DIVINE POEMS Revised, and Corrected with Additions By the Author Fra: Quarles.  
Printed for john Marriott in St Dunston's Church yard 〈…〉    

DIVINE POEMS: Containing 

The History of 

JONAH.  
ESTER.  
JOB.  
SAMSON.     

ZIONS' 

SONNETS.  
ELEGIES.      
Written and newly augmented, BY FRA: QVARLES.  
LONDON, Printed by M. F. for I. MARRIOT, and are to be sold at his Shop in St. Dunstan's Churchyard in Fleetstreet.   

TO THE SACRED MAJESTY of King CHARLES.  
SIR,  
WHen your Landed Subject dies, and leaves none of his Blood to inherit, the Laws of this your Kingdom finds the King heir: In this Volume are contained several Poems lately dedicated to diverse of your Nobility, whom they have outlived; So that the Muses (who seldom or never give honour for lives) have found them all for the King, which (have here gathered together, and prostrated before the feet of your Sacred Majesty. Indeed one of them I formerly dedicated and presented to yourself. So that now they are become doubly yours, both by Escheat, and as Survivor. And if you please to own me as your servant, your Majesty hath another Title good, by which I most desire they should be known yours: I will not sin against the common good so much as to expect your Majesty's serious eye upon them: If when your Crown shall be most favourable to your Princely brows, you please to afford a gracious hearing, they will with the help of some benevolous Reader, and your Royal acceptance (I hope) relish in your sacred ears, and receive honour from your accustomed goodness, far above their merits, or the expectation of  
Your truehearted and loyal Liegeman, FRA: QVARLES.   

To the READER.  
I List not to tire thy patient ears with unnecessary Language, (the abuse of Complement●) My mouth's no Dictionary: it only serves as the needful Interpreter of my Heart.  
I have here sent thee the first fruits of an abortive Birth. It is a dainty Subject, not Fabulous, but Truth itself.  
Wonder not at the Title (A FEAST FOR WORMS:) for it is a Song of Mercy: What greater FEAST than Mercy? And what are Men but WORMS?  
Moreover, I have gleaned some few Meditatations, obvious to the History; Let me advise thee to keep the Taste of the one, whilst thou readest the other, and that will make thee relish both, the better.  
Understanding Reader, favour me: Gently expound, what it is too late to correct.  He leva le Golpe, Dios sea con ella. 
Farewell.   

THE PROPOSITION of this first Worke.  
●TIs not the Record of great Hector's glory,  
Whose matchless Valour makes the World a Story;  
Nor yet the swelling of that Romans name,  
That only Came, and Looked, and Overcame;  
Nor One, nor All, of those brave Worthies nine,  
(Whose Might was great, and Acts almost divine,  
That liveed like Gods, but died like Men, and gone)  
Shall give my Pen a Task to treat upon:  
I sing the praises of the KING of Kings.  
Out of whose mouth a two-edged Smiter springs,  
Whose Words are Mystery, whose Works are Wonder,  
Whose Eyes are Lightning, and whose Voice is Thunder;  
Who like a Curtain spreads the Heavens out,  
Spangled with Stars, in Glory round about:  
'Tis He, that cloven the furious waves in twain,  
Making a Highway passage through the Main,  
'Tis He, that turned the waters into Blood,  
And smote the Rocky stone, and caused a Flood;  
'Tis He, that's justly armed in his Ire,  
Behind with Plagues, before with flaming Fire,  
More bright than midday Phoebus, are his Eyes,  
And whosoever sees his Visage, dies.  
I sing the Praises of Great judah's Lion,  
The fragrant Flower of jesse, the Lamb of Zion,  
Whose Head is whiter than the driven Snow,  
Whose visage doth like flames of Fire glow:  
His Loins begirt with golden Belt, his Eyes  
Like Titan, ridinst in his Southern Shine,  
His Feet like burning Brass, and as the noise  
Of surgie Neptune's roaring in hi● Voice,  
This is that Paschall Lamb whose dearest Blood  
Is soveraigue Drink, whose Flesh is saving Food:  
His precious Blood, the Worthies of the Earth  
Did drink, which (though but borne of mortal birth)  
Returned them Deities: For who drinks This,  
Shall be received into Eternal Bliss;  
himself's the Gift, which He himself did give,  
His Stripes heal us, and by His Death we live;  
He acting God and Man, in double Nature,  
Did reconcile Mankind, and Man's Creator.  
ay, here's a Task indeed; If Mortals could  
Not make a Verse, yet Rocks and Mountains would:  
The Hills shall dance, the Sun shall stop his Course,  
Hearing the subject of this high Discourse:  
The Horse, and Gryphin, shall together sleep,  
The Wolf shall fawn upon the silly Sheep,  
The crafty Serpent, and the fearful Hart,  
Shall join in Consort, and each bear a part,  
And leap for joy; when my Urania sings,  
She sings the praises of the King of Kings.   

The Introduction.  
¶ THat Ancient Kingdom, that old Assur swayed,  
Showed two great Cities: Ah! but both decayed,  
Both mighty Great, but of unequal growth;  
Both great in People, and in Building, both;  
But ah! What hold is there of earthly good?  
Now Grass grows there, where these brave Cities stood.  
The name of one, great Babylon was height,  
Through which the rich Euphrates takes her flight  
From high Armenia to the ruddy Seas,  
And stores the Land with rich Commodities.  
¶ The other Ninus, Nineveh the Great,  
So huge a Fabric, and well-chosen Seat  
Don Phoebus' fiery Steeds (with Manes becurled,  
That circundates in twice twelve hours the world)  
ne'er saw the like: By great King Ninus hand,  
'Twas raised and builded, in th' Assyrians Land.  
On one hand, Lycus washed her fruitful sides,  
On t'other, Tigris with her hasty ●ides.  
Begirt she was with walls of wondrous might,  
Creeping twice fifty foot in measured height.  
Upon their breadth (if ought we may rely  
On the report of Sage Antiquity,)  
Three Chariots fairly might themselves display,  
And rank together in a Ba●tell ray:  
The Circuit that her mighty Bulk embraces  
Contains the meet of sixty thousand 〈◊〉:  
Within her well-fenced walls you might discover  
Five hundred stately Towers, thrice told over;  
Whereof the highest draweth up the eye,  
As well the low'st, an hundred Cubits high;  
All rich in those things, which to state belong,  
For beauty brave, and for munition strong:  
Duly, and daily this great Work was tended  
With ten thousand Workmen; begun and ended  
In eight years' space: How beautiful! how fair  
Thy Buildings! And how foul thy Vices are!  
¶ Thou Land of Assur, double then thy pride,  
And let thy Wells of joy be never dried,  
Thou hast a Palace, that's renowned so much,  
The like was never, is, nor will be such.  
¶ Thou Land of Assur, treble then thy W●●,  
And let thy Tears (do as thy Cups) o'erflow;  
For this thy Palace of so great renown,  
Shall be destroyed, and sacked, and battered down.  
But cheer up, Niniveh, thine inbred might  
Hath means enough to quell thy Foeman's spite:  
Thy Bulwarks are like Mountains, and thy Wall  
Disdains to stoop to thundering Ordnance call:  
Thy watchful Towers mounted round about,  
Keep thee in safety, and thy Foe-men, out:  
I, But thy Bulwarks aid cannot withstand  
The direful stroke of the Almighty's hand;  
Thy Wafer-walls at dread jehovahs' blast  
Shall quake, and quiver, and shall down 〈◊〉.  
Thy watchful Towers shall asleep be found,  
And nod their drowsy heads down to the ground:  
Thy Bulwarks are not Vengeance-proofe; thy Wall,  
When justice brandisheth her Sword, must fall:  
Thy lofty Towers shall be dumb, and yield  
To high Revenge▪ Revenge must win the field;  
Vengeance cries loud from heaven, she cannot stay  
Her Fury, but (impatient of delay)  
Hath brimmed her 〈◊〉 full of deadly B●ne:  
Thy Pal●ce shall be burnt, thy People slain;  
Thy Heart is hard as Flint, and swollen with pride,  
Thy murderous Hands with guiltless blood are died;  
Thy silly Babes do starve for want of Food:  
Whose tender Mothers thou hast drenched in Blood:  
Women with child, lie in the streets about,  
Whose Brains thy savage hands have dashed out:  
Distressed Widows weep, (but weep in vain)  
For their dear Husbands, whom thy hands have slain:  
By one man's Force, another man's devoured,  
Thy Wives are ravished, and thy Maids deflowered;  
Where justice should, there Tort & Bribes are placed:  
Thy ' Altars defiled, and holy things defaced:  
Thy Lips have tasted of proud Babel's Cup,  
What thou hast left, thy Children have drunk up:  
Thy bloody sins, thine Abel's guiltless blood,  
Cries up to heaven for Vengeance, cries aloud;  
Thy sins are seire, and ready for the fire,  
here rouse, (my Muse) and for a space, respire.   

TO THE MOST HIGH, HIS HUMBLE SERVANT IMPLORES HIS FAVOVrable Assistance.  
O All sufficient God, great Lord of Light,  
Without whose gracious aid, & constant spirit,  
No labours prosper, (howsoe'er begun)  
But fly like Mists before the morning Sun:  
O raise my thoughts, and clear my Apprehension,  
Infuse thy Spirit into my weak invention:  
Reflect thy Beams upon my feeble Eyes,  
Show me the Mirror of thy Mysteries;  
My Artless Hand, my humble Heart inspire,  
Inflame my frozen tongue with holy fire:  
Ravish my stupid Senses with thy Glory;  
Sweeten my Lips with sacred Oratory:  
And (thou O FIRST and LAST) assist my Quill,  
That first and last, I may perform thy will:  
My sole intent's to blazon forth thy Praise;  
My ruder Pen expects no crown of Bays.  
Suffice it then, Thine Altar I have kissed:  
Crown me with Glory; Take the Bays that list.   

A FEAST FOR WORMS.  
By Fra: Quarles.  
LONDON, Printed for JOHN MARRIOT. 1633.   

A FEAST FOR WORMS.  

THE ARGUMENT.  
The word of God to Ionah●●me ●●me,  
Commanded jonah to proclaim  
The ●engeance of his Majesty,  
Against the sins of 〈◊〉.  
Sect. 1.  

TH'eternal Word of God, whose high Decree  
Admits no change, and cannot frustrate be,  
Came down to jonah, from the heavens above,  
Came down to * jonah, heaven's anointed Dove;  
jonah, the flower of old 〈◊〉 youth,  
jonah, the Prophet, Son, and Heir to Truth,  
The blessed Type of him, that ransomed us,  
That Word came to him, and bespoke him thus:  
" Arise; truss up thy loins, make all things meet,  
" And put thy Sandals on thy hasty feet,  
" Gird up thy reynes, and take thy staff in hand,  
" Make no delay, but go, where I command;  
" Me pleases not to send thee (jonah) down,  
" To sweet Gath-Hepher, thy dear native Town,  
" Whose tender paps, with plenty overflow;  
" Nor yet unto thy brethren shalt thou go,  
" Amongst the Hebrews, where thy spr●dden fame  
" Foreruns the welcome of thine honoured name▪  
" No, I'll not send thee thither: Up, arise,  
" And go to Niniveh, where no Allies,  
" Nor consanguinity preserves thy blood;  
" To Ni●iveh, where strangers are withstood:  
" To Niniveh, a City far removed  
" From thine acquaintance, where thouart not beloved  
" I send thee to Mount Sinai, not Mount Zion,  
" Not to a gentle Lamb, but to a Lion:  
" Nor yet to Lydia, but to bloody Pashur,  
" Not to the Land of Canaan, but of Ashur,  
" Whose language will be riddles to thine ears,  
" And thine again will be as strange to th●irs▪  
" Isay, to Niniveh, the world's great Hall,  
" The Monarch's seat, high Court Imperial.  
" But terrible Mount Sinay●ill ●ill affright thee,  
" And Pashurs' heavy hand is bend to smite thee▪  
" The Lion's roar, the people's strong and stout,  
" The Bulwarks stand a front to keep thee out.  
" Great Ashur minaces with whip in hand,  
" To entertain thee (welcome) to his land.  
" What then? Arise, be gone; stay not to think:  
" Bad is the cloth, that will in wetting shrink.  
" What then, if cruel Pashur heap on strokes?  
" Or Sinai blast thee with her sulphurous smokes?  
" Or Ashur whip thee? Or the Lions rend thee?  
" P●sh, on with courage; I, the Lord have sent thee▪  
" Away, away, lay by thy foolish pity,  
" A●d go to Niniveh, that mighty City:  
" Cry loud against it, let thy dreadful voice  
" Make all the City echo with the noise:  
" Not like a Dove, but like a Dragon go,  
" Pronounce my judgement, and denounce my Woe:  
" Make not thy bed a fountain ●all of tears,  
" ●o weep in secret for her sins. Thine ears  
" S●all hear such things, will make thine eyes run over,  
" ●hine eyes shall smart with what they shall discover:  
" Spend not in private, those thy zealous drops,  
" But hew, and back; spare neither trunk nor l●ps:  
" Make heaven, and earth rebound, when thou discharges▪  
" Plead not (like Paul) but roar (like Boanarges:)  
" Nor let the beauty of the buildings blear thee,  
" Let not the terrors of the Rampires fear thee;  
" Let no man bribe thy fist, (I well advise thee)  
" Nor foul means force thee, nor let fair entice thee:  
" Ram up thine ears: Thy heart of stone shall be;  
" Be deaf to them, as they are deaf to me:  
" Go, cry against it. If they ask thee why?  
" Say, heavens great Lord commanded thee to cry:  
" My Altars cease to smoke; their holy fires  
" Are quenched, and where prayers should, their sin aspires▪  
" The fatness of their fornication fries  
" On coals of raging l●st, and upward flies,  
" And makes me seek: I hear the mournful gro●es  
" And heavy sighs of such, whose aching bones  
" Th'oppressor grinds: Alas, their griefs implore me,  
" Their prayers, preferred with tears, plead loud before 〈◊〉▪  
" Behold, my sons, they have oppressed, and killed,  
" And bathed their hands within the blood they spilled:  
" The steam of guiltless blood makes suit unto me,  
" The vo●●e of many bloods is mounted to me;  
" The vile profaner of my sacred Names,  
" He tears my titles, and my honour maims,  
" Makes Rhet'rick of an oath, swears and forswears,  
" Recks not my Mercy, nor my judgement fears:  
" They eat●, they drink, they sleep, they tyre the ●igh●  
" 〈…〉 ●alliance, and unclean delight.  
" Heavens winged Herald Iona●, up and go  
" To mighty Niniveh, Denounce my woe.  
" Advance thy voice, and when thou hast advan●●● it,  
" Spare Shrub, nor Cedar, but cry out against it:  
" Hold out thy Trumpet, and with louder breath▪  
" Proclaim my sudden coming, and their death.   

The Author's Apology.  
IT was my morning Muse; A Muse whose spirit  
Transcends (I fear) the fortunes of her merit;  
Too bold a Muse, whose feathers (yet in blood)  
She never bathed in the Pyrenean Flood;  
A Muse unbreathed, unlikely to attain  
An easy honour, by so stout a Train;  
Expect no lofty Haggard, that shall fly  
A lessening pitch, to the deceived eye;  
If in her Downy Soreage, she but ruff  
So strong a Dove, may it be thought enough;  
Bear with her; Time and Fortune may require  
Your patient sufferance, with a fairer flight.   

The general Application.  
TO thee (Mal●id●) now I turn my Quill;  
That God is still that God, and will be still.  
The painful Pastors take up Ionah's room:  
And thou the Ninivite, to whom they co●e.   

Medit. 1.  
HOw great's the love of God unto his creature?  
Or is his Wisdom, or his Mercy greater?  
I know not whether: O th'exceeding love  
Of highest God that from his Throne above  
Will send the brightness of his grace to those  
That grope in darkness, and his grace oppose:  
He helps, provides, inspires, and freely gives,  
As pleased to see us ravel out our lives;  
He gives us from the heap, He measures not,  
Nor deals (like Manna) each his stinted lot,  
But daily sends the Doctors of his Spouse,  
(With such like oil as from the Widows cruse  
Did issue forth) in fullness, without wasting,  
Where plenty still was had, yet plenty lasting.  
ay, there is ●are in heaven, and heavenly sprights,  
That guides the world, and guards poor mortal wights,  
There is; else were the miserable state  
Of Man, more wretched and unfortunate  
Than savage beasts: But O th'abounding love  
Of highest God whose Angels from above  
Dismount the Tower of Bliss, fly to and fro,  
Assisting wretched Man, their deadly foe.  
What thing is Man, that God's regard is such?  
Or why should heaven love reckless Man so much?  
Why? what are men? but quickened lumps of earth?  
A Feast for Worms; a bubble full of mirth;  
A Looking glass for grief; A flash; A minute;  
A painted Tomb, with putrefaction in it;  
A map of Death; A burden of a song;  
A winter's Dust; A worm of five foot long:  
Begot in sin; In darkness nourished; Born●  
In sorrow; Naked; Shiftless, and forlorn:  
His first voice (heard) is crying for relief;  
Alas! He comes into a world of grief:  
His Age is sinful; and his Youth is vain;  
His Life's a punishment; His Death's a pain;  
His Life's a hour of joy; a world of Sorrow;  
His death's a winter's night, that finds no morrow:  
Man's Life's an Hourglass, which being run,  
Concludes that hour of joy, and so is done.  
jonah must go; nor is this charge confined  
To jonah, but to all the world enjoined;  
You Magistrates, arise, and take delight  
In dealing justice, and maintaining Right;  
There lies your Niniveh: Merchants arise,  
And mingle conscience with your Merchandise:  
Lawyers arise, make not your righteous Laws,  
A trick for gain; Let justice rule the cause:  
Tradesmen arise, and ply your thriving shops,  
With truer hands, and eat your meat with drops:  
Paul to thy Tents, and Peter to thy Net,  
And all must go that course, which God hath set.  
¶ Great God awake us, in these drowsy times,  
Lest vengeance find us, sleeping in our Crymes,  
Increase succession in thy Prophet's lieu,  
For lo, thy Harvest's great, and workmen few.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
But jonah toward Tharsis went,  
A Tempest doth his course prevent:  
The Mariners are sore oppressed,  
While jonah sleeps and takes his rest.  
Sect. 2.  

But jonah thus bethought: The City's great,  
And mighty Ashur stands with deadly threat;  
Their hearts are hardued, that they cannot hear:  
Will green wood burne, when so unapt's the seire?  
Strange is the charge: Shall I go to a place  
Unknown and foreign? Ay me! hard's the case,  
That righteous Isr●el, must be thus neglected,  
When Miscreants and Gentiles are respected:  
How might I hope my words shall there succeed,  
Which thrive not with the flocks I daily feed?  
I know my God is gentle, and inclined,  
To tender mercy, apt to change his mind  
Upon the least repentance: Then shall I  
Be deemed as false, and shame my Prophecy.   

O heavy burden, of a doubtful mind!  
Where shall I go, or which way shall I wind?  
My heart like janus, looketh to and fro;  
My Credit bids me, Stay; my God bids, Go:  
If Go; my labour's lost, my shame's at hand:  
If stay, Lord! I transgress my Lords command:  
If go; from bad estate, to worse, I fall.  
If stay, I slide from bad, to worst of all.  
My God bids go, my credit bids me stay:  
My guilty fear bids fly another way.   

So jonah strait arose, himself bedight  
With fit acoutrements, for hasty flight:  
In stead of staff, he took a Shipman's weed;  
In stead of going, lo●, he flies with speed.  
Like as a Hawk (that overmatcht with might)  
Doing sad penance for th'unequal fight,  
(Answering the Falconers second shout) does flee  
From fist; turns tail to foul, and takes a tree:  
So jonah baulks the place where he was sent  
(To Nineveh) and down to jaffa went:  
He sought, enquired, and at last, he found  
A welcome Ship, that was to Tharsis bound,  
Where he may fly the presence of the Lord:  
He makes no stay, but straightway goes aboard,  
His hasty purse for bargain finds no leisure,  
(Where sin delights, there's no account of treasure)  
Nor did he know, nor ask, how much his Fare:  
He gave: They took: all parties pleased are:  
(How thriftless of our cost, and pains, are we,  
Great God of heaven and earth, to fly from thee!)  
Now have the sailors drunk their parting cup,  
They go aboard; The S●●les are hoisting up;  
The Anchor's weighed; the keel begins t'obey  
Her gentle Rudder; leaves her quiet Key,  
Divides the streams, and without wind or oar,  
She easily glides along the moving shore:  
Her swelling Canvace gives her nimbler motion,  
Sh'outstrips the Tide, and hies her to the Ocean:  
Forth to the deep she launches, and outbraves  
The prouder billows, rides upon the waves;  
She plies that course, her Compass hath enjoindher,  
And soon hath left the lessened land behind her;  
By this, the breath of heaven began to cease;  
Calm were the Seas; the waves were all at peace;  
The flagging mainsaile flapt against her yard,  
The useless Compass, and the idle Card  
Were both neglected: Upon every side  
The gamesome Porpisce tumbled on the Tide.  
Like as a Mastis●e, when restrained a while,  
Is made more furious, and more apt for spoil,  
Or when the breath of man, being bard the course,  
At length breaks forth, with a far greater force,  
Even so the mi●der breath of heaven, at last,  
Le's fly more fierce, and blows a stronger blast;  
All on a sudden darkened was the Sky  
With gloomy clouds; heavens more refulgent eye  
Was all obscured: The air grew damp and cold,  
And strong mouthed B●reas could no longer hold:  
Aeolus le's lose his uncontrolled breath,  
Whose language threatens nothing under death:  
The Rudder fails; The ship's at random driven;  
The eye no object owns, but Sea and Heaven:  
The Welkin storms, and rages more and more,  
The rain pours down; the heavens begin to roar  
As they would split the massy Globe in sunder,  
From those that live above, to those live under;  
The Pilot's frighted; knows not what to do,  
His Art's amazed, in such a maze of woe;  
Faces grow sad: Prayers and complaints are rise;  
Each one's become an Orator for life:  
The Winds above, the waters underneath,  
join in rebellion, and conspire death.  
The Seman's courage now begins to quail▪  
Some ply the plump, whilst others strike the ●aile,  
Their hands are busy, while their heart's despair,  
Their fears and dangers move their lips to prayer:  
They prayed, but winds did snatch their words away,  
And lets their prayers not go to whom they pray:  
But still they pray, but still the wind and weather  
Do turn both ship & prayers they know not whether:  
Their gods were deaf, their danger waxed greater;  
They cast their wares out, and yet ne'er the better:  
But all this while was jonah drowned in sleep,  
And in the lower deck was buried deep.   

Medita. 2.  
But stay: this was a strange and uncouth word:  
Did jonah fly the presence of the Lord?  
What mister word is that? He that repleats  
The mighty Universe, whose lofty seats  
Th'imperial Heaven, whose footstool is the face  
Of massy Earth? Can he from any place  
Be barred? or yet by any means, excluded,  
That is in all things? (and yet not included)  
Could jonah find a resting any where  
So void, or secret, that God was not there?  
I stand amazed, and frighted at this word:  
Did jonah fly the presence of the Lord?  
Mount up to Heaven, and there thou shalt discover  
The excellent glory of his kingly power:  
Bestride the earth beneath (with weary pace)  
And there he bears the Olive branch of Grace:  
Dive down into th'extreme Abyss of Hell,  
And there in justice doth th' Almighty dwell.  
What secret Cloister could there then afford  
A screene'twixt faithless jonah, and his Lord?  
¶ ●onah was charged, to take a charge in hand;  
But jonah turned his back on God's command;  
shook off his yoke, and wilfully neglected,  
And what was strictly charged, he quite rejected:  
And so he fled the power of his Word;  
And so he fled the presence of his Lord.  
¶ Good God how poor a thing is wretched man?  
So frail, that let him strive the best he can,  
With every little blast he's overdon:  
If mighty Cedars of great Leban●n,  
Cannot the danger of the Axe withstand,  
Lord! how shall we, that are but bushes, stand:  
How fond, corrupt, how senseless is mankind?  
How feigning deaf is he? How wilful blind?  
He stops his ears, and sins: he shuts his eyes,  
And (blindfold) in the lap of danger flies:  
He sins, despairs; and then to stint his grief,  
He chooses death, to balk the God of life.  
¶ Poor wretched sinner, travel where thou wilt,  
Thy travel shall be burdened with thy guilt:  
Climb tops of hills, that prospects may delight thee,  
There will thy sins (like wolves & bears) affright thee,  
Fly to the valleys, that those frights may shun thee,  
And there, like Mountains, they will fall upon thee:  
Or to the raging Seas, (with jonah) go;  
There will thy sins like stormy Neptune flow.  
Poor shiftless Man! what shall become of thee?  
Wher'ere thou fliest, thy griping sin will flee.  
¶ But all this while, the ship where jonah sleeps,  
Is tossed and torn, and battered on the Deeps,  
And well-nigh split upon the threatening Rock,  
With many a boisterous brush, and churly knock:  
God help all desperate voyagers, and keep  
All such as feel thy wonders on the deep.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The Pilot thumps on Ionah's breast,  
And rouseth jonah from his rest:  
They all cast Lots, (being sore affrighted)  
The sacred Lott on jonah lighted.  
Sect. 3.  
THe amazed Pilot finding no success,  
(But that the storm grew rather more than less,  
For all their toilsome pains, and needless prayers▪  
Despairing both of life, and goods) repairs  
To jonahs' drowsy cabin; mainly calls;  
Calls jonah, jonah; and yet louder yawles;  
Yet jonah sleeps; and gives a shrug, or two,  
And snores, (as greedy sleepers use to do.)  
The woeful Pilot jogs him, (but in vain.)  
(Perchance he dreams an idle word, or twain▪)  
At length he tugs and pulls his heavy coarse,  
And thunders on his breast, with all his force:  
But (after many yawns) he did awake him,  
And (being both affrighted) thus bespoke him:  
" Arise, O Sleeper; O arise and 〈◊〉,  
" There's not a twiny thred'twixt death, and thee:  
" This darksome place (thou measur'st) is thy grave,  
" And sudden Death rides proud on yonder wave;  
" Arise, O sleeper, O arise, and pray;  
" Perhaps thy God will hear, and not say, Nay:  
" Repair the loss of these our ill spent hours,  
" Perchance thy God's more powerful than ours;  
" Heavens hand may cease, and have compassion on us,  
" And turn away this mischief it hath done us.  
The sturdy Sailors (weary of their pain)  
Finding their bootless labour lost, and vain,  
Forbore their toilsome task and wrought no more,  
Expecting Death, for which they looked before;  
They call a parley, and consult together,  
They count their sins, (accusing one another)  
That for his sin, or his, this ill was wrought:  
In fine, they all prove guilty of the fault:  
But yet the question was not ended so:  
One says, 'Twas thine offence; but he says, No,  
But 'twas for thy sake, that accuses me;  
Resht forth a third (the worse of the three)  
And swore it was another's, which (he hearing)  
Denied it 〈◊〉, and said, 'Twas thine for swearing:  
In came a fifth, accusing all; (replying  
But little else) they all chid him for lying;  
One said it was, another said 'twas not:  
So all agreed, to stint the strife by Lott:  
Then all was whist▪ and all to prayer went;  
(For such a business a fit compliment)  
The Lott was cast; t'pleased God by Lots to tell,  
The Lott was cast; the Lott on jonah fell,  

Medita. 3.  
O Sacred subject of a Meditation!  
Thy Works (O Lord) are full of Admiration,  
Thy judgements all are just, severe, and sure,  
They quite cut off or else by lancing, cure  
The festering sore of a rebellious heart,  
Lest-foule infection taint th'immortal part.  
How deep a Lethargy doth this disease  
Bring to the slumbering soul, through careless ease▪  
Which once being waked, (as from a golden dream)  
Looks up, and sees her grief●s the more extreme.  
How seeming sweets the quiet sleep of sin?  
Which when a wretched man's once nuzzled in,  
How sound sleeps he, without fear, or wit?  
No sooner do his arms enfolded knit  
A drowsy knot upon his careless breast,  
But there he snorts, and snores in endless rest;  
His eyes are closed fast, and deaf his ears,  
And (like Endymion) sleeps himself in years;  
His sense-bound heart relents not at the voice  
Of gentle warning, neither does the noise  
Of strong reproof awake his sleeping ear,  
Nor louder threatenings thunder makes him hear;  
So deafe's the sinner's ear, so numbed his sense,  
That sin's no corrosive, breeds no offence;  
For custom brings delight, deludes the heart,  
Beguiles the sense, and takes away the smart.  
¶ But stay; Did one of God's elected number,  
(Whose eyes should never sleep, nor eye lids ●lumber)  
So much forget himself? Did jonah fleepe,  
That should be watchful, and the Tower keep?  
Did jonah (the selected mouth of God)  
In stead of roaring judgements, does he nod?  
Did jonah sleep so sound? Could he sleep then,  
When (with the sudden sight of Death) the men  
(So many men) with yelling shrieks, and cries,  
Made very heaven report? Were Ionah's eyes  
Still closed, and he, not of his life bereaven?  
Hard must he wink that shuts his eyes from heaven.  
O righteous Isr'el, where, O, where art thou?  
Where is thy Lamp? thy zealous Shepherd now?  
Alas! the ravenous Wolves will worr' thy Sheep;  
Thy Shepherd's careless, and is fall'n asleep;  
Thy wand'ring flocks are frighted from their fold,  
Their Shepherd's gone, and Foxes are too bold:  
They, they whose smooth-faced words become the altar,  
Their works descent, & first begin to falter;  
And they that should be watchlights in the Temple  
Are snuffs, and want the oil of good example;  
The chosen Watchmen that the tower should keep  
Ate waxen heavy-eyed, and fall'n asleep.  
¶ Lord if thy watchmen wink too much, awake them▪  
Although they slumber, do not quite forsake them;  
The flesh is weak, say not (if dulness seize  
Their heavy eyes) sleep henceforth: take your ●ase:  
And we poor weaklings, when we sleep in sin,  
Knock at our drowsy hearts, and never lin,  
Till thou awake our sin-congealed eyes;  
Lest (drowned in sleep) we sink and never rise.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
They question jonah whence he came,  
His Country, and his people's Name.  
He makes reply: They moon their woe,  
And ask his counsel what to do.  
Sect 4.  
AS when a Thiefe's appr'hended on suspect,  
And charged for some supposed malefact,  
A rude concourse of people, strait accrues,  
Whose itching ears even smart to know the news.  
The guilty prisoner (to himself betrayed)  
He stands dejected, trembling and afraid:  
So jonah stood the Sailors all among,  
Enclosed round amid the ruder throng.  
As in a Summer's evening you shall hear  
In Hives of Bees (if you lay close your ear)  
Confused buzzing, and seditious noise,  
Such was the murmur of the Sailor's voice.  
" What was thy sinful act, that causes this,  
" (Says one) wherein hast thou so done amiss?  
" Tell us, What is thine Art (another says)  
" That thou professest? Speak man, Whences aways,  
" From what Confines call'st thou? (A third replies)  
" What is thy Country? And of what allies?  
" What, art thou borne a jew? or Gentile? whether?  
" (〈◊〉 he could lend an answer unto either)  
" A fourth demands; Where hath thy breeding been?  
All what they asked, they all asked o'er again:  
In fine, their ears (impatient of delay)  
Becalmed their tongues to hear what he could say.  
So 〈◊〉 (humbly rearing up his eyes)  
Breaking his long-kept silence, thus replies:  
" I am an Hebrew, son of Abraham,  
" From whom my Land did first derive her name,  
" Within the Land of jury was I borne,  
" My name is jonah, reckless and forlorn▪  
" I am a Prophet: ah! but woe is me,  
" For from before the face of God I flee;  
" From whence (through disobedience) I am driven:  
" I sear jehovah, the great God of Heaven:  
" I fear the Lord of Hosts, whose glorious hand  
" Did make this stormy Sea, and massy Land.  
So said, their ears with double ravishment,  
Still hung upon his melting lips, attended,  
Whose dreadful words their hearts so near impierc●t,  
That from themselves, themselves were quite divers▪  
As in a sowltry Summers' evening tide,  
(When lustful Phoebus' re-salutes his Bride,  
And Philomela begins her carolling)  
A Herd of Deer are browzing in a Spring,  
With eager appetite, misdeeming nought,  
Nor in so deep a silence fearing aught:  
A sudden crack, or some unthought-of sound,  
Or bounce of Fowler's Piece, or yelp of Hound,  
Disturbs their quiet peace with strange amaze  
Where (senseless half) through fear, they stand a● gaze  
So stand the Seamen, (as with Ghosts affrighted,)  
Entraunced with what this man of God recited:  
Their tired limbs do now wax faint, and lither,  
Their hearts did yern, their knees did smite together.  
Congealed blood usurped their trembling hearts,  
And left a faintness in their feeble parts:  
Who (trembling out distracting language,) thus:  
" Why hast thou brought this mischief upon us?  
" What humour led thee to a place unknown,  
" To seek foreign Land, and leave thine own?  
" What faith hadst thou, by leaving thine abode,  
" To think to fly the presence of thy God?  
" Why hast thou not obeyed (but thus transgressed)  
" The voice of God, whom thou acknowledgest?  
" Art thou a Prophet, and dost thou amiss?  
" What is the cause? and why hast thou done this?  
" What shall we do? The tempest lends no ear  
" To fruitless that, nor dot the b●llowes hear,  
" Or mark our language: Waves are not a●tent:  
" Our goods they fl●at, our needless pains are spent,  
" Our Barke's not weather proof: no Fort's so stout,  
" To keep continual siege and battery out.  
" The Lot accuses thee, thy words condemn thee,  
" The ●●ves (thy death's men) strive to overwhelm thee:  
" What she we do? Thou Prophet, speak, we pray thee:  
" Thou fear'dst the Lord; Alas! we may not stay thee:  
" Or shall we save thee? No, for thou dost fly  
" The face of God, and so deservest to dye:  
" Thou Prophet, speak, what shall be done to thee,  
" That angry Sea▪ may calm, and quiet be?  

Medita. 4.  
GIve leave a little to adjoin your text,  
And ease my soul, my soul with doubts perplexed.  
Can he be said to fear the Lord, that flies him?  
Can word confess him, when as deed denies him?  
My sacred Muse hath rounded in mine ear,  
And read the mystery of a twofold fear:  
The first, a servile fear, for judgements sake;  
And thus hell's Firebrands do fear and quake:  
Thus Adam feared, and fled behind a tree:  
And thus did bloody Cain fear and flee.  
Unlike to this there is a second kind  
Of fear, extracted from a zealous mind,  
Full fraught with love, and with a conscience clear  
From base respects: It is a filial fear;  
A fear whose ground would just remain, & level,  
Were neither Heaven, nor Hell, nor God, nor devil▪  
Such was the fear that Princely David had;  
And thus our wretched jonah feared, and fled:  
He fled ashamed, because his sins were such;  
He fled ashamed, because his fear was much.  
He feared jehovah, other feared he none:  
Him he acknowledged; him he feared alone:  
Unlike to those who (being blind with error)  
Frame many gods, and multiply their terror.  
Th' Egyptians, god Apis did implore.  
God Assas the Chaldeans did adore:  
Babel to the Devouring Dragon seeks;  
Th' Arabians, Astaroth; juno, the greeks;  
The name of Belus, the Assyrians hollow,  
The Troian●, Vesta; Corinth, wise Apollo;  
Th' Arginians sacrifice unto the Sun;  
To lightfoot Mercury bows Macedon;  
To god Volunus, Lovers bend their knee:  
To Pavor, they that faint and fearful be:  
Who pray for health, and strength, to Murcia those▪  
And to Victoria, those that fear to lose:  
To Muta, they that fear a woman's tongue:  
To great Lucin●, women great with young:  
To Esculapius, they that live oppressed:  
And such to Quies, that de●ier rest.  
O blinded ignorance of antique times,  
How blended with error, and how stuffed with crimes  
Your Temples were! And how adulterate!  
How clogged with needless gods! How obstinate!  
How void of reason, order, how confuse!  
How full of dangerous and foul abuse!  
How sandy were the grounds, and how unstable!  
How many Deities! yet how unable!  
Implore these gods, that list to howl and bark,  
They bow to Dagon, Dagon to the Ark:  
But he to whom the seal of mercy's given,  
Adores jehovah, the Great God of Heaven:  
Upon the mention of whose sacred Name,  
Meek Lambs grow fierce, & the fierce Lions tame:  
Bright Sol shall stop, & heaven shall turn his course:  
Mountains shall dance, and Neptune slake his force:  
The Seas shall part, the fire want his flame,  
Upon the mention of I●hovah's Name:  
A Name that makes the roof of Heaven to shake,  
The frame of Earth to quiver, Hell to quake:  
A Name, to which all Angels blow their Trumpets:  
A Name, puts frolic man into his dumps,  
(Though ne'er so blithe) A Name of high renown:  
It mounts the meek, and beats the lofty down;  
A Name, divides the marrow in the bone;  
A Name, which out of hard, and flinty stone  
Extracteth hearts of flesh, and makes relent▪  
Those hearts that never knew what mercy meant,  
O Lord! how great's thy Name in all the Land:  
How mighty are the wonders of thy hand?  
How is thy glory placed above the heaven?  
To tender mouths of Sucklings thou hast given  
Coercive power, and boldness to reproove,  
When elder men do what them not behoove.  
O Lord,! how great's the power of thine hand?  
O God how great's thy Name in all the Land!    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The Prophet doth his fault discover,  
Perswade● the men to cast him over:  
They row, and toil, but do no good,  
They pray to be excused from blood.  
Sect. 5.  
SO jonah framed this speech to their demand,  
" Not that I seek to traverse the command  
" Of my dear Lord, and out of mind perverse,  
" T'avoid the Ninivites, do I amerce  
" Myself: Nor that I ever heard you threat,  
" (Unless I went to Niniveh (the great)  
" And do the message sent her from the Lord)  
" That you would kill, or cast me overboard,  
" Do, I, do thi●; 'Tis my deserved fine:  
" You all are guiltless, and the fault is mine:  
" 'tis I, 't●● I alone, 'tis I am he:  
" The tempest comes from heaven, the cause from me;  
" You shall not lose a hair ●or this my s●●,  
" Nor perish for the fault that mine hath been;  
" Lo, I the man am here: L●, I am he,  
" The root of all▪ End your reven●e on me;  
" I fled th'eternal God; O, let me then  
" (Because I fled my God) so fly from men:  
" Redeem your lives with mine; Ah, why should I,  
" Not guiltless, live; and you not guilty, die?  
" I am the man, for whom these billows dance,  
" My death shall purchase your deliverance;  
" Fear not to cease your fears; but throw me in;  
" Alas! my soul is burdened with my sin,  
" And God is just, and bend to his Decree,  
" Which certain is, and cannot altered be;  
" I am proclaimed a Traitor to the King  
" Of heaven an earth: The winds with speedy wing  
" Acquaint the Seas: The Seas mount up on high,  
" And cannot rest, until the Traitor die;  
" Oh, cast me in, and let my life be ended;  
" Let Death make justice mends, which Life offended;  
" Oh, let the swelling waters me embalm;  
" So shall the Waves be still, and Sea be calm.  
So said, th'amazed Mariners grew sad,  
New Love abstracted, what old Fear did add;  
Love called Pity: Fear called vengeance in;  
Love viewed the Sinner▪ Fear beheld the Sin;  
Love cried out, Hold; for better saved than spilled;  
But Fear cried, Kill; O better kill, than killed:  
Thus plunged with Passions they distracted were  
Betwixt the hopes, and doubts of Love and Fear;  
Some cried out, Save: if this foul deed we do,  
Vengeance that haunted him, will haunt us too:  
Others cried, No; May rather death befall  
To one (that hath deserved to dye) then all:  
Save him (says one) Oh save the man that thus  
His dearest blood hath proffered to save us;  
No, (says another) vengeance must have blood,  
And vengeance strikes most hard, when most withstood.  
In fine (say all:) Then let the Prophet die,  
And we shall live; For Prophets cannot lie.  
Loath to be guilty of their own, yet loath  
To haste poor jonahs' death, with hope, that both  
Th' approaching evil might be at once prevented,  
With prayers and pains reuttered, reattented,  
They tried new ways, despairing of the old,  
Love quickens courage, makes the spirits bold;  
They strove, in vain, by toil to win the shore,  
And wrought more hard than er●e they did before:  
But now, both hands and hearts begin to quail,  
(For bodies wanting rest, must faint and fail;)  
The Seas are angry, and the waves arise,  
Appeased with nothing but a Sacrifice;  
God's vengeance stormeth like the raging Seas,  
Which nought but jonah (dying) can appease:  
Fond is that labour, which attempts to free,  
What Heaven hath bound by a divine decree:  
jonah must die, Heaven hath decreed it so,  
jonah must die, or else they all die too;  
jonah must die, that from his Lord did fly;  
The Lott determines, jonah then must die;  
His guilty word confirms the sacred Lott▪  
jonah must die then, if they perish not.  
" If justice then appoint (since he must die,  
" Said they) us Actors of ●is Tragedy,  
" (We beg not (Lord) a warrant to offend)  
" O pardon bloodshed, that we must intend;  
" Though not our hands, yet shall our hearts be clear;  
" Then let not stainless consciences bear  
" The ponderous burden of a Murders guilt,  
" Or pay the price of blood that must be spilt;  
" For 〈◊〉, (dear Lord) it is thine own decree,  
" And we sad ministers of justice be.  

Meditat. 5.  
But stay a while; this thing would first be known:  
Can jonah give himself, and not his own?  
That part to God, and to his Country this  
Pertains, so that a slender third is his;  
Why then should jonah do a double wrong,  
To deal himself away, that did belong  
The least unto himself? or how could he  
Teach this, (Thou shalt not kill) if jonah be  
His lifes own Butcher? What, was this a deed  
That with the Calling he professed, agreed?  
The purblind age (whose works (almost divine)  
Did merely with the oil of Nature shine,  
That knew no written Law, nor Grace, nor God,  
To whip their conscience with a steely rod,)  
How much did they abhor so foul a fact?  
When (led by Nature's glimpse), they made an act,  
Selfe-murderers should be denied to have  
The charitable honour of a Grave:  
Can such do so, when jonah does amiss?  
What, jonas, Isr'els' Teacher! and do this?  
The Law of Charity doth all forbid,  
In this thing to do that which jonah did;  
Moreo're, in charity, 'tis thy behest,  
Of dying men to think, and speak the best;  
The mighty Samson did as much as this;  
And who dare say, that Samson did amiss,  
If heavens high Spirit whispered in his ear  
Express command to do't? No wavering fear  
Drew back the righteous Abram's armed hand  
From isaack's death, secured by heaven's command.  
¶ Sure is the knot that true Religion ties,  
And Love that's rightly grounded, never dies;  
It seems a paradox beyond belief,  
That men in trouble should prolong relief;  
That Pagans (to withstand a Stranger's Fate)  
Should be neglective of his own estate.  
Where is this love become in later age?  
Alas! 'tis gone in endless pilgrimage  
From hence, and never to return (I doubt)  
Till revolution wheel those times about:  
I'll breasts have starved her here, and she is driven  
Away; and with Astraea fled to heaven.  
Poor Charity, that naked Babe is gone,  
Her honey's spent, and all her store is done;  
Her winglesse Bees can find out ne'er a bloom,  
And crooked A●● doth usurp her room:  
Nepenthe's dry, and Love can get no drink,  
And cursed Ar●en●e flows above the brink.  
Brave Mariners, the world your names shall hollow,  
Admiring that in you, that none dare follow;  
Your friendship's rare, and your conversion strange,  
From Paganism to zeal? A sudden change!  
Those men do now the God of heaven implore,  
That bowed to Puppets, but an hour before;  
Their zeal is fervent, (though but new begun)  
Before their egge-shels were done off, they run:  
And when bright Phoebus in a Summer tide,  
(New ris●n from the bosom of his Bride)  
Enveloped with misty fogs, at length  
Breaks forth, displays the mist, with Southern strength;  
Even so these Mariners (of peerless mirror)  
Their faith b'ing veiled within the mist of error,  
At length their zeal chased ignorance away,  
They left their Puppets, and began to pray.  
¶ Lord how unlimited are thy confines,  
That still pursuest man in his good designs!  
Thy mercy's like the dew of Hermon hill,  
Or like the Ointment, dropping downward still  
From Aaron's head, to beard; from beard to foot:  
So do thy mercies drench us round about:  
Thy love is boundless; Thou art apt and free,  
To turn to Man, when Man returns to thee.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
They cast the Prophet over board:  
The storm allayed: They fear the Lord;  
A mighty Fish him quick devours,  
Where he remained many hours.  
Sect. 6.  
EVen as a member, whose corrupted sore  
Infests, and rankles, eating more and more,  
Threatening the body's loss (if not prevented)  
The wise chirurgeon (all fair means attented)  
Cuts off, and with advised skill doth choose,  
To lose a part, than all the body lose;  
Even so the feeble Sailors (that address  
Their idle arms, where heaven denies success)  
Forbear their thrivelesse labours, and devise  
To root that Evil, from whence their harms arise:  
Treason is in their thoughts, and in their ears  
Danger revives the old, and adds new fears;  
Their hearts grow fierce, and every soul applies  
T'abandon mercy from his tender eyes:  
They cease t'attempt what heaven so long withstood,  
And bend to kill, their thoughts are all on blood:  
They whisper oft, each word is Death's Alarm;  
They hoist him up; Each lends a busy arm,  
And with united powers they entomb  
His outcast body in Thetis angry womb:  
Whereat grim Neptune wiped his foamy mouth,  
Held his tridented Mace upon the South;  
The winds were whist, the billows danced no more,  
The storm allayed, the heavens left off to roar,  
The waves (obedient to their pilgrimage)  
Gave ready passage, and surceased their rage,  
The sky grew clear, and now the welcome light  
Begins to put the gloomy clouds to flight:  
Thus all on sudden was the Sea tranquil,  
The heavens were quiet, and the Waves were still▪  
As when a friendly Creditor (to get  
A long forborn, and much-concerning debt)  
Still plies his willing debtor with entreaties,  
Importunes daily, daily thumps, and beats  
The battered Portals of his tired ears,  
Bedeafing him with what he knows, and hears;  
The weary debtor, to avoid the sight  
He loathes, shifts here, and there, and every night  
Seeks out Protection of another bed,  
Yet nevertheless (pursued and followed)  
His ears are still laid at with louder volley  
Of harder Dialect; He melancholy,  
Sits down, and sighs, and after long foreslowing,  
(T' avoid his presence) pays him what is owing▪  
The thankful Creditor is now appeased,  
Takes leave, and goes away content, and pleased.  
Even so these angry waves, with restless rage,  
Accosted jonas in his pilgrimage,  
And thundered judgement in his fearful ear,  
Presenting Hubbubs to his guilty fear:  
The waves rose discontent, the Surges beat,  
And every moment's death, the billows threat,  
The weatherbeaten Ship did every minuit  
Await destruction, while he was in it:  
But when his (long expected) corpse they threw  
Into the deep, (a debt, through trespass, due)  
The Seagrew kind, and all her frowns abated,  
Her face was smooth to all that navigated.  
'Twas sinful jonah made her storm and rage,  
'Twas sinful jonah did her storm assuage.  
With that the Mariners astonished were,  
And feared jehovah with a mighty fear,  
Offering up Sacrifice with one accord,  
And vowing solemn vows unto the Lord.  
But he whose word can make the earth's foundation  
Tremble, and with his Word can make cessation,  
Whose wrath doth mount the waves, & toss the Seas,  
And make them calm & smooth, when e'er he please:  
This God, (whose mercy runs on endless wheel,  
And pulls (like jacob) justice by the heel)  
Prepared a Fish, prepared a mighty Whale,  
Whose belly was both prisonhouse, and bail,  
For reckless jonah. As the two leafed door  
Opens, to welcome home the fruitful store,  
Wherewith the harvest quits the Ploughman's hope,  
Even so the great Leviathan set open  
His beam-like jaws, (prepared for such a boon)  
And at a morsel, swallowed jonah down,  
Till dewy-checked Aurora's purple die  
Thrice dappelled had the ruddy morning sky,  
And thrice had spread the Curtains of the morn,  
To let in Titan, when the day was borne,  
jonah was Tenant to this living Grave,  
Embowelled deep in this stupendious Cave.  

Meditat. 6.  
LO, Death is now, as always it hath been,  
The just procured stipend of our sin:  
Sin is a golden Causey, and a Road  
Garnished with joys, whose paths are even & broad  
But leads at length to death, and endless grief,  
To torments, and to pains, without relief.  
justice fears none, but maketh all afraid,  
And then falls hardest, when 'tis most delayed,  
But thou reply'st, thy sins are daily great,  
Yet thou sittst uncontrolled upon thy seat;  
Thy wheat doth flourish, and thy barns do thrive,  
Thy sheep increase, thy sons are all alive,  
And thou art buxom▪ and hast nothing scant,  
Finding no want of any thing, but want,  
Whilst others, whom the squint-eyed world counts holy,  
Sat sadly drooping in a melancholy,  
With brow dejected, and downe-hanging head,  
Or take of alms, or poorly beg their bread:  
But young man, know there is a Day of doom,  
The Feast is good, until the reckoning come.  
The time runs fastest, where is least regard,  
The stone that's long in falling, falleth hard;  
There is a dying day, (thou prosperous fool)  
When all thy laughter shall be turned to Doole,  
Thy robes to torturing plagues, & fell tormenting,  
Thy whoops of joy, to howls of sad lamenting:  
Thy tongue shall yell, and yawl, and never stop,  
And wish a world, to give for one poor drop,  
To flatter thine intolerable pain;  
The wealth of Pluto could not then obtain  
A minute's freedom from that hellish rout,  
Whose fire burns, and never goeth out:  
Nor house, nor land, not measured heaps of wealth,  
Can render to a dying man, his health:  
Our life on earth is like a thread of flax,  
That all may touch, and being roucht, it craks.  
¶ As when an Archer shooteth for his sport,  
Sometimes his shaft is gone, sometimes, 'tis short,  
Sometimes o'th' left hand, wide, sometimes o'th' right  
At last, (through often trial) hits the White;  
So death sometimes with her uncertain Rover,  
Hits our Superiors (and so shoots over)  
Sometimes for change, she strikes the meaner sort,  
Strikes our Inferiors (and then comes short)  
Sometimes upon the left hand wide she goes,  
And so (still wounding some) she strikes our foes;  
And sometimes wide upon the right hand bends,  
There with Imperial shafts, she strikes our friends;  
At length (through often trial) hits the White,  
And so strikes us into Eternal night.  
¶ Death is a Calendar composed by Fate,  
Concerning all men, never out of Date:  
Her days Dominical, are writ in blood;  
She shows more bad days, than she showeth good:  
She tells when days, & months, & terms expire,  
measuring the lives of mortals by her squire.  
¶ Death is a Pursuivant, with Eagles wings,  
That knocks at poor men's door, & gates of Kings.  
Worldling, beware betime; death skulks behind thee  
And as she leaves thee, so will judgement find thee.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Within the bowels of the Fish,  
jonah laments in great anguish;  
God heard his prayer, at whose command,  
The Fish disgorged him on the Land.  
Sect 7.  
THen jonah turned his face to heaven, and prayed  
Within the bowels of the Whale, and said,  
" I cried out of my baleful misery  
" Unto my God, and he hath heard my cry;  
" From out the paunch of hell I made a noise,  
" And thou hast answered me, and heard my voice:  
" Into the Deeps and bottom thou hast thrown me,  
" Thy Surges, and thy Waves have passed upon me.  
" Than Lord (aid I) from thy refulgent sight  
" I am expelled, I am forsaken quite,  
" Nay'thelesse while these my wretched eyes remain,  
" Unto thy Temple will I look again.  
" The boisterous Waters compassed me about,  
" My body threats to let her prisoner out,  
" The boundless depth enclosed me, (almost dead)  
" The weeds are wrapped about my fainting head,  
" I lived on earth rejected at thine hand,  
" And a perpetual prisoner in the Land;  
" Yet thou wilt cause my life t'ascend at length,  
" From out this pit, O Lord, my God, my Strength.  
" When as my soul was overwhelmed and faint,  
" I had recourse to thee, did thee acquaint  
" With the condition of my woeful case,  
" My cry came to thee, in thine holy Place,  
" Who so to Vanities themselves betake,  
" Renounce thy mercies, and thy love for sake:  
" To thee I'll sacrifice in endless days,  
" With voice of thanks, and ever-sounding praise:  
" I'll pay my vows; for all the world records  
" With one consent, Salvation is the Lords.  
But he (whose word's a deed, whose breath's a law;  
Whose just command implies a dreadful awe,  
Whose Word prepared a Whale upon the Deep,  
To tend, and wait for Ionah's fall, and keep  
His outcast body safe, and soul secure)  
This very God (whose mercy must endure,  
When heaven, & earth, when sea, & all things fail)  
Disclosed his purpose, and bespoke the Whale,  
To redeliver jonah to his hand;  
Whereat the Whale disgorged him on the land.  

Medita. 7.  
I Well record, a holy Father says,  
" He teaches to deny, that faintly prays:  
The suit surceases, when desire fails,  
But whoso prays with fervency, prevails;  
For prayer's the key that opes th' eternal gate,  
And finds admittance, whether earl' or late;  
It forces audience, it unlocks the ear  
Of heavens great God (though deaf) it makes him hear.  
Upon a time Babel (the world's fair Queen  
Made drunk with choler, and enraged with spleen)  
Through fell disdain, derraigned war against them  
That tender homage to jerusalem:  
A maiden-fight it was, yet they were strong  
As men of War; The Battle lasted long,  
Much blood was shed, an spilt on either side,  
That all the ground with purple gore was died:  
In fine, a Soldier of jerusalem:  
Ch●●●ssa hight, (the Almoner of the Realm)  
Chilled with an ague, and unapt to fight,  
Into Iustitia's Castle too her flight,  
Whereat great Babets' Queen commanded all,  
To lay their siege against the Castle wall;  
But poor Tymissa (not with war acquainted)  
Fearing Charissa's death, fell down, and fainted;  
Dauntless Prudentia reared her from the ground,  
Where she lay (pale and senseless) in a swound,  
She rubbed her temples, and at length awaking  
She gave her water, of Fidissa's making,  
And said, Cheer up, (dear sister) though our foe  
Hath ta'en us Captives, thus besieged with woe,  
We have a King puissant, and of might,  
Will see us take no wrong, and do us right,  
If we possess him with our sad complaint,  
Cheer up, we'll send to him, and him acquaint.  
Tymissa (new awaked from swound) replies,  
Our Castle is begirt with enemies,  
And troops of armed men besiege our walls,  
Then sure Death, or worse than death befalls  
To her, (who ere she be) that stirs a foot,  
Or rashly dares attempt to venture out,  
Alas! what hope have we to find relief,  
And want the means that may divulge our grief?  
Within that place a jolly Matron dwelled,  
Whose looks were fixed and sad; her left hand held  
A pair of equal balances; her right  
A two-edged sword, her eyes were quick & bright,  
Not apt to squint, but nimble to discern;  
Her visage lovely was, yet bold and stern;  
●●r name justitia; to her they make  
Their moan, who, well advised, them thus bespoke:  
Fair Maidens, more beloved than the light,  
●rue the sufferance of your woeful plight,  
●ut pity's fond alone, recures no grief,  
●ut fruitless falls, unless it yield relief.  
Cheer up, I have a Messenger in store,  
Whose speed is much, but faithful trust is more,  
Whose nimble wings shall cleave the flitting skies,  
And scorn the terror of your enemies,  
●ratio height, well known unto your King,  
Your message she shall do, and tidings bring,  
Provided that Fidissa travail with her,  
And so (on Christ's name) let them go together.  
With that Fidissa having ta'en her errant,  
And good Oratio with Iustitia's Warrant,  
In silence of the midnight took her flight,  
Arriving at the Court that very night;  
But they were both as flames of fire hot,  
For they did fly as swift, as Cannon shot,  
But they (left sudden cold should do them harm)  
Together clung, and kept each other warm:  
But now, the kingly gates were sparred, and locked,  
They called, but none made answer them they knocked  
Together joining both their force in one,  
They knocked again; Yet answer there was none;  
But they that never learned to take denial,  
With importunity made further trial;  
The King heard well, although he list not speak,  
Till they with strokes the gate did welnie break:  
In fine, the brazen gates flew open wide;  
Oratio moved her suit; The King replied,  
●ratio was a fair, and welcome guest;  
So heard her suit, so granted her request.  
Frail man, observe; In thee the practice lies,  
Let sacred Meditation moralise:  
Let Prayer be servant, and thy Faith entire,  
And heaven, at last, will grant thee thy desire.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The second time was jonah sent  
To Niniveh: now jonah went:  
Against her crying 〈…〉 cried,  
And her destruction prop●●●y'd.  
Sect. 8.  
ONce more the voice of heaven's high-commander,  
(Like horrid claps of heav'ns-dividing thunder  
Or like the fall of water's breach (the noise  
B●ing heard far distant off) such was the voice)  
Came down from heaven to jonah, new-borne-man,  
To rebaptized jonah, and thus began;  
Am I a God? Or art thou ought but Dust?  
More than a man? Or are my Laws unjust?  
Am I a God, and shall I not command?  
Art thou a man, and darest my Laws withstand?  
Shall I (the motion of whose breath shall make  
Both earth, and Sea, and Hell, and Heaven quake)  
By thee (fond man) shall I be thus neglected;  
And thy presumption scape uncorrected?  
Thy faith hath saved thee (jonah:) Sin no more;  
Lest worse things happen after, than before;  
Arise; let all th' assembled powers agree  
To do th'ambassage I impose on thee;  
Trifle no more; and, to avoid my sight,  
Think not to balk me with a second flight.  
Arise, and go to Niniveh (the great)  
Where broods of Gentiles have ta'en up their seat,  
The great Queen regent mother of the L●nd,  
That multiplies in people like the sand;  
Away, with wings of time, (I'll not essoyne thee)  
Denounce these fiery judgements, I enjoin thee.  
Like as a youngling that to school is sent,  
(Scarce weaned from his mother's blandishment  
Where he was cockered with a stroking hand)  
With stubborn heart denies the just command  
His Tutor wils: But being once corrected,  
His homebred stomach's curbed, or quite ejected:  
His crooked nature's changed, and mollified,  
And humbly seeks, what stoutly he denied;  
So Ionah's stout, perverse, and stubborn heart,  
Was hardened once, but when it felt the smart  
Of heaven's avenging wrath, it strait dissolved,  
And what it once avoided, now resolved,  
T'effect with speed, and with a careful hand  
Fully replenished with his Lords Command,  
To Niniv●h he flieth like a Roe,  
Each step the other strives to overgo;  
And as an Arrow to the mark does fly,  
So (bend to flight) flies he to Niniveh.  
¶ Now Niniveh a might City was,  
Which all the Cities of the world did pass,  
A City which o'er all the rest aspires  
Like midnight Phoebe amongst the lesser fires;  
A City, which (although to men was given)  
Better beseemed the Majesty of Heaven:  
A City Great to God, whose ample wall,  
Who undertakes to meet with paces, shall  
Bring Phoebus thrice to bed, ere it be done,  
(Although with dawning Hesperus begun.  
When jonas hath approached the City gate,  
He made no stay to rest, nor yet to bait,  
No supple oil his fainting head anoints,  
Stays not to bathe his weatherbeaten joints,  
Nor smoothed his countenance, nor slick ' his skin,  
Nor craved he the Hostage of an Inn,  
To ease his aching bones (with travel sore)  
But went as speedy, as he fled before;  
The City's greatness made him not refuse,  
To be the trump of that unwelcome news  
His tongue was great with; But (like thunder's noise)  
His mouth flew open, and out there rushed a voice.  
When dewy-cheeked Aurora shall display  
Her golden locks, and summon up the day  
Twice twenty times, and rest her drowsy head  
Twice twenty nights, in aged Tithonus' bed,  
Then Niniveh this place of high renown,  
Shall be destroyed, and sacked, and battered down.  
He sat not down to take deliberation,  
What manner people were they, or what Nation,  
Or Gent', or Savage; nor did he inquire  
What place were most convenient for a Crier,  
Nor like a sweet-lipt Orator did steer,  
Or tune his language to the people's ear,  
But bold, and rough, yet full of Majesty,  
Lift up his trumpet, and began to cry,  
When forty times Don Phoebus shall fulfil  
His journal course upon th'Olympian Hill,  
Then Niniveh (the World's great wonder) shall  
Startle the World's foundation with her fall.  
The dismal Prophet stands not to admire,  
The City's pomp, or people's acquaint attire,  
Nor yet (with fond affection) doth pity  
Th' approaching downfall of so brave a City,  
But dauntless he his dreadful voice extends,  
Respectless, whom this bolder cry offends,  
When forty days shall be expired, and run,  
And that poor Inch of time drawn out and done,  
Then Niniveh (the World's Imperial throne)  
Shall not be left a stone, upon a stone.  

Meditat. 8.  
But stay; Is God like one of us? Can he  
When he hath said it, alter his Decree?  
Can he that is the God of Truth, dispense  
With what he vowed? or offer violence  
Upon his sacred justice? Can his mind  
Revolt at all? or vary like the wind?  
How comes this alteration then that He  
Thus limiting the effect of his Decree  
Upon the expiring date of forty days,  
He than performs it not? But still delays  
His plagues denounced, & judgement still forbears,  
And stead of forty days gives many years?  
Yet forty days, and Niniveh shall perish?  
Yet forty years, and Niniveh doth flourish:  
A change in man's infirm, in God 'tis strange;  
In God, to change his Will, and will a Change,  
Are diverse things: When he reputes from ill,  
He wils a change; he changes not his Will;  
The subjects changed, which secret was to us,  
But not the mind, that did dispose it thus;  
Denounced judgement God doth oft prevent,  
But neither changes counsel, not intent:  
The voice of he●●en doth seldom threat perdition  
But with express, or an employed condition,  
So that, if Niniveh return from ill,  
God turns his hand, he doth not turn his Will.  
¶ The stint of Niniveh was forty days,  
To change the By as of her crooked ways:  
To some the time is large, To others, small;  
To some 'tis many years; And not at all  
To others; Some an hour have, and some  
Have scarce a minute of their time to come:  
Thy span of life (Malfid●) is thy space,  
To call for mercy, and to cry for grace.  
¶ Lord! what is man, but like a worm that crawls  
Open to danger every foot that falls?  
Death creeps (unheard) and steals abroad (unseen)  
Her darts are sudden, and her arrows keen,  
Uncertain when, but certain she will strike,  
Respecting King and Beggar both alike;  
The stroke is deadly, come it soon, or late,  
Which once being struck, repentings out of date;  
Death is a minute, full of sudden sorrow:  
" Then live to day, as thou mayst die to morrow.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The Ninivites believe the word,  
Their hearts return unto the Lord;  
In him they put their only trust:  
They mourn is Sackcloth, and in dust.  
Sect. 9  
SO said; the Ninivites believed the Word,  
Believed jonas, and believed the Lord;  
They made no pause, nor jested a● the news,  
Nor slighted it, because it was a jew's  
Denouncement: No, nor did their gazing eyes  
(As taken captive with such novelties)  
Admire the stranger's garb, so acquaint to theirs,  
No idle chat possessed their itching ears,  
The whilst he spoke: nor were their tongues on fire  
To rail upon, or interrupt the Crier,  
Nor did they question whether true the message,  
Or false the Prophet were, that brought th'ambassage  
But they gave faith to what he said; relented,  
And (changing their miswandred ways) repent;  
Before the searching Air could cool his word,  
Their hearts returned, and believed the Lord;  
And they, whose dainty lips were cloyed while ere  
With cates, and viands, and with wanton cheer,  
Do now enjoin their palates not to taste  
The offal bread, (for they proclaimed a Fast)  
And they, whose looset bodies once did lie  
Wrapped up in Robes, and Silks of Princely die,  
Lo now, in stead of Robes, in rags they mourn,  
And all their Silks do into Sackcloth turn,  
They read themselves sad Lectures on the ground,  
Learning to want, as well as to abound;  
The Prince was not exempted, nor the Peer,  
Nor yet the richest, nor the poorest there;  
The old man was not freed, (whose hoary age  
Had even almost outworn his Pilgrimage;)  
Nor yet the young, whose Glass (but new begun)  
By course of Nature had an age to run:  
For when that fatal Word came to the King,  
(Conveyed with speed upon the nimble wing  
Of flitting Fame) he strait dismounts his Throne,  
Forsakes his Chair of State he sat upon,  
Disrobed his body, and his head discrowned,  
In dust and ashes groveling on the ground,  
And when he reared his trembling corpse again,  
(His hair all filthy with the dust he lay in)  
He clad in pensive Sackcloth, did depose  
Himself from State Imperiall, and chose  
To live a Vassal, or a base thing,  
Then to usurp the Sceptre of a King:  
(Respectless of his pomp) he quite forgot  
He was a Monarch mindless of his State,  
He neither sought to rule, or be obeyed,  
Nor with the sword, nor with the Sceptre swayed.  

Meditat. 9  
¶ IS fasting then the thing that God requires?  
Can fasting expiate, or slake those fires  
That sin hath blown to such a mighty flame?  
Can sackcloth clothe a fault? or hide a shame?  
Can ashes, cleanse thy blot? or purge thy ' offence?  
Or do thy hands make heaven a recompense,  
By strowing dust upon thy bryny face?  
Are these the tricks to purchase heavenly grace?  
No, though thou pine thyself with willing want;  
Or face look thin, or Carcase ne'er so gaunt,  
Although thou worse weeds than sackcloth wear:  
Or naked go, or sleep in shirts of hair,  
Or though thou choose an ash-tub for thy bed,  
Or make a daily dunghill on thy head,  
Thy labour is not poised with equal gains,  
For thou hast nought but labour for thy pains:  
Such holy madness God rejects, and loathes,  
That sinks no deeper, than the skin, or clothes:  
'Tis not thine eyes which (taught to weep by art)  
Look red with tears, (not guilty of thy hart)  
'Tis not the holding of thy hands so hie,  
Nor yet the purer squinting of thine eye;  
'Tis not your mimic mouths, your antic faces,  
Your Scripture phrases, or affected Graces,  
Nor prodigal up-banding of thine eyes,  
Whose ga●●●full balls do seem to pelt the skies;  
'Tis not the strict reforming of your hair  
So close, that all the neighbour skull is bare;  
'Tis not the drooping of thy head so low,  
Nor yet the lowering of thy sullen brow,  
Nor wolvish howling that disturbs the air,  
Nor repetitions or your tedious prayer;  
No, no, 'tis none of this, that God regards;  
Such sort of fools their own applause rewards,  
Such puppet-plays, to heaven a●e strange, & acquaint,  
Their service is unsweet, and foully taint,  
Their words fall fruitless from their idle brain;  
But true repentance runs in other strain;  
Where sad contrition harbours, there the heart  
Is truly'acquainted with the secret smart  
Of past offences, hates the bosom sin  
The most, which most the soul took pleasure in;  
No crime unsifted, no sin unpresented  
Can lurk unseen; and seen, none unlamented;  
The troubled soul's amazed with dire aspects  
Of lesser sins committed, and detects  
The wounded Conscience; it cries amain  
For mercy, mercy, cries, and cries again;  
It sadly grieves, and soberly laments,  
It yernes for grace, reforms, returns, reputes;  
I, this is incense, whose accepted savour  
Mounts up the heavenly Throne, & findeth favour:  
I, this is it, whose valour never fails,  
With God it stoutly wrestles, and prevails:  
ay; this is it, that pearces heaven above,  
Never returning home (like Noab's Dove)  
But brings an Olive leaf, or some increase,  
That works Salvation, and Eternal Peace.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The Prince and people fasts, and prays;  
God heard, accepted, liked their ways:  
Upon their timely true repentance,  
God rever'st, and changed his sentence.  
Sect. 10.  
THen suddenly, with holy zeal inflamed,  
He caused a general Act to be proclaimed,  
By sage advice, and counsel of his Peers;  
" Let neither man, or child, of youth, or years,  
" From greatest in the City, to the least,  
" Nor Herd, nor pining Flock, nor hungry beast,  
" Nor any thing that draweth air, or breath,  
" On forfeiture of life, or present death,  
" Presume to taste of nourishment, or food,  
" Or move their hungry lips to chew the cud;  
" From out their eyes let Springs of water burst,  
" With tears (or nothing) let them slake their thirst:  
" Moreo're, let every man (what e'er he be)  
" Of higher quality, or low degree,  
" D'off all they wear (excepting but the same  
" That nature craves, & that which covers shame)  
" Their nakedness with sackcloth let them hide,  
" And mue the vest'ments of their silken pride;  
" And let the brave careering Horse of War,  
" (Whose rich Caparisons, and Trappings are  
" The glorious Wardrobe of a Victor's show)  
" Let him disrobe, and put on sackcloth too;  
" The Ox (ordained for yoke) the Ass (for load)  
" The Horse (as well for race, as for the road)  
" The burthren-bearing Camel (strong and great)  
" The fruitful Kine, and every kind of Neat,  
" Let all put sackcloth on, and spare no voice,  
" But cry aloud to heaven, with mighty noise;  
" Let all men turn the bias of their ways,  
" And change their fiercer hands to force of praise:  
" For who can tell, if God (whose angry face  
" Hath long been waning from us) will embrace  
" This slender pittance of our best endeavour?  
" Who knows, if God will his intent persever?  
" Or who can tell, if he (whose tender love  
" Transcends his sharper justice) will remove  
" And change his high decree, & turn his sentence  
" Upon a timely, and unfeigned repentance?  
" And who can tell, if heaven will change the lot,  
That we, and ours may live, and perish not?  
So God perceived their works, & saw their ways,  
Approved the faith, that in their works did blaze,  
Approved their works, approved their works the rather  
because their faith & works went both together:  
He saw their faith, because their faith abounded;  
He saw their works, because on faith they grounded  
He saw their faith, their works, and so relented,  
H'approved their works, their faith, & so repent;  
Repent of the plagues they apprehended;  
Repent of the evil, that he intended:  
So God the vengeance of his hand withdrew,  
He took no forfeiture, although 'twere due;  
The evil, that once he meant, he now forgot,  
Cancelled the forfeit bond, and did it not.  

Medita. 10.  
¶ SEe, into what an ebb of low estate  
The soul that seeks to be regenerate,  
Must first descend, before the ball rebound,  
It must be thrown with force against the ground;  
The seed increases not in fruitful ears,  
Nor can she rear the goodly stalk she bears,  
Unless bestrowed upon a mould of earth,  
And made more glorious by a second birth:  
So man, before his wisdom can bring forth  
The brave exploits of truly noble worth,  
Or hope the granting of his sin's remission,  
He must be humbled ●●rst in sad contrition.  
The plant (through want of skill, or by neglect)  
If it be planted from the Suns reflect,  
Or lack the dew of seasonable showers,  
Decays, and beareth neither fruit, nor flowers:  
So wretched Man, if his repentance hath  
No quickening Sunshine of a lively Faith,  
Or not bedewed with showers of timely tears,  
Or works of mercy (wherein Faith appears)  
His prayers and deeds, and all his forced groans,  
Are like the howls of dogs, and works of Drones.  
The wise Chirurgeon, first (by letting blood)  
Weakens his Patient, ere he does him good;  
Before the Soul can a true comfort find,  
The body must be prostrate, and the mind  
Truly repentive, and contrite within.  
And loathe the fawning of a bosom sin.  
But Lord! Can Man deserve? Or can his best  
Do justice equal right, which he transgressed?  
When Dust and Ashes mortally offends,  
Can Dust and Ashes make eternal mends?  
Is Heaven unjust? Must not the recompense  
Be full equivalent to the offence?  
What mends by mortal Man can then be given  
To the offended Majesty of Heaven?  
O Mercy! Mercy! on thee my Soul relies,  
On thee we build our Faith, we bend our eyes;  
Thou fill'st my empty strain, thou fill'st my tongue;  
Thou art the subject of my Swanlike song;  
Like pinioned prisoners at the dying tree,  
Our lingering hopes attend and wait on thee;  
(Arraigned at justice bar) prevent our doom;  
To thee with joyful hearts we cheerly come;  
Thou art our Clergy; Thou that dearest Book,  
Wherein our fainting eyes desire to look;  
In thee, we trust to read (what will release us)  
In bloody Characters, that name of JESUS.  
¶ What shall we then return the God of heaven?  
Where nothing is (Lord) nothing can be given;  
Our souls, our bodies, strength, and all our powers,  
(Alas!) were all too little, were they ours:  
Or shall we burn (until our life expires)  
An endless Sacrifice in Holy fires?  
¶ My Sacrifice shall be my HEART entire,  
My Christ the Altar, and my Zeal the Fire.    


THE ARGUMENT.  
The Prophet discontented pray▪  
To God, that he would end his days;  
God blames his wrath so unreprest,  
Reproves his unadvised request.  
Sect 11.  
But this displeasing was in Ionah's eyes,  
His heart grew hot, his blood began to rise,  
His eyes did sparkle, and his teeth struck fire,  
His veins did boil, his heart was full ire:  
At last broke forth into a strange request,  
These words he prayed, and mumbled out the rest;  
Was not, O was not this my though! (O Lord)  
Before I fled? Nay was not this my word,  
The very word, my jealous language vented,  
When this mishap might well have been prevented?  
Was there, O was there not a just suspect,  
My preaching would procure this effect?  
For Lord, I knew of old, thy tender love;  
I knew the power, thou gav'st my tongue, would move  
Their Adamantine hearts; I knew 'twould thaw  
Their frozen spirits and breed relenting awe;  
I knew (great God) upon their true repentance,  
That thou determin'dst to reverse thy sentence;  
For well I knew, thou were a gracious God,  
Of long forbearance, slow to use the Rod;  
I knew, the power of thy Mercies bend  
The strength of all thy other works outwent;  
I knew the tender kindness, and how loath  
Thou wert to punish, and how slow to wrath;  
Turning by judgements, and thy plagues preventing,  
Thy mind river sing, and of evil repenting:  
Therefore (O therefore) upon this persuasion,  
I fled to Tarshish, there to make evasion,  
To save thy credit (Lord) to save mine own:  
For when this blast of zeal is overblown,  
And sackcloth left, and they surcease to mourn,  
When they (like dogs) shall to their vomit turn,  
They'll vilipend thy Sacred Word, and scoff it,  
Saying, was that a God, or this a Prophet?  
They'll scorn thy judgements, and thy threats despise,  
And call thy Prophets, Messengers of lies.  
Now therefore (Lord) bow down attentive ear,  
(For ah my burden's more than fl●sh can bear)  
Make speed (O Lord) and banish all delays,  
T' extinguish now the Taper of my days:  
Let not the minutes of my time extend,  
But let my wretched hours find an end;  
Let not my fainting spirits longer stay  
In this frail mansion of distempered clay:  
The threads but weak, my life depends upon,  
O, cut that thread, and let my life be done;  
My breast stands fair, strike then, and strike again,  
For nought but dying can assuage my pain:  
O may I rather dye, than live in shame;  
Better it is to leave, and yield the game,  
Than toil for what, at length, must needs be lost;  
O, kill me, for my heart is sore embossed:  
This latter boon unto thy servant give;  
For better 'tis for me, to dye than live.  
So wretched jonah: But jehovah thus;  
What boot it so to storm outrageous:  
Becomes it thus my servants heart to swell:  
Can anger help thee, jonah? dost thou well?   

Medita. 12.  
HOw poor a thing is man! How vain's his mind!  
How strange, how base! & wavering like the wind  
How uncouth are his ways! how full of danger!  
How to himself, is he himself a stranger!  
His heart's corrupt, and all his thoughts are vain,  
His actions sinful, and his words profane,  
His will's depraved, his senses are beguiled,  
His reason's dark, his members all defiled,  
His hasty feet are swift and prone to ill,  
His guilty hands are ever bend to kill,  
His tongue's a sponge of venom, (or of worse)  
Her practice is to swear his skill to curse;  
His eyes are fireballs of lustful fire,  
And outward helps to inward foul desire,  
His body is a well-erected station,  
But full of folly and corrupted passion:  
Fond love; and raging lust; and foolish fears;  
Griefs overwhelmed with immoderate tears;  
Excessive joy; prodigious desire,  
Unholy anger, red and hot as fire;  
These daily clog the soul, that's fast in prison,  
From whose increase this luckless b●ood is risen,  
Respectless pride, and lustful idleness,  
Base ribald talk, and loathsome drunkenness,  
Faithless Despair, and vain Curiosity;  
Both false, yet double-tongued Hypocrisy;  
Soft flattery, and haughty-eyed Ambition;  
Heart-gnawing Hatred, and squint-eyed Suspicion,  
Self-eating En●y, envious Detraction,  
Hopeless distrust, and tootoo sad Dejection;  
Revengeful Malice, hellish Blasphemy,  
Idolatry, and light Inconstancy;  
Daring Presumption, wry-mouthed Derisson,  
Damned Apostasy, Fond superstition,  
¶ What heedful watch? Ah what continual ward?  
How great respect, and hourly regard,  
Stands man in hand to have; when such a brood  
Of furious hellhounds seek to suck his blood?  
Day, night, and hour, they rebel and wrestle,  
And never cease, till they subdue the Castle.  
¶ How slight a thing is man? how frail and brittle?  
How seeming great is he? How truly little?  
Within the bosom of his holiest works,  
Some hidden Embers of old Ada● lurks,  
Which oftentimes in men of purest ways,  
Burst out in flame, and for a season blaze  
¶ Lord, teach our hearts, and give our soul's directions,  
Subdue our passions, kerb our stout affections,  
Nip thou the bud, before the bloom begins:  
Lord, shield thy servants from presumptuous sins.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
A Booth for shelter Iona● made;  
God sent a Gourd for better shade;  
But by the next approaching light,  
God sent a Worm consumed it quite.  
Sect. 12.  
SO jonah (sore oppressed, and heavie-hearted)  
From out the City's circuit strait departed,  
Departed to the Eastern borders of it,  
Where sick with anguish sat this sullen Prophet;  
He built a Booth, and in the Booth he sat,  
(Until some few days had expired their date  
With over-tedious pace) where he might see,  
What would betide to threatened Nineveh.  
A trunk that wanteth sap, is soon decayed;  
The slender Booth of boughs and branches made,  
Soon yielding to the Sun's consuming Ray,  
Crumbled to dust, and early dried away:  
Whereat, the great jehovah spoke the word,  
And over Ionah's head there sprang a Gourd,  
Whose roots were fixed within the quickening earth,  
Which gave it nourishment, as well as birth;  
God raised up a Gourd, a Gourd should last,  
Let wind, or scorching Sun, or blow or blast:  
As coals of fire raked in embers lie  
Obscure, and undiscerned by the eye;  
But being stirred, regain a glimmering light,  
Revive, and glow, burning afresh and bright;  
So jonah began to cheer through this relief,  
And joyful was, devoyded all his grief;  
He joyed to see that God had not forgot  
His drooping servant, and forsook him not;  
He joyed, in hope the Gourds strange wonder will  
Persuade the people, he's a Prophet still;  
The fresh aspect did much refresh his sight;  
The herbal savour gave his sense delight;  
Thus jonah much delighted in his Gourd,  
Enjoyed the pleasures that it did afford,  
But, Lord! what earthly thing can long remain!  
How momentany are they! and how vain!  
How vain is earth, that man's delighted in it!  
Her pleasures rise, and vanish in a minit:  
How fleeting are the joys, we find below,  
Whose tides (uncertain) oftener ebb than flow!  
For see! this Gourd (that was so fair, and sound)  
Is quite consumed, and eaten to the ground;  
No sooner Titan had upheaved his head,  
From off the pillow of his Saffron bed,  
But heaven prepared a silly, silly worm,  
(Perchance brought thither by an Eastern storm)  
The worm that must obey, and well knew how,  
Consumed the Gourd, nor left it root, nor bough;  
Consumed it strait within a minute's space,  
Left nought, but (sleeping) jonas in the place.  

Medit. 12.  
¶ THe pleasures of the world, (which soon abate)  
Are lively Emblems of our own estate,  
Which (like a Banquet at a Funeral show)  
But sweeten grief, and serve to flatter woe.  
¶ Pleasure is fleeting still, and makes no stay,  
It lends a smile or twain, and steals away:  
¶ Man's life is fickle, full of winged haste,  
It mocks the sense with joy and soon does waste:  
¶ Pleasure does crown thy youth, & juls thy wants;  
But (sullen age approaching) strait avaunts:  
¶ Man's life is joy, and sorrow seeks to banish,  
It doth lament and mourn in age, and vanish.  
¶ The time of pleasure's like the life of Man;  
Both joyful, both contained in a span;  
Both highly prized, and both on sudden lost,  
When most we trust them, they deceive us most;  
What fit of madness makes us love them thus▪  
We leave our lives, and pleasure leaveth us:  
Why, what is pleasure? But a golden dream,  
Which (waking) makes our wants the more extreme?  
And what is Life? A bubble full of care,  
Which (pricked by death) strait empties into air:  
The flowers (clad in far more rich array,  
Than e'er was Solomon) do soon decay;  
What thing more sweet, or fairer than a flower?  
And yet it blooms, and fades within an hour;  
What greater pleasure than a rising Sun?  
Yet is this pleasure every evening done:  
But thou art heir to Croesus, and thy treasure  
Being great, and endless, endless is thy pleasure;  
But thou (thou Croesus' heir) consider must,  
Thy wealth, and thou, came from, and goes to dust;  
Another's noble, and his name is great,  
And takes his place upon a lofty seat;  
True 'tis, but yet his many wants are such,  
That better 'twere he were not known so much.  
Another binds his soul in Hymen's knot,  
His Spouse is chaste, unblemished with a spot,  
But yet his comfort is bedashed, and done,  
His grounds are stocked, and now he wants a son  
¶ How fickle and unconstant's Man's estate!  
Man fain would have, but then he knows not what;  
And having, rightly knows not how to prise it,  
But like that foolish dunghil-cock employs it;  
But who desires to live a life content,  
Wherein his Cruze of joy shall ne'er be spent,  
With fierce pursuit, let him that good desire,  
Whose date no change, no fortune can expire.  
For that's not worth the craving, to obtain  
A happiness, that must be lost again;  
Nor that, which most do covet most, is best;  
Best are the goods, mixed with contented rest;  
Gasp not for honour, wish no blazing glory,  
For these will perish in an age's story;  
Nor yet for power; power may be carved  
To fools, as well as thee, that hast deserved.  
Thirst not for Lands nor Money; wish for none,  
For wealth is neither lasting, nor our own:  
Riches are fair enticements to deceive us;  
They flatter, while we live, and dying, leave us.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
jonas desires to die, the Lord  
Rebukes him, be maintains his word,  
His anger he doth justify,  
God pleads the cause for Ninevie:  
Sect. 13.  
WHen ruddy Phoebus had with morning light  
Subdued the East, & put the stars to flight,  
heavens hand prepared a servant Eastern wind,  
Whose drought together with the Sun combined,  
The one as bellowes blowing tother's fire,  
With strong united force, did both conspire  
To make assault upon the fainting head  
Of helpless jonah, that was well nigh dead,  
Who turning oft, and tossing to and fro,  
(As they that are in torments use to do)  
And (restless) finding no success of ease,  
But rather that his tortures still increase;  
His secret passion to his soul betrayed,  
Craving no sweeter boon than death, and said,  
O kill me (Lord) or lo, my heart will rive;  
For better 'tis for me to dye than live.  
So said, The Lord did interrupt his passion,  
And said, How now, is this a seemly fashion?  
Doth it become my servants heart to swell?  
Can anger help thee? jonah, dost thou well?  
Is this a ●it speech? or a well-placed word?  
What, art thou angry (jonah) for a Gourd?  
What, if th' Arabians with their ruder train,  
Had killed thine Oxen, and thy cattle slain?  
What if consuming fire (fall'n from heaven)  
Had all thy servants of their lives bereaven,  
And burned thy sheep? What, if by strong oppression  
The Chaldees had usurped unjust possession  
Upon thy Camels? Or had Boreas blown  
His full-mouthed blast, and cast thy houses down,  
And slain thy sons amid their jollities?  
Or hadst thou lost thy Vineyard full of trees?  
Hadst thou been ravished of thine only Sheep,  
That in thy tender bosom used to sleep?  
How would thine ●asty spirit then been stirred,  
If thou art angry, jonah, for a Gourd?  
To which, thus jonah vents his idle breath,  
Lord, I do well to vex unto the death;  
I blush not to acknowledge, and profess  
Deserved rage, I'm angry, I ●onfesse;  
‛ I would make a spirit that is thorough frozen,  
To blaze like flaming Pitch, and fry like resin:  
Why dost thou ask that thing that thou canst ●ell?  
Thou knowst I'm angry ', and it beseems me well.  
So said; the Lord to jonah thus respake;  
Dost thou bemoan, and such compassion take  
Upon a Gourd, whose seed thou didst not sow,  
Nor moved thy busy hands to make it grow,  
Whose beauty, small; and value was but slight,  
Which sprang, as also perished in a night?  
Hadst thou (O dust and ashes) such a care,  
Such inbred pity, he trifling plant to spare?  
Hadst thou, (O hard and incompassionate,  
To wish the razing of so brave a State)  
Hadst thou (I say) compassion to bewail  
The extirpation of a Gourd so frail?  
And shall not I (that am the Lord of Lords)  
Whose Fountain's never dry, but still affords  
Sweet streams of mercy, with a fresh supply,  
To those that thirst for grace: What shall not I,  
(That am the God of mercy, and have sworn  
To pardon sinners, whensoe'er they turn?  
(I say) shall I disclaim my wont pity,  
And bring to ruin such a goodly City,  
Whose hearts (so truly penitent) implore me,  
Who day and night pour forth their souls before me?  
Shall I destroy the mighty Ninevie,  
Whose people are like sands about the Sea?  
'Mong which are six score thousand Babes (at least)  
That bang upon their tender Mother's breast,  
Whose pretty smiles could never yet descry  
The dear affection of their mother's eye?  
Shall I subvert, and bring to desolation  
A City, (nay, more aptly termed a Nation)  
Whose walls boast less their beauty than their might?  
Whose hearts are sorrowful, and souls contrite?  
Whose Infants are in number, so amounting?  
And beasts, and cottell endless, without counting?  
What, jonah, shall a Gourd so move thy pity?  
And shall not I spare such a goodly City?  

Meditatio ultima.  

MY heart is full, my vent is too too strait;  
My tongue's too trusty to my poor conceit▪  
My mind in labour, and finds no redress;  
My heart conceives, my lips cannot express;  
MY organs suffer, through a main defect;  
Alas! I want a proper Dialect,  
To blazon forth the tithe of what I muse;  
The more I meditate, the more accrewes;  
But Io, my faltering tongue must say no more,  
Unless she step where she hath trod before.  
What? sha●● I then be silent? No, I'll speak  
(Till tongue be tired, and my lungs be weak)  
Of dearest mercy, in as sweet a strain,  
As it shall please my ●use to lend a vain;  
And when my voice shall stop within her source,  
And speech shall falter in this high Discourse,  
My tired tongue (unshamed) shall thus extend,  
Only to name, Dear Mercy, and so end.  
¶ Oh high Imperial King, heaven's Architect!  
Is Man a thing befitting thy ●espect?  
Lord, thou art Wisdom, and thy ways are holy,  
But Man's polluted, full of filch, and folly;  
Yet is he (Lord) the tabricke of thy hand,  
And in his Soul he bears thy glorious Brand,  
Howe'er defaced with the rust of Sin,  
Which hath abused thy stamp, and eaten in;  
'Tis not the frailty ' of Man's corrupted nature,  
Makes thee ashamed t' acknowledge Man thy Creature;  
But like a tender Father, here on earth,  
(Whose Child by nature, or abortive birth,  
Doth want that sweet and favourable relish,  
Wherewith, her creatures, Nature doth imbelish)  
Respects him ne'ertheless; even so thy Grace  
(Great God) extends to Man; though sin deface  
The glorious portraiture that man doth bear,  
Whereby he loathed and ugly doth appear,  
Yet thou, (within whose tender bowels are  
Deep gulfs of Mercy, sweet beyond compare)  
Regard'st, and ●ov'st (with reverence ●e it said)  
Nay seem'st to dote on Ma●; when he hath strayed,  
Lord, thou hast brought him to his Fold again;  
When he was lost, thou didst not then disdain  
To think upon a vagabond, and give  
Thy dearest Son to dye, that he might live.  
How poor a mite art thou content withal,  
That ●an may scape his downe●approching fall?  
Though base we are, yet thou dost not abhor us,  
But (as our Story speaks) art pleading for us,  
To save us harmless from our Foeman's jaws;  
Art thou turned Orator to plead our cause?  
¶ How are thy Mercies full of admiration!  
How sovereign! how sweet's their application!  
Fattening the Soul with sweetness, and repairing  
The rotten ruins of a Soul despairing.  
¶ Lo here (Malfido) is a Feast prepared;  
Fall to with courage, and let nought be spared;  
Taste freely of it, Here's no Miser's Feast;  
Eat what thou canst, and pocket up the rest:  
These precious Viands are Restority,  
Eat then; and if the sweetness make thee dry,  
Drink large Carouses out of Mercies Cup,  
The best lies in the bottom, Drink all up:  
These Cates are sweet Ambrosia to thy Soul,  
And that which fills the brim of Mercies bowl,  
Is dainty Nectar; Eat and drink thy fill;  
Spare not the one, nor yet the other spill;  
Provide in time: Thy Banquet is begun,  
Lay up in store against the Feast be done:  
For lo, the time of banqueting is short,  
And once being done, the world cannot restored;  
It is a feast of Mercy, and of Grace;  
It is a Feast for all, or high, or base:  
A feast for him that begs upon the way,  
As well for him that does the Sceptre sway;  
A feast for him that hourly bemoanes  
His dearest sins, with sighs, and tears and groaned;  
A feast for him, whose gentle heart reforms;  
A feast for MEN; and so a FEAST FOR WORMS▪  
¶ Dear liefest Lord, that feast'st the World with grac●,  
Extend thy bounteous hand, thy glorious face:  
Bid joyful welcome to thy hungry guest,  
That we may praise the Master of the Feast;  
And in thy mercy grant this boon to me,  
That I may dye to sin, and live to thee.   S. AMBROSE. 
Misericordia est plenitudo omnium virtutum.  
FINIS.     

THE GENERAL USE OF this HISTORY.  
¶ WHen as the ancient world did all embark  
Within the compass of good Noah's Ark,  
Forth to the new-washt earth a Dove was sent,  
Who in her mouth returned an Olive plant,  
Which in a silent language this related:  
How that the waters were at length abated,  
Those swelling waters, is the wrath of God,  
And like the Dove, are Prophets sent abroad;  
The Olive-leafe's a joyful Type of peace,  
A faithful sign God's vengeance doth decrease;  
They salve the wounded heart, and make it whole,  
They bring glad tidings to the drooping soul,  
Proclaiming grace to them that thirst for Grace,  
Mercy to those that Mercy will embrace.  
¶ Malfido, thou, in whose distrustful breast  
Despair hath brought in sticks to build her nest,  
Where she may safely lodge her luckless brood,  
To feed upon thy heart, and suck thy blood,  
Beware betimes, lest custom and permission  
Prescribe a title, and so claim possession.  
¶ Despairing man, whose burden makes thee stoop  
Under the terror of thy sins, and droop  
Through dull despair, whose too too sullen grief  
Makes heaven unable to apply relief;  
Whose ears are dulled with noise of whips and chains;  
And yels of damned souls, through tortured pains,  
Come here, and rouse thyself, un●eele those eyes,  
Which sad Despair closed up; Arise, Arise,  
And go to Nineveh, the world's great Palace,  
Earth's mighty wonder, and behold the Ballast,  
And burden of her bulk, is nought but sin,  
Which (wilful) she commits, and wallows in;  
Behold her Images, her fornications,  
Her crying sins, her vile abominations;  
Behold the guiltless blood that she did spill,  
Like Springtides in the streets, and reeking still:  
Behold her scorching lusts, and taint desire  
Like sulphurous Aetna, blaze, and blaze up higher;  
She rapes, and rents, and thiefs, & there is none  
Can justly call the thing he hath, his own;  
That sacred Name of God, that Name of wonder,  
In stead of worshipping, she tears in sunder;  
She's not enthralled to this Sin, or another,  
But like a Leper's all infected over;  
Not only sinful, but in sin's subjection,  
she's not infected, but a mere infection.  
No sooner had the Prophet (heavens great Spy)  
Begun an onset to his louder Cry,  
But she repented, sighed, and wept, and tore  
Her curious hair, and garments that she wore,  
She sat in ashes, and with Sackcloth clad her,  
All drenched in brine, that grief cannot be sadder;  
She calls a Fast, proclaims a prohibition  
To man and beast; (sad tokens of contrition)  
No sooner prayed, but heard; No sooner groaned,  
But pitied; No sooner grieved but moaned;  
Timely Repentance speedy grace procured,  
The sore that's salved in time, is easily cured:  
No sooner had her trickling tears o'erflown  
Her blubbered cheeks, but heaven was apt to moon  
Her pensive heart, wiped her suffused eyes,  
And gently stroked her cheeks, and bid her rise;  
No faults were seen as if no fault had been,  
Dear Mercy made a Quittance for her sin.  
¶ Malfido, rouse thy leaden spirit, bestir thee;  
Hold up thy drowsy head, here's comfort for thee  
What if thy zeal be frozen hard? What then?  
Thy Saviour's blood will thaw that frost again:  
Thy prayers that should be servant, hot as fire,  
Proceed but coldly from a dull desire;  
What then? Grieve inly, But do not dismay,  
Who hears thy prayers, will give thee strength to pray:  
Though left a while, thou art not quite given over,  
Where Sin abounds, there Grace aboun●eth more:  
This, this is all the good that I can do thee,  
To ease thy grief, I here commend unto thee  
A little book, but a great Mystery,  
A great delight, A little History;  
A little branch slipped from a saving tree,  
But bearing fruit as great, as great might be;  
A small abridgement of thy Lords great love;  
A message sent from heaven by a Dove:  
It is a heavenly Lecture, that relates  
To Princes, Pastors, People, all Estates  
Their several duties.  
¶ Peruse it well, and bind it to thy breast,  
The rests the Cause of thy defect of rest:  
But read it often, or else read it not:  
Once read, is not observed, and soon forgot,  
Nor is't enough to read, but understand,  
Or else thy tongue, for want of wit's profaned,  
Nor is't enough to purchase knowledge by it;  
Salve heals no sore, unless the party ' apply it;  
Apply it then; which if thy flesh restrains,  
Strive what thou canst, & pray for what remains.  

The particular Application.  
¶ THen thou, that art oppressed with sad Despair,  
Here shalt thou see the strong effect of prayer:  
Then pray with faith▪ & (servant) without ceasing  
(Like jacob) wrestle, till thou get a blessing.  
¶ Here shalt thou see the type of Christ thy Saviour;  
Then let thy suits be through his name and favour,  
¶ Here shalt thou find repentance and true grief  
Of sinners like thyself, and their belief;  
Then suit thy grief to theirs, and let thy soul  
Cry mightily, until her wounds be whole.  
¶ Here shalt thou see the meekness of thy God,  
Who on Repentance turns, and burns the Rod;  
Reputes of what he purposed, and is sorry;  
Here may ye hear him stoutly pleading for ye:  
Then thus shall be thy meed, if thou repent,  
In stead of plagues and direful punishment,  
Thou shalt find mercy, love, and heavens applause,  
And God of Heaven (himself) will plead thy cause.  
¶ Here hast thou then compiled within this treasure,  
First, the Almighty's high and just displeasure  
Against foul sin, or such as sinful be,  
Or Prince, or poor, or high or low degree.  
¶ Here is descried the beaten Road to Faith:  
¶ Here mayst thou see the force that Preaching hath  
¶ Here is described in (brief but) full expression,  
The nature of a Convert, and his passion:  
His sober Diet, which is thin and spare;  
His clothing, which is Sackcloth; and his Prayer  
Not faintly sent to heaven, nor spatingly,  
But piercing, ●ervent, and a mighty cry:  
¶ Here mayst thou see how Prayer, & true repentance  
Do strive with God, prevail, and turn his sentence  
From strokes to stroking, & from plagues infernal▪  
To boundless Mercies, and to life Eternal.  
¶ Till Zephyr lend my Bark a second Gale,  
I slip mine Anchor, and I strike my sail.  
FINIS.  O dulcis Salvator Mundi! ultima verba quae tu dixisti in Cruse, sint ultima mea verba in Luce; & quando amplius effari non possum, exaudi tu cordis mei desiderium.   

A HYMN to GOD.  
WHo gives me then an Adamantine quill?  
A marble tablet? And a David's skill?  
To blazon forth the praise of my dear Lord  
In deepe-grav'n Characters, upon record  
To last, for times etc●nall process, sure,  
So long, as Sun, and Moon, and Stars endure:  
Had I as many mouths, as Sands there are,  
Had I a nimble tongue for every Star,  
And every word I speak, a Character,  
And every minute's time ten Ages were,  
To chant forth all thy praise it no'te avail,  
For tongues, & words, and time and all would fail:  
Much less can I, poor Weakling, tune my tongue,  
To take a task befits an Angel's song;  
Sing what thou canst▪ when thou canst sing no more  
Weep then as fast, that thou canst sing no more,  
Beblurre thy book with tears, and go thy ways,  
For every blur will prove a book of praise.  
Thine eye that views the moving Spheres above  
Let it give praise to him that makes them move:  
Thou riches hast; Thy hands that hold, & have them,  
Let them give praise to him, that freely gave them:  
Thine arms defend thee; then for recompense,  
Let them praise him, that gave thee such defence:  
Thy tongue was given to praise thy Lord, the Giver;  
Then, let thy tongue praise highest God for ever:  
Faith comes by hearing, & thy Faith will save thee;  
Then let thine cars prais him that hearing gave thee:  
Thy bear't is begged by him whose hands did make it,  
My Son, Give me thy Heart; Lord, free●y take it:  
Eyes, ●ands, and arms, tongues, ears and hearts of men  
Sing praise, and let the people say, Amen.  
¶ Tune you your Instruments, and let them vary,  
Praise him upon them in his Sanctuary,  
Praise him within the highest Firmament,  
Which shows his Power, and his Government;  
Praise him for all his mighty Acts are known,  
And suit thy praises to his high Renown,  
Praise him with Trump victorious, shrill, & sharp,  
With Psaltry loud, and many-stringed Harpe,  
With sounding Timbrel, and the warbling Flute,  
With (Music's full Interpreter) the Lute;  
Praise him upon the Maiden Virginals,  
Upon the Clerick Organs, and Cymbals,  
Upon the sweet Majestic vyals touch,  
Double your joys, and let your praise be such;  
Let all, in whom is life and breath, give praise  
To heaven's eternal God, in endless days;  
Let every Soul, to whom a voice is given,  
Sing Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Heaven;  
For lo, a Lamb is found, that undertook  
To break the seven-fold-Seale, & open the BOOK●,  
¶ O let my life add number to my days,  
To show thy glory, and to sing thy praise;  
Let every minute in thy praise be spent,  
Let every head be bare, and knee be bend  
To thee (dear Lamb,)▪ Who ere thy praises hide,  
Closed be his Lips, and tongue for ever tied.  Hallelujah. Gloria DEO in excelsis.  

ELEVEN PIOUS Meditations.  

1.  
¶ WIthin the holy Legend I discover  
Three special Attributes of God; his Power,  
His justice, and his Mercy, All uncreated,  
Eternal all, and all unseparated  
From God's pure Essence, and from thence proceeding;  
All very God, All perfect, All exceeding:  
And from that selfsame text three names I gather  
Of great lehova; Lord, and God, and Father;  
The first denotes him mounted on his Throne,  
In Power, Majesty, Dominion;  
The second shows him on his kingly Bench,  
Rewarding Evil with equal punishments;  
The third describes him on his Mercy-seat,  
Full great in Grace; and in his Mercy, great;  
¶ All three I worship, and before all three  
My heart shall humbly prostrate, with my knee;  
But in my private choice, I fancy rather,  
Then call him Lord, or God, to call him Father.   

2.  
¶ IN hell no Life, in heaven no Death there is,  
In earth both Life and Death, both Bale and Bliss▪  
In Heaven's all Life, no end, nor new supplying;  
In hell's all Death, and yet there is no dying;  
Earth (like a partial Ambidexter) doth  
Prepare for Death, or Life, prepares for both;  
Who lives to sin, in Hell his portion's given,  
Who dies to sin, shall after live in Heaven.  
¶ Though Earth my Nurse be, Heaven, be thou my Father,  
Ten thousand deaths let me endure rather  
Within my Nurse's arms, than One to Thee;  
Earth's honour with thy frowns is death to me:  
I live on Earth, as on a Stage of sorrow;  
Lord, if thou pleasest, end the Play to morrow:  
I live on Earth, as in a Dream of pleasure,  
Awake me when thou wilt, I wait thy leisure:  
I live on Earth, but as of life bereaven,  
My life's with thee, for (Lord) thou art in Heaven.   

3.  
NOthing that e'er was made was made for nothing  
Beasts for thy food, their skins were for thy clothing,  
Flowers for thy smell, and ●earbs for Cure good  
Trees for thy shade, Their Fruit for pleasing Food:  
The showers fall upon the fruitful ground,  
Whose kindly Dew makes tender Grass abound,  
The Grass springs forth for beasts to feed upon,  
And Beasts are food for Man: but Man alone  
Is made to serve his Lord in all his ways,  
And be the Trumpet of his Maker's praise:  
¶ Let Heaven be then to me obdure as brass,  
The Earth as iron, unapt for grain or grass,  
Then let my Flocks consume, and never steed me,  
Let pinching Famine want wherewith to feed me,  
When I forget to honour thee, (my Lord)  
Thy glorious Attributes, thy Works, thy Word.  
O let the Trump of thine eternal Fame,  
Teach us to answer, Hallowed be thy Name.   

4.  
¶ GOd built the World, and all that therein is  
He framed, yet how poor a part is his?  
Quarter the Earth, and see, how small a room  
Is styled with the name of Christe● doom;  
The rest (through blinded ignorance) rebels,  
O'errun with Pagans, Turks, and Infidels:  
Nor yet is all this little quarter his,  
For (though all know him) half know him amiss,  
Professing Chr●●● for lucre, (as they l●st)  
And serve the triple Crown of An●●●hrist;  
Yet is this little handful much made lesser,  
There's many Libertines, for one Professor:  
Nor do Professors all profess aright,  
‛ 'Mong ' whom there often lurks an Hypocrite.  
¶ O where, and what's thy Kingdom (blessed God)  
Where is thy Sceptre? where's thine iron Rod?  
Reduce thy reckon to their total sum,  
O let thy Power, and thy kingdom come.   

5.  
¶ MAN in himself's a little World, Alone,  
His Soul's the Court, or high Imperial throne  
Wherein as Empress sits the Understanding  
Gently directing, yet with awe Commanding:  
Her Handmaid's will: Affections, Maids of Honour,  
All following close, and duly waiting on her:  
But Sin, that always envied man's Condition,  
Within this Kingdom raised up Division;  
Withdrawn the Will, and bribed the false Affection,  
That This, no order hath; nor That Election;  
The Will proves Traitor to the Understanding;  
Reason hath lost her power, and left commanding,  
She's quite deposed, and put to foul disgrace,  
And Tyrant Passion now usurps her place.  
¶ Vouchsafe (Lord) in this little World of mine  
To reign, that I may reign with Thee in thine:  
And since my Will is quite of good bereaven,  
Thy will be done in earth, as 'tis in Heaven.   

6  
¶ WHo live to sin, are all but thiefs to hear  
And Earth; They steal from God, & take ungiven,  
Good men they rob, & such as live upright,  
And (being bastards) share the freeman's Right:  
They're all as owners, in the owner's stead,  
And (like to Dogs) devour the children's bread;  
They have, and lack, and want that they possess,  
Unhappy most, in their most happiness:  
They are not goods, but riches, that they wast,  
And not being goods, to ev'ls they turn at last.  
¶ (Lord) what I have, let me enjoy in thee,  
And thee in it, or else take it from me;  
My store or want, make thou, or fade, or flourish,  
So shall my comforts neither change, nor perish;  
That little I enjoy, (Lord) make it mine,  
In making me (that am a Sinner) thine;  
'Tis thou or none, that shall supply my need,  
Great God, Give us this day our daily bread.   

7.  
¶ THe quick conceited Schoolmen do approve  
A difference 'twixt Charity and Love:  
Love is a virtue, whereby we explain  
Ourselves to God, and God to us again:  
But charity's imparted to our Brother,  
Whereby we traffic, one man with another:  
The first extends to God; The last belongs  
To Man, in giving right, and bearing wrongs;  
In number, they are twain, In virtue one;  
For one not truly being, t' other's none.  
¶ In love God, if I neglect my Neighbour,  
My love hath lost his proof, and I my labour:  
My Zeal, my Faith, my Hope, that never fails me,  
(If Charity be wanting) nought a veils me.  
¶ (Lord) in my Soul, a spirit of Love create me,  
And I will love my Brother, if he hate me:  
In nought but love, let me envy my betters;  
And then, Forgive my debts, as I my debtors.   

8.  
¶ I Find a true resemblance in the growth  
Of Sin, and Man; A like in breeding, both;  
The Soul's the Mother, and the Devil, Sire;  
Who lusting long in mutual desire  
Enjoy their Wills, and join in Copulation;  
The Seed that fills her womb, is foul Tentation;  
The sin's Conception, is the Souls consent;  
And than it quickens, when it breeds content;  
The birth of Sin is finished in the action,  
And Custom brings it to its full perfection.  
¶ O let my fruitless Soul be barren rather,  
Then bring forth such a Child for such a Father:  
Or if my Soul breed Sin (not being wary)  
Let not her womb bring forth, or else miscarry;  
She is thy Spouse (O Lord) do thou advise her,  
Keep thou her chaste, Let not the Fiend entice her:  
Try thou my heart, Thy Trials bring Salvation.  
But let me not be led into temptation.   

9  
¶ FOrtune (that blind supposed Goddess) is  
Still rated at, if ought succeed amiss;  
'Tis she (the vain abuse of Providence)  
That bears the blame, when others make th'offence;  
When this man's barn finds not her wont store,  
fortune's condemned, because she sent no more;  
If this man dye, or that man live too long,  
fortune's accused, and she hath done the wrong;  
Ah foolish Dolls and (like ●our Goddess) blind!  
You make the fault, and call your Saint unkind;  
For when the cause of evil begins in Man,  
Th'effect ensues from whence the cause began;  
Then know the reason of thy discontent,  
Thy evil of Sin, makes the evil of punishment.  
¶ (Lord) hold me up, or spur me when I fall;  
So shall my evil be just, or not at all:  
Defend me from the World, the Flesh, the Devil,  
And so thou shalt deliver me from Evil.   

10.  
¶ THe Priestly Skirts of A'rons holy coat  
I kiss; and to my morning Muse devote:  
Had never King, in any age, or Nation,  
Such glorious Robes, set forth in such a fashion,  
With Gold, and Gems, and Silks of Princely die,  
And Stones befitting more than Majesty:  
The Persian Sophies, and rich Shaeba's Queen  
Had ne'er the like, nor e'er the like had seen;  
Upon the Skirts (in order as they fell)  
First, a Pomegranate was, and then a Bell;  
By each Pomegranate did a Bell appear;  
Many Pomegranates, many Bells there were;  
Pomegranates nourish, Bells do make a sound;  
As blessings fall, Thanksgiving must rebound.  
¶ If thou wilt clothe my heart with A'rons tire,  
My tongue shall praise, as well as heart desire.  
My tongue, and pen, shall dwell upon thy Story,  
(Great God) for thine is Kingdom, Power, Glory.   

11.  
¶ THe Ancient Sophists, that were so precise,  
(and oftentimes (perchance) too curious nice)  
Averre, that Nature hath bestowed on Man,  
Three perfect Souls: When this I truly scan,  
Me thinks, their Learning swathed in Error, lies;  
They were not wise enough, and yet too wise;  
Too curious wise, because they mention more  
Than one; Not wise enough, because not four;  
Nature, not Grace, is Mistress of their Schools;  
Grace counts them wisest, that are veriest Fools:  
Three Souls in man? Grace doth a fourth allow,  
The Soul of Faith: But this is Greek to you:  
'Tis Faith that makes man truly wise; 'Tis Faith  
Makes him possess that thing he never hath.  
¶ This Glorious Soul of Faith bestow on me,  
(O Lord) or else take thou the other three:  
Faith makes men less than Children, more than Men,  
It makes the Soul cry Abba, and Amen.   
The End.   

PENTELOGIA.  

Morstua, Mors Christi, Fraus Mundi, Gloria Coeli,  
Et D●lor Inferni, sunt meditanda tibi.   

Thy death, the death of Christ, the world's tentation;  
Heavens joy, hell's torment, be thy meditation.   
LONDON, Printed for JOHN MARRIOT. 1632.   

Mors tua. 1.  
¶ ME thinks, I see the nimble-aged Sire  
Pass swiftly by, with feet unapt to tyre;  
Upon his head an Hourglass he wears,  
And in his wrinkled hand a Sith he bears,  
(Both Instruments, to take the lives from Men)  
Th' one shows with what, the other showeth when.  
Me thinks I hear the doleful Passing-bell,  
Setting an onset on his louder knell;  
(This moody music of impartial Death  
Who dances after, dances out of breath.)  
Me thinks I see my dearest friends lament,  
With sighs, and tears, and woeful dryriment,  
My tender Wife, and Children standing by,  
Dewing the Deathbed, whereupon I lie:  
Me thinks, I hear a voice (in secret) say,  
Thy glass is run, and thou must die to day.   

Mors Christi. 2.  
¶ ANd am I here, and my Redeemer gone?  
Can He be dead, and is not my life done?  
Was he tormented in excess of measure,  
And do I live yet? and yet live in pleasure?  
Alas! could Sinners find out ne'er a one,  
More fit than Thee, for them to spit upon?  
Did thy cheeks entertain a Traylors' lips?  
Was thy dear body scourged, and torn with whips?  
So that the guiltless blood came trickling after?  
And did thy fainting brows sweat blood and water?  
Wert thou (Lord) hanged upon the Cursed Tree?  
O world of grief! And was all this for me?  
¶ Burst forth, my tears, into a world of sorrow,  
And let my nights of grief find ne'er a morrow;  
Since thou art dead (Lord) grant thy servant room,  
Within his heart, to build thy heart a Tomb.   

Fraus Mundi. 3.  
¶ WHat is the World? a great exchange of war●,  
Wherein all sorts, & sexes cheapening art,  
The Flesh, the Devil sit, and cry, What lack ye?  
When most they fawn, they most intent to rack ye  
The wares, are cups of joy, and beds of Pleasure,  
there's goodly choice, down weight, & flowing measure,  
A soul's the price, but they give time to pay,  
Upon the Deathbed, on the dying day.  
¶ Hard is the bargain, and unjust the measure,  
When as the price so much outlasts the pleasure:  
The joys that are on earth, are counterfeits;  
If ought be true, 'tis this, theyare true deceits:  
They flatter, fawn, and (like the Crocodile)  
Kill where they laugh, and murder where they smile▪  
They daily dip within thy Dish, and cry,  
Who hath betrayed thee? Master, Is it I?   

Gloria Coeli. 4.  
¶ When I behold, and well advise upon  
The Wiseman's speech, There's nought beneath the Sun,  
But vanity, my soul rebels within,  
And loathes the dunghill prison she is in:  
But when I look to new jerusalem,  
Wherein's reserved my Crown, my Diadem,  
O what a Heaven of bliss my Soul enjoys,  
On sudden rapt into that heaven of joys!  
Where ravished (in the depth of meditation)  
She well discerns, with eye of contemplation,  
The glory ' of God, in his Imperial Seat,  
Full strong in Might, in Majesty complete,  
Where troops of Powers, Virtues, Cherubims,  
Angels, Archangels, Saints, and Seraphims,  
Are chanting praises to their heavenly King,  
Where Hallelujah they for ever sing.   

Dolour Inferni. 5.  
¶ LEt Poets please to torture Tanialus,  
Let griping Vultures gnaw Prometheus,  
And let poor Ixion turn his endless wheel,  
Let Nemesis torment with whips of steel;  
They far come short, t'express the pains of those  
That rage in Hell, enwrapped in endless woes;  
Where time no end, and plague's find no exemption;  
Where cries admit no help, nor place redemption;  
Where fire lacks no flame, the flame no beat,  
To make their torments sharp, and plagues complete▪  
Where wretched Souls to tortures bound shall be●,  
Serving a world of years, and not be Fre●;  
Where nothing's heard but yells, and sudden cries;  
Where ●ier never flakes, nor Worm e'er dies:  
But where this Hell is placed (my Muse) stop there;  
Lord, show me what it is, but never where.   

Mors tua. 1.  
¶ CAn he be fair, that withers at a blast?  
Or he be strong, that eyrie Breath can cast▪  
Can he be wise, that knows not how to live?  
Or he be rich, that nothing hath to give?  
Can he be young, that's feeble, weak, and wan?  
So fair, strong, wise, so rich, so young is m●n:  
So fair is Man, that Death (a parting Blast)  
Blasts his fair flower, and makes him Earth at last;  
So strong is Man, that with a gasping Breath  
He totters, and bequeathes his strength to Deat●,  
So wise is Man, that if with Death he strive,  
His wisdom cannot teach him how to live;  
So rich is Man, that (all his Debts b'ing paid)  
His wealth's the winding-sheet wherein he's laid:  
So young is Man, that (broke with care and sorrow)  
He's old enough to day, to Die to morrow:  
Why brag'st thou then, thou worm of five-foot long▪  
The art neither fair, nor strong, nor wise, nor rich nor 〈◊〉▪   

Mors Christi. 2.  
I Thrust; and who shall quench this eager Thrust?  
I grieve; and with my grief my heart will burst;  
I grieve, because I thirst without relief;  
I thirst, because my Soul is burnt with grief;  
I thirst; and (dried with grief) my heart will dye;  
I grieve, and thirst the more, for Sorrow's dry:  
The more I grieve, the more my thirst appears:  
Would God I had not grieved out all my tears;  
I thirst; and yet my griefs have made a Flood;  
But tears are salt; I grieve, and thirst for blood;  
I grieve for blood, must send relief;  
I thirst for blood, for blood for blood must ease my grief;  
I thirst for sacred blood of a dear Lamb;  
I grieve to think from whence that dear blood came;  
'Twas shed for me, O let me drink my fill,  
Although my grief remain entire still:  
O sovereign power of that Vermillion Spring,  
Whose virtue, neither heart conceives, nor tongue can sing.   

Fraus Mundi. 3.  
I Love the World (as Clients love the Laws)  
To manage the uprightness of my Cause;  
The World loves me, as Shepherds do their flocks,  
To rob, and spoil them of their fleecy locks;  
I love the World, and use it as mine Inn,  
To bait, and rest my tired sarkeise in:  
The World loves me: For what? To make her 〈◊〉▪  
For filthy sin, she sells me timely shame;  
She's like the Basilisk, by whose sharp eyes  
The living object, first discovered, dies;  
Forth from her eyes empoisoned beams do dur●●  
Dies like a Basilisk, discerned first;  
We live at jars as froward Gamesters do,  
Still guarding, nor regarding others foe;  
I love the World, to serve my turn, and leave her,  
'Tis no deceit to cozen a Deceiver;  
She'll not miss me; I, less the world shall miss,  
To lose a world of grief, t'enjoy a world of Bl●sse.   

Gloria Coeli. 4.  
EArth stands immoved, and fixed; her situation  
Admits no local change, no alteration,  
Heaven always moves, renewing still his place,  
And ever sees us with another Face;  
Earth standeth fixed, yet there I live oppressed;  
Heaven always moves, yet there is all my rest:  
Enlarge thyself, my Soul, with meditation,  
Mount there, and there bespeak thy habitation;  
Where joys are full, & pure, not mixed with mourning  
All endless, and from which is no returning;  
No theft, no cruel murder harbours there,  
No hoary-headed- Care, no sudden Fear,  
No pinching want, no (griping-fast) oppression,  
Nor Death the stipend of our first transgression:  
But dearest Friendship, Love, and lasting Pleasure,  
Still there abides, without or stint, or measure;  
Fullness of Riches, comf●●●t sempeternall,  
Excess without a surfeiting; And Life Eternal.   

Dolour Inferni. 5.  
THe Trump shall blow, the dead (awaked) shall rise,  
And to the Clouds shall turn their wondering eyes;  
The heavens shall open, the Bridegroom forth shall come,  
To judge the World, and give the World her doom:  
joy to the Just, to others endless smart;  
To those the Voice bids Come; to these, Depart;  
Depart from Life, yet (dying) live for ever;  
For ever dying be, and yet Die never;  
Depart like Dogs, with Devils take your lot;  
Depart like Devils, for I know you not;  
Like Dogs, like Devils go, Go howl and bark;  
Depart in darkness, for your deeds were dark;  
Let r●aring be your Music, and your Food  
Be flesh of Vipers, and your drink, their blood;  
Let Fiends afflict you, with Reproach and Shame,  
Depart, depart into Eternal Flame:  
If Hell the Guerdon then of Sinners be,  
(Lord give me Hell on earth, (Lord) give me heaven with thee.  
— w— w— jam de●ine Tibia versus.  
FINIS.   

Hadassa.  Horat. Ode 6. 
●onamur tenues, grandia; nec pudor,  
●mbellisque Lyrae Musapotens vetat.  
By Fra. Quarles.  
LONDON, Printed for JOHN MARRIOT. 1632.   

A PREFACE TO THE READER.  
A Sober vein best suits Theology: If therefore thou expectest such Elegancy as takes the times, affect some subject as will bear it. Had I laboured with overabundance of fictions, or flourishes, perhaps they had exposed me, censurable, and disprized this sacred subject: Therefore I rest more sparing in that kind.  
Two things I would treat of: First, the matter, secondly, the manner of this History.  
As for the matter, (so far as I have dealt) it is Canonical, and indicted by the holy Spirit of God, not liable to error, and needs no blanching.  
In it, Theologie sits as Queen, attended by her handmaid Philosophy; both concurring to make the understanding Reader a good Divine, and a wise Moralist.  
As for the Divinity; it discovers the Almighty in his two great Attributes; in his Mercy, delivering his Church; in his justice, confounding her enemies.  
As for the Morality; it offers to us the whole practic part of Philosophy, dealt 〈◊〉 into Ethics, Politics, and Oeconomick●.  
1. The Ethical part (the object whereof is th● manners of a private man) ranges thro●●● the whole book, and empties itself 〈◊〉 the Catalogue of Moral virtues, either th●● that govern the body; as Fortitude, Ch●● 9 2. and Temperance, Chap. 1. 8. or tho●● which direct the soul, either in outwa●● things, as Liberality, Chap 1. 3. Magnificence, Chap. 1. 6. Magnanimity, Chap. 2. ●▪ and Modesty, Chap. 6. 12. or in conversation as justice, Chap. 7. 9 Mansuetude, Chap 5▪ etc.  
2. The Political part (the object whereof▪ public Society) instructs, first, in the behaviour of a Prince to his Subject; in punish●● his vice, Chap 7. 10. in rewarding of virtue Chap. 8. 2. 15. Secondly, in the behaviour 〈◊〉 the Subject to his Prince; in observing 〈◊〉 Laws, and discovering his enemies, Ch●● 2. 22. Thirdly, the behaviour of a Subject, 〈◊〉 a Subject; in mutuality of love, Chap. 4. 7. 〈◊〉 propagation of peace, Chap. 10. 3.  
3. The Oeconomical part (the object wh●●● of is private Society) teacheth, first, the 〈◊〉 riage of the Wife, to her Husband: in 〈◊〉, Chap. 1. 22. of the Husband to his Wife, is ruling, Chap. 1. 22. Secondly, of a Father to his Child, in advising, Chap. 2. 7, 10. of a Child to his Father, in observing, Chap. 2. 20. Thirdly, of a Master to his Servant, in commanding, Chap. 4. 5. of a Servant to his Master, in effecting his command, Chap. 4. 6.  
Furthermore, in this history, the two principal faculties of the soul are (nor in vain) employed.  
First, the Intellect, whose proper object is Truth. Secondly, the Will, whose proper object is good, whether Philosophical, which the great Master of Philosophy calls Wisdom: or Theological, which we point at now, hoping to enjoy hereafter.  
Who the Pen-man of this sacred History was, or why the name of God (as in few other parts of the Bible) is unmentioned in this, it is immaterial and doubtful. For the first, it is enough for anuncurious questioner to know, it was indicted by the Spirit of God: for the second, let it suffice, that that Spirit willed not here to reveal his name.  
As for the Manner of this history (consisting in the Periphrase, the adjournment of the Story, and interposition of Meditations) ay I hope it hath not injured the Matter: For in this I was not the least careful, to use the light of the best Expositors, not daring to go un-led, for fear of stumbling. Some say, Divinity in Verse is incongruous and unpleasing: such I refer to the Psalms of David, or the Song of his son Solomon, to be corrected. But in these lewd times, the salt, and soul of a Verse, is obscene scurrility, without which it seems dull, and liveless: And though the sacred History needs not (as humane do) Poetry, to perpetuate the remembrance (being by Gods own mouth blessed with Eternity) yet Verse (working so near upon the soul, and spirit) will oft times draw those to have a history in familiarity, who (perchance) before, scarce knew there was such a Book.  
Reader, be more than my hasty pen styles thee: Read me with advice, and thereafter judge me, and in that judgement censure me. If I jangle, think my intent thereby, is to to●● better Ringers in▪ Farewell.   

THE INTRODUCTION.  
WHen Zedechia (He whose hapless hand  
Once held the Sceptre of Great judah's Land  
Went up the Palace of Proud Babylon,  
(The Prince Serajah him attending on,)  
A dreadful Prophet, (from whose blasting breath  
Came sudden death, and nothing else but death)  
Into Serajah's peaceful hand betook,  
The sad Contents of a more dismal Book:  
Break open the leaves, those leaves so full of dread,  
Read (son of thunder) said the Prophet, read;  
Say thus, say freely thus, The Lord hath spoke it,  
'Tis done, the world's unable to revoke it;  
Woe, woe, and heavy woes ten thousand more  
Betid great Babylon, that painted whore;  
Thy buildings, and thy ●ensive Towers shall  
Flame on a sudden, and to cinders fall,  
None shall be left to wail thy grief with Howls:  
Thy streets shall peopled be with Bats and Owls:  
None shall remain to call thy places void,  
None to possess, nor aught to be enjoyed;  
Nought shall be left for thee to term thine own,  
But helpless ruins of a hapless town:  
Said then the Prophet, When thy language hath  
Emptied thy Cheeks of this thy borrowed Breath,  
Close then the Book, and bind a stone unto it,  
That done, into the swift Euphrates throw it,  
And let this following speech explain withal  
The Hieroglyphick● of proud Babel's fall.  
Thus, thus shall Babel, Thus shall Babel's glory,  
Of her destruction leave a Tragic story:  
Thus, thus shall Babel fall, and none relieve her,  
Thus, thus shall Babel sink, Thus sink for ever.  
And fall'n she is. Thus aftertimes made good  
That sacred Prophecy, confirmed in blood.  
Great Royal Dreamer, where is now that thing  
Thou so much vaunted'st of? where, O soveraigue King,  
Is that great Babel, that was raised so high,  
To show the highness of thy Majesty?  
Where is thy Royal offspring to succeed  
Thy Throne, and to preserve thy Princely seed  
Till this time? Sleeping, how couldst thou fore●●●  
That thing, which waking thou thoghtst ne'er would be●  
And thou Belshazzar, (full of youthful fire,  
Unlucky Grandchild to a luckless Sire)  
On thee the sacred Oracles attended,  
For with thy life, great Babel's Kingdom ended:  
What made thy Spirit tremble, and thy hair  
Bolt up? what made thee (fainting) gasp for air▪  
A simple Word upon a painted Wall?  
What's that to thee? If aught, what harm at all?  
Could words affright thee? O preposterous wit,  
To fear the writing, not the hand that writ!  
The Hand that writ, itself (unseen) did shroud  
Within the gloomy bosom of a Cloud;  
The Hand that writ, was bend, (nor bent in vain)  
To part the Kingdom, and the King in twain,  
The Hand that writ, did write the sentence down▪  
And now stands armed to depose the Crown;  
The hand that writ, did threaten to translate  
Thy Kingdom (Babel) to the Persian state;  
Th'effect whereof did brook no long delays,  
For when Belshazzar had spun out his days,  
(Soon cut by that Avengers' fatal knife,)  
Proud Babel's Empire ended with his life.  
As when that rare Arabian Bird doth rest  
Her bedrid carcase in her Spicy nest,  
The quick-devouring fire of heaven consumes  
The willing sacrifice in sweet perfumes,  
From whose sad cinders (balmed in funeral spices)  
A second Phoenix (like the first) arises;  
So from the Ruins of great Babel's Seat;  
The Medes and Persians Monarchy grew great:  
For when Belshazzar, last of Babel's Kings,  
Yielded to death, (the sum of mortal things)  
Like earth-amazing thunder from above,  
And lightnng from the house of angry jove,  
Or like to billows in th' Euboean Seas,  
Whose swelling, nought but shipwreck can appease,  
So bravely came the fierce Darius on,  
Marching with Cyrus into Babylon,  
Two Armies Royal stoutly following,  
The one was Medes, the other Persia's King:  
As when the Harvester with bubbling brow.  
(Reaping the interest of his painful Plough,)  
With crooked Sickle now a shock doth shear,  
A handful here, and then a handful there,  
Not leaving, till he nought but stubble leave;  
Here lies a new fall'n rank, and there a sheave;  
Even so the Persian Host itself bestirred,  
So fell great Babel by the Persian Sword,  
Which warm with slaughter, & with blood imbrued,  
Ne'er sheathed till wounded Babel fell subdued.  
But see! These brave joint-tenants that survived  
To see a little world of men unlived,  
Must now be parted: Great Darius dies,  
And Cyrus shares alone the new-got prize;  
He fights for Heaven, Heaven's foemen he subdues:  
He builds the Temple, he restores the jews,  
By him was Zedechias force disjointed,  
Unknown to God he was, yet Gods Anointed;  
But mark the malice of a wayward Fate;  
He whom success crowned always fortunate,  
He that was strong t' achieve, bold to attempt,  
Wise to foresee, and wary to prevent,  
Valiant in war, successful to obtain,  
Must now be slain, and by a Woman slain.  
Accursed be thy sacrilegious hand;  
That of her Patron robbed the holy Land;  
Cursed be thy dying life, thy living death,  
And cursed be all things that proud ●omyris hath,  
O worst that death can do, to take a life,  
Which (lost) leaves Kingdoms to a Tyrant's knife:  
For now, alas! degenerate Cambyses  
(Whose hand was filled with blood, whose hart with vices  
Sits crowned King, to vex the Persian state,  
With heavy burdens, and with sore regrate.  
O Cyrus, more unhappy in thy son,  
Then in that stroke wherewith thy life was done!  
Cambyses now fits King, now Tyrant (rather:)  
(Unlucky Son of a renowned Father)  
Blood cries for Blood: Himself revenged hath  
His bloody Tyranny with his own death;  
That cruel sword on his own flesh doth feed,  
Which made so many loyal Persians bleed,  
Whose woeful choice made an indifferent thing,  
To leave their lives, or lose their Tyrant King:  
Cambyses dead, with him the latest drop  
Of Cyrus' blood was spilt, his death did stop  
The infant source of his brave Syers worth,  
Ere aftertimes could spend his rivers forth.  
Tyrant Cambyses being dead and gone,  
On the reversion of his empty Throne,  
Mounts up a Magus with dissembled right,  
Forging the name of him, whose greedy night  
Too early did perpetuate her own,  
And silent death had snatched away unknown.  
But when the tidings of his Royal cheat  
Times loyal Trump had famed, th'usurped seat  
Grew tootoo hot, and longer could not bear  
So proud a burden on so proud a Chair;  
The Nobles sought their freedom to regain,  
Not resting till the Magis all were slain;  
And so renowned was that happy slaughter,  
That it solemnised was for ever after;  
So that what pen shall write the Persian story,  
Shall treat that Triumph, & write that day's glory▪  
For to this time the Persians (as they say)  
Observe a Feast, and keep it holiday;  
Now Persia lacks a king, and now the State  
Labours as much in want, as it of late  
Did in abundance; Too great calms do harm  
Sometimes as much the Seaman, as a storm;  
One while they think t'erect a Monarchy;  
But that (corrupted) breeds a Tyranny,  
And dead Cambyses, fresh before their eyes,  
Affrights them with their new-scaped miseries;  
Some to the Nobles would commit the State,  
In change of Rule, expecting change of fate;  
Others cried, no; More Kings than one, encumber;  
Better admit one Tyrant, than a number:  
The rule of many doth disquiet bring;  
One Monarch is enough, one Lord, one King:  
One says, Let's rule ourselves; let's all be Kings:  
No, says another, that confusion brings;  
Thus modern danger bred a careful trouble,  
Double their care is, as their fear is double;  
And doubtful to resolve of what conclusion,  
To bar confusion, thus they bred confusion;  
At last (and well advised) they put their choice  
Upon the verdict of a juries' voice;  
Seven is a perfect number, then by seven,  
Be Persia's Royal Crown, and Sceptre given;  
Now Persia, do thy plagues or joys commence;  
God give thy jury sacred evidence:  
Fearful to choose, and faithless in their choice,  
(Since weal or woe depended on their voice,)  
A few from many they extracted forth,  
Whose even poised valour, and like equal worth  
Had set a Non plus on their doubtful tongues,  
Unwitting where the most reward belongs,  
They this agreed, and thus (advised) bespoke;  
Since purblind mortals, of themselves, can make  
No difference 'twixt good, and evil▪ nor know  
A good from what is only good in show,  
But, with unconstant frailty, doth vary  
From what is good, to what is clean contrary;  
And since it lies not in the brain of man,  
To make his drooping state more happy, than  
His unprospitious stars allot, much less  
To lend another, o● a state success,  
In vain you, therefore shall expect this thing,  
That we should give you fortune, with a King:  
Since you have made us means to propagate  
The joyful welfare of our headless State,  
(Bound by the tender service that we bear  
Ou● native soil, far than our lives more dear,)  
We sifted have, and bolted from the Rest,  
Whose worst admits no badness, and whose best  
Cannot be bettered:  
When Chaunticleere, (the Bellman of the morn)  
Shall summon twilight, with his bugle horn,  
Let these brave Hero's, dressed in warlike wise,  
And richly ●ounted on their Palfreys,  
Attend our rising Sun-god's ruddy face,  
Within the limits of our Royal place,  
And he whose lusty Stallion first shall neigh,  
To him be given ●he doubtful Monarchy,  
The choice of Kings lies not in mortals breast,  
This we; The Gods, and Fortune do the rest.  
So said, the people tickled with the motion,  
Some tossed their caps some fell to their devotion,  
Some clap their joyful hands, some shout, some sing,  
And all at one cried out, A King, A King.  
When Phoebus Harbinger had chased the night,  
And tedious Phosphe brought the breaking light,  
Complete in arms, and glorious in their train,  
Came these brave Heroes, prancing o'er the plain,  
With mighty streamers came these blazing stars,  
Portending Wars, (and nothing else but Wars;)  
Into the royal Palace now they come:  
There sounds the martial Trump, here beats the Drum,  
There stands a Steed, and champes his frothy steel  
This strokes the ground, that scorns it with his heel;  
One snorts, another puffs out angry wind;  
This mounts, before; and that curvets, behind;  
By this, the foamy Steeds of Phaeton  
Puff too, and spurn the Eastern Horizon:  
Whereat the Nobles, prostrate to the ground,  
Adored their God (their God was early found.)  
Forthwith, from out the thickest of the crowd,  
In depth of silence, there was heard the loud,  
And lustful language of Darius' Horse,  
Who in the dialect of his discourse,  
Proclaimed his rider King; whereat the rest  
(Patient to bear what cannot be redressed)  
Dismount their lofty steeds, and prostrate bring  
Their humbled bodies to their happy King;  
God save the King, they jointly say; God bless  
Thy prosperous actions with a due success;  
The people clap their sweaty palms, and shout,  
The bonfires smoke, the bells ring round about,  
The minstrels play, the Parrots learn to sing,  
(Perchance as well as they) God save the King,  
Assuerus now's invested in the throne,,  
And Persia's ruled by him, and him alone;  
Prove happy Persia: Great Assuerus prove  
As equal happy in thy people's love.  
Enough; And let this broken breviate  
Suffice to shadow forth the downfall state  
Of mighty Babel, and the conquest made  
By the fierce Medes, & Persians conquering blade▪  
Whose just succession we have traced down,  
Till great Assuerus wear the Persian Crown;  
Him have we sought, and having found him, rest;  
To morrow go we to his royal Feast.  
FINIS.   

TO THE HIGHEST: His Humble Servant Implores his gracious aid.  

THou great Director of the Hearts of men,  
From whence I propagate what e'er is mine,  
Still my disquiet thoughts, Direct my Pen  
No more mine own, if thou adopt it thine:  
O be thy Spirit ●ll in All to me,  
That will implore no aid, no Muse but thee:   

●e thou the Lodestar to my wand'ring mind,  
●ew rigged, and bound upon a new Adventure:  
ifill my Canvas with a prosperous wind;  
●nlock my Soul, and let thy Spirit enter:  
So bless my Talon with a fruitful Lone,  
That it, at least, may render two for one.   

Unworthy I, to take so high a Task;  
Unworthy I, to crave so great a Boon,  
Alas! unseasoned is my slender Cask,  
My Winter's day hath scarcely seen her 〈◊〉  
But if the children's Bread must be denied,  
Yet let me lick the Crumbs that fall be●●●●    

THE HISTORY OF ESTER.  

THE ARGUMENT.  
The King Assuerus makes two Feasts,  
Invites his great and meaner guests:  
He makes a Statute to repress  
The loathsome sin of Drunkenness.  
Sect. 1.  
WHen great Assuerus (under whose Command  
The world's most part did in subjection stand,  
Whose Kingdom was to East and West confined,  
And stretched from Ethiopia unto Ind ',)  
When this brave Monarch had with two year's power  
Confirmed himself the Persian Emperor;  
The people's patience nilling to sustain  
The hard oppression of a third years reign,  
Softly began to grumble, sore to vex,  
Feeling such Tribute on their servile necks;  
Which when the King (as he did quickly) hears,  
(For Kings have tender, and the nimblest ears)  
Partly to blow the coals of old affection,  
Which now are dying through a forced subjection▪  
Partly to make his Princely might appear,  
To make them fear for love, or love for fear,  
He made a Feast: He made a Royal Feast,  
Fit for himself, had he himself been Guest;  
To which he calls the Princes of his Land,  
Who (paying tribute) by his power stand;  
To which he calls his servants of Estate,  
His Captains, and his Rulers of the State,  
That he may show the glory of his store,  
The like unseen by any Prince before;  
That he may boast his Kingdom's beauty forth,  
His servant Princes, and their Princely worth;  
That he may show the Type of Sovereignty  
Fulfilled in th'honour of his Majesty:  
He made a Feast, whose Date should not expire,  
Until seven Moons had lost and gained their 〈◊〉  
When as this Royal tedious Feast was ended,  
(For good more common 'tis, 'tis more commende●  
For meaner sort he made a second Feast;  
His Guests were from the greatest to the least  
In Susa's place; Seven days they did resort  
To Feast i' th' Palace Garden of the Court;  
Where in the midst, the house of Bacchus stands  
To entertain when Bounty claps her hands;  
The Tapestry hangings, were of diverse hue,  
Pure white, and youthful Greene, and joyful 〈◊〉  
The main supporting Pillars of the Place  
Were 〈◊〉 ●arble of the purest race;  
The 〈◊〉 were rich right Princely to behold,  
Of beaten Silver, and of burnished Gold.  
The ●●vement was discoloured Porphyry,  
And during Marble, coloured diversely;  
In lavish Cups of oft-refined gold,  
Came Wine unwisht, drink what the people 〈◊〉  
The Golden vessel, did in number paste,  
Great choice of Cups, great choice of wine the 〈◊〉  
And since Abuse attends upon Excess,  
Leading sweet Mirth to loathsome Drunkenness  
A temperate Law was made, that no man might  
Enforce an undisposed Appetite:  
So that a sober mind may use his pleasure,  
And measure drinking, though not drink by measure.  

Medit. 1.  
NO man is borne unto himself alone;  
Who lives unto himself, he lives to none:  
The World's a body ', each man a member is,  
To add some measure to the public bliss;  
Where much is given, there much shall be required,  
Where little, less; for riches are but hired;  
Wisdom is sold for sweat; Pleasures for pain;  
Who lives unto himself, he lives in vain;  
To be a Monarch is a glorious thing;  
Who lives not full of Care, he lives no King;  
The boundless glory of a King is such,  
To sweeten Care, because his Care is much;  
The Sun (whose radiant beams reflect so bright)  
Comforts and warms, as well as it gives light,  
By whose example Phoebe (though more dim)  
Does counterfeit his beams, and shines from him:  
So mighty Kings are not ordained alone  
To perch in glory on the Princely Throne,  
But to direct in Peace, command in War  
Those Subjects, for whose sakes they only are;  
So loyal Subjects must adapt them to  
Such virtuous actions as their Princes do:  
So shall his people, even as well as He,  
Princes (though in a lesser volume) be.  
¶ So often as I fix my serious eye  
Upon Assuerus Feast, me thinks, I spy  
The Temple dance, me thinks my ravished ear,  
(Rapt with the secret music that I hear)  
Attends the warble of an Angel's tongue,  
Resounding forth this sense-bereaving Song;  
Vashti shall fall, and Ester rise,  
Zion shall thrive, when Haman dies.  
Blessed are the meetings, and the Banquets blessed,  
Where Angels carol music to the Feast;  
¶ How do our wretched times degenerate  
From former ages! How intemperate  
Hath lavish custom made our bedrid Age,  
Acting obscene Scenes on her drunken Stage!  
Our times are guided by a lewder lot,  
As if that world another world begot:  
Their friendly feasts were filled with sweet sobrie●  
Ours, with unclean delights, and base ebriety;  
Theirs, the unvalued prize of Love intended;  
Ours seek the cause whereby our Love is ended;  
How in so blind an Age could those men see!  
And in a seeing Age, how blind are we!    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The King sends for the Queen; the Queen  
Denies to come; His hasty spleen  
Inflames, unto the Persian Laws  
He leaves the censure of his cause.  
Sect. 2.  
TO add more honour to this royal Feast,  
That Glory may with Glory be increased,  
Vashti the Queen (the fairest Queen on earth)  
She made a Feast, and put on jolly mirth,  
To bid sweet welcome with her Princely cheer  
To all her Guests; Her Guests all, women were.  
By this, the Royal bounty of the King  
Hath well-nigh spent the seven days banqueting.  
Six jovial days have run their hours out,  
And now the seventh revolves the Week about,  
Upon which day, (the Queen's unlucky Day)  
The King, with jollity enticed away,  
And gently having slipped the stricter reynes  
Of Temperance, (that over-mirth restrains)  
Rose up, commanded that without delay,  
(Howe'er the Persian custom do gainsay  
That men and married Wives should feast together)  
That fair Queen Vashti be conducted thither,  
For him to show the sweetness of her face,  
And peerless beauty mixed with Princely Grace;  
To wound their wanton hearts, and to surprise  
The Princes with th' Artill'ry of her eyes.  
But fairest Vashti▪ (in whose scornful Eyes  
More haughty pride, then heavenly beauty lies)  
With bold denial of a flinty breast,  
Answered the longing of the King's request;  
And (filled with scorn) returned this message home  
Queen Vashti cannot, Vashti will not come,  
Whereat, as Boreas with his blustering,  
(When sturdy Aries ushers in the Spring)  
Here fells an aged Oak, there cleanness a Tree,  
Now holds his full-mouthed blast▪ now lets it flee,  
So storms the King; now pale, now fiery red,  
His colour comes and goes, his angry head  
He sternly shakes, spits his enraged spleen,  
Now on the messenger, now on the Queen:  
One while he deeply weighs the foul contempt,  
And then his passion bids his wrath attempt  
A quick revenge; now creep into his thought  
Such things as aggravate the peevish fault;  
The place the persons present, and the time  
Increase his wrath, increase his Lady's Crime.  
But soon as Passion had restored the Rein  
To righteous Reason's government again;  
The King (unfit to judge his proper Cause)  
Referred the trial to the Persian Laws:  
He called his learned Counsel, and displayed  
The nature of his Grievance thus, and said▪  
By virtue of a Husband, and a King,  
(To make complete our Royal banqueting)  
We gave command, we gave a strict command,  
That by the office of our Eunuch's band,  
Queen Vashti should in state attended be  
Into the presence of our Majesty,  
But in contempt she slacks our dread bebest  
Neglects performance of our dear Request,  
And (through disdain) disloyally denied,  
Like a false subject, and a faithless bride:  
Say then (my Lords) for you (being truly wise)  
Have brains to judge, and judgements to advise;  
Say, boldly (say) what do the Laws assign?  
What punishment? or what deserved Fine?  
Assuerus bids, the mighty King commands;  
Vashti denies, the scornful Queen withstands.  

Medit. 2.  
EVil manners breed good Laws: & that's the 〈◊〉  
That e'er was made of bad: The Persian fea●  
(Finding the mischief that was grown so rife)  
Admitted not with men a married wife.  
How careful were they in preserving that,  
Which we so watchful are to violate!  
O Chastity the Flower of th● soul,  
How is thy perfect fairness turned to foul!  
How are thy Blossoms blasted all to dust,  
By sudden Lightning of untamed Lust!  
How hast thou thus defiled thy Ivory feet!  
Thy sweetness that was once, how far from sweet!  
Where are thy maiden-smiles, thy blushing cheek?  
Thy Lamblike countenance, so fair, so meek?  
Where is that spotless Flower, that while-ere  
Within thy lily bosom thou didst wear?  
Has wanton Cupid snatched it? Hath his Dart  
Sent courtly tokens to thy simple heart?  
Where dost thou bide? the Country half disclaims thee;  
The City wonders when a body names thee.  
Or have the rural woods engrossed thee there,  
And thus forestalled our empty markets here?  
Sure thouart not, or kept where no man shows thee;  
Or changed so much, scarce man or woman knows thee.  
¶ Our Grandam Eve, before it was forbid,  
Desired not the fruit, she after did:  
Had not the Custom of those times ordained  
That women from men's feasts should be restrained,  
Perhaps (Assuerus) Vashti might have died  
Unsent for, and thyself been undenyed:  
Such are the the fruits of mirth's and wine's abuse,  
Customs must crack, & love must break his truce,  
Conjugal bands must lose, and sullen Hate  
Ensues the Feast, where Wine's immoderate.  
¶ Moore difficult it is, and greater skill  
To bear a mischief, ' than prevent an ill:  
Passion is natural, but to bridle Passion,  
Is more divine, and virtue's operation:  
To do amiss, is Nature's act; to err,  
Is but a wretched mortals Character;  
But to prevent the danger of the ill,  
Is more than Man, surpassing humane skill:  
Who plays a happy game with crafty slight,  
Confirms himself but fortune's Favourite;  
But he that husbands well an ill-dealt game,  
Deserves the credit of a Gamesters name;  
¶ Lord, if my Cards be bad, yet lend me skill  
To play them wisely ' and make the best of ill.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The learned Counsel ple●d the case;  
The Queen degraded from her place?  
Decrees are sent throughout the Land,  
That Wives obey, and men command.  
Sect. 3.  
THe righteous Counsel (having heard the cause)  
Advised a while, with respite of a pause,  
Till Memucan (the first that silence broke)  
Unsealed his serious lips, and thus bespoke:  
The Great Assuerus sovereign Lord and King,  
(To grace the period of his banqueting)  
Hath sent for Vashti; Vashti would not come,  
And now it rests in us to give the doom.  
But left that too much rashness violate  
The sacred justice of our happy state,  
We first propound the height of her offence,  
Next, the succeeding inconvenience,  
Which through the circumstances does augment,  
And so descend to th'equal punishment;  
Th'offence propounded, now we must relate  
Such circumstances that might aggravate,  
And first the Place, (the Palace of the King,)  
And next the Time, (the Time of Banqueting)  
Last, the Persons, (Princes of the Land)  
Which witness the contempt of the command;  
The Place, the Persons present, and the Time,  
Make ●oule the fault, make foul the Lady's crime;  
Nor was her fault unto the King alone,  
But to the Princes, and to every one,  
For when this speech divulged about shall be,  
Vashti the Queen withstood the King's Decree,  
Women (that soon can an advantage take  
Of things, which for their private ends do make)  
Shall scorn their coward husbands, and despise  
Their dear requests within their scornful eyes,  
And say, if we deny your h●sts, then blame not,  
Assuerus sent for Vashti, but she came not;  
By Vashties pattern others will be taught;  
Thus her example's fouler than her fault:  
Now therefore if it like our gracious King,  
(Since he refers tous the censuring)  
Let him proclaim (which untransgressed be)  
His royal Edict, and his just Decree,  
That Vashti come no more before his face,  
But leave the titles of her Princel●● place:  
Let firm divorce unloose the Nuptial knot,  
And let the name of Queen be quite forgot,  
Let her estate and Princely dignity,  
Her Royal Crown, and seat assigned be  
To one whose sacred Virtue shall attain  
As high perfection, as her bold disdain;  
So when this Royal Edict shall be famed,  
And through the several Provinces proclaimed,  
Disdainful ●ives will learn, by Vashties fall,  
To answer gently to their Husbands call.  
Thus ended Memucan; the King was pleased;  
(His blustering passion now at length appeased)  
And soon applied himself to undertake,  
To put in practice what his Counsel spoke:  
So, into every Province of the Land,  
He sent his speedy Letters, with command,  
That Husbands rule their wives, & bear the sway,  
And by subjection teach their Wives t'obey.  

Meditat. 3.  
When God with sacred breath did first inspire  
The newmade earth with quick, & holy fire,  
He (well advising, what a goodly creature  
He builded had, so like himself in feature)  
Forthwith concluded by his preservation  
T'eternize that great work of Man's creation;  
Into a sleep he cast this living clay,  
Locked up his sense with drowsy Morpheus' key,  
Opened his fruitful flank, and from his side,  
He drew the substance of his helpful Bride,  
Flesh of his flesh, and bone made of his bone  
He framed Woman, making two of one;  
Thus broke in two, he did anew ordain  
That these same two should be made One again:  
Till singling Death this sacred knot undo,  
And part this newmade One, once more in two.  
¶ Since of a Rib first framed was a Wife,  
Let Ribs be Hi'roglyphicks of their life:  
Ribs coast the Heart, and guard it round about,  
And like a trusty Watch keep danger out;  
So tender wives should loyally impart  
Their watchful care to fence their Spouses heart:  
All members else from out their places rove,  
But Ribs are firmly fixed, and seldom move:  
Women (like Ribs) must keep their wont home,  
And not (like Dinah that was ravished) room:  
If Ribs be overbent, or handled rough,  
They break; If let alone, they bend enough:  
Women must (unconstrained) be pliant still,  
And gently bending to their Husband's will,  
The sacred Academy of man's life  
Is holy wedlock in a happy Wife.  
It was a wise man's speech, Could never they  
Know to command, that knew not first t'obey:  
Where's then that high command? that ample fam●  
Your sex, to glorify for their honoured name,  
Your noble sex in former days achieved?  
Whose sounding praise no aftertimes outlived.  
What brave exploits, what well deserving glory;  
The subject of an everlasting story,  
Their hands achieved? they thrust their Sceptres then  
As well in Kingdoms, as in hearts of men;  
And sweet obedience was the lowly stair,  
Mounted their steps to that commanding chair.  
¶ A Woman's rule should be in such a fashion,  
Only to guide her household, and her passion:  
And her obedience never's out of season,  
So long as either Husband lasts, or Reason:  
Ill thrives the hapless Family, that shows  
A Cock that's silent, and a Hen that crows.  
I know not which live more unnatural lives,  
Obeying Husbands, or commanding Wives.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Assuerus pleased; his servants motion  
Propounded, gain his approbation.  
ester's descent, her jewish race:  
Her beauties, and her perfect grace.  
Sect. 4.  
WHen Time (that endeth all things) did assuage  
The burning Fever of Assuerus rage,  
And quiet satisfaction had assigned  
Delightful lu'lips to his troubled mind,  
He called his old remembrance to account  
Of Vashti, and her Crimes that did amount  
To th'sum of her divorcement: In his thought  
He weighed the censure of her heedless fault:  
His fawning servants willing to prevent him,  
Lest too much thought should make his love repent him,  
Said thus: (If it shall please our gracious Lord  
To crown with audience his servant's word)  
Let strict inquest, and careful Inquisition  
In all the Realm be made, and quick provision  
Throughout the Medes and Persians all along  
For comely Virgins, beautiful and young,  
Which (curiously selected) let them bring  
Into the Royal Palace of the King;  
And let the Eunuches of the King take c●re  
For Princely Robes, and Vesture, and prepare  
Sweet Odours, choice Perfumes, and all things meet,  
To add a greater sweetness to their sweet;  
And she, whose perfect beams shall best delight,  
And seem most gracious in his Princely sight;  
To her be given the conquest of her face,  
And be enthroned in scornful Vashties place.  
The project pleased the King, who strait requires  
That strict performance second their desires:  
Within the walls of Shusa dwelled there one,  
By breeding and by birth a jew, and known  
By th'name of Mordecai, of mighty kin,  
Descended from the Tribe of Benjamin,  
(Whose neck was subject to the slavish yoke,  
When jeconiah was surprised and taken,  
And carried captive into Babel's Land,  
With strength of mighty Neb'chadnezzars' hand;)  
Within his house abode a Virgin bright,  
Whose name was Ester or Hadassa hight,  
His brother's daughter, whom (her parents dead)  
This jew did foster, in her father's stead;  
She wanted none, though father the had none,  
Her Uncle's love assumed her for his own?  
Bright beams of beauty streamed from her eye,  
And in her cheek sat maiden modesty;  
Which peerless beauty lent so kind a relish  
To modest Virtue, that they did embellish  
Each others excellence, with a full assent,  
In her to boast their perfect compliment.  

Medita. 4.  
THe strongest Arteries that knit and tie  
The members of a mixed Monarchy,  
Are learned Counsels, timely Consultations,  
ripened Advice, and sage Deliberations;  
And if those Kingdoms be but ill be-blest,  
Whose Rule's committed to a young man's breast:  
Then such Estates are more unhappy far,  
Whose choicest Counsellors but Children are:  
How many Kingdoms blessed with high renown,  
(In all things happy else) have placed their crown  
Upon the Temples of a childish head,  
Until with ruin, King, or State be sped!  
What Massacres (begun by factious jars,  
And ended by the spoil of civil wars)  
Have made brave Monarchies unfortunate,  
And razed the glory ' of many ' a mighty State?  
How many hopeful Princes (ill advised  
By young, & smooth-faced Counsel) have despised  
The sacred Oracles of riper years,  
Till dear Repentance wash the Land with tears?  
Witness thou luckless, and succeeding Son  
Of (Wisdoms Favourite) great Solomon;  
How did thy rash, and beardless Counsel bring  
Thy fortunes subject to a stranger King?  
And laying burdens on thy people's neck,  
The weight hung sadly on thy bended back.  
Thou second Richard, (once our Britain King,  
Whose Syr's, and Grandsyr's fame the world did ring  
How was thy gentle nature led aside,  
By green advisements, which thy State did guide,  
Until the title of thy Crown did crack,  
And fortunes (as thy Father's name) were black?  
¶ Now glorious Britain, clap thy hands, and bless  
Thy sacred fortunes; for thy happiness  
(As doth thy Island) does itself divide,  
And sequester from all the world beside;  
Blessed are thy open Gates with joyful peace,  
Blessed are thy fruitful Barns with sweet increase,  
Blessed in thy Counsel, whose industrious skill,  
Is but to make thy fortunes happy still;  
In all things blessed, that to a State pertain;  
Thrice happy in my dreaded Sovereign,  
My sacred sovereign, in whose only breast,  
A wise Assembl ' of Privy Counsels rest,  
Who conquers with his Princely heart as far  
By peace, as Alexander did by War,  
And with his Olive branch more hearts did board,  
Than daring Cesar did, with Caesar's sword:  
Long mayst thou hold within thy Royal hand,  
The peaceful Sceptre of our happy Land:  
¶ Great Iudah's Lion, and the Flower of jesse.  
Preserve thy Lions, and thy Flowers bless.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Fair Virgin, brought to Hege's hand,  
The custom of the Persian Land;  
ester's neglect of rich attire,  
To whet the wanton King's desire.  
Sect. 5.  
ANd when the lustful King's Decree was read  
In every ear, and Shire proclaimed, & spread,  
Forthwith unto the Eunuch Hege's hand  
The Bevy came, the pride of beauty's band,  
Armed with joy, and warring with their eyes,  
To gain the conquest of a princely prize;  
But none in peerless beauty shined so bright,  
As lovely Ester did in Hege's sight:  
In loyal service he observed her;  
He sent for costly Oils, and fragrant Myrrh,  
To ●it her for the presence of the King:  
〈◊〉 Tires, and change of vesture did he bring▪  
Seven comely maids he gave to tend upon her,  
To show his service, and increase her honour:  
But she was watchful of her lips, and wise,  
Disclosing not her kindred, or alyes:  
For trusty Mardoche●s tender care  
Gave hopeful Ester Items to beware  
To blaze her kin, or make her people known,  
Lest for their sake, her hopes be overthrown.  
Before the Gates he to and fro did pass,  
Wherein enclosed the Courtly Ester was,  
To understand how Ester did behave her,  
And how she kept her in the Eunuch's favour,  
Now when as Time had fitted every thing,  
By course, these Virgins came before the King.  
Such was the custom of the Persian soil,  
Six months the Virgins bathed in Myrrh & Oil,  
Six months perfumed in change of odours sweet,  
That perfect lust, and great excess may meet;  
What costly Robes, rare jewels, rich attire,  
Or curious Fare, these Virgins did desire,  
'Twas given, and freely granted, when they bring  
Their bodies to be prostrate to the King:  
Each Virgin keeps her turn, and all the night  
They lewdly lavish in the King's delight,  
And soon as ●orning shall restore the day,  
They in their bosoms bear black night away,  
And (in their guilty breasts, as are their sins  
Close prisoners) in the house of Concubines  
Remain, until the satiate King shall please  
To lend their pampered bodies a release.  
Now when the turn of Ester was at hand,  
To satisfy the wanton King's command,  
She ●ought not (as the rest) with brave attire,  
To lend a needless spur t' unchaste Desire,  
Nor yet endeavours with a whorish Grace,  
T'adulterate the beauty of her face:  
Nothing she sought to make her glory braver,  
But simply took what gentle Hege gave her:  
Her sober ●●sage daily won her honour:  
Each wand'ring eye inflamed, that looked upon her.  

Meditat. 5.  
WHen God had with his Al-producing Blast,  
Blown up the bubble of the World, & placed  
In order that, which he had made in measure,  
As well for necessary use, as pleasure:  
Then out of earthy mould he framed a creature  
far more Divine, and of more glorious feature  
Than erst he made, endued with understanding,  
With strength, victorious, & with awe commanding,  
With Reason, Wit, replete with Majesty,  
With heavenly knowledge, and Capacity,  
True emblem of his Maker: Him he made  
The sovereign Lord of all; Him all obeyed;  
Yielding their lives (as tribute) to their King;  
Both Fish, and Bird, and Beast, and every thing:  
His body's reared upright, and in his eye,  
Stand radiant beams of awful sovereignty;  
All Creatures else po●e downward to the ground,  
Man looks to heaven, and all his thoughts rebound  
Upon the Earth (where tides of pleasures mecro)  
He treads, and daily tramples with his feet;  
Which read sweet Lectures to his wand'ring eyes,  
And teach his lustful heart to moralise:  
Naked he lived, naked to the world he came;  
For he had then nor fault to hide, nor shame:  
His state was level, and he had free will  
To stand or fall, unforced to good or ill;  
Man had (such state he was created in)  
Within his power, a power not to sin:  
But Man was tempted, yielded, sinned, and fell,  
Abused his free will, lost it, than befell  
A worse succeeding state; who was created  
Complete, is now become poor, blind, and naked;  
He's drawn with headstrong bias unto ill,  
Bereft of active power to will, or nill;  
A blessed Saints become a baleful Devil,  
His free-will's only stinted now to evil:  
Pleasure's his Lord, and in his Lady's eyes  
His Crystal Temple of devotion lies:  
Pleasures the white, whereat he takes his level,  
Which (too much wronged with the name of evil)  
With best of blessings takes her lofty seat,  
Greatest of goods, and seeming best of great:  
What's good, (like Iron) rusts for want of use,  
And what is bad is worsed with abuse;  
Pleasure, whose apt, and right ordained end  
Is but to sweeten labour, and attend  
The frailty ' of man is now preferred so high,  
To be his Lord, and bear the sovereignty,  
Ruling his slavish thoughts, ignoble actions,  
And gains the conquest of his best affections,  
Sparing no cost to bolster up delight,  
But force vain pleasures to unwonted height:  
¶ Who adds excess unto a lustful heart,  
Commits a costly sin, with greater Art.    

THE ARGUMENT▪  
Ester's beloved, wedded, crowned;  
A Treason Mordecai betrayed;  
The Trailors are pursued, and ●ound,  
And for that treason well apaid.  
Sect. 6.  
NOw, now the time is come, fair Ester must  
Expose her beauty to the Lechers lust;  
Now, now must Ester stake her honour down,  
And hazard Chastity to gain a Crown;  
Gone, gone she is, attended to the Court,  
And spends the evening in the Prince's sport:  
As when a Lady, (walking Flora's Bower)  
Picks here a Pink, and there a Gilly-flowre,  
Now plucks a Vi'let from her purple bed,  
And then a Primrose, (the years' maidenhead)  
There, nips the Briar; here, the Lovers Pauncy,  
Shifting her dainty pleasures, with her Fancy,  
This, on her arm; and that, she li●ts to wear  
Upon the borders of her curious hair,  
At length, a Rose-bud (passing all the rest)  
She plucks, and bosoms in her Lily breast:  
So when Assuerus (tickled with delight)  
Perceived the beauties of those virgins bright,  
He liked them all, but when with strict revy,  
He viewed 〈◊〉 face, his wounded eye  
Sparkled, whilst Cupid with his youthful Dart,  
Transfixed the Centre of his feeble heart;  
Ester is now his joy, and in her eyes,  
The sweetest flower of his Garland lies:  
Who now but Ester? Ester crownes his bliss,  
And he's become her prisoner, that was his:  
Ester obtains the prize, her high desert  
Like Di'mond's richly mounted in his heart;  
Iô, now Iô Hymen sings; for she  
That crownes his joy, must likewise crowned be:  
The Crown is set on Princely ester's head,  
Ester sits Queen, in scornful Voshties stead.  
To consecrate this Day to more delights,  
In due solemnising the nuptial rites,  
In ester's name, Assuerus made a Feast,  
Invited all his Princes, and released,  
The hard taxation, that his heavy hand  
Laid on the subjects of his groaning Land;  
No rights were wanting to augment his joys,  
Great gifts confirmed the bounty of his choice:  
Yet had not ester's lavish tongue descried  
Her jewish kin, or where she was allied;  
For still the words of Mordecai did rest  
Within the cabin of her Royal breast,  
Who was as pliant (being now a Queen)  
To sage advice, as ere before she'd been.  
It came to pass, as Mardochaeus sat  
Within the Portall of the Prince's gate,  
He overheard two servants of the King,  
Closely combined in hollow whispering:  
(Like whistling Notus that foretells a rain)  
To breathe out treason against their Sovereign:  
Which, soon as loyal Mardochaeus heard,  
Forthwith to ester's presence he repaired;  
Disclosed to her, and to her care commended  
The Traitors, and the treason they intended:  
Whereat, the Queen (impatient of delay)  
Betrayed the Traitors, that would her betray,  
And to the King unbosomed all her heart,  
And who her Newesman was, and his desert.  
Now all on hurly-burly was the Court,  
All tongues were filled with wonder and report:  
The watch was set, pursuit was made about,  
To guard the King, and find the Traitors out,  
Who found, and guilty found, by speedy trial,  
(Where witness speaks, what boots a bare denial)  
Were both hanged up upon the shameful tree:  
(To bear such fruit let trees ne'er barren be:)  
And what success this happy Day afforded,  
Was in the Persian Chronicles recorded.  

Meditat. 6.  
THe hollow Concave of a humane breast  
Is God's Exchequer, and therein the best,  
And sum of all his chiefest wealth consists,  
Which he shuts up, and opens when he lists:  
No power is of man: to love or hate,  
Lies not in mortals breast, or power of Fate:  
Man wants the strength to sway his strong affections  
What power is, is from Divine directions;  
Which oft (unseen through dulness of the mind)  
We neck name, Chance, because ourselves are blind  
And that's the cause, man's first beholding eye  
Oft loves, or hates, and knows no reason why.  
¶ 'Twas not the brightness of Rebecca's face,  
Or servants skill that won the virgin's grace:  
'Twas not the wish, or wealth of Abraham,  
Or isack's fortune, or renowned name,  
His comely personage, or his high desert,  
Obtained the conquest of Rebecca's heart:  
Old Abra'm wished, in secret God directed;  
'Twas Abra'm used the means; 'twas God effected:  
Best marriages are made in heaven; In heaven,  
The hearts are joined; in earth the hands are given,  
First God ordains, than man confirms the Love,  
Proclaiming that on earth was done above.  
¶ 'Twas not the sharpness of thy wand'ring eye,  
(Great King Assuerus) to pick Majesty  
From out the sadness of a Captives face;  
'Twas not alone thy choosing, nor her grace;  
Who mounts the meek, and beats the lofty down,  
Gave thee the heart to choose, gave her the Crown:  
Who blessed thy fortunes with a second wife,  
He blessed thy fortunes with a second life;  
That breast that entertained so sweet a Bride,  
Stood fair to Treason, (by her means descried;)  
With double fortunes, were't thou doubly blessed,  
To find so fair, and scape so foul a guest.  
¶ Thou aged father of our years and hours,  
(For thou as well discoverst, as devours)  
Search still the entrails of thy just Records,  
Wherein are entered the diurnal words  
And deeds of mortal men; Bring (thou) to light  
All treacherous projects, manned by craft, or might;  
With Towrs of Brass, their faithful heart's imbosse  
That bear the Christian colours of the Crosse.  
¶ And Thou Preserver of all mortal things,  
Within whose hands are placed the hearts of Kings;  
By whom all Kingdoms stand, and Princes reign  
Preserve thy CHARLES, and my dear Sovereign;  
Let Traitors plots, like wand'ring Atoms, fly,  
And on their heads pay tenfold usury;  
His bosom tutor, and his safety tender:  
O be thou his, as he's thy Faith's Defender:  
That thou in him, and he in thee may rest,  
And we of both may live and die possessed.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The line of Haman, and his race;  
His fortunes in the Prince's grace:  
His rage to Mordecai expressed,  
Not bowing to him, as the rest.  
Sect 7.  
Upon a time, to Persias Royal Court,  
A foreign Stranger used to resort,  
He was the issue of a royal breed,  
The offcast offspring of the cursed seed  
Of Amelck, from him descended right,  
That sold his birthright for his Appetite;  
〈◊〉 his name; His fortunes did improve,  
Increased by favour of the Prince's love:  
Full great he grew, preferred to high command,  
And placed before the Princes of the Land:  
And since that honour, and due reverence  
Belong where Princes give preeminence;  
The King commands the servants of his State,  
To suit respect to Hamans' high estate,  
And do him honour, fitting his degree,  
With veiled bonnet; and low bended knee:  
They all observed; but aged Mordecai  
(Whose stubborn joints neglected to obey  
The seed which Heaven with infamy had branded)  
Stoutly refused what the King commanded;  
Which when the servants of the King had seen,  
Their fell disdain mixtwith an envious spleen,  
Inflamed; They questioned how he durst withstand  
The just performance of the King's Command:  
Daily they checked him for his high disdain,  
And he their checks did daily entertain  
With silent slight behaviour, which did prove  
As full of care, as their rebukes of love.  
¶ Since than their hearts (not able to abide  
A longer sufferance of his peevish pride)  
(Whose scorching fires, passion did augment,)  
Must either break, or find a speedy vaunt:  
To Haman they th'unwelcome news related,  
And what they said, their malice aggravated.  
Envy did open her Snake-devouring jaws,  
Foamed frothy blood, and bend her unked Paws  
Her hollow eyes did cast out sudden flame,  
And pale as ashes looked this angry Dame,  
And thus bespoke! Art thou that man of might,  
That Imp of Glory? Time's great Favourite?  
Hath thy deserved worth restored again  
The blemished honour of thy Princely strain?  
Art thou that Wonder, which the Persian State  
Stands gazing at so much, and pointing at?  
Filling all woodring eyes with Admiration,  
And every loyal heart with Adoration?  
Art thou that mighty He? How haps it then  
That wretched Mordecai, the worst of men,  
A captive slave, a superstitious jew,  
Slights thee, and robs thee of thy righful due?  
Nor was his fault disguised with Ign●●●ce,  
(The unfeeed Advocate of sin) or Chance,  
But backed with Arrogance and fo●le Despite:  
Rise up, and do thy suffering honour right.  
Up (like his deep Revenge) rose Haman then,  
And like a sleeping Lion from his Den,  
Roused his relentless Rage; But when his eye  
Confirmed the news Report did testify,  
His Reason strait was heaved from off his hinge,  
And Fury rounded in his ear, Revenge,  
And (like a rash Adviser) thus began:  
There's nothing (Haman) is more dear to man,  
A●d cools his ●oyling veins with sweeter pleasure,  
Than quick revenge; for to revenge by leisure,  
Is but like feeding, when the stomach's past,  
Pleasing nor eager appetite, nor taste:  
●et when delay returns Revenge the greater,  
Like poignant sa●ce, it makes the meat the sweeter:  
It fi●s not th'honour of thy personage,  
Nor stands it with thy Greatness, to engage  
Thy noble thoughts, to make Revenge so poor,  
To ●e revenged on one alone: thy sore  
Needs many plasters: make thy honour good,  
Not with a drop, but with a world of blood:  
Borrow the Sy●●e of Time, and let thy Passion  
Mowe down thy jewish Foe, with all his Nation.  

Medita. 7.  
FIghts God for cursed Amalek? That hand  
That once did curse, doth now the curse withstand:  
Is God unjust? Is justice fled from heaven;  
Or are the righteous Balances uneven?  
Is this that Just Iehova's sacred Word,  
Firmly enrolled within the Law's Record,  
I'll fight with Amalek, destroy his Nation,  
And from remembrance blur his Generation?  
What, shall his curse to Amalek be void?  
And with those plagues shall Isr'el be destroyed:  
Ah, sooner shall the sprightful flames of fire  
Descend and moisten; and dull earth, aspire,  
And with her dryness quench fair Titan's heat,  
Then shall thy words, and just Decrees retreat:  
The Day, (as weary of his burden) tires;  
The Year (full laden with her months) expires:  
The heavens (grown great with age) must soon decay,  
The ponderous earth in time shall pass away;  
But yet thy sacred words shall always flourish,  
Though days, & years, & heaven, & earth do perish:  
How perkes proud Haman then? What prosperous fate  
Exalts his Pagan head? How fortunate  
Hath favour crowned his times? Hath God decreed  
No other Curse upon that cursed seed?  
The mortal eye of man can but perceive  
Things present; when his heart cannot conceive,  
he's either by his outward senses guided,  
Or, like a Quere, leaves it undecided:  
The fleshly eye that lends a feeble sight,  
Fails in extent, and hath no further might  
Than to attain the object: and there ends  
His office; and of what it apprehends,  
Acquaints the understanding, which conceives,  
And descants on that thing the sight perceives,  
Or good, or bad; unable to project  
The just occasion, or the true effect:  
Man sees like man, and can but comprehend,  
Things as they present are, not as they end;  
God sees a King's heart in a shepherd's breast,  
And in a mighty King, he sees a Beast:  
'Tis not the spring tied of an high estate  
Creates a man (though seeming) Fortunate:  
The blaze of Honour, Fortune's sweet excess,  
Do undeserve the name of Happiness:  
The frowns of indisposed Fortune makes  
Man poor, but not unhappy. He that takes  
Her checks with patience, leaves the name of poor,  
And lets in Fortune at a backer door.  
¶ Lord, let my fortunes be or rich, or poor:  
If small, the less account; if great, the more.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Unto the King proud Haman sues,  
For the destruction of the jews:  
The King consents, and in his name  
Decrees were sent t' effect the same.  
Sect. 8.  
NOw when the year had turned his course about  
And fully worn his weary hours out,  
And left his circling travel to his heir,  
That now sets onset to th' ensuing year,  
Proud Haman (pained with travel in the birth,  
Till aftertime could bring his mischief forth)  
Casts Lots, from month to month, from day to day,  
To pick the choicest time, when Fortune may,  
Be most propitious to his damned plot;  
Till on the last month fell th' unwilling Lot:  
So Haman guided by his Idol Fate,  
(Cloaking with public good his private Hate)  
In plaintiff terms, where Reason forged a relish  
Unto the King, his speech did thus embellish:  
Vp●● the limits of this happy Nation,  
There floats a scum, an offcast Generation,  
Dispersed, despised, and noisome to the Land,  
And Refractory to the Laws, to thy Command.  
Not stooping to thy Power, but despising  
All Government, but of their own devising,  
Which stirs the glowing embers of division,  
The hateful mother of a State's perdition,  
The which (not soon redressed by Reformation)  
Will ruine-breed to thee, and to thy Nation,  
Begetting Rebels, and seditious broils,  
And fill thy peaceful Land, with bloody spoils:  
Now therefore, if it please my gracious Lord,  
To right this grievance with his Princely sword,  
That Death, and equal justice may o'erwhelm  
The secret Ruiners of thy sacred Realm,  
Unto the Royal Treasure of the King,  
Ten thousand silver Talents w●ll I bring.  
Then gave the King, from off his heedless hand  
His Ring to Haman, with that Ring command,  
And said: Thy proffered wealth possess,  
Yet ●e thy just Petition nevertheless  
Entirely granted. L●e, before thy face  
Thy vassals lie, with all their rebel race;  
Thine be the people, and the power thine,  
T' allot these Rebels their deserved Fine.  
Forthwith the Scribes were summoned to appear▪  
Decrees were written, sent to every Shire;  
To all Lieutenants, Captains of the Band,  
And all the Provinces throughout the Land,  
Styled in the name and person of the King,  
And made authentic with his Royal Ring;  
By speedy Post men were the Letters sent;  
And this the sum is of their sad content:  
ASSVERUS REX.  
Let every Province in the Persian Land,  
(Upon the Day prefixed) prepare his hand,  
To make the Channels flow with Rebel's blood,  
And from the earth to root the jewish brood:  
And let the s●finesse of no partial heart,  
Through melting pity, love, or false desert,  
Spare either young or old, or man, or woman,  
But like their faults, so let their plagues be common.  
Dicreed, and signed by our Princely Grace,  
And given at Sushan, from our Royal Place.  
So Haman filled with joy (his fortunes blessed  
With fair success of his so foul request)  
Laid care aside to sleep, and with the King,  
Consumed the time in jolly banqueting:  
Mean while the jews, (the poor afflicted jews  
Perplexed, and startled with the new-bred news)  
With drooping heads, and selfe-imbracing arms,  
Wept forth the Dirge of their ensuing harms.  

Medita. 8.  
OF all diseases in a public weal,  
No one more dangerous, and hard to heal,  
(Except a tyrant King) than when great might  
Is trusted to the hands, that take delight  
To bathe, and paddle in the blood of those,  
Who● jealousies, and not just cause oppose:  
〈…〉 as haughty power is conjoined  
Unto 〈◊〉 will of a distempered mind,  
What ●●re it can, it will, and what it will,  
It in it 〈◊〉, hath power to fulfil:  
What! 〈◊〉 than can linger, unattemted?  
What base attempts can happen, unprevented?  
Statutes must break, good Laws must go to wrack  
And (like a Bow that's overbent) must crack:  
justice (the life of Law) becomes so furious,  
That (overdoing right) it proves injurious:  
Mercy (the Steare of justice) flies the City,  
And falsely must be termed a foolish Pity,  
Mean while the gracious Princes tender breast  
(Gently possessed with nothing but the best  
Of the disguised dissembler) is abused  
And made the cloak, wherewith his fault's excused:  
The radiant beams that warm, & shine so bright,  
Comfort this lower world with heat and light,  
But drawn, and recollected in a glass,  
They burn, and their appointed limits pass:  
Even so the power from the Prince's hand,  
Directs the subject with a sweet command,  
But to perverse fantastics if conferred,  
Whom wealth, or blinded Fortune hath preferred,  
It spurs on wrong, and makes the right retire,  
And sets the grumbling Commonwealth on fire:  
Their foul intent, the Common good pretends,  
And with that good they mask their private ends,  
Their glory's dim, and cannot b'understood,  
Unless it shine in pride, or swim in blood:  
Their will's a Law, their mischief Policy,  
Their frowns are Death, their power Tyranny:  
Ill thrives the State that harbours such a man,  
That can, what e'er he wills; wills what he can.  
May my ungarnisht quill presume so much,  
To glorify itself, and give a touch  
Upon the Island of my Sovereign Lord?  
What language shall I use, what new-foun●●ord,  
T' abridge the mighty volume of of his worth,  
And keep me blameless, from th'untimely birth  
Of (false reputed) flattery? He lends  
No cursed Haman power, to work his Ends  
Upon our ruin, but transfers his grace  
On just desert, which in the ugly face  
Of foul detraction, (untouched) can dare,  
And smile, till black-mouthed Envy blush, and tore  
Her Snaky fleece. Thus, thus in happy peace  
He rules, to make our happiness increase,  
Directs with love, commands with Princely awe,  
And in his breast he bears a living Law:  
Defend us thou, and heavens thee defend,  
And let proud Haman have proud Hamans' end.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The jews and Mordecai lament,  
And wail the height of their distresses:  
But Mordecai the Queen possesses,  
With cruel Hamans' foul intent.  
Sect▪ 3.  
NOw when as 〈◊〉 (the daughter of the earth  
Newly disburdened of her plumed birth)  
From off her Turrets did her wings display,  
And perched in the sad cares of Mordecai,  
He rend his garments, wearing in their stead  
Distressed sackcloth: on his fainting head  
He strewed Dust, and from his showering eyes  
Ran floods of sorrow, and with bitter cries  
His grief saluted heaven; his groans did borrow  
No Art to draw the true portrait of sorrow:  
Nor yet within his troubled breast alone,  
(Too small a stage for grief to trample on)  
Did Tyrant sorrow act her lively Scene,  
But did enlarge (such grief admits no mean)  
The lawless limits of her Theatre  
Ith' hearts of all the jewish Nation, where  
(With no dissembled Action) she expressed  
The lively Passion of a pensive breast.  
Forthwith he posteth to the Palace gate,  
T'acquaint Queen Ester with his sad estate,  
But found no entrance: for the Persian Court  
Gave welcome to delights, and youthly sport,  
To jolly mirth, and such delightful things:  
Soft raiment best befits the Courts of Kings:  
There lies no welcome for a whining face,  
A mourning habit suits no Princely Place:  
Which when the Maids, and Eunuches of the Queen  
(Unable of themselves to help) had seen,  
Their Royal Mistress strait they did acquaint  
With the dumb-shew of her sad Cousin's plaint;  
Whereat (till now a stranger to the cause)  
Perplexed, and forced by the tender Laws  
Of dear affection, her gentle heart  
Did sympathise with his conceived smart:  
She sent him change of raiment to put on,  
To veil his grief; But he received none:  
Then (sore dismayed, impatient to forbear  
The knowledge of the thing she feared to hear)  
She sent her servant to him, to importune,  
What sudden Chance, or what disastrous fortune  
Had caused this strange and ill-apparelled grief,  
That she (if in her lies) may send relief:  
To whom his sorrows made this sad Relation,  
And this, the tenor of his Declaration:  
haman's (that cursed haman's) haughty pride  
(Because my 〈◊〉 deservedly denied  
To make 〈◊〉 Idol of his greatness) hath  
Incensed the fury of his jealous wrath,  
And proffered lavish bribes to buy the blood  
Of me, and all the faithful jewish brood:  
In, here the copy, granted by the King,  
Suled in his name, confirmed with his Ring,  
〈◊〉 of the which, into his hands,  
〈◊〉 Haman hath engrossed our lives, our lands:  
〈◊〉 tell the Queen, it resteth in her powers  
To help; the case is ●ers as well as Ours:  
〈◊〉 tell my cousin Queen, it is her charge,  
To use the means, whereby she may enlarge  
H●● aged kinsman's life, and all her Nation;  
Preferring to the King her supplication.  

Meditat. 9  
WHo hopes t'attain the sweet Elysian Lays,  
To reap the harvest of his wel-spent days,  
Must pass the joyless streams of Acaron,  
The scorching waves of burning Phlegeton,  
And sable billows of the Stygian Lake:  
Thus sweet with sour, each mortal must partake.  
What joyful Harvester did ere obtain  
The sweet fruition of his hopeful gain,  
Until his hardy labours first had past  
The Summer's heat, and stormy Winter's blast?  
A sable night returns a shining morrow;  
And days of joy ensue sad nights of sorrow:  
The way to bliss lies not on beds of Down,  
And he that had no Cross, deserves no Crown:  
There's but one Heaven, one place of perfect ease,  
In man it lies, to take it where he please,  
Above, or here below; And few men do  
Enjoy the one; and taste the other too;  
Sweeting, and constant labour wins the Goal  
Of Rest; Afflictions clarify the soul,  
And like hard Masters, give more hard directions,  
Tut'ring the nonage of uncurbed affections:  
Wisdom (the Antidote of sad despair)  
Makes sharp Afflictions seem not as they are,  
Through patient sufferance, and doth apprehend,  
Not as they seeming are, but as they end:  
To bear Affliction with a bended brow,  
Or stubborn heart, is but to disallow  
The speedy means to health; salve heals no sore,  
If mis-applyed, but makes the grief the more:  
Who sends Affliction, sends an end; and He  
Best knows what's best for him, what's best for me:  
'Tis not for me to carve me where I like;  
Him pleases when he list to stroke or strike:  
I'll neither wish, nor yet avoid Tentation,  
But still expect it, and make preparation:  
If he think best, my Faith shall not be tried,  
(Lord) keep me spotless from presumptuous pride:  
If otherwise; with trial, give me care,  
By thankful patience, to prevent Despair;  
Fit me to bear what e'er thou shalt assign;  
I kiss the Rod, because the Rod is thine.  
Howe'er, let me not boast, nor yet repine,  
With trial, or without (Lord) make me thin●.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Her aid implored, the Queen refuses  
To help them, and herself excuses:  
But (urged by Mordecai) consents  
To die, or cross their foes intents.  
Sect. 10.  
NOw when the servant had returrned the words  
Of wretched Mordecai, like pointed swords  
They near impierced Queen ester's tender heart,  
That well could pity, but no help impart;  
●allac'd with grief, and with the burden foiled,  
(Like Ordnance overcharged) she thus recoiled:  
G●●, Hatach, tell my wretched kinsman thus,  
The case concerns not you alone, but us:  
〈◊〉 the subject of proud Hamans' hate,  
As well as you; our life is pointed at  
As well as yours, or as the meanest jew,  
N●● can I help myself, nor them, nor you:  
You know the Custom of the Persian State,  
No King may break, no subject violate:  
How may I then presume to make access  
●●fore th'offended King? or rudely press  
(Uncalled) into his presence? How can I  
Expect my suit, and have deser●'d to dye?  
May my desires hope to find success,  
When to ●ffect them, I the Law transgress?  
Th●se thirty days uncalled for have I been  
〈◊〉 my Lord; How dare I now go in?  
G●●, Hatach, a●d return this heavy news  
〈…〉 the truth of my unforced excuse.  
Whereof when Mordecai was full possessed,  
His troubled Soul he boldly thus expressed:  
Go, tell the fearful Queen; too great's her fear,  
Too small her zeal; her life she rates too dear:  
How poor's th'adventure, to engage thy blood,  
To save thy people's life, and Churches good?  
To what advantage canst thou more expose  
Thy life than this? thoust but a life to lose;  
Think not, thy Greatness can excuse our death,  
Or save thy life, thy life is but a breath  
As well as ours, (Great Queen) thou hop'st in rain,  
In saving of a life, a life to gain:  
Who knows if God on purpose did intend  
Thy high preferment for this happy end?  
If at this needful time thou spare to speak,  
Our speedy help shall (like the morning) break  
From heaven, together with thy woes; and he  
That succours us, shall heap his plagues on thee.  
Which when Queen Ester had right well perused▪  
And on each wounding word had sadly mused,  
Startled with zeal, not daring to deny,  
She roused her faith, and sent this meek reply:  
Since heaven it is endowes each enterprise  
With good success, and only in us lies  
To plant, and water; let us first obtain  
Heavens high assistance, lest the work be vain:  
Let all the jews in Susa summoned ●e,  
And keep a solemn three days Fast, and we,  
With all our servants, and our maiden train,  
Shall fast as long, and from our thoughts abstain:  
Then to the King (uncalled) will I repair,  
(Howe'er my boldness shall his Laws contraire,)  
And bravely welcome Death before mine eye,  
And scorn her power: If I die, I die.  

Meditat. 10.  
AS in the winged Commonwealth of Bees,  
(Whose careful Summer-providence foresees  
Th'approaching fruitless Winter, which denies  
The crown of labour) some with laden thighs  
Take charge to bear their waxy burdens home;  
Others receive the welcome load; and some  
Dispose the wax; others, the plot contrive;  
Some build the curious Comb, some guard the Hive  
Like armed Sentinels; others distrain  
The purer honey from the wax; some train,  
And discipline the young, while others drive  
The sluggish Drones from their deserved Hive:  
Thus in this Commonwealth (untaught by Art)  
Each winged Burger acts his busy part;  
So man (whose first creation did intend,  
And chiefly pointed at no other end,  
Then (as a faithful Steward) to receive  
The Fine and quitrent of the lives we live)  
Must suit his dear endeavour to his might;  
Each one must lift, to make the burden light,  
Proving the power, that his gifts afford,  
To raise the best advantage for his Lord,  
Whose substitute he is, and for whose sake  
We live and breath; each his account must make,  
Or more, or less; and he whose power lacks  
The means to gather honey, must bring wax:  
Five Talents double five; two render four;  
where's little, little's craved, where much, there's more:  
Kings by their Royal privilege may do,  
What unbefits a mind to search into,  
But by the force of their prerogatives,  
They cannot free the custom of their lives:  
The silly Widow (from whose wrinkled brows  
Faint drops distil, through labour that she owes  
Her needy life, must make her Audite too,  
As well as Kings, and mighty Monarches do:  
The world's a Stage, each mortal Acts thereon,  
As well the King that glitters on the throne,  
As needy beggars: Heaven Spectator is,  
And marks who acteth well, and who amiss.  
¶ What part befits me best, I cannot tell:  
It matters not how mean, so acted well.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Unto the King Queen Ester goes,  
He unexpected favour shows,  
Demands her suit, she doth request  
The King and Haman to a Feast.  
Sect. 11.  
WHen as Queen ester's solemn 3. days Fast  
Had feasted heaven with a sweet repast,  
Her lowly bended body she unbowed,  
And (like fair Titan breaking from a cloud)  
She rose, and with her Royal Robe she clad  
Her liveless limbs, and with a face as sad  
As grief could paint, (wanting no Art to borrow  
A needless help to counterfeit a sorrow,)  
Softly she did direct her feeble pace  
Unto the inner Court, where for a space,  
She boldly stood before the Royal Throne,  
Like one that would, but durst not make her moan:  
Which when her princely husband did behold,  
His heart relented, (Fortune helps the bold)  
And to express a welcome unexpected,  
Forth to the Queen his Sceptre he directed;  
Whom (now emboldened to approach secured)  
In gracious terms, he gently thus conjured:  
What is't Queen Ester would? What sad request  
Hangs on her lips, dwells in her doubtful breast?  
Say, say, (my life's preserver) what's the thing,  
That lies in the performance of a King,  
Shall be denied? Fair Queen, what e'er is mint  
Unto the moiety of my kingdom's thine▪  
So Ester thus: If in thy Princely eyes  
Thy loyal Servant hath obtained the prize  
Of undeserved favour, let the King  
And Haman grace my this dayes-banquetting,  
To crown the dainties of his handmaid's Feast,  
Humbly devoted to so great a Guest.  
The motion pleased, and fairly well succeeded:  
(To willing minds, no twice entreaty needed)  
They came; but in Queen ester's troubled face,  
(Robbed of the sweetness of her wont grace)  
The King read discontent; her face divined  
The greatness of some further suit behind.  
Say, say, (thou bounteous harvest of my joys)  
(Said then the King) what dumpish grief annoys  
Thy troubled soul? Speak, Lady, what's the thing  
Thy heart desires? By th'honour of a King,  
My Kingdom's half, requested, I'll divide  
To fair Queen Ester, to my fairest Bride.  
L● then the tenor of my dear request,  
(Replied the Queen,) unto a second Feast,  
Thy humble Suitor doth presume to bid  
The King, and Haman, as before she did:  
Now therefore if it please my gracious Lord,  
To daig●e his Royal presence, and afford  
The peerless treasure of hi● Princely Grace,  
To dry the sorrows of his Handmaid's face,  
Then to my Kingly, and thrice-welcome Guest  
His servant shall unbosom her Request.  

Medita. 11.  
HE that invites his Maker to a Feast,  
(Advising well the greatness of his Guest)  
Must purge his dining chamber from infections,  
And sweep the Cobwebs of his lewd affections,  
And then provide such Cates, as most delight  
His Palate, and best please his Appetite:  
And such are holy works and pious deeds,  
These are the dainties whereon heaven feeds:  
Faith plays the Cook, seasons, directs, and guides;  
So man finds meat, so God the Cook provides:  
His drink are tears, sprung from a midnight cry,  
Heaven sips out Nectar from a sinner's eye;  
The dining chamber is the soul oppressed;  
God keeps his revels in a Sinners breast:  
The music that attends the Feast, are groans,  
Deep-founding sighs, and loud lamenting mone●:  
Heaven hears no sweeter music, than complaints;  
The Fasts of sinners, are the Feasts of Saints,  
To which heaven deigns to stoop, & heavens high King  
Descends, whilst all the choir of Angels sing,  
And with such sense-bereaving Sonnets fill  
The hearts of wretched men, that my rude quill  
(Dazzled with too much light) itself addressing  
To blaze them forth, obscures then in th'expressing:  
Thrice happy man, and thrice-thrice happy Feast,  
Graced with the presence of so great a Guest;  
To him are freely given the privy keys  
Of heaven and earth, to open when he please,  
And lock when ere he li●t; In him it lies  
To open the showering floodgates of the skies,  
Or shut them at his pleasure; in his hand  
The Host of heaven is put; if he command,  
The Sun (not daring to withstand) obeys,  
Outruns his equal hours, flies back, or stays,  
To him there's nought uneasy to achieve;  
he'll rouse the graves, and make the dead alive.  
¶ Lord, I'm unfit t' invite thee to my home,  
My Ca●es are all too course, too mean my Room▪  
Yet come and welcome: by thy power Divine,  
Thy Grace may turn my Water into Wine.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Good Mordecai's unreverence  
Great Hamans' haughty pride offends:  
H'acquaints his wife with the offence;  
The counsel of his wife and friends.  
Sect. 12.  
THat day went Haman forth; for his swollen breast  
Was filled with joys, and heart was full possessed  
Of all the height Ambition could require,  
To satisfy her prodigal Desire.  
But when he passed through the Palace Gate,  
(His eyesore) aged Mardocheus sat,  
With head unbared, and stubborn knee unben●,  
Unapt to fawn, with slavish blandishment:  
Which when great Haman saw, his boiling breast  
(So great disdain unable to digest)  
Ran o'er; his blood grew hot, and new desires  
Incensed, and kindled his avenging fires:  
Surcharged with grief▪ and sick with malcontent  
Through his distempered passion, home he went;  
Where (to assuage the swelling of his sorrow  
With words, the poorest helps distress can borrow)  
His wife, and friends he summoned to partake  
His cause of discontent, and thus be spoke:  
See, see, how Fortune with a liberal hand,  
Hath with the best, and sweetest of the Land,  
Crowned my desires, and hath timely blown  
My budded hopes, whose ripeness hath outgrown  
The limits, and the height of expectation,  
Scarce to be had, but in a Contemplation:  
See, see, how Fortune (to enlarge his breath,  
And make me living in despite of Death)  
Hath multiplied my loins, that after-Fame  
May in my flock preserve my blood, my Name.  
To make my honour with my fortunes even,  
behold, my gracious Lord the King hath given  
And trusted to my hand the sword of Power;  
Or life, or death lies where I laugh or lower:  
Who stands more gracious in my Prince's eye?  
How frowns the King, if Haman be not by?  
Ester the Queen hath made the King her Guest,  
And (wisely weighing how to grace the Feast  
With most advantage) hath (in policy)  
Invited me: And no man else but I  
(Only a fit Companion for a King)  
May taste the secrets of the banqueting.  
● Yet what avails my wealth, my place, my might▪  
How can I relish them? with what delight?  
What pleasure it in dainties, if the taste  
Be in itself distempered? Better fast:  
In many sweets, one sour offends the palate,  
One loathsome weed annoys the choicest Salad:  
What are my riches, what my honoured Place?  
What are my Children? or my Prince's Grace,  
So long as cursed Mordecai survives?  
Whose very breath infects, whose life deprives  
My life of bliss, and visage sternly strikes  
Worse venom to mine eyes than Basilisks.  
When Haman then had lanced his ripened grief▪  
In bloody terms, they thus applied relief:  
Erect a Gibbet, fifty Cubits high,  
Then urge the King (what will the King deny  
When Haman sues?) that slavish Mordecai  
Be hanged thereon; his blood will soon allay  
The heat of thine; his cursed death shall fame  
The highness of thy power, and his shame;  
So when thy suit shall find a fair event,  
Go banquet with the King, and live content.  
The Council pleased: The Gibber fairly stands▪  
Soon done, as said: Revenge finds nimble hands.  

Meditat. 12:  
SOme Ev'ls I must approve, all Goods, I dare not▪  
Some are, & seem not good; some seem & are not:  
In choosing goods my heart will make the choice,  
My flattering eye shall have no casting voice;  
No outward sense may choose an inward bliss,  
For seeming Happiness least happy is:  
The eye (the chiefest Cinqueport of the Heart)  
Keeps open doors, and plays the Traitor's part,  
Le's painted pleasures in, to bribe th'Affections,  
Which masks foul faces under false complexions;  
It hath no power to judge, nor can it see  
Things as they are, but as they seem to be.  
There's but one happiness, one perfect bliss;  
But how obtained, or where, or what it is,  
The world of nature ne'er could apprehend,  
Grounding their labours on no other end  
Than bare opinion, diversely affecting  
Some one thing, some another, still projecting  
Prodigious fancies, till their learned Schools  
Lent so much knowledge as to make them fools:  
One builds his bliss upon the blaze of glory:  
Can perfect happiness be transitory?  
In strength, another sums Felicity:  
What horse is not more happy far than he?  
Some pile their happiness on heaps of wealth:  
Which (sick) they'd loathe, if gold could purchase health:  
Some, in the use of beauty place their end;  
Some, in th'enjoyment of a Courtly friend:  
Like wasted Lamps, such happinesses smother;  
Age puffeth out the one; and wants, the other.  
The happiness, whose worth deserves the name  
Of chief, with such a fire doth inflame  
The breasts of mortals, that heaven thinks it fit  
That men should rather think than taste of it;  
All earthly joys some ●ther aim intend,  
This, for itself desired, no other end:  
Those, (if enjoyed) are crossed with discontent,  
If not in the pursuit, in the event:  
This (truly good) admits no contrariety,  
Without defect, or yet a loathed satiety.  
¶ The lest is more than my desert can claim,  
(Thankful for both) at this alone I aim.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The King asks Haman, what respects  
Befits the ●an that he affects;  
And with that ●onour doth appay  
The good deserts of Mordecai.  
Sect. 13.  
NOw when as Morpheus (S●rjeant of the night)  
Had laid his mace upon the dawning light,  
And with his justlesse limbs had closely spread,  
The sable Curtains of his drowsy Bed,  
The King slept not, but (indisposed to rest)  
Disguised thoughts within his troubled breast  
Kept midnight Revels.  
Wherefore (to recollect his random thought)  
He gave command the Chronicles be brought,  
And read before him; where, with good attention,  
He marked how Mordecai (with fair prevention)  
Of a foul treason against his blood intended)  
His life, and state had loyally defended;  
Whereat the King (impatient to repay  
Such faithful service with the least delay)  
Gently demands what thankful recompense,  
What worship or deserved reverence,  
Equivalent to such great service, hath  
justly repaid this loyal Liege-mans' faith?  
They answered, None: Now Haman (fully bend  
To give the vessel of his poison, vent)  
Stood ready charged with full Revenge, prepared  
To beg his life, whom highly to reward  
The King intends: Say (Haman) quoth the King,  
What worship, or what honourable thing  
Best fits the person, whom the King shall place  
Within the bounty of his highest Grace?  
So Haman thus be thought, Whom more than I  
Deserves the Sunshine of my Prince's eye?  
Whom seeks the King to honour more than me?  
From Hamans' mouth, shall Haman honoured be?  
Speak freely then, And let thy tongue proclaim  
An honour suiting to thy worth, thy name:  
So Haman thus: This honour, this respect  
Be done to him the King shall most affect,  
In Robes Imperial be his body dressed,  
And bravely mounted on that very Beast  
The King bestrides; then be the Crown of State  
Placed on his lofty brows; let Princes wait  
Upon his Stirrup, and in triumph lead  
This Imp of Honour, in Assuerus flayed;  
And to express the glory of his name.  
Like Heralds, let the Princes thus proclaim;  
" This peerless honour, and these Princely rites  
" Be done to him in whom the King delights.  
Said then the King, (O sudden change of Fate)  
Within the Portall of our Palace Gate  
There sits a jew whose name is Mordecai,  
Be●he the man; Let no perverse delay  
Protract; But what thy lavish tongue hath said,  
Do thou to him: So Haman sore dismayed;  
His tongue (tied to his Roof) made no reply,  
But (neither daring answer, not deny)  
Perforce obeyed, and so his Page became,  
Whose life he sought to have bereaved with shame:  
The Rites solemnised, Mordecai returned  
Unto the Gate; Haman went home and mourned,  
(His visage muffled in a mournful vale)  
And told his wife this melancholy Tale;  
Whereat amazed, and startled at the news,  
Despairing, thus she spoke: If from the jews  
This Mordecai derive his happy line,  
His be the palm of victory, not thine;  
The highest heavens have still conspired to bless  
That faithful seed, and with a fair success  
Have crowned their just designs: If Mordecai  
Descend from thence, thy hopes shall soon decay,  
And melt like wax before the midday Sun.  
So said, her broken speech not fully done,  
Haman was hasted to Queen ester's Feast;  
To mirth and joy, an indisposed Guest.  

Medita. 13.  
THere's nothing under heaven more glorifies  
The name of King, or in a subject's eyes  
Wins more observance, or true loyalty,  
Than sacred justice, shared equally:  
No greater glory can belong to Might,  
Than to defend the feeble in their right;  
To help the helpless and their wrongs redress;  
To curb the haughty-hearted, and suppress  
The proud; requiting every special deed  
With punishment, or honourable meed:  
Herein Kings aptly may deserve the name  
Of gods, enshrined in an earthly frame;  
Nor can they any way approach more nigh  
The full perfection of a Deity,  
Than by true justice, imitating heaven  
In nothing more, than in the poizing even  
Their righteous balance: justice is not blind,  
As Poets feign; but, with a sight refined,  
Her Lyncian eyes are cleared, and shine as bright  
As do their errors, that deny her sight;  
The soul of justice resteth in her eye,  
Her contemplation's chief to descry  
True worth, from painted shows; and loyalty,  
From false, and deep dissembled treachery;  
A noble Statesman, from a Para●ite;  
And good, from what is merely good in sight:  
Such hidden things her piercing eye can see:  
If justice then be blind, how blind are we!  
¶ Right fond have the Poets pleased to say,  
From earth the fair Astraea's fled away,  
And in the shining Baudrike takes her seat,  
To make the number of the Signs complete:  
For why? Astraea doth repose and rest  
Within the Zodiac of my Sov'raignes' breast,  
And from the Cradle of his infancy  
Hath trained his Royal heart with industry,  
In depth of righteous lore, and sacred thews  
Of justice School; that this my Haggard Muse  
Cannot contain the freeness of her spirit,  
But make a Mounty at so fair a flight,  
(Perchance) though (like a bastard Eagle dazed  
With too great light) she wink, and fall amazed:  
¶ Heaven make my heart more thankful, in confessing  
So high a bliss, than skilful, in expressing.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The Queen brings Hamans' accusation;  
The King's displeased, and grows in possion:  
Proud Hamans' treachery descried;  
The shameful end of shameless pride.  
Sect. 14.  
FOrthwith to satisfy the Queen's request,  
The King and Haman came unto her Feast,  
Whereat the King (what then can hap amiss?)  
Became her suitor, that was humbly his,  
And fairly thus entreating, this bespoke:  
What is't Queen Ester would? and for her sake,  
What is't the King would not? prefer thy suit,  
Fair Queen: Those that despair, let them be mute;  
Clear up those clouded beams (my fairest Bride)  
My Kingdom's half (requested) I'll divide.  
Whereat the Queen, half hoping, half afraid,  
Disclosed her trembling lips, and thus she said:  
If in the bounty of thy Princely Grace,  
Thy sad Petitioner may find a place  
To shrew ●her most unutterable grief,  
Which (if not there) may hope for no relief;  
If in the treasure of thy gracious eyes,  
(Where mercy and relenting, pity lies)  
Thy handmaid hath found favour, let my Lord  
Grant me my life (my life so much abbord,  
To do him service) and my people's life,  
Which now lie open to a Tyrant's knife:  
Our lives are sold, 'tis I, 'tis guiltless I,  
Thy loyal Spouse, thy Queen and ●ers must dye:  
The spotless blood of me, thy faithful Bride,  
Must suage the swelling of a Tyrant's pride:  
Had we been sold for drudges, to attend  
The busy Spindle; or for slaves, to spend  
Our weary hours, to deserve our bread,  
So as the gain stood but my Lord in stead,  
I had been silent, and ne'er spent my breath:  
But neither he that seeks it, nor my death,  
Can to himself the least advantage bring,  
(Except revenge) nor to my Lord the King.  
Like to a Lion roused from his rest,  
Raged then the King, and thus his rage exprest●  
Who is the man that dares attempt this thing?  
Where is the Traitor? What? am I a King?  
May not our subjects serve, but must our Queen  
Be made the subject of a vis●aines spleen?  
Is not Queen Ester bosomed in our heart?  
What Traitor then dares be so bold, to part  
Our heart and us? Who dares attempt this thing?  
Can Ester then be slain, and not the King?  
Replied the Queen, The man that hath done this,  
That cursed Haman, wicked Haman is.  
Like as a Felon shakes before the Bench,  
Whose troubled silence proves the Evidence,  
So Haman trembled when Queen Ester spoke,  
Nor answer, nor excuse his guilt could make:  
The King, no longer able to digest  
So foul a treachery, forsook the Feast,  
Walked in the Garden, where consuming rage  
Boiled in his heart, with fire (unapt t'assuage,)  
So Haman pleading guilty to the fault,  
Besought his life of her, whose life he sought.  
When as the King had walked a little space,  
(So rage and choler often shift their place)  
In he returned, where Haman fallen flat  
Was on the bed whereon Queen Ester sat;  
Whereat the King new cause of rage debares,  
(Apt to suppose the worst, of whom he hates)  
New passion adds new fuel to his fire,  
And feigns a cause, to make it blaze the higher:  
Is't not enough for him to seek her death,  
(Said he) but with a Lechers tainted breath,  
Will be enforce my Queen before my face?  
And make his Brothel in our Royal Place?  
So said, they veiled Hamans' face, as he  
Unfit were to be seen, or yet to see:  
Then said an Eunuch sadly standing by  
In Hamans' Garden, fifty Cubits high,  
There stands a Gibbet, built but yesterday,  
Made for thy loyal servant Mordecai,  
Whose faithful lips thy life from danger freed,  
And merit leads him to a fairer meed.  
Said then the King, It seemeth just and good,  
To shed his blood, that thirsted after blood;  
Who plants the tree, deserves the fruit; 'tis fit  
That he that bought the purchase, handsel it:  
Hang Haman there; It is his proper good;  
So let the Horseleech burst himself with blood:  
They strait obeyed: Lo here the end of Pride:  
Now rests the King appeased, and satisfied.  

Meditat. 14.  
Cheer up, and carol forth your silver ditie,  
(Heavens winged choristers) and fill your City earth:  
(The new jerusalem) with jolly mirth:  
The Church hath peace in heaven, hath peace on  
Spread forth your golden pinions, and cleave  
The fl●tting skies; dismount, and quite bereave  
Our stupid senses with your heavenly mirth,  
For lo, there's peace in heaven, there's peace on earth:  
Let Hallelujah fill your warbling tongues,  
And let the air, composed of saintly songs,  
Breathe such celestial Sonnets in our ears;  
That whosoever this heavenly music hears,  
May stand amazed, & (ravished at the mirth)  
Chant forth, there's peace in heaven, there's peace on earth;  
Let mountains clap their joyful, joyful hands,  
And let the lesser hills trace o'er the lands  
In equal measure; and resounding woods  
Bow down your heads, and kiss your neighbouring floods:  
Let peace and love exalt your key of mirth;  
For now there's peace in heaven, there's peace on earth:  
You holy Temples of the highest King's  
Triumph with joy; Your sacred Anthems sing;  
Chant forth your Hymns, & heavenly roundelays,  
And touch your Organs on their louder keys:  
For Haman's dead, that daunted all your mirth,  
And now there's peace in heaven, there's peace on earth:  
Proud Haman's dead, whose life disturbed thy rest,  
Who sought to cut, and sear thy Lily breast;  
The ravenous Fox, that did annoyance bring  
Unto the Vineyard, ●s taken in a Spring.  
¶ Seemed not thy Spouse unkind, to hear thee weep  
And not redress thee? Seemed he not asleep?  
No, (Zion) no, he heard thy bitter prayer,  
But let thee weep, for weeping makes thee fair.  
The morning Sun reflects, and shines most bright,  
When Pilgrims grope in darkness all the night:  
The Church must conquer, ere she gets he prise,  
But there's no conquest, where's no enemies:  
The day is thine; In triumph make thy mirth,  
For now there's peace in heaven, there's peace on earth:  
What man's so dull, or in his brains undone,  
To say, (because he sees not) There's no Sun?  
Weak is the faith, upon a sudden grief,  
That says, (because not now) There's no relief:  
God's bound to help, but loves to see men sue:  
Though dateless, yet the bond's not present due,  
¶ Like to the sorrows of our childbed wives,  
Is the sad pilgrimage of humane lives:  
But when by throes God sends a joyful birth,  
Then find we peace in heaven, & peace on earth●    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Upon the Queen and Mordecai  
Dead Hamans' wealth and dignity  
The King bestows: to their discretion  
Refers the jews decreed oppression.  
Sect. 15.  
THat very day, the King did freely add  
More bounty to his gift: What Haman had  
Borrowed of smiling Fortune, he repaid  
To ester's hand, and to her use conveyed:  
And Mordecai found favour with the King;  
Upon his hand he put his Royal Ring,  
Whose Princely power proud Haman did abuse,  
In late betraying of the guiltless jews;  
For now had Ester to the King descried  
Her jewish kin, how near she was allied  
To Mardocheus, whom (her father dead)  
His love did foster in her fathers ' stead.  
Once more the Queen prefers an earnest suit,  
Her humble body lowly prostitute  
Before his Royal feet, her cheeks o'reflowne  
With marish tears, and thus her plain'full moan,  
Commixed with bitter singults, she expressed:  
If in he Cabin of thy Princely breast  
Thy loyal servant (undeserved) hath found  
A pl●ce wherein her wishes might be crowned  
With fair success; If in thy gracious ●ight  
I pleasing, or my cause seem just, and right,  
Be speedy letters written, to reverse  
Those bloody Writs which Haman did disperse  
Throughout thy Provinces, whose sad content  
Was the subversion of my innocent  
And faithful people; Help, (my gracious Lord)  
The time's prefixed, wherein th' impartial Sword  
Must make this massacre, the day's at hand,  
Unless thy speedy Grace send countermand:  
How can I brook within my tender breast,  
To break the bonds of Nature's high behest,  
And see my people (for whose sake I breath)  
Like stalled Oxen, bought and sold for death?  
How can I see such mischief? how can I  
Survive, to see my kin, and people dye?  
Said then the King; Lo cursed Haman hath  
The execution of our highest wrath,  
The equal hire of his malicious pride;  
His wealth to thee I gave; (my fairest Bride)  
His honour (better placed) I have bestowed  
On him, to whom my borrowed life hath owed  
Her five years' breath, the trusty Mordecai,  
Our loyal kinsman: Let his hand portray  
Our pleasure, as best liketh him, and th●e;  
Let him set down, and be it our Decree,  
Let him confirm it with our Royal Ring,  
And we shall sign it with the name of King:  
For none may alter, or reverse the same  
That's sealed and written in our Princely name.  

Medita. 15.  
TO breathe, 's a necessary gift of nature,  
Whereby we may discern a living Creature  
From plants, or stones: 'Tis but a mere degree  
From Vegetation; and this, hath she  
Like equally shared out to brutish beasts  
With man, who less observes her due behests  
(Sometimes) than they; and oft, by accident,  
Do less improve the gift in the event:  
But man, whose organs are more fairly dressed,  
To entertain a far more noble Guest,  
Hath, through the excellence of his Creation,  
A Soul Divine; Divine by inspiration;  
Divine through likeness to that power Divine,  
That made and placed her in her fleshly shrine;  
From hence we challenge life's prerogative;  
Beasts only breath; 'Tis man alone doth live;  
One end of man's Creation, was Society,  
Mutual Communion, and friendly Piety:  
The man that lives unto himself alone,  
Subsists and breaths, but lives not; Never one  
Deserved the moiety of himself, for he  
That's borne, may challenge but one part of three;  
Triparted thus; his Country claims the best;  
The next his Parents; and himself the least.  
He husbands best his life, that freely gives  
It for the public good; he rightly lives,  
That nobly dies: 'tis greatest mastery,  
Not to be fond to live, nor fear to dye  
On just occasion; He that (in case) despises  
Life, earns it best; but he that over-prizes  
His dearest blood, when honour bids him die,  
Steals but a life, and lives by Robbery.  
¶ O sweet Redeemer of the world, whose death  
Deserved a world of lives! Had Thy dear breath  
Beone dear to Thee; Oh hadst Thou but denied  
Thy precious Blood, the world for e'er had died:  
O spoil my life, when I desire to save it,  
By keeping it from Thee, that freely gave it.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Letters are sent by Mordecai,  
That all the jews, upon the day  
Appointed for their death, withstand  
The fury of their foemen's hand.  
Sect. 16.  
FOrthwith the scribes were summoned to appear;  
To every Province, and to every Shire  
Letters they wrote (as Mordecai directed)  
To all the jews, (the jews so much dejected)  
To all Lieutenants, Captains of the Band,  
To all the States, and Princes of the Land,  
According to the phrase, and diverse fashion  
Of Dialect, and speech of every Nation;  
All which was styled in the name of King,  
Signed with his hand, sealed with his Royal Ring;  
Lo here the tenor of the King's Commission;  
Whereas of late, (at Hamans' urged petition,)  
Decrees were sent, and spread throughout the Land,  
To spoil the jews, and with impartial hand,  
(Upon a day prefixed) to kill and slay;  
We likewise grant upon that very day,  
Full power to the jews, to make defence,  
And quit their lives, and for a Recompense,  
To take the spoils of those they shall suppress,  
Showing like mercy to the merciless.  
By posts, as swift as Time, was this Decree  
Commanded forth; As fast as Day they flee,  
Spurred on, and hastened with the Kings Command  
Which strait was noised, & published through the Land.  
As warning to the jews, to make provision  
To entertain so great an opposition.  
So Mordecai (disburthned of his grief,  
Which now found hopeful token● of relief)  
Departs the presence of the King, addressed  
In royal Robes, and on his lofty Crest  
He bore a Crown of Gold, his body spread  
With Lawn, and Purple deeply coloured:  
Filled were the jews with triumphs, & with noise,  
(The common Heralds to proclaim true joys:)  
Like as a prisoner muffled at the tree,  
Whose life's removed from death scarce one degree  
His last prayer said, and hearts confession made,  
(His eyes possessing deaths eternal shade)  
At last unlooked for comes a slow Reprieve,  
And makes him (even as dead) once more alive:  
Amazed, he rends death's muffler from his eyes,  
And (overjoyed) knows not he lives, or dies;  
So joyed the jews, whose lives, this new Decree  
Had quit from death and danger, and set free  
Their gasping souls, and (like a blazing light)  
Dispersed the darkness of the approaching night;  
So joyed the jews: and with their solemn Feasts  
They cha●'d dull sorrow from their pensive brests●  
Mean while the people (startled at the news)  
Some grieved, some envied, some (for fear) turned jews.  

Meditat. 16.  
AMong the noble greeks, it was no shame  
To lose a Sword; It but deserved the name  
Of wars disastrous fortune; but to yield  
The right and safe possession of the Shield,  
Was foul reproach, and manless cowardice,  
far worse than death to him that scorned to prise  
His life before his Honour; Honour's won  
Most in a just defence; Defence is gone,  
The Shield once lost, the wounded Theban cried,  
How fares my Shield? which safe, he smiled & died:  
True honour bides at home, and takes delight  
In keeping, not in gaining of a Right;  
Scorns usurpation, nor seeks she blood,  
And thirsts to make her name not great, as good:  
God gives a Right to man; To man, defence  
To guard it given; but when a false pretence  
Shall ground her title on a greater Might,  
What doth he else but war with heaven, and fight  
With Providence? God se●s the Princely Crown  
On heads of Kings, Who then may take it down?  
No juster quarrel, or more noble Fight,  
Than to maintain, where God hath given a Right;  
There's no despair of Conquest in that war,  
Where God's the Leader; Policy's no bar  
To his designs; no Power can withstand  
His high exploits; within whose mighty Hand  
Are all the corners of the earth; the hills  
His fensive bulwarks are, which when he wills,  
His lesser breath can bandy up and down,  
And crush the world, and with a wink, can drown  
The spacious Universe in suds of Clay;  
Where heaven is Leader, heaven must win the day:  
God reaps his honour hence; That combat's safe,  
Where he's a Combatant, and ventures half:  
Right's not impaired with weakness, but prevails  
In spite of strength, when strength & power fails:  
Frail is the trust reposed on Troops of Horse;  
Truth in a handful, finds a greater force.  
¶ Lord mail my heart with faith, and be my shield,  
And if a world confront me I'll not yield.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The bloody Massacre: The I●wes  
Prevail: their fatal sword subdues  
A world of men, and in that ●ray,  
Hamans' ten cursed sons they slay,  
Sect. 17.  
NOw when as Time had ripened the Decree,  
(Whose Winter fruit unshaken from the tree  
Full ready was to fall) and brought that Day,  
Wherein pretended mischief was to play  
Her tragic Scene upon the jewish Stage,  
And spit the venom of her bloody rage  
Upon the face of that dispersed Nation,  
And in a minute breathe their desolation;  
Upon that day (as patients in the fight)  
Their scattered force the jews did reunite,  
And to a head their straggling strength reduced,  
And with their fatal hand (their hand disused  
To bathe in blood) they made so long recoil,  
That with a purple stream, the thirsty soil  
O'rflowd: & on the pavement (drowned with blood)  
Where never was before, they raised a flood:  
There lies a headless body, there a limb  
Newly disjointed from the trunk of him  
That there lies groaning; here, a gasping head  
Cropped from his neighbour's shoulders; there, half dead  
Full heaps of bodies, whereof some curse Fate,  
Others blaspheme the name of Heaven, and rate  
Their undisposed Stars; with bitter cries,  
One pities his poor widow-wife, and dies;  
Another bannes the night his sons were borne,  
That he must dye, and they must live forlorn;  
Here (all besmeared in blood congealed) there lies  
A throng of carcases, whose liveless eyes  
Are closed with dust, & death: there, lies the Sire  
Whose death the greedy heir did long desire;  
And here the son, whose hopes were all the pleasure  
His aged father had, and his life's treasure:  
Thus fell their foes, some dying, and some dead,  
And only they that scaped the slaughter, fled;  
But with such strange amazement were affrighted,  
(As if themselves in their own deaths delighted)  
That each his force against his friend addressed,  
And sheathed his sword within his neighbour's breast;  
For all the Rulers (being sore afraid  
Of Mardocheus name) with strength, and aid  
Supplied the jews: For Mardecheus name  
Grew great with honour, and his honoured Fame  
Was blazed through every Province of the Land,  
And spread as far, as did the King's Command:  
In favour he increased; and every how'r  
Did add a greater greatness to his power:  
Thus did the jews triumph in victory,  
And on that day themselves were doomed to dye,  
They slew th'appointed actors of their death,  
And on their heads they wore that noble wreath,  
That crownes a Victor with a Victor's prize;  
So fled their foes, so died their enemies:  
And on that day at Susan were imbrued  
In blood, five hundred men whom they● subdued;  
The cursed fruit of the accursed Tree  
That impious Decad, Hama●s progeny,  
Upon that fatal day, they overthrew,  
But took no spoil, nor substance, where they slew.  

Medit. 17.  
I Lately mused; and musing stood amazed,  
My heart was bound, my sight was overdazed  
To view a miracle: could Pharo fall  
Before the face of Isr'el? Could her small  
And ill-appointed handful then prevail,  
When Pharo's men of war, and Charr'ots fail?  
These stood like Giants; those like Pigmy brats:  
These soared like Eagles; those like swarms of gnats:  
On foot these marched; those rod on troops of horse  
These never better armed; they, never worse;  
Strong backed with vengeance & revenge were they;  
These, with despair, themselves, themselves betray;  
They close pursued; these (fearful) fled the field;  
How could they choose, but win? or these, but yield?  
Sure 'tis, nor man, nor horse, nor sword avails,  
When Isr'el conquers, and great Pharo fails:  
Poor Isr'el had no man of war, but One;  
And Pharo having all the rest, had none;  
Heaven fought for Isr'el, weakened Pharo's heart,  
Who had no Counter-god to take his part:  
What meant that cloudy Pillar, that by day  
Did usher Isr'el in an unknown way?  
What meant that fiery Pillar, that by night  
Appeared to Isr'el, and gave Isr'el light?  
'Twas not the secret power of Moses Rod,  
That charmed the Seas in twain; 'twas Moses God  
That fought for Isr'el, and made Pharo fall;  
Well thrives the Fray where God's the General:  
'Tis neither strength, nor undermining sleight  
Prevails, where heavens engaged in the fight.  
¶ Me list not ramble into antique days,  
To man his theme, lest while Ulysses strays,  
His heart forget his home Penelope:  
Our prosperous Britain makes sufficient Plea  
To prove her bliss, and heaven's protecting power,  
Which had she missed, her glory in an hour  
Had fall'n to Cinders, and had passed away  
Like smoke before the wind; Which happy Day,  
Let none but base-bred Rebels ever fail  
To consecrate; and let this Age entail  
Upon succeeding times Eternity,  
heavens highest love, in that day's memory.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The sons of Haman (that were slain)  
Are all hanged up: The jews obtain  
Freedom to fight the morrow after;  
They put three hundred more to slaughter.  
Sect. 18.  
WHen as the fame of that days bloody news  
Came to the King, he said; Behold, the jews  
Have won the day, and in their just defence,  
H●●e made their wrong, a rightful recompense;  
Five hundred men in Susan they have stain,  
And that remainder of proud Hamans' strain,  
Their hands have rooted out; Queen Ester, say,  
What further suit (wherein Assuerus may  
Express the bounty of his Royal hand)  
Res●s in thy bosom: What is thy demand?  
Said then the Queen: If in thy Princely sight  
My boon be pleasing, or thou take delight  
To gra●t thy servants suit, Let that Commission  
(Which gave the jews this happy day's permission  
To save their lives) to morrow stand in force,  
For their behalves that only make recourse  
To God, and thee, and let that cursed brood  
(The sons of Haman, that in guilty blood  
Lie all ingoared, unfit to taint a Grave)  
Behanged on Gibbets, and (like coheirs) have  
Like equal shares of that deserved shame,  
Their wretched father purchased in his name:  
〈◊〉 The King was pleased, and the Decree was given  
From Susan, where betwixt the earth and Heaven,  
(Most undeserving to be owned by either)  
These cursed ten (like twins) were borne together:  
When Titan (ready for his journal chase)  
Had roused his dewy locks, and Rosy face  
Enriched with morning beauty, up arose  
The jews in Susan, and their bloody blows  
So roughly dealt, that in that dismal day  
A lease of hundreds fell, but on the prey  
No hand was laid: so, sweet and jolly rest  
The jews enjoyed, and with a solemn Feast,  
(Like joyful Victors dispossessed of sorrow)  
They consecrated the ensuing morrow;  
And in the Provinces throughout the Land,  
Before their mighty and victorious hand,  
Fell more than seventy thousand, but the prey  
They seized not; and in memory of that day,  
They solemnised their victorious Guests,  
With gifts, and triumphs, and with holy Feasts.  

Medit. 18.  
THe Doctrine of the School of Grace dissents  
From Natures (more uncertain) rudiments,  
And are as much contrayr, and opposite  
As Yea, and Nay, or black, and purest white:  
For nature teaches, first to understand,  
And then believe; but Grace doth first command  
Man to believe, and then to comprehend;  
Faith is of things unknown, and must intend,  
And soar above conceit; What we conceive,  
We stand possessed of, and already have:  
But faith beholds such things, as yet we have not,  
Which eye sees not, ear hears not, heart conceives not.  
Hereon, as on her groundwork, our salvation  
Erects her pillars; From this firm foundation,  
Our souls mount up the new jerusalem,  
To take possession of her Diad eme;  
God loves no sophistry; Who argues least  
In grace's School, concludes, and argues best;  
A woman's Logic passes there; For 'tis  
Good proof to say, 'Tis so, because it is;  
Had Abraham advised with flesh and blood,  
Bad had his faith been, though his reasons good▪  
If God bid do, for man to urge a Why?  
Is, but in better language, a deny:  
The fleshly balances of our conceits  
Have neither equal poysure, nor just weights.  
To weigh, without impeachment, God's design;  
There's no proportion betwixt things Divine,  
And mortal: Lively faith may not depend,  
Either upon th'occasion, or the end.  
¶ The glorious Suns reflected beams suffice  
To lend a lustre to the feeblest eyes,  
But if the Eye too covetous of the light,  
Boldly outface the Sun, (whose beams so bright  
And undispersed, are tootoo much refined  
For view) is it not justly strucken blind?  
I dare not task stout Samson for his death;  
Nor wand'ring jonah, that bequeathed his breath  
To raging Seas, when God commanded so;  
Nor thee (great Queen) whose lips did overflow  
With streams of blood; nor thee (O cruel kind)  
To quench the f●er of a woman's mind,  
●ith flowing rivers of thy subjects blood;  
from bad beginnings, God creates a good,  
〈◊〉 happy end: What I cannot conceive,  
●●●d, let my soul admire, and believe.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The Feast of Purim consecrated:  
Th' occasion why 'twas celebrated;  
Letters were writ by Mordecai,  
To keep the memory of that Day.  
Sect. 19  
SO Mardocheus throughout all the Land  
Dispersed his Letters, with a strict command  
To celebrate these two days memory  
With Feasts, and gifts, and yearly jollity,  
That after ages may record that day,  
And keep it from the rust of time, ● that they  
Which shall succeed, may ground their holy mirth  
Upon the joys, those happy days brought forth,  
Which changed their sadness, and black nights of sorrow,  
Into the brightness of a gladsome morrow;  
Whereto the jews (to whom these letters came)  
Gave due observance, and did soon proclaim  
Their sacred Festivals, in memory  
Of that day's joy, and joyful victory:  
And since the Lots, ● (that Haman did abuse,  
To know the dismal day, which to the jews  
Might fall most fatal, and, to his intent,  
Lest unpropitious) ● were in th'event  
Crossed with a higher Fate, than blinded Chance,  
To work his ruin, their deliverance:  
They therefore in remembrance of the Lot  
(Whose hoped-for sad event succeeded not)  
The solemn feasts of Purim did invest,  
And by the name of Purim called their Feast;  
Which to observe with sacred Compliment,  
And ceremonial rites, their souls indent,  
And firmly ' enrol the happy memory  
Ith' hearts of their succeeding Progeny,  
That time (the enemy of mortal things)  
May not with hovering of his nimble wings,  
Beat down the dear memorial of that time,  
But keep it flowering in perpetual prime.  
Now, lest this shining day in times progress  
Perchance be clouded with forgetfulness,  
Or lest the gauled Persians should debate  
The bloody slaughter, and re-ulcerate  
In after-days, their former misery,  
And blur the glory of this day's memory,  
The Queen and Morde●ai sent Letters out  
Into the Land, dispersed round about  
To reconfirme, and fully ratify  
This feast of Purim, to eternity;  
That it to after-ages may appear,  
When sinners bend their hearts, heaven bows his ear.  

Medit. 19  
ANd are the Laws of God defective then?  
Or was the Paper scant, or dull the Pen  
That wrote those sacred lines? Could imperfection  
Lurk closely there, where heaven hath given direction  
How comes it then new feasts are celebrated,  
Unmentioned in the Law, and uncreated  
By him that made the Law complete, and just,  
Not to be changed as brainsick mortals lust?  
Is ●ot heavens deepest curse with death to boot,  
Denounced to him that takes from, or adds to't?  
True 'tis; the Law of God's the rule and squire,  
Whereby to limit Man's uncurbed desire,  
And with a gentle hand doth justly poise  
The balances of his unbevelled ways,  
True 'tis accursed, and thrice accursed be he  
That shall detract, or change such Laws, as be  
Directive for his Worship, or concern  
His holy Service● these we strictly learn  
Within our constant breast to keep enshrined,  
These in all seasons, and for all times bind:  
But Laws (although Divine) that do respect  
Thy public rest, and properly direct,  
As Statutes politic, do make relation  
To times and persons, places, and occasion:  
The brazen Serpent, which, by God's command,  
Was builded up, was by the Prophet's hand  
Beat down again, as impious, and impure,  
When it became an Idol, not a Cure.  
¶ A moral Law needs no more warranty,  
Then lawful givers, and conveniency,  
(Not crossing the Divine:) It lies in Kings,  
To act, and to inhibit all such things  
As in his Princely wisdom shall seem best,  
And most vantagious to the public rest,  
And what before was an indifferent thing,  
His law makes good or bad: A lawful King  
Is God's Lieu-tenant; in his sacred ear  
God whispers oft, and keeps his presence there●  
¶ To break a lawful Princes just Command,  
Is brokage of a sin, at second hand.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Assuerus Acts upon Record:  
The just man's virtue, and reward.  
Sect. 20.  
ANd Assuerus stretched his heavy hand,  
Laying a Tribute both on Sea, and Land;  
What else he did, what Trophies of his fame,  
He left for time to glorify his Name,  
With what renown and grace, he did appay  
The faithful heart of loyal Mordecai;  
Are they not kept in endless memory,  
Recorded in the Persian History?  
For Mordecai possessed the second seat  
In all the Kingdom, and his name is great;  
Of God and man his-vertues were approved,  
Of God and man, much honoured and beloved;  
Seeking his people's good, and sweet prosperity,  
And speaking joyful peace to his posterity.  

Meditat. 20.  
THus thrives the man, thus prosper his endeavours  
That builds on faith, & in that faith persevers:  
¶ It is no loss, to lose; no gain, to get,  
If he that loses all, shall win the Set:  
God helps the weakest, takes the losers chair,  
And setting on the King, doth soon repair  
His loss with vengeance; he's not always best  
That takes the highest place, nor he the least  
That sits beneath: for outward fortunes can  
Express (how great, but) not how good's the man;  
Whom God will raise, he humbles first a while;  
And where he raises, oft he means to spoil.  
¶ It matters not (Lord) what my fortunes be,  
May they but lead or whip me home to thee.  
Here the Canonical History of Queen ESTER ends.     

JOB MILITANT:  Horat. car. lib. 1. ode 17. 
— Dijs, piet as mea,  
Et Musa, cordi est.—  
By Fra. Quarles.  
LONDON, Printed by MILES FLESHER. 1632.   

The Proposition of the WORK.  

WOuldst thou discover in a curious Map,  
That Island, which fond worldlings call Mishap,  
Surrounded with a sea of briny tears,  
The rocky dangers, and the boggy Fears,  
The storms of Trouble, the afflicted Nation,  
The heavy soil, the lowly situation?  
On wretched job then sp●nd thy weeping eye,  
And see the colour painted curiously.   

Wouldst thou behold a Tragic Scene of sorrow,  
Whose woeful Plot the Author did not borrow  
From sad invention? The sable Stage,  
The lively Actors with their equipage?  
The Music made of Sighs, the Songs of Cries,  
The sad Spectators with their watery Eyes?  
Behold all this, comprised here in one;  
Expect the Plaudit, when the Play is done.   

Or wouldst thou see a well built Pinnace tossed  
Upon the swelling Ocean, split (almost)  
Now on a churlish Rock; now, fiercely striving  
With labouring Winds; now, desperately driving  
Upon the boiling Sands, her storme-rent Flags,  
Her Mainmast broke, her Canvas torn to rags,  
Her Treasure lost, her men with lightning slain,  
And left a wreck to the relentless Maine?  
This, this and more, unto your moistened Eyes,  
Our patient job shall lively moralise.   

Wouldst thou behold unparallelled distress,  
Which minds cannot out-think, nor tongs express  
Full to the life, the Anvil, whereupon  
Mischief doth work her masterpiece, for none  
To imitate; the dire Anatomy  
Of (curiously-dissected) Misery;  
The face of Sorrow, in her sternest looks,  
The rueful Arg'ment of all Tragic books?  
In brief, Would tender eyes, endure to see  
(Summed up) the greatest sorrows, that can be?  
Behold they then, poor job afflicted here,  
And each Beholder spend (at least) his Tear.    

TO THE GREAT TETRAGRAMMATON, LORD PARAMOUNT OF HEAVEN AND EARTH: His Humble Servant dedicates himself, and implores the Enfranchising of his Muse.  

1  
GReat God th'indebted praises of thy glory,  
If Man should smother, or his Muse wax faint  
To number forth; the stones would make complaint,  
And write a never-ending Story,  
And, not without just reason, say,  
men's hearts are more obdure than they.   

2  
Dismount from Heaven (O thou diviner Power)  
Handsel my slender Pipe, breath (thou) upon it,  
That it may run an everlasting Sonnet,  
Which envious Time may not devour:  
Oh, let it sing to after-days  
(When I am Dust) thy louder Praise.   

3  
Direct the footsteps of my sober Muse  
To tread thy glorious path: For be it known,  
She only seeks thy Glory, not her own,  
N●rrouzed for a second use;  
If otherwise, O! may she never  
Sing more, but be struck dumb for ever.    

JOB MILITANT:  

THE ARGUMENT.  
jobs Lineage, and Integrity,  
His Issue, Wealth, Prosperity,  
His children's holy Feast: His wise  
Forecast, and zealous Sacrifice.  
Sect. 1.  
NOt far from Casius, in who●e bounteous womb,  
Great Pompey's dust lies crowned with his tomb,  
Westward, betwixt Arabia and judaea,  
Is situate a Country, called Idumaea,  
There dwelled a man (brought from his Lineage,  
That for his belly, swopt his Heritage,)  
His name was job, a man of upright Will,  
Justiniano, fearing Heaven, eschewing what was Ill,  
On whom his God had heapd in highest measure,  
The bounteous Riches of his boundless Treasure,  
As well of Fortune, as of Grace, and Spirit,  
Goods for his Children, Children to inherit;  
As did his Name, his wealth did daily wax,  
His Seed did germinate in either Sex  
A hopeful Issue, whose descent might keep  
His righteous Race on foot; seven thousand sheep  
Did pay their Summer-tribute, and did add  
Their Winter blessings to his Fold: He had  
Three thousand Camels, able for their load,  
Five hundred Asses, furnished for the road,  
As many yoke of Oxen, to maintain  
His household, for he had a mighty Train;  
Nor was there any in the East, the which  
In Virtue was so rare, in Wealth so rich.  
Upon a time, his Children (to improve  
The sweet affection of their mutual love)  
Made solemn Feasts; each feasted in his turn,  
(For there's a time to mirth, as well as mourn)  
And who, by course, was Master of the Feast,  
Unto his home invited all the rest.  
Even as a Hen (whose tender brood forsake  
The downy closet of her Wings, and take  
Each its affected way) marks how they feed,  
This, on that Crum; and that, on the other Seed;  
Moves, as they move; and stays, when as they stay,  
And seems delighted in their infant-play:  
Yet (fearing danger) with a busy eye,  
Looks here and there, if ought she can espy,  
Which unawares might snatch a booty from her,  
Eyes all that pass, and watches every comer.  
Even so th'affection of this tender Sire,  
(B'ing made more fervent, with the selfsame ●●re  
Of dearest love, which flamed in their breasts,  
Preserved (as by fuel) in those Feasts)  
Was ravished in the height of joys, to see  
His happy children's tenfold unity:  
As was his joy, such was his holy fear,  
Lest he, that plants his Engines every where,  
Baited with golden Sins, and re-insnares  
The soul of Man, turning his Wheat to Tares,  
Should season Error with the taste of Truth,  
And tempt the frailty of their tender youth.  
No sooner therefore had the dappled sky  
Opened the Twilight of her waking eye,  
And in her breaking Light, had promised day,  
But up he rose, his holy hands did jay  
Upon the sacred Altar (one by one)  
An early Sacrifice for every Son:  
For who can tell, (said he?) my Sons (perchance)  
H●ve slipped some sin; which neither Ignorance  
Pleaded, nor want of heed, nor youth can cure.  
Sin steals, unseen, when men sleep most secure:  

Meditat. 1.  
WAnt is the badge of poverty: Then he  
That wanteth most, is the most poor, say we.  
The wretch, that hunger drives from door to door,  
Aiming at present Alms, desires no more.  
The toiling Swain, that hath with pleasing trouble  
Cocked a small fortune, would that fortune double,  
Which dearly bought with slavery, than (alas)  
He would be deemed a Man, that's well to pass:  
Which got, his mind's now tickled with an itch,  
But to deserve that glorious style of Rich.  
That done, h'enjoyes the crown of all his labour,  
Could he but once out-nose his right-hand-neighbour●  
Lives he at quiet now? Now, he begins  
To wish that Vs'ry were the least of sins:  
But great, or small, he tries, and sweet's the trouble  
And for its sake, he wishes all things double,  
Thus wishing still, his wishes never cease,  
But as his Wealth, his Wishes still increase.  
Wishes proceed from want: The richest then,  
Most wishing, want most, and are poorest men:  
If he be poor, that wanteth much, how poor  
Is he, that hath too much, and yet wants more?  
Thrice happy he, to whom the bounty of heaven,  
Sufficient, with a sparing hand, hath given:  
'Tis Grace, not Gold, makes great; sever but which,  
The Rich man is but poor, the Poor man rich.  
The fairest Crop, of either Grass, or Grain,  
Is not for use, undewed with timely rain.  
The wealth of Croesus, were it to be given,  
Were not thankworthy, if unblessed by Heaven.  
Even as fair Phoebe, in Diameter,  
(Earth interposed betwixt the Sun and her)  
Suffers Eclipse, and is disrobed quite  
(During the time) of all her borrowed Light;  
So Riches, which fond Mortals so embrace,  
If not enlightened with the Beams of Grace,  
B'ing interposed with too gross a Care,  
They lie obscured; and no riches are.  
My stint of Wealth lies not in my expressing,  
With Jacob's Store (Lord) give me Jacob's Blessing;  
Or if, at night, thou grant me Lazars Boon,  
Let Dives Dogs licks all my sores at noon.  
Lord, pair my wealth, by my Capacity,  
Lest I, with it, or it suit not with me.  
This humbly do I sue for, at thy hand,  
Enough, and not too much, for my command.  
Lord, what thou lendest, shall serve but in the place  
Of reckoning Counters, to sum up thy Grace.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Satan appears, and then professes  
Himself man's Enemy, confesses  
God's love to job, maligns his Faith,  
Gaines power over all he hath.  
Sect. 2.  
Upon a time, when heavens sweet choir of Saints  
(Whose everlasting Hallelujah chants  
The highest praise of their celestial King)  
Before their Lord did the presentment bring  
Of th' execution of his sacred Will,  
Committed to their function to fulfil:  
Satan came too (that Satan, which betrayed  
The soul of man, to Death's eternal shade,  
Satan came too) and in the midst he stands,  
Like to a Vulture amongst a herd of Swans.  
Said, then, th' Eternal; From what quarter now  
Hath business borough thee? (Satan) whence comest thou?  
The Lord of Heaven (said th' Infernal) since  
Thou hast entitled me the World's great Prince,  
I h●ve been practising mine old profession,  
And come from compassing my large Possession,  
Tempting thy sons, and (like a roaring Lion)  
Seeking my prey, disturb the peace of Zion;  
I come from s●wing Tares among thy Wheat;  
To him, that shall dissemble Peter's seat,  
I have been plotting, how to prompt the death  
Of Christian Princes, and the bribed breath  
Of cheapened justice, hath my fire inflamed  
With spirit of boldness, for a while, unshamed.  
I come from planting strife, and stern debate,  
'Twixt private man and man, 'twixt State and State,  
Subverting Truth with all the power I can,  
Accusing Man to God, and God to Man:  
I daily s●w fresh Schisms among thy Saints;  
I buffet them, and laugh at their complaints;  
The Earth is my Dominion, Hell's my Home,  
I round the World, and so from thence I come.  
Said than th'eternal: True, thou hast not failed  
Of what thou sayest; thy spirit hath prevailed  
To vex my little Flock; Thou hast been bold  
To make them stray, a little, from their Fold.  
B●t say; In all thy hard Adventures, hath  
Thine eye observed job my Servant's faith?  
Hath open force, or secret fraud beset  
His Bulwarks, so impregnable, as yet?  
And hast thou (without envy) yet beheld,  
How that the World his second cannot yield?  
Hast thou not found, that he's of upright will,  
Just, fearing God, ●schewing what is ill?  
True Lord, (replied the Fiend) thy Champion ●●th  
A strong and fervent (yet a crafty) Faith,  
A forced love needs no such great applause,  
He loves but ill, that loves not for a cause.  
Hast thou not heaped his Garners with excess?  
Enriched his Pastures? Doth not he possess  
All that he hath, or can demand from Thee?  
His Coffers filled, his Land stocked plenteously?  
Hath not thy love surrounded him about,  
●And ●edg'd him in, to fence my practice out?  
But small's the trial of a Faith, in this,  
●f thou supp●rt him, 'tis thy strength, not his●  
Can then my power, that stands by thy permission,  
Encounter, where Thou mak'st an Opposition?  
Stretch forth thy Hand, and smite 〈◊〉 what he hath,  
And prove thou then the temper of his Faith;  
Cease cock'ring his fond humour, veil thy Grace,  
No doubt, but he'll blaspheme thee to thy f●●c.  
L●e, (said th'eternal) to thy cursed hand,  
I ●ere commit his mighty Stock, his Land,  
His hopeful Issue, and Wealth, though ne'er so much;  
Himself, alone, thou shalt forbear to touch.  

Medita. 2.  
SA●an begged once, and found his prayers reward:  
We often beg, yet oft return, unheard.  
If granting be th'effect of love, than we  
Conclude ourselves, to be less loved than he:  
True, Satan begged, and begged his shame, no less;  
'Twas granted; shall we envy his success?  
We beg, and our request's (perchance) not granted;  
God knew, perhaps, it were worse had than wanted.  
Can God and Belial both join in one will;  
The one to ask, the other to fulfil?  
Sooner shall Stygian darkness blend with light,  
The Frost with Fire, sooner day with Night.  
True, God and Satan willed the selfsame Will,  
But God intended Good; and Satan, Ill:  
That Will produced a several conclusion;  
He aimed at Man's, and God at his confusion▪  
He that drew Light from out the depth of Shade,  
And made of Nothing, whatsoever he made,  
●an out of seeming Evil, bring good Events;  
God worketh Good, though by ill Instruments.  
As in a Clock, one motion doth convey  
And carry diverse wheels a several way:  
Yet altogether, by the great wheels force,  
Direct the hand unto his proper course:  
Even so, that sacred Will, although it use  
Means seeming contrary, yet all conduce  
To one effect, and in a free consent,  
They bring to pass heavens high decreed intent.  
Takes God delight in humane weakness, then?  
What glory reaps he from afflicted men?  
The Spirit gone, can Flesh and Blood endure?  
God burns his Gold, to make his Gold more pure,  
Even as a Nurse, whose childes imperfect pace  
Can hardly lead his foot from place to place,  
Leaves her fond kissing, sets him down, to go,  
Nor does uphold him, for a step or two:  
But when she finds that he begins to fall,  
She holds him up, and kisses him withal:  
So God from man sometimes withdraws his hand  
A while, to teach his Infant faith to stand;  
But when he sees his feeble strength begin,  
To fail, he gently takes him up again.  
Lord, I'm a child; so guide my paces, than,  
That I may learn to walk an upright man:  
So shield my Faith, that I may never doubt thee,  
For I shall fall, if e'er I walk without thee.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The frighted Messenger's tell job  
His fourfold loss: He rends his Ro●e,  
Submits him to his Maker's trust,  
Whom he concludeth to be just.  
Sect. 3.  
Upon that very day, when all the rest  
Were frolic at their elder Brother's feast,  
A breathless man, pricked on with winged fear,  
With staring eyes distracted here and there,  
(Like kindled Exhalations in the Air  
At midnight glowing) his stiffe-bolting hair,  
(Not much unlike the pens of Porcupines)  
Crossing his arms, and making woeful signs,  
Purboyled in sweat, shaking his fearful head,  
That often looked behind him, as he fled,  
He ran to job, still nevertheless afraid,  
His broken blast breathed forth these words, & said:  
Alas, (dear Lord) the whiles thy servants plied  
Thy painful Plough, and whilst, on every side  
Thy Asses fed about us, as we wrought,  
There sallied forth on us (suspecting nought  
Nor aught intending, but our cheerful pain)  
A rout of rude Sabaeans, with their Train  
Armed with death, and deaf to all our Cries,  
Which, with strong Hand, did in an hour suprize  
All that thou hadst, and whilst we strove, in vain)  
To guard them, their impartial hands have slain  
Thy faithful Servants, with their thirsty Sword;  
I only 'scaped, to bring this woeful word.  
No sooner had he closed his lips, but see!  
Another comes, as much aghast as he:  
A ●lash of fire (said he) new fall'n from heaven,  
Hath all thy servants of their lives bereaven,  
And burned thy She●pe; I, I alone am he  
That's left unslain, to bring the news to thee.  
This Tale not fully told, a third ensues,  
Whose lips in labour with more heavy News,  
Broke thus; The forces of a triple Band,  
Brought from the fierce Caldaeans, with strong hand  
Hath seized thy Camels, murdered with the sword  
Thy servants all, but me, that brings thee word.  
Before the air had cooled his hasty breath,  
Rushed in a fourth, with visage pale as Death:  
The while (said he) thy children all were sharing  
Mirth, at a feast of thy first Sons preparing,  
Arose a Wind, whose errand had more haste,  
Than happy speed, which with a full-mouth blast  
Hath smote the house, which hath thy children reft  
Of all their lives, and thou art childless left;  
Thy children all are slain, all slain together,  
I only 'scaped to bring the tidings hither.  
So said, Behold the man, whose wealth did flow  
Like to a Springtide, one bare hour ago,  
With the unpatterned height of fortunes blessed,  
Above the greatest Dweller in the East;  
He that was Sire of many sons but now,  
Lord of much people, and while-e're could show  
Such Herds of cattle, He, whose fleecy stock  
Of Sheep could boast seven thousand, in a flock,  
See how he lies, of all his wealth despoiled,  
He now hath neither Servant, Sheep, nor Child.  
Like a poor man, arose the patient job,  
(Stuned with the news) and rend his purple Robe,  
Shaved the hair from off his woeful head,  
And prostrate on the floor he worshipped:  
Naked, ah! Poor and naked did I come  
F●rth from the closet of my mother's womb;  
And shall return (alas) the very same  
To th'earth as poor, and naked as I came:  
God gives, and takes, and why should He not have  
A privilege, to take those things he gave?  
We men mistake our Tenure oft, for He  
Lends us at will, what we miscall as Free;  
He reassumes his own, takes but the same  
He lent a while. Thrice blessed be his Name.  
In all this passage, job, in heart, nor Tongue,  
Thought God unjust, or charged his hand with wrong.  

Medita. 3.  
THe proudest pitch of that victorious spirit  
Was but to win the World, whereby t'inherit●  
The airy purchase of a transitory  
And glozing Title of an age's Glory;  
Wouldst thou by conquest win more fame than He?  
Subdue thyself; thyself a world to thee:  
Earth's but a Ball, that Heaven hath quilted o'er  
With wealth and Honour, banded on the floor  
Of fickle Fortunes false and slippery Court,  
Sent for a Toy, to make us Children sport,  
Man's satiate spirits, with fresh delights supplying,  
To still the Foundlings of the world, from crying,  
And he, whose merit mounts to such a joy,  
Gains but the Honour of a mighty Toy.  
But wouldst thou conquer, have thy conquest crowned  
By hands of Seraphins, trimphed with the sound  
Of heavens loud Trumpet, warbled by the shrill  
Celestial choir, recorded with a quill,  
Plucked from the Pinion of an Angel's wing,  
Confirmed with joy, by heavens Eternal King?  
Conquer thyself, thy rebel thoughts repel,  
And chase those false affections that rebel.  
Hath Heaven despoiled what his full hand had given thee?  
Nipped thy succeeding Blossoms? or bereaven thee  
Of thy dear latest hope, thy bosom Friend?  
Doth sad Despair deny these griefs an end?  
Despair's a whispering Rebel, that within thee,  
Bribes all thy Field, and sets thyself again thee:  
Make keen thy Faith, and with thy force let flee,  
If thou not conquer him, he'll conquer thee:  
Advance thy Shield of Patience to thy head,  
And when grief strikes, 'twill strike the striker dead●  
The patient man, in sorrow spies relief,  
And by the tail, he couples joy with Grief.  
In adverse fortunes be thou strong and stout,  
And bravely win thyself, Heaven holds not out  
His Bow, for ever bend. The disposition  
Of noblest spirits, doth, by opposition  
Exasperate the more: A gloomy night  
Whets on the morning, to return more bright;  
A blade well tri●d, deserves a treble price,  
And virtue's purest, most opposed by Vice:  
Brave minds, oppressed, should (in despite of Fa●●)  
Look greatest, (like the Sun) in lowest state.  
But ah! shall God thus strive with flesh and blood▪  
Receives he Glory from, or reaps he Good  
In mortals Ruin, that he leaves man so  
To be or'ewhelmed by his unequal Foe?  
May not a Potter, that from out the ground,  
Hath framed a Vessel, search if it be sound?  
Or if by for bushing, he take more pain  
To make it fairer, shall the Pot complain?  
Mortal, thou art but Clay: Then shall not he,  
That framed thee for his service, season thee?  
Man, close thy lips; Be thou no undertaker  
Of God's designs, Dispute not with thy Maker.  
Lord, 'tis against thy nature to do ill;  
Then give me power to bear, and work thy Will;  
Thou knowst what's best, make thou thine own conclusion  
Be glorified, although in my confusion.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Satan the second time appears,  
Before th'eternal, boldly dares  
Malign Iob● tried Faith afresh,  
And gains th'afflicting of his Flesh.  
Sect. 4.  
ONce more, when heavens harmonious queristers  
Appeared before his Throne, (whose Ministers  
They are, of his concealed will) to render  
Their strict account of justice, and to tender  
Th'accepted Sacrifice of highest praise,  
(Warbled in Sonnets▪ and celestial Lays)  
Satan came too, bold, as a hungry Fox,  
Or ravenous Wolf amid the tender Flocks,  
Satan, (said than th'eternal) from whence now  
Hath thy employments driven thee? whence comest thou?  
Satan replies: Great God of heaven & earth,  
I come from tempting, and from making mirth:  
To hear thy dearest children whine, and roar:  
In brief, I come, from whence I came before.  
Said than th'eternal, Hast thou not beheld  
My servant's Faith, how, like a sevenfold shield,  
It hath defended his integrity  
Against thy fiery Darts? Hath not thine Eye,  
(Thine envious eye) perceived how purely just  
He stands, and perfect, worthy of the trust  
I lent into his hand, persisting still  
Just, fearing God, eschewing what is ill?  
'Twas not the loss of his so fair a Flock,  
Nor sudden rape of such a mighty Stock;  
'Twas neither loss of Servants, nor his Sons  
Untimely slaughter, (acted all at once)  
Could make him quail, or warp so true a Faith,  
Or stain so pure a Love; say (Satan) hath  
Thy hand (so deeply counterfeiting mine)  
Made him mistrust his God, or once repine?  
Can there in all the earth, say, can there be  
A man so Perfect, and so Just, as He?  
Replies the Tempter, Lord, an outward loss  
Hopes for repair, it's but a common cross:  
I know thy servant's wise, a wise forecast,  
Grieves for things present, not for things are past;  
Perchance the tumour of his sullen heart,  
Brooks loss of all, since he hath lost a part;  
Myself have Servants, who can make true boast,  
They gave away as much, as he hath lost:  
Others (which learning made so wisely mad)  
Refuse such Fortunes, as he never had;  
A Faith's not tried by this uncertain Tuch,  
Others, that never kn●w thee, did as much:  
Lend me thy Power then, that I might once  
But Sacrifice his Flesh, afflict his Bones,  
And pierce his Hide, but for a moment's space,  
Thy Darling then would curse thee to thy Face▪  
To which, th'eternal thus: His body's thine,  
To plague thy fill, withal I do confine  
Thy power to her ●ists: Afflict and tear  
His flesh at pleasure: But his life forbear.  

Meditat. 4.  
BOth Goods, and body too; Lord, who can stand?  
Expect not jobs uprightness, at my hand,  
Without jobs aid; The temper of my Passion,  
(Untamed by thee) can brook no jobs Temptation,  
For I am weak, and frail, and what I can  
Most boast of, proves me but a sinful man;  
Things that I should avoid, I do; and what  
I am enjoined to do, that do I not.  
My Flesh is weak, too strong in this, alone,  
It rules my spirit, that should be ruled by none  
But thee; my spirit's faint, and hath been never  
Free from the fits of fins quotidian Fever.  
My powers are all corrupt, corrupt my Will,  
Marble to good, and Wax to what is ill;  
Eclipsed is my reason, and my Wit;  
By interposing Earth 'twixt Heaven, and it:  
My mem'ris like a Scarce of Lawn (alas)  
It keeps things gross, and lets the purer pass.  
What have I then to boast, What Title can  
I challenge more than this, A sinful man?  
Yet do I sometimes feel a warm desire,  
Raise my low Thoughts, and dull affections higher  
Where, like a soul entranced, my spirit flies,  
Makes leagues with Angels, and brings Deities  
Half way to heaven, shakes hands with Seraphims  
And boldly mingles wings with Cherubims,  
Frem whence, I look askauns down the earth,  
Pity myself, and loath my place of birth:  
But while I thus my lower state deplore,  
I wake, and prove the wretch I was before.  
Even as the Needle, that directs the hour,  
(Touched with the Loadstone) by the secret power  
Of hidden Nature, points upon the Pole;  
Even so the wavering powers of my soul,  
Touched by the virtue of thy Spirit, flee  
From what is Earth, and point alone to Thee.  
When I have faith, to hold thee by the Hand,  
I walk securely, and me thinks I stand  
More firm than Atlas; But when I forsake  
The safe protection of thine Arm, I quake  
Like wind-shakt Reeds, and have no strength at all,  
But (as a Vine, the Prop cut down) I fall.  
Yet wretched I, when as thy justice lends  
Thy glorious Presence from me) strait am friends  
With Flesh and blood, forget thy Grace, fly from it,  
And, like a Dog, return unto my vomit;  
The fawning world to pleasure then invites  
My wand'ring eyes; The flesh presents delights  
Unto my yielding heart, which think those pleasures▪  
Are only business now, and rarest treasures,  
Content can glory in, whilst I, secure,  
Stoop to the painted plumes of Satan's Lure:  
Thus I captived, and drunk with pleasures Wine,  
Like to a madman, think no state like mine,  
What have I then to boast, what title can  
I challenge more than this, A sinful man?  
● feele my grief so enough, nor can I be  
redressed by any, but (Great God) by thee.  
●oo great thou art to come within my Roof,  
●ay but the word, Be ●●●le, and 'tis enough;  
●ill then, my tongue shall never 〈◊〉, mine Eyes  
●●e're close, my lowly bended knees ne'er rise▪  
●ill than my soul shall ne'er want early sobs,  
My cheeks no tears, my Pensive breast no throbs,  
My hart shall lack no zeal, nor tongue expressing,  
●le strive like jacob till I get my Blessing:  
Say then, Be clea●e, I'll never stop till then,  
Heaven ne'er shall rest, till Heaven shall say, Amen    

THE ARGUMENT.  
job, smote with Ulcers, grovelling lies,  
Plunged in a Gulf of Miseries,  
His Wife to blasphemy doth tempt him,  
His three Friends visit, and lament him.  
Sect. 5.  
LIke as a Truant-Scholler (whose delay  
Is worse than whipping, having leave to play)  
●●kes haste to be enlarged from the jail  
●his neglected School, turns speedy tail  
●●on his tedious book (so ill befriended)  
●●fore his Master's jie be full ended:  
So thankless Satan, full of winged haste,  
Thinking all time, not spent in Mischief, waste,  
Departs with speed, less patient to forbear  
The patient job, then patient job to bear.  
Forth from the furnace of his Nostril, flies  
A sulphurous vapour, (which by the envious eyes,  
Of this foul Fiend inflamed) possessed the fair  
And sweet complexion of th'Abused Air,  
With Pestilence, and (having power so far)  
took the advantage of his worset Star,  
Smote him with Ulcers (such as once befell  
Th'Egyptian Wizzards) Ulcers hot and fell,  
Which like a searching Tetter uncorrected,  
Left no part of his body unaffected,  
From head to foot, no empty place was found  
That could b'afflicted with another wound:  
So noisome was the nature of his grief,  
That (left by friends, and wife, that should be chief  
Assister) he (poor he) alone remained,  
Grovelling in Ashes, being (himself) constrained,  
With potsherds to scrape off those ripened cores,  
(Which dogs disdained to lick) from out his sores,  
Which when his wife beheld, adust, and keen,  
Her passion waxed, made strong with scorn & spleen▪  
Like as the Winds, imprisoned in the earth,  
And barred the passage to their natural birth,  
Grow fierce; and nilling to be longer penned,  
Break in an Earthquake, shake the world, and vent▪  
So broke she forth, so forth her fury broke,  
Till now, penned in with shame, and thus she spoke.  
Fond Saint, thine Innocence finds timely speed,  
A foolish Saint receives a Saintly meed;  
Is this the just man's recompense? Or hath  
Heaven no requital for thy painful Faith,  
〈◊〉 then this? What, have thy zealous Qualms,  
●●●●ious Fast, and thy hopeful Alms,  
Thy private groans, and often bended knees,  
No other end, no other thanks, but these?  
〈◊〉 man submit thee to a kinder fate,  
〈◊〉 to be righteous at so dear a rate:  
'Tis Heaven, not Fortune that thy weal debars;  
C●●se Heaven then, and not thy wayward flarres:  
'Tis God that plagues thee, God not knowing why;  
C●●se then that God, revenge thy wrongs and dye.  
〈◊〉 then replied: God loves where ●e chas●iz'd,  
Thou speakest like a fool, and ill advised;  
●●●gh we to lick the sweet, and shall we lower,  
If ●e be pleased to send a little sour?  
〈◊〉 I so weak, one blast or two, should i'll me;  
I'll trust my Maker, though my Maker kill me.  
When these sad tidings filled those itching ears  
Of Earth's black babbling daughter (she that hears  
And vents alike, both Truth and Forgeries,  
And utters, often, cheaper than she buys)  
She spread the pinions of her nimble wings,  
Advanc'● her Trumpet, and away she springs,  
And fills the whispering Air which soon possessed  
The spacious borders of th'inquiring East,  
Upon the summon of such solemn News,  
Whose truth, malignant Fame could not abuse,  
His woeful friends came to him, to the end,  
To comfort, and bewail their wretched friend.  
But when they came far off they did not know,  
Whether it were the self same friend or no,  
(Brim-filled with briny woe) they wept and tore  
(●●express their grief) the garments that they wore  
Seven days and nights they sat upon the ground,  
But spoke not, for his sorrows did abound.  

Medit. 5.  
SAy, is not Satan justly styled than,  
A Tempter, and an enemy to Man?  
What could he more? His wish would not extend  
To death, lest his assaults, with death should end:  
Then what he did, what could he further do?  
His Hand hath seized both goods and body too.  
The hopeful Issue of a holy strain,  
In such a dearth of holiness, is slain.  
What hath the Lazar left him, but his grief,  
And (what might best been spared) his foolish wife?  
Cold mischief been more hard (though more in kind)  
To nip the flowers, and leave the weeds behind  
Woman was made a Helper by Creation,  
A Helper, not alone for Propagation,  
Or fond Delight, but sweet Society,  
Which Man (alone) should want, and to supply  
Comforts to him for whom her Sex was made,  
That each may joy in either's needful aid:  
But fairest Angels, had the foulest fall;  
And best things (once abused) prove worst of all,  
Else had not Satan been so foul a Fiend,  
Else had not Woman proved so false a Friend.  
Even as the treacherous Fowler, to entice  
His silly winged Prey, doth first devise  
To make a Bird his stale, at whose false call,  
Others may chance into the selfsame thrall:  
Even so, that crafty snarer of Mankind,  
Finding man's righteous Palate not inclined  
To taste the sweetness of his gilded baits,  
Makes a collateral Su●e, and slily waits  
Upon the weakness of some bosom friend,  
From whose enticement, he expects his end.  
Ah righteous job, what cross was left unknown?  
What grief may be described, but was thine own▪  
Is this a just man's case? What doth befall  
To one man, may as well betide to all.  
The worst I'll look for, that I can project,  
If better come, 'tis more than I expect;  
If otherwise, I'm armed with Preparation;  
No sorrow's sudden to an expectation.  
Lord, to thy Wisdom I submit my Will,  
I will be thankful, send me good or ill;  
If good, my present State will pass the sweeter;  
If ill, my Crown of glory shall be greater.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
O'erwhelmed with grief, job breaketh forth  
Into impatience: Bans his birth,  
Professes, that his heart did doubt  
And fear, what since hath fallen out.  
Sect. 6.  
WOrn bare with grief, the patient job betrayed  
His seven-days silence, cursed his day, & said:  
O that my Day of birth had never been,  
N●● yet the Night, which I was brought forth in!  
Be it not numbered for a Day, let Light  
Not make a difference 'twixt it and Night;  
Let gloomy Shades (than Death more sable) pass  
Upon it, to declare how fatal 'twas:  
Let Clouds o'ercast it, and as hateful make it,  
As lives to him, whom Tortures bid, forsake it:  
From her next day, let that black Night be cut,  
Nor in the reckoning of the Months, be put:  
Let Desolation fill it, all night long,  
In it, be never heard a Bridal song:  
Let all sad Mourners that do curse the light,  
When light's drawn in begin to curse this night?  
Her evening Twilight, let foul darkness stain;  
And may her midnight expect light in vain;  
Nor let her infan● Day (but newly borne)  
Suffered to see the Eyelids of the morn,  
Because my Mother's Womb it would not close,  
Which gave me passage to endure these Woes:  
Why died I not in my Conception, rather?  
Or why was not my Birth, and death together?  
Why did the Midwife take me on her knees?  
Why did I suck, to feel such griefs as these?  
Then had this body never been oppressed,  
I had enjoyed th'eternal sleep of rest;  
With Kings, and mighty Monarches, that lie crowned  
With stately Monuments, poor I had found  
A place of Rest, had borne as great a sway,  
Had been as happy, and as rich as they:  
Why was not I as an abortive birth,  
The ●e're had known the horrors of the earth?  
The silent Grave is quiet from the fear  
Of Tyrants: Tyrants are appeased there:  
The grinded Prisoner hears not (there) the noise,  
Nor harder threatenings of th'Oppressors voice:  
●oth rich and poor are equalled in the Grave,  
Servants no Lords, and Lords no Servants have:  
What needs there light to him that's comfortless?  
Or life to such as languish in distress,  
〈◊〉 long for death, which, if it come by leisure,  
They ransack for it, as a hidden treasure?  
What needs there Life to him, that cannot have  
A B●●ne, more gracious, than a quiet Grave?  
Or else to him, whom God hath walled about,  
That would, but cannot find a passage out?  
When I but taste, my sighs return my food,  
The flowing of my tears have raised a flood;  
When my estate was prosperous, I did fear,  
Le●t, by some heedless slip, or want of care,  
I might be brought to Misery, and (alas!)  
What I did then so fear is come to pass:  
But though secure, my soul did never slumber,  
Yet do my Woes exceed both Weight, and Number.  

Meditat. 6.  
SO poor a thing is Man. No Flesh and blood  
Deserves the style of Absolutely Good:  
The righteous man sins oft; whose power's such,  
To sin the least, sins (at the least) too much:  
The man, whose Faith disdained his isaack's life,  
Dissembled once, a Sister, for a Wife:  
The righteous Lot, being drunk, did make (at once)  
His Daughters both half sisters to their sons:  
The royal Favourite of heaven, stood  
Not guiltless of Adultery and Blood,  
And he, whose hands did build the Temple, doth  
Bow down his lustful knees to Ashtaroth  
The sinful Woman was accused, but none  
Was found, that could begin to fling a stone:  
From mudled Springs, can Crystal water come?  
In some things, all men sin; in all things, some.  
Even as the soil, (which April's gentle showers  
Have filled with sweetness, and enriched with flowers)  
Rears up her suckling plants, still shooting forth  
The tender blossoms of her timely Birth,  
But, if denied the beams of cheerly May,  
They hang their withered heads, and fade away:  
So man, assisted by th' Almighty's Hand,  
His Faith doth flourish, and securely stand,  
But left a while, forsook (as in a shade)  
It languishes, and nipped with sin doth fade:  
No Gold is pure from Dross, though oft refined;  
The strongest Cedar's shaken with the wind;  
The fairest Rose hath no prerogative,  
Against the fretting Cankerworm, The Hive  
No honey yield unblended with the wax,  
The finest Linen hath both soil and bracks:  
The best of men have sins; None lives secure,  
In Nature nothing's perfect, nothing pure.  
Lord, since I needs must sin, yet grant that I  
Forge no advantage by infirmity:  
Since that my Vesture cannot want a stain,  
Assist me, lest the tincture be in Graine.  
To thee (my great Redeemer) do I fly,  
It is thy Death alone, can change my die;  
Tears, mingled with the Blood, can scour so,  
That Scarlet sins shall turn as white as Snow.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Rash Eliphaz reproves, and rates,  
And falsely censures job; Relates  
His Vision; shows him the event  
Of wicked men: Bids him repent.  
Sect. 7.  
THen Eliphas, his pounded tongue replieved,  
And said, should I contend, thou wouldst be grieved;  
Yet what man can refrain, but he must break  
His angry silence, having heard thee speak?  
O sudden change! many hast thou directed,  
And strengthened those, whose minds have been dejected;  
Thy sacred Thews, and sweet Instructions, did  
Help those were falling, raised up such as slid:  
But now it is thy case, thy soul is vexed,  
And canst not help thyself, thyself perplexed;  
Thou lov'st thy God but basely for thy profit,  
Fearest him in further expectation of it;  
judge then: Did Record ever round thine ear,  
That God forsook the heart that was sincere?  
But often have we seen, that such as plow  
Lewdness, and mischief, reap the same they sow:  
So have proud Tyrants from their thrones been cast,  
With all their offspring, by th' Almighty's Blast;  
And they whose hands have been embrued in blood,  
Have with their Issue died, for want of Food:  
A Vision lately appeared before my sight,  
In depth of darkness, and the dead of night,  
Unwonted fear usurped me round about,  
My trembling bones were sore, from head to foot:  
Forthwith, a Spirit glanced before mine eyes,  
My brows did sweat, my moistened hair did rise,  
The face I knew not, but a while it stayed,  
And in the depth of silence, thus it said,  
Is man more just, more pure than his Creator?  
Amongst his Angels, (more upright by nature  
Then man) he hath found Weakness; how much more  
Shall he expect in him, that's walled over  
With mortal flesh and blood, founded, and floored  
With Dust, and with the Worms to be devoured?  
They rise securely with the Morning Sun,  
And (unregarded) die ere Day be done;  
Their glory passes with them as a breath,  
They die (like Fools) before they think of death.  
Rage then, and see who will approve thy rage,  
What Saint will give thy railing Patronage?  
Anger destroys the Fool, and he that hath  
A wrathful heart, is slain with his own wrath;  
Yet have I seen, that Fools have oft been able  
To boast with Babel, but have fall'n with Babel:  
Their sons despairing, roar without relief  
In open ruin, on the Rocks of Grief:  
Their harvest (though but small) the hungry eat,  
And robbers seize their wealth, though ne'er so great;  
But wretched man, were thy Condition mine,  
I'd not despair as thou dost, nor repine,  
But offer up the broken Sacrifice  
Of a sad soul, before his angry eyes,  
Whose works are Miracles of admiration,  
He mounts the meek, amidst their Desolation▪  
Confounds the worldly wise, that (blindfold) they  
Grope all in darkness, at the noon of day:  
But guards the humble from reproach of wrong,  
And stops the current of the crafty Tongue.  
Thrice happy is the man his hands correct:  
Beware lest Fury force thee to reject  
Th' Almighty's Trial; He that made thy wound  
In justice, can in Mercy make it sound:  
Fear not though multiplied afflictions shall  
Besiege thee; He, at length, will rid them all;  
In Famine he shall feed, in War defend thee,  
Shield thee from slander, & in griefs attend thee,  
The Beasts shall strike with thee eternal Peace,  
The Stones shall not disturb thy fields Increase;  
Thy House shall thrive, replenished with Content,  
Which, thou shalt rule, in prosperous Government,  
The number of thy Offspring shall abound,  
Like Summer's Grass upon a fruitful Ground,  
Like timely Corn well ripened in her Ears,  
Thou shalt depart thy life, struck full of years:  
All this, Experience te●ls: Then (job) advise,  
Thou hast taught many, now thyself be wise.  

Meditat. 7.  
THe perfect Model of true Friendship's this:  
A rare affection of the soul, which is  
Begun with ripened judgement, doth persever  
With simple Wisdom, & concludes with Never.  
'Tis pure in substance, as refined Gold,  
That buyeth all things, but is never sold:  
It is a Coin, and most men walk without it;  
True Love's the Stamp, I●hovah's writ about it;  
It rusts unused, but using makes it brighter,  
Against Heaven high treason 'tis, to make it lighter.  
'Tis a Gold Chain, links soul and soul together  
In perfect Unity, ties God to either.  
Affliction is the touch, whereby we prove,  
Whether't be Gold, or gilded with feigned Love.  
The wisest Moralist, that ever dived  
Into the depth of Nature's bowels, strived  
With th' Augur of Experience, to bore  
men's hearts so far, till he had found the Ore  
Of Friendship, but, despairing of his end,  
My friends (said he) there is no perfect Friend.  
Friendship's like Music, two strings tuned alike,  
Will both stir, though but only one you strike.  
It is the quintessence of all perfection  
Extracted into one: A sweet connexion  
Of all the Virtue's Moral and Divine,  
Abstracted into one. It is a Mine,  
Whose nature is not rich, unless in making  
The state of others wealthy by partaking:  
It blooms and blossoms both in Sun and shade,  
Doth (like the Bay in winter) never fade:  
It loveth all, and yet suspecteth none,  
Is provident, yet seeketh not her own:  
'Tis rare itself, yet maketh all things common,  
And is judicious, yet it judgeth no man.  
The noble Theban, being asked which  
Of three (propounded) he supposed most rich  
In virtues sacred treasure, thus replied:  
Till they be dead, that doubt cannot be tried.  
It is no wisem●ns part to weigh a Friend,  
Without the gloss and goodness of his End:  
For Life, without the death considered, can  
Afford but half a Story of the Man.  
'Tis not my friend's affliction, that shall make  
Me either Wonder, Censure, or Forsake:  
judgement belongs to Fools; enough that I  
Find he's afflicted, not inquire, why:  
It is the hand of Heaven, that selfsame sorrow  
Grieves him to day, may make me groan to morrow  
Heaven be my comfort; In my highest grief,  
I will not trust to Man's, but Thy relief.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
job counts his sorrows, and from thence  
Excuses his impatience;  
Describes the shortness of Man's Time,  
And makes confession of his Crime.  
Sect. 8.  
But wretched job sighed forth these words, & said,  
Ah me! that my Impatience were weighed  
With all my Sorrows, by an equal hand,  
They would be found more ponderous than the sand  
That lies upon the new-forsaken shore:  
My griefs want utterance, & have stopped their door:  
And wonder not heavens shafts have struck me dead▪  
And God hath heaped all mischiefs on my head:  
Will Asses bray, when they have grass to eat?  
Or allows the Ox, when as he wants no meat?  
Can palates find a relish in distaste?  
Or can the whites of Eggs well please the taste?  
My vexed soul is daily fed with such  
Corruptions, as my hands disdain to touch.  
Alas! that Heaven would hear my hearts request▪  
And strike me dead, that I may find some rest:  
What hopes have I, to see my end of grief,  
And to what end should I prolong my life?  
Why should not I wish Death? My strength (alas)  
Is it like Marble, or my flesh like Brass?  
What power have I to mitigate my pain?  
If e'er I had, that power now is vain;  
My friends are like the Rivers, that are dry  
In heat of Summer, when necessity  
Requireth water; They amazed stand  
To see my grief, but lend no helping hand.  
Friends; beg I succour from you? Craved I  
Your Goods, to ransom my Captivity?  
Show me my faults, and wherein I did wrong  
My Patience, and I will hold my tongue;  
The force of reasonable words may move,  
But what can Rage or Lunacy reproove?  
Rebuke you (then) my words to have it thought  
My speech is frantic, with my grief distraught?  
You take a pleasure in your friend's distress,  
That is more wretched than the fatherless:  
Behold these sores: Be judged by your own eyes,  
If these be counterfeited miseries;  
Balance my words, and you shall find me free  
From these foul crimes wherewith ye branded me  
And that my speech was not distained with sin,  
Only the language sorrow treated in.  
Is not man's day prefixed, which, when expired,  
Sleeps ●e not quiet as a servant hired?  
A servants labour doth, at length, surcease,  
His Day of travel finds a Night of peace;  
But (wretched) I with woes am still oppressed,  
My midday torments see no Even of Rest;  
My nights (ordained for sleep) are filled with grief,  
I look (in vain) for the next day's relief:  
With dust and worms my flesh is hid, my sorrows  
Have ploughed my skin, and filth lies in her furrows:  
My days of joy are in a moment gone,  
And (hopeless of returning) spent and done:  
Remember (Lord) my life is but a puff,  
I but a man, that's misery enough;  
And when pale death hath once sealed up my sight,  
I ne'er shall see the pleasures of the light,  
The eye of Man shall not discover me,  
No, nor thine (Lord) for I shall cease to be;  
When mortals die, they pass (like clouds before  
The Sun) and back return they never more;  
T'his earthly house he ne'er shall come again,  
And then shall be, as if he ne'er had been:  
Therefore my tongue shall speak while it hath breath  
Prompted with grief, and with the pangs of death:  
Am I not weak and faint? what needst thou stretch  
Thy direful hand upon so poor a wretch?  
When as I think that night shall stop the streams  
Of my distress, thou frightest me then with dreams;  
So that my soul doth rather choose to dye,  
Than be involved in such misery;  
My life's a burden, and will end: O grieve  
No longer him, that would no longer live.  
Ah! what is Man, tha● thou shouldst raise him so  
High at the first, then sink him down so low?  
What's man? thy glory's great enough without him:  
Why dost thou (thus) disturb thy mind about him?  
Lord, I have sinned (Great Helper of Mankind)  
I am but Dust and Ashes, I have sinned:  
Against the● (as a mark) why hast thou fixed me?  
How have I trespassed, that thou thus afflict'st more?  
Why, rather, didst thou not remove my sin,  
And salve the sorrows that I raved in?  
For thou hast heaped such vengeance on my head;  
That when thou seek'st me thou wilt find me dead.  

Meditat. 8.  
TH'Egyptians, amidst their solemn Feasts,  
Used to welcome, and present their Guests  
With the sad sight of Man's Anatomy,  
Served in with this loud Motto, All must dye.  
Fool's often go about, when as they may  
Take better vantage of a nearer way.  
Look well into your bosoms; do not flatter  
Your known infirmities: Behold, what matter  
Your flesh was made of: Man, cast back thine eye  
Upon the weakness of thine Infancy;  
See how thy lips hang on thy mother's Breast,  
Bawling for help, more helpless than a Beast,  
Liv'st thou to childhood? then, behold, what toys  
Do mock the sense, how shallow are thy joys.  
Comest thou to downy years? see, how deceits  
Gull thee with golden fruit, and with false baits  
Slily beguile the prime of thy affection.  
Art thou attained at length to full perfection  
Of ripened years? Ambition hath now sent  
Thee on her frothy errand, Discontent  
Pays thee thy wages. Do thy grizly hairs  
Begin to cast account of many cares  
Upon thy head? The sacred lust of gold  
Now fits thy spirit, for fleshly lust, too cold,  
Makes thee a slave to thine own base desire,  
Which melts and hardens, at the selfsame Fire.  
Art thou decrepit? Then thy very breath  
I● grievous to thee, and each grief's a death:  
Look where thou list, thy life is but a span,  
Thou art but dust, and, to conclude, A Man.  
Thy life's a Warfare, thou a Soldier art,  
Satan's thy Foeman, and a faithful Heart  
Thy two-edged Weapon, Patience thy Shield,  
Heaven is thy Chiefetain, and the world thy Field.  
To be afraid to dye, or wish for death,  
Are words and passions of despairing breath:  
Who doth the first, the day doth faintly yield,  
And who the second, basely flies the field.  
Man's not a lawful Steersman of his days,  
His bootless wish, nor hastens, nor delays:  
We are Gods hired Workmen, he discharges  
Some, late at night, and (when he list) enlarges  
Others at noon, and in the morning some:  
None may relieve himself, till he bid, Come:  
If we receive for one half day, as much  
As they that toil till evening, shall we grudge?  
Our life's a Road, in death our journey ends,  
We go on God's Embassage, some he sends  
Galled with the ●●otting of hard Misery,  
And others, pacing on Prosperity:  
Some lag, whilst others gallop on, before;  
All go an end, some faster, and some slower.  
Led me that pace (great God) that thou think'st best,  
And I will follow with a dauntless breast:  
Which (nevertheless) if I refuse to do,  
I shall be wicked, and yet follow to.  
Assist me in my Combat with the flesh,  
Relieve my fainting powers, and refresh  
My feeble spirit: I will not wish to be  
Cast from the world; Lord, cast the world from me.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Bildad, man's either state expresses,  
God's Mercy and justice job confesses;  
He pleads his cause, and begs relief,  
Foiled with the burden of his grief.  
Sect. 9  
SO Bildads' silence (great with tongue) did break,  
And, like a heartless Comforter did speak:  
How long wilt thou persist to breathe thy mind  
In words that vanish as a storm of wind;  
Will God forsake the innocent, or will  
His justice smite thee, undeserving ill?  
Though righteous death thy sinful sons hath rend  
From thy sad bosom, yet if thou repent,  
And wash thy ways with undissembled tears,  
Tuning thy troubles to th' Almighty's ears,  
The mercy of his eyes shall shine upon thee:  
And shower the sweetness of his blessings on thee:  
And though a while thou plunge in misery,  
At length he'll crown thee with prosperity:  
Run back, and ●earne of sage Antiquity,  
What our late births, to present times, deny,  
See how, and what (in the world's downy age)  
Befell our Fathers in their Pilgrimage;  
If Rushes have no mire, and Grass no rain,  
They cease to flourish, droop their heads, ● wain:  
So fades the man▪ whose heart is not upright,  
So perisheth the double Hypocrite;  
His hopes are like the Spider's web, to day  
That's flourishing, to morrow swept away:  
But he that's just is like the flouting tree,  
Rooted by Crystal Springs, that cannot be  
Scorched by the noon of day, nor stirred from thence,  
Where, firmly fixed, it hath a residence;  
Heaven●never fails the soul that is upright,  
Nor offers arm to the base Hypocrite:  
The one, he blesses with eternal joys,  
The other, his avenging hand destroys.  
I yield it for a truth, (sad job replied)  
Compared with God, can man be justified?  
If man should give account what he hath done,  
Not of a thousand can he answer one:  
His hand's all-Power, and his heart all pure,  
Against this God, what man can stand secure?  
He shakes the Mountains, and the Sun he bars  
From circling his due course, shuts up the Stars,  
He spreads the Heavens, and rideth on the Flood,  
His works may be admired, not understood:  
No eye can see, no heart can apprehend him:  
Lists he to spoil? what's he can reprehend h●m?  
His Will's his Law. The smoothest pleader hath  
No power in his lips, to slake his Wrath,  
Much less can I plead fair immunity,  
Which could my guiltless tongue attain, yet I  
Would kiss the Footstep of his judgement-seat:  
Should he receive my cry, my grief's so great,  
It would persuade me, that he heard it not,  
For he hath torn me with the fivefold knot  
Of his sharp Scourge, his plagues successive are,  
That I can find no ground, but of Despair.  
If my ●●old lips should dare to justify  
Myself, my lips would give my lips the lie.  
God owes his mercy, nor to good, nor bad;  
The wicked oft he spares, and oft does add  
Grief to the just man's grief, woes after woes;  
We must not judge man, as his Market goes.  
But might my prayers obtain this boon, that God  
Would cease those sorrows, and remove that Rod,  
Which moves my patience; I would take upon me,  
T'implead before him, your rash judgement on me,  
Because my tender Conscience doth persuade me,  
I'm not so bad, as your bad Words have made me.  
My life is tedious, my distress shall break  
Into her proper Voice, my griefs shall speak;  
(Just ●udge of Earth) condemn me not, before  
Thou please to make me understand wherefore  
Agrees it with thy justice, thus to be  
Kind to the wicked, and so harsh to Me?  
Seest thou with fleshly eyes? or do they glance  
By favour? Are they closed with Ignorance?  
Liv'st thou the life of man? Dost thou desire  
A space of time to search, or to inquire  
My sin? No, in the twinkling of an eye  
Thou seest my heart, seest my Immunity  
From those foul crimes, wherewith my friends at pleasure  
Tax me, yet thou afflict'st me, in this Measure:  
Thy hands have formed, and framed me, what I am,  
Wh●n thou hast made, wilt thou destroy the same?  
Remember, I am built of Clay, and must  
Return again (without thy help) to Dust.  
Thou didst create, preserve me, hast endued  
My life with gracious blessings oft renewed  
Thy precious favours on me: How wert thou,  
Once, so benign, and so cruel now?  
Thou huntest me like a Prey, my plagues increase,  
Succeed each other, and they never cease.  
Why was I borne? Or why did not my Tomb  
Receive me (weeping) from my mother's womb▪  
I have not long to live; Lord grant that I  
May see some comfort, that am soon to dye.  

Meditat. 9  
HE that's the truest Master of his own,  
Is never ●esse alone, than when alone;  
His watchful eyes are placed within his heart;  
His skill, is how to know himself▪ his Art,  
How to command the pride of his Affections,  
With sacred Reason: how to give directions  
Unto his wand'ring Will; His conscience checks hi●  
More loser thoughts; His 〈◊〉 sins, she vexes  
With frights, and fears within her own precincts,  
She rambles with her Whips of wire, ne'er 〈◊〉  
At smallest faults, like as a tender Mother  
(How ere she loves her darling) will not 〈◊〉  
His childish fault▪ but she (her self) will rather  
Correct, than trust him to his angry Fat●●er:  
Even so, the tender Conscience of the wise,  
Che●ks her beloved soul, and doth chastise,  
And judge the crime itself, lest it should stand  
As liable to a severer hand.  
Fond soul beware, who e'er thou art, that spies  
Another's fault, that thou thine own chastise,  
Lest, like a foolish man, thou judge another,  
In those selfe-crimes, which in your breast you smother●  
Who undertakes to drain his brother's eye  
Of noisome Humours, first, must clarify  
His own, lest when his brother's blemish is  
Removed, he spy a fouler Blame in his.  
It is beyond th' extent of Man's Commission,  
To judge of Man: The secret disposition  
Of Sacred Providence is locked, and sealed  
From man's conceit, and not to be revealed,  
Until that Lamb break open the Seal and come,  
With life and death, to give the world her doom.  
The groundwork of our faith must not rely  
On bare Events; Peace and Prosperity  
Are goodly favours, but no proper Mark,  
Wherewith God brands his Sheep: No outward bark  
Secures the body to be sound within.  
The Rich man lived in Scarlet● died in Sinne.  
Behold th' afflicted man; affliction moves  
Compassion; but no confusion proves.  
A gloomy Day brings oft a glorious Even:  
The Poor man died with sores, and lives in heaven.  
To good and bad, both fortune's Heaven doth share  
That both, an afterchange, may hope, and fear.  
I'll hope the best, (Lord) leave the rest to thee,  
Lest while I judge another, thou judge me;  
It's one man's work to have a serious sight  
Of his own sins, and judge himself aright.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Zophar blames job; job equal makes  
His wisdom unto theirs: He takes  
In hand to plead with God; and then  
Describes the frail estate of men.  
Sect. 10.  
THen Zophar from deep silence, did awake  
His words, with louder language, and bespoke:  
Shall Pratlers be unanswe'rd, or shall such  
Be counted just, that speak, for babbling much?  
Shall thy words stop our mouths, he that hath blamed  
And scoffed at others, shall he die unshamed?  
Our cares have heard thee, when thou hast excused  
Thyself of evil, and thy God accused:  
But if thy God should plead with thee at large,  
Thou'dst reap the sorrows of a double charge.  
Can●t thou, by deep inquiry, understand  
The hidden justice of th' Almighty's hand?  
Heaven's large dimensions cannot comprehend him;  
What e'er he do, what's he can reprehend him?  
What refuge hast thou then, but to present  
A heart, enriched with the sad compliment  
Of a true convert, on thy bended knee,  
Before thy God, t'atone thy God and thee?  
Then doubt not, but he'll rear thee from thy sorrow,  
Disperse thy Clouds, and like a shining Morrow,  
Make clear the Sunbeams of Prosperity,  
And rest thy soul in sweet Security.  
But he, whose heart obdured in sin, persists,  
His hopes shall vanish, as the morning Mists.  
But job, even as a Ball against the ground  
Banded with violence, did thus rebound:  
You are the only wisemen, in your breasts  
The hidden Magazine of true Wisdom rests,  
Yet (though astund with sorrows) do I know  
A little, and (perchance) as much as you;  
I'm scorned of my Friends, whose prosperous state  
Surmises me (that have expired the date  
Of earth's fair Fortunes) to be cast away  
From heaven's regard, think none beloved, but they;  
I am despised, like a Torch, that's spent,  
Whiles that the wicked blazes in his Tent:  
What have your wisdoms taught me, more than that  
Which birds & beasts (could they but fpeak) would chat?  
Digests the Stomach, ere the palate tastes?  
O weigh my Words, before you judge my case.  
But you refer me to our Father's days,  
To be instructed in their wiser Lays▪  
True, length of days brings Wisdom; but, I say,  
I have a wiser teacheth me, than they:  
For I am taught, and tutored by that Hand,  
Whose unresisted power doth command  
The limits of the Earth, whose Wisdom schools  
And trains the simple, makes the learned fools:  
His hand doth raise the poor, deposes Kings;  
On him, both Order, and the change of things  
Depend; he searches, and brings forth the light  
From out the shadows, and the depth of night.  
All this, mine own Experience hath found true,  
And in all this, I know as much as you.  
But you aver, If I should plead with God,  
That he would double his severer Rod.  
Your tongue belies his justice, you apply  
Amiss, your Medicine, to my Malady;  
In silence, you would seem more wise, less weak;  
You having spoke, now lend me leave to speak.  
Will you do wrong, to do God's justice right?  
Are you his Counsel? Need you help to fight  
His quarrels? Or expect you his applause,  
Thus (bribed with self-conceit) to plead his cause?  
judgement's your Fee, when as you take in hand  
Heaven's cause, to plead it, and not Heaven command.  
If that the foulness of your censures could  
Not fright you, yet, me thinks, his greatness should,  
Whose justice you make Patron of your lies;  
Your slender Maxims, and false Forgeries  
Are substanced like thedust that flies besides me;  
Peace then, and I will speak, what e'er betides me:  
My soul is on the rack, my tears have drowned me,  
Yet will I trust my God, though God confound me;  
He, He's my Tower of strength; No hypocrite  
Stands, unconfounded, in his glorious sight:  
Balance my words; I know my case would quit  
Me from your censures, should I argue it.  
Who takes the Plaintiffs pleading? Come, for I  
Must plead my right, or else perforce must die.  
With thee (great Lord of Heaven) I dare dispute,  
If thou wilt grant me this my double Suit;  
First, that thou slake these sorrows that surround me;  
Then, that thy burning Face do not confound me;  
Which granted, then take thou thy choice, let me  
Propound the question, or, else answer Thee.  
Why dost thou thus pursue me, like thy Foe?  
For what great sin dost thou afflict me so?  
Breakest thou a withered Leaf, thy justice doth  
Sum up the reckonings of my sinful youth:  
Thou keep'st me prisoner, bound in fetters fast,  
And, like a threadbare garment do I wast.  
Man borne of Woman, hath but a short while  
To live, his days are fleet, and full of toil;  
he's like a Flower shooting forth and dying,  
His life is as a Shadow, swiftly flying.  
Ah! b'ing so poor a thing; what needst thou mind him?  
The number of his days thou hast confined him;  
Then add not plagues unto his Grief, O give  
Him peace, that hath so small a time to live:  
Trees that are felled, may sprout again, man never;  
His days are numbered, and he dies for ever;  
He's like a Mist, exhaled by the Sun,  
His days once done, they are for ever done.  
O that thy Hand would hide me close, and cover  
Me in the Grave, till all thy Wrath were over!  
My desperate sorrows hope for no relief,  
Yet will I wait my Change. My day of grief  
Will be exchanged for an Eternal day  
Of joy: But now, thou dost not spare to lay  
Full heaps of vengeance on my broken soul,  
And writ'st my sins upon an ample scroll;  
As ●ountaines (being shaken) fall, and Rocks  
(Though firm) are worn, & rend with many knocks:  
So strongest men are battered with thy strength,  
Loose ground, returning to the Ground at length:  
So mortals die, and (being dead) ne'er mind  
The fairest fortunes that they leave behind.  
While man is man (until that death bereave him  
Of his last breath) his griefs shall never leave him.  

Meditat. 10.  
DOth History then, and sage Chronologic,  
(The Index, pointing to Antiquity,)  
So firmly grounded on deep judgement, guarded,  
And kept by so much Miracle, rewarded  
With so great glory, serve, but as slight Fables,  
To edge the dulness of men's wanton Tables,  
And claw their itching ears? Or do they, rather  
Like a conci●e Abridgement, serve to gather  
Man's high Adventures, and his transitory  
Achievements to express his Maker's glory?  
Acts, that have blown the loudest Trump of Fame  
Are all, but humours, purchas't in His name.  
Is he, that (yesterday) went forth, to bring  
His Father's Asses home, (to day) crowned King?  
Did he, that now on his brave Palace stood,  
Boasting his Babel's beauty, chew the cud  
An hour after? Have not Babes been crowned,  
And mighty Monarches beaten to the ground?  
Man undertakes, heaven breathes success upon it;  
What good, what evil is done, but heaven hath done it?  
The Man to whom th● world was not ashamed  
To yield her Colours, he that was proclaimed  
A God in humane shape, whose dreadful voice  
Did strike men dead like Thunder, at the noise;  
Was rend away, from his Imperial Throne,  
Before his flower of youth was fully blown,  
His race was rooted out, his Issue slain,  
And left his Empire to another strain.  
Who that did ere behold the ancient Rome,  
Would rashly, given her glory such a doom,  
Or thought her subject to such alterations,  
That was the Mistress, and the Queen of Nations?  
Egypt, that in her walls, had once engrossed  
More Wisdom, than the world beside, hath lost  
Her senses now: Her wisest men of State,  
Are turned, like Puppets, to be pointed at:  
If Rome's great power, and Egypt's wisdom can  
Not aid themselves how poor a thing is Man?  
God plays with Kingdoms, as with Tennis-balls,  
Fells some that rise, and raises some that falls:  
Nor policy can prevent, nor secret Fate,  
Where Heaven hath pleased to blow upon a State.  
If States be not secure, nor Kingdoms, than  
How helpless (Ah!) how poor a thing is Man!  
Man's like a flower, the while he hath to last,  
he's nipped with frost, and shook with every blast,  
he's borne in sorrow, and brought up in tears,  
He lives a while in sin, and dies in fears.  
Lord, I'll not boast, what e'er thou give unto me,  
Lest e'er my brag be done, thou take it from me.  
No man may boast but of his own, I can  
Then boast of nothing, for I am a Man.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Rash Eliphaz doth aggravate  
The sins of job, maligns his fl●te,  
Whom job reproving, justifies  
Himself, bewails his miseries.  
Sect. 11.  
DOth vain repining (Eliphaz replies)  
Or words, like wind, beseem the man that's wise?  
Ahsure, thy faithless heart rejects the fear  
Of heaven, dost not acquaint thy lips with prayer:  
Thy words accuse thy heart of Impudence,  
Thy tongue (not I) brings in the Evidence:  
Art thou the first of men? Do Mysteries  
Unfold to thee? Art thou the only wise?  
Wherein hath Wisdom been more good to you  
Then us? What know you, that we never knew?  
Reverence, not Censure, fits a young man's eyes,  
We are your Ancients, and should be as wise;  
Ited not enough, your Arrogance derides  
Our counsels, but must scorn thy God beside?  
Angels (if God in quire) strictly must  
Not plead Perfection: then can man be just?  
It is a truth received, these aged eyes  
Have seen't, and is confirmed by the wise,  
That still the wicked man is void of rest,  
Is always fearful; falls when he fears least,  
In trouble he despairs, and is dejected,  
He begs his bread, his death comes unexpected,  
In his adversity, his griefs shall gaul him,  
And, like a raging Tyrant, shall in th●all him,  
He shall advance against his God, in vain,  
For Heaven shall crush & beat him down again,  
What i● his Garners thrive, and goods increase?  
They shall not prosper, nor he live in peace,  
Eternal horror shall beg●●t him round,  
And vengeance shall both him and his confound,  
Amidst his joys, despair shall stop his breath,  
His sons shall perish, with untimely death;  
The double soul shall die, and in the hollow  
Of all false hearts, fal●e hearts themselves shall swallow.  
Then answered job, All this, before I knew,  
They want no grief, that find such friends as you?  
Ah, cease your words, the fruits of ill spent hours!  
If heaven should please to make my fortunes yours,  
I would not scoff you, nor with taunts torment ye,  
My lips should comfort, and these eyes lament ye:  
What shall I do, speak not, my griefs oppress  
My soul, or speak (alas) they're ne'er thelesse;  
Lord I am wasted, and my pangs have spent me,  
My skin is wrinkled, for thy hand hath rend me,  
Mine enemies have smit me in disdain,  
Laughed at my torments, jested at my pain:  
I swelled in wealth, but (now) alas, am poor  
And (field with woe) lie grovelling on the floor,  
In dust and sackcloth I lament my sorrows,  
Thy Hand hath trenched my cheeks with water furrows,  
Nor can I comprehend the cause, that this  
My smart should be so grievous as it is:  
Oh earth! if than an Hypocrite I be,  
Cover my cries, as I do cover thee,  
And witness Heaven, that these my Vows be tru●  
(Ah friends!) I spend my tears to Heaven, not you.  
My time's but short, (alas!) would then that I  
Might try my cause with God before I die.  
Since than I languish, and not far from dead,  
●et me a while with my Accusers plead  
(Before the judge of heaven and earth) my right:  
Have they not wronged, and vexed me day & night?  
Who first, lays down his Gage, to meet me? Say,  
I doubt not (Heaven being judge) to win the day:  
You'll say perchance, we'll recompell your word,  
ere simple truth should unawares afford  
Your discontent; No, no, forbear, for I  
Hate less your Censures, than your flattery;  
I am become a Byword, and a Tabor,  
To set the tongues, and ears of men, in labour,  
Mine eyes are dim, my body's but a shade,  
Good men that see my case, will be afraid,  
But not confounded; They will hold their way,  
And in a bad, they'll hope a better day;  
Recant your errors, for I cannot see  
One man that's truly wise among you Three;  
My days are gone, my thoughts are mis-possest,  
The silent night, that heaven ordained for rest,  
My day of travel is, but I shall have  
ere long▪ long peace, within my welcome grave;  
My nearest kindred are the worms, the earth  
My mother, for she gave me first my birth;  
Where are my hopes then? where that future joy,  
Which you fals-prophecyed I should enjoy?  
Both hopes, and I alike, shall travel thither,  
Where, closed in dust, we shall remain together.  

Meditat. 11.  
THe Moral Poets, (nor unaptly) fain,  
That by lame Vulcan's help, the pregnant brain  
Of sovereign ●ove, brought forth, and at that birth,  
Was borne Minerva, Lady of the earth.  
O strange Divinity! but sung by rote;  
Sweet is the tune, but in a wider note.  
The Moral says, All Wisdom that is given  
To hoodwinked mortals, first proceeds from heaven  
Truth's error, Wisdom's but wise insolence,  
And light's but darkness, not derived from thence;  
Wisdom's a strain, transcends Morality,  
No virtue's absent, Wisdom being by.  
Virtue, by constant practice, is acquired,  
This (this by sweat unpurchased) is inspired:  
The masterpiece of knowledge, is to know  
But what is good, from what is good in show,  
And there it rests: Wisdom proceeds, and chooses  
The seeming evil, th' apparent good refuses;  
Knowledge descries alone; Wisdom applies,  
That makes some fools; this, maketh none but wise:  
The curious hand of knowledge doth but pick  
●are simples, wisdom pounds them, for the sick;  
In my afflictions knowledge apprehends,  
Who is the Author, what the Cause, and Ends,  
It finds that Patience is my sad relief,  
And that the hand that caused, can cure my grief:  
To rest contented here, is but to bring  
Clouds without rain, and heat without a Spring:  
What hope arises hence? The Devils do  
The very same: They know, and tremble too;  
But sacred Wisdom doth apply that good,  
Which simple knowledge barely understood:  
Wisdom concludes, and in conclusion, proves,  
That wheresoever God corrects, he loves:  
Wisdom digests, what knowledge did but taste,  
That deals in future's; this, in things are past:  
Wisdome's the Card of knowledge, which, without  
That Guide, at random's wrecked on every doubt:  
Knowledge, when wisdom is too weak to guide her  
Is like a headstrong horse, that throws the rider:  
Which made that great Philosopher avow,  
He knew so much, that he did nothing know.  
Lord, give me Wisdom to direct my ways,  
I beg nor riches, nor yet length of days:  
O grant thy servant Wisdom, and with it,  
I shall receive such knowledge as will fit  
To serve my turn: I wish not Phoebus' wain,  
Without his skill to drive it, lest I gain  
Too dear an Honour: Lord, I will not stay,  
To pick more Manna, then will serve to day.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Bildad, the whilst he makes a show  
To strike the wicked, gives the blow  
To job: jobs misery, and faith;  
Zophar makes good what Bildad saith.  
Sect. 12.  
SAid Bildad then, When will ye bring to end  
The speeches whereabout ye so contend?  
Weigh either's words, lest ignorant confusion  
Debar them of their purposed conclusion:  
We came to comfort, fits it then that we  
Be thought as beasts, or fools accounted be?  
But thou, job, (like a madman) wouldst thou force  
God, to desist his order, and set course  
Of justice? shall the wicked, for thy sake  
(That wouldst not taste of evil) in good partake?  
No, no, his Lamp shall blaze, and dye, his strength  
Shall fail, and shall confound itself, at length  
He shall be hampered with close hidden snares,  
And dogged, where e'er he starts, with troops of fears;  
Hunger shall bite, destruction shall attend him,  
His skin shall rot, the worst of deaths shall end him:  
His fear, shall be a thousand linked together,  
His branch above, his root beneath shall wither,  
His name shall sleep in dust, in dust decay,  
Odious to all, by all men chased away,  
No Son shall keep alive his House, his Name,  
And none shall thrive, that can alliance claim,  
The after-age shall stand amazed, to hear  
His fall, and they that see't, shall shake for fear:  
Thus stands the state of h●m that doth amiss,  
And (job) what other is thy case, than this?  
But job replied, how long, (as with sharp swords)  
Will ye torment me, with your pointed words?  
How often have your biting tongues defamed  
My simple Innocence, and yet unshamed?  
Had I deserved these plagues, yet let my grief  
Express itself, though it find no relief;  
But if you needs must wear your tongues upon me  
Know, 'Tis the hand of God hath overthrown me;  
I roar, unheard; his hand will not release me;  
The more I grieve, the more my griefs oppress me,  
He hath despoiled my joys, and goes about  
(My branches being lopped) to story the Root;  
His plagues, like soldier's trench within my bones  
My friends, my kindred fly me all at once,  
My neighbours, my familiars have forgone me,  
My household stairs, with stranger's eyes, upon me:  
I call my servant, but his lips are dumb,  
I humbly beg his help, but he'll not come:  
My own wife loathes my breath though I did make  
●y solemn suit, for our dead children's sake:  
The poor, whose wants I have supplied, despise me,  
And he that lived within my breast, denies me:  
My bones are hidebound, there cannot be found  
One piece of skin, (unless my gums) that's sound.  
Alas! complaints are barren shadows, to  
Express, or cure the substance of my woe.  
Have pity, (oh my friends) have pity on me,  
'Tis your God's hand and mine, that lies upon me,  
Vex me no more. O let your anger be  
(If I have wronged you) calmed with what ye see;  
O! that my speeches were engraven, then,  
In Marble Tablets, with an iron Pen:  
For sure I am, that my Redeemer lives,  
And though pale death consume my flesh, and gives  
My Carcase to the worms yet am I sure,  
Clad with this selfsame flesh (but made more pure)  
I shall behold His glory; These sad eyes  
Shall see his Face, however my body lies  
Mouldered in dust; These fleshly eyes, that do  
Behold these Sores, shall see my Maker too.  
Unequal hearers of unequal grief,  
Y'are all engaged to the selfsame belief;  
Know there's a judge, whose voice will be as free,  
To judge your words, as you have judged me.  
Said Zoph●r then, I purposed to refrain  
From speaking, but thou movest me back again:  
For having heard thy haughty spirit break  
Such hasty terms, my spirit bids me speak:  
Hath not the change of Ages, and of Climes,  
Taught us, as we shall our succeeding times,  
How vain's the triumph, and how short the blaze,  
Wherein the wicked sweeten out their days?  
Though for a while his Palms of glory flourish,  
Yet, in conclusion they grow sear, and perish:  
His life is like a Dream, that passes o'er,  
The eye that saw him, ne'er shall see him more▪  
The Son shall flattter, whom the Sire oppressed,  
And (poor) he shall return, what he did wrest;  
He shall be baited with the sins, that have  
So smiled upon his Childhood, to his Grave;  
His plenty (purchas't by oppression) shall  
Be honey, tasted▪ but digested, Gall;  
It shall not bless him with prolonged stay,  
But evilly come, it soon shall pass away;  
The Man, whose griping hath the poor oppressed,  
Shall neither thrive in state, nor yet find rest  
In soul, nought of his fullness shall remain,  
His greedy Heir shall long expect in vain;  
Soaked with extorted plenty, others shall  
Squeeze him, and leave him dispossessed of all;  
And when his joys do in their height a bound,  
Vengeance shall strike him groaning, to the ground  
If Swords forbear to wound him, Arrows shall,  
Returning forth, anointed with his Gall;  
No shade shall hide him, and an unblown Fire  
Shall burn both him and his. Heaven, like a Crier  
Shall blaze his shame, and Earth shall stand his foe,  
His wand'ring Children shall no dwelling know;  
Behold the man's estate, whom God denies,  
Behold thine own, pourtraicted to thine Eyes.  

Meditat. 12.  
CAn mercy come from bloody C●in? Or hath  
His angry Brow a smile? or can his wrath  
Be quenched with aught, but righteous Abel's blood?  
Can guilty Prisoners hope for any good  
From the severer judge, whose dismal breath  
Dooms them to die, breathes nothing else but death  
Ah righteous judge! wherein hath Man to trust?  
Man hath offended, and thy Laws are just;  
Thou frownest like a judge, but I had rather,  
That thou wouldst smile upon me like a Father,  
What if thy Esau be austere and rough?  
Thou hast a jacob that is smooth enough:  
Thy jacobs tender Kid brings forth a blessing,  
While Esau's tedious Ven'zon is a dressing.  
Thy face hath smiles, as well as frowns, by turns;  
Thy fire giveth light as well as burns?  
What if the Serpent stung old Adam dead:  
Young Adam lives, to break that Serpent's head?  
justice hath struck me with a bleeding wound,  
But Mercy pours in Oil, to make it sound.  
The milk-white Lamb confounds the roaring Lion,  
Blasted by Sinah, I am healed by Zion:  
The Law finds guilty, and Death judgement gives,  
But sure I am, that my Redeemer lives.  
How wretched was man's case, in those dark days  
When Law was only read? Which Law dismays  
And, taking vantage, through the breach of it,  
The Letter kills, and can no way admit  
Release by pardon; for by Law we die.  
Why then hoped man, without a reason Why?  
Although there was no Sun, their Morning eyes  
Saw by the Twilight, that the Sun would rise.  
The Law was like a misty Lookingglass,  
Wherein the shadow of a Saviour was,  
Treats in a darker strain by Types and Signs,  
And what should pass in after-days, divines.  
The Gospel says, that he is come and dead,  
And thus the Riddle of the Law is read.  
Gospel is Law, the Mystery being sealed;  
And Law is Gospel, being once revealed.  
Experience tells us when as birth denies  
To man (through Nature's oversight) his eyes,  
Nature (whose curious works are never vain)  
Supplies them, in the power of his Brain:  
So they, whose eyes were barred that glorious sight  
Of the Messiah's day, received more Light,  
(Inspired by the breath of Heaven) than they,  
That heard the tidings of that happy day.  
The man, that with a sharp contracted eye,  
Looks in a clear Perspective-Glasse, doth spi●  
Objects remote, which to the sense appear  
(Through help of the Perspective) seeming near.  
So they that lived within the Law's Dominion,  
Did hear far off, a bruit and buzzed Opinion,  
A Saviour one day should be borne; but he  
That had a Perspective of Faith, might see  
That long-expected day of joy as clear,  
As if the triumph had been then kept there.  
Lord, so direct me in thy perfect Way,  
That I may look, and smile upon that Day:  
O! bathe me in his blood, sponge every stain,  
That I may boldly sue my Counterpane:  
O! make me glorious in the doom he gives,  
For sure I am, that my Redeemer lives.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Earth's happiness is not Heaven's brand:  
A rash recounting of Iob's crimes:  
job trusts him to th' Almighty's hand:  
God ties his judgements, not to Times.  
Sect. 31.  
THen job replied: O, let your patience prove,  
You came (not to afflict me but) in Love.  
O! bear with me, and hear me speak at leisure,  
My speech once ended, mock, & scoff your pleasure  
mysteries I treat, not Toys; If then I range  
A thought beyond myself, it is not strange;  
Behold my case, and stand amazed, forbear me!  
Be still, and in your deeper silence hear me.  
Search you the hearts of men (my Friends) or can  
You judge the Inward, by the Outward Man?  
How haps the wicked then, so sound in health,  
So ripe in years, so prosperous in wealth?  
They multiply, their house is filled with Peace,  
They pass unplagued, their fruitful flocks increase  
Their children thrive in joyful melody,  
Prosperous they live, and peacefully they die;  
Renounce us (God) say they (if God there be,)  
What need we knowledge of thy Word or Thee?  
What is th' Almighty, that we should adore him?  
What hoots our prayer, or us to fall before him?  
'Tis not by chance, their vain Prosperity  
Crowns them with store, or Heaven; not knowing why:  
But you affirm, That in conclusion they  
Shall fall; But not so sudden, as you say:  
But can ye limit forth the space, confine  
How long, or when their lamps shall cease to shine?  
Will any of you undertake to teach  
Your Maker, things so far above your reach?  
The bad man lives in plenty, dies in peace:  
The good, as do his hours, his griefs increase;  
Yet both the good and bad alike shall have,  
Though lives much differing, yet one common grave  
I know your mining thoughts; You will demand,  
Where is the wickeds power? And where stand  
Their lofty buildings? Are they to be seen?  
Inquire of wand'ring Pilgrims that have been  
Experienced in the Road; and they ' lrelate  
The Princely greatness of their Tow●'s and State:  
Live any more secure than they? Or who  
Dare once reprove them, for the deeds thy do?  
He lives in power, and in peace he dies,  
Attended in his pompous Obsequies.  
How vain are then the comforts of your breath,  
That censure goodness, or by Life or Death?  
Said Eliph●z; What then remains? Thy tongue  
Hath quit thyself, accused thy God of wrong.  
Gains he by man's uprightness? Can man add  
To his perfection, what he never had?  
Fears he the strength of Man? doth he torment him  
Lest that his untamed power should prevent him?  
What need I wast this breath? Recall thy senses,  
And take the Inventory of thy ' offences:  
Thou tookst the poor man's Pawn, nor hast thou fed  
Thy needy Brother, with thy prosperous Bread;  
Thy hands perverted justice, and have spoiled  
The hopeless Widow, with her helpless child.  
Hence spring thy sorrows (job) 'Tis justice, than  
Thou shouldst-bee plagued, that thus plagued other men;  
Is heaven just? Can heavens just Creator  
Let pass (unpunished) Sins of so high nature?  
Hath not experience taught, that for a while,  
The Wicked may exalt their Crests, and smile,  
Blown up with Insolence: But in conclusion  
They fall, and good men laugh at their confusion?  
job, add not sin to sin, cease to beguile  
Thyself, thinking to quench thy fire with Oil;  
Return thee to thy God, confess thy crimes;  
Return, and he will crown thy after times  
With former Blessings, and thy Riches shall  
Be as the Sand: for God is all in all;  
His face shall welcome thee, and smile upon thee,  
And cease that mischief his just hand hath done thee▪  
He shall be pleased with thy holy Fires,  
And grant the issue of thy best Desires.  
job answered then: Although my soul be faint,  
And griefs weigh down the scale of my complaint,  
Yet would I plead my cause (which you defamed)  
Before my Maker, and would plead, unshamed;  
Could I but find him, I would take upon me,  
To quite the censures you have passed on me,  
His justice hath no limits, is extended  
Beyond conceit, by man unapprehended,  
Let Heaven be Umpire, and make Arbitration,  
Betwixt my guiltless heart, and your taxation,  
My Embryo thoughts and words are all enrolled,  
Pure will he find them, as refined Gold;  
His steps I followed, and uprightly stood;  
His Laws have been my guide, his words my food;  
Hath he but once decreed? (alas!) there's none  
Can bar: for what he wills, must needs be done;  
His Will's a Law: If he have doomed that I  
Shall still be plagued, 'tis bootless to reply.  
Hence comes it, that my sore afflicted spirit  
Trembles, and stands confounded at his sight;  
His hand hath struck my spirits in a maze,  
For I can neither end my Griefs nor days.  
Why should not times in all things be forbid,  
When to the just, their time of sorrow's hid?  
Some move their Land marks, rob their neighbour flocks;  
Others in gage▪ receive the widow's ox,  
Some grind the poor, while others seek the prey;  
They reap their Harvest, bear their grain away;  
Men press their Oil, & they distrain their store,  
And rend the Glean from the hungry poor.  
The City roars, the blood which they have spent,  
Cries (unrevenged) for equal punishment;  
Early they murder, and rob late at night,  
They trade in Darkness, for they hate the Light▪  
They sin (unpunished) thriving, uncontrolled,  
And what by force they got, by force they hold.  
O friends! repeal your words, your speeches bring  
No lawful issue, prove not any thing:  
Your deeper wisdoms argue in (effect)  
That God doth, or not know, or else neglect:  
Conclude with me, or prove my words untrue,  
I must be found the liar, or else you.  

Meditat. 13.  
THe wisest men that Nature ere could boast,  
For secret knowledge of her power, were lo●t,  
Confounded, and in deep amazement stood,  
In the discovery of the Chiefest Good:  
Keenly they hunted, beat in every brack,  
Forwards they went, on either hand, and back  
Returned they counter; but their deepmouthed art,  
(Though often challenged sent, yet) ne'er could start  
In all th' Enclosures of Philosophy,  
That Game, from squat, they term, Felicity:  
They jangle; and their Maxims disagree,  
As many men, so many minds there be.  
One digs to Pluto's Throne, thinks there to find  
Her Grace▪ raked up in Gold: another's mind  
Mounts to the Courts of Kings, with plumes of honour,  
And feathered hopes, hopes there to seize upon her;  
A third, unlocks the painted Gate of Pleasure,  
And ransacks there, to find this peerless Treasure.  
A fourth, more sage, more wisely melancholy,  
Persuades himself, her Deity's too holy  
For common hands to touch, he rather chooses,  
To make a long day's journey to the Muses:  
To Athens (gowned) he goes, and from that School  
Returns unsped, a more instructed fool.  
Where lies she then? Or lies she any where?  
Honour's are bought and sold, she rests not there,  
Much less in Pleasures hath she her abiding,  
For they are shared to Beasts, and ever sliding;  
Nor yet in Virtue, virtue's often poor,  
And (crushed with fortune) begs from door to door,  
Nor is she sainted in the Shrine of wealth;  
That, makes men slaves, is unsecured from stealth;  
Conclude we then, Felicity confists  
Not in exterior Fortunes, but her lists  
Are boundless, and her large extension  
Outruns the pace of humane apprehension;  
Fortunes are seldom measured by desert,  
The fairer face hath oft the fouler heart;  
Sacred Felicity doth ne'er extend  
Beyond itself: In it all wishes end:  
The swelling of an outward Fortune can  
Create a prosperous, not a happy man;  
A peaceful Conscience is the true Content,  
And Wealth is but her golden Ornament.  
I care not so my Kernel relish well,  
How slender be the substance of my shell;  
My heart b●ing virtuous, let my face be wan,  
I am to God, I only seem to man.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Bildad shows man's impurity;  
job seateth forth th' Almighty's power,  
Pleads still his own integrity:  
God's Wisdom no man can discover.  
Sect. 14.  
SAid Bildad then, With whom dost thou contest,  
But with thy Maker, that lives ever blessed?  
His power is infinite, man's light is dim;  
And knowledge darkness not derived from him?  
Say then, who can be just before him? No man  
Can challenge Purity, that's borne of Woman.  
The greater Torch of heaven in his sight,  
Shall be ashamed, and lose his purer light;  
Much less can man, that is but living Dust,  
And but a ●airer Worm, be pure and just.  
Whereat job thus: Doth heaven's high judgement stand  
To be supported by thy weaker hand?  
Wants he thy help? To whom dost thou extend  
These these thy lavish lips, and to what end?  
No, he's Almighty, and his Power doth give  
Each thing his Being, and by him they live:  
To him is nothing dark, his sovereign hands  
Whirl round the restless Orbs, his power commands  
The even●pois'd Earth; The water-pots of heaven  
He empties at his pleasure, and hath given  
Appointed lists, to keep the Waters under;  
The trembling skies he strikes amazed, with thunder:  
These, these the Trophies of his Power be,  
Where is there ere a such a God as He?  
My friends, these ears have heard your censures on me,  
And heavens sharp hand doth weigh so hard upon me▪  
So languishing in grief, that no defence  
Seems to remain, to shield my Innocence:  
Yet while my soul a gasp of breath affords  
I'll not distrust my Maker, nor your words  
Deserve, which heaven forfend, that ever I  
Prove true, but I'll plead guiltless till I die,  
While I have breath, my pangs shall ne'er persuade me  
To wander, and revolt from Him that made me.  
ere such thoughts spring from this confused bre●t,  
Let death and tortures do their worst, their best.  
What gains the Hypocrite, although the whole  
World's wealth he purchase, with the prize on's soul?  
Will heaven hear the voice of his disease?  
Can he repent, and turn, when e'er he please?  
True, God doth sometime plague with open shame  
The wicked, often blurs he forth his Name  
From out the earth, his children shall be slain,  
And who survive shall beg their bread in vain;  
What if his gold be heaped, the good man shall  
Possess it, as true Master of it all;  
Like Moths, their houses shall they build, in doubt  
And danger, every hour to be cast out;  
Besieged wi●h want, their lips make fruitless moan  
Yet (wanting succour) be relieved by none;  
The worm of Conscience shall torment his breast,  
And he shall roar, when others be at rest,  
God's hand shall scourge him, that he cannot fly,  
And men shall laugh, and hiss, to hear him cry.  
The purest metal's hid within the mould,  
Without is gravel, but within is Gold;  
Man digs, and in his toil he takes a pleasure,  
He seeks, and finds within the turf, the treasure;  
He never rests unsped, but (underneath)  
He mine's, and progs, though in the fangs of death:  
No secret, (how obscure soever) can  
Earth's bosom smother, that's unfuond by man;  
But the Divine, and high Decrees of Heaven,  
What mind can search into? No power's given  
To mortal man, whereby he may attain  
The rare discovery of so high a strain:  
Dive to the depth of darkness, and the deeps  
Renounce this Wisdom: The wide Ocean keeps  
Her not enclosed; 'Tis not the purest Gold  
Can purchase it, or heaps of silver, told;  
The Pearls, and peerless Treasures of the East,  
Refined Gold, and Gems, are all, the least  
Of nothings, if compared with it, as which,  
Earth's mass of treasure, (summed) is not so rich;  
Where rests the wisdom then? If men inquire  
Below, they find her not; or if they (higher)  
Soar with the Prince of Fowls, they still despair,  
The more they seek, the further off they are.  
Ah friends! how more than men? how Eagle-eyed  
Are you, to see, what to the world beside  
Was da●ke? To you alone (in trust) was given  
To search into the high Decrees of Heaven:  
You read his Oracles, you understand  
To riddle forth man's fortunes by his hand;  
Your wisdoms have a privilege to know  
His secret Smiling from his angry Brow:  
Let shame prevent your lips, recant, and give  
To the Almighty his prerogative,  
To him, the searching of men's hearts belong,  
Man's judgement sinks no deeper than the tongue▪  
He overlookes the World, and in one space  
Of time, his Eye is fixed on every place:  
He weighs the Waters, balances the Air,  
What e'er hath Being, did his hands prepare;  
He wills that Mortals be not over-wise,  
Nor judge his Secrets with censorious eyes.  

Medit. 14.  
'tIs Virtue to fly Vice: there's none more stou●  
Than he that ventures to pick virtue out  
Betwixt a brace of Vices: Dangers stand,  
Threatening his ruin upon either hand;  
His Card must guide him, lest his Pinnace run  
Upon Charybdis, while it Scylla shun:  
In moderation all Virtue lies;  
'tis greater folly to be over-wise,  
Than rudely ignorant: The golden means,  
Is but to know enough; safer to lean  
To Ignorance, than Curiosity,  
For lightning blasts the Mountains that are high●  
The first of men, from hence deserved his fall,  
He sought for secrets, and found death, withal:  
Secrets are unfit objects for our eyes,  
They blind us in beholding▪ He that tries  
To handle water, the more hard he strains  
And gripes his hand, the less his hand retains:  
The mind that's troubled with that pleasing itch  
Of knowing Secrets, having flown a pitch  
Beyond itself, the higher it ascends,  
And strives to know, the less it apprehends:  
That secret Wiseman, is an open Fool,  
Which takes a Counsel-chamber, for a School.  
The eye of Man desires no farther light,  
Than to descry the object of his sight:  
And rests contented with the Sun's reflection,  
But (labouring to behold his bright complexion)  
If it presume t'outface his glorious Light,  
The beams bereave him, justly, of his sight:  
Even so the mind should rest in what's revealed,  
But overcurious, if in things concealed  
She wades too far, beyond her depth, unbounded,  
Her knowledge will be lost, and she confounded.  
far safer 'tis, of things unsure, to doubt,  
Than undertake to riddle secrets out.  
It was demanded once, What God did do  
Before the World he framed? Whereunto  
Answer was made, He built a Hell for such,  
As are too curious, and would know too much.  
Who flies with Icarus his feathers, shall  
Have Icarus his fortunes and his fall.  
Anoble Prince, (whose bounteous hand was bend,  
To recompense his servants faith, and vent  
The earnest of his favours,) did not proffer,  
But willed him boldly to prevent his offer:  
Thankful, he thus replied, Then grant unto me,  
〈…〉, Withhold thy Princely secrets from me.  
That holy Man, in whose familiar ear  
Heaun oft had thundered, might not come too near:  
The Temple must have Curtains; mortal hearts  
Must rest content to see his Hinder-parts.  
I care not (Lord) how far thy Face be off,  
If I but kiss thy Hand, I have enough.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
job wisheth his past happiness,  
Shows his state present, doth confess  
That God's the Auth●r of his grief,  
Relates the pureness of his life.  
Sect. 15.  
OH! that I were as happy as I was,  
When Heavens bright favours shone upon my face,  
And p●sperd my affairs, enriched my joys,  
When all my sons could answer to my voice;  
Then did my store, and thriving flocks increase,  
Offended justice sought my hands, for peace;  
Old men did honour, and the young did fear me,  
Princes kept silence (when I spoke) to hear me;  
I heard the poor, relieved the widow's cry,  
Orphans I succoured, was the blind man's eye,  
The Cripples foot, my helpless brother's drudge,  
The poor man's Father, and th'oppressors Judge;  
I then supposed, that my days long Lease  
Would pass in plenty, and expire in peace;  
My Roots were fixed, and my Branches sprung,  
My Glory blazed, my Power grew daily strong;  
I speaking, men stood mute, my speeches moved  
All hearts to joy, by all men were approved:  
My kindly words were welcome, as a latter  
Rain, and were Oracles in a doubtful matter.  
O sudden change! I'm turned a laughing- 〈◊〉  
To boys, and those that sued to tend my flock,  
And such, whose hungry wants have taught their hands  
To scrape the earth, and dig the barren lands  
For hidden roots, wherewith they might appease  
Their Tyran' stomaches, these, (even very these)  
Flout at my sorrows, and disdaining me,  
Point with their fingers, and cry, This is he:  
My honour's foiled, my troubled spirit lies  
Wide open to the worst of injuries;  
Where ere I turn, my sorrow, new, appears,  
I'm vexed abroad with flouts, at home with fears▪  
My soul is faint, and nights that should give ●ase  
To tired spirits, make my griefs increase▪  
I loathe my Carkeise, for my ripened sores  
Have changed my garments colour with their cores●▪  
But what is worst of worsts, (Lord) often I  
Have cried to thee, a stranger to my cry,  
Though perfect Clemency thy nature be,  
Though kind to all, thou art unkind to me.  
I ne'er waxed pale, to see another thrive,  
Nor e'er did let my ' afflicted brother strive  
With tears, alone: but I (poor I) tormented,  
Expect for succour, and am unlamented:  
I mourn in silence, languish all alone,  
As in a Desert, am relieved by none:  
My sores have died my skin with filth, still turning  
My joys to grief, and all my mirth to mourning.  
My Heart hath past Indentures with mine Eye,  
Not t● behold a Maid, for what should I  
Expect from heaven but a deserved reward,  
Earned by so foul a sin? for death's prepared,  
And flames of wrath are blown for such: Doth H●  
No● know my actions, that so well knows me?  
If I have lent my hand to sly deceit,  
Or if my steps have not been purely straight,  
What I have sown, then let a stranger eat,  
And root my Plants untimely from their seat.  
If I with Lust have e'●e distained my life,  
Or been defiled with another's Wife,  
In equal justice let my Wife be known  
Of all, and let me reap as I have sown:  
For Lust, that burneth in a sinful breast,  
Till it hath burnt him too, shall never rest.  
If e'er my haste did treat my Servant ill,  
Without desert, making my power my Will,  
Then how should I before God's judgement stand,  
Since we were both created by one Hand?  
If e'er my power wronged the Poor man's cause,  
Or to the Widow, lengthened out the Laws:  
If e'er (alone) my lips did taste my bread,  
Or shut my churlish doors, the poor unfed,  
Or bent my hand to do the Orphan wrong,  
Or saw him naked, unapparelled long;  
In heaps of Gold, if e'er I took delight,  
Or gave Heaven's worship to the heavenly Light,  
Or e'er was flattered by my secret Will;  
or joyed in my Adversaries Ill;  
Let God accurse me from his glorious Seat,  
And make my plagues (if possible) more great,  
Oh! That some equal hearer now were by,  
To judge my righteous cause: Full sure am I,  
I shall be quitted by th' Almighty's hand.  
What, therefore, if censorious tongues withstand  
The judgement of my sober Conscience?  
Compose they Ballads on me, yet from thence  
My simple Innocence shall gain renown,  
And on my head, I'll wear them, as my Crown:  
To the Almighty's care will I reveal  
My secret ways; to him, alone, appeal:  
If (to conclude) the Earth could find a tongue,  
T●impeach my guiltless hands of doing wrong:  
If hidden Wages (earned with sweat) do lie  
Raked in her furrows, let her womb deny  
To bless my Harvest, let her better Seeds  
Be turned to Thistles, and the rest, to Weeds.  

Medita. 15.  
THe man whose soul is undistained with Ill,  
Pure from the check of a distempered Will,  
Stands only free from the distracts of Care,  
And flies a pitch above the reach of Fear:  
His bosom dares the threatening Bowman's arm,  
His wisdom sees, his Courage fears no harm;  
His breast lies open to the re●king Sword;  
The darts of swarthy Maurus can afford  
Less dread, than danger▪ to his well prepared  
And settled mind, which (standing on her guard)  
Bids Mischief do the worst she can, or will,  
For he that does no ill, deserves no ill.  
Would any strive with Samson for renown,  
Whose brawny arm can strike most pillars down▪  
Or try a fall with Angels, and prevail?  
Or with a Hymn unhinge the strongest jail?  
Would any from a pr●●ner prove a Prince?  
Or with slow speech best Orators convince?  
Preserve he then, unstained in his breast,  
A milk-white Conscience; let his soul be blessed  
With simple Innocence: This seven fold shield  
No dart shall pierce, no sword shall make it yield▪  
The sinewy Bow, and deadly headed Lance,  
Shall break in shivers and the splinters glance  
Aside, returning back, from whence they came,  
And wound their hearts with an eternal shame.  
The just and constant mind, that perseveres  
Unblemished with false pleasures, never fears  
The bended threatenings of a Tyrant's brow,  
Death neither can disturb, nor change his Vow;  
Well guarded with himself, he walks along,  
When, most alone, he stands a thousand strong.  
Lives he in weal, and full Prosperity?  
His wisdom tells him, that he lives to dye.  
Is he afflicted? Sharp afflictions give  
Him hopes of Change, and that he dies, to live.  
Is he reviled and scorned? He sits, and smiles,  
Knowing him happy, whom the world reviles.  
If Rich, he gives the Poor, and if he live  
In poor estate, he finds rich friends to give:  
He lives and Angel in a mortal form;  
And having past the brunt of many a storm,  
At last ariveth at the Haven of Rest,  
Where that just judge, that rambles in his breast,  
joining with Angels, with an Angel's voice,  
Chants forth sweet Requires of Eternal joys.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Elihu job reproves, reproves  
His Friends alike; he pleads the case  
With job in God's behalf, and moves  
Him to recant, and call for Grace.  
Sect. 16.  
THus job his ill▪ defended Cause adjourns,  
And silence lends free liberty of turns,  
To his unjust Accusers, whose bad cause  
Hath left them grounded in too large a pause,  
Whereat Elihu (a young stander-by,)  
Whose modest ears, upon their long reply  
Did wait, his angry silence did awake,  
And (craving pardon for his Youth) bespoke.  
Young Standers-by do oftentimes see more  
Than elder Gamesters: Y'are to blame all four:  
T'one'sones cause is bad, but with good proofs befriended,  
The others just and good, but ill defended:  
Though reason makes the man, Heaven makes him wise,  
Wisdom in greatest Clerks not always lies:  
Then let your silence give me leave to spend  
My judgement, whilst your heedful ears attend.  
I have not heard, alone, but still expected  
To hear what more your spleens might have objected  
Against your woeful Friend, but I have found  
Your reasons built upon a sandy ground.  
Flourish no Flags of Conquest: Understand,  
That he's afflicted by th' Almighty's hand:  
He hath not failed to cross your accusations;  
Yet I (though not with your ●oule exprobrations)  
Will cross him too. I'm full, and I must speak,  
Or like unvented vessels, I must break;  
And with my tongue, my heart will be relieved,  
That swells, with what my patience hath conceived:  
Be none offended, for my lips shall tread  
That ground (without respect) as Truth shall lead;  
God hates a flattering language: then how can I  
Vnliable to danger, flatter any?  
Now, job, to thee I speak, O, let my Errand  
Be welcome to thine ●ares, for truth's my warrant▪  
They are no slender trifles that I treat,  
But things digested with the sacred heat  
Of an inspired knowledge; 'Tis no rash  
Discharge of wrath, nor wits conceited flash;  
I'll speak, and hear thee speak as free, for I  
Will take no vantage of thy Misery.  
Thy tongue did challenge to maintain thy cas●  
With God, if he would veil his glorious face:  
Be I the man (though clad with clay and dust,  
And mortal like thyself) that takes the trust  
To represent his Person: Thou dost term  
Thyself most just, and boldly dost affirm,  
That Heaven afflicts thy soul without a reason.  
Ah job! these very words (alone) are treason  
Against th' Almighty's will: Thou oughtest rather  
Submit thy passion to him, as thy Father,  
Than plead with him, as with thy Peer. Is he  
Bound to reveal his secret Will to thee?  
God speaketh oft to man, not understood,  
Sometimes in dreams, at other times thinks good  
To thunder judgement in his drowsy ear;  
Sometimes, with hard afflictions scourge, doth tear  
His wounded soul, which may at length give eas●  
(Like sharper Physic) to his foul Disease:  
But if (like pleasing julips) he afford  
The me●ke Expounders of his sacred Word,  
With sweet persuasions to recure his grief,  
How can his sorrows wish more fair Relief?  
Ah, than his body shall wax young and bright;  
Heavens face that scorched before, shall now delight,  
His tongue with Triumph, shall confess to men,  
I was a Leper, but am clear again.  
Thus, thus that Spring of Mercy oftentimes  
Doth speak to man, that man may speak his crimes?  
Consider, job; my words with judgement weigh;  
Which done (if thou hast aught) then boldly say;  
If otherwise, shame not to hold thy peace,  
And let thy wisdom with my words increase.  
And you, you Wisemen that are silent here,  
Vouchsafe to lend my lips your ripened ear●,  
Let's call a parley, and the cause decide;  
For job pleads guiltless▪ and would fain be tried;  
Yet hath his boldness termed himself upright,  
And taxed th' Almighty for not doing right;  
His Innocence with Heaven doth he plead,  
And that unjustly he was punished:  
O Purity by Impudence suborned!  
He scorned his Maker, and is justly scorned:  
far be it from the heart of man, that He  
Who is all justice, yet unjust should be.  
Each one shall reap the harvest he hath sown,  
His meed shall measure what his hands hath done▪  
Who is't can claim the World's great Sovereignty?  
Who raised the Rafters of the Heavens, but He?  
If God should breathe on man, or take away  
The breath he gave him, what were man but Clay▪  
O, let thy heart, th'unbridled tongue convince!  
Say; Dare thy lips defame an earthly Prince?  
How dar'st thou then malign the King of Kings,  
To whom great Princes are but poorest things?  
He kicks down kingdoms, spurns th'imperial crown  
And with his blast, puffs mighty Monarches down.  
'Tis vain to strive with him, and if he strike,  
Our part's to bear, not fond to mislike,  
(Misconstruing the nature of his drift)  
But husband his corrections to our thrift.  
If he afflict, our best is to implore  
His ●lessing with his Rod, and sin no more.  
What if our torments pass the bounds of measure?  
It unbefits our wills, to stint his pleasure,  
judge then, and let th'impartial world advise,  
How far (poor job) thy judgement is from wise:  
Nor are these speeches kindled with the fire  
Of a distempered spleen, but with desire  
T'enrich thy wisdom, lest thy fury tie  
Presumption to thy rash infirmity.  

Meditat. 16.  
FOr mortals, to be borne, wax old, and dye,  
Lies not in Will, but bare Necessity,  
Common to beasts, which in the self degree,  
Hold by the selfsame Patient, even as we:  
But to be wi●e is a diviner action  
Of the discursive Soul, a pure abstraction  
Of all her powers, united in the Will,  
Aiming at Good, rejecting what is Ill:  
It is an Influence of inspired breath,  
Vnpurchased by birth, unlost by death,  
Entailed to no man, no, not free to all,  
Yet gently answers to the eager call  
Of those, that with inflamed affections seek,  
Respecting tender youth and age alike;  
In depth of days, her spirit not always lies,  
Years make man Old, but heaven returns him Wise;  
Youths Innocence, nor riper ages strength  
Can challenge her as due; (Desired) length  
Of days, produced to decrepit years,  
Filled with experience, and grizly hairs,  
Can claim no right; th' Almighty ne'er engages  
His gifts to times, nor is he bound to Ages;  
His quickening Spirit, to sucklings oft reveals,  
What to their doting Grandsires he conceals,  
The virtue of his breath can unbenumme  
The frozen lips, and strike the speaker dumb:  
Who put that moving power into his tongue,  
Whose lips did right the chaste Susanna's wrong,  
Upon her wanton false Accusers death?  
What secret fire inflamed that fainting breath  
That blasted Pharo? Or those ruder tongues,  
That schooled the faithless Prophet for the wrongs  
He did to sacred justice? matters not  
How slight the mean be in itself, or what  
In our esteems, so wisdom be the message;  
Ambassadors are worthied in th'ambassage:  
God sows his harvest to his best increase,  
And glorifies himself how ere he please.  
Lord, if thou wilt, (for what is hard to thee?)  
I may a Factor for thy glory be,  
Then grant that (like a faithful servant) I  
May render back thy stock with Usury.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
God reaps no gain by man's best deeds  
Man's misery from himself proceeds:  
God's Mercy and justice are unbounded;  
In works of Nature man is grounded.  
Sect. 17.  
ELihu, thus his pausing lips again  
Disclosed, & said, (rash Io●) dost thou maintain  
A rightful cause, which in conclusion, must  
A vow thee blameless, and thy God unjust?  
Thy lawless words implying, that it can  
Advantage none to live an upright man?  
My tongue shall school thee, and thy friends, that would  
(Perchance) refel thy reasons, if they could:  
Behold thy glorious Maker's greatness, see  
The power of his hand; say then, can He  
Be damaged by thy sin, or can He raise  
Advantage, by the uprightness of thy ways?  
True, the afflicted languish oft in grief,  
And roar to heaven (unanswered) for relief,  
Yet is not Heaven unjust, for their fond cry  
Their sin bewails not, but their misery.  
Cease then to make him guilty of thy crimes,  
And wait his pleasure, that's not bound to times,  
Nor hears vain words. The sorrows thou art in  
Are sleight, or nothing, balanced with thy sin:  
Thy lips accuse thee, and thy foolish tongue,  
To right thyself, hath done th' Almighty wrong.  
Hold back thine answer, let thy flowing stream  
Find passage, to surround my fruitful Theme;  
I'll raise my thoughts, to plead my Maker's case,  
And speak, as shall befit so high a place:  
Behold th' Almighitie's meek as well as strong,  
Destroys the wicked, rights the just man's wrong,  
Mounts him to honour; If by chance he stray,  
Instructs, and shows him where he lost his way:  
If he return, his blessing shall increase,  
Crowning his joys with plenty and sweet peace;  
If not, th' entailed sword shall ne'er depart  
His stained house, but pierce his hardened heart;  
Ah sinful job! these plagues had never been,  
Hadst thou been guiltless (as thou boasts) of sin:  
But thy proud lips against their Maker plead,  
And draw down heaps of vengeance on thy head:  
Look to thyself, seek not to understand  
The secret causes of th' Eternals hand;  
Let wisdom make the best of misery,  
Know who inflicts it, ask no reason why:  
He will's beyond thy reach, and his Divine  
And sacred knowledge far surpasseth thine,  
Ah! rather, praise him in his works, that lie  
(Wide open to the world) before thine eye;  
His meaner Acts, our highest thoughts o'retops,  
He pricks the clouds, stills down the rain by drops,  
Who comprehends the lightning, or the thunder?  
Who sees, who hears them, unamazed with wonder?  
My troubled heart chills in my quivering breast,  
To relish these things, and is dispossessed  
Of all her powers: who ever heard the voice  
Of th' angry heavens, unfrighted at the noise?  
The beast by nature dazed with sudden dread,  
Seeks out for covert to secure his head:  
If God command, the dusky clouds march forth  
Into a Tempest; From the freezing North  
He beckons Frost, and Snow; and from the South  
He bloweth Whirlwinds with his angry Mouth.  
Presumptuous Io●! if thou canst not aspire  
So high, to comprehend these things, admire.  
knowst thou the progress of the rambling clouds?  
From mortal eyes, when gloomy darkness shrouds  
The lamps of heaven? knowst thou the reason why?  
Canst thou unriddle heaven's Philosophy?  
knowst thou th' unconstant nature of the weather?  
Or whence so many Winds proceed▪ and whither  
Were't thou made privy, or a stander-by,  
When God stretched forth his spangled Canopy?  
Submit thyself, and let these secrets teach,  
How far his mysteries do surmount thy reach:  
For he's Almighty, and his sacred will  
Is just, nor renders an unearned ill▪  
His works are objects for no soaring eyes,  
But wheresoever he looks, he finds none wise.  

Meditat. 17.  
THe World's an Index to Eternity,  
And gives a glance of what our clearer eye,  
In time shall see at large; nothing's so slight,  
Which in it nature sends not forth some light,  
Or Memorandum of his Maker's Glory:  
No Dust so vile, but pens an ample story  
Of the Almighty's power, nor is there that,  
Which gives not man just cause to wonder at.  
Cast down thine eyes, behold the pregnant earth,  
(Her self but one) produceth at one birth  
A world of diverse natures: From a seed  
Entirely one, things hot and cold proceed,  
She suckles with one milk, things moist, and dry,  
Yet in her womb is no repugnancy  
Or shall thy reason ramble up so high,  
To view the Court of wild Astronomy?  
Behold the Planets, round about thine ears,  
Whirling like firebals in their restless Spheres,  
At one selfe-instant moving several ways,  
Still measuring out our short▪ and shorter days.  
Behold the parts whereon the World consists,  
Are limited in their appointed lists,  
Without rebellion unapt to vary,  
Though being many, diverse and contrary:  
Look where we list, above, beneath, or under,  
Our eyes shall see to learn, and learn to wonder;  
Their depth shall drown our judgements, and their height  
Besides his wits, shall drive the prime conceit:  
Shall then our daring minds presume t' aspire  
To heavens hid mysteries? shall our thoughts inquir●  
Into the depth of secrets, unconfounded,  
When in the shore of Nature they were drowned?  
Fond man be wise, strive not above thy strength,  
Tempt not thy Bark beyond her Cables length;  
And, like Prometheus, filch no sacred fire,  
Lest Eagles gripe thee: Let thy proud desire  
Suit with thy fortunes; Curious minds, that shall  
Mount up with Phaeton, shall have Phaeton's fall.  
Vnb●nd thy bow betimes, lest thou repent  
Too late, for it will break, or else stand bend.  
I'll work at home, ne'er cross the scorching Line,  
In unknown lands, to seek a hidden Mine:  
Plain Bullion pleaseth me, I not de●ire  
Dear Igno●s from th'elixirs tetchy fire;  
I'll spend my pains (where best I may be bold)  
To know myself, wherein I shall behold  
The world abridged, and in that world my Maker,  
Beyond which task, I wish no Undertaker.  
Great God, by whom it is, whatever is mine,  
Make me thy Viceroy in this World of thine,  
So clear mine eyes, that I may comprehend  
My slight beginning, and my sudden end.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
God questions job, and proves that man  
Cannot attain to things so high,  
As divine secrets, since he can  
Not reach to Natures; jobs reply.  
Sect. 18.  
FOrth from the bosom of a murmuring Cloud,  
Heavens great ●ehovah did, at length unshroud  
His Earths-amazing language (equally  
Made terrible with Fear and Majesty)  
(Challenged the Duel) he did undertake  
His grumbling servant, and him thus bespoke,  
Who, who art thou, that thus dost pry in vain,  
Into my secrets, hoping to attain,  
With murmuring, to things concealed from man?  
Say (poorblind mortal) Who art thou that can  
Thus clear thy crimes, and dar'st (with vain applause)  
Make me defendant in thy sinful cause?  
joe, here I am; Engross into thy hands  
Thy soundest weapons: Answer my demands:  
Say, where wert thou, when these my hands did lay  
The world's foundation? canst thou tell me? Say,  
Was earth not measured by this Arm of mine?  
Whose hand did aid me? was I helped by thine?  
Where wert thou, when the Planets fi●st did blaze,  
And in their spheres sang forth their Maker's praise?  
Who is't that tames the raging of the Seas,  
And swaths them up in mists, when e'er he please?  
Didst thou divide the darkness from the Light?  
Or knowst thou whence Aurora takes her flight?  
Didst ere inquire into the Seas Abyss,  
Or marked the Earth of what a bulk she is?  
knowst thou the place whence Light or Darkness spring●  
Can thy deep age unfold these secret things?  
Know●st thou the cause of Snow or hail, which are  
My fierce Artill'ry in my time of war?  
Who is't that rends the gloomy Clouds in sunder,  
Whose sudden rapture strikes forth fire & thunder?  
Or who bedews the earth with gentle showers,  
Filling her pregnant soil with fruits and flowers,  
What father got the rain? from what i'll womb  
Did frosts, and hard-congealed Waters come?  
Canst thou restrain fair Maja's course, or stint her▪  
Or sad Orion ushering in the Winter?  
Will scorching Cancer at thy summons come?  
Or Sunburnt Autumn with he fruitful womb?  
knowst thou Heaven's course above, or dost thou know  
Those gentle influences here below?  
Who was't inspired thy soul with understanding?  
A●d gave thy spirit the spirit of apprehending?  
Dost thou command the Cisterns of the Sky  
To quench the thirsty soil; or is it I?  
Nay, let thy practice to the earth descend,  
Prove there, how far thy power doth extend;  
From thy full hand will hungry Lions eat?  
Feedest thou the empty Ravens that cry for mea●e●  
Sett'st thou the season, when the fearful Hind  
Brings forth her painful birth? Hast thou assigned  
The Mountaine-Goate her Time? Or is it I?  
Canst thou subject unto thy sovereignty  
The untamed Unicorn? Can thy hard hand  
Force him to labour on thy fruitful land?  
Didst thou enrich the Peacock with his Plume?  
Or did ●hat Steele-digesting Bird assume  
His downy Flags from thee? Didst thou endow  
The noble Stallion with his strength? Canst thou  
Quail his proud courage? See, his angry breath  
Puffs nothing forth, but fears● summed up in death  
Mark with what pride his horny hooves do tabor  
The hard resounding Earth; with how great labour▪  
How little ground he spends: But at the noise  
And fierce Alarm of the hoarse Trumpets voice  
He breaks the ranks amidst a thousand Spears  
Pointed with death, undaunted at the fears  
Of doubtful war, he rushes like a Ranger,  
Through every Troop, & scorns so brave a dangers▪  
Do lofty Haggards cleave the flitting Air,  
With Plumes of thy devising? Then how dare  
Thy ravenous lips thus, thus at random run  
And countermand what I the Lord have done?  
Thinkst thou to learn (fond Mortal) thus, by diving  
Into my secrets, or to gain by striving▪  
Plead then: No doubt but thine will be the Day;  
Speak (peevish Plaintiff) if th'aft ought to say.  
Io● then replied: (Great God, I am but Dust,  
●y heart is sinful, and thy hands are just;  
I am a Sinner (Lord,) my words are wind,  
My thoughts are vain, (Ah Father) I have sinned:  
Shall dust reply? I spoke too much before,  
I'll close these lips, and never answer more.  

Meditat. 18.  
O Glorious Light! A light unapprehended  
By mortal eyes! O Glory, never ended,  
Nor ere created, whence all Glory springs  
In heavenly bodies, and in earthly things!  
O power Immense, derived from a Will  
Most just and able to do all, but ill!  
O Essence pure, and full of Majesty!  
Greatness (it self) and yet no quantity;  
Goodness, and without quality; producing  
All things from out of Nothing, and reducing  
All things to nothing; past all comprehending  
Bo●h first and Last, and yet without an ending,  
Or yet beginning; filling every Creature,  
And not (it self) included; above Nature,  
Yet not excluded; of itself subsisting,  
And with itself all other things, assisting;  
Divided, yet without division;  
A perfect three, yet Three, entirely one;  
Both One in Three, and Three in One, together;  
Begetting, and begotten, and yet neither;  
The Fountain of all Arts, confounding Art;  
Both all in All, and all in every part;  
Still seeking Glory, and still wanting none;  
Though just, yet reaping, where thou ne'er hast 〈◊〉  
Great Majesty, since Thou art every where,  
O, Why should I misdoubt thy Presence here?  
I long have sought thee, but my ranging heart  
Ne'er quests, and cannot see thee where thou art:  
There's no Defect in thee, thy light hath shined,  
Nor can be ●id (great God) but I am blind.  
O clear mine eyes, and with thy holy fire  
Inflame my breast, and edge my dull desire:  
Wash me with Hyssop, cleanse my stained thoughts,  
Renew my spirit, blur forth my secret faults;  
Thou tak'st no pleasure in a Sinners death,  
For thou art Life, thy Mercy's not beneath  
Thy sacred justice: Give thy servant power  
To seek aright, and (having sought) discover  
Thy glorious Presence; Let my blemished Eye  
See my Salvation yet before I die.  
O, than my Dust, that's bowelled in the ground,  
Shall rise with Triumph at the welcome sound  
Of my Redeemers earth-awaking Trump,  
Vnfrighted at the noise; no sullen Dump  
Of selfe-confounding Conscience shall affright me,  
For he's my judge, whose dying blood shall quite me.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
God speaks to job the second time:  
job yields his sin, reputes his crime:  
God checks his friends, restores his health,  
Gives him new issue, double wealth.  
Sect. 19  
ONce more the mouth of Heaven rapt forth a voice,  
The troubled Firmament was filled with noise,  
The Rafters of the darkened Sky did shake,  
For the Eternal thundered thus, and spoke:  
Collect thy scattered senses, and advise,  
Rouse up (fond man) and answer my replies.  
Wilt thou make Comments on my Text, & must  
I be unrighteous, to conclude thee, just?  
Shall my Decrees be licenced by thee?  
What, canst thou thunder with a voice like Me?  
Put on thy Robes of Majesty; Be clad  
With as bright glory (job) as can be had;  
Make fierce thy frowns, and with an angry face  
Confound the Proud, and his high thoughts abase,  
Pound him to Dust: Do this, and I will yield,  
Thou art a God, and needest no other shield.  
Behold, the Castle-bearing Elephant,  
That wants no bulk, nor doth his greatness want  
An equal strength. Behold his massy bones,  
Like bars of Iron; like congealed stones,  
His knotty sinews are; Him have I made,  
And given him natural weapons for his aid;  
High mountains bear his food, the shady boughs  
His Covers are, Great Rivers are his Troughes,  
Whose deep Carouses would to standers-by,  
Seem at a watering to draw jordan dry:  
What skilful huntsman can, with strength outdare him?  
Or with what engines can a man ensnare him?  
Hast thou beheld the huge Leviathan,  
That swarthy Tyrant of the Ocean? Can  
Thy bearded hook empierce his Gils, or make him  
Thy landed Prisoner? Can thy angles take him?  
Will he make suit for favour from thy hands,  
Or be enthralled to thy fierce commands?  
Will he be handled as a bird? or may  
Thy fingers bind him for thy children's play?  
Let men be wise, for in his looks he hath  
Displayed Banners of untimely death.  
If Creatures be so dreadful, how is he  
More bold than wise, that dares encounter Me?  
What hand of Man can hinder my design?  
Are not the Heavens, and all beneath them mine?  
Diffect the greatness of so vast a Creature,  
By view of several parts sum up his feature:  
Like Shields his scales are placed, which neither art  
Knows how to sunder, nor yet force can part.  
His belching rucks forth flames, his moving Eye  
Shines like the glory of the morning sky;  
His craggy sinews are like wreaths of brass,  
And from his mouth, quick flames of fire pass  
As from an Oven, the temper of his heart  
Is like a Nether-milstone, which no Dart  
Can pierce, secured from the threatening Spear;  
Afraid of none, he strikes the world with fear:  
The Bowman's brawny arm sends shafts in vain,  
They fall like stubble, or bound back again:  
Stones are his pillow, and the Mud his Down,  
In earth none greater is, nor equal none,  
Compared with him, all things he doth deride,  
And well may challenge to be King of Pride.  
So said, th'amazed job bend down his eyes  
Upon the ground, and (sadly) thus replies.  
I know (great God) there's nothing hard to Thee,  
Thy thoughts are pure, and too too deep for me:  
I am a fool, and my distempered wits,  
Longer out-strayed my Tongue, than well befits;  
My knowledge slumbered, while my lips did chat,  
And like a Fool, I spoke I knew not what.  
Lord, teach me Wisdom, lest my proud Desire,  
Sing her bold feathers in thy Sacred fire;  
Mine ear hath oft been rounded with thy Story,  
But now these very eyes have seen thy glory.  
My sinful words I not (alone) lament,  
But in the horror of my soul repent;  
Repent with Tears in sackcloth, mourn in Dust;  
I am a sinful man, and Thou art just.  
Thou Eliphaz. that mak'st my sacred Word,  
An Engine of Despair (said then the Lord)  
Behold full Vyolls of my wrath attends  
On thee, and on thy two too-partiall Friends;  
For you have judged amiss, and have abused  
My Word to work your ends, falsely accused  
My righteous Servant: Of you all there's none  
Hath spoke uprightly, as my job hath done.  
Haste then (before my kindling fire begin  
To flame) and each man offer for his sin,  
A sacrifice, by job my servant's hand,  
And for his sake, your Offerings shall withstand  
The wages of your sins; for what can I,  
If job, my servant, make request, deny?  
So strait they went, and (after speedy pardon  
Desired and had) the righteous job (for guerdon  
Of his so tedious Grief) obtained the health  
Of a sound body, and increase of wealth;  
So that the second Harvest of his store,  
Was double that which he enjoyed before.  
Ere this was blazed in the World's wide Ears,  
(The frozen breasts of his familiars,  
And cold Allies, being now dissolved in Grief,)  
His backward friends came to him with relief,  
To feed his wants, and with sad shouring eyes,  
To moan his (yet supposed) Miseries:  
Some brought him sheep to bless his empty Fold,  
Some precious Earring, others, Rings of Gold.  
God blessed his loins, from whence there sprang again  
The number of his children that were slain,  
Nor was there any in the Land so rare  
In virtue as his daughters, or so fair.  
Long after this he lived in peace, to see  
His children's children to the fourth degree,  
Till at the length, cut short by Him that stays  
For none, he died in peace, and full of Days.  

Meditat. 19  
EVill's the defect of Good, and as a shade,  
That's but the ruins of the light decayed:  
It hath no being, nor is understood,  
But by the opposition of Good.  
What then is man? whose purest thoughts are pressed  
For Satan's war, which from the tender breast,  
With Infant silence, have consented to  
Such sinful Deeds, as (babes) they could not do?  
What then is man, but Nothing, being Evil,  
His Lunatic affections do unlevell,  
What Heaven created by just Weight and measure;  
In pleasures sink, he takes a swine like Pleasure;  
His span of life, and beauties like a Flower,  
Fair flourishing, and fading in an hour.  
He breaks into the world with tears, and then  
Departs with Grief, not knowing how, nor when.  
His life's a Bubble full of seeming Bliss,  
The more it lengthens, the more short it is;  
Begot in darkness, he's brought forth, and cries  
For succour, passes over the stage, and dies;  
Yet, like a Mole, the earth he undermines,  
Making the World, the Forge of his designs:  
He plots, complots, for esees, prevents, directs,  
He hopes, he fears, he doubts, pursues, effects;  
Each hath his plot, each one his course doth bend,  
Each hath his project, and each one his end.  
Thus restless man doth still his soul molest  
To find out (that which hath no being) Rest;  
Thus travels sinful man in endless toil;  
Taking a pleasure in his own turmoil.  
Fond man, first seek to purchase that divine  
And sacred prize, and all the world is thine:  
Great Solomon made suit for Wisdom, and he found  
Not (barely) Wisdom, but that Wisdom crowned  
With Diadems of wealth, and fair increase  
Of Princely Honour, with long days of Peace.  
(With safe respect, and awful reverence  
To mysteries) Meditation doth commence  
An earnest doubt: Was jobs despoiled Flock  
Restored double: Was his former Stock  
Renewed with double vantage? Did heaven add  
To all his fortunes double what he had?  
Yet those sweet Emblems of his dearest love,  
(His sons) whom death untimely did remove  
From off the face of the unthankful earth,  
Why likewise sprang not they in double birth?  
Bruit beasts that perish once, are lost for ever,  
Their substance, and their All consumes together▪  
Once having given a farewell to the light.  
They die, and with them is perpetual night:  
But man, (unorganed by the hand of Death)  
Dies not, is but transplanted from beneath,  
Into a fairer soil, or as a stranger,  
Brought home secure from the world's pleasing danger:  
jobs flocks were lost, and therefore double given,  
His Issue's equal shared 'twixt Earth and Heaven,  
One half in heaven are glorious in their doom,  
Engaged as Pledges till the other come.  
Great God my Time's but short, and long my way,  
My Heart hath lost her Path, and gone astray,  
My spirit's faint and frail, my soul's embossed,  
If thou help not, I am for ever lost;  
Though Dust and Ashes, yet I am thy Creature,  
Howe'er my sins are great, thy mercy's greater:  
Of nothing didst thou make me, and my sin  
Hath turned me back to nothing, once again:  
Create me a new heart, (great God) inspire  
My cold affections with thy sacred fire:  
Instruct my Will, and rectify my Ways,  
O teach me (Lord) to number out my Days.     

The Digestion of the whole HISTORY.  

1 In Prosperity.  
THou, whose lank fortunes heaven hath swelled with store,  
Make not thyself, by over-wishing, poor,  
Husband that good, which else, abuse makes bad,  
Abstracting, where thy base desire would add:  
Lines flowing from a Sophoclean quill,  
Deserve no Plaudit, being acted ill.   

2 In Adversity.  
Hath heaven withdrawn the talon he hath given thee  
Hath envious Death of all thy Sons bereaven thee?  
Have soul Diseases foiled thee on the floor?  
He earns no sweet, that never tasted sour:  
Thou art a Scholar; if thy Tutor do  
Pose thee too hard, he will instruct thee too.   

3 In Tentation.  
Art thou opposed to thine unequal Foe?  
March bravely on; thy General bids thee go;  
Thou art heaven's Champion to maintain his right;  
Who calls thee forth, will give thee strength to fight.  
God seeks, by conquest, thy renown, for He  
Will win enough: Fight thou, or Faint, or Flee.   

4 In Slander.  
If Winter fortunes nip thy Summer Friends,  
And tip their tongues with Censure, that offends  
Thy tender Name, despair not, but be wise,  
Know Heaven selecteth, whom the world denies:  
Thou hast a milk-white This●y thats within 〈◊〉,  
Will take thy part when all the world's ●gi● thee.   

5 In Re-advancement.  
Art thou advanced to thy supreme desire?  
Be still the same; Fear Lower, aim no higher:  
Man's Play hath many Scenes, but in the last,  
Heaven knits up all, to sweeten all that's past:  
Affliction is a Rod, to scourge us home,  
An he painful earnest of a Heaven to come,   
The end.   

THE HISTORY OF SAMSON:  
By Fra. Quarles.  
LONDON, Printed by MILES FLESHER, for I. MARRIOTT, in S. Dunstan's Churchyard in Fleetstreet. 1632.   

To the READER.  
THe tyranny of my affairs was never yet so imperious, but I could steal some hours to my private Meditations; the fruits of which stolen time I here present thee with, in the History of Samson: Wherein if thy extreme severity check at any thing which thou conceivest may not stand with the Majesty of this sacred Subject; know, that my intention was not to offend my brother: The wisest of Kings inspired by the King of Wisdom, thought it no detraction from the gravity of his Holy Proverbs, to describe a Harlot like a Harlot, Her whorish Attire; her immodest Gesture; her bold Countenance; her flattering Tongue; her lascivious Embraces; her unchaste Kisses; her impudent Invitations: If my descriptions in the like kind, offend; I make no question but the validity of my Warrant will give a reasonable satisfaction: He that lifts not his feet high enough, may easily stumble: But on the contrary, if any be, whose worse than sacrilegious minds shall profane our harmless intentions with wanton conceits, to such I heartily wish, a Procul Ite; Let none such look farther than this Epistle, at their own perils: If they do, let them put off their shoes, for this is holy Ground: Fowl hands will muddle the clearest waters: & base minds will corrupt the purest Text: If any offence be taken, it is by way of stealth, for there is none willingly given: I write to Bees, and not to Spiders: They will suck pleasing honey from such flowers: These may burst with their own poison: But you, whose well-seasond hearts are not distempered with either of these extremities, but have the better relish of a Sacred understanding, draw near, and read.   

I Sing th' illustrious, and renowned Story  
Of mighty Samson; The eternal glory  
Of his Heroic acts: His life, His death:  
Quicken my Muse with thy diviner breath,  
Great God of Muses, that my prosperous Ri●es  
May live and last to everlasting times;  
That they unborn may, in this sacred Story,  
Admire thy goodness, and advance thy glory.   

THE HISTORY OF SAMSON.  

THE ARGUMENT.  
A holy Angel doth salute  
The wife of Manoah, and enlarge  
Her barren womb with promised fruit  
Of both their loins. The Angel's charge.  
Sect. 1.  
WIthin the Tents of Zorah dwelled a man  
Of Jacob's seed, and of the Tribe of D●n,  
Known by the name of Maenoah; to whom  
Heaven had denied the treasure of the womb;  
His Wife was barren; And her prayers could not  
Remove that great reproach, or cleanse that blot  
Which on her fruitless name appeared so foul,  
Not to increase the Tribe of Dan one soul:  
Long had she, doubtless, striven with heaven by prair's  
Made strong with tears & sighs; hopes & despairs  
No doubt had often tortured her desire  
Upon a Rack, composed of frost and fire:  
But Heaven was pleased to turn his deafened ears  
Against those prayers made strong with sighs & tears:  
She often prayed; but prayers could not obtain:  
Alas, she prayed, she wept, she sighed in vain:  
She prayed, no doubt; but prayers could find no room;  
They proved, alas, as barren as her womb.  
Upon a time (when her unanswered prayer  
Had now given just occasion of despair,  
(Even when her bedrid faith was grown so frail,  
That very Hope grew heartless to prevail)  
Appeared an Angel to her; In his face,  
Terror and sweetness laboured for the place:  
Sometimes his Sunbright eyes would shine so fierce  
As if their pointed beams would even pierce  
Her soul, and strike th'amazed beholder dead:  
Sometimes, their glory would disperse, and spread  
More easy flames; and, like the Star, that stood  
O'er Bethlem, promise and portend some good:  
Mixed was his bright aspect; as if his breath  
Had equal errands both of life and death:  
Glory and Mildness seemed to contend  
In his fair eyes so long, till in the end,  
In glorious mildness, and in milder glory,  
He thus salutes her with this pleasing story.  
Woman; Heaven greets thee well: Rise up, and fear 〈◊〉;  
Forbear thy faithless tremble; I appear not  
Clad in the vestments of consuming fire;  
Cheer up, I have no warrant to inquire  
Into thy sins; I have no Vyals here,  
Nor dreadful Thunderbolts to make thee fear:  
I have no plagues t' inflict; nor is my breath  
Charged with destruction; 〈◊〉 my hand with death.  
No, no; cheer up, I come not to destroy;  
I come to bring thee tidings of great joy▪  
Rouse up thy du● beliefs for I appear,  
To exercise thy Faith, and not thy Fear:  
The G●iae, and great Creator of all things,  
Chief Lord of Lords, and supreme King of Kings,  
To whom an Host of men are but a swarm  
Of murmuring Guats, whose high prevailing arm  
Can crush ten thousand world●, and at one blow  
Can strike the earth to nothing, and o'erthrow  
The Lofts of Heaven; He that hath the Keys  
Of 〈◊〉, to shut, and open them when he please;  
He that can all things, that he will, this day,  
Is pleased to take thy long reproach away:  
Behold; thy womb's enlarged; and thy desires  
Shall find success: Before long time expires,  
Thou sh●l● conceive: Ere twice five months be run▪  
Be thou the joyful mother of a son;  
But see, thy wary palate do forbear  
The juice of the bewitching Grape; Beware,  
Le●● thy defiers tempt thy lips to wine,  
Which must be faithful strangers to the Vine.  
Strong drink thou must not taste, and all such meat  
The Law proclaims unclean, refrain to eat:  
And when the fruit of thy restored womb  
S●●ll see the light, take heed no Razor come  
〈◊〉 his fruitful head; for from his birth,  
〈◊〉 as the womb entrusts him on the earth,  
The child shall be a Nazarite, to God;  
〈◊〉 whose appointment, be shall prove a Rod,  
To scourge the proud Philistians; and recall  
P●re suffering Israel from their slavish thrall▪  

Meditat. 2.  
HOw impudent is Nature to account  
Those acts her own, that do so far surmount  
Her easy reach! How purblind are those eyes  
Of stupid mortals, that have power to rise  
No higher than her laws, who takes upon her  
The work, and robs the Author of his honour!  
Seest thou the fruitful Womb? How every year  
It moves thy Cradle; to thy slender cheer  
Invites another Guest, and makes thee Father  
To a new Son, who now, perchance, hadst rather  
Bring up the old, esteeming propagation  
A thankless work of Supererogation:  
Perchance the formal Midwife seems to thee  
Less welcome now; than she was wont to be:  
Thou stand'st amazed to hear such needless joy,  
And carest as little for it, as the Boy  
That's newly borne into the world; Nay worse,  
Perchance, thou grumblest, counting it a curse  
Unto thy faint estate, which is not able  
T'increase the bounty of thy slender Table:  
Poor miserable man what ere thou be,  
I suffer for thy crooked thoughts; not thee:  
Thou tak'st thy children to be gifts of nature;  
Their wit, their flowering beauty, comely stature,  
Their perfect health; their dainty disposition,  
Their virtues, and their easy acquisition  
Of curious Arts, their strengths attained perfection  
You attribute to that benign complexion,  
Wherewith your Goddess Nature hath endowed  
Their well-disposed Organs; and are proud;  
And here your Goddess leaves you, to deplore,  
That such admired perfections should be poor:  
Advance thine eyes, no less than wilful blind,  
And with thine eyes, advance thy drooping mind▪  
Correct thy thoughts; Let not thy wondering eye  
Adore the servant, when the Master's by:  
Look on the God of Nature: From him come  
These underprized blessings of the womb:  
He makes thee rich in children; when his store  
Crowns thee with wealth, why mak'st thou thyself poor?  
He opes the womb: why then shouldst thou repine?  
They are his children, mortal, and not thine:  
We are but Keepers; And the more he lends  
To our tuition, he the more commends  
Our faithful trust; It is not every one  
Deserves that honour, to command his Son;  
She counts it as a fortune, that's allowed  
To nurse a Prince; (What nurse would not be proud  
Of such a Fortune?) And shall we repine,  
Great God, to foster any Babe of thine?  
But 'tis the Charge we fear: our stock's but small;  
If heaven, with Children, send us wherewithal  
To stop their craving stomaches, than we care not;  
Great God  
How hast thou cracked thy credit, that we dare  
Trust thee for bread? How is't, we dare not venture  
To keep thy Babes, unless thou please to enter  
In bond, for payment? Art thou grown so poor,  
To leave thy famished Infants at our door,  
And not allow them food? Canst thou supply  
The empty Ravens, and let thy children die?  
Send me that stint, thy wisdom shall think fie,  
Thy pleasure is my will; and I submit:  
Make me deserve that honour thou hast lent  
To my frail trust, and I will rest content.    

THE ARGVMENT●  
Th● wife ● Manoah attended  
with fearful Hope, and hopeful Fear,  
The joyful tidings recommended  
to her amazed Husbands care.  
Sect. 2.  
THus, when the great Ambassador of Heaven  
Had done that sacred service, which was given,  
And trusted to his faithful charge, he spread  
His air dividing pinions, and fled:  
But now, th'affrighted woman apprehends  
The strangeness of the Message; recommends  
Both it, and him, that did it, to her fears;  
The news was welcome to her grateful ears,  
But what the newesman was did so increase  
Her doubts, that her strange hopes could find no peace;  
For when her hopes would build a Tower of joy,  
O, than her fears would shake it, and destroy  
The main foundation; what her hopes in vain  
Did raise, her fears would ruinate again:  
One while, she thought; It was an Angel sent:  
And then her fears would teach her to repent  
That frighfull thought; but when she deeply weighed  
The joyful message, than her thoughts obeyed  
Her first conceit; Distracted, with confusion,  
Sometimes she feared it was a false delusion,  
Suggested in her too believing ears;  
Sometimes she doubts it was a Dream, that bears  
No weight but in a slumber; till at last,  
Her feet, advised by her thoughts, made haste  
Unto her husband; in whose ears she broke  
This minde-perplexing secret thus, and spoke;  
Sir,  
As my discursive thoughts did lately muse  
On those great blessings, wherewith heaven doth use  
To crown his children, here; among the rest,  
Me thoughts no one could make a wife more blessed,  
And crown her youth, her age with greater measure  
Of true content, than the unprized treasure  
Of her chaste womb: but as my thoughts were bend  
Upon this subject, being in our Tent,  
And none but I, appeared before mine eyes  
A man of God: His habit, and his guise  
Was such as holy Prophets use to wear,  
But in his dreadful looks there did appear  
Something that made me tremble; In his eye  
Mildness was mixed with awful Majesty;  
Strange was his language, and I could not choose  
But fear the man, although I liked his news;  
Woman (said he) Cheer up, and do not fear,  
I have no Vials, nor no judgements here,  
My hand hath no Commission, to inquire  
Into thy sins; nor am I clad in fire:  
I come to bring thee tidings of such things,  
As have their warrant from the King of Kings▪  
Thou shalt conceive, and when thy time is come,  
Thou shalt enjoy the blessings of thy womb;  
Before the space of twice five months be run,  
Thou shalt become the parent of a Son;  
Till then, take heed, thou neither drink, nor eat  
Wines, or strong drink, or Law-forbidden meat,  
For when this promised child shall see the light,  
Thou shalt be mother to a Nazarite.  
While thus he spoke, ● trembled: Horrid fear  
Usurped my quivering heart; Only mine ear  
Was pleased to be the vessel of such news,  
Which Heaven make good; and give me strength to use  
My better Faith: The holy Prophet's name  
I was afraid t'enquire, or whence he came.  

Meditat. 2.  
ANd dost thou not admire? Can such things  
Obtain less privilege, than a Tale, that brings  
The audience wonder, enter mixed with pleasure?  
Is't a small thing, that Angels can find leisure  
To leave their blessed seats; where face to face,  
They see their God, and quit that heavenly place,  
The least conception of whose joy, and mirth,  
Transcends th' united pleasures of the earth?  
Must Angels leave their Thrones of glory thus,  
To watch our footsteps, and attend on us?  
How good a God have we! whose eyes can wink,  
For fear they should discover the base finke  
Of our loathed sins; How doth he stop his ear,  
Lest, when they call for justice, he should hear?  
How often, Ah, how often doth He send  
His willing Angels, hourly to attend  
Our steps; and, with his bounty, to supply  
Our helpless wants, at our falsehearted cry?  
The bounteous Ocean, with a liberal hand,  
Transports her laden treasure, to the land;  
Inriches every Port, and makes each town  
Proud with that wealth, which now she calls her own;  
And what return they for so great a gain,  
But sinks and noisome Gutters, back again?  
Even so (great God) thou send'st thy blessings in,  
And we return thee, Dunghills of our Sin:  
How are thy Angels hackneyed up and down  
To visit man? How poorly do we crown  
Their blessed labours? They with joy, dismount,  
Laden with blessings, but return th'account  
Of Filth and Trash: They bring th'unvalued prize  
Of Grace and promised Glory, while our eyes  
Disdain these heavenly Factours, and refuse  
Their proffered wares; affecting, more, to choose  
Agraine of pleasure than a gem of glory;  
We find no treasure, but in Transitory  
And earth-bred Toils, while things immortal stand  
Like Garments, to be sold at second hand:  
Great God; Thou knowst, we are but flesh & blood;  
Alas! we can interpret nothing, good,  
But what is evil, deceitful are our joys;  
We are but children, and we whine for Toys:  
Of things unknown there can be no desire;  
Quicken our hearts with the celestial fire  
Of thy discerning Spirit, and we shall know  
Both what is good, and good desire too:  
Vouchsafe to let thy blessed Angel come,  
And bring the tidings, that the barren Womb●  
Of our affections is enlarged; O when  
That welcome news shall be revealed, then,  
Our souls shall soon conceive, & bring thee forth  
The firstlings of a new, and holy birth.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Manoah's wonder turns to zeal;  
his zeal, to prayer: His prayers obtain:  
The Angel that did late reveal  
the joyful news, returns again.  
Sect. 3.  
NOw when th' amazed woman had commended  
Her tongue to silence, and her tale was ended;  
Perplexed Manoah, ravished at the news,  
Within himself, he thus began to muse;  
Strange is the message! And as strangely done!  
Shall Manoah's loins be fruitful? Shall a Son  
Bless his last days? Or shall an Issue come  
From the i'll closet of a barren womb?  
Shall Manoah's wife give suck? and now, at last  
Find pleasure, when her prime of youth is past?  
Shall her cold womb be now, in age, restored?  
And was't a man of God, that brought the word?  
Or was't some false delusion, that possessed  
The weakness of a lonely woman's breast?  
Or was't an Angel, sent from heaven, to show  
What Heaven hath will, as well as power, to do.  
Till than thou must refrain to drink, or eat,  
Wines, and strong drink, and Law-forbidden meat?  
Evil Angls' rather would instruct to riot,  
They use not to prescribe so strict a Diet;  
No, no, I make no further question of it,  
'Twas some good Angel, or some holy Prophet,  
Thus, having mused a while, he bowed his face  
Upon the ground; and (prostrate in the place,  
Where first he heard the welcome tidings) prayed,  
(His wonder now transformed to zeal) and said:  
Great God; that hast engaged thyself, by vow,  
When e'er thy little Israel begs, to bow  
Thy gracious ear, O hearken to the least  
Of Israel's sons, and grant me my request:  
By thee: I live, and breathe: Thou didst become  
My gracious God, both in, and from the womb;  
Thy precious favours I have still possessed,  
And have depended on thee, from the Breast:  
My simple Infancy hath been protected  
By thee, my Childhood taught, my youth corrected,  
And sweetly chastened with thy gentle Rod;  
I was no sooner, but thou wert my God:  
All times declare thee good; this very hour  
Can testify the greatness of thy power,  
And promptness of thy Mercy, which hast sent  
This blessed Angel to us, to augment  
The Catalogue of thy favours, and restore  
Thy servants womb, whose hopes had even given over  
T' expect an issue: What thou hast begun,  
Prosper, and perfect, till the work be done:  
Let not my Lord be angry, if I crave  
Aboone, too great for me to beg, or have:  
Let that blessed Angel, that thou sentest, of late,  
Reblesse us with his presence, and relate  
Thy will at large, and what must then be done,  
When time shall bring to light this promised son.  
About that time, when the declining Lamp  
Trebles each shadow; when the evening damp  
Begins to moisten, and refresh the land,  
The Wife of Manoah (under whose command  
The weaned Lambs did feed) being lowly seated  
Upon a Shrub (where often she repeated  
That pleasing news, the subject of her thought)  
Appeared the Angel; he, that lately brought  
Those blessed tidings to her: up she rose;  
Her second fear had warrant to dispose  
Her nimble footsteps to unwonted haste;  
She runs with speed, (she cannot run too fast)  
At length, she finds her husband; In her eyes,  
Were joy and Fear; whilst her lost breath denies  
Her speech to him, her trembling hands make signs;  
She puffs and pants; her breathless tongue disjoins  
Her broken words: Behold, behold, (said she)  
The man of God, (if man of God he be)  
Appeared again: These very eyes beheld  
The man of God: I left him in our field.  

Meditat. 3.  
Heaven is God's Magazine; wherein, he hath  
Stored up his Vials both of love, and wrath;  
justice and Mercy, wait upon his Throne;  
Favours and Thunderbolts attend upon  
His sacred Will and Pleasure; Life and Death  
Do both receive their influence from his breath;  
judgements attend his left; at his right hand  
Blessings and everlasting Pleasures stand:  
Heaven is the Magazine; wherein, he puts  
Both good and evil; Prayer is the key, that shuts  
And opens this great Treasure; 'tis a key,  
Whose wards are Faith, and Hope, and Charity.  
Wouldst thou prevent a judgement, due to sin?  
Turn but the key, and thou mayst lock it in:  
Or wouldst thou have a Blessing fall upon thee?  
Open the door, and it will shower on thee.  
Can Heaven be false? or can th' Almighty's tongue,  
That is all very truth, do truth that wrong,  
Not to perform a vow? His lips have sworn,  
Sworn by himself, that if a Sinner turn  
To him, by prayer; his prayer shall not be lost  
For want of ear; nor his desire, crossed:  
How is it then we often ask and have not:  
We ask, and often miss, because we crave no●  
The things we should: his wisdom can foresee  
Those blessings, better, that we want, than we●  
Hast thou not heard a peevish Infant bawl  
To gain possession of a knife? And shall  
Th' indulgent nurse be counted wisely kind,  
If she be moved to please his childish mind?  
Is it not greater wisdom, to deny  
The sharp-edged knife, and to present his eye  
With a fine harmless Puppet? We require  
Things, oft, unfit; and our too fond desire  
Fastens on goods, that are but glorious ills,  
Whilst heavens high wisdom contradicts our wills,  
With more advantage, for we oft receive  
Things that are far more fit, for us, to have:  
Experience tells; we seek, and cannot find:  
We seek, and often want, because we bind  
The Giver to our times: He knows we want  
Patience; and, therefore he suspends his grant,  
T' increase our faith, that so we may depend  
Upon his hand; he loves to hear us spend  
Our childish mouths: Things easily obtained,  
Are lowly prized; but what our prayers have gained  
By tears, and groans, that cannot be expressed,  
Are far more dear, and sweeter, when possessed.  
Great God whose power hath so oft prevailed  
Against the strength of Princes, and hast quailed  
Their prouder stomaches; with thy breath, discrowned  
Their heads, & thrown their Sceptres to the ground,  
Striking their swelling hearts with cold despair,  
How art thou conquered and o'ercome by Prayer!  
Infuse that Spirit, Great God, into my heart,  
And I will have a blessing ere we part.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Manoah desires to know the fashion  
And breeding of his promised son;  
To whom the Angel makes relation  
Of all things needful to be done.  
Sect. 4.  
WIth that the Danite rose; and being guided  
By his perplexed wife, they, both divided  
Their heedless paces, ●ill they had attained  
The field, 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 of God remained:  
And, drawing ●eerer to h●s presence, stayed  
His weary steps, and, with obeisance, said:  
Art thou the 〈…〉 blessed lips foretold  
Those joyful 〈◊〉? Shall my tongue be bold,  
Without the breach of manners to request  
This boon, Art tho●● that Prophet, that possessed  
This barren woman, with a hope, that She  
Shall bear a Son? He answered, I am He:  
Said Manoah, then; Let not a word of thine  
Be lost; let them continue to divine  
Our future happiness: let them be crowned  
With truth; and thou with honour, to be found  
A holy Prophet: Let performance bless  
And speed thy speeches with a fair success:  
But tell me, Sir; when this great work is done,  
And time shall bring to light this promised Son,  
What sacred Ceremonies shall we use?  
What Rites? What way of bleeding shall we choose  
T' observe? What holy course of life shall be  
Be trained in? What shall his Office be?  
Whereat th' attentive Angel did divide  
The portal of his lips, and thus replied.  
The Child, that from thy fruitful loins shall come  
Shall be a holy Nazarite, from the womb;  
Take heed; that womb, that shall enclose this Child,  
In no case be polluted or defiled  
With Law-forbidden meats: Let her forbear  
To taste those things that are forbidden there.  
The bunch-back Camel shall be no repast  
For her; Her palate shall forbear to taste  
The burrow haunting Coney, and decline  
The swiftfoote-Hare, and mire-delighting Swine;  
The griping, Goshauke; and the towering Eagle;  
The particoloured Pie must not inveigle  
Her lips to move; the brood-devouring Kite;  
The croaking Raven; th' Owl that hates the light;  
The steele-digesting Bird; the last Snail;  
The Cuckoo, ever telling of one tale;  
The fish-consuming Osprey, and the Want,  
That undermines; the greedy Cormorant;  
Th' indulgent Pelican; the predictious Crow;  
The chattering Stork, and ravenous Vulture too;  
The thorn-backt Hedgehog, and the prating lay;  
The Lapwing, flying still the other way;  
The lofty-flying Falkon, and the Mouse,  
That finds no pleasure in a poor man's house;  
The suck-egg Weasel, and the winding Swallow,  
From these she shall abstain,, and not unhallow  
Her oped lips with their polluted flesh;  
Strong drink she must forbear, and to refresh  
Her lingering palate, with lu●-breeding Wine;  
The Grape, or what proceedeth from the Vine,  
She must not taste, for fear she be defiled,  
And so pollute her wombe-enclosed Child:  
When time shall make her mother of a Son,  
Beware, no keen-edged Raisor come upon  
His b●llowed Crown: the hair upon his head  
Must not be cut: His bounteous locks must spread  
On his broad shoulders: From his first drawn breath  
The Child shall be a Nazarite, to his death.  

Meditat. 4.  
WHat shallow judgement, or what easy brain  
Can choose but laugh at those, that strive in vain  
To build a Tower, whose ambitious Spire  
Should reach to heaven? what fool would not admire  
To see their greater folly? who would raise  
A Tower, to perpetuate the praise  
And lasting Glory of their renowned Name,  
What have they l●ft but Monuments of shame?  
How poor and slender are the enterprises  
Of man; that only whispers and advises  
With heedless flesh and blood, and never makes  
His God, of counsel, where he undertakes!  
How is our God and we of late fall'n out!  
We rather choose to languish in our doubt,  
Then be resolved by him; We rather use  
The help of hellbred wizzards, that abuse  
The style of wise men● then to have recourse  
To him that is the Fountain and the source  
Of all good Counsels, and from whom, proceeds  
A living Spring, to water all our needs;  
How willing are his Angels to descend  
From off their throne of Glory, and attend  
Upon our wants! How oft return they back  
Mourning to heaven, as if they grieved for lack  
Of our employment! O how prone are they  
To be assistant to us, every way!  
Have we just cause to joy? They'll come and sing  
About our beds: Does any judgement bring  
Just cause of grief? they'll fall a grieving too;  
Do we triumph? their joyful mouths will blow  
Their louder Trumpets, Or do fears affect us?  
They'll guard our heads from danger, & protect us:  
Are we in prison, or in Persecution?  
They'll fill our hearts with joy, and resolution:  
Or do we languish in our sickly beds?  
They'll come & pitch their Tents about our heads;  
See they a sinner penitent, and mourn  
For his bewailed offences, and return?  
They clap their hands, and join their warbling voices,  
They sing, and all the Choir of Heaven rejoices.  
What is in us poor Dust and Ashes, Lord,  
That thou shouldst look upon us, and afford  
Thy precious favours to us, and impart  
Thy gracious Counsels? what is our desert,  
But Death, and Horror? What can we more claim,  
Then they, that now are scorching in that flame,  
That hath nor moderation, rest, nor end?  
How does thy mercy, above thought extend  
To them thou lov'st! Teach me (great God) to prise  
Thy sacred Counsels: open my blind eyes,  
That I may see to walk the perfect way;  
For as I am, Lord, I am apt to stray  
And wander to the gulf of endless woe:  
Teach me what must be done, and help to do.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Manoah desires to understand,  
but is denied the Angel's name:  
He offers by the Angel's hand:  
the Angel vanishes in a flame.  
Sect. 5.  
SO said, The son of Israel, (easily apt  
To credit, what his soul desired, and rapt  
With better heaps, which served him as a guide  
To his belief, o'erjoyed) he thus replied;  
Let not the man of God, whose Heavenly voice  
Hath blessed mine ear, and made my soul rejoice,  
Beyond expression, now refuse to come  
Within my Tent, and honour my poor home  
With his desired presence; there to taste  
His servants slender diet, and repast  
Upon his Rural fare: These hands shall take  
A tender Kid from out the flocks, and make,  
(Without long tarriance) some delighfull meat  
Which may invite the man of God to eat:  
Come, come (my Lord) and what defect of food  
Shall be, thy servants welcome shall make good:  
Whereto the Angel (who as yet had made  
Himself unknown) reanswered thus, and said▪  
Excuse me: Though thy hospitable love  
Prevail to make me stay, it cannot move  
My thankful lips to taste thy liberal cheer;  
Let not thy bounty urge in vain; Forbear  
To strive with whom thy welcome cannot lead  
To eat thy Kid, or taste thy proffered bread;  
Convert thy bounty to a better end,  
And let thy undefiled hands commend  
A burnt oblation to the King of Kings;  
'Tis he, deserves the thanks; his servant brings  
But that bare message which his lips enjoin;  
His be the glory of the Act, not mine.  
Said then the Israelite, If my desire  
Be not too overrash, but may conspire  
With thy good pleasure, let thy servants ear  
Be honoured with thy name; that whensoe'er  
These blessed tidings (that possess my heart  
With firm belief) shall in due time impart  
Their full perfection, and desired success  
To my expecting eye, my soul may bless  
The tongue that brought the message, and proclaim  
An equal honour to his honoured name.  
To whom, the Angel (whose severer brow  
Sent forth a frown) made answer; Do not thou  
Trouble thy busy thoughts with things, that are  
Above thy reach; Inquire not too far;  
My name is clothed in mists; 'Tis not my task,  
To make it known to thee; nor thine, to ask:  
With that, the Danite took a tender Kid,  
And said; my Lord, The Tribe of Dan's forbid  
To burn an offering; Only Levites may,  
And holy Prophets, If thou please to lay  
The sacrifice on yonder sacred Stone,  
I'll fetch thee fire, for fire there is none,  
Forbear thy needless pains, the Angel said,  
Heaven will supply that want; With that, he laid  
The offering on; and, from the stone, there came  
A sudden fire, whose high ascending flame  
Burnt and consumed th'accepted Sacrifice;  
Now whilst th'amazed beholders wondering eyes  
Were taken Captives with so strange a sight  
And whilst the new-wrought miracle did affright  
Their trembling hearts, the Man of God (whose name  
Must not b'inquired) vanished in the flame,  
And left them both unable to expound  
Each others fears; both grovelling on the ground.  

Meditat. 5.  
A Thankful heart hath earned one favour twice;  
But he that is ungrateful, wants no vice:  
The beast, that only lives the life of Sense,  
Prove to his several actions and propense  
To what he does, without th'advice of will,  
Guided by nature, (that does nothing ill)  
In practice Maxims, proves it a thing hateful,  
T'accept a Favour, and to live ungrateful:  
But man, whose more diviner soul hath gained  
A higher step to reason: nay, attained  
A higher step than that, the light of grace,  
Comes short of them; and in that point, more base  
Than they most prompt and perfect in that rude,  
Unnatural, and high sin, Ingratitude:  
The Stallfed Ox, that is grown fat, will know  
His careful feeder, and acknowledge too:  
The prouder Stallion, will at length espy,  
His Master's bounty, in his Keeper's eye:  
The ayre-dividing Faulkon, will requite  
Her Falconer's pains, with a well pleasing flight:  
The generous Spaniel, loves his Master's eye,  
And licks his fingers, though no meat be by;  
But Man, ungrateful Man, that's borne, and bred  
By Heavens immediate power; maintained and fed  
By his providing hand; observed, attended  
By his indulgent grace; preserved, defended  
By his prevailing arm; this Man, I say,  
Is more ungrateful, more obdure than they:  
By him, we live and move; from him, we have  
What blessings he can give, or we can crave:  
Food for our hunger; Dainties, for our pleasure;  
Trades, for our business; Pastimes, for our leisure;  
In grief, he is our joy; in want, our Wealth;  
In bondage, Freedom; and in sickness, Health;  
In peace, our Counsel; and in war, our Leader;  
At Sea, our Pilot; and, in Suits, our Pleader;  
In pain, our Help; in Triumph, our Renown;  
In life, our Comfort; and in death our Crown;  
Yet Man, O most ungrateful Man, can ever  
Enjoy the Gift, but never mind● the Giver;  
And like the Swine, though pampered with enough,  
His eyes are never higher than the Trough:  
We still receive: our hearts we seldom lift  
To heaven; but drown the giver in the Gift;  
We taste the Skollops, and return the Shells;  
Our sweet Pomgranats want their silver Bells:  
We take the Gift; the hand that did present it,  
We oft reward; forget the Friend that sent it,  
A blessing given to those, will not disburse  
Some thanks, is little better than a curse.  
Great giver of all blessings; thou that art  
The Lord of Gifts; give me a grateful heart:  
O give me that, or keep thy favours from me:  
I wish no blessings, with a Vengeance to me.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Affrighted Manoah and his Wife  
Both prostrate on the naked earth:  
Both rise: The man despairs of life;  
The woman cheers him: Samsons birth.  
Sect. 6.  
WHen time, (whose progress mod'rates and out wears  
Th'extremest passions of the highest fears)  
By his benignant power, had re-inlarged  
Their captive senses, and at length discharged  
Their frighted thoughts, the trembling couple rose  
From their unquiet, and disturbed repose:  
Have you beheld a Tempest, how the waves  
(Whose unresisted Tyranny outbraves  
And threats to grapple with the darkened Skies)  
How like to moving Mountains they arise  
From their distempered Ocean, and assail  
heavens Battlements; nay when the winds d●e fail  
To breathe another blast, with their own motion,  
They still are swelling, and disturb the Ocean:  
Even so the Danite and his trembling wife,  
Their yet confused thoughts, are still at strife  
In their perplexed breasts, which entertained  
Continued fears, too strong to be refrained:  
Speechless they stood, till Manoah that broke  
The silence first, disclosed his lips and spoke;  
What strange aspect was this, that to our sight  
Appeared so terrible, and did affright  
Our scattering thoughts? What did our eyes behold?  
I fear our lavish tongues have been too bold:  
What speeches passed between us? Canst recall  
The words we entertained the time withal?  
It was no man; It was no flesh and blood;  
Me thought, mine ears did ●ngle, while he stood,  
And communed with me: At each word be spoke,  
Me thou●ht, my heart recoiled; his voice did shake  
My very Soul, but when as he became  
So angry, and so dainty of his name,  
O, how my wonder-smitte● heart began  
To fail! O, than I kn●w, it was no man:  
No, no; It was the face of God: Our eyes  
Have seen his face: (who ever saw't, but dies?)  
We are but dead; Death dwells within his eye,  
And we have seen't, and we shall surely die:  
Where to the woman, (who did either hide,  
Or else had overcome her fears) replied;  
Despairing Man; take courage, and forbear  
These false predictions; there's no cause of fear:  
Would Heaven accept our offerings, and receive  
Our holy things; and, after that, bereive  
His servants of their lives? Can he be thus  
Pleased with our offerings, unappeased with us?  
Hath he not promised that the time shall come,  
Wherein the fruits of my restored womb  
Shall make thee father to a hopeful Son?  
Can Heaven be false? Or can these things be done  
When we are dead? No, no, his holy breath  
Had spent in vain, if they had meant our death:  
Recall thy needless fears; Heaven cannot lie;  
Although we saw his face, we shall not dye.  
So said; they broke off their discourse, and went,  
He, to the field; and she into her Tent:  
Thrice forty days not full complete, being come,  
Within th'enclosure of her quickened womb,  
The Babe began to spring; and, with his motion,  
Confirmed the faith, and quickened the devotion  
Of his believing parents, whose devout  
And heaven-ascending Orizans, no doubt,  
Were turned to thanks, and heart-rejoicing praise,  
To holy Hymns, and heavenly Roundelays:  
The child grows sturdy; Every day gives strength  
Unto his wombe-fed limbs; till at the length  
Th'apparent mother, having past the date  
Of her account, does only now await  
The happy hour, wherein she may obtain  
Her greatest pleasure, with her greatest pain.  
When as the fair directress of the night  
Had thrice three times repared her wained light,  
Her womb no longer able to retain  
So great a guest, betrayed her to her pain,  
And for the toilsome work, that she had done,  
She found the wages of a new borne Son:  
〈◊〉, she called his name: the child increased,  
And hourly sucked a blessing with the breast,  
Daily his strength did double: He began  
To grow in favour both with God and Man:  
His well attended Infancy was blessed  
With sweetness; in his Childhood, he expressed  
True seeds of honour; and his youth was crowned  
With high and brave adventures, which renowned  
His honoured name, His courage was supplied  
With mighty strength: His haughty spirit defied  
And host of men: His power had the praise  
●ove all that were before, or since his days:  
And to conclude, Heaven never yet conjoined  
So strong a body, with so stout a mind.  

Meditat. 6.  
HOw precious were those blessed days, wherein  
Souls never startled at the name of Sin!  
When as the voice of death had never yet  
A mouth to open, or to claim a debt!  
When bashful nakedness forbore to call  
For needless skins to cover shame withal;  
When as the fruit-encreasing earth obeyed  
The will of Man without the wound of spade,  
Or help of Art! When he, that now remains  
A cursed Captive to infernal chains,  
Sat singing Anthems in the heavenly Choir,  
Among his fellow Angels! When the Briar,  
The fruitless Bramble, the fast growing weed,  
And downy Thistle had, as yet, no seed!  
When labour was not known, and man did eat  
The earth's fair fruits, unearned with his sweat!  
When wombs might have conceived without the stain  
Of sin, and brought forth children, without pain!  
When Heaven could speak to man's unfrighted ear  
Without the sense of Sin-begotten fear!  
How golden were those days? How happy than  
Was the condition and the State of man!  
But Man obeyed not: And his proud desire  
Cinged her bold feathers in forbidden fire:  
But Man transgressed; And now his freedom feels  
A sudden change: Sin follows at his heels:  
The voice calls Adam: But poor Adam flees,  
And trembling hides his face behind the trees:  
The voice, whilere, that ravished with delight  
His joyful ear, does now, alas, affright  
His wounded conscience with amaze and wonder:  
And what, of late, was music; now, is Thunder.  
How have our sins abused us! and betrayed  
Our desperate souls! What strangeness have they made  
Betwixt the great Creator, and the work  
Of his own hands! How closely do they lurk  
To our distempered souls, and whisper fears  
And doubts into our frighted hearts and ears!  
Our eyes cannot behold that glorious face,  
Which is all life, unruined in the place:  
How is our nature changed? That very breath  
Which gave us being, is become our death:  
Great God O, whither shall poor mortals fly  
For comfort? If they see thy face, they die;  
And if thy life-restoring countenance give  
Thy presence from us; then we cannot live:  
How necessary is the ruin, than,  
And misery of sin-beguiled Man!  
On what foundation shall his hopes rely?  
See we thy face, or see it not, we die:  
O let thy Word (great God) instruct the youth  
And frailty of our faith; Thy Word is truth:  
And what our eyes want power to perceive,  
O, let our hearts admire, and believe.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Samson at Timnah falls in love  
And fancies a Philistian maid:  
He moves his parents: They reprove  
His sinful choice: dislike, dissuade.  
Sect. 7.  
NOw when as strong limbed Samson had disposed  
His trifling thoughts to children, and disclosed  
His bud of childhood, which being overgrown,  
And blossom of his youth so fully blown,  
That strength of nature now thought good to seek  
Her entertainment on his downy cheek,  
And with her manly bounty did begin  
To uneffeminate his smother chin,  
He went to Timnah; whither, did resort  
A great concourse of people, to disport  
Themselves with pastime; or, perchance, to show  
Some martial Feats (as they were wont to do)  
Scaffolds were builded round about, whereon  
The Crown of eye-delighted lookers on  
Were closely piled: As Samsons wand'ring eye  
Was ranging up and down, he did espy  
A comely Virgin, beautiful and young,  
Where she was seated midst the gazing throng:  
The more he viewed, the more his eye desired  
To view her face; and as it viewed, admired;  
His heart, inflamed; his thoughts were all on fire;  
His passions all were turned into desire;  
Such were his looks, that she might well descry  
A speaking lover in his sparkling eye:  
Sometimes his reason bids his thoughts beware,  
〈◊〉 he be catcht in a Philistian snare;  
And then, his thwarting passion would reply  
Fear not to be a prisoner to that eye:  
Reason suggests; 'Tis vain, to make a choice,  
Where parents have an overruling voice:  
Passion replies, That fear and filial duty  
Must serve affection, and subscribe to beauty:  
Whilst Reason faintly moved him to neglect,  
Prevailing passion urged his soul t'affect:  
Passion concludes; Let her enjoy thy heart:  
Reason concludes; But let thy tongue impart  
Thy affection to thy parents, and discover  
To them, thy thoughts: With that the wounded lover  
(Whose quicke-divided paces had outrun  
His lingering heart) like an observant son,  
Repairs unto his parents; fully made  
Relation of his troubled thoughts, and said,  
Sir▪  
〈◊〉 day, at Timnah, to these wretched eyes,  
〈◊〉 taken captive with the novelties  
〈◊〉 entertained my pleased thoughts, appeared  
〈◊〉 object; which, hath so endeared  
〈◊〉 very soul, (with sadness so distressed)  
That this poor heart can find no ease, no rest;  
It was a Virgin; in whose Heavenly face,  
V●pattern'd Beauty, and diviner Grace  
Were so conjoined as if they both conspired  
〈…〉 Angel; when these eyes enquired  
〈◊〉 the excellence of her rare perfection,  
〈…〉 not choose but like, and my affection  
Is so inflamed with desire, that I  
Am now become close prisoner to her eye;  
Now if my sad Petition may but find  
A fair success to ease my tortured mind;  
And if your tender hearts be pleased to prove  
A● prone to pity mine, as mine to love;  
Let me, with joy, exchange my single life,  
And be the husband of so fair a wife.  
Whereto, th'amazed parents, (in whose eye  
Distaste and wonder perched) made this reply▪  
What strange desire, what vnadvised request  
Hath broken loose from thy distracted breast?  
What! are the Daughters of thy brethren grown  
So poor in Worth, and Beauty? Is there none  
To please that overcurious eye of thine,  
But th'issue of a cursed Philistine?  
Can thy miswandring eyes choose none, but her,  
That is the child of an Idolater?  
Correct thy thoughts, and let thy soul rejoice  
In lawful beauty: Make a wiser choice:  
How well this counsel pleased the tired ears  
Of lovesick Samson: O, let him that bears  
A crossed affection, judge: Let him discover  
The woeful case of this afflicted lover:  
What easy pencil cannot represent  
His very looks? How his stern brows were bend?  
His drooping head? his very port and guise?  
His bloodless cheeks, and deadness of his eyes?  
Till, at the length, his moving tongue betrayed  
His sullen lips to language, thus; and said: Sir,  
Th'extreme affection of my heart does lead  
My tongue, (that's quickened with my love) to plead  
What, if her parents be not circumcised?  
Her issue shall; and she, perchance, advised  
I● worship Israel's God, and, to forget  
〈◊〉 father's house; Alas, she is as yet,  
〈◊〉 young; her downy years are green 〈◊〉 tender;  
〈◊〉 but a twig, and time may 〈…〉  
●●brace the truth: O●r counsels 〈…〉  
〈…〉 breeding, and so save a soul:  
〈◊〉 who can tell, but Heaven did recommend  
〈◊〉 beauty to these eyes, for such an end?  
〈◊〉 not that which Heaven is pleased to save,  
〈◊〉 Samson then obtain, as well as crave:  
〈◊〉 gave me being, then prolong my life  
And make me husband to so fair a wife.  
With that the parents joined their whispering heads;  
〈◊〉 observes; and, in their parley, reads  
〈◊〉 Characters of hope; The mother smiles;  
The father frowns; which, Samson reconciles  
●●th hopeful fears; She smiles, & smiling crowns  
〈◊〉 hopes; which, He deposes with his frowns:  
〈◊〉 whispering ended; jointly they displayed,  
self resolved countenance, and said,  
Samson, suspend thy troubled mind a while,  
〈◊〉 thy overcharged thoughts recoil:  
〈…〉 of Shipwreck; Rocks are near the Shore;  
〈◊〉 the Virgin, and resolve thee more.  

Meditat. 6.  
LOve is a noble passion of the heart;  
That, with it very essence doth impart  
All needful Circumstances, and effects  
Unto the chosen party it affects;  
In absence, it enjoys; and with an eye  
Filled with celestial fire, doth espy  
Objects remote: It joys, and smiles in grief;  
It sweetens poverty; It brings relief;  
It gives the Feeble, strength; the Coward, spirit;  
The sick man, health; the undeserving merit;  
It makes the proud man, humble; and the stout  
It overcomes; and treads him underfoot;  
It makes the mighty man of war to droop;  
And him, to serve, that never, yet, could stoop;  
It is a fire, whose Bellowes are the breath  
Of heaven above, and kindled here beneath:  
'tis not the power of a man's election  
To love; He loves no● by his own direction;  
It is nor beauty, nor benign aspect  
That always moves the Lover, to affect;  
These are but means: Heavens pleasure is the cause▪  
Love is not bound to reason, and her Laws  
Are not subjected to th'imperious will  
Of man: It lies not in his power to nill:  
How is this Love abused! That's only made  
A snare for wealth, or to set up a trade;  
T'enrich a great man's Table, or to pay  
A desperate debt; or merely to allay  
A base and wanton lust; which done, no doubt,  
The love is ended, and her fire out:  
No; he that loves for pleasure, or for pelf,  
Loves truly, none; and, falsely, but himself:  
The pleasure past, the wealth consumed and gone,  
Love hath no subject now to work upon:  
The props being fall'n, that did support the roof,  
Nothing but rubbish, and neglected Stuff,  
●●ke a wild Chaos of Confusion, lies  
Presenting useless ruins to our eyes:  
The Oil that does maintain loves sacred fire,  
Is virtue mixed with mutual desire  
Of sweet society, begun and bred  
〈◊〉 soul; nor ended in the marriage bed:  
This is the dew of Hermon, that does fill  
The soul with sweetness, watering Zion's hill;  
This is that holy fire, that burns and lasts,  
Till quenched by death▪ The other are but blasts  
That faintly blaze like Oyle-forsaken snuffs  
Which every breath of discontentment puffs  
〈◊〉 quite extinguishes; and leaves us nothing  
〈◊〉 an offensive subject of our loathing.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
He goes to Timnah: As he went,  
he slew a Lion, by the way;  
He sues; obtains the Maid's consent:  
and they appoint the marriage day.  
Sect. 8.  
WHen the next day had, with his morning light,  
Redeemed the East from the dark shades of night;  
And, with his golden rays, had overspred  
The neighbouring Mountains; from his loathed Bed,  
Sick-thoughted Samson rose, whose watchful eyes,  
Morpheus that night had, with his leaden keys;  
Not power to close: his thoughts did so encumber  
His restless soul, his eyes could never slumber;  
Whose softer language, by degrees did wake  
His father's sleepe-bedeafned ears, and spoke;  
Sir; Let your early blessings light upon  
The tender bosom of your prosperous Son,  
And let the God of Israel repay  
Those blessings, double, on your head, this day:  
The long-since banished shadows make me bold  
To let you know, the morning waxes old;  
The Sunbeams are grown strong; their brighter 〈◊〉  
Have broke the Mists, and dried the morning dew;  
The sweetness of the season does invite  
Your steps to visit Timnah, and acquit  
Your last night's promise:  
With that the Danite and his wife arose,  
Scarce yet resolved, at last they did dispose  
Their doubtful paces, to behold the prize  
Of Samsons heart, and pleasure of his eyes;  
They went, and when their travel had attained  
Those fruitful hills, whose clusters entertained  
Their thirsty palates, with their swelling pride,  
The musing lover being stepped aside  
To gain the pleasure of a lonely thought,  
Appeared a full aged Lion, who had sought  
(But could not find) his long desired prey;  
Soon as his eye had given him hopes to pay  
His debt to nature, and to mend that fault  
His empty stomach found, he made assault  
Upon th'unarmed Lovers breast, whose hand  
Had neither staff, nor weapon, to withstand  
His greedy rage; but he whose mighty strength  
Or sudden death must now appear, at length,  
Stretched forth his brawny arm, (his arm supplied  
With power from heaven) and did, with ease, divide  
His body limb from limb, and did betray  
His flesh to fowls, that lately sought his prey:  
This done; his quick redoubled paces make  
His stay amends; his nimble steps over take  
His leading parents; who by this, discover  
The smoke of Timnah: Now the greedy Lover  
Thinks every step, a mile; and every pace  
A measured League, until he see that face,  
And find the treasure of his heart, that lies  
In the fair Casket of his Mistress Eyes;  
But, all this while, close Samson made not known  
Unto his Parents, what his hands had done:  
By this, the gate of Timnah entertains  
The welcome travellers: The parents pains  
〈◊〉 now rewarded with their son's best pleasure▪  
The Virgin comes; His eyes can find no leisure,  
To own another object: O, the greeting  
Th'impatient lovers had at their first meeting!  
The Lover speaks; She answers; He replies;  
She blushes; He demandeth; She denies;  
He pleads affection; She doubts; He sues  
For nuptial love; She questions; He renews  
His earnest suit: Importunes; She relents;  
He must have no denial; She consents:  
They pass their mutual loves: Their joined hands  
Are equal earnest of the nuptial bands:  
The parents are agreed; All parties pleased;  
The day's set down; the lover's hearts are eased,  
Nothing displeases now, but the long stay  
Betwixt th'appointment, and the marriage day.  

Meditat. 8.  
'tIs too severe a censure: If the Son  
Take him a wife; the marriage fairly done,  
Without consent of parents, (who perchance  
Had raised his higher price, knew where t'advance  
His bettered fortunes to one hundred more)  
He lives, a Fornicator; She, a Whore:  
Too hard a censure! And it seems to me,  
The Parent's most delinquent of the three:  
What; if the better minded Son do aim  
At worth? What, if rare virtues do inflame  
His rapt affection? What, if the condition  
Of an admired, and dainty disposition  
Hath wen his soul? Whereas the covetous Father  
Finds her Gold light, and recommends him, rather,  
T'an old worn widow, whose more weighty purse  
Is filled with gold, and with the Orphan's curse;  
The sweet exubrance of whose full mouthed portion  
Is but the cursed issue of extortion;  
Whose worth, perchance, lies only in her weight,  
Or in the bosom of her great estate;  
What, if the Son, (that does not care to buy  
Abundance at so dear a rate) deny  
The soule-detesting proffer of his Father,  
And in his better judgement chooses, rather,  
To match with meaner Fortunes, and desert?  
I think that Mary chose the better part,  
What noble Families (that have outgrown  
The best records) have quite been overthrown  
By wilful parents, that will either force  
Their sons to match, or haunt them with a curse!  
That can adapt their humours, to rejoice,  
And fancy all things, but their children's choice!  
Which makes them, often, timorous to reveal  
The close desires of their hearts, and steal  
Such matches, as, perchance, their fair advice  
Might, in the bud, have hindered in a trice;  
Which done, and past, O, than their hasty spirit  
Can think of nothing, under Disinherit;  
He must be quite discarded, and exiled;  
The furious father must renounce his child;  
Nor Prayer nor Blessing must he have; bereiven  
Of all; Nor must he live, nor die forgiven;  
When as the Father's rashness, oftentimes,  
Was the first causer of the children's crimes.  
Parents▪ be not too cruel: Children do  
Things, oft, too deep for us t'enquire into:  
What father would not storm, if his wild Son  
Should do the deed, that Samson here had done?  
Nor do I make it an exemplar act;  
Only, let parents not be too exact  
To curse their children, or to dispossess  
Them of their blessings, Heaven may chance to bless:  
Be not too strict: Fair language may recure  
A fault of youth, whilst rougher words obdure.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
Samson goes down to celebrate  
his marriage and his nuptial feast:  
The Lion, which he ●lew of late  
hath honey in his putrid breast.  
Sect. 9  
When as the long expected time was come,  
Wherein these lingering Lovers should consumme  
The promised marriage, & observe the rites,  
Pertaining to those festival delights,  
Samson went down to Timnah; there, t'enjoy  
The sweet possession of his dearest joy;  
But as he passed those fruitful Vineyards, where  
His hands of late, acquit him of that fear  
(Wherewith the fierce assaulting Lion quailed  
His yet unpractised courage) and prevailed  
Upon his life; as by that place he passed,  
He turned aside, and borrowed of his haste  
A little time, wherein his eyes might view  
The Carcase of the Lion which he slew;  
But when his wand'ring footsteps had drawn near  
The unlamented hearse, his wondering ear  
Perceived a murmuring noise, discerning not  
From whence that strange confusion was, or what;  
He stays his steps, and hearkens; still the voice  
Presents his ear, with a continued noise;  
At length, his gently moving feet apply  
Their paces to the Carcase, where his eye  
Discerns a Swarm of Bees, whose laden thighs  
Reposed their burdens, and the painful prize  
Of their sweet labour in the hollow Chest  
Of the dead Lion, whose unboweled breast  
Became their plenteous storehouse, where, they laid  
The blessed increase of their laborious Trade;  
The fleshly Hive was filled with curious Combs,  
Within whose dainty waxe-divided rooms,  
Were shops of honey, whose delicious taste  
Did sweetly recompense th'adjourned haste  
Of lingering Samson, who does now repay  
The time he borrowed from his better way,  
And with renewed speed, and pleasure, flies,  
Where all his soul-delighting treasure lies;  
He goes to Timnah, where his heart doth find  
A greater sweetness, than he left behind;  
His hasty hands invites her gladder eyes  
To see, and lips to taste that obvious prize  
His interrupted stay had lately taken,  
And as she tasted, his fixed eyes would look  
Upon her varnished lips, and, there, discover  
A sweeter sweetness to content a Lover:  
And now the busy Virgins are preparing  
Their costly jewels, for the next days wearing;  
Each lap is filled with Flowers, to compose  
The nuptial Garland, for the Bride's fair brows;  
The cost●neglecting Cooks have now increased  
Their pastry dainties to adorn the feast;  
Each willing hand is labouring to provide▪  
The needful ornaments to deck the Bride.  
But now, the crafty Philistines, for fear  
Lest Samsons strength, (which startled every ear  
With dread and w●nder) under that pretence,  
Should gain the means, to offer violence;  
And, through the show of nuptial devotion,  
Should take advantages to breed commotion,  
Or lest his popular power, by coaction  
Or fair entreaties, may gather to his faction  
Some loose and discontented men of theirs,  
And so betray them to suspected fears;  
They therefore to prevent ensuing harms,  
Gave strict command, that thirty men of arms,  
Under the ma●ke of Bridemen, should attend  
Until the nuptial ceremonies end.  

Meditat. 9  
HOw high, unutterable, how profound,  
(Whose depth the line of knowledge cannot sound)  
Are the deerces of the Eternal God  
How secret are his ways, and how untrod  
By man's conceit, so deeply charged with doubt!  
How are his Counsels past our finding out!  
O, how unscrutable are his designs!  
How deep, and how unsearchable are the Mines  
Of his abundant Wisdom! how obscure  
And his eternal judgements! and how sure!  
Lists he to strike? the very Stones shall fly  
From their unmoved Foundations, and destroy:  
Lists he to punish? Things that have no sense,  
Shall vindicate his Quarrel, on th'Offence:  
Lists he to send a plague? The winter's heat  
And summer's damp, shall make his will complete:  
Lists he to send the Sword? Occasion brings  
New jealousies betwixt the hearts of Kings:  
Wills he a famine? Heaven shall turn to brass,  
And earth to Iron, till it come to pass:  
Both stocks, and stones, and plants, and beasts fulfil  
The secret Counsel of his sacred will,  
Man, only wretched Man, is disagreeing  
To do that thing, for which he had his being:  
Samson must down to Timnah; in the way  
Must meet a Lion, whom his hands must slay;  
The Lion's putrid Carcase must enclose  
A swarm of Bees; and, from the Bees, arose  
A Riddle; and that Riddle must be read,  
And by the reading, Choler must be bred,  
And that must bring to pass Gods just designs  
Upon the death of the false Philistines:  
Behold the progress, and the royal Gests  
Of Heavens high vengeance; how it never rests,  
Till, by appointed courses, it fulfil  
The secret pleasure of his sacred will.  
Great Saviour of the world; Thou Lamb of Zion,  
That hides our sins; That art the wounded Lion▪  
O, in thy dying body, we have found  
A world of honey; whence we may propound  
Such sacred Riddles, as shall, underneath  
Our feet, subdue the power of Hell and Death;  
Such Mysteries; as none but he, that ploughed  
With thy sweet Hayfer's able to uncloud;  
Such sacred Mysteries, whose eternal praise  
Shall make both Angels, and Archangels raise  
Their louder voices, and, in triumph, sing,  
All Glory and Honour to our highest King,  
And to the Lamb, that sits upon the throne;  
Worthy of power and praise is he, alone,  
Whose glory hath advanced our key of mirth;  
Glory to God, on high; and peace, on Earth.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The Bridegroom, at his nuptial Feast,  
to the Philistians, doth propound  
A Riddle: which they all addressed  
themselves, in counsel to expound.  
Sect. 10.  

NOw, when the glory of the next day's light  
Had chased the shadows of the tedious night,  
〈◊〉 coupling Hymen with his nuptial bands,  
〈◊〉 g●lden Fetters, had conjoined their hands;  
〈◊〉 jolly welcome had to every Guest,  
●●pos'd the bounty of the marriage Feast;  
〈◊〉 now appeased stomaches did enlarge  
〈◊〉 captive tongues, with power to discharge  
〈◊〉 quit their Table-duty, and disburse  
〈◊〉 store of interchangeable discourse,  
〈◊〉 ●●genious Bridegroom turned his rolling eyes  
〈◊〉 his guard of Bridemen, and applies  
●●●peech to them: And, whilst that every man  
〈◊〉 his attentive ear, he thus began;  
My t●ngue's in labour, and my thoughts abound;  
〈◊〉 a doubtful Riddle, to propound;  
〈◊〉 if your joined wisdoms can discover,  
〈◊〉 our seven days feasting be passed over;  
〈◊〉, thirty Sheets, and thirty new supplies  
●●●●●●ment shall be your deserved prize:  
〈◊〉 be seven days feast shall be dissolved,  
〈◊〉 darkened Riddle be resolved,  
Ye shall be all engaged to resign  
The like to me, the victory being mine:  
So said; the Bridemen, whose exchanged eyes  
Found secret hopes of conquest, thus replies:  
Propound thy Riddle: Let thy tongue dispatch  
Her cloudy errand: We accept the match:  
With that, the hopeful Challenger conveyed  
His Riddle to their harkening ears, and said;   

The Riddle.  
Our food, in plenty, doth proceed  
from him that used to eat;  
And he, whose custom was to feed  
does now afford as meat;  
A thing that I did lately meet,  
as I did pass along,  
Afforded me a dainty sweet,  
yet was both sharp and strong:   

The doubtful Riddle being thus propounded,  
They muse; the more they mused, the more confounded▪  
One rounds his whispering neighbour in the ear,  
Whose labouring lips deny him leave to hear:  
Another, trusting rather to his own  
Conceit, sits musing, by himself, alone:  
Here, two are closely whispering, till a third  
Comes in, nor to the purpose speaks a word:  
There, sits two more, and they cannot agree  
How rich the clothes, how fine the Sheets must be  
Yonder stands one that, musing, smiles; no doubt,  
But he is near it, if not found it out;  
To whom another rudely rushes in,  
And puts him quite beside his thought again:  
〈◊〉, three are Whispering, and a fourth's intrusion  
Spoils all, and puts them all into confusion:  
●●re sits another in a Chair, so deep  
〈◊〉 thought, that he is nodding fast asleep:  
The more their busy fancy do endever,  
The more they err; Now, farther off, than ever:  
〈◊〉 when their wits, spurred on with sharp desire,  
Had lost their breath, and now began to tyre,  
They ceased to tempt conceit beyond her strength▪  
And, weary of their thoughts, their thoughts at length  
Present a new exploit: Craft must supply  
Defects of wit; Their hopes must now rely  
Upon the frailty of the tender Bride;  
She must be moved; Persuasions may attain;  
If not, than rougher language must constrain:  
She must diclose the Riddle, and discover  
The bosom secrets of her faithful Lover.   

Medita. 10.  
THere is a time, to laugh: A time, to turn  
Our smiles to tears: There is a time to mourn:  
There is a time for joy, and a time for grief,  
A time to want, and a time to find relief,  
A time to bind, and there's a time to break,  
A time for silence, and a time to speak,  
A time to labour, and a time to rest,  
A time to fast in, and a time to feast:  
Things, that are lawful, have their times, and use;  
Created good; and, only by abuse,  
Made bad: Our sinful usage does unfashion  
What heaven hath made, and makes a new creation;  
joy is a blessing: but too great excess  
Makes joy, a madness, and, does quite unblesse  
So sweet a gift; And, what, by moderate use;  
Crowns our desires, banes them in th'abuse:  
Wealth is a blessing; But too eager thirst  
Of having more, makes what we have, accursed:  
Rest is a blessing; But when Rest withstands  
The healthful labour of our helpful hands,  
It proves a curse; and stains our guilt, with crime,  
Betrays our irrecoverable time:  
To feast and to refresh our hearts with pleasure,  
And fill our souls with th'overflowing measure  
Of heavens blessed bounty, cannot but commend  
The precious favours of so sweet a friend;  
But, when th'abundance of a liberal diet,  
Meant for a blessing, is abused by Riot,  
Th'abused blessing, leaves the gift, nay, worse,  
It is transformed, and turned into a curse:  
Things that afford most pleasure, in the use,  
Are ever found most harmful in the abuse:  
Use them like Masters; and their tyrannous hand  
Subjects thee, like a slave, to their command;  
Use them as Servants; and they will obey thee;  
Take heed; they'● either bless thee, or betray thee.  
Could our Fore fathers but revive, and see  
Their children's Feasts, as now a days they be:  
Their studied dishes, Their restoring stuff,  
To make their wanton body's sin enough;  
Their stomack-whetting Salads, to invite  
Their wasteful palate to an appetite;  
Their thirst-procuring dainties, to refine  
Their wanton tastes, and make them strong, for wine;  
Their costly viands, charged with rich perfume;  
Their Viper-wines, to make old age presume  
To feel new lust, and youthful flames again,  
And serve another prenticeship to sin:  
Their time-betraying Music; their base noise  
Of odious Fiddlers; with their smooth-faced boys,  
Whose tongues are perfect, if they can proclaim  
The Quintessence of baseness without shame;  
Their deepe-mouthed curses, new invented oaths,  
Their execrable Blasphemy, that loathes  
A mind to think on; their obsceaner words,  
Their drunken Quarrels, their unsheathed swords:  
O how they'd bless themselves, & blush, for shame,  
In our behalves, and hast from whence they came,  
To kiss their graves, that hid them from the crimes  
Of these accursed and prodigious times.  
Great God; O, can thy patient eye behold  
This height of sin, and can thy vengeance hold?    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The Philistines cannot unsolve  
the Riddle: They corrupt the Bride;  
She woos her Bridegroom to resolve  
her doubt, but goes away denied.  
Sect. 11.  
NOw when three days had run their hours out,  
And left no hope for wit-forsaken doubt  
To be resolved, the desperate undertakers  
Conjoined their whispering heads; (being all partakers  
And joynt-advisers in their newlaid plot)  
The time's concluded: Have ye not forgot  
How the old Tempter, when he first began  
To work th'unhappy overthrow of man,  
Accosts the simple woman; and reflects  
Upon the frailty of her weaker Sex;  
Even so these cursed Philistians (being taught  
And tutored by the self same spirit) wrought  
The self same way; Their speedy steps are bend  
To the fair Bride; Their haste could give no vent  
To their coarcted thoughts; their language made  
A little respite; and, at length, they said;  
Fairest of Creatures: Let thy gentle heart  
Receive the crown, due to so fair desert;  
We have a Suit, that must attend the leisure  
Of thy best thoughts, and joy-restoring pleasure;  
Our names, and credits linger at the stake  
Of deppe dishonour: If thou undertake,  
〈◊〉 pleasing language, to prevent the loss,  
They must sustain, and draw them from the dross  
Of their own ruins, they shall meercly owe  
Themselves unto the goodness, and shall know  
No other Patron, and acknowledge none,  
As their redeemer, but thy love alone:  
We cannot read the Riddle, whereunto  
We have engaged our goods, and credits too;  
〈◊〉 thy jolly Bridegroom; to unfold  
The hidden Mystery, (what can he withhold  
〈◊〉 the rare beauty of so rare a brow?)  
And when thou know'st it, let thy servants know:  
What? dost thou frown? And must our easy trial▪  
At first, read Hierogly ●hickes of denial?  
And are thou silent too? Noy, we'll give o'er  
T● 〈◊〉 thy Bridal fondness any more:  
Betray your lovely husbands secrets? No,  
〈◊〉 first betray us, and our land: but know,  
Proud Samsons wife, our furies shall make good  
〈◊〉 loss of wealth and honour, in thy blood:  
●●ere fair entreaties spend themselves in vain,  
There f●●r shall consume, or else constrain.  
Kn●w then, falsehearted Bride, if our request  
〈◊〉 find no place within thy sullen breast,  
〈◊〉 hands shall vindicate our lost desire,  
And burn thy father's house, and thee with fire:  
Thus having lodged their errand in her cares;  
They left the room▪ and her, unto her fears;  
Who thus bethought; hard is the case, that I  
Must or betray my husband's trust, or dye;  
I have a Wolf by th' ears: I dare be bold,  
Neither with safety, to let go, nor hold:  
What shall I do? Their minds if I fulfil not,  
●Tis death; And to betray his trust, I will not:  
Nay, should my lips demand, perchance, his breath  
Will not resolve me,: Then, no way, but death:  
The wager is not great; Rather the strife  
Were ended in his loss, than in my life;  
His life consists in mine, If ought amiss  
Befall my life, it may endanger his:  
Wagers must yield to life; I hold it best,  
Of necessary evils, to choose the least:  
Why doubt I then? when Reason bids me do;  
I'll know the Riddle, and betray it too:  
With that, she quits her chamber, with her cares,  
And in her closet locks up all her fears,  
And, with a speed untainted with delay,  
She found that breast, wherein her own heart lay;  
Where resting for a while, at length, did take  
A fair occasion to look up, and spoke:  
Life of my soul, and love perpetual treasure,  
If my desires be suiting to thy pleasure,  
My lips would move a Suit; My doubtful breast  
Would fain prefer an undenyed request:  
Speak then (my joy): Let thy fair lips expound  
That dainty Riddle, whose dark pleasure crowned  
Our first day's feast; Enlighten my dull brain,  
That, ever since, hath mused, and mu'sd in vain;  
Who, often smiling on his lovely Bride,  
That longs to go away resolved, replied;  
joy of my heart, let not thy troubled breast  
Take the denial of thy small request,  
As a defect of love: excuse my tongue  
That must not grant thy suit without a wrong  
To resolution, daring not discover  
The hidden Mystery, till the time be ●ver;  
Cease to importune then, what cannot be;  
My parents know it not, as well as thee:  
〈◊〉 ought but this, thy Suit shall overcome me;  
Excuse me then, and go not angry from me.  

Meditat. 11.  
HOw apprehensive is the heart of Man  
Of all, and only those poor things that can  
Lend him a minute's pleasure, and appay  
His sweat but with the happiness of a day!  
How can he toil for trifles, and take pain  
For fading goods, that only entertain  
His pleased thoughts with poor & painted shows,  
Whose joy hath no more truth, than what it owes  
To change! How are the objects of his musing  
Worthless, and vain, that perish in the using?  
How reasonable are his poor desires,  
The height of whose ambition, but aspires  
To flitting shadows, which can only crown  
His labour, with that nothing, of their own!  
We feed on husks, that might as well ataine  
The fatted Calf, by coming home again:  
And, like to Esan, while we are suppressing  
Our present wants, neglect and lose the blessing:  
How wise we are for things, whose pleasure cools  
Like breath▪ For everlasting joys, what Fools!  
How witty, how ingeniously wise,  
To save our credits, or to win a prize!  
We plot; Our brows are studious: First we try  
One way; If that succeed not, we apply  
Our doubtful minds to attemt another course:  
We take advice; consult; our tongues discourse  
Of better ways; and, what our failing brains,  
Cannot effect with fair and fruitless pains;  
There, crooked fraud must help, and sly deceit  
Must lend a hand, which by the potent sleight  
Of right-forsaking Bribry must betray  
The prize into our hands, and win the day,  
Which if it fail (it does but seldom fail)  
Then open force, and fury must prevail:  
When strength of wit, and secret power of fraud  
Grow dull, constraint must conquer, and applaud  
With ill got victory; which at length obtained,  
Alas, how poor a trifle have we gained!  
How are our souls distempered; to engross  
Such fading pleasures! To ore-prize the dross,  
And underrate the Gold▪ for painted joys,  
To sell the true, and heaven itself for Toys!  
Lord; clarify mine eyes, that I may know  
Things that are good, from what are good in show▪  
And give me wisdom, that my heart my learn  
The difference of thy favours, and discern  
What's truly good, from what is good in part;  
With Martha's trouble, give me Maries heart,    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The Bride she begs, and beg sin vain:  
But like to a prevailing wooer,  
She sues, and sues, and sues again;  
At last he reads the Riddle to her.  
Sect. 12.  

WHen the next morning had renewed the day,  
And th'early twilight now had chased away  
The pride of night, and made her lay aside  
Her spangled Robes, the discontented Bride  
(Whose troubled thoughts were tired with the night,  
And broken slumbers, long had wished for light)  
With a deep sigh her sorrow did awake  
Her drowsy Bridegroom, whom she thus bespoke:  
O, if thy love could share an equal part  
In the sad griefs of my afflicted heart,  
Thy closed eyes had never, in this sort,  
●in pleased with rest, and made thy night so short:  
Perchance, if my dull eyes had slumbered too,  
My dreams had done, what thou denied to do:  
Perchance, my Fancy would have been so kind,  
Tunsolve the doubts of my perplexed mind,  
'twas a small suit, that thy unlucky Bride  
Must light upon: Too small to be denied:  
Can love so soon—? But ere her lips could spend  
The following words, he said, suspend, suspend  
Thy rash attempt, and let thy tongue dispense  
With forced denial: Let thy lips commence  
Some greater Suit, and Samson shall make good  
Thy fair desires with his dearest blood:  
Speak then, my love; thou shall not w●sh, and want;  
Thou canst not beg, what Samson cannot grant:  
Only, in this, excuse me: and refrain  
To beg, what thou, perforce, must beg in vain.   

In exorable Samson: Can the tears  
From those fair ●yes, not move thy deafened ears?  
O can those drops, that trickle from those eyes  
Upon thy naked bosom, not surprise  
Thy neighbouring heart? and force it to obey?  
O can thy hear● not melt as well as they?  
Thou little thinkst thy poor afflicted wife  
Importunes thee, and woes thee for her life:  
Her Suit's as great a Riddle to thi●e ears,  
As thine, to hers; O, these distilling tears  
Are silent pleaders, and her moistened breath  
Would fain redeem her, from the gates of death?  
May not her tears prevail; Alas, thy strife  
Is but for wagers; Her's, poor Soul, for life.   

Now when this day had yielded up his right  
To the succeeding Empress of the night,  
Whose soone-deposed raignc did reconvay  
Her crown and Sceptre to the new borne day,  
The restless Bride (fears cannot brook denial)  
Renews her suit, and attempts a further trial;  
Entreats; conjures; she leaves no way untride:  
She will not, no, she must not be denied:  
But he (the portals of whose marble heart  
Was locked and barred against the powerful art  
Of oft repeated tears,) stood deaf and dumb;  
He must not, no, he will not be o'ercome.  
Poor Bride! How is thy glory overcast!  
How is the pleasure of the Nuptials passed,  
When scarce begun! Alas, how poor a breath  
Of joy, must puff thee to untimely death!  
The day's at hand, wherein thou must untie  
The Riddles tangled Snarl, or else must dye:  
Now, when that day was come wherein the feast  
Was to expire; the Bride, (whose pensive breast  
Grew sad to death) did once more undertake  
Her too resolved Bridegroom thus, and spoke:  
Upon these knees, that prostrate on the floor,  
Are lowly bended, and shall ne'er give over  
To move thy goodness, that shall never rise,  
Until my Suit find favour in thine eyes,  
Upon these naked knees, I here present  
My sad request: O let thy heart relent;  
A Suitor sues, that never sued before;  
And she begs now, that never will beg more:  
Hast thou vowed silence? O remember, how  
Thou art engaged by a former vow;  
Thy heart is mine; The secrets of thy heart  
Are mine; Why art thou dainty to impart  
Mine own, to me? Then, give me leave to sue  
For what, my right may challenge as her due;  
Unfold thy Riddle then, that I may know,  
Thy love is more; then only love in show:  
The Bridegroom, thus enchanted by his Bride,  
Unsealed his long-kept silence, and replied:  
Thou sole, and great commandress of my heart,  
Thou hast prevailed; my bosom shall impart  
The sum of thy desires, and discharge  
The faithful secrets of my soul, at large;  
Know then, (my joy) Upon that very day,  
I, first, made known my'affection, on the way,  
I met, and grappled with a sturdy Lion,  
Having nor staff nor weapon, to rely on,  
I was enforced to prove my naked strength;  
Unequal was the match, but at the length,  
This brawny Arm receiving strength from him  
That gave it life, I tore him limb from limb,  
And left him dead: Now when the time was come,  
Wherein our promised nuptials were to sum,  
And perfect all my joys, as I was coming  
That very way, he strange confused humming,  
Not distant far, possessed my wondering ear,  
Where guided by the noise, there did appear  
A swarm of Bees, whose busy labours filled  
The Carcase of that Lion which I killed  
With Combs of Honey, wherewithal I fed  
My lips and thine: And now my Riddle's read.   

Medita. 12.  
THe soul of man, before the taint of Nature,  
Bore the fair Image of his great Creator;  
His understanding had no cloud: His will  
No cross: That, knew no Error; This, no ill:  
But man transgressed; And by his woeful fall,  
Lost that fair Image, and that little all  
Was left, was all corrupt; His understanding  
Exchanged her object; Reason left commanding;  
His Memory was depraved, and his will  
Can find no other subject now; but Ill:  
It grew distempered, left the righteous reine  
Of better Reason, and did entertain,  
The rule of Passion, under whose command,  
〈◊〉 fuffered Shipwreck, upon every Sand:  
Where it should march, it evermore retires;  
And, what is most forbid, it most desires:  
〈◊〉 makes it see too much, and often, blind;  
〈◊〉 makes it light, and waver like the wind:  
〈◊〉 makes it fierce, and studious; Anger, mad;  
〈◊〉 makes it careless; Sorrow, dull and sad;  
〈◊〉 makes it nimble, for a needless trial;  
〈◊〉 makes it too impatient of denial.  
●●eat Lord of humane souls; O thou, that art  
The only true refiner of the heart;  
Those hands created all things perfect good,  
What canst thou now expect of flesh and blood?  
How are our leprous Souls put out of fashion!  
〈◊〉 are our Wills subjected to our passion!  
How is thy glorious Image soiled, defaced,  
And stained with sin! How are our thoughts displaced!  
How wavering are our hopes, turned here and there  
With every blast! How carnal is our fear!  
Where needs no fear, we start at every shade,  
But fear not, where we ought to be afraid.  
Great God If thou wilt please but to refine  
Our hearts, and reconforme our wills, to thine,  
Thou'lt take a pleasure in us, and poor we  
Should find as infinite delight in Thee;  
Our doubts would cease, our fears would all remove,  
And all our passions would turn joy, and Love;  
Till then, expect for nothing that is good:  
Remember, Lord, we are but Flesh and Blood.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The Philistines, by her advice,  
expound the Riddle: Samson killed  
Thirty Philistians, in a trice;  
forsakes his Bride: His Bed's defiled.  
Sect. 13.  
NO sooner was the Bride's attentive ears  
Resolved, and pleased; but her impetuous fears  
Calls in the Bridemen; and to them betrayed,  
The secret of the Riddle thus, and said:  
〈◊〉 Sons of Thunder; 'twas not the loud noise  
〈…〉 provoking threats, nor the soft voice  
〈…〉 prevailing fears, that thus addressed  
〈◊〉 ●●●lding heart to grant your forced request;  
〈◊〉 language needed not have been so rough  
〈…〉 too much, when lesse had been enough:  
〈◊〉 speech at first was honey in mine ear;  
〈…〉, it proved a Lion, and did tear  
〈◊〉 wounded soul: It sought to force me to  
〈◊〉 your entreaties w●re more apt to do:  
〈◊〉 then (to keep your lingering ears no longer  
〈◊〉 what ye long to hear;) there's nothing stronger  
Than a fierce Lion: Nothing more can greet  
〈◊〉 pleased palates, with a greater sweet,  
Then Honey: But more fully to expound,  
〈◊〉 a dead Lion, there was Hony found.  
Now when the Sun was welking in the West,  
Whose fall determines both the day, and Feast)  
The hopeful Bridegroom (he whose smiling brow  
Assured his hopes a speedy Conquest now)  
Even thirsting for victorious Triumph, broke  
The crafty silence of his lips, and spoke:  
The time is come whose latest hour ends  
Our nuptial Feast, and fairly recommends  
The wreath of Conquest to the victor's brow:  
Say, is the Riddle read? Expound it now;  
And, for your pains, these hands shall soon resign  
Your conquered prize: If not, The prize is mine:  
With that, they joined their whispering heads, and made  
A Speaker; who in louder language, said;  
Of all the sweets that ere were known,  
There's none so pleasing be,  
As those rare 〈◊〉 which do crown  
The labour of the Bee:  
Of all the creatures in the field;  
That ever man set eye on,  
There's none, whose power doth not yield  
Unto the stronger Lyon.  
Whereto th'offended Challenger, whose eye  
Proclaimed a quick Revenge, made this reply:  
No Hony's sweeter than a woman's tongue;  
And, when she list, Lions are not so strong:  
How thrice accursed are they, that do fulfil  
The lewd desires of a woman's will!  
How more accursed is he, that doth impart  
His bosome-secrets to a woman's heart;  
They plead like Angel, and, like Crocodiles,  
Kill with their tears; They murder with their smiles:  
How weak a thing is woman? Nay how weak  
Is senseless Man, that will be urged to break  
His counsels in her ear, that hath no power  
To make secure a secret, for an homer!  
〈◊〉, Victors, no: Had not a woman's mind  
〈◊〉 faithless, and unconstant, as the wind,  
Mr Riddle had, till now, a Riddle been;  
〈◊〉 might have mused, and mist; and mused 〈◊〉,  
When the next day had heaved his golden head  
From the soft pillow of his Seagreen bed;  
And, with his rising glory, had possessed  
The spacious borders of th'enlightened East,  
Samson arose, and in a rage, went down  
(By heaven directed) to a neighbouring town:  
His choler was inflamed and from his eye  
The sudden flashes of his wrath did fly,  
Paleness was in his cheeks, and from his breath,  
There flew the fierce Ambassadors of death;  
He heaved his hand, and where it fell, it flew:  
He spent, and still his forces would renew:  
His quick-redoubled blows fell thick as thunder:  
And, whom he took alive, he tore in sunder:  
His arm ne'er missed: And often, at a blow,  
He made a Widow, and an Orphan too:  
Here, it divides the Father from the child,  
The husband from his Wife: there, it despoiled  
The friend on's friend, the Sister of her brother:  
And, oft, with one man, he would thrash another:  
Where never was, he made a little flood,  
And where there was no Kin, he joined in blood,  
Wherein, his ruthless hands he did imbrue:  
Thrice ten, before he scarce could breathe, he slew:  
Their upper Garments, which he took away,  
Were all the spoils the Victor had, that day:  
Wherewith, he quit the wagers that he lost,  
Paying Philistians, with Philistians cost:  
And thus, at length, with blood he did assuage,  
〈◊〉 yet not quench the fire of his rage,  
For now the thought of his disloyal wife,  
In his sad soul, renewed a second strife,  
From whom, for fear his fury should recoil,  
He thought most fit t'absent himself a while;  
Unto his father's Tent, he now returned;  
Where, his divided passion raged, and mourned;  
In part, he mourned; and, he raged, in part,  
To see so fair a face; so false a heart:  
But mark the mischief that his absence brings;  
His bed's defiled, and the nuptial strings  
Are stretched and cracked: A second love doth smother  
The first; And she is wedded to another.  

Meditat. 13.  
WAs this that womb, the Angel did enlarge  
From barrenness? And gave so strict a charge?  
was this that womb, that must not be defiled  
With unclean meats, lest it pollute the child?  
Is this the Nazarite? May a Nazarite, then,  
Imbrue and paddle in the bloods of men?  
Or may their vows be so dispensed withal,  
That they, who searce may see a funeral,  
Whose holy footsteps must beware to tread  
Upon, or touch the carcase of the dead?  
May these revenge their wrongs, by blood? may these  
Have power to kill, & murder where they please?  
'tis true: A holy Nazarite is forbid  
To do such things as this our Nazarite did:  
He may not touch the bodies of the dead,  
Without pollution; much less, may shed  
The blood of man, or touch it, being spilt,  
Without the danger of a double guilt:  
But who art thou, that art an undertaker,  
To question with, or plead against thy Maker?  
May not that God, that gave thee thy creation,  
Turn thee to nothing, by his dispensation?  
He that hath made the Sabbath, and commands  
It shall be kept with unpolluted hands;  
Yet if he please to countermand again,  
Man may securely labour, and not sin;  
A Nazarite is not allowed to shed  
The blood of man, or once to touch the dead;  
But if the God of Nazarites, bids kill  
He may; and be a holy Nazarite still:  
But stay! Is God like Man? Or can he border  
Upon confusion, that's the God of order?  
The Persian Laws no time may contradict;  
And are the Laws of God less firm and strict?  
An earthly Parent wills his child to stand  
And wait, within a while he gives command  
(Finding the weakness of his son oppressed  
With weariness) that he sit down and rest;  
Is God unconstant then, because he pleases  
To alter, what he willed us, for our eases?  
Know, likewise, O ungrateful flesh and blood,  
God limits his own glory, for our good:  
He is the God of mercy, and he prizes  
Thine Ass' life above his Sacrifices;  
His Sabbath is his glory, and thy rest;  
he'll lose some honour, ere thou lose a Beast:  
Great God of mercy; O, how apt are we  
To rob thee of thy due, that art so free  
To give unasked! Teach me, O God, to know  
What portion I deserve, and tremble too.  
●That hear the news) thus with himself besought;  
It cannot be excused: It was a fault,  
It was a foul one too; and, at first sight,  
〈◊〉 great for love, or pardon to acquit:  
●, ●ad it been a stranger, that betrayed  
●●posed secrets, I had only laid  
The blame ●pon my unadvised tongue;  
Or bade a common friend but done this wrong  
To bosom trust, my patience might out warn it▪  
I could endured, I could have easily borne it;  
〈◊〉 this to be betrayed by a wi●e,  
The par●ner of my heart; to whom my life,  
〈◊〉 very soul was not estee●ed dear,  
It 〈◊〉 than flesh, is more than blood can bear:  
〈◊〉 yet alas, She was but green and young,  
And had not gained the conquest of her tongue;  
●●season'd vessels, wi●● find a leak  
At first; but after hold: She is but weak;  
●●y, cannot yet write woman; which, at best,  
〈◊〉 a frail thing: Alas young, things will quest  
At every turn; Indeed, to say the truth,  
Her years could make it but a fault of youth:  
Samson, return; and let that fault be set  
Vpo● the score of youth: forgive, forget:  
〈◊〉 is my wife: Her love hath power to hide  
A fouler error; Why should I divide  
My presence from her? There's no greater wrong  
〈◊〉 love, than to be silent over long:  
〈◊〉, poor soul! No doubt, her tender eye  
〈◊〉 wept enough; perchance she knows not why  
〈◊〉 turned so great a stranger to her bed,  
And board: Nodoubt, her empty eyes have shed  
A ●●●ld of tears; perchance, her 〈◊〉 thought  
〈◊〉 my absence 〈◊〉 a greater fault  
Then that of late, her harmless error did;  
I'll go and draw a reconciling Kid  
From the fair flock; My feet shall never rest,  
Till I repose me in my Bride's fair breast;  
He went, but ere his speedy lips obtained  
The merits of his haste, darkness had stained  
The crystal brow of day; and gloomy night  
Had spoiled and rifled heaven of all his light:  
HE approached the gates; but being entered in,  
His careless welcome seemed so cold and thin,  
As if that silence meant, it should appear,  
He was no other, than a stranger there;  
In every servants look, he did espy  
An easy Copy of their Master's eye;  
He called his wife, but she was gone to rest;  
Unto her wont chamber he addressed  
His doubtful steps; till by her father, stayed,  
Who taking him aside a little, said:  
Son,  
It was the late espousals that do move  
My tongue to use that title; not thy love:  
'Tis true; there was a Marriage lately passed  
Between my child and you; The knot was fast  
And firmly tied, not subject to the force  
Of any power, but death, or else divorce:  
For ought I saw, a mutual desire  
Kindled your like, and an equal fire  
Of strong affection, joined both your hands  
With the perpetual knot of nuptial bands;  
Mutual delight, and equal joys attended  
Your pleased hearts, until the feast was ended;  
But than I know no ground, (you know it best)  
As if your loves were measured by the Feast,  
The building fell, before the house did shake,  
〈◊〉 fire was quenched, ere it began to slake;  
All on a sudden were your joys despised;  
Forsook your Bride, and went away displeased;  
〈◊〉 left my child to the oppro●rions tongues  
Of open censure, whose malicious wrongs  
(Maligning her fair merits) did defame  
Her wounded honour, and unblemished na●e;  
I thought, thy love, which was so strong, of late,  
Had on a sudden, turned to perfect hate:  
At length, when as your longer absence did  
C●●firme my thoughts; and time had quite forbid  
Our hopes t' expect a reacdesse of love,  
Thinking some new affection did●●emove  
Your heart, and that some second choice might smother  
The first, I matched your Bride unto another;  
If 〈◊〉 have done amiss, the fault must be  
Imputed yours, and not to her, nor me;  
But if your easy loss may be redeemed  
With her fair Sister (who; you knows esteemed  
More beautiful than she, and younger too)  
She shall be firmly joined by nuptial vow,  
And, by a present contract, shall become  
Thy faithful spouse, in her lost sister's room:  
With that poor● Samson, like a man entranced,  
And newly wakened, thus his voice advanced;  
Presumptuus Philistine! That dost proceed  
From the base loins of that accursed seed,  
Blanded for slaughter, and marked out for death;  
And utter ruin; this my threatening breath  
Shall blast thy nation; This revenging hand  
Shall crush thy darkasse, and thy cursed land;  
●●le give thy flesh to Ravens; and ravenous Swine  
Shall take that rank and tainted blood of thine  
For wash and swill, to quench their eager thirst,  
Which they shall suck, and guzzle till they burst;  
I'll burn your standing Corn with flames of fire,  
That none shall quench; I'll drag ye in the mire  
Of your own bloods, which shall o'erflow the land  
And make your pasture barren as the sand;  
This ruthless arm shall smite and never stay,  
Until your land be turned a Golgotha;  
And if my actions prove my words untrue,  
Let Samson die, and be accursed, as you.   

Medit. 14.  
GOd is the God of peace: And if my brother  
Strike me on one cheek, must I turn the other?  
God is the God of mercy; And his child  
Must be as he his, Merciful and mild;  
God is the God of Love: But sinner know,  
His love abused, he's God of vengeance too.  
Is God the God of vengeance? And may none  
Revenge his private wrongs, but he alone?  
What means this frantic Nazarite to take  
God's office from his hand, and thus to make  
His wrongs amends? Who warranted his breath  
To threaten ruin, and to thunder death?  
Curious Inquisitor; when God shall strike  
By thy stout arm, thy arm may do the like:  
His Patent gives him power to create  
A deputy; to whom he doth collate  
Assistant power, in sufficient measure,  
To exercise the office of his pleasure;  
A lawful Prince is God's Lieutenant here:  
As great a Majesty as flesh can bear,  
He is endued with all; In his bright eye  
(Clothed in the flames of Majesty) doth lie  
Both life and death; into his royal heart  
Heaven doth inspire, and secretly impart  
The treasure of his Laws; Into his hand  
He thrusts his sword of justice and Command:  
He is God's Champion; where his voice bids, kill,  
He must not fear t'imbrew his hands, and spill,  
Abundant blood; Who gives him power to do,  
Will find him guiltless, and assist him too:  
O, but let flesh and blood take heed, that none  
Pretend God's quarrel, to revenge his own;  
Malice and base Revenge must step aside,  
When heavens uprighter Battles must be tried.  
Where carnal glory, or ambitious thirst  
Of simple conquest, or revenge, does burst  
Upon a neighbouring Kingdom; there to thrust  
Into another's Crown, the war's not just;  
'Tis but a private quarrel; and bereft  
Of lawful grounds; 'Tis but a Princely theft:  
But where the ground's Religion; to defend  
Abused faith, let Princes, there, contend,  
With dauntless courage: May their acts be glorious;  
Let them go, prosperous; and return victorious:  
What if the grounds be mixed? Fear not to go;  
Were not the grounds of Sampsons' Combat so?  
Go then with double courage and renown,  
When God shall mix thy quarrels with his own:  
'Tis a brave conflict; and a glorious Fray,  
Where God and Princes shall divide the Prey.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
He burns their standing corn; makes void  
Their Land: The Philistines inquire  
The cause of all their evil; destroyed  
The Timnite, and his house with fire.  
Sect. 15.  
AS rageful Samsons threatening language ceased,  
His resolution of revenge increased;  
Vengeance was in his thoughts, and his desire  
Wanted no fuel to maintain her fire:  
Passion grew hot and furious, whose delay  
Of execution, was but taking day  
For greater payment: His revengeful heart  
Boiled in his breast; whilst Fury did impart  
Her ready counsels, whose imperious breath,  
Could whisper nothing, under blood, and death:  
Revenge was studious, quickened his conceit,  
And s●rew'd her Engines to the very height:  
At length, when time had ripened his desires,  
And puffing rage had blown his secret fires  
To open flame, now ready for confusion,  
He thus began t' attempt his first conclusion;  
The patient Angler, first provides his bait,  
Before his hopes can teach him to await  
Th' enjoyment of his long expected prey;  
Revengeful Samson, ere he can appay  
His wrongs with timely vengeance, must intend  
To gain the Instruments, to work his end;  
He plants his Engines, hides his snares about,  
Pitches his Toils, finds new devices out,  
To tangle wily Foxes; In few days,  
(That land had store) his studious hand betrays  
A leash of hundreds, which he thus employ  
As Agents in his rashfull enterprise;  
With tough, and force-enduring thongs of Leth,  
He joins and couples tail, and tail together,  
And every thong bound in a Brand of fire,  
So made by Art, that motion would inspire  
Continual flames, and as the motion ceased,  
The thrifty blaze would then retire and rest  
In the close brand, until a second strife  
Gave it new motion; and that motion, life:  
Soon as these coupled Messengers received  
Their fiercy Errand, though they were bereived  
Of power to make great haste, they made good speed;  
Their thoughts were differing, though their tails agreed:  
T' one drags and draws to th' East; the other, West;  
One fit, they run, another while they rest;  
T' one skulks and snarls, the t' other tugs and hales;  
At length, both flee, with fire in their tails,  
And in the top and height of all their speed,  
T' one stops before the other be agreed;  
The other pulls, and drags his fellow back,  
Whilst both their tails were tortured on the rack;  
At last both weary of their warm Embassage,  
Their better ease descried a fairer passage,  
And time hath taught their wiser thoughts to join  
More close, and travel in a straighter lin●:  
Into the open Champion they divide  
Their straggling paces (where the ploughman's pride  
Found a fair object, in his ripened Corn;  
Whereof, some part was reaped; some, stood unshorn)  
Sometimes the fiery travellers would seek  
Protection beneath a swelling Reek;  
But soon that harbour grew too hot for stay,  
Affording only light, to run away;  
Sometimes, the full-eared standing●wheat must cover  
And hide their flames; and there the flames would hover  
About their ears, and send them to inquire  
A cooler place; but there the flaming fire  
Would scorch their hides; & send them singed away;  
Thus doubtful where to go, or where to stay,  
They range about; flee forward, then retire;  
Now here, now there, where ere they come, they fire:  
Nothing was left, that was not lost, and burned;  
And now, that fruitful land of Iewry's turned  
A heap of Ashes; That fair land, while ere  
Which filled all hearts with joy, and every ear  
With news of plenty, and of blessed increase,  
(The joyful issue of a happy peace)  
See, how it lies in her own ruins, void  
Of all her happiness, disguised, destroyed:  
With that the Philistines, whose sad relief  
And comfort's deeply buried in their grief,  
Began to question (they did all partake  
In th'irrecoverable loss) and spoke,  
What cursed brand of Hell? What more than Devil,  
What envious Miscreant hath done this evil?  
Whereto one sadly standing by, replied;  
It was that cursed Samson (Whose fair Bride  
Was lately ravished from his absent breast  
By her false father) who before the feast  
Of nuptial was a mo●th expired, and done,  
By second marriage, owned another Son;  
For which this Samson heaved from off the hinge  
Of his lost reason, studied this revenge;  
That Timnits falsehood wrought this desolation;  
Samson the Actor was, but he, th' occasion:  
With that they all consulted to proceed  
In height of justice, to revenge this deed;  
Samson whose hand was the immediate cause  
Of this foul act, is stronger than their laws;  
Him, they refer to time; For his proud hand  
May bring a second ruin to their land;  
The cursed Timnite, he that did divide  
The lawful Bridegroom from his lawful Bride,  
And moved the patience of so strong a foe,  
To bring these evils, and work their overthrow,  
To him they haste; and with resolved desire  
Of blood, they burn his house, & him with fire.  

Meditat. 15.  
DOst thou not tremble? does thy troubled care  
Not tingle? nor thy spirits faint to hear  
The voice of those, whose dying shrieks proclaim  
Their tortures, that are broiling in the flame?  
She, whose illustrious beauty did not know  
Where to be matched, but one poor hour ago;  
She, whose fair eyes were apt to make man err  
From his known faith, and turn Idolater;  
She, whose fair cheeks, enriched with true complexion,  
Seemed Beauty's store-house of her best perfection;  
See how she lies, see how this beauty lies,  
A foul offence, unto thy loathing eyes;  
A fleshly Cinder, lying on the floor  
Stark naked, had it not been covered over  
With bashful ruins, which were fallen down  
From the consumed roof, and rudely thrown  
On this half roasted earth. O; canst thou read  
Her double story, and thy heart not bleed?  
What art thou more than she? Tell me wherein  
Art thou more privileged▪ Or can thy sin  
Plead more t' excuse it? Art thou fair and young?  
Why so was she: Were thy temptations strong?  
Why so were hers: What canst thou plead, but she  
Had power to plead the same, as well as thee?  
Nor was 't her death alone, could satisfy  
Revenge; her father, and his house must die:  
Unpunished crimes do often bring them in,  
That were no less than strangers to the sin:  
Ely must die; because his fair reproof  
Of too foul sin, was not austere enough:  
Was vengeance now appeased? Hath not the crime  
Paid a sufficient Interest for the time?  
Remove thine eye to the Philistian fields▪  
See what increase their fruitful harvest yields:  
There's nothing there, but a confused heap  
Of ruinous Ashes: There's no corn to reap:  
Behold the poison of unpunished sin:  
For which the very earth's accursed again:  
Famine must act her part; her griping hand,  
For one man's sin must punish all the land:  
Is vengeance now appeased? Hath sin given over  
To cry for plagues? Must vengeance yet have more?  
O, now th' impartial sword must come; and spill  
The blood of such, as famine could not kill:  
The language of unpunished sin cries loud,  
It roars for justice, and it must have blood:  
Famine must follow, where the fire begun;  
The sword must end, what both have left undone.  
Just God our sins do dare thee to thy face;  
Our score is great, our Ephah fills apace;  
The leaden cover threatens every minute,  
To close the Ephah, and our sins within it.  
Turn back thine eye: Let not thine eye behold  
Such vile pollutions: Let thy vengeance hold:  
Look on thy dying Son, there shalt thou spy  
〈◊〉 object, that's more fitter for thine eye;  
〈◊〉 sufferings (Lord) are far above our fins:  
〈◊〉, look thou there; Ere justice once begins  
●T ' unsheathe her sword: O let one precious drop  
Fall from that pierced side, and that will stop  
The ears of vengeance, from that clamorous voice  
Of our loud sins, which make so great a noise:  
O, send that drop, before Revenge begins,  
And that will cry far louder than our sins.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
He makes a slaughter; Doth remove  
To Etans' rock, where to repay him  
The wrongs that he had done, they move  
The men of judah to betray him.  
Sect. 16.  
THus when th'accursed Philistians had apaid  
The Timnies' sin, with ruin: and betrayed  
Th'unjust Offenders to their fierce desire,  
And burned their cursed Family with fire:  
〈◊〉 the greatness of whose debt denied  
So short a payment: and whose wrongs yet crider  
For further vengeance, to be further laid  
Upon the sinne-conniving Nation, said,  
unjust Philistians, you that could behold  
〈◊〉 a crime, and yet withhold  
〈◊〉 well deserved punishment so long;  
〈◊〉 made you partners in their sin, my wrong;  
Had ye at first, when as the fault was young,  
Before that Time had lent her clamorous tongue  
So great a strength to call for so much blood;  
O, hid your early justice but thought good  
To strike in time; nay, had you then devised  
Some easier punishment, it had sufficed;  
But now it comes too late; The sin has cried,  
Till heaven hath heard, and mercy is denied:  
Nay, had the sin but sp●r'd to roar so loud,  
A drop had served, when now a Tide of blood  
Will hardly stop her mouth:  
Had ye done this betimes! But now, this hand  
Must plague your persons, and afflict your land:  
Have ye beheld a youth-instructing Tutor,  
(Whose wisdome's seldom seen, but in the future)  
When well deserved punishment shall call  
For the delinquent Boy; how, first of all,  
He preaches fairly; then proceeds austerer  
To the foul crime, whilst the suspicious hearer  
Trembles at every word, until at length,  
His language being ceased, th' unwelcome strength  
Of his rude arm, that often proves too rash,  
Strikes home, and fetches blood at every lash:  
Even so stout Samson, whose more gentle tongue,  
In easy terms, doth first declare though wrong,  
Injustice did, then tells the evil effects  
That man's connivance, and unjust neglects  
Does often bring upon th' afflicted land;  
But, at the last, upheaves his ruthless hand;  
He hews, he hacks, and fury being guide,  
His unresisted power doth divide  
From top to toe; his furious weapon cleft,  
Where ere it struck: It slew, and never left,  
Until his flesh-destroying arm, at length,  
Could find no subject, where t' employ his strength:  
Here stands a headstrong Steed, whose fainting guider  
Drops down; another drags his wounded rider:  
Now here, now there his frantic arm would thunder  
And at one stroke, cleaves horse & man in sunder,  
In whose mixed blood, his hands would oft imbrue,  
And where so ere they did but touch, they slew:  
Here's no employment for the Surgeon's trade,  
All wounds were mortal that his weapon made;  
There's none was left, but dying, or else dead,  
And only they, that scaped his fury, fled;  
The slaughter ended, the proud victor passed  
Through the afflicted land, until at last,  
He comes to judah; where he pitched his tent,  
At the rock Etan: There some time he spent;  
He spent not much, till the Philistian band,  
That found small comfort in their wasted land,  
Came up to judah and there pitched not far  
From Samsons tent; their hands were armed to war:  
With that the men of judah, struck with fear,  
To see so great an Army, straight drew near,  
To the sad Camp; who, after they had made  
Some signs of a continued peace, they said;  
What new designs have brought your royal band  
〈◊〉 the borders of our peaceful land?  
〈◊〉 strange adventures? What disastrous weather  
〈◊〉 you this way? What business brought you hither?  
〈◊〉 my Lords be angry, or conceive  
〈◊〉 evil against your Servants: What we have,  
〈◊〉: The peaceful plenty of our land  
〈◊〉 we, are yours, and at your own command:  
〈◊〉, to what purpose are you pleased to show us  
〈◊〉 strength! Why bring you thus an Army to us?  
〈…〉 our yearly tributes justly paid?  
Have we not kept our vows? have we delayed  
Our faithful service, or denied to do it,  
When you have pleased to call your servants to it?  
Have we, at any time, upon your trial,  
Shrunk from our plighted faith, or proved disloyal?  
If that proud Samson have abused your land,  
'Tis not our faults; Alas, we had no hand  
In his designs: We lent him no relief;  
No aid; No, we were partners in your grief.  
Whereto the Philistines, whose hopes relied  
Upon their fair assistance, thus replied:  
Fear not ye men of judah; Our intentions  
Are not to wrong your peace: Your apprehensions  
Are too toe-timerous; Our desires are bend  
Against the common Foe, whose hands have spent  
Our lavish blood, and robbed our wasted land  
Of all her joys: 'tis he, our armed band  
Expects, and follows: He is cloistered here,  
Within your Quarters: Let your faiths appear  
Now in your loyal actions, and convey  
The skulking Rebel to us, that we may  
Revenge our blood, which he hath wasted thus,  
And do to him, as he hath done to us.  

Meditat. 16.  
IT was a sharp revenge: But was it just?  
Shall one man suffer for another? Must  
The children's teeth be set on edge, because  
Their fathers ate the grapes? Are heavens laws  
So strict? whose lips did, with a promise, tell,  
That no such law should pass in Israel:  
Because the injurous Timnits treacherous hand  
〈◊〉 the fault, must Samson scourge the land?  
〈◊〉 is a furious plague, and it infects  
〈◊〉 next inhabitant, if he neglects  
〈◊〉 means t'avoid it: 'tis not because he sin's  
〈◊〉 thou art punished: No, it than begins  
●●fect thy soul; when, thou a slander by,  
●proves it not: or when thy careless eye  
〈◊〉 it as nothing: If a sin of mine  
〈◊〉 not thy wounded soul, it becomes thine.  
〈◊〉 ye that God commits the Sword of power  
〈◊〉 the hands of Magistrates, to scour  
〈◊〉 keep it bright? Or only to advance  
〈◊〉 yet unknown Authority? Perchance,  
〈◊〉 glorious Hilt and Scabbard make a show  
〈◊〉 serve his turn, have it a blade, or no,  
〈◊〉 neither knows, nor cares: Is this man fit  
〈◊〉 obtain so great an honour, as to fit  
〈◊〉 God's Lieutenant, and to punish sin?  
〈◊〉 leaden Magistrates, and know again,  
〈◊〉 Sword was given to draw, and to be died  
〈◊〉 guilty blood, not to be laid aside  
〈◊〉 the request of friends, or for base fear,  
〈◊〉 when your honour's ended with the year,  
〈◊〉 may be baffled: 'tis not enough that you  
〈◊〉 bread be weight, or that the weights be true:  
〈◊〉 not enough, that every foul disorder  
〈◊〉 be referred to your more wise Recorder:  
〈◊〉 charge is given to you: You must return  
〈◊〉 account, or else, the Land must mourn:  
〈◊〉 keep your swords too long a season in,  
〈◊〉 God strikes us, because you strike not sin:  
〈◊〉 too remiss, and want a Resolution:  
〈◊〉 Laws lie dead for lack of execution:  
〈◊〉 Oath is grown so bold, that it will laugh  
The easy Act, to scorn: Nay, we can quaff  
And reel with privilege: and we can trample  
Upon our shame-shrunke cloaks, by your example:  
You are too dull: too great offences pass  
Untouched; God loves no service from the Ass;  
Rouse up, O use the spur, and spare the bridle,  
God strikes, because your swords, and you are idle;  
Grant Lord that every one may mend a fault;  
And than our Magistrates may stand for nought.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
The faithless men of judah went  
To make him subject to their bands:  
They bound him by his own consent,  
And brought him prisoner to their bends.  
Sect. 17.  
SO said: The men of judah (whose base fear  
Taught them to open an obedient ear  
To their revengeful and unjust request)  
Accept the treacherous motion, and addressed  
Their slavish thoughts, to put in execution  
The subject of their servile resolution:  
With that, three thousand of their ablest men  
Are soon employed; To the fierce Lion's den  
They come, (yet daring not approach too near)  
And sent this louder language to his ear;  
Victorious Samson, whose renowned facts  
Have made the world a Register of thy acts;  
Great Army of men, the wonder of whose power  
Gives thee the title of a walking Tower,  
〈◊〉 haste thou●thus betrayed us to the hand  
Of the accured Philistines? Thou knowst our Land  
Does owe itself to thee; There's none can claim  
So great an interest in our hearts: Thy name,  
Thy highly honoured name, for ever, bears  
A welcome Accent in our joyful ears;  
But now the times are dangerous, and a band  
Of proud Philistians quarter in our land,  
And for thy sake, the tyranny of their tongues  
Hath newly threatened to revenge the wrongs  
Upon our peaceful lives: Their lips have vowed  
And sworn to salve their injuries with our blood;  
Their jealous fury hollows in our ears,  
They'll plague our Land, as thou hast plagued theirs,  
If we refuse to do their fierce command,  
And bring not Samson prisoner to their hand;  
Alas, thou knowst our servile necks must bow  
To their imperious. Yoke; Alas, our vow  
Of loyalty is past: If they bid, do;  
We must; or lose our lands, and our lifes too,  
Were but our lives in hazard, or if none  
Should seel the smart of death, but we alone,  
we'd turn thy Martyrs, rather than obey'm,  
we'd die with Samson sooner than betray'm;  
But we have wives, and children, that would be  
The subjects of their rage, as well as we:  
Wherefore submit thy person, and fulfil.  
What we desire so much against our will:  
Alas our griefs in equal poisure lie;  
Yield, and thou diest: yield not, and we must die:  
Whereto sad Samson, whose fair thoughts did guide  
His lips to fairer language, thus replied;  
●e men of judah, what distrustful thought  
Of single Samsons violence hath brought  
So great a strength, as if you meant t' o'erthrow  
Some mighty Monarch, or suprise a Foe!  
Your easy errand might as well been done  
By two or three, or by the lips of one;  
The meanest child of holy Israel's seed  
Might conquered Samson with a bruised reed:  
Alas, the boldness of your welcome words  
Need no protection of these slaves and swords:  
Brethren, the intention of my coming hither  
Was not to wrong you, or deprive you, either  
Of lives, or goods, or of your poorest due;  
Myself is cheaper to myself, than you;  
My coming is on a more fair design,  
I come to crush your tyrannous foes, and mine,  
I come to free your country, and recall  
Your servile soldiers from the slavish thrall  
Of the proud Philistines; and with this hand,  
To make you freemen in your promised Land;  
But you are come to bind me, and betray  
Your faithful Champion to those bands, that lay  
Perpetual burdens on, which daily vex  
Your galled shoulders, and your servile necks:  
The wrongs these cursed Philistines have done  
My simple innocence, have quite outrun  
My easy patience: If my arm may right  
My too much injured sufferance, and requite  
What they have done to me, it would appease  
My raging thoughts, and give my tortures ease;  
But ye are come to bind me: I submit;  
I yield; And if my bondage will acquit  
Your new born fears, 'Tis well: But they that do  
Attempt to ruin me, will ransack you:  
First, you shall firmly engage your plighted tr●th,  
By the acceptance of a sacred ●ath,  
That when I shall be prisoner to your bands,  
I may not suffer violence by your hands:  
With that, they drawing nearer to him, laid  
Their hands beneath his brawny thigh, and said,  
Then let the God of jacob cease to bless  
The tribe of judah, with a fair success,  
In aught they put their cursed hand unto,  
And raze their seed, If we attempt to do  
Bound Samson violence; And if this curse  
Be not sufficient, heaven contrive a worse:  
With that the willing prisoner joined his hands,  
To he subjected to their stronger bands:  
With treble twisted cords, that never tried  
The twitch of strength, their busy fingers tied  
His sinewy wrists, which being often wound  
About his beating pulse, they brought him bound  
To the forefront of the Philistian band,  
And left him captive in their cursed hand.  

Meditat. 17.  
O What a pearl is hidden in this field,  
Whose orient lustre, and perfections yield  
So great a treasure, that the Eastern Kings,  
With all the wealth, their colder Climate brings,  
Near saw the like: It is a pearl whose glory  
Is the diviner subject of a story,  
Penned by an Angel's quill; not understood  
By the too dull conceit of flesh and blood!  
Unkind judeans, what have you presented  
Before your eyes? O, what have you attented!  
He that was borne on purpose, to release  
His life for yours, to bring your Nation peace;  
To turn your mournings into joyful Songs;  
To fight your Battles; to revenge your wrongs;  
Even him, alas, your cursed hands have made  
This day your prisoner; Him have you betrayed  
To death: O, he whose snowy arm had power  
To crush you all to nothing, and to shower  
Down strokes like thunderbolts, whose blasting breath  
Might in a moment, puffed you all to death,  
And made ye fall before his frowning Brow,  
See how he goes away, betrayed by you!  
Thou great Redeemer of the world! whose blood  
Hath power to save more worlds, than Noah's flood  
Destroyed bodies; thou, O thou that art  
The Samson of our souls, How can the heart  
Of man give thanks enough, that does not know  
How much his death-redeemed soul does owe  
To thy dear merits? We can apprehend  
No more than flesh and blood does recommend  
To our confined thoughts: Alas, we can  
Conceive thy love, but as the love of man:  
We cannot tell the horror of that pain  
Thou bought us from; nor can our hearts attain  
Those joys that thou hast purchased in our name,  
Nor yet the price thou paidst: our thoughts are lame,  
And crazed; Alas, things mortal have no might,  
No means to comprehend an Infinite:  
We can behold thee cradled in a Manger  
In a poor Stable: We can see the danger  
The Tetrarches fury made thee subject to;  
We can conceive thy poverty; We know  
Thy blessed hands (that might been freed) were bound,  
We know, alas, thy bleeding brows were crowned  
With pricking thorn; Thy body torn with whips;  
Thy palms impeirced with ragged nails; Thy lips  
Saluted with a Traitors kiss; Thy brows  
Sweeting forth blood: Thy oft repeated blows;  
Thy fastening to the cross; Thy shameful death;  
These outward tortures all come underneath  
Our dull conceits: But, what thy blessed soul  
(That bore the burden of our guilt, and Scroll  
Of all our sins, and horrid pains of Hell)  
O, what that soul endured, what soul can tell!    

THE ARGUMENT.  
He breaks their bands; And with a bone  
A thousand Philistians he slew:  
He thirsted; fainted; made his moan  
To Heaven: He drinks, his spirits renew.  
Sect. 18.  
THus when the glad Philistians had obtained  
The sum of all their hopes, they entertained  
The welcome prisoner with a greater noise  
Of triumph than the greatness of their joys  
Required: Some, with sudden death would greet  
The new come Guest; whilst others, more discreet,  
With lingering pains, and tortures more exact,  
Would force him to discover, in the Fact,  
Who his Abettors were: others gainsaid  
That course, for fear a rescue may be made;  
●ome cry, ' 'tis fittest that th' Offender bleed  
〈◊〉, where his cursed hands had done the deed:  
Others cried, No, where Fortune hath consigned him,  
we'll kill him: Best; to kill him, where we find him:  
Thus variously they spent their doubtful breath,  
At last they all agreed on sudden death;  
There's no contention now, but only who  
Shall strike the first, or give the speeding blow:  
Have ye beheld a single thread of flax,  
Touched by the fire, how the fire cracks  
With ease, and parts the slender twine in sunder,  
Even so, as the first arm began to thunder  
Upon the Prisoners' life, he burst the bands  
From his strong wrists, & freed his loosened hands;  
He stooped; from off the bloud-expecting grass,  
He snatched the crooked jawbone of an Ass;  
Wherewith, his fury dealt such downright blows  
So oft redoubled, that it overthrows  
Man after man; And being ringed about  
With the distracted, and amazed rout  
Of rude Philistians, turned his body round,  
And in a circle dings them to the ground:  
Each blow had proof; for, where the jawbone mist,  
The furious Champion wounded with his fist:  
Betwixt them both, his fury did uncase  
A thousand souls, which in that fatal place,  
Had left their ruined carkeises, to feast  
The flesh-devouring fowl, and ravenous beast:  
With that, the Conqueror, that now had fed  
And surfeited his eye upon the dead  
His hand had slain, sat down; and having flung  
His purple weapon by, triumphed, and sung;  
SAmson rejoice: Be filled with mirth;  
Let all judea know,  
And tell the Princes of the earth  
How strong an arm hast thou:  
How has thy dead enriched the land  
And purpled o'er the grass,  
That hadst no weapon in thy hand,  
But the jawbone of an Ass!  
How does thy strength and high renown  
The glory of men surpass!  
Thine arm has struck a thousand down,  
With the jawbone of an Ass:  
Let Samsons glorious name endure,  
Till Time shall render One,  
Whose greater glory shall obscure  
The glory thou hast won.  
His song being ended, rising from the place  
Whereon he lay, he turned his ruthless face  
Upon those heaps his direful hand had made,  
And opening of his thirsty lips, he said:  
Great God of conquest, thou by whose command  
The heart received courage, and this hand  
Strength, to revenge thy quarrels, and fulfil  
The secret motion of thy sacred will;  
That, shall thy Champion perish now with thirst?  
Thou know'st, I have done nothing, but what first  
Was warranted by thy command: 'Twas thou  
That gave my spirit boldness, and my brow  
A resolution: 'Tis mine arm did do  
No more, than what thou didst enjoin me to:  
And shall I die for thirst? O thou that saved  
Me from the Lion's rage, that would have raved  
Upon my life: by whom I have subdued  
Thy cursed enemies, and have imbrued  
My heaven-commanded hands, in a springtide  
Of guilty blood; Lord, shall I be denied  
A draught of cooling water to allay  
The tyranny of my thirst? ay, that this day  
Have laboured in thy Vineyard; rooted out  
So many weeds, whose lofty crests did sprout  
Above thy trodden Vines; what, shall I dye  
For want of water, thou the fountain by?  
I know that thou wert here, for hadst thou not  
Supplied my hand with strength, I ne'er had got  
So strange a victory: Hath thy servant taken  
Thy work in hand, and is he now forsaken?  
Hast thou not promised that my strengthened hand  
Shall scourge thy Foe-men, and sccure thy Land  
From slavish bondage? will that arm of thine  
Make me their slave, whom thou hast promised mine?  
Bow down thy ear, and hear my needful cry;  
O, quench my thirst, great God, or else I die:  
With that the jaw, wherewith his arm had laid  
So many sleeping in the dust, obeyed  
The voice of God, and cast a tooth, from whence  
A sudden spring arose, whose confluence  
Of crystal waters, plenteously disbursed  
Their precious streams; and so allayed his thirst.  

Meditat. 18.  
THe jaw bone of an Ass? how poor a thing  
God makes his powerful Instrument to bring  
Some honour to his name, and to advance  
His greater glory! came this bone, by chance,  
To Samsons hand? Or could the Army go  
No further? but must needs expect a foe  
Just where his weapon of destruction lay?  
Was there no fitter place, for them to stay,  
But even just there? How small a thing 't had been  
(If they had been so provident) to win  
The day with ease? Had they but taken thence  
That cursed bone, what colour of defence  
Had Samson found? Or how could he withstood  
The necessary danger of his blood?  
Where Heaven doth please to ruin, humane wit  
Must fail, and deeper policy must submit:  
There, wisdom must be fooled, & strength of brain  
Must work against itself, or work in vain:  
The track that seems most likely, often leads  
To death; and where security most pleads,  
There, dangers, in their fairest shapes, appear,  
And give us not so great a help, as fear:  
The things we least suspect are often they,  
That most affect our ruin, and betray:  
Who would have thought, the silly Ass' bone,  
Not worth the spurning, should have overthrown  
So stout a band? Heaven oftentimes thinks best,  
To overcome the greatest with the least:  
He gains most glory in things, that are most slight,  
And wins in honour, what they want in might:  
Who would have thought that Samsons deadly thirst  
Should have been quenched with waters, that did burst  
And flow from that dry bone? who would not think  
The thirsty Conqueror, for want of drink,  
Should first have died? what mad man could presume  
So dry a tooth should yield so great a Rheum?  
God does not work like man; not is he tied  
To outward means: His pleasure is his guide,  
Not Reason: He, that is the God of nature,  
Can work against it: He that is Creator  
Of all things, can dispose them, to attend  
His will, forgetting their created end:  
He whose Almighty power did supply  
This bone with water, made the red Sea dry:  
Great God of nature, 'Tis as great an ease  
For thee to alter nature, if thou please,  
As to create it; Let that hand of thine  
Show forth thy power, and please to alter mine:  
My sins are open, but my sorrow's hid;  
I cannot drench my couch, as David did;  
My brains are marble, and my heart is stone:  
O strike mine eyes, as thou didst strike that bone.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
He lodgeth with a Harlot: Wait  
Is laid, and guards are pitched about●▪  
He beeres away the City gate  
Upon his shoulders, and goes out.  
Sect. 19  
THus when victorious Samson had unlived  
This host of armed men; and had revived  
His fainting spirits, and refreshed his tongue  
With those sweet crystal streams, that lately sprung  
From his neglected weapon, he arose  
(Secured from the tyranny of his Foes  
By his Heaven-borrowed strength) & boldly came  
To a Philistian City, known by th'name  
Of Azza; where, as he was passing by,  
The careless Champion cast his wand'ring eye  
Upon a face, whose beauty did invite  
His wanton heart to wonder and delight:  
Her curious hair was crisped: Her naked breast  
Was white as Ivory, and fairly dressed  
With costly jewels: In her glorious face,  
Nature was hidden, and dissembled grace  
Damaskt her rosy cheeks: Her eyes did spark,  
At every glance, like Diamonds in the dark;  
Bold was her brow; whose frown was but a foil  
To glorify her better-pleasing smile;  
Her pace was careless, seeming to discover  
The passions of a discontented Lover:  
Sometime, her opened Casement gives her eye  
A twinkling passage to the passer by;  
And, when her fickle fancy had given o'er  
That place, she comes, and wantoness at the door;  
There Samson viewed her, and his steps could find  
No further ground; but (guided by his mind)  
Cast Anchor there: Have thy observing eyes  
Ere marked the Spider's garb, How close she lies  
Within her curious web; And by and by,  
How quick she hastes to her entangled Fly;  
And whispering poison in her murmuring ears,  
At last, she tugs her silent guest, and bears  
His Hampered body to the inner room  
Of her obscure and solitary Home;  
Even so this snaring beauty entertains  
Our eye-led Samson, tampred with the chains  
Of her imperious eyes; and he, that no man  
Could conquer; now lies conquered by a woman:  
Fair was his welcome, and as fairly expressed  
By her delicious language, which professed  
No less affection than so sweet a friend,  
Could, with her best expressions, recommend:  
Into her glorious chamber she directs  
Her welcome guest, and with her fair respects  
She entertains him; with a bounteous kiss,  
She gives him earnest of a greater bliss;  
And with a brazen countenance, she broke  
The way to her unchaste desires, and spoke;  
Mirror of mankind, thou selected flower  
Of loves fair knot, welcome to Flora's hour;  
Cheer up my Love; and look ●pon these cyes,  
Wherein my beauty, and thy picture lies;  
Come take me prisoner, in thy folded arms;  
And boldly strike up sprightly loves alarms  
Upon these rubey lips, and let us try  
The sweets of love; Here's none but thee and I:  
My beds are softest down, and purest lawn  
My sheets; my Vallents and my curtains drawn  
In gold and silks of curious di●: Behold,  
My courings are of Tapestry, ' enriched with gold;  
Come, come, and let us take our fill of pleasure;  
My husband's absence lends me dainty leisure  
To give thee welcome: Come, let's spend the night  
In sweet enjoyment of unknown delight.  
Her words prevailed: And being both undressed,  
Together went to their defiled rest:  
By this the news of Samsons being there  
Possessed the City, and filled every ear:  
His death is plotted; And advantage lends  
New hopes of speed: An armed guard attends  
At every gate, that when the breaking day  
Shall send him forth, th' expecting forces may  
Betray him to his sudden death; and so  
Revenge their kingdom's ruins at a blow:  
But lustful Samson (whose distrustful ears  
Kept open house) was now possessed with fears:  
He hears a whispering; and the trampling feet  
Of people passing in the silent street;  
He whom undaunted courage lately made  
A glorious Conqueror, is now afraid;  
His conscious heart is smitten with his sin;  
He cannot choose but fear, and fear again:  
He fears; and now the terrible alarms  
Of sin do call him from th'unlawful arms  
And lips of his luxurious Concubine;  
Bids him, arise from dalliance, and resign  
The usurpation of his lukewarm place  
To some new sinner, whose less dangerous case  
May lend more leisure to so soul a deed:  
Samson, with greater and unwonted speed  
Leaps from his wanton bed: his fears do press  
More haste to clothe; than lust did, to undress:  
He makes no tarryance; but with winged haste,  
Bestrides the streets; and to the gates he passed,  
And through the armed troops, he makes his way;  
Bears gates, and bars, and pillars all away;  
So scaped the rage of the Philistian band,  
That still must owe his ruin, to their land.  

Medit. 19  
HOw weak, at strongest, is poor flesh & blood!  
Samson, the greatness of whose power withstood  
A little world of armed men, with death,  
●ust now be foiled with a woman's breath:  
The mother, sometimes lets her infant fall,  
To make it hold the surer by the wall:  
God lets his servant often go amiss,  
That he may turn, and see how weak he is:  
David that found an overflowing measure  
Of heavens high favours, and as great a treasure  
Of saving grace, and portion of the Spirit,  
As flesh and blood was able to inherit,  
Must have a fall to exercise his fears,  
And make him drown his restless couch with tears:  
Wise Solomon, within whose heart was planted  
The fruitful stocks of heavenly wisdom, wanted  
Not that, whereby his weakness understood  
The perfect vanity of flesh and blood:  
Whose hand seemed prodigal of his Isaac's life,  
He durst not trust God's providence with his wife:  
The righteous L●t had slidings: Holy Paul  
He had his prick; and Peter had his fall:  
The sacred Bride, in whose fair face remains  
The greatest earthly beauty, hath her stains:  
If man were perfect, land entirely good,  
He were not man: he were not flesh and blood:  
Or should he never fall, he would at length,  
Not see his weakness, and presume in strength:  
Ere children know the sharpness of the Edge,  
They think, their fingers have a privilege  
Against a wound; but having felt the knife,  
A bleeding finger, sometime saves a life:  
Lord, we are children, & our sharpe-edged knives,  
Together with our blood, le's out our lives;  
Alas, if we but draw them from the sheath,  
They cut our fingers, and they bleed to death.  
Thou great Chirurgeon of a bleeding soul,  
Whose sovereign balm, is able to make whole  
The deepest wound, Thy sacred salve is sure;  
We cannot bleed so fast, as thou canst cure:  
Heale thou our wounds, that, having salved the sore  
Our hearts may fear, and learn to sin no more;  
And let our hands be strangers to those knives,  
That wound not fingers only, but our lives.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
He falls in league with Delila:  
The Nobles bribe her to discover  
Her Samsons strength, and learn the way  
To bind her arme-prevailing Lover.  
Sect. 20.  
NOt far from Azza, in a fruitful Valley  
Close by a brook, whose silver streams did da●ley  
●ith the smooth bosom of the wanton sands,  
●hose winding current parts the neighbouring lands,  
And often washes the beloved sides  
●her delightful banks, with gentle tides;  
●●re dwelled a Beauty, in whose Sunne-bright eye,  
〈◊〉 sat in throned; and full of Majesty,  
〈◊〉 forth such glorious eye-surprizing rays,  
〈◊〉 she was thought the wonder of her days:  
〈◊〉 name was called Delila, the fair;  
●●ther did amorous Samson oft repair,  
〈◊〉 with the piercing flame of her bright eye,  
〈◊〉 so long; that like a wanton fly  
〈◊〉 burned his lustful wings, and so became  
〈◊〉 slavish prisoner to that conquering flame:  
She asked, and had: There's nothing was too high  
For her, to beg; or Samson to deny:  
Who now, but Delila? What name can raise  
And crown his drooping thoughts, but Delila's?  
All time's misspent, each hour is cast away,  
That's not employed upon his Delila:  
Gifts must be given to Delila: No cost,  
If sweetest Delila but smile, is lost:  
No joy can please; no happiness can crown  
His best desires, if Delila but frown:  
No good can bless his amorous heart, but this,  
he's Delila's, and Delila is his:  
Now, when the louder breath of fame had blown  
Her newes-proclaiming Trumpet, & made known  
This Lover's passion, to the joyful ears  
Of the cowed Philistines; their nimble feats  
Advised their better hopes, not to neglect  
So fair advantage, which may bring t' effect  
Their best desires, and right their wasted Land  
Of all her wrongs, by a securer hand:  
With that, some few of the Philistian Lords  
Repair to Delila; with baited words  
They tempt the frailty of the simple maid,  
And, having sworn her to their counsel, said:  
Fair Delila; Thou canst not choose but know  
The miseries of our land: whose ruins show  
The danger, whereinto not we, but all,  
If thou deny they helpful hand, must fall:  
Those fruitful fields, that offered, but of late,  
Their plenteous favours to our prosperous state;  
See, how they lie a ruinous heap, and void  
Of all their plenty; wasted, and destroyed:  
Our common foe hath sported with our lives:  
Hath slain our children, and destroyed our wives:  
〈…〉 poor distressed land doth groan  
Under that mischief that his hands have done;  
wodowes implore thee, and poor Orphan's tongues  
●all to fair Delila, to right their wrongs:  
〈◊〉 lies in thee, to help; Thy helpful hand  
May ha●e the Glory to revenge thy land;  
For which our thankful Nation shall allow  
Not only honour; but reward; and thou,  
From every hand that's present here, shall gain  
〈◊〉 a thousand Sicles for thy pain:  
To whom, fair Delila, whom reward had tied  
To satisfy her own desires, replied;  
My Lords;  
My humble service I acknowledge due,  
〈◊〉, to my native country; next, to you:  
If Heaven, and Fortune, have enriched my hand,  
With so much power, to relieve our Land,  
When ere your honours please to call me to it,  
〈◊〉 Delila shall die, or do it:  
Say then (my Lords) wherein my power may do  
This willing Service to my land, or you.  
Thou knowest, (say they) No forces can withstand  
The mighty strength of cursed Samsons hand;  
〈◊〉 ruins Armies, and does overthrow  
〈◊〉 greatest Bands, nay, kingdoms at a blow;  
The limits of his, more than manly, powers  
Are not confined, nor is his Arm like ours:  
His strength is more than man; his conquering Arm  
Hath, sure, th' assistance of some potent charm;  
〈◊〉, nothing but the glory of thine eyes,  
(Wherein a far more strong enchantment lies;)  
〈◊〉 overthrow: He's prisoner to thine eye,  
〈◊〉 canst thou ask, what Samson can deny:  
〈◊〉 sweetness of thy language hath the Art,  
To dive into the secrets of his heart;  
Move Samson then: unbarre his bolted breast,  
And let his deafened ears attain no rest,  
Until his eye-inchanted tongue replies,  
And tells thee, where his hidden power lies:  
Urge him to whisper in thy private ●are,  
And to repose his magic mystr'y, there;  
How, by what means, his strength may be betrayed  
To b●nds, and how his power may be allayed;  
That we may right these wrongs, which his proud hand  
Hath rudely offered to our ruinous land:  
In this, thou shalt obtain the reputation  
To be the sole redeemer of thy Nation,  
Whose wealth shall crown thy loyalty with a meed  
Due to the merits of so fair a deed:  
Whereto, fair Delila (whose heart was tied  
To Samsons love, for her own ends;) replied;  
My honourable Lords: If my success  
In these your just employments prove no less  
Than my desires, I should think my pains  
Rewarded in the Action: If the reins  
Of Samsons headstrong power were in my hands,  
These lips should now performance: Your commands  
Should work obedience, in the loyal breast  
Of your true servant; who would never rest,  
Till she had done the deed: But know, my Lords,  
If the poor frailty of a woman's words  
May shake so great a power, and prevail,  
My best advised endeavours shall not fail  
To be employed: I'll make a sudden trial;  
And quickly speed, or find a soul denial.  

Meditat. 20.  
INsatiate Samson! Could not Azza smother  
Thy flaming Lust; but must thou find another?  
Is th'old grown stale? And seek'st thou for a new?  
Alas, where Two's too many, Three's too few:  
Man's soul is infinite, and never tires  
In the extension of her own desires:  
The sprightly nature of his active mind  
Aims still at further; Will not be confined  
To th'poor dimensions of flesh and blood;  
Something it still desires: Covets good,  
Would fain be happy, in the sweet enjoyment  
Of what it prosecutes, with the employment  
Of best endeavours; but it cannot find  
So great a good, but something's still behind:  
It first propounds, applauds, desires, endeavours;  
At last enjoys; but (like to men, in Fevers,  
Who fancy always those things that are worst)  
The more it drinks, the more it is a thirst:  
The fruitful earth (whose nature is the worse  
For sin; with man partaker in the curse)  
●●mes at perfection: and would fain bring forth  
(As first it did) things of the greatest worth;  
●er colder womb endeavours (as of old)  
To ripen all her Metals, unto Gold;  
O, but that sin-procured curse hath chilled  
The heat of pregnant Nature, and hath filled  
Her barren seed, with coldness, which does lurk  
In her ●aint womb, that her more perfect work  
Is hindered; and, for want of heat, brings forth  
Imperfect metals, of a base worth:  
Even so, the soul of Man, in her first state,  
Received a power, and a will to that  
Which was most pure, and good; but, since the loss  
Of that fair freedom, only trades in dross;  
Aims she at Wealth? alas, her proud desire  
Strives for the best; but failing to mount higher  
Than earth, her error grapples, and takes hold  
On that, which earth can only give her, Gold:  
Aims she at Glory? Her ambition flies  
As high a pitch, as her dull wings can rise;  
But, failing in her strength, she leaves to strive,  
And takes such Honour, as base earth can give;  
Aims she at Pleasure? her desires extend  
To lasting joys, whose pleasures have no end;  
But, wanting wings, she grovels on the Dust,  
And, there, she lights upon a carnal Lust;  
Yet ne'ertheless, th'aspiring Soul desires  
A perfect good; but, wanting those sweet fires,  
Whose heat should perfect her unrip'ned will,  
Cleaves to th'apparent Good, which Good is ill;  
Whose sweet enjoyment, being far unable  
To give a satisfaction answerable  
To her unbounded wishes, leaves a thirst  
Of re-enjoyment, greater than the first.  
Lord; When our fruitless fallows are grown cold;  
And out of heart, we can enrich the mould  
With a new heat; we can restore again  
Her weakened soil; and make it apt for grain;  
And wilt thou suffer our faint souls; to lie  
Thus unmanured, that is thy Husbandry?  
They bear no other bulk, but idle weeds,  
Alas, they have no heart, no heat; Thy seeds  
Are cast away, until thou please t'enspire  
New strength, & quench them with thy sacred fire:  
Stir thou my Fallows, and enrich my mould,  
And they shall bring thee'encrease, a hundred fold.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
False Delila accosts her Lover:  
her lips endeavour to entice  
His gentle nature to discover  
his strength: Samson deceives her thrice.  
Sect. 21.  
Soon as occasion lent our Champion's ear  
To Delila, which could not choose but hear,  
If Delila but whispered; she, whose wiles  
Were neatly baited with her simple smiles,  
Accosted Samson; Her alluring hand  
Sometimes would struck his Temples; sometime spanned  
His brawny arm Sometimes, would gently gripe  
His sinewy wrist; Another while, would wipe  
His sweeting brows; Her wanton fingers played,  
Sometimes, with his fair locks; sometimes, would brayed  
His long dishevelled hair; her eyes, one while  
Would steal a glance upon his eyes, and smile;  
And, then, her crafty lips would speak; then, smother  
Her broken speech; and, then, begin another:  
At last, as if a sudden thought had brake  
From the fair prison of her lips, she spoke;  
How poor a Gristle is this arm of mine!  
Me thinks, 'tis nothing, in respect of thine;  
I'd rather feel the power of thy Love,  
Than of thy hand; In that, my heart would prove  
The stouter Champion, and would make thee yield,  
And leave thee captive in the conquered field.  
The strength of my affection passes thine,  
As much as thy victorious arm does mine;  
The greatest conquest, then, is due to me;  
Thou conquer'st others, but I conquer thee:  
But say, my love, is it some hidden charm,  
Or does thy stock of youth enrich thy arm  
With so great power, that can overthrow,  
And conquer mighty Kingdoms, at a blow?  
What cause have I to joy! I need not fear  
The greatest danger, now my Samson's here:  
I fear no Rebels now; me thinks, thy power  
Makes me a Princess, and my house, a Tower:  
But say, my Love, if Delila should find thee,  
Lost in a sleep, could not her fingers bind thee?  
Me thinks they should: But I would scorn to make  
So poor a Conquest: When thouart broad awake,  
Teach me the trick: Or if thou wilt deny me;  
Know, that my own invention shall supply me,  
Without thy help: I'll use a woman's charms,  
And bind thee fast, within these circled Arms:  
To whom, the Champion, smiling, thus replied;  
Take the green Osyers' that were never dried,  
And bind thy Samsons wrists together, then,  
He shall be fast, and weak as other men:  
With that, the Philistines, that lay in wait  
Within an ears command, commanded straight,  
That Osyers' should be brought: wherewith she tied  
Victorious Samsons joined hands, and cried;  
Samson make haste; and let thy strength appear:  
Samson take heed; the Philistines, are here:  
He starts, and as the flaming fire cracks  
The slender substance of th'untwisted flax,  
〈◊〉 twitched in sunder his divided bands,  
〈◊〉 in a moment freed his fastened hands;  
〈◊〉 that offended Delila bewrayed  
〈◊〉 frown, half sweetened with a smile, and said;  
Thinkst thou, thy Delila does go about  
〈◊〉 ●rappe thy life? Or, can my Samson doubt  
●wrod● ledge a secret in the loyal breast  
〈◊〉 faithful Delila, that finds no rest,  
〈◊〉 happiness, but in thy heart, alone,  
〈◊〉 joy I prise far dearer than my own?  
〈◊〉 than shouldst thou deceive me, and impart  
S●●oule a falsehood, to so true a heart?  
C●me, grant my suit, and let that faithless tongue  
Make love amends which hath done love this wrong:  
To whom dissembling Samson thus replied,  
Take twisted ropes, whose strength was never tried,  
And tie these closed hands together; then,  
I shall be fact, and weak as other men:  
With that, she bound him close; and having made  
The knot more sure, than her love's, she said;  
Samson arise; and take thy strength upon thee;  
Samson make haste; the Philistines are on thee:  
He strait arose, and as a striving hand  
Would break a Sister's thread, he cracked the band  
That bound his arms, he cracked the bands insunder;  
But frowning Delila, whose heart did wonder  
No less then vex, being filled with discontent,  
She said; False lover, If thy heart had meant,  
What thy fair tongue had formerly professed,  
Thou ne'er hadst kept thy secrets from my breast:  
Wherein hath Delila been found unjust,  
Not to deserve the honour of thy trust?  
Wherein, have I been faithless of disloyal?  
Or what request of thine, are found denial?  
Had I but been so wise, as to deny,  
Samson might begged, and mis●, as well as I:  
But 'tis my fortune, still, to be most free  
To those, as are the ●est reserved to me:  
Be not ingrateful, Samson; If my breast  
Were but as false, as thine is hard, I'd rest  
To tempt thy silence, or to move my suit▪  
Speak then, but speak the truth; or else be mute.  
To whom, fond Samson: If thy hands would tie  
These locks to yonder Beam, they will diserie  
My native weakness: and thy Samson, then,  
Would be as poor in strength, as other men:  
So said; her busy fingers soon obeyed;  
His locks being plaited to the beam, she said:  
Samson bestir thee; and let thy power appear:  
Samson take heed; the Philistines are here:  
With that he quits the place (whereon he lay,  
Fallen fast asleep) and bore the Beam away.  

Meditat. 21.  
SEe, how the crafty Serpent, twists and winds  
Into the breast of man! What paths he finds,  
And crooked byways! With how sweet a bait  
He hides the hook of his inveterate hate!  
What sugared words, and eare-delighting Art  
He uses, to supplant the yielding heart  
Of poor deceived man, who stands and trusts  
Upon the broken staff of his false ●●●sts!  
He tempts; allures; suggests; and, in conclusion,  
Makes Man the Pander to his own confusion:  
The fruit was fair and pleasing to the eyes,  
Apt to breed knowledge, and to make them wise;  
Must they not taste so fair a fruit, not touch?  
Yes, do: 'twill make you Gods, and know as much  
As he that made it: Think you, you can fall  
Into death's hands? Ye shall not dye at all:  
Thus fell poor man: his knowledge proved such,  
Better 'thad been, he had not known so much:  
Thus this old Serpent takes advantage still  
On our desires, and distempered will:  
Art thou grown Covetous? wouldst thou fain be rich?  
He comes and strikes thy heart with the dry itch  
Of having: Wealth will rouse thy heartless friends;  
Make thee a potent Master of thy Ends;  
'Twill bring thee honour; make thy suits at Law  
Prosper at will; and keep thy Foes in awe:  
Art thou Ambitious? He will kindle fire  
In thy proud thoughts, & make thy thoughts aspire;  
●ee'l come and teach thy honour how to scorn  
〈◊〉 old acquaintance, whom thou hast outworn:  
〈◊〉 teach thee how to Lord it, and advance  
〈◊〉 servants fortunes, with thy Countenance:  
Wouldst thou enjoy the Pleasures of the flesh?  
〈◊〉 bring thee wanton Ladies, to refresh  
〈◊〉 drooping soul: He'll teach thine eyes to wander;  
〈◊〉 thee how to woo; he'll be thy Pander:  
〈◊〉 fill thy amorous soul with the sweet passion  
〈◊〉 powerful Love: he'll give thee dispensation,  
〈◊〉 sin at pleasure; He will make thee Slave  
〈◊〉 thy own thoughts: he'll make thee beg & crave  
〈◊〉 be a drudge: he'll make thy treacherous breath  
〈◊〉 thee, and betray thee to thy death.  
Lord; if our Father Adam could not stay  
〈◊〉 his upright perfection, one poor day;  
How can it be expected, we have power  
To hold out Siege, one scruple of an hour:  
Our Arms are bound with too unequal bands;  
We cannot strive; We cannot lose our hands:  
Great Nazarite, awake; and look upon us:  
Make haste to help; The Philistines are on us.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
She sues again: Samson replies  
The very truth: Her lips betray him:  
They bind him; They put out his eyes,  
And to the prison they convey him.  
Sect. 22.  
WIth that; the wanton, whose distrustful eye,  
Was fixed upon reward, made this reply;  
Had the denial of my poor request  
Proceeded from th'inexorable breast  
Of one, whose open hatred sought t'endanger  
My haunted life; Or had it been a stranger,  
That wanted so much nature, to deny  
The doing of a common courtesy;  
Nay, had it been a friend that had deceived me,  
An ordinary friend, It ne'er had grieved me:  
But thou, even thou my bosom friend, that art  
The only joy of my deceived heart;  
Nay thou, whose hony-dropping lips so often  
Did plead thy undissembled love, and soften  
My dear affection, which could never yield  
To easier terms; By thee, to be beguiled?  
How often hast thou mocked my slender suit  
With forged falsehood? Hadst thou but been mute,  
Ifere had hoped: But being fairly led  
Towards my prompt desires, which were fed  
With my false hopes, and thy falsehearted tongue,  
And then beguiled? I hold it as a wrong:  
How canst thou say thou lov'st me? How can I  
Think but thou hat'st me, when thy lips deny  
So poor a Suit? Alas, my fond desire  
Had slacked, had not denial blown the fire:  
Grant then at last, and let thy open breast  
〈◊〉 that thou lov'st me ', and grant my fair request:  
Speak, or speak not, thy Delila shall give over  
To urge; her lips shall never urge thee more:  
To whom the yielding Lover thus betrayed  
His heart, being tortured unto death, and said;  
My dear, my Delila; I cannot stand  
Against so sweet a pleader; In thy hand  
There entrust, and to thy breast impart  
In Samsons life, and secrets of his heart;  
〈◊〉 then my Delila, that I was borne  
●Nazarite; These locks were never shorn;  
〈◊〉 Raisar, yet, came ere upon my crown;  
There lies my strength, with them, my strength is gone:  
〈◊〉 they but shaved, my Delila; O, then,  
In Samson should be weak as other men;  
No sooner had he spoken, but he spread  
His body on the floor, his drowsy head,  
〈◊〉 pillowed on her lap; until, at last,  
He fell into a sleep; and, being fast,  
She clipped his locks from off his careless head,  
And beckoning the Philistians in, she said;  
Samson awake; Take strength and courage on thee;  
Samson arise; The Philistines are on thee:  
Even as a Dove, whose wings are clipped, for flying,  
Flutters her idle stumps; and still's relying  
Upon her wont refuge, strives in vain,  
To quit her life from danger, and attain  
The freedom of her ayre-dividing plumes;  
She struggles often, and she oft presumes  
To take the sanctuary of the open fields;  
But, finding that her hopes are vain, she yields;  
Even so poor Samson (frighted at the sound,  
That roused him from his rest) forsook the ground;  
Perceiving the Philistians there at hand,  
To take him prisoner, he began to stand  
Upon his wont Guard: His threatening breath  
Brings forth the prologue to their following death:  
He roused himself; and, like a Lion, shook  
His drowsy limbs; and with a cloudy look,  
(Foretelling boisterous, and tempestuous weather)  
Defied each one, defied them all together:  
Now, when he came to grapple, he upheaved  
His mighty hand; but, now (alas, bereaved  
Of wont power) that confounding arm,  
(That could no less than murder) did no harm  
Blow was exchanged, for blow; & wound for wound  
He, that, of late, disdained to give ground,  
Flies back apace; who, lately, stained the field  
With conquered blood, does now begin to yield;  
He, that, of late, broke twisted Ropes in twain,  
Is bound with Packthread; He, that did disdain  
To fear the power of an Armed Band,  
Can now walk prisoner in a single hand:  
Thus have the treacherous Philistines betrayed  
Poor captive Samson: Samson now obeyed:  
Those glowing eyes, that whirled death about,  
Where ere they viewed, their cursed hands put out  
They led him prisoner, and conveyed him down  
〈◊〉 strong-walled d' Azza (that Philisti●● town,  
Those gates his shoulders lately bore away)  
●●ere, in the common Prison, did they lay  
●●stressed Samson, who obtained no meat,  
〈◊〉 what he purchased with his painful sweat;  
〈◊〉, every day, they urged him to fulfil  
〈◊〉 twelve hour's task, at the laborious Mill;  
〈◊〉, when his wasted strength began to tire,  
●●ey'd quicken his bare sides, with whips of Wire:  
●●ll'd was the town with joy, and Triumph: All,  
from the high-Prince, to th' Cobbler, on the stall,  
●ept holiday, whilst every voice became  
●oarse, as the Trump of newes-divulging fame;  
〈◊〉 tongues were filled with shouts: And every ear  
●●as grown impatient of the whisperer;  
〈◊〉 general was their Triumph, their Applause,  
That children shouted ere they knew a cause:  
The better sort betook them to their knees,  
Dagon must worshipped be: Dagon, that frees  
●oth Sea, and Land, Dagon, that did subdue  
〈◊〉 common ●oe: Dagon must have his due:  
Dagon must have his praise; must have his prize:  
Dagon must have his holy Sacrifice:  
Dagon has brought to our victorious hand  
●roud Samson: Dagon has redeemed our land:  
〈◊〉 call to Dagon: and our Dagon hears;  
〈◊〉 groans are 〈◊〉 to holy Dagons' ears;  
To Dagon, all renown and Glory be;  
Where is there such another God as He?  

Medita. 22.  
HOw is our story changed? O, more than strange  
Effects of so small time! O, sudden change;  
Is this that holy Nazarite, for whom  
Heaven showed a Miracle on the barren womb?  
Is this that holy Thing, against whose Birth  
Angels must quit their thrones, and visit Earth?  
Is this that blessed Infant, that began  
To grow in favour so with God and man?  
What, is this he, who (strengthened by heaven's hand)  
Was borne a Champion, to redeem the Land?  
Is this the man, whose courage did contest  
With a fierce Lion, grappling breast to breast;  
And in a twinkling, tore him quite in sunder?  
Is this that Conqueror, whose Arm did thunder  
Upon the men of Askalon, the power  
Of whose bend fist, slew thirty in an hour?  
Is this that daring Conqueror, whose hand  
Thrashed the proud Philistines in their wasted land?  
And was this He, that with the help of none,  
Destroyed a thousand with a silly Bone?  
Or He, whose wrists, being bound together, did  
Break Cords like flax, and double Ropes like third?  
Is this the man whose hands unhinged those Gates,  
And bore them thence, with pillars, bars & Grates?  
And is he turned a Mill-horse now? and blind?  
Must this great Conqueror be forced to grind  
For bread and water? Must this Hero spend  
His latter times in drudgery? Must he end  
His weary days in darkness? Must his higher,  
Be knotted cords, and torturing whips of wire?  
●●ere heaven withdraws, the creatures power shakes▪  
〈◊〉 misery's wanting there, where God forsakes?  
〈◊〉 Samson not abused his borrowed power,  
〈◊〉 had still, remained a Conqueror:  
〈◊〉 Philistines did act his part; No doubt,  
〈◊〉 eyes offended, and they plucked them out:  
〈◊〉 will be just: He punishes a sin,  
〈◊〉 in the member, that he finds it in:  
●●en faithless Zacharias did become  
〈◊〉 curious, his lips were strucken dumb:  
〈◊〉 whose lustful view did overprize  
●●lawfull beauties punished in his eyes;  
〈◊〉 flaming eyes seduced his wanton mind  
〈◊〉 act a sin; Those eyes are stricken blind;  
〈◊〉 beauty he invaded, did invade him,  
〈◊〉 that fair tongue, that blessed him so, betrayed him:  
〈◊〉 strength, intemperate lust employed so ill,  
〈◊〉 a driving the laborious Mill;  
〈◊〉 naked sides, so pleased with lusts desire,  
〈◊〉 now, as naked, lashed with whips of wire:  
Lord, shouldst thou punish every part in me  
〈◊〉 does offend, what member would be free?  
〈◊〉 member acts his part; They never lin  
〈◊〉 they join, and make a Body ' of fin:  
〈◊〉 sin my burden; Let it never please me;  
〈◊〉 thou hast promised, when I come, to ease me.    

THE ARGUMENT.  
They make a feast. And then to crown  
Their mirth, blind Samson is brought thither:  
He pulls the mighty pillars down;  
The Building falls: All slain together.  
Sect. 23.  
THus when the vulgar Triumph (which does last  
But seldom, longer than the news) was past,  
And Dagons holy Altars had surecast  
To breathe their idle fumes: they called a feast,  
A common Feast; whose bounty did bewray  
A common joy, to gratulate the day;  
Whereto, the Princes, under whose command  
Each province was, in their divided land;  
Whereto, the Lords, Leiutenants, and all those,  
To whom the supreme Rulers did repose  
An under-trust; whereto, the better sort  
Of gentry, and of Commons did resort,  
With mirth, and jolly triumph, to allay  
Their sorrows, and to solemnize the day;  
Into the common Hall they come: The Hall  
Was large and fair; Her arched roof was all  
Builded with massy stone, and over-laied  
With ponderous Lead; Two sturdy Pillars stayed  
Her mighty Rafters up; whereon, relied  
The weighty burden of her lofty pride.  
When lusty diet, and the frolic cup  
Had roused and raised their quickened spirits up,  
〈◊〉 brave triumphing Bacchus had displayed  
〈◊〉 conquering colours, in their cheeks, they said,  
〈◊〉 Samson forth; He must not work to● day;  
〈…〉 feast; we'll give him leave to play;  
〈…〉 bravely? Does our Mill-horse sweat?  
〈◊〉 lack nothing; What he wants in mea●e,  
〈◊〉 in lashes; He is strong and stout,  
〈◊〉 his breath can drive the Mill about:  
〈◊〉 too hard, we fear: Go down and free him;  
〈◊〉 that his Mistress, Delila would see him:  
〈◊〉 of him will take our hours short;  
〈◊〉 him then to make our Honour's sport:  
〈◊〉 provia● some Riddles; Let him bring  
〈◊〉 of Triumph: He that's blind, may sing  
〈◊〉 better boldness: Bid him never doubt  
〈◊〉 What matter though his eyes be out?  
〈◊〉 dishonour, that he cannot see;  
〈◊〉, the God of Love's as blind, as he:  
〈◊〉 that they brought poor Samson to the Hall;  
〈◊〉 as he passed, he gropes to find the wall;  
〈◊〉 pa●● was slow, His feet were lifted high;  
〈◊〉 tongue would taunt him Every scornful eye  
〈◊〉 filled with laughter; Some would cry aloud,  
〈◊〉 in state: His Lordship is grown proud:  
〈◊〉 bid his honour, ●asle, whilst others cast  
●prochfull terms upon him; as he passed,  
〈◊〉 would salute him fairly, and embrace  
〈◊〉 wounded sides, then spit upon his face:  
〈◊〉 would cry; For shame for hear t' abuse  
〈◊〉 high and great redeemer of the jews:  
〈◊〉 gibe and flout him with their taunts & quip●▪  
〈◊〉 others flirt him on the starting lips;  
〈◊〉 that poor Samson, whose abundant grief,  
〈…〉 hopes of comfort or relief,  
Resolved for patience: Turning round, he made  
Some shift to feel his Keeper out, and said;  
Good Sir, my painful labour in the Mill  
Hath made me bold (although against my will)  
To crave some little rest; If you will please  
To let the Pillour but afford some ease  
To my worn limbs, your mercy should relieve  
A soul that has no more but thanks, to give:  
The keeper yielded: (Now the Hall was filled  
With Princes, and their People, that beheld  
Abused Samson; whilst the Roof retained  
A leash of thousands more, whose eyes were chain●●  
To this sad Object, with a full delight,  
To see this flesh-and-blood-relenting sight;  
With that the prisoner turned himself and prayed  
So soft, that none but heaven could hear, and said●  
My God, my God: Although my sins do cry  
For greater vengeance, yet thy gracious eye  
Is full of mercy; O, remember now  
The gentle promise and that sacred vow  
Thou mad'st to faithful Abram, and his seed,  
O, hear my wounded soul, that has less need  
Of life, than mercy: Let thy tender ear  
Make good thy plenteous promise now, and hear;  
See, how thy cursed enemies prevail  
Above my strength; Behold, how poor and frail  
My native power is, and, wanting thee,  
What is there, Oh, what is there (Lord) in me?  
Nor is it I that suffer: My desert  
May challenge greater vengeance, if thou wert  
extreme to punish: Lord, the wrong is thine;  
The punishment is just, and only mine:  
I am thy Champion, Lord; It is not me  
They strike at; Through my sides they thrust at thee:  
〈◊〉 thy Glory 'tis, their Malice lies;  
〈◊〉 at that when they put out these eyes:  
〈◊〉 their blood-b●dabl'd hands would fly  
〈…〉 thou but clothed in flesh, as I:  
〈◊〉 thy wrongs, great God; O let thy hand  
〈◊〉 thy suffering honour, and this land:  
〈◊〉 ●e thy power; Renew my wasted, strength,  
〈…〉 fight thy b●ttels; and at length,  
〈◊〉 thy glory; that my hands may do  
〈◊〉 faithful service they were borne unto:  
〈…〉 thy power, that I may restore  
〈◊〉, and I will never urge thee more:  
〈◊〉 having ended, both his arms he laid,  
〈◊〉 the pillours of the Hall; and said;  
〈◊〉, with the Philistines, I resign my breath;  
〈◊〉 let my God find Glory in my death:  
〈◊〉 having spoke, his yielding body strained  
〈◊〉 those Marble pillours, that sustained  
〈◊〉 ponderous Roof; They cracket; and, with their fall,  
〈◊〉 fell the Battlements. and Roof, and all;  
〈◊〉 with their ruins, slaughtered at a blow,  
〈◊〉 whole Assembly; They, that were below,  
〈◊〉 their sudden deaths from those that fell  
〈◊〉 off the top; whilst none was left, to tell  
〈◊〉 horrid shreckes, that filled the spacious Hall,  
〈◊〉 ruins were impartial, and slew all:  
〈◊〉 fell; and, with an unexpected blow.  
〈◊〉 every one his death, and burial too:  
Thus died our Samson; whose brave death has won  
〈◊〉 honour, than his honoured life had done:  
〈◊〉 died our Conqueror; whose latest breath  
〈◊〉 crowned with Conquest; triumphed over death;  
〈◊〉 died our Samson; whose last drop of blood  
●deem'd heavn's glory, and his kingdom's good:  
Thus died heaven's Champion, and the earth's bright Glory;  
The heavenly subject of this sacred Story:  
And thus th'impartial hand of death that gathers  
All to the Grave, reposed him with his fathers;  
Whose name shall flourish, and be still in prime,  
In spite of ruin, or the teeth of Time;  
Whose fame shall last, till heaven shall please to free  
This Earth from Sin, and Time shall cease to be.  

Medita. 23.  
WAges of sin, is death. The day must come,  
Wherein, the equal hand of death must sum  
The several Items of man's fading glory,  
Into the easy total of one Story:  
The brows that sweat for Kingdoms and renown,  
To glorify their Temples with a Crown;  
At length, grow cold, and leave their honoured name  
To flourish in th'uncertain blast of Fame:  
This is the height that glorious Mortals can  
Attain; This is the highest pitch of Man:  
The quilted Quarters of the Earth's great Ball,  
Whose unconfined limits were too small  
For his extreme Ambition to deserve,  
Six foot of length, and three of breadth must serve:  
This is the highest pitch that Man can fly;  
And after all his Triumph, he must die:  
Lives he in Wealth? Does well deserved store  
Limit his wish, that he can wish no more?  
And does the fairest bounty of increase  
Crown him with plenty; and, his days with peace's  
It is a right hand blessing; But supply  
Of wealth cannot secure him; He must die;  
Lives he in Pleasure? Does perpetual mirth  
〈◊〉 him a little Heaven upon his earth?  
●eets he no sullen care, no sudden loss  
〈◊〉 cool his joys? Breathes he without a cross?  
●ants he no pleasure, that his wanton eye  
〈◊〉 crave, or hope from fortune? He must dye:  
〈◊〉 he in Honour? Hath his fair desert  
●●tain'd the freedom of his Prince's heart?  
〈◊〉 may his more familiar hands disburse  
〈◊〉 liberal favours, from the royal purse?  
〈◊〉, his Honour cannot soar too high,  
〈◊〉 palefaced death to follow: He must dye:  
Lives he a Conqueror? And doth heaven bless  
〈◊〉 heart with spirit, that spirit, with success;  
Success, with Glory; Glory, with a name,  
To live with the Eternity of Fame?  
The progress of his lasting fame may vie  
With time; But yet the Conqueror must dye:  
Great, and good God: Thou Lord of life and death;  
〈◊〉 whom, the Creature hath his being, breath;  
Teach me to underprize this life, and I  
Shall find my loss the easier, when I dye;  
So raise my feeble thoughts, and dull desire,  
That when these vain and weary days expire,  
I may discard my flesh with joy, and quit  
My better part, of this false earth; and it  
Of some more sin; and, for this transitory  
And tedious life, enjoy a life of Glory.  
The end.     

ZIONS' SONNETS. Sung By SOLOMON the KING; And PERIPHRASED  
By Fra. Quarles.  
LONDON, Printed by MILES FLESHER. 1632.   

To the READERS.  
REaders, now you have them. May the end of my pains be the beginning of your pleasures. Excuse me for ●haring so high, else give me leave to excuse myself; Indeed I flew with Eagles feathers; otherwise I had not flown or fall'n. It is the Song of Songs, There present you with: The Author, King SOLOMON, the wisest of Kings; The matter mystical, the divinest of subjects, The Speakers, CHRIST, the Bridegroom; the CHURCH, the Bride; The end, to invite you all to the wedding.  
Farewell.   

AN EPITHALME TO THE BRIDEGROOM.  
HOsanna to the Highest. joy betid  
The heavenly Bridegroom, and his holy Bride:  
Let Heaven above be filled with songs,  
Let Earth triumph below;  
For ever silent be those tongues,  
That can be silent now.  
You Rocks, and Stones, I charge you all to break  
Your flinty silence, if men cease to speak.  
You, that profess that sacred Art,  
Or now, or never show it,  
Plead not, your Muse is out of heart  
Here's that creates a Poet.  
Be ravished Earth, to see this contract driven,  
'Twixt sinful Man, and reconciled Heaven.  
Dismount you Choir of Angels; come,  
With Men, your joys divide;  
Heaven never showed so sweet a Groom,  
Nor Earth, so fair a Bride.   

ZIONS' SONNETS.  

BRIDE. SONNET. I.  

1.  
O That the bounty of those lips divine,  
Would seal their favours, on these lips of mine,  
That by those welcome 
* Sensible graves.  kisses, I might see  
The mutual love, betwixt my Love and me,  
For truer bliss, no worldly joy allows,  
Than sacred Kisses, from so sweet a Spouse,  
With which, no earthly pleasures may compare,  
Rich Wines are not so delicate as they're.   

2.  
NOr Myrrh, nor Cassia, nor the choice perfume●  
Of unctuous Narde, or Aromatic fumes  
Of hot Arabia, do enrich the Air  
With more delicious sweetness, than the fair  
Reports, that crown the merits of thy Name,  
With heavenly Laurels of eternal fame;  
Which makes the 
* Pure in heart.  Virgins fix their eyes upon thee  
And all that view thee, are enamoured one thee.   

3.  
O Let the beauty of thy Sunlike face  
Inflame my soul, and let thy glory chase  
Disloyal thoughts: Let no● the World allure  
My chaste desires, from a Spouse so pure;  
But when as time shall place me on thy 
* The Kingdom of Heaven.  Throne,  
My fears shall cease, and interrupt by none,  
I shall transcend the style of Transitory,  
And full of Glory, still be filled with glory.   

4.  
But you, my curious (and too nice) allies,  
That view my fortunes, with too narrow eyes,  
You say my face is 
* Through apparent infirmities.  black, and foul; 'tis true;  
I'm beauteous, to my Love, though black to you;  
My censure stands not upon your esteem,  
He sees me as I 
* Glorious in him.  am; you, as I seem;  
You see the Clouds, but he discerns the Sky;  
Know, 'tis my 
* Weakness of the flesh.  mask that looks so black, not I   

5.  
WHat if Afflictions do dis-imbellish  
My natural glory, and deny the relish  
Of my adjourned beauty, yet disdain not  
Her, by whose necessary loss, you gain not;  
I wa● enforced to swelter in 
* Afflictions.  the Sun,  
〈◊〉 
* 〈◊〉 to Idolatrous superstitions.  keep a stranger's Vine, left mine alone;  
●eft mine own, and kept a stranger's Vine;  
〈◊〉 fault was 
* By reason of my ●●●●nesse.  mine, but was 
* Being seduced by false Prophets.  not only mine.   

6.  
O Thou, whose love I prise above my life,  
More worthy far t' enjoy a fairer wife,  
Tell me, to what cool shade dost thou resort?  
●here graze thy Sheep, where do thy lambs disport  
〈◊〉 from the scorching of this 
* Persecutions.  sowltry weather?  
〈◊〉 tell thy Love, and let thy Love come thither:  
〈◊〉 (gentle Shepherd) fits it thee, to cherish  
●hy private Flocks, and let thy true Love 
* By Idolatry.  perish?    

BRIDEGROOM. SONNET. II.  

ILlustrious Bride, more radiant and more 
* Through my merits and thy sanctification.  bright,  
Then th'eye of Noon, thrice fairer than the light;  
Thou dearest offspring of my dying blood,  
●ad treasure of my soul, why hast thou stood  
●arching so long in those ambitious beams?  
Come, come & cool thee in these silver 
* The Doctrine of the true Prophets.  streams!  
unshade thy face, cast back those golden Locks,  
And I will make thee 
* Teacher of my Congregations.  Mistress of my Flocks.   

2.  
O Thou, the Centre of my choice desires,  
In whom I rest, in whom my soul respires;  
Thou art the flower of beauty, and I prise thee  
Above the world, how e'er the world despise thee:  
The blind imagines all things black by kind;  
Thou art as beautiful, as they are blind:  
And as the fairest troops of Pharaoh's steeds  
Exceed the rest, so Thou the rest exceeds.   

3.  
THy 
* Thy most visible parts.  cheek (the garden where fresh beauty plā●●  
Her choicest flowers) no adorning wants;  
There wants no relish of 
* Sanctification.  diviner grace,  
To sum completeness, in so sweet a face;  
Thy Neck, without a blemish, without blot,  
Than pearl's more orient, clear from stain or spot;  
Thy Gems and jewels, full of curious art,  
Imply the sacred treasures of thy heart.   

4.  
THe Sunbright glory of thy resounding fame,  
Adds glory, to the glory of thy Name;  
The more's thy honour (Love) the more thou strivest  
To honour me; thou gainest what thou giv'st:  
My Father (whom our Contract hath made thine)  
Will give thee large endowments of 
* The riches of his holy Spirit.  divine,  
〈◊〉 everlasting treasure; Thus by me  
Thou shalt be rich, that am thus rich, in thee.    

BRIDE. SONNET. III.  

OH, how my soul is ravished with the joys  
That spring like fountains from my tru-loves voice  
〈◊〉 cordial are his lips! How sweet his tongue!  
Each word, he breathes, is a melodious song;  
〈◊〉 absent (ah) how is my glory dim!  
〈◊〉 have no beauty, not derived from Him;  
What e'er I have, from Him alone, I have,  
And he takes pleasure in those gifts he gave▪   

2.  
AS fragrant Myrrh, within the bosom hid,  
Scents more delicious, than (before) it did,  
And yet receives no sweetness from that breast,  
That proves the sweeter for so sweet a guest;  
Even so the favour of my dearest Spouse,  
Thus prized and placed in my heart, endowes  
My ardent soul with sweetness, and inspires  
With heavenly ravishment, my rapt desires.   

3.  
WHo ever smelled the breath of morning flowers,  
New sweet'nd with the dash of twilight showers,  
Of pounded Amber, or the flowering Thyme,  
Or purple violets, in their proudest prime,  
Or swelling Clusters, from the Cypress tree?  
So sweet's my Love; I far more sweet is He:  
So fair, so sweet, that Heavens bright eye is dim,  
And flowers have no sent, compared with Him.    

BRIDEGROOM. SONNET. FOUR  
O Thou, the joys of my sufficed heart,  
The more thou think'st me fair, the more thou art;  
Look in the Crystal Mirrors of mine eyes,  
And view thy beauty; there thy beauty lies:  
See there, th'unmated glory of thy Face,  
Well mixed with Spirit, and divinest grace;  
The eyes of Doves, are not so fair, as 
* The holy Prophets.  thine:  
O, how those eyes, inflame these eyes of mine!   

BRIDE. SONNET V.  

MOst radiant, and refulgent Lamp of light,  
Whose midday beauty, yet ne'er found a night,  
'Tis thou, 'tis only thou art fair; from Thee  
Reflect those 
* Thy holy Spirit.  rays, that have enlightened me,  
And as bright Cinthia's borrowed beams do shine  
From Titan's glory, so do I, from thine;  
So daily flourishes our fresh delight,  
In daily 
* In giving grace and receiving glory.  giving, and receiving light.   

2.  
NOr does thy glory shine to me alone;  
What place, wherein thy glory hath not shone  
But O, how fragrant with rich odour, smells  
That 
* The Congregation of Saints.  sacred House, where thou my true Love dwells?  
〈◊〉 is it strange: How can those places be  
〈◊〉 filled with sweetness, if possessed with thee!  
〈◊〉 heart's a Heaven, for thou art in that heart,  
〈◊〉 presence makes a Heaven, where e'er thou art.    

BRIDEGROOM. SONNET VI.  

THou sovereign Lady of my select desires,  
〈◊〉 I, I am He, whom thy chaste soul admires:  
〈◊〉 Rose, for smell, the Lily to the eye,  
〈◊〉 so sweet, is not so fair as I:  
〈◊〉 vailed beauties not the glorious prize  
Of common sight: 
* In inward graces.  within, my beauty lies,  
〈◊〉 nevertheless, 
* 〈◊〉 is outword glory.  my glory were but small,  
〈◊〉 should want, to honour thee with all.   

2.  
NOr do I boast my excellence alone,  
But thine (dear spouse) as whom, the world hath none  
〈◊〉 to faith, so pure in love, as whom  
〈◊〉 not a Bride, so fits so chaste a Groom;  
〈◊〉 as the fairest Lily doth exceed  
〈◊〉 fruitless Bramble, or the foulest weed,  
〈◊〉 (my love) dost thou exceed the rest,  
●●●fect beauty of a loyal breast.    

BRIDE. SONNET VII.  

●Ooke how the fruitful tree (whose laden bough●  
With swelling pride, crown Autumns smiling (brows)  
Surpasses idle shrubs, even so in worth,  
My love transcends the worthies of the earth:  
He was my shore, in shipwreck; and my shelter,  
In storms; my shade, when I began to swelter;  
If hungry, he was Food; and if oppressed  
With wrongs, my Advocate; with toil, my rest.   

2  
I Thirsted; and full charged to the brink,  
He gave me 
* The holy Scriptures.  bowls of Nectar, for my drink  
And in his sides, he broached me (for a sign  
Of dearest love) a Sacramental wine;  
He freely gave; I freely drank my fill;  
The more I drank, the more remained still:  
Did never Soldier, to his Colours prove  
More chaste, than I, to so entire a Love.   

3.  
O How his beauty sets my soul on fire!  
My spirits languish, with extreme desire;  
Desires exceeding limits, are too lavish,  
And wanting means to be effected, ravish;  
Then let thy 
* Thy sweet promises.  breath, like flagons of strong wine  
Relieve and comfort this poor heart of mine;  
For I am sick, till time (that doth delay  
Our Marriage) bring our joyful Marriage day.   

4.  
TIll then, O let my dearest Lord, by whom,  
These pleasing pains of my sweet sorrow's com●  
〈◊〉 for me his vows, and with his due resort,  
〈◊〉 me, to make the sullen time seem short:  
〈◊〉 his sweet presence, may I still be blessed,  
〈◊〉 barred from whom, my soul can find no rest;  
〈◊〉 let all times be prosperous, and all places  
〈◊〉 witness to our undefiled Embraces.   

5.  
ALl you, whose seeming favours have professed  
The true affection of a loyal breast,  
●●ge you all by the true love you bear  
〈◊〉 friendship, or what else ye count most dear,  
disturb ye not my Love, O do not reive  
〈◊〉 of his joys, that is so apt to grieve;  
〈◊〉 not to break his quiet slumbers, lest  
〈◊〉 rouse a raging Lion from his rest.  
〈◊〉 not his spirit with your sins.   

6.  
Hark, hark, I hear that thrice-celestial voice  
Wherein my spirits, rapt with joys, rejoice;  
●●ice, that tells me, my beloved's nigh;  
〈◊〉 the Music, by the Majesty:  
〈◊〉 he comes; 'Tis not my 
* 〈◊〉 imperfections of my present state.  blemished face  
〈◊〉 slack the swiftness of his winged pace;  
●●old he comes; His Trumpet doth proclaim;  
●●comes with speed; A truer love ne'er came.   

7  
BEhold the fleetness of his nimble feet:  
The Roebuck, & the Hart were ne'er so fleet,  
The word I spoke, flew not so speedy from me,  
As He, the treasure of my soul comes to me,  
He stands behind my wall, as if in doubt  
Of welcome: Ah, this 
* The weakness of my flesh.  Wall debars him out;  
O, how injurious is this Wall of sin,  
That bars my Lover out, and bolts me in!    

The BRIDE in the person of the BRIDEGROOM. SONNET VIII.  

Hark, hark, me thinks I hear my true love say  
Break down that envious bar & come away  
Arise (my dearest Spouse) and dispossess  
Thy soul of doubtful fears, nor overpresse  
Thy tender spirits, with the dull despair  
Of thy demerits: (Love) thou art as fair,  
As Earth will suffer: Time will make thee clearer,  
Come forth (my love) than whom, my life's ne●● dearer   

2.  
COme forth (my joy,) what bold affront of fear  
Can fright thy soul, & I, thy Champion here  
'Tis I that call, 'tis I, thy Bridegroom, calls thee,  
Be●ide it me, what ever evil befalls thee:  
The winter of thy sharp Afflictions gone:  
Why fearest thou cold, and art so near the Sun  
〈◊〉 thy Sun, if thou be cold, draw nearer:  
〈◊〉 forth (my Love) than whom my life's not dearer●   

3.  
COme forth (my dear) the spring of joys invite thee,  
The 
* The Elect.  flowers contend for beauty to delight thee  
Their sweet ambition's only, which might be  
〈◊〉 sweet, most fair, because most like to thee:  
〈◊〉 
* Angels.  Birds (sweet Heralds of so sweet a Spring)  
●arble high notes, and Hymeneans sing:  
●●ing, with joy, t' enjoy so sweet a Hearer:  
Come forth (my love) them whom my life's not dearer.   

4  
THe prosperous 
* The Congregation of the faithful.  Vlne, which this dear hand did plant  
Tenders due service to so sweet a Saint:  
〈◊〉 hidden Clusters swell with sacred pride,  
〈◊〉 
* To offer up the first 〈◊〉 of obedience.  kiss the lips of so, so fair a Bride:  
〈…〉 in their leaves, they lurk, fearing to be  
Descried by any, till first seen by thee:  
The clouds are past, the heavens cannot be clearer  
Come forth (dear love) them whom my life's not dearer.   

5.  
MY Dove, whom daily 
* ● Persecutions.  dangers teach new shifts,  
That like a Dove, dost haunt the secret cliffs  
Of solitary Rocks: How e'er thou be  
Reserved from others, be not strange to me,  
Call me to rescue, and this brawny Arm  
Shall quell thy Foe, & fence thy soul, from harm;  
Speak (Love,) Thy voice is sweet; what if thy face,  
Be drenched with tears; each teare's a several grace.   

6.  
ALl you that wish prosperity and peace,  
To crown our contract, with a long increase  
Of future joys, O shield my simple Love  
From those that seek her ruin, and remov  
The base Opposers of her best designs;  
Destroy the Foxes, that destroy her Vines;  
Her Vines are fruitful, but her tender grapes  
Are spoiled by Foxes, clad in humane shapes.    

The BRIDE in her own person. SONNET IX.  

WHat greater joy can bless my soul, than this  
That my beloved's mine, and I am his!  
Our souls are knit; the world cannot untwine  
The joyful union of his heart, and mine;  
In him, I live; in him, my soul's possessed  
With heavenly solace, and eternal rest:  
Heaven only knows the bliss, my soul enjoys,  
Fond earth's too dull, to apprehend such joys.   

2.  
THou sweet perfection of my full delights,  
Till that bright 
* The day of judgement.  Day, devoted to the rites  
Of our solemnised Nuptials, shall come,  
Come live with me, & make this heart thy Home:  
〈◊〉 me not: Although my face appear  
〈◊〉 and cloudy, yet my heart is 
* 〈◊〉 sanctification.  clear;  
〈◊〉 haste: Let not the swift-foot Roebuck flee  
〈◊〉 following Hound so fast, as thou to me.   

3.  
● Thought my Love had taken up his rest,  
Within the 
* 〈◊〉 my soul.  secret Cabin of my breast;  
〈◊〉 thought the closed curtains did immure  
〈◊〉 gentle slumbers, but was too secure;  
〈◊〉 (driven with love) to the false bed I 
* By strict examination.  stepped  
〈◊〉 view his slumbering beauty, as he slept,  
〈◊〉 he was gone; yet plainly there was seen  
The curious dint, where he had lately been,   

4.  
●●patient of his absence, thus bereaven  
Of him, than whom, I had no other heaven,  
〈◊〉 a while; not able to digest  
So great a loss, to lose so fair a Guest:  
I left no path untraced; no 
* Amongst the wisest worldlings.  place unsought;  
No secret Cell unsearched; no way unthought;  
I asked the shade, but shadows could not hide him;  
I asked the World, but all the world denied him.   

5.  
MY jealous Love, distempered with distraction,  
Made fierce with fear, unapt for satisfaction,  
Aplyes fresh fuel, to my flaming fires,  
With Eagles wings supplies my quick desires  
Up to the walls I trampled, where I spied  
The 
* The Ministers of the word.  City watch, to whom with tears I cried,  
Ah gentle Watchmen, you aloft descry  
What's dark to us; did not my love pass by?   

6  
AT length, when dull despair had gained the ground  
Of tired hopes, my faith fell in a swound;  
But He, whose sympathising heart did find  
The tyrant passion of my troubled mind,  
Forthwith appeared: What Angels tongue can let  
The world conceive our pleasures, when we met?  
And till the joys of our espoused hearts  
Be made 
* At the resurrection.  complete, the world ne'er more shall part's.    

BRIDEGROOM. SONNET X.  

NOw rests my love: Till now, her tender breast  
Wanting her joy, could find no peace, no rest:  
I charge you all by the true love you bear  
To friendship, or what else you count most dear,  
Disturb her not, but let her sleep her fill;  
I charge you all upon your lives, be still,  
O may that labouring soul, that lives oppressed  
For me; in me, receive eternal rest.   

2.  
WHat curious face is this? what mortal birth  
Can show a beauty, thus 
* Through sanctification by my merits  unstained with earth!  
What glorious Angel wanders thus alone,  
From earth's foul dungeon, to my father's throne!  
〈◊〉 is my love; my love that hath denied  
The world, for me; It is my fairest Bride:  
〈◊〉 fragrant is her breath! How heavenly fair  
Her Angel face! Each glorifying the Air.    

BRIDE. SONNET XI.  

O How I'm 
* ●y heavenly contemplation.  ravished with eternal bliss!  
Who e'er thought heaven a joy compared to this?  
●ow do the pleasures of this glorious Face  
Add glory to the glory of this place!  
〈◊〉, how Kings Courts surmount poor Shepherd's cells,  
So this, the pride of Salome on excels,  
〈◊〉 wreathes of glory crown his royal Head,  
And troops of Angels wait upon his bed.   

2.  
THe Court of Princely Solomon was guarded  
With able men at arms; their faith rewarded  
●ith fading honours, subject to the fate  
Of Fortune, and the jealous frowns of State;  
〈◊〉 here th' harmonious choir of heaven attend,  
Those prize is glory, glory without end,  
●●mixt with doubtings, or degenerous fear;  
〈◊〉 greater Prince, than Solomon is here!   

3.  
THe Bridal bed of Princely Solomon,  
(Whose beauty amazed the greedy lookers on,  
Which all the world admired to behold)  
Was but of Cedar; and her Sted of gold;  
Her pillars silver, and her Canopy  
Of silks, but richly stained with purple die;  
Her curtains wrought in works, works rarely led  
By th' needle's art, such was the bridal bed.   

4.  
Such was the bridal bed, which Time, or Age  
Durst never warrant from th'opprobrious rage  
Of envious fate; Earth's measure's but a minit;  
Earth fades; all fades upon it; all within it;  
O, but the glory ' of this diviner place,  
No age can injure, nor yet Time deface;  
Too bright an object, for weak eyes to bide,  
Or tongues t' express: Who ever saw't but died?   

5.  
WHo e'er beheld the royal Crown, set on  
The nuptial brows of Princely Solomon?  
His glorious pomp, whose honour did display  
The noised triumphs of his Marriage day?  
A greater Prince, than Solomon is here,  
The beauty of whose Nuptials, shall appear  
More glorious far transcending his, as far  
As heavens bright lamp outshines th'obscurest star    

BRIDEGROOM. SONNET XII.  

HOw orient is thy 
* Through the gifts of my spirit.  beauty! How divine!  
How darke the glory of the earth, to thine!  
Thy veiled 
* The modesty and purity of thy judgement.  eyes outshine heavens greater light,  
Unconquered by the shady Cloud of night;  
Thy curious 
* Ornaments of necessary Ceremonies.  Tresses dangle, all unbound  
With unaffected order, to the ground:  
How orient is thy beauty! how divine!  
How darke the glory of the earth to thine!   

2.  
THy Ivory 
* Sincere Ministers.  Teeth in whiteness do outgo  
The down of Swans, or winters driven snow  
Those even proportions lively represent  
Th● harmonious Music of unite consent,  
Whose perfect whiteness, Time could never blot,  
Nor age (the Canker of destruction) rot:  
How orient is thy beauty! How divine!  
How darke the glory of the earth, to thine!   

3.  
THe ruby Portals of thy balanced 
* Doctrine of thy holy Prophets.  words,  
Send forth a welcome relish, which affords  
A heaven of bliss, and makes the earth rejoice,  
To hear the Accent of thy heavenly voice;  
The maiden blushes of thy Cheeks, proclaim  
A shame of guilt, but not a guilt of shame;  
How orient is thy beauty! How divine!  
How darke the glory of the earth, to thine! 
* Modest graces of the spirit.    

4.  
THy 
* Magistrates.  neck (unbeautifyde with borrowed grace)  
Is whiter than the Lilies of thy face,  
〈◊〉 whiter may; for beauty, and for power,  
'tis like the glory of David's princely Tower:  
What vassal spirit could despair, or faint,  
Finding protection from so sure a Saint?  
How orient is thy beauty! How divine!  
How darke the glory of the earth, to Thine!   

5.  
THe dear-bought fruit of that forbidden Tree,  
Was not so dainty, as thy Apples be,  
These curious Apples of thy snowy 
* The old and new Testaments.  breasts,  
Wherein a Paradise of pleasure rests;  
They breathe such life into the ravished 
* The sanctified & zealous Reader.  Eye,  
That the inflamed beholder cannot 
* The second death.  dye:  
How orient is thy beauty! How divine!  
How darke the glory of the earth, to Thine!   

6.  
MY dearest Spouse, I'll 
* I will withdraw my bodily presence.  high me to my home,  
And till that long-expected 
* The day of judgement.  day shall come,  
The light whereof, shall chase the night that shrouds  
Thy veiled beauty, in these envious 
* Infirmities of the flesh.  clouds;  
Till then, I go, and in my Throne, provide  
A glorious welcome, for my fairest Bride;  
Chapplets of conquering Palm, & Laurel boughs  
Shall crown thy Temples, and adorn thy brows.   

7.  
WOuld beauty fain be flattered with a grace  
She never had? May she behold thy face:  
Envy would burst, had she no other task,  
Than to behold this face without a mask;  
No spot, no venial blemish could she find,  
To feed the famine of her rancorous mind;  
Thou art the flower of beauty's Crown, & they're  
Much worse than foul, that think thee less than fair.   

8  
Fear not (my Love) for when those sacred bands  
Of wedlock shall conjoin our promised hands,  
I'll come, and quit thee from this tedious 
* This vale of misery.  place,  
Where thou art forced to sojourn for a space;  
No foreign Angle of the utmost Lands,  
Nor seas Abyss shall hide thee from my hands;  
No night shall shade thee from my curious eye,  
I'll rouse the graves, although grim death stand by.   

9  
ILlustrious beams shot from thy flaming 
* Thine eye of Faith.  eye,  
Made fierce with zeal, and sovereign Majesty  
Have scorched my soul, and like a fiery dart  
Transfixed the Centre of my wounded heart;  
The Virgin sweetness of thy heavenly grace  
Hath made mine eyes glad prisoners to thy face;  
The beauty of thine eyeballs hath bereft  
Me of my heart: O sweet, O sacred theft!   

10.  
O Thou, the dear Inflamer of mine eyes,  
Life of my soul, and hearts eternal prize,  
How delectable is thy love! How pure!  
How apt to ravish, able to allure  
A frozen soul, and with thy secret fire,  
T' affect dull spirits with extreme desire.  
How do thy joys (though in their greatest dearth)  
Transcend the proudest pleasures of the earth!   

11.  
THy lips (my dearest spouse) are the full treasures  
Of sacred 
* Divine Harmony.  Poesy, whose heavenly measures  
Ravish with joy the willing heart, that hears,  
But strike a deafness in rebellious ears:  
Thy words, like milk and Honey, do requite  
The seasoned soul, with profit and delight:  
Heavens higher Palace, and these lower places  
Of dungeon-earth are sweetened with thy graces.   

12.  
MY Love is like a Garden, full of flowers,  
Whose sunny banks, & choice of shady bowers  
Give change of pleasures, pleasures walled about  
With Armed Angels, to keep Ruin out;  
And from her 
* The two Testaments.  breasts (
* Riddles to profane Readers.  enclosed from the ill  
Of loser eyes) pure 
* Celestial comforts.  Crystal drops distil,  
The fruitful sweetness of whose gentle showers  
Enrich her flowers with beauty ', & banks with flowers   

13.  
MY Love is like a Paradise beset  
With rarest gifts, whose fruits (but tender yet)  
The world ne'er tasted, dainties far more rare  
Than Eden's tempting Apple, and more fair:  
Myrrh, Aloes, Incense, and the Cypress tree  
Can boast no sweetness, but is breathed from thee;  
Dainties, for taste, and flowers, for the smell  
Spring all from thee, whose sweets, all sweets excel.    

BRIDE. SONNET XIII.  

O Thou (my dear) whose sweets, all sweets excel  
From whom my fruits receive their taste, their smell  
How can my thriving 
* ●he faithful.  plants refuse to grow  
Thus quickened with so sweet a 
* The Sun of righteousness.  Sun as thou?  
How can my flowers, which thy Ewers nourish  
With showers of living waters, choose but flourish?  
O thou, the spring, from whence these waters burst.  
Did ever any taste thy streams, and thirst?   

2.  
AM I a Garden? May my flowers be  
So highly honoured to be smelled by thee;  
Inspire them with thy sacred breath, and then  
Receive from them, thy borrowed breath again,  
Frequent thy Garden, whose rare fruit invites  
Thy welcome presence, to his choice Delights;  
Taste where thou list, and take thy full repast,  
Here's that will please thy smell, thine eye, thy taste.    

BRIDEGROOM. SONNET XIIII.  
THou sacred Centre of my soul, in whom  
I rest, behold thy wished-for Love is come;  
Refreshed with thy delights, I have repasted  
Upon thy 
* Obedience.  pleasures; my full soul hath tasted  
Thy 
* Strong works of Faith.  ripened dainties, and hath freely been  
Pleased with those fruits, that are (as yet) but 
* The new fruits of the Spirit.  green  
All you that love the honour of my Bride,  
Come taste her Vineyards, and be deifi'de,   

BRIDE. SONNET XV.  

IT was a 
* To● much security.  night, a night as dark, as foul,  
As that black Error, that entranced my Soul,  
When as my best beloved came and knocked  
At my 
* My heart.  dull gates, too too securely locked;  
Unbolt (said he) these churlish doors (my Dove,)  
Let not false 
* The pleasures of the Flesh.  slumbers bribe thee from thy jove;  
Hear him, that for thy gentle sake came hither,  
Long injured by this 
* Thy hardhearted unkindness.  nights ungentle weather.   

2.  
Herd the voice, but the perfidious pleasure  
Of my sweet slumbers, could not find the leisure  
●ope my drowsy doors; my Spirit could speak  
●ords fair enough, but ah, my flesh was weak,  
〈◊〉 fond excuses taught me to betray  
〈◊〉 sacred vows to a secure delay:  
●●●●dious slumbers, how have you the might  
〈◊〉 blind true pleasures, with a false delight!   

3.  
WHen as my Love, with oft repeated knocks  
Could not avail, shaking his dewy locks,  
●●●ly displeased, he could no longer bide  
〈◊〉 slight neglect, but went away denied;  
〈◊〉 sooner gone, but my dull soul discerned  
〈◊〉 drowsy error; my grieved Spirit 
* repent.  yearned  
〈◊〉 find him out; these seiled eyes that slept  
〈◊〉 sound, fast, awaked, much faster wept.   

4.  
THus raised, and roused from my deceitful rest▪  
●op'd my doors, where my departed Guest  
〈◊〉 been; I thrust the churlish Portals from me  
That so denied my dearest Bridegroom to me;  
〈◊〉 when I smelled of my returned hand,  
〈◊〉 soul was rapt, my powers all did stand  
●●azed at the 
* The sweetness of his graces.  sweetness they did find,  
Which my neglected Love had left behind.   

5.  
I Opened my door▪ my Myrrhed distilling door,  
But ah, my Guest was gone, had given me o'er:  
What curious pen, what Artist can define  
A mateless sorrow? Such, ah, such was mine;  
Doubts, and despair had of my life deprived me  
Had not strong hope of his return revived me,  
I sought, but he refused to appear;  
I called, but he would not be heard, nor hear.   

6.  
THus, with the tyranny of grief distraught,  
I ranged a round, no place I left unsought,  
No care unasked; The 
* False teachers.  watchmen of the City  

* With their false doctrines.  Wounded my soul, without remorse of pity  
To virgin tears; They taught my feet to stray,  
Whose steps were apt enough to lose their way;  
With taunts & scorns they checked me, and derided  
And called me Whore, because I walked unguided.   

7.  
YOu hallowed Virgins, you, whose tender hearts  
E'er felt th'impression of 
* Divine Love.  Love's secret darts,  
I charge you all, by the dear faith you owe  
To Virgin pureness, and your vestal vow,  
Commend me to my Love, if ere you meet him,  
O tell him, that his lovesick spouse doth greet him;  
O let him know, I languish with desire  
T● enjoy that heart, that sets this heart on fire.    

VIRGINS. SONNET. XVI.  
O Thou the fairest flower of mortal birth,  
If such a beauty may be borne of earth,  
●●gell or Virgin, which? or both in one,  
●●gell by beauty, Virgin by thy moan,  
●●y, who is He that may deserve these tears,  
●hese precious drops? Who is't can stop his ears  
〈◊〉 these fair lips? Speak Lady, speak at large,  
●ho is't? For whom giv'st thou so strict a charge?   

BRIDE. SONNET XVII.  

MY Love is the perfection of delight,  
Roses, and Doves are not so red, so white;  
●●patern'd beauty summoned every grace  
〈◊〉 the composure of so sweet a face;  
〈◊〉 body is a Heaven, for in his breast  
●he perfect Essence of a God doth rest;  
●he brighter eye of Heaven did never shine  
●●an another glory, so divine.   

2.  
HIs 
* His Deity.  Head is far more glorious, to behold,  
Than fruitful Ophyres oft refined gold,  
'tis the rich Magazine of secret treasure,  
●hence Grace's spring in unconsined measure;  
〈◊〉 curled and dangling 
* His Humanity.  Tresses do proclaim  
N●zarite, on whom ne'er Razor came.  
Whose Raven-blacke colour gives a curious relish  
To that which beauty did so much embellish.   

3.  
LIke to the eyes of Doves are his fair 
* His judgements and care of his Church.  eyes,  
Wherein stern justice, mixed with mercy, lies;  
His eyes are simple, yet Majestical,  
In motion nimble, and yet chaste withal,  
Flaming like fire, and yet burn they not,  
Unblemished, undistained with a spot,  
Blazing with precious beams, and to behold,  
Like two rich Diamonds in a frame of gold.   

4.  
HIs cheeks are like two fruitful beds oregrown  
With Aromatic flowers newly blown,  
Whose odours, beauty, please the smell, the sight,  
And doubling pleasures, double the delight:  
His 
* The discovery of him in his word.  lips are like a crystal spring, from whence  
Flow sweetened streams of sacred Eloquence,  
Whose drops into the ear distilled, do give  
Life to 
* His promises.  the dead, true joys to 
* Those that die to sin.  them that live. 
* That live to righteousness.    

5.  
HIs hands are decked with rings of 
* His actins.  gold; the rings  
With costly jewels, fitting none but Kings. 
* With pureness.   
Which (of themselves though glorious, yet) receive  
More glory from those fingers, than they give;  
His 
* His secret counsels.  breasts like Ivory, circled round about  
With 
* Inwardly glorious.  veins, like Saphires, winding in and out,  
Whose beauty is (though darkened from the eye)  
Full of divine, and secret Majesty.   

6.  
HIs 
* His ways constant, firm, and pure.  legs like purest Marble, strong and white,  
Of curious shape, (though quick) unapt for flight:  
His Feet (as gold that's oft refined) are  
Like his upright proceedings, pure and fair;  
His 
* His whole carriage.  Port is Princely, and his Stature tall,  
And, like the Cedar, stout, yet sweet withal:  
O, who would not repose his life, his bliss,  
●pon a Base so fair, so firm as this?   

7  
HIs mouth! but stay, what need my lips be lavish  
In choice of words, when one alone will ravish?  
〈◊〉 shall, in brief, my ruder tongue discover  
The speaking Image of my absent Lover?  
Then let the curious hand of Art refine  
The race of Virtue's moral, and divine,  
From whence, by heaven let there extracted be  
● perfect Quintessence; even such is Herald    

VIRGINS. SONNET XVIII.  
THrice fairer than the fairest, whose sad tears,  
And smiling words, have charmed our eyes, our ears;  
Say, whither is this prize of beauty gone,  
More fair than kind, to let thee weep alone?  
Thy tempting lips have whet our dull desire,  
And till we see him, we are all on fire:  
we'll find him out, if thou wilt be our guide:  
The next way to the Bridegroom, is the 
* The Church is the way to Christ.  Bride.   

BRIDE. SONNET XIX.  

IF error lead not my dull thoughts amiss,  
My Genius tells me, where my true Love is;  
He's busy labouring on his 
* Congregation of the faithful.  flowery banks,  

* Giving graces.  Inspiring sweetness, and 
* Receiving glory.  receiving thanks,  
Watering those plants, whose tender roots are 
* Despairing souls.  dry,  
And pruning such, whose Crests aspire 
* Not yet thoroughly humbled.  too high,  
Transplanting, grafting, reaping fruits from some,  
And covering others, that are 
* Strengthening the weak in spirit.  newly come.   

2.  
WHat if the frailty of my feebler part,  
Locked up the Portals of my drowsy heart?  
He knows, the weakness of the flesh incumbers  
Th'unwilling spirit, with sense-bereaving slumbers,  
My hopes assure me, in despite of this,  
That my Beloved's mine, and I am his:  
My hopes are firm (which time shall ne'er remove)  
That he is mine, by faith; I, his, by love.    

BRIDEGROOM. SONNET XX.  

THy timely grief, (my teares-baptized Love)  
Compels mine ears to hear; thy tears, to move;  
Thy blubbered beauty, to mine eye appears  
More bright than 'twas: Such is the 
* The force of repentance.  strength of tears:  
beauty, & Terror, meeting in thine eye,  
Have made thy face the Throne of Majesty,  
Those awful beams, the proudest heart will move  
To love for fear, until it fear for love.   

2.  
Repress those flames, that furnace from thine eye,  
They ravish with too bright a Tyranny;  
Thy fires are tootoo fierce: O turn them from me,  
They pierce my soul, & with their rays o'ercome me,  
Thy curious * Tresses dangle, all unbound,  
●ith unaffected order, to the ground:  
How orient is thy beauty! How divine!  
How darke the glory of the earth to thine!   

3.  
THy Ivory 
* Sincere Ministers.  Teeth in whiteness do outgo  
The down of Swans, or Winters driven snow,  
Whose even proportions lively represent  
Th' harmonious Music of unite consent;  
Whose perfect whiteness, Time could never blot,  
Nor age (the envious Worm of Ruin) rot:  
How orient is thy beauty! How divine!  
How darke the glory of the earth to thine!   

4  
THy Temples, are the Temples of chaste love,  
Where beauty sacrificed her milk-white Dove,  
Upon whose Azure paths, are always found  
The heaven-borne Graces dancing in a round:  
Thy maiden 
* Thy visible parts.  Blushes gently do proclaim  
A shame of guilt, but not a guilt of shame:  
How orient is thy be●●ty! How divine!  
How darke the glory of the earth to thine! 
* Modesty, and zeal.    

5.  
YOu, you brave spirits, whose imperial hand  
Enforces, what your looks cannot command,  
Bring forth your pampered Queens, the lustful prize  
And curious wrecks of your imperious eyes;  
Surround the Circle of the earth, and levy  
The fairest Virgins in Love's fairest bevie;  
Then take from each, to make one perfect grace,  
Yet would my Love outshine that borrowed face.   

6.  
I Thou art she, corrivalld with no other,  
Thou glorious Daughter of thy glorious Mother  
The new lerusalem, whose virgin birth  
Shall deify the 
* The pure in hea●t.  Virgins of the earth:  
The Virgins of the earth have seen thy beauty,  
And stood amazed, and in a prostrate duty  
Have sued to kiss thy hand, making thine eyes  
Their Lamps to light them, till the Bridegroom rise.   

7.  
Hark, how the virgin's hallowed with thy fire,  
And wonder-smitten with thy beams, admire,  
Who, who is this (say they) whose cheeks resemble  
●●●ora's blush, whose eye heavens lights dissemble?  
Whose face is brighter than the silent Lamp  
That lights the earth, to breathe her nightly damp;  
Upon whose brow sits dreadful Majesty,  
The frown whereof commands a victory.   

8  
Fair Bride, why was thy troubled soul dejected  
When I was absent? was my faith suspected,  
Which I so firmly plighted? Couldst thou think  
My love could shake, or such a vow could shrink?  
I did but walk among my tender Plants,  
To smell their odours, and supply their wants,  
To see my Stocks, so lately grifted, sprout,  
Or if my vines began to burgeon out.   

9  
THough gone was I, 
* My Spirit.  my heart was in thy breast,  
Although to thee (perchance) an unknown guest  
'Twas that, that gave such wings to thy desire,  
T' enjoy thy love, and set thy soul on fire;  
But my return was quick, and with a mind  
More nimble (yet more constant) than the wind,  
I came, and as the winged shaft doth fly  
With undiscerned speed; even so did I.   

10.  
Return, (O then return) thou child of Peace  
To thy first joys, O let thy tears surcease;  
Return thee to thy Love; let not the 
* Security.  night  
With flattering 
* Worldly pleasures.  slumbers, tempt thy true delight:  
Return thee to my bosom, let my breast  
Be still thy Tent; Take there eternal rest;  
Return, O thou, in whose enchanted eye  
Are darts enough, to make an army fly.   

11.  
Fair Daughter of the highest King, how sweet  
Are th' unaffected graces of thy 
* Thy ways.  Feet!  
From every step, true Majesty doth spring,  
Fitting the Daughter of so high a King:  
Thy Waste is circled with a 
* The girdle of truth.  Virgin Zone,  
Embellished round with many a precious 
* The precious gifts of the Spirit  Stone.  
●●erein thy curious Workman did fulfil  
〈◊〉 utmost glory of his diviner skill.   

12.  
THy 
* Thereby there is a receipt of spiritual Conceptions.  Navel, where thy holy Embryo doth  
Receive sweet nourishment, and heavenly growth  
●●ke a Crystal spring, whose fresh supply  
unliving waters, Sun, nor Drought can dry:  
〈◊〉 
* Increase of the faithful.  fruitful Womb is like a winnowed heap  
〈◊〉 purest grain, which heavens blessed hand did reap,  
●●th Lilies fenced: True Emblem of rare treasure  
Those grain denotes increase; whose Lilies pleasure.   

13.  
THy dainty 
* The old and new Testament.  Breasts, are like fair twins, both swelling  
In equal Majesty; in hue excelling  
〈◊〉 newfallen snow upon th' untrodden mountains,  
From whence there flows, as from exub'rous fountains  
●●●ers of heavenly Nectar, to allay  
The holy thirst of souls: Thrice happy they,  
●●d more than thrice, whose blessed affections bring  
Their thirsty palates to so sweet a Spring.   

14.  
THy 
* Magistrates.  Neck doth represent an Ivory Tower,  
In perfect pureness, and united power,  
Thine 
* Teachers.  Eyes (like pools at a frequented gate  
For every comer, to draw water at)  
Are common treasures, and like crystal glasses,  
Shwes each his lively visage, as he passes.  
Thy 
* Glorious in all parts.  Nose, the curious Organ of thy Scent,  
Wants nothing more, for use, for ornament.   

15.  
THy 
* The Ceremonies of the Church.  Tires of gold (enriched with glorious gems,  
Rare Diamonds, and princely Diadems)  
Adorn thy brows, and with their native worth  
Advance thy glory, and set thy beauty forth:  
So perfect are thy Graces, so divine,  
And full of heaven, are those fair looks of thine,  
That I'm inflamed with the double fire  
Of thy full beauty, and my fierce desire.   

16.  
O Sacred Symmetry! O rare connection  
Of many perfects, to make one perfection!  
O heavenly Music, where all parts do meet  
In one sweet strain, to make one perfect sweet!  
O glorious members, whose each several feature  
Divine, compose so, so divine a Creature!  
Fair soul, as all thy parts united be  
Entire, so summed are all my joys in thee.   

17.  
THy curious Fabric, and erected stature  
Is like the generous Palm, whose lofty nature,  
In spite of envious violence, will aspire,  
Then most suppressed, the more it mounts the higher:  
Thy lovely breasts, (whose beauty reinvites  
My oft remembrance to her oft delights)  
Are like the swelling Clusters of the vine;  
So full of sweetness are those breasts of thine.   

18.  
AR● thou my Palm? My busy hand shall nourish  
Thy fruitful roots, & make thy branches flourish:  
〈◊〉 thou my vine? My skilful arm shall dress  
Thy 
* Despairing souls.  dying plants; my living springs shall bless  
Thy 
* Young Converts.  infant Buds; my blasting breath shall quell  

* Opposers of the Truth.  Presumptuous weeds, & make thy clusters swell:  
And all that love thee, shall attain the favour  
To taste thy sweetness, and to smell thy savour.   

19  
THose Oracles that from thy lips proceed,  
With sweet Evangels, shall delight and feed  
〈◊〉 attentive ear, and like the Trumpets voice  
〈◊〉 faint hearts, but make brave spirits rejoice:  
Thy breath, whose Dialect is most divine,  
ascends quick flames, where embered sparks but shine;  
〈◊〉 strikes the Pleaders Rhet'ricke with derision,  
And makes the dullest soul a Rhetorician.    

BRIDE. SONNET XXI.  

MY faith, not merits, hath assured thee, mine;  
Thy Love, not my desert hath made me, thine:  
Unworthy I, whose drowsy soul rejected  
Thy precious favours, and (secure) neglected  
Thy glorious presence, how am I become  
A Bride besitting so divine a Groom!  
It is no merit, no desert of mine,  
Thy love, thy love alone, hath made me thine.   

2.  
SInce then the bounty of thy dear election  
Hath styled me thine, O let the sweet reflection  
Of thy illustrious beams, my soul inspire,  
And with thy spirit, inflame my hot desire;  
Unite our souls; O let thy Spirit rest  
And make perpetual home within my breast;  
Instruct me so, that I may gain the skill,  
To suit my service to thy sacred will.   

3.  
COme, come (my soul's preserver) thou that art  
Th'united joys of my united heart,  
Come, let us visit with the morning light,  
Our prosperous 
* Congregation of the faithful.  Vines; with mutual delight  
Lt's view those grapes, whose clusters being 
* By affliction.  pressed  
Shall make rich wines, to serve your Marriage feast,  
That by the thriving plants it may appear,  
Our joys perfecting Marriage draweth near.   

4.  
BEhold, my new 
* Young Convers.  disclosed flowers present  
Before thy gates, their tributary sent;  
Reserve themselves for Garlands, that they may  
Adorn the Bridegorme, on his Marriage day:  
My 
* Assemblies.  Garden's full of 
* Faithful.  Trees, and every Tree  
Laden with 
* Faith and good works.  fruit, which I devote to thee;  
Eternal joys betid that happy guest,  
That tastes the dainties of the Bridegroom's feast.   

5.  
O Would to God mine eyes (these fainting eyes,  
Whose eager appetite could ne'er devise  
A dearer object, might but once behold  
My Love (as I am, clad in fleshly mould,  
That each may corporally converse with other  
As friend with friend; as sister with her brother,  
O how mine eyes could welcome such a sight!  
How would my soul dissolve with o're-delight!   

6.  
THen should this hand conduct my fairest Spouse,  
To taste a banquet at my mother's 
* The universal Church.  house;  
Our fruitful Garden should present thine eyes  
With sweet delights; her trees should sacrifice  
Their early fruits to thee; our tender Vine  
Should cheer thy palate with her unpressed wine;  
Thy hand should teach my living Plants to thrive;  
And such, as are a dying, to revive.   

7.  
THen should my soul enjoy within this breast,  
A holy Sabbath of eternal Rest;  
Then should my cause that suffers through despite  
Of error, and rude Ignorance, have right;  
Then should these 
* Tears and sorrows.  streams, whose tides so often rise,  
Be ebbed away, from my suffused eyes;  
Then should my spirits filled with heavenly mirth,  
Triumph o'er Hell, and find a heaven on earth.   

8.  
ALL you that wish the bountiful increase  
Of dearest pleasures, and divinest peace,  
I charge you all (if ought my charge may move  
Your tender hearts) 
* Not to vex and grieve his holy Spirit.  not to disturb my Love;  
Vex not his gentle Spirit, nor bereave  
Him of his joys, that is so apt to grieve;  
Dare not to break his quiet slumbers, lest  
You rouse a raging Lion from his rest.   

9  
WHo ever loved, that ever loved as I,  
That for his sake renounce myself, deny  
The world's best joys, and have the world forgone?  
Who ever loved so dear, As I have done?  
I sought my Love, and found him 
* In humility.  lowly laid  
Beneath the tree of Love● in whose sweet shade  
He rested; there his eye sent forth the fire,  
That first inflamed my amorous desire.   

10.  
MY dearest Spouse, O seal me on thy heart  
So sure, that envious Earth may never part.  
Our joined souls; let not the world remove  
My chaste desires from so choice a Love;  
〈◊〉 O, my love's not slight, her flames are serious  
●as never death so powerful, so imperious:  
〈◊〉 jealous zeal is a consuming fire,  
〈◊〉 burns my soul, through fear & fierce desire.   

11.  
●Ires may be quenched; and flames, though ne'er so great,  
With many drops shall faint, and lose their heat:  
〈◊〉 these quick fires of love, the more suppressed,  
●he more they flame in my inflamed breast;  
●ow dark is Honour! how obscure and dim  
〈…〉 bright glory, but compared with him!  
〈◊〉 ●oule is Beauty! what a toil is Pleasure▪  
〈◊〉 poor is Wealth! how base a thing is treasure!   

12.  
Have a 
* The Church of the Gentiles then uncalled.  Sister, which by thy divine  
〈◊〉 bounteous Grace, our Marriage shall make thine;  
〈◊〉 is mine own, mine only Sister, whom  
〈◊〉 Mother bore the youngest of her womb:  
she's yet a 
* Uncalled to the truth.  child, her beauty may improve,  
Her breasts are small, and yet too green for love;  
When time and years shall add perfection to her,  
Say (dearest Love) what honour wilt thou do her?    

BRIDEGROOM. SONNET. XXII.  
IF she be fair, and with her beauty, prove  
As chaste, as loyal to her virgin-Love,  
As thou hast been, then in that high degree  
I'll honour her, as I have honoured thee:  
Be she as constant as her Vestal vow,  
And true to her devoted faith, as thou,  
I'll crown her head, and fill her hand with power,  
And give a Kingdom to her for a Dower.   

BRIDE. SONNET. XXIII.  
When time shall ripen these her green desires,  
And holy Love shall breathe her heavenly fires  
Into her Virgin breast, her heart shall be  
As true to love, as I am true to thee:  
O, when thy boundless bounty shall conjoin  
Her equall-glorious Majesty, with mine,  
My joys are perfect, then, in sacred bands  
Wedlock shall couple our espoused hands.   

BRIDEGROOM. SONNET. XXIIII.  

I Am thy Gardener, Thou my fruitful Vine,  
Whose ripened clusters swell with richest Wine,  
The Vines of So●omon were not so fair,  
His Grapes were not so precious, as thine are;  
His Vines were subject to the vulgar will  
O● hired ●ands, and mercenary skill;  
Corrupted Carls were merry with his Vines,  
And at a price returned their bartered wines.   

2.  
But mine's a Vineyard, which no ruder hand  
Shall touch, subjected to my sole command,  
Myself with this laborious arm, will dress it,  
〈◊〉 presence with a busy eye shall bless it;  
●●rincely So●omon, thy thriving Vine  
〈◊〉 not so saire, so bountiful as mine;  
〈◊〉 greedy sharers claim an earned hire,  
〈◊〉 mine's reserved, and to myself entire.   

3.  
O Thou, that dwellest 
* In the great Congregation.  where th'eternal fame  
Of my renown so glorifies my name,  
〈◊〉 Bride, in whose celestial tongue,  
〈◊〉 sacred Spells t'enchant the ruder throng;  
●et thy lips, like a perpetual story;  
●●ulge my graces, and declare my glory;  
Direct those hearts, that error leads astray,  
Dissolve the 
* The penitent.  Wax, but make obdure the 
* The presumptuous.  Clay.    

BRIDE. SONNET XXV.  
MOst glorious Love, and honourable Lord,  
My heart's the vowed servant of thy Word,  
But I am weak, and as a tender Vine.  
Shall fall, unpropped by that dear hand of thine:  
Assist me therefore that I may fulfil  
What thou commandest, and then command thy will;  
O leave thy Sacred Spirit in my breast,  
As earnest of an everlasting Rest.  
The end.    

ZIONS' ELEGIES. Wept BY JEREMY THE PROPHET; And PERIPHRASED By FRA. QVARLES.  
LONDON, Printed by MILES FLESHER. 1632.   

To the READER.  
IF the ruins of Troy, Rome, Thebes, or Carthage have been thought a subject, worthy the employment of more serious Pens, to entail the remembrance thereof 〈◊〉 Posterity, how much more worthy the pains ●●livelier pen than mine, is this ancient, most 〈◊〉, and never enough to be lamented deso●●●●●, and Captivity of jerusalem; jerusalem, 〈◊〉 holy City of GOD; jerusalem, the type of 〈◊〉 Catholic Church?  
After eighteen months siege, in the eleventh 〈◊〉 of Zedekiah, the ninth day of the fourth 〈◊〉, (which was the eighteenth year of Ne●●hadonozor over Babylon) the Princes of ●●bylon surprised and took this brave City of ●●●usalem: presently after which, Nabuzaradan 〈◊〉 General of the Babylonian Army (comman●●● by Nebuchadonozor) spoiled the Temple, ●●ried away the Vessels of Gold and Silver, that 〈◊〉 consecrated to God's service, and the great 〈◊〉 given by King Solomon, and burned the ●●●ple, the first day of the next month, which was one and twenty days after the surpriz●● 〈◊〉 470. years six months, and ten days after the foundation thereof; 1062. years, six months▪ ten days after the departure of the people out of Egypt; ●950. years, six months, ten days after the Deluge: and 3513. years, six months, ten days after the Creation of Adam. Thus, and then, was this City of jerusalem taken and for seventy years, remained the Jews in this Captivity: And this, in Brief, is the general occasion why, and the time when these Lamentations were compassed. Reader, I tender to thy consideration two things: First, the Penman: Secondly, the Art and Method of this Threnodia As for the first, It was penned by jeremy the Prophet, the son of Hilkiah, a Priest: and undoubtedly endighted by the Spirit of God; some think it was written, when the Prophet was in prison: others, when he was with Godoliah at Maspath: but whether at the one place or at the other, it is not much material to discourse.  
Secondly, as touching the Art and Method, it is short and concise, as being most natural to so lamentable a subject. Cicero says, Lamentationes debent esse concisae● & breves▪ quia ●ito lachryma exarescit, & difficile est auditores aut lectores, in illo affectu summae commiserationis, diu tenere. The Method is truly elegious, not bound to any ordinary set form, but wildly depending upon the sudden subject, that new griefs present, and indeed the deepest sorrows cannot be, but distracted from all rules of method, the neglect of which, is venial in such ejulations as these, as which, in all the Scriptures, there is none so copious, none so ardent; concerning which Gregory Nazianzen confesses, Threnos jeremiae nunquam à se siccis oculis lectos esse. Yet some think there is a Method kept, but too fine and intricate, for our gross apprehensions: touching this point, Saint Ambrose lib. 8. Epist. adjust. says, Demus, eas secundum artem non scripsisse, at certè secundum gratiam scripsisse fatendum est, quae omnem artem longè superat, and with this, I rest.  
You shall observe, that the four first Chapters of these Lamentations carry a strict order, in the Original, for every Verse throughout every Chapter begins with a several letter of the Hebrew Alphabet, except the third Chapter, wherein the first and every third Verse only is tied to a Letter, and continues the Alphabet through; which for me the Prophet used, partly for Eloquence, partly for Memory sake; meaning either literally thus, that it ought to be perfect as the Alphabet, in memory; or Hieroglyphically thus, that as the Alphabet is the Radix of all words, so the miseries of the jews, were the combination of all miseries.  
For the same Causes, I likewise here in my Periphrase, have observed the same form, and continue the Alphabet in English, as the Prophet did in the Hebrew, desirous to be his shadow, as much as I can.  
It appears by the strictness of the Order, that these Lamentations were Originally writ in verse and as some think in Sapphicks, but many of our learned Neotericks deny, that any writings of the jews carry, now, any direct or certain Laws of Poesy, though (they confess) some ruinous Accents, here and there discovered, makes them imagine, they writ some things in verse; but now, it seems that God, in dispersing them, hath likewise dissolved, and struck dumb their music.  
Farewell.   

TO THE TRUE THEANTHROPOS, jesus Christ, THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD: His Servant implores his favourable assistance.  
THou Alpha and Omega, before whom,  
Things past & present & things yet to come,  
Are all alike; O prosper my designs,  
And let thy spirit enrich my feeble lines;  
Revive my passion; let mine eye behold  
Those sorrows present, which were wept of old:  
Strike sad my Soul, and give my Pen, the Art  
To move; and Me, an understanding heart.  
O, let the Accent of each word, make known,  
I mix the Tears of Zion, with mine own:  
Preserve all such, as bear true hearts to Zion.  
We are thy Lambs, O, be thou still our Lion.   

ZIONS' ELEGIES.  

Threnodia. I.  

ELEG. 1.  
AH grief of Times! Ah, sable times of Grief,  
Whose torments find a voice, but no relief!  
Are these the buildings? These the tower and state,  
That all th'amazed Earth stood wondering at?  
Is this that City, whose eternal Glory,  
Could find no period, for her endless story?  
And is she come to this? Her Buildings razed,  
Her Towers burnt? Her Glory thus defaced?  
O sudden Change! O world of Alterations!  
She, she that was the Prince, the Queen of Nations  
See, how she lies, of strength, of all, bereived,  
Now paying Tribute, which she once received.   

ELEG. 2.  
BEhold! her eyes, those glorious eyes, that were  
Like two fair Suns, in one celestial Sphere,  
Whose radiant beams did, once, reflect so bright,  
Are now eclipsed, and have lost their light,  
And seem like Lands, about which appears  
A troubled Ocean, with a Tide of Tears;  
Her servant Cities (that were once at hand,  
And bowed their servile necks to her command,)  
Stand all aloof, as strangers to her moan,  
And give her leave to spend her tears alone,  
Her neighbours flatter, with a false relief,  
And with a kiss, betray her to her grief.   

ELEG. 3.  
Compassed around with Seas of briny tears,  
judah laments, distraught with double fears;  
Even as the fearful Partridge, to excuse her  
From the fierce Gos-hawk, that too close pursues her,  
Falls in a Covert, and herself doth cover her,  
From her unequal Foe, that sits above her:  
Mean while the treason of her quick Retrivers,  
Discovers novel dangers, and delivers  
Her to a second fear, whose double fright  
Finds safety nor in staying, nor in flight;  
Even so is judah vexed, with change of woes,  
Betwixt her homebred, and her foreign Foes.   

ELEG. 4.  
DId not these sacred Cawsies, that are leading  
To Zion, late seem paved, with often treading?  
Now secret Dens, for lurking Thiefs to meet,  
Unpressed, unless with sacrilegious feet;  
Zion the Temple of the highest God,  
Stands desolate, her holy steps untrod;  
Her Altars are defaced, her Virgin fires  
Surcease, & with a stink, her snuff expires; cries,  
Her Priests have changed their Hymus to sighs and cries,  
Her Virgins weep forth Rivers from their eyes:  
O Zion, thou that wert the Child of mirth,  
Art now the scorn, and Byword of the Earth▪   

ELEG. 5.  
Increased in power, and high Chevisance  
Of arms, thy Tyrant foem en do advance  
Their crafty crests; He, he that was thy father,  
And crowned thee once with blessings, now doth gather  
His troops to work thy end; him, who advanced thee  
To be Earth's Queen, thy sins have bend against thee  
Strange spectacle of Grief! Thy tender fry,  
Whom childhood taught no language, but their cry  
T'express their infant grief, these, wretched these  
By force of childish tears, could not appease  
The ruthless sword, which deaf to all their cries,  
Did drive them Captives from their mother's eyes.   

ELEG. 6.  
Fair Virgin Zion, where (ah) where are those  
Pure cheeks, wherein the Lily, and the Rose  
So much contended lately for the place,  
Till both compounded in thy glorious face?  
How hast thou bleared those sunbright eyes of thine  
Those beams, the royal Magazens of divine  
And sacred Majesty, from whose pure light,  
The purblind worldlings did receive their sight,  
Thy fearful Princes, leave their fenceless towers,  
And fly like Hearts, before their swift pursuers;  
Like lightfoot Hearts they fly, not knowing where,  
Pricked on with Famine, and distracted Fear.   

ELEG. 7.  
Galled with her grief. jerusalem recalls  
To mind her lost delights, her Festivals,  
Her peaceful freedom, and full joys, in vain  
Wishing, what Earth cannot restore again;  
Secure she sought, and begged, but none was there  
To give the Alms of one poor trickling tear;  
The scornful lips of her amazed Foes,  
Deride the grief, of her disastrous woes;  
They laugh, and lay more ample torments on her,  
Disdain to look, and yet they gaze upon her,  
Abuse her Altars, hate her Offerings,  
Profane her Sabbaths, and her holy Things.   

ELEG. 8.  
HAdst thou (jerusalem) O, had thy heart  
Been loyal to his love, whose once thou wert,  
O, had the beams of thy unvailed eye  
Continued pure; hadst thou been nice, to try  
New pleasures, thus thy Glory ne'er had wasted,  
Thy Walls, till now, like thy Reproach, had lasted:  
Thy Lovers, whose false beauties did entice thee,  
Have seen thee naked, and do now despise thee;  
Drunk with thy wanton pleasures, they are fled,  
And scorn the bounty of thy loathed bed;  
Lest to thy guilt (the servant of thy sin)  
Thou sham'st to show, what once, thou gloriedst i●.   

ELEG. 9  
IErusalem is all infected over  
With Leprosy, whose filth, no shade can cover,  
Puffed up with pride, unmindful of her end,  
See how she lies, devoid of help, or friend.  
Great Lord of Lords (whose mercy far transcends  
Thy sacred justice) whose full Hand attends  
The cries of empty Ravens, bow down thine eared  
To wretched Zion, Zion drowned in tears;  
Thy hand did plant her, (Lord) she is thy vine,  
Confound her foes: they are her foes, and thine:  
Show wont favour to thy holy hill.  
Rebuild her walls, and love thy Zion still.   

ELEG. 10.  
KNees, falsely bend to Dagon, now defile  
Her wasted Temple rudely they despoil  
Th'abused Altars, and no hand relieves;  
Her house of prayer is turned a den of thiefs  
Her costly Robes, her sacred treasure stands,  
A willing prey to sacrilegious hands,  
Her Priests are slain, & in a lukewarm flood  
Through every channel runs the Levites blood;  
The hallowed Temple of the highest God,  
Whose purer footsteps were not to be trod  
With unprepared feet, before her eye,  
Is turned a Grove, for base Idolatry.   

ELEG. 11.  
Lingering with Death and Famine, judah groans,  
And to the air, breathes forth her airy moans,  
Her fainting eyes wax dim, her cheeks grow pale,  
Her wand'ring steps despair to speed, and fail,  
She faints, and through her trembling lips, half dead,  
She whispers oft the holy name of bread:  
Great God, let thy offended wrath surcease,  
Behold thy servants, send thy servants peace,  
Behold thy vassals, grovelling on the dust;  
Be merciful (dear God) as well as just;  
'Tis thou, 'tis thou alone, that sent this grief,  
'Tis thou, 'tis thou alone, can send relief.   

ELEG. 12.  
MY tongus in labour with her painful birth,  
That finds no passage; Lord, how strange a dearth  
Of words, concomitates a world of woes!  
I neither can conceal, nor yet disclose:  
You weary Pilgrims, you whom change of Climes  
Have taught you change of Fortunes, and of Times,  
Stay, stay your feeble steps, and cast your eyes  
On me, the Abstract of all miseries.  
Say (Pilgrims) say, if e'er your eyes beheld  
More truer Iliads; more unparallelled,  
And mateless evils, which my offended God  
Reulcerates, with his enraged Rod.   

ELEG. 13.  
NO humane power could no envious Art  
Of mortal man, could thus subject my heart,  
My glowing heart, to these imperious fires:  
No earthly sorrow, but at length expires;  
But these my Tyrant-torments do extend  
To infinites, nor having ease, nor end;  
Lo, I the Prisoner of the highest God,  
Inth●ailed to the vengeance of his Rod,  
Lie bound in fetters, that I cannot fly,  
Nor yet endure his deadly strokes, nor die:  
My joys are turned to sorrows, backed with fears,  
And I (poor I) lie pickled up in tears.   

ELEG. 14.  
O! How unsufferable is the weight  
Of sin! How miserable is their state,  
The silence of whose secret sin conceals  
The smart, till justice to Revenge appeals!  
How ponderous are my crimes, whose ample scroul  
Weighs down the pillars of my broken Soul!  
Their sour, masqued with sweetness, overswaied me  
And with their smiling kisses, they betrayed me,  
Betrayed me to my Foes, and what is worse,  
Betrayed me to myself, and heavens curse,  
Betrayed my soul to an eternal grief,  
Devoid of hope, for e'er to find relief▪   

ELEG. 15.  
Perplexed with change of woes, where ere I turn  
My fainting eyes, they find fresh cause to mourn  
My griefs move like the Planets, which appear  
Changed from their places, constant to their sphere  
Behold, the earth-confounding arm of Heaven,  
Hath cowed my valiant Captains, and hath driven  
Their scattered forces up and down the street,  
Like worried sheep afraid of all they meet;  
My younger men, the seed of propagation,  
Exile hath driven from my divided Nation;  
My tender Virgins have not scaped their rage,  
Which neither had respect to youth, nor age.   

ELEG. 16.  
Quick change of torments! equal to those crimes,  
Which past unthought-of, in my prosperous times  
From hence proceed my griefs, (ah me) from hence  
My Springtide sorrows have their influence;  
For these, my soul● dissolves, my eyes lament,  
Spending chose tears, whose store will ne'er be spent;  
For these, my fainting spirits droepe, and melt  
In anguish, such as never Mortal felt;  
Within the selfsame flames, I frieze, and fry,  
I roar for help, and yet no help is nigh;  
My sons are lost, whose fortunes would relieve me,  
And only such triumph, that hourly grieve me.   

ELEG. 17.  
Rend from the glory of her lost renown,  
Zion laments; Her lips (her lips o'reflowne  
With floods of tears) she prompteth how to break  
New languages, instructs her tongue to speak  
Elegious Dialects; She lowly bends  
Her dusty knees upon the earth, extends  
Her brawnlesse arms to them, whose ruthless eyes  
Are red, with laughing at her miseries;  
Naked she lies, deformed, and circumvented,  
With troops of fears, unpitied, unlamented,  
A loathsome drain for filth, despised, forlorn;  
The scorn of Nations, and the child of scorn.   

ELEG. 18.  
Sour wages issue from the sweets of sin,  
Heaven's hand is just, this treacherous heart hath been  
The author of my woes: 'Tis I alone;  
My sorrows reap, what my foul sins have sown;  
Often they cried to heaven, ere heaven replied,  
And vengeance ne'er had come, had they ne'er cried;  
All you that pass, vouchsafe your gracious ears,  
To hear these cries; your eyes, to view these tears;  
They are no heat-drops of an angry heart,  
Or childish passions of an idle smart,  
But they are Rivers, springing from an eye,  
Whose streams, no joy can stop, no grief draw dry.   

ELEG. 19  
Turn where I list, new cause of woe presents  
My poor distracted soul with new laments;  
Where shall I turn? shall I implore my friends?  
Ah, summer friendship, with the Summer ends;  
In vain to them my groans, in vain my tears,  
For harvest friends can find no winter ears;  
Or shall I call my sacred Priests for aid?  
Alas! my pined Priests are all betrayed  
To Death, and Famine; in the streets they cried  
For bread, & whilst they sought for bread, they died  
Vengeance could never strike so hard a blow,  
As when she sends an unlamented woe.   

ELEG. 20.  
VOuchsafe (great God) to turn thy tender eyes  
On me poor wretch: Oh, let my midnight cries  
(That never cease, if never stopped with tears)  
Procure audience from thy gracious ears;  
Behold thy creature, made by change of grief,  
The barest wretch, that ever begged relief;  
See, see, my soul is tortured on thy rack  
My bowels tremble, and my heartstrings crack;  
Abroad, the sword with open ruin frights me;  
At home, the secret hand of Famine smites me;  
Strange fires of grief! How is my soul oppressed,  
That finds abroad, no peace, at home, no rest!   

ELEG. 21.  
WHere, where art thou, O sacred Lamb of peace,  
That promised to the heavy laden, ease?  
Thee, thee alone, my often bended knee  
Invokes, that have no other help, but thee;  
My foes (amazed at my hoarse complaining)  
Scoff at my oft repeated cries, disdaining  
To lend their prosperous hand, they hisse and smile,  
Taking a pleasure to behold my spoil:  
Their hands delight to bruise my broken reeds,  
And still persist, to prick that heart that bleeds;  
But there's a Day (if Prophets can divine)  
Shall scourge their sins, as they have scourged mine.   

ELEG. 22.  
YOu noy some weeds, that lift your crests so high,  
When better plants, for want of moisture die?  
Think you to flourish ever? and (unspide)  
To shoot the flowers of your fruitless pride?  
If plants be cropped, because their fruits are small,  
Think you to thrive, that bear no fruit at all?  
Look down (great God) & from their places tear  
These weeds, that suck the juice, should make us bear  
Vndewed with showers, let them see no Sun,  
But feel those frosts, that thy poor plants have done.  
O cleanse thy Garden, that the world may know  
We are the seeds, that thy right hand did sow.    

Threnodia II.  

ELEG. 1.  
ALas! my torments, my distracted fears  
Have no commerce, with reasonable tears:  
How hath Heaven's absence darkened the renown  
Of Zions glory! with one angry frown.  
How hath th' Almighty clouded those bright beams  
And changed her beauty's streamers, into streams!  
Zion, the glory of whose refulgent Fame  
Gave earnest of an everlasting name,  
Is now become an indigested Mass,  
And ruin is, where that brave glory was:  
How hath heaven struck her earth-admired name  
From th' height of honour, to the depth of shame;   

ELEG. 2.  
Beauty, nor strength of building could entice,  
Or force revenge from her just enterprise;  
Mercy hath stopped her ears, and justice hath  
Poured out full vials of her kindled wrath;  
Impatient of delay, she hath struck down  
The pride of Zion, kicked off Iuda's Crown;  
Her streets unpeopled, and dispersed her powers,  
And with the ground hath levelled her high towers;  
Her priests are slain, her captived Princes are  
Vnransomed prisoners; Slaves her men of war;  
Nothing remains of all her wont glory,  
But sad memorials of her tragic story.   

ELEG. 3.  
COnfused horror, and confounding shame,  
Have blurred the beauty, and renowned name  
Of righteous Israel; Israel's fruitful land,  
Entailed by Heaven, with the usurping hand  
Of uncontroled Gentiles, is laid waste,  
And with the spoil so ruin is defaced;  
The angry mouth of justice blows the fires  
Of hasty vengeance, whose quick flame aspires,  
With fury to that place, which heaven did sever,  
For jacob and his holy seed for ever;  
No part, no secret angle of the Land,  
Which bears no mark of heavens enraged hand.   

ELEG. 4.  
●Arts, thrilled from heaven, transfix my bleeding heart  
And fill my soul with everlasting smart,  
Whose festering wound, no fortune can recure;  
Th' Almighty strikes but seldom, but strikes sure;  
His finowy arm hath drawn his steely bow,  
And sent his forked shafts to overthrow  
My pined Princes, and to ruinate  
The weakened Pillars, of my wounded State;  
His hand hath scourged my dear delights, acquired  
My soul, of all, wherein my soul delighted;  
I am the mirror of unmasked sin,  
To see her (dear purchased) pleasures in.   

ELEG. 5.  
EVen as the Pilot, whose sharp Keel divides  
Th' encountering waves of the Cicilian Tides,  
Tossed on the list● of death, striving to scape  
The danger of deep mouthed Cha●ybdis rape,  
Re●uts on Scy●●a, with a forced career,  
And wrecks upon a less suspected fear;  
Even so poor I, contriving to withstand  
My Foeman's, fall into th' Almighty's hand;  
So I, the child of ruin, to avoid  
Less dangers, by a greater am destroyed:  
How necessary, Ah! How sharps his end,  
That neither hath his God, nor man, to friend!   

ELEG. 6.  
FOrgotten Zion hangs her drooping head,  
Upon her fainting breast; Her soul is fed  
With endless grief, whose torments had deprived her  
Long since, of life, had not new pains revived her:  
Zion is like a Garden, whose defence  
Being broke, is left to the rude violence  
Of wasteful Swine, full of neglected waste;  
Nor having flower for smell, nor herb for taste;  
Heaven takes no pleasure in her holy Feasts,  
Her idle Sabbaths, or burned fat of beasts;  
Both State and Temple are despoiled, and fleeced  
Of all their beauty; without Prince, or Priest.   

ELEG. 7.  
GLory, that once did Heavens bright Temple fill,  
Is now departed from that sacred Hill;  
See, how the empty Altar stands disguised,  
Abused by Gentiles, and by heaven despised;  
That place, wherein the holy One hath taken  
So sweet delight, lies loathed, and forsaken;  
That sacred place, wherein the precious Name  
Of great jebovah was preserved, the same  
Is turned a Den for Thiefs; an open stage  
For vice to act on; a defiled Cage  
Of unclean birds; a house of privilege  
For sin, and uncontrolled sacrilege.   

ELEG. 8.  
HEaven hath decreed; his angry breast doth boil,  
His time's expired, and he's armed to spoil;  
His secret Will adjourned the righteous doom  
Of threatened Zion, and her time is come;  
His hand is armed with thunder, from his eyes  
A flame more quick than sulphurous Aetna, flies;  
Zion must fall: That hand which hath begun,  
Can never rest, till the full work be done.  
Her walls are sunk, her Towers are overthrown,  
Heaven will not leave a stone upon a stone:  
Hence, hence the floods of roaring judah rise,  
Hence Zion fills the Cisterns of her eyes.   

ELEG. 9  
Joy is departed from the holy Gates  
Of dear jerusalem, and peace retraits  
From wasted Zion; her high walls, that were  
An armed proof against the brunt of fear,  
Are shrunk for shame, if not withdrawn, for pity,  
To see the ruin of so brave a City;  
Her Kings, and outlawed Princes live constrained  
Hourly to hear the name of Heaven profaned;  
Manners and Laws, the life of government  
Are sent into eternal banishment;  
Her Prophets cease to preach; they vow, unheard:  
They howl to heaven, but heaven gives no regard.   

ELEG. 10.  
KIng, Priest, and People, all alike are clad  
In weeds of Sackcloth, taken from the sad  
Wardrobe of sorrow, prostrate on the earth,  
They close their lips, their lips estranged to mirth:  
Silent they sit, for dearth of speech affords  
A sharper Accent, for true grief, than words:  
The Father wants a Son, the Son a Mother;  
The Bride, her Groom: th' the brother wants a brother;  
Some, Famine: Exile some: and some the sword  
Hath slain: All want, when Zion wants her Lord:  
How art thou all in all! There's nothing scant  
(Great God) with thee, without thee, all things want.   

ELEG. 11.  
●Aunch forth my soul, into a sea of tears,  
Whose balanced bulk, no other Pilot steers,  
Than raging sorrow, whose uncertain hand,  
Wanting her Compass, strikes on every sand;  
Driven with a storm of sighs, she seeks the Haven  
Of rest, but like to Noah's wand'ring Raven,  
She scours the Main: and, as a Sea-lost Rover,  
She roams, but can no land of peace discover:  
Mine eyes are faint with tears, tears have no end,  
The more are spent, the more remain to spend:  
What Marble (ah) what Adamantine eye,  
Can look on Zions ruin, and not cry?   

ELEG. 12.  
MY tongue? the tongues of Angels, are too faint  
T' express the causes of my just complaint;  
See, how the pale-faced sucklings roar for food,  
And from their milkles mother's breasts, draw blood:  
Children surcease their serious toys, and plead  
With trickling tears, Ah mothers, give us bread:  
Such goodly Barns, and not one grain of corn?  
Why did the sword escape's? Why were we borne  
To be devoured and pined with famine? save us:  
With quick relief, or take the lives, you gave us:  
They cried for bread, that scarce had breath to cry,  
And wanting means to live, found means to dye.   

ELEG. 13.  
NEver, ah! never yet, did vengeance brand  
A State, with deeper ruin, than thy Land;  
Dear Zion how could mischief been more keen,  
Or struck thy glory with a sharper spleen?  
Whereto (jerusalem) to what shall I  
Compare this thy unequalled misery?  
Turn back to ages past; Search deep Records:  
Theirs are, thine cannot be expressed in words:  
Would, would to God, my lives cheap price might be  
Esteemed of value, but to ransom thee;  
Would I could cure thy grief; but who is able  
To heal that wound, that is immedicable?   

ELEG. 14.  
O Zion, had thy prosperous soul endured  
Thy Prophet's scourge, thy joys had been secured  
But thou (ah thou) hast lent thine itching ear  
To such as clawed, and only such, wouldst hear;  
Thy Prophets, anointed with unhallowed oil,  
Rubbed where they should have launched, and did beguile  
Thy abused faith, their fawning lips did cry  
Peace, peace, alas, when there was no peace nigh;  
They quilted silken curtains for thy crimes,  
Belyde thy God, and only pleased the times:  
Dear Zion, oh! hadst thou but had the skill  
To stop thine ears, thou hadst been Zion still.   

ELEG. 15.  
people, that travel through thy wasted Land,  
Gaze on thy ruins, and amazed stand,  
They shake their spleenful heads, disdain, deride  
The sudden downfall of so fair a pride;  
They clap their joyful hands, & fill their tongues  
With hisses, ballads, and with Lyric songs;  
Her torments give their empty lips new matter,  
And with their scornful fingers, point they at her;  
Is this (say they) that place, whose wont fame  
Made troubled earth to tremble at her name?  
Is this that State? are these those goodly Stations?  
Is this that Mistress, and that Queen of Nations?   

ELEG. 16.  
QVencht are the dying Embers of compassion,  
For empty sorrow finds no lamentation:  
When as thy Harvest flourished with full ears,  
Thy sleightest grief brought in a tide of tears;  
But now, alas! thy Crop consumed, and gone,  
Thou art but food, for beasts to trample on;  
Thy servants glory in thy ruin, those  
That were thy private friends, are public foes;  
Thus, thus (say they) we spit our rancorous spleen,  
And g●ash our teeth upon the world's fair Queen;  
Thrice welcome this (this long expected) day,  
That crownes our conquest, with so sweet a prey.   

ELEG. 17.  
REbellious judah! Could thy flattering crimes  
Secure thee from the dangers of the times?  
Or did thy summer Prophets ere foresay  
These evils, or warned thee of a winter's day?  
Did not those sweet-lipt Oracles beguile  
Thy wanton ears, with news of Wine, and Oil?  
But heaven is just: what his deep counsel wild,  
His prophets told, and justice hath fulfilled:  
He hath destroyed; no secret place so void,  
No Fort so sure, that Heaven hath not destroyed:  
Thou land of judah! How's thy sacred throne  
Become a stage, for Heathen to trample on!   

ELEG 18.  
SEe, see, th'accursed Gentiles do inherit  
The Land of promise; where heavens Sacred Spirit  
Built Temples for his everlasting Name,  
There, there, th'usurping Pagans do proclaim  
Their idle Idols, unto whom they gave  
That stolen honour which heaunes Lord should have  
Wink Zion; O let not those eyes be stained  
With heaven's dishonour, see not heaven profaned;  
Close, close thine eyes, or if they needs must be  
Open, like floodgates, to let water flee,  
Yet let the violence of their flowing streams  
Obscure thine open eyes, and mask their beams.   

ELEG. 19  
TRust not thy eyelids, lest a flattering sleep  
Bribe them to rest, and they forget to weep:  
Pour out thy heart, thy heart dissolved in tears,  
Weep forth thy plaints, in the Almighty's ears;  
Oh, let thy cries, thy cries to heaven addressed,  
Disturb the silence of thy midnight rest;  
Prefer the sad petitions of thy soul  
To heaven, ne'er close thy lips till heaven condole  
Confounded Zion, and her wounded weal;  
That God that smit, oh, move that God to heal;  
Oh, let thy tongue ne'er cease to call, thine eye  
To weep, thy pensive heart ne'er cease to cry.   

ELEG. 20.  
VOuchsafe, oh thou eternal Lord of pity,  
To look on Zion, and thy dearest City,  
Confused jerusalem, for thy DAVI●S sake,  
And for that promise, which thyself did make  
To halting Isr'el; lo, thy hand hath forced  
Mothers (whom law less Famine hath divorced  
From dear affection) to devour the blooms,  
And buds, that burgeond from their painful wombs;  
Thy sacred Priests and Prophets, that while-ere  
Did hourly whisper in thy neighbouring ear,  
Are fall'n before the sacrilegious sword,  
Even where, even whilst they did unfold thy word▪   

ELEG. 21.  
WOunded, and wasted, by th' eternal hand  
Of heaven, I grovel on the ground; my land  
Is turned a Golgotha; before mine eye,  
Vnsepulchred my murdered people lie;  
My dead lie rudely scattered on the stones,  
My Cawsies all are paved with dead men's bones;  
The fierce Destroyer doth alike forbear  
The maidens trembling, and the Matron's tear,  
Th' imperial sword spares neither Fool, nor Wise,  
The old man's pleading, nor the Infant's cries:  
Vengeance is deaf, and blind, and she respects  
Nor Young, nor Old, nor Wise, nor Fool, nor Sex.   

ELEG. 22.  
Years heavy laden with their months, retire;  
Months, gone their date of numbered days, expire;  
The days, full houred, to their period tend;  
And hours, chased with lightfoot Minutes, end;  
Yet my undated evils, no time will minish,  
Though years & months, though days and hours finish:  
Fears flock about me, as invited guests  
Before the Portals, at proclaimed feasts;  
Where heaven hath breathed, that man, that state must fall▪  
Heaven wants no thunderbolts to strike withal:  
I am the subject, of that angry Breath,  
My sons are slain, and I am marked for death.    

Threnodia III.  

ELEG. 1.  
ALL you, whose unprepared lips did taste  
The tedious Cup of sharp affliction, cast  
Your wondering eyes on me, that have drunk up  
Those dregs, whereof you only kissed the Cup:  
I am the man, against whom th' Eternal hath  
Discharged the louder volley of his wrath;  
I am the man, on whom the brow of night  
Hath scowled, unworthy to behold the light;  
I am the man, in whom th' Almighty showe●  
The dire example of unpatterned woes;  
I am that Prisoner, ransom cannot free;  
I am that man, and I am only he.   

ELEG. 2.  
BOndage hath forced my servile neck to fail  
Beneath her load; Afflictions nimble flail  
Hath thrashed my soul upon a floor of stones,  
And quashed the marrow of my broken bones,  
Th' assembled powers of Heaven enraged, are eager  
To root me out: Heavens soldiers do beleaguer  
My worried soul, my soul unapt for fleeing,  
That yields o'reburthened with her tedious being  
Th' Almighty's hand hath clouded all my night,  
And clad my soul with a perpetual light,  
A night of torments, and eternal sorrow,  
Like that of Death, that never finds a morrow.   

ELEG. 3.  
Chained to the brazen pillars of my woes,  
I strive in vain. No mortal hand can lose  
What heaven hath bound; my soul is walled about,  
That hope can nor get in, nor fear get out;  
When ere my wavering hopes to heaven address  
The feeble voice of my extreme distress,  
He stops his tired ears; without regard  
Of Suit, or Suitor, leaves my prayers unheard.  
Before my faint and stumbling feet he lays  
Blocks, to disturb my best advised ways;  
I seek my peace, but seek my peace in vain;  
For every way's a Trap; each paths a Train.   

ELEG. 4.  
DIsturbed Lions are appeased with blood,  
And ravenous Bears are mild, not wanting food,  
But heaven (ah heaven!) will not implored be:  
Lions, and Bears are not so fierce as He:  
His direful vengeance (which no mean confines)  
Hath crossed the thriving of my best designs;  
His hand hath spoilt me, that erewhile advanced me  
Brought in my foes, possessed my friends against me;  
His Bow is bend, his forked Rovers fly  
Like darted hailstones from the darkened sky,  
Shot from a hand that cannot err, they be  
Transfixed in no other mark, but me.   

ELEG. 5.  
Exiled from Heaven, I wander to and fro,  
And seek for streams, as Stags new strike do,  
And like a wand'ring Hart I flee the Hounds,  
With Arrows deeply fixed in my wounds;  
My deadly Hunters with a winged pace,  
Prick forwards, and pursue their weary chase,  
They whoop, they hollow me, deride, & flout me,  
That flee from death, yet carry death about me:  
Excess of torments hath my soul deceived  
Of all her joys, of all her powers bereived.  
O curious grief, that hast my soul brim-filled  
With thousand deaths, and yet my soul not killed!   

ELEG. 6.  
Followed with troops of fears, I fly in vain,  
For change of places breeds new change of pain;  
The base condition of my low estate,  
My exalted Foes disdain, and wonder at:  
Turn where I list (these) these my wretched eyes,  
They find no objects, but new miseries;  
My soul, accustomed to so long increase  
Of pains, forgets that she had ever peace;  
Thus, thus perplexed, thus with my griefs distracted  
What shall I do? Heaven's powers are compacted  
To work my ' eternal ruin; To what friend  
Shall I make moan, when heaven conspires my end?   

ELEG. 7.  
GReat GOD! what help (ah me) what hope is left  
To him, that of thy prescence is bereft?  
Absented from thy favour, what remains,  
But sense, and sad remembrance of my pains?  
Yet hath affliction oped my dull ear,  
And taught me, what in weal I ne'er could hear;  
Her scourge hath tutored me with sharp corrections  
And swaged the swelling of my proud affections;  
Till now I slumbered in a prosperous dream,  
From whence awaked, my griefs are more extreme;  
Hopes newly quickened, have my soul assured,  
That griefs discovered, are one half recured.   

ELEG. 8.  
HAd not the milder hand of mercy broke  
The furious violence of that fatal stroke  
Offended justice struck, we had been quite  
Lost in the shadows of eternal night;  
Thy mercy Lord, is like the morning Sun,  
Whose beams undo, what sable night hath done;  
Or like a stream, the current of whose course,  
Restrained a while, runs with a swifter force;  
Oh, let me swelter in those sacred beams,  
And after bathe me in these silver streams;  
To thee alone, my sorrows shall appeal;  
Hath earth a wound, too hard for heaven to heal?   

ELEG. 9  
IN thee (dear Lord) my pensive soul respires,  
Thou art the fullness of my choice desires;  
Thou art that sacred Spring, whose waters burst  
In streams to him, that seeks with holy thirst;  
Thrice happy man, thrice happy thirst to bring  
The fainting soul to so, so sweet a spring;  
Thrice happy he, whose well resolved breast  
Expects no other aid, no other rest;  
Thrice happy he, whose downy age had been  
Reclaimed by scourges, from the prime of sin,  
And early seasoned with the taste of Truth,  
Remembers his Creator in his youth.   

ELEG. 10.  
KNowledge concomitates Heavens painful rod,  
● eaches the soul to know herself, her GOD,  
Vnseiles the eye of Faith, presents a morrow  
Of joy, within the ablest night of sorrow,  
Th' afflicted soul abounds in barest need,  
Sucks purest honey from the foulest weed,  
Detests that good, which pamp'red reason likes,  
Welcomes the stroke, kisses the hand that strikes;  
In roughest Tides his well-prepared breast,  
Untouched with danger, finds a● haven of rest;  
Hath all in all, when most of all bereaven;  
In earth, a hell, in hell he finds a Heaven.   

ELEG 11.  
LAbour perfected, with the evening ends,  
The lamp of heaven (his course fulfilled) descends  
Can works of nature seek, and find a rest;  
And shall the torments of a troubled breast,  
Imposed by Nature's all-commanding GOD,  
ne'er know an end, ne'er find a period?  
Dear soul despair not, whet thy dull belief  
With hope; heavens mercy will o'ercome thy grief  
From thee, not him, proceeds thy punishment,  
he's slow to wrath, and speedy to relent;  
Thou burnest like gold, consumest not like fuel;  
O, wrong not Heaven, to think that Heaven is cruel.   

ELEG. 12.  
Mountain's shall move, the Sun his circling course  
Shall stop; Tridented Neptuae shall divorce  
Th' embracing floods from their beloved Isles,  
Ere heaven forgets his servant, and recoils  
From his eternal vow: Those, those that bruise  
His broken reeds, or secretly abuse  
The doubtful Title of a rightful Cause,  
Or with false bribes adulterate the Laws,  
That should be chaste, these, these, th' Almighty hath  
Branded for subjects of a future wrath;  
Oh, may the just man know, th' Eternal hastens  
His plagues for trials; loves the child he chastens.   

ELEG. 13.  
NO mortal power, nor supernal might,  
Not Lucifer, nor no infernal spirit,  
Nor all together joined in one commission,  
Can think or act, without divine permission;  
Man wils, Heaven breathes success, or not, upon it;  
What good, what evil befalls, but heaven hath done it?  
Upon his right hand, Health and Honours stand,  
And flaming Scourges on the other hand:  
Since then the States of good or evil depend  
Upon his will, (fond mortal) thou attend  
Upon his Wisdom; Why should living Dust  
Complain on Heaven, because that Heaven is just?   

ELEG. 14.  
O Let the balance of our even poised hearts  
Weigh our afflictions with our just deserts,  
And ease our heavy scale; Double the grains  
We take from sin, Heaven taketh from our pains;  
Oh, let thy lowly-bended eyes not fear  
Th' Almighty's frowns, nor husband one poor tear;  
Be prodigal in sighs, and let thy ●ongue,  
Thy tongue estranged to heaven, cry all night long;  
My soul thou leav'st, what thy Creator did  
Will thee to do, hast done what he forbid;  
This, this hath made so great a strangeness be  
(If not divorce) betwixt thy GOD, and thee.   

ELEG. 15.  
Prepared to vengeance, and resolved to spoil,  
Thy hand (just GOD) hath taken in thy toil  
Our wounded souls; That arm which hath forgot  
His wont mercy, kills and spareth not;  
Our crimes have set a bar betwixt thy Grace  
And us: thou hast eclipsed thy glorious face,  
Hast stopped thy gracious ear, lest prayers enforce done;  
Thy tender Heart to pity and remorse:  
See, see great GOD, what thy dear hand hath  
We lie like dross, when all the gold is gone,  
Contemned, despised, and like to Atoms, fly  
Before the Sun, the scorn of every eye.   

ELEG. 16.  
QVotidian fevers of reproach, and shame,  
Have chilled our Honour, and renowned Name,  
We are become the byword, and the scorn  
Of Heaven and Earth; of heaven & earth forlorn;  
Our captived souls are compassed round about,  
Within, with troops of fears; of foes, without;  
Without, within, distressed; and, in conclusion,  
We are the hapless children of confusion;  
Oh, how mine eyes, the rivers of mine eyes  
O'erflow these barren lips, that can devise  
No Dialect, that can express or borrow  
Sufficient Metaphors, to show my sorrow!   

ELEG. 17.  
River's of marish tears have overflown  
My blubbered cheeks my tongue can find no Tone  
So sharp as silence, to bewail that woe,  
Whose flowing Tides, an Ebb could never know:  
Weep on (mine eyes) mine eyes shall never cease;  
Speak on (my Tongue) forget to hold thy peace;  
Cease not thy tears; close not thy lips so long,  
Till heaven shall wipe thine eyes, & hear thy tongue:  
What heart of brass, what Adamantine breast  
Can know the torments of my soul, and rest?  
What stupid brain, (ah me!) what marble eye  
Can see these, these my ruins, and not cry?   

ELEG 18.  
SO hath the Fowler, with his sly deceits,  
Beguiled the harmless bird; so with false baits,  
The treacherous Angler, strikes his nibbling prey;  
Even so my Foes, my guiltless soul betray;  
So have my fierce pursuers, with close wiles  
Enthralled me, and gloried in my spoils;  
Where undermining plots could not prevail,  
There mischief did with strength of arm assail;  
Thus in afflictions troubled billows tossed,  
I live; but 'tis a life worse had, than lost:  
Thus, thus overwhelmed, my secret soul doth cry,  
I am destroyed, and there's no helper nigh.   

ELEG. 19  
THou great Creator, whose diviner breath  
Preserves thy Creature, joyst not in his death,  
Look down from thy eternal Throne, that art  
The only Rock of a despairing heart;  
Look down from Heaven (O thou) whose tender ear  
Once heard the trickling of one single tear;  
How art thou now estranged from his cry,  
That sends forth Rivers from his fruitful eye?  
How often hast thou, with a gentle arm,  
Raised me from death, and bid me fear no harm:  
What strange disaster caused this sudden change,  
How wert thou once so near, and now so strange!   

ELEG. 20.  
Vanquished by such, as thirsted for my life,  
And brought my soul into a legal strife,  
How oft hast thou (just GOD) maintained my cause  
And crossed the sentence of their bloody laws?  
Be still my God, be still that GOD thou wert,  
Look on thy mercy, not on my desert▪  
Be thou my judge betwixt my foes and me;  
The Advocate, betwixt my soul & Thee;  
Against thee (great Lord) their arm they have advanced,  
And dealt that blow to thee, that thus hath glanced  
Upon my soul; smite those that have smit thee,  
And for thy sake, discharge their spleen at me.   

ELEG. 21.  
WHat squint-eyed scorn, what flout, what wry-mouthed scoff  
That sullen pride e'er took acquaintance of,  
Hath scaped the fury of my Foeman's tongue,  
To do my simple Innocence wrong?  
What day, what hour; nay, what shorter season;  
Hath kept my soul secure, from the treason  
Of their corrupted counsels, which dispensed  
Days, nights and hours, to conspire my end?  
My sorrows are their songs, and as slight fables,  
Fill up the silence of their wanton tables;  
Look down (just God) & with thy power divine  
Behold my Foes; They be thy Foes, and mine.   

ELEG. 22.  
YEt sleeps thy vengeance? Can thy justice be  
So slow to them, and yet so sharp to me?  
Dismount (just judge) from thy Tribunal Throne,  
And pay thy Foemen, the deserved loan  
Of their unjust designs; Make fierce thy hand,  
And scourge thou then, as they have scourged my land  
Break thou their Adamantine hearts, & pound them  
To dust, and with thy final curse confound them;  
Let horror seize their souls; O may they be  
The scorn of Nations, that have scorned thee;  
O, may they live distressed, and die bereaven  
Of earth delights, and of the joys of Heaven.    

Threnodia. FOUR  

ELEG. 1.  
ALas! what alterations! Ah, how strange  
Amazement flows from such an uncouth change  
Ambitious Ruin! could thy razing hand  
Find ne'er a subject, but the Holy Land?  
Thou sacrilegious Ruin, to attempt  
The house of God was not heaven's house exempt  
From thy accursed Rape? Ah me! Behold,  
Zion, whose pavement of refulgent gold,  
So lately did reflect, so bright, so pure,  
How dim, how drossy now, (ah!) how obscure!  
Her sacred stones lie scattered in the street,  
For stumbling blocks before the Levites feet.   

ELEG. 2.  
BEhold her Princes, whose victorious brows  
Fame oft had crowned, with her Laurel bows,  
See how they hide their shame-confounded crests,  
And hang their heads upon their fainting breasts,  
Behold her Captains, and brave men at arms,  
Whose spirits fired at wars loud alarms,  
Like worried sheep, how flee they from the noise  
Of Drums, and startle at the Trumpets voice!  
They faint, and like amazed Lions, show  
Their fearful heels, if Chaunticleere but crow;  
How are the pillars (Zion) of thy state  
Transformed to●lay, and burnished gold, so late!   

ELEG. 3.  
CAn furious Dragons hear their helpless brood  
Cry out, and fill their hungry lips with food?  
Hath Nature taught fierce Tigers to apply  
The breast unto their younglings empty cry?  
Have savage beasts time, place, and nature's helps,  
To feed and foster up their idle whelps?  
And shall the tender Babes of Zion cry,  
And pine for food, and yet their mothers by?  
Dragons, and Tigers, and all savage beasts  
Can feed their young, but Zion hath no breasts:  
Distressed Zion, more unhappy far,  
Than Dragons, savage Beasts, or Tigers are!   

ELEG. 4.  
DEath thou pursuest, if from death thou flee,  
Or if thou turnst thy flight, Death follows thee:  
Thy staff of life is broke; for want of bread,  
Thy City pines, and half thy Land is dead;  
The son t' his father weeps, makes fruitless moan  
The father weeps upon his weeping son:  
The brother calls upon his pined brother,  
And both come crying to their hungry mother:  
The empty Babe, in stead of milk, draws down  
His Nurse's tears, well mingled with his own;  
Nor change of place, nor time with help supplies thee  
Abroad the Sword, famine at home destroys thee.   

ELEG. 5.  
Excess, and Surfeit now have left thy coast,  
The lavish Guest, now wants his greedy Host,  
No wanton Cook prepares his poignant meat,  
To teach a satiate palate how to eat;  
Now ●acchus pines and shakes his feeble knees,  
And pamp'red Envy looks as plump, as he's;  
Discoloured Ceres, that was once so fair,  
Hath lost her beauty, singed her golden hair;  
Thy Princes mourn in rags, ashamed t' enfold  
Their leaden spirits in a case of gold;  
From place to place thy Statesmen wand'ring are;  
On every dunghill lies a man of war.   

ELEG. 6.  
Foul Sodom, and incestuous Gomorrow,  
Had my destruction, but ne'er my sorrow;  
Vengeance had mercy there; Her hand did send  
A sharp beginning, but a sudden end;  
justice was mild, and with her hasty flashes  
They fell, and sweetly slept in peaceful Ashes;  
They felt no rage of an insulting Foe,  
Nor Famine's piching fury, as I do;  
They had no sacred Temple to defile;  
Or if they had, they would have helped to spoil;  
They died but once, but I, poor wretched I,  
Die many deaths, and yet have more to die.   

ELEG. 7.  
GOld from the Mint; Milk, from the uberous Cow;  
Was ne'er so pure in substance, nor in show,  
As were my Nazarites, whose inward graces  
Adorned the outward lustre of their faces;  
Their faces robbed the Lily, and the Rose,  
Of red and white; more fair, more sweet than those,  
Their bodies were the magazines of perfection,  
Their skins unblemished, were of pure complexion▪  
Through which, their Saphire-coloured veins descried  
The Azure beauty of their naked pride;  
The flaming Carbuncle was not so bright,  
Nor yet the rare discoloured Chrysolite.   

ELEG. 8.  
HOw are my sacred Nazarites (that were  
The blazing Planets of my glorious Sphere)  
Obscured and darkened in Afflictions cloud?  
Astonished at their own disguise, they shroud  
Their foul transformed shapes, in the dull shade  
Of sullen darkness; of themselves afraid;  
See, how the brother gazes on the brother,  
And both affrighted, start, and fly each other;  
Black as their Fates, they cross the streets unkend,  
The Sire, his Son; The friend disclaims his friend;  
They, they that were the flowers of my Land,  
Like withered Weeds, and blasted Hemlock stand.   

ELEG 9  
IMpetuous Famine, Sister to the Sword,  
Left hand of Death, Child of th'infernal Lord,  
Thou Tort'rer of Mankind, that with one stroke,  
Subject'st the world to thy imperious yoke:  
What pleasure tak'st thou in the tedious breath  
Of pined Mortals? or their lingering death?  
The Sword, thy generous brother's not so cruel,  
He kills but once, fights in a noble Duel:  
But thou (malicious Fury) dost extend  
Thy spleen to all, whose death can find no end;  
Alas! my hapless weal can want no woe,  
That feels the rage of Sword, and famine too.   

ELEG. 10.  
Kind is that death, whose weapons do but kill,  
But we are often slain, yet dying still;  
Our torments are too gentle, yet too rough,  
They gripe too hard, because not hard enough;  
My people tear their trembling flesh, for food,  
And from their ragged wounds, they suck forth blood  
The father dies, and leaves his pined Coarse,  
T'enrich his Heir, with meat; The hungry Nurse  
Broyles her starved suckling on the hasty coals,  
Devours one half, and hides the rest in holes:  
O Tyrant Famine! that compell'st the Mother,  
To kill one hungry Child, to feed another▪   

ELEG. 11.  
LAment, O sad jerusalem, lament;  
O weep, if all thy tears be yet unspent,  
Weep (wasted Iud●h) let no drop be kept  
Vnshed, let not one tear be left, unwept;  
For angry heaven hath nothing left undone,  
To bring thy ruins to perfection:  
No curse, no plague the fierce Almighty hath  
Kept back, to sum the total of his wrath;  
Thy City burns; thy Zion is despoiled;  
Thy Wives are ravished, and thy Maids defiled;  
Famine at home; the Sword abroad destroys thee;  
Thou criest to heaven, & heaven his ●are denies thee.   

ELEG. 12.  
MAy thy dull senses (O unhappy Nation,  
Possessed with nothing now, but desolation)  
Collect their scattered forces, and behold  
Thy novel fortunes, balanced with the old;  
Couldst thou, o could thy prosperous heart conceive▪  
That mortal power, or art of State could reive  
Thy ' illustrious Empire of her sacred glory,  
And make her ruins, the Thren●dian story  
Of these sad times, and ages yet to be?  
Envy could pine, but never hope to see  
Thy buildings crushed, and all that glory ended,  
Which Man so fortifyde, and Heaven defended.   

ELEG. 13.  
ne'er had the splendour of thy bright renown  
Been thus extinguished (ludah;) Thy fast Crown  
Had ne'er been spurned from thy Imperial brow,  
Plenty had nursed thy soul, thy peaceful plough  
Had filled thy fruitful Quarters with increase,  
Hadst thou but known thyself, and loved peace;  
But thou hast broke that sacred truce, concluded  
Betwixt thy God, and thee; vainly deluded  
Thyself with thine own strength, with deadly feud  
Thy furious Priests and Prophets have pursued  
The mourning Saints of Zion, and did s●ay  
All such, as were more just, more pure, than they,   

ELEG. 14.  
O How the Priests of Zion, whose pure light  
Should shine to such, as grope in Errors night,  
And blaze like Lamp●▪ before the darkened eye  
Of Ignorance, to raise up those that lie  
In dull despair, and guide those feet that stray,  
Ay me! How blind, how dark, how dull are they▪  
Fierce rage, & fury drives them through the street,  
And, like to mad men, stab at all they meet;  
They wear the purple Livery of Death,  
And live themselves, by drawing others breath;  
Say (wasted Zion) could Revenge behold  
So foul an acted Scene as this, and hold?   

ELEG. 15.  
Prophet's, and sacred Priests, whose tongues whilere  
Did often whisper in th'eternals ear,  
Disclosed his Oracles, found ready passage  
'twixt God, and Man, to carry heavens Embassage,  
Are now the subjects of deserved scorn,  
Of God forsaken, and of man forlorn;  
Accursed Gentiles are ashamed to know,  
What Zions Priests are not ashamed to do;  
They see and blush, and blushing flee away,  
Fearing to touch things, so defiled as they;  
They hate the filth of their abomination,  
And chase them forth, from their new conquered nation.   

ELEG. 16.  
QVite banished from the joys of earth, and smiles  
Of heaven, and deeply buried in her spoils,  
Poor judah lies; unpitied, disrespected;  
Exiled the World; of God, of Man rejected;  
Like blasted ears among the fruitful wheat,  
She roams dispersed, and hath no certain seat;  
Her servile neck's subjected to the yoke  
Of bondage, open to th'impartial stroke  
Of conquering Gentiles, whose afflicting hand  
Smites every nook of her disguised Land;  
Of Youth respectless, nor regarding Years,  
Nor Sex, nor Tribe; like scourging Prince, & Peers▪   

ELEG. 17.  
Rend, and deposed from Imperial state,  
●y heavens high hand, on heaven we must await;  
To him that struck, our sorrows must appeal;  
Where heaven hath smit● no hand of man can heal;  
In vain, our wounds expected man's relief,  
For disappointed hopes renew a grief;  
Egypt oppressed us in our father's loins,  
What hope's in Egypt? Nay, if Egypt joins  
Her force with judah, our united powers  
Could ne'er prevail against such a foe as ours;  
Egypt, that once did feel heavens scourge, for grieving,  
His flock, would now refined it, for reliving.   

ELEG. 18.  
SO, the quick-sented Beagles, in a view,  
O'er hill, and dale, the fleeing Chase pursue,  
As swift-foot Death, and Ruin follow me,  
That flees, afraid, yet knows not where to flee:  
Flee to the fields? There, with the sword I meet;  
And, like a Watch, Death stands in every street;  
No covert hides from death; no Shade, no Cells  
So dark, wherein not Death and Horror dwells:  
Our days are numbered, and our number's done,  
The empty Hourglass of our glory's run:  
Our sins are summed, and so extreme's the score,  
That heaven could not do less, nor hell do more.   

ELEG. 19  
TO what a downfall are our fortunes come,  
Subjected to the sufferance of a doom,  
Whose lingering torments Hell could not conspire  
More sharp! than which, hell needs no other fire:  
How nimble are our Foemen to betray  
Our souls? Eagles are not so swift as they:  
Where shall we flee? Or where shall sorrow find  
A place for harbour? Ah, what prosperous wind  
Will lend a gale, whose bounty ne'er shall cease,  
Till we be landed on the I'll of peace?  
My foes more fierce than empty Lions are;  
For hungry Lions, wooed with tears, will spare.   

ELEG. 20.  
Usurping Gentiles rudely have engrossed  
Into their hands those fortunes we have lost,  
Devour the fruits that purer hands did plant,  
Are plump and pampered with that bread we want,  
And (what is worse than death) a Tyrant treads  
Upon our Throne; Pagans adorn their heads  
With our lost crowns; their powers have dis-jointed  
The Members of our State, and Heavens Anointed  
Their hands have crushed, & ravished from his throne,  
And made a Slave, for Slaves to tread upon;  
Needs must that flock be scattered and accursed,  
where wolves have dared to seize the Shepherd first.   

ELEG. 21.  
Wax fat with laughing (Edom;) with glad eyes  
Behold the fullness of our miseries;  
Triumph (thou Type of Antichrist) and feed  
Thy soul with joy, to see thy brothers ●eed  
Ruined, and rend, and rooted from the earth,  
Make haste, and solace thee with early mirth;  
But there's a time shall teach●thee how to weep  
As many tears as I; thy lips, as deep  
Shall drink in sorrow's Cup, as mine have done,  
Till then, cheer up thy spirits, and laugh on:  
Offended justice often strikes by turns;  
Edom, beware, for thy next neighbour burns.   

ELEG. 22.  
YE drooping sons of Zion, O, arise,  
And shut the floodgates of your flowing eyes,  
Surcease your sorrows, and your joys attend,  
For heaven hath spoke it, and your griefs ●●al end;  
Believe it Zion; seek no curious sign,  
And wait heaven's pleasure, as heaven waited thine;  
And thou triumphing Ed●m, that dost lie  
In beds of Roses, thou, whose prosperous eye  
Did smile, to see the Gates of Zion fall,  
Shalt be subjected to the self-fame thrall;  
Zion, that weeps, shall smile; and Edom's eye,  
That smiles so fast, as fast shall shortly cry.     

The Prophet jeremy his Prayer for the distressed people of jerusalem, and Zion.  
GReat God, before whose all-discerning eye,  
The secret corners of man's heart do lie  
As open as his actions, which no Cloud  
Of secrecy can shade; no shade can shroud;  
Behold the Tears, O, harken to the Cries  
Of thy poor Zion; Wipe her weeping eyes,  
Bind up her bleeding wounds, o thou that art  
The best Chirurgeon for a broken heart:  
See how the barbarous Gentiles have intruded  
Into the Land of promise, and excluded  
Those rightful Owners, from their just possessions,  
That wander now full laden with oppressions;  
Our Fathers (ah) their savage hands have slain,  
Whose deaths our Widdow-mothers' weep in vain;  
Our Springs, whose Crystal plenty once disbursed  
Their bounteous favours, to quench every thirst;  
Our liberal Woods, whose palsie-shaken tops,  
To every stranger, bowed their yielding lops,  
Are sold to us, that have no price to pay,  
But sweat and toil, the sorrows of the day:  
Oppressors trample on our servile necks,  
We never cease to groan, nor they to vex;  
Famine and Dearth, have taught our hands t' extend  
To Ashur, and our feeble knees to bend  
To churlish Pharoe: Want of bread compels  
Thy servants to beg Alms of Infidels;  
Our wretched Fathers sinned, and yet they sleep  
In peace, and have left us their sons to weep;  
We, we extracted from their sinful loins,  
Are guilty of their sins; Their Ossa joins  
To our high Pelion; Ah! their crimes do stand  
More firmly ' entailed to us, than our Land:  
We are the slaves of servants, and the scorn  
Of slaves, of all forsaken, and forlorn;  
Hunger hath forced us to acquire our food,  
With deepest danger of our dearest blood;  
Our skins are wrinkled, and the fruitless ploughs  
Of want have fallowed up our barren brows:  
Within that Zion which thy hands did build,  
Our Wives were ravished, and our Maids defiled:  
Our savage Foe extends his barbarous rage  
To all, not sparing Sex, nor Youth, nor Age:  
They hang our Princes on the shameful trees  
Of death; respect no Persons, no Degrees:  
Our Elders are despised, whose grey hairs  
Are but the Index of their doting years;  
Our flowering youth are forced to fulfil  
Their painful tasks in the laborious Mill;  
Our children faint beneath their loads, and cry,  
Oppressed with burdens, under which they lie:  
Sages are banished fo●● judicial Courts,  
And youth takes no delight in youthful sports:  
Our joys are gone, and promise no returning,  
Our pleasure's turned to pain, our mirth to mourning;  
Our hand hath lost her sword; Our Head his Crown;  
Our Church her glory; our Weal her high renown.  
Lord, we have sinned, and these our sins have brought  
This world of grief; (O purchase dear bought!)  
From hence our sorrows, and from hence our fears  
Proceed; for this, our eyes are blind with tears;  
But that (aye that) which my poor heart doth count  
Her sharpest torture, is thy sacred Mount,  
Sacred Mount Zion; Zion, that divine  
Seat of thy glory's razed; her tender Vine,  
Laden with swelling Clusters, is destroyed,  
And Foxes now, what once thy Lambs enjoyed.  
But thou (O thou eternal God) whose Throne  
Is permanent, whose glory's ever one,  
Unapt for Change, abiding still the same,  
Though Earth consume, & Heaven dissolve her frame,  
Why dost thou (ah!) why dost thou thus absent  
Thy glorious face? Oh, wherefore hast thou rend  
Thy Mercy from us? O! when wilt thou be  
Atoned to them, that have no trust but Thee.  
Restore us (Lord) and let our souls possess  
Our wont peace; O, let thy Hand redress  
Our wasted fortunes; Let thine Eye behold  
Thy scattered Flock, and drive them to their Fold;  
Canst thou reject that people, which thy Hand  
Hath chose, and planted in the promised Land?  
O thou (the Spring of mercy) wilt thou send  
No ease to our Afflictions, no end?  
The end.   

AN ALPHABET OF ELEGIES, UPON The much and truly lamented death of that famous for Learning, Piety, and true Friendship, Doctor AILMER, A great favourer, and fast friend to the Muses, and late archdeacon of LONDON: Imprinted in his Heart, that ever loves his Memory.  
Written by FRA: QVARLES.  
Cum privilegio 

Amoris.  
Doloris.    
Dignum laude virum Musa vetat mor●.   

READERS▪  
GIve me leave to perform a necessary duty, which my affection owes to the blessed memory of that reverend Prelate, my much honoured Friend, Doctor Ailmer▪ He was one, whose life and death made as full and perfect a Story of worth and goodness, as earth would suffer, and whose pregnant virtues deserve as faithful a Register as earth can keep: In whose happy remembrance, I have here ●●usted these Elegies to Time and your favours: Had he been a Lamp to light me alone, my pri●ate griefs had been sufficient; but being a Sun, whose beams reflected on all; all have 〈◊〉 interest in his memory: To which end I recommend these memorials to the public, in testimony of my undissembled affection, and true piety that I owe to so great an example of Virtue and Learning.  
F. Q.   

FUNERAL ELEGIES.  

ELEG. 1.  
All you whose eyes would learn to weep, draw near,  
And hear, what none, without full tears, and hear▪  
Come marble eyes, as marble as your hearts,  
I'll teach you how to weep a tear in parts;  
And you false eyes, that never yet, let fall  
A tear in earnest, come, and now ye shall  
Send forth salt fountains of the truest grief,  
That ever sought to Language, for relief:  
But you, you tender eyes, that cannot bear  
An Elegy, wept forth, without a tear.  
I warn you hence; or, at the most, pass by,  
Lest while you stay, you soon dissolve, and dye.   

ELEG. 2.  
But stay: (sad Genius) How do griefs transport  
Thy exiled senses? Is there no resort  
To forked Parnassus sacred Mount? No word,  
No thought of Helicon? No Muse implored?  
I did invoke, but there was none replied;  
The nine were silent, since M●●aenas died:  
They have forsaken their old Spring: 'tis said,  
They haunt a new one, which their tears have made:  
Should I molest them with my loss? 'Tis known,  
They find enough to re-lament their own:  
I crave no aid, no Deity to infuse  
New matter: Ah: True sorrow needs no Muse.   

ELEG. 3.  
CAll back (bright Phoebus) your sky-wandring steeds  
Your day is tedious, and our sorrow needs  
No Sun: When our sad souls have lost their light,  
Why should our eyes not find perpetual night?  
Go to the neither world, and let your rays  
Shine there: Bestow on them our share of days;  
But say not, Why: lest when report shall show  
Such cause of grief, they fall a grieving too,  
And pray the absence of your restless wain,  
Which then must be returned on us again,  
Dear Phoebus grant my suit; if thou denie't,  
My tears shall blind me, and so make a night.   

ELEG. 4.  
DEath, art thou grown so nice? can nothing please  
Thy curious palate, but such Cates as these?  
Or hath thy ravenous stomach been o'represt  
With common diet at thy last great feast? 1625  
Or hast thou fed so near that there is none  
Now left but delicates to feed upon?  
Or was this dish so tempting, that no power  
Was left in thee, to stay another hour?  
Or didst thou feed by chance, and not observed  
What food it was, but took as Fortune carved?  
'Tis done. Be it or Fortune's act or thine,  
It fed the one, whose want made Millions pine.   

ELEG. 5.  
Envy now burst with joy, and let thine eyes  
Strut forth with fatness: let thy collops rise  
Pampered and plump: Feed full for many years  
Upon our loss: Be drunken with our tears:  
For he is dead, whose soul did never cease  
To cross and violate your malicious peace:  
He's dead; but in his death hath overthrown  
More vices, than his happy life had done:  
In life he taught to dye; and he did give  
In death, a great example how to live:  
Though he be gone, his fame is left behind:  
Now leave thy laughing Envy, and be pined.   

ELEG. 6.  
FArewell those eyes, whose gentle smiles forsook  
No misery, taught Charity how to look:  
Farewell those cheerful eyes, that did erewhile▪  
Teach succoured misery how to bless a smile:  
Farewell those eyes whose mixed aspect, of late,  
Did reconcile humility and state:  
Farewell those eyes, that to their joyful guest,  
Proclaimed their ordinary fare, a feast;  
Farewell those eyes, the load-stars, late, whereby  
The graces ●ail'd secure, from eye to eye:  
Farewell dear eyes, bright Lamps; o who can tell  
Your glorious welcome, or our sad farewell!   

ELEG. 7.  
Go glorious Saint! I knew 'twas not a shrine  
Of flesh, could lodge so pure a soul as thine▪  
I saw it labour (in a holy scorn  
Of living dust and ashes) to be sworn  
A heavenly Quirifter: It sighed and groaned  
To be dissolved from mortal, and enthroned  
Among his fellow Angels, there to sing  
Perpetual Anthems to his heavenly King:  
He was a stranger to his house of Clay;  
Scarce owned it, but that necessary stay  
Miscalled it his: And only zeal did make  
Him love the building for the bvilder's sake.   

ELEG. 8.  
HAd virtue, learning, the Diviner Arts,  
Wit, judgement, wisdom, (or what other parts  
That make perfection, and return the mind  
As great as Earth can suffer) been confined  
To earth, had they the Patent to abide  
Secure from change, our Ailmer ne'er had died:  
Fond earth, forbear and let thy childish eyes  
ne'er weep for him▪ thou ne'er knewest how to prize  
Shed not a tear, blind earth; for it appears  
Thou never lov'dst our Ailmer by thy tears:  
Or if thy floods must needs o'erflow their brim,  
Lament, lament thy blindness, and not him.   

ELEG. 9  
I Wondered not to hear so brave an end,  
Because I knew, who made it, could contend  
With death, and conquer, and in open chase  
Would spit defiance in his conquered face;  
And did: Dauntless he trod him underneath,  
To show the weakness of unarmed death:  
Nay, had report, or niggard Fame denied  
His name, it had been known 'twas Ailmer died▪  
It was no wonder, to hear rumour tell,  
That he which died so oft, once died so well:  
Great Lord of life, how hath thy dying breath  
Made man, whom death had conquered, conquer death▪   

ELEG. 10.  
KNowledge (the depth of whose unbounded maine  
Hath been the wreck of many a curious brain,  
And from her (yet unreconciled) schools  
Hath filled us with so many learned fools)  
Hath tutored thee with rules that cannot err,  
And taught thee how to know thyself, and her;  
Furnished thy nimble soul, in height of measure,  
With humane riches and divinest treasure,  
From whence, as from a sacred spring, did flow  
Fresh Oracles, to let the hearer know  
A way to glory; and to let him see,  
The way to glory, is to study thee.   

ELEG. 11.  
Look how the body of heavens greater light  
In●iches each beholder with his bright  
And glorious rays, until the envious West  
Too greedy to enjoy so fair a guest,  
Calls him to bed, where ravished from our sight,  
He leaves us to the solemn frowns of night;  
Even so our Sun in his harmonious sphere  
Enlightened every eye, rapt every ear,  
Till in the early sunset of his years  
He died, and left us that survive, in tears;  
And (like the Sun) in spite of death and fate,  
He seemed greatest in his lowest state.   

ELEG. 12.  
MOlest me not, full sighs and flowing tears,  
You storms & showers of nature: stop your ears,  
Fond flesh and blood, against the strong temptation  
Of sullen grief, and sense-bereaving passion:  
Cease to lament; Let not thy slow paced numbers  
Disturb his rest, that so, so sweetly slumbers;  
The child of virtue is asleep, not dead;  
He dies, alone, whom death hath conquered:  
Why should we shed a tear for him? or why  
Lament we, whom we rather should envy?  
He lives; he lives a life, shall never taste  
A change, so long as Crowns of glory last.   

ELEG. 13.  
NO, no, he is not dead; The mouth of fame,  
Honour's shrill Herald, would preserve his name,  
And make it live in spite of death and dust,  
Were there no other heaven, no other trust.  
He is not dead: The sacred Nine deny,  
The soul that merits fame, should ever dye:  
He lives; and when the latest breath of fame  
Shall want her Trump, to glorify a name,  
He shall survive and these self closed eyes,  
That now lie slumbering in the dust, shall rise,  
And filled with endless glory, shall enjoy  
The perfect vision of eternal joy.   

ELEG 14.  
O But the dregs of flesh and blood! How close  
They grapple with my soul, and interpose  
Her higher thoughts; which, yet but young of wing,  
They cause to stoop and strike at every thing;  
Passion presents before their weakened eye,  
judgement and better reason standing by:  
I must lament, Nature commands it so:  
The more I strive with tears, the more they flow;  
These eyes have just, nay double cause of moan,  
They weep the common loss; they weep their own:  
He sleeps Indeed; then give me leave to weep  
Tears fully answerable to his sleep.   

ELEG. 15.  
PArdon my tears, if they be too too free,  
And if thou canst not weep, I'll pardon thee,  
Dull Stoic; If thou laugh to hear his death,  
I'll weep, that thou wert borne to spend that breath  
Thou dry-brained Portick, whose Ahenian breast,  
(Transcending passion) never was oppressed  
With grief; O had your flinty Sect but lost  
So rare a prize, as we lament and boast,  
Your hearts had crossed your Tenet, and disbursed  
As many drops as we have done, or burst;  
No marvel, that your marble brains could cross  
Her laws, that never gave you such a loss.   

ELEG. 16.  
QVicke-sould Pythagoras, O thou that wert  
So many men, and didst so oft revert  
From shades of death, (if we may trust to Fame)  
With loss of nothing but thy buried name;  
Hadst thou but lived in this our Ailmers time,  
Thou wouldst have died once more, to live in him;  
Or had our Ailmer in those days of thine,  
But died, and left so glorious, so divine  
A soul as his, how would thy hasty br●st  
Have gasped to entertain so fair a guest!  
Which if obtained, had (no doubt) supplied thee  
With that immortal state thy Sire denied thee.   

ELEG. 17.  
RAre soul, that now sits crowned in that Choir  
Of endless joy, filled with celestial fire;  
Pardon my tears that in their passion would  
Recall thee from thy Kingdom, if they could;  
Pardon, O pardon my distracted zeal;  
Which, if condemned by reason, must appeal  
To thee, whose now lamented death, whose end  
Confirmed the dear affection of a friend;  
Permit me then to offer at thy hearse  
These fruitless tears, which if they prove to fierce  
O pardon, you, that know the price of friends;  
For tears are just, that nature recommends.   

ELEG. 18.  
SO may the fair aspect of pleased heaven  
Conform my noon of days, & crown their even;  
So may the gladder smiles of earth present  
My fortunes with the height of jo●s, content;  
As I lament, with unaffected breath,  
Our loss (dear Ailmer) in thy happy death:  
May the false tear, that's forced, or slides by Art,  
That hath no warrant from the soul, the heart,  
Or that exceeds not natures faint commission,  
Or dares (unvented) come to composition;  
O, may that tear in stricter judgement rise  
Against those false, those faint, those flattering eyes.   

ELEG. 19  
THus to the world▪ and to the spacious ears  
Of fame, I blazon my unboasted tears;  
Thus to thy sacred dust, thy Urn, thy Hearse  
I consecreate my sighs, my tears, my verse;  
Thus to thy soul, thy name, thy just desert  
I offer up my joy, my love, my heart;  
That earth may know, and every ear that hears,  
True worth and grief were parents to my tears:  
That earth may know thy dust, thy Urn, thy hearse  
Brought forth & bred my sighs, my tears, my verse;  
And that thy soul, thy name, thy just desert,  
Invites, incites my joy, my love, my heart.   

ELEG. 20.  
Unconstant earth! why do not mortals cease  
To build their hopes upon so short a lease?  
Uncertain lease, whose term, but once begun,  
Tells never when it ends, till it be done:  
We dote upon thy smiles, not knowing why:  
And whiles we but prepare to live, we die:  
We spring like flowers, for a day's delight,  
At noon, we flourish, and we ●ade at night:  
We toil for kingdoms, conquer Crowns, & then  
We that were Gods but now, now less than men:  
If wisdom, learning, knowledge cannot dwell  
Secure from change, vain bubble earth, farewell.   

ELEG. 21.  
WOuldst thou, when death had done deserve a story  
Should stain the memory of great Pompey's glory?  
Conquer thyself; example be thy guide;  
Die just as one selfe-conquering Ailmer died,  
Wouldst thou subdue more kingdones, gain more crowns  
Than that brave Hero Caesar conquered towns?  
Then conquer death; Example be thy guide:  
Die just as our death-conquering Ailmer died:  
But wouldst thou win more worlds, than he had done  
Kingdoms, that all the earth hath overrun?  
Then conquer heaven; example be thy guide;  
Die just as our heaven-conquering Ailmer died.   

ELEG. 22.  
Years, fully laden with their months, attend  
Th' expired times acquittance, and so end:  
Months gone their dates of numbered days require  
Bright Cyn●●ia's full discharge, and so expire;  
Days deeply aged with hours, lose their light,  
And having run their stage, conclude with night:  
And hours chased with lightfoot minutes, fly,  
Tending their labour to a new supply;  
Yet Ailmers glory never shall diminish,  
Though years and months, though days & hours finish▪  
Yet Ailmers joys for ever shall extend,  
Though years, & months, though days and hour's end.  
FINIS D●loris nullus▪    

His Epitaph.  
Ask you, why so many a tear  
Bursts forth; I'll tell you in your ear:  
Compel me not to speak aloud,  
Death would then be too too proud;  
Eyes that cannot vie a tear,  
Forbear to ask, you may not hear:  
Gentle hearts, that overflow  
Have only privilege to know:  
In these sacred ashes, then,  
Know (Reader) that a man of men  
Lies covered: Fame and lasting glory  
Make dear mention of his story:  
Nature when she gave him birth,  
Opened her treasure to the earth,  
Put forth the model of true merit,  
Quickened with a higher spirit:  
Rare was his life; His latest breath  
Saw, and scorned, and conquered death:  
Thankless Reader, never more  
Urge a why, when tears run over:  
When you saw so high a Tide,  
You might have known, 'twas Ailmer died,  
Obijt, jan. vi. MDCXXV. Vivet post funera Virtus.