tast How much of it is drown'd and gone in sleep And what thou didst for sinfull pleasure keep And what in deadly sin by thee committed What in good deeds by thee likewise omitted And then I fear that thou wilt quickly finde Thou hast mispent this time was so assigned For th' onely service of thy Saviour Whose part I fear will prove but very poor Then think how now to call this time again Which wretch'd thou hast spent so long in vain And what years yet are left to thee behinde Wherein be sure thy sins must be redeem'd And then th'wilt see that it will well appear Ther 's hardly one week left for one whol year Tho God should please to thee so many send As he to most men doth not use to lend Then call to mind what now is to be done When as thy dayes are almost all out-run And what is past already spent in sin So thou art still but how for to begin To serve thy God and also to repent And yeild him thanks for his great blessings sent And satisfaction must be likewise made Before all debts by thee be duly paid O then my soul cast up a perfect count To what a sum thy severall sins will mount And what is also due for them of right Before thy soul can enter into light And then thy heart will bleed within for wo And eyes with sorrow then will overflow With brinish floods of tears for to regain This time of thine which thou hast spent in vain And think what now there is which must be done And how long time can be for it to come And then thy heart will certaintly relent Which hitherto could ne're find time repent Or if it did 't was by and by even done With the first occasion that did offer come So as in me there 's nothing that is good Or thereunto of any likelihood To keep me there where I desire to be With thee alone deer God alone with thee Sweet Jesus please to call and call again That I in thee may evermore remain And think how I my time have lew'dly spent And then there 's hope if so I may repent But come Lord Jesus come I humbly pray That I in thee may ever live and stay And evermore thy worthy praises sing Of thee my God my hope and heavenly king And in thy service ever take delight And therein spend my time both day night Bide there my soule and call again to minde How much there 's yet left of thy life behinde And think how Judas did himself repent And yet to hell no doubt was Judas sent And do not thou my soul conceive it so That short repentance can keep thee from wo For thou that all thy life time hast now spent In Satans service with thy hearts content Canst thou conceive that one hours time shall pay For many years which thou hast gone astray O do not thou my soul presume that he Who hath spent all his time on earth in glee And following this vile wicked world wherein He hath known nothing but was wicked sin Shall leap from hell as tho indeed it were A thing of nothing for to get out there And thence above the highest heavens to fly As if all parts were either thought or ey And if they were yet thou dost know a Lake Which Dives was not able to overtake But thou wilt say that that most blessed thief Did obtain heaven by his but short belief T is true indeed yet know that he 's but one Because Gods pleasure was that there should none Presume too far nor yet have cause despair Yet doubtlesse they in most great danger are Who do defer this great accompt to make Before the houre that God's about to take The soule from out the fleshly corps and then Thou 'lt make a show like to the best of men And promise fair but search thy heart and see If thou canst finde the thiefs true faith in thee Or if it were that was a time of wonder When all the earth was in a kinde of blunder Or if thou hast that king Manasses grief For his offence examine thy belief If such there 's hope thou may'st thy Saviour win So thou repent for to remit thy sin But have a care my soul not to delay This reckoning till that dolefull day For be assured that great accompts Must have great time to cast them up And therefore thou my silly soule be sure Thou do not now delay the present cure Of this thy wound which doubtlesse mortal is But that thy Saviour promis'd heavenly blisse To all of them that with the Bridgroom come Yet want of oil thou know'st did shut out some And he that did in ground his talent hide I am afraid did not the reckoning bide O deer my soul have care make use of such And then no doubt 't wil help thy reckoning much And do not thou as traitor Judas did Despair of grace and so his talent hid Nor do not thou presume of the bless'd theif Least thou can't shew the blessed thief's belief But do thou do as good Manasses did Or like to him that other king David Who wept with grief and on the ground did ly And to their Saviour made such earnest cry That he them hard and granted to them all For whatso're they in their hearts did call O follow follow these wise kings my heart And to this good God thou thy grief impart Importune him with thy loud earnest cry And then fear not thy suite he ' l not deny Make thou good use of these two godly kings For uses good are ever goodly things Examples alwayes are before us set Of what is good that they may good beget And what is ill that we may ill forsake And so of all things we may good use make O thou my soul make some stay here a while And walk along with these two kings a mile Thou 'lt finde they were most grievous sinners both Yet both became their grievous sins to loath Follow their steps and thou shalt surely finde In them a mirrour of a godly minde For God himself did to the world impart Th' one was a man according Gods own heart Then follow him yet do not follow in all For fear of this lest in thy sin thou fall And being in it cannot rise again And then thou art sure thou shalt therein be slain in that thy sin but have a care take His better part and it will ever make Thee love thy Lord with a most joyfull heart And with thy soul and every other part And each of them shal with the rest comply Then all will joyn to love the Deity And in his service take their chief delight And therein spend their time both day night O do thou love to live as David did For tho his sins were such could not be hid Yet he did so repent him of the same As kept him free from all eternal blame And
world well known O weep O weep that all the earth may see For our great sins how penitent we be O weep O weep let each one of us weep And every one strive from sin himself to keep But my hard heart good God is hardned so It oft forgets the cause of all my wo. O weep O weep let heart and eyes agree That 't is for him who gave his life for thee O weep O weep with tears wash off thy sin If thou intend a new life now begin O weep O weep now spend the night in weeping Which thou art wont to sot away in sleeping O weep O weep both day and night and all Least th' wrath of God do justly on thee fall O weep O weep how great thy cause to weep Because thou wilt not from thy sin thee keep O weep O weep from morning untill night Such weeping may help keep thy way aright O weep O weep spend all thy dayes in sorrow For such in time may help thy soul to borrow O weep O weep let eyes forbear to wink And let thy tears serve for thy daily drink O weep O weep in tears eat thou thy bread And with them likewise water thou thy bed O weep O weep at bed and boord and all And never cease on thy sweet Saviour call O weep O weep now when thy dayes are done Thy tears may help prevent thy death to come O weep O weep let ne'er thy cheeks be dry And all too little till the day thou dye O weep O weep and to thy Saviour say Good God me pardon I thee humbly pray O weep O weep till thou have pardon sent And till such time ne'er cease but still repent O weep O weep to wash thy heart from sin Till it be clean be sure Christ comes not in O weep O weep to cleanse that hollow place Mak 't free from sin and fill it up with grace O weep O weep till Christ shall to thee say Come now thou blessed come and with me stay O weep O weep untill thou hear this saying And mixe thy tears be sure with harty praying O weep O weep till Christ be pleas'd to hear And to thy pray'r vouchsafe to turn his ear O weep O weep with heart and soul and all Untill such time as he shall on thee call For without him thy tears are all but nought Receive me Lord whom thou hast dearly bought For my own strength good God 's of no availe Except thy blood sweet Christ for me prevaile For in my self good Lord help there is none But by thee onely and by thee alone For all my tears cannot me heaven obtaine Except thou please good God with me remaine Then come sweet Jesus and with me reside That I in thee may evermore abide But 't is not in me nor my power O Lord Except thou please vouchsafe to say the word Then say to me that blessed word of Come Without it Lord I am utterly undone Then be thou pleas'd good God on me to call Else heart and tears and soul are wasted all Sweet Jesus send me send me Lord I pray Thy holy Spirit to keep me in the way The way to life I have so long neglected I do deserve of thee to be rejected And justly too except thou so shall please Of thine abundant goodness grant me ease Of this illusion hath me so deluded As I am justly now from heaven excluded But that I know that thou dost not desire A sinners death but rather dost require That he may live and praise thy holy name Who was is now and aye shall be the same Lord finish that the great desire of me That I do never herehence from thee flee But love to follow thy most holy will And by thy help attaine to Sions hill For by thy blood Lord and by it alone I must have help or else I can have none For my hard heart good God is hardned so As it doth deserve this fatal word of Go Except thou please to call unto me Come Sweet Jesus grant that word may be my doome Then call sweet Jesu call me Lord I pray That I in thee for evermore may stay And by thy help I may have strength withstand This fatal enemy of all humane kinde Sweet Jesu help help me good God I pray That I in sin do now no longer stay But at this present I may now begin To make a reck'ning of each several sin And by thy help call this day to account And therein see how those my sins do mount And not ingross them all in one gross sum Lest that their weight my memory may benum But let each hour arraigne its own offence And so the next produce its penitence Make this accompt from morning untill night And well observe thou take thy aime aright From one till two and then from two till three And in that order look thy reck'ning be And when thou hear'st the Artists clock to strike Have care thy natural clock may do the like Observe thy care how great for earthly toyes And then how light it is for heavenly joyes Thou 'lt not forget to know when 's time to eat But this thy care is not for spiritual meat Thou 'lt know by th' clock when 's time to go to bed But when to heaven it doth not trouble thy head All earthly actions by the clock thou 'lt square Then look for heavenly such may be thy care Thou 'lt say the clock hath struck 't is time to go But not to heaven let once thy heart say so If thine occasions rest upon an hour Thou 'lt ask what 's clock at every neighbors door And if thou finde that thy set hour is past I hope thou'lt then redeem it by thy hast Do these for earth with those for heaven compare And look for these as for those be thy care And then no doubt but thou shalt surely finde Thy Saviours sufferings constantly in minde Begin at th' secrets of thy hollow heart And then from thence to every other part And draw thy thoughts into a narrow roome That thou maist gaine this blessed word of Come And call them all unto a strict account Lest let alone they may to millions mount For they are swift and like an arrow flie Once by their aime they 're sure to run awry Then have a care they alwayes aime aright Or ne'er expect that they can come to light Collect them often lest thy memory faile Which if it do thy conscience cannot quaile Examine it for each particular hour What service in it had thy Saviour And then I doubt it easily will appear Thou hast serv'd Satan most part of the yeer For though it seem at present sound asleep Assure thy self a reckoning it doth keep And will disclose all at that doleful day When for thy pleasure hell shall be thy pay Then let thy Centinels alwayes lye Pardue That they may tell when th' enemy comes in veiw Make hast to run and think
Saviour But Pilate he b'ing stung continued still To try if he by means might win their will For to accept of that just man Jesus In stead of that most unjust Barabbas But they still cry'd that they might crucifie Him whom they rather ought to Deifie And then did Pilate cause to chasten him And order'd he should be delivered them And o're his head he then did write this thing This is the man who is of Jews the King And it was writ in divers sev'ral Tongues That al who list might read see their wrongs But they requir'd he would be pleas'd to add To this inscription onely so he said But he did answer them What I have writ I am resolv'd I will not alter it Then they with joy began to lead away Towards the place is called Golgotha And forc'd our Saviours tender back to bear His heavy Cross which he could hardly rear And there were multitudes did follow him Some crying and some other pitying And many women were the crowd among Who wept so high for all that mighty throng That Jesus heard and he cry'd unto them Weep for your selves and for your own children And for Jerusalem For th' time shall come and now doth draw fasâ—â— on That there shall not be left one little stone Upon another in that stately Towne Although it be now of such great renown But most of them to him no credit gave But still they do themselves so mis-behave As they had done untill he had got his grave And when they came unto that bloody place Assign'd as they thought for a great disgrace They then began that heavy tree to rear And eke his sweetest tender skin to tear Between two theeves a horrid shameful thing Though good enough to crucifie our King The one of which theeves in most sconrful wise Our Sovereigne thus did jeeringly despise If thou be God or the Son of God Jesus Go down from the tree and save both thee and us But the other he in zeal reproving him Said We are punish't justly for our sin But this man he hath done at all none ill Yet suffers onely cause the Jews so will Against all law and then with heart said he Vouchsafe good Lord be pleas'd remember me When thou do'st come in thy glorious Majestie Who answered him in milde and humble wise This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise O happy theefe that was inspir'd with grace To come to heaven within so short a space When all sorts scoff'd our blessed Saviour Aswell the Priest as did the souldier Who cast their Dice upon his seamless coat And his it was to whom it fell by lot All this that milde man took most patiently To teach us sinners how that we should dy And yielded up his dearest humane breath To free thee sinner from eternal death Now let us all with joy due praises sing To God our Saviour and our heavenly King For th' thorny crown which he good man did bear Was due by right for wretched thee to wear Then do thou suffer freely for his sake And to him thou do thou thy self betake The drops that trickled down his tender cheek Would force the hardest stony heart to weep For without sorrow for thy deadly sin Thou mayst be sure thy heart is hard within His armes he stretched out upon the tree By sweet embracements calling unto thee Then do not flie as father Adam did For Adams sin by flight could not be hid But lovingly do thou his love embrace Who 's all only giver of heavenly grace His hands were rent with cruel iron pins To gaine thee pardon for thy cruel sins O then for pardon do thou humbly pray Or look to have none at another day The watry blood that issued out his side Will wash off sins if it be well apply'd Apply it then if thou hast any grace Or ne'er expect in heaven to have a place The nailes which fastn'd down his tender feet Will work in the hard'st flinty heart regreet Then beat thy heart and strive to break it oft If thou intend by grace to make it soft For broken hearts are they will onely win And gaine us pardon for out grievous sin His cruel paines endur'd in every part Will mollifie the hardest flinty heart Then search thine own and soundly do thou try it If these his pains with grief do mollifie it Examine strictly even every each hollow part For many such be sure is in thy heart And thus must thou and thou thy self alone Or else thou know'st within it can come none Then do it daily if so thou do mean These hollow places in it to keep clean For there the tempter loves to lurke and lye If he can compass any harborie Who 'll promise faire if thou wilt in him trust But fairest words are often found unjust Then do thou fear and from the tempter fly For few that strive do obtaine victory But to thy Saviour do thou boldly go For he doth use put no man off with no He neither sin'd in thought nor word nor deed And yet for thee his heavy heard did bleed And yielded up his blessed heavenly Ghost Which was conveyed by glorious Angels host Up to the heavens from whence at first it came And where it shall for evermore remaine And then the earth did quake for very fear And stony Rocks themselves in sunder tear The famous Temple rent it self in twaine And so ere since it doth and shall remaine The heavens forsook their spangled wonted light And eke the Sun which then did shine so bright For grief and sorrow did it self close hide And underneath a thick cloud did abide Whereat the watchmen were so sore aston'd And struck with fear as they fell all to ground And when they wak't then each of them did swear 'T was th' Son of God whom they had hanged there O praise sing praise to him that sits on high Who thought no scorn for wretched thee to dye O that he should be cruelly crucified Who did deserve be mightily magnified Him serve him fear him let us still obey On whom depends our onely hope and stay O praise sing praise to his most holy name Who was is now and ever shall be the same Sing praise to him who lovingly dy'd for thee Yet still doth live and shall eternallie Let all the earth conjoyn with one accord To sing the praises of that heavenly Lord Who made the heavens the earth the sea and all That in them is come at his only call He spake the word and they were all made then The word was this Let it so be amen These creatures all of him do stand in awe To them his word is for a binding law They never do use oppose his sacred will But all obey their heavenly maker still Save onely man this sinful wretched man For whose sole use all these good creatures came Who was at first created good and free From thought of sin or any malady
pretious spiritual soule Which flies aâ—â—y when body goes to ground Let conscience say where then it must be found Which it wel knows and wil not then dissemble When flesh blood with fear shal shak tremble Then let thy bed be made to thee a grave If thou expect a room in heaven to have Prepare for grave when dost pâ—epare for bed So idle thoughts wil vanish out thy head Think thou art dying when thou gost to sleep 'T wil be a means thy soul from sin to keep Or else take notice that thy heart is hard When thought of death with it 's of no regard And that thy God hath suffer'd it be so Lest it might melt and to its Saviour go O fearful fearful is thy God then gone And thought of him in thee remaineth none Are neither hope nor fear of any power But thou wilt stil forsake thy Sâ—viour O cruel cruel cruel stony heart Art so resolv'd that Christ shal have no part Can fear of hell not melt that heart of thine Nor hope of heaven with Christ in it to shine Dost live to follow Judas in his sin That thou canst find no time to repent in O wretched heart are grown so obdurate As joy nor fear are able penetrate Is this the nature of that flesh and bloood As 't wil retain nought that may tend to good Art grown so sullen in thy own esteem As th'blood of Christ thou wilt not thee redeem O let that blood wash off beloved sin Or be assur'd thy Saviour comes not in O do not shut the gate gainst that sweet guest In whom alone thou shalt be ever blest For by him only and by him alone Thou must have help or else thou must have none Then beat thy heart and beat it under ground Or be assur'd that Christ will not be found For that which makes thy heart so hard is pride A sin sufficient though nought else beside Then strive to gain humility in'ts room For humble hearts are they will win the crown Then strive and strive and strive and watch pray To him is able put that pride away Without great suit be sure he will not doe it Then pray with zeal and he'â—l be willing to it And bend thou heart and hands and knees all And on thy Saviour never lin to call Till he shall please to cleanse that hollow place From pride and then to fill it up with grace Grant gracious God to free it from this sin And many more which I have lived in Sweet Jesus help help me good Lord with speed For without thee sweet Saviour I am dead For my hard heart good God is hardned so As 't never fears this fatal word of Go. Sweet Jesus grant repentance to me Lord As thou hast promis'd by thy sacred word To heâ—r all them that on thy name do call Then hear me Lord or I am sure to fall Grant me good God I thee most humbly pray That I from henceforth never fall away But still be lifting up my heart to thee And to thy name sing praise continually But how can I sing praises to the Lord When I have not observ'd his holy word Noâ— him regarded as indeed I ought Who with his blood hath me so dearly bought But his my sin deprives me of that good To be obtain'd by Christ his precious blood For my hard heart in truth cannot deny I 've turn'd back when I heard my Saviour cry What hope have I then that he will hear mee Though I come to him on my bended knee Then bend and beat and break that wicked heart Whose sin is cause of all my woful smart And on thy knees lift up thy heart in pray'r No way to heaven but by this only stair Then strive t' ascend this stair on bended knees Or nere expect thy Saviours wrath â—'appease And wash it likewise with thy briny tears For no unclean thing comes to th' Saviours ears Or if it do he 'll turn his back and frown And in his rage from heaven hâ—'â—l throw it down Then cleanse thy heart eject all idle thought Let no unclean thing 'fore the King be brought Search every corner in that hollow cave For Satan's cunning and a hole will have Where he may lurk and lie to th' eye unseen Still waiting on thee when thou dost not ween Be careful then he do not there remain For if he do he 'll leave behind a stain Which will not out no water will it cleanse But only th'oyl of hearty penitence Use then this oyl and mix it with thy tears And wash the stair ascends up to the ears Of great Jehovah sitting in his throne Who accepts all clean things despiseth none Then cleanse thy heart from that foul stain of sin Or nere expect that it can enter in Jehovahs sight where nothing can appear But such as are from stain of sin made clear Then strive to cleanse thee from all sinful thought The only means which have thy body brought To be cast down from out thy Saviours sight Where Saints and Angels in continual light Conjoyn themselves with those the Cherubims Th'Archangels and those blessed Seraphims And all the rest of that most glorious quire Who joys enjoy beyond all hearts desire The glorious presence of our Saviour sweet The very essence of all joy compleat To sing the praise of that most Holy one Who 's God of gods and other there is none Then sing my soul and strive to apprehend Those heavenly joyes which never shall have end Use all the helps may bring thee to that place Let none pass by without some use of grace And so in time thou mayst thy Saviour win By earnest prayer for to remit thy sin Then without ceasing pray continually For such in time may gain eternity It is the counsel of that Preacher Paul Whose pains exceeded after that his call To come to Christ but first he fell to ground Before his Saviour could by him be found Then fall and fall and fall upon thy face And cry to Christ that he may grant thee grace To make good use of all occasions offer'd And so avert all are by Satan proffer'd For godly minds make godly use of all Where sinful hearts make such as tend their fall By their submission to black Satans wiles Whereby poor man of goodness he beguiles For man by nature's apt to what is ill Though soul and body both thereby he kill For man doth aim to please this flesh and blood But sees not th' end if it do tend to good For fleshly mâ—n sees nought but 'fore his face Without respect to that the spiritual grace The soul aims at and so this worldly man Thinks worldly things but heavenly none he can For earthly substance earthly matter minds When heavenly substance heavenly matter finds And so by th'sequel man may easily know When life is done where then his soul shâ—ll go But few look further then this life alone And so for th'
he did repent I heard him often yet will not relent Though Peter sinn'd repentance gain'd remission I commit sin yet to repent omission When Peter sinn'd he saw it and did refuse it I see my sin yet still resolve to use it O wretch O wretch O wretch wilt ne'er return Till thou be doom'd in that dark fire to burn Will nothing draw thee say this Satan no As though thou lov'st this fatal word of Go Canst thou expect thy Saviour shall retaine thee When thou dost know that Satans self hath gain'd thee Thou art ready prest hear Satan at first call But thy blest Saviour thou'lt not hear at all Peter heard th' cock made use of his preaching Thou hearest Peter without use of his teaching Each creature taught this Peter for to pray But all created thy sin cannot stay Peter was left to bring unto thee life Yet thou lov'st sin as Satan loveth strife Peter did weep and did his sin forbear But thou sinn'st still yet cannot shed one tear With Peters sin his heart was mollified But mine with sin is rather stupified O wicked heart art not ashamed to see How all thy sins have nothing softned thee Art so resolv'd as nothing shall remove thee To leave this Satan though thou seest he loves thee Consider well the cause of this his love Because thou hast forsworn thy God above O Jesu Jesu have I thee forsworn Who came from heaven and on this earth was born For to redeem me from this bond of sin And horrid life which I have lived in And here endured the paines of death for me In hope I should from this foul Satan flie And notwithstanding shall I follow him still Forsaking good and following what is ill O weep O weep even rivers of salt tears To keep thee free from greatest of all feares Shall Satan say thy Saviour is forsaken Who dyed on earth and then to heaven was taken Desirous thou shouldst do as he had done Live here a while and then unto him come Yet thou a wretch a most ungracious wretch Whose sufferings are not able thee to teach That thy hard heart is harder far then steel Wilt not be drawn thy Saviours sufferings feel O weep O weep let tears fall from thine eye For him who shed both tears and blood for thee O weep O weep now spend thy time in sorrowing For to redeem thy time is spent in sinning O weep O weep let Peter teach thee weep And it will teach thee from thy sin to keep O weep O weep let tears fall from thy eyes That they may prove for sin a sacrifice O weep O weep with tears produce thy grief If thou do hope for sin to have relief O weep O weep let tears make soft thy heart If thou expect in Christ have any part But how can I expect in Christ a part When there 's in me not any good desart For I have spent most of my time in sin And my amendment is yet to begin Can I presume then God will pardon him Who hath liv'd all his life in deadly sin With what face can he now for pardon pray Hath so offended deeply every day O hypocrite thy conscience can thee tell That thou dost think ther 's neither heaven nor hell For if thou didst it surely would appear That thou didst stand of this great God in fear Seeing thou didst see his plagues on Egypt sent When Pharaohs heart would not be drawn repent Untill the Lord had so decreed and doomed That he and his should in the sea be drowned And his elected safely brought to land Through the read sea by great Jehovahs hand For which did Moses sing praise to the Lord Who did preserve them by his onely word And Miriam she did lead the maides a dance Which highly did the praise of God advance Her Timbrel sure did make a joyful noise With which hearts hands feet keep equal poise Good God! what diff'rence now in this new world How it is alter'd from it was of old Though our solemn Revels make a stately show Yet these to them cannot compare I know Their dance set forth their joy was in their hearts But this the practice of the outward parts That shewed their thankes for a great deliverance These only th' state is in a courtly dance Such are the Masques and shows to court are sent Whose cost are cause make many a youth repent What other good in them I do not know Yet this new worlds proud humour it doth show But there leave court let country shew its skill How apt it is to practice what is ill Where Pipes and Shawms and Fiddles fill the street With filthy tunes for chast ears most unmeet And yet to these will men and women dance As though they meant the praise of hell advance Here Miriams timbrel sure hath not been heard Or if it were it was with light regard Her timbrel sounded out a heavenly tone But these do pipe or little good or none Their musick mounted hearts up to the heaven But these keep souls with bodies station even If one should dance as David did 'fore th' arke There 's many Nichals would him readily mark But now his like on earth 's not to be seen Nor many such as he have ever been Or like to Miriam are not many more Though such as Michal now there are great store Not many Miriams on our English ground Though millions like to Michal may be found Whose light behaviour in their dancing's such As doth conduce to sinful lust in much And no great need where all are apt to ill Though this their aptness soul and body kill When Miriam danced 't was with fatal fear Of that Jehovah who had plac'd them there And in their songs his praises they do sing Whose wondrous works o're al the earth do ring But now our Michals songs are nothing so For they are such as bring their souls to wo. Their dancing sent a most sweet smelling savour But ours casts us out of our Makers favour Good God! that this our English fertile land Should harbour such as will not understand How much they 're bound unto this gracious God Though now we are beaten with his heavy rod Because we have neglected him to serve VVho with his blood did us from death preserve VVithin this Isle wherein his Sun did shine Like to that blessed land of Palestine O Wicked world behold how God hath lest thee And Satan he of all good hath bereft thee For Abraham's seed can hardly now be found Except it be in graves are under ground When who 's a Christian hardly can be known If by their works their faith it must be shown Though we profess and say that we have faith Our works deny it so sacred Scripture saith For all the world so madly runs awry As most forget they 're born to live to dye O what a wicked wretched world is now When most of men do unto Baal bow Though they
with madness may be overtaken For want of reason makes man be mistaken But thy case differs from this mad mans much For thy mad senses they cannot be such Seeing they their reason with them do retaine And commit sin in hope to get some gaine As pleasure profit or some private end Or somewhat else may unto pleasure tend Which to the senses plainly do appear Although in that they surely sensless are And thereby they of selves and souls make sale To gaine a thing being got's of no availe And yet by it they lose eternal bliss The onely end of perfect happiness O fondling fondling do not fool away Thy soul as thou hast done this present day For want of good and due consideration Which is a maine step to confusion Do but consider what is th' end of all And then there 's hope that thou shalt never fall Except thou be as hereto thou hast been Most wilfully bent to be loved sin And then there is not any hope of thee But for thy sin thou shalt be sure to dye And thou shalt reap the wages therefore due For pleasing sins ill pleasing death accrue Are there no threats can mollifie this heart Is' t hardned so in every several part As threats nor treats have power to enter there Till death do come and with his dart appear And then wilt thou begin with sorrow finde How Satan he hath made all of thee blinde And gull'd the so as thou shalt then well see Thy very soul within hell gates to be And then O then with sorrow thou 'lt begin To weep and grieve for this thy deadly sin When time is past and dayes one earth are done Then 't is too late for thee thy sins to shun And then thou 'lt see that thou thy self wast mad To sin so long and that without all dread And never look nor aime at that thy end For which thy God did to this earth thee send Or if sometimes thou didst yet presently Thou felst to sin and from thy Maker fly And though thy Saviour called on thee againe Yet still didst thou in that thy sin remaine And turn thy back when God himself did call And wouldst not turn thy self to God at all So as thou canst not now of right repine If he should smite this wicked heart of thine And in his anger from heaven throw it down From out his presence with an angry frown And further say unto thee Cursed go To hell which is prepared for thy wo. O wo beyond all other kinde of woes To him that runs from heaven to hell that goes O wretched wretched wretched miscreant thou To leave thy God and to his enemy bow For both of these do admit of no mean Since God and Mammon they do differ clean Then leave thy madness and do now become A new man 'fore that dreadful day of doome There 's yet some hope if thou hast any grace By help of Christ for thee to gaine a place Within that City new Jerusalem Which is prepar'd for every each one of them That to him come with humble heart and voice And in his service do live and rejoyce And do repent them of their former sin And wicked life which they have lived in Then do repent if thou hast any grace Although for it there 's but a little space The lesser time the sorrow 's so much more Then fill this short time now with sorrow store And weep and grieve for all thy sins and groan And to thy Saviour make thy sorrowful moan It may be he will please to lend his ear If that thy sorrow from heart roots appear But if thy sorrows should not come from thence Ne'er think that he will pardon thine offence Then search each hollow in thy sinful heart And look that Satan have not any part For if that feind shall have but the least share Be sure thy Saviour he will not come there For he will have thy heart himself alone And partners in it he 'll admit of none Then bend thy knees and lift to heaven thy heart That God on high may hear by whom thou art In some hope yet of gaining heavenly bliss If he 'l but say that thou art onely his VVhich he hath promised faithfully perform To all of them that to him heartily turn Then turn my soul with heart and minde and all To this good God who thee doth often call And is desirous for to receive thee If heart and minde do thereto but agree To leave thy sin and of it to repent And really with good and true intent Resolve for ever to continue free From Satan's subtil slightful gullerie And further make good restitution Of all the wrongs to any thou hast done Then willingly be sure he will thee hear And to thy suite he will apply his ear And yield thee comfort from the heavens above Thy Saviour sweet who 's God of peace and love And is desirous to have sinners all To come to him and doth them often call Then to him to him do thou freely run For he doth no man's prayers use to shun Are made in zeal but willingly will them hear And to them then most lovingly will appear And grant them all their hearts petition And of their sins a full remission But this remission thou thy self must gain VVith grief and sorrow and some bod'ly pain For all thy members must of pain partake As well thy aged limes as that thy heart Then teach thy knees that they may bow bend To God on high who did them to thee lend Not for to serve his cruel enemy But rather 't was to eschew his company Then flie him flie him and do him forsake That he be never able thee o'retake For he is alwayes waiting oportunity To wind himself into thy company And there he seemes a faithful friend to be When he 's profest thy deadliest enemy And fawnes and flatters and doth love to lye For fear that falshood thou in him might spy For he is cunning in each one of these And doth desire thy senses for to please That he with slight might so to them winde in As he may keep them still in their own sin By offering some faire goodly guilded pills Who 's golden outside 's stuft with inward ills Beware of such for such he often useth And with such shifts fond man he thee abuseth O trust him not for he 's at best a thief And seeks his own ends but in fine thy grief For he delights himself in nothing more Then to see a man who is to sin given o're And such a one he likes and loveth well And to him will he pleasing stories tell Of great contentment he shall surely have But ne'er a word as yet he 'l speak of grave Or if he do there 's time enough he 'l say Thou maist do that upon some other day But take time now whenas the time doth serve If thou intend thy soul for to preserve For time will
And Maker-like thou sinner might have stai'd If thou thy maker had'st in heart obey'd But willingly thou wretch didst lose that grace And so became a miserable sinful race Of runagates from ought that tends to good But that thy Saviour shed his precious blood To bring thee back to that happy state again If thou had'st grace being there in it remain Praise him praise him and for thy self do pray That thou in him may'st ever live and stay And on his passion daily ruminate To work in thee of horrid sin a hate And keep in heart for what cause he was sent To call poor sinners that they may repent For without that be sure thou hast no part Nor any portion in thy Saviours smart But thou thy self dost him still crucifie Whom thou oughtst rather even to glorifie Repent betime if thou hast any grace Or else in heaven expect to have no place For no unclean thing can ascend on hy Where Angels sit and sing continually The Praises due to that heavenly holy one Who made all creatures by his word alone And is desirous for to have them all To come to him and doth them often call Then go with speed thou wretch and do not stay For great 's the danger of one hours delay And if thou shalt thy Saviour now deny He 'll not be heard when thou dost to him cry Then thou beware of being drawn away By him that seeks thy ruine and decay And doth delude thee by some slie deceit Enticing thee with his sweet sinful baite To overthrow thy soul and body there Where nought appears but onely horrid fear Of ugly feinds whose mouthes like lions roare And with their teeth do rend and eke devour All such as come within their hellish reach Then learn by others thee thy self to teach Of sinful life and death to stand in fear Lest soul and body both these hell-hounds tear And torture them in that most fearful place Where all must live do not partake of grace Then fast and pray and fast and pray againe That thou with Christ in heaven maist aie remain And do repent thee of thy sinful crime And be thou sure thou do 't whiles thou hast time For time 's not tyed no not to th' best mans leasure Therefore this day do thou give ore thy pleasure And strive to please thy heavenly God and King And to him alwayes his due praises sing And give him thanks that he hath spared thee Till thou hast time thy sinful life to see And blame thy self for thy hard stony heart Since that thy God hath plaid a loving part In often calling and recalling thee To search thy heart and secret sins to see For though thy conscience hourly thee accuse Yet to repent thou sinner do'st refuse So that death's due for this thy great neglect But that thy God doth lovingly thee respect And though thy sins do justly death deserve Yet still thy life this good God doth preserve And stead of death he heapes on thee blessings By sparing thee and eke long-sufferings To try if thou'lt thy sinful life forsake And to this good God thee thy self betake Who poureth out his blessings on thee still To try if he by gifts may win thy will To follow him O do thou follow then And follow fast withouten all delay This thy good God and from him do not stay With all thy heart and that unfeignedly And free from that vile sin hypocrisie Lest sleeping conscience justly thee accuse That thou thy self do'st thee thy self abuse By seeming other then indeed thou art But God above seeth th' secrets of thy heart Though man believe thou art the very same Which thou dost seem as if free from all blame Or blot of sin but what to them appeares In outward show or to their fleshly ears Report doth bring but sinner be thou sure Thy Saviour cannot this vile sin endure Thus to be mock't with that the outward part Which differs far from the inward sinful heart For he desires to have thy heart alone Then give him that or else thou givest him none For soul and body are ordain'd to go At th' end together whether they will or no To th' great accompt and therefore do thou see Thou daily use to obey the Deitie And be not thou with this wicked world beguiled For then a sinner thou art sure be stiled But have a care that thou do daily use Of daily sins thy self for to accuse And keep a strict account of thy weak state And then by that thou wilt discern thy fate Which must be hell or else that heavenly bliss Fie flie from that and care to cleave to this Where be assur'd thy Saviour thou shalt see Who hath endur'd the torments due to thee To suffer death as Christ himself hath done For all of them that to him freely come Then freely go and that without delay To him that putteth no man off with nay But willingly with love embraceth all Who on the name of Jesus onely call Then call and call and do thou call againe That thou in him may'st evermore remaine And then fear not but thou shalt with him finde Eternal joyes yea far beyond thy minde For be assur'd no earthly creature can Express the real happiness of that man That cometh there and therefore do thou strive At that great happiness that thou mayest arrive Where Saints and Angels sing continually To him that lives and shall eternally O let both heart and tongue and all agree To sing his praise so lovingly dyed for thee Let all the earth the worthy praises sing Of Christ our Saviour our heavenly king And join themselves in prais w th one accord To sing the praises of the heavenly Lord On whom th' arch-angels daily do attend And shall for aye e'n world without all end And all of them do all times sing To God our Saviour our heavenly king O mount my soule and strive to apprehend These heavenly joys which never shal have end And set thy song to that glorious Angels Who joys enjoy beyond all harts desire quire Even that the presence of our Saviour sweet The very Essence of all joy compleat Sweet Jesus please my soul may there reside And in thy Passion faithfully confide And thereby draw from hence this terren part As onely guided by a fleshly heart Subjects it self unto the inferiour power Who doth not cease torment it ev'ry houre With sundry passions it cannot resist But willingly complyes to what he list For to command untill he so shall please My Saviour sweet to grant to me some ease Of this tentation wherewith wretched I Have still been govern'd from my infancy Then come sweet Jesu and that presently Or else Lord Jesu I shall surely dye In this my sin except good God thou wilt With thy dear blood wash of my sinful guilt And take from me this wicked Legion out Of my poor heart and cause be put to rout All the tentations
wherewth helhound he Continually poor wretch tormenteth me And bind him lord I thee most humbly pray That he doe never more lead me away As he hath done but that I sinfull may From this fowl Legion totally fall away But 't is not in me nor my power O Lord Except thou pleas vouchsafe to me the word Then please sweet Jesus I thee humbly pray That blessed word of comfort to me say That thou in me and I likewise in thee Shall rest and so for evermore shall be Freed from tentation of that wicked fiend The mortall enemy of all humane kinde Which hurrieth this my weak fleshly mind More wavering much then is th'instable wind Which wandreth like the sun from east to west And when 't comes there then there it doth not rest But roving runs up to the Starry Skies And by and by unto the Deep it dives And mounts again up to the highest ayre But yet can finde no firm fast footing there For though it be even now at hand hereby T is gone again in th'twinkling of an eye For t is so swift as there is nothing can Force it to stay so long as man is man Not much unlike unto that Noah's Dove Which found no footing but in th' Ark above It flies aloft and hovers in the ayre To find that rest which cannot be found there Except thou please vouchsafe to take it Lord As thou hast promised by thy sacred word For to safe keep all whom soever shall Upon the name of our Lord Jesus call Then bend you knees of my most wicked heart Which guideth all this the inferiour part And humbly pray and pray and pray again And in that posture do thou still remain Untill our Saviour please thy suit to hear And to thy prayers vouchsafe to turn his ear And do not thou if so at this repine That he hears not these sinful prayers of thine For many causes doubtlesse there may be That he as yet doth turn his ear from thee And all of them of thee thy self arise Who is at best but onely worldly wise And savours not the things that are above Which do proceed from that good God of love But diving down-wards seldom or ne're heeds That althings good frō heav'n alone proceeds And yet wilt thou unto the earth encline Distasting things are spiritual and divine And when thou seest it's onely reall cause It may be then th'wilt stop and take a pause And pray again yet still thou sinful art Extreamly troubled with a double heart Which boat-man like doth seem to make a shew Of looking upward yet doth downward draw With all its force unto this massie earth Where it at first receiv'd its vital breath And doth so clog the inward spiritual part As it doth yeeld unto the wicked heart And so they both are downward led away From thee their Saviour and their onely stay And runs so fast down Sions steepy hill As that to Babel needs these wretches will Except thou please sweet Jesus lend thy hand And force them both to stop and make a stand And climbe with speed up Sions hill again Which cannot be without excessive pain Unto the heart whose loins are stife and weak And painful climbings forceth them to break Unlesse sweet Jesu thou wilt please to be Their Comforter in this extremity And grant them strength that they may re-obtain The top of blessed Sions hill again Then come sweet Jesu I the humbly pray Come quickly Lord and do thou make no stay For the glasse is now at point to be out-run Then come Lord Jesu come Lord Jesu come And send my soul some speedy present aid Or else deer God it meerly is betrayed By a fawning friend who seems to make a shew That he to it ent'rest love doth owe. And yet indeed its deadliest enemy Who kils it self to make my soul to die O help sweet Jesu help I humbly pray My silly mind from thee thus drawn away By this foul flesh that 's foul in every part Because it s govern'd by a fleshly heart That domineers within my hollow breast And will not let my silly minde take rest For all my members they do so combine As that from heaven to earth they do encline Yea even the head wherein is onely placed The senses all which neither live to taste Nor hear nor see nor scent nor yet to feel Ought what is good but all whatsoever is ill And th' apprehension it doth still project Nothing that 's good but all things good neglect And memory it ever more forgets These blessings great and bounteous benefits Which thou hast pleased in mercy heap on me The very picture of base misery Who cannot think so much as one good thought But it is mixed with something which is nought Nor yet to presse into the Lords presence To pray for ought without some great offence For then and there I often plainly finde My minde is hurried as if with the winde O're all the earth well it know's not where Nor matter 's much so as it be not there Where it should be but alwayes runs astray Like to the blinde man that hath lost his way And is in danger ever for to fall Into a Ditch where he doth lye and crall And cry for help but if there be none by The blind man's likely in the Ditch to ly Then help sweet Jesus help I humbly pray That this my wicked wandring mind may stay And fix on thee and on thy grievous pain To bring it back to that right way again And being there I humbly pray the Lord Vouchsafe to bind it w th strong Sampson's cord When his hair was cut that it may always stay And never more so gad and run astray But ever keep within those blessed bounds To think on thee and on thy grievous wounds How thou endurd'st those bitter pains for me Of all man-kinde a wretch most unworthy Except thou please vouchsafe give me a call As thou did'st Peter or that blessed Saul Who persecuted thee and them were thine Yet at thy call did never once repine But presently he at that call became A painfull Preacher of thy sacred Name Now call sweet Jesu call I humbly pray That I from thee in sin no longer stay But come and wash thy blessed feet with tears Who hath freed me from all those horrid fears Were justly due unto my stony heart If it had had its onely due desert And then I hope my wearied soul shall rest In thee alone by whom 't is onely blest And wait on thee at this thy loving call Before that glorious heavenly Tribunal Where Angels sing 'fore thee continually The praises due to th' sacred Trinity There thou my minde do now set up thy rest For therein shalt thou certainly be blest And in that place be sure to spend thy life And do not prove like Lot his foolish wife But still aspire to mount aloft my soule That thou may'st be one in that
whatsoe're he doth thee Unto the Lord who made the heav'n earth And all therein even with his only breath O stay my soul and there do thou admire The wond'rous greatness of that flaming fire Appear'd to Moses in the pillary cloud Which did his chosen children Israel shrewd Untill their sins stir'd up his heavy wrath And then he did as now of late he hath Done to this I le wherein we wretched live To whom his goodnesse did such blessings give As never land on earth had more then we And yet of peace we wretched cannot ' gree So that the son 's against the father's set And father he against the son doth fret And brother ' gainst his brother often wars And so will not let fall these wofull jars Till God shall please that his most heavy hand For to withdraw from o're this sinfull land And give us grace we may in hart repent And yeeld him thanks for his great blessings sent Which we unthankfull did as yet forget And for that cause each brother's blood is set Against it self like as did wicked Cain When as his brother Abell he had slain Sweet Jesus please to stay this thy sharp sword And stead thereof to send thy blessed word That thou thereby mayst beat down growing sin The want whereof hath doubtles only bin The real cause of this our mortall fewd which doubtless doth from our hard hearts proceed Sweet Jesus please to mollifie them so Like Peter's when he solely wept for woe Or like Manasses when he came be bound By Ashurs host who fell upon the ground And gained pardon for his grievous sin Whereby with speed he was restor'd again To Juda's crown and it so long enjoy'd Untill by death he was from thence destroy'd Sweet Jesus grant that we have many such And then without doubt it will help us much To further peace for which we daily pray That thou wilt please in thy great mercy stay This sword of thine and sheath it up again That we in peace may here hence now remain And live like loving brothers in this land VVhich thou hast kept with thine own pow'rfull hand From foreign fos tho now there be none such As we our selves domestick ones by much Sweet Jesus help good Lord we daily pray This bloody war of ours with speed to stay And put us once in happy peace again That we in peace may here hence now remain And praise thy name and that incessantly For giving us this bounteous great mercy And this must thou and onely thou alone Or else Lord Jesus other there is none Can yeeld us help in this our greatest need For now is nothing can stand us in steed But onely thou then come Lord Jesu come Or else deer God we are utterly all undone For them elected to the publique good With purging ill have bred in some ill blood And th' weaker sex it is become so strong T is doubtfull Lord the other sex to wrong So as between two are esteemed extream Most suffer much tho they retain the mean For now ther 's no part of this wretched I le Tho it enjoyed a blessed peace ere while But t is grown now unto a bloody war For many a one thinks their honest neighbor far More quiet then he and so with grief repines At 's neighbours good and then his malice finds Some hole or other in his neighbours coat Tho the quarrel be but for one single groat To make complaint to them that are of power To plunder him by strong hand in an houre For some old wrong as then but newly done Perchance betwixt the Father and the Son O blessed Lord that this the German plunder Which whilom was in peaceful England wonder Should now so well with us be understood As any other usuall English word Whereby revenge in England's grown so rife It tends to take away non-nocents life For Satan o're this Isle bears such a sway As by his wiles he draweth many away From thee that is their only God and King Who are rather bound thy worthy praises sing For all thy goodnes to this wofull land Tho now it feel thy dreadfull heavy hand Sweet Jesus send some blessed Angel down To quell this hellish Satans furious frown And force him Lord as thou was pleased then When he made suit he might go into th' swine Who huried him headlong into the sea Lord drown him there that he n're more have powr To come within this spacious Ile more But we instead of blood may ly and groan In brinish tears and therein make our moan To God on high he will vouchsafe to please This cruell war of ours with peace to cease And then that we who are true English all May all one way on the name of Jesus call Vouchsafe good God that we may so accord In holy service of that heav'nly Lord As tho we differ some of us in part Yet we may all as one agree in heart And let our hearts good Lord in prai'r remain Lest in our sins we wretched may be slain When worthies dare to stand look on death Tho with that look they lose their deerest breath Brave Britains keep your ' forwon antient fame Least antient terrour turn to novell shame And since your valour cannot well be known Untill by you some valourous act be done Then look your swords be sharpe for foreign foe Whose joy 's encreased by our cause of wo's Lest we bewaile this great efflux of blood When t is too late to do us any good And worthies all in time for death prepare Since all in th' end shall fall unto death's share But look you still prefer an honourable death Before a shamefull beastly cowardly life Seeing God alone the day of death doth know But when or where no earthly man can show O then le ts pray and that incessantly To him that lives and shall eternally Come let us sing and all due praises give To him that died that we by him might live And alwayes yeeld praise to his holy name Who was is now and ay shall be the same O let us all with heart due praises sing To this our God and glorious heav'nly king Whose dwelling is above the heavens most high Whereto the best of sinners come not nigh Whose heavy judgement is for to descend Since none come there but they who do ascend Then strive my soul and do thou aye aspire To keep thy self out of that irksome fire Which burns and yet there is no light appears But pain and grief and dreadfull horrid fears Sweet Jesus please to keep my soul from hence And draw it up to th'high'st heavens that thence I may have help for without help from thee There is no comfort in extremitie Then teach me Lord with heart mouth to pray That I in thee may ever live and stay And never more so wander up and down From place to place as I poor wretch have don Sweet Jesus please
to keep my soul with thee Or else dear God I am sure it cannot be Kept safe on earth where that fierce dragon flies And doth so dazle most of all mens eyes As few are able to behold the sun Except it please the blessed Lord to come And clear their sight that they with joy may see There is no safety but O Lord in thee Then come Lord Jesus I thee humbly pray And make my soul with thee to live and stay Or else good God I can it no where hide Nor here on earth it cannot long abide Within this fleshly mansion of mine Whereon the sun hath never power to shine But by thy leave then let it Lord so be That this thy sun may please to shine on me And shield me safe from that common enemie Who doth envy both thee and them are thine From whom good God be pleas'd keep me and mine We do not prove like to the Gadarens Forsake our Saviour for to save our means But teach us Lord that we may call to minde How 'fore all worlds thou said and so assign'd That man should spend his life-time on this earth Where he at first receiv'd his vital breath And there should serve his maker God Lord As is appointed in his holy Word That when this glasse on earth shall be out-run Then doth an end of all created come And one land then against another rise And all men also arms shall exercise And yet as then shall sorrows but begin To them are clogged with their deadly sin For on this earth must be great tribulation Before that dreadfull day of desolation When shall the glorious sun all darkned be And eke the moon at that day none may see And thâ—â—e bright stars down from the sky shall fal And powrs of heaven shal then be shaken al Whereof our cannons thundring in the aire With fiery flashes flaming out their fire Which sends its smoak up to the starry skies And not unlike to mighty clouds there flies And trumpets eccho sounding every where So as no place with us is thereof clear Are perfect types of that most dismal day When th' trump shal sound loudly cal away All souls on earth their bodies for to take And 'fore the Lamb a perfect reckoning make Of each mans talent which the Lord them lent And for which cause they all were hither sent And then there shall be loud and hideous cries For hils to fall and cover them from th' eyes Of him that doth both see and knoweth all That on this earth was done or did befall Since Adams time for there is nothing can Be hid from him that first did make this man No not the secrets of the best mans heart Tho he the same did ne'r as yet impart To any creature for Jehovah he Doth all things know eke doth all things see This son of man whose glory shall appear Above the clouds of heaven up in the aire Whose glorious greatnesse then shal all men see With thousand millions in his companie Who shal collect from all these the four winds Whom s're have bin even so as he them finds And then laid ope shall be a perfect Book Wherein all flesh shall freely thereon look And each one see as it were in a glasse His guilty conscience telling what he was And then shall he set th'sheep on his right hand And keep his left side for the goatish band And then the King shall say unto the sheep Come now and take the kingdom I do keep For you that are the blessed of the Lord Who willingly obey'd and heard his word And to the wicked then the King shall say Go ye accursed and be you a pray Unto the fire which is in hell prepar'd For cursed Satan and his hellish guard O horrid fear beyond all other fears Whose force even plainly in the face appears VVhich sends its blood unto the secret heart VVho cals for help from every other part And leave the loins supporting so appal'd Like as if death on suddain had them cal'd And thereby they are all so sore aston'd As that they fall down flat upon the ground Where they do differ nought from fearful death But that as yet appears a parcell breath Which for a while a little life retains And in that passion death-like it remains Untill it please the King our blessed Lord To say to me that comfortable word Come now thou blessed hear O do thou hear What difference great between this joy fear To the righthand men come o come you blesd And to the left hand go o go you curs'd O joy beyond all other heavenly joyes Which freeth the heart from all kind of anoys And is thereby so fully fild with gladnesse That it expels from every part all sadnesse And forceth them which even now fell aston'd To leap for joy and skip above the ground And tho w th fear of late they look'd like death Yet now with joy the 're fild with store of breath And those parts which with sorrow then were dumb Do now aloud with joy cry come Lord come O come sweet Jesus I thee humbly pray Vouchsafe be pleased in my weak heart stay And strengthen't so as it may ever stand One of the blessed which are at thy right hand That I may there thy praises ever sing Which o're the earth all the heav'ns do ring O sing my soul and be thou never weary But in thy Saviour be thou alwayes merry And have a care no earthly joy remove Thy fleshly heart from th' heav'nly joy above But therein alwaies do thou take delight And in it spend thy time both day and night O let thy solace ever be therein And it will keep thee from all deadly sin And teach thee loath all earthly things to love And take delight in serving God above O love him love him that thou dead maist live And to thy Saviour be thou sure to give All that which he hath freely given to thee And then shalt thou no doubt his servant bee O blessed Lord where have I this while been Hath not my soul my sweet'st Saviour seen Or 't is some vision did to me appear Whereby it hath discovered plainly where My Saviour sitteth in his glorious throne And judgeth all on earth himself alone And there pronounceth sentence come or go The only words of greatest joy or wo That ever came to any creatures ear To make a difference betwixt joy and fear And then shall sheep and goats both of them see What they have been and what they now shall be And This sort shall of future hope dispaire Any that other not so much as have a care For their downfall but aye shall sit and sing Even allelua to our heavenly king Whose final sentence and pronounc'd decree Shall firmly stand for all eternitie From which herehence there can be no appeal But all must then have either wo or weal. O stay my soul a while and contemplate
How far the cursed goats are separate From the blessed sheep who ever sit and sing In th' glorious heaven the praises of their king But they from thence are headlong thrown away Down to hell pit therein made a pray To th' ugly fiends whose cheerful office is For to deprave them of all heavenly blisse O let this horrid fearful sentence move Thy soul to elevate it self above Up to the highest heavens and there upon Spend thou some time in deep contemplation And then no doubt to thee it will appear What difference great between this joy and fear O have a care that these two ne're depart But alwaies keep them close within thy heart And think upon them seriously day and night And they will teach thee keep thy way aright Forget them not when thou art in thy bed For they will cure a sick and troubled head From all its grief and further more then so They 'l keep thee free from all eternall wo And be a means to bring thee to that blisse Whereas no doubt but thy dead father is Stay there a while my soul and do not range To think the things whose nature may be strange Or wh ch to these two are impertinent Lest they may prove to alter the intent Of gaining that which is the souls desire To keep thee free from th' deep infernall fire That Tophet which God hath prepar'd of old Both deep and large that it may sinners hold The fuel wood which doth maintain that fire By great Jehovah kindled in his ire By th' only breath which from this great God cometh And with fierce brimstone like a river runneth The strange effects whereof some say are such As differs far from all other fire in much For this wee 'r sure its nature's extreme hot There 's some do hold the fire of hell is not This comforts like the Sun from Sion's hill But that burns souls who yet w th cold are chil This we do see doth cast a glorious light The fire of hell more dark then darkest night Though this be hot we can away from 't turn But in that other sinners ever burn This fire on earth w th water may be quenched But that in hel not w th the sea though drenched The fuell here in time consumes away But that in hel it never doth decay Here we receive great comfort by this fire But they in hell have nought they do desire All Dives wealth not worth one water drop Nor all on earth procure for meat one sop There souls desires are ay insatiate Without all ease tho ne're so moderate There rules revenge with irefull anger raging Without all hope even of the least asswaging Here souls are free from bodies greatest pain But there the souls in torments aye remain Here greatest griefs are not without some ease There the tormenters rage doth never cease Here each sence hath its own particular grief There all do suffer without the least relief All sinfull souls are very sensible There is no light in 't which is visible But think black darknes doth appear to th ' ey And so shall do for all eternity Here all created shall in time decay But them in hell shall therein live for ay Death here 's a salve for every kinde of sore But they doth life torment still more more Here we desire to live and yet we cannot But there to die yet so decreed we may not Make use of this my soule and fly from hence Up to the heavens and take thy recompence For all thy service to thy Saviour done When thou with bread did'st feed the hungry one The naked cloath and eke thy neighbour love Then thou didst please thy Saviour God above Whose will is such that thou shouldst ever do So as thy self desir'st be done unto Then do so still and it will keep them free From future woe for all eternity Here stay a while my soul and think of this What difference great between sad lore bliss And do reflect at present on thy self Who whilome was in good and perfect health And thy girt loins were all so firm and strong As they presume that nought could do them wrong But leading out a sullen skittish Jade Tho having such provision therefore made As in mans judgement I was safe and free From any danger of indempnitie VVhen suddenly the horse did run about And with a fall my right hip he put out And I in danger was most imminent To have had each part from one another rent But that a stranger haply coming by Led by Gods spirit chancing me to spie God made a means whereby me to preserve From sudden death which I did well deserve But that the Lord was pleas'd to give to me A longer time that I my sinnes might see And that of them I should in heart repent VVhich no doubt was the onely cause he sent Me help from heaven and cur'd my heart again But wretched I did still in sin remain Forgetting also this his mercy great Tho carefully his Judgement did me threat Presuming still that he would alwayes be As formerly he had been unto me Ev'n heaping blessings upon blessings still Tho sinfull I did yet neglect his will and after that well nigh about a year Forgetting this my gracious God to fear And being secure as then was in my thought From any danger could to me be brought VVhen suddenly did my most gentle horse Give me a fall which prov'd to me much worse then th' other was and also danger more But that God did as he had done before VVith th' second fall disjoynt my other hip VVhen 't was more danger w th that suden skip T' have broke my neck but that my gracious God Did in his mercy with his gentle rod Me so correct as he before had done To try if I would yet unto him come And lest I should again now fall away As I had done he forceth me to stay And in a room my body doth confine Yet sends his Son with comfort on 't to shine For day and night I have therein a fire And all things else I do in heart desire So as if now I shall again neglect My gracious God who doth me thus respecâ— And be so still as I have hereto been Sleeping securely in all deadly sin Unmindfull also of his great blessings In sparing me and eke long sufferings And all things else whats'ere befitting life A loyall loving and a gentle wife And many children which are dutiful Obedient all and also most thankfull All of them able and most willing be T' affoord all kindnesse freely unto me So as my conscience telleth me now plain If I shall fall from this good God again I do deserve far worse then Sodom ever did In the dead sea for to be drown'd and hid And to the world a common by word be There in that sea lies justly drowned he VVas so ungratefull to his gracious God VVho did instead of his
most heavy rod Powr blessings upon blessings ev'n far more Then erst was in my heart that time before To ask of him O thou hard stony heart That 's flinty grown in every sevâ—rall part Harder by much then th' hardest marble made VVhich neither gifts nor any threats invade Nor yet those judgments God hath justly sent On sinners such as did not then repent So as my sin in justice now doth call For vengeance great on me vile wretch to fall And if his mercy were not even much more And all his other Attributes before I do deserve in every minutes space To be cast out from off the massie face Of this his earth whereon he hath me set To serve my God whom I do still forget For every part of mine is set to sin And no part 's free but every sev'rall limb Doth smite with these my wicked sinful heart And each one doth perform his utmost part To further sin for when did wretched I Speak many words which were without some lye How often did I think but any thought Which had not in it somthing which was nought Yea often tending unto murther much Revenge or envy or some else was such As malice lust and other sin what not When as my Saviours sufferings are forgot Then presently the wicked enemie's in And every severall part procures to sin Untill he please to let some Angell come And thrust this legion out his wonted room Sweet Jesus bind him bind him blessed Lord As thou hast promis'd by thy sacred word From all temptation for to keep them free Who in tentation heart'ly come to thee Now take me Lord 't please me safe to keep Who for my sins have justly cause to weep For Satans self yet still deludeth me By trusting him my utter enemie Who draweth me to do whats're is ill That he by it my silly soul may spill Except thou please good God vouchsafe me send Some help from heaven and further to me lend Thy holy spirit that it may comfort me In this the greatest of extremity For he hath hereto had on me such pow'r As he hath drawn me from thee every hour Vouchsafe good Lord be pleas'd take him away That he do n're o'recome my longer stay From thee my God my helper and my King But that here hence I may for ever sing Thy worthy praise for all thy blessings sent And by thy help my sinfull life repent For without thee sweet Jesus I am nought Sinc Satan he hath me and mine so wrought As that no part thereof good Lord is free From his most sleightfull guilefull gullerie Help Lord help Lord I on my knees do pray And keep me free from out this satans way For where thou art good Lord there dare not he Once to come near nor in thy sight to be Sweet Jesus please vouchsafe to keep me there That crafty Satan never come me near For if he shall I know I have no pow'r Within my self to shut him out of doore Except thou please good God the porter be And then away all hellish fiends will flee For th' house that 's built upon that stable rock Will bide all floods and subtill Satans shock But mine is built upon the slippery sand Which either must be kept by Gods own hand Or else it shakes with every rising flood Because th' foundation of it is not good Sweet Jesus please to set this house of mine Upon that rock where it may stand and shine And ' bide all floods whats're against it beat And ever force them from it to retreat Here stay my soul upon this firm set rock Where thou art free from wicked Satans shock And recollect thy self with joy and go To th' Savior sweet who suffered so much wo To bring thee back to that most happy place VVhere thou maist live if endued with grace My wandring thoughts be pleas'd good Lord to stay That they from henceforth never from thee stray But always rest in thee both day night And everâ—ore therein take their delight Sweet Jesu let them never wav'ring run From place to place as hereto they have done But be thou pleas'd good God the mark to be VVhereat my thoughts may aim continually And tho som times they do both rove rome Vouchsafe good Lord to be their only home For they in thee good God are onely blest And out of thee they 'r sure to have no rest For they are boundlesse ever when they stray From thee their God their comfort their stay Then thou my soul be sure build there thy nest And let him build within thy bony breast VVhose presence onely's able to expell Ev'n all the fiends that do belong to hell O do thou make much of that blessed guest And alwayes love to have him in thy breast O bid him welcome there with all thy heart And then be sure that thou shalt have a part And comfort great in his bitter sufferings The very chiefest of those great blessings Which he so freely hath bestowed on thee Untill this time from thy very infancy O yeeld him thanks for they are well deserved T is he alone who hath thy life preserved And saved the wretch from that eternal death Was due to thee with th' first received breath O do not thou so much neglect him then Who these great blessings gave unto thee when Thou knew'st not from whence this goodness came But that his bounty was to thee the same That formerly it hath for ever been Tho thou didst live so long in mortal sin Now then repent and do no longer stay For there 's no greater danger then delay And that 's all th' hope the cruel enemy hath To bring thy soule unto eternal death For all his other cunning gullery's seen And no delay by him doth interveen To keep thee still within his hellish power Who 's danger 's great tho 't be but for 1. houre O fly fond man O fly and do not thou Delude thy self and unto Baal bow Who seeks thy ruine and thy overthrow By this delusion which is now delay Whereby thine own heart doth it self bewray That thou art guilty of that horrid sin Whereto thy conscience hath as yet not bin Consenting but hast even most wilfully Forsaken him who did for thee so dy O what a fearfull horrid thing is this To sell all hope of that eternal blisse For lesse by far then Esau got for his Stay there my soul and deeply contemplate In what great danger now is thy estate Whereon dependeth thine eternal blisse Or else the losse of all true happinesse And think how thou thy time on earth hast spent Which doubtlesse God hath onely to thee lent That thou in 's service it should solely spend Since he ordain'd it for no other end And see how much thereof's already gone And how much now at most can be to come And how that 's spent which is already past By which thou 'lt have a good and perfect
fear Because he saw his Master was so neer And then his want of faith when as he sawe His body like to sink with a little wawe And then his prayer to that blessed Lord Who did preserve him by his onely word Observe my soul this passage seriously There 's in it great and deep divinity The Apostles being in a Ship aboard Upon the Sea they did espy their Lord But not discerning that it should be he They said it is some spirit which we do see But he well knowing this their cause of fear He cryed to them and said t is I is h re And then when Peter did his Master know He did intreat that he might to him go Desirous greatly to be him more nye Whom at some distance he did then espie And so by that it did right well appear His faith had then abandoned all fear For when his Master cryed and bid him come He did not then delay his time as some Do use to do but suddenly he leaped down Into the deep sea and yet did not drown But on the same did stand aloft upright For then his Saviour was within his sight His faith well knowing that there is none can Sink where there is that blessed Son of man And now his faith here hoist him up aloft So as it bore him on the water soft As if it had bin on the Sea dry shâ—aâ—e Because had faith his body then upboare And so presuming still that he had faith Which was sufficient for to keep him safe He went on boldly untill that he sawe A puft of wind did raise a little wawe And then his faith begun within him fail For faith in flesh is oftentimes but fraile And being let but even a little down Wiâ—hin the Sea which now begun to frown His faith was then turn'd into white pale fear Although his Saviour was hard by then neer And then did Peter with himself thus think Without some help I shall be sure to sink And knowing well where help did onely ly He to his Saviour did addresse his cry So he ne're sought for help at th'wooden boat Although she were hard by on Sea a float But on his Saviour solely set his eye And cryed help Lord help Lord or else I dye And then his Lord did reach to him his hand And bid him boldly on the water stand But yet reproved him and thus to him saith O wretched thou can'st have so little faith Why did thou doubt for surely thou dost know My power doth reach unto the deeps below And out of them I 'm able thee to fetch If 't be my pleasure O thou faithlesse wretch Who hast so long been in thy Master school And yet dost show thy self to be a fool Canst thou forget to think what Jonas did When in the Whales wide belly he was hid Or when the Sea did make it self a wall To save all them who on my name did call Or Jordan deep was made like to a sand To bring mine over as on hard dry land Then set thy self to go to school again And do thou learn where all help doth remain That thou mayest not be likened unto them Who never seek for Christ but onely then When they have need and then aloud they cry Help Lord help Lord or I am sure to dye Stay here my soule a while and meditate And with thy self a little thus debate Can it be possible that Peter saw His own good Master yet did not him knaw His thoughts sure then were not with him at home When he did not remember him on whom His heart was alwayes bent to think upon Which was on Christ and onely him alone To serve with zeal untill his dying day Which as he did good Lord grant that I may But when at last he did his Master know His humble heart did then begin to bow And prayed that he might safely come to him To whom before he had vow'd every lim Whom God accepted and strait bid him come Sweet Jesus grant that it may be my doom Then he neglected all that brittle hope Of help might rise out of the wooden Boat Or yet by active laboring of the lim Tho he were skilfull on the water swim Or any other help from earth may rise For by such earthly helps there 's many dies But putting all his trust upon the Lord Who to him now had only said the word Without all fear of greatest danger he Did boldly leap into the raging Sea Which stood as tho 't had been a rock of stone For God himself and onely he alone VVas able and the sea did so command And then did Peter light as on a Sand And walk'd along from imminent danger free As on safe ground untill that proudly he Presuming faith in his own power too much For this presumption overthrows all such As on their own strength onely do relye If that their Saviour please not to be nye For when the winde begun a little blow And force the sea to rise and make a show As if it ment to swallow Peter in Then Peters faith begun to fail with him And he in lieu of faith had then some fear When as the Sea forbore him up to bear And he begun on it a little sink He then himself did of some help bethink To save himself for death was surely there But that his Saviour did even then appear To whom with zeal he did himself addresse And prai'd him pleas he wold vouchsafe to bles Him with some help or else without it he Might surely sink into the raging Sea Now God well knowing th'sorrow was in 's heart VV ch did it self to his Saviour Christ impart He did with speed stretch forth to him his hand And bid him boldly on the water stand O blessed Lord that thou should alwayes be So ne're to them that put their trust in thee Although their sins do prove be ne're so great If they from them do but in heart retreat And turn again and to their Saviour go VVho is onely able and saith no man no. And then had Peter strength of faith again So long as he in Jesus did remain And safely stood on th' wavering sea upright Because he then was in his Saviours sight Now do thou think what joy was Peter in VVhen he repented of his faithlesse sin For God did hear him then most willingly At the very first when he did on him cry O blessed Lord be pleas'd vouchsafe to be On all occasions so ne're unto me As that this Legion thou may'st please to rout which my weak strength O Lord cannot keep out For he hath hereto had on me such power As he still haunts me every day and houre Yea when my heart is set resolved to serve My God and king even then I do observe He 's bustling hard within my bony breast And will not let my silly soule take rest O thou blind soul which art not able see VVhere God is not no good
rest there can be The cause I fear thou hast at all no faith Since faith is such as our sweet Saviour saith T is able make the greatest mountain move Except thou canst procure it from above Sweet Jesus help this want of faith in me Is so apparent unto every eye As each observer may discover well That by my actions I intend for hell Since my faith is not like to Peters tho He saw his Master yet did not him know Nor when he seem'd in sea a little sink He well discern'd it and of help did think Nor when he durst not on the deep sea go Untill his Master did command him so Or when as he his Master did forswear Because his heart was troubled then with fear Nor when his Master he did disobay In sleeping then when his Master bid him pray For tho he did not know him at first sight He heard his voice and apprehended right And when in Sea he did a little sink He had hope rais'd him to the waters brink And when he durst not on the deep Sea go He had faith to think that he might well do so And tho his Master he did thrice deny He did it through the flesh infirmity And when for praying he did fall a sleep It was because his Saviour did him keep O wretched beast look in thy breast thou'lt see That thine to his is infidelitie Confesse a truth dost thou thy Saviour know I fear thy heart within thee will say no Perchance thou 'lt say thou could if should him see O shamelesse man then there 's no faith in thee Since thou didst see him nail'd upon the cross For to refine thee from thy sinfull drosse May be thou'lt say that thou did not him hear T is true indeed or else thou wouldst forbear To peirce his side with every severall sin Which like to darts thou freely throws at him O wretch O wretch hast thou a heart to think If thou like Peter in the Sea should sink That thou hadst faith to raise thee up again Thy conscience tels thee thou shalt there remain And deeper far then that the deepest Sea Where seeming faith wil stand for no good plea Then have a face and faith for to confesse Thy sins are such as well deserve no lesse And then there 's hope thou hast some faith in Be pleased good God vouchsafe this faith to me Speak conscience speak durst t' on deep Sea go I fear thy heart will tell thee truly no But thou wilt say thy Saviour did not call Then hast t'not seen him nail'd on crosse at all For if thou didst thou might both hear and see Him search his arms and loudly calling he Yea thee by name If thou wilt but confesse Thy sins are such as well deserve no lesse Say so my heart and thereof do repent And then thou 'lt see that Christ for thee was sent Now speak a truth hast thou not Christ forsworn Or canst thou say that he for thee was born I fear that truth will in thee justifie Thou dost thy Saviour every houre deny For tho he call and call and call again Yet doth thy heart even still in sin remain And tho sometimes thou dost behold his blood Thou canst not say it doth thee any good For thou at his loud cry forbears to come Sweet Jesus grant that word may be my doom Speak on thou cōscience hast thou Christ obeyd Thou 'lt say thou hast him oftentimes denayd And slept in sin when Christ was not the keeper Peter's was great but thy sin much the greater His Saviour then was praying hard for him And now for thee yet thou 'lt not leave thy sin Tho Peter's fault were much against his mind Yet thou to Satan art in heart so kind As thou wilt follow him tho that Christ say no Blessed Jesus free me from this word of Go. And now do thine with Peter's faith compare Thou 'lt say thy self that they much diffring are And so much differ will thy conscience say As white from blak or this word yea from nay For if thou couldst do th'least what Peter did Then might thou say faith in thy hart was hid But tho thou say that thou hast faith in thee Yet I fear none nor thou thy self dost't see For that Christ saith t is gift of God above And them that have it mountains can remove Which is well known thou art not able do Then cry for help of him who can do so For want of faith is cause of all thy sin Then break thy heart that faith may enter in For broken hearts are they will win the crown Then break thy heart beat presumtion down For this presumption causeth many a sin In hope of time for to repent them of in Beware of Satan such he often useth And with such shifts fond man he oft abuseth Then fly this fiend and fear to come him nye For he is subtill and in carriage sly And doth delight in ranging th' earth about Then hide thee from him lest he find thee out And do thou strive to mount thy self aloft And make thy prayers to thy Saviour oft That he will thee and thy poor soul safe keep Both when th' rt waking and when thou dost sleep For except he please vouchsafe to set the scout Thou art not able keep the enemie out Then please good God to me some angel send VVhom thou thinkst good to my safeguard commend He that did father Abrahams servant guide When he went forth a wife for to provide For 's master Isaack or did Lot preserve From Sodoms plague which it did so deserve Or he that open'd Peter th' iron gate When surely death was doom'd to be his fate Or one of them our Saviour said did keep These little ones as his beloved sheep Or whom thou please to my safeguard command For to preserve me out of Satans hand Sweet Jesus keep me keep me Lord this day From all tentation I thee humbly pray For Satans rage encreaseth every where Because the gen'rall Judgement draweth near Or else that honest angel Raphael Whose company holp that yong Tobias well But doubtlesse Tobies heart was firmly bent For to obey that strict commandement His father gave him long before his death which was that he while there was in him breath Should alwayes set the Lord before his eyes And that his will should ever sin despise And he shall aye observe the Lords commands And duly labour with his fleshly hands And true and just in all his doings prove For such are they whom God doth onely love Then to their actions he will surely send A prosperous and a good successefull end And have a care thou freely alms do give For so must they that do intend to live Enjoy where is their blessed Saviour For none come there that do not pity th' poor Seeing alms is esteemed a goodly gift Before th' most high to them that use to give 't From filthy whoredome do thou safely
makes it so And have I then right end thereof observed And its right use have I therein preserved Hath my delight been always moderate And hath my tongue been also temperate Have I done this for to preserve my health And have I therein injur'd no mans wealth Have I in me a heart that is upright Being ever mindfull I am in Gods sight Have I for these his blessings thankfull bin In th' use of them did I commit no sin Can I forget whenas the wind doth blow 'T is wind that doth support me here below Did I lift up my heart to God on hie Whenas the heavens above I did descrie Have I observ'd the fairest flowers to fade And yet forget why I my self was made Did I see weeds and store of thistles grow And not remember th' cause why they did so Have I this day cast up this dayes account To what a sum my several sins will mount When have I took such pains my God to serve As now I have my health for to preserve And if thou dost it really intend That thou wilt solely in his service spend Then mayst thou say with safety that thou hast This time so spent not to be spent in waste And give him thanks that he hath so thee blest As thou mayst now go home and take thy rest For man ought not to idleness be giv'n Without all doubt in idleness is sin Since all must labour that doe look to live Or else God will to them no blessing give For to the curses God himself doth add Ith'sweat of brows that man should eat his bread And though that all men labour not with th' hand Yet all doe labour with th'unstable mind For its condition is not to be idle And therefore care for it to keep a bridle Lest th' mind doe run out of that narrow way Wherein thou dost desire thy thought should stay For man doth love to keep the plainest street Which broad and beaten is with many feet And then make use of this thy harmless pleasure Since God hath blessed thee with so much leasure And given thee time a perfect reck'ning make Before death come thy life away to take This blessed time if thou wilt so but use it And cursed also if thou dost abuse it For its the use makes difference of the day And different uses doe the most men sway Without respect what may he the right end For which God did to thee these pleasures send But thou my soul have care not to forget The end for which thou here on earth wast set And always keep it constantly in mind And then fear not but thou shalt ever find Good use of all things this good God hath sent Then use thy pleasure without discontent And be not thou unmindfull ruminate Of that which doth in time determinate Both them and thee and that ere long thou must From whence thou cam'st return to be but dust And think my soul and think of this again The end for which thou dost on earth remain Within this fleshly crazie corps of thine Which of it self even daily doth decline Unto the earth from whence at first it came For th' end of all flesh ever is the same Observe this end and hereof be thou sure That on this earth thou canst not long endure And then must thou a perfect reck'ning make Of this thy pleasure which thou here didst take O make that reck'ning here upon this earth Lest death doe come and take away thy breath And then thy corps unto its like must go But thou my soul be sure must not do so For thou shalt then receive thy final doom Which grant good God it may to me be Come O stay my soul and do thou think of this For in it is thine everlasting bliss O think of this and do thou think on 't right And think on 't still think on 't both day and night For now thy pleasure is come unto an end And thou my soul must now thy doom attend Then now O now do thou this reck'ning make And to thy Saviour thee thy self betake Who willingly was plea'd for thee to die That thou for him might'st live eternally O live in him and do him ever lâ—ve Thy Saviour sweet who is in heaven above Let all thy thoughts 〈◊〉 him alone attend Thy labours then in him will only end O happy end of all this earthly pain Whereby thy heavenly Saviour thou dost gain He will make all their labours be but light Who always love to be within his sight Live there my soul and so thou mayst be sure Thy life shall then for evermore endure In height of joy and all true happiness The very essence of all blessedness Stay here my soul and do thou now admire The joyes of that most glorious heavenly quire Where Angels alwayes singing spiritual hymns Th'Archangels and the blessed Seraphims Continually do praise his holy name Who was is now and aye shall be the same There mount my soul and do thou ever stay ' Mongst them in heav'n whose joys do ne'r decay Nor yet admit of that the least decrease But ever live in sight of th'God of peace Then pray to him that he will please to send His peace to thee for world without all end And do thou always give him praise therefore From this time forth and so for evermore But stay my soul remember 'fore thou can Ascend thou must shake off this thing call'd man This case of thine wherein thy soul doth breath And leav 't behind unto this earth beneath Where it shall reap such seâ—d as it hath sown Th' end of all flesh which is corruption Whereby it fears this thing is call'd pale death Because it only takes away this breath For man's of nothing on earth sensible But that which is on earth corruptible And so it comes that he doth nothing fear But that which heart should wish and soul desire For death is such and only terrible To him whose conscience lives insensible The labouring man likes well to go to rest The weary traveller hastes to th' Iune is best The mariner strives to get within the port Yet if there prove in it to be a fort And he no friend then he hath cause to fear And with great terror he will enter there The toiled traveller likewise fears his host Where theevish ruffians haunt and rule the rost The weary labourer doth not lâ—ke that bed Wherein he knows an ugly toad hath bred The heathen they did much desire their death Because they knew not th' Author of their breath For it they held to be their chiefest good Because that God they had not understood For they did dream that when this life was done That th' end of all things was already come But thou my soul I 'm sure thou knowest more Thou know'st thou hast a loving Saviour Who conquer'd death and of himself 't orecame That thou through him might likwise do the same Ask but thy conscience
dost him see By so much more familiar you will be And do esteem him always as a friend Seeing he may greatly stead thee at thy end Assure thy self he 's stout and will not flie But he is always waiting on thee nie For he is one of whom thou shalt be found Tho thou wert hidden underneath the ground And if thou think from him to run away Then he 's so swift that he will make thee stay O view him love him and him look upon His countnance's comely so 's his complexion Though it be pale yet sweet 't will be to thee But th'hinder parts shalt nere be able see For he doth always forwards towards thee come And never backwards he is seen return He feareth no mans face nor yet his strength But overcometh all whatsoere at length There 's neither King nor Keisar he will spare But all in th' end do fall unto his share Though there be millions of arm'd men in field If he but throw his dart at them they yield There are no guns so great can make him flee For none on earth but only he 's shot-free His dart is always very sharp and keen And flies so fast it cannot well be seen Do but observe the nature of his dart It always aimeth at the very heart The strongest wals that ere with hands were made When he doth come by them he 'll not be staid He hits his mark as well in darkest night As when the sun doth shine tho nere so bright Then do not thou this deaths acquaintance shun From whom the swiftest of all cannoâ— run And who will cause the stoutest stand in fear If of his coming they by chance do hear Make much my soul of his acquaintance then If thou dost love him he will tell thee when He means to come if thou do often use Of him and his condition for to muse O then love thou this death his company well There 's in it more then I am able tell Yet this my soul I do in him observe That his acquaintance may in time preserve From second death which is a kindness such More worth by far then all the earth by much Thâ— make accompt of such a special friend Who is so powerful with thee at thy end As by his means there 's hope thou maist procure A happy life which shall for aye endure Amongst that blessed glorious company Who live and shall for all eternity And evermore the worthy praises sing Of Christ our Saviour and our heavenly King Then thou my soul make now a standing there And yet some more do thou of death enquire Since he is such and of so sweet a nature Whom some esteem to be of horrid feature But by observance I do in him find To thoâ—e that love him he is very kind And th'more I look upon his comely face The better still I like his comely grace As though he scorn'd the greatest earthly Kings Esteeming them to be but even base things And more then so I in him this observe If I have grace my self in time preserve From sin that then he can do me no harm If I do so I do him quite disarm For he no weapons with him bears about But with my own sins he doth beat me out From off this earth where wretched I do live But mine own sins mine own death-stroke do give So as I find if I from sin were free That then were death not able conquer me For now I see 't is only my own sin The wicked harbinger to bring death in Then do thou beat this harbinger but out And then fear not thou shalt put death to rout For if there were no sin within thy heart Then thou wert able take away deaths dart O then my soul hear this O doe thou hear Thy sin 's the cause of all thy greatest fear Then fear to sin and thou art able fray This thing calâ—'d death and force him flie away And if thou leave thy sin thou may be sure Th' art able then the sting of death to cure Then use all helps to leave thy loved sin And let slip none may bring thy Saviour in But set a watch and guard thy heart about To keep thy Saviour and shut Satan out For if thy mind be set on God above And thou resolv'd to follow him in love Then all thy actions which thou dost intend Are helps to bring thee to a happy end And no occasion can come then amiss May help to bring thy soul to th' King of Blisse Nor none let pass without some godly use Which some are wont with wickedness abuse But godly minds are ever apt to good And more for th'souls then for the bodies food Think with thy self how dost thou thee behave Canst go to bed and then not think on grave Since it 's more sure then is thy laid-down bed Shall not that surety enter then thy head Canst thou prepare to go to take thy rest And nought prepare for him hath so thee blest Thou knowst thy sleep may wel be said like death Save only that affoords a little breath Which this doth take and all what else is thine Then think of death and think on 't now in time In sleep no sense no not of greatest pain And so in death if heaven by it thou gain Then aim at heaven let it be all thy care Or else be sure have hell fall to thy share Canst thou uncloath thee to thy naked skin And then forget to cleanse thee of thy sin Hast thou the care thy bed may be made warm And then no care to keep thy soul from harm Canst thou be careful see thy linnen sweet And not remember that thy winding shee Hast thou the sense to feel thy bed is cold And yet no feeling that thou art grown old Canst thou have care thy bed should be made soft And then no care to lift thy soul aloft Canst thou be carefull for thy bodies rest Yet careless how the soul may come be blest Is flesh and blood of more esteem with then Then th' soul for which thy Saviour so did dâ—e Dost thou not know when body goes to grave The soul expects a place in heaven to have Dost pamper flesh for filthy worms to eat And starve thy soul for want of spiritual meat Thou sayst th' art sure of a living soul in thee And yet thy life doth shew it cannot be Shal no occasion slip for th'bodies good And none be found to furnish â—h'soul with food Can any think that man hath any sense Cares all for th'corps and nought for th'souls offence Is flesh and blood with thee of more esteem Then that thy soul whose care is only heaven Those go to ground from whence at first they came But this to God in whom is onely its aim Let conscience say for soul and bodies care How little 's that how great this others share So as it seems thou more esteems of monle Then dost of that thy
next their care is little or none Whereby appears to heaven there goes but few And so indeed our Saviours words made true For that gate 's narrow but the other broad And most men love the way that most is troad But thou my soul avoyd this beaten path If thou intend t' avoyd the way to wrath For be assur'd there are no more but two Or that to Heaven or that t'eternal wo. Let all thy care then be to avoyd this And eschew all may hinder th' way to bliss So by observance thou mayst easily know Which of these two thou dost intend to go Then let thy care be always God to serve And by that means thou mayst thy life preserve Let conscience say what thy chief care hath bin To serve thy Saviour or to commit sin Let no occasion pass thee without trial And this in time wil free thee from denial At that strait gate wherein so few must enter So make that sure without all peradventure Let this be th'chiefest of thy daâ—ly cares And it prefer before all worldly affairs For worldly actions aim at worldly ends But thou my soul at that which heaven intends For though thy flesh do follow earthly things Let inward mind be set on King of Kings Let him be always in thy outward mind And then shalt thou in all thy actions find A means to bring thee on that narrow way Where they must go mean not to go astray And then thou 'lt see thy mind is ever set To serve thy God and him thou'lt nere forget For if thou dost but wash thy filthy hands Thou 'lt see thy Saviour then before thee stands To try if thou wilt wash thy heart from sin And horrid life which thou hast lived in And when thou puts in mouth a piece of bread Think how thy Saviour then for thee was dead And rose again and lives in heaven above And doth desire thou come to him in love Then set thy self to serve this loving God And hee 'l preserve thee in that narrow road Which leads to heaven then keep that narrow way And in it serve thy Saviour night and day Let all thy thoughts on him alone attend So be thou sure thy life in him shall end But then must thou have care to serve this God Or else expect to feel his heavy rod. For though he gaeatly doth desire thy life Yet thou dost know he punisht good Lots wife Presume not then that he will alwayes be As he hath hereto been to wretched thee By his long-suffering thee go on in sin As though his wrath had nere yet kindled b n. But thou hast seen his plagues on Egypt shown And then on them he chose to be his own Presume not then that he will pardon thee Superfluous branch of that wild Olive tree But fall with fear and teach thy heart to tremble Whose nature is with God himself dissemble Because thou knowst his mercy doth abound Ye thou hast seen some sawallowd by the ground For lesse offence then many of thine have bin Then strive to free thee from this horrid sin The onely cause of Sodoms sinking there Where nought doth live but onely horrid fear Then fear this God though he be slow to anger He 'l smite thee down when thou thinkst least of danger Forget not this but think on 't seriously Lest thou repent it even immediatly Canst thou for pleasure in thy garden walk Then not take pleasure with thy Saviour talk Canst thou observe each herb in its own kind And have not then thy Maker in thy mind Canst thou see Lilies in thy garden grow And not think Solomon ne're was cloath'd so When th'least of them to th' world a wonder is Then let that wonder bring thy soul to bliss When all on earth can not make th'meanâ—st there Whereby the makers Godhead doth appeare Who with his word did make them for thy use Then do not these good creatures thou abuse But thankfull be for these great blessings given To thee unworthy lift thine eye to heaven For if such glory doth on earth appeare Canst thou conceive what wonders may be there When great Jehovah by his word doth make Such herbs on earth that man may pleasure take In serving him this gracious God above Who 's God alone the God of peace and love Observe each herb in it a severall smell But how infus'd no tongue on earth can tell Their several shapes by th' King of heaven ordaind And each of others by him are restraind Their vertues great to th' world a wonderment Infus'd by th'maker to give man content Unthankfull creatures here do meditate And of these wonders deeply contemplate And then thouâ—'t see the goodness of this God To thee poor man who dost deserve his rod But that his goodness doth to thee abound Who well deserves be swallowed of the ground If so his mercy were not even much more And all his other attributes before Then serve him serve him with a filiall fear Who of his bounty hath so plac'd thee heâ—e As thou mayst see thy God on every side Above below throghout the world so wide Where God himself saw all was good therein Then do not thou pervert it with thy sin For wicked man makes wicked use of all Make no such use or else be sure to fall But thou my soule use all things to that end For which thy God did these great blessings send And then fear not buâ— he will bless thee so As from thy Saviour thou shalt never go But in his service take thy whole delight And therein spend thy time both day and night So every object will be then a mean To make thee think of that good God of heaven And then thy mind will set it self to serve Thy Saviour Christ who doth thee thus preserve From wicked Satan and his hellish power Though he be still attending at thy dore To put ill thoughts into thy fickle mind When thou forgets to serve thy Saviour kind Forget not then to let each object move Thy mind to set it self on God above For all the creatures which Jehovah made Do shew to man that he should be obey'd For they were works of Gods own onely hand And freely all submit to his command Save onely man the noblest of the resâ— Whom he doth love and wills he may be blest And for that purpose he doth daily send Continual means to bring him to that end For which he first created him on earth Where he infus'd with th'â—oul a living breath And left him free from any thought of sin Till th'wily Serpent Adam en red in And did with pleasure this weak man perswade To disrespect his God who had him made By tasting that but one forbidden tree The onely cause of all mans misery Canst then fâ—rget when dost an apple see For Adams sin how God doth punish thee And if for such a seeming small offence He punish all without a difference From high to low to
th' end of generation No place exempt but even in every nation Doth Adams seed partake of th'punishment For Adams sin without distinguishment Then fear to sin seeing God is so severe As for one sin to punish every where From time to time till th' end of time be come Sweet Jesus grant that word may be my doom But how can I expect this doom to me Of many millions one most unworthy Or what 's my hope who thousand sins committed That th'least of them to me may be remitted When many millions for one sin condemned And without Christ no hope to be redeemed O fearful fearfull What more fearfull is Then for one sin mankind depriv'd of bliss Consider wretch what thy whole life hath bin And then thou 'lt see no houre without some sin If th'dost but mark what thou thy self hast done Thou hast forsworn both Father and tho Son For knowingly thou hast him disobeyed Let conscience say if this can be denyed See it be judge of all thou go'â—t about T wil say tha 'st sin'd even all thy life throughout And so thâ— sins to millions will amount If thou wert able of them keep account But though thou fail in numbring of them all Thy Saviour can and will t' account thee call And then thou lt wish that thou hadst nere bin born In sin to live in sin to dye forlorn Then well consider what was Adams sin Once disobeying Gods command therein What for that sin was Gods just punishment And it will strike thee with astonishment Then think how many sins thou hast committed And what 's thy hope that they may be remitted When for one sin mankind was all condemned If that by Christ they shall not be redeemed And then thou l't think what may be due for thine Think of this deeply and think on 't in time Keep 't in thy mind thou cannot keep 't too much A goodly theam do thou conceit it such And leave not thinking of it all thy life Lest justly thou be punisht like Lots wife For God is ready of an instant smite thee And so is Satan ever to endite thee And for that purpose he 's on thee attending And so will be untill thy life be ending In thought of this be sure to have a care That Satan do not smite thee with despaire But still be mindfull Christ did die for thee And will defend thee for eternity But then must thou obey him in thy heart And look each sin do breed in thee a smart When dost remember Adams only sin For all of thine what danger thou art in But that thy God doth suffer thee to live And for thy sins such blessings doth thee give As thou maist justly say his mercy 's great When by his bounty he doth thee intreat To come to him and faithfully him serve As conscience knows his goodness doth deserve Then for his goodness fear him to offend Retain such fear until thy life shall end And it may help for to amend thy cours Which conscience knows is each day wors wors Because thou minds not that thy God is just And on a sudden may smite thee to dust Remember these and none of them forget They 'll be a means that Christ may come to set Thee with himself where thou shalt live for aye And sing his praises in a joyful raye So sing my soul the praises of this God Who gives thee blessings in lieu of 's heavy rod Be yielding thanks to his most holy name VVho was is now and aye shall be the same Let all thy life shew thou dost thankful prove To this good God the God of peace and love VVho doth desire that thou maist leave thy sin And lieu of Satan let thy Saviour in Look he be always in thy inward thought And he will let no ill to thee be brought And aim at nought but what gives him content Or if rhou dost be sure of it repent Canst thou observe the rising of the Sun And then not think the Son of mans to come Thou seest the glory of it doth appear Throughout the world to all both far and near Thou dost discern the greatness of that light Doth make a difference between day and night Thou hast the sense to see it comfort brings To every kind whatsoere created thingâ— Th' effects of both to all on earth are shown As well to strangers as to those his own All creatures are of its great good partaker And in their kind for it they praise their Maker Observe the greatness of its glorious shine Whereto none's like it saving that Divine Then if in th'creature there such glory be What is in him that made both it and thee Th' Arabians they do find its extream hot But th' English feel its goodness tho remote The Indians they some black some tawny turn'd But th' English we with scorching are not burn'd With us it makes the earth it self rejoyce And all therein with joy lift up their voyce When Birds and Bees and every creeping thing Sing forth the praises of their heavenly King And every beast and creature of the field To this their Maker all due thanks do yield Save thankless man who hath received more Then all the rest of Gods abundant store Because forgetfull of this gracious God And for our good beat with his heavy rod. Thou shameless man let these poor creatures move thee Like them with joy to praise this God above thee And yield him thanks for all his goodness given To thee unworthy lift thy eye to heaven Where great Jehovah knoweth by his power The lighting down of th' sparrow at they dore And every secret that thy heart can think Whereof take notice lest thou come to sink Into that Tophet which God hath prepar'd For such as do not yield him due regard Thou thankles man think how this God hath blest thee Before he send his servant Death t' arrest thee Observe with care of what good thou partaker When some do worship this the Sun for th'maker What difference great between the day and night They live in darkness though we live in light Then since thy God hath shew'd himself to thee Unworthy wretch towards him to lift thine eye Prove not forgetfull of this good the greatest To thee poor man of millions one the meanest When thou perceives the Sun reflects on thee Forget not then for sinners Christ did dye And when he yielded up his glorious Ghost The Sun did then forgo his brightness most As though it sorrowed for to see him die Who yet doth live and shall eternally Canst thou but mark the setting of the Sun And then forget the Son of man did come Down from the heavens where glory doth abound Unto this earth where nothing can be found But earthly things ' mongst whom he lived here And took on him the shape which thou dost beat Both flesh and bone and every several lim Yet always free from the least thought of sin Whereby he
hoary head Discover how my inward parts are dead Can I feel stitches in my hollow side And cannot feel my life away to glide Have I a shortness in my inward breath And will not know it tendeth towards death Hath not my head endur'd excessive pain Not taking notice death hath seiz'd my brain Do I feel stomack grown exceeding weak And cannot feel how fast my life doth break Do I perceive my ears grow thick of hearing And such my eyes will not see death appearing Shall I not taste this pill of bitter gall Though I discern that death doth daily call Will nothing draw me th'scent of death to smell Till he have thrown me down to th' deepest hell Are not my senses sensless grown even all Yet not discern 't is death that doth them call Will nothing make these sensless creatures fear Till they be thrown upon the fatal bear Are they all agreed to struggle with this death Tho with that strugling they do lose their breath Hath not death taken my right eye away And I not think my left eye shall decay Do I know thousands thousands slain in field And can forget that I to death must yield Can I think how my dearest friends are dead Yet my own death not once to trouble my head Are there not some my children gone before And I not think my self shall make them more Do I discern my bony teeth decay And cannot see my life 's in the same way Have I felt weakness in my body all And cannot feel how God doth on me call Are not my ears grown very slow to hear And such my eyes will not see death appear Have I been sick and stood no fear of death But still in hope I should retain my breath Have I liv'd full out seventy years and three And still expect that I shall live till eighty Have I escaped dangers great and many And therefore think death will not come with any Hath not my heart took much more great delight In doing wrong then doing that is right O wretched beast art so to sin given ore As thou l't comply with Satan more and more Will nothing draw thee for to serve thy God Till thou be beaten with his heavy rod Am I so taken with beloved sin As my amendment I will nere begin Wilt not be frighted with the sight of hell Till thou be thrown into it there to dwell Will my stiff heart for sickness sigh and groan And for its sin will not so much as moan Can I observe my marrowless bones grow drie And cannot see that now my death is nie Have I run out all this my life in pleasure And for repentance never could find leasure Hath not my conscience often me reproved And have not I therewith been nothing moved Have not my senses all of them offended And have not I been often reprehended Heth not my heart been pleased even much more In serving Satan then my Saviour Hath not my heart delighted in delay And have not I wisht in my sin to stay Have I not dearly lov'd this fleshly lust And still forgot my self to be but dust Have I not watched opportunity That I might sin with much more delecacie Have I such horrid wickedness committed And have I many such good deeds omitted Have I sought time that I might commit sin And none could find that I might repent in Have I had care for gaining worldly wealth And nere respected any spiritual health Have I been going Babels way tâ—ll now And shall I still my knees to Baal bow Have not my members always sin obeyed And spiritual motions have they not denyed Hath not my heart been ever hardned so As thought of death could breed in it no wo Hath not my heart so hard and stony been As judgments moved not though by me seen Have I seen some were suddenly struck dead And yet it bred no scruple in my head Have I heard sin reprov'd with greatest zeal And it from s n me nought at all repeal Have I heard hell to be at full described Yet I thereby was nothing terrified O wretched heart thy conscience can thee tell That thou hast wisht there was nor heavn nor hell For if not so it surely would appear That thou didst stand of this great God in fear Say couldst thou take it for a friendly deed If friend with beâ—ting make thy body bleed Wilt thou imagine it a friendly part For to endeavour stab thy friend to th' heart Canst thou presume retain a faithful friend By abusing him for gaining thy own end Canst thou conceive that flesh and blood should suffer Such vile abuse as thou to Christ dost offer Canst thou ere think to gain thy fathers blessing When thou turn'â—t back with thy heel dost kick him Canst see thy father come unto thee kneeling And yet it work in thy hard heart no feeling Canst see thy father in thy quarrel suffer Yet no assistance thou wilt to him offer Canst see thy father slain in thy defence And yet it work in thee no penitence Canst see thy father only for thy sake All bloody gasping and no help wilt make Canst see thy father by thy enemy slain And yet that enemy thou'lt in love retain Canst see thy father kneeling fore thy face Yet thou 'lt revile him with all soul disgrace Canst see thy father kneel unto thee weeping Yet thou to slight him with a countnance laughing Hath any man a heart is hardned so Will not relent to see his fathers wo Are these affronts unto an earthly father And yet are none unto thy heavnly Saviour Canst think no d fference 'twixt an injury done Unto thy Saviour and to thine own son Canst thou presume that God will pardon such Wherewith an earthly father would think much When father friend nor son nor self nor all Are with thy Saviour worthy of name equal O wretched wretched wretched heart that sees Th' art fild with such some far worse then these And yet canst think thy conscience may dissemble Because all these cannot make th' heart to tremble Have I them all and many more such seen And yet my heart thereby no better been Have I esteem'd more of an earthly father Then I have done of that my heavenly Saviour Have I more dreaded father to offend Then him who did my life unto me lend Have I beheld him bleeding for my sake And yet that blood my heart could nothing shake Do I delight in gulping up sweet wine And yet forget Christ shed his blood for mine Am I as joyful to Jehovah pray As with my friend to trifle time away Hath not my heart been joyd in jesting more Then pouring prayers to my sweet Saviour Have I not joyd with friend to jest and talk More then with Jesus sadly for to walk Have I in me a heart is made of steel â—o hard as it no good at all can feel Can I retain a fear lest man should see And care not though
my God beholdeth me Shall I fear more that brings a mortal shame Then that which doth bring me eternal blame Doth th' eye of man deter me from my sin And th' eye of God have no power me within Have I discern'd this weakness in my mind And cannot see 't is Sathan makes me blind Examine conscience see what it now saith For it well knows thou hast not any faith Not yet dost think that there is any good Although he beat thee with his heavy rod Yet thou perchance wilt say thou dost believe But that even then the serpent did bereave The thought of heaven out of thy faint weak heart And would not suffer conscience play his part Who knoweth well that though thy tongue say so Thy stony heart within thee will say no For it doth use and love with God dissemble Or els no doubt w th fear 't would shake tremble Seeing neither hope of heaven nor fear of hell Can win this heart as conscience can thee tell O hypocrite leave off with God dissembling And pray him please to smite this heart with trembling This stony heart who thinks God doth not see Because even then he 's not in heart with thee But when thou comes unto thy God again And he so please with thee a while remain Thy tongue will then confess thou hast offended And for thy sin most justly reprehended But conscience knows thy heart is broken nought But still the same and aye doth yield to ought The Serpent offers to the fickle mind Rejecting Christ thy God and Saviour kind So as thy tongue may seem to praise his name Yet is thy heart even still the very same Involv'd in sin and therein takes delight Although thy conscience tell thee 't is not right And then perchance thou wilt presume that he Although thou sin yet still will pardon thee And so thou spends this time of grace in sin As if for sinning death had never been But think not so but think thy Saviour stands Before thy face two tables in his hands Wherein are writ our duty there commanded And its observance now by him demanded Canst thou reply thou sin'd in hope of grace Fie sin not so let such hope have no place Within thy heart but then think death is come With thy desert O fearful fatal doom Consider wretch and think what this may be Thou 'lt find it prove a fatal doom to thee When neither hils nor mountains can thee hide But still before that just Judge thou must bide Till thou do hear this sentence there pronounced That for thy sin thou art of God renounced Canst thou now sin and then not think of this Thou must be cast from out eternal bliss Where 's then that hope wherein thou hast presumed When death is come and all thy dayes consumed And then no hope of any longer stay But doom'd by death to Satan for a pray Canst thou now sin and not lay this to heart O lay 't betime lest soul and body part O sinful soul take notice of thy sin Lest death do come before thou dost begin O now begin and that without delay Lest death arrest thee'fore to morrow day When soul must suffer for the bodies sin And careless life which it hath lived in Without so much as any one dayes accompt To what a height thy sins that day will mount Begin this day and so go on to th' end And by that course thou 'lt see how life doth mend Neglect not this but use it constantly Lest thou be taken unprovided dy Be watchful then and alwayes be provided ' Gainst soul and body come to be divided Provide for this can no way be eschewed And let this course by all meanes be ensewed And so in time there may be hope of gaine Or else expect in heaven to have no place Strive for that place and strive and strive again For without Christ thy labour 's all in vaine And fast and pray upon thy bended knees To him who thee and all thy actions sees And ne'r forget thou canst not void his sight Who doth discerne thy heart in darkest night And now my soul do thou observe with care What over-weenings in thy judgement are If thou didst know it be an others fact Couldst thou approve on 't for a lawful act Wouldst thou allow that in thy onely son Which thou thy self hast now but newly done Art not ashamed that thou shouldst do a thing Which were not lawful though done by a King Can'st thou espie thy brothers mote unknown Yet canst not see the beam is in thy own VVilt thou be mindful of anothers ill Yet careless how thou bringst thy self to hell VVere eyes given thee to look into another And thy own sins in thy own brest to smother Can'st thou have feeling of thy friends offence And canst not see thy self is void of sense Can'st thou see faults within thy brother shine Yet canst not think that he againe seeth thine VVilt thou allow thy senses alwayes rome And ne'er attend to ought that 's done at home VVere senses sent to shew thy brothers faile VVithout respect what tends to thine availe A wise man may make use of others ill And by their faults observe his own to kill VVilt thou it be foul if 't be anothers fact And yet be faire if it be but thy own act Is there such difference in a brothers blood VVhat 's ill in th' one is in the other good If any such it is of their own making And not of judgement but of meer mistaking Art thou resolved to dye as thou dost live And canst expect that God will thee forgive But though thy sins be to this world unknown Assure thy self that hell will have its own And though thy Saviour still do suffer thee In thy own sins which he makes known to thee By his holy Spirit who daily doth attend Upon thy heart to see if thou wilt mend Yet do not think he 'll do as he hath done In often calling that thou'lt to him come But rather think that he hath given thee over Unto thy self without hope to recover So as thou'lt see that thy sad and weak estate As Judas-like become be reprobate O woe 's my heart neer ' yet could harbour wo Though often threatned with this word of Go Thou cursed cursed into th' hell of fire Where thou must burn without hope to retire O cry O cry cry to thy Saviour sweet And never cease till he shall please to meet Thy humble heart and grant it some remorse Which daily's grown each day be worse worse Sweet Jesus come good Lord I humbly pray And drive that Satan far from me away For he hath drawn me from my God and King Who 's worthy praise I am ever bound to sing Sweet Jesus hear me hear me Lord I pray And hear me so as I may ever stay And never more so fall as I have done But aye expect this blessed word of Come But I
am still as I have ever been O'ercome with mine own best beloved sin And have no strength for to withstand his power Doth thus torment me every day and hour O woe 's my heart that erst it should be born To live so long and now to dye forlorne O wo's my heart that Christ should weep for me And it not draw one tear from out mine eye O wo's my heart that Christ should dye for me Yet wretched I by 's death no better be O wo's my heart he calls me to embrace Yet I decline him by my want of grace O wo's my heart that erst it should be born To make my Saviour wear a crown of thorn O wo's my heart his tender hands should feel These rents for me and onely for my wee l O wo's my heart his side was pierc'd for me And yet my heart from feeling thereof free O wo's my heart his feet were nail'd to th' tree And yet that nailing nothing trouble me O wo's my heart that cannot feel his stripes Were able fill a stony heart with gripes O wo's my heart 't is not in sunder torn To see my Saviour bide for me such scorne O wo's my heart he endur'd this for my wee l And I want grace his grievous torments feel O wo's my heart he gave his life for me Yet wretched I in him nor live nor dye O wo's my heart he should for me be sent Yet want of grace will not let me repent O wo's my heart it should so hardned be As that his sufferings have not softned me O wo's my heart it is on sin so set As all his torments it doth quite forget O wo's my heart it will not bleed for wo To think that Satan hath now made it so O wo's my heart that nothing can it bring To serve my Saviour and my heavenly King O wo's my heart he should me thus respect Yet want of grace to make me him neglect O wo's my heart that he should shed his blood For me and yet it work in me no good O wo's my heart can nothing thee remove From love of hell to look at heaven above O wo's my heart so taken with thy sin And horrid life which thou hast lived in O wo's my heart thou wilt not sin forsake And to thy Saviours service thee betake O wo's my heart neglects Gods service so As breach of Sabbath breeds in me no wo. O wo's my heart will not spend Sabbath day In serving God and in his service stay O wo's my heart not one day in a week Shall I serve God and his true honour seek O wo's my heart I have delighted more In serving Satan then my Saviour O wo's my heart that 's drawn with such delight To follow th' wrong and forsake that is right O wo's my heart that 's from thy Saviour straying Whenas thy tongue is for thy pardon praying O wo's my heart I have less lov'd and us'd The Church then th'Alehouse where God is abus'd O wo's my heart that dost haunt Taverns more Then dost the Church to serve thy Saviour O wo's my heart thou shouldst so graceless be To neglect him who thus respecteth thee O wo's my heart it should so love its will As what is good it calls by name of ill O wo's my heart as fill'd with such ill blood As what is ill it gives it name of good O wo's my heart it should so stupid be As follow Mammon though thou dost him see O wo's my heart that seest thy way is broad And yet wilt not forsake that common road O wo's my heart that sees hell 'fore thy face And yet goes on for want of better grace O wo's my heart will not be drawn return Although thou seest black hell before thee burn O wo's my heart shall neither hell nor heaven Remove away from thee this wicked leaven O wo's my heart that thou shouldst be resolv'd Forsake thy Saviour till thou be dissolv'd O wo's my heart shall nothing thee remove To leave this hell and aime at heaven above O wo's my heart it is not fill'd with woes To leave heavens path and take that to hell goes O wo's my heart it will not burst to think What I am writing with this pen of ink O wo's my heart that it should guide my hand And yet it self the way of God withstand O wo's my heart my hand should point the path And yet my heart should follow th' way to wrath O wo's my heart it should this hell-hound love And so forsake this gracious God above O wo's my heart it should so stupid be As 't will go on although it Satan see O wo's my heart that Christ came me to call And yet towards him I will not go at all O wo's my heart it is so idly given As that ' gainst idleness I have never striven O wo's my heart so taken with delight Of what is wrong but seldome what is right O wo's my heart with more delight wilt look On news though toyes then on a pious book O wo's my heart spends time in earthly toyes Neglecting that which tends to heavenly joyes O wo's my heart that nothing will delight thee But things indeed which rather ought to fright thee O wo's my heart will break thy sleep for sin Yet wilt not wake to let thy Saviour in O wo's my my heart that will to Satan yield When they must fight intend to win the field O wo's my heart that 's hollowed so within As t will retaine nought but beloved sin O wo's my heart how great hath been thy care From time to time thy rent for to prepare Lest that thy Landlord might for it distraine Or turn thee out though Tearm by Lease remain O wo's my heart how little thy regard To serve thy Christ who with his blood prepar'd A farme for thee in heaven whose worth is such As there 's no brest that can conceive how much O wo's my heart what difference there hath been Twixt this on earth and that thy Farme in heaven How great thy care to pay thy Landlords rent How light regard for th' Saviours discontent O wo's my heart that strives to pass away What without pastime will not with thee stay O wo's my heart that thy care should be more To serve this Satan then they Saviour O wo's my heart lov'st better Satan serve Then him who doth indeed thy life preserve O wo's my heart that hastens time to run But when th' end comes I fear thou wilt it shun O wo's my heart still striv'st set that away Which tends to nothing but to thy decay O wo's my heart that 's careful for thy sleep Yet careless how thy self from sin to keep O wo's my heart more curious of thy taste Then of thy time which hourly thou dost waste O wo's my heart so carefull keep a watch How worldly toyes thou mayst in time dispatch Yet careless how thou triflest time away Which tends to nothing but to
thy decay O wo's my heart will not observe that end For which thy God did time unto thee lend Thou art careful know by th' clock what 's time of day Yet careless how thou setst this time away O wo's my heart thinks time well spent in toyes And cannot relish ought tends heavenly joyes O wo's my heart will spend thy time in play Which conscience knows thou'lt rue another day O wo's my heart is ever apt to ill Though soul and body both of them it kill O wo's my heart that conscience can me tell How I ' gainst conscience often did rebel O wo's my heart shall conscience me accuse My conscience knoweth my Saviour I refuse Must my own conscience make my sins accompt It knoweth that they do many millions mount O wretched heart thy conscience can now say That thou thy conscience never wouldst obey O wretched heart conscience blames thee for all Thou wouldst not hear though God himself did cal O wretched heart thy conscience doth now show How all thy life thou didst to Baal bow O wretched heart that is bewitched so With that which brings both soul and body wo. O wretched heart so taken with that 's ill As to that 's good thou 'lt not restraine thy will O wretched heart thus to be drawn away With that which onely tends to thy decay O wretched heart that hast been hardned so As 't never stood in fear of this word Go. O wretched heart 't is thee and thee alone Who beareth blame for senses every each one For they say plainly they were bound to obey To what the heart said they did ne'er say nay Thy ey seeth nothing but what th' heart approves Yet oftner ill then any good it loves The hands feel nothing but what th' heart commands And sometimes that which th' law of God withstands The ears are deaf unless the heart give way But to that 's ill they seldome do say nay The palat's pleased with nought if th' heart say no Yet oftentimes with that brings th' body wo. The nose is stopt except the heart comply But what doth please it seldome doth deny The will mongst these doth seem to carry a stroke Yet heart at pleasure can the will revoke All other members of the corps give way Unto the heart and it they all obey So as the heart guides all by its own will And is the root of all the bodies ill O wretched wretched wretched heart to see That all what 's ill proceeds alone from thee Which conscience knows and will at large relate What thy sins are and what shall be thy fate And then thou 'lt see that Apple Adam eat Did prove to him and his a poisoned meat For thy desires are for the most part such As do partake of Adams sin in much And are indeed even so insatiate As reason is not able moderate Say 't were in thee for to obtaine thy will 'T is to be thought 't would have less good then ill If thou mightst do whatsoere thou dost desire Canst think 't would free thee from th' infernal fire Hast thou not been even often overtaken Desiring things though Christ thereby forsaken Have thy desires at best been ever such As they were free from wicked sinful touch Let conscience say what thy desires have been 'T is but too true they 'll be condemn'd for sin Thou cursed heart wilt ne're be able see how subtle Satan hath deluded thee Shall th' Serpent dwell within thy hollow heart And wilt thou ne're admit him to depart Thou canst not chuse but know that he is there And yet thou wilt not will him to forbear It seemes thou dost approve on 's company well Although thou know'st it doth conduce to hell Or else would'st thou refuse to harbour him Who doth indeavour invite all to sin O wicked heart wilt ne're amend thy course But still continue each day worse and worse Lay but thy hand upon thy hollow heart And feel if heaven or hell have better part But it doth use and love for to dissemble And hazard all before 't will turn or tremble And yet confess it follows needful things But hear thy Saviour who is king of Kings And he will tell thy double fleshly heart That Mary she hath chose the better part Then take this better and forsake that worse Lest thou incur that fearful doleful curse Of Go thou cursed Go receive thy hire A just reward even hell eternal fire O turn O turn O turn thou wicked heart Or ne're expect in Christ have any part Now hear thy Saviour hear him he doth call Thou 'lt be but so as Agrippa said to Paul Thou hast almost turn'd me O do thou turn Except thou mean in hell for ever burn Though 't be but little yet it may in time By helpe of Christ wash off thy sinful crime Pray for his help laid down his life for thee For he desires that thou maist live not dye Sweet Jesus further my desire of turning That it may free me from this fearful burning Examine th' conscience it will not dissemble But tell the truth if thy hard heart do tremble Be often rubbing it to keep 't from sleep At death be sure it will thee waking keep Guide all thy actions by thy conscience square And it will help thy way to heaven prepare O sweep thy house and let thy Saviour come 'T is he alone must free thee from that doome Of Go thou cursed into fiery hell And there do thou with Satan ever dwell In that dark fire which Dives knoweth is hot Although nor soul nor body there do rot But still continue fuel without wasting And so shall be without end everlasting O horrid horrid wilt thou not return But still resolve in that black fire to burn Will nothing fear thee from this future wo As if thy heart did love this word of Go Art yet the same which thou hast ever been Will nothing fright thee from beloved sin Canst thou conceive 't will equalize thy paine From whence be sure shalt n'ere return againe Bewaile thy case and now observe cock-crow And call to minde how Peter he did so When he heard cock he went out streight to weep I hear him crow yet keep my bed and sleep When he heard cock he went out at first crow I hear him often yet will not do so Peters denials they were onely three But mine if counted more then millions be He saw his sin and then he did refraine it I see my sin but yet I still retain it He lov'd his Master and did follow him nigh But I lov'd sin and from my Saviour flie He heard the cock and then he saw his sin But though I see it I still retain 't within Peter was sent that he to me might preach Yet have his words no power my heart to reach His words and life are both I see even such I know they are but not respect them much He heard the cock and then
do seem to serve their God in show Their works set forth that God they do not know So now full time to turn our joyful singing Into a tune of sorrow sadly weeping O weep O weep let all this Isle now weep VVhen few or none are set the Lord to seek Though a world of people daily do encrease Yet Gods true service daily doth decrease VVhen many sins are smooth'd with seeming show Of godly actions all the world doth know For now dissembling most of men do use Whereby Gods honour they do much abuse So many think that they are free from sin When God doth know they are filthy foul within And such do show Christ came not them to call Seeing he was sent solely for sinners all O blessed Lord I do confess my sin Ope thou the gate that I may enter in For through thee onely and through thee alone I must have entrance or I must have none Now help Lord help good Lord help me with speed VVithout thy help sweet Saviour I am dead For with the world good God I am gone astray From thee my help my comfort and my stay Since conscience saith that heaven hath justly left me Also it may that hell hath justly gain'd me And so conclude there 's no injustice done Though God refuse accept me for his son How do I use to make a formal lye Not thinking how did Ananias dye And yet 't is held to be a slight offence Although for such Sapphira carried hence But now we are come to such a woful time As lying's thought of some to be no crime Because t is guilded with another name And yet in substance 't is the very same VVe call 't dissembling when we lying use And yet dissembling doth the truth abuse So th' nature is not altered with the name For this and that are both the very same And now 't is grown to such a common sin As if for lying death had never been Seeing he that knows not how a lye to give He knows not how in this vile world to live So as it seemes who wants the art of lying He wants the art in this vile world of living But though this art may help a livelihood here Assure thy self it will not help thee there Where nought but truth can come to ' th' Saviours ear 'Fore whom no shadows substance will appear He seeth the secrets of each hollow heart And will not swerye from truth in any part Then love this truth and loath this art of lying Least thou repent it when thou art a dying For then thou 'lt see no difference will appear When either of these come to thy Saviours ear Presume not then 't is lawful to dissemble Lest flesh blood too late will shake tremble For though thy Saviour prove to thee so kinde As let thee live to see if thou wilt minde To amend the fault so long by thee been used Though conscience tell thee God's therein abused Conceive thy heart is hardned in its sin And will not hear thy conscience speak within Who tells thee plainly that thou hast offended And oftentimes for it been reprehended Yet thou dost still run on in thy old course And in thy sin grow each day worse and worse But lay to heart how Ananias dyed And how thy self ere long must come be tryed Before a Judge admits of no dissembling But best of men will fall with fear and trembling Retain this fear and from it ne'er depart For this in time may mollifie thy heart Or if it do not think then 't is hardned so As 't may expect this fatall word of Go VVithout so much as any warning given But for thy sin thou art depriv'd of heaven For be assur'd when Ananias dyed He had no time to think he might be tryed But struck to death before he answer made For this just Judge will not be disobayed And though his mercy greatly doth abound Yet Ananias he was struck to ground When he had parted with a fair estate Intending it to help the poor mans fate So as it seems to th' poor his charity 's such In our esteem as might have helpt him much Yet here observe that man can do no good How great soere though 't be his livlihood Which may withstand the justice of this God If he resolve to beat us with his rod For when thou hast done all the good thou can Thou maist conclude thy self a sinful man Then help Lord help good Lord help me with speed Without thy help sweet Saviour I am dead For nought in me but hearty penitence Can gaine me pardon for my great offence Sweet Jesus teach my heart to fear and tremble And ne'er forget Sapphira did dissemble And for that sin did suffer suddaine death Let me retaine this thought whiles I have breath And teach me Lord for all my sins to weep And from tentation good Lord do me keep For my weak minde forgetful is of good But what is ill of me is ne'er withstood For it O Lord I freely do embrace So as I see in me 't is want of grace Supply this want in me good Lord I pray That in thy service I may every stay But sin is so ingrafted in my heart As it is loth from least of sin depart But rather smooth it with some seeming shew Although 't be sin apparently we know So as it seemes we are apt to foster ill But what is good nor with good heart nor will Sweet Jesus help this frailty is in me And heal me Lord of this infirmitie For my weak flesh to ill saith seldome No Sweet Jesus free me from this word of Go And grant me strength for to restraine my will That henceforth I be ne'er o'recome with ill But aye be lifting up my heart to thee And to thy name sing praise continually And with my tears wash off the guilt of sin Which my hard heart hath hereto lived in And henceforth weep in heart without dissembling To work salvation with my fear and trembling And teach my eys good God that they may weep And my weak flesh from sin it self to keep O weep O weep let all this Isle now weep If it expect from God's just judgement keep Let Britain weep whose brackish sea doth round it Lest God in justice in that sea do drown it Take notice now of his most heavy hand In justice stretched o're this woful land O weep O weep begin to weep in time Lest seas of tears will not wash off thy crime O weep O weep that all the world may see How God in mercy hath deliver'd thee O weep O weep to wash away thy guilt Hangs o're this Isle for blood is therein spilt VVhich like to rivers on the land do run Lord stay it now for Jesus sake thy Son That we may all with joyful noise accord To sing the praises of the heavenly Lord For that his mercy great on us now shown When our desert is to the
no shame to flie Without Christs help thou shalt be sure to dye For there 's no hope thy conscience may forget But all thy sins it will before thee set And when thy conscience shall them so reveal Then shall that Satan to thy self appeal For equal justice he may have his own Then by Jehovah thou shalt down be thrown From out his presence to thee deepest hell And therein doom'd with feinds for ever dwell And thenceforth never be admitted see The glorious face of th' sacred Trinitie Sweet Jesus come and come good Lord in time And with thy blood wash off my sinful crime That it in judgement never rise against me But with thy wing vouchsafe good Lord protect me Help Lord help Lord let help come with speed To comfort him without it is but dead And when that thou hast examin'd th' inward thought Let th' centinels then be all before thee brought To give accompt of their fidelity Lest of their faith there may be jealousie Let none escape till he be soundly tryed Lest any of them with th' enemy have complyed And so it prove lest falshood love may appear Without all pity do thou then cashere And let them have reward to treason due For never think a traitour can be true Since he that yields in hope of any gaine Will stand in fear of no eternal paine And search each hollow in thy private tent For hidden treason from the enemy sent No law of Armes will binde him to be honest To breach of faith he 's ever found the pronest And therein doth he take his chief delight As if no good but doing that 's not right Then be thou chary of these inward friends Are friendly onely for their private ends In all thy actions ever aime at th' end And then by that thou 'lt see whereto they tend A wise man will consider 'fore he go His journeyes cause and also whitherto And if appear some danger in the way And that the profit will not charge defray He ' l take a pause and turn about againe Unto some other may requite his paine Observe that graceless gracious prodigal Who ne'er bethought him till he had spent all And then resolved what was his best to do He would with speed unto his father go And on his knees confess what he had done And humbly pray accept him for his son Whereat his father and most indulgent Was glad to see his lost son so repent And did retaine him into former favour In hope of his thereafter good behaviour Make use of this and do apply it well For such in time may block up th' way to hell So that false steward being in disgrace Because he had some way abus'd his place Bethought himself what then was best be done Whenas his Master thrust him out his room Since he was not inur'd with taking pain And that he could not live without some gaine He did resolve his Master debters call And set down less then by his book did fall Due to his Master hoping by that bout He might finde favour when he was turn'd out Wherein his wisdom was commended more Then theirs of light by our blest Saviour Observe my soul this counsel wise approve It came from him who 's God of peace and love Assure thy self these words fell from his mouth Who is the Essence of all real truth Even God of gods and eke of might is most And were endited by the Holy Ghost Then lay them up in th' closet of thy heart And have a care they do not from thee part Sow not this seed upon that stony ground Where there can be no firme fast footing found Nor yet ne'erhand that common high-way-side Where fowles of th' aire will not let it abide Nor where it may be chok'd with growing thorns Will spring up faster then the growing cornes But look it fall upon that wealthy mold Where every corne may bring an hundred fold That this thy care may prove a perfect token Thou art one of them to whom these words were spoken Lest Esay's prophesie in thee be verified Although thou hear yet still thy ears are tyed And though thou see yet still thy eyes will winke Because they shall not to thy hard heart sink Lest thou shouldst see and to thy Saviour cry That he might heal thee of thy malady O look thou sleep not lest the enemy come And sow some tares among thy winnowed corne And see thy salt be not without its savour Lest thou be cast from out thy Makers favour And have a care to keep this enemy out Who takes delight in ranging th' earth about Avoid such sleep and stand and watch and pray That thou maist drive this enemy far away But without help thou art not able do it Then pray to him who can and 's willing to it Sweet Jesus help this weakness is in me Without thy help Lord I am sure to dye Then help Lord help good Lord help me with speed Without thy help sweet Saviour I am dead For my hard heart good God is hardned so As 't doth not fear this fatal word of Go. O wicked heart art still as aye hast been Sleeping securely in all deadly sin Sweet Jesus help and wake me from this sleep And from tentation good Lord do me keep And grant that when I hear the cock to crow I then like Peter from my sin may go And so conceive that Princely bird was sent To call upon me that I might repent And weep and grieve for all my sins and say Vouchsafe me pardon good Lord I thee pray And call to minde that gracious prodigal And not forget how I have wasted all My life in sin and so resolve this hour To run with speed to my sweet Saviour And on my knees say I have sin'd against thee And then no doubt he will againe retain me And that I may observe that stewards fact Was so commended for a most wise act If I do so I need not be afraid My sute shall faile then not be deny'd Lord sowe this seed upon that fertile mold Where every corn may bring an hundred fold But I am still as hereto I have been O'recome with mine own best beloved sin For all these are not able me remove But I will yet forsake my God above O cursed cursed cursed cursed thou Why didst so long unto this Baal bow What hast thou got for all thy service done I fear thou 'lt finde this onely Thou art undone Stretch out thy hand show thy grath is gotten Thou 'lt see 't at best 't will prove to be but rotten Do but examine where lieth all thy gaine Thou 'lt finde nought left except it be some paine Where rests that profit by thy pleasure taken Even onely in this thou art of Christ forsaken O cursed cursed cursed cursed thou Hast had so much and canst show none on 't now Thou 'lt say th'hadst pleasure where now doth it rest In a guilty conscience boyling
in thy brest Tell now what part of thee thy sin did please Thou 'lt say thy heart did gaine by it some ease Let 's see that ease thy pleasure hath obtained Thou 'lt finde this onely hell thereby is gained Ungracious he which traveleth for such gaine As yieldeth nothing but eternal paine O wicked heart will nothing yield thee ease But onely that thy Saviour doth displease Will nothing please but what procureth paine As if in loosing rested all thy gaine What 's this thing Pleasure which so much delighteth Even price of hell the thought wherof me frighteth Hope of fruition essence is of pleasure Th' insatiate minde is aye without all measure Nought can confine it in this earthly case Which kills it self this pleasure to embrace And being had no sooner got but gone So as indeed it proveth pleasure none Hope thou my soul thy Saviour Christ to see What 's out of him no pleasure it can be Look thy unlimited minde be ever set Upon thy Saviour him do ne'er forget For in him onely 's pleasure worth the tasting Which will continue without end everlasting Hope for that pleasure who 's delight is heavenly And hate all other are at best but earthly Buy that sweet hope at ne'er so high a rate And of it be thou aye infatiate Hope thou in the fruition of this pleasure Cannot be bought with any earthly treasure O thou proud heart thy self wilt rather kill Then be abridged of thy wicked will Malicious heart wilt make thy self be slaine To gaine thy corpes to get eternal paine Thou envious heart because thy self condemn'd Wilt not thy precious soul should be redeem'd Aske but thy conscience it will plainly tell thee Thy sins are such as hell hath justly gain'd thee O fearful fearful when wilt thou begin Forsake to fill thy hollow heart with sin O cruel cruel wilt thou ne'er have done Till heart and soul and all be utterly undone O wretch O wretch will nothing turn thy course But thou wilt every day grow worse and worse O flie man flie for thou hast lost the field Make hast to flie or else be forc'd to yield And then thou knowest no quarter will be given But streight to hell for th' cannot come at heaven And so I fear I shall be loath to dye Because I may not come my Saviour nigh But thrown out down unto the deepest hell And therein doom'd with feinds for ever dwell Is nothing able thee for to avert But thou wilt yet unto thy sin revert Art so resolv'd to live in horrid sin As thy amendment thou wilt ne'er begin Are all thy members still so stupified As nought can work them to be mortified Wilt yet run on in this most wicked way Which leads directly into hell to stay Do all thy actions thither aime and tend And wilt thou never seek them to amend Now all thy life hath Satan guided thee And wilt thou never from this feind to flee Wilt thou go on as hereto thou hast done Forgetting all what soe'er may be to come Shall I ne'er venture once to look on death Untill he come to take away my breath Have I spent all my yeers as yet in vaine So as I am now to begin againe Have I been going all my life awry And yet the right way could I not espie Have I had eyes and never yet could see Nor Satan nor his wicked treacherie Have I been going full out seventy yeers And clean by that good way as it appears What time can now be left to me behinde If I should hap the right way once to finde To travel this way ' gainst hill back againe Which I have gone down hill so long in vaine What meanes have I some blessed guide to get Shall me in that narrow way both keep and set The way to life which I so much require And which I do with all my heart desire O wretched heart for it is onely thee Who hath me brought to this great misery For thou hast alwayes lov'd to go astray And never yet wouldst keep in the right way That way to life which thou didst love to shun So long that now thy self art utterly undone And more then so for thy sweet soul is lost Which thy deer Saviour bought with so much cost O wretch O wretch now turn thy self aside And see if thou canst finde some blessed guide For now must thou thy compass either turn Or else be sure in deepest hell to burn Since of thy self thou hast in thee no power To keep the right way not for one half hour If that by chance thou shouldst it hap to finde For thou by nature art become so blinde As if thou wert in that right way to day Thou art not able in it long to stay Without some help and help there can be none But onely Christ and onely he alone For there is none thy Saviour beside Can undertake to be to thee a guide Then bend thy knees and to him heart'ly pray That he will take this stony heart away Which hath misled it self and thee so far That without him thy wound is without cure But now me thinks I hear thee thus to say VVith what force canst thou to thy Saviour pray Whom thou hast all thy life so long abused And hast him likewise wilfully refused Neglecting him when he did lovingly call And to him never would give ear at all When he his messengers of purpose sent Intreating thee for Jesus sake repent And turn again unto thy Saviour And this he did even every several hour As thine own conscience can within thee tell That this is truth it knoweth it but too well And yet didst thou vile wretch most wilfully Forsake thy God and from thy Saviour fly Though he did yet most lovingly follow still To try if he by gifts might win thy will To turn againe and so thy Maker he Became a loving suiter unto thee And with great blessings he did thee invite That thou wouldst love to live within his sight Then thou sometime wouldst to thy Saviour cry O Lord I come or else in hell I dye But presently the tempter came againe And would not let thee in right way remaine And when the Serpent had beguiled thee And thou begun anew thy sin to see Then thou wouldst gladly to thy Saviour go And pray him please that he would help the fro That man of sin who had thee whilome gain'd To act some sin from which thou not refrain'd And th' pleasure past thou then againe begun To shame with that thou hadst but newly done And then wouldst thou unto thy God againe Who it may be should which thee a while remaine But if he pleas'd but turned from thee aside Then thou againe away from him didst glide And this hath been thy daily wonted use Unto thy God's and thine own souls abuse Whereby he now in equal justice may If he thinks good call thee from hence away But that his mercy 's
know that when thy soul is gone Thy body then hath feeling in it none Examine conscience whether's greatest care For this thy body or thy soul is there I fear thou feel'st this of thy body more Then dost thy soul though smitten nere so sore O sensless man have feeling of thy sin Or else thou'lt feel that God is not within Another member hath Jehovah given Using all helps to bring this man to heaven On either side of th' head hath set an Ear That either side the Spirit of God may hear Then hear this Spirit which loudly crieth on thee Lest thou too late mayst cry Good Lord help me Thou knowst that God hath promised all to hear That call on him then do not thou forbear But call in time lest it may prove too late When death hath deem'd deep hell to be thy fate Doth not God send a tinkling in thy ears To make thee think 't is th'passing bell thou hears O do not stop thy ears from this sweet bell For it may help to stop thy way to hell Say hast not heard thy sins oft-times reproved And notwithstanding thou thy sins hast loved Remember Adam he heard Evahs voyce And left his seed by it no cause rejoyce Then stop thy ears against the Syrens song For sweetest singers often lead to wrong But ope them wide unto thy Saviours cry And then fear not he 'll not thy suit deny But then must thou leave off thy pleasing sin Or else be sure thy sâ—ul is lost within But there is nothing that is in mans power Without the help of his good Saviour Then to him to him to him freely go And be not thou put off from him with no But fall down flat upon thy bended knees And nere rise up till such time he shall please To call thee thence and shew to thee the way Wherein with safety thou mayst walk and stay But 'fore thou art able to accomplish this Which is no doubt a perfect heavenly bliss Thou must repent thee of thy former sin And horrid life which thou hast lived in And that being done from th' bottom of thy heart With resolution nere from him depart Nor be orecome as hereto thou hast bin With willing mind to commit any sin Assure thy self he will thy prayers hear And to thy soul he will himself appear And yield thee comfort from the heavens above Even from thy Saviour who is God of love Then mayst thou think that there is hope of rest In him by whom thou shalt be ever blest For only by him and by him alone Thou must have rest or rest there will be none Then since thou knowst where rest is to be had Be not dismayd in any sort with dread But let him always be to thee a guide And stand resolv'd thou never from him slide But have a care to keep him in thy mind And then be sure that thou shalt ever find That saving health thou didst in heart desire If thou doe it with heart and soul require Without all fear of any opposition Of that most hellish and most wicked Legion For if thy blessed Saviour be but there Assure thy self be will not come thee neare But if that Christ shall once but turn his back Then look about thee have care be not slack For if thou be then thou shalt surely find That he will quickly enter on thy mind And if by cunning he get in a foot Thou art not able get his body out But he 'll have all and then he there will dwell Untill he draw thee down with him to hell Then he thou carefull of thy inward mind To fixe it always on thy Saviour kind And then fear not but well assured be He 'll keep it during all eternity For now I find what I have so long sought That th' only cause of my unruly thought Is want of constant setling them on thee On whom they alwayes solely ought to be Since I now know that never sin was seen Which to this wicked thought did not prevene For first 't is hatched in my barren brain Before in heart it can come to remain And thence it spreads it self to every part Because that all the whole man should feel smart For doubtless know that every several sence Shall suffer deeply without penitence For every part of pain participate Of weal or woe of love or else of hate Then keep a good guard of thy outward thought Lest ought may enter in it whâ—ch is nought For there will Satans battry first begin To bring thy body into deadly sin Then look thy guard be watchful good strong That it may always walk with thee along To give thee warning of thy enemy That thou mayst ay be ready from him sly For few that strive do obtain victory And to some strong force do thou thee betake Ev'n him alone who dy'd for thy sins sake And will safe keep thee unto thy lives end But then must thou thy life on earth amend Else little hope that he will keep thee free From this deceitfull watchfull enemy Then give thy heart unto thy God alone For he 'l have that or else he will have none Nay give him all ev'n all whats'ere thou hast For what he wants be sure thou dost but wast And more then so for that which he hath not Shall surely fall to Satans only lot Seeing he is watchfull ever ready prest To thrust himself into thy bony breast If that thy Saviour be not biding there And therefore see that thou my soul do nere Depart from out Christs blessed company For if thou dost assure thy self to dy Since Satan he is always at the dore To enter there if that thy Saviour Be out of th' way and therefore have a care That Satan nere have power to enter there For if he do then sure thou art but gone Seeing Christ will all or else he will have none Then giv 't him giv 't him give thy Saviour all And never lin but to him heart'ly call That he will please this all of thine accept Which he alone with his right hand hath kept Out Satans power who hath so long led thee Untill this time from thy very infancy So now full time from this foul Fiend to flie Or else nere look to live but look to die For death 's the best that he is able give To any of them who in their sins do live So if thou purpose now to prevent death It must be done whilst thou on earth hast breath For when thy life upon this earth is done Then doth that dreadfull day of judgment come And 't is decreed that all must undergo Their latest doom which is or Come or Go And that pronounc'd thou mayst of this be sure Or weal or wo shall then for ay endure And after that decree is done and past There is no hope it can be ere reverst Then pray that this may be thy finall doom Bless'd of the Lord do thou unto
me come Was ever comfort heard of like to this Which brings thy soul into eternall bliss Where all the Saints with joyfull noyse accord To sing the praises of the heavenly Lord Who was and is and evermore shall be Till th' end of Time and thence eternally Let all the earth joyn and due praises sing To this our God and glorious heavenly King ' Mongst these my soul do thou set up thy rest Here none abide but them are onely blest Then do thou strive this blessedness to gain That thou with them mayst evermore remain And always joyfull Alleluja's sing To Christ thy Saviour and thy heavenly King Who hath thy soul thus far enlightned so As 't may be freed from that most dolefull wo And wofull word of Go from hence thou curst Of all that ere was heard the very worst Sweet Jesus please for to preserve me so As I may never hear this word of Go Which is so fearfull to my fleshly heart Which makes it grieve and inwardly to smart Come blessed Lord be pleas'd vouchsafe me cure Of this my grievous pain which I endure For very sorrow of this horrid fear More heavy then I am able to bear To think what danger this my soul is in By my long life spent all in deadly sin But that my Saviour pleaseth comfort me When I remember how he dy'd for me And that his coming was for this intent To call me to him that I might repent Then please sweet Jesus sinfull me to call And so as I do never from thee fall But ever worship thee my God and King And with a joyfull heart thy praises sing Amongst that glorious heavenly Angels Quire Whose joys are full beyond all hearts desire And with them sing to thee continually And so shall do for all eternity The worthy praises of that heavenly King Whose wondrous works ore heaven and earth do ring Then sing my soul and ever jovial be The praises due to him that dy'd for thee Let all the earth conjoyn and praises sing To this our God and glorious heavenly King Both Father Son and eke the holy Ghost Who 's God alone and of all might is most And worthy is of all be ever blest And here my soul do now set up thy rest And have a care serve him continually And then be sure that thou shalt never dye Vouchsafe good GOD to this to say Amen SAMUEL BRASSE O Almighty ever-living most mercifull God and to me a most loving and kind Father I the work of thy hands unworthy even the very least of thy benefits unworthy so much as to lift up mine eys towards thy divine Majesty much less worthy to call unto thee for mercy or to receive any mercy thy hands Yet gracious God for that thou hast appointed all them that are heavy laden to come unto thee and thou wilt ease them I most entirely beseech thee of thy abundant goodness to ease me of this burthen of sin vnder which I have spent most part of that time thou hast been pleased to bestow upon me for thy own service soly Lord lay them not upon my soul now at my departure but wash them away w th the pretious blood of thy dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ bury them in his wounds dear Father that they may never rise up against me either in this life or that everlasting but please good Lord at my death to vouchsafe me this comfort of all others most comfortable Come thou blessed receive the Kingdom I have purchased for thee In full assurance whereof I commend my soul into thy hands Lord keep it there for his sake who so dearly bought it w th his pretious blood in whose Name I make bold to call unto thee in that perfect form of prayer he himself hath taught me saying Our Father which art in Heaven c. To my dear and onely Son WILLIAM BRASS SON these three letters imply three distinct persons Father Mother and Child these their severall offices the Father to educate his child in the fear of God and provide for his livelihood the Mother to assist as a helper the Son to obey both and observe them with a filiall care I thank my God there hath been no neglect of any part since you had your being and now at my departure I have left you this litle Book useful in this woful time of War though not against lime and stone yet against that active Enemy is ever ready upon all occasions to assault you and therein also you may view the infirmities life and by them apply some good use to your own Other wealth I am likely leave but a little since God hath so appointed it should be reft from me by the Sabeans Esteem this as your Fathers last Will read it with deliberation meditation and contemplation there may happily some thing be found in it will redound to your good when I am in grave Keep it in your pocket and peruse it often it may prove more worth then much wealth and as you tender your own good or your Fathers command I charge you upon all accasions which doubless will be many have recourse to the first Lines and in assurance thereof I shall live and die your loving Father Samuel Brasse A Note of the principal Points casually handled in this Book OF our Saviours passion 1 Of the Mind 18 Of Englands broyles 30 Of Moses 25 Of Dooms-day 35 Of joy and fear 37 Of Hell 39 Of lameness 41 Of accompt of time 48 Of repentance 49 Of King David 53 Of dreams 56 Of wonders 59 Of mans frailty 60 Of Peters walk 63 Of Faith 67 Of Angels 72 Of Toby 72 Of the alteration of times 82 Of the Soul 91 Of the Sacrament 93 Of the abuse of creatures 95 Of hunting 96 Of Death 52 Of the Bed 69 Of the Stair to heaven 73 Of the Garden 77 Of Adams fall 79 Of the Sun 82 Of the Spirit 86 Of Jobs patience 88 Of lamentation 89 Of woe 99 Of the Heart 105 Of Peters Cock 108 Of dancing 112 Of dissimulation 114 Of Englands tears 118 Of accompt of sin 122 Of the Prodigal 125 Of Pleasure 128 Of the end of mans creation 134 Of Madness 143 Of Repentance 146 Of our Saviours life 150 Of wandring thoughts 160 Of the use of Senses 220 Of sinfull thoughts 224 The Authors Prayer 229 Reader Some Numbers of the Pages are mistaken in the book but the order of the Contents is rightly observed FINIS