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قراءة كتاب Divine Songs and Meditacions (1653)
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Divine Songs and Meditacions (1653)
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Delay no longer though the Flesh thee tell,
Tis time enough hereafter to repent,
Strive earnestly such mocions to expell,
Remember this thy courage to augment
The first fruits God requir’d for sacrifice,
The later he esteemed of no price.
First let’s behold our natural estate
How dangerous and damnable it is,
And thereupon grow to exceeding hate
With that which is the onely cause of this;
The which is Sin, yea Disobedience
Even that which was our first parents offence.
The reasonable Soule undoubtedly
Created was at first free from offence,
In Wisdom, Holinesse, and Purity,
It did resemble the Divine Essence,
Which being lost, the Soule of man became
Like to the Serpent, causer of the same.
The Understanding, Will, Affections cleare,
Each part of Soule and Body instantly
Losing their purity, corrupted were
Throughout as by a loathsom Leprocy
The rayes of Vertu were extinguisht quite
And Vice usurpeth rule with force and might.
This sudden change from sanctitude to sin
Could but prognosticat a fearfull end,
Immediatly the dollour did begin,
The Curse that was pronounc’d, none might defend,
Which Curse is in this life a part of some,
The fulnesse thereof in the life to come.
The Curse that to the Body common is
The sence of Hunger, Thirst, of Sicknes, Pain:
The Soules Calamities exceedeth this,
A Tast of Hell shee often doth sustain,
Rebukes of Conscience, threatning plagues for sin,
A world of Torments oft shee hath within.
Unlesse the Conscience dead and feared be,
Then runs the soule in errors manifold,
Her danger deep shee can in no wise see,
And therefore unto every sin is bold,
The Conscience sleeps, the Soule is dead in sin,
Nere thinks of Hell untill shee comes therein.
Thus is the Conscience of the Reprobate,
Either accusing unto desperacion,
Or elce benummed, cannot instigate
Nor put the Soule in mind of reformacion;
Both work for ill unto the castaway,
Though here they spent their time in mirth and play.
Yet can they have no sound contentment here,
In midst of laughter oft the heart is sad:
This world is full of woe & hellish feare
And yeelds forth nothing long to make us glad
As they that in the state of nature dy
Passe but from misery to misery.
Consider this my soule, yet not despaire,
To comfort thee again let this suffice,
There is a Well of grace, whereto repaire,
First wash away thy foul enormities
With teares proceeding from a contrite heart,
With thy beloved sins thou must depart.
Inordinate affections, and thy Will,
And carnall wisdom, must thou mortify,
For why, they are corrupt, prophane and ill,
And prone to nothing but impiety,
Yet shalt thou not their nature quite deface,
Their ruines must renewed be by grace.
If that thou canst unfainedly repent,
With hatred therunto thy sins confesse,
And not because thou fearest punishment
But that therby thou didst Gods Laws transgress
Resolving henceforth to be circumspect,
Desiring God to frame thy wayes direct.
Each member of thy body thou dost guide,
Then exercise them in Gods service most
Let every part be throughly sanctifide
As a meet Temple for the Holy Ghost;
Sin must not in our mortall bodies raign
It must expelled be although with pain
Thou must not willingly one sin detain,
For so thou mayst debarred be of blis,
Grace with inniquity will not remain,
Twixt Christ and Belial no communion is,
Therefore be carefull every sin to fly,
And see thou persevere in piety.
So mayst thou be perswaded certainly,
The Curse shall in no wise endanger thee,
Although the body suffer misery
Yet from the second death thou shalt be free;
They that are called here to Holinesse
Are sure elected to eternall blisse.
A Taste of blessednesse here shalt thou say,
Thy Conscience shall be at Tranquility,
And in the Life to com thou shalt enjoy
The sweet fruition of the Trinity,
Society with Saints then shalt thou have,
Which in this life thou didst so often crave.
Let this then stir thee up to purity,
Newnesse of life, and speedy Conversion,
To Holinesse and to integrity,
Make conscience of impure thoughts unknown
Pray in the Spirit with sweet Contemplacion
Be vigilant for to avoid Temptacion.
The Preamble.
Amid the Oceon of Adversity,
Neare whelmed in the Waves of sore Vexation,
Tormented with the Floods of Misery,
And almost in the Guise of Despairacion,
Neare destitute of Comfort, full of Woes,
This was her Case that did the same compose:
At length Jehovah by his power divine,
This great tempestious Storm did mittigate.
And cause the Son of Righteousnesse to shine
Upon his Child that seemed desolate,
Who was refreshed, and that immediatly,
And Sings as follows with alacrity.
The Second Meditacion.
The storm of Anguish being over-blown,
To praise Gods mercies now I may have space,
For that I was not finally orethrown,
But was supported by his speciall grace;
The Firmament his glory doth declare, Psal. 19. 1
Yet over all his works, his mercies are. Psal. 145. 9
The Contemplacion of his mercies sweet,
Hath ravished my Soule with such delight
Who to lament erst while was onely meet,
Doth now determine to put griefe to flight,
Being perswaded, hereupon doth rest,
Shee shall not be forsaken though distrest.
Gods Favour toward me is hereby proved,
For that he hath not quite dejected me;
VVhy then, though crosses be not yet removed
Yet so seasoned with pacience they be,
As they excite me unto godlinesse,
The onely way to endlesse happinesse.
Wch earthly muckworms can in no wise know
Being of the Holy Spirit destitute,
They savour onely earthly things below;
Who shall with them of saving Grace dispute,
Shall find them capable of nothing lesse
Though Christianity they do professe.
Let Esaus porcion fall onto these men,
The Fatnesse of the Earth let them possesse
No other thing they can desire then,
Having no taste of Heavens happinesse,
They care not for Gods Countenance so bright,
Their Corn and Wine and Oyle is their delight.
To compasse this and such like is their care,
But having past the period of their dayes,
Bereft of all but miseries they are,
Their sweet delight with mortall life decayes,
But godlinesse is certainly great gain, 1. Tim. 6. 6
Immortall blisse they have, who it retain.
They that are godly and regenerate,
Endu’d with saving Knowledg, Faith, and Love,
When they a future blisse premeditate,
It doth all bitter passion quite remove;
Though oft they feel the want of outward things
Their heavenly meditacions, comfort brings.
They never can be quite disconsolate,
Because they have the onely Comforter
Which doth their minds alway illuminate,
And make them fleshy pleasures much abhorr,
For by their inward light they plainly see
How vain all transitory pleasures bee.
Moreover, if they be not only voyd
Of earthly pleasures and commodities,
But oftentimes be greviously annoyd
With sundry kinds of great Calammities,
Whether it be in Body, Goods, or Name,
With pacience they undergo the same.
And why? because they know and be aware
That all things work together for the best,
To them that love the Lord and called are, Ro. 8.28.
According to his purpose; therefore blest
Doubtlesse they be, his knowledg that obtain,
No Losse may countervail their blessed Gain.
Which makes them neither murmor nor repine
When God is pleasd with Crosses them to try,
who out of darknesse caused light to shine, 2 Cor. 4.6.
Can raise them Comfort out of Misery
They know right well and therefore are content
To beare with patience any Chastisment.
This difference is betwixt the good and bad;
When as for sin the godly scourged are,
And godly Sorrow moves them to be sad,
These speeches or the like they will declare:
O will the Lord absent himselfe for ever?
Will he vouchsafe his mercy to me never?
VVhat is the cause I am afflicted so?
The cause is evident I do perceive.
My Sins have drawn upon me all this woe,
The which I must confesse and also leave,
Then shall I mercy find undoubtedly, Pro. 28.13.
And otherwise no true prosperity.
Whilst sin hath rule in me, in vain I pray,
Or if my Soule inniquity affects,
If this be true, at tis, I boldly say,
The prayer of the wicked, God rejects; Pro. 15.8.
If in my heart I wickednesse regard
How can I hope my prayer shall be heard. Psal. 66
If I repent, here may I Comfort gather,
Though in my prayers there be weaknesse much
Christ siteth at the right hand of his Father
To intercede and make make request for such, Rom. 8.33
Who have attained to sincerity,
Though somthing hindered by infirmity.
I will forthwith abandon and repent,
Not onely palpable inniquities,
But also all alowance or consent
To sinful motions or infirmities;
And when my heart and wayes reformed be,
God will with-hold nothing that’s good from me. Psal. 84.
So may I with the Psalmist truly say,
Tis good for me that I have been afflicted,
Before I troubled was, I went astray, Psal. 119
But now to godlinesse I am adicted;
If in Gods Lawes I had not took delight,
I in my troubles should have perisht quite.
Such gracious speeches usually proceed
From such a Spirit that is Sanctifide,
Who strives to know his own defects and need
And also seekes to have his wants supplide;
But certainly the wicked do not so
As do their speeches and distempers show.
At every crosse they murmor, vex and fret,
And in their passion often will they say,
How am I with Calamities beset!
I think they will mee utterly destray,
The cause hereof I can in no wise know
But that the Destinies will have it so.
Unfortunate am I and quite forlorn,
Oh what disastrous Chance befalleth me!
Vnder some hurtfull Plannet I was born
That will (I think) my Confusion be,
And there are many wickeder then I
Who never knew the like adversity.
These words do breifly show a carnall mind
Polluted and corrupt with Ignorance,
Where godly Wisdom never yet hath shin’d
For that they talk of Destiny or Chance;
For if Gods Power never can abate,
He can dispose of that he did create.
If God alone the True Almighty be
As we beleive, acknowledg, and confesse,
Then supream Governor likewise is he
Disposing all things, be they more or lesse;
The eyes of God in every place do see
The good and bad, and what their actions bee.
The thought hereof sufficeth to abate
My heavinesse in great’st extremity,
When Grace unto my Soul did intimate
That nothing comes by Chance or Destiny,
But that my God and Saviour knowes of all
That either hath or shall to me befall.