently wipes her spots and rins'th her eyes That she may clearer view the mysteries Of love Divine and not despair to cry For mercy which she else would do and die Hope in our souls a kind of being gains Ere saving Faith can act and this restrains New Faith from failing whence she term'd may be Her elder grace without absurdity And though Plerophory which some attain Seem hope needless to make when that they gain She 's needful still and fades not till fruition Of what is hoped then shall blessed vision Withal determine faith when she shall see What she believ'd and thence both useless be When doubts and fears which here them both annoy'd â—hall be discuss'd and quell'd by bliss enjoy'd â—in's sting envenom'd quite extracted be And death be swallow'd up in victory Then necessary uselesness attends Them both when they have both attain'd their ends â—aith Hope and Charity may well be call'd â— Christian 's tria Omnia and install'd â—he Princesses of other gifts and graces â—nd in Christ's Church rightly supply the places â—o Sulphur Salt and Mercury alotted â—… nature's schools by those whom Art besotted â—he three chief corner-stones in Sion's wall â—emove but these and you will ruine all â—ea rob a man of hope faith soon will die â—nd so will everlasting Charity â— hope surcease soon by degrees expire â—…r hope of all the three keep in the fire â—…e gains them life and heat and them inflames â—ith Zeal Divine the surging waves she tames â—hich in the storms of passions or affections â—f Spir'tual or temporal afflictions â—nd perturbations them would overwhelm â—…d she not steer their course and sit at Helm â— sacred hope steer on our course aright â—…rough this dark vale of tears in darkest night â—hilst faith is hood-winkt Charity inchill'd â—… other graces dead thou only skill'd â—… give sight heat and life unto them all â—…lp hope at need dear God or else we fall Who dying we shall live thy face to see And to enjoy and be enjoy'd by thee Epigram on Hope WEak faith's chief crutch deserted soul's sole prop Charities
makes them both Heav'n and Hell Her age in times meer infancy was vast Transcending all Arithmeticians skill The number of her fore-past years to cast Though they should use the stars that Heaven fill Each grass and grain of dust that Earth can shew And all the drops and sands in Sea and shore With the Ayre 's Atomes they would be too few Were each a thousand thousand millions more For figures that grand number to express To which they would amount Howe'er when time Shall be no more her youth will be no less Then at the first O wonder most sublime Here muse and stand amaz'd presumptuous man Who squandrest pretious time in seeking that VVhich when possess'd annoys Content ne'er can Be found in Treasures Honours Pleasures flat False titillations They the fancy please With momentaneous tickling but the foul Can no satiety receive from these Whilst her diviner eyes espie their foul And gross delusions winning us to waste Our time of grace short week of working dayes On toyes and trifles care away to cast Neglecting our creation's end his prayse That formed us and so to lose our pay In that eternal Sabbath's rest to come And gull us with false hopes that fade away When Judgement dooms us Hell for our sad home Whose everlasting flames should us deter From their allurements and our souls provoke No longer true repentance to defer But take upon us our Redeemers yoke Embrace his endless love And let that force Our souls to grace by holy violence Redeem our time by Faith and true remorse And giving neither God nor man offence For on the husbanding of this short span Of our frail life eternal life depends Or death eternal Oh! when this we scan It should unbottom us from all false ends And keep us firm in truths sincerest wayes And in the pathes of life that when times race Is run and all distinguishments by dayes Hours months years shall here no more have place We may enjoy Eternity above Whereof that we may not at last be mist But ponder still in heart what doth behove Eternity Ah dearest Lord assist AMEN The Epigram on the same ETernity my Muse doth quite confound Her true Description never Mortal found Rings Snakes and Globes with such round things as those Th' Ancients for her diâ—…e resemblance chose A boundless Plain a pointless Parallel A Circle that includes both Heaven and Hell Yet hath nor Centre nor Circumference Demonstrable to Reason or to sence Each Mathematick poinâ— of whose vast Ring Equals her whole Dimension Wondrous thing Yet true as strange Nay more I 'll tell you what Think what man cannot think and she is that She rounds my Verse no man her depth can sound Eternity my Muse doth quite confound Objections Solutions and Chorus Objection 1. WHy should onely Man desire To transgress his Makers Laws Who made him so high aspire That all earthly things he awes Solution 1. NOthing but corrupted Nature Made Man so perverse a creature Nothing but renewing Grace Can Mans guilt and filth deface Objection 2. WHy should Christ from glory come To be born in coursest home Live and die in pain and grief For unthankful mans relief Solution 2. NOthing but divinest Love Brought our Maker from above Who for all his grief and pain Craves but Love for Love again The CHORE OH admired Love divine Suit our hearts with love to thine Then adieu false creature-joys Welcom Truths and farewel Toys Man's Heart 1. A Curious triangle methinks I see Immur'd by Heav'ns Eternal Architect His seed-plot of each Grace divine to be A glorious Paradise without defect A Paradise in Paradise that 's slight The Paradise of Paradise the throne Of the worlds great Creator whose delight Was fiâ—… therein his Majesty thereon Such was Mans heart and such might still have bin Had he baulk'd Serpentine deceit of sin 2. But ah most horrid fate since Adam fell This Nursery a Wilderness is grown Eden of Eden is the Hell of Hell And Graces plants by Pride's puffs over-thrown Earth-mice have eat the seeds the thorns and briers Hemlock and Wormwood have o'er spread the ground Once till'd to grace Lusts and corrupt desires With all their base productions there abound And what was once the King of Glories home Is wholly now a Den for Fiends become 3. World flesh and devil this triangle have fill'd Having got full possession plac'd therein A cursed rabblement of Elves that build Fortifications and strong holds for Sin The blessed Founders greatest Enemy Who in them rests secure thence Grace repells Though profer'd by the Lord spontaneously And all good Inclinations quite expells Whence from a sp'ritual Cana-an it 's grown No less then a mysterious Babylon 4. It 's now the old Red Dragons Nursery A new Plantation of each hateful crime The Shop of that accurst Apothecary Who therein doth his pois'nous drugs sublime Pride's Mercury Zeal-chilling Ellebore Intemperancies Swine-bane Antimony Of Infidelity and thousands more The Opium of dull security And Lusts Cantharides these he refines By them to work his mischievous designes 5. The cunning Gardiner doth oft-times graft Bud and inoculate to shew his skill Produc'th fair-seeming flow'rs on stocks stark naught And specious fruits from roots corrupt and ill But these like Sodoms Apples vanish quite If try'd by touch which sorts he mostly plants In a close corner for his own delight Allotted to Hypocrisie where wants No dressing that the Devil can afford To nourish plants accursed and abhorr'd 6. Stand you but there at gaze and you will deem Your self in Heaven with Saints incircled round Whilst it is Hell and Devils for they but seem And are not real as will once be found The Angels trumpets that at last shall blow Our Resurrection-summons them shall blast And we their painted falsities shall know Themselves in everlasting flames be cast Their rotten Roots which all shall plainly see Proclaim who Impt them and whose Imps they be 7. Dread God! shall this Intruder still possess Thy sacred portion and thy choisest field 'T will make him question thine Almightiness Avenge thee Lord and force the fiend to yeild Root out his worthless plants and replant thine New turn the ground and sow thy seeds of grace Afresh therein and let thy power divine Cherish them there Satans rank weeds deface Batter his raised forts his forces rout Re-enter in thy Right and turn him out 8. Renew thy sin-demolish'd Image here Hallow this little frame to thy great praise New mold new make the model hence cashier Innate corruptions plain the crooked ways Throw down the hills and hillocks raise the vales Manure the barren ground more fertile make The erst unfallow'd plots re-build the walls Thy wonted pleasure in this fabrick take Lord it did cost thee dear when thou went'st hence To purchase it with thy heart-blood's expence An Epigram on the same COuld not Creations Title keep Gods Right In mans false heart that subtile Serpents spight Compell'd him to
times And re-committed after penitence And vows against them which must needs incense A just and holy God whose piercing eye Sees the least Atome-sin and can espy Damn'd guilt in deeds which men have deem'd most glorious Yea which some have imagin'd meritorious Tell me think I as well the Sea doth burn The spheres stand still and rouling earth doth turn As that base mâ—n can just appear to thee Who in his life such horrid blots dost see Each heart's imaginations thou dost spie Ill wholly only and continually Yet so it is Lord thou hast found a way By which man as it were deceive thee may And blind thy Justice plead thy Sons desert For our im-merits thou contented art Admired mercy Love stupendious Our Creditor should pay the debt for us Due to himself whereof we ne'r could pay The smallest mire nor the least charge defray Else had we in eternal torments lain But thou both payd'st the debt and bor'st the pain That thy divinest Justice might receive Full satisfaction lest she else might grieve To be o'ercome by mercy so dost thou Punish our sins in Christ and disavow Our acting of them And unjust it were To punish us since he our sins did bear He hath for us fulfill'd thy Law and born Most hellish torments and earths basest scorn That faith in him might make us fair to thee Who else should in thine eyes like Devils be Nay worse then they since mercy we contemn And proffer'd grace which thou ne'r deign'st to them Doubtless hadst thou ordain'd thy Lamb to die Them to redeem as well's man's progeny Whose blood might have redeem'd them all as well There had not been a Devil now in Hell Pardon me Lord if I hyperbolize Or in opinion too much charitize Towards thy foe and ours It 's but to shew Ouâ— dead depraved nature markt by few Mended by none nor mendable by any Save thee alone Our breaches are so many Lord re-enliven this dead corpse by grace Rebuild its breaches all its sins deface Say to it Be thou just and it shall be Just in thy sight and from defilement free An Epigram on the same BAd good day night the swarthest blackmoor white Injustice just in Gods all-seeing sight Is he deceiv'd can his eye blinded be Love makes him undertake to over-see And take upon himself man's sins Our score He cleared hath Oh let us sin no more Lest he repent him of the mercy shown us And see us like our selves and so disown us For it transcends all wonder sinful dust Should in the great Creators eyes be just On man's Sanctification GOd us creates redeems and justifies By means without us which he did devise And all by works of wonder past all thought In love and wisedom infinite he wrought Whereby he us engag'd beyond all hope Yet still his love proceeds to find new scope Wonders to work within us To renew Our nature by his grace to make false true To sanctifie unsanctified man A work that quite confounds my heart to scan Here 's nature mortifi'd yet living still Grace vivifi'd and rectifying will Yet Will by Nature clean a verse from Grace And Grace and Nature ne'er well brook't one place Here 's Sin still dying and yet still reviving Using all means to live and yet not thriving The Prince of Darkness still the soul assailing Though never quite beat off nor yet prevailing Conscience and Reason daily are in fight Yet Conscience hath sweet peace and Reason right The Flesh oft seeks to undermine the Spirit VVith self-conceit presumption and false merit And many other wayes her up to blow As Man renew'd to his great griefe doth know Mean while the Spirit with inforcâ—d agility Doth countermine against them with Humility Which sweet mild saint o'ercomes them all But then VVhen she low thoughts of self hath wrought in men Satan doth re-assault with furious force Attempting them from God quite to divorce By fell Despair and raiseth batteries To storm the fort where Faith enfeebled lies VVho when the fight grows dangerous and hot Pulls in a Lamb betwixt her and the shot And under his protection overthrows All Satans Bulwarks and routs all her Foes Foes that would quickly all mankinde undo Were not our Lamb Judah's Tribes Lion too VVhose everlasting pow'r with ease can quell The joyned force of all the Fiends in Hell Then let the roaring Lyon seek abroad Whom to devour throughour the worlds great road Rage rave and plot and send his subtle spies Th' unbottom'd pits black locusts whose quick eyes See all earth's Globe at once fear not my soul Although thy foes conspiracies are foul Their combinations strong their plots most deep Israels Keeper slumbers not no sleep Skreens up his eyes who all their plots will dash And thee deliver from their horrid lash Remit thy sins obliterate thy folly And make thee holy as himself is holy Till thou be with the Lamb who 's Judah's Lion Rapp'd up to reign for ever on Mount Sion And sing with that Coelestial Quire above Sweet Hallelujahs to the God of Love An Epigram on the same SAnctification is the Tree of Life Not that false tree that fool'd our grandsires wife Whereby we from our innocencie fell This is the way to Heav'n that was to Hell Whoso on this Tree's sacred fruit doth feed Shall be in all things like to God indeed Sin MOnster of Monsters who hast monstrous made Nature it self in us who natures had First pure and holy and to good inclin'd Till by thy falshood we to bad declin'd And thy meer essence is extream averse From God and good but prone to ways perverse All that the great Jehovah made was good VVhen he created it and had they stood Angels and Men had so continu'd still But they would needs be gods and had their will So far that they Creators were of thee VVhom they created both their falls to be A Creatures Creature and so vile a one That Heav'n Earth Hell so bad besides have none Rake Topher's cinders sift the Serpents seed And keep the worst yet will that damned breed More fair in Gods all-seeing eyes appear Then Sin which summon'd them together there Sin made God angry Men and Angels fall Made God make Hell and Sin made Dev'l and all Ah! cursed caitiff how can we delight In the embracement of such wretched wight A hideous Elf abhorr'd of all that 's good Our dear Redeeme's Murtherer whose Blood By cursed sacrilegious hands was spilt To wash our souls from sins polluting guilt Our soul 's the precious game for which she fishes Which to destroy eternally she wishes Yet we bewitched wâ— most dearly love her Too dearly sure as all will find that prove her Whose souls shall purchase Oh the dearest gain For sins short pleasure their eternal pain 'T is sure some witchcraft some inchanting spell Whereby she trains us on asleep to Hell And stupifies our senses blindes our eyes Obthures our ears and phantasms doth devise
any more Yet sow good seed and plow thy furrows deep And thou shalt reap rich harvest in thy sleep Dotage AH what a sight is here a man turn'd child Nay infinitely worse with sin defil'd Yet knows it not See proud rebellious Chit Who vaunt'st of youth strength beauty wisdom wit Health and accursed Policie weigh well This rue-ful spectacle which might excel Thee in them all in time but now bereft Of all by his own natures trait'rous theft Thou the same nature hast of the same mold And may'st be such perhaps ere half so old Oh pride thee not in these indowments so Thou seest their frailty how they come and go This less then man worse then child once thoughâ— He never should have to this pass been brought Nor can believe he 's so which much augments His sad condition utterly prevents His Reformation makes him doat along In Hell's wide rode with a presumption strong That he 's in Heavens path and knows the way As well's the best and scorns to go astray When he no more that way doth know or minde Then new-born Infants know or plod to finde The North-west passage to the Indies hence Howe'er if you 'l him teach he takes offence Ah wayward froward and untoward man To God and all that 's good A Negro can Lâ—ave his black skin unto a snow-white hue Much sooner then man can himself renew It 's far more easie to make Earth change place Then change corrupted Nature into Grace 'T is madness to a truce to seek to win them The quintessence of Opposition's in them Cease therefore self-deluding-man to try To compass an impossibility Rouze up thy soul his pow'rful help to crave Who is Almighty and alone can save Who only can such change as this effect And all the fraud of thy false Heart detect Whose Will perverse is greatest foe to grace Cashier old Will and give new Will the place This poor anatomy of man doth still Retain in height of strength its wonted will Though totally of other strength depriv'd And would retain that if it were three-liv'd Oh saddest sight Let 's view it once again It 's a meer Magazine of grief and pain Mortalitie's Memorial here is limm'd Full to the life and with Death's shadows trimm'd The snuff of man half in half out if blown It seems the quicker Is but quicker gone Once it was man now a meer living creature Not prefect man nor beast of humane feature You 'll think I doat to doatage thus to speak Lest it miss-apprehend me for it 's weak Yet wilful too of reason quite bereft Almost of sence it hath no sences left Save pains-sense unimpair'd few active now Unless you lingua and non-sence allow For senses too as some loose wits would have them In women for their labour e'en beknave them Yet I to doaters on my harp may strike A note as well's to infants much alike But I 'll speak faire Father youâ—… run the ring Of nature like a man or some such thing A child you crawl'd from earth your mother's womb Now are a child crawling to earth your tomb You 're going whence you came are what you were Except that innocence which did appear First in your soul which sin deleted hath And made you the old man a child of wrath 'T were better far you had continu'd still Such innocent yet I can teach you skill How you more innocency may recover If you 'll re-act your childs paâ—… rightly over Weep heartily and cry for your sins past Neglect of duties want of true fore-cast In your unlawful actions and desire The Gospels milk sincere blow in the fire Of that small spark of grace that God affords Your half-extinguisht soul and blaze records Of your true zeal though weak hugg the sweet breasts Of divine consolation make attests Of good desires by lifting up your eyes And hands to him that gave them let your cries Be for the bread of life cast off the toys Of this deluding world slight her false joys Allot to alms the treasures earth affords Chaunt out your tuneless songs your phraseless words To his great glory who such love hath shown To your poor soul when you deserved none Play with the babes of grace and take delight In little children such in God's pure sight If any beat thee to thy father cry Thy moan to him brings certain remedy Hang fast upon thy elder brothers neck Kiss kiss the Lamb his Bride with garlands deck Such plays content the soul whereas your joys Unsatisfying are yea sinful toys Look on the se-ven candlestick's bright lights Insite in purest gold joy in such sights Reject world's worthless trifles catch the crown To thee held forth and so in peace lye down In earth's great cradle hush'd in silence shy Where earthquakes rock and windes sing lullaby 'Till thy exciting by those trumpets blasts who 'll summon dead to life that ever lasts In Resurrections morn whose joys transcend Immensly voyd of measure as of end The Epigram BRave man what doating now who would have thought Thou to this market wouldst thy hoggs bave brought Love is youth's doatage make thy doatage love Then doat on spare not on the things above They 're worth thy doating on and thou shalt see Thy doatage seeds spring to eternity Death GReat King of terrours Sythe-man of the earth Whose harvest rounds the year thou ne'er hadst dearth Since the world first was peopled nor shalt have Till it unpeopled be the silent grave Is thy head-quarters where all mankind keep Their gen'ral Rendevouz lull'd fast asleep In equal darkness yet in quiet rest There 's no distinction of the worst from best Great small friends foes all undisturbed ly Of Sympathy void and Antipathy Lay Calvin with Calvus a popish Priest Their arguments a child may here untwist Put Alexander into Codrus toomb He 'll never justle for more elbow-room Cesar's with Pompey's dust will co-unite As well as Jonathan's with David's might Death is the truest Leveller that smoothes The lofti'st turrets with the lowest boothes No controversies in her court arise No titles question'd there in any wise The plaintiff and defendant there may ly In peace together with their Lawyers by Each on both sides as here perhaps they were Much to their prejudice but not so there The taxing souldier and the taxed clown Shall be joynt-tenants when they here ly down In sweet ungrumbling silence land-lords great And tenants poor shall have a like estate In this demesnes the Emperour and groom Partake without precedency this room No fears or jealousies disturb their rests No Herauld needs to place this princes ghests 'T is a Decree in this great Court alone TAKE PLACES AS YOU COME or else have none Yet no distaste is taken if it hap A beggar placed be in Caesar's lap Death strikes with equal stroak lays equal rates All Adam's progeny with her are mates More perfect order never yet hath been In any Monarch's Court that Earth
be thereto wise men demurr'd But I 'll resolve that doubt whoe'er thou be Atheist approach and feel draw neer and see And doubtless thou shalt have full satisfaction For thy nice question and each godless action Thou' rt right i' th' way no guide needs yet know this Death will most surely shew thee where it is Heaven ETernal Majesty who here dost raign My Muse assistance by thy Spirit daign In mercy pardon this my bold adventure The holiest of holies thus to enter Oh! circumcise my heart my foul lips touch VVith thy great Altar's cole ere I approach Thy honour's dwelling Sanctifie my verse Let this its Our ano-graphy rehearse Soul-charming strains that ravish may with love My self and others of the things above I kiss thy threshold Lord and so creep in VVhere 's no approach for ought defil'd with sin Not that i 'm pure but foul yet purged cleer Lo Lord my sacrifice and Priest are here At thy right hand of glory with thee one The glory both of thy right hand and throne The wonder of thy mercy love and grace VVho bears all Heavens joys summ'd in his face The Heav'n of Heav'n Men cannot wish more bliss Then to behold thy sacred face and his Though but a moment who such sight might have Would hug the silent hushtness of the grave Kiss death yea woo Hells self on the condition When time 's spent to the snuff to have fruition Of that transcendent joy Oh grace divine Incomprehensible save by the Tri'ne It forc'th my tongue-ty'd Muse rapt with delight To stutter forth a far-short Epithite Oh su-per-su-per-su-su-per-la-tive Stupendious Love Into whose depth to dive Would non-plus Heav'ns Angelick Hierarchy VVonder-strike all the Saints to Lethargy Yet as if these essentials of that joy VVere too too small for mankinde to enjoy Too slight a guerdon for a sinful worm VVhose sting death-stung the Lord of Life whose form First most divine is self-deform'd by guilt God for augmenting circumstantials built This New Jerusalem Joys splendid throne A City whose high walls are precious stone Her streets transparent gold her unshut gates Of Orient pearls all of unvalu'd rates VVhere needs nor Sun by day nor Moon by night For God's great glory gives eternal light The Lamb 's the Lamp thereof within it walk Earth's saved Tribes whose musick and whose talk Are Allelu-iahs whose white Robes out vie The purest snow in candor such no eye Of Mortal ever saw nor heart of man Can half conceive where Jesus leads the Van Of sacred Myriades host of Lord of hosts VVith millions of Angels for the posts And scouts of that Coelestial Army grac'd VVith many thousand-thousand Kings all plac'd In thrones of glory crown'd with endless peace And sceptred with triumphant Palms where cease All oppositions to eternity For all their Enemies subdued lie Chain'd up in deathless flames in sulph'ry smother Tormenting and tormented by each other Doom'd to so horrid and immense a curse As God himself can wish his Foes no worse But what need Joys Antipathetical Where Sympathetical drown heart and all In sweet satiety and pleasing fulness Blessedly void of nauseating dulness This feast's cates cloy not ne'er so freely ta'en The Ghests need fear no surfeiting or bane Yet it 's a lasting everlasting feast Like free for all the greatest or the least Here winged Cherubims bring in the Ghests From all Earth's quarters after Death's arrests That Vinegar prepares their appetites To feed on unexpressible delights For that 's Gods wonted way as all Saints know who 'll feast above must taste sowre sauce below Afflictions are Preparatives to bliss VVho rightly bear one rarely t'other miss I might say never Lord what fools are we VVhom sense misseads to doat on what we see Hear feel smell taste with Organs physical Sense-comforts have Soul-poyson in them all The Spider sucks them thence and heedless Bees Fixing on them their ' fore-got honey leese And labour too Avaunt avaunt dear souls Let Faith's bright eye aspire beyond the Poles And view those everlasting Mansions there Void of disturbance anguish care or fear Of all that discontents all that annoys And full refert with boundless endless joys Here the celestial choristers declare Their maker's glory chaunting hymns most rare Sweet odes and Epithalamies they 'll sing To celebrate the nuptials of their king Mount Sion's Lamb Lyon of Judah's tribe Whose bless'd inauguration they 'll describe In soul-amazing notes that ravish quite All ears with sweet excess of choice delight The Heav'n and Heav'n of Heavens ring with peals Of acclamations at the open'd seals The mystery of God fulfill'd they 'll see And joy therein to all eternitie Methinks I hear the most melodious songs The none-such ditties warbled by those throngs My towring soul transmounts the cast back skies Sensing in her degree those rhapsodies Hyper-noetick strains that quite transform My lowly muse into a lofty form Make nature lethe-drunk inflame my heart With restless longing there to bear a part Where who the least part bears shall bear a weight Of countless endless glory great yet light A crowning burthen burthenless who bear The Cross right here shall there the crown right wear An Amarantine Crown of glory lasting Further beyond then 't is to everlasting Lord why doth this dull lump of earth detain My mounting soul from their consort that raign With thee in glory I should groan to be Dissolv'd that I thy presence bright might see Whereof a glympse I spy but sinful flesh Still conjures up desires of life afresh Of life not worth desiring now I view The difference 'twixt it and this that 's true True life is only here our life below Is but a mock-life meerly life in show But real death Lord that I here might stay And wait at my Redeemer's feet for aye But ah it cannot be I must descend And re-invested be in flesh to end My task by thee appointed me beneath Till summon'd by thy Pursevant grim death Or judgement's change I re-appear before Thy throne to be with thee for evermore Dear God in mercy dangers all prevent That may affayl my soul in this descent From sin-defilement keep her pure and free And then thy will be done O Lord on me Yet ah i 'm loath to part my soul much fear'th To fall from highest heav'n to lowest earth Guide me and her Lord while we there remain And then ere long we shall return again The Epigram OH what all-dazling lustre's here whose bright Corruscancy deprives all eyes of sight All tongues of words expressive and all hearts Of comprehensive thoughts all these weak parts Are stupifi'd hereat yet this great throne Was made for worthless man's fruition What miracles hath mercy more to do What! forgive sins give sinners heaven too There needs no more of mercy for man's lot Get hea-ven and get all that need be got Of getting other things learn the forgetting For when all 's got heav'n's all that 's worth the getting Valedictio
running A way chalk'd out by thine and our most cunning And mortal foes a way devis'd at Rome VVhich will these lands to desolation doom Our bodies to sharp sword and famine thin Our souls ro utter darkness for our sin Deprive us of thy candlestick that live And to posterity dark Lanthorns give To guide in pathes of death and to deceive Our progeny false Gospels to believe Unless thy grace prevent Bless'd God arise And let thy foes be scatter'd that despise And persecute thy truth and people thus Draw us to thee and be thou GOD WITH US Cease our divisions chase all schisms and errours All Heresies and Ath'ism hence with terrours And with confusion unto those that broach'd them And recantation to those that approach'd them Let Reformation true at last come in To our distracted Church and State which sin Hath long kept off let love with truth and peace And blessed union daily more increase In these distressed lands chase hence the swarms Of black-pits locusts whose inveigling charms Dicotomize the world whose industry Makes King fight King and men make war with thee Lord let eternal mercy turn us thus From all our sins and all thy wrath from us For none but thine Almighty hand can cure Our desp'rate wounds thy enemies make sure Shortly to sway these lands and therewithal To ruine thy reformed Churches all Unless thy grace prevent Help Lord at need It 's in the mount it 's time thou help indeed For vain is mans false help we fools have try'd By Egypt's friendship to be fortifi'd Whose broken reeds have pierc'd our heedless hands And drawn thy judgments on these sinful lands Avert them Lord and turn us unto thee Thy fury just from us else lost are we Thy stock of wonted mercies we have spent And are undone unless thy grace prevent We set up Princes Lord but not of thee Rulers whom thou know'st not who'll fatal be Unto this land and make us soon repent Our foolish choice unless thy Grace prevent Oh let the BRANCH spring forth and bud and bear If thou so will'st whilst we are pilgrims here The birth is at wombs mouth Oh God help strength To bring that bless'd production forth at length Which our sins keep obstructed in the womb And let the Son of David's Kingdom come But out great crimes defer that blest event And urge thy wrath Lord let thy Grace prevent Prevent our just-deserved ruine Lord Let love obliterate our crimes abhor'd Recruit our stock of grace so vainly spent And our just fears Lord let thy grace prevent Angliae Omen OH stupid England how hath S. befool'd thee Not to give ear to what thy G. hath told thee But to F. P. thou willingly canst hearken Which will I fear thy brightest glory darken E. and D. fight like fools by J. deceived To make S. sport unless by G. relieved G. chalk'd thee out a way yet thou refusest Therein to walk his mercies thou abusest Pervert'st the means of grace to schism and faction Wrest'st profer'd peace into perverse distraction P. B. is spil'd whence P. in mirth exceedeth Whil'st P. spoyls P. the heart of C. C. bleedeth And thou still glorying in thy shame abidest Sweet mercies scornest judgments fierce deridest Exceed'st in pride oppression blood and thieving Excess and bold profaneness never grieving For all thy horrid acts whose exclamation Rings up to Heav'n and croaks thy desolation For which thy crimes one of these are attending Thy soon repentance or thy latter ending It is not to me unknown that divers exquisite pens have poëtically translated the following Lamentations whose Labours I honour and aym not herein to detract from neither strive I to claw mans ear or tickle his fancie but have as neer as I was enabled kept the very words of the Text it self in our most usual English Translations hoping the divine gravity and interwoven plainness of that stile may prove powerful above all mans ingenious flourishes hereon as fitting best the parallel times and people whereâ—n and for whom they were first written Amen Hodie mihi Cras tibi Let Jury Britain's warner be Let Jebus London teach That we Gods ways may heed and see Whilst Jews to English preach The Lamentations of Jeremiah in metre CHAP. I. verse 1 HOw doth the thronged City sit desert How art thou widowed O thou that wert The great among the Nations Princess took Of Provinces and now in tributes yoak verse 2 Her nightly tears make torrents o'er her cheeks In vain she comfort from all lovers seeks Her friends perfidious all are foes become verse 3 Judah's gone captive from her native home Because of servitude and great affliction Among the Heathen she finds no refection Her persecuters 'twixt the straights o'ertake her verse 4 Zions wayes mourn since solemn feasts forsake her Her Priests do sigh her gates are desolate verse 5 Virgins afflicted She in bitter state Her soes are chief and prosper for the Lord Hath her afflicted for her most abhorr'd And multipli'd transgressions and her Sons Her enemies led captive all at once verse 6 All Zions Daughters beauty is departed Her Princes are like Harts in pastute thwarted verse 7 As finding none and they are strengthless gone verse 8 Before pursuers Jebus now thinks on Her pleasant things in days of old enjoy'd By miserie 's afflicting hand made voyd Her Sons faln in the hands of enemies Quite helpless foes her Sabbaths did despise verse 9 Jerusalem hath sinned grievously Therefore removed of her friends cast by Who saw her shame she sighs backward turns verse 10 Her filth is in her skirts and she adjourns The day of her last end whence she descends To wonderment yet voyd of cheering friends Lord view my sorrow for the foe doth boast verse 11 And snatch our pleasant things we value most She in her Temple sees the Heathen Nations Whom thou forbad'st t' approach thy Congregations verse 12 Her people sigh and seek their bread they give Their pleasant things for food them to relieve See Lord consider for I vile am grown verse 13 Is it to you as nothing have yee known O all by-passers any grief like mine In his fierce angers day by sacred Trine verse 14 Afflicted fire from Heaven he hath sent Into my bones his net spread with intent My feet to trap Yea he hath turn'd me back And made me faint and desolate alack verse 15 His hand hath bound the yoak of my transgressions Which wreathed mount cause my neck 's oppressions My strength he made to fall he gives me over Into their hands from whom I can't recover verse 16 In me he trampled on my men of might Assembled those that crush'd my young men quite As in a wine-press he that wears Heav'ns crown The Virgin Judah's Daughter hath trod down verse 17 For this I weep mine eye mine eye fleets on Because from me the Comforter is gone That should relieve my soul And desolate My children are ' cause those prevail'd