hear and see and bear a part In heav's heart-charming musick sacred art In that rare comfort of Mel-Melody At Christs rare Nuptials blest solemnity Come then Lord Jesus oh I cannot cease To wish my soul in thine eternal peace Give me O Lord good Stephens Eagles-eye Through thickest clouds heav'ns glory to espye Give me O Lord a voice angelicall With Heart unfeigned on thee thus to call How long O Lord how long wilt thou delay Lord Jesus come come quickly do not stay Make hast and tarry not I thee intreat And draw my soul from earth to heavenly seat For why I feaâ— Lord falsifie my fear That Satan wil 'gainst me such malice bear To cause my refractory flesh to stur My soul unto Rebellion so t' incur Thy wrath and indignation for the fame My stubborn flesh therefore Lord curb and tame O free me from this Fleshly Prison strong Wherein my soul hath fettered lyen too long Fett'red I say yea fest'red more 's my shame More art thou flâ—sh and much more I too blame Who oft with Adam fondly have aspired And with vain-glory led have oft desired The fruit o' th' Tree of Knowledge for to eat Not of the Tree of Life more soveraign meat And to be red in any other Book Much pride and pleasure I have often took Than in my Book of conscience to behold The wo whereinto sin doth me infold With wontons I oft view'd Prides Looking-Glass But not times Dyall how my dayes did pass Yea on earths follies I have fixt mine eyes Gazing on blaztng worldly vanities Yet Lord I know that as thou hast a book wherein my faults are writ on them to look So thou a Bottle hast wherein to keep My contrite tears when I for Sin do weep And though my self unworthy I agnize Unto thy throne to lift my finful eyes Yet I my self unworthy do not find To weepe before thee til mine eyes be blind Lord then vouchsafe vouchsafe I thee beseech An ear an answer to my souls sad speech O come Lord Iesus come I humbly pray Speake peace unto my soul O do not stay Bind up my wounds make whole my malady VVith the Samaratans sweet charity Into my sore powre thou the Oyle of gladness Revive my soul from sin constrained sadness O bring my soul out of this mire and mnd This sinck of sin where I too long have stood Smite off my Fetters of iniquity As thou didst Peters in captivity Stop in me all the conduits of transgression Break Satans weapons of my son's oppression Yea let my eyes be as continual Lavers To wash and clense sins ulcers stinking savours For a clean Lord I know takes delectation To have a clean heart for his habitation Give therefore grace O Lord whiles here I live That I a bil of due divorce may give Unto that harloâ— sin which too-too-long Hath by false Flattery done my soul much wrong O double treble happy were I sure If once I might put off sins rags impare Tâ—ose Menstruous cloathes wherewith I am disguised VVhereby thine Image in mee 's not agnized VVhereby in thy pure sight I am but loathed O therefore that my soul might once be cloathed VVith thy most Royal Robes of righteousness Thy seamelâ—ss spotless Coat of Holyness And therein be presented to the Sight Of my great Lord the Father of all Light And be ingrafted and incorporate Into this New-Ierusalems blest state Ino this Kingdome evermore existing Into this Kingdome all of joy consisting Where all thy Saints and Sacred Angels reign By thee their mighty Lord and soveraign Cloathed in vestures of the purest white Stil in the presence of thy sacred sight Their heads adorn'd with Crowns of purest Gold Of preecious stones rich Pearls rare to behold Thou Lord alone being the Diadem Of these thy Saints in this Ierusalem Whose only sight is their beatitude Which duresfor aye without vicissitude But Lord it may be thou maist say to me Alas poor soul wouldst thou my beauty see None ere could see the glory of my face And lives on earth such is mans mortal case Lord thus I answer and I this confess That thy coelestial glorious holiness Is so immense so infinite so rare So great so glorious gracious specious fair That no flesh living can it see and live Yet to my soul O Lord this mercy give That so it may behold thy sacred sight Let death with thousand deaths my body smite So my poore Soul may see thy Majesty Let death my breath and Life end speedily Oh then I say and ne're shal cease to say O three-sold four-sold happy sure as they Who by a pious life and blessed end By Christ heav'ns Ladder to heav'ns joyes ascend Who for the minutes of Earths Lamentation Enjoy heav'ns endless years of consolation Who from this earthly prison are set free And in heav'ns Palace live O Christ with thee Yea who being dead to sin and Earthly toyes Are there in plenitude of perfect joyes But oh most wretched miserable I Who in the Flouds of worlds mortality By huge heav'n-mounting hel descending waves By Rocks Syrths whirlpoles al which seem my graves Am stil constrain'd to sail through dangers great Which waters winds weather together threat And which is more I mosterroniously Through ignorance oft wander clean away I lose my way and then am danger'd most Not â—nowing whither my poor ship doth coast Being thus expos'd to seas all jeopardies Like Ionah when from Ninive he flies Tost to and fro even into the Maw of hel By furious hound which 'gainst me rage and swel So that my way to th' Harbour of my rest Thus being lost my soul is fore opprest But which is worst whiles thus to thee I sail I meet Sea-Monsters which do me assail Resistful Remoraes do strive to stay me And huge Leviathan gapes wide to slay me Lifes toyes and troubles Satans craft and power Nould stay my voyage and would me devour Restless redresse is thus I store about Hnd for thy heavenly my soul cryes out Wherefore Sea-calming wind controlly Lord To my perplexed soul thine aid afford For if thou wilt O Lord thou canst me cherish O therefore help or else my soul wil perish One Depth O Lord another in doth call As waves break out and on each other fall The depth of my calamity profound Doth invocate thy Mercies which abound I call and cry from many waters deep My soul from sinking Lord preserve and keep O keep me from these dangers imminent Which have my silly soul on all sides pent Let thine oustretched arm upholding grace Once bring my soul unto her resting place From floods or worldly infelicity Into the â—ven of eternity How long O Lord how long wilt thou prolong Thy wrathâ— appeale and ease me from among These dâ—death-threatning dangers O direct My way to thee my 〈◊〉 to thee erect My â—fidence re-plan in thee I pray That â—o these tempâ—sts may me not dismay That so these floods though flow may
The aged shall regarded be of none The poor shall by the rich be trodden on Such grievous insolencies every where Shall acted be that good and bad shall fear In thee to dwel and men discreet shal hate To be a Ruler or a Magistrate VVhen they behold without impenitence So much injustice and such violence And when thy wickedness this height shal gain To which no doubt it wil ere long attain If thou proceed then from the bow that 's bent And halfe way drawn already shal be sent A morral arrow and it pierce thee shal Quite through the head the Liver and the Gall The Lord shall call and whistle from afarre For those thy enemies that fiercest are For those thou fearest most and they shall from Their Countreys like a whirlwind hither come They shall not sleep nor slumber nor untie Their garments till within thy field they lye Sharp shall their arrows be and strong their bow Their faces shall as ful of honor show As doth a Lions Like a bolt of thunder Their troops of horse shall come and tread thee under Their iron feet thy Foes shall eat thy bread And with thy flocks both clothed be and fed Thy dwellers they shall carry from their own To Countries which their fathers have not known And thither shall such mischiefs them pursue That they who seek the pit-fall to eschew Shall in a snare be taken If they shall Escape the sword a Serpent in the wall To death shall sting them yea although they hap To shun a hundred plagues they shall not escape But with new dangers stil be chac'd about Until that they are wholly rooted out The Plowman then shal be afraid to sowe Artificers their labour shal sorgoe The Merchant man shal cross the Seas no more Except to fly and seek some other Shore Thy ablest men shall faint thy wise-ones then Shal know themselves to be but foolish men And they who built and planted by oppression Shal leave their gettings to the foes possession Yea God wil scourge thee England seven times more With seven times greater Plagues than heretofore Then thy allies their friendship shal with-draw And they that of thy greatness stand in awe Shal say in scorn Is this the valiant Nation That had throughout the world such reputation By victories upon the shore are these That people which was Master of the Seas And grew so mighty yea that petty Nation That were not worthy of thy indignation Shal mock thee too and all thy former fame Forgot shall be or mentioned to thy shame Mark how Gods plagues were doubled on the Jews When they his mildrorrections did abuse Mark what at last upon their land he sent And look thou for the self-same punishment If them thou imitatest For their sin At first but eight yeers bondage they were in Their wickedness grew more and God did then To Eglon make them slaves eight yeers and ten They disobeying still the God of heaven Their yeer of Servitude were twenty seven To Iabin and to Midian then prevailed Philistia forty yeers and when that failed To make them of their evil wayes repent There was among themselves a fatal rent And they oft scourg'd each other Still they trod The self-same path and then the hand of God â—rought Ashur on them and did make them beare His heavy yoke untill the seventeenth yeer And last of all the Roman Empire came Which from their Countrey rooted out their name That foolish project which they did imbrace To keep them in possession of their place Did loose it and like Cain that vagrant nation Hath now remain'd in fearful desolation Nigh sixteen hundred years and whatsoere Some lately dream in vain they look for here A temp'ral Kingdome For as long ago Their Psalmist said No Prophet doth foreshow This thraldomes end Nor shall it end until The Gentiles their just number do fulfil Which is unlike to be until that hour In which there shall be no more temporall pow'r Of temporall Kingdome therefore gather them Oh Lord unto thy new Jerusalem In thy due time For yet unto that place They have a promist right by thy meer grace To those who shal repent thy firm Election Continues in this temporall rejection Oh! shew thy mercy in their desolation That thou maist honor'd be in their salvation Yea teach us also by their fearfull fall To hearken to thy voice when thou dost call Lest thou in anger unto us protest That we shall never come into thy rest For we have follow'd them in all their sin Such and so many have our warnings bin And if thou stil prolong not thy compassion To us belongs the selfe-same desolation And it wil shortly come with all those terrors That we on them inflicted for their errors Then wo shall be to them that heretofore By joyning house to house expell'd the poor And field have into field incoporated Until their town-ship were depopulated For desolate their dwelling shall be made Evâ—n in their blood the Lord shall bathe his blade And they that have by avarice and wiles Erected Pallaces and costly piles Shal think the stones and timbers in the wall Aloud to God for vengeance on them call Then wo shal be to them who early rise To eat and drink and play and wantonnize Stil adding sin to sin for they the pain Of cold and thirst and hunger shal sustain And be the servile slaves of them that are Their foes as to their lusts they captives were Then wo to them who darkness more have lov'd Then light and good advice have disapprov'd For they shall wander in a crooked path Which neither light nor end nor comfort hath And when for guides and Counsel they do cry Not one shal pitty them who passeth by Then wo to them that have corrupted bin To justifie the wicked in his sin Or for a bribe the righteous to condemn For flames as on the chaff shall seize on them Their bodies to the dunghill shal be cast Their flowre shal turn to dust their stock shal wast And all the Glorious titles they have worn Shal but increase their infamy and scorn Then wo to them that have been rais'd aloft By good mens ruines and by laying soft And easie pillows under great mens arms To make them pleas'd in their alluring charms Then wo to them who being grown afraid Of some nigh peril sought unlawful aid And settings Gods protection quite aside Upon their own inventions have rely'd For God their foolish hopes wil bring to nought On them their feared mischief shal be brought And all their wit and strength shal not suffice To have their sorrow of which on them lies Yea then Oh Britain wo to ev'ry one That hath without repentance evil done For those who do not heed not bear in mind His visitings Gods reaching hand will find And they with howling cryes and lamentation Shal sue and seek in vain for his compassion Because they careless of his mercies were Til in consuming
The secrets of his Word The Prophesies Of his chiefe Seers are before our eyes Unveiled true interpretations Are made and many proper applications Ev'n to our selves yet is our heart so blind That what we know and see we do not mind We hear and speak and much adoe we keep But we as senseless are as men asleep What then we do Yea while that we are talking What snares are in the way where we are walking We heed not what we say but pass along And many times are fast insnar'd among Those mischiefs and those faults we did condemn Before our tongues have lost to mention them For our neglect of God in former times Or for some present unrepented crimes A slumbring Spirit so possesseth us That our estate is wondrous dangerous We see and hear and tel to one another Our perils yet we headlong hast together To wilful ruine and are grown so mad That when our friends a better course perswade Or seek to stop us when they see we run That way in which we cannot ruine shun We persecute those men with all our soul That we may damn our selves without controul The eight plain sign by which I understand That some devouring mischiefs are at hand Is that maliciousness which I do see Among professors of one Faith to be We have but one Father and one Mother Do persecute and torture one another So hotly we oppose not antichrist As we our fellow Brethren do resist The Protestant the Protestant defies And we our selves our selves do scandalize Our Church we have exposed to more scorn And her fair seamless Vestment rent and torn By our own fury more than by their spight Who are to us directly opposite To save an apple we the tree destroy And quarrels make for ev'ry needless toy From us if any brother differ shall But in a crotchet we upon him fall As eagerly and with as bitter hate As if we knew him for a Reprobate And what ever all this doth signifie Saint Paul by way of caveat doth imply Take heed saith he lest while ye bite each other You of your selves consumed be together Another sign which causeth me to fear That our confusion is approaching neer Are those divisions which I have espide In Church and Common-wealth this present tide We cannot hide these rents for they do gape So wide that some their jaws can hardly scape Would God the way to close them up we knew Else what they threaten time wil shortly shew For all men know a City or a Land VVithin it self divided cannot stand The last black Signe that here I wil repeat VVhich doth to Kingdomes desolation threat Is when the hand of God almighty brings The People into bondage to their Kings I say when their own Judges shall take delight Those whom he should protect to rob and smite When they who fed the Sheep the Sheep shal kil And eat them and suppose they do il When God gives up a Nation unto those That are their neighbors that they may as foes Devour them When Oh England thou shalt see This come to pass a sign it is to thee That God is angry and a certain token That into pieces thou shalt quite be broken If not by forraine strength by force at home And that thy greater torment wil become This vengeance and this fearful preparation Of bringing ruine on a sinful nation If they remain impenitentent the Lord Doth menace and by Zachary record To make us wise Oh! let us therefore learn What now is comming on us to discern For wel considered if all things were From this captivity we seem not far It now already seems to be projected Nay little wants of being quite effected But if God should from us as God forbid Take him as once he good Iosiah did He also wil unless we mend perchance In times to come a Shepheard here advance Who shal not plead for what his Young men say Is just but take the same perforce away An Idol Shepheard who shal neither care To find or seek for those that starved are Nor guard the Lambs nor cure what hath a wound Nor cherish those that firm to him are found But take the fat and rob them of their fleeces And eat their flesh and break their bones in pieces More signes I might as yet commemorate To shew Gods patience is nigh out of date But these are signes enough and so apparent That twenty more wil give no better warrant To what I speak Yet if these false appear That 's one signe more our fall approacheth neere Be mindful therefore while it is to Day And let no good occasion slip away Now rend your hearts ye Britaines wash rinse them From all corruption from all evil clense them Go offer up the pleasing sacrifice Of Righteousness from folly turn your eyes Seek peace and follow it with strict pursuit Relieve the needy Judgment execute Refresh the weary right the fatherless The strangers and the widows wants redress Give praise to God depend with lowly faith On him and what is holy Spirit faith Remember what a price thy ransome cost And now redeme the time that thou hast lost Return return thou oh back-sliding Nation And let thy tears prevent thy desolation As yet thou maist return for Gods embrace Is open for thee if thou hast the grace To give it meeting Yet repentance may Prevent the mischiefs of that evil day Which here is menac'd yet thou maist have peace And by discreet endeavouring encrease Each outward grace and ev'ry inward thing Which wil additions to thy comfort bring If this thou do these fearful threatnings all Repeated here to mercies change he shall We cannot fay it wil excuse thee from All chastisement or that no blow shall come For peradventure thou so long hast bin Unpenitent that some loud crying sin Hath wak'd that Vengeance which upon thy crimes Must fall as once in Ieremiahs times VVithout prevention to exemplifie Gods hate of sin to all posterity But sure we are that if he doth not stay His threatned hand the stroke that he doth lay VVil fall the lighter and become a blessing Thy future joyes and vertues more encreasing Than all that large prosperity and rest VVhich thou so long together hast possest God with a writers Ink-horn one hath sent To set a mark on them that shal repent And bids him promise in his Name that they VVho shall recanting leave their evil way And in their hearts bewaile the grievous crimes And miseries of Sion in their times That they shal be secure and saved from The hand of these destroyers which must come Or else by their destruction find a way To that repairing which wil ne're decay Yea thou oh Britaine if thou couldst reform Thy manners mightâ—st expel the dreadful storm Now threatned and thy foes who triumph would The ruine of thy glory to behold And jeere thee when thou fallest soon shal see Thy God returning and avenging thee On their insultings
yea with angry blows He would effect their shameful overthrows Or turn their hearts For when from sin men cease God makes their enemies and them at peace Moreover thou shalt have in thy possessing Each inward grace and ev'ry outward blessing Thy fruitful Herds shal in rich pastures feed Thy soyle shall plenteously encrease thy seed Thy Flock shal neither Shepheards want nor meat Clean provander thy stabled beast shal eat There shall be Rivers in thy Dales and Fountains Upon the tops of all thy noblest Mountains The Moon shal cast upon thee beams as bright As now the Sun and with a seven fold light The Sun shal bless thee He that Rules in thee To all his people reconcil'd shal be And they shal find themselves no whit deceived In those good hopes which are of him conceived But he and they who shall his throne possess When he is gone shal reign in righteousness And be more careful of thy weal by far Than Parents of their childrens profits are Thy Magistrates with wisdome shall proceed In all that shall be counsell'd or decreed As Harbours when it blows tempestuously As Rivers into places over-dry As Shadows are to men opprest with heat As to a hungry Stomack wholsome meat To thee so welcom and as much contenting Thy Nobles wil becom on thy repenting Thy Priests shal preach true doctrines in thy temples And make it fruitful by their good examples Thy God with righteousness shal them array And hear and answer them when they do pray Thy eyes that yet are blinded shal be clear Thy ears that then are deafned then shal hear Thy tongue that stammers now shal then speak plain Thy heart shal perfect understanding gain The preaching of the Gospel shal encrease Thy God shal make thy comforts and thy peace To flow as doth a River they who plant The blessing of their labor shal not want Thy poorest people shal at ful be fed The meek shal of no tyrant stand in dread Thou shalt have grace and knowledg to avoid Those things whereby the rest may be annoid Thou shalt possess thy wished blessings all And God shal hear the stil before thou call But as a Chime whose frets disordered grow Can never cause it self in tune to go Nor chime at all until some cunning hand Doth make the same again in order stand Or as the Clock whose plummets are not weight Strikes sometimes one for three and six for eight So fareth it with men and kingdomes all When once from their integrity they fall They may their motion hurry out of frame But have no power to rectifie the same That curious hand which first those pieces wrought Must mend them stil or they wil stil be nought To thee I therefore now my speech convert Thou Famous Artist who Creator art Of heav'n and earth and of those goodly spheares That now have whirled many thousand yeeres And shall until thy pleasure gives it ending In their perpetual motion without mending Oh! be thou pleased by thy pow'rful hand To set in order this depraved Land Our whole foundation Lord is out of course And ev'ry thing stil groweth worse and worse The way that leads quite from thee we have tooke Thy Covenant and all thy Lawes are broke In mischiefs and in folly is our pleasure Our crying sins have almost fill'd their measure Yet ev'ry day we had a new transgression And stil abuse thy favour and compassion Our governour our Prelates and our Nobles Have by their sins encrease encreast our trouble Our Priests and all the people have misgone All kind of evil deeds we all have done VVe have not lived as those means of grace Require which thou hast granted lo this place But rather worse than many who have had Less helps than we of being better made No Nation under heav'n so lew'd hath bin That had so many warnings for their sin And such perpetuall callings on as we To leave our wickedness and turn to thee Yet we in stead of turning furthe went And when thy Mercies and thy Plagues were sent To pul us back they seldome wrought our fray Or moved to repentance one whole day No blessing no affliction hath a power To move compunction in us for one hour Unless thou work it All that I can speak And all that I have spoken til thou breake And mollifie the heart wil fruitless be Not onely in my hearers but in me If thou prepare not way for more esteeme All these Remembrances wil foolish seeme Nay these in stead of moving to repent VVil indignation move and discontent Which wil mens hardned hearts obdurate more And make their fault much greater then before Unless thou give a blessing I may strive As wel to make a marble stone alive As to effect my purpose yea all this Like wholsome counsel to a mad man is And I for my good meaning shall be torn In pieces or exposed be to scorn For they against thy word do stop their ear And wild in disobedience wil not hear In this we all confess our selves to blame And that we therefore have deserved shame Yea Lord we do acknowledgâ— that for this There nothing else to us pertaining is Respecting our own worth but desolation And finall rooting out without compassion But gracious God though such our merit be Yet mercy stil pertaineth unto thee To thee the act of pard'ning and forgiving As much belongs oh Father everliving As plagues to us and it were better far Our sins had less than their deservings are Then that thy Clemency should be out-gone By all the wickedness that can be done As wel as theirs whose lives now left them have Thou canst command those bodies from the grave Who stink and putrifie and buryed be In their corruption Such oh Sord are we Oh! call us from this grave and shew thy pow'r Upon this much polluted Land of our Forgive us all our slips our negligences Our sins of knowledge and our ignorances Our daring wickedness our bloody crimes And all the faults of past and present times Permit not thy just wrath to burn for ever In thy displeasure do not stil persever But call us from that pit of Death and Sin And from that path of Hel which we are in Remember that this Vinyard hath a Vine VVhich had her planting by that hand of thine Remember when from Egypt thou remov'dst it VVith what entire affection then thou lov'dst it How thou didst weed and dress it heretofore How thou didst fence it from the Forrest Bore And think how sweet a vintage then it brought VVhen thy first work upon them thou had'st wrought Remember that without thy daily care The choicest plants soon wild and fruitless are And that as long as thou dost prune and dress The sowrest Vine shal bring a sweet encrease Remember also Lord how stil that I oe VVho first pursued us doth seek to sow His tares among thy wheat and to his pow'r Break down thy fence and trample
and devour The seeds of grace as soon as they do sprout And is too strong for us to keep him out Oh! let not him prevail such harm to do us As he desires but Lord return unto us Return in mercy though thou find us slack To come our selves fetch draw and pul us back From our own courses by thy grace divine And set and keep us in each way of thine Vouchsafe that every one in his degree The secret error of his life may see And in his lawful calling all his dayes Perform his Christian duty to thy praise Give peace this troublous age for perillous The times are grown and no man fights for us But thou oh God! nor do we seek or crave That any other Champion we may have Nay give us troubles if thy wil be so That we may have thy strength to bear them too And in affliction thee more glorifie Then here heretofore in our prosperity For when thy countenance on us did shine Those Lands that boasted of their corn and wine Had not that joy which thou didst then inspire VVhen we were boyld and fryde in blood and fire Oh! give us again that joy although it cost us Our lives Restore thou what our sin hath lost us Thy Church in these Dominions Lord preserve In purity and teach us thee to serve In holiness and righteousness until VVe shal the number of our dayes fulfil Defend these Nations from all overthrows By forraign enemies or home-bred foes Our State with ev'ry grace and vertue bless VVhich may thine honor and its own increase Inflame our Nobles with more love and zeal To thy true Spouse and to his Commonweale Inspire our Clergy in their several places VVith knowledge and all sanctifying graces That by their lives and Doctrines they may rear Those parts of Sion which decayed are Awake this People give them souls that may Believe thy VVord and thy commands obey The plagues deserv'd already save them from More watchful make them in all times to come For blessings past let hearty thanks be given For present ones let sacrifice to heav'n Be daily offered up For what is needing Or may be useful in the time succeding Let faithful Prayers to thy throne be sent With heart and hands upright and innocent And let all this the better furthered be Through these Remembrances now brought by me For which high favour and imboldning thus My spirit in a time so dangerous For chusing me that am so despicable To be imployed in this honorable And great imployment which I more esteem Than to be crowned with a Diadem For thy enabling me in this Embassage For bringing to conclusion this my Message For sparing of my life when thousands dy'd Before behind me and on ev'ry side For saving of me many a time since then VVhen I had forfeited my soul agen For all those griefs and poverties by which I am in better things made great and rich Then all that wealth and honor brings man to Wherewith the world doth keep so much ado For all which thou to me on earth hast given For all which doth concern my hopes of heaven For these and those innumerable graces Vouchsafed me at at sundry times and places Unthought upon unfeigned praise I render Lnd for a living sacrifice I tender To thee oh God my body soul and all Which mine I may by thy donation call Accept it blessed Maker for his sake Who did this offring acceptable make By giving up himself Oh! look thou not Upon those blemishes which I have got By naturall corruption or by those Polluted acts which from that ulcer flows According to my skill I have enroll'd Thy Mercies and thy Justice I have told I have not hid thy workings in my brest But as I could their pow'r I have exprest Among our great assemblies to declare Thy wil and pleasure lo I do not fear And though by Princes I am checkt and blamed To speak the truth I am no whit ashamed Oh! shew thou Lord thy mercy so to me And let thy love and truth my guardians be Forgive me all the follies of my youth My faulty deeds the errors of my mouth The wandrings of my heart and ev'ry one Of those good works that I have left undone Forgive me all wherein I did amiss Since thou employd'st me in performing this My doubting of thy calling me unto it My fears which oft disheartned me to do it My sloth my negligences my evasions And my deferring it on vain occasions VVhen I had vowed that no work of mine Should take me up til I had finisht thine Lord pardone this and let no future sin Nor what already hath committed bin Prophane this Work or cause the same to be The lesse effectual to this Land or me But to my self Oh Lord and others let it So moving be that we may ne're forget it Let not the evil nor the good effect It takes or puff me up or me deject Or make me think that I the better am Because I tel how others are to blame But let it keep me in a Christian fear Stil humbly heedful what my actions are Let all those observations I have had Of others errors be occasion made To minde me of mine own And lest I erre Let ev'ry man be my Remembrancer With so much charity as I have sought To bring their duties more into our thought And if in any sin I linger long Without repentance Lord let ev'ry tongue That names me check me for it and to me Become what I to others fain would be Oh! Let me not be like those busie brooms Which having cleansed many nasty rooms Do make themselves the fouler but sweet Father Let me be like the precious Diamond rather Which doth by polishing another stone The better shape and lustre set upon His own rough body Let my life be such As that mans ought to be who knoweth much Of thy good pleasure And most awful God Let none of those who spread of me abroad Unjust reports the Devils purpose gain By making these my warnings prove in vain To those that heare them but let such disgaces Reflect with shame upon their authors faces Til they repent And let their scandall serve Within my heart true meekness to preserve And that humility which else perchance Vain-glory or some naturall arrogance Might overthrow if I should think upon With carnal thoughts some good my lines have done Restrain moreover them who out of pride Or ignorance this Labour shal deride Make them perceive who shal prefer a story Composed for some temporall friends glory Before those Poems which thy works declare That vain and witless their opinions are And if by thee I was appointed Lord Thy judgements and thy mercâ—es to record As here I do set thou thy mark on those Who shal despitefully the same oppose And let it pulikely be seen of all Til of their malice they repent them shall As I my conscience have discharged here Without
not com neer me That so these blasts though blow may not so feâ—r me Thou being my un-rocking rock my shield My fortress strong which to no force can yeild Most skilful Pilot so my stern direct My weather beaten boat so safe protect That it these dangers infinite may shâ—n And to my harbour may the right way run Commiserate compassionate my case And in thine arms O Christ my soul embrace Though I with Ionas seamen lose my wares My goods my life worlds pleasures best affairs Though persecution Rocks my Bark may batter My danger driven boat may split may shatter Yet grant O Lord I may not shipwrack make Of my sure faith in thee but as the Snake Is said t' expose his body to the blow Of him that smites to save his head Even so I willingly may undergo all crosses And with content may bear the greatest losses That I may hold fast faith in Christ my head So I may live by faith to sin be dead With this conclusion should my soul be cherisht I had been undone had I thus not perisht Yea with those Argo-Nautae willingly My ship through straightest passages shal flye So that in th' end I may with joy possess The Golden fleece of endless happiness Lord though the puddle of impurity Hath my poor soul polluted loathsomely The Ocean of iniquities foul flood Hath me beimeard in stinking mire and mud O yet sweet Christ with Hylap of thy merit Clense and make clean my sin-polluted spirit Wash me o Christ with thy most precious blood None nought but thou can do my soul this good My wel-nigh-shipwrackt soul O Lord assist VVhich too too-long the way to thee hath mist Contemn me not condemn me not for sin But let my Soul to thy sweet rest go in Remit O Lord what I have il-omitted Remove O Lord what I have mis-committeed And though I be to pass by th' Gates of hel Grant power to pass them and with thee to dwel To dwel I say with thee i th' Land of Living Where to thy saints thy joyes thou stil art giving O thou my souls sweet soul my Harts dear Hart In this distress do not from me depart Be to my soul as a bright-morning-star Which I may clearly see though somwhat far And be as th' art indeed the sun most bright Of righteousness that my flesh-dimmed sight Being with Faiths Collyrium made more cleer I speedily may see the way appear To my heart-chearing long desired port Whereto my soul hath longed to resort I may in time see and fore-see sins charms And so prevent th' event of Sins great harms That on the shore I may perceive thee stand Giving me aym with thy most sacred hand To keep the right way to thine habitation The heaven of happiness and sure salvation That passing thus this Danger-obvious Ocean By thee the strong Arch-mover of each motion I may go forward with such circumspection And be so guided by thy good direction And with thy grace be so corroborated And with Rock-founded faith so animated That as 'twixt Scylla's and Charibâ—is fear My Bark in passage doth a ful sail bear I mean proud Pharisaical Self-station And graceless Diffident Cains desperation By th' justified Publicans example I may the right regenerate paths trample Of that true penitent good Prodical To thee O Lord for mercy cry and call That by thy gracious guide and safe tuition I may escape despairs and prides perdition And so with joy with joy unutâ—erable Approaching to the shore most amiable Casting the anchor of a constant hope On Christ my Saviour fastned with faiths rope I may my Merchandizes bring a-Land And put them into my sweet Saviours hand Even all the gains which I poor soul had made Of this good Talent lent to me to trade To whom although I bring but one for five Yet will he not my soul of heaven deprive And though that one through mine infirmitie Hath been much blemish't with impurity Hath been disgrac't defac't and much abused Yet by my Christ it wil not be refused But graciously hee 'l take my wil for deed Wil hold me by the hand and thus proceed VVell done good Servant worthy of my trust Wel done I say thy service hath been just Since thou in little matters hast done well Thou shalt be Lord of things which far excel Since thou to do my Will hast done thy best Come come with me into thy masters rest Even so Lord Iesus come I humbly pray For thine Elects sake hast that happy day I look I long that I might once deserie That happy Day my soul to happyfie That I with thee my Saviour may rejoyce That with heart-cheering musick and sweet voice In that blest Chorus sweet Angelical Society of Saints celestial I Halleluiah Halleluiah may Sing cheerfully to God the Lord alway To God the Father Son and Holy Ghost Unto the Trine-One Lord of Host To this great God be given all thanks and praise For his sweet succour in these sacred Layes Amen FINIS Omnis Gloria solus est Domini Thrice happy Vision more thrice happy zeal Thus flames us with God Saints Heav'ns Commonweal To the good godly and ingenuous Reader GEntlemen This Book was written for you for none â—ut you any that are malicious wicked and corrupted with any deadly sin in no wise let him presume with Uzza to touch the Ark lest he die It is inchanted with white Magick the Angel of righteousness doth and wil protect it the spirit of the air his seal plannet Sachiel his sâ—irit and Zebul his Region the Mild south Winde bloweth peace and concord to those I mean such as it is dedicated to and none but honest good moral discreet men may read it whose lives are devoted to the service of God and in whose hearts there is no guile to such this book is given Excuse my absence from the Press Which causeth me thus to express Reader If you with any errors meet In this or that or the other sheet You must therefore the Printer blame For he did all these errors frame
wrath he did appear Burst I we set far off that evil day In dul security we pass away Our precious time and with vain hopes and toyes Build up a trust which ev'ry puffe destroyes And therefore stil when healing is expected New and unlookt for troubles are effected We gather armies and we Fleets prepare And then both strong and safe we think we are But when we look for victories and glory What follows but events that make us sorry And 't is Gods mercie that we turn our faces With so few losses and no more disgraces For what are most of those whom we commend Such actions to and whom we forth do send To fights those battels which the Lords we call But such as never fight for him at all Whom dost thou make thy Captains and dispose Such offices unto but unto those Some few excepted who procure by friends Command and pay to serve their private ends This Iland hath some sense of what the ayles And very much this evil times bewailes But not our sins do we so much lament Or mourn that God for them is discontent As that the plagues they being disturb our pleasures Encrease our dangers and exhaust our treasures And for these causes now and then we fast And pray as long as halfe a day doth last For if the Sun do but a little clear That Cloud from which a tempest we do fear What kinde of grief we took we plainly shew By those rejoycings which thereon ensue For in the stead of such due thankfulness As Christian zeal obligeth to express To pleasure not to God we sacrifice Renew our sins revive our vanities And all our vowed gratitude expires In games in guns in bels in health or Fires We fain would be at peace but few men go That way as yet whereby it may be so We have not that humility which must Effect it we are false and cannot trust Each other no nor God with true confessions Which shews that we abhor not our transgressions It proves that of our errors we in heart Repent not neither purpose to depart From any folly For all they that are Sincerely penitent do nothing fear So much as their own guilt nor seek to gain Ought more than to be reconcil'd again And they that are thus minded never can Be long unreconcil'd to God or man When we should stoop we most our selves exalt â—nd though we be would not be thought in fault Nay though we faulty be and thought and known And proved so and see that we are thrown By our apparent errors into straits From which we cannot get by all our sleights Yet stil our selves we vaunt and justifie And struggle til the snare we faster tye We sin and we to boast it have no shame Yet storm when others do our follies name And rather then wee wil so much as say We did amiss though that might wipe away The stain of all I think that some of us So wilful are so proud and mischievous That we our selves would run and our Nation To keep our shadow of a Reputation Oh! if we are thus head-strong 't is unlike We any part of our proud failes wil strike Til they have sunk our vessel in the sea Or by the furious winds are torn away 'T were better tho we did confess our wound Than hide it til our state grew more unsound 'T were better we some wealth or office lost Then keep them til our lives and all it cost And therefore let us wâ—ely be advised Before we by a tempest be surprised Down first with our top-gallants and our Flags In storms the skilfullâ—st Pilots make no brags Let us if that be not enough let fall Our Misne-yard and strike our top-sailes all If this we find be not enough to do Strike Fore-saile Sprit-saile yea and Mainsaile too And rather then our Ship should sink or rend Let 's over-board goods mast and tanckling send Save but the Hul the Master and the men And we may live to scour the seas agen Believe it England howsoever some Who should foresee thy plagues before they come Endeavour to perswade thee that thou hast A hopeful time and that the worst is past Yet I dare boldly tel thee thou hast nigh Worn out Gods patience by impiety And that unless the same we do renue By penitence our folly we shall rue But what am I that me thou should'st believe Or unto what I tel credit give It may be this adultrous Generation Expecteth tokens of her desolation And therefore I wil give them signes of that Which they are now almost arrived at Nor signes so mysticall as most of those Which did the ruine of the Jews disclose But sings as evident as are the day For know ye Britaines that what God did say Ierusalems destruction should foreshew He spake to ev'ry State that should ensue And that he nought of her or to her spake For hers alone but also for our sake One sign that Gods long-suffering we have tyred And that his patience is almost expired Is that that many judgments he hath sent And stil remov'd them e're we did repent For God ev'n by his holiness did sweare Saith Amos such a Nation he wil tear With bryars and with Fish-hooks rend away The whole posterity of such as they Clean teeth saith God I gave them and with bread In many places them I scantly fed And yet they sought me not then I restrained The dews of heaven upon this field I rained And not on that yea to one City came Some two or three to quench their thirsty flame Yet to return to me no care they took With blastings then and Meldews I them strook And mixt amongst their fruits the Palmer-worme Yet they their lives did not a jot reform Then did I send the Pestilence said he Devoured by the sword their young men be Their Horse are slain and up to Heaven ascends Their stink yet I discover no amends The self same things thy God in thee hath done Oh England yet here follows thereupon So small amendment that they are a sign To thee and their sharp Judgement wil be thine The second token which doth fore-declare When Cities States and Realms declining are Ev'n Christ himself hath left us for saith he VVhen Desolation shall approaching be Of wars and warlike rumors ye shal hear Rare signes and tokens wil in heaven appear Down from the Firm ament the stars shall fall The hearts of many men then sail them shall There wil be many scandals and offences Great Earthquakes Schismes Dearths and Pestilences Realm Realm and Nation Nation shall oppose The nearest friends shal be the greatest soes Against the Church shal many tyrannizâ— Deceivers and false Prophets shal arise In ev'ry place shal wickedness abound Tnd charity shal very cold be found This Christ himself did Prophecy and we Are doubtless blind unless confest it be That at this hour upon this Kingdome here These marks of desolation viewed are How often