That to infinite permanent and immutable Goodness of right belongs as well Omnisciency as Omnipotency the one as her Secretary the other as her Satellitium But the infinitely-good God is not onely of right but by nature both Omniscient and Omnipotent And from these three his infinite Goodness Wisedome and Power issue out all the Orders of the Creation in the whole Universe So that all the Creatures being his and his Goodness being so perfect immutable and permanent as never out of any humour as I may so speak vacillancy or supine indifferency to be carried otherwise then to what is the best and his Wisedome never at a loss to discern nor his Power to execute it we see the clearest foundation imaginable of the Right of that absolute Sovereignty we acknowledge in God For is there not all reason that he that is so immutably Good that it is repugnant that he should ever will any thing but what is absolutely for the best should have a full right of acting merely according to the suggestions and sentiments of his own minde it being impossible but that they should be for the best he having proportionable Wisedome also and Power adjoyned to this infinite Goodness to contrive and execute his holy just and benign designs Philop. In my apprehension Philotheus this is marvellously plain and such as I wanted no instruction in And therefore let me intreat you to draw nearer to the main point in hand which is the Kingdome of God properly so called For methinks we have done hitherto as if some having a design to observe more particularly some one Kingdome in the Map of the World suppose England France or Spain should forget their intended purpose and lose time in taking a vagary through all Europe at least if not all the four quarters of the World I desire Philotheus to understand what that Kingdome of God is that is amongst Men being less curious touching that part of his Dominion that he exercises over Angels whether lapsed or unlapsed or that Power he exserts upon the Kingdome of Nature whether Animals or Plants or other inferiour creatures Quae supranos nihil ad nos and there is in some sense the like reason concerning those things below us I desire my prospect may be enlarged onely towards those things that are on the same levell with my self which I press the more earnestly because of the streightness of the time I fear we shall be cast into Philoth. I commend your providence Philopolis and desire you to persist in this freedome of calling us back to those subjects you have the greatest mind to be satisfied in as often as we stray For this last Evening is wholly dedicated to your service But however for all the haste I affect to enter upon that Point you chiefly aim at VIII The Kingdome of God within us what it is namely What the Kingdome of God is signally so called I must first mention a Division before I fall upon that Definition For the Kingdome of God as it respects Men also is either Internall or Externall according as our Saviour has declared Neither shall they say Luk. 17.21 Lo here or Lo there for behold the Kingdome of God is within you Cuph. I suppose this Kingdome is much-what the same with the Philosophicall Kingdome of the Stoicks who make their wise man a King and Emperour and what not and count it their chief happiness to have a full dominion over their Passions especially the more grim and harsh ones that they may enjoy themselves in quiet Philoth. O no Cuphophron there is no sameness at all betwixt this Kingdome of the Stoicks and the Kingdome of God For this Kingdome of the Stoicks is the Kingdome of Selfishness and Self-love sways the Sceptre there and wears the Diademe But in the Kingdome of God God himself who is that pure free and perfectly unselfed Love has the full dominion of the Soul and the ordering and rule of all the Passions It is a wonderful thing to consider how multifarious the Impostures and false pretensions to this inward Kingdome are discovered to be by those that are really possessed thereof how one Passion as suppose Pride or Covetousness subdues all the rest unto it self and rules in stead of the Divine Love how all the Passions are brought into a demure subjection to the sense of some externall Interest especially if it bear the Title of Sacred or Holy and how men may be disciplin'd or educated thereto as Setting-dogs for the Game whenas the Soul in such a case has subdued all her affections onely to surrender her self a more absolute slave to the will of those men whose business it is to bring the World into blinde obedience by studied Impostures and Hypocrisies to such Laws as are made for their carnal Interest and in stead of propagating the Kingdome of God to plant the Kingdome of the Devil or Antichrist amongst men Let the Soul in such cases as these have never so great a command over her affections this is no Kingdome of God but a presumptuous and tyrannical Usurpation of some petty Masters against the Right of his Kingdome Unless this internall Kingdome be established in the Love and Peace and Patience of the Lord Iesus it is but the Reign of mere self-seeking Nature or the Kingdome of the Devil The Kingdome of God in the Soul is the Empire of the Divine Love which equally affects the good of all men Rom. 12.15 rejoyces with them that rejoyce and weeps with them that weep It is that state of the Soul whereby a man loves God with all his heart and all his soul Matt. 22.37 and his neighbour as himself Matt. 7.12 and deals with others as himself would be dealt with whereby a man earnestly desires the common good of all men and finds himself concern'd in repelling or preventing any publick evil To be brief It is the Rule of the Spirit of God in the Soul who takes the rains of all our Powers Faculties and Affections into his own hand and curbs them and excites them according to his own most holy will that is carried to no particular Self-interest but ever directs to that which is simply and absolutely the best This also is the Kingdome of Christ in the Inward man Hebr. 7.2 the mystical Melchizedek who is first King of Righteousness as the word signifies that is of impartial Rectitude and Uprightness without all Self-respects and then King of Salem that is Prince of Peace Finally it is that Kingdome which consists not in externall Superstitions but as the Apostle speaks Rom. 14.7 in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Philop. This Internall Kingdome of God IX The means of acquiring it O Philotheus is so lovely and desirable that I cannot but request you to intimate the means of acquiring it before you proceed to the Externall Philoth. O how I love you Philopolis for this motion forasmuch as
Kingdome of God and the Kingdome of the Devil seem to be in utter opposition one to another and therefore in no capacity of being parts of the same Kingdome Bath That is wittily urged O Cuphophron as to the exteriour sound of the words but look into the intrinsecall nature of things and set the Beasts of the field and the Devils of Hell one by another and tell me the difference that uncapacitates the one from being the members of the Kingdome of God more then the other Is it because the Devils have more subtiltie then the Beasts of the field This were reprochfully to intimate the Kingdome of God to be a City of Fools Is it because the one is Spiritual the other Corporeal This reason would also exclude the good Angels the choicest part of God's Kingdome Is it because the Devils are lapsed Yet their Lapse is but into the Animal life whose deepest root and fountain is self-Self-love or Selfishness which stands in opposition to that other fountain or root of the Divine Life which is the pure Love of God or of that which is simply and absolutely Good But Self-love or Selfishness is equally the Root of Life in Brutes as in Devils Whence it seems manifest that in reality the Devils are as capable of being part of the Kingdome of God as the Brutes Cuph. The difference O Bathynous seems to be this That the Brutes retain the integrity of their nature but the Devils have degenerated from their first condition and forsook their station God had placed them in Bath I confess O Cuphophron that the Lapse of the fallen Angels is great but yet they never sunk beneath the utmost Circuit of the Dominion of Providence or that Divine Nemesis that is continuedly interwoven into all the degrees of the Creation So that nothing that is not exterminated out of all Being but necessarily is subject to the Laws of some order or other of the Creation it has cast it self into As if some noble Familie should by taking ill courses lose all that Honour and Riches that were left them by their Ancestours and in process of time become mere Gally-slaves they do not cease to be still Subjects of the Prince of that Countrey in which they experience these varieties of Fortune so the Angels degenerating into Devils do not cease to be under the Dominion of God but find their Nemesis in his Dominion Prov. 21.30 For there is neither strength nor counsell against the Almighty nor can any one out-wit the reaches of his Providence Gaolers and Prisoners and Hangmen and all manner of Executioners are as well Subjects of the Prince as those men of noble rank and quality Sophr. All instruments of the Wrath of God are part of his Dominion as well as those of his Love For as the Son of Sirach tells us Ecclesiastic 39.28 c. There be spirits that are created for vengeance which in their fury lay on sore strokes in the time of Destruction they pour out their force and appease the wrath of him that made them Fire and Hail and Famine and Death all these were created for vengeance Teeth of wild Beasts and Scorpions Serpents and the Sword punishing the wicked to destruction All these rejoyce in his commands and are ready upon earth to execute his will when need requires To this purpose he speaks and methinks plainly insinuates that the Infernal Powers themselves of which these are many times but the externall weapons are part of the Army of the Lord of Hosts Bath It is impossible to be otherwise O Sophron for it is repugnant to the Wisedome and Omnipotency of God to suffer any thing to be that is in no wise subject to his Power and Dominion Hyl. Gentlemen methinks you are too-too solicitous in searching and setting out the Extent or Boundaries of the Kingdome of God whenas it were a more curious Point and no less pertinent to the present Quere What the Kingdome of God is to define what species of Dominion or Power it is that he thus universally exercises over the Creation Cuph. It is not absolute and unlimited Sovereignty VII Of the absolute Sovereignty of God and wherein it is grounded Hylobares which we from the Greeks call Tyranny Sophr. No by no means Cuphophron If you understood what Tyranny is you would find your Assertion as contradictious as blasphemous Euist. Sophron saies very true Hylobares for * Lib. 3. cap. 7. Aristotle defines Tyranny 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and elsewhere in his Politicks describing it more copiously Politic. lib. 4. c. 10. he saies it is such a Government in one person as being unaccountable to any rules over his equals or those that are better then himself doing all things for his own Interest and not for the Interest of them that he rules Which things are utterly incompetible to God who is infinitely better then all the Creation and is onely capable of doing them good but not of receiving any good from them Cuph. I minded not how Tyranny is defined in your learned Authours Euistor but look'd upon the word as significative of such a Sovereignty as is absolute and unlimited and that in one person who is tied to no Law but acts merely according to the suggestions and sentiments of his own heart Euist. And to tell you the truth the Criticks O Cuphophron teach us that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 anciently signified no worse then so that is to say an absolute Monarch a person invested with absolute Sovereignty or Power Philoth. If Cuphophron meant no otherwise then so Euistor his meaning was sound and good though his expression not so warrantable For it is very unsafe and scandalous to apply ill-sounding words to the Divine Majesty though lined underneath with a tacit well-meaning But to say that that species of Dominion which God exercises over his Creatures is absolute Sovereignty or a power of doing all things according to the suggestions or sentiments of his own mind this is a sober and true declaration touching the Dominion of God Hyl. But I beseech you Philotheus wherein is this vast and unlimited Sovereignty of God founded in his Omnipotency or in what is it For some say absolute and irresistible Power can doe no wrong Philoth. That 's a thing Hylobares I could yet never understand that the most omnipotent Power that is imaginable can ever have a right to doe what is wrong that is to say to create any evil that is truly so upon the full compute of all circumstances or in the entire comprehension of the whole Oeconomy of the Universe No Power though never so omnipotent can claim a right to such an act no more then any Intellect never so omniscient can claim a right of authentickly thinking that true which is really false But in answer to your main question wherein the Right of this absolute Sovereignty in God is founded I must tell you both distinctly and compendiously at once
Empire in Constantine's time became the Kingdome of God but were no particular members of the Church at that time in any thing reprehensible Whether the Reformation cease to be the Kingdome of God for the wickedness of some of that denomination let our Adversaries be judges who never spared to style themselves Holy Church for all the abhorred ungodliness of the Heads their Holinesses at Rome and universal pollution of the members and that because they took themselves to be the true Christian Church and to hold the right Faith and to retain the Rites and Religious Practices as to the externall Worship of God though they were indeed an Antichristian Church and all overrun with abominable Doctrines and Idolatrous Practices and Diabolical Cruelties against the true Worshippers of God Of how much more right therefore ought the Reformation to be held the holy people of God and his peculiar Kingdome who profess the Apostolick Faith entire without any Idolatrous superadditions who murther no man for his Conscience and make the infallible Word of God it self the Object of their Profession and the platform of their Religion Cuph. The truth is the disparity is infinitely great if the Roman and Reformed Church stood in competition which of them two should be the Kingdome of God Bath But it being so plain that the Reformed Church is the true Externall Kingdome of God forasmuch as they make pure profession of the Gospel of the Kingdome cleared from all the gross Corruptions of men and teach Christ merely according to the Word of Christ and that also in this regard the Church of Rome by their Antichristian Doctrines is really a contrary Kingdome thereunto that is the Kingdome of Antichrist how abominably nauseous O Cuphophron must Indifferency in Religion be amongst Pretenders to Protestantism whenas the Romanists themselves scarce in the worst of times would have laid down their zeal in the behalf of that Christianity against Turcism though Turcism ought not to be more abominable to them then their Antichristianism ought to be to us XVII The Charge of Antinomianism against th Reformation For what can be more contrary then the Kingdome of Christ and of Antichrist Cuph. This would bear more weight with it Bathynous if there were no gross flaws in the externall Profession of the Protestants and that they were right in their declared Opinions For in my judgement Antinomianism and Calvinism I mean that dark Dogma about Predestination are such horrid Errours that they seem the badges of the Kingdome of Darkness rather then of the Kingdome of God Bath What you mean by Antinomianism O Cuphophron I know not But so far as I know there are but these two meanings thereof either a conceit that we are exempted by the liberty of the Gospel from all moral Duties a thing exploded by all the Protestant Churches as you may understand by the Harmony of their Confessions or else it signifies a disclaim of being justified by the doing our Duties and an entire relying on the Satisfaction or Atonement of Christ which rightly understood has no evil at all in it but is an excellent Antidote against Pride For those that profess such an Antinomianism as this and declare they look to be saved by Faith onely without the Works of the Law will not deny but that they are to live as strictly and holily as if they were to be saved by the integrity of their conversations and yet when they have lived as precisely as they can that they are wholly to relie upon the mercy of God in Christ. How lovely how amiable is such a disposition of a Soul as this who taking no notice of her own innocency or righteousness casts her self wholly on the Goodness and Merits of her Saviour and so like an un-self-reflecting and an un-self-valuing childe enters securely and peaceably into the Kingdome of God and into the choicest mansions of his heavenly Paradise Cuph. Nay if that be the worst of it Bathynous I am easily reconciled to Protestantism for all this Bath This is the worst of it O Cuphophron so far as I can understand And you know the orthodox Protestants universally adde their Doctrine of Sanctification or a good life to that of Justification by Faith onely so that I dare say they dealt bonâ fide but by a secret Providence directed so their style and phrase as was most effectual to oppose or undermine the gainful traffick of that City of Merchandises where the good works they ordinarily cry'd up so were nothing else but the good and rich wares those cunning Merchants purchased at cheap rates from abused souls the increase of whose sins were the advance of the Revenues of the Church and their externall good works as they are called an excuse for their want of inward Sanctification and real Regeneration the main things the Protestants stand upon which can be no more without Good works in the best sense so called then the Sun without Light Cuph. But are there then Bathynous no Antinomians in the ill sense amongst the Protestant Bath No otherwise Cuphophron then there were Gnosticks and Carpocratians in the Apostolick times There are but disallowed by general suffrage Cuph. Let that then suffice XVIII The Charge of Calvinism against the Reformation But this dark Opinion of Predestination how dismall does it look Bathynous black as the smoak of the bottomless pit out of which the Locusts came Bath What do you allude to the Turks and Saracens Cuphophron The Turks indeed are held great Fatalists whence some in reproch call this Point of Calvin Calvino-Turcism Who would have thought Cuphophron so Apocalyptical That you take so great offence at Predestination in that rude and crude sense that some hold it I do not at all wonder for it has ever seemed to me an Opinion perfectly repugnant to the nature of God that he should Predestinate any Souls to endless and unspeakable misery for such sins as it was ever impossible for them to avoid This is a great reproch in my apprehension to the Divine Majesty But that there is an effectual Election or Predestination of some to eternall life I must confess I think it not onely an Opinion inoffensive but true which seems to me probably to be intimated from such passages as these Apoc. 13.8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship the Beast whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world And again in another place of the Apocalypse And they that are with him are called Apoc. 17.14 and chosen and faithfull And also in the Epistle to the Romans Rom. 8.28 29. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them that are the called according to his purpose For whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate and whom he did predestinate them he also called c. These places considered together want not their force
the truest Grounds of the Certainty of Faith This is the common Protestant Doctrine and a great and undeniable Truth and will amount to the greatest Certainty desirable if the Spirit of Life and of God assist For that will seal all firm and close and shut out all Doubts and Waverings In the mean time even in mere Moral men but yet such as use their Sense and Reason rightly-circumstantiated in their Dijudications touching the truth of Holy Writ and Religion it is plain they are upon the truest Grounds of Faith they can goe or apply themselves to forasmuch as the Holy Writ is the truest and most certain Tradition and no Tradition to be discerned true but upon the Certainty of rightly-circumstantiated Sense and Reason as appears by the first Conclusion These Advertisements though something numerous are yet brief enough but very effectual I hope if strictly followed to make thee so wise as neither to impose upon thy self nor be imposed upon by others in matters of Religion and so Orthodox as to become neither Enthusiast nor Romanist but a true Catholick and Primitive Apostolick Christian THE END DIVINE HYMNS DIVINE HYMNS An HYMN Upon the Nativity of CHRIST THe Holy Son of God most High The Historicall Narration For love of Adam's lapsed Race Quit the sweet Pleasures of the Sky To bring us to that happy Place His Robes of Light he laid aside Which did his Majesty adorn And the frail state of Mortals tri'de In Humane Flesh and Figure born Down from above this Day-Star slid Himself in living Earth t' entomb And all his Heav'nly Glory hid In a pure lowly Virgin 's Womb. Whole Quires of Angels loudly sing The Mystery of his Sacred Birth And the blest News to Shepherds bring Filling their watchfull Souls with Mirth The Application to the Emprovement of Life The Son of God thus Man became That Men the sons of God might be And by their second Birth regain A likeness to His Deity Lord give us humble and pure mindes And fill us with thy Heav'nly Love That Christ thus in our Hearts enshrin'd We all may be born from above And being thus Regenerate Into a Life and Sense Divine We all Ungodliness may hate And to thy living Word encline That nourish'd by that Heav'nly Food To manly Stature we may grow And stedfastly pursue what 's good That all our high Descent may know Grant we thy Seed may never yield Our Souls to soil with any Blot But still stand Conquerours in the field To shew his Power who us begot That after this our Warfare's done And travails of a toilsome Stage We may in Heav'n with Christ thy Son Enjoy our promis'd Heritage Amen An HYMN Upon the Passion of CHRIST THe faithfull Shepherd from on high The Historicall Narration Came down to seek his strayed Sheep Which in this Earthly Dale did lie Of Grief and Death the Region deep Those Glories and those Ioys above 'T was much to quit for Sinners sake But yet behold far greater Love Such pains and toils to undertake An abject Life which all despise The Lord of Glory underwent And with the Wicked's worldly guize His righteous Soul for grief was rent His Innocence Contempt attends His Wisedome and his Wonders great Envy on these her poison spends And Pharisaick Rage their Threats At last their Malice boil'd so high As Witnesses false to suborn The Lord of Life to cause to die His Body first with Scourges torn With royal Robes in scorn th' him dight And with a wreath of Thorns him crown A Scepter-Reed in farther spight They adde unto his Purple Gown Then scoffingly they bend the knee And spit upon his Sacred Face And after hang him on a Tree Betwixt two Thieves for more Disgrace With Nails they pierc'd his Hands and Feet The Bloud thence trickled to the ground The Pangs of Death his Countenance sweet And lovely Eyes with Night confound Thus laden with our weight of Sin This spotless Lamb himself bemoans And while for us he Life doth win Quits his own Breath with deep-fetch'd Groans Affrighted Nature shrinketh back To see so direfull dismall sight The Earth doth quake the Mountains crack Th' abashed Sun withdraws his Light The Application to the Emprovement of Life Then can we Men so senseless be As not to melt in flowing Tears Who cause were of his Agonie Who suffer'd thus to cease our Fears To reconcile us to our God By this his precious Sacrifice And shield us from his wrathfull Rod Wherewith he Sinners doth chastise O wicked Sin to be abhorr'd That God's own Son thus forc'd to die O Love profound to be ador'd That found so potent Remedie O Love more strong then Pain and Death To be repaid by nought but Love Whereby we vow our Life and Breath Entire to serve our God above For who for shame durst now complain Of dolorous dying unto Sin While he recounts the hideous Pain His Saviour felt our Souls to win Or who can harbour Anger fell Envy revengefull Spight or Hate If he but once consider well Our Saviour lov'd at such a rate Wherefore Lord since thy Son most just His natural Life for us did spill Grant we our sinful Lives and Lusts May sacrifice unto his Will That to our selves we being dead Henceforth to him may wholly live Who us to free from Dangers dread Himself a Sacrifice did give Grant that the sense of so great Love Our Souls to him may firmly tie And forcibly us all may move To live in mutuall Amity That no pretence to Hate or Strife May rise from any Injurie Since thy dear Son the Lord of Life For love of us when Foes did die An HYMN Upon the Resurrection of CHRIST The Historicall Narration WHo 's this we see from Edom come With bloudy robes from Bosrah Town He whom false Jews to death did doom And Heav'n's fierce Anger had cast down His righteous Soul alone was fain Isa. 63.3 The Wine-press of God's Wrath to tread And all his Garments to distain And sprinkled Cloaths to die bloud-red 'Gainst Hell and Death he stoutly fought Who Captive held him for three days But straight he his own Freedome wrought And from the dead himself did raise The brazen Gates of Death he brake Triumphing over Sin and Hell And made th' Infernall Kingdomes quake With all that in those Shades do dwell His murthered Body he resum'd Maugre the Grave's close grasp and strife And all these Regions thence perfum'd With the sweet hopes of lasting Life O mighty Son of God most High The Application to the Emprovement of Life That conqueredst thus Hell Death and Sin Give us a glorious Victory Over our deadly Sins to win Go on and * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phil. Iud. Flesh and bloud in the moral sense Edom still subdue And quite cut off his wicked Race And raise in us thine Image true Which sinfull * The old Adam Rom. 6.6 Edom doth
deface Teach us our Lusts to mortify In virtue of thy precious Death That while to sin all-dead we lie Thou maist infuse thy Heav'nly breath To Righteousness our Spirits raise And quick'n us with thy Life and Love That we may walk here to thy Praise And after live in Heav'n above Grant we in Glory may appear Clad with our Resurrection-Vest When thou shalt lead thy Flock most dear Up to the Mansions of the Blest An HYMN Upon CHRIST's Ascension The Historicall Narration GOd is ascended up on high With merry noise of Trumpet 's sound And Princely seated in the Sky Rules over all the World around The Tabernacle did of old His Presence to the Jews restrain But after in our Flesh enfold A larger Empire he did gain For suffering in Humane Flesh For all he rich Redemption wrought And will with lasting Life refresh His Heritage so dearly bought Sing Praises then sing Praises loud Unto our Universal King * Act. 1.9 He who ascended on a Cloud To him all Laud and Praises sing Captivity he captive led Triumphing o're the Powers of Hell And struck their eyes with glory dread Who in the Airy Regions dwell In Humane Flesh and Shape he went Adorned with his Passion-Scars Which in Heav'n's sight he did present More glorious then the glittering Stars O happy Pledge of Pardon sure The Application to the Emprovement of Life And of an endless blissful State Since Humane Nature once made pure For Heav'n becomes so fit a Mate Lord raise our sinking Minds therefore Up to our proper Country dear And purifie us evermore To fit us for those Regions clear Let our Converse be still above Where Christ at thy right hand doth sit And quench in us all worldly Love That with thy self our Souls may knit Make us all Earthly things despise And freely part with this World 's good That we may win that Heav'nly prize Which Christ has purchas'd with his Bloud That when He shall return again In * Act. 1.11 Clouds of Glory as he went Our Souls no foulness may retain But be found pure and innocent And so may mount to his bright Hosts On Eagle's wings up to the Sky And be conducted to the Coasts Of everlasting Bliss and Ioy. An HYMN Upon the Descent of the Holy Ghost at the day of Pentecost The Narration WHen Christ his Body up had born To Heav'n from his Disciples sight Then they like Orphans all forlorn Spent their sad days in mournfull plight But he ascended up on high More Sacred Gifts for to receive And freely showr them from the Sky On those which he behind did leave He for the Presence of his Flesh To them the Holy Spirit imparts And doth with living Springs refresh Their thirsty Souls and fainting Hearts While with one minde and in one place Devoutly they themselves retire In rushing Wind the promis'd Grace Descends and cloven Tongues of Fire The house th' Amighty's Spirit fills Which doth the feeble Fabrick shake But on their Tongue such power instills Acts 2. That makes th' amazed Hearer quake The Spirit of holy Zeal and Love The Application And of Discerning give us Lord The Spirit of Power from above Of Unity and good Accord The Spirit of convincing Speech Such as will every Conscience smite Act. 2.37 And to the Heart of each man reach And Sin and Errour put to flight The Spirit of refining Fire Searching the inmost of the mind To purge all foul and fell desire And kindle Life more pure and kinde The Spirit of Faith in this thy Day Of Power against the force of Sin That through this Faith we ever may Against our Lusts the Conquests win Pour down thy Spirit of inward Life Which in our Hearts thy Laws may write That without any pain or strife We naturally may doe what 's right On all the Earth thy Spirit pour In Righteousness it to renew That Satan's Kingdome 't may o'repow'r And to Christ's Sceptre all subdue Like mighty Winde or Torrent fierce Let it Withstanders all o'rerun And every wicked Law reverse That Faith and Love may make all one Let Peace and Ioy in each place spring And Righteousness the Spirit 's fruits With Meekness Friendship and each thing That with the Christian spirit suits Grant this O holy God and true Who th' ancient Prophets didst inspire Haste to perform thy Promise due As all thy Servants thee desire An HYMN Upon the Creation of the World WHen God the first Foundations laid The Narration Of the well-framed Universe And through the darksome Chaos ray'd The Angels did his Praise rehearse The Sons of God then sweetly sung Job 38.7 At first appearance of his Light When the Creation-Morning sprung To deck the World with Beauty bright Within six Days he finish'd all What-ere Heav'n Earth or Sea contain And sanctify'd the Seventh withall To celebrate his Holy Name Then with the Sons of God let 's sing Our bountifull Creatour's Praise Who out of nothing all did bring And by his Word the World did raise O Holy God how wonderfull Art thou in all thy Works of might Astonishing our Senses dull With what thou daily bringst in sight The fit returns of Night and Day The gratefull Seasons of the Year Which constantly man's pains repay With wholesome fruit his Heart to chear The shape and number of the Stars The Moon 's set course thou dost define And Matter 's wilde distracting Iars Composest by thy Word Divine The Parts of th' Earth thou holdest close Together by this sweet Constraint Thou round'st the Drops that do disclose The Rain-bow in his glorious Paint Thy Clouds drop fatness on the Earth Thou mak'st the Grass and Flow'rs to spring Thou cloath'st the Woods wherein with mirth The chearfull Birds do sit and sing Thou fill'st the Fields with Beasts and Sheep Thy Rivers run along the Plains With scaly Fish thou stor'st the Deep Thy Bounty all the World maintains The Application All these and all things else th' hast made Subject to Man by thy Decree That thou by Man might'st be obey'd As duely subject unto thee Wherefore O Lord in us create Clean hearts and a right spirit renew That we regaining that just state May ever pay thee what is due That as we wholly from thee are Both Gifts of Minde and Bodie 's frame So by them both we may declare The Glory of thy Holy Name An HYMN Upon the Redemption of the World through CHRIST in his Re-introduction of the New Creature THe Lord both Heav'n Earth hath made The Narration His Word did all things frame And Laws to every Creature gave Who still observe the same The faithfull Sun doth still return The Seasons of the Year And at just times the various Moon Now round now horn'd appears The Plants retain their Virtue still Their Verdure and their Form Nor do the Birds or Beasts their guize Once change or shape transform 'T is