more Me overcome as he hath done before This my weak heart who 's faint hath no power Within it self no not for one half hour It self to keep except it so shall please My Saviour sweet this great tentation cease For thou O Lord and only thou alone Must either help or other I have none And therefore now I humbly to thee pray Thou wilt vouchsafe with me good Lord to stay And safe me keep from all tentation Of that most subtle wicked Legion Who winds himself into my very heart And will not thence by me be drawn depart Except thou please good Lord to cast him out And let him range this terrene world about And nere attempt to set on me again But cause me still good God in thee remain That I O Lord may ever in thee live And heart and mind unto thee freely give That with good conscience I may safely say Thou'â—t in my heart and there dost live and stay ' Cause in my thoughts I doe it surely find That thou art firmly seated in my mind And will not suffer idle worldly toyes For to deprive me of those heavenly joyes But that in them I may put my delight And banish all whatsoere that are not right So as no pleasure shall be able move My heart from thee my Saviour God above But that in thee I may repose my rest In whom alone I shall be only blest So I from thee do not again now fall But on the name of my sweet Saviour call When Satan doth my weak faint heart delude And on my weakness doth himself intrude Whereby he seeks to draw me still away From thee my Saviour and my only stay By some deceitful bait which he hath set To overtake me in that woful net Wherein are taken every one of those Who in that Fiend do any trust repose For who him trust them surely he deceives And of all goodness he them quite bereaves Then trust him not for if that so thou dost Assure thy self thy soul is utterly lost For there was never any gain'd by him Who doth endeavour invite all to sin Whatsoere he seems in show for to pretend Be sure to find a horrid death in th' end For all his projects are but crafty wiles Whereby poor sinners he of good beguiles And doth not suffer them to see their sin Till they be taken in his hellish gin And if by chance poor man it hap to spy Then he will have some other readily Whereby he may entrap this silly man Who of himself no good at all he can So as he is not able senses use But their right end he utterly doth abuse And here my soul do thou observe with care How by good use all parts assistant are With help to bring thee to that happy place Where all shall live who are endow'd with grace And in their journey care to keep the path Which leads to life or else they gain the wrath Of that great God whose wondrous works are such As in this pilgrimage our journey may help much If we but mark and to the Spirit give ear When God himself doth in each part appear And every minute doth some warning give Which may direct us how on earth to live So as with care we attend unto his call Who takes no pleasure in the sinners fall Although in them he will be glorified Because his name we have not magnified Have I receiv'd my senses all in vain So as their use affords to me no gain But loss of life and my sweet Saviour Who doth not cease to call me every hour O now O now begin to look at home And see thy senses how they all do come Without respect of him who hath them sent Or th' end for which they were unto thee lent And do not quench the Spirit of God in thee Lest thou be blind when dost desire to see O then use eyes and use them to that end For which Jehovah did them to thee send For wheresoere thou turn'st this eye of thine The work of God most plain in it doth shine If to the heavens thou seest his glory there Who for thy sins was pleas'd on earth appear If to the earth each herb a wonder is And by that wonder help thy soul to bliss Look in thy heart and there thou mayst behold How Satan's black although he shine like gold Then see thy soul the chiefest of thy rest How it desires to be whereâ—t may be blest O further that desire with every sense Who shall for it receive good recompence Observe how God bestowed on thee a Taste And in that part of th'body it hath plac'd So as there 's nothing into th'corps can go But it gives warning whether 't be so or no. Then use this taste unto its own right end Thou 'lt see that God did it unto thee send Not for to taste that Evahs bitter apple Lest thou want strength with Satan for to grapple But 't was to taste the things for th'body food Lest ought may enter there which is not good O then do thou of good have only care And all things ill of them be thou aware Lest that thy soul may lose its spiritual health Which is more worth then all thy worldly wealth O be thou curious of thy bodies taste Lest pleasing sins may make thy soul to waste Liâ—e as the body with it's poison'd pils Tho gold without within they 're stuff'd with ils Another Sentinel hath Jehovah sent Lest thou should smel somthing thou might repent Thou 'lt stop thy nose when 't feels a scent is ill Then stay each member and restrain thy will Which are delighted with each pleasing smell But have a care such scent not towards hell All finest flowers have not the sweetest smell Scent thou then such as to thy soul scents well Let that scent only please thy inward mind Although thy corps esteem it most unkind For soul and bodies scent have several sense This loveth sin but that loves penitence O then prefer that which thy soul doth scent Lest that in th' end thy corps have cause repent Use that restriction with this Sentinel That it scent nothing but that doth scent well Unto thy soul let it thy scent approve Who hates all ill and what is good doth love Another sense hath this great God thee sent To feel thy sins and of them to repent Thou well canst feel a small stroke of thy skin Yet wilt not feel the Spirit how quench'd within Canst thou feel hurts if in thy bodies members But thy souls hurt thou l't not be drawn remember Consider well how God hath plac'd this sense In th' outward part of th' inward for defence Thou wilt prevent the falling of a tree But th'greatest sin thou thinkst cannot hurt thee Canst thou be careful of thy bodies food And have no feeling of thy soul its good Canst thou feel prickles in thy tender skin And cannot feel thy soul is prickt within Dost thou not
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
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
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
thee go Then keep me Lord shield me with thy wing That under it I may thy praises sing For out of thee good God there is no rest Nor any safety in my fleshly brest For flesh and blood cannot in them contain The thoughts are hourly hatched in my brain Which rovening run and reel from side to side And on no good thing they 'l be drawn abide Sweet Jesus please to bounder them in thee Or else they 'l not be boundered for me But wander often quite without my reach Which sometime causeth in my soul a breach For that by force I cannot them retain That they in thee might evermore remain Call them good Lord and do them firmly bind That I may know with thee I shall them finde For no occasion ever comes amisse To draw my mind from th' heavenly king of bliss O glorious king vouchsafe it so command My thoughts b guided by thine own â—ight hand For it alone most either make them stay Or else good God they 'l not b drawn obay My silly soul within me drooping lies And without help good Lord in hell it dies Then help Lord help let help come w th speed To rouse this soul that liâ—th w th griâ—f half dead And of its health it justly might deâ—pair But that it knows my Saviour is so neer Yea neerer much then th' hart of man can ween But that his wonders have on earth been seen To save his chosen elect children all When in red Sea did wicked Pharaoh fall With all his host and yet did Gods own hand Bring his elected safe y to the land Whose way was after guided by a cloud And hunger staid by heavenly Angels food In th' wildernesse where they did â—eel no cold Nor yet their cloaths did wear or waxen old And had a river brought out oâ— the rock In great abundance with a little knock An Angel ever guiding them their way From all annoy wheres'ere God leâ—s'd they stay And when o're all the face of earth was night Then did the cloud afford to them good light And yet even they for who 's own onely sake That great Jehovah did these wonders make Which they beheld with their own fleshly eyes And many more as great besides all these Did they forget to bear them in their mind Tho in their brests they might them easily find Whereof they were themselves eye witnesses Yet when the Lord did but a while leave these Tho they were these the chosen and elect Whom he alone did to himself select Even them that were the seed of Israel ' Gainst this good God did trait'rously rebell And â—oully too from him did fall away Who was their sole preserver and their stay Unto a God which their own hands did make And this their kind and loving Lord forsake O stay my soule with ravishment admire That God sent not from heav'n consuming fire To burn them all from off the face of earth Whose horrid sins deserved horrid death Yet did this good Lord this vile deed forgive And on repentance suffer them to live And all those blessings they do still enjoy Whereby he freed them from all kind annoy O think O think and do thou think again What weaknesse did in these weak men remain Who left their God and that so suddenly When he left them awhile their strength to try May it be possible that there 's any can Conceive such weaknesse in this creature man Whom God was pleas'd so far before the rest Of all he made this man hath onely blest With a precious soul in some is reasonable Thou of it self it self is far unable To guide it self by that its reasons power If God shall please to leave it one half hour Were these that seed the chosen of the Lord Who said his wonders also heard his word And all of them in compass of their sight Yea more apparent then the sun so bright Least that impression in their inward minde Could not be hid but Satan made them blinde For mortall eyes can have no power of sight When God's away by whoÌ„ they have their light Since that the serpent he did make them so As of themselvs nothing that 's good they know And what is ill they ever like and love But all that 's good it comes from God above Now rest my soul and keep the ever there Where thou art freed from al this worldly care And of his wonders do thou contemplate VVho doth thee thus poor soul illuminate With these good thoughts Odo thou them retain And let them alwaies w th thee stâ—l remain For they will banish those â—hy thoughts are ill Which often use restrain thee of thy will And bring thee this great God and Lord to love Who sends al good things froÌ„ the heav'n above And doth them likewise plenteously bestow On such as are his servants here below Then drooping soul do thou in me revive Now rouse thy self and do begin to live For with Gods help thou maist safely say That chearful hope hath driven dispair away Then put thy trust in him alone that lives And able is and also freely gives Even all good things unto all them that crave And do desire of him good things to have Then fast and pray my soul and do repent And give God thanks for his great blessings sent And then of mercy the deepest sinners sure For that his mercy doth for aie endure From age to age to all of them beleeve That he for them his deerest life did give Make use of this his bount'ous great mercy Bestowed on them deserved well to dy Besides the blessings he them freely gave The like whereof no other Nation have Nor ever had but onely them alone For he such blessings ever gave to none Besides his wonders they did daily see For to preserve them from indempnitie And yet from him ungratefull these did fall And worshipp'd wors then that th'painted wal And wilfully this gracious God forsake Who lovingly did them in mercy take From danger great which was most desperate But that their God himself besides them sate Then live by hope and do thou leave to fear Since God no doubt is all his servants neer That trust in him then faithfully do so My soule and live and to him freely go But stagger not my soul nor do not shrink As Peter did for fear that he should sink When Christ his Master walked on the Sea Whom his Disciples did afar off see And Peter pray'd him that he might do so Then God him call'd and will'd him so to do With that did Peter leap out of the boat And walked along aloft the Seaâ—on foot Untill the winde did cause a little wave And then cry'd Peter good Lord do me save To whom did Jesus then put forth his hand And so brought Peter safe again to land Now thou my soul observe here Peter's saith With willing minde to do what 's Mr. saith Leap into Sea without delay or
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
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
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
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
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
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
keep For all such sins wil cause thy soul to weep Let no mans wages with thee longer stay But have a care each labourer duly pay Besure thou alwayes to an other doe So as thy self desires be done unto Beware thou do not drink till thou be drunk For many such great sins to hell are sunk And be not slow to give the hungry bread Nor cloths to them that do of cloths stand ned Take counsel alwayes of them that are wise In giving counsel be not too precise And of thy mother look to have a care For surely she for thee hath had her share And be thou sure thou do not take a wife Mongst these where I am forced lead my life And look thou duly do observe my will As thou 'lt accompt on blessed Sion's hill Where no excuse for plea will be accepted Nor no mans person for his wealth respected But onely such as seek and serve the Lord And in their lives have care to keep his word And fear not tho God suffer thee made poor So long as Christ thy Saviour's at the door If thou dost fear him and dost fly from sin Then do not doubt he 'l keep thy soul with him Then young Tobias to his father said That this his will in all should be obeyed Then th' old man said that he had talents ten In Gabarels hand who dwelt at Ragues then And will'd him search if he could find a man Might guide him th' way to Ragues if he can Then Raphael he with young Tobias met And told him he was able there him set For he did know that land Media well And the way to Ragues he could also tell Then he that Raphel to his father brought And said that he had found whō he had sought Then th' old man did desire his name And kindred both which was the very same Even with his own and then they both agreed For a guide a day and also to have bread And meat beside and such provision As should be made for Tobie his own son And if you make to me a safe return I 'le add some more for your good service done And now provision being ready made For that great journey th' old man to him said On Gods name go and I shall daily pray That God will send some Angel guide your way But then the mother she begun to weep For her great grief she could no longer keep And wisht the silver might be rather lost Then they should be at any further cost But chiefly sorrowed for her only son For want of whom they utterly were undone But th' old man willd his wife to be content For he well hoped they had no cause repent And then the mother left her sorrowing And with the father fell to hearty praying The travelers now being well set on their way Ne'r Tygres flood they meant one night to stay Where in young Toby went himself to wash And out the river leaped up a Fish And Raphael willed him to put in 's hand And take the fish and bring it safe to land And take out of it Liver Heart and Gall And keep them safe for that these three were all Good for some use then they broild the fish Which proved to them a curious dainty dish Then on they went the way towards Ecbatane Where they intended one night to remain And travelling Toby to his servant said Why is it we have this provision made To keep these intrails I have with me here I wish to know for what good use they were Then Raphael said pray Sir observe w th care How God did these for your great good prepare The Heart and Liver are by nature such As if an ill sp'rite do but trouble much Broile these upon a little pretty fire And they wil quench with speed the sp'rits ire And do but rub the Gall upon the eyes Of them are troubled with the whitish skies Will cure the same and make them very bright And so by that means gain again the sight And the servant he unto his Master said Our journey now is almost well nye made And we shall this night lodge with Raguel VVho 's of thy blood and kindred I can tell And hath no children but one daughter who Is vertuous fair and wise and loving too And there is none for ought that I do know Can marry her but even onely thou For I am sure by th' law of Moses she Of right belongeth solely unto thee And when we 're there I 'le move her father t'it And do not doubt but he 'l be willing t'it And then unto him Toby did reply I doubt dear Raphuel I shall surely dye If I shall but unto her chamber go For of a truth I hard reported so That she seven husbands hath already had And all of them dyed in the brideall-bed And my own parents have no children more But onely me and if so be therefore It be my fortune in this country dye Or in this journey for to miscarry I fear my parents shall such sorrow have As wil with grief bring them unto their grave Then Raphuel he to his Master thus reply'd T is true indeed there have so many dy'd But do not fear for thou hast means to fray That wicked sp'rit and force him fly away And thou dost know that t is thy fathers minde Thou should bestow thy self in thy own kinde Then Iet no cause of fear possesse thy heart But chearfully perform the Bridgrooms part For this night will the match consumate be And this night will the Bride be given to thee And when thou comest into the bridall room Take imbers hot and thereon make perfume Of this the Heart and Liver of the fish And fear not all shall be as thou would wish But look before you do your selves addresse To go to bed pray God he may you blesse And all your acts and look you thankful be For his great goodness he hath given to thee And do not fear for th'll sp'rit hath no power To trouble you or yours for one half hour And I suppose your wife shall then conceive And many children may she happily have By whom you shal be greatly comforted VVhen your own parents may perchance be dead Then Toby did begin to feel in part How he did love the maiden in his heart And when they came unto that Raguels place Did comely Sarah meet them in the face And when with joy they had saluted her She prayed them please go in to her father And then did Raguel say unto his wife This is our kinsman I dare lay my life And quest'on'd them frō whence what they be They answered him captives at Ninive And of the tribe is called Nephtalim Then Raguel said and did reply to him Thou art my kinsman pray thee when didst see That old man Toby in what health is he My father is thank God in health fulright But that said he he hath onely lost his sight Then Raguel
it will freely tell thee When death comes what it is that shal befall thee For though thy conscience now securely sleep ' Gainst th'day of death it will thee waking keep Then be not thou like to the Libertine Who guls himself with saying All is mine Come eat and drink and now let 's merry be When morrow comes then we shall surely die But yet when death doth to him come indeed Then this mans fear a deep despair doth breed And he to death as that King Ahab did Unto Elias thinking he was hid Hast found me out O fearful than O than Comes death most dreadful to the dying man But thou my soul thou know'st tâ—'assured way To make this death thy only happiest day If that thy porters be not lulâ—'d asleep Whilst they these outer gates of thine should keep And suffer thieves at them to enter in who 'll steal thy good and leave behind thy sin Then watch and pray and do thou waking keep And fast and pray and so prevent thou sleep And then let death come whenas God shal please Can do no hurt but do to thee great ease For then shalt thou from earthly labours rest And live with whom thou shalt be ever blest Live there my soul and then thou needst not care Come life come death to thee both equal are The fool would fain he might do that at last Which the wise-man thinks fit be done at first For that thinks time is ever in his will But this doth know that time is going still Seeing if man sleep this time it doth not rest But still keeps pace and flieth on full fast For though that all men are ordain'd to die Yet none know when or where 't is they must lie Man stands in need prepare for death and will not But death wil com to this man when he would not And such may well be likened to a beast Who 's feeding fat like this man at a feast Till th'slaughter-axe give him his fatal blow And then his stubborn heart begins to bow Yet struggles hard this death-stroke to resist But now too late he mourns out had I wist For all of life we very careful are But for this death we not at all prepare So many come this death-stroke to abide Before they do themselves for death provide And then are they to go to learn to die When death appeareth palpably in th' eye Then willingly doe thou perform that part Which needs thou must tho 't be against thy heart And thou my soul do thou in thy youth-dayes Remember death for so the Wise-man sayes Before that those thy ill dayes come along For then thou 'lt sing another sorrowful song When age and sickness both of them appear Thou hast no power good councel then to hear But heart and mind are both so hurried hence With age and sickness they are void of sense Is this a time then to prepare for death When 't is a burthen heavy to have breath When Doctor physick for thee doth prescribe And Lawyer he is going with his bribe And Parish-Parson for thy soul doth pray And friends neighbours round about thee stay And wife and children sadly weeping are Content of death to take from thee a share If so they might to ease thee of thy pain Which all the earth unable is to gain But thou art left unto thy self alone To make an answer for thy sins each one When powerful death hath entred on thy eyes And into all parts of the body pryes And stayes the organ of the nimble tongue Lest it might utter ought may tend to wrong And by chill cold doth fall upon the feet And takes from them their blood and nat'ral heat And so ascends to every other part And then at last it seizeth on the heart Who now with sobs and sighs somes out its breath Which by and by is staid by powerful death And at his entrance on this flesh and bone Gives Conscience leave to lord it all alone Who nere till now had audience of a word By help of death is made a puissant Lord And then that heart was stony-hard before Is now made soft lamenting more and more But nere till death had struck him with his dart Gave any way for Conscience play his part Who hath recorded all what heart hath done And lays them ope that it may see the sum And cast it up before the day of doom Which grant good God it may to me be Come Being hard at hand as plainly doth appear When heart and hands and feet are all in fear Who nere till now did ever think of death That he would come to fetch away its breath For who by flesh was highly monarchised By Conscience now is basely vassalised And so doth yield to what the conscience saith That till death came he had not any faith For health and wealth so pufft it up with pride Save only pleasure it minded nought beside And now intreats to have a little time With full resolve for to amend its crime But Conscience saith whom now it doth believe That death is sent it of its life bereave And so no hope of pardon to be got But like its life so death fals to its lot Which conscience tels it then it is dejected And doth confess it justly is rejected Without all hope of any pardon sending For that this life is now at point of ending Then this proud heart with terror conscience pricks And it to hell with horror down he kicks And tels him plainly that the poorest swain Whom in his pride with scorn he did disdain Being naked begging at this proud hearts dore In Abrahams bosom him shall sit before And in requital of this hard proud heart Was loth to yield to Lazarus any part Of his vast store wherewith he did abound Is now by Lazar trodden under ground And lets it see whom it did scorn before He would be glad he might beg at his dore But conscience tels him he is now debaâ—'d ' Cause pride in wealth did poverty not regard So this proud heart who poverty held in scorn Doth beg of death a while to be forborn But conscience tels him 't is not in deaths power For that he cannot spare him now one houre Because his time is limited by God Whom he nere knew so did not fear his rod Which now he feels by conscience information That he must hence into some other nation Where soul must suffer for the bodies sin And horrid life which it hath lived in Without so much as any care for th' soul But all for th' self although in substance moul Which then by conscience is in heart confessed And better life if time is now professed When time is past to it a period's put And ' gainst this soul the gates of heaven are shut So then in lieu of hope comes in despaire And tels it now it must for hell prepare Because it did not think of this in time So soul must
suffer for the bodies crime Which conscience offer'd often to inform But pride of heart held conscience aye in scorn And would not hear when it made suit to speak For worldly affairs such suits do always break And so the soul is now depriv'd of bliss Or sight of heaven where its sweet Saviour is And that proud flesh of earth at first was made Must to the earth and there a while be staid For crawlers meat till that loud trump shall blow When soul and body both must undergo That final doom by God himself pronounced Because in life this God they have renounced And that most justly doth the conscience tell Depriv'd of heaven and doom'd to th' deepest hel Where they must live but wishing still for death Which they did fear at parting with their breath So what in heart in life was always loathed Will after death in heart he ever loved But not obtain'd as Diver doth thee tell Decreed for ever now to live in hell O eloquent death hath done more in one day Then Moses did with all that he could say Or yet the Prophets by their crying out These eighty years or now neer thereabout Yet all unheard or not in heart believed Till this hard heart of life is like bereaved O powrful death whose presence without speaking Hath done what Prophets could not by their preaching This conscience knows doth at large relate What th' heart hath done and what shall be its fate But out of time because it would not hear That it should come be laid on th' fatal bear Which now stands ready waiting at the dore To carry away who did it scorn before Is this a time then now for thee begin To think in what state thou at death art in For now thy conscience guilty of sin will say That th' weight of it to Topher doth thee sway Without all hope of thee for ere returning Whâ—n th'souls before and in that Tophet burning So all thy helps are surely now but weak If thou didst not in former times bespeak Them at his hands who always willing is And able also to bring thee to bliss If thou hast made the way for it before Or else there 's danger of it at deaths dore Thou foolish man observe the harmless Bee Who summer-time doth fill her downy thie And in her storehouse hoards up plenty of meat Against the time when there is none to get Look likewise on that little creature Ant Who being careful how to prevent want Foreseeing winter to be coming on In time of summer makes provision These little creatures teach thee time well spent In its due time and that with good intent May gain unto thee blessings happily Which shall continue for eternity But th' old man he is blind and cannot see And th'young man he is stout and will not be Correct with death this death which only can As all things else unmake this creature man And that being done then all this massie earth Unable is for to regain him breath And therefore now be sure whilsâ— thou hast power For to remember death comes at an hour When 't is not look'd foâ— like unto the thief When man 's in health and is of full belief That he shall live and so he still expects The length of daâ—eâ— but th'day of death neglects And yet doth know that he 'fore all the rest Who dyeth well thus only shall be blest For if a man were able spend his time Dâ—void of sin or any sinful crime And prove an Atheist but for one half hour And therein comes his blessed Saviour And doth demand what only is his own And roâ—peth there where he hath never sown O what a case may this man now be in Who long liv'd well yet dy'd in deadly sin Since th'tree as 't grows that way it surely fals And as the thief doth come so God he cals For th'foolish Virgins had their final doom For want of oyl shut out of th'marriage room O what a fearful horrid case is this For one houres pleasure lose eternal bliss Then watch my soul and do thou always say Good Lord give us our daily bread this day For after one day filthy worms did eat That precious Manna which was heavenly meat Because that they who every day would have Should every day for daily blessings crave And knew those worms did food of Angels eat Within a while will of the flesh make meat And though thy soul it cannot then be there Yet soul and body are decreed to beare Their share alike at the last reckning day Then do not thou this reck'ning now delay For wretched man this time doth draw fast on Neer unto death by computation And every day thy sins they do increase Time for repentance daily doth decrease And if repentance by grace be obtained There 's satisfaction also must be gained Or else I doubt repentance very much Without repayment cannot prove be such As it should be and then I greatly feare There will no dayes be longer granted there For death is strong and will not be orecome By threats nor treats whenas the day doth come Then thou fond man who seeing thy sick friend Wilt not say to him he is neer his end Till he be likely to yield up his breath And then thou wills him he should think of death Lest that the name of death should fearful be To him that is now at the point to die Then fear this death before he so neer come For 't is too late to do 't at th'day of doom Seeing if deaths warrant shall but once be sealed There is no wealth can cause it be repealed And therefore now have care prevent the worst Lest thou doe hold thy day of birth accurst When hils nor mountains are not able hide But this thy life must then be justly tride By thine own conscience 'fore that dreadful King Who knows and sees even every secret thing And sendeth this his servant powrful death To take away from thee thy dearest breath O then have care thou do thy dayes spend well If thou intend to keep thy soul from hell And be thou often thinking of this death How 't is his office to take away thy breath And do it daily since each day thou may Even lose thy life in that one dayes delay And so by this accustom'd daily count Thou 'lt see thy sins how they decrease or mount And if th' hast wealth thy care is so much more To leave'â— then he that is esteemed poor O living look thou stare upon deaths face That dying thou maist know his comely grace For familiarity will only bring A loving liking of a loathed thing Then thou my soul acquaint thee with this death Before he come to fetch away thy breath For tho his physnomie be pale and grim If daily seen thou 'lt stand no fear of him Then do thou look upon him every day As he were coming to call thee away By so much oftner that thou
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
taught thee how thou ought to live In serving God and to him praises give Praise him praise him praise him continually Who was so pleas'd for sinfull man to dy Forget not then when canst not see the sun To think how Christ down to this earth did come To gain thee to him and with him to live Then yield him thanks and to him praises give Who did endure the torments due to thee A wretch a wretch a wretch most unworthy Follow his example then thou needst not fear Tho th' Prince of darkness do to thee appear For if he shall he hath no power to hurt thee If thou hast faith fear not Christ will defend thee And grant thee strength for to withstand his powr Tho he assault thee every day and hour But thou must strive and ne'r be drawn to yield For if thou dost be sure to lose the field Expect this Fiend to have him fall upon thee Since he spar'd not thy Saviour who did make thee But carried him into the wilderness Making expression of great holiness For when he fasted had full forty dayes Being hungry then the tempter to him sayes If thou be Christ the Son of God indeed Comand these stones that they may be made bread But he replied Life 's not by bread alone But by the words which come from God each one And yet the tempter did not leave him thus No marvel then if he do so with us But set him on the Temples highest stone And will'd him thence to throw his body down Seeing it is writ his Angels shall protect thee Lest dash of stone at any time may hurt thee But answering he replied this holy word 'T is writ thou shalt not tempt thy God the Lord. Yet still the tempter did not give him over But set him higher where he might discover Even all th' earths kingdoms then within his eyes And th'glory of them did to him descrie And said if he would fall and worship him He freely would bestow them all on him But Jesus then bid Satan to be gone Saying thou shalt worship only God alone And only him none other shalt thou serve Doe so my soul 't will thee from death preserve So Satan left him and the Angels came And fed him then in great Jehovah's name Observe my soul the subtlety of this Spirit Alleadging Scripture ' gainst the meaning of it To private ends his fancy for to please Without respect how it did God displease Then fear the spirit make trial if 't be of God Or else be sure he 'll send his heavy rod To punish such as aim to wrest the truth But cleave to it as did to Naomi Ruth Take th' sacred sense beware of any wresting With holy things be sure there be no jesting Apply not places to thy private sence Lest pleasing thee may give thy God offence Read with great rev'rence when thou readest such An humble heart helps understanding much Make use of this and here observe with care How by ill spirits the Scaiptures wrested are And uses made unto some wicked end The Lord of life me from such spirits defend For these Expositors Scriptures do expound ' Gainst ancient writers men much more profound Who spent their lives in following that profession which is now gain'd by some few mouths possession They studied hard before they could obtain it But some new teachers think but light to gain it And when they purpose to the people preach They think it Gospel whatsoere they teach Without respect what our forefathers told Or what hath been in those the dayes of old As though by nature Learning now were gain'd When God doth know it is by some profan'd But thou my soul such shallow places read As thou maist wade them without any dread And leave the deeps for such have art to swim Whatsoever seas of deeps they do come in Learn no such art but leave 't to them that think No sea so deep wherein they cannot sink The Lord of host deliver me from such thought For his sweet sake hath me so dearly bought And keep me safe from this presumptuous sin And many more which I have lived in For ' spiring minds are seldom satisfied Although their wisdom be but folly tried But thou my soul let others folly teach Thee be content with that 's within thy reach Make godly use of what thy God hath given And by such use thou l't keep the way to heaven Keep that way still let nothing turn thee out Then God will prosper all thou goest about Though for the present he may please to try Lest in affliction thou wilt him deny As that just Job whom Satan could not touch Although the Serpents power did tempt him much But he us'd all temptations to good ends Observe his strength for to withstand his friends Take his example when thou tempted art And have a care thou do perform his part Observe his carriage let his patience move thee To serve thy Maker who entirely loves thee Although he teach thee with his heavy hand He will in th' end give thee thy hearts demand But then thou must not curse thy God and die For if thou dost 't is death eternallie And such a death as cannot be redeemd With all th' earths wealth how much soer esteemd Respect no pleasure nor no cruel pain Whatsoere thou suffer so that heaven thou gain Let no affliction alter thy resolve Altho't be such as life on earth dissolve For that this life on earth cannot be long And then there 's hope thou l't sing a heavenly song Among the Saints where glory doth abound Beyond the reach of th' best on earth are found For earthly minds unable are conceive What heavenly comfort Saints in heaven receive By th' glorious presence of that King of Kings Who doth abhor the sight of sinful things But casts them down to that infernal lake Where all must live that do of sin prrtake Then fear to sin and always it eschew Like death it self lest thou may come to rut And fall to curse the time of thy birth-day And to thy self thou thus lament and say Have I spent full out seventy years in sin Have I this while in them uncareful bin What shall befall me after I am dead What is it I have oft had in my head Have I esteemd this life as if immortal And after death of life to be but mortal Have I so much this wicked world esteemd As of this death I have but only dreamd Have I felt limbs how they grow stiffe and weak And cannot see how fast my life doth break Have I observed that my eyes grow blind And cannot know that even so doth my mind Have I discernd my memory to fail And cannot find my vital parts to quail Have I seen wrinkles in my withered skin And cannot see my life is weak within Have I observd my hair to fall away Yet cannot feel my life is in decay Doth not the baldness of my
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
known to be much more And all his other attributes before So as there 's hope if thou hast grace to pray That this foul Satan may be driven away Where he shall ne'er attempt on thee againe If in thy Saviour thou hast grace remaine And to hâ—m onely thou thy self apply Who able is and will most willingly Help all of them that on his name do call If they bring with them heart and soul and all Or else 't is bootless offer to him go For without th' heart be sure he will say no. Then call this heart of mine thou blessed Lord Which thou hast made in me by thine own word Vouchsafe be pleas'd good Lord to call it so As it from henceforth never further go From thee my God my Saviour and my King But ever more thy worthy praises sing And grant good God that though my body trade In earthly things because on earth 't was made Yet that my soul may aye ascend on high And ever love the sacred Deity Then fast and pray and fast and pray againe That thou in sin do never more remaine But herehence hartily thou thy self repent Performing duly wherefore thou was sent Which was to serve thy God and King alway And in his service ever live and stay For all the time that he to thee hath lent Ought in his service to be solely spent Since thou thy self hast many servants had Though some of them have been approved bad Yet thou didst alwayes this of them expect That they should thee and what was thine respect And if they careless disobeyed thee Then doubtless thou wouldst very angry be But if they should ' gainst thee reply in word When thou wast ready smite them with thy sword And though their wages were but very small Yet thou expectedst they should spend even all Their time as thou by order didst direct Or else such servants thou wouldst not protect About thy house but frowning thrust them out And then like vagabonds they went about Reflect my soul a while upon thy self Let conscience say what thou hast done for pelfe And pleasing this soul filthy flesh of thine Wherein is spent most part of all thy time For if thou didst resolve one hour to spare In holy service of thy Saviour there Where Saints should be yet thou that hour didst finde Was long and tedious to thy tired minde Who then had thought of divers several things And not attent to that which angels sings O what a wretched wretched beast art thou VVho seems to man thy knees to God to bow And yet thy heart is all a whoring gone So that thy God indeed hath service none O wretch O wretch with what face canst thou crave Or any spiritual blessings look to have Of him who hath so much encreas'd thy store And doth bestow on thee poor miscreant more Then erst became that heart of thine require Or without shame thou couldst of him desire Yet thou a wretch ungrateful wretch to think Thou art born to live for nought but eat drink And so to do as though indeed there were No place of reck'ning any otherwhere Then on this earth where we do live and see Nought else but what appeareth to the eye Of this our flesh but not of that our faith For it hath often said and to thy soul now saith That thou art blinde and therefore canst not see That thou hast any living soul in thee O wretch O wretch O thou most beastly wretch Hast lived so long and yet thou art to teach That there is now a living soul in thee Which daily doth expect eternitie VVhich on this earth by no meanes can be gotten For earthly things at best are all but rotten O thou my soul shake off this clayie case This case of thine which is so filthy base As to forget that it ought ever live For him alone who did this life it give Yet give he did not but it onely lent And looks to have it to him solely sent For to dispose of as he thinketh best Or go thou down thou curst or come thou up thou blest O think my soul think seriously of this line In thinking of it now spend all thy time A man of reason would esteem of this A theam sufficient for eternal bliss Then ruminate upon this pithy line And keep it alwayes in that heart of thine And it will bring thee to thy way aright Then leave not thinking neither day nor night But bear 't about thee ever in thy minde And thou shalt surely in it treasure finde But if thou think or intend to gaine this treasure Thou must this day give o're all earthly pleasure Or else be sure thou shalt with sorrow prove Thy self accursed by great Jehovah above Then look in time and do thou fear this cursing And lieu thereof do strive to gaine this blessing Sweet Jesu grant that I may here so live As thou maist please vouchsafe unto me give At my departure this my latest doome Blessed of the Lord do thou unto me come O here my soul be sure set up thy rest And keep this alwayes in thy bony breast And write it there thou'lt finde it is so good It doth deserve for to be writ in blood For here thy deerest blood were well bestowed To gaine that blessing in these lines is showed Which thou must either now on earth obtaine Or else thy dayes are all spent but in vaine And if onely so the matter 's so much less Though it were loss of thine eternal bliss But thou in lieu thereof shalt surely gain Both loss of bliss and eke eternal pain O cruel cruel wretched wretched thee That wilt not solely in his service be Who lost his dearest blood and life to bring Thee to be capable of that great blessing Which none can have but onely them alone Who come to gaine it by his passion Then thou my soul his passion so apply As through it only thou maist live not dye Apply it then and do apply it right And it will keep thee alwayes in his sight Who dyed for thee and greatly did desire That he may free thee from th' infernal fire Wherein thy conscience tells thee thou must burn Except thou quickly to thy Saviour turn Then turn thou to him and turn to him so As thou gaine not this doleful word of Go. O fearful saying of all the very worst That erst was heard these words of Go accurst O horrid horrid horrid fearful thing To be cast out from sight of this our king Who lovingly did freely suffer death To bring thee sinner to eternal life Then gaine this life how deer soere it cost For this of all whatsoere concerns thee most Then think of this and think on 't seriously And it will teach thee live most vertuously And then be sure that thou in th' end shalt have What this thy soul can in it soul but crave Then crave it crave it do thou crave with zeal That Christ himself
may to thy soul reveal The secret vertue of his death and blood Which he so shed for thine eternal good Here do thou build here 's good foundation Freed from all danger of inundation The onely rock whereon stands saving health Which is more worth then all this worldly wealth For herein solely's perfect happiness The very essence of all blessedness Here build my soul and do thou build so high That th' building reach above the starry skie Where thy blest Saviour sits himself alone Upon that blessed glorious heavenly throne Which none beholds but them are onely his And by his passion enter into bliss For all th' accursed are from thence thrown down By God above with such a furious frown As they shall ne'er enabled be to see The face of th' sacred glorious Trinitie O fear O fear beyond all other fears The thought whereof my very heart even tears Then if thou wilt this hideous fear prevent Remember th' cause for which was 't hither sent And if thou dost not that thy end forget It may procure a place for thee to sit Among that glorious heavenly angels quire VVhich is thy soul 's it chief and sole desire O be not thou so far then overseen As thou hast all thy lifetime hereto been To sleep in sin and that so securely As though in it thou didst intend to dye But now 't is time to rouze thy self from sleep If thou intend from sin thy self to keep Or else be sure in lieu of sleeping sink Into that horrid fearful place of stink Where thou shalt live depriv'd of heavenly bliss Or sight of heaven where thy sweet Saviour is Then sleep no more but rise and stand and pray And to thy Saviour do thou alwayes say Come blessed Lord vouchsafe on me to call That I do never herehence from thee fall But if I do then call good Lord againe That I from sin my self may now refraine And freely come to thee at this thy call And so in time prevent that fatal fall From whence no hope that thou canst rise againe But ever live eternally in paine Then stand in fear to fall if thou be wise And from thy sleep in hast do now arise And fast and pray and fall upon the ground That blessings may from heaven on thee abound And these thy prayers do thou iterate That they thereby thy paines may mitigate And heav thy soul up to the heavens from whence If not thou must receive due recompence For sin the wage whereof assure thy self is death VVhich thou must pay with loss of deerest breath Then do thou look upon this death againe And see if he be now the very same He seem'd to be when justly thou condemn'd Thy self of sin which did so fore offend Thy God and King who't was did place thee here That thou mightst alwayes live of him in fear And then thou shouldst not need have any care Though death did come and take thee to his share Death hath no power that man at all to harme Who is defended by Jehovah's arme And though that death indeed o'recometh all He onely comes when God himself doth call For God makes death to be his instrument To strike when he by God alone is sent Then make thy suite to thy blest Saviour sweet As 't is thy duty and not all is meet That he will please both thee and thine defend From deadly sin until thy life have end And then fear not for sure thou shalt not miss Of gaining that is thine eternal bliss Which is prepar'd for all that onely cry Upon their blessed Saviour heartily But this most sinful hollow heart of mine Doth stay my soul that it can never shine As it desires but forced is comply With my hard heart which daily doth deny To entertaine ought that shall tend to good But ill it loves like as doth stomack food Vouchsafe good Lord I do most humbly pray Be pleas'd to take this tempter quite away For it is he who maketh me thus blinde And leads this man even up and down with th' winde For wheresoere the winde doth turn to blow That way doth he entice me likewise now O teach O teach me Lord I humbly pray That I in thee may ever live and stay And so to shun each ill occasion Which doth proceed of that illusion Of him is wont and yet still leadeth me To take his bait and so to forsake thee Deceitful bait which did me so entice The apple eate and yield my life the price O wretch O wretch that will so wretched be Was never born a man so blinde as thee Thus to be gull'd as thou hast ever been To loose thy life in lieu of a little sin Was ever sinner seen so fool'd as thou To such a feind as Satan is to bow Yea though thou seest him plainly 'fore thy face Yet thou dost hold it for no great disgrace To be led by him as thou willing art Because he 's harbour'd close within thy heart O call thy wits about thee now at last When all thy dayes are done and life is past Look at thy end thou canst not chuse but see How subtil Satan hath deluded thee Whereby thou now art brought to such a stay As neither devil nor yet this death can fray Thee from thy sin O see man do thou see What is that sweet in pleasing sin can be Whereby th' art brought to be so overcom'd As all thy senses are indeed benum'd For Satan makes thee so insatiate As thy case now is grown be desperate Did ever man by any pleasure gaine When by that pleasure he was in it slaine Is not he mad that will of poison eat Although he have not any other meat Will any drunkard pleasing poison drink When suddain death doth make him down to sink To th' deepest hell and there in it remaine Without all hope of turning ere againe And yet art thou more mad by much then he And wilt not from this thy great madness be Reform'd but still in madness thou runst on Till thou hast gain'd thy self confusion Both of thy body and thy soul and yet Thou wretched dost thy self so far forget As thou wilt not so much as think of th' end For which thy God did to this earth thee send Hast thou thy sense to take a taste of food And difference make betwixt the ill and good And which of them doth best thy pallat please And by thy sense art able judge of these But yet if thou didst know of poison there I hope thou wouldst not take it without fear And yet mad man so taken art with sin Though worse by much then poison be therein As that thou wilt not this thy sin forbear But thou wilt act it boldly without fear Art thou not mad nay further more then so Thou runst from heaven that thou to hell maist go And yet 'twixt these there is a difference great He that is mad hath no tast of his meat And so
this thy nature 's such And that thou art not able alter't much Art now become a very naturalist Even such is every sensless natural beast As are the untamed Lion Bear or Bull Or like to that the beastly horse or mule Yet all of these their nature so do heed As bounds of nature they do ne'er exceed For canst thou make a horse by force to eat When stomack doth not serve him to his meat Or canst thou make him 's belly for to fill Or yet to drink if 't be against his will Examine conscience it may chance to say There is some man offended hath this way So as these creatures may right well arise To teach fond man how to become be wise But thou I hope hast more in thee then so Or else hadst thou ne'er been made man I know Thou hast I am sure a living soul in thee But thou being blind this soul thou wilt not see Yet when thy eyes are ope thou plainly dost And careful art that it should not be lost O then have care keep ope these eyes of thine That they may make thy soul within thee shine In sight of him who did it in the make And gave his life even for thy own souls sake Then to him to him do thou freely go And pray that he will please thy eyes keep so Thou maist be bold to look up unto him Without all dread or any deadly sin For he alone it is must thee defend Or else there 's danger great of thee at th' end Then fall before him on thy bended knees Who heart and thought and all thy actions sees And pray and pray and pray to him againe That he will please within thee to remaine And ope thy eyes so as thou maist well see The cruel torments he endur'd for thee And ever have them constantly in minde And then thou shalt not fear to become blind But such thou art and such wilt ever be If that thy Saviour shall a while leave thee Then pray to him and pray continually That he will keep thee for eternity Pray without ceasing do thou never lin Lest that thou enter into horrid sin For if thou shouldst neglect to God to pray Be well assur'd he will no longer stay O stay with me sweet Jesu in my heart That I from thee herehence do ne'er depart But ever praying to thee night and day That in thy service I may alwayes stay With heart and soul and all is in my minde But all of these are apt to become blinde For now my conscience doth me plainly tell That all even all of me is nothing well For that I see my thoughts do love to range And think of things are uncouth and most strange Against my setled resolution quite From what is good to that which is not right And yet O Lord it is not in my power To make them stay no not for one half hour But they are gone I do not well know where Sometimes far off and sometimes also neer And never rest upon one stable theam But often flying out beyond the Realm So as from gadding they 'l not stay for me I know not well what th' cause thereof should be But by experience I do too well finde They 'l not be guided by that is my minde Which solely's set to serve my God and King And evermore to him due praises sing And strive to keep them in that blessed way Nor never wander out nor go astray But then even then my wandring thoughts are gone And that perchance to some strange region And never use ask of me any leave But of my good thoughts they do me bereave Whereby apparently I understand That my own thoughts are not in my own hand Nor is' t in me with force them to restraine Where I desire that they should aye remaine But suddainly they roam and run about To finde that rest which cannot be found out So as I am not able make them stay But they are gadding still some other way For though I strive with heart to make them think What I am writing with this pen of ink Yet 'fore I get but half of one line done They are to seek and from me quite out gone Though I desire with all my very heart That they should stay and not from me depart Till I have done what I in heart desire And what my soul doth in it soul require Which is to cause them rest alone in thee Who hath me made and likewise them in me But sure if God did them unto me send He sent them doubtless for some other end And not to reel and ramble up and down From this to that and then to th' t'other town And never stay where I wish they should be But alwayes running out abroad from me Whereby doth rise a case full of some doubt VVhat this may be which runneth thus about From heaven to hell and then to heaven againe But yet being there will not in heaven remaine Where I desire that they should ever rest Because I know that place is ever blest VVith the glorious presence of my Saviour sweet With whom my heart desires my soul may meet And there to stay and ever with him live Whose goodness did it freely to me give And then I doubt not but my soul shall rest VVhere I desire and do in heart request Thou wilt vouchsafe within me bless them so As they shall never from thy service go In the mean time till thou vouchsafe to say Come thou the blessed come and with me stay Here bide my soul and now set up thy rest For by him solely thou art onely blest And have a care thou from him ne're depart Nor in thy thought nor in thy very heart For this I fear will prove too much in blame Because I am not able th' other tame For if my heart were of it self upright It would not wander nor be out on 's sight VVho freely gave it for no other end But him to serve even world without all end O wretched wretched beast that thou shouldst be Hast lived so long and yet live wretchedly Not minding th' end for which was 't hither sent Forgetful also of thy sins repent VVhat shall I think of this vile ill condition That after so much godly admotion Of weakness great if so I rightly call it But I think rather strength I may so term it For sure I am that it doth o'recome me And by my minde it will not ruled be For I desire with all my very heart My secrets solely to my God impart And in him wholly by true faith confide And in him solely in my soul reside Yet I am drawn I cannot well say how To think of things which I do not know now For such are often got into my thought Which are not worthy of remembring ought If I should have desire them to recall Which is a thing not possible at all And if they could by me be spoke againe As
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