TO write in Meter was not my Intent,
Until some Verses were unto me sent:
Which Matter when consider'd in my Mind,
The Author, I believ'd, some Fault would find,
If I did not my self to him address
In the like way he did himself express.
And lest the Matter he should disrespect
For want of writing in his Dialect,
I thought it better, if I could but find
Clearness, in Verse to write to him my Mind,
Than otherwise; and then it did appear,
As I consider'd it, most plain and clear:
For on that Consideration, this I found,
It was not Modes of Speech, it was the Ground
From which Words sprung or came, with the Intent
That they were brought forth, and abroad were sent.
This was the Matter; for we truly find,
Th' Abuse of Things doth never change their Kind:
Seeing God hath in the World made nothing Evil,
All Misuse and Abuse is of the Devil;
Yet what is Evil made by his Abuse,
May be at other Times put to good Use.
In speaking gen'rally, this holdeth true;
(And I would give to ev'ry Thing its due.)
For Instance: What can we more Evil show
Than Words, when from an evil Ground they flow?
And yet what Word is there so evil made,
But to good Use the same may well be said?
And what is here by me to Words apply'd,
It may in Verse and other Things be try'd.
For writing Verse I need not his Excuse,
Because himself hath put it first in use;
And therefore since he did me here precede,
My Way's no other than what he did lead;
And no Man can another justly blame,
When he himself's a doer of the same.
But thinking others may read, hear, and see
What we have written, besides him and me;
For them it is that I apologize,
That as they understand, they may be wise,
Not to condemn, before they prove the Way
Of Words in Number, which is my Assay.
For if there be for ev'ry Thing a Time,
A Season then there is to write in Rhime.
This all should note, and no Occasion take
Against the Matter, for the Methods sake:
For unto me 't seems clear and manifest,
That weighty Truths may be in Verse exprest;
And such as find 'em there, and them refuse
Because o'th' Form, the Truth they do abuse.
Try all things, and retain whatever's good,
Speaks ev'ry Case, where Truth is understood,
Or may be found: If such will but apply
Their Minds to search, and things for Truth to try:
But if some will not try, and yet condemn,
This seems to be rash Foolishness in them;
Or else I judge that such conceited are,
And then of Fools more hopes there is by far;
For Fools according to their Folly do,
And that's because they do no better know;
But as deny'd of Reason, therefore may
Be more excused for a Fault, than they
Who have a Talent given, yet refuse
Their Talent to improve, exchange, or use;
How can they further plead Excuse, when try'd,
Than he that did i'th' Earth his Talent hide?
Or what can such expect from Judgment just,
But, like him, be deprived of their Trust?
But who so blind as him that will not see?
Or foolish, that's resolved so to be?
And now to touch the Matter shall descend,
Of which to write at present, did intend:
I find the Author in a gen'ral way
Condemns me, and great Fault doth on me lay,
Advising me, that I may back return
With speed, and for my past Offences mourn;
But Faults he sheweth none, therefore to me
All I have acted must condemned be;
And forasmuch as he declares, A Doom
Is from some People like on me to come:
Some have (it seems) a Combination made
Against me, and some evil Project laid.
But that I may prevent that bad design,
Note this, I pray, The Work was none of mine:
What I have done it was at God's Command,
Or I, at least, do so it understand.
Good Conscience then in this Case I may plead,
And where no Evil is, that you shou'd heed,
Lest rashly you your selves precipitate
Into an Act, which you may rue too late.
Perhaps you'll say, that all you do's in Love,
Which thinks no ill; yet that doth nothing prove.
What Rule give you that I may certain be
In what you say there's no Hypocrisie?
But if you think you're true, how must I know,
That you may not mistake in what you do.
Produce the Rule, by which the Truth you'll shew,
And see if I cannot as good give you.
What tho' some seem in good will to begin,
That is not much; the
Syrens also sing,
Whilst their intent is with deluding Charms
To draw the Saylers into fatal Harms;
Such as are wary when the Charms they hear,
Keep on their Course, or do a better steer;
And by that Caution get entirely free
O'th' sad Mishap, wherewith they menac'd be:
But such as unto them an Ear shall lend,
May in quick Ruin surely find their End.
If this a Fiction be; yet it is clear,
A noted Truth in'ts Moral doth appear.
For thus did th' Serpent to our Mother
Eve,
When his design was only to deceive.
Therefore we are not suddenly to lay
Our Hands on Man, tho' he may sing or pray;
But wisely to consider of the End,
As well as Friendship, that such may pretend,
Especially where we've believ'd or learn'd,
That God's Command may be therein concern'd.
If
Judah's Prophet this had carefully
Observ'd on his Return from
Bethel, he
By the old Prophet had not been deceiv'd,
Nor by the Lion of his Life bereav'd.
The Story's mournful if we heed it well,
Because a Prophet by a Prophet fell.
As
Judah's Prophet was sent by the Lord
'Gainst
Bethel's Altar to declare his Word;
So in that place he was not Bread to eat,
Nor by the Way he thither went, retreat:
Nor doth't appear, but that he did intend
God's Mandate to observe unto the end;
For all the Arguments the King cou'd use
To make him stay to eat, he did refuse;
Nay tho' to do't he promis'd a Reward,
Yet that like th'rest, he still did disregard:
And by another Way, 'tis very plain,
He was intended to go home again.
Thus was he faithful, till it came to pass
That he deceived by a Prophet was;
Who yet prevail'd not, till he let him know
He was a Prophet, and not only so,
But that th' Almighty by his Angel spake,
And bid go seek out, and conduct him back
Unto his House, that he might with him stay
To be refresh'd before he went away.
Thus far was
Judah's Prophet faithful found,
Until this time he firmly kept his Ground:
But now he fail'd; yet e're he was aware,
His rash Credulity drew on the Snare.
'Tis like he thought it was the Prophet's due
To be believ'd, all Prophets being true:
This show'd him young, that small Experience had,
To think all Prophets good when some were bad:
That he a Prophet was none can deny,
He did not here mistake but in his Lye;
Thus do we find, and are constrain'd to grant,
There may be Prophets true, that Truth may want.
Hence it appears, we ought not to depend
On Prophets, whatsoe're they may pretend;
Especially when they persuade us to
What we believe we never ought to do:
Some right, some wrong; here is uncertainty,
If we depend upon them generally:
And what's uncertain, if we don't believe
As certain Truth, a Lye we do receive;
And what unto the whole cannot belong,
Of right belongeth not to any one;
Therefore when Prophets Credit greatly press,
Because themselves as Prophets they express;
At best from Truth they lead that so direct,
And them, whene're they do't, we may suspect.
For Truth, we know, the Mind compleatly frees
From ev'ry Doubt, and all Uncertainties.
True Prophets therefore ever will direct
Unto the Truth i'th' Mind to have respect;
So in the Mind there may no Doubt remain,
For those in Doubt are not in Truth 'tis plain.
True Prophets do advise each one to know
A certain Ground for what Men say and do,
Nor would have them on any so rely,
As to submit and know no reason why.
For Truth not being in't, there's danger great
Least such may be impos'd on by Deceit;
Or otherwise if their intent be true,
Such may mistake in what they do pursue.
And if the Blind led by the Blind shall be,
Neither the Danger of the Ditch can see.
Nor can intended Kindness justifie
The doing ill, that good may come thereby:
For if it could, th' old Prophet an Excuse
Of like import for his Deceit might use;
For tho' he ly'd, it's plain he did intend
No less than Kindness to him, as a Friend;
Nay his Design was unto him to shew
Respect and Friendship as a Prophet true;
For he no sooner heard that he was slain
By th' Lion, which did by him yet remain,
But Love prevailing o'er the Terror, led
His friendly Heart to go take up the Dead;
To whom he kindly decent Burial gave,
As good as he himself desir'd to have;
For when he dy'd, he did command his Sons
To lay his Body by the Prophet's Bones;
And to his Honour said would come to pass
All that by him at
Beth-ell spoken was.
What Man can shew unto another more
Respect than he to
Judah's Prophet bore,
Both after Death had seiz'd him, and before?
And yet, in that he led him from the Way
Which God on him as a Command did lay,
And by a Lye deceiv'd him, it's a Blot
In After-Ages ne'er to be forgot.
Thus all his Kindness will not justifie
His Fraud, or wipe away his Infamy.
For our Instruction this was surely writ,
That we might truly caution'd be by it,
No Man against his Reason to persuade
To acquiesce with us; for (as I said)
It is to him a Lye, if he receives
It for a Truth, and otherwise believes.
Nor ought we to prefer at second Hand
What Men are pleas'd to say is God's Command,
Contrary to what we believe his Will;
That we should value and keep to, until
It be perform'd, or superseded by
His Power that did on us that Service ly;
Nay, if I should mistake, had rather chuse
Into God's Hands to fall, than him abuse:
For Errors in this Case can rarely be
But in such things as may with Truth agree;
And where I do believe there is an Awe,
Which, as 'tis true, is as th' Almighty's Law
To me, and if to that, as what I see
Or do believe, I shall contrary be;
As I transgress this Rule, or it neglect
God I dishonour, and his Law reject:
But tho' I should mistake, if but sincere,
God would at length the Truth unto me clear.
For where's the Man that never yet has been
Deceiv'd in what he'as thought he'as heard or seen?
Let him begin the first to censure this,
And when that's done, to prove it is amiss.
But
Judah's Prophet, in that he preferr'd
Another's Sense before his own, he err'd,
And for that Fault came into th' Lion's Pow'r,
Who did his Body kill, tho' not devour;
For that was left, that he might ever be
A great Example to Posterity.
So that if we in this Affair transgress,
Our Fault is greater, and Excuse is less,
If less can be: because he could not know
This grand Example which the Scriptures show.
Hence that blind Notion, which so many git,
That Prophets unto Prophets should submit,
Is wrong; if then it was, as now in use,
We see't corrected for a great Abuse;
Yea punished with great Severity,
Which shews it now, as well as then, a Lye:
Observe the Story, and apply it well,
For with our Case it runneth parallel.
But he can change his Blackness into White,
Appearing as an Angel of the Light;
And then like Truth he will direct unto
Such Acts as God commanded we should do.
We several Presidents might here produce,
Of which we shall the most familiar chuse.
The
Pharisees gave Alms, the Act was good,
And it as a Command they understood
Of God to help the Poor: But they were found
To give Alms chiefly from another ground:
Before they gave, the Trumpet's Sound was heard,
And this was done to purchase the Reward
Of Praise; herein they did not rightly do;
For th' Act being good prevented not the Woe
Pronounc'd by him that was the Truth, and knew
Tho' th' Act was good, their Spirit was not true.
In worship and religious Exercise,
In outward Points what seemed to suffice
For giving God his due, they did practise;
And did in making Converts most transcend;
For Sea and Land they compass'd for that End.
Thus seem'd they in external things exact,
And could not touched be for any Fact;
Yet as their chief Design was to appear
Blameless in outward things, they termed were
By Christ, Sepulchres fill'd with Rottenness,
Garnish'd and cover'd with the finest Dress.
In this they lookt like Good and not like Evil,
And yet by truth were found as of the Devil.
Their outside was not blam'd; it was their Sin,
That they did not the Work i'th' Heart begin;
Nor for the inside took such wholsome Care,
To make it like the outside clean and fair:
For had they wisely made their inside clean
At first, their outside would as fair have been.
And what was said to th'
Pharisees of old
Unto such like at all times may be told.
But if objected, this was under th' Law,
And nought to them that do the Gospel know.
We answer, 'tis as much in this our Day
As 'twas in by-past Ages every way:
For when the Devil can no longer keep in Sin,
In likeness of the Truth he always creepeth in,
In ev'ry Age, yea, and in ev'ry Nation,
Where any thing of zealous Reformation
Was well begun, to be advanced on
Against the evil Works that he had done.
'Tis true, he this resists with all his Pow'r,
At first Appearance, and would all devour
That him withstand in his pernicious Way:
But when the Pow'rs too great for him to stay
The Reformation, nay, it still proceeds
Against his Force, and Wrath, and Evil Deeds.
Then there's no hope for him to keep his Ground,
By doing that, which still is evil found;
And doubtless, if he had no other Way,
His Kingdom might have ended e'er this Day.
For he has often been cast forth, as Evil,
By th' Pow'r of God in Christ, which doth the Devil
Destroy in th' Heart and Soul, and cast him out,
Yea, and, as sinful, treads him under Foot:
And, when cast forth, he must without remain,
Except by Craft he can return again:
For he can ne'er re-enter, 'tis confest,
In the same Hue wherein he's dispossest;
For there the Mind is chang'd, the House is swept,
His Goods are spoil'd, and he hath nothing left
Which he can call his own, or come unto
Therein his Hellish Wrath or Pow'r to show.
Here he's dethron'd, and now no Pow'r hath
Man to molest, or trouble in his Wrath.
For with a Sword he'as got a deadly Wound,
And Marks thereof are on that Body found;
He as an Evil Spirit is cast out,
And like as such he rangeth round about,
In all dry places seeking after rest,
But none can find, whilst he is disposest:
Therefore resolveth to return, because
If he abide without, he surely knows
That Torment, which shall be his final Doom,
Before the time is like on him to come.
This to put off at present he'll assay,
Not by an evil, but a Truth-like way.
For as the House is cleansed, he must hide
His Filth, and enter lik't, or be descry'd.
But if prevailing he like Truth get in,
Their last State's worse than when they did begin.
And of all Reformations, ne'er was one,
But was by this Device prevail'd upon:
By which he has kept up his War and Strife
For Forms and Rules, that never could give Life.
He comes not now as with a rushing Sound,
But rather like one speaking out o'th' Ground;
Bespeaking Peace in the most humble wise,
That his Deceit and Cunning can devise,
Like
Gibeonites appointed to be slain,
But by their Crast did still i'th' Land remain;
And tho' they were to servile Labours put,
Yet from God's Service were not wholly shut.
Thus to re-enter, and regain his place,
He'll change his Voice, his Habit, and his Face:
He's still a Foe, but looketh like a Friend
That is advising unto some good end:
This way he Man beguil'd in the Beginning,
When he did teach him first the way of Sinning:
For having then in Man no place or part,
By Force he could not enter, but by Art:
But by his Craft he enter'd in, and then
Of an upright he made a sinful Man.
Again he'll celebrate the righteous Praise
Of those he caus'd to fall in former Days.
Like as he taught the
Jews to beautifie
The Prophet's Tombs, and make their Master die.
Again he'll over-value every thing
That's outward, and from Truth did seem to spring;
As they that did to th' Brazen Serpent give
That undue Honour, which we may perceive
Was by th' inspir'd Penman on record
Left, that to us Instruction't might afford.
Here Forms of Worship he will magnifie
And 'bove their Value will extol them high;
And this he doth that he may make a Snare
Of what God may permit, or did prepare
For good to Man, that he might fitted be
To wait and hope for the great Mystery
Of God in Christ, which fully doth perfect
All Laws and Forms added in that respect.
Of this we have a Figure in the
Jew,
Whose Form and Law by God ordain'd were true,
Yet were they added only to abide
Till Christ did come, (this cannot be deny'd)
For whom they should have waited in its use,
Then should they have committed no Abuse
Against their Prophets, nor against their Lord,
But them receiv'd, and obey'd his Word.
But when their Form they valued too high,
Thro' subtle Workings of the Enemy,
They could not see it was to have an end,
So evil did, whilst they did it defend;
By keeping it, they did oppose his Will,
Who gave it, and did come it to fulfill.
Thus the true Prophets they could not receive,
Nor in their Saviour when he came believe.
Thus that which was for a good End brought in,
Became to them a Vail, a Snare and Ginn;
And as it was in this Form to the
Jew,
It hath or may be in all Forms that's true.
For ev'ry Form that's true has the like use,
And may therefore meet with the like Abuse;
And Forms have all been true, that did commence,
According to God's powerful Influence
Upon the Minds of Men to Reformation,
In every Age and every Generation.
For since that Day and Time the outward Court
Was left unmet, there many might resort
To worship God in various Forms or Ways,
As Truth appeared to them in their Days:
But all that found acceptance did agree
In this one Point, to wit, Sincerity.
For ne'er was Form that could acceptance find
Where there did want Sincerity i'th' Mind.
But where the Mind being right gives God his due,
Forms hinder not that morally are true;
Nay they may help, and introduced were
To stay the Mind, and check Sin's full career
They can't perfect the Mind, they may prepare
In a right use to wait for Christ the Heir,
To perfect Man, and into Heaven guide;
This only to the Seed can be apply'd,
Which unto Man of old was promised,
That he alone should bruise the Serpent's Head.
This Forms cannot, for they did but begin,
Or added was, when Man was found in Sin;
And what was not before Transgression shown
Must be fulfill'd before its end is known;
Nor can they be fulfill'd, but as we find
Christ by his Spirit to conduct our Mind.
Thus as there's divers Forms, yet as they tend
To Holiness, they seem to have an end.
And therefore as they in this Case agree,
Men never should about them angry be,
Nor strive to wrath or envy, which is best,
Or which should be preferr'd above the rest.
Of every one there may have been some use,
And of the best there may be an Abuse;
If here, as in the outward Court, we stay,
The
Gentile State can never pass away;
For th' outward Court is not (tho' ne'er so true)
The resting-place of the believing
Jew.
Thus, as above, so here they 'gree again,
That none by Forms Perfection can attain;
So whilst about them Men contend and strive,
The Devil doth his Kingdom keep alive.
That there are divers Forms it doth appear,
But which of them excels is not so clear:
Well, if one better than another bee,
It is with Truth as th' later doth agree;
And since that Reformation is begun,
We should not rest until the Work be done.
For of Christ's Government there is no end:
To its increase then we should all attend.
Yet what Form's best, to me may not be best,
Unless I see it better than the rest:
Thus what I judge is best, is best to me,
Until I can that which is better see.
For how should I its Excellence confess,
Except I do perceive a betterness?
And if my Conscience can't be satisfy'd
That it excels, I'm not t'observe it ty'd;
Should I observe what I do not believe,
I cannot please my God, but may him grieve.
For if't appear not right, I do not find
I can approve on't with an upright Mind;
And where an Act doth want Sincerity,
With God that Act's no better than a Lye.
'Tis true, true Worship in the Truth doth stand,
In which no Form nor Likeness doth command.
But this I cannot know till it is shown,
To follow my Belief till that is known
Unto the Truth, in me is nearer much,
Than what I know not, nor believe is such,
Provided I'm sincere, and waits to know
What God is pleased further to bestow.
For must be faithful first to what we see,
Before from God more will revealed be;
For if not faithful to what we believe,
We are not fit what's better to receive:
And if in things below we are not just,
With things above God never will us trust.
In this Case then what we believe as true,
We're bound unto it, something like the
Jew
To that great Form, which at Mount
Sina came,
Whose Law was spoke from an amazing Flame
By God, who did the Heart affect with Fear,
Thro' what the Eyes did see and Ears did hear.
But tho' this Form was usher'd in with Pow'r,
Like Forms that are, it was not to endure:
And as th' Observers it could ne'er perfect,
They should have had for it a like respect;
They might have priz'd it, as the best they knew,
And yet left room for better to ensue;
According to his Mind, that gave that Law,
Which they obliged were t'observe and do,
As God's Command to them, and that until
The fulness of Time came i'th' Father's Will,
To send his Son, who from his Bosom came
It to accomplish, and remove the same.
It was not to perfect, but to prepare
Like Forms that are to wait for the true Heir,
That was, and is, and also is to come
Into Men's Hearts, for whom they should make room;
And this fullness of time continues still,
To all that wait to know the Father's Will:
For Christ, Heir to the Prophets and the Law,
And of all Good in Forms that Man can know:
For God unto him did this Witness bear,
That he was Heir, and that all should him hear,
But such as think to serve God by an outward Law,
As yet the Voice of Christ they do not truly know;
For where th' Object o'th' Mind's an outward Rule,
Such are not com'd into Christ Jesus School:
For all that hear, and's taught of him, inherit
The Substance, by the Conduct of his Spirit:
As he to all, whose Souls do truly live,
Entrance to God doth by one Spirit give;
Not by one outward Way or Form, for then
It should have been deliver'd to all Men.
But no such Form appeareth to be given
By our Redeemer, tho' he came from Heaven.
That Form to end, and further to make known
A greater Good than had before been shown;
Which, if intended by external Ways,
Instead of larger in our later Days
Had lesser been than unto
Israel was,
For theirs did all succeeding Forms surpass.
Such Certainty in Forms doth not appear
Now to Mankind; as we (alass) may hear,
By those Contentions in our Saviour's Mind,
What Form he did intend to leave behind.
For God to
Israel did their Form afford
Immediately from Heaven by his Word;
And this being sure, (for Scripture proves the same)
Is more than any modern Form can claim.
Yet as 'twas given in peculiar wise,
To them, it after gave a dismal Rise
To that grand Hatred in their Separation
Made betwixt them and every other Nation.
But as't became thus a Partition-Wall,
God took it down to shew his Love to all.
Now if to shew that Love, he had design'd
One Form to have prescribed to Mankind,
That with one Sacred Form he might remove
The ground of Strise, and introduce true Love;
'Twas requisite that Form should handed be
From Heaven with undoubted Certainty,
Like
Israel's, with that Majesty convey'd,
That ev'ry Man must have the same obey'd.
For sure we are, if God did that intend,
His Pow'r was mighty to command the End.
But that he did not this, is very plain
From those great Diff'rences which yet remain
Amongst Mankind about that outward Way
Which God as a Command on Man did lay.
Now if the Whole receiv'd not such Command,
As we from certain Grounds do understand,
It's against Truth for any to suppose
That God a part of Men again has chose,
To whom he an undoubted Form might give,
By which all Mankind should be bound to live.
This, to conclude, to Man is the broad Way,
Which doth the Ground of greatest Errors lay.
First, as to God, his Love such narrow still,
Contrary unto his revealed Will:
Such also on his Wisdom do reflect,
As no good Builder, or wise Architect,
To take a Building down, because he found
A fault in it, or that it was not sound;
And yet a second like 't erects again,
In which that Fault or Weakness doth remain:
On Mankind also has as ill Effect;
For 'tis the Ground of all the Disrespect
They shew each other on Religion's score,
Besides the Evil that is shew'd before.
For our believing, like unto the
Jew,
There's but one outward Form that can be true,
Gives ground for ev'ry People to conceive
That is the Way which they themselves believe.
This is the Cause of Envy and of Pride,
As in the
Jewish Worship hath been try'd.
God's Kingdom this doth shut, and there in vain
Many attempt an Entrance to obtain.
This Error doth i' th' Universe abound;
It is too much in all Religions found:
And this Mistake the Devil makes the Cause
That in Religion Men on Men impose.
For Forms, we daily see, continue still
To be the Ground of Hatred and Ill-will,
As Men about them strive and do contend,
Until their Peace and Fellowship they rend;
Yea, oft proceed in their litigious Jars,
Till Wrath exerts it self in open Wars;
And there they seek each others Blood to spill.
This contradicts our Blessed Saviour's Will,
Who came not to destroy, but Peace to send
And Good-will unto Men, this was his End.
What then to be his Will be signify'd,
As Gospel to Mankind doth still abide.
But some one Form alone to re-ordain,
Which Men in strife about it should retain,
Was to re-build what he before took down,
As in the Scripture is expresly shown.
With Men such Buildings do sometimes agree,
But cannot with th' Eternal Deity.
With him all Wisdom and all Pow'r doth dwell;
He can Effects in all their Causes tell;
He doth foresee them e'er they come to pass,
So could not be deceived in this Case.
From hence we may believe, he would not lay
The Ground for Envy, which to take away
He came, and Power had that to prevent;
To make it then could not be his Intent.
Now if he did no more one Form erect,
Unto all Forms he hath a like Respect,
As Forms directing unto what is Good,
In which Sense this is to be understood:
And this to us doth certain Truth appear,
Since only they're accepted that's sincere.
This Doctrine is not strange, nor is it new;
For it hath been in ev'ry Age as true:
It's not more Truth, because it is more seen;
For what's a Truth, as true has always been:
Yea, even in the
Jewish State at height,
Their greater ne'er condemn'd a lesser Light:
For ev'ry Man that feared God, and wrought
True Righteousness, in ev'ry Age throughout
The World, Acceptance gain'd, as
Peter taught.
But God with his own Form a Fault did find,
In that it never could perfect the Mind;
And as that Form could not the Mind perfect,
No other Form can do't; in that respect
The taking down of that doth plainly show
That all should wait a greater Truth to know.
For best of Forms could only regulate
The outward Man, they reach no higher State;
The Branch they may cut off, as't springeth out,
But have no pow'r to reach unto the Root;
And tho' thus far they may be termed Good,
As outward evil is by them withstood,
Yet must there a more sublime Way be known,
As by our Saviour's Words is plainly shown;
Who told us,
That except we're born again,
We in the Kingdom can no Place obtain.
No outward Guides can e'er compleat this Work;
For under that an Hypocrite may lurk:
Like Truth the Devil did get into those
Who had God's Form, but did his Pow'r oppose.
For ne'er was Form, tho' 'twas exactly Good,
But hath at last the Pow'r of Truth withstood;
Not from their Nature, nor from their true Use,
But from their Weakness, and their blind Abuse.
Thus outward Rules, as set up to serve God,
Tho' they may disser in their Form and Mode,
All in the Ground agree, alike in kind,
As they are made a Guide unto the Mind,
The highest State such can but Legal find.
So then their proper Use in them's to wait,
To know the Gospel and the Legal State:
Tho all God's Dealings we may Gospel call,
Which he doth use to bring Man out o' th' Fall.
For what God addeth Man for to restore
That we may put upon the Gospel Score;
And thus the Law the Gospel did begin,
But Gospel is o'th' Law a finishing.
For those Distinctions are to us as true
As they were unto
Israel or the
Jew;
Since what was done i'th'
Jewish Dispensation,
As Figures unto us they have relation.
For what God did that was not to remain,
It is the Substance that such Acts contain,
Which we should look for, and inquire it out,
To find how our Salvation's brought about.
It was the Seed of
Abr'am that God chose
According to the Flesh, and unto those
He gave his Form that from Mount
Sinai came;
And Christ came in the Flesh to end the same.
For as that Form measur'd and stinted was,
It could not end until it came to pass
The Son of God from Heaven did descend,
An higher way to shew that Form to end.
He came not to destroy it, but fulfill
For Righteousness, that was and is his Will;
And as he did then, he doth now supply
The lower Rules with Rules that are more high.
His Government goes on, and doth not cease,
From good to better he doth it increase.
Whoever finds this Truth, and in him trust,
They bring forth in external things what's just:
Things strictly honest such both speak and do,
Not by compulsion of an outward Law,
Nor by Constraint, but by a ready Mind;
For such are now to Good by Love inclin'd.
This last Appearance doth the first contain;
For in the last the Substance doth remain.
God's Work with Man doth in Progression run
From less to more, until the Work is done:
And when the Summ's computed at the last
It comprehends the whole of what is past.
This nobler way, that by our Lord was shown,
Was to the
Jew and
Gentile to be one:
And all Mankind in their whole Multitude,
He did in
Jew and
Gentile then include;
And of those twain doth one new Body make,
As of his Law and Gospel they partake.
The
Jew as to the Flesh he did reject,
That in the Spirit he might him elect;
And he did
Abr'am's fleshly Seed refuse,
That after th' Spirit he his Seed might chuse.
Thus all vain-glorious Boasting's laid aside,
None may in the defective Flesh confide;
For by Gods Spirit must Man's Works be try'd.
There none can on external Things relie,
That he'll to all, as to the
Jew, deny.
The
Jew now inward is, and so's his Law,
Yea and in Spirit must he Gospel know
For Law, the Gospel it doth yet precede,
That Men might Gospel-everlasting read.
God's Holy Law in th' Hearts of every one
The Substance is of what was writ in Stone;
For
Moses Law we may a Transcript call,
Copy'd in Stone from this Original.
Christ to the outward
Jew i'th' Flesh has been,
But so hereafter will no more be seen;
By them he was in that appearance slain,
Tho' in himself he alway did remain,
As now he is; of him we ought to have
Knowledge, if him we know as from the Grave
He rose; to know Christ only as the
Jews
Is t' hear of him, yet the right Way refuse:
To see him only as they did of old,
Is him and not his Myst'ry to behold.
The outward Law was needful, good, and true,
But by misuse became a Vail to th'
Jew,
Which to this Moment doth obscure their Mind,
Nor can't be rent away, but keeps them blind,
'Till they are turn'd to Christ, and know thereby
'Twas the
Messias they did crucifie.
Christ came i'th' Flesh, 'twas absolutely good:
For without that could not be understood
The Mystery, hid from the World's Foundation
In all Mankind in every Generation.
This coming also may a Veil be made,
Which unperceiv'd draws on a gloomy Shade
O'er most; as on him in a Creature-way
Men look, they know not his Eternal Day;
And whilst Men think, he is not to be known
As surely now, as when to
Jew was shown;
Or that he is not now to us so near,
As when he did to them i'th' Flesh appear;
Such know him not as everlasting King,
Nor yet as in his Death and Suffering.
Christ is and ever has a Myst'ry been,
Which Vult'rous Eye as yet hath never seen.
Whoever finds and sees whom they profess,
He is their Mystery of Godliness.
He was and is their undefiled way,
In which could never walk a Beast of prey.
Christ in the Flesh was vailed to the
Jew;
To know him but i'th' Flesh's a Vail to you.
That Christ shall once be seen, the
Jews presume,
And you aright believe that he did come;
But whilst you know him not t'appear within,
Both are alike concluded under Sin.
'Tis true in a good Sense what both assert:
And into one new Man God will convert
These two, as they breathe after Christ; and then
Shall know that he puts off the Vail in Men.
For all those Acts, which heretofore he did,
He doth in Spirit now, tho' they are hid.
Him still the legal Christian doth despise;
For in the Flesh he's still a Cross to th' Wise.
He in the Flesh a Suff'rer alway was,
Since his being slain in Man came first to pass.
Christ is the same he was in every Case,
Who this believes, doth a grand Truth embrace.
'Tis an authentick Truth that Christ is Lord,
But who so calls him of their own accord
Without the Holy Spirit, cannot find
The truth of what they utter in their Mind;
In what they say true Witness is not born,
Nor th' Vail yet off their Understanding torn.
Now that the Lord the Spirit is, was told
Unto the
Jew, and true to all doth hold;
In Spirit then we must know Christ his Day,
Before the Vail in us be put away.
But we mistake that Christ expect to know
As Jesus, e'er we understand his Law.
The Law of God appearing in the Heart
Of his great Work in us hath the first part.
This the Schoolmaster is, which us doth bring
To witness Christ in us as Lord and King.
This Holy Law in us must take a place,
Before we truly know what's Grace as Grace:
This is affirm'd by the Apostle
Paul,
And is (no doubt) acknowledg'd true by all:
I was, said he,
without the Law alive,
But when th' Commandment came, Sin did revive,
And then I dy'd; was that made Death to me
That was ordain'd to Life? No verily:
But that Sin might as Sin be understood,
Death was in me wrought by that which was good.
This was the Law i'th' Heart, there is no doubt,
For th' Law in Stone he never was without.
Nay further still, we do in Scripture find,
He names th' aforesaid Law, that of his Mind;
Which whilst not com'd unto, we may believe,
His Sense of Sin and Death did not perceive,
An outward Good was to the outward
Jew
A Figure, to the Spiritual that is true:
The outward
Jews with Slavery opprest,
Before they could it see, must be releast:
That is, they could not see the promis'd Land,
Whilst shackled by imperious
Phar'oh's Hand;
But were, till more opprest, as to it dead,
Nor could they cry to be delivered.
Thus Man in Death doth never Trouble know,
He's dead to God, and also to his Law:
The Law's as dead to him till God revive,
Or by his Spirit make the same alive;
But when by God restor'd to Life, it hath
That Pow'r in us to manifest his Wrath
From Heav'n against our Sin, and what is Evil
Wrought in's by our malignant Foe the Devil.
For God Division makes by Judgment sure
Betwixt the Soul of Man and Satan's Pow'r;
And Man in that Division doth partake
Of Sorrow truly for the Evil's sake.
This is the Way the Father doth us draw
Unto his Son, that we his Love may know.
No other way the Righteous yet have found
That saving Grace might unto them abound;
And they that know not thus the Work begin,
Their Knowledge has but superficial been.
Such then do well themselves to prove and try
If they him know on whom they can relie.
Our Way th' Apostle here doth personate,
And to the Life sets forth the troubled State;
Thus he exclaim'd;
I in my Members find
A Law that wars against that of my Mind,
And takes me Captive sore against my Will,
By which am forc'd to do that which is ill.
To what is good I readily consent,
But finds no pow'r the evil to prevent;
O wretched Man! who shall deliver me
From this body of Death and Misery.
The Law brought Wrath, the Trouble Christ did bring
Into his Flesh, there to condemn the Sin,
His Soul to save, by which he did espy
Grace without Works, and could it magnifie:
The Law of God the Creature doth condemn,
But Christ the Grace condemns the Sin in them:
God makes his Law alive, this breaks Death's reign,
And Life we do receive by being slain.
Tho' all God's Dealings with us be in love,
Yet all his Acts we do not so approve;
For he doth kill before he giveth Life,
And in that dying there is found great Strife:
And yet this killing is to make us live;
But who in dying can that Truth perceive?
He makes us live, but still we live in pain,
Because the Death and Evil doth remain.
We're sure we live, because we do endure
The Sense of Grief, which makes our living sure.
Our Trouble now proceedeth from within,
The Cause of it's the Knowledge of our Sin;
And Knowledge of our Sin and servile Yoke,
Is from the Law which we have truly broke,
And from't we find cannot relieved be;
In this springs up the sense of Misery,
That fits us for the Gospel, which is free.
Now then it is that we a Saviour want,
And do for him, as th' Hart for Water, pant.
Now we prepared are, and Christ begins
As Jesus now to save us from our Sins;
Sin he condemns i'th' Flesh. and Pow'r doth give
To serve him, that has made our Souls to live.
A Type of this God did in
Israel shew,
When the
Aegyptian Host he overthrew
I'th' Red-Sea, and by that stupendious Deed
His People from their Fear and Bondage freed.
Now unto God could
Israel sacrifice
What
Aegypt could not stop, tho' might despise.
Now
Israel did rejoice, and not before,
That their Oppressors they should see no more.
For now was their Deliverance atchiev'd
From ev'ry thing that had in Bondage griev'd.
By this they were set free from all they knew
That hindred them, God's Worship to pursue.
Yet still before they could the Land possess,
Met various Troubles in the Wilderness,
Too tedious here and numerous to relate,
Which did concern them in their Servant-State.
This was to fit them, and to lay them low
In their own Eyes; that they might truly know
From God it was that now they did enjoy
The promis'd Land, for he did there destroy
Their Adversaries, and supply'd their Want
With House and Vineyard, which they did not plant;
And these mirac'lous Dealings did effect,
That all their Time they paid him due respect;
They walkt with him, magnify'd his Name,
And with loud Praises eccho'd forth his Fame.
But when a new Gen'ration did arise
The good Land to enjoy, they did not prize
It truly, nor the Mercy of the Lord,
Who to their Fathers did that Land afford:
His Law they did forsake, and quickly swerv'd
From God's true Worship, and base Idols serv'd.
All this and more, it seems, did come to pass,
Because not sitted as their Fathers was.
They heard how their enslaved Fathers groan'd
Whilst truckling under
Phar'oh's proud Command:
This did they hear, but did not understand.
The Wonders God perform'd i'th' Fields of
Zoan
They might have heard of, but had never known.
The Fame of
Phar'oh's Host might reach their Ear,
But being unseen, it could not cause true Fear,
Nor bring them into Trouble, Grief, or Pain;
Nor did they know at all when they were slain.
They heard, but saw not, how God did divide
The threatning Billows, and the Channel dry'd.
They sometimes heard of God's most glorious Fame
When on Mount
Sina' in the fiery Flame;
But did not know and see him so appear,
And therefore wanted that true Sense of Fear;
Nor knew the Travel through the Wilderness,
Which feelingly their Fathers could express.
No Wonder now, if then they did decline
That Vertue, which did make their Fathers shine.
There was awanting that true Exercise,
By which God taught their Fathers to be wise.
For 'tis in Scripture found, if duely sought,
True, that God's Fear in Exercise is taught:
Nor did he any in his Path advance,
But through deep Troubles had their Enterance:
At least, none persevered to the End,
But were on God thus fitted to depend.
None truly can, from hence we may discern,
God's Love or Fear by outward Precepts learn.
The Scripture is a Record, which doth hold
The Story of God's Noble Acts of old:
What are we better, if we know no more
Than what God did for others heretofore?
We may believe 't undoubted Truth: What then?
The same may be believ'd by wicked Men:
Yet they've a secret Sense, which none can find,
But such as unto Good are well inclin'd.
This Myst'ry's vail'd in them to all Mens Eyes,
Who seek not Wisdom, or doth it despise.
The History most certain Truth contains,
But th' Substance in the Mystery remains;
Which as 'tis found, the Scripture's made our own,
As in the Fulness others have them known.
Thus
Egypt's King, with the
Egyptian Land,
A Figure of the Evil one doth stand,
As in the Darkness he doth rule the Soul,
And by his Power doth poor Man controul:
As likewise
Israel in their Bondage great
A Figure is to th' Soul, which now doth meet
With Bondage in the Spirit, and thereby
As truly for Deliverance doth cry,
As
Israel did to God, who them did hear;
And now, as well as then, he doth appear,
To quash the Devil's Pow'r, and break the Chains
Would press the Soul int' everlasting Pains:
The Pow'r's the same which now the Soul doth save,
That unto
Israel then Deliverance gave.
The Difference is only as apply'd,
In th' outward then; but now it must be try'd
In th' inward Man, where we the Truths behold
Which Scriptures do in mystick Figures fold.
Nor is the captivated Soul resign'd
And yielded up by Satan, till he find
God by his Judgment hath his First-born slain,
By him begotten in Man's Heart to reign.
When Man at first God's righteous Law transgress'd,
He on the Soul his Image then impress'd;
Which slain in us, we do begin to tread
The Ways that from his damned Borders lead.
But tho' his First-born in us God may kill,
Yet he that it begot remaineth still,
His Pow'r's not broken so, but he'll pursue
The Soul to take, its Bondage to renew;
As
Phar'oh with his thund'ring armed Force
Pursu'd the
Isra'lites, to stop their Course,
So Satan finds the Soul in such a case
As straitned
Israel, flying from his Face.
For tow'ring Rocks are seen on either Side,
Before's a Sea, devouring, deep, and wide;
And the
Egyptian Host behind doth stay,
Seeming to wait for nothing but the Day.
No less than Death does in their Looks appear,
Which almost kill, as well as puts in fear.
Now
Israel's Straits such come aright to know,
And do partake of their Distress and Woe:
If such consult, they find they must account
The Danger greater than they can surmount.
Now 'tis our Duty to stand still and wait,
To hear what God will speak to dissipate
Our Fears, as
Israel did; and so we find
Our Angel-guard removed to behind:
For he that lately did before us stand,
Is now betwixt us and this armed Band;
To them he's Dark, but unto us a Light,
Who keeps them from us in this doleful Night:
If this we can but see, 't may ease us from
Our Fears, until the Morning-watch shall come.
When God commands the Rod to check the Pride
Of the insulting Waves, and them divide,
And smooth a Passage o'er th' untrodden Sand,
Fenc'd with prodigious Walls on either Hand:
So for our Safety Sea is made dry Land.
When thus the Channel of the Deep we find
Safe unto us, God fills our joyful Mind
With Praises great, our Hope encreaseth more
That we shall now ascend the farther Shore;
Which when attain'd, and on its Banks we stand,
And do behold the Sea that God made Land,
We see the Waters which to us a Wall
Of Safety were, upon our Foes doth fall
With Fury great; for God doth them destroy,
And turns our Sorrow into cordial Joy.
The Work is true as thus it doth begin;
And
Moses Song such learn aright to sing;
The Subject is a full Deliv'rance gain'd
From all Impediments, that us detain'd
When we desir'd th'
Egyptian Land to leave,
Which we must know God granteth, to perceive,
Before we can unto him sacrifice,
What he approves as pleasing in his Eyes.
For, as when th'
Israelites in
Egypt liv'd,
With Marble-hearted
Phar'oh's Taxes griev'd,
They could not sacrifice; no more can we,
Whilst chained by our Sins in Slavery.
The Devil will no more let's worship God,
Than
Egypt did, until he feel his Rod;
But when deliver'd, like them, we proceed
To follow him, as he our Souls shall lead.
Now do we wait, that we may know aright
God, in our Hearts his Mind and Law to write,
Which may the Knowledge of his Will assord;
Thus he becomes our Master and our Lord.
Now do we wait, that we may truly find
His Tabernacle finish'd in our Mind,
According to the Pattern and Account
Which he delivers from his holy Mount.
For in the Wilderness he doth appear,
His Tabernacle of Witness to rear
Within our Souls, to shew us his Intent
When we must Journey, and when pitch our Tent.
Like
Israel, he conducts i' th' Wilderness,
To fit our Souls the Kingdom to possess:
Yea, in the Wilderness he doth us lead,
Till all is mortifi'd, worn out, and dead,
That is not fit t' enjoy that blessed Land,
Of which
Canaan did a Figure stand.
A Servant-State precedes that of a Son,
A Sonship must be known e'er th' Work be done.
The faithful Servant doth his Master fear;
A Father's Honour doth i' th' Son appear.
The Fear i' th' first Estate precedes the Love,
The last excludeth Fear, the Scriptures prove.
A Son abideth in the House alway,
The Servant is but for his Time and Day,
And knows not what is by his Master said
Or acted; whilst the Son is privy made:
For 'tis his Meat to do his Father's Will,
And chearfully he doth it all fulfill.
A second Resurrection doth imply
A first; and second Death doth signifie
That a first Death already's passed by.
If the first Death we do not really find,
Until a second seizeth on our Mind,
Eternal Wrath will come to be our Share;
And who can that great Misery declare?
So then we must a first Death truly know,
E'er second come, if we escape its Wo.
The first Death on us by Transgression come,
And o'er our Minds as yet doth Pow'r assume:
Whilst we unto the World are found alive,
We're dead to God, and of his Life depriv'd.
Christ must arise in us, before that we
Can know this Death, or from't deliver'd be.
Sin is this Death; and whilst its Pow'rs abide
Unbroke in us, Christ is as crucifi'd
To us; but if he rise, he doth bequeath
That Life whereby we apprehend this Death:
We know it thus, and as we do partake
Of this first Resurrection, and do make
Our Part in it assur'd, we live thereby
That Death to know which is in Christ to die:
Nor can we know it, till we understand
The Work is finish'd, which he did command.
A second Death we may this Death express,
The first to Sin, this to our Righteousness:
This is the Saints Death, precious in God's Eyes,
Accepted as their sweetest Sacrifice;
And 'tis their Gain, for now to God they live,
And more they die, more Life they do receive.
Christ made us live, and we did Sin refrain;
But through this Death he cometh to be slain
In us that has the Pow'r of Death, the Devil,
In what he works like Good, as well as Evil.
This Death is that th' Apostle did profess
His Longing for with so great Earnestness:
For unto all Self-righteousness he dy'd,
That he might know Christ, and him crucify'd.
He first makes mention of his Resurrection,
Next, of his Fellowship, with his Affection;
And lastly, of a true Conformity
Unto his Death, which he desir'd to see:
This last he did desire, we plainly read,
T'attain the Resurrection of the Dead.
Much of these glorious Truths here might we write;
But if we would obtain a clearer Sight,
We must our selves in Seeking then delight.
For when all's utter'd that can be declar'd,
Or spoken of, that can be read or heard;
These Truths are Myst'ries still unto that Mind
That does not them sincerely seek to find:
For such, another never can them know;
The use of Words is to direct unto
The Truth in us, to find out ev'ry State
Which unto us the Scripture doth relate;
They are not distant from us, they are near,
If we could know the Truth of what we hear.
For God's the Substance of each Mystery,
And unto ev'ry Soul he's always nigh;
He sills all Things, and doth in all remain;
The Heaven of Heavens cannot him contain;
He's nearer us than our most secret Thought.
If this we knew, or were it truly taught,
Our Apprehensions would not be abroad
At some far distant Place to seek our God.
For whilst such Notions prepossess our Mind,
The Truth of Godliness we cannot find.
Christ also doth near ev'ry Soul abide,
Being with the Father in strict Union ty'd.
The Holy Spirit, which doth still proceed
From th' Father and the Son, as we may read
In Scripture testify'd, is also near,
If we look for him where he doth appear,
That Christ may formed be within our Heart,
Before he will the Mystery impart.
But unto whom do these great Truths belong?
Not to the wise, the rich, the high, or strong
In their own Eyes; in this they have no Share,
But with their Skill and Art excluded are:
But unto such as low and needy be,
In ev'ry Age the Gospel has been free:
It was to such
Isaiah did proclaim
The Gospel-Riches in the Father's Name;
O every one that hungry is (he cries)
Or thirsty, let him come, and without Price
Buy Milk and Wine. Thus God the Poor supplies.
But he that hath a Price for't to be told,
Riches of Grace he never did behold;
For if 't can purchas'd be in any Case
By what's our own, it cannot then be Grace.
For Grace, as it is Free, belongs to none
But those in misery and Want alone:
Such then it was that Christ our Saviour sought,
When on an high Feast-day he thus cry'd out,
Let him that thirsty is, come unto me,
That he may drink Lifes Water, which is free.
And these his gracious Words may be apply'd
To all Mankind that should in him confide:
The Time approach'd, that such should truly know
Out of their Bellies living Waters flow:
And this was said touching the Holy Spirit,
Which every true Believer should inherit.
This to reveal, he then both came and dy'd,
But was not known till he was glorify'd.
None in this holy Path, he came to shew,
Can walk, but such as are upright and true.
All Forms without us are, but this within,
By which he doth destroy the Root of Sin.
This is the Way which all that do believe
In Christ, should wait assur'dly to receive.
This Way he did before his Follow'rs ly,
It was to wait for Power from on high,
That perfect Gift, that cometh from above,
From God, who in the Heart doth shed his Love.
This Way he did before all Ways prefer,
To be enjoin'd on each Particuler.
For tho' he did that Heavenly Wisdom preach,
And taught them as no other Man could teach;
Yet unto them he plainly did declare
He'ad much to say, which yet they could not bear;
Nor could they bear't, if he should bodily
With them remain: Therefore 'twas needful he
Should in the Flesh depart, that they might know
The Truth of what he came to say and do.
I'll pray (said he)
the Father, and he'll give
Another Comforter with you to live,
And he continually with you shall stay,
And never more removed be away.
The Spir
[...]t of Truth out of the World is thrust,
Because they see him not, nor in him trust:
But you him know, and shall hereafter find
Him that is with you dwelling in your Mind.
Then unto your Remembrance he will bring
What I have told you as to ev'ry thing.
When he is come, I tell you what is true,
He'll t
[...]ke of mine, and shew it unto you.
All's nine the Father hath, you may believe;
Therefore (I said)
he'll take of mine and give
To you. Yet a short while, and th' World no more
Shall see me, as they have done heretofore:
B
[...]t you shall see me, and you then shall know,
Because I live, that you shall live also.
That day you'll know, I in the Father be,
In you also, and you shall be in me.
Go search the Scriptures, and you shall not find
Another Method to perfect the Mind.
FINIS.