For any other Life than this short Span. If Cloathing hide thee from thy Neighbours sight Let it not hide thee also from thine own Look on thy self thy Nature is a Light Shall knowing Souls be to themselves unknown Now know thy self before thou art undrest And tho through flesh Men cannot see thy heart Open thy Eyes unveil thy Face at least That Men may see thou hast a better part How vile a thing is Man if Flesh be he Can he look high who thinks himself so base His bruitish sleepy Thoughts and Life must be A dreaming doating or despairing Case Where was that Flesh one Year before thy birth What is it now but warmed moving Clay What will it be e're long but common Earth To this thy Pomp and Pleasure is the way Where did Gods Art that curious Body form As in a Dunghil even in Natures sink Though Skin and Cloathing now do it Adorn 'T was bred between the Dung and Urins stink What was it made of but the Mothers Food Curdled and quickned by the Makers pow'r And there it lay in darkness filth and blood Unmeet for sight till Births appointed hour In pain and danger then it is brought forth A speechless helpless and polluted thing Entring the World with crying at its Birth Foretelling greater griefs which time will bring How long by patient Mothers care and love Doth feeble useless troubling Age subsist Should Man continue such we could not prove That he in kind is better than a Beast Long do these unripe fleshly Bodies keep The Soul from shewing its essential Power Sense Rules while Reason lyeth half asleep Vain toys and folly spend our Childish hours By use and prepossession flesh gets strength Resisting Light and all that 's Wise and Holy Till Reason be its servile slave at length And greatest Wit become the greatest Folly Then Carnal Man lives like a crafty Beast Only to pamper Flesh and please its Lust To make the Worms and Hell a costly Feast When Souls must part and leave Flesh to the Dust. If Flesh be Man how many Men are one From Birth to Death when as the Rivers flow Daily new Flesh succeeds that which is gone And none is what he was one Year ago That beauteous Face that pamperd Body stood But lately on thy Table as thy Meat 'T was Mutton Bief Pork Chicken or such Food What now thou art is what thou then didst eat Part of a Fish a Swine a Calf or Lamb Is turn'd into a Lady Lord or King This Metamorphosis of Beast to Man Is surely done by some great unseen thing Yea all of Man that 's seen did lately grow In Fields and that was Corn or Fruit or Grass Which now is Flesh or from the Springs did flow To shew what Flesh will be by what it was Vain Man knowst thou no deeper than thy Skin Go see an opend Corps and that will shew What Garbage Filth and Dung are hid Within What thy vile Body is thou there maist know Think that thy noisom stinking Excrement Is one part of that Sumptuous Pleasant Food Whose other part a while of better scent Is turned into that proud Flesh and Blood If yet deceitful Beauty cheat thy Eyes Look on a Face that 's crusted with the Pocks Or a white Breast where stinking Cancers rise And pity fools whom Fleshly Pleasure mocks If Health Wealth Pomp or Pow'r delude thy mind Go to the greatest dying sick Mans Bed Ask him what safety he in these doth find Yea go yet further look upon the Dead Here much unlike to what it was before Is that now loathsom Flesh that ghastly Face What hath it now of all its Power and Store Remember this must shortly be thy Case How long the sight and scent can you abide Of your Dead greatest wisest dearest Friend Unless some Art the frightful Visage hide And from the smell your tender Sense defend We can devise no better a dispose Of dearest Friends than a deep darksom Grave Where to lie rotting we may them repose The living from their sight and scent to save The worms without repulse there feasted be They feed on Heart and Face without offence VVhat pamperd Bodies are there you may see If you dig up that Corps a few Months hence But though what 's out of sight grows out of mind Pictures and guilded Tombs are also set The sensless Hearts of Men further to blind That what Flesh is they may the more forget Yet the next opened Grave casts up in sight The Skull whose holes of Eyes Mouth you see Where enter'd formerly the dear delight Think then thus shortly it will be with me The harmless pretty Bird with Pleasure sings Not so deform'd in Life or Death as we The cruel Bowels of great Lords and Kings To her an honourable Tomb may be Save that to be devoured by bad Men Turns guiltless things into a guilty wight And makes them sinful and more fetide than If they had rotted in the open light The labouring Ant less burdensome Flesh hath Thousands in peace in one stor'd heap can dwell In peace by crowds they travel the same path And being dead annoy none by their smell The working Bees in peace together live Fetching their Hony home from many Flowers Dwelling in quiet order in one Hive But Man destroys them and their store devours God who by Nature gives them flying Wings And their rare mellifying power gave Doth give them also their defensive Stings Their House and Young and Property to save Men kill them and eat up their gathered Food But make the like no King no Artist can Their Work yea their dead Corps are sweet good But sweetest things corrupt and stink in Man How swiftly do thâ— unwearied Swallows flee And mount and sport even to an unseen height Their active fiery part is quick and free Not clog'd as Men are by a fleshly weight The mounted Lark hovering with nimble wings Dwells above Earth till strength and spirits sail And peering towards the Sun she sweetly sings But falls down mute when earthly parts prevail Some say all motion tends to ceasing rest Of Earths forc't lifeless motion this is true To Spirits perfect Action is the best Uncessant Love and Pleasure is their due Experience sadly tells Man that his Soul Is clog'd by Flesh perverted by its bent So that dark heathens did its case condole As for old Sins into this Body sent Did not Gods Holy Spirit quicken ours And cause us unseen things by Faith to see Renew and raise our dead corrupted powers None could from Flesh Lust Sin Hell saved be Flesh is not Sin it s made for Holy use In it Souls here must seek and serve the Lord But it s the tempting object of abuse While we its Life and Lust too much regard The Body as a Servant we must love But Souls have Sense and Sense to Flesh is ty'd And so drawn down from God and things above The Soul that hath
can never have Access From it their Canon-Law receiv'd its Birth To which they all obedience profess But the false name of Councils-General Is now a Cheat to serve the Roman-King Where are those Councils whence who must them call Who them from all the Earth together bring Could not our Lord without all this adoe Have made sufficient Universal Law But our Religion must have so much new Which th' ancient Christians never heard or saw Communion's made Subjection by this Cheat None can be Sav'd that are not Canon-proof Obey them or they 'l say you Separate They Build the Church beginning at the Roof Thus can the Flesh such Learned Men deceive And make them love their Enemies as Friends And rule their Faith and make them all believe That all is good which serves their Worldly Ends How Wise and Holy should that Person be Whose Daily Business is to search Gods Law Who should in Heavenly Pleasure Live but he That Heaven and Hell as in a Map still saw Doth Pride and Envy bitter Strife and Wrath Church Tyranny or Hatred of the Good Become that Man who such an Office hath To Preach Gods Love Seal'd with Christs Flesh Blood What is his Calling but Souls to Convert And Build them up in Faith and Love with Peace In what Art should he rather be expert Then to breed Love and Hurtfulness suppress If he love Christ he 'l gently feed his Sheep Cherish and Love the good strengthen the weak The Flock from Wolves hurtful Beasts he 'l keep And not against the Just and Upright speak Self-contradicting is a Madmans mark Judg then what these Malignant Preachers are Self-damning Self-confuting in the dark Heart Tongue Hand are in a constant War They are Church-Shepherds yet hurtful Wolves They Preach for Love to Foes yet hate Christs Friends Preach Life to others choose Death to themselves Heavenly words they speak for Worldly Ends. They Pray that Gods great Name may Hallowed be Which they profane by pleading it for Evil They Pray as if Christs Kingdom they would see But mean their own that 's ruled by the Devil They hate Gods Will Pray it may be done Ev'n as it is in Heaven A high degree Yet if one plead Gods Will against their own Who 's hated more or used worse than he They Pray for Daily Bread for Life Health But without Plenty are not satisfi'd But seek Preferment Fulness Rule Wealth And grudg if Fleshly Lust be but deny'd The' ask pardon of the Sin they Love Cherish And that but as themselves forgive another Yet to fear God Sin Hell as loath to perish They 'l not forgive to a dissenting Brother They pray God not to lead them to Temptation Yet tempt themselves love most tempting things Strong baits of Flesh are their chief consolation Greedy of all that deadly pleasure brings They ask deliverance from all that 's ill Yet Sin the worst they love and will not leave They ask what 's full against their Vicious Will That which God offers and they 'l not receive They seem to own a God They Preach his Law But Man and Flesh must be before him serv'd The World 's more lov'd of Man th' are more in awe As if God but the Tongue Knee deserv'd The Image is their God and hath the Heart God's made an Image and hath but the name Religion is with them meer Form and Art Kept up for Peace by Custom Fear Shame Christ is their Saviour call'd their King Lord To Preach his Grace and Glory is their Trade But to be Sav'd from Lust Sin 's Abhor'd And he an Underling to Flesh is made They say they do believe the Holy Ghost But his refining work will not be born A Fleshly Worldly Life doth please them most The Spirits Name Work some make a Scorn And yet for Holiness who hath more Zeal Meaning great Names Interest of their own They against Sacriledg to God appeal As it would Rob their Flesh and it Dethrone It s none to hurt Christs Flock withhold their Food His Faithful Ministers to Alienate Nor feed proud Flesh with what belongs to God All 's Holy that to it is Dedicate Religion ends with them as it begun They were Baptiz'd and made the Sacred Vow But this was by a strange Godfather done It s with great Grief that I must tell you how It s known an Infant hath no Will to choose The Parents Will and Choice do stand for his Till he be capable his own to use He in the Power of his Parents is And God obligeth Christians to devote Themselves and Theirs in Covenant to Christ This he accepts as many Scriptures note The Parent being Dedicated first But now some other doth the Parents part Vows for the Child and its due Education And though he never meant it in his heart To see it Taught all needful to Salvation Atheists and Infidels and Sadduces Their Children are all freely taken in If they have but such Godfathers as these Baptism is said to save them all from Sin Men forbid Parents Godfathers to be And Ministers their presence to require Foreign Kings stand for those they never see Poor Men get such as they for Money hire Parents these Undertakers do not ask Will you these Vows and Promises perform Baptismal Vows are made a formal task Thus they began Thus Men Christs Laws reform Thus Christians by false Ceremony made Religion 's made a Ceremony now Not minding what Suborn'd Men Vow'd or said They boldly break what others falsely Vow'd And when in Play Sin their Childhood's spent For Canting a few words not understood Mindless what Faith is or their Baptism meant Confirm'd they boldly claim Christs Flesh and Blood A Lifeless Image being thus receiv'd More Forms and Ceremonies it adorn And Hypocrites by Shadows thus deceiv'd The unknown Holy Life do Hate and Scorn Thus Life is fool'd away till Death seem near Which doth disrobe their splendid cheating Sins But to ease Conscience waken'd now by fear Forc'd Penitence Mans Absolution wins And at the Grave when Men as bad as he Do hear that God in Mercy took his Soul And Charity for this hope pleaded be False hopes which should be broken are kept whole Thus Sinners are befoold till time is done From first to last spent in Hypocrisie And endless sorrow when all hope is gone Tell them what Mercy they did long deny Yet still the reverend Masters of the Game Cherish the Malady with Zeal and Art Being themselves diseased by the same By mortal habit both of Head and Heart Tradition Ceremony Pomp and Rule A humane Image without Divine Life By Pharisees was used as the tool Of self-deceit and of malignant strife Dead Saints they honour'd and the living killâ—d The Dead molest them not by their reproof Their Relicks Days and Monuments they held In their Devotion as of great behoof Yet none were fiercer Enemies of Christ
not Faith is bruitify'd The Interest of Flesh perverts the will It conquers Reason and corrupts the Mind No other Enemy doth so much ill To self-destroying perishing Mankind ANd now oh Man is Flesh all that thou art Worthy of all thy stir and cost and care Live not as if thou hadst no better part Mens Souls like God and Kin to Angels are Even Bruits have Souls possest of Life and Sense Made to serve Man who 's made his God to praise Whither Distinct or One when taken hence Subject to us whom God will higher raise What 's Flesh but Water mixt with sensless Earth Viler than dirt when Souls a while are gone It 's unseen Spirit which causeth Life and Birth This moveth all that 's mov'd doth all that 's done Mans Soul is made the Image of his God Substantial Virtue of Life Light and Love And though in Flesh it now have its abode Its tendency is to the world above It came from God and unto God returns Though in this Flesh its Life of Tryal be It daily wasts the Oyl as Fire that burns Consumes its Fuel and then is set free As flames mount upward Souls tow'rd Heav'n ascend And are still restless till they be at home If Sin depress them not tow'rd God they tend Blessed and joyful when to him they come As things Inanimate are rul'd by force By Sense and Objects Bruits determined be Both these are carried on in Natures course Mans will more undetermin'd is and free Bruits are not Ruled by a Moral Law Nor moved by the hopes of Life to come Nor of Gods Threats and Justice stand in awe Nor after Death fear any other Doom Man 's made in his degree to know the Lord To know his Duty and to please Gods will To learn and love trust and obey his word In hope of Heav'n his course here to fulfil God is Mans supreme King his Guid his End His Soul and Life should have no other scope From Sin and Devils God will his defend In Life and Death God is our only hope You see not whither Souls departing go But Heav'n and Hell are visible to Faith God hath reveal'd enough to make us know That all shall be performed which he saith We no more need to fear his word should fail Or God forsake the Souls that do him please Or any final Hurt Christ's Flock assail Than Earth to bear or Sun to shine should cease Is not a Sober Righteous Holy Life In certain hope of everlasting Joys Better than Sin Despair Care Fear and Strife For short deceitful pleasant Dreams and Toys IF yet blind Man thou thinkst thou art a Beast And hast no higher Hopes Work to mind Become a Tame and gentle One at least Not of the wild fierce hurtful bloody Kind Serpents Toads Wolves are harmless things Yea Lions Tigers and such Beasts of Prey Compaird with many Conquerors and Kings Who do Ten Thousand fold more hurt than they If this short Fleshly pleasure be thy best What need of Wars Blood Rage debate Sweet Love and quiet Peace afford more rest Than Pow'r Wealth with hurtful Plots Hate What need of large Dominions to prepare For Dying Pangs a Coffin and a Grave Quiet Content and Kindness fitter are Thy Neighbours welfare thy own to save But of all Beasts the Man-Beast is the worst To others and himself the cruelst Foe And turning Serpent doth become Accurst A Scourge to others his own endless Woe As Holiness fits Souls for endless Bliss And here hath its beginning and foretast So Sin the Plague of Unman'd Nature is And turns Man-Beast to Devil at the last If all Men made themselves are their own And have no Ruler but Self-will and Sense If Man be nothing else but Flesh and Bone Can live here still and say I 'le not go hence If Man can Conquer God and him Dethrone Kill Christ again and shut up Paradise Then Saints are Fools and Worldly Men alone Choosing a Shadow and Despair are wise But sure if Man be only Mortal Flesh A Squib a Bubble a vile Earthy Clod He never will have Pow'r what e're he wish To save himself by overcoming God But Heav'n is quite above Malignant Powers Our Peace Safety 's far above their reach Christs Kingdom is not of this World nor ours It 's unseen Blessedness which he did Preach There Holy Spirits free from Sin and Fear From Cruel Tyrants Devils Death and Hell The sweet Celestial Melody still hear In perfect Light and Love together dwell There 's no dark Error no perplexing doubt No Selfish Envy Strife or Discontent All hurtful troubling things are there shut out No Wrathful Sting no Malice no Dissent Numberless Numbers there are all but One Of the same Body each a Member is Each hath his due degree and place but none A Selfish separated part of Bliss All have one God one Head one Vital Spirit All Love God with one Love and all Rejoice With one Joy All one Kingdom do Inherit All sweetly sing Gods Praise as with one Voice True Unity with Diff'rence well Accords And makes up Beauty Consort though there Self Numbers Many and such parting words Have not the same dividing sence as here Thus hath one Soul more than one Faculty One Sun each sort of Life Three formal Powers Some Image of the Divine Trinity But none on Earth so excellent as ours And as in Being so in more respects Unity doth with Number well agree Many Concauses have the same effects Yea all Gods Creatures One and Many be So divers Fruits are but parts of one Tree And every Tree is Rooted in one Ground All Grounds of this One Earth but parcels be This Earth a small part of the World is found Souls are unseen and so their Union is Many united Individuals Their distinct persons make some think amiss That they are incoherent Integrals God only hath a perfect Unity Of the same World some Blest some Cursed be Some Union stands with great Diversity Apples and Crabs may grow on the same Tree Blest Union is of Good-things near of Kin To things Discordant Union causeth pain An aking Tooth is better out than in To lose a Rotting Member is a Gain The nearest Fuel is Consum'd by Fire Gods Wrath is near the Wicked to destroy To Holy Souls who Gods Love most desire He is their full and everlasting Joy Ten Thousand Stars and Candles give one Light Concordant Sounds make one sweet Melody Two Ears One hearing Cause Two Eyes One Sight But Light Darkness have no Unity Here Wicked Men are every where in Wars Men against Men as Tigers fiercely Rave Our Minds Wills Passions have their Jars Our Souls and Bodies Mortal Discords have Though Life be short Death is at the Door Impatient Foes think posting Time too slow They grudg to let us live a few Days more Revenge and Malice long to give the Blow But Heav'n