DIVINE MEDITATIONS UPON Several Subjects. Whereunto is annexed GODS LOVE, AND Man's Vnworthiness. WITH SEVERAL Divine Ejaculations.
Written by JOHN QUARLES.
LONDON, Printed by T. J. for Peter Parker, and are to be sold at the first shop in Popes-head Alley on the right hand next Cornhil, 1671.
To my Esteemed Friend, JAMES HOBARTE of Hales, in the County of Norfolk, Esquire.
SIR.
IF I am bold, it is in fulfilling your desires: I am confident you well remember when we were Prisoners together, that your self gave me the several subjects of these short Meditations; I confess I have no [Page] cause to blush at the subjects, but I fear you will find cause to blush at the bad performance of your desires; however, I have done my endeavor; and if you please to own it worth your acceptance, I shall own your acceptance worth my labor, and ever remain
Affectionately yours, JOHN QUARLES.
TO THE READER.
Kinde Reader,
LEt me lay this Injunction upon thee before thou permittest thy eye to survey this little Volume, that thou wilt resolve to pardon, I will not say for what, for fear thou shouldest be scrupulous and not read; The subject is Divine, [Page] and I confess too good to be so badly handled; however, I have done my endeavour, and Alexander did no more when he conquered Kingdoms: But Reader, because I will not detain thine eye too long in one place, I bid thee
Farewel.
To my Muse.
TEll we presumptuous
Muse, how dar'st thou treat
Vpon a Subject so sublime, so great!
Alas how dare thy infancy aspire
So high as
Heaven, where the Celestial Quire
Of Soul-enchanting Angels, hourly sing,
Anthems of joy to their mellifluous King!
This is a task that invocates the best
And loftiest quills;
Heav'ns love must not b'exprest
With wanton language: he that shall presume
To labour in this work, must first perfume
His
Soul with true Divinity, and breathe
Celestial ayrs, that
Readers may perceive
Their
Author labours with a serious heart
T'embalm his actions with divinest art;
This is a field whose spacious bounds extend
Themselves to infinite; who strives to end
Shall still begin, and having once b
[...]gun
This pleasing progress, must not cease to run
Vntil he stops in
Heaven, there lies the gain,
Who runs with
Faith is certain to obtain.
If then my
Muse, thou canst divinely mount
This sacred
Stage, thou needst not feart' account
[Page] Thy actions prosperous, strive thou to stand
Guarded with
Faith, and
Heav'n will lend a hand
To prop thee up, his power will infuse
Sufficient matter for an active
Muse
To work upon, his wisdome will direct
Thy painful hand, his Mercies will correct
Thy rambling thoughts, and teach thee to proclaim
Th' unsumm'd up glories of his Royal Name;
Abandon Earth, and bid vain thoughts adieu,
Thou canst not serve thy
God and
Mammon too;
Rouse then, and let thy well-prun'd Eagles wings
Mount thee aloft, let not terrestial things
Disturb thy resolutions, let them all
Evade thy mind; thy thoughts must grow too tall
For such low toyes: stir up thy zealous fire,
And what thou canst not well express, admire.
DIVINE MEDITATIONS Upon several subjects.
I.
GRoans, midnight groans, usurp the Commonwealth,
Oh my infringed Soul! I know no health,
Nor feel no pleasure, all my joyes are fled
I know not where, and I am worse than dead.
Heav'n shouldring
Atlas, if compar'd to me
Bears nothing, mine's a weighty misery.
II.
Ah me, can nothing cure me, is my grief
So much insanable, that no relief
Can flow from
Gilead? do my sins obstruct
Those tydes of grace which usually conduct
Refreshments to me? Oh most dismal fate!
He feels a plague too soon, that grieves too late.
III.
Cimmerian mists, alas! and what are they?
(Compar'd to me) less than a glorious day.
The sense of my own blindness makes me know
The blindness of my senses. Can a woe
Be more exub'rous? here's a grief refin'd,
A seeing Body, and a Soul that's blind.
IV.
The sight-deprived wretch, whose darkned fate
Makes day and night (as 'twere) incorporate,
And knowes no difference, but still gropes about,
And finds his Day within, his Night without:
But I, sad I, being muffled up in sin,
Find Day without, alas! but Night within.
V.
Saddest of thoughts! Oh that I could espy
One gracious Sun-beam, that my willing eye,
Might, like the dawning of the Infant-day,
Grow by degrees, and at the last display
Some glorious rayes to my endarkened heart▪
I'de hug that light, and never let it part.
VI.
But I, unhappy I, whose former dayes
Consum'd in ill, have quite expell'd the rayes
Of future happiness; and now I see
All evil is epitomiz'd in me.
Too late I grieve, for what I feel too soon;
The Sun lets fall his fiercest rayes at noon.
VII.
Though foggy vapours oftentimes ascend,
Being exhaled by a
Solar friend,
From Earths chill brest, and for a season shroud
Themselves within an entertaining cloud.
Yet at the last, (unwilling to remaine)
Discloud themselves, and fall to Earth again.
VIII.
But ah! my sin-exhaling soul is fill'd
With noysome fogs that cannot be distill'd;
They keep a forc'd possession, and encrease
Within me, nay, and riot out my peace.
Needs must the Empire of a troubled brain
Feel store of torments where such
Neroes raign.
IX.
Corporeal griefs, compartivelay, merit
The name of
Pleasures to a troubled spirit:
Martyrs have taught, that temporary pains
(If well improv'd) swell into future gaines.
Grief's banisht quite from him that dyes forgiven;
A Storm on Earth portends a Calm in Heaven.
X.
As woe and trouble commonly await
Upon the frailty of a humane state;
So Grace and Mercy evermore are found
Attending, where Divinity sits crown'd.
Ah! would it not be undiscreetly done,
To sit in darkness to avoid the Sun?
XI.
If
Heaven should please to banish from our sight
His glorious Lamp, whose most diffusive light
Gives life to nature, all things would retire
Into a Chaos, and the world expire.
The Soul's a World-divine, and Christ's the Sun,
Who shining not, the World is chang'd, not done.
XII.
We may observe, when happiness concludes,
How soon the sad and fatal interludes
Of Misery appear: for Grief and Joy
Are
Initiators. When our sins destroy
The happiness we had,
Ah then appears
Mischief attended with an hoast of fears.
XIII.
Adam (unhappy man!) with what a grace
Could he present himself before the face
Of his well-pleas'd Creator, till the heat
Of his own lust compel'd him to retreat
From Gods commands.
Ah then, his new-bred fear
Made him afraid to see, as well as hear.
XIV.
Let but the apples of the tender eye
Receive a sudden touch, and by and by
The sympathizing part will quickly be
Frighted (as 'twere) into a mutiny,
So when the Sin: toucht soul begins to smart,
The sentiate faculties must bear a part.
XV.
Courage in
Sin, is but a
Sin enlarg'd;
Which like a deep-mouth'd Cannon over-charg'd
Recoyles or breaks. Had
Peter found no vent
For his denying-sins, his soul had rent
It self in pieces.
Blest is he and wise,
That can discharge his sorrow at his eyes.
XVI.
Sins that do float in tears, are often drown'd
In their own floods; When real sighs abound,
They raise a tempest, and our sins are tost
Against the rocks of Mercy, till they're lost.
When sins beleaguer us with hostile fears,
There's no Artillery like
Davids tears.
XVII.
Curst (like the Fig-tree) is that barren eye
That in a flood of Sins is alwayes dry.
Teares are the choicest Jewels which are set
Like Orient Pearls in
Heaven's rich Cabinet.
When Faith implores, th' Almighty One that lent
A vent for tears, will send us tears to vent.
XVIII.
Faith is the Souls best Orator; 'tis known,
There is no Musick like a faithful groan.
A Whisp'ring faith will find a ready ear,
When a loud-thundring faithless voice must steer
From whence it came, no audience will be given,
A soft tongu'd Faith on Earth speaks loud in Heaven.
XIX.
Faith feeds the hungry, and it safe-guards those,
That fear the danger of incensed Foes.
Tis Heavens proof-armor, he that wears this shield
May safely meet
Goliah in the Field.
'Tis heavenly mirth to hear a
David sing;
'Twas Faith that kill'd
Goliah, not a sling.
XX.
The precious balsom of a sound belief,
Expels the poyson of a raging grief.
The womans bloody issue could not be
Cur'd, but by
Faiths Divine Chirurgery.
When grief assailes, the patient must be sure
T'apply warm prayers, and Faith will end the cure.
XXI.
Reason and
Faith are Combatants, the One
Demands a (why) the other will be known
Without a reason, for the powerful hand
Of
Faith can fight, where reason cannot stand.
He that believes what's possible, can strain
His Faith no higher than a humane brain.
XXII.
Faith is the mindes establisher, should we
Believe but what we understand, and see,
We should prove
Infidels: had
Abraham try'd
His Faith by humane sence, his Faith had dy'd.
But barren
Sarah, when her time was run,
Blest aged
Abraham with a smiling Son.
XXIII.
When our estranged ashes, shall lye hid
In their corruptions, reason will forbid
Their re-uniting, but a faithful eye
Sees them inclining to their unity.
If we observe, we shall be sure to find
T
hat Faith sees best, when humane reason's blind.
XXIV.
A well-deserving eye, shall always find
Faith and
Theology, as close combin'd
As
Marth' and
Mary were; who strive to smother
The one, must needs extirpate the other.
Accurst be they that separate such friends:
Destroy the consort, and the musick ends.
XXV.
Th' inflamed Lamp shines in a darksome night,
And fills each corner with a trembling light;
But when extinguisht our benighted eye,
Leaves every object in obscurity.
So shining Faith (snuft out by sin) expires
And leaves us muffl'd in our dark desires.
XXVI.
Faith's a
Monoculist, and can descry
The Sun of Glory with a single eye.
It comprehendeth all things, every place
Where she aboads, is beautifi'd with grace.
He's like a pregnant Land that knows no dearth,
But brings forth many off-springs at one birth.
XXVII.
Faith can unnaturalize a
Lion, and
Make him lye subject to a strict command,
Or
Daniel had not liv'd, his
Lamb had power,
To make the
Lions tremble, not devour:
Be pleas'd Oh Lord, to look upon our Sion,
And send this Lamb to chase away our Lion.
XXVIII.
When once despised
Faith is laid aside,
Needs must the Fabrick of
Religion slide.
An unpropt-house, with danger is enjoy'd,
And
Pallaces prove rubbish when destroy'd.
Oh how unblest is that declining Nation,
Where Faith's quite lost, Religion's out of fashion.
XXIX.
Faith and Religion like the Turtle-dove,
Having lost her first, admits no second love.
The troubled
Ocean is not eas'ly still'd,
'Tis far more easie to destroy than build.
When Faction thrives, Religion starves at nurse,
Who sins with
Aegypt, must have
Aegypts curse.
XXX.
Sure sad
Religion, cannot chuse but groan
Under deformity, when every one
Shall dress her at his pleasure: is it good
To cancel that, which Martyrs seal'd with blood?
Sure no it is not, blessings are despis'd,
When pure Religion's so much Proteuniz'd.
XXXI.
I'd rather want a blessing, than abuse
The blessing that I have, th' apostate
Jewes
Can evidence this truth, for whilst they stood
To save the
evil, they destoy'd the
good.
Did it not add to
Pilates sin, who cry'd,
I find no fault, and yet our Saviour dy'd?
XXXII.
Had
Judas known the blessings he possest,
In being private to our
Saviours breast,
Sure then his most inordinate desires,
Had found no fuel to maintain his fires.
Best things in their corruption prove the worst,
Truth speaks aloud, for
Judas was accurst.
XXXIII.
Alas how fondly did our thoughts despise
These sacred joys, which now we chiefly prize
Because we want them, and we sadly prove
The want of blessings tutors us to love
The blessings that we had, if I transgress,
Let
David witness what my thoughts express.
XXXIV.
Th' unfathom'd gulf of mans unsatiate mind
Proves most outragious, when 'tis most confin'd,
I could perswade my self, if 'twere a sin
Not to be sinful, Man would soon begin
To practise goodness,
for the flesh would be
Oppugnant to the Spirits faculty.
XXXV.
The raging fire, the more it is deprest
The more it burns, our Parent
Eve transgrest
Because she was forbid, although she knew
What unavoided danger would accrew.
Yet her unsatisfi'd desires were such,
She could not chuse but tast as well as touch.
XXXVI.
Faction's the worst of Evils, 'tis a sin
Beyond addition; when we once begin
To fall to
Heresie, we know not how
Nor what to act, alas we can allow
A firm respect to nothing,
for to day,
We hug what we to morrow cast away.
XXXVII.
If we observe, it may be quickly seen
How great a disproportion is between
The Schools of God, and Nature, we conceive
In Natures Schooles, before we can believe;
But in the Schools of God we must aspire,
First to believe, conceive, and then admire.
XXXVIII.
Affliction is the Christians badge, who knows
Earths greatest pleasure, find her greatest wees,
Alas what are th' injoyments of this life,
But fleeting shadows which denote a strife?
If
Davids troubles sojourn in my brest,
Lord give me
Davids heart, and I am blest.
XXXIX.
He that endures Affliction, must abide
The harsh directions of his knowing Guide:
For they that travel in this world must take
Affliction by the hand, or else they'l make
A fruitless journey.
He's a senseless slave,
That dances with Earth's Musick to his grave.
XL.
Affliction is sins
Nursery, and they
That kill the
Brat, must take the
Nurse away;
If not, they must expect what's much more worse,
For sin is known to be the Devils Nurse.
Then may they cry with lamentable breath,
No wages will content the Nurse, but death.
XLI.
Wouldst thou prevent affliction? then draw near,
I'le tell thee how, when sin begins t'appear,
Drown it in teares, teares of a heavenly race,
He that includes a sin, excludes a Grace.
Sin often growes too aged for relief:
There is no danger like a non-ag'd grief.
XXLII.
The wise man grieves not, that he undergoes
Affliction, but because he fully knowes
His many sins deserv'd as many more,
If ten times doubl'd, than he did before.
Patience in things adverse, like Stars, shine bright,
And most transparent in the darkest night.
XLIII.
'Tis good to be afflicted, or else he
That spoke it took delight in Misery.
If
Davids sins infect thee, let thy heart
Be bath'd in
Davids tears, and then thou art
Indeared unto
Heaven: for he that lent
Much time to sin, must borrow to repent.
XLIV.
Repentance leaps to
Heav'n, if we expect
A future blessing, we must not neglect
This present business, which if we delay,
Wee'l want to morrow, what we lost to day:
But let's consider e're our time be spent,
How soon we sin, and yet how late repent.
XLV.
He that delayes Repentance, makes great haste
To his own ruine, and commits a waste
Upon his Soul, for every hour we spend
And not repent, we wilfully befriend
Our Adversary,
Hell, whose Gins being set,
He lyes and watches, when to draw the Net.
XLVI.
The Net being drawn, well may we run about,
And make our selves more fast, attempting out.
Then our betrayed Souls may sadly say
Had we repented, when 'twas said, to day,
This Net hath not insnar'd us, nor we cry,
We that did ever sin, must ever dye.
Gods Love, AND Mans Vnworthiness.
GOD! how that word hath thunder-clapt my Soul
Into a ravishment; I must condole
My forward weakness; Ah, where shall I find
Sufficient
Metaphors t' express my mind?
Thou heart-amusing word, how hast thou filld
My Soul with
Halelujahs, and distil'd
Wonders into me! Oh, that I could break
My heart in pieces, and divinely speak
My mind in Raptures, that the frantique Earth
May bath it self in these sweet streams of mirth.
[Page 2] Then rouze my Soul, and practise how to turn
Thy wonders into language; do not burn
Thy sacr
[...]d fuel in a place where none
Can have the benefit but thee alone
Hoist up thy Sails, and let thy speedy motion
Hurry thee hence into the boundless
Ocean:
Observe thy
Compass, keep a constant pace,
And
Heav'n will steer thee to the Port of Grace.
'Tis strange to think, how the
Almighty can
(That is so pure) love such a thing as
Man,
Whose primitive corruption makes him worse
Than nothing, whose
Rebellion claims a Curse,
More than affection: How can
Heav'n endure
A thing that can be nothing but impure?
Man (like a word that's void of reason) sounds
In every ear, his very name expounds
A misery; at best, he needs must be
But vain; And how can
Heav'n love vanity?
Man (like a shadow) flies before the Sun
Of his
Afflictions, and is still undone
By his own doing, he's his own pursuer;
And how can
Heav'n love such a self-undoer?
Man (like a naked worm) is often found
Digging himself into the loathsom ground
Of ruine, he's a
Traitor to his Bliss;
And how can
Heav'n love such a worm as this?
[Page 3] Man (like a flash of lightning) courts the world
With lavish flames, and by and by is hurl'd
Into that Nothing, whence at first he came;
Then how can God love such a short-liv'd flame?
Man (like a Reed) is evermore inclin'd
To shake, and totter with each blast of wind;
He's always running to the ground with speed:
And how can
Heav'n love such an earthly Reed?
Man (like the dust) is always blown, and tost
From place to place, and flies, till it has lost
Its Center; never resting in one place:
Then how can
Heav'n love that which flies in's face?
Man (like a Fly) still buzzes up and down
From cup to cup, and sips on, till he drown
Himself in pleasure; fears no stander by:
And how can
Heav'n love such a drunken Fly?
Man (like a Rain-bow) oftentimes appears
Clothed in colours, but can claim no years,
No days, nay hardly hours, but must decay;
And how can
heav'n love that which loves no stay?
Man (like a bubble) floats upon the waves
Of his desires, whilst every blast enslaves
His brittle substance, fill'd with windy troubles;
And how can
heav'n love such unconstant bubbles?
Man (like the froth) spew'd from the
Oceans brest
Is tyded up and down, but knows no rest,
[Page 4] Nor Perpetuity; and can betroth
It self to nothing:
Heav'n loves no such froth.
Man (like the wind) is every moment flying
To every place, and hares to be complying
Or resting any where; how can it be?
That
Heav'n can love so much inconstancy?
Man (like a Swallow) loves the fragrant spring
Of earths delights, but with a spreading wing
Flies from the Winters more congealed Brest;
And how can
Heav'n love such a Summer Guest?
Man (like a smoak) presumptuously aspires
Into the air, and by and by retires
Himself to nothing, nothing's his conclusion;
And how can
Heav'n love such a base confusion?
Man (like a fire) whose green and scragged fuel
Denies to burn until it fights a duel
With the encountring Bellows, which at last
Obtains the conquest, then it burns as fast,
And seems as 'twere, ambitious to expire;
Then how can
Heav'n love such a raging fire?
Man (like an Arrow) being once let go
Out from the
Archers well commanded Bow,
Affronts the Clouds; at last, having spent the store
Of his small strength, sals down, & seems t' adore
Th' inferior Earth, which, with a welcome, hides
His down-cast head within her wounded sides,
[Page 5] Where he remains, and scorns to be withstood:
Man can be anything, but what is good.
And cannot
Man be good? strange kind of tone!
What? has he wept himself into a stone,
Like
Niobie? no sure; I fear his eyes
Were never loaded with such large supplies:
Ah, could he weep a Flood,
Heav'n that prepares
His ears to hear, would bottle up his tears
In his remembrance; every drop should shine
Like
Pearls absconded in a golden
Myne:
His
sins command a
Deluge; could his head
Be turn'd into a
fountain, could he shed
An
Ocean at a drop, it could not cover
His sins (which are mountainous) from the Lover
Of real
drops, for he would soon descry
Those sand excelling
crimes, where ere they lie:
Yet would his
Soul so much compassionate
The flowing sorrows of his watry state,
That with a calming hand he would remove
His rocky
sins, and hide them with his Love;
He would have pity, and with speed consent
T' express his
love, when all our
tears are spent.
Should
Heav'n, who justly may, for every
sin
Drop down a
Plague, and make it live within
Mans guilty Soul, the world would quickly be
Transform'd, and chang'd into a leprosie.
[Page 6] Let none despair, for
Heav'ns known mercies can
Out infinite the greatest
sins of
man.
Oh love beyond degree! Shall
Heav'n indulge
Himself to
Man? and shall not
Man divulge
A gratefulness to him, whose hand prepares
To wipe away his sin-poluted
cares?
Ungrateful
Miscreant, how canst thou view
Thy former
Miseries, and not renew
Thy thanks to him whose
Power set thee free,
And brought thee back from thy
Captivity?
Hast thou abandon'd
Love? wilt thou imprint
Thy
Soul with baseness? Ah, what obvious flint
Hath turn'd Affections edge? what, art thou bent
To shoot at him, that labours to prevent
The Arrows of thy ruine, which will fly
Into thy brest, except he puts them by?
Hast thou transform'd thy heart into a rock
That will not move? Shall mercy call and knock,
And thou not hear? What? hast thou arm'd thy heart
With senseless marble, that no flaming dart
Of love can enter? Hast thou vow'd to stand
In opposition? Cannot
Gods Command
Force thee to bow? Art thou resolv'd to sport
With thy destruction, and not yield the Fort?
Oh yield betimes; do not resolve to be
Too much a slave to Infidelity:
[Page 7] For know (frail
wretch) thy strength consists in clay
When
Mercy's lost, then
Judgment finds the way.
Rally thy thoughts together, and throw down
Thy brazen walls, thy yielding yields a Crown:
For 'tis in vain to oppose an arm that can
Out-grasp the measure of so small a span.
Alas, Alas! it may be quickly seen
What a large disproportion is between
Thy God, and thee: Consider, he is all,
And thou art nothing; what can be more small?
Or what more great? for he is infinite,
And thou art finite: He is full of light,
And thou of darkness; He is fill'd with love,
And thou art stuff'd with baseness; He's a
Dove,
And thou a
Worm: Thus, thus thou mayst descry
His
firmness, and thine own
infirmity.
Then be not obstinate, but strike the Sails
Of thy desires to him that never fails;
And know, 'tis easie in an inch of time
To take a
worm ingarrison'd with slime;
For such a thing thou art, and all thy power
Must yield to
Heavens assaults; thy
April shower
Has no continuance: therefore do not strive
Against a God, whose wisdom can contrive
What pleases him: Alas! thy state is grounded
Upon contingencies, thou art compounded
[Page 8] Of nothing but uncertainties; thy Arm
Assumes no power, except it be to harm
Thy wilful self: Then why wilt thou contend
With him that importunes to be thy friend?
Thy friend, (soul-saving word) what higher bliss
Can crown a heart, than such a friend as this?
Oh life of Ravishment! how can it be
A
God, a
worm, and yet a Sympathie?
Strange condescention! was the like e're known
Or fpoke by any mouth, except his own?
Hie balmy breath declares, that he will save
And succor those that faithfully do crave
His blest assistance: Hark, and hear him say,
Ye that are heavy loaded, come away,
Oh come to me, I am content to bear
Your burthens, and extenuate your care.
What higher note of love was ever strain'd
To any ear? Oh how hath man obtain'd
So great a friendship! 'Tis a happy lot,
Nay, and a wonder not to be forgot.
And yet it is not strange, that he should prove
So true a Lover, that's compos'd of Love,
And can do nothing else: If he correct,
'Tis for thy crimes: he only has th' effect
Of anger: for his grieved spirit moans
To punish Sinners, and to hear their groans:
[Page 9] His Soul takes no delight to crush to death
The offending pris'ners of th' inferior Earth:
He is the rich Exchequer of all good,
And is by nothing (except man) withstood.
All things perform what they were made to do,
But only man, that strives to prove untrue
To his Creator: nothing can be found
Within thy brest, but that which is unsound.
How sad it is to hear th' Almighty say,
I've nourish'd children, that are gone astray,
And scorn to own me! Oh rebellious dust!
That hate my paths, because my ways are just.
The
Ox will know his Owner, and the
Ass
His Masters crib; but
Israel, alas,
Will not acknowledge me, but have destroy'd
Themselves, & made their understanding void:
Has not my fury then just cause to swell,
Because they can do nothing but rebel?
Nefandous Creature, how canst thou endure
Thy wretched self? Ah, why wilt thou procure
Thine own destructions? shall all
creatures be
Obedient to their
owners, only thee?
And wilt thou not acknowledge him that gave
Large blessings to thee, and desires to save
Thy Soul from torments, if thou wouldst incline
Thy will to his, whose thoughts are all divine?
[Page 10] Forget obduracy, and learn the Art
Of loving him, that loves an upright heart:
Go ruminate upon thy base estate,
And be unto thy self, compassionate.
Yield to thy Maker with a cheerful brow?
First know what 'tis to love, and after, how▪
Love is the
Laws fulfiller; he that will
Love God aright, must practise how to fill
His Soul with true affection; for the ways
Of
Heav'n are pav'd with Love: Immortal praise
Attend his Courts; he that forgets to love
Forgets his God: They that desire to prove
Heav'ns amatorious Guests, must first admire
How such a spark as man came to aspire
To such a flame, and how he came to be,
Not only
Earths, but
Heavens, Epitomie:
Be serious then, and let thy thoughts reflect
Upon
Heav'ns goodness, and thy disrespect.
God out of Nothing (except Love) compil'd
This spacious World, as if some princely child
Were to be born: His providential care
Was (as it were) ambitious to prepare
The quintessence of pleasures to invite
Some stately Guest to banquet with delight.
First he extracted from a darksom Cell
A glorious Light, whose beauty pleas'd him well;
[Page 11] Then he prepar'd a
Canopy, inlayd
With glittring
Pearl, whose twinkling luster made
A
Heav▪nly shew; and afterwards his hand
Dasht back the waters from the naked Land:
Then he commanded, that the Earth, being come
Out from the Oceans new delivered womb,
Should be adorn'd with an imbroidered Gown,
That so her new-warm'd bowels might abound
With several fruits.—
—Thus having plaid his part
Upon this Theatre, this life of Art,
He usher'd in a thing, which pleas'd him best,
(
He made the Feast, and after made the Guest;)
Call'd by the name of
Man, a naked, small.
And dusty, shiftless Creature▪ this was all,
And all this nothing, but a lump of death,
Until inspir'd by
Heav'ns all-quickning breath.
Vain, simple wretch; ah, how couldst thou behave
Thy self before a
Judge so great, so grave?
Hadst thou but seen thy self, thou wouldst have cry'd
Thy self to death, and with a blush, defy'd
Thy base estate, to think that thou should'st be
Natures most base and rude
Anatomie.
Couldst thou expect that
Heav'n would entertain
A thing so poor? so weak? so vile? so vain?
[Page 12] Which like a spark blown from a new-made fire,
Can onely shew it self, and then expire,
Was it for this the All-Creator made
Such large provision? Was't for this he laid
Such rich Foundations? Was't for this his Power
Deckt this well-pleasing odoriferous Bower?
Was it for this (this little world) he form'd
A world so great? was it for this he warm'd
The Earths chill bosom? was't for this he spent
His six days Labor? was't for this intent
He made a
Paradise? where
Flora spred
Her fragrant off-spring, and made Earth a Bed
Of rare compounded pleasures, where he plac'd
This new-come
Guest, whose very looks disgrac'd
The Face of Beauty, to whose thriftless hand
He gave that
Government, with this Command:
Of all the Trees that here thou dost behold,
Thy lips being authoriz'd, thou mayst be bold
To taste with freedom, only one, which I
Conjure thee from, therefore restrain thine eye
From lusting after it; if not, thy breath
Shall glut it self in everlasting death:
Forget not my Commands, but let thy brest
Be always faithful, and thou shalt be blest.
Thus the
Recorder having spoke at large
This well-deliver'd (although ill-kept) Charge,
He after said;
[Page 13]
It is not good that man should be alone
Without a help, Ile therefore make him one.
Oh sacred prudence! Here we may discern
A sweet conjunction; here our Souls may learn
Wisdom and Love, both which, if not enjoyd,
Pleasures prove vanities, and blessings void.
Heav'n, whose unidle art-full hand had set
Man, as a Jewel, in his Cabinet,
Thought it unfit, that those delights which he
Had made by his most powerful Love, should be
Monopoliz'd by one, he therefore laid
Adam asleep, and having done, he made
Out of a crooked Rib (strange kind of Art)
A woman, fair, compleat, in every part;
Nay, and a helper too: for in conclusion
She helpt poor
Adam to his own confusion.
Oh most detested deed! Unconstant wife,
To prove a Traitor to thy Husbands life
As soon as made: Fond wretch could nothing suit
With thy nice palate, but forbidden fruit?
Ah, could thy longing lie no longer hid?
What? didst thou long, because thou wert forbid?
Was there no tree that could content thy eye,
But only that which was forbidden? Fie,
Oh shame to think thou shouldst so quickly waste
Thine hours of pleasure for a minutes taste:
[Page 14] Couldst thou not like, or fall in love with any
But that?
Heav'n had but one, & thou hadst many
Wherewith to please thine appetite; and yet
Wouldst thou prove so ambitious, as to sit
Upon the highest twigg? Ah, could th' advice
Of Satan tempt thee to this avarice
With so much ease, and make thee rashly do
So foul a deed, and tempt thy
Adam too?
Preposterous wretch, how hast thou spread a cloud
Over thy head? what? didst thou think to shrowd
Thy self from vengeance? Having eat thy death,
Couldst thou expect to live? Oh no, thy breath
Offended
Heav'n: but ah, hadst thou but thought
(Before thy heart had entertain'd a fault
So great as this) what 'twas to die, thy mind
Had made thee more abstemious, and confin'd
Thy base inordinate desires; thy meat
Had prov'd delightful, and thy comforts great:
But now, unhahpy now, thy crimes have made
Thy Soul Deaths Debtor, and thou art betrayd
By thine own self; therefore prepare to meet
Thy wrathful
Judge: 'tis said stoln
goods are sweet,
But thine prov'd
sour, the fruits w
ch thou hast stole
Sugar'd thy mouth, but wormwoodiz'd thy soul:
When thou hadst eaten, Ah! why didst thou not
Tremble to death, to think thou hadst forgot
[Page 15] Thy Gods
Commands, & that his Judgments must
Follow thy Soul, and blow thee into dust?
Thus
Eve, thus
Adam, having vilipended
Their Gods
Commands, their happines soon ended
Their joys were turn'd to mourning, & their light
Was turn'd to darkness, and their day to night;
Both being too much conscious, fled with speed
To hide themselves from
God, but not the deed.
Even as some poor distressed wretch desires
To hide himself from the enraged fires
Of his incensed Foe, runs up and down
To shun the rage of a condemned frown;
At last observing his enquiring Foe
Approach the place, lies still, and dares not blow,
For fear the wordless Eccho of his breath
Should soon betray him to a sudden death:
Being at last descry'd, his throbbing heart
Gives an Alarum to each trembling part;
Fear, like an Earthquake, then begins to shake
His loosen'd joynts, he knows not how to make
A ready answer to his foes demands;
But, as a sad convicted man, he stands
Subjected to his will, that can dispence
With nothing, but with death, to calm th' offence.
Even so Guilt-loaded
Adam having done
A deed so foul, prepares himself to run
[Page 16] To some close shelter where he might immure
His naked body, and repose secure:
But ah, in vain, in vain he strove to hide
Himself from
God, that need implore no guide
To teach him where his sad offender lay;
He needs must find when sin hath chalk'd th' way;
But when
Heav'ns shril-enquiring voice surrounded
The ears of
Adam, Adam was confounded
With deep distress, his heart began to call
His quivering Senses to a Funeral:
Fear, like a powerful fire, began to thaw
His frozen thoughts, and keep his Soul in awe;
He breath'd in a
Dilemma, and could find
No Sanctuary for a perjur'd mind:
At last the Language of th' Eternal
God
Storm'd his Sin-armed Soul, and like a Rod
Whipt him from his security, and cry'd,
Adam, where art thou? Adam thus reply'd,
I heard thee walking in the pleasing shade
Of the cool ev'ning, and I was afraid,
And hid my self, because I must confess,
I blusht to see my shameful nakedness.
GOD.
Tell me, thou trembling wretch, how dost thou know
That thou art naked? say, who told thee so?
[Page 33] What? has thy lips usurp'd the fruit which I
Conjur'd thee not to touch? if so, reply.
Adam.
The
woman which thou gav'st me, gave to me,
And I did eat of the forbidden tree.
GOD.
Unconstant
woman! Ah, why hast thou run
Beyond thy bounds? what's this that thou hast done?
Woman.
The
Serpents flowing language swel'd too great
For my low
banks: he tempted, and I eat.
Gods Curse against the Serpent.
Because thou hast thus subtilty deluded
The lustful
woman, thou shalt be excluded
From future good; more shall thy curses yield
Than all the
Beasts and
Cattel in the field:
Thy belly shall (because thou hast done this)
Give to the earth a life-remaining kiss;
Thou shalt not taste of any thing that's good,
Dust shall supply the place of wholsome food.
Curst be thy ways, thou shalt no more be seen
By me: I will put enmity between
[Page 34] Thy seed and hers; hereafter thou shalt feel
A bruised
head, and she a bruised
heel.
Gods Curse against the Woman.
And as for thee, oh
Woman, I'le enlarge
Thy grief and thy conception; I'le discharge
Thy joyes, and load thee with a weighty grief;
Thy pains in child-bed shall find no relief;
Thou shalt desire thy
Husband, and his hand
Shall over-rule thee with a strict command.
Adams Curse.
Rebellious
Adam, unto thee I'le give
A Life as bad as
Death, for thou shalt live
To see thy sorrows more and more abound,
And for thy sake I'le curse the loathed ground;
For thou hast hark'ned to the conquering voice
Of thy frail
wife, and made my fruit thy choice,
And sepulchred my words within the grave
Of thy false
heart; begon, thou self-made slave:
The thorny ground shall give a large increase
To thy laborious hand; the name of
Peace
Shall prove a stranger to thy ears, and thou
Shalt eat thy bread with a sweat-dropping brow▪
I'le murther all thy joys; thy brest shall burn
With flaming care, until thy corps return
[Page 35] Into the bowels of th' inclusive earth;
From whence thou hadst thy substance, and thy birth:
For base thou art, and therefore thou shalt be
A food for gnawing
worms, and not for me:
As thou art dust, to dust thou shalt retire;
Hereafter let not dust presume t' aspire.
Strange▪ alteration! Oh pernicious fate,
Too quickly bred in such an Infant-
state!
He that but even now enjoy'd a life
Ballanc'd with pleasures, now is fill'd with strife:
He, whose Majestick
Soul was lately crown'd
With blest content, is now ingulf'd, and drown'd
In sorrows
Ocean; He, which was before
Inrich'd with happiness, is now as poor
As poverty can make him; He, which had
The countenance of
Heav'n to make him glad▪
Is now eclipst; he knows not where to run,
Sin having interpos'd between the Sun
And his dark
Soul, the Center of whose rest
Is now remov'd, and he survives unblest:
He, which but even now had leave to dwell
And revel in
Heav'ns eye, desires a Cell
To entertain him! he which liv'd in
Peace,
Is now thrown down, and forfeited his
Lease:
Great was his
Crime, great was his sudden Fall,
Great was his
Tenement, his Rent but small:
[Page 36] Poor
Adam's taken by his own decoys;
Sin is the Sequestrator of all j ys.
Sad
Pilgrim of the world, where wilt thou find
(In the unpathed earth) a place so kind
To entertain thee? Ah, where wilt thou keep
(Thus tumbled from a
Precipice so steep)
The sad unpeopl'd rendezvouz? Oh where
Wilt thou procure a hand that will unsnare
Th'intangled
Soul? Alas thy wearied
life
Hath two most sad companions; first a
Wife,
Than a bad
Conscience, what two greater crosses
Can hang upon a brest, whose cares▪ whose losses,
Are grown so infinit, that no relief,
But what distills from Heav'n, can ease their grief?
Thou wert the first of
men that entertain'd
So grand a sorrow, thou the first that stain'd
So pure a colour, thou the first that dwelt
In
Edens garden, thou the first that felt
The scourge of fury; hadst thou not transgrest,
Vengeance had found no hand, nor grief a brest.
Ah, hadst thou not offended, sin had found
No habitation, nor thy
Soul a wound:
Had not thy hand so wilfully unlock'd
The door of
Death, Destruction had not knock'd
At thine impenetrable gates, or ventur'd
T' approach so near, but being open'd, enter'd
[Page 37] Bold
Customer of fate, that sought about
To come within, and turn poor
Adam out;
Thy strength out strength'd his strength, & made him weak,
A vessel crack'd, how can it chuse but leak?
Sin prov'd
Deaths father, &
mans heart the womb
That brought it forth; this
Deatb shall find a
tomb
When the Determiner of time hath hurl'd
A
finis to the
volume of the world;
Till then, man (mortaliz'd by sin) must be
A subject unto
Deaths Soveraigntie.
Poor man, in what a wilderness of sorrow
Dost thou now ramble in: where wilt thou borrow
A minutes rest? On what inclining ear
Wilt thou expend thy groans? what canst thou hear
But dialects of misery to vex (hear
Thy bankrupt thoughts? The fatal disrespects
Of
Heav'n will blow and toss thee up and down
From place to place, his still renewed frown
Will follow thee; therefore provide t' endure
The hot pursutes of such a fierce Pursuer:
Canst thou expect that this thy grand abuse
(Which runs beyond the limits of excuse)
Can be forgotten; dost thou think t'out-live
Thy long-liv'd crimes, or hope for power to give
Due satisfaction to thy
God, whose rage▪
Thy heart cannot endure, much less asswage?
[Page 38] Most lachrymable state! What canst thou do,
Oh man, that may ingratiate or renew
Thy former love? Alas, thy base condition
Makes thee incapable of a
Petition.
Prepare thy self, see if thou canst invade
His
Soul with pray'rs, see if thou canst perswade
His
Heart to yield unto thy sad request,
And re-inthrone thee with thy former rest;
Dissect thy
Soul with groans,
anatomize
Thy
Heart with sighs, and let thy winged cries
Fly through the
Angles of his sacred ear,
And breed a harmony within the Sphere
Of his blest
Soul; be circumspect, and lay
The best foundation; hear what
Heav'n will say.
Adams Petition to God.
Incensed
Father of eternal light,
Permit a darkened
Soul t' approach the sight
Of thine incomparble eye; unmask
Thy Anger-clouded Soul, and let me ask
Forgiveness for those loading Crimes which press
My stagg'ring
Soul; I know not whom t'address
My apostate
self unto, but only thee,
Whom I offended; Please to pity me:
I have no pleasing sacrifice t' attone
Thy wrathful
Brest, except a hearty groan
[Page 39] That's quadrupl'd with grief; Oh deign to look
Upon the lines of my all-blotted book:
Although I'm full of most detested spots,
Yet
Lord, I know that thou canst read my blots;
Oh read them then, and let thy mercies run
With thy progressive eye; I am undone,
If not forgiven;
Lord I thee implore
To shew some mercy to me, thou hast store,
Decipher all my
sins, and let them not
Bear record in thy
Rouls, but rest forgot;
Revoke this
Act of
death, that I may sing
Th' admired mercies of so blest a
King.
Oh lift me up, that now am thrown below;
Make not my
Soul the Custom-house of woe.
Oh hear these bitter groans that I have spent,
And send some comfort from thy
Parliament.
Gods Reply.
Thou
Skelleton of baseness, hie thee hence,
Disturb me not; return, I say, from whence
Thou cam'st at first; thou shalt as soon remove
A mountain, as my mind: I cannot love,
No nor I will not, nothing shall intreat
My resolutions, for my fury's great.
Begone, proud
Rebel, do not think thy prayers,
Thy vows, thy groans, thy sighs, thy sobs, thy tears
[Page 40] Shall make my brest their receptacle; No:
How can I be a friend to such a foe?
Surcease thy importunities, let fall
Thy high desires, I will not hear thee call,
Thy Sins have bart'd my ears; I'le not be won
With thy base airy words, for thou hast spun
The thread of thy destruction, therefore wear
What thou hast labour'd for, and so forbear
T'intrench upon my patience; 'tis in vain
To seek for that which thou shalt not obtain.
And is it thus, that
Heav'n will not regard
My cryes? Ah me! and must my groans be heard
With disrespect by him, whose tongue affords
Nothing, but grief, involv'd with bitter words?
Alas, alas! what greater woe can crowd
Into a brest than to be disavow'd
By
Gods high voice, whose most enraged breath
Darts forth the Arrows of eternal death?
What shall I do? Oh, whither shall I run
To hide my self, until the glorious Sun
Of his affections usher in the day
Of welcom Joy? Oh, whither shall I stray?
If I am silent, then my, silence turns
My thoughts to fire; If speak, my speech returns
Trebl'd with wo, into the brazen Tower
Of my sad heart, my language has no power
[Page 41] To work upon his ears, my words (like balls
Banded, and thrown against th' obdurate walls
Unyielding brest) bounds back again, and breaks
Into my heart, and every sorrow speaks
A volume at a word; yet, yet must I
Return unheard; 'tis misery to dye,
And pain to live; thus in despair I draw
The loathsom air:
Destruction knows no Law.
Grief rains a flood of doubt into my
Soul;
Ah me! I can do nothing but condole:
I am despis'd; and if I bend the force
Of my desires to him, he will divorce
All thoughts of pity, and with rage re-double
Th'unsum'd up sums of my infringing trouble.
I sail into the
Straits, both wind and tyde
Prevail against me, and I have no guide
To Pilot me unto the long'd-for
Port
Of pleasing happiness; I am a sport
To threatning Ruine, whose presumptuous waves
Out-dares my
Soul, whilst every blast enslaves
My reeling
Pinnace: If I strive to go
Towards
Scylla, Scylla will contemn my wo,
Alas in vain I can expect relief,
Scylla will bark at my unbridled grief;
Or if my head-long vessel chance to hit
Against
Charybdis, I am torn and split
[Page 42] Into ten thousand peices; Oh hard hap!
Thus am I tossed in Destructions lap.
Where shall I find a heart that will advise
My friendless Soul, and audiate my cries?
I will not thus desist, I must implore,
He that's lost once, sure can be lost no more.
Adams Petition to God.
Once more, thou
Metropolitan of all
The spacious world, I here presume to call
Upon thy mercy; Oh let me inherit
The pleasing fruit of thy re-pleased
Spirit:
I am thy
fabrick, Oh some pity take,
Preserve the building for the Builders sake.
Cloath not thy brow with frowns, but let thine eye
(That rests inshrin'd with glorious Majesty)
Reflect upon my sorrows; Oh encline
Thy willing ears to hear this grief of mine:
Oh do not say I shall as soon remove
A mountain as thy heart, thou canst not love;
Let not such harsh imbitter'd language flow
Out of a mouth so sweet; I know, I know,
Thou art as good as great; oh therefore bow
Thy sacred ears to hear, oh hear me now:
Bestow some scraps on me, that have deserv'd
Nothing but stripes; for I have fondly swerv'd
[Page 43] From thy commands & have committed treason
Against thy
Majesty: Great
God of Reason,
View my en-humbled
Soul, see how it lies
Before thy sight, a weeping
Sacrifice,
I know thou knowst I am a hainous sinner,
Yet pity me, that am a young beginner
In this rich art of
begging: Do not slight
My real prayers; I know thou tak'st delight
In being merciful; Oh let me not
Return unanswer'd, or my prayers forgot:
Oh hear the sorrows of my bleeding state,
Let my complaints make thee compassionate.
And let the fervor of my language turn
Thy thoughts to pity; quench these flames that burn
My wasting
Soul; speak peace to me that find
A civil war in my uncivil mind:
Oh I have tasted of thy hot displeasure
Too much, Ah shall thy vengeance know no measure?
Say 'tis enough; though (
Lord) I must confess
I have deserved more, yet give me less.
Thus with a melting heart I end my Suit,
Ah me! how bitter is forbidden fruit!
Gods Reply.
Thou bold-fac'd
Orator, how dar'st thou come
Before me, or be otherwise than dumb?
[Page 44] Tell me, how dar'st thou interrupt my brest?
I hate to see thee, or hear thy Request.
Audacious wretch, What, has my Judgment made
Thy heart grow peremptory? Have I laid
Too small a burthen on thee? If I have,
I'le lay a greater, thou apostate slave:
I will not note thee, nor I will not hear
Thy words, which have usurp'd my deafned ear:
Love thee, for what? be't known, sad wretch, I scorn
To love a thing so base, so vile, forlorn;
And if I cannot love, how can it be,
That I can pity such a worm as thee?
Ile neither love, nor pity, for my heart
Is
Adamantine; thou shalt feel the smart
Of my displeasure; Go, my
Soul disdains
To look upon thee; thou art so fill'd with stains,
And smel'st too much of
Fruit to find respect,
Thou art the subject of my great neglect:
Thou art a barren
Soil, nothing will grow
Upon thy heart, except the seeds of woe.
Tell me, from what conceit thou dost derive
Thy working confidence, that thou dar'st drive
Thy language to my ears, and be so bold
T' approach my sight, and wilt not be control'd?
Art thou resolv'd to make (what dost thou mean)
My ears thy stage, and every word a scean?
[Page 45] Sum up thy small, thy weak deserts, and see
What large respects thou hast deserv'd from me,
I plac'd thee in a
Garden, not to eat
The
fruit for bidden, but to keep it neat:
Had not the violation of my Laws
Mov'd me to anger, thou hadst had no cause
T' have felt the burthen of my weighty stroke,
Or live thus much subjected to the yoke
Of thine owns sins; most shameful is that Loss
That's crown'd with negligence, & great the cross
That's made with a self-hand; & they that clime
Above their strengths impropriate a crime
To their own
Souls; Destruction is the end
Of all Rebellion:
Ruine knows no friend.
Suppose I should invest and entertain
Your Soul with Love, and call thee back again,
The
Tree is still the same, the
fruit as sweet,
Thy
appetite as great, and thou mayst meet
A
Serpent too, whose oratorious skill
May soon entreat thee to enact his will:
He has a voice to tempt, and thou an
ear
Will re-assume the priviledge to hear:
He has a hand to give, and thou another
Freely to take: thus wouldst thou smother
Thy new delights; therefore I will not trust
A heart that can be nothing but unjust.
[Page 46] Thou great
Mugul of baseness, cease to plead,
Thy tongue's a canker, and thy words are lead;
Thy
sins have made thee not deserve the air
Thou entertain'st; hadst thou imploy'd thy care
To serve me, when I lov'd thee, thou hadst had
My heart-delighting joys to make thee glad;
But now expect no favour, for no Art
Of thine shall ever captivate my heart.
Hie thee unto the shades of grief, bewail
Thy sequestrated happiness, no bail
Of thy procuring will I take to set
Thy
Soul at liberty; I will not let
The vision of a comfort creep within
Thy rambling thoughts, thou art a slave to sin:
Hadst thou but lov'd or fear'd me at the first,
Th'adst been as happy, as th'art now accurst:
If now thou lov'st me, I shall quickly prove
It is for fear alone, and not for love.
Thy heart is steel'd with wickedness, thy faults
Are sparks enlivened by thy flinty thoughts.
Breath out thy groans unto a senseless rock,
And let thy sighs (like hammers) beat and knock
Against her scragged sides, thou shalt as soon
Have her consent, as mine, to grant thy
boon:
'Tis therefore vain to multiply thy words,
For ah, my brest, my hardened brest, affords.
[Page 47] Thy Soul no pity: and the more thy cry
Attempts my ear, the less I will reply,
Alas! thy guilt-o're-burth'ned words renew
Fresh thoughts of rage, I cannot hear thee sue
Without impatiency; for ah, the longer
Thou crav'st, thou mak'st my sury grow the stronger.
Avoid my presence, for I will no more
Give audience to thy voice, then cease t'implore.
Adams Lamentation.
Undone, undone! what mountain now will hide
My loathed body from the swelling tyde
Of raging Vengeance? Whither shall I fly
T'involve my Soul with true security?
Stretch, stretch my lungs, and roar unto the deep
T' entertain me: Oh that I might sleep
Within her wavy bowels, till the blast
Of Heav'ns all-shaking thundring Voice were past.
Oh that some Rock would hear my sad request,
And give me burial in her frigid brest!
Oh that my grief-extended voice could cleave
The solid Earth, and make her to receive
My wretched limbs! Oh that some ranging beast
Would prove so courteous to devour, and feast
Upon my corps! Oh that I could contrive
A way to live, and yet not be alive!
[Page 48] Ah, thus my sorrow-shaken fancy flies,
And envies at impossibilities.
I fain would dye, but that I have no heart
To kill my self, and yet I feel a smart
Transcending death; I see I cannot shun
The wrath of
Heav'n: Ah, thus I am undone
By my own doing, this it is to eat
Forbidden
fruit: Oh most pernicious meat!
I was too rash, and rashly have I taken
A deadly fall, and falling, am forsaken:
I'm bruis'd to death, and yet I cannot dye;
Ah, what can be so much unblest as I?
I am inflamed, and I dayly drench
My
Soul with tears, and yet I cannot quench
My raging fires; the more I strive t' asswage
And mitigate my pains, the more they rage.
What shall I do, or whither shall I go,
To hide me from this
Labyrinth of woe?
I am compos'd of sorrow, and my veins,
In stead of blood, are fil'd with griping pains.
Curst be these eyes of mine, which have let in
The lawless tyrant of imperious Sin:
Curst be these lips of mine, which at the suit
Of my fond wife receiv'd forbidden fruit:
Curst be these ears, that entertain'd the Charms
Of that Inchantress, which procur'd my harms:
[Page 49] Curst be these hands of mine, which took, and fed
My greedy
Soul, and struck my Conscience dead:
And now my
lips, my
ears, my
hands my
eyes,
Must see, hear, taste, and feel, my miseries.
Oh sad condition! Since there's no relief,
I must be subject to perpetual grief.
Here we will leave poor
Adam in the state
Of woe, and thus begin to ruminate.
Are there not many in this toilsom age
That meditate themselves into a rage,
And wonder how a
Serpent could express
Himself, and reason with such readiness;
Being by nature brute, nay and the worst
Of living
creatures, that he should at first
Perswade and conquer, and instruct his will.
How to determine both of good and ill?
It would seem strange, if Reason were without
Her wings, and could flie above this doubt:
We may (and yet not stain the truth) declare
It was the work of
Satan to ensnare
Frail
Eve; although he was not nam'd at all
By
Moses in the Hist'ry of the
Fall,
It may not trouble us, for we must know,
The bending
Serpent was the
Devils bow,
By which he shot the arrows of his spire,
Which did [Oh grief to speak it!] flie too right:
[Page 50] And he that dares so high a Crime to act
(Though by another) needs must own the fact:
And this our tongues may never cease to tell,
The
Serpent was the Intrument of
Hell,
Tun'd to the
Devils voice: thus we may see
His fraud, his malice, and his subtiltie.
First when he saw he could not over-turn
The great
Creator, he begun to burn
With flames of envy, lab'ring to invade,
And to disturb that order
God had made
In the Creation, and to change the features
Of his own
Image in the best of Creatures,
That so he may by his too sooth delusion
Make
Man run headlong to his own confusion:
Thus having laid the platform of his work,
He then begun to agitate, and lurk
For opportunity, which was effected
As soon, nay if not sooner, than expected;
He gave the blow, and by that blow he found
The weakest
Vessel had the weakest sound;
But yet it strongly eccho'd to the voice
Of his desires, and made him love his choice.
Even as some bold-fac'd
General, that dares
To storm a well-man'd Town; at first prepares
A potent
Army, which he soon sets down
Before the Walls of the alarum'd
Town;
[Page 51] He after views the ruine-threatning-Fort,
Which speaks defiance, and begins to sport
Their several shots, and with a sad delight
Ingage each other in a bloody fight;
Then if the fierce
Besiegers once perceive
Themselvs out-strength'd, they think it fit to leave
So hot a work, and for a little space
Desist, and fall upon a weaker place,
Where finding smaller opposition, venture
With greater Courage, and at last they enter
The yielding
Town, and cruelly begin
To take revenge of them which are within.
Even so the grim look'd, malice-armed
Devil,
The base-resolved
General of Evil,
Perceiving that he could by no means take
The sublime
Fort of
Heav'n, plots how to make
A fresh attempt, upon a weaker part,
And so prepares to storm the flexive heart
Of unresisting
Eve; that could not grapple
With such a
Foe, but yielded for an Apple
To those most false alarums which surrounded
Her, much obedient, and soon confounded
Her inward parts, and gave her Soul a wound,
Which cannot be by time or art made sound,
Except the grand Physitian please to slake
His swelling fury, and some pity take.
[Page 52] Thus are our conquer'd parents sadly left
In a deplor'd condition, and bereft
Of all their comforts; they which have enjoy'd
The life of happiness, are now destroy'd;
And
man (his wretched off-spring) must be made
Sorrows sad heir, and Peace must not be said
T'inhabit in him.
Adams actual sin
Made ours original; for we begin,
As soon as made, to entertain the guests
Of sin, and lodge them in our infant-brests.
Now may our weak and despicable eyes
Behold in them, our ample miseries:
Now we may glut the air with this sad cry,
The root being dead, the branches needs must dye;
For
Adam's gone beyond all humane call:
Rebellion never ends without a Fall.
But stay my
Muse, here let us rest a while;
Our
Journey's long, and 'tis not good to toyl
Too much at first, for
Reason sayes 'tis best
To pause a time, and take a little rest:
Know then (kind Reader) that my
Muse shall meet
Thy serious eyes within another sheet.
The end of the first Book.
THE SECOND BOOK OF GODS LOVE, AND Mans Vnworthiness.
ARe all hopes fled? and is there no relief?
Must man still wander in the shades of grief?
Will not the eye of
Heav'n be pleas'd to shine
Upon his
Soul, but leave him in the brine
Of his own
Sins? Is there no warbling voice
Can charm his ears, and woo him to rejoice
[Page 54] In being pitiful? Will nothing move
The much incensed Soul of
Heav'n to love?
Man [Map of Misery] who can prevail
In thy requests? Or who can cut off th' entail
Of thy distress? 'Tis not a Writ of
Error
Can satisfie, or guard thee from the terror
Of thine own
Conscience, which will alway stare
Upon thy face, and load thee with despair:
'Tis not a
Habeas Corpus will remove
The body of thy
sin, none can disprove
The Will of
God, what he resolves to do
Must neither be withstood, nor div'd into:
It lies beyond thy power to perswade
Thy
God to pity, whom thy Sins have made
A wrathful
Judge; what he intends, must be,
Derived from himself, and not from thee;
For thou hast nothing in thee worth the name
Of good, because thy glory's turn'd to shame:
Thou art corrupt and vile in every part,
And who can know the evil of thy heart;
Which like the
Ocean, that no art nor eye
Can search her bottom, or her banks descry:
Therefore til
heav'n shall please to change the state
Of thy condition,
Reason bids thee wait;
For be assur'd, the promis'd
seed will spread
It self abroad, and bruise the
Serpents head.
[Page 55] Even as the
Fountain, whose exuberous brest
Is always fluent, and admits no rest;
But with a cheerful willingness she sends
Her Christal tokens to her smaller friends.
Even so our
God d
[...]stilleth from above
The healing streams of his refreshing love;
For ah the lustre of his Sun-bright eye
Is drown'd in tears, when our sad Souls prove dry!
Oh admiration! that a
God so just
Should rain down flouds upon a heap of dust!
Oh Mercy! that so much incens'd a
God
Should send forth
Mercy, and keep in his
Rod!
His
Soul is fill'd with pity, and his eyes
Begin to view th' unsariate miseries
Of
Adams down-cast off-spring: Though his ear
Seems unto us resolved not to hear
Their bitter cries, nor note the sad Devotions
Of their contristed hearts; yet by the Motions
Of his blest
Soul, he sends his Son and Heir
Into this wretched world, that he might bear
The
Cross of our Transgressions, and expel
The clouds of
Sin, and conquer
Death and
Hell:
Thus by his death we liv'd, and by his grief
Our new-calm'd
Souls were furnisht with relief.
Oh sudden change! That winde which did before
Drive wretched
man upon the threatning shore
[Page 56] Of unavoiding
ruine, fills the sails
Of his desires with mild and prosperous gales;
The
Boreas of his sin does now surcease
His full-mouth'd blasts, and
Zephyrus speaks peace
Unto his ship wrack'd
Soul, and now he rides
Upon the new-tam'd backs of pleasing Tydes.
Oh that my tongue were able to rehearse
The love of God with an Angelike Verse!
Oh that some Heav'nly Deity would fill
The black mouth'd concave of my wandring quil
With pure celestial Ink, that I might write
In heav'nly characters, and learn t' indite
Jehovahs praises in a style as high
As my desires, and make the lofty Skie
Eccho with
Hallelujahs, that the Earth
May (like a Mid wife) hug the joyful birth
Of every word, and make each corner ring
(With peals of joy) the Glories of our King:
Is man deliver'd from the painful womb
Of his foul
sin, and raised from the tomb
Of everlasting
death? and shall not we
Applaud that hand which set such pris'ners free?
What, shall we be afraid to crack and break
The chains of silence, and attempt to speak
The dialects of
Angels? No; let's call
Upon his name, that rais'd us from a Fall.
[Page 57] Let's stretch our lungs, & with a warbling breath
Sing to the life, how we were rais'd from death:
And when our tongues are wearied, let's express
By heav'nly signs our real thankfulness.
But stay, where runs my quill? what, have I lost
My self in raptures? or else am I tost
Into the Air of pleasure by the wind
Of true delight? If passion proves so kind,
I am content, Oh may I always rest
Adorn'd and crown'd with a heav'n ravisht brest!
O love ineffable! Must wretched
Man,
The spawn of baseness, and the unmeasur'd span
Of everlasting infancy, be made
Loves object? Must th'
Almighty's love be said
To dwell in
Man, whose tongue cannot deliver
The least of thanks unto so great a Giver?
Will the Sun-gazing
Eagle, that soars high,
Descend t' assist the web-infolded Fly?
Will he that hearkens with a willing ear
To pleasing musick, turn away to hear
Confounding discords? or will any woo
A perjur'd
enemy to come and go
Into his
Courts? will any hand forbear
To strike at him that labors to impair
His worth, and contumeliously upbraid
His upright deeds? Will he that is betray'd
[Page 58] Affect the
Trayor, and with patience sue
For reconcilement, when as
death is due?
All this blest
Heav'n will do, that he might place
Vain
man within the Covenant of Grace.
Consider
man, how often hath this Mirror
Of pure affection woo'd thee from thine error?
Thou inconsiderate dust, which every winde
Can puff away, how canst thou prove unkinde
To such a
Lover, that delights to spin
His bowels out, to nourish thee within
His milky bosom? Shall his bounty crave
Thy base acceptance? Shall he be a
slave
To his own
slaves? Ah, shall thy
God implore,
And beg of beggars to receive his store?
Does he, whom
Heav'n and
Earth cannot contain,
No nor the
Heav'n of
Heav'ns, stoop down to gain
Thy dull respects? And ah, wilt thou not raise
Thy stupid
Soul an inch to give him praise?
Thy fervent Prayers he always will admit,
Then how canst thou remember to forget
A
God so mindful? How canst thou forbear
To numerate his love without a tear?
How can thine eyes (when thou observ'st the Sun)
Refuse to weep, to see him daily run
His painful Progress, and rejoyce to greet.
The Earth with lustre to direct thy feet,
[Page 59] Thy sinful feet, which every moment slide
Into
Rebellion, loaded with thy pride;
How canst thou choose, when thou behol'dst the ground
Whereon thou tread'st, but voluntary drown'd
Thy self in briny flouds, to think what care
Indulgent
Heav'n hath taken to prepare
For thee, before thou wert, and how his hand
Hath for thy profit, fertiliz'd the Land?
How can thy rocky
heart refuse to vent
A stream of bloud, when thou beholdst th'extent
Of the unbounded
Ocean, how it hides
Within the bosom of her swelling Tydes,
Diversities of
Fish, which live to seed
Thy gulf of gluttony at time of need?
Uncloud thy thoughts (
O Man) and thou shalt set
He who ordained all these things for thee,
Created thee for him, that thou mayst give
The praise to him, that lends thee leave to live.
Be serious
Man, consider how thou hast
Converted all these blessings into waste:
Know that the great Edificer of things
Furnisht thy Soul with Reason, gave thee wings
To fly above all mortals, and hath crown'd
Thy head with heaps of Honor, and hath bound
Inferior
creatures, prentice to thy will;
And this he did, because thou shouldst fulfill
[Page 60] Thy
Gods Commands; but thou that wert the best,
Hast made thy self more loathsome than the rest,
And by thy most derested deviation
Abus'd thy glory, of thy free
Creation:
Though the Majestick
Eagles will despise
To be assistant to th' intangled
Flies;
Yet
Heav'n will from his lofty
Throne descend
And with a speedy cheerfulness defend
The sons of
men, who dayly are betray'd
By those insidious snares which
Satan lay'd
T' intrap their
Souls: Alas, how void of care
Is heedless
man! How subject to a snare!
But he, whose more than superficial love
Is always active, lab'ring to improve
Our hearts with thankfulness, denies to let
Our
Souls be taken in th' eternal net
Of unconceived misery, and live
In lasting
death, not having power to give
The least of drops unto our howling tongues,
But suck the Flames, until our sulphurous lungs
Crackle, and belch forth brimstone, till we tire
Our Carbonado'd members in a fire
That's inextinct; the more we strive to turn
Our parched
Souls, still more and more they burn.
Resolve these things within thy serious mind;
Oh
Man! let Love instruct thee to be kinde
[Page 61] To him that's loving; do no disrespect
A
God, whose
Soul so dearly can affect:
Pour out thy thoughts, and practise to relent,
And let thy thoughts induce thee to repent:
Grasp opportunity, Time's always flying;
God's always living, and thou always dying:
Dye then, before thou dy'st, redeem the time,
Because thy days are evil; learn to clime
Jacobs erected ladder; thou shalt see
Th'adst better clime a
Ladder, than a
Tree,
As
Judas did: Be wise, and do not fan
Thy
Soul with air; remember what a span
Thou art; remember whose inspired breath
Made thee a
Soul; forget not whose sad death
Made thee alive; be mindful that thou art
Th' Epitomy of
Heav'n; inure thy heart
To love the best of loves, so shall thy brest
Be fill'd with comfort, and thy Soul with rest:
Prepare and know, the very fowls delight
To prune their wings before they take their flight.
Although terrestial
Kings will not permit
A
Traitor to his Courts, nor let him sit
Before his presence, though they will not hear
A Malefactors prayers; yet
Heav'ns blest ear
Is always open, and his tongue invites
Repentant sinners, for his eye delights
[Page 62] To view them in his Courts when they appear;
For muddy waters, may at last prove clear;
'Tis not unlike; ill scented dunghils may,
At last bear flowers; that which is foul to day,
To morrow may prove fair; the thing that cost
Millions of silver, may as well be lost,
As things of smaller value;
Heav'n can spy
A mi
[...]e, as well as mountains; for his eye
Is lodg'd in every cranny of mans heart,
And he knows all, that searches every part.
Where breathes that Mortal that can comprehend
The ways & thoughts of
God, who knows the end
Of his beginning?—
He that can break a rocky heart in twain,
And re-unite it (if he please) again;
He that can part the boiling waves, and stand
Upon the
Seas, as on the dryest Land;
He whose celestial power can make the graves
To open, and command their slumb'ring slaves
To rise; nay more, to stand; nay more, to walk;
Nay more (if more than this may be) to talk:
He that can make a
Whale to entertain
A
Jonah, and to spue him out again;
He whose almighty power can unlock
The flinty bowels, of a scragged Rock,
[Page 63] And make her headlong-gushing streams abound
To wash the bosom of the thirsty ground;
He that can transmutate by power divine
The poorest
water into richest
wine;
He that can curb rude
Boreas, and asswage
The lawless passion of the Oceans rage;
He that can rain down
Manna to supply.
The craving stomacks of mortality;
He that can, like an all-commanding
God,
Make
Almonds flourish from a sapless rod;
He that can make the
Sun and
Moon stand still,
Or run according to his sacred Will;
He that sav'd a
Daniel from the paws
Of
Lyons, and can muzzle up their jaws;
He that can make the greedy Raven carry
Food to his Servants like a
Commissary;
He that can, with an unresisted hand,
Dash fire into Ice, and counter-mand
The wanton flames, & charm them, that they dare
But burn his Servants cords, and not their hair;
He that can cause
ten thousand to be fed
With two small
fishes, and five
loaves of bread;
He that can cloth himself with fire, and name
Himself,
I AM, and make a bush to flame
Without consuming; He that can convert
A
Rod into a
Serpent, and not hurt;
[Page 64] He that can make his visage shine so bright,
That not a
Moses can behold the light;
He that can strike a hand with leprosie,
And cure it in the twinkling of an eye;
He that can in a moment cut and break
Tongue-tying cords, & make the dumb to speak;
He that can out of unregarded stones
Raise unto
Abraham many little ones;
He that can heal the
Cripple with a touch,
And free him from the thraldom of his Crouch;
He that can cure the
deaf, and can expel
A thousand
Devils in despite of
Hell;
He that can perfect what he first begun,
Expects that
man should say,
Thy Will be done.
Consider
man, and thou shalt find it true,
Heav'n can do all, but what he will not do:
Think not because thou art of low estate,
That he will scorn to love, and love to hate:
Remember
Dives, whose unsumm'd up store
Improv'd so much, until he prov'd as poor
As ever
Job was:
Job! unhappy I
To speak it, he was rich in poverty;
Heav'n made poor
Job so rich, that
Satans wealth
Could purchase nothing from him, but his health,
And that corporeal too; he could not boast
His bargain, for 'twas
Job that purchas'd most.
[Page 65] " Happy is he that can at last inherit
" Riches obtain'd by an impov'rish'd spirit:
" We'd better lick with
Lazarus the crumbs,
" Than gripe with
Dives for Soul-damning sums.
Wealth cannot bribe the flames, yet scraps may feed
The hungry wretch; he that has wealth▪ may need
The
Crumbs of comfort:
David did condole
Th' abundant famine of his hungry
Soul:
Gods Love's not mercenary, to be sold
For brain-distracting, heart-confounding gold.
Hast thou not heard (
O Man) the heav'nly cry
Of him that says, Ye that are poor, come buy,
Come buy of me; your pen'worth shall be such,
That for a little you shall purchase much.
Here's Love that's spun unto the smallest thred,
Though thou want'st mony, yet thou mayst have bread
Do thou but ask, thou shalt not fail to have
For
God's more free to give, than thou to crave:
Fear not to ask of him, whose ready ear,
Before thy tongue can ask, is apt to hear.
Heav'n loves the language of a broken heart,
And he will harken, and with joy impart
His love into thee, and his milk and wine,
Without the price of mony shall be thine.
Th' ingrated
Pris'ner, whose dull tongue is whet
With sharp'ned hunger, will not fear, to let
[Page 66] His language fly to every ear that comes
Within his audience; and he always sums
The totals of his grief in hungry words,
Whilst thousands pass along, but few affords
The blessing of an
Alms; perhaps they'l grieve,
And seem to pity, but will not relieve:
Yet will he not desist, but hourly cry,
Bread, bread, for Heav'ns sake bread, or else I die.
Hard hearted
Man, why wilt thou not relent
To hear thy
Brother, almost hunger-spent,
Craving thy succour? Where's thy love become?
Because th'art deaf, ah! wu'dst thou have him dumb
Or dost thou think, because thy panch is fill'd,
He cannot hunger? He that first distill'd
Those mercies on thy head, expects that thou
Shouldst feed thy
Brother with a cheerful brow;
Say not thou canst not give, thy treasure's light:
But let thy heart record the
widows mite,
So
Heav'n will fill thy Cisterns to the brim,
And feed thy
Soul, because thou hast sed him.
Should the
Grandfather of true Charity
Pass by the gates, and hear thee beg and cry,
And not relieve thee; should he slight thy prayers
And scorn to take a survey of thy tears;
Wouldst thou not grieve, and pine thy self to dust
And almost say thy
God was much unjust
[Page 67] To turn away his ears from thy complaint,
And disrespect thy pray'rs, and let thee faint
For want of food? Ah, whither wouldst thou fly
To feed thy famish'd
Soul, should
Heav'n deny?
But ah he cannot, for his melting Soul
Is always free, and willing to condole
The sad conditions of distressed
Man,
Who only strives to do, but what he can
To contradict him; yet he'l hear our grief:
In multitudes of mercies lies relief.
When our impris'ned
Souls peep throw the grates
Of this corrupting
Earth, our
God dilates
Himself unto us, and he sends us meat
From the rich store-house of his lofty seat;
He hears; and hearing pities; pitying, sends;
And sending, blesses; and with blessing ends.
Even as the Sun, which every day surrounds
The sublime
Globe, and pries into the bounds
Of this dark
Center; let his Beams reflect
Upon a Molehil with as much respect
As on a Mountain; for his glorious Beams
Shine always with equivalent extreams,
Even so the great and powerful
Three in
One,
That sits upon his all-inlight'ning
Throne,
Does not deny to let his mercy crown
The poorest
Peasant with as much renown
[Page 68] As the most stateliest
Emperor; though he
Invests his body with more dignity,
Yet he's but earth, and must at last decay,
For
Prince and
Peasant go the self same way;
Their earth must turn to earth, their
Souls return
To him that gave them, or for ever burn;
There's no distinction, one infused breath
Made them alike, and both must live in death
Or everlasting life; both must commence
Divines in
Heav'n; there's no preheminence,
But all equality, all must express,
With equal Joy, their equal Happiness.
Rouse up dull
man, and let thy wak'ned
Soul
Be vigilant; oh let thy thoughts enroul
The love of
God, engrave it in thy brest,
That his resounding tongue may read thee blest.
O let thy sighs, like Pens, and let thy tears
Like Ink, transcribe the
Love, th'indulgent cares
Of thy
Creator, that himself may find
(Within th' unblotted volume of thy mind)
Himself recorded, so will he imbrace
Thy spotless
Soul, and fill thee with his grace.
Incline thine ears, and let th
[...] heart rejoyce
To hear the strains of his harmonious voice:
Harken, and thou shalt hear his
Prophets sing
Th' admired Mercies of the glorious
King.
That rules the
heav'ns, & governs
earth alone, 43.
1 Thus saith the
Lord, that takes delight to dwel
Amongst his
Saints, that formed
Israel,
Created
Jacob, let thy sorrows flee
Out of thy brest, I have redeemed thee:
'Twas I that made thy clouded visage shine,
And call'd thee by my Name, for thou art mine.
2 I will be with thee, when thy feet shall wade
Thorow the waters; I will be thy aid;
Ile make thee walk through Rivers, and the waves
Shall prove ambitious to become thy slaves:
And when thou walkest through the raging fire,
Th' unruly flames shall not presume t' aspire
3 Or kindle on thy garments. I alone
The
Lord thy
God, and
Israels holy
One,
And thy dear
Saviour, that was always true,
Gave
Aegppt, Seba, and
Ethiopia too,
To ransome thee; for thou wert my delight,
4 And always pretious in my gracious sight:
Honors were heapt upon thee, and thou wert
The tender love of my affecting
heart;
Therefore even I, that am well pleas'd, will give
People for thy dear sake, that thou mayst live.
5 Fear not, for I am with thee, and I'le stand
In thy defence, and my all-grasping hand
[Page 70] Shall bring thy seed from the remotest places,
And fill thee with my satisfying graces.
6. My tongue shall call unto the
North, and say
Unto the
South, Give, and they shall obey;
Bring from a far my
Sons and
Daughters all,
Hear my loud voice, be active when I call.
7 I have created them, and I proclaim
They shall be call'd and honour'd by my Name.
I'le usher forth the
blind, and make them see
The splendent Glories of my
Majestie:
I le cure the
deaf, and make their hearts rejoyce
To hear the Ecchoes of my warbling voice.
Thus hath our
God unty'd the tongues, and broke
His
Prophets lips; thus have his
Prophets spoke:
And wilt thou be (O
man) so much obdure,
As not to credit him that will assure
Perpetual happiness? Thou canst not ask
That which he cannot give; do but unmask
Thy shamefac'd
Soul, that so thou mayst discry
Jehovahs mercies with a faithful eye:
Descant upon his promises, advise
With thy own thoughts, let reason make thee wise;
Inspect thy self, weigh well thy own condition,
And thou shalt find thou want'st a good Physitian
To cure thy maculated
Soul: Alas!
Thou art like water stop'd up in a glass,
[Page 71] So weakly fortifi'd, and fenc'd about,
That one weak knock soon lets the
Pris'ner out.
Vain lump of vanity, what can this Earth
Afford thy thoughts more than a short-liv'd mirth?
A mirth that fills thee with deluding toys,
And like a
Tyrant afterwards destroys.
Dot'st thou on
Earth? For what? because her pleasure
Can guild thy wanton eye? because her treasure
Can cram thy bags? because her
Syrens song
Can ravish thee? because her power can throng
Thy
Soul with luxury? because her charms
Can court thee with delight? because her arms
Can pleasingly imbrace thee, and impost
Thy heart with gold, and lull thee, when th'ast lost
Thy self in sleep? Is this the little All
That this great World can boast of? Must we call
These things our pleasures? No, they'l prove our
Our golden
Fetters, and our silken
Snares:
These are the
Joys we love, these are the things cares
That make us fly with our
Icarian wings
Up to Ambitions
Court, and there presume
To gaze so long, until our waxen plume
Dissolve with heat, and like presumptuous slaves
Tumble our selves into the raging waves
Of speedy Ruine; Ruine's all that we
Must hope t' obtain from
Earths base treasurie.
[Page 72] Let's scorn her wealth, and say, O
Earth, thou art
A painted Mistress with a rotten heart:
Let's hate to love, that we may love to hate
Th'unconstant glory of her fickle state.
Even as the subtile
Crocodile prepares
Her flatt'ring heart, and eye-commanding, tears
To woo her
Prey to come within the power
Of her command, that so she may devour
With more facility, and make her jaws
To execute by her tyrannike Laws:
Even so this
World, those Crocodile-like eyes
Are always flowing, wanting no supplies
Of gliding tears to wash the rugged faces
Of her designs with falsifying graces,
That so she may by her too smooth delusion
Make
Man the Author of his own confusion.
Frail flesh and blood, how canst thou take delight
To love this
World, that cannot give a mite
Of comfort to thee but will still intrap,
And daily lull thee in her lustful lap.
Shee'l rock thy
Soul to ruine, and shee'l spawn
Baseness into thee; shee'l deceive, and fawn
Upon the heart, and with her guilded baits
Shee'l hook thy
Soul unto the worst of fates:
There's nothing in her that deserves the name
Of Constancy; her glory is her shame.
[Page 73] Smile at her tears, for every drop she vents
Harbors ten thousand thousand discontents:
Believe her not; but when she speaks the best,
Believe the worst; and if she promise rest,
Assure thy self of trouble; if she chance
To promise
Treasure, let thy thoughts advance
Above her promises, contemn her dross,
For what thou gain'st from her will be thy loss:
Let not her wealthy Donatives perswade
Thy heart t' accept; when once thou art betray'd
There's no resistance: They that well advise
Before they act, deserve the name of wise:
But they that study in her frantick Schools
May prove her wise men; but
Heav'ns out-cast fools
Ask her the way to
Bliss: try if her skill
Can give directions, ask her if she will
Fill thee with blest Eternity, conjure
Her helpless aid, see if she can assure
A safety to thee, ask her if she can
Prescribe a cure for a despairing Man;
Tell her thy Soul is sick, thou canst not live
A minure longer; see if shee can give
A Cordial to thee, see if she can heal
A broken heart; see if she can reveal
Celestial Joys unto thee, and impart
A heav'nly comfort to thy grieved heart:
[Page 74] If so, cheer up, and prosecute thy mirth,
And say there is no other
Heaven but
Earth,
Do thus (fond Man) and thou shalt quickly see
A baffl'd
World that cannot answer thee,
But must be silent, for she cannot plead
For her own self; she knows she cannot lead
The way to
Heav'n, she's but a bad Director,
A base
Believer, and a worse
Protector.
Thus shalt thou make her envy swell and burst,
And, like the
Basilisk, discover'd first,
She needs must dye; but if she should discover
Thee first, farewel, th'art murder'd by thy
Lover:
Then shalt thou hear the Soul-amazing tone
Of him that sits on his immortal Throne,
Pronounce against thee at the dreadful day
Of thy accounts; thus shalt thou hear him say:
Depart, ye cursed off-springs of a
Father
As curst as you, avoid my sight, go gather
The fruits of your deserts; you have forgot
The
God that made you, and I know ye not:
See if the
World, within whose folding arms
You always slept, can quit thee from the harms
That must ensue; see if her flatt'ring power
Can shelter thee, from the ore-flowing shower
Of my fast-dropping rage; see if her brest
Can entertain thee with eternal rest.
[Page 75] Be gone, be gone, my fury hates to see
Such
Miscreants; had you remember'd me,
I now had known you; had you made me eat
When I was forc'd to importune for meat,
I now would bless you with celestial dyet,
And crown your
Souls with everlasting quiet:
Had you but quencht my raging thirst, or gave
A single drop, that very drop should save
Your death-adjudged
Souls, and you should sup
Abundant comforts from my streaming Cup:
Had you (sad sons of vengeance) but supply'd
My nakedness with Garments, when I cry'd
And calld upon your charity to send
Relief unto me, I had been your friend;
Or had your (more than marble) hearts reliev'd
M'impris ned body, now ye had not griev'd:
Had you, your world-affined Souls addrest
Your selves unto me when I was opprest
With lingrging sickness, then I would have fed
Your Souls (which now are starv'd) with heav'nly bread;
But since you have not done it unto those
Which I esteem'd, y'ave prov'd your selves my foes
Therefore be gone, let darkness be your lot,
Learn to remember that ye have forgot
My mercies; go, and let my judgments dwell
Within your guilty hearts; let black-mouth'd
Hell
[Page 76] Plague you with torments, let him always lash
Your hearts with flames, until ye howl, and gnash
Your teeth together; Go, depart my sight,
And taste the fruit of everlasting night.
But as for you whose better deeds have found
Acceptance in my heart, ye shall be crown'd
With unremoved happiness, because
Ye have obsequiously perform'd my Laws;
You fed my craving stomach, and you cloath'd
My naked body, and you have not loath'd
To visit me; and when I was a stranger,
Ye took me in, and guarded me from danger:
Go then my Lambs, and let your
Oratory
Proclaim the greatness of your
Fathers glory:
Go revel in my
Courts; no discontent
Shall breed a faction in my
Parliament:
I'le pass an
Act of
Peace, and it shall be
Sign'd by the hand of my Eternity.
My tongue shall style you blessed, and my voice
Shall raise your
Souls, and teach you to rejoyce:
Your unexcised pleasures shall abound
To infinite; your ravisht hearts shall sound
The depth of my delights; all things shall move
Within the sphere of uncontrouled Love:
Be well assur'd, your pleasures shall be great;
Then fly from
Judgment to my
Mercy-seat,
[Page 77] And there rejoyce with a tryumphant mirth;
My Love shall live with them that hated Earth.
Obdurate
Man, here, here thou mayst descry
Judgment and
Mercy, one to terrifie,
The other to perswade; and yet wilt thou
Prove adamantine, and refuse to bow
To thy
Redeemer? Canst thou ruminate
Upon his
Love, and yet wilt not dilate
Thy Soul unto him? Is thy brazen heart
Impenetrable? Will no flaming dart
Of true affection enter? Hast thou vow'd
To stop thy ears? Shall mercy call aloud,
And thou not hear? Shall thund'ring
Judgments rattle
About thy ears, and yet wilt thou imbattle
Against the Lord of
Hosts? wilt thou invoke
Perpetual vengeance to entail a stroke
Upon thy stubborn heart? What, dost thou think
Hell's void of flames, or that thy
God will wink
At thine enormities? Go, rally all
Thy thoughts together, and discreetly sall
Into a serious study.—
—Let thy mind
Be absolute, and really enclin'd
To meditation; contradict the rage
Of thine own passion: labour to asswage
[Page 78] The fire of lust, that so thou mayst behold
With more serenity, how manifold
His mercies are, that every day prevents
The sad incursions of deprav'd events.
Think but in what a most defam'd condition
The
Soul was in, before the grand Physitian
Of
Heav'n and
Earth spontaniously set down
A balm from his own
Gilead to crown
The sons of grief: think what we did endure,
Before his wounds had perfected thy cure.
Remember how undauntedly he stood,
And sweat himself into a crimson flood
To ransom thee; remember how his woes
Were asperared by his raging foes;
Remember how his sacred temples wore
A spiny
Crown, remember how it tore
His sublime
Front; remember how they broach'd
His brest with
Spears, and shamefully reproach'd
His spotless fame; remember how they nail'd
His spreading hands, remember how they scal'd
His Ivory
Walls, remember how they spawl'd
Upon his face, remember how they bawl'd
And banded at his
Agony, whilst he
Prov'd patient
Martyr to their tyranny;
Remember when he came unto the brink
Of death, they gave him vinegar to drink:
[Page 79] Nay more (because they vowd to empty all
Their poys'ned malice out) they gave him Gall.
Oh bitter deed! Oh most abhorred Crimes!
(Too nearly parallel'd in these our times.)
Thus having put a period to their plots,
They thought it good to cast their hellish lots
For his (I dare not say mean) clothes; I know
They were our
Saviours, to whose worth we owe
Perpetual thanks; 'twas his well finished breath
Redeem'd our Souls from everlasting death.
Here's Love (O man) that does as far transcend
Thy thoughts as thy deserts, that
heav'n shu'd send
His Son and Heir to be incarnated,
And suffer death for thee, that wert as dead
As sin could make thee; 'twas for thy offence
He dy'd; Ah, how, how canst thou recompence
Such high-bred Favors! Favors unexpected
Deserve to be imbrac'd, and not neglected.
Do not (rash Soul) like
Cleopatra nurse
Imbosom'd Vipers; blessings prove a curse,
If once abus'd; Ingratitude cuts off
Th'intail of Love; it is a shame to scoff
At Benefactors; after thou art fed,
Wilt thou contemn the hand that gave thee bread?
Wouldst thou not love that friend that should bestow
A super anuated crust, and shew
[Page 80] Respect unto thee, when the ebbing tyde
Of Fortune runs so low, that thou mayst ride
Upon the sands of
Poverty? Fond
Man,
Strive to be grateful, study how to scan
The mercies of thy
God; remember how
He feeds thy
Soul with
Manna; learn to bow
Th' unruly thoughts; (with admiration) think
How often, and how much imbitter'd drink
Thy
Saviour drank; with what a doleful cry
He beg'd of
God to let that cup pass by;
But knowing that his pleasure must be done,
He prov'd himself his most obedient Son.
And wilt thou not (copy wretch) drink one poor sup
Of bitter drink for him, that drank a cup
To sweeten thine? thou need'st not fear nor scorn
To taste, because Heav'ns sacred
Vnicorn
Hath purg'd the wa'ers, and they must be sweet
Except they 're reimpoys'ned by thy feet:
If so, what wilt thou do? where wilt thou find
An Antidote for an invenom'd mind?
It is reported, if the
Spider chance
To meet the obvious
Toad, they'l both advance
Their inward force, and mutually proclaim
An open War;
brave Combatants of fame!
And having fummon'd their imbowel'd might,
March boldly on, and both incens'd, they fight:
[Page 81] The
Toad being heavy loaded, cannot go,
Or wheel about, like his encountring foe,
But keeps his ground, & makes a small resistance:
The
Spider scorning to be kept at distance,
Falls in upon him, and with nimble rage
Assaults his foe, who now begins t' asswage
His former fury, and would fain retreat
From his small Foe, whose strength is grown too great
For opposition; being thus distress'd
He crawls away, and with a crop-sick brest
Seeks for relief, and by and by discries
A
Plantain leaf, within whose veins there lies
A secret
Antidote, which did at length
Expel his poyson, and renew his strength:
Having disgorg'd himself, he soon returns
Into the Camp, where for a time he burns
To be in action, and at last he sees
The crafty
Spider creeping by degrees
To seize upon him, then his courage fails,
He knows not what to do, his foe assails
With all his might, constraining him to yield
The conquest, and with shame to quit the field:
Then he begins to seek, and hunt about,
To find the soveraign healing
Plantain out,
Which had before reliev'd him, and supply'd
His wants; but that being gone, he burst, and dy'd
[Page 82] Even so, if Hells black
Spider chance to crawl
From his infernal Web into the Hall
Of this all-dusty World, he soon prepares
Himself to sight, and suddenly declares,
That he, the grim-look'd General of Hell,
Dares to encounter any Souls that dwell
Within the limits of the spacious Earth,
And in a moment qualifie their mirth;
Thus Satan boasts, and if he chance to meet
A single Soul, he'l thus begin to greet.
A DIALOGUE Between the Soul and Satan.
Sat.
SOul, th'art well met.
Soul. 'Tis true, for I am well.
Sat.
Say, whither art thou going?
Soul. Not to Hell.
Sa.
Pish, talk no more of that, but tel me whither
Thou go, st.; come, prithee let's go both together.
Soul.
A pretty motion; when I want a guide
I'le send for thee, till then thou art deny'd
To be my Usher.
Sat.
Prethee tell me why
Thou art so obstinate, as to deny
[Page 84] So free a courtesie as I have shown;
Mischance oft falls to them that walk alone;
Be not so much a verse as to neglect
This opportunity; I can protect
Thy feet from sliding; dangers still attend
Those that despise the favors of a friend.
Sou.
A friend! how canst thou prove that title?
Sat.
How?
As thus; because I'm willing to allow
The best assistance of my ready arm
To guide, nay and protect thee from all harm;
Therefore a friend.
So. What you pretend to show
Is but external; he that can bestow
Internal friendship on a Soul distress'd
Is a true friend; no matter for the rest.
If
Heav'n will guide my Soul I shal not stray,
Or fear the evils of a dangerous way:
But as for you, I needs must borrow leave
To say, your friendship's onely to deceive;
Con
[...]ion paths your ways, and if I run
By your advise, Ineeds must be undone.
God bids me fly from sin if I refuse
Obedience to his will, I shall abuse
His just commands; then will my sorrows cry,
When
Mercy stops,
Judgment begins to fly.
Sat.
Desist (fond Soul) and labor to divorce
Thy lips from this too fabulous discourse;
[Page 85] Guild not thy words with vanity, perswade
These thoughts (which are erroneous) to evade
Thy serious mind; advise and thou shalt see
My ways are best, be principl'd by me;
Let not the swing of passion strike thee down,
But follow me, 'tis I must give a Crown
To thy deserts, 'tis I that can advance
Thy down-cast Soul above the reach of chance;
'Tis I (mistaken Soul) 'tis I alone
That must conduct thee to the sublime throne
Of true Salvation; 'tis my hand must bring
Thy trembling Soul before th'all-judging King
Of Heaven and Earth; it is my power can fill
Thy heart with joy; believe me, and I will.
Trust not the babling languages of those
That seem thy friends, but are thy greatest foes;
They'r great to thy destruction, they'l connive stories
And fawn, nay almost bury thee alive;
They'l talk of
Heavn and
Hell, they'l tell thee
Of endless, boundless, unconceived glories;
They'l tell thee of Eternity, and woo
Thy
Soul out of thy ears, if thou 'lt bestow
Thy pains to hear them; they'l infuse, and brew
Their own designs, and tell thee all is true
That they declare; they'l tell thee that they're sent
As Messengers from
Heav'ns high Parliament.
[Page 86] Believe me
Soul, 'tis I that can display
The
Gospels Colours better far than they;
There's nothing in that Volume so abstruse,
But I can winde and twist it to my use:
And there is nothing in this world can be
Stil'd worth a Work, but can be done by me:
I can do all, it lies within my power
To make thee poor or rich in half an hour:
I can command whole
Legions to attend
Upon my honor: Say, what nobler friend
Canst thou embrace? I'le be a friend to all
That will give audience to my faithful call;
I'le make them swell with riches, they shall have
As much, nay if not more, than they can crave:
Am I not rare, and rich, and high, and great,
Incomprehensible? Is not my seat
The throne of happiness? Yet cannot I
Invite thee to my sweet eternity?
Come gentle
Soul, into my twining arms,
I'le hug thee, I'le delight thee with my charms,
I'le shew thee all my Joys, nothing shall lie
Hid from the view of thy all gazing eye:
Happy, beyond expression.
Soul. Satan, slay
The Progress of thy tongue, and give me way,
That I may vent my thoughts, for you have spoke
At large already; and is this the stroke
[Page 87] Which you intend shall wound me? Be assur'd,
The blow's but small, and well may be endur'd.
Sat.
What, mov'd to passion! Is thy mind disturb'd
With foul mistrust? pray let those thoughts be curb'd;
What, dost thou think I am perfidious? Fie;
'Tis folly to condemn before you try.
Alas, alas! what profit can accrue
To me by wronging such a
Soul as you?
What I express is onely for your good,
But what is more than grave advice withstood?
I doubt these weak, these empty thoughts presage
A tempest, guarded with a storm of rage:
Well then, storm on, and when thy storm is spent,
Sit down and meditate, and then repent.
Soul. Repent, Oh happy word! although exprest
By a foul mouth; those that repent are blest.
How dare thy hellish lips usurp a word
Fill'd with divinity, but will afford
No rest, no comfort, to thy horrid Soul?
Be gone, be gone; and if thou canst condole
Thy self, thou art (if Logick prove but true)
Curst in the
Major, and the
Minor too.
Bless me, ô
heav'n: what blust'ring stormy weather
Drove such a vile prodigious
Monster hither?
Touch-stone of baseness, dost thou come to prove
Whether I'm gold, or dross? thou mayst remove
[Page 88] Thy forward hopes, because I hope to be
Metal at last for
Heav'n, and not for thee.
Be gone, fallacious wretch, I cannot brook
Thy golden baits, I have descry'd thy hook:
Father of
Lyes, thy policy is built
Upon the
sands, and plaister'd o're with guilt:
Thy tongue foretells a storm; if so, be sure
Thy sand-built policy shall not endure:
Flattery's the
life of baseness, and that Art
Is well imprinted in thy subtile heart:
Dost thou believe that I can entertain
Belief from thee? Or dost thou think to reign
Within my brest? No, no; thy cloudy powers
Are at the best but falsifying showers:
Be satisfi▪d, I cannot give the least
Of credit to thee, nor I dare not feast
My thoughts with such uncertainties; I know
Thy dyet must and will corrupt to woe.
Thou bidst me not condemn, before I make
Some tryal of thy trust; If I should take
Such green advice, I quickly should undo
My wretched self; and in condemning you
What profit could I have; or what relief
Could I epect to mitigate my grief,
My accusations would be blown as dust
Before the wind; I'le neither try, nor trust.
Sat.
Nor try, nor trust? Art thou resolv'd to cross
My real motions? Do, and see whose loss
Will prove most weighty; if I lose the heat
Of thy weak love, my loss will not be great,
But if I should withdraw my love from thee,
How like a Map of well-drawn misery
Wouldst thou appear? be wise, corect thy thoughts
Neglected favors prove the greatest faults.
Take my instructions, for 'tis I must bring
Content unto thee; 'tis a glorious thing
To be immortal: prethee Soul decline
Thy former ways; say shall I call thee mine?
Mine, mine thou art; I'le load thee with renown;
Let me but conquer, thou shalt wear the Crown.
How pleasing are my joys! how full of peace
Are all my ways! my glories still increase:
I'm great and good, I take delight to win
Distressed Souls, and lead them from their sin;
I cannot chuse but pity those that lye
Vpon the beds of sensuality;
My melting Soul is always free to give
Comfort to them that study how to live.
Alas, the care and trouble that I take
Is more for their content, than my own sake:
My gates are always open, they that venture
To come to me shall (with a welcom) enter;
[Page 90]
And when they call, and cry, I will appear
My self unto them, and rejoyce to hear
Their sad complaints; I will not hide my face
From them that seek the glory of my grace:
I cannot be unconstant; I must grieve
To hear their sorrows, and I will relieve.
I will be pitiful to them that trust
In me alone, I cannot be unjust;
I cannot, no I cannot; Earth shall move
Sooner than I will falsifie my love:
I am eternal; they that will endeavor
To gain my love, shall have my heart for ever.
Soul.
'Tis not your empty words shall make my brest
Stoop to the flatt'ry of thy vain request;
Though I have ears to hear, I have a mind
That will not shake at the hard-breathing wind
Of your discourse; what you pretend for reason
Is nothing but the froth of private treason:
'Tis not your multiloquious tongue can turn
The
Biass of my Soul, or make me spurn
At
Holy Writ; 'tis not your fond conceit
Of being good, shall make me to retreat
From
Heav'ns Commands; 'tis not your promis'd joys
Can make me chearful; or your painted toys
Can lure me to your fist; 'tis not the dart
Of your vain love can penetrate my heart;
[Page 91] 'Tis not your seeming clemency can make
My
Soul to love you, for your Pities sake;
'Tis not your always-open gates that shall
Entice my steps to your large Guilded Hall;
'Tis not your self-appearance shall invite
My well-composed thoughts to your delight;
'Tis not your greatness that shall make me yield
To your desires;
Religion is my shield:
Ile neither fear nor love your rash evasions,
Nor give attendance to your smooth perswasions:
'Nis difficult to serve two
Masters well;
Who strays from
Heav'n, must needs approach to Hell.
I am advis'd to shun the broad-path'd ways
That lead to ruine; what the
Scripture says
I must believe; 'tis dangerous to fly
Without the wings of true
Divinity:
The
Scriptures are my way, my light, my guide,
And they that go without them needs must slide:
The paths are strait in which I ought to run
The course of grace, until my days are done;
And they that change a
Vertue for a
Vice,
Deserve no fruit from
Heav'ns blest
Paradise.
Sat.
Surcease those fond conceits, thou dost but spin
Thine own destruction, and connive at sin:
Urge not the
Scriptures, for I dare maintain
My paths are best, and other ways are vain:
[Page 92] Thy Scripture-
conscience will at last confound
Th' amazed thoughts, and give thy Soul a wound
That hates a cure, then shalt thou prove unblest,
Whilst others find the plainest Road's the best.
Suppose thou wert (I speak it for thy sake)
Mov'd by occasions, forc'd to undertake
A long-way'd journey, wouldst thou not enquire
The readiest way, but run into the mire?
If thou shouldst act a crime so fouly bad,
Folly would style thee fool, and Wisdom mad.
Stray not into the Wilderness of grief,
But come to me, take courage and be brief
In thy designs; perswade thy self, that I
Am both thy light, thy way, and best supply
In time of need; I am thy prop, thy stay;
Therefore resolve, and trifle not away
Thy thriftless Soul; be not thy self destroyer;
I'le be thy Love, and thou my Loves enjoyer:
Know that my real brest contrives no end,
But what may merit so divine a friend
As thine own self: folly and wisdom lies
Before thy face; be either fool, or wise:
Protract no time, but make a speedy choice,
Thy welfare shall instruct me to rejoyce;
Observe my actions, pry it to my parts,
Let's know each other by exchange of hearts;
[Page 93] I'le give thee mine, and for my love restore
Thine unto me; grant this, Ile ask no more.
Be free to give, as I am free to crave;
Th'adst better live my friend, than die my slave:
For if thou shalt deny what I desire,
I'le make my bellows to advance the fire
Of thy distress, and sorrows shall corrode
Thy stubborn heart, and care shall make abode
Within thy brest; perpetuated grief
Shall find a voice, but ramble from relief.
I'le gripe thee, till I make thee understand
The fiery language of my furious hand:
Sighings, and groanings, sobs, and rears, and cries
Shall be thy sad Concomitants; thine eyes
Shall stare upon (well may I call them new
And horrid) Lights, such Lights as shall renew
Thy growing torments; every thing shal be
Thy fellow-slaves in servile miserie:
I'le yoke thee with distress, nay, and I'le chain
Thy struggling Soul with everlasting pain;
I'le crow'd thee full of sorrows, and I'le double
Thy unconceived, uncontrouled trouble,
Whilst I, triumphing I, will sit aloft,
And be ador'd, and scoff to see thee scoft:
Pity shal be a stranger to my brest;
My care shal be to make thy Soul unblest;
[Page 94] The tydes of woe shall overflow thy thoughts,
And be equivalent unto thy faults;
Be sure, that what extremity can be
Thought worth the using, shall be us'd on thee:
Now I have spoke, if thou wilt not repent,
I'le cease to speak, and study to torment.
Sou.
How full of poyson's every word that flows
Out of thy mouth? what trust can I repose
In such a flatterrer? I dare not try,
Or throw my self upon thy courtesie:
I know thou canst not answer my request;
There is no truth in a self-praising brest.
If I should dive into the deep abyss
Of thy black thoughts, what glory, or what bliss
Should I discern? Or if I should deliver
My heart to thee, thou'dst disrespect the giver;
Though at the first perhaps thou wouldst express
A seeming-unbeseeming thankfulness,
Yet at the last I know thou would decline
Thy promis'd ways, and style me to be thine.
Fair words find eafie passage, they proceed
But from the tongue, th'event stil crowns the deed
Three things denote a friend; first to conceal
A secret speech; the next is to reveal
A private good; the
[...]ast, is to advise
The safest way t' obtain an enterprise
[Page 95] And he that can do this, as you pretend,
Deserves the title of a real friend:
But my
Religion tutors me to say,
(Nay and affirm,) You neither can, nor may;
I'm sure it is (if reason dare prove true)
One thing to speak, another thing to do.
Your words are ayry messengers, which fly
Into my ears, and there enroul a Lye;
Many untruths have broken the common Goal
Of thy foul mouth; thou sayst thon canst prevail
To make me glorious, aud thou canst encrease
My joys, and crown me with eternal peace:
Thou sayst th'art good and great, & that thy paths
Lead to
Salvation; thou declar'st thy Laws
To be most just; if all these things be true,
I needs must call the
Scriptures false, or you;
Truth bids me tell thee boldly, when thou cry'st
Th'art great, and good, and rich, and rare, thou lyst:
If thou art good, and great, pray tell me why
Thou wilt behold so vile a wretch as I?
These things bespeak thee humble, unto which
Thou plead'st not guilty; and if thou art rich,
How can it be, that thou wilt condescend
To feed my wants, that am so poor a friend?
Strange is that charity, which seems to shine
From such a
diabolick brest as thine.
[Page 96] If my belief could keep an equal pace
With my swift tongue, how ful of Faith & Grace
Should I appear? Such Faith as would devast
My wanton Soul, and make mee weep as fast
It is impossible to find a
Sion
That has no Governor, except a
Lyon.
The Souls Petition to God.
Oh
Heav'n, I crave that thou wouldst keep me stil
From this most vile
Progenitor of Ill:
Suffer him not t'infold me in his arms,
Or overcome me with his wanton charms;
Oh make my heart obdure that he may knock
Upon my Soul, as on a marble Rock;
Be thou my
Fort, and then I shall endure
His furious On sets, and repose secure;
Give me thy Grace, that I may be content;
Make me as strong, as he is impudent.
Now let the spring-tyde of thy fierce desires
Flow to the height, thou shalt not quench my fires
Know
Satan, know, my heart reserves no place
For thy abode, I scorn thee to thy face;
The well-dy'd colours of my
Soul declares
Defiance to thee, and my brest prepares
To give thee battle; strike, I rear thee not;
Who's arm'd with Faith, needs fear no Cannon sho
Sat.
[Page 97]
What impious tongue is that which dares defie
My power with so much boldnes?
So.
Wretch, 'tis I;
'Tis I (infernal Traytor) that will spend
My strength to prove thou art flatt'ring feind.
Sat.
Move me to anger, do, and thou shalt find
A courteous friend at last may prove unkind:
Have I not woo'd thee almost night and day
To goe to Heaven?
Sou.
The quite contrary way.
Sat.
Have I not labour'd like a watchful father
To nourish thee?
Sou.
Or like a
Devil rather.
Sat.
Have I not always taken great delight?
Sou.
To take away good gold, and give me light.
Sat.
How much nocturnal and diurnal care
Have I sustain'd for thee?
Sou.
True, t'insnare.
Sat.
Have
I not been assiduous to await
Upon thy pleasure?
Sou.
and corrupt my state.
Sat.
Have I not proffer'd all that can be given
To a sick Soul?
Sou.
To drive my Soul from Heaven
San.
Did
I not promise to be true and just?
Sou.
Did I not say, I'de neither try nor trust?
Sat.
Did I not promise that I'de make thee wise?
Sou.
Did I not say thou wert compos'd of lies?
Sat.
Did I not promise to encrease thy store?
So.
Did
I not say such wealth would make me poor
Sat.
Did I not promise to advance thy fame?
Sou.
Did I not say thy honors were thy shame?
Sat.
[Page 98]
Did I not promise to uphold thy peace?
Sou.
Did I not say such wars would never cease?
Sat.
Did I not promise thee a Crown of life?
Sou.
Did I not say that Crown would Crown my
Sat.
Did I not promise thee eternal glory? (strife?
Sou.
Did I not say that promise was a story?
Sat.
Did I not promise I would give thee all?
Sou.
Did I not say such promises were small?
Sat
Did I not tell thee I was great and good?
Sou.
Did I not answer 'twas in shedding blood?
Sat.
Did I not tell thee that my ways were best?
Sou.
Did I not answer that they were unblest?
Sat.
Did I not tel thee that thou shouldst have joy?
Sou.
Did I not answer such as would destroy?
Sat.
Did I not tell thee that I did lament?
Sou.
Did I not answer that I was content?
Sat.
Did I not tell thee what a friend I'd prove?
Sou.
Did I not answer that I could not love?
Sat.
Thus by fair terms I labour'd to obtain,
Sou.
Thus in foul terms I told thee 'twas in vain.
Sat.
Then I began to threaten thee with grief,
Sou.
And then I fled to
Heav'n, and found relief.
Sat.
I threatened to afflict thee with large pains,
Sou.
I told thee such afflictions were my gains.
Sat.
I told thee more than now I will express,
Sou.
My answers made thee wish I had spoke less.
Sat.
But now I see my real words can find
No rest within the Center of thy mind;
For 'tis in vain to sow the seeds of life
In a dead heart that is manur'd with strife:
I'le therefore cease my importuning love,
I'le shew my Serpent, and keep close my Dove.
Do, do thy worst, vile wretch, Ile make thee know
Griefs abstract, and the quintessence of woe;
I'le load thee with extremities, thy brest
Shall always crave, but find no place of rest:
Had but my grave advice receiv'd a place
Within thy heart, thou hadst been fil'd with grace;
But now the inundations of thy trouble
Shall overflow thee, and I will redouble
My new-contrived plagues; I'le make thee feel
My melting heart is now transform'd to steel:
Thy tongue shall (like a bolt of thunder) roul
And roar within thy mouth; thy sulphurous Soul
Shall flash forth lightning, and thy blood-red eyes
Shall blaze like Comets in the troubled Skies:
Thy teeth shall gnash, as if they scorn'd to be
Concomitants in so much misery;
Oh how I'le carbonado every part,
And fill thy body with increasing smart;
Thy Soul shall lure for death, but that shall hate
To pierch upon thee, and contemn thy state:
[Page 100] Life shall be still incroaching, but thy breath
Shall scorn that life, and hate it unto death;
Thy flesh shall drop forth brimston, and thy bones
Shall court each other in their crackling tones;
Horror shall be thy watchman, curses shall
Possess thy rongue, one torment still shall call
Upon another; when thy voice shall cry
But for a drop; Confusion shall reply,
No, no, thou shalt not, if a golden Myne
Could buy a drop, that drop should not be thine:
Then shalt thou say, if thou hadst been at first
Advis'd by me, thou hadst not been accurst:
Thus in this sad
Dilemma shalt thou roar,
And crave my succour, but I'le not deplore
Thy woful state, because thou wert averse
To goodness, after folly comes a curse:
Then shalt thou know and find I will exile
All thoughts of pity, and I'le rather smile
Than grieve at thy distress; ah know 'tis bard
To force an entrance where the gates are bar'd:
Fond Soul, be serious, let thy thoughts reflect
On my indulgency, and give respect
Unto my clemency; believe I will
Be good to thee, do but forsake thy ill;
Forsake, forsake that evil which will turn
To thy destruction; do not, do not burn
[Page 101] The precious fuel of thy chaste desires
In idle, wanton, all-consuming fires,
The post of time is swift, and knows no stay;
'Tis time to go when Reason calls away:
Protraction's dangerous; it is not good
To strive with that which scorns to be withstood.
Then do not thou procrastinate, but take
This opportunity, do but forsake
Thy former ways, and readily incline
Thy self to me, and I will make thee shine
With so much lustre, that all eyes shall gaze
Upon thy brightness, and admire with praise:
Oh may my language reach thee too believe,
That so my torments may not make thee grieve
In utter darkness, that thou mayst imbrace
Those glories, which adorn my peaceful place:
Repent, (dear Soul) repent what thou hast done,
Then call me
Father, and I'le love my son:
Thus having told thee all, I'le here desist;
Be thou more apt to yield than to resist.
Sou.
I find, I find you first in flict a wound,
And then with balsome strive to make it sound:
You make me smile at first, but after groan;
One hand incloses bread, the other stone;
I fain would take the bread, but that I stand
In fear and danger of the stony hand:
[Page 102] Therefore, to shun all danger, I'le despise
Your fond advice, and practise to be wise:
If all should prove, that you have told me, true,
I know the best and worst that thou canst do;
As for your threatnings, they shall not disturb
My peaceful thoughts, my faith shall be their curb:
Urge me no mote, but let me rest in quiet,
Strong is that stomack can digest thy dyet.
Sat.
And is it so? will no perswasions work
Upon thy thoughts? Those pregnant crimes that lurk
Within thy brest, will, like to Scorpions, gnaw
Thy groaning heart; such sorrow knows no Law;
But since thou wilt not be advis'd, expect
To find reward, as I have found neglect.
Ah, why fond wretch, why dost thou thus provide
Thy feeble self to strive against the tyde?
Alas, alas! why art thou lull'd asleep
In follies Lap? Rouze up for shame, and weep
For thine infirmities; be not thus cross
To him that would preserve thee from a Loss:
'Tis time to cast away the works of night,
And cloath thee with the shining robes of light.
Sou.
If your strong Oratory had the skill
To make me yield to your unsatiate will,
It were enough; what more could you desire,
Than a bad period to your bad desire?
[Page 103] But stay (bold friend) I'le meditate and see
What fruit will spring from thine infernal tree.
Sat. What, must I stay (vile wretch) till you dispute
And prove the goodness of my pleasing fruit?
Must I be always waiting on the train
Of your desires, and spend my time in vain?
No, no, I will not: for it is unfit
I should attend, if you will not submit;
Th' incensed fury of my spirits burn
To be in action, I will not adjourn
A minute longer; go, and hug thy vice,
Thou lov'st the bargain, but abhor'st the price:
Urge me no more, away, I have forgot
All thoughts of friendship, and I know thee not:
And here I leave thee to the Lawless power
Of thine own passion; Cursed be that hour
That brought thee forth; if all this will not do,
May all men curse thee, and I'le curse thee too.
Sou.
And can the
spring of thy affections find
So soon an
Autumn? Canst thou be unkind
With so much ease? and can your real brest
(As you so call't) be so soon dispossest
Of Love and Patience? Oh how bad and strange
Is the effect of such a sudden change!
'Tis disputable, for I know not whether
Anger, or' policy, or both together,
[Page 104] Wharst thee to these extreams: well then pursue
Thine own desires, and I will bid adieu
To all thy follies; yet my heart begun
T' expand it self before the glim'ring Sun
Of thy perswasions; if thy sharp'ned rage
Had not so soon exploded me the stage,
I fear, I fear, I had before this hour
Been prostituted to thy tameless power:
Be gone, be gone; but stay, hark
Satan, hark,
Go boast you shot, but fairly miss'd the mark.
Sat.
Why dost thou bid me go? I m sure you speak
(As I have done) in jest, thou wilt not break
The bonds of friendship; though thou hast exprest
Thy self in anger, yet thou ar
[...] in jest:
Those good conceits that live in th'inner places
Of my close heart, tels me th'art fill'd with graces:
But there is none that can proclaim and cry
They're free from rage, no not so much as I:
When I am angry, then my heart is pleas'd,
Because I'm satisfy'd; my mind is eas'd
Of a most pressing load, which seems to tire
And waste me with a brest-consuming fire.
" A wise mans ear must always entertain
" Things spoke in passion to be void and vain:
" The tongue's a restless member, and oft-times
" Out-runs the wit, and then it flyes and climbs
[Page 105] Above all sense: " When Reason finds divorce,
" The tongue proves subject to a headlong course.
What I have spoke observe, and thou shalt find
Proceeded from my passion, not my mind:
The misconstruction of a word may make
The dearest friends to vary, and forsake
The plains of friendship, tho' their hearts are free
From the curst evils of inconstancy:
Therefore mistake me not, nor do not thou
Construe my words with an incensed brow;
Smile on me then, and cheerfully impart
The loving childings of a friendly heart;
Then shalt thou see with what a willing arm
I will conduct and guide thee from all harm;
Believe me Soul,
I am not come to scatter
Uncertain stories, but a real matter;
What
I hold forth unto thee, is the stem
Of a pure heart, thou art the only Jem
Shall grow upon it; come, and let's combine,
I shall rejoyce to see thee prove divine.
Sou.
The
Biass of thy Love runs now so strong,
That
I much fear 'twill not continue long;
I find,
I find thou hast the art to sail
With any wind; thou labour'st to prevail,
But 'tis in vain, for know,
I trust thee not,
My zealous heart is fearful of a plot;
[Page 106] I cannot be so foolish as to trust
Without assurance that thou wilt be just:
Wilt thou be true? Speak with a real breath.
Sat.
I will be just (believe me) unto death;
I will, I will; oh may I never be
True to my self, it I am false to thee.
Sou.
If thou art just and constant, tel me where
Thy seat is plac'd, and who is Prince of th'air;
Be true in this, and thou shalt find that I,
According to thy answer, wil reply.
Sat.
I'le tell thee then (because I'le now fulfil
The vast desires of thy enquiring will)
Where my refulgent Seat is plac't; prepare
Thy ears to hear, I'le speedily declare.
The large extent of my unbounded grace
Cannot be comprehended in one place,
Because I am immortal, unconfin'd
To time or place; I live in every mind
That's truly real, and not disagreeing
To my known Laws; I have no local Being:
The World's a spacious
Body, I the
Soul
Which lives in every part compleat and whole:
Thus this dispute is easily decided,
For what's immortal cannot be divided.
Nay more, because I'le fill thee with content,
I say I'm
Prince of every Element,
[Page 107] Therefore of air: Now if thou canst enquire
Any thing more, I'le answer thy desire.
Sou.
Before I suffer my swist thoughts to slide
Into more questions, I'le be satisfi'd
In what is past: If so it be, you have
No local Being, how then will you save
Those
Hosts of Souls which you intend shall be
Seal'd with the Signet of Eternity?
Did you not tell me, that your peaceful Seat
Was rich, sublime, (and without measure) great?
If thus it be, as 'tis exprest by you,
'Tis more than strange that 'tis not local too;
Clear but this doubt, and thou shalt quickly find
Those duties that attend an honest mind
Flow from my brest, till then I'le rest in peace,
As you perform, so shall my Love encrease.
Sat.
Ambiguous
Soul, why dost thou thus connive
At thine own follies? Why dost thou deprive
Thy self of comfort, comforts that will heal
Th'exulcerous sores of thy distemper'd weal?
Why art thou thus inquisitive? the thing
That thou desir'st to know (if known) will bring
Small satisfaction to thy dubious brest;
He's wise enough that knows he shall be blest;
If you enquire in such a doubtful case,
Youl loose your rest in seeking out the place:
[Page 108] Surcease thy thoughts, and do not proudly knock
Thy self in peices, now thou knowst the rock;
Pry not too sarl et secret things alone,
My
Zodiack has more signs than must be known;
'Tis not the Heav'n of Heavn's that can contain
Me, the Creator, and my glorious train;
I am even what
I please and what I will be
Even where I will.
So.
Where's that?
Sa.
what's that to thee
The knowledge of my seat does no way tend
To thy salvation, therefore cease to spend
Such fruitless thoughts, cast by this needless care,
Learn to know what
I am, no matter where.
Sou.
I must confess, it is not good to pry
In things that suit not the capacity;
But seeing 'twas your pleasure to express
So much of friendship,
I made bold t' address
My self unto you; pardon then my crimes,
You know that wisest men may doubt sometimes:
Your weights are light, or else your courage fails,
You have not strength enough to turn the scales
Of my affections, yet you had almost
Droven my ill man'd ship upon your Coast,
The winds of your perswasions rage and roar
Within my brest, I cannot find a shoar
For my desires;
I'm tost from wave to wave,
And am become a most distracted slave;
[Page 109] Those heavenly thoughts which formerly frequenred
The closet of my brest are now prevented
By base bred fancies, fancies that arise
From a soul brain, and makes me to despise
Almost my self; I know not what to do,
I dare not, oh I dare not yield to you;
And yet I hardly can believe thou wilt
Burthen thy conscience with so foul a guilt
As to betray me, sure thou art morekind
Than to abuse a well-affected mind;
But yet I dare not trust a Soul pursuer,
Because thou kil'st when thou pretend'st to cure.
I reel, I reel (if not sustain'd) I shall
Receive a sudden and a deadly fall;
What shall I do in this deplor'd condition?
I fear, I fear I've lost my best Physitian:
Try Satan, try, and see what may be done
For a sick Soul, that foolishly has run
Beyond it self; oh see what thou canst do
To give me ease, and then I'le call the true.
Sat.
Now Soul I love thee; rouze, bid grief depart
Thou hast the symptomes of an honest heart:
Me thinks I could, with much content, afford
To say thou speak'st a Christian at a word;
Cheer up, and know that many troubles wait
Upon the changes of an ancient
State;
[Page 110] The work of
Reformation always brings
Trouble at first, but afterwards it sings
Anthems of Peace, whose fortunate event
Will more than countervail thy discontent.
He that has spent the treasure of his days
Under one Roof, has reason to dispraise
The troubles of removing; yet at last
(When his defatigating cares are past)
He may declare himself to be a debter
To fortune, and confess that Life the better.
Even so mayst thou (dear Soul) hereafter say,
Blest be that hand which led thee from the way
And paths of Ignorance, although at first
['Tis often known, beginnings are the worst]
Thou feel'st a private nakedness within,
Because thou hast uncloath'd thy self of sin:
Although, I must confess there cannot be
A
vacuum in Nature, yet in thee
There is an emptiness, and must be still,
For what is empty, craves a time to fill:
If he whose stomach hath sustain'd the rage
Of sharp'ning hunger, should at first asswage
His appetite with fulness, would it not
Produce a surfeit, and impose a blot
Upon his wisdom, raising such a strife
Within his
Microcosmus, that his life
[Page 111] Would be endanger'd; therefore learn by rote,
That moderation is the chiefest note;
In all my
Gammut, none can sing so high
A note as moderation, only I.
If I should let thee make too large a meal
Of my rich joyes at first, I should reveal
Too much of folly; for it thou shouldst take
A surfeit at the first, it needs must make
Thee fear, nay hate, to entertain my diet;
'Tis better far to spare at first than riot:
Moreover, should I let thee taste thy fill
At first, I know the reins of thy fierce will
Would scorn a hand, 'tis dangerous to trust;
Presumptions spur can never want for rust:
Come Soul, let reason rule thee, do not stain
Thy well-dy'd judgment, 'tis a greater pain
To fear, than sufler; come, I long to see
Thee wanton with mee in Eternitie;
Then doubt no more, resolve, and let's away,
There is no greater grief than to delay
A happiness; be well inform'd of this,
Procrastination is a foe to Bliss.
Sou.
Thy words imposthumate my heart, I feel
A greater pain than ever
Ixions wheel
Knew how t'inflict, extremities still crowd
Into my thoughts; my sorrows call aloud,
[Page 112] And none will hear; what shall I do; for I
Unworthy am to live, unfit to dye;
Except th' all ruling power above will please
T'inspect my Soul, and furnish me with ease,
To whose blest ears I'le recommend my suit,
My sorrows will not let my tongue be mute.
Great
Auditor of groans, oh let my cries,
My sighs, my tears, invite thy eares, thine eyes
To hear, and view me; for I must confess,
My crimes are great, and I am nothing less
Than what is least; alas! and nothing better
Than what is worst, oh pardon me thy debter:
I'm rost with grief, and know not where to fleer
My shipwrack'd self, but still my fins appear
Before my face, whose looks almost affright,
And make me start into eternal night:
What shall
I do? or whether shall I flee,
That am an alien (Lord) except to thee?
From thee
I cannot, and
I am too vile
To come unto thee, having made a spoyl
Of those most sacred mercies, which thy hand
Confer'd upon me; there is no command
But
I have broke; yet gracious Lord,
I know
That thy abounding mercies can o'reflow
My sand excelling sins, which cannot lie
Absconded from thine all-surveying eye.
[Page 113] With shame I must confess the subtile art
Of
Satan hath impoysoned my heart;
Oh I am sick to death, I swell, I burst,
Never was any Soul so much accurst.
There's none but thee, thou sacred
Antidote
Can cure my grief, be therefore pleas'd to note
My sad condition, let my sorrows lye
Before thy face, oh hear me when I cry;
Grant me the shield of Faith, that I may stand
In opposition to the powerful hand
Of active
Satan, weaken (
Lord) his power
And add unto my strength; let every hour
Afford new mercies, mercies that may sail
Into my brest, ah should my
Foe prevail,
Oh, then I perish, shorten (
Lord) his chain
And lengthen out my patience, oh make vain
His fierce attempts, that he my feel, and see
When he is strongest, I'm as strong as he,
Then shall my lips extol thee, and proclaim
The greatness of thy glory, and his shame.
Give but thy grace unto me (
Lord) and then
Say what thou wilt, my tongue shall say
Amen.
Let everlasting plagues and horror dwell
Within so fit a soul, let black-mouth'd
Hell
Remove his scituation, and take
An everlasting Lease, oh let him make
[Page 114] A
Ten'ment of thee; dost thou think that I
Will hear thy prayers? oh no, I scorn thee, fye
Away, begon—
Sou.
What voice is this, that makes this bold intrusion
Into my ears and grumbles out confusion?
Me thinks I see a storm-portending cloud,
Bowel'd with thunder, and I hear a loud
And horrid noyse, a noyse that will confound
A wel-prepared ear, to hear the sound;
Who would not quake at such a voice as this
That roars forth Malice with an Emphasis?
My thoughts are interrupted, and amazement,
Flashes like Lightning through the brittle casement
Of my ill glased-brest; it cannot be
The voice of Heav'n, a
God so pure as he
Hates to be envious, malice cannot spring
From such a good and (Love-composed)
King:
Although his voice (made terrible) oft-times
By the addition of mans dayly crimes
Thunders against a sinner, yet his breath
Can take no pleasure in a sinners death.
Hereafter (Lord) when malice finds a voice
To speak, my understanding shall rejoyce,
In knowing who it is, this heart of mine
Shall never quake at any voice but thine;
[Page 115] Then let hels deep-mouth'd
blood-hound, roar and thunder
Ile neither fear, nor love, nor quake, nor wonder.
For 'tis not strange to hear a Lyon roare
That wants his prey, the more he has, the more
He seeks for more, imploying still his power
In seeking how, and whom he may devour:
Know therefore
Sathan, that I am prepar'd
To meet thee, and I will not be out-dar'd;
'Tis not thy false malicious tongue shall tempt
My heart to love, no, nor thy rage exempt
My thoughts from heav'n, although thy craft still
For opportunity to stop good works;
When I compose my self, and strive to pray, lurks
Thou seek'st to turn my thoughts another way.
Thou great corrupter of Diviner parts,
Thou watchful
thief that steal'st into the hearts
Of silly mortals, think not to devour
My armed heart, with thy pursuing power.
Sat.
Wil nothing move thee? wilt thou stil mistrust
If fair means will not move thee, foul means must.
What dost thou think, my arm is grown so short
It cannot reach thee? dost thou think to sport
With my commands? say, thou imperious mite
Who gave thee being, who created light,
Who made the Heav'ns, the Earth, the Sea, reply
Audacious wretch, speak, was it thee, or I?
[Page 116] Thou vain contender, dost thou think to gain
By striving with me, any thing but pain,
Oh no, thou shalt not, for I'le still renew
Thy pinching sorrows: therefore bid adieu
To all thy comforts, for thou shalt no more
Injoy those blessings thou injoy'dst before,
Oh how thy horrid tongue shall roar and cry
With
Dives for a drop, but no supply
Shall dare t'appear; the more thou crav'st, the less
Thou shalt be heard, for nothing shall express
The least of pleasure to thy per-boyl'd heart,
Thy chiefest food shall be perpetual smart.
Be well assured that thy ears, thy eyes
Shall hear, nor see, nought but extremities,
Be gon, be gon, my fury hates delay,
Hell, and Damnation be thy lot, away.
Sou.
Experience makes me understand thou art
A lively actor, of a deadly part,
I find the greatness of your swelling rage;
Your
Prologue speaks 'twould be a bloudy stage
If you might act as King, but
Heav'n prevent
The cursed plots of your accurst intent;
I fear thee not, because I know thy power
Is limitted, and thou canst nor devour
Without commission, therefore do thy worst,
And let thy envy swell until it burst
[Page 117] And fall to nothing, my
Creator gives
Me faith to say that my
Redeemer lives,
And will protect me from the rage of those
That are my known and secret deadly Foes.
Thy thundring words shall not make me complying
For he's unwise that dyes for fear of dying;
Thus being guarded with the shield of grace
I'le spit defyance in thine impious face.
Thou art a
Lyon, and thou seek'st for blood
How bad's that soul that dares to think thee good;
Urge me no more, cashiere thy fruitless trouble,
The more thou strivst, the more Ile strive to double
My resolutions, for I dare not venture
To rest my heart on such a bloudy center,
Oh no I dare not; he that shall let go,
A certain friend, for a most certain foe,
Justly deserves, to have no other same,
But what reproach can build upon his name;
Should I permit my rambling thoughts to glance
Upon thy love, the Plea of Ignorance
Could not be prevalent, because 'tis known
Unto the blest-united three in one
That I (by his assistance) have descry'd
Thy real flatt'ry, and thy humble pride;
I dare affirm no greater pride can be
Than that that's acted with humility,
[Page 118] But here I'le stop, and leave thee to inherit
Th' effects of a diabolique spirit.
Sat.
Accursed
Caitiffe, dost thou think to scape
The fury of my hand, or make a rape
Upon my goodness? no, the Sun and Moon
Shall stop their usual progresses as soon
As I will change my mind; Vengeance is mine
And I'le repay it, on that
Soul of thine.
Be gon, be gon, expect thy sudden doom,
It is thy
sins give punishment a room:
Let everlasting Plagues, and horrour dwell
Within so fit a Soul; let black-mouth'd Hell
Remove his scituation, and so take
A still continuing Lease, on her him make
A
ten'ment of thee, dost thou think that I
Will hear thy prayers? oh no I scorn thee, fie
Away, begon—
Sou.
If words could kill, I had been ere this time
Worded to death, but now I hope to clime
Above the reach of words in thy despight,
Where thou mayst grumble at me, but not bite.
Even as the surly blood-desiring
Dog
Ty'd with a chain, or loaded with a clog
Growes fiercer with restraint, and stands in awe
Of nothing but his Master, to whose Law
[Page 119] He must submit and keep within his list;
For fear will not permit him to resist:
But if some wandring passenger should chance
To walk along, he quickly would advance
His watchful head, and running to and fro
From place to place, he tuggs but cannot go
Beyond his bounds, but labors still in vain
(With fruitless bring of his senseless chain)
To free himself, but when he finds his strength
Is not sufficient to out-go the length
Of his well-fastned chain, he soon divides
His sharp fang'd jawes, and bauls until his sides
And lungs are weary, then he runs the round
Until he layes himself upon the ground:
Where he remaineth much displeas'd and vext,
Seeming to threaten ruine to the next.
So thou (hels ty'd-dog) if thou couldst but strain
And quit thy self from heav'ns fast-holding chain
What Soul should scape thy jaws, or be possest
Of lasting peace, or comfortable rest?
How sad, how miserable had it been
For patient
Job, had but thy power been seen
Upon his heart; but
Heaven that will controul
In spight of malice, chain'd thee from his
soul:
Alas, alas! Thy chain is not so long,
To reach a
soul, not is thy power so strong
[Page 120] To break it at thy pleasure, thou mayst baul
And bark forth envy, but not hurt at all;
If thou art
God [as thou pretendest] why,
Why dost thou suffer such a thing as I
T'expostulate so long, and dost not show
Thy Judgements in my speedy overthrow?
Sat. It is my goodness, and not thy desert
That breeds forbearance in my tender heart,
Alas, alas, what honour would accrue
To me in conquering such a thing as you,
I could within a moments time asswage,
(But that my clemency out-vies my rage)
Thy swelling fury, for I could discharge
Vollies of wrath, and easily inlarge
They restless torments, I could make thee run
(Like morning mists before the rising Sun)
Out of my presence, If I should but say
The word be gon, alas thou couldst not stay,
But ah, I cannot, for I hate to harm,
Love guids my strength, & that strength guids my arm.
Even as the
Shepherd with bedewed locks
Watches the feeding of his harmless flocks
For fear the bold-fac'd
Wolf should chance to peep
Into the
coasts of his beloved sheep,
And like a lawless
Tyrant, soon commence
(Against those Emblems, of pure innocence)
[Page 121] A bloody action, which would soon incite
The Shepherds grief, to see so sad a sight,
So I th'eternal
Shepherd daily watch
My wel-fed lambs, for fear Hels wolf should catch
Or fright (not being fearful to be bold)
My gentle flocks from their delightful fold;
I am beloved, and mine own, will own
My sacred Name, my voice is not unknown
Unto my sheep, they always will be all
Firmly obedient to my cheerful call,
For which obedience they shall find reward
Nay such a one, as always shall accord
To their desires, thrice happy shall they be
In truly calling, and in owning me
To be their
Shepherd, nothing can more please
M'indulgent
soul, than such dear
flocks as these,
I will preserve them, and no
wolf shall dare
To seize upon them, or presume to tear
Their downy fleeces, nothing shall be nearer
Unto my heart, and nothing shall be dearer
In my affections, for I will affect
Even where, and when I finde a true respect.
Sou. What strange contusions hath thy language bred
Within my serious thoughts? how hast thou fed
My ears with flatteries, but it is in vain;
Because my heart hath vow'd not to retain
[Page 122] Thy sain'd expressions, nothing shall remove
My Love from
God, nor nothing make me love
Thy wretched self; then be content, and cease
To urge my mind, or interrupt my Peace.
Go, do thy worst, and when that worst is done
Sit down as wisely, as thou hast begun.
Sat.
Art thou resolv'd? Well then, let vengeance
Upon thy cursed head, be gon, thou mite
(Nay less) of goodness, go, make haste t'inherit light
Those plagues that wait upon so damn'd a spirit.
Sou.
May this be call▪d a
farewell, if it be,
The self same
farewell must attend on thee;
I hate, nay, scorn to bid
farewell to you,
'Tis charity enough to bid, adieu.
The Souls Thankfulness, and Request to God.
MOst gracious God, I having lately felt
The fervor of thy mercies, needs must melt
Into a thankfulness, Ah should I be
Ungrateful to so blest a God as thee
[Page 123] 'Twere pity, ah 'twere pity, that the ayr
Should give me breath, or thy fierce hand forbear
To through me headlong to the deep abyss
Of speedy ruine, where no comfort is:
Oh glorious
Lord, be pleased to inflame
My heart with raptures, to extol thy Name;
Alas I'm weak, and if thou shouldst deny
Thy aid, nothing could be more weak than I.
If thou wilt help me, I shall be so strong
That nothing can prevail to do me wrong.
Lord, I am blind, oh therefore let thy light
Expel those clouds, that thus eclipse my sight;
Be thou my guid, my strength, my sight, my way,
Or else (being weak) I shall, or fall, or stray;
Oh leave me not, but as thou hast begun
To shew me mercy, let thy mercy run
With my desires, and grant that I may be
A true forgetter of all things, but thee:
And rather than I should forget thy call,
Oh let me have no memory at all;
Wean me, oh wean me from this nursing earth,
Make it my sorrow, and thy Throne my mirth.
Let every morning make me know, and say
Thy Lawes are Just, or let me know no day;
Let every
ev'ning, make me take delight
In thy commands, or let me know no night.
[Page 124] Inspire my heart [O God] and make it glad
Always in thee, or make it always sad;
If thou afflict'st me, make me understand,
Thou hast a storming, and a calming hand;
If
Poverty oppress me, whilst I live,
Oh let thy mercy send me friends to give;
Or if thy goodness please to send me store,
Oh give me grace to think I may be poor.
It matters not, O Lord, how poor I be
Vnto the World, if I am rich to thee:
If I am hungry, ô be thou my meat,
If I am weary, ô be thou my seat;
Or if I feast, O Lord be thou my guest;
If I am restless,
Lord be thou my rest;
If I am thirsty,
Lord, be thou my spring;
If I am subject,
Lord, be thou my King;
If I have
Vertue, make me dote upon her;
If Honourable, be thou my Honor:
And if I cannot know that which I would,
Be pleas'd to make me know, Lord, what I should;
Then shall my ready lips express and show
I know no more, than thou wu'dst have me know.
My unty'd tongue shall evermore proclaim
Th'attendant glories of thy sacred Name.
Divine Ejaculations.
1.
GReat God, whose Scepter rules the Earth,
Distil thy fear into my heart,
That being rapt with holy mirth,
I may proclaim how good thou art,
Open my lips, that I may sing,
Full praises to my God, my King.
Ejaculation 2.
Lord, make the torments we endure
The Symptomes of thy Love, not wrath;
Thou art our Chiron, we thy cure
Our Crime's, our sores, thy blood's our bath;
O we are weak, be thou as strong;
How long O Lord; O Lord, how long?
Ejaculation 3.
Just Judge of Earth, in whom we trust,
Make sharp thy sword, and bend thy bow,
Consume the wicked; save the Just,
For thou the Reins, and heart dost know:
Then shall our tongues sing forth thy praise,
And praise thy justice all our days.
Ejaculat. 4.
Lord, teach us timely how to pray,
And give us patience to expect;
Thou hatest sin; Oh guide our way;
Judge thou our Eoes: The Just protect:
Then shall the wicked fall with shame,
And we will sing that love thy name.
Ejaculat. 5.
Great Son of the eternal God,
To whom the world subjected lyes,
Break not, but breed us with thy rod:
O we are foolish, make us wise:
And if thy wrath begin to flame,
Wee'l seek protection in thy Name.
Ejaculat 6.
Lord, if our enemies encrease,
And we invoke, bow down thine ear;
Be thou our shield, and make our peace,
And we will scorn what worldlings fear.
Great
God of health, great Lord of rest,
O make us thine, and we are blest.
Ejaculat. 7.
Thou righteous Hearer of Requests,
Make void the counsels of th'unjust;
Send peace into our trembling brests,
And fill our hearts with fear and trust:
If thou wilt make thy face to shine,
Let others joy in corn and wine.
Ejaculat. 8.
Lord, thou whose equal hand allays
The poor mans grief, whose help thou art,
Encline my heart to give thee praise,
And I will praise thee with my heart:
For sake me not; for, Lord I trust,
As men are cruel, thou art just.
Ejaculat. 9.
Lord, crush my Lyon-hearted Foes,
Rout them that seek to ruine me;
Rise up, O God, forget not those
Whose wrongs refer their cause to thee:
Or if the wicked must oppress,
Be thou not far from my distress.
Ejaculat. 10.
Great God, thy Garden is defac'd,
The Weeds do thrive, thy Flowers decay;
O call to mind thy promise past,
Restore thou them, cut these away:
Till then, let not the weeds have power
To starve or taint the poorest Flower.
Ejaculat. 11.
Lord, leave us not too long a space;
O view our griefs, and hear our pray'r,
Clear thou our eyes, unvail thy face,
Lest Foes presume, and we despair.
Lord, make thy mercy our repose,
And we will sing amidst thy Foes.
Ejaculat 12.
Lord, teach me to renown thy Name,
Which through the World is so renown'd:
Let man thy glorious works proclaim,
Whose head with glory thou hast crown'd.
As Beasts to men subjected be,
So Lord subject mans heart to thee.
Ejaculat. 13.
In all extreams, Lord, thou art still
The Mount whereto my hopes do flee;
O make my soul derest all Ill,
Because so much abhor'd by thee,
Lord, let thy gracious tryals show
That I am just, or make me so.
Ejaculat. 14.
Great God, whom Fools deny, how dare
Our lips request thy glorious eyes!
If thou but see, thou canst not spare,
And what thou seest thou must despise.
Lord, make us hear thy saying voice,
Then may'st thou see, and we rejoyce.
Ejaculat. 15.
Lord, cleanse my heart, and guide my tongue,
Preserve my lips from false deceit;
Protect my hands from doing wrong,
Teach whom to love and whom to hate:
Instruct me how to take and give;
Lord, grant me this, and I shall live.
Ejaculat. 16.
Lord, teach my Reins, that in the night
My tutor'd Reins, may tutor me;
And keep me always in thy sight,
For in thy sight all pleasure be:
Let not my soul in darkness stray,
O thou my life, O thou my way.
Ejaculat. 17.
Behold my Right, and right my wrongs
Thou Saviour of all those that trust;
O I am weak, my Foes are strong,
Lord thou art gracious, thou art just.
O make me rightly prize this life,
And let thy glory be my strife.
Ejaculat. 18.
Great God, my strength, at whose command
Whil'st I serve thee all creatures serve me,
Protect me from my Foe mans hand;
O, as thou hast preserv'd, preserve me:
With peaceful conquest crown my days,
And I will crown thy power with praise.
Ejaculat. 19.
Great God, the work of whose high hands
The glory of thy Name declare,
How perfect sweet are thy Commands!
How purely just thy Precepts are!
Cleanse all my sins, clear every spot,
Both open, secret, known, forgot.
Ejaculat. 20.
Accept, O God, my holy fires,
Lead thou our Armies, give success,
Bless our designs, grant our desires;
O hear and help in our distress:
Preserv'd by thee, we shall prevail,
When Chariots flee, and horses fail.
Ejaculat. 21.
O God, whose Judgments are severe,
And mercies full of sweet compassion,
Scourge thou thy Foes, save those that fear,
Ravish my Soul with thy Salvation;
And I will spend my joyful days
In Psalms of thanks, and Songs of praise.
Ejaculat. 22.
My Jesus, thou that wert no less
Than God, and yet with men forlorn,
Earths Comforter, yet comfortless,
Heavens Glory, yet to men a scorn.
What thanks shall I return to thee,
That wert all this, and more for me!
Ejaculation 23.
Great Shepherd of my Soul, thy hand
Both gives me food, and guides my way;
Subject my will to thy command,
And I shall never starve, nor stray.
If thou wilt keep me in thy sight,
Thy House shall be my whole delight.
Ejaculat. 24.
Lord, purge my heart, and cleanse my hand,
Direct my tongue, and guide my will;
For nothing that's unclean can stand
Within thy great, thy glorious Hill.
Lift up my heart, deprest with sin,
And let the King of Glory in.
Ejaculat. 25.
Lord, guide my footsteps in thy truth,
And let thy grace be my repose;
Forgive the frailties of my youth,
And free me from my causeless Foes:
Redeem thine
Israel from their hand,
And bring me to thy promis'd Land.
Ejaculat. 26.
Lord, keep me just and judg my right,
Prove thou my reins, and try my heart;
O make thy Temple my delight,
And fix my dwelling where thou art:
Redeem my Soul, confirm my ways,
And give me power to give thee praise.
Ejaculat. 27.
My God, whose fear drives fear away,
Shew me the beauty of thy House;
Preserve me in the evil day,
That I may sing and pay my vows.
Lord, grant me fear, and guard my path;
Give patience, and with patience, Faith.
Ejaculat. 28.
O God, be thou my living Rock,
Whereto my restless soul may fly:
Blest be thy Name, when I invoke,
Thou hear'st my suit and send'st supply.
My Foes confound, or else convert
Or weaken, that they may not hurt.
Ejaculat. 29.
Shall Mountain, Desert, Beast, and Tree,
Yield to that heavenly Voice of thine,
And shall that voice not startle me,
Nor stir this stone, this heart of mine?
No, Lord; till thou new-bore mine ear
Thy Voice is lost, I cannot hear.
Ejaculat. 30.
Lord, let the evening of my grief
Be followed with a morning joy;
Hear thou my cry, and send relief,
That tak'st no pleasure to destroy:
If thou wilt lengthen out my days,
Their task shall be to sing thy praise.
Ejaculat. 31.
Lord, thou' that hoord'st thy grace for those
That love and fear thy sacred Name,
Redeem me from my conqu'ring Foes,
And vindicate my trust from shame:
Give me fair Conquest at the end,
Till then, true courage to attend.
Ejaculat. 32.
Let my confession launce my sore,
And let forgiveness cure my wound;
Lord, teach me early to implore,
For I am lost till thou art found:
Then shall my joyful Songs express
Thy praises, and my thankfulness.
Ejaculat. 33.
Great Lord of Wonders, thou by whom
My heart was fram'd and form'd alone,
From whose high Power all powers come,
That didst but say, and it was done;
Appoint the remnant of my days
To see thy Power, and sing thy praise.
Ejaculat. 34.
Lord, let the Sun-shine of thy face
So clear mine eyes, so cleanse my heart,
That being season'd with thy grace,
My soul may taste how sweet thou art.
O let thy mercy make me just,
And then my heart shall fear and trust.
Ejaculat. 35.
Lord plead my cause, and right my wrong,
And take my Snarers in their snare;
O be not from me, Lord, too long,
Lest they triumph, and I despair.
Let all my foes be cloth'd with shame,
Whilst I sing praises to thy Name.
Ejaculat. 36.
Fountain of Light, and living breath,
Whose mercies never fail nor fade,
Fill me with life that hath no death,
Fill me with light that hath no shade:
Confound the proud in their pretence,
And let thy wings be my defence.
Ejaculat. 37.
Be thou my Trust, my God, and I,
When sinners thrive, will not repine;
Or if my wants should want supply,
I will not fret, I will not whine:
What if their wealth, my wants, increase,
They shall have plagues at last, I peace.
Ejaculat. 38.
Lord, in thy wrath correct me not,
For I confess and hate my sin;
My flesh consumes, my bones do rot,
I've pains without, and pangs within.
O thou that art the God of rest,
Release my sin, relieve my brest.
Ejaculat. 39.
Lord, curb my tongue, and make me see
How few my days, how short their length:
Incline my heart to trust in thee;
Remove thy scourge, or give me strength:
I am a Pilgrim, hear my cry,
And send some comfort e're I dye.
Ejaculat. 40.
Lord, thou whose mercies do exceed,
O fill my language with thy praise,
Stand thou my Helper at my need,
Confound the wicked in their ways:
Be thou my comfort in my grief,
And crown my patience with relief.
Ejaculat. 41.
Lord, if thy pleasure make me poor,
Thou wilt bless them that give me bread;
If thy sick hand hath scourg'd me sore,
That hand that struck will make my bed.
Sustain me, Lord, be thou my store,
I shall be neither sick nor poor.
Ejaculat. 42.
My God, full tears are all the dyet
That seed my sad, my drooping brest:
In my distress, in my disquiet,
Be thou my Stay, be thou my Rest:
Be thou my God in my relief,
And I will triumph in my grief.
Ejaculat. 43.
Lord, right my wrongs, and plead my right
Against all those that seek my Ill;
O let thy perfect Truth and light
Conduct me to thy holy Hill:
Then shall thy Altar make relation
Of thy due praise, and my Salvation.
Ejaculat. 44.
Lord, our fore-fathers found redress
In all their frights, in all their fears;
Wilt thou be dumb to my distress,
And not my God, as well as theirs?
Redeem my Soul whose loyal knee
Ne're bow'd to any
God, but thee,
Ejaculat. 45.
Great Bridegroom, fill thy dearest Spouse
With outward glory, inward graces;
May she forget her fathers house,
And only cling to thy embraces:
Affect her heart with Love and Duty,
And then take pleasure in her beauty.
Ejaculat. 46.
Lord, help me when my griefs do call,
In my distress O be thou near;
Then if earth change, or mountains fall,
I will not faint, I will not fear.
Shew me thy wonders, and inflame
My heart to magnifie thy Name.
Ejaculat. 47.
Lord, let thy Judgments fill all those
That love thy
Mount with joy and mirth;
Confound and crush all
Sions Foes,
Sion the glory of the Earth:
Let all that love thy
Sions glory,
Recount her State, repeat her Story.
Ejaculat. 48.
Lord, teach me wisely to contemn
All goods that transitory be,
Let me not stand possest of them,
If they be not possest in thee.
If I be wealthy, and nor wise,
I live but like a beast that dyes.
Ejaculat. 49.
Lord God of Gods, before whose Throne
Stand fire and storms, O what shall we
Return to Heav'n that is our own,
When all the world belongs to thee!
We have no offering to impart,
But praises, and a wounded heart.
Ejaculat. 50.
Lord, if thy mercies purge my heart,
Conceiv'd in lust, and born in sin,
Breath truth into my inward part,
Renew me a firm spirit within:
Then let thy goodness not detest
The ruines of a broken brest.
Ejaculat. 51.
Let others boast in gold, and prize
Ev'l more than good, and love deceit,
Thy mercies▪ Lord, are my supplies,
And on thy Name will I await.
Lord, let thy Mercies still inure
My brest to love the thing that's pure:
Ejaculat. 52.
Lord, if thou take away thy hand,
How all compos'd of fears are we!
What arm can save? what strength can stand?
When man, poor man's forsook by thee?
Lord, keep my faith in thee unshaken,
For thou forsak'st not till forsaken.
Ejaculat. 53.
Lord, let thy name secure and free
My threat'ned Soul from all my foes;
Stand thou with them that stand for me,
Support all these, suppress all those:
Then shall my Soul division run
Upon thy praise till time be done.
Ejaculat. 54.
Hearer of prayers, confound my Foes,
That bruise my tortur'd Soul to dust:
In man, alas, there's no repose;
Foes have no pity, friends no trust.
My trust is in thy word, which says,
They shall not live out half their days.
Ejaculat. 55.
O God, the malice of my Foes
Encreaseth daily more and more;
But Lord, thou art my safe repose,
Thou art my strength, thou art my store:
Be thou my gracious God, and then
I will not fear the pow'r of men.
Ejaculat. 56.
Be gracious, Lord, unto my grief,
For in thy shadow do I trust;
O send me plentiful relief,
For thou art merciful and Just;
Then shall my spirits utter forth
Twi-light
Hosanna's to thy worth.
Ejaculat. 57.
Lord, keep me from those hearts and tongues
That practice mischief from the womb;
Weigh right to them that weigh us wrongs,
And let confusion be their doom;
But let the just be fill'd with mirth,
And fear that God that rules the earth.
Ejaculat. 58.
Lord, save me from my Foes; make void
Their plots, and all their Counsels vain;
For ever let them be destroy'd,
For in thy hand my hopes remain:
And I will always spend my days
In Hymns of thanks, and Songs of praise.
Ejaculat. 59.
Lord, though we feel the bitter taste
Os thy displeasure for a while;
Yet thou art gracious, and at last
Thy angry brow that frown'd will smile.
Oh when that storm is over-blown,
Thou'lt trample those that tread us down.
Ejaculat. 60.
Lord, hear my troubled voice, and bring
My Soul to that sweet Rock of Rest;
Protect all those that strive to sing
Thy praises with a cheerful brest:
Let comfort with our years increase,
That we may praise thy name in peace.
Ejaculat. 61.
Lord God, from whom all mercy springs,
Instruct my hopes to wait on thee;
Teach me what vain and fruitless things
The helps of what is earthly be.
All strength belongs to thee alone,
'Tis thou, my God, must help, or none.
Ejaculat. 62.
Lord, how I long to see thy face,
That I might spend me in thy praise;
Thou art my glory in disgrace;
Sustain my steps, direct my ways:
Thou art my refuge; when oprrest
With grief, my joy; with toyl, my rest.
Ejaculat. 63.
Lord, hide me from my bloody Foes
For in thy goodness do I trust;
Protect my sought-for life from those
That shoot in secret for the just.
So then shall I that fear thy Name
Have cause of glory, they of shame.
Ejaculat. 64.
Thou gracious Hearer of Requests,
Hide all my sins behind thy merits;
Shower down thy Spirit into our brests,
And drop thy Grace into our Spirits;
That from our Faith rich works may spring,
And give us cause to shout and sing.
Ejaculat. 65.
Lord, if thy flame must needs be felt,
Let us be purged in that flame;
Let our rebellious spirits melt
Into the praises of thy Name;
That we being tutor'd, and kept under,
May fear with Love, and love with Wonder.
Ejaculat. 66.
Lord, let thy favour still inflame
Our light'ned hearts to walk thy ways,
That all the World may praise thy Name,
And all the Earth may sing thy praise;
So fructifie our hearts, that we
May bless thy Name being blest by thee.
Ejaculat. 67.
Lord, rise in power within mine heart,
And chase my sins, thy Foes, and mine,
Then shall I see thee as thou art,
In Glory great, in Power divine.
So I, more white than Snow, shall sing
Thy ways, and praise my God, my King.
Ejaculat. 68.
To that sweet Lamb, which did sustain
Grief above weight, Pain above measure;
Whose stripes, and scoffs, and grief, and pain,
Were only purchas'd by our pleasure.
Be Honor, Glory, Praises, given
By Souls on Earth, by Saints in Heaven.
Ejaculat. 69.
Let shame be their due recompence.
That seek to wound my Soul with shame;
Be thou their help and strong defence,
That seek thee, Lord, and love thy Name.
Make haste, O God, for I do waste
My Soul with grief; O God, make haste.
Ejaculat. 70.
Lord, thou that underneath thy wing
Didst keep me in, and from the womb,
Assist my age, that it may sing
Thy praise in ages yet to come.
Preserve my Soul, protect my name;
Shame be to them that seek my shame
Ejaculat. 71.
Great Prince of peace, whose Kingdome brings
Justice, Redemption, power, and peace,
That bends the knees and hearts of Kings,
And fill'st all Nations with encrease,
All praises, Honour, Glory, be
Ascrib'd alone, great Prince, to thee.
Ejaculat. 72.
O God, whose dreadful Voice, like Thunder,
Affrights the Earth, and shakes the Air,
Whose Works and Ways are full of wonder,
That hear'st my plaints, and grant'st my pray'r.
Forsake me not, but when I stray,
O let thy Crook reform my way.
Ejaculat. 73.
O thou, whose mercy did begin
Before all Time, unty'd to Times,
As thou forgav'st our Fathers Sin,
Be likewise gracious to our Crimes:
Th'art now a God, as well as then
And we as they no more than men.
Ejaculat. 74.
O God, the
Sion of my Soul
Is wholly deso ate and waste,
Where thou shouldst rule, my lusts controul;
O Lord, relieve; O God, make haste:
Then shall my heart and tongue proclaim
Eternal praises to thy Name.
Ejaculat. 75.
Glorious Creator, once more shine
On this our poor distressed Land;
Defend, and dress thy fading Vine,
And bless the man of thy right hand:
Let thy Free-grace inflame our hearts,
And we will sing thy praise in parts.
Ejaculat. 76.
O God, our Song, our Strength, whose hand
Hath broke our Bonds, and set us free,
Incline our hearts to thy Command,
And we will own no God but thee;
Conduct and feed us as thy Flock,
And give us honey from thy
Psal. 81. 16.
Rock.Ejaculat. 77.
Direct, O God, the Judges brest,
Preserve his hand
[...]s, his eyes upright
That he may vindicate th' opprest,
And guardhim from injurious might:
O let him know that he shall be,
As Judge of others, judg'd by thee.
Ejaculat. 78.
Lord, cast thine eyes upon thy Foes,
Confound their Troops, that are combin'd
Against thy Flock,, which thou hast chose,
Make them like chaff before the wind:
Defeat their Plots with sudden shame,
That they may seek
Jehovah's Name.
Ejaculat. 79.
Lord, teach mine Eyes, my Will, my Heart,
To see, to choose, and to desire
Thy beauteous Courts, wherein thou art;
O fill my thoughts with holy fire.
Be thou my Sun, whose glorious Rayes
May light my Soul to sing thy praise.
Ejaculat. 80.
O God, remit thy Peoples Sin,
And shew the Sun-shine of thy face,
Repress thy fury, and begin,
T'inspire us with thy saving Grace;
That Righteousness and truth may meet,
And light our hearts, and lead our feet.
Ejaculat. 81.
Great Spring, from whence all mercy flows
To them that trust and love thy Name,
Give me thy strength, and then my Foes
Shall see thy greatness, and their shame:
Be thou my Way, my Truth, my Light,
So shall I live and die upright.
Ejaculat. 82.
Sim, the glory of the Earth,
And subject of my holy Passion,
May all the Well-springs of my mirth
Be founded upon thy foundation:
Of all delights I wish no other,
Than to be Son to such a Mother.
Ejaculat. 83.
Lord, let thy fury cease to burn,
Or else my Soul must cease to be;
Can praises issue from the Urn?
What thanks can ashes give to thee?
Enough, if thou but undertake me,
Let death surprise, let friends forsake me.
Ejaculat. 84.
Lord, thou whose mercy fails not those
That build their trust upon thy Name,
Protect my Soul from all my Foes,
Then shall my tongue thy worth proclaim:
So shall the remnant of my days
Be crown'd in Peace, and thou with Praise.
Ejaculat. 85.
Eternal God, before whose Eyes
A thousand years seem as a day,
Direct our hearts, and make us wise
To use that time we cannot stay:
Send joy in our sad hearts, and bless
Our prosperous actions with success.
Ejaculat. 86.
Though thousands here, ten thousand there,
Do daily fall before mine eye,
I will not faint, I will not fear,
Beneath the wings of the most High:
Let me be guarded, Lord, by thee,
Then I'le not fear, nor faint, nor flee.
Ejaculat. 87.
Lord, purge my Soul, that I may learn
To read my fortunes by thy hand;
Let my instructed Soul discern,
That worldly bliss is not thy brand.
Lord, in thy Mercy make me thine,
I have enough, shower thou, or shine.
Ejaculat. 88.
Great Monarch of the World, disclose
Thy Power, and make thy Glory known;
Out-flood the floods of all my Foes,
And in my heart fix thou thy Throne:
Plant Holiness within my brest,
O Lord, my strength, O God, my rest.
Ejaculat. 89.
Just God of Vengeance, cast an eye
Upon my poor afflicted brest;
O send me help, O hear my cry,
And let thy comforts be my rest:
Suppress my Foes, and set me free,
That have no Hope, no Help but thee.
Ejaculat. 90.
Great God of Gods, Great King of Kings,
From whom, by whom we live, we be,
In whom my Soul her triumph sings,
To whom alone bowes every knee:
Teach me thy way; thy Will's my Feast,
Thy Crook my Guide, thy Fold my Rest.
Ejaculat. 91.
Lord, let our Jesus, and thy Christ,
Be all the subject of our mirth,
Let Satans power be dismist,
And let him rule, and judge the earth:
Then, then Eternal Peace shall be
Return'd to us, and praise to thee.
Ejaculat. 92.
Great King of Glory, who art drest
In Clothes of Clouds, in Robes of Fire,
Make evil hateful to my brest,
Then shall I love thee most intire:
Then shall my bosome reap that light
Which thou hast sown for the upright.
Ejaculat. 93.
Great God of Wonders, that dost ope
The Gate of Life to our glad days,
And found'st a help beyond all hope,
O give us mouths to give thee praise;
So guide our ways, just Judge, that we
May joyfully be judg'd by thee.
Ejaculat. 94.
Great God, whose promise is to hear,
Whose practise is to pardon Sin,
Let my petitions find an ear,
And cleanse my leprous Soul within.
Thou, Lord, art holy, teach my heart
To sing thy praises as thou art.
Ejaculat. 95.
Eternal Maker, grant that we
May praise thee with a chearful heart;
Guide thou our ways, and let us be
The sheep, where thou the Shepherd art:
For, Lord, thy truth is always sure,
And thy great Mercy shall endure.
Ejaculat. 96.
Lord, teach my heart to walk upright
In publique rev'rence, private fear;
Keep thou the humble in thy sight,
And to the proud be thou severe:
Then shall thy Saints in triumph show
Thy Mercy, and thy Justice too.
Ejaculat. 97.
O God, how poor a thing is man!
Begot in sin, and born in sorrow;
Our breath's a blast, our life a span,
But here to day, and gone to morrow.
How needfnl, Lord, is thy support!
Our days are bad, our times are short.
Ejaculat. 98.
O thou, within whose tender brest
Full streams of sweet compassion flow,
Whose Mercies cannnot be exprest
By Saints above, or Men below;
My Soul shall praise, my heart shall bless
That goodness, tongues cannot express.
Ejaculat. 99.
Lord, every creature writes a story.
Of thy full Majesty and Might,
The contemplation of whose Glory
Shall always be my hearts delight:
Accept that praise my Soul can give,
And it shall praise thee while I live.
Ejaculat. 100.
Dear God, the
Pharaoh of our Souls
Afflicts the
Isr'el of our hearts;
Where thou shoulds govern, he controuls;
What thou command'st his power thwarts:
Confound his strength, and let thy hand
Conduct us to the promis'd land.
Ejaculat. 101.
Lord, shouldst thou punish every sin,
Or strike as oft as we offend,
How quickly would our plagues begin!
How soon this sinful world would end!
But Lord, thy tender Mercies stand
Within the gap, and hold thy hand.
Ejaculat. 102.
Lord let thy wonders, and thy ways,
Inflame my heart, my tongue, my pen,
That pen, and tongue, and heart may praise
Thy Name before the Sons of men.
Look where I list, high, low, or under,
I see to learn, and learn to wonder.
Ejaculat. 103.
O Lord whose mercies, and whose paths
Transcend th' expressions of my tongue
Instruct my heart to keep thy lawes
And I will praise thee in my Song.
Lend me thy pow'r, or strengthen mine,
And I will crush my Foes, and thine.
Ejaculat. 104.
O thou that sit'st in Heaven, and seest
My deeds without, my thoughts within,
Be thou my Prince, be thou my Priest,
Command my Soul, and cure my sin:
How bitter my afflictions be,
I care not, so I rise in thee.
Ejaculat. 105.
Lord, teach my humble eyes the art
To see aright, and hands to do,
Then will I praise thee with my heart
In publique, and in private too:
Set thou thy fear in all my ways
To make me wise, to give thee praise.
Ejaculat. 106.
Lord, plant thy fear before mine eyes,
For in thy fear my Soul is blest;
Thy Fear's that Spring, from whence arise
My Crown, my Treasure, and my Rest.
What fear I, fearing thee? and what
Not fearing thee, Lord, fear I not?
Ejaculat. 107.
Highest of Highests, that dost raise
The poor and needy from the dung,
Advance my thoughts to give thee praise,
And Lord, unty my stam'ring tongue:
So shall my heart and tongue proclaim
Rare
Halelujahs to thy Name.
Ejaculat. 108.
O God, the Mountains and the Seas
Confess thee, Lord of Sea and Land,
They quake and tremble, if thou please
To shew the power of thy hand:
So shall my heart, when thou think'st good,
To turn my flint into a flood.
Ejaculat. 109.
Lord, teach our loyal hearts to build
Their constant hopes upon thy hand;
Thou art our Help, thou art our Shield,
Wherein our hopes of safety stand:
Send down thy blessings, and then we
Will send all praises up to thee.
Ejaculat. 110.
My God, thy mercies so abound,
That every minute speaks their story;
They have no limits, have no bound;
Ours are the comforts, thine the glory:
And what thy mercy more displays,
Thou art contented with our praise.
Ejaculat. 111.
Surpassing Lord, whose mercies have surpast
The limits of the worlds expression,
Whose truth continues firm and fast
To thy elect, and their succession.
To thee perpetual praise be given
By Saints on Earth, and Souls in Heav'n.
Ejaculat. 112.
Good God! thy mercy and thy might
What heart conceives? What tongue can tell?
Thou fillest my darkness with thy light,
And hast redeem'd my Soul from Hell.
Thou art my God, thou onely art
The strength, and musick of my heart.
Ejaculat. 113.
O God thy Law's a field, in which
The fruitful seed of life is sown;
No seed so rare, no soil so rich;
It renders infinite for one.
O God, how fair these fields appear!
O God, what pearls are buried he re!
Ejaculat. 114.
Great God, whose ever-wakeful eye
Doth never slumber, never close,
Teach all my dangers to rely
Upon thy help, their safe repose:
Be thou my shade, be thou my stay,
I will not fear by night, by day.
Ejaculat. 115.
Lord let the fire of my true zeal
Unto thy house for ever flame,
Where let my thanks, and praise reveal
The hidden honour of thy Name.
Let
Sions glory still increase,
And bless her walls with plenteous peace.
Ejaculat. 116.
O God to whom thy thoughts direct
Their constant hopes, and hopeful cries,
Let not my Soul in vain expect
For mercy, from such gracious eyes:
Maintain thine honour; 'Tis not me
The proud contemn, Great God, but thee.
Ejaculat. 117.
Lord give me a believing heart,
Though wanting strength I fear not man,
If thou be pleas'd to take my part,
Let malice do the worst it can.
Although insnar'd I will not fear,
For thou art stronger than a snare.
Ejaculat. 118.
Give me the heart, O God to trust,
And lead my Footsteps in thy ways;
Quell thou the power of the unjust,
That righteous hearts may give thee praise.
Do good to good men, and encrease
Their number, plenty, and their peace.
Ejaculat. 119.
Lord, we are Captives, and we bow
To Satans burthen every hour,
We sow in tears, oh when wilt thou
With joy requite the weary sower?
So bless my labors that I may,
With comfort long to see that day.
Ejaculat. 120.
What I possess, or what I crave
Brings no content great God, to me,
If what I would, or what I crave
Be not possest, and blest in thee.
What I enjoy, oh make it mine
In making me, that have it, Thine.
Ejaculat. 121.
Lord, plant thy fears within my brest,
That I may walk thy perfect ways;
Then shall I prosper and be blest
In all my deeds, in all my days:
Then shall I see the fair encrease,
Of
Sions glory,
Israels peace.
Ejaculat. 122.
Lord since there must be always Foes
T' afflict the Souls of flesh and blood,
Let mine be such as do oppose
Thy Churches peace, thy
Sions good:
Then let that righteous arm of thine,
Confound, or cure thy foes, and mine.
Ejaculat. 123.
Hearer of prayers, O whom should I
Implore, but thee, in my distress,
For mercy harbors in thine eye,
And thou art fill'd with righteousness.
To thee, O God, my hopes shall flee,
My Soul expects no help but thee.
Ejaculat. 124.
Lord if mine eyes should look too high,
Or ranc'rous heart begin to swell,
Break thou the tumor, curb mine eye,
Lest one grow fierce, the other fell.
So shall my Soul grow wise, and flee
From her own strength, and trust in thee.
Ejaculat. 125.
Lord let mine eyes not sleep until
I build thy Temple in my brest,
Take pleasure then, and make it still
The chosen Palace of thy rest:
Let all her foes be trodden down,
And let thy Glory be her Crown.
Ejaculat. 126.
Lord we are several members joyn'd
To make one whole, whose head thou art,
Let all our thoughts but make one mind,
And give one body, but one heart.
United Souls of Saints appear
The sweetest musick in thine ear.
Ejaculat. 127.
Light thou the Lamps, great God, that they
Light'ned by thee may give us light,
Let their bright lustre drive away
All darkness from thy Courts by night;
Bless us and them, that they: and we
May bless thy name, first blest by thee.
Ejaculat. 128.
Let every wonder that I see
In Heav'n, and Earth, and in the Seas,
Advance some honour, Lord, to thee
That didst, and canst do, what thou please,
Let others worship wood and stone,
My Soul shall bless thee, Lord, alone.
Ejaculat. 129.
Good God, where e're I cast mine eye,
On Earth beneath, or Heaven above,
I see thy goodness, and I spy
Perpetual pledges of thy love.
Thy favors through the world extend,
And of thy mercy is no end.
Ejaculat. 130.
Lord, if my tongue, and busie quill
Be not in
Sions praise imploy'd,
Then let my hand forget her skill
And be my tongue for ever ty'd;
Thy praise shall be my chief delight
Whilst tongue can speak, or hand can write.
Ejaculat. 131.
Kindle O Lord, my love with zeal,
Light my affections with thy flame;
Give my tongue courage to reveal
The secret glory of thy name.
Be thou my God, in all distress,
And let thy hand be my redress.
Ejaculat. 132.
Lord, thou that mad'st me, and dost pry
Into the secrets of my heart,
From whose all presence none can fly
Nor hide them there, but where thou art,
Inform my Soul, inflame my brest,
And lead me to eternal Rest.
Ejaculat. 133.
Lord keep me from my self that am
The greatest Foe, I need to fear;
O cover thou my face with shame
And give my sins no dwelling here.
Subdue my flesh; and then my spirit,
Shall sing the praises of thy merit.
Ejaculat. 134.
Lord when my grief shall find a tongue
To cry for help, find thou an ear,
Whilst others seek to do me wrong,
Make thou O God my conscience clear.
In those self-snares they have prepar'd
Let my insnarers be insnar'd.
Ejaculat. 135.
When winter fortunes cloud the brows
Of summer friends; when eyes grow strange,
When plighted faith forget their vowes,
When Earth, and all things in it change,
O Lord thy mercies fail me never,
Where once thou lov'st, thou lov'st for ever.
Ejaculat. 136.
Judge not my actions by the Laws,
For then my sorrows are but just,
But let thy mercies plead my
[...]se,
For in thy mercy is my trust.
Those that oppose my Soul, oppose;
I am thy servant, they thy foes.
Ejaculat. 137.
What is there, Lord, what is in me
To hope for safety from thy power?
What help can I expect from thee,
That merit vengeance every hour?
How great so e're my sins have bin,
Thy mercy's greater than my sin.
Ejaculat. 138.
Great God, whose Kingdome hath no end,
Into whose secrets none can dive,
Whose mercy none can apprehend,
Whose Justice none can feel, and live,
What my dull heart cannot aspire
To know, Lord, teach me to admire.
Ejaculat. 139.
O Lord my Judgment's dark, and blind,
It cannot judge 'twixt good, and ill,
My will is captiv'd and confin'd,
It wants a freedome how to will,
Great Lord of power, great God of might
Release my bands, restore my sight.
Ejaculat. 140.
Great God whose goodness doth repleat,
And fill our Coasts with full encrease,
That feed'st us with the fat of wheat,
And glad'st thy
Sion with thy peace.
How more than others are our days
Extreamly bound to give thee praise.
Ejaculat. 141.
Shall frost and snow give praise to thee,
And shall my Soul not bear a part?
Lord frost and snow appear to be
Not half so cold as is my heart.
Shine glorious Sun, thy beams but felt,
My frost will thaw, my snow will melt.
Ejaculat. 142.
Great God to whom all praise belongs
Whom
Sion fings, and
Israel fears,
O stop those lusts that stop our tongues
And fright thy glory from our ears.
Do thou enlarge what flesh retains,
And bind those Kings, our lusts, in chains.
Ejaculat. 143.
Lord season my unsavory sprite
And bridle my too head-strong will,
That I may always take delight
In acting good, and shunning ill.
O give me grace to understand,
My life is always in thy hand.
Ejaculat. 144.
Direct my steps, Lord, be my way,
And make thy paths my sole delight,
That like a traveller I may
Not fail to rest with thee at night,
O me, how happy, and how blest,
(Lord) should I be in such a Rest!
Ejaculat. 145.
Lord, let the morning of my grief,
Find out a night of lasting pleasure,
Thou art the God of my relief,
In poverty, thou art my treasure.
I care not, Lord, how poor I be
Unto the world, if rich to thee.
Ejaculat. 146.
Lord let thy sacred fire thaw
The Ice of my hard-frozen zeal,
And let thy will be my known Law,
So shall my heart, thy worth reveal,
And with a
halalujous Song
My tongue shall praise thee all day long.
Ejaculat. 147.
Great King of Peace, be pleas'd to send
Thy peace to our distemper'd Land,
O we are bad, reach us t' amend,
And let not ruine be our brand,
Then shall our lavish lips deliver.
Our thanks in Peace, to our Peace-giver.
Ejaculat. 148.
If it be so that we must fight,
Lord make our crimes to prove our Foes,
For thou (our God) dost take delight,
To see such pleasant Wars as those.
O may such wars as these encrease,
Until our conquests end in Peace.
Ejaculat. 149.
Lord let the praises of thy Power,
Advance the power of thy praises,
Let every day, let every hour,
Praise thee till hours fail, and days.
To thee all power and praise be given,
By Saints on Earth, by Souls in Heaven.
THE END.