Scriptural Poems. Being several Portions of SCRIPTURE Digested into ENGLISH VERSE. VIZ.
- I. The Book of Ruth.
- II. The History of Sampson.
- III Christ's Sermon on the Mount.
- IV. The Prophecy of Jonah.
- V. The Life of Joseph.
- VI. The Epistle of James.
By JOHN BUNYAN.
Licensed according to Order.
LONDON: Printed for J. Blare, at the Looking-Glass on London-Bridge, 1700.
TO THE READER.
WHoe'er thou art that shalt peruse this Book,
This may inform thee, when I undertook
To write these Lines, it was not my Design
To publish this imperfect Work of mine:
Composed only for Diversion's sake.
But being inclin'd to think thou may'st partake
Some benefit thereby, I have thought fit,
(Imperfect as it is) to publish it.
The Subjects are a part of the Contents,
Both of the
Old and the
New Testaments;
The Word are for the most part all the same,
(For I affected Plainness more than Fame)
Nor could'st thou hope to have it better done:
For I'm no Poet, nor a Poet's Son
But a Mechanick, guided by no rule,
But what I gained in a Grammar School.
In my Minority: I can't commend it,
Such as it is into the World I send it,
And should be glad to see some Hand to mend it.
[Page] Would but those Men whose Genius leads them to't,
And who have time and parts wherewith to do't,
Imploy their Pens in such a Task as this,
'I would be a most delightsome Exercise,
Of Profit to themselves and others too:
If what the Learned
Herbert says, holds true,
A Verse may find him, whom a Sermon flies,
And turn Delight into a Sacrifice;
Thus I conclude, and wish it as delighting
To thee in reading as to me in writing.
JOHN BUNYAN.
THE Book of RUTH.
CHAP. I.
IN ancient Times, e'er
Israel knew the way
Of kingly Power, when Judges bore the sway,
A certain Man of
Bethlehem Juda fled,
By Reason of a Famine that o'erspread
The Land, into the Land of
Moab, where
He and his Wife, and Sons, sojourners were.
[Page 8] His Name
Elimelech, his eldest Son
Was called
Mahlon, t'other
Chilion.
His Wife was
Naomi, Ephrathites they were:
They went to
Moab and continued there:
Where of her Husband
Naomi was bereft,
And only she, and her Two Sons were left:
Who took them Wives of
Moab in their Youth:
The Name of one was
Orpah, t'other
Ruth:
And there they died e'er twice Five Years were gone;
And
Naomi was wholly left alone.
Then she arose, and her Step-daughters with her,
To leave the Land of
Moab altogether:
For she had heard the Lord had visited
Her native Country, with increase of Bread.
Wherefore the Land of
Moab she forsook,
And to her native Place her course she took,
Her Daughters with her: Whom she did desire,
That to their Mother's House they would retire:
The Lord, said she, be kind to you agen,
As you to me, and to the dead have been:
God grant you each may be with Husbands blest,
And in th' Enjoyment of them, both find rest.
Then she embraced them, and there withal,
Down from their Cheeks, the Tears began to fall:
They wept aloud, and said, Most surely we
Unto thy People will return with thee.
But
Naomi replied, Wherefore will ye,
My Daughters, thus resolve to go with me?
Are there yet any more Sons in my Womb,
That may your Husbands be in time to come?
Return again, my Daughters, go your way,
For I'm too Old to marry: Should I say
[Page 9] I've Hope? Should I this Night conceive a Son?
Would either of you stay till he is grown?
Would you so long without an Husband live?
Nay, nay, my Daughters, for it doth me grieve
Exceedingly, even for your sakes, that I
Do under this so great Affliction lie.
And here they wept again: And
Orpah kiss'd
Her Mother, but
Ruth would not be dismiss'd
But clave unto her: Unto whom she spake
And said, Behold, thy Sister is gone back,
With her own Gods, and People to abide,
Go thou along with her. But
Ruth reply'd,
Intreat me not to leave thee, or return:
For where thou goest, I'll go, where thou sojourn,
I'll sojourn also: And what People's thine,
And who thy God, the same shall both be mine:
Where thou shalt die, there will I die likewise,
And I'll be buried where thy Body lies:
The Lord do so to me, and more, if I
Do leave thee, or forsake thee till I die.
And when she saw the Purpose of her Heart,
She left off to desire her to depart.
So they Two travelled along together
To
Bethlehem, and when they were come thither,
Behold! the People were surpriz'd, and cried
What is this
Naomi? But she reply'd,
Oh! call me
Mara, and not
Naomi:
For I have been afflicted bitterly.
I went out from you full, but now I come.
As it hath pleased God, quite empty home:
Why then call ye me
Naomi? Since I
Have been afflicted so exceedingly.
Who had come from the Land of
Moab with her:
And unto
Bethlem Juda did they come,
Just as the Barley Harvest was begun.
CHAP. II.
THere was a Man of Kin to
Naomi,
One that was of her Husband's Family,
His Name was
Boaz, and his Wealth was great.
And
Ruth the Moabitess did intreat
Her Mother's leave, that she might go, and gather
Some Ears of Corn, where she should most find favour:
Go, Daughter, go, said she. She went, and came
Near to the Reapers, to glean after them:
And, lo, it was her hap to light among
The Reapers, which to
Boaz did belong.
Behold, now
Boaz came from
Bethlehem
Unto his Reapers, and saluted them,
And they bless'd him again: and he inquired
Of him that was set over them he hired,
From whence the Damsel was, and was inform'd
She was the Moabitess that return'd
With
Naomi: And she did ask, said he,
That here amongst the Reapers she might be,
And that she might have liberty to glean
Among the Sheaves: And she all day hath been,
Even from the morning until now, with us,
That she hath stay'd a little in the House.
That thou go not from hence, or follow after
The Reapers of another Field, but where
My Maidens are, see that thou tarry there:
Observe what Field they reap, and go thou there,
Have I not charg'd the young Men to forbear
To touch thee? And when thou dost thirst, approach
And drink of what the Youths have set abroach.
Then she fell on her Face, and to the Ground
She bow'd her self, and said, Why have I found
Such favour in thine Eyes, That thou, to me
Who am a Stranger, should so courteous be?
And
Boaz said, It hath been fully shown
To me, what to thy Mother-in Law thou'st done,
Since of thine Husband thou hast been bereft:
How thou thy Father and thy Mother left,
And thine own native Land to come unto
A Land, which thou before didst never know:
The Lord, the God of
Israel, the Defence
Whom now thou'st chosen, be thy recompence.
Then said she, let me in thy sight, my Lord,
Find favour, in that thou dost thus afford
Me Comfort, and since thou so kind to me
Dost speak, though I thereof unworthy be
And
Boaz said, at Meal-time come thou near,
Eat of the Bread, and dip i'th' Vinegar.
And by the Reapers she sate down to Meat,
He gave her parched Corn, and she did eat,
And was suffic'd, and left, and rose to glean:
And
Boaz gave Command to the young Men,
Let her come in among the Sheaves, said he,
To glean, and let her not reproached be:
[Page 12] Let fall some handfuls also purposely,
And let her take them without injury.
So she till Even glean'd, and then beat out
Her Barly, being an
Ephah or thereabout.
She took it up, and to the City went,
And to her Mother-in-Law did it present:
And what she had reserv'd to her she gave,
When she had took what she design'd to have.
Then unto her, her Mother-in-Law did say,
In what Field hast thou been to glean to day?
And where hast thou been working? Blest be he,
That thus hath taken Cognizance of thee.
She told with whom, and furthermore did say,
The Man's Name's
Boaz, Where I wrought to day.
And
Naomi reply'd, May he be blest,
Even of the Lord, whose Kindness manifest
Unto the Living and the Dead hath been:
The Man's our Kinsman, yea the next of kin.
And
Ruth the Moabitess said, He gave
Me likewise a Commandment not to leave,
Or to depart, from following his young Men,
Until they had brought all his Harvest in.
And
Naomi said unto
Ruth, My Daughter,
'Tis good that thou observe to follow after
His Maidens, that they meet thee not elsewhere.
So she to
Boaz's Maidens still kept near,
Till Barley and Wheat Harvest both, she saw
Were done, and she dwelt with her Mother-in-Law.
CHAP. III.
THen
Naomi said, Shall I not, my Daughter,
Seek Rest for thee, that thou do well hereafter?
And is not
Boaz, with whose Maids thou wast,
One of the nearest Kinsmen that thou hast?
Behold, this Night he in his Threshing-Floor
Is winnowing Barley, wash thy self therefore,
Anoint thee, put thy Cloaths on, and get down
Unto the Floor; but make not thy self known,
Till he hath eat and drank, and shall prepare
To lie him down; then take good notice where
He goes about to take his Night's Repose,
And go thou in there, and lift up the Cloaths
From off his Feet, and likewise lay thee down,
And what thou hast to do he will make known.
And she made answer, Whatsoever thou
Hast me commanded, will I gladly do.
And down unto the Floor she hasted, and
Forthwith fulfill'd her Mother-in-Law's Command.
So now when
Boaz had his Heart refresh'd,
With Meat and Drink, he laid him down to rest,
Near to the heap of Corn; she softly came,
Uncover'd's Feet, and lay down by the same.
And, lo! at Midnight, as he turn'd him round,
He was afraid, for at his Feet he found
A Woman lay: Who art thou? then said he.
I am thine Handmaid
Ruth, replyed she,
Over thine Handmaid therefore spread thy Skirt,
I pray, because thou a near Kinsman art.
[Page 14] Blessed be thou, said he, because thou hast
Made manifest more Kindness at the last,
Than at the first, in that thou didst, my Daughter,
No young Men, whether poor or rich, go after:
And now, my Daughter, be not thou afraid,
I will do to thee all that thou hast said:
For all the City of my People knows,
Thou art a Woman truly vertuous;
And now, though I am Kin undoubtedly,
Yet there is one that's nearer Kin than I:
Tarry this Night, and when 'tis Morning light,
If he will like a Kinsman do thee right,
We'll let him, but if not, I my self will,
As the Lord lives, till Morning lie thou still.
And till the Morning at his Feet she lay,
And then arose about the break of Day;
And he gave her a Charge, not to declare
That there had any Womankind been there:
He also said, Bring here thy Veil, and hold
To me; she did, and thereinto he told
Six Measures full of Barley, and did lay
It on her, and she hasted thence away.
And when unto her Mother-in-Law she came,
Art thou, said she, my Daughter, come again?
Then what the Man had done she told, and said,
He these six Measures full of Barley laid
Upon me, for said he, This I bestow,
Least to thy Mother thou should'st empty go.
Then, said she, sit still Daughter, till thou see
What the Event of this Intrigue will be;
For till the Man this Day hath made an end,
No Satisfaction will on him attend.
CHAP. IV.
AND
Boaz went up to the City Gate,
And after a short space, while there he sate,
The Kinsman, of whom he had spoke, came by,
To whom he said, Ho, such a one, draw nigh,
And sit down here: He came and sate him down:
Then he took Ten Men, Elders of the Town,
And caus'd them to sit down. Then to the Man
That was of Kin, thus he his Speech began,
Naomi, said he, who not long since sojourn'd
Amongst the Moabites, is now return'd;
And doth intend to sell a piece of Ground,
The which
Elimelech our Brother own'd:
And now to give thee notice, I thought fit,
That if thou pleasest, thou may'st purchase it,
In Presence of these Men assembled here:
Then if thou wilt redeem it, now declare
Thy Mind, but if thou wilt not, then let me,
For thou art next of Kin, and I next thee.
Then said the Kinsman, I will it redeem.
Boaz reply'd, if good to thee it seem,
To buy it of the Hand of
Naomi,
Thou also art oblig'd the same to buy
Of
Ruth the Moabitess, Wife o'th' dead,
On his Inheritance to raise up Seed.
The Kinsman said, I cannot do this thing
My self, least I an Inconvenience bring
Upon mine own Inheritance, what's mine
By right, therefore I now to thee resign.
[Page 16] Now this in
Israel did a Custom stand,
Concerning changing and redeeming Land;
To put all Controversie to an end,
A Man pluck'd off his Shooe, and gave his Friend;
And this in
Israel was an Evidence,
When e'er they changed an Inheritance.
Then said the Kinsman unto
Boaz, do
Thou take my Right. And off he pluck'd his Shooe
Then
Boaz to the Elders thus did say,
And to the People, All of you this Day
Appear for me as Witnesses, that I
Have bought all of the hand of
Naomi,
That was
Elimelech's, or did belong
Either to
Mahlon or to
Chilion:
And
Ruth the Moabitess, who some time
Was
Mahlon's Wife, I've purchas'd to be mine,
Still to preserve alive the dead Man's Name
On his Inheritance, least that the same
Should in the Gate where he inhabited,
Or 'mongst his Brethren be extinguished:
Behold, this Day, my Witnesses you are.
Then all the People that were present there,
And Elders said, We are thy Witnesses:
May God this Woman thou hast taken bless,
That she like
Rachel, and like
Leah be,
Which two did build up
Israel's Family:
And thou in
Ephratah exalt thy Name,
And through the Town of
Bethlem spread thy Fame,
And may the Seed which God shall give to thee
Of this young Woman, full as prosperous be,
As was the House of
Pharez heretofore,
(Pharez, whom
Tamar unto
Judah bore.)
[Page 17] So he took
Ruth, and as his Wife he knew her,
And God was pleased, when he went in to her,
To grant the Blessing of Conception,
And she accordingly bare him a Son.
Then said the Women, Blessed be the Lord!
Bless thou him
Naomi, who doth afford
To thee this Day a Kinsman, which shall be
Famous in
Israel; and shall be to thee
As the Restorer of thy Life again,
And in thy drooping Age shall thee sustain:
For that thy Daughter-in-Law, who loves thee well
And in thy Sight doth Seven Sons excel,
Hath born this Child. Then
Naomi took the Boy
To Nurse, and did him in her Bosom lay:
Her Neighbours too, gave him a Name, for why,
This Son, say they, is born to
Naomi:
They call'd him
Obed, from whose Loins did spring
Jesse, the Sire of
David, Israel's King.
The End of the Book of
RUTH.
THE History of Sampson:
Judges, Chap. xiii.
WHen
Israel's Sins th' Almighty did provoke,
To make them subject to
Philistine Yoke
For forty Years: In
Zorah dwelt a Man,
His Name
Manoah, of the Tribe of
Dan;
His Wife was barren, unto whom appeared
The Angel of the Lord, and thus declared:
Though thou, said he, art barren, time shall come
Thou shalt enjoy the Blessing of thy Womb;
Now therefore I intreat thee to refrain
From Wine, strong Drink, and things that are unclean.
For lo, thou shalt conceive and bear a Son,
Upon whose Head there shall no Razor come,
For he to God a Nazarite shall be,
And shall begin to set his People free
From the Philistine Yoke. The VVoman came
And told her Husband, she had seen a Man
Of God, his dreadful look made me, said she,
Think him an Angel of the Lord to be:
But I enquired not from whence he came,
Neither did he make known to me his Name:
But thus he said, Thou shalt conceive a Son;
Wherefore Strong Drink and Wine, see that thou shun,
[Page 19] And have a care that thou be not defil'd
With things that are unclean; for why, the Child
Shall from his Separation from the Womb,
Become a Nazarite, ev'n to his Tomb.
Manoah then did supplicate the Lord,
And said, O Lord, be pleased to afford
This Favour unto me, to send again
The Man of God, more fully to explain
Thy Will to us, that we may rightly know,
When this Child shall be born, what we must do.
And to
Manoah's Prayer God gave Ear,
And to his Wife the Angel did appear
Again, as she did in the Field retire,
At such time as her Husband was not nigh her.
And she made haste, and ran, and streight declared
Unto her Husband, that the Man appeared
Again, whom she had seen the other Day.
Manoah then arose, and went his way,
And when he came, he said, Art thou the Man
That spakest to my Wife? He said, I am:
Manoah said, Now let thy Words be true:
How shall we use the Child, what must we do?
Then said the Angel of the Lord, Let her
Of all that I have charged her beware:
She may not taste of what comes of the Vine,
Nor may she drink strong Drink, or any Wine,
Nor may she eat of things that are unclean,
From all that I have said, let her refrain.
Manoah said unto the Angel, stay
With us, till we have dress'd a Kid, I pray.
But he reply'd, though thou shalt me detain,
I'll eat no Bread, but if thou dost design
[Page 20] A Sacrifice unto the Lord, then offer:
For ne'er till now,
Manoah did discover
It was a Man of God he spake unto:
Then said he to the Angel, Let me know
Thy Name, that when these things shall be perform'd,
The Honour due to thee may be return'd.
Whereto the Man of God made this Reply,
Why askest thou, since 'tis a Mystery?
So he a Kid, and a Meat-Off'ring took,
And offer'd to the Lord upon a Rock:
And there the Man of God did wondrously,
The whilst
Manoah and his Wife stood by:
For as the Altar did send up the Flame,
The Man of God ascended in the same:
Manoah and his Wife stood looking on,
And on their Faces to the Ground fell down.
(But then the Angel did appear no more)
Manoah then knew who he was: Therefore
He said unto his Wife, Most surely we
Shall die, for we the Face of God did see.
But she reply'd, If God would such a thing,
He would not now accept our Offering,
Or would he have to us these things made known,
Or told us, as at this time he hath done.
And now (according to the Angel's Word)
The Woman bare a Son, to whom the Lord
Was pleas'd, his Blessing graciously to give;
She call'd him
Sampson, and the Child did thrive:
And lo! the Spirit of the Lord began,
At times to move him in the Camp of
Dan.
CHAP. XIV.
NOw down to
Timnah Sampson's Steps incline,
Where seeing the Daughter of a Philistine,
He came up and did of his Parents crave,
That he in Marriage might the Woman have.
Then thus his Father and his Mother said
'Mongst all thy Kin canst thou find ne'er a Maid;
Nor yet among my People, fit to make
A Wife, but thou wilt this Philistine take,
Of Race uncircumcised? He replied,
Get her for me, for I'm well satisfied.
But neither of his Parents then did know,
It was the Lord that moved him thereto,
To seek a way to accomplish his Designs,
Upon the then o'er-ruling Philistines.
Then
Sampson and his Parents both went down
To
Timnah, and as they came near the Town,
Among the Vineyards a young Lion roar'd:
Then on him came the Spirit of the Lord,
And though unarm'd, he rent him like a Kid,
But he discover'd not to them the Deed:
And he went down, and with the Woman treated,
And was well pleas'd to have the Match compleated.
And in a while as he return'd again
To take his Wife, behold, where he had slain
The Beast, he there a Swarm of Bees set Eye on,
And Honey in the Carcase of the Lion:
He took thereof, and eating, on he wen
[...],
And to his Parents did a part present,
[Page 22] And they did also eat, but did not know
That from the Lion's Carcase it did flow.
So down his Father went unto the Woman,
And
Sampson made a Feast, as it was common
Among young Men. The Philistines provide
Thirty Companions with him to abide;
And
Sampson said unto them, now behold,
I have a Riddle for you to unfold,
Which if you do before the Seven Days Feast
Be ended, I will give to every Guest
A Sheet and change of Garments, but if ye
Cannot declare it, you shall give to me
Full Thirty Sheets, and Thirty Changes too:
Then said they, What's thy Riddle, let us know?
And
Sampson said, The Eater sent forth Meat,
And from the Strong there came a thing most sweet.
And they could not in Three Days find it out,
Wherefore before the seventh came about,
They said unto his Wife, Thou must entice
Thy Husband to discover this Device,
Least we burn thee, and all thy Father's House:
Is it not so, that ye have called us
To make a Spoil? And
Sampson's Wife wept sore,
And said, Thou dost but hate me, and no more;
To put a Riddle to my Countrymen,
And not tell't me: And he reply'd agen,
I have not told my Father or my Mother,
And shall I now to thee this thing discover.
And she continually before him wept,
During the time the Feasting Days were kept:
And now behold it came to pass that he,
By reason of her Importunity,
[Page 23] Did on the Seventh Day to her unfold
The Riddle, which she to her Brethren told;
And e'er the Sun went down, on that same Day,
The Philistines to
Sampson thus did say,
What is more sweet than Honey? What more strong
Than is a Lion? And he said, How long
Would it have been, e'er you had understood
This thing had you not with my Heifer plow'd?
Then came the Spirit of the Lord upon
Him, and he hasted down to
Askelon,
And Thirty of the Philistines he slew,
And took their Cloaths, and gave the Garments due
To every one of them that had disclosed
The meaning of the Riddle he proposed,
And towards them his Anger fiercely burned,
And he unto his Father's House returned.
But
Sampson's Wife was given unto one
What was his Friend and chief Companion.
CHAP. XV.
BUt in a while, as
Sampson visited
His Wife, in the Wheat Harvest with a Kid,
To her into her Chamber he would go,
The which her Father would not let him do;
But said, I thought that thou hadst quite forsook her,
Wherefore I gave consent, and thy Friend took her.
Doth not her Sister's Beauty hers exceed,
Though young? I pray then take her in her stead.
[Page 24] And
Sampson said, I shall more blameless be
Than they, though I shall do them injury:
And then he caught Three hundred Foxes, and
Turn'd Tail to Tail, and put a fiery Brand
Between Two Tails, and setting fire thereto,
Into the standing Corn he let them go,
And burnt both Shocks, and standing Corn and Vines,
And all the Olives of the Philistines.
Then they enquired who this thing had done,
And were inform'd, it was the
Timnite's Son:
Because his Father took his Wife away,
And gave her his Companion to enjoy.
And the Philistines came up, full of Wrath,
And burnt with Fire, her and her Father both.
And
Sampson said though you have done this thing,
A farther Evil I will on you bring,
And my avenging Hand shall cease hereafter:
And hip and thigh he smote them with great slaughter:
And he return'd, and came up to the top
Of
Etam, and dwelt there upon the Rock.
Then the Philistines up to
Judah went,
And in the Vale of
Lehi pitch'd their Tent.
Then said the Men of
Judah for what reason
Are you come up against us at this season?
And they made answer, we are come to bind
Sampson, to do to him in the same kind
As he hath done to us: Then there went up
Three thousand Men of
Judah to the top
Of the Rock
Etam, and to
Sampson said,
Do'st thou not know that we have long obey'd
The Philistines? Wherefore is it that thou
Hast done this thing, to bring this Evil now,
[Page 25] Upon us, let us know it? Then said he
I did to them, as they have done to me:
Then said they we are come, and have brought bands,
To bind, and give thee up into their hands:
And he made answer, you shall swear unto me,
That you your selves no Injury will do me:
And they reply'd, No, no, we will but bind thee,
We will not kill thee, but to them resign thee.
And they took two new Cords, and therewith tied him,
And from the Rock where he abode convey him:
Whom when they to the Camp at
Lehi brought
The Philistines against him gave a shout:
And mightily the Spirit of the Lord
Came on him, and like burning Flax each cord
That was upon his Arms became, the Bands
Were likewise separated from his Hands.
And he the Jawbone of an Ass espied,
And took and smote them till a Thousand died:
Then said he with an Ass's Jawbone I
Have made mine Enemies in heaps to lie:
Behold I have destroy'd a Thousand Men
With this same worthless Ass's Jaw: And when
He made an end to speak, it came to pass
He cast away the Jawbone of the Ass,
And said, Now let the place where this was done
Be by the Name of
Ramath-Lehi known.
And he was sore a thirst, and to the Lord
He cried, and said, O Lord, thou didst afford
This great Deliverance, and now shall I,
By reason of my Thirst fall down and die,
And fall into the most accursed Hands
Of these uncircumcis'd Philistine Bands?
[Page 26] But God was pleas'd to cleave an hollow place,
Within the Jaw, from whence did Water pass:
Whereof when he had drank, his Spirit came
As heretofore, and he reviv'd again:
Wherefore that place, which is in
Lehi, bore
Unto this Day the Name of
En-hakkore.
And in the Days the Philistines bore sway,
Israel for Twenty Years did him obey.
CHAP. XVI.
THen down to
Gaza Sampson went, and there
Seeing an Harlot, went in unto her
And when the Gazites heard he was come thither:
Straightway they gathered themselves together
To compass him about, and lay in wait
All Night, to take him in the City Gate,
And they were still all Night for why? say they,
To morrow we shall kill him when 'tis Day.
And he till Midnight lay, and then arose,
And with the City Gates away he goes,
Bearing the Posts, and bar and all away,
And on an Hill near
Hebron did them lay.
And afterward it came to pass he saw,
And lov'd a Woman named
Delilah,
Who in the Vale of
Sorek dwelt to whom
There did the Lords of the Philistines come,
And said, if thou wilt but entice him to reveal
Where lies his Strength, and which way we may deal
[Page 27] With him, to bind him, to afflict him, we
Each one will give a great reward to thee.
And she to
Sampson said, I pray thee, tell
Wherein thy Strength doth other Men excel,
And how thou may'st be bound: And he reply'd,
If they with Seven green Withs that ne'er were dried
Shall bind me Hand and Foot, I shall be then
As weak and impotent as other Men.
Then the Philistine Lords for her provide
The Seven green Withs which never had been dried,
And she therewith did bind him, (now there were
Men lying in wait whom she had placed there)
Then she cry'd out, and said, Now
Sampson stand
Thy ground, for the Philistines are at hand.
And streight he brake the Withs, and they became
Like to a thred of Tow when toucht with flame:
So was his Strength not found out. Then said she,
Sampson, behold, thou hast deceived me,
And told me lyes: Therefore no longer blind me,
But tell, I pray thee, wherewith I may bind thee:
Bind me with Ropes that ne'er were us'd, said he;
Then weak as other Men are, shall I be:
She therefore took New Ropes, and bound him, and
Cry'd,
Sampson, the Philistines are at Hand:
(And in the Chamber there were Men lay hid)
And from his Arms he brake them like a Thread.
Then said she, Thou hast mock'd me hitherto,
And told me Lyes: Now tell we what to do
To bind thee. He reply'd, Thou with the Web
Must interweave the Seven Locks of my Head.
Then she his Locks did fasten with the Pin,
And said, the Philistines are coming in,
[Page 28] Shift,
Sampson, for thy self; then he awoke,
And Pin and Web, and all away he took.
Then said she, How canst thou pretend to love me,
When thus thy Doing towards me disprove thee?
For now, behold, thou hast deceiv'd me thrice,
And hast not told me where thy great Strength lies.
At length his Soul being vext exceedingly,
By reason of her Importunity:
He told the Secrets of his Heart, and said,
Never yet Razor on my Head was laid;
For I have been to God a Nazarite,
Even from the Day that first I saw the Light:
Wherefore like other Men, if I am shaven,
I shall be weak, and of my Strength bereaven.
And when she saw that he had told her all
The Secrets of his Heart, she sent to call
The Lords of the Philistines, Come, said she,
This once, for now he hath made known to me
The very Truth. Then they came up together,
And brought the Money in their Hands to give her.
Then down to sleep upon her Knees she laid him,
And call'd a Man, who of his Locks betray'd him,
And to afflict him she began, and then
His Strength became like that of other Men:
Then said she,
Sampson, thy Philistine Foes
Are just at hand: And he from sleep arose,
And as at other times went forth to shake him,
Not knowing that the Lord did now forsake him.
But the Philistines seized him, and brought
Him down to
Gaza, having first put out
His Eyes, and did with brazen Fetters bind
And made him in the Prison-House to grind.
[Page 29] Howbeit the Hair upon his Head began,
After he had been shaved, to grow again.
Then the Philistine Lords together met,
And a Thanksgiving day apart they set,
For to rejojce, and unto
Dagon pay
Their highest Service, For our God, say they,
Did this: And when the People did behold
Poor Captive
Sampson, they their God extoll'd,
And said, our God, Hath given into our hand,
Him that destroy'd us, and laid waste our Land.
And in their heighth of Mirth, they sent to call
Sampson, to come and make sport for them all.
And from the Prison-House they brought him, and
Between the Pillars they set him to stand;
And there he made them Sport. Then to the Lad,
That led him by the Hand, thus
Sampson said,
Let me now feel the Pillars that sustain
The House that I my self thereon may lean.
Now in the Home there was a mighty Throng
Of Men and Women gather'd, and among
Them, all the Lords of the Philistines were:
Besides, upon the Roof there did appear,
About Three thousand Men and Women, who
Beheld, while
Sampson made them sport below.
And
Sampson calling on the Lord did say,
O Lord, my God, remember me, I pray,
This once give Strength, that I aveng'd may be
Of those Philistines who have blinded me.
And with his Right-hand and his Left, he held
Two middle Pillars which the House upheld;
And said, Let me with the Philistines die,
And then he bow'd himself most mightily:
[Page 30] And down the House fell on the Lords, and all
The People that were in't: So that the fall
Thereof, slew at his Dying many more,
Than he had slain in all his Life before.
Then did his Brethren, and his Kinsfolks come
And took him up, and brought him with them home,
And laid him in his Father's Sepulchre,
When he had judged
Israel twenty Year.
CHRIST'S Sermon on the Mount Matth.
Chap. V.
AND
Jesus, seeing the Multitudes, ascended
Up to a Mount, where sitting, and attended
By his Disciples; he began to Preach,
And on this manner following did them teach.
Blessed are all such as are poor in Spirit,
For they the Heav'nly Kingdom do inherit.
Blessed are they that Mourn: For in the stead
Thereof shall Comfort be administred.
Blessed are they, whose Meekness doth excel:
For on the Earth their Portion is to dwell.
Blessed are they, who after Righteousness
Hunger and Thrist: For they shall it possess.
Blessed are they, for they shall Mercy find,
Who to do mercifully are enclin'd.
Blessed are all such as are pure in Heart:
For God his Presence shall to them impart.
Blessed are they that do make Peace: For why?
They shall be call'd the Sons of the Most High.
Blessed are they which suffer for the sake
Of Righteousness: For they of Heav'n partake.
Blessed are ye, when Men shall falsly speak
All kind of Ill against you for my sake,
And shall revile, and persecute you sore;
Rejoyce, and be exceeding glad therefore:
For your Reward in Heav'n will be great:
For thus of Old they did the Prophets treat.
[Page 32] Ye are the Salt o'th' Earth; but wherewith must
The Salt be season'd when the savour's lost?
It is from thenceforth good for nothing, but
To be cast out, and trodd'n under foot.
Ye are the Light o'th' World: A City set
Upon an Hill cannot be hid: Nor yet
Do Men a Candle with a Bushel cover,
But set it where it lights the whole House over.
So shine your Light, your Good Work's seen there
Men may your Heavenly Father Glorifie.
Think not that to destroy the Law I came,
Or Prophets; no, but to fulfil the same.
For till the Heav'n and Earth shall pass away,
One jot or tittle from the Law, I say,
Shall never pass, till all shall be complete.
Whoso therefore presumes to violate,
One of these least Commands, and teacheth so,
Shall in God's Kingdom be accounted low:
But he that doth, and teacheth them likewise,
Shall in God's Kingdom have great Dignities.
For I declare unto you, that unless
You shall exceed the
Scribes and
Pharisees
In Righteousness: You shall on no condition,
Into the Heavenly Kingdom gain admission.
Ye've heard 'twas said of Old;
Thou shalt not kill:
And he incurs the Judgment who shall spill
His Brothers Blood: But I to you declare,
That he that's wroth without a cause, shall bear
The Judgment: Likewise of the Council he
That sayeth
Racha shall in danger be:
But whosoe'er shall say thou Fool, the same
Shall be in danger of Eternal Flame.
[Page 33] When therefore to the Altar thou dost bring
Thy Gift, and there remembrest any thing
Thy Brother hath against thee: Leave it there
Before the Altar, and come thou not near,
Till thou hast first made Reconciliation,
Then may'st thou come and offer thine Oblation.
Make an Agreement with thine Adversary
Whilst thou art in the way, and do not tarry;
Lest he at any time deliver thee
Unto the Judge, and by the Judge thou be
Unto the Officer forthwith resign'd,
And to Imprisonment thou be confin'd;
I do affirm thou shalt not be enlarg'd,
Till thou the utmost Farthing hast discharg'd.
Ye've heard, that they of Old did testifie,
That Men should not commit Adultery:
But I pronounce him an Adulterer,
Who views a Woman to lust after her.
And if thy Right Eye shall offensive be,
Pluck thou it out and cast the same from thee;
For it is better lose one, than that all
Thy Members shou'd into Hell Torments fall.
And if thy Right Hand doth offend cut off it,
And cast it from thee, for it will thee profit
Much rather, that one of thy Members fell,
Than that they should be all condemn'd to Hell.
It hath been said, whoso away shall force
His Wife, shall give her a Bill of Divorce:
But whosoe'er shall put his Wife away,
Except for Fornication's sake, I say,
Makes her Adult'ress, and who Marries her,
So put away, is an Adulterer.
[Page 34] Again: Ye've heard, Thou shalt not be forsworn,
Was ancient Doctrine, but thou shalt perform
Unto the Lord thine Oaths: But I declare,
That you shall not at all presume to Swear,
Neither by Heaven, for it is Gods Throne;
Nor by the Earth, for his Foot stands thereon:
Neither Swear by
Jerusalem, for why?
It is the City of the King Most High:
Nor Swear thou by thine Head, for thou canst make
No Hair thereof to be or white or black:
But let Yea, yea; Nay, nay, in Speech suffice,
For what is more from Evil doth arise.
Ye've heard, it hath been said; Eye for an Eye,
And Tooth for Tooth: But I do testifie,
That you shall not resist; but let him smite
Thy left Cheek also, who assaults thy right.
And if that any by a Law Suit shall
Demand thy Coat, let them have Cloak and all.
And whosoe'er compelleth thee to go.
A Mile, refuse not to go with him two.
Give him that asketh, and from him that may
Have need to borrow, turn not thou away.
Ye've heard, 'twas said: that thou shalt love thy Friend
And hate thy Foe: But let your love extend
Unto your Enemies: Thus I declare,
Bless them that Curse, do good to them that bear
Ill will, and for your Persecutors pray,
And them that do reproach you; that you may
Be Children of your Father that's in Heaven;
For he on good and bad alike hath given
His Sun to rise, and in like manner doth
Send Rain upon the Just and Unjust both.
[Page 35] For what is your Reward, if you love them
That love you? Do not
Publicans the same?
And if your Brethren only you salute,
What more than they do ye? They also do't:
I will therefore that you be perfect, ev'n
As is your Father perfect that's in Heav'n.
CHAP. VI.
TAke heed you do not your Alms-deeds bestow
Before Men, purposely to make a show;
For then there will no recompence be given
Unto you of your Father that's in Heaven:
With sound of Trumpet do not thou therefore
Proclaim what thou art giving to the Poor;
As is the manner of the Hypocrites
To do i'th' Synagogues, and in the Streets;
That Men may give them Praises. Verily
They have their Recompence I testifie.
But when thou dost Alms, let thy left hand know
Not what thy right hand is about to do:
That giving secretly, thy Father may,
Who sees in secret openly repay.
And when thou Pray'st be not as Hypocrites;
For they love in the corners of the Streets,
And in the Synagogues to stand and Pray,
There to be seen: They've their Reward I say.
But thou, when thou dost make thy Pray'r, go thee
Into thy Closet, shut thy Door unto thee,
[Page 36] And there in secret to thy Father cry,
Who se'ing thee shall reward thee openly.
But when ye Pray use not vain Repetitions,
As Heathens do, for they think their Petitions
Prevail, when they the same do multiply:
Be ye not like to them therefore; for why;
Your Father knows what things you need before
You ask him, on this wise pray ye therefore.
' Our Father which art in Heav'n, thy Name alone
' Be hallowed. Thy glorious Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done on Earth as 'tis in Heav'n.
Give us this day our daily Bread. And ev'n
As we remit our Debtors, grant Remission
To us. And lead us not into Temptation,
' But from all Evil do thou us deliver,
' For th' Kingdom, Pow'r and Glory's thine for ever.
Amen.
For if you do forgive Men that offend,
Your Heavenly Father will to you extend
Forgiveness; but if not, nor will he spare,
At any time when you Offenders are.
Moreover when you Fast beware lest you
Look sad, as Hypocrites are wont to do;
For they disguise their Faces, that they may
Appear to Fast: They've their reward I say.
But thou, when thou dost Fast, anoint thine Head
And wash thy Face, that undiscovered
Thy Fasting may be unto Men, but rather
That thou be seen in secret of thy Father:
And then thy Father who in secrecy
Beholds thee, shall reward thee openly.
[Page 37] Lay not up Treasure for your selves in store
Upon the Earth, where Moth and Rust devour,
And where by Thieves you may be quite bereaven.
But lay up Treasure for your Selves in Heav'n,
Where neither Moth, nor Rust, nor Thieves can enter;
For where's your Treasure there your Hearts will center.
The Eye's the light o'th' Body, which if right
Then thy whole Body will be full of Light:
But if thine Eye be evil, then there will
A total Darkness thy whole Body fill.
If therefore all the Light that is in thee
Be Darkness, How great must that Darkness be?
No Man can serve Two Masters, either he
Will hate one, and love t'other, or will be
Faithful to one, and t'other will forego.
Ye cannot serve both God and Mammon too.
Take no thought therefore for your Life, I say,
What you shall eat or drink; or how you may
Your Bodies cloath: Is not the life much more
Than meat, is not the Body far before
The cloaths thereof? behold the fowls o'th' air,
Nor sow nor reap, nor take they any care:
How they provision into barns may gather;
Yet they are nourish'd by your Heavenly Father:
Are ye not worth much more? Which of you can
By taking thought add to his height one span?
And why for raiment are ye taking thought?
See how the Lilies grow, they labour not,
Nor do they spin; yet
Solomon, I say,
In all his Pomp had no such gay Array.
If in the Field God so doth cloath the Grass,
Which is to Day, and doth to Morrow pass
[Page 38] Into the Oven, shall he not therefore
O ye of little Faith, cloath you much more?
Take no thought therefore, saying, What shall we eat,
Or drink, or where shall we our Raiment get?
(For thus the Heathen People use to do)
For that you need them doth your Father know.
But seek God's Kingdom, and his Righteousness
First, and then all these things you shall possess.
Be not then exercis'd with Care and Sorrow,
In making Preparation for the Morrow;
The Morrow shall things for it self prepare:
Sufficient to the Day is each Day's Care.
CHAP. VII.
JUdge not that you may not be judg'd; for even
As you pass Judgment, Judgment shall be given:
And with such Measure as you meet to Men,
It shall be measur'd unto you agen.
And why dost thou take notice of the Mote
That's in thy Brother's Eye, but dost not note
The Beam that's in thine own? How wilt thou say
Unto thy Brother, let me take away
The Mote that's in thine Eye, when yet'tis plain
The Beam that's in thine own doth still remain?
First cast away the Bean, thou Hypocrite,
From thine own Eye, so shall thy clearer Sight
The better be enabled to descry,
And pluck the Mote out of thy Brother's Eye.
[Page] Give not to Dogs the things that are Divine,
Neither cast ye your Pearls before the Swine,
Least that they should their Feet them trample under,
And turn upon you, and rent you asunder.
Ask, and obtain, seek, and ye shall find; do ye
Knock, and it shall be opened unto ye:
For he that seeks, shall find, that asks, obtain,
And he that knocks, shall an Admittance gain.
Or what Man is there of you, if his Son
Shall ask him Bread, will he give him a Stone?
Or if he ask a Fish, will he bestow
A Serpent? If then ye being evil know
To give your Children good Gifts, how much rather
To them that ask him, shall your Heav'nly Father?
Then what you wou'd Men shou'd to you, so do
To them: for that's the Law and Prophets too.
Enter in at the strait Gate, for the Road
That doth unto Destruction lead is broad,
And wide the Gate, and many there be that
Enter therein: because strait is the Gate,
And narrow is the way that is inclin'd
To Life, and which there are but few that find.
False Prophets shun, who in Sheeps Cloaths appear,
But inwardly devouring Wolves they are:
Ye by their Fruits shall know them. Do Men either
Pluck Grapes of Thorns, or Figs of Thistles gather?
Even so each good Tree good Fruit will produce;
But a corrupt Tree Fruit unfit for use:
A good Tree cannot bring forth evil Food,
Nor can an evil Tree bear Fruit that's good:
Each Tree that bears not good Fruit's hewen down
And burnt; thus by their Fruits they shall be known.
[Page 40] Not every one that saith Lord, Lord, but he
That doth my Heav'nly Father's Will, shall be
An Heir of Heaven: many in that day
Will call Lord, Lord, and thus to me will say;
Have we not Prophesied in thy Name?
Cast Devils out, done Wonders in the same?
And then will I profess I know you not:
Depart from me ye that have Evil wrought.
Whoso therefore these Sayings of mine doth hear,
And doth them, to a Wise Man I'll compare,
The which upon a Rock his Building sounded;
The Rain descended and the Floods surrounded,
The Winds arose, and gave it many a shock,
And it fell not, being founded on a Rock.
And ev'ry one that hears these Sayings of mine,
And not to do them doth his Heart encline,
Unto a Foolish Man shall be compar'd,
Who his Foundation on the Sand prepar'd;
The Rain descended and the Floods were great,
The Winds did blow, and vehemently beat
Against that House; and down the Building came,
And mighty was the downfal of the same.
And now when
Jesus thus had finished
His Sayings, the People were astonished
Thereat: for not as do the Scribes taught he
Them, but as one that had Authority.
The End of Christ's Sermon on the Mount.
THE Prophecy of Jonah.
CHAP. I.
NOW unto
Jonah, old
Amittai's Son,
Thus did the Word of the Almighty come,
And said, Arise; Go thou forthwith & cry
'Gainst that great City
Nineveh; for why,
The Sins thereof are come up in my sight.
But he arose, that he to
Tarshish might
Flee from God's Presence; and went down & found
A Ship at
Joppa unto
Tarshish bound:
He paid the Fare, and with them went on board
For
Tarshish, from the Presence of the Lord.
But the Almighty a great Wind did raise,
And sent a mighty Tempest on the Seas,
So that the Ship was likely to be broken.
Then were the Mariners with Horror strucken;
And to his God they cried ev'ry one;
And over-board was the Ships lading thrown
To lighten it: but down into the Ship
Was
Jonah gone, and there lay fast asleep.
So to him came the Master and did say,
What meanest thou, O Sleeper! Rise and pray
Unto thy God, and he perhaps will hear,
And save us from the danger that we fear.
[Page 42] Then said they to each other, come, let's try,
By casting Lots, on whom the Fault doth lie,
In bringing all this evil now upon us.
So they cast Lots, and the Lot fell on
Jonas.
Then said they, we intreat thee let us know,
For whose cause we this evil undergo,
Whence comest thou? What is thine Occupation?
What Country-man art thou? And of what Nation?
And unto them himself he did deolare,
And said, I am an
Hebrew, and do fear
The Living Lord, the God of Heaven, who
Alone hath made the Sea and dry Land too.
Then were the Men exceedingly afraid;
And, wherefore hast thou done this thing? they said
(For they did understand he did forgo
God's Presence, for himself had told them so.)
What shall we do unto thee then they said,
That so the raging of the Sea be stay'd?
(For it did rage and foam.) Take me, said he,
And cast me over board into the Sea;
So shall the Sea be calm, for on my score
I know it is, that thus the Waves do roar.
Nevertheless they rowed hard to gain
The Land, but all their labour was in vain;
So much against them did the Tempest beat.
Wherefore they the Almighty did entreat,
And said, we do beseech thee, and we pray,
O Lord, that thou would'st not upon us lay
The charge of guiltless Blood, nor let it be,
That now we perish, on th'account that we
Take this Man's Life away; for thou alone,
As it hath pleased thee, O Lord, hast done.
[Page 43] So they took
Jonah up, and to the Seas
Committed him, then did the Tempest cease.
Then did the Dread of the Great God on high,
Seize on the Mariners exceedingly.
And they did offer up a Sacrifice,
And vowed Vows unto the Lord likewise.
And now the Lord for
Jonah did contrive
A mighty Fish to swallow'im up alive,
And in the Fish's Belly for the space
Of three days and three nights, poor
Jonah was.
CHAP. II.
UNto the Lord his God then
Jonah pray'd
Out of the Belly of the Fish, and said,
By reason of Affliction which lay sore
Upon me, I the Lord God did implore,
And he gave Ear; and from Hell's Belly I
Cry'd unto thee, and thou, Lord, heard'st my Cry;
For thou into the Deep hadst cast me out,
And there the Floods did compass me about,
In the midst of the Sea, thy Waves were sent,
And all thy Billows which my Head o'er went.
Then said I though thy Presence hath forsook
Me, to thy Holy Temple will I look.
The Waters compassed about my Soul,
And the great Deeps did round about me rowl,
The Weeds were wrapt about my Head, I went
Down to the bottom of the Element;
[Page 44] The Earth with her strong Bars surrounded me,
Yet thou, O Lord, from Death hast set me free.
When my Soul fainted, on the Lord I thought,
And to thee to thy Temple then was brought
My Pray'r. They their own Mercies do despise,
Who have regard to lying Vanities.
But with the Voice of my Thanksgiving, I
Will offer Sacrifice to thee on high,
And pay my Vows which I have vow'd each one,
For why? Salvation's of the Lord alone.
And now the Fish, as God did give Command,
Did vomit
Jonah out upon dry Land.
CHAP. III.
AND now the Second time to
Jonah came
God's Word, and said, Arise, go and proclaim
To that great City
Nineveh, what I
Have heretofore commanded thee to cry.
So
Jonah rose up, and prepar'd to go
To
Nineveh as God had bid him do:
(Now was the City
Nineveh so great,
That it was three days Journey long compleat)
And as into the City
Jonah made
His first days Journey, he cry'd out, and said,
When forty days shall be expir'd and past,
This City
Nineveh shall be laid waste.
Then did the Ninevites with one accord,
Believe this was the Message of the Lord,
[Page 45] And did proclaim a Fast, and every one,
From greatest to the least, put Sackcloth on:
For to the King this News was quickly flown,
And he arose, and came down from his Throne,
And having laid aside his Robes of State,
He put on Sackcloth, and in Ashes sate:
And issuing out his Royal Proclamation,
And through the City making Publication
Thereof, (being by the King and Council sign'd)
A solemn and a general Fast enjoin'd,
And said, I will, That neither Man nor Beast,
Nor Flock, nor Herd, shall their Provision taste:
But let them all put Sackcloth on, and cry
Unto the Lord with greatest fervency;
Yea, let them all their evil Ways refrain,
And from the Violence which they retain.
Who knows if God will yet be pleas'd to spare,
And turn away the Evil that we fear?
And God beheld their Works, and saw that they
Had turned from the Evil of their Way:
And God turn'd from his Wrath, and did revoke
The dreadful Judgment whereof he had spoke.
CHAP. IV.
BUT hereat
Jonah was extreamly vext,
And in his mind exceedingly perplext:
And to the Lord his God he pray'd, and said,
O Lord, I pray thee, was not I afraid
[Page 46] Of this, when I was yet at home? Therefore
I unto
Tarshish took my flight before:
For that thou art a gracious God I know,
Of tender Mercy, and to Anger slow,
Of great Compassion, and dost oft recal
The Evil thou dost threat Mankind withal:
Now therefore, Lord, I earnestly do pray
That thou would'st please to take my Life away,
For I had better die than live. Dost thou
Do well, said God, to be so angry now?
So then out of the City
Jonah went,
And on the East-side of it made a Tent,
And underneath the shade thereof he sate,
Expecting what would be the City's Fate:
And over
Jonah's Head behold, the Lord
Prepar'd, and caused to come up, a Gourd
To shadow him, and ease him of his Grief;
And
Jonah was right glad of this Relief.
But God a Worm sent early the next day,
Which smote the Gourd, it withered away:
And when the Sun arose it came to pass,
That God a vehement East wind did raise;
Besides, the Sun did beat upon his Head,
So that he fainted, saying, would I were dead,
For it is better for me now to die,
Than thus to lead my Life in Misery.
And to distressed
Jonah, said the Lord,
Dost thou well to be angry for the Gourd?
And he unto the Lord made this Reply,
I do well to be angry even to die.
Thou hast had pity,
Jonah, on the Gourd,
For which thou didst not labour, said the Lord,
[Page 47] Nor madest it to grow, which also came
Up in a Night, and perish'd in the same:
And should not I extend my gracious Pity
To
Nineveh, so populous a City,
Where more than Sixscore thousand Persons dwell
Who 'twixt their Right-hand, and their Left, can tell
No difference, wherein are also found
Cattle which do in Multitudes abound?
The End of the Prophecy of
JONAH.
THE LIFE of JOSEPH, TAKEN Out of the latter Part of the Book of Genesis,
Chap. xxxvii.
WHen
Jacob from his Brother
Esau fled,
He by the Hand of Providence was led
To
Padan-aram, in
Assyria, where
He serv'd his Uncle
Laban twenty year;
During which time he was in all things blest,
And with a num'rous Issue 'mongst the rest:
Amongst whom none so pleasing in his sight
As
Joseph was, who was his chief delight:
Who by the time that
Jacob was return'd
Into the Land, where's Fathers had sojourn'd,
Was full arriv'd at seventeen years of Age;
And by his Hopefulness did then presage,
He was indued with a noble Mind,
That would to vertuous Actions be inclin'd;
For being sent to feed his Father's Flock,
Among his Brethren, he great notice took
Of what they did, and if in any sort
They did amiss, he thereof made report
Unto his Father, and did thus create
His Father's favour, but his Brethren's hate.
[Page 49] His Father lov'd him better than the rest,
As being the Son wherewith his Age was blest:
And that his Kindness might the more appear,
Made him a party colour'd Coat to wear.
But as it often haps, his Father's Love
Did in his Brethren greater Hatred move:
But that which most incens'd them was his Dreams,
By which, in a Prophetick way, he seems
Their low Submission, and his future State
Of Greatness, plainly to Prognosticate.
For to his Brethren thus his Dreams he told,
And said, as we were binding Sheaves, behold,
My Sheaf arose and stood up in the Field,
And all your Sheaves stood round about, to yield
Obeisance unto mine: And what, must we
Indeed, say they, be subject unto thee?
Their Wrath increas'd, this added to his Crime.
And
Joseph dreamed yet a second time;
And said, Behold, I saw the Sun and Moon,
And the eleven Stars to me fall down
At which his Father highly was offended,
And for these words, the Lad he reprehended,
And said, fond Youth, Dost thou pretend to shew
That I, thy Mother, and thy Brethren too,
Must all submit to thee? Thou dost but dream:
But
Jacob kept his words, and thought of them.
Now
Jacob's Sons did feed their Flocks in
Shechem,
And he desired
Joseph to go seek 'em,
And find them out, and come again and tell
If all things with them and their Flocks were well.
So
Joseph went, and wander'd here and there,
But could not find out where his Brethren were,
[Page 50] Untill a Man had told him their Intent
Of going to
Dothan, where he also went.
And when his Brethren at a distance saw him,
They held a Consultation how to slay him,
And said, here comes the Dreamer, we shall see
What the Event of all his Dreams will be;
For we will kill, and in a Pit will hide him,
And say some Beast or other hath destroy'd him.
But
Reuben somewhat tend'rer than the rest,
Endeavour'd to perswade them to desist
From Murder, saying, Into this Pit let's cast him,
And this he said in hopes to have releas'd him.
And now when
Joseph came not dreading ought,
They strip'd him of his party colour'd Coat,
And led him to a Pit that was hard by,
And threw him into't, but the Pit was dry.
And sitting down to eat, they chanc'd to spy,
A Company of Ishmaelites pass by,
Who with Balm, Myrrh, and Spice, their Camels lading,
From
Gilead came, and were to
Egypt Trading:
Then
Judah said, 'Twill do us little good
To slay our Brother, and conceal his Blood;
Come therefore, Brethren, be advis'd by me,
Let's sell him to these Ishmaelites, for he
Is our own Flesh, and 'tis a cruel Deed,
To kill him, and to this they all agreed.
Their Brother then out of the Pit they hale,
And to these Merchants offer'd him to sale:
Who, him for twenty Silver Pieces bought,
And with them to the Land of
Egypt brought.
But
Reuben ignorant of what was done,
Came to the Pit, and seeing the Lad was gone,
[Page 51] He rent his Cloaths in a great Consternation,
Returning back with heavy Lamentation.
And now that they might make their Story good
They kill'd a Kid, and dipped in the Blood
Their Brother
Joseph's Coat, and home they came,
And to their Father's view expos'd the same,
And said, this we have found, now thou dost know
Whether it be thy Son's Coat, yea or no.
And
Jacob knew the Coat full well, and said,
Now hath some evil Beast devour'd the Lad;
Joseph is torn in Pieces without doubt,
For, too, too well I know this is his Coat.
He rent his Cloaths, and putting Sackcloath on,
He for a long time mourned for his Son.
His Children striving to asswage his Grief
Endeavour'd to administer Relief:
But he refus'd, and said, Since he is gone,
I will in Sorrow to the Grave go down.
Such Lamentation made he for his Son.
CHAP. XXXIX.
AND now these Merchants Sons of
Ishmael,
Again did poor afflicted
Joseph sell,
To an Egyptian, named
Potiphar,
The Captain of King
Pharaoh's Men of War
And God was with him, and did greatly bless,
And crown his Undertaking with Success:
[Page 52] Whereof his Master being well aware,
Committed all he had to
Joseph's care;
And made him Overseer of his House,
And from the time his Master us'd him thus,
The Lord was pleas'd to give him to partake,
Of many Blessings ev'n for
Joseph's sake:
So that with Plenty he was hedg'd about,
And prospered within Door and without:
Such was his Master's Love, and he so Just,
That all things were committed to his Trust.
Now
Joseph was grown up to manly Stature,
Of goodly Presence, and most comely Feature.
Wherefore his Mistress with a lustful Eye,
Beheld his Beauty, and resolv'd to try,
If to unchaste Embraces she could gain
The Youth, but her Endeavours prov'd in vain:
For he refus'd, and said, My Master knows
In all the House of nothing that he owes,
For his Concerns are all at my dispose:
There's not a thing that he hath kept from me,
But all is in my hand save only thee;
Then how can I commit so foul a Fact,
And the Displeasure of my God contract?
Yet still she sued, and still did he deny her,
Refusing to be with her, or lie by her.
Now on a time when all the Men were gone
Out of the House and she was left alone:
And
Joseph at that Instant coming in,
About some Business he'd to do within;
She took Advantage of their being together,
And held his Cloaths to force him to lie with her
[Page 53] But
Joseph strove, and from her hands got loose,
And left his Coat, and fled out of the House.
And when she saw that he had made's Escape,
She call'd her Servants, and proclaim'd a Rape:
Come see now how this Hebrew Slave, said she,
Your Master's Favourite, hath affronted me;
He came to violate my Chastity,
And when he heard that I began to cry,
And call for help, afraid least you should find him,
He's fled, and left his Garment here behind him.
And now to give her words the greater credit,
Untill her Husband's coming home, she hid it,
To whom she spake, and said, Why hast thou brought
This Hebrew here, to set me thus at nought?
The Slave attempted to defile my bed,
And when I cry'd, he left his Coat and fled,
See here it is. Which when he saw, and heard
The heavy Accusation she preferr'd,
He was exceeding wroth at his Behaviour,
And utterly casheir'd him from his Favour;
Nay more, he cast him into Prison, where
In Fetters bound King
Pharaoh's Prisoner's were.
But
Joseph's God, who never yet forsook
Him in Extremity, was pleas'd to look,
With great Compassion on his Injuries,
And gave him Favour in the Keeper's eyes;
So that he was intrusted with the care
And charge of all the Pris'ners that were there:
All were committed unto
Joseph's hand,
And what was done, was done at his command,
The Prison-keeper took no care at all.
Of ought that he intrusted him withal,
[Page 54] Because he saw that God was with him, and
All things did prosper that he took in hand.
CHAP. XL.
AND now whilst
Joseph in Confinement lay,
It came to pass upon a certain day,
That
Pharaoh King of
Egypt, being wroth
With his chief Butler, and chief Baker both,
For their Offences, put them both in Ward,
In the House of the Captain of the Guard:
Into the Place where
Joseph was confin'd,
Unto whose Custody they were resign'd,
And he attended on them in the Prison.
And there they were continu'd for a season,
During which time, it chanced both of them
Did in the same Night dream each Man his Dream:
Which Dreams according to Interpretation,
Had to themselves particular Relation.
And
Joseph coming early the next day,
Into the Room where
Pharaoh's Servants lay,
Beheld their Countenances much dejected:
Wherefore he said. What Evil hath effected
This melancholy Frame, what is't that causes
These marks of Discontentment in your Faces?
Then said they, we have dream'd each Man his Dream,
And there is no Man to interpret them.
Then
Joseph said your Dreams to me make known;
Interpretations are from God alone.
[Page 55] Then unto
Joseph the chief Butler told
His Dream, and said, Methought I did behold
A Vine, whereon three Branches did appear,
Which seem'd to bud, to blossom, and to bear
Clusters of full ripe Grapes, which to my thinking
I press'd into the Cup for
Pharaoh's drinking.
And
Joseph said, Thy Dream doth signifie,
Thou shalt enjoy thy former Dignity:
The Branches which thou sawest are three days,
In which King
Pharaoh will his Butler raise,
And to thy Place again wil thee restore,
And thou shalt serve him as thou'st done before:
But do not, when it shall be well with thee,
Forget me, but shew Kindness unto me,
And unto
Pharaoh represent my Case,
That I may be deliver'd from this Place,
For I was stoln out of the Hebrews Land,
And also here am wrongfully detain'd.
Then the chief Baker having understood,
That the Interpretation was so good,
He told his Dream to
Joseph too, and said,
Lo, I had three white Baskets on my Head,
And in the Uppermost there seem'd to be,
Of bak'd Provision, great variety,
Fit for King
Pharaoh's Table, and there came
A Flock of Birds, and seem'd to eat the same.
And
Joseph said, Thy Dream portends thy fall,
For at the end of three days
Pharaoh shall
Lift up thy Head, and hang thee on a Tree,
So that the Birds shall feast themselves on thee.
And on the third day
Pharaoh made a Feast
Unto his Servants, and among the rest
[Page 56] The Butler and the Baker were brought forth,
The day being kept in Memory of his Birth:
And to his Place King
Pharaoh did restore
His Butler, and he serv'd him as before.
But the chief Baker he condemn'd to die,
According unto
Joseph's Prophecy.
Yet though the Butler had regain'd his Place,
He was unmindful of poor
Joseph's Case.
CHAP. XLI.
AND now when two years time was fully past,
And
Joseph from Confinement not releast,
It came to pass that
Pharaoh dreamed, and
He seemed by a River's side to stand,
Whence, he seven fat well-favour'd Kine beheld,
Came up and grazed in the neighbouring Field.
And after them there came up seven more
Lean and ill-favour'd, and did soon devour
The seven fat Kine which came up just before.
So
Pharaoh 'woke, and mus'd awhile, and then
Soon as his Sleep his Dream return'd agen.
Wherein he saw upon one stalk there stood
Seven ears of Corn, exceeding Rank and Good,
And seven others, with the East wind blasted,
And withered, sprang up, and quickly wasted
The seven good Ears, and quite devour'd them:
And
Pharaoh 'woke, and, Lo! it was a Dream.
[Page 57] And in the Morning he was discontent,
And for the wise Men, and Magicians sent,
To ease his Mind but there was none of them
That could interpret to the King his Dream.
Then the chief Butler making his address.
Unto King
Pharaoh, said, I now confess
My former Faults, for when the King was wroth
With his chief Butler, and chief Baker both,
It pleased him, to put us both in Ward,
In the House of the Captain of the Guard:
And in one Night we dream'd a Dream, each one
According to's Interpretation;
And there was then an Hebrew there in Ward,
A Youth, that serv'd the Captain of the Guard:
To whom we told whereof we had been dreaming,
And he interpreted to us the meaning,
And what he said fell out accordingly,
Me he restored to my Dignity,
But told the Baker he should surely die.
Then
Pharaoh sent a Messenger in haste,
And
Joseph from the Dungeon was releast:
And having shav'd himself, and chang'd his Cloaths,
Into the Presence of the King he goes.
To whom King
Pharaoh said, I have been told
Thou canst the meaning of a Dream unfold:
Now I have dream'd a Dream, and there is none
Can give me the Interpretation.
And
Joseph said, I cannot do this thing
My self, but God shall answer thee, Oh, King.
Then
Pharaoh said to
Joseph, In my Dream,
As I stood by a River's side, there came
[Page 58] Up from the River seven well-favour'd Kine,
And fed upon the Banks, all fat and fine,
And after them there came up seven more,
Lean and ill-favour'd, and exceeding poor:
Such as the Land of
Egypt never bred,
And on the seven well-favour'd Kine they fed,
And eat them up, but 'twas not to be seen
That they had eat them, they look'd still so thin.
So I awoke, and mus'd a while, and then
Soon as my Sleep, my Dream return'd agen,
Wherein I saw upon one stalk there stood
Seven Ears of Corn, exceeding rank, and good:
Then seven others, with the East wind blasted,
And withered, came up, and quickly wasted
The seven good Ears, and quite devoured them.
And being unsatisfied about my Dream,
I sought unto the wise Men of the Nation,
But they could give me no Interpretation.
And
Joseph said, Thy Dream, oh King! is one,
God shews to
Pharaoh what he will have done.
The seven fat Kine, and seven good Ears agree
To shew, seven years of Plenty there shall be:
The seven lean Kine, and seven blasted Ears,
Denote there shall be Famine seven years.
This I declare to
Pharaoh, God doth shew
To thee, Oh King! what he's about to do.
Behold seven years of Plenty are at hand,
Which shall be very great throughout the Land:
And after them seven years of Famine shall
Arise, and shall consume the Land, and all
The former Plenty shall not be perceiv'd,
So much the Land with Famine shall be griev'd.
[Page 59] And since the Dream was doubl'd to the King,
It is because God hath decreed the thing,
And on this Land the same will shortly bring:
Now therefore if I may the King advise,
Let him look out a Man discreet and wise,
And make him Overseer of the Land;
And substitute Men under his Command
To gather a fifth part for Publick Use,
Of what the seven plenteous Years produce,
And in the Cities lay it up for Store,
Against the Famine in the Land grows sore;
And let it be repos'd in
Pharaoh's hand,
That so the Famine may not wast the Land.
And when King
Pharaoh and his Servants heard
The Propositions
Joseph had preferr'd,
They were acceptable in
Pharaoh's Eyes,
And in the Eyes of all his Court likewise:
So that he said, can such an one be found?
A Man in whom God's Spirit doth abound.
And
Pharaoh said to
Joseph, forasmuch
As God's great kindness unto thee is such,
As to reveal this thing to thee, I know
No Man so wise or so discreet as thou:
Be thou therefore the Ruler of the Land,
And let my People be at thy Command;
Thou shalt in all things be as great as I,
Save only in the Royal Dignity.
Behold this day I have advanced thee
Said he, to be a Man of high Degree
Throughout the Land. And therewithal the King
Bestow'd on
Joseph his own Royal Ring;
[Page 60] And him with Robes of State did richly deck,
And put a Chain of Gold about his Neck,
And in his second Chariot made him ride,
And as he past, bow down the Knee they cry'd,
With so great Honour was he dignify'd.
And
Pharaoh said moreover, I am King,
No Man shall dare to purpose any thing,
Or move his Hand or Foot in all this Nation,
Unless it shall be by thy approbation.
He also gave to
Joseph a new Name,
And for a Wife gave him a Princely Dame,
Who was the Daughter of a Priest of Fame.
(Now
Joseph had attain'd his Thirtieth Year,
When he before King
Pharaoh did appear.)
And he went out from
Pharaoh's Presence, and
Began his Progress over all the Land.
Now in the seven plenteous Years, the Field
Did its Increase in great abundance yield.
And
Joseph gather'd all that plenteous Crop,
And in th' adjacent Cities laid it up:
Which like unto the Sand upon the shore,
Did so abound that he could count no more,
Such was the Plenty that the Earth then bore.
And unto
Joseph there was born a Son,
Even by the Daughter of the Priest of
On,
Before the Years of Famine were begun,
The which he call'd
Manasseh, for, said he,
God makes me to forget my Misery,
And all my Father's House: And after him
Was born another he call'd
Ephraim;
For God, saith he, hath made me to possess
Abundance in the Land of my Distress.
[Page 61] And when the seven plenteous Years were gone,
The seven Years of Famine next came on,
As
Joseph said, and there was a great Dearth
In every Nation throughout all the Earth;
But in the Land of
Egypt there was Bread.
And when the People, almost famished,
Complained to the King, he bad them go
To
Joseph, and whate'er he said to do.
And now the Famine daily waxing sore,
Joseph began to bring forth of his Store,
Which he had laid up for the Publick Good;
To whom th'
Egyptians came and bought their Food.
And People from all Countries far and near
To
Egypt came to buy Provision there;
For in all Lands the Famine was severe.
CHAP. XLII.
AND now, behold, when
Jacob had been told
That there was Corn in
Egypt to be sold,
He said unto his Sons, Why stand ye thus?
Go down to
Egypt and buy Corn for us;
That so our craving Stomachs may be fed,
And not lie here and die for lack of Bread.
Thus
Jacob's ten Sons were to
Egypt sent,
But
Joseph's Brother
Benjamin ne'er went;
[Page 62] For why, his Father said, I will not send him,
Lest peradventure some ill chance attend him.
And
Joseph's Brethren came among the rest
To buy Provision, for they were distrest.
Now he was Governor of all the Land,
And all the Corn of
Egypt in his hand.
Wherefore his Brethren when they came to treat
With him for Corn, bow'd down ev'n at his feet:
And he no sooner saw them but he knew them,
And shew'd himself extremely strange unto them:
And very roughly asked who they were,
From whence they came and what their bus'ness there
And they made answer, We thy Servants from
The Land of
Canaan to buy Food are come.
Now tho' they knew him not, yet he knew them,
And calling now to mind his former Dream,
He said, I do suspect ye're come as Spies,
To see in what distress our Country lies.
But they reply'd again, my Lord we're come
Only to buy some Food to carry home:
Think not thy Servants Spies, but true Men rather,
For we are all the Children of one Father.
Nay, nay, said he, but ye are come to pry
Into the Nations great necessity.
But they reply'd again, Thy Servants are
Inhabitants of
Cana'n, and declare,
That we're twelve Brethren whom one Man begot,
The Youngest is at home and one is not.
Well then, said
Joseph, hereby shall I know,
Whether ye're Spies, as I have said, or no;
Now by the Life of
Pharaoh do I swear,
Unless your Brother come I'll keep you here:
[Page 63] Send one of you and fetch the Lad to me,
And you shall be confin'd, so shall there be
A Proof of what you say before mine Eyes,
Or by the Life of
Pharaoh ye are Spies.
Then he for three days put them all in Ward,
And on the third day said I have regard
To Equity, therefore if ye are true
And honest Men, do this; let one of you
Be bound in Prison here, and let the other
Go carry Corn home and bring me your Brother;
So shall ye be approv'd and shall not die.
And they prepar'd to do accordingly.
And as they were discoursing to each other,
They said, we were in fault about our Brother,
In that we saw his Soul in great distress,
And yet were so exceeding pitiless,
As not to hearken to his earnest cries:
This is the cause of these our Miseries.
And
Reuben said, you know I did forewarn,
And beg that you would do the Child no harm;
But you would not do then as I desir'd,
And now his Blood is at our hands requir'd.
Thus they discours'd about the cause that brought
Their present trouble, but they little thought
That
Joseph knew of what they did confer,
Because he spake by an Interpreter.
And he being moved at their words withdrew
To weep, and then returned to renew
His former talk; and chusing
Simeon out,
Before them all he bound him hand and foot.
And gave command to fill their Sacks with Grain,
And to restore their Mony to'em again;
[Page 64] And for their Journey give them Food to eat:
In such sort
Joseph did his Brethren treat.
Then with their Asses laden towards home
They went, and when into their Inn they come,
As one of them his Sack of Corn unty'd,
To give his Ass some Provender, he spy'd
His Mony in his Sack again return'd;
Wherefore he call'd his Brethren and inform'd
Them that his Mony was returned back,
Behold, said he, it is here in my Sack.
On sight whereof their Hearts were sore dismay'd,
And being very much affrighted said,
What is the thing that God's about to do,
That we do thus these Troubles undergo?
Then coming to their Father they related,
After what sort they were in
Egypt treated:
And said, the Man that's Lord of all the Land,
And hath the store of Corn all in his hand,
Spake roughly to us, and affirm'd that we
Were come the weakness of the Land to see.
To whom we said, we are all honest Men;
We are twelve Brethren, whereof here are ten,
And two elsewhere, all which one Man begot,
The youngest's with our Father, one is not.
Then said the Ruler of the Land, hereby
Shall I make proof of your integrity:
Let one of you continue here with me,
And take Provision for your Family;
And get you gone and bring the youngest hither,
That so I may be satisfied whether
Ye are true Men, as you make protestation,
Then I'll release him, and give toleration
To you to come and Traffick in the Nation
[Page 65] And now behold, as they their Sacks unloos'd
To empty out their Corn, there was inclos'd
In each Man's Sack his Money therein bound,
As when they came from home; which when they found,
Both they and their old Father were afraid;
And to his Sons afflicted
Jacob said,
You of my Children have be
[...]eaved me,
Joseph and
Simeon now do cease to be
And of my
Benjamin you would deprive me,
These things do ev'n into distraction drive me.
Then
Reuben said, My Father I resign
To thy disposing these two Sons of mine;
Give me the Lad, and let them both be slain,
If I do not return him safe again.
But he reply'd, I will not let him go,
For why, his Brother is deceas'd you know,
And if upon the way some evil thing
Should happen to the I ad, you then will bring
These my grey Hairs with sorrow to the Grave,
For he's the only comfort that I have.
CHAP. XLIII.
AND now the Famine still continuing sore,
And having spent all their late purchas'd store,
Their Father bids them to go down for more
To whom when
Judah had himself addrest,
He said, The Man did solemnly protest,
[Page 66] If we without our Brother came again,
To seek his Face would be for us in vain:
If therefore thou wilt send him, well and good,
Then will we willingly go down for Food;
But if thou wilt not, we must let thee know,
We are resolved that we will not go:
For, as I said before, the Ruler swore,
Without him we should see his Face no more.
Then
Isr'el said, why were you so unkind
To say you had a Brother left behind?
The Man, said they, was so inquisitive,
He asked if our Father were alive;
Or if we had a Brother, whereunto
Accordingly we answer'd, could we know
If he would bid us bring the Lad or no?
Moreover
Judah to his Father said,
If thou wilt but intrust me with the Lad,
We will be gone, that so both thou and we
May be preserved with our Family:
I will be Surety for him, if I fail
To bring him back, on me the blame entail;
For if we had not lingred, we had been
By this time here the second time again.
Well then, said
Isr'el, if it must be so,
My Sons, take my Advice before you go;
Provide some of the best Fruits of the Land,
To give the Man a present from your hand;
Balm, Myrrh and Spices, and a little Honey,
Some Nuts and Almonds, and take double Money.
For peradventure it was a mistake,
In that your Money was returned back;
[Page 67] And take your Brother
Benjamin and go,
And God Almighty grant the Man may show
You Mercy, that you may bring back again
Your other Brother, and my
Benjamin,
And if I am bereav'd, so have I been.
Then did the Men prepare the Present, and
They took their Money double in their hand,
With
Benjamin, and down to
Egypt went,
Who unto
Joseph did themselves present.
Who, when he saw that
Benjamin was come,
Order'd his Steward to conduct them home,
And to provide a Dinner, for said he,
I do intend these Men shall Dine with me.
Then did the Steward as his Master said,
And brought them home, whereat they were afraid,
And said, the Man hath caus'd us to come in,
Because our Money was return'd again;
To take occasion now to fall upon us,
And make us Slaves and take our Asses from us.
Unto the Steward they drew nigh therefore,
And thus communed with him at the Door:
O Sir, say they, we came at first indeed
To buy Provision to supply our need;
And in our Inn as we our Sacks unloos'd,
We found our Money therein all enclos'd
In its full weight, whereat surpris'd with fear,
Not knowing who had put our Money there,
We now have brought it in full weight again,
And other Money too, to buy more Grain.
Peace, Peace, said he, let not fear seize upon ye,
For I had the disposing of your Money:
[Page 68] God unto whom you and your Father bow,
Hath giv'n you Treasure in your Sacks I trow.
And then releasing
Simeon, who had been
Confin'd in
Joseph's House, he brought them in
And set them Water, and they wash'd their Feet,
And gave their Asses Provender to eat.
Then they made ready against
Joseph came
Their Gifts, in order to present the same
At Noon, for they were told he did design
To have their Company with him to Dine.
And now when
Joseph was returned home,
Into his Presence they with rev'rence come,
And brought their Presents in and laid before him,
And fell down at his Feet for to adore him.
Then he enquired if they all were well,
And said, When you were here I heard you tell
Of an old Man your Father, how does he?
Is he in Health, or doth he cease to be?
Whereto in humble sort they thus reply'd,
Thy Servant, ev'n our Father, doth abide
In perfect Health, which having said,
They bow'd their Heads and great obeysance made.
And
Joseph viewing
Benjamin his Brother
(They being both the Children of one Mother)
He asked if he were the Lad of whom
They spake, then said, God give thee Grace my Son,
Then making hast to find a secret place
To weep, because his Bowels yern'd apace
Upon his Brother, to his Chamber went,
Where having giv'n his troubled Spirits vent,
He wash'd his Face and did himself refrain,
And to his Brethren then came sorth again.
[Page 69] And bad his Servants they should set on Bread:
At his command the Tables all were spread;
One for himself, and for his Friends another,
And for th'
Egyptians one apart from either,
That so they might not eat Bread altogether;
For it is held a great abomination
For them to eat among the
Hebrew Nation.
And they were placed as their age required,
The Eldest first, whereat the Men admired:
And from his Table
Joseph sent them Messes,
But in a larger manner he expresses
To
Benjamin his kindness, which was such,
That he appointed him five times as much
As to the rest: and they drank plenteously,
Till they were merry in his Company.
CHAP. XLIV.
AND to his Steward
Joseph spake, and said,
Give these Men Corn as much as they can lade.
And in their Sacks bind each Man's Money up,
And in the Youngest's put my silver Cup
Besides his Money: and he made hast and did
According as his Master had commanded.
And in the morning by the break of day,
With Asses laden they were sent away:
And now, e'er they had scarce the Town's end past,
He sent his Steward after them in hast,
[Page 70] And said, Go follow them and ask them why
They have dealt by me so ungratefully?
And say unto them, You have done great evil
To Rob my Master who hath been so civil,
And steal the Cup wherein he drinks his Wine;
Is it not it whereby he doth Divine?
Then he pursu'd and quickly overtook
Them, and these very words to them he spoke.
To whom they said, Why hath my Lord such thought?
Oh, God forbid that we should be so naught;
Behold, thou know'st we brought the Money back
The which we found bound up in each Man's Sack,
Which shews that we had no design to cheat;
How then should we now steal your Masters Plate?
With which of us thy Servants it is found
Let him be slain, and we to Slavery bound.
Now as you say, said he, so let it be,
He shall be bound, but you shall all go free.
Then they unladed ev'ry Man his Beast,
And to his view expos'd their Sacks in hast;
And he from first to last them searched round,
And lo, the Cup on
Benjamin was found:
Whereat surpris'd, each Man his Garment rent,
And lades his Beast, and back again they went.
And now when
Judah and the rest were come
To
Joseph's House (for he was yet at home)
They fell before him to the ground, to whom
He said, What deed is this that you have done;
Are you not sensible that such a one
As I, can certainly thereof make trial?
Then
Judah said, my Lord there's no denial,
[Page 71] We cannot clear our selves: The Lord hath sent,
For our mis deeds this heavy Punishment.
Behold, to be thy Slaves we all are bound,
Both we, and he on whom the Cup was sound.
Then
Joseph said, the Lord forbid that I
Should exercise so great severity:
For he with whom 'tis found, and he alone
Shall be my Servant, you may all be gone.
Then unto
Joseph, Judah drawing near,
Said, O my Lord! I pray be pleas'd to hear
Thy Servant speak, and be not angry now,
For as King
Pharaoh is ev'n so art thou.
My Lord did bid thy Servants to discover
Whether we had a Father or a Brother;
And we made answer that thy Servants had
An ancient Father and a little Lad,
The Child of his old age, who was our Brother,
And he the only Child left of his Mother,
His Brother being dead; and that this Lad
Was all the comfort that our Father had:
Then thou wert pleas'd to bid thy Servants bring
The Lad, that thou might'st have a sight of him.
And we made answer, If the Lad should leave
His Father, it would bring him to his Grave:
And thou didst then protest it was in vain
For us without him to come here again.
Then towards home thy Servants went their way,
And told our Father what my Lord did say:
And in a while when all our Corn was spent,
Thy Servant, ev'n our Father would have sent
To buy more Food; to whom thy Servants said,
We cannot go except thou send the Lad:
[Page 72] Because the Man did solemnly declare,
Unless we brought him we should not come there.
And then thy Servant, ev'n our Father said,
Ye know that by my Wife two Sons I had,
And one of them went forth and came no more,
Which made me think some Beast did him devour,
And if I now should also condescend
To let this go, and mischief should attend,
You will with sorrow bring me to my end.
When to my Father I shall come therefore,
And he shall see that I do not restore
The Lad again, he certainly will die,
(Since in his Life my Father's Life doth lie)
And we shall bring him to his Grave thereby.
For I became a Surety for the Lad
Unto my Father, unto whom I said,
If I do not in safety him deliver,
Then let me bear the blame to thee for ever.
I humbly pray thee therefore to accept
Me in his stead, and let me here be kept
My Lord's Bondslave, and let the Lad go free:
For how can I, thy Servant bear to see
The Evil that shall on my Father come,
If that the Lad return not safely home.
CHAP. XLV.
THen
Joseph, who by no means now could hide
His Brotherly affection longer, cry'd,
Put all Men forth; and he was left alone
When to his Brethren he himself made known.
Then
Joseph weeping lifted up his Voice
So loud, that
Pharaoh's Servants heard the noise.
And to his Brethren did himself discover,
And said, Lo! I am
Joseph your own Brother;
And doth my Father live? Whereat amaz'd,
They could not speak but at each other gaz'd.
Then
Joseph said, Come near I pray, behold,
I am your Brother
Joseph whom ye sold
To
Egypt, be not grieved now therefore,
Nor vex your selves, for God sent me before
To save Life; for for these two Years there hath been
A Famine, and five more to come, wherein
Seed-time nor Harvest shall at all be seen.
The Lord I say hath sent me to provide
A Place, and strangely save your Lives beside.
So now ye sent me not, but it was rather
The Lord, and he hath made me as a Father
Unto the King, Lord of his Houshold, and
A Ruler over all this spacious Land.
Unto my Father therefore go your way,
And tell him, Thus doth thy Son
Joseph say:
[Page 74] The Lord hath rais'd me to an high degree
In
Egypt, tarry not but come to me,
And thou shalt dwell in
Goshen and be nigh me,
And with Provision there will I supply thee,
Both thou and thine, Flocks, Herds, and all thou hast,
(For yet these five Years will the Famine last)
Lest otherwise Provision being scant,
Thou and thy Family may come to want.
Behold, both you and
Benjamin my Brother
Do see that it is I and not another:
Go tell my Father this amazing Story,
And bring him hither to behold my Glory.
Then falling on his youngest Brother's Neck,
And he on his, they o'er each other wept:
And to the rest he did likewise, wherefore
They now were more familiar than before.
And now whilst they discoursed, the Report
Of their arrival came to
Pharaoh's Court,
And he was pleas'd thereat, wherefore he said
To
Joseph, Let thy Brethren straitway lade
Their Beasts with Corn, and thus unto them say,
Unto your Native Country hast away,
And fetch your Father and your Housholds, and
I'll feed you with the good things of the Land.
And since you are commanded by the King,
Take Waggons with you hence wherein to bring
Your Wives, your Little ones, and come down hither,
Your Father, you and yours altogether;
And never heed to bring your Houshold-stuff,
For here in
Egypt you shall have enough.
Then did the
Isr'elites accordingly:
And
Joseph ord'ring them a large supply
[Page 75] Of Necessaries for their Journey, sent
Waggons according to the King's intent.
And to each Man he gave a Suit of Cloaths,
But on his Brother
Benjamin bestows
Five Suits, and as a Token of his Love,
A Sum of Money over and above.
And thus he sent ev'n for his Father's use,
Of the best things that
Egypt did produce,
Ten Asses load, and ten she-Asses load
Of Bread and Meat, to spend upon the Road.
Then sending them away, he said, I pray
See that you do not fall out by the way.
And leaving
Egypt with their num'rous Train,
Unto their Father they return'd again:
To whom, as soon as e'er they did arrive,
They said, Our Brother
Joseph's yet alive,
And Lord of all the Land, which sore dismay'd
Him, for he scarce believed what they said:
Then they of all that past gave him relation,
And shew'd the Waggons for a confirmation,
Which being manifest before his Eyes,
He rais'd himself and said, it doth suffice;
Joseph my Son is yet alive, and I
Will go to see him once before I die.
CHAP. XLVI.
THen
Isr'el setting forward on his way
With all his Houshold, came to
Bersheba;
And offer'd Sacrifice there to implore
The God his Father
Isaac did adore.
And in the Visions of the Night God spake
To him, and said, fear not to undertake
This Journey into
Egypt, for I am
The God of thy Fore-fathers,
Abraham
And
Isaac; to the Land of
Egypt I
Will go with thee, and there will multiply
Thy Off-spring, and of thee will surely make
A mighty Nation, and will bring thee back;
And thy Son
Joseph there thine Eyes shall close.
After which Vision he from thence arose,
And in the Waggons which King
Pharaoh sent,
He and his Family to
Egypt went:
His Sons, their Wives and Children, and the rest
Of their Concerns, whereof they were possest
When they in
Cana'n dwelt, and they were then
No more in number but Threescore and Ten.
And when to
Egypt Israel drew near,
He sent before him
Judah, to prepare
His way to
Goshen, which when
Joseph heard,
Immediately his Chariot he prepar'd,
And unto
Goshen he directly went,
And to his Father did himself present;
[Page 77] And being over joy'd fell on his Neck,
And for a good while thereupon he wept.
Then
Jacob said, since thou yet liv'st, and I
Have seen thy face once more, now let me die.
And
Joseph said, my Brethren I will go
Unto King
Pharaoh, and will let him know
That you and all my Father's House are come;
And that your Occupation when at home,
Hath been in feeding Cattle altogether,
And that you've brought your Flocks and Herds all hither
Now therefore when you come before the King,
And he shall ask you what your Trade hath been,
Say thus: Thy Servants from our Youth till now
Have dealt in Cattle, we and our Fathers too;
That he may let you dwell in
Goshen, for
Th'
Egyptians do a Shepherd's-Life abhor.
CHAP. XLVII.
THen to King
Pharaoh Joseph went, and said,
My Father and his Sons, with all they had
In their own Countrey, are come down to me,
And in the Land of
Goshen now they be.
Five of his Brethren also with him went,
Whom he unto King
Pharaoh did present.
And
Pharaoh asked them about their Trade,
And they unto the King reply'd and said,
We and our Fathers while we were at home
Were Shepherds all, and now behold, we come
[Page 78] With all our Flocks, to get some Pasture here,
For in our Land the Famine is severe:
We therefore pray thee to appoint a Portion
Unto thy Servants in the Land of
Goshen.
And
Pharaoh said to
Joseph, I impow'r thee
To use thy pleasure,
Goshen is before thee;
Settle thy Father and thy Brethren there,
And if among them active Men there are,
Commit my Cattle to their special care.
And
Joseph brought his aged Father in
Before the King, and
Jacob blessed him.
And
Pharaoh asking him about his Age,
He said, The Years of my Life's Pilgrimage
Are but an Hundred Thirty, very few
And evil, nor have I attain'd unto
The Years of my Fore-Fathers longer age,
Which they past thro' in this their Pilgrimage.
And
Jacob blest the King again, and then
Out of his Presence he return'd again.
And
Joseph plac'd his Father and Relations
In
Egypt, and appointed them Possessions
In the best of the Land, ev'n in the Land
Of
Ramases, according to the King's Command:
And there he nourisht them with fit supplies
Of Bread, according to their Families.
And now the People having spent their store,
And Famine still increasing more and more,
Egypt and
Canaan too, for want of Bread,
Were sore distrest and almost famished.
And
Joseph took the Money they did bring
To buy their Corn, and kept it for the King.
[Page 79] Wherefore the People came to represent
Their case to him, both Corn and Coin be'ng spent.
And
Joseph said, If Money be grown scant,
Bring me your Cattle and ye shall not want.
And they brought Horses, Asses and their Flocks
And Herds of Cattel, ev'n all their Stocks,
And gave to
Joseph in exchange for Bread,
For which the People he for that Year fed;
And when that Year was past, the second Year
They came again, and said, we can't forbear
To let thee know our want, my Lord doth know
Thou hast our Money and our Cattle too,
And there is nothing left (so hard's our fate)
But only each Man's Person and Estate,
If thou wilt give us Bread, into thy hands
Will we resign our Persons and our Lands:
And be the Servants of the King for ever,
From Death therefore our hungry Souls deliver,
And take some pity on our wretched state,
Lest we dye, and the Land be desolate.
And the
Egyptians sold each Man his Field,
Beaause the Famine over them prevail'd;
And all their Lands became the King's Possession,
And
Joseph plac'd them at his own discretion.
But the Land of the Priests he purchas'd not,
For
Pharaoh had assign'd to them their Lot;
And they receiv'd their Food from
Pharaoh's hands,
Wherefore they had no need to sell their Lands.
And
Joseph said unto them, now behold,
You and your Lands are unto
Pharaoh sold:
Lo, here is Seed to sow in each Man's Field,
And when the Land its ripe increase shall yield,
[Page 80] A fifth part shall belong unto the Crown,
And th' other four parts shall be your own,
For Seed to sow your Lands, and for supplies
Of Food convenient for your Families.
And they said; Thou hast sav'd our Lives, my Lord,
Thy gracious favour unto us afford,
And we will do according to thy word.
And
Joseph made it a Decree, to stand
Ev'n to this day throughout th'
Egyptian Land,
That
Pharaoh should have a fifth part, except
The Priests Lands, which unto themselves they kept.
And in the Land of
Egypt, ev'n in
Goshen
Did
Isr'el dwell, and therein had possession,
And grew and multiply'd exceeding fast.
And
Jacob liv'd till seventeen Years were past:
So that the sum of
Jacob's age appears
To be an hundred forty seven Years.
And when the time approach'd that he must die,
He called
Joseph, unto whom he said, If I
Have now found favour in thy sight, I pray,
Swear thou unto me that thou wilt not lay
My Bones in
Egypt, for I fain would lie
Among my Ancestors when e'er I die,
And not be bury'd here; therefore fulfil
This my Desire: and he reply'd, I will;
And he said, swear unto me, which he did:
Then
Jacob bow'd himself upon his Bed.
CHAP. XLVIII.
AND now when
Joseph heard his Father lay
Even at the point of death, he hasts away
To visit him, and took along with him
His Son
Manasseh, and's Son
Ephraim.
Whereof when
Jacob heard he strengthned
Himself, and rose and sate upon the Bed:
And thus to
Joseph said, Lo, God appeared
To me at
Luz in
Canaan, and declared,
That he would bless, and make me a great Nation,
And give my Seed that Land for a Possession:
And
Jacob said, Behold, these Sons of thine
As
Reuben and as
Simeon shall be mine,
And all the rest which shall be born to thee
Hereafter, shall be thine, and they shall be
Call'd by the Name of their own Family.
Behold thy Mother died upon the way,
When I from
Padan came, near
Ephratah,
The which is in the Land of
Canaan, where,
To wit, in
Bethlem, did I bury her.
And
Jacob seeing
Joseph's Sons were there,
He asked of him who the Children were.
And
Joseph said, My Father, lo, these be
The Sons, God in this Place hath given me.
Then
Jacob said, I pray thee bring them nigh
To me, and I will bless them e'er I die.
(Now
Jacob's Eyes, by reason of Age, were dim)
And
Joseph brought his Sons near unto him,
And
Jacob kissed and embraced them:
[Page 82] And said I never thought to see thy Face,
And lo, the Lord hath shown me of thy race.
And
Joseph from between his Knees brought forth
His Sons, and bow'd himself even to the Earth:
And in his Right hand held up
Ephraim,
Towards his Father's Left hand guiding him,
And in his Left hand to his Father's right,
He held his Son
Manasseh opposite.
And
Isra'l stretching out his Right hand, laid
It on the youngest namely
Ephraim's head:
And laid his Left hand wittingly upon
Manasseh's head, although the eldest Son.
And
Jacob blessed
Joseph, saying, The God
Of Heaven, in whose Paths my Fathers trod,
Who all my Life hath nourish'd me, even he
Who from all Evil hath redeemed me,
Bless both the Lads, and let them bear my Name,
And the Name of my Fathers
Abraham
And
Isaac, and let them multiply
In the midst of the Earth exceedingly.
And
Joseph seeing his Father's Right hand laid
On
Ephraim's head, he was displeas'd, and said,
Not so, my Father, lay this hand upon
Manasseh's head, for he's the eldest Son:
And therewithal attempted to have laid
His Father's Right hand on
Manasseh's head.
But he refus'd and said, I know't, my Son,
I know't full well, he also shall become
A People, and be mighty: But indeed
His younger Brother shall him far exceed,
And many Nations shall come from his Seed.
[Page 83] Thus
Jacob blessed them, and said, In thee
Shall
Isra'l bless, and say, God make thee be
Like
Ephraim and
Manasseh. Thus did he
Prefer the youngest to the first degree.
And
Isra'l said to
Joseph, Lo, I
[...]
But God shall visit you, and certainly
Shall bring you back unto your Fathers
[...]
And thou shalt have a Portion from my hand,
Above thy Brethren, which with Sword and Bow
I took from th' Amorite, my deadly Foe.
CHAP. XLIX.
AND
Jacob called all his Sons together,
And said, Ye Sons of
Jacob come you hither:
And hearken what your aged Father says,
Who tells you what shall be in the last days.
Reuben my first born, of my Strength the Flower,
The excellency of Dignity and Power:
Unstable as Water, be for ever vile,
Because thou didst thy Father's Bed defile.
Simeon and
Levi're Brethren, Instruments
Of Cruelty are lodged in their Tents:
Come not, my Soul, their secret Councils nigh,
My Honour, with them have no Unity:
For in their Wrath they caus'd a Man to fall,
And in their Self-will digged down a Wall.
Curst be their anger, fierce, yea cursed be
Their Wrath, for it was full of Cruelty:
[Page 84] In
Jacob therefore let there Seed be spread,
And every where in
Israel scattered.
Judah shall have his Brethren's Praise, and they
Shall bow before him, he his Foes shall slay.
Judah's a Lion's. Whelp return'd from pray,
He stoop'd, he couch'd, and as a Lion lay,
As an old Lion, who shall dare molest,
Or rouze him up, when he lies down to rest:
The Scepter shall from
Judah never start,
Nor a Lawgiver from his Feet depart,
Until the blessed
Shiloh come, to whom
The scatter'd People shall from all parts come:
Binding his Foal unto the choicest Vine,
He wash'd his Garments, all of them in Wine,
His Eyes shall with the Blood of the Grapes look red,
And milky Whiteness shall his Teeth o'er spread.
Lo,
Zebulun shall dwell upon the Sea,
An Haven for the Ships security,
And unto
Zidon shall his Border be.
And
Issacha
[...] is a strong Ass between
Two Burdens crouching, who when he had seen
That Rest was pleasant, and the Land was good,
His servile Neck unto the Yoak he bow'd.
Dan as a Judge shall over
Israel sway,
He shall be as a Serpent in the way,
To bite the Horse, and cast the Rider down.
O God! I have look'd for thy Salvation.
Gad by a Troop shall be o'ercome, but he
Shall at the last obtain the Victory.
The Bread of
Asher shall be fat indeed,
And Royal Dainties shall from him proceed
[Page 85] Like to an Hind let loose is
Naphthali,
He speaketh all his Words acceptably.
Joseph's a fruitful Bough, whose Branches tall
Grow by a Well, and over-top the Wall:
By reason of Hatred which the Archers bore,
They shot at him and griev'd him very sore,
But
Joseph's Bow in its full strength abode,
And by the Arm of
Jacob's mighty God,
He was indu'd with strength, from whence alone
Is
Israe'l's Shepherd, and chief corner Stone:
Even by my Father's God, who shall assist
Thee, by th' Almighty God shalt thou be blest,
With Blessings from above, and from below,
With Blessings of the Breast, and Womb also.
Thy Father's Blessings have prevail'd beyond
My Ancestors: Unto the utmost bound
Of the perpetual Hills, yea let them rest
On
Joseph's head, and let him be possest
Of all, who was divided from the rest.
Young
Benjamin shall Wolf-like take his prey,
And part at night what he hath took by day.
All these are the twelve Tribes of
Israel,
And thus their Father did their Fate foretel:
And blessed every one of them apart,
According to their Personal desert:
Moreover he gave them a charge and said,
Lo, I shall die, but let my Bones be laid
Among my Ancestors in
Canaan, where
Of
Ephron, Abraham bought a Sepulcher,
Together with a Field, to be a Place
Of Burial, for him and all his Race:
They
Isaac and
Rebecca did inter,
And there when
Leah died I buried her.)
The Field was purchas'd of the Sons of
Heth.
Thus having said, resigning up his Breath
To him that gave't, his Feet into the Bed
He drew, and so was number'd to the dead.
CHAP. L.
AND
Joseph fell upon his Father's Face,
And did with Tears his lifeless Lips embrace:
And sends for his Physicians and advises
Them, to embalm his Father's Corpse with Spices:
And they did so, and forty days did pass.
(For so the manner of Embalming was)
And the
Egyptians mourned for the space
Of threescore and ten days, which being expired
He spake to
Pharaoh's Servants and desired,
That they would please to speak in
Pharaoh's Ear,
And tell him that my Father made me swear,
That I should bury him in
Canaan, where
He hath provided his own Sepulcher:
I therefore pray thee that I may obtain
Thy leave, and I will soon return again.
And
Pharaoh said, Since thou hast sworn, fulfil
Thy Oath, according to thy Father's Will.
[Page 87] And
Joseph went up to accompany
His Father's Corpse with great Solemnity:
And with him went up
Pharaoh's Servants, and
The prime Nobility of all the Land,
And
Joseph's Houshold, and his Brethren all,
Only their Flocks, and Herds, and Children small
Were left behind: Moreover there went up
Chariots and Horsemen, even a mighty Troop.
And they came up to
Arad's threshing floar
Beyond the River Jordan, where full sore
They mourned for him till seven days were past,
So long their Mourning in that Place did last.
Which when the
Canaanites beheld they said,
Surely some eminent
Egyptian's dead:
Wherefore they call'd it
Abel-mizraim.
'Thus did his Sons as he commanded them.
For to the Land of
Canaan they conveigh'd
Him, and in
Machpelah near
Mamre, laid
His Body in the Cave which
Ephron sold
To
Abraham, for him and his to hold.
And thus when
Joseph fully had perform'd
His Father's Will, to
Egypt he return'd,
Together with his Brethren, and with all
Them that came with him to the Funeral.
Now
Joseph's Brethren being well aware
That they were Fatherless, began to fear
That he would hate them, and requite them all
The Evil they had treated him withal.
Wherefore to him they sent a Messenger
And said, Behold our Father did declare
Before he died that we should come and say,
Forgive thy Brethren's Trespasses, I pray,
[Page 88] And their Misdeeds for they have been unkind:
And now we humbly pray thee be inclin'd
To Pardon our Offences, and the rather
For that we serve the God even of thy Father.
And
[...] wept when thus they spake, and they
Came nearer, and before him prostrate lay,
And said, We are thy Servants all this day.
And
Joseph bad them not to be afraid,
For in the place of God am I, he said:
For though you meant me Ill, God meant it Good,
And sent me hither to provide you Food:
Now therefore trouble not your selves, for I
Will nourish you, and all your Family.
After this manner did he satisfie
And treat them with extream Civility.
And
Joseph and his Father's House remain'd
In
Egypt, and he liv'd till he attain'd
An Hundred and ten years, and liv'd to see
Of
Ephraim's Children to the Third Degree:
And
Machir's Children of
Manasseh's Tribe
Were also born some time before he died.
Then
Joseph said, My Brethren, lo I die,
But God will visit you undoubtedly;
And to that Land again whereof he spake
Unto our Ancestors, will bring you back.
And
Joseph also made his Brethren swear,
That they would not interr his Body there.
And thus he ended his Life's Pilgrimage,
Being an hundred and ten years of Age;
And was embalm'd, and in a Coffin laid,
In
Egypt, till he could be thence convey'd.
The End of the History of
Joseph.
THE General Epistle of JAMES.
CHAP. I.
UNTO the twelve Tribes scattered abroad,
James, and Apostle of the living God,
And of the Lord Christ Jesus, Salutation.
My Brethren, when you fall into Temptation
Of divers kinds, rejoyce, as Men that know
From trial of your Faith doth Patience flow:
But let your Patience have its full effect,
That you may be entire, without defect.
If any of you lack Wisdom, let him cry
To God, and he will give it lib'rally,
And not upbraid. But let him ask in Faith,
Not wavering, for he that wavereth,
Unto a Wave o'th' Sea I will compare,
Driv'n with the Wind and tossed here and there:
For let not such a Man himself deceive,
To think that he shall from the Lord receive.
A double-minded Man most surely lacketh
Stability in all he undertaketh.
Let ev'ry Brother of a low degree
Rejoyce in that he is advanc'd, but he
That's Rich in being made low, for he shall pass
Away, as doth the flow'r of the Grass.
[Page 90] For as the
[...] doth rise,
Is scorch'd by
[...] and dies;
Its Flow'r fades,
[...] more
The beauteous
[...],
So fades the Rich Man,
[...] his Store.
The Man is blest that doth endure Temptation:
For when he's try'd, the Crown of God's Salvation,
The which the Lord hath promised to give
To them that love him, that Man shall receive.
Let no Man be possest with a persuasion,
To say, when he falls under a Temptation,
That God's the cause; for with no evil can
God be tempted, nor tempts he any Man.
But every Man is tempted when he's drawn
Away, and by his Lusts prevail'd upon;
Then when Lust hath conceiv'd, it ushereth
In Sin, and Sin when finished brings Death.
Err not, my Brethren whom I dearly love.
Each good and perfect Gift is from above,
Down from th' original of
[...]ights descending,
With whom's no change, nor shadow thereto tending
According to his own good pleasure, he
Begat us with the word of Truth, that we
Should as the first
[...] of his Creatures be.
Wherefore, belov
[...]d Brethren, I intreat
You to be swift
[...]
[...], and slow to speak,
And slow to wrath, for wrath cannot incline
The Sons of Men to Righteousness divine.
Wherefore avoiding ev'ry
[...]hiness,
And superfluity of naught
[...]s:
Receive with meekness the
[...]grafted word,
Which can Salvation to your Souls afford.
[Page 91] But be ye doers of the word each one,
And not deceive your selves to hear alone;
For he that hears the word and doth it not,
Is like unto a Man that hath forgot
What kind of Man he was, tho' in a Glass
He just before beheld his nat'ral Face.
But whoso minds the Law of Liberty
In its perfection, and continually
Abides therein, forgets not what he's heard,
But doth the Work and therein hath Reward.
If any Man among you seem to be
Religious, he deceives himself if he
Doth not his Tongue as with a Bit restrain;
And all that Man's Religion is but vain.
Religion, pure and undefil'd, which is
Acceptable before the Lord, is this:
To visit Widows and the Fatherless,
In time of their affliction or distress;
And so to regulate his Conversation,
As to be spotless in his Generation.
CHAP. II.
FAith of the Lord of Glory,
Jesus Christ,
Doth with respect of Persons not consist;
For if, my Brethren, when there shall come in
To your Assembly one with a Gold Ring,
In goodly Cloaths, and there shall also be
Another Man that's meanly cloath'd, and ye
[Page 92] Shall have respect to him in rich attire,
And say unto him, Come thou, sit up higher;
And bid the poor Man stand or sit below,
Are ye not partial then, and plainly show,
That you do judge amiss in what you do?
Hearken, my Brethren, hath not God elected
The Poor, who by this World have been rejected,
Yet rich in Faith, and of that Kingdom Heirs,
Which God will give his foll'wers to be theirs?
But you, my Brethren, do the Poor despise.
Do not the rich Men o'er you tyrannize,
And hale you to their Courts; that worthy Name
By which you're call'd, do not they blaspheme?
Then if ye do the Royal Law fulfil,
To love thy Neighbour as thy self, 'tis well,
According to the Scripture; but if ye
Shall have respect to Persons, ye shall be
Guilty of Sin, and by the Law condemn'd,
As such who have its Righteousness contemn'd.
For he that shall but in one point offend,
Breaks the whole Law, whate'er he may pretend.
For he that doth forbid Adultery,
Forbids likewise all acts of Cruelty:
Now tho' thou be not an Adulterer,
Yet if thou kill, thou shalt thy Judgment bear.
So speak and do as those Men that shall be
Judg'd by the perfect Law of Liberty:
For he shall Judgment without Mercy know,
That to his Neighbour doth no Mercy show;
And Mercy triumphs against Judgment too.
Brethren what profit is't if a Man saith
That he hath Faith, and hath not Works; can Faith
[Page 93] Save him? If any of the Brotherhood
Be destitute of Cloaths or daily Food,
And one of you shall say, Depart in Peace,
Be warmed or be filled, ne'ertheless,
Ye do not furnish them with what they need,
What boots it? Thus Faith without Works is dead.
Yea may a Man say, thou dost Faith profess
And I good Works, to me thy Faith express
Without thy Works, and I will plainly show
My Faith unto thee by the Works I do.
Thou dost believe there is one God, 'tis true,
The Devils do believe and tremble too.
But wilt thou know, vain Man, that Faith is dead
Which with good Works is not accompany'd.
Was not our Father
Abraham justify'd
By Works, and by the same his Faith was try'd,
When he his
Isaac to the Altar brought,
Se'st thou how with his Works his Faith then wrought?
And with his Works he perfected his Faith?
And so the Scripture was fulfill'd, which saith,
Abraham believed God, and 'twas imputed
For Righteousness, and he Gods Friend reputed.
Thus may you see, that by Works ev'ry one
Is justify'd, and not by Faith alone
Thus was the Ha
[...]lot
R
[...]hab justify'd
By Works when she the Messengers did hide,
And by another way their feet did guide.
For as the body's dead without the Spirit,
So Faith without Works never can inherit.
CHAP. III.
AFfect not, Brethren, Superiority,
As knowing that we shall receive thereby
The greater Condemnation in the end:
For we in many things do all offend.
Who doth not with his Tongue offend, he can
Guide his whole Body, he's a perfect Man.
Behold, in Horses mouths we Bridles out,
To rule and turn their Bodies quite about:
Behold likewise the Ships, which tho' they be
Of mighty bulk, and thro' the raging Sea
Are driv'n by the strength of Winds, yet they
By a small Helm the Pilot's Will obey.
Ev'n so the Tongue of Man, which tho' it be
But a small Member, in an high degree
It boasts of things. Behold, we may remark
How great a matter's kindl'd by a spark
The Tongue's a fire, a world of ill, which plac'd
Among the Members, often hath disgrac'd
All the whole Body firing the whole frame
Of Nature, and is kindl'd by Hell flame.
All kinds of Beasts and Birds that can be nam'd,
Serpents and Fishes, are and have been tam'd
By Mankind; but the Tongue can no Man tame,
A stubborn Evil full of deadly bane.
We therewith God the Father bless, and we
Therewith curse Men made like the Deity:
[Page 95] Blessing and Cursing from the same Mouth flow,
These things, my Brethren, ought not to be so.
Is any Fountain of so strange a nature,
At once to send forth sweet and bitter water?
Can Olives, Brethren, on a Fig-tree grow,
Or Figs on Vines? No more can water flow
From the same Fountain sweet and bitter too.
He that's endu'd with wisdom and discretion
Amongst you, let that Man by the profession
Of Meekness, wisely give a demonstration
Of all his Works from a good Conversation.
But if your Hearts are full of bitterness
And strife, boast not, nor do the Truth profess.
This Wisdom is not from above descending,
But Earthly, sensual and to evil tending;
For where there's strife and envying there's confusion,
And ev'ry evil work in the conclusion.
But the true Wisdom that is from above.
Is, in the first place, pure, then full of love.
Then gentle, and intreated easily,
Next merciful, without partiality,
Full of good fruits, without hypocrisie;
And what is more, the fruits of Righteousness
Is sown in Peace, of them that do make Peace.
CHAP. IV.
FRom whence come Wars and Fights, come they not hence,
Ev'n from th' inordinate concupiscence
That in your Members prompts to variance?
You lust and have not, kill and desire to have,
But ne'ertheless obtain not what you crave:
With War and fighting ye contend, yet have not
The things which you desire, because you crave not,
Ye crave but don't receive, the reasons just,
Ye crave amiss to spend it on your Lust.
You that live in Adult'ry, know not ye
The friendship of the World is enmity
With God? He is God's Enemy therefore
That doth the Friendship of the World adore.
Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vai
[...]
The Spirit that lusts to hate doth in you reign?
But he bestows more Grace, wherefore he says,
God scorns the Proud, but doth the Humble raise.
Unto the Lord therefore submissive be
Resist the Devil and he'll from you flee.
Draw high to God and he'll to you draw nigh.
Make clean your Hands you Sinners, purifie
Your Hearts you double-minded, weep and mourn,
And be afflicted, let your laughter turn
To sorrow, and your joy to sadness; stoop
Before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
[Page 97] My Brethren, speak not evil of each other:
He that doth judge and speak ill of his Brother,
Doth judge and speak ill of the Law; therefore
If thou dost judge the Law, thou art no more
A doer of the same, but dost assume
The Judgment-Seat, and art thy self become
A Judge thereof. There is but one Law-giver
That's able to destroy and to deliver;
Who then art thou that dost condemn thy Neighbour?
Go to now, you that say, To such a place
To morrow will we go, and for the space
Of one whole Year, or so, will there remain,
And buy and sell, and get great store of Gain:
Whereas ye know not what a day may do.
For what's the Life of Man? Ev'n like unto
A Vapour, which tho' for a while it may
Appear, it quickly vanisheth away
So that ye ought to say, If God permit
Us life and Health, we will accomplish it.
But now ye glory in your confidence,
Such glorying is of evil consequence.
He therefore that doth know, and doth not act
The thing that's good, doth guilt thereby contract.
CHAP. XLVI.
GO to now, O ye rich Men, howl and cry,
Because of your approaching misery:
Your Riches are corrupted, and the Moths
Have enter'd, and have eaten up your Cloaths;
Your Gold and Silver's canker'd, and the rust
Thereof, shall be an Evidence that's just
Against you, and like fire your flesh devour:
Against the last days ye have heap'd up store.
The hire of them that reaped down your Field,
The which by you is wrongfully witheld,
Cries, and the Voice thereof hath reach'd the Ears
Ev'n of the God of Sabbath, and he hears.
Your Lives in pleasure ye on Earth have led,
And as in days of slaughter nourish'd
Your wanton Hearts, and have condemn'd and slain
The Just, and he doth not resist again.
Be patient therefore, Brethren, ev'n unto
The coming of the Lord: behold, ev'n so
The Husbandman expecteth patiently
The precious increase of the Earth to see,
With patience waiting, till he doth obtain
The show'rs of early and of later Rain.
So be ye patient, fixing stedfastly
Your Hearts, for th' coming of the Lord draws nigh.
[Page] Grieve not each other, Brethren, lest ye bear
The condemnation; lo, the Judge stands near.
The Prophets, Brethren, who all heretofore
In the Name of the Lord their witness bore,
Take for Examples in their Sufferings
And Patience: they that endure such things,
Ye know are counted blest. Have ye not read
Of
Job, how patiently he suffered?
Have ye not seen in him what
[...] God's end,
How he doth pity and great love extend?
My Brethren, but above all things forbear
By Heav'n or Earth, or otherwise to swear;
But let your Yea be Yea, your Nay be Nay,
Lest ye become reproveable I say.
Let him sing Psalms that's merry; he that's griev'd,
Let him by Prayer seek to be reliev'd.
If any of you by Sickness be distrest,
Let him the Elders of the Church request,
That they would come and pray for him awhile,
Anointing him in the Lord's Name with Oil;
So shall the Pray'r that is of Faith restore
The Sick, and God shall raise him as before,
And all th' Offences which he hath committed
Shall be forgiv'n, and he shall be acquitted.
Confess your Faults each one unto his Brother,
And put up Supplications for each other,
That so you may be heal'd; the fervency
Of just Men's Pray'rs prevails effectually.
Elias was a Man as frail as we are.
And he was earnest with the Lord in Pray'r,
That there might be no Rain, and or the space
Of three Years and six Months no Rain there was;
[Page] And afterward, when he again made suit,
The Heav'n gave Rain, the Earth brought forth her Fruit.
If any one shall from the Truth desert,
And one, my Brethren, shall that Man convert;
Let him be sure, that he that doth recal
The poor backsliding Sinner from his fall,
Shall save a Soul from Death, and certainly
Shall hide a multitude of Sins thereby.
THE END.
Books lately Printed for and Sold by Jos. Blare, Bookseller, at the Looking-Glass, near St. Magnus. Church on London-Bridge.
1. SEven Sermons, viz. 1. Of the Unpardonable Sin against the Holy Ghost. 2. The Saints Duty and Exercise. 3. The accepted Time and Day of Salvation. 4. The end of Time and beginning of Eternity. 5. Joshua's Resolution to serve the Lord. 6. The way to Heaven made plain. 7. The future State of Man; or a Treatise of the Resurrection. Written by Robert Russel, of Wadhust in Sussex. Price bound one Shilling.
2. A Treatise on the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, with an earnest Invitation and Incouragement thereto; with Prayers, Meditations and Ejaculations. By Robert Russel, Author of the Seven Sermons. Price bound one Shilling.
3. The Progress of the Christian Pilgrim from this present World to the World to come. In Two Parts. Written by way of Dream. Price bound one Shilling.
4. Ayres's Arithmetick. A Treatise design'd for the Use and Benefit of Tradesmen. With the use of Fractions both Vulgar and Decimal. Price bound one Shilling.
5. The accomplish'd Lady's Rich Closet of Rarities, or the ingenious Gentlewoman's and Servant-Maid's delightful Companion. Containing many excellent things for the Accomplishment of the Female Sex. Price bound one Shilling.
6. The Compleat English Secretary, or the newest Academy of Complements; with the true Art of [Page] inditing Letters for Love and Business: to which [...] added, the newest Songs sung now in Court and Theatre, with a Treatise of Moles and Dreams. Price bound one Shilling.
7. The Shepherds New Kalendar, or the Citizen and Countryman's daily Companion; treating of most things that are Useful, Profitable, Delightful and Advantageous to Mankind: being the Thirty Years study of a Learned Shepherd. Price bound one Shilling.
8. The Famous History of Parismus, the valiant Prince of Bohemia. In Three Parts. Price bound one Shilling.
9. The English Don Quixot, or the Famous and Delightful History of a late English Knight-Errant; containing many Comical Exploits perform'd by him his Amours and Love Intrigues with his Lady, and the pleasant Humours of his Esquire: being an excellent Pill to purge Melancholly. Price sticht in 4 to 6 d.
10. Aristotle's Legacy, or his Golden Cabinet of Secrets. In Five Treatises. Price bound Sixpence.
11. Practical Discourses, viz. 1. An Exhortation against the Fears of Death. 2. A Declaration of the Resurrection of the Dead, with sutable Prayers and Meditations, and a Discourse of the Four last Things, Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. By Dr. Gibbs. Price bound one Shilling.
12. A Discourse of the Vanity of the Life of Man from Youth to Old Age, with Scriptural Poems. By John Bunyan. Price bound one Shilling.
13. The History of Amadis of Greece, surnam'd the Knight of the Burning Sword. Price bound one [...]hilling sixpence.
[Page] 14. The Mother's Blessing, or the Godly Counsel of a Gentlewoman not long since Deceas'd, left behind her for her Children; containing many good Exhortations and Admonitions, profitable for all Parents to leave as a Legacy to their Children. By Mrs. Dorothy Lee. Price bound one Shilling.
15. The English Fortune-Teller, resolving Questions, and telling Fortunes, whether Good or Bad, by the casting of Three Dies. Price one Shilling sixpence.
16. The Honour of the Taylers, or the Famous and Renowned History of Sir John Hawkwood, Knight: Containing his many rare and singular Adventures, witty Exploits, heroick Atchievements, and noble Performances, relating to Love and Arms in many Lands: In the series of which History are contain'd likewise, the no less Famous Actions and Enterprizes of others of the same Art and Mystery; with many remarkable Passages relating to Customs, Manners, &c. ancient and modern. Illustrated with Pictures, embellish'd with Verses and Songs, wonderful pleasant and delightful. To which is added, a brief Account of the Original of [...] Merchant-Taylers, as to their being Incorporated, [...]c. their Progress and Success from time to time; [...] Favours they have receiv'd from divers Kings [...]nd Princes; their many Structures of Magnificence and Charity; with many other things exer [...]ing their Worth and Grandeur. Quarto. Price stich'd Sixpence.
17. The Famous and Renown'd History of Sir [...] of Southampton: Giving an Account of his [Page] Birth, Education, Heroick Exploits and Enterprizes, his Fights with Giants, Monsters, Wild Beasts, and Armies; his Conquering Kings and Kingdoms, his Love and Marriages, Fortunes and Misfortunes; and many other famous and memorable things and Actions, worthy of Wonder: With the Adventures of other Knights, Kings and Princes; exceeding pleasant and delightful. Price stitch'd Sixpence.
18. The most Excellent History of the Valiant and Renown'd Knight, Don Flores of Greece, Knight of the Swans, second Son to Esphandran, Emperor of Constantinople: being a Supplement to Amadis de Gaul; newly Translated into English. Price stitch'd Sixpence.
19. The Crown Garland of Golden Roses, gather'd out of England's Royal Garden; set forth with many pleasant new Songs and Sonnets; with new Editions never before Publish'd. In two Parts. Price stitch'd Fourpence.