SCHOLA CORDIS or The Heart of itself, gone away from God brought back again to him & instructed by him in 47 Emblems.  
Audiam quid Loquatur in me Dominus psalm. 84.  
Loquar ad 〈…〉 Cer. osa. 2  
London Printed for H Blunden at the Castle in Cornhill 1647.  
Mickael van lochom facit    

To the Divine majesty of the only begotten, eternal, well-belov 〈…〉 d Son of God and Saviour of the World Christ Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the maker, the 〈◊〉, the Searcher and the Teacher of the HEART;  
The meanest of his mostunworthy Servants offers up this poor account of his Thoughts, humbly begging pardon for all that is amiss in them, and a gracious acdeptance of these weak Erdeavours for the advancement of his honour the good of others.   

The CONTENTS.  

THe Introduction.  
E bleme,  
1. The infection of the heart.  
2. The taking away of the heart.  
3. The darkness of the heart.  
4. The absence of the heart.  
5. The vanity of the heart.  
6. The oppression of the heart.  
7. The covetousness of the heart.  
8. The hardness of the heart.  
9 The division of the heart.  
10. The insatiableness of the heart.  
11. The returning of the heart.  
12. The pouring out of the heart.  
13. The circumcision of the heart.  
14. The contrition of the heart.  
15. The humiliation of the heart.  
16. The softening of the heart.  
17. The cleansing of the heart.  
18. The giving of the heart.  
19 The sacrifice of the heart.  
20. The weighing of the heart.  
21. The trying of the heart.  
22. The sounding of the heart.  
23. The levelling of the heart.  
24. The renewing of the heart.  
25. The enlightening of the heart.  
26. The table of the heart.  
27. The tilling of the heart.  
28. The seeding of the heart.  
29. The watering of the heart.  
30. The flowers of the heart.  
31. The keeping of the heart.  
32. The watching of the heart.  
33. The wounding of the heart.  
34. The inhabiting of the heart.  
35. The enlarging of the heart.  
36. The inflaming of the heart.  
37. The ladder of the heart.  
38. The flying of the heart.  
39 The union of the heart.  
40. The rest of the heart.  
41. The bathing of the heart.  
42. The binding of the heart.  
43. The prop of the heart.  
44. The scourging of the heart.  
45. The hedging of the heart.  
46. The fastening of the heart.  
47. The new wine of the heart.  
$he Conclusion.    

The School of the Heart.  
The introduction.  

Turn in, my mind, wander no more abroad,  
Her's work enough at home, lay by that load  
Of scattered thoughts that clogs and cumbers  
Resume thy long neglected liberty (thee)  
Of self-examination: bend thine eye  
Inward, consider where thine heart doth lie,  
How 'tis affected, how 'tis busied: look  
What thou hast writ thyself in thine own book,  
Thy conscience:- here set thou thyself to school.  
Self-knowledge twixt a wise man and a fool  
Doth make the difference: he that neglects  
This learning, sideth with his own defects.  
Dost thou draw back? Hath custom charmed thee so,  
That thou canst relish nothing but thy woe?  
Find'st thou such sweetness in those sugared lies?  
Have foreign objects so engrossed thine eyes?  
Canst thou not hold them off? Hast thou an ear  
To listen but to what thou shouldst not hear?  
Art thou incapable of every thing,  
But what thy senses to thy fancy bring?  
Remember that thy birth and constitution  
Both promise better than such base confusion.  
Thy birth's divine, from heaven; thy composure  
Is spirit, and immortal; thine enclosure  
In walls of flesh not to make thee debtor  
For houseroom to them, but to make them better.  
Thy body's thy freehold, live then as the Lord,  
No tenant to thine own: some time afford  
To view what state 'tis in: survey each part,  
And above all take notice of thine heart.  
Such as that is the rest is, or will be,  
Better or worse, blame-worthy or fault-free.  
What? are the ruins such thou art affraied,  
Or else ashamed, to see how 'tis decayed?  
Is't therefore thou art loath to see it such,  
As now it is, because it is so much,  
Degenerated now from what it was,  
And should have been? Thine ignorance, alas,  
Will make it nothing better, and the longer  
Evils are suffered grow, they grow the stronger.  
Or hath thine understanding lost its light?  
Hath the dark night of error dimmed thy sight  
So that thou canst not, though thou wouldst, observe  
All things amiss within thee, how they swerve  
From the straight rules of righteousness and reason?  
If' so, omit not then this precious season.  
'tis yet school time, as yet the door's not shut.  
Hark how the Master calls. Come let us put  
Up our requests to him, whose will alone  
Limits his power of teaching, from whom none  
Returns unlearned, that hath once a will  
To be his scholar, and implore his skill.  
Great searcher of the heart, whose boundless sight  
Discovers secrets, and doth bring to light  
The hidden things of darkness, who alone  
Perfectly know'st all things that can be known.  
Thou know'st I do not, cannot, have no mind  
To know mine heart: I am not only blind,  
But lame, and listless: thou alone canst make  
me able, willing: and the pains I take,  
As well as the success, must come from thee,  
Who workest both to will and do in me:  
Having now made me willing to be taught,  
Make me as willing to learn what I ought.  
Or, if thou wilt allow thy scholar leave  
To choose his lesson, lest I should deceive  
Myself again, as I have done too often,  
Teach me to know mine heart. Thou, thou, canst soften  
Lighten, enliven, purify, restore,  
And make more fruitful, than it was before,  
Its hardness, darkness, death, uncleanness, loss,  
And barrenness: refine it from the dross,  
And draw out all the dregs, heal every sore,  
Teach it to know itself, and love thee more.  
Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst impart this skill:  
And for all other learning take't who will.    


Emblem 1.    

The Infection of the Heart.  ACTS 5.3. Why hath Satan filled thine heart? 

Epigr. 1.  
WHilst thou enclinest thy voyce-enucigled ear,  
The subtle serpent's Syren-Songs to hear,  
Thy heart drinks deadly poison drawn from bell,  
And with a viprous broed of sin doth swell.   

ODE 1.  
The soul.  

1.  
Profit, and pleasure, comfort, and content,  
Wisdom, and honour, and when these are spent  
A fresh supply of more! Oh heavenly words!  
Are these the dainty fruits, that this fair tree affords   
The Serpent.  

2.  
Yes these, and many more, if more may be,  
All, that the world contains, in this one tree  
Contracted is. Take but a taste, and try,  
Thou Mayst believe thyself, experience can not lie.   
The soul.  

3.  
But thou Mayst lie: and with a false pretence  
Of friendship rob me of that excellence,  
Which my creator's bounty hath bestowed,  
And freely given me, to whom he nothing owed.   
The Serpent.  

4.  
Strange composition! so credulous,  
And at the same time so suspicious!  
This is the tree of knowledge, and until  
Thou eat thereof, how canst thou know what's good or ill?   
The soul.  

5.  
God infinitely good my maker is,  
Who neither will, nor can, do aught amiss.  
The being I received was that he sent,  
And therefore I am sure must needs be excellent:   
The Serpent.  

6.  
Suppose it be: yet doubtless he that gave  
Thee such a being must himself needs have  
A better far, more excellent by much:  
Or else be sure that he could not have made thee such.   
The soul.  

7.  
Such as he made me I am well content  
Still to continue: for, if he had meant  
I should enjoy a better state, he would  
As easily as not have given it, if he would.   
The Serpent.  

8.  
And is it not all one, if he have given  
Thee means to get it? must he still be driven  
To new works of creation for thy sake?  
Wilt thou not what he sets before thee deign to take?   
The soul.  

9  
Yes, of the fruits of all the other trees  
I freely take and ear: they are the sees  
Allowed me for the dressing by the Maker:  
But of this fatal fruit I must not be partaker.   
The Serpent.  

10.  
And why? what danger can it be to eat  
That which is good being ordained for meat?  
What wilt thou say? God made it not for food?  
Or durst thou think that made by him it is not good   
The soul.  

11.  
Yes, good it is, no doubt, and good for meat:  
But I am not allowed thereof to eat.  
My maker's prohibition under pain  
Of death the day I eat thereof, makes me refrain.   
The Serpent.  

12.  
Faint-hearted fondling, canst thou fear to die,  
Being a Spirit and immortal? Fie.  
God knows this fruit once eaten will refine  
Thy groster parts alone, and make thee all divine.   
The soul.  

13.  
There's something in it sure: were it not good,  
It had not in the midst of th'garden stood:  
And being good, I can no more refrain  
From wishing, than then I can the fire to burn restrain   

14.  
Why do I trifle then? what I desire  
Why do I not? Nothing can quench the fire  
Of longing but fruition. Come what will,  
Eat it I must, that I may know what's good and ill.   
The Serpent.  

15.  
So, thou art taken now: that resolution  
Gives an eternal date to thy confusion.  
The knowledge thou hast got of good, and ill,  
Is of good gone, and past, of evil present still.     


Emblem 2.    

The taking away of the Heart.  HOS. 4. 11. whoredom and wine, and new win take away the Heart. 

Epigr. 2.  
BAse lust and luxury the scum and d●…osse  
Of hellborn pleasures, please thee to the loss  
Of thy souls precious eyesight, reaso●…; ●…  
Mind●…sse thy mind, hear●…●… heart doth grow.   

ODE 2.  

1.  
Laid down already? and so fast asleep?  
Thy precious heart left loosely on thine hand,  
Which with all diligence thou shouldest keep,  
And guard against those enemies, that stand  
Ready prepared to plunge it in the deep  
Of all distress? Rouse thee, and understand  
In time, what in the end thou must confess,  
That misery at last and wretchedness  
Is all the fruit that springs from slothful idleness.   

2.  
Whilst thou list soaking in security,  
Thou drownest thyself in sensuail delight,  
And wallowest in debauched luxury,  
Which when thou art awake and seeest, will fright  
Thine heart with horror. When thou shalt de●…cry  
By the daylight the danger of the night,  
Then, then, if not too late, thou wilt confess,  
That endless misery and wretchedness  
Is all the fruit that springs from riotous excess.   

3.  
Whilst thou dost pamper thy proud flesh, and thrust  
Into thy paunch the prime of all thy store,  
Thou dost but gather fuel for that lust,  
Which boiling in thy liver runneth o'er,  
And frieth in thy throbbing veins, which must  
Needs vent, or burst, when they can hold no more.  
But oh consider what thou shalt confess  
At last, that misery and wretchedness  
Is all the fruit that springs from lustful wantonness.   

4.  
Whilst thou dost feed effeminate desires  
With spumy pleasures, whilst fruition  
The coals of lust fans into flaming fires,  
And spurious delights thou dotest on,  
Thy mind through cold remissness even expires,  
And all the active vigour of't is gone.  
Take heed in time, or else thou shalt confess  
At last that misery and wretchedness  
Is all the fruit that springs from careless-mindedness.   

5.  
Whilst thy regardless sense-dissolved mind  
Lies by unbent, that should have been thy spring  
Of motion, all thy headstrong passions find  
Themselves let loose, and follow their own swing,  
Forgetful of the great account behind,  
As though there never would be such a thing,  
But, when it comes indeed, thou wilt confess  
That misery alone and wretchedness  
Is all the fruit that springs from soul forgetfulness.   

6.  
Whilst thou remember'st not thy later end,  
Nor what a reckoning one day thou must make,  
Putting no difference betwixt foe and friend,  
Thou sufferest hellish Fiends thine heart to take,  
Who, all the while thou triflest, do attend,  
Ready to bring it to the burning lake  
Of fire and brimstone: where thou shalt confess  
That endless misery and wretchedness  
Is all the fruit that springs from stupid heartlessness.     


Emblem 3.    

The darkness of the Heart.  ROM. 1.21. Their foolish heart was darkened. 

Epigr. 3.  
Such cloudy shadows have eclipsed thine heart  
As Nature cannot parallel nor Art:  
Vnlessethou take my light of truth to guide thee,  
Blackness of darkness will at last betide thee.   

ODE 3.  

1.  
Tarry, O tarry, lest thine heedless haste  
Hurry thee headlong unto hell at last:  
See, see, thine heart's already halfway there,  
Those gloomy shadows, that encompass it,  
Are the vast confines of th'infernal pit.  
O stay, and if thou lov'st not light, yet fear  
That fatal darkness, where  
Such danger doth appear.   

2.  
A night of ignorance hath overspread  
Thy mind and understanding: thou art led  
Blindfolded by unbridled passion:  
Thou wand rest in the crooked ways of error,  
Leading directly to the King of terror:  
The course thou takest, if thou holdest on,  
Will bury thee anon  
In deep destruction.   

3.  
Whilst thou art thus deprived of thy ●…ight,  
Thou know'st no difference between noon and night,  
Though the Sun shine, yet thou regardest it not.  
My love-alluring beauty cannot draw thee,  
Nor doth my mind-amating terror awe thee:  
Like one that had both good and ill forgot,  
Thou carest not a jot  
What falleth to thy lot.   

4.  
Thou art become unto thyself a stranger,  
Observest not thine own desert, or danger,  
Thou know'st not what thou dost, nor canst thou tell  
Whither thou goest: shooting in the dark  
How canst thou ever hope to hit the mark?  
What expectation hast thou to do well,  
That art content to dwell  
Within the verge of hell?   

5.  
Alas, thou hast not so much knowledge left,  
As to consider that thou art bereft  
Of thine own eyesight. But thou runnest, as though  
Thou sawest all before thee: whilst thy mind  
To nearest necessary things is blind.  
Thou knowest nothing as thou oughtst to know,  
Whilst thou esteemest so  
The things that are below.   

6.  
Would ever any, that had eyes, mistake  
As thou art wont to do: no difference make  
Betwixt the way to heaven and to hell?  
But, desperately devoted to destruction,  
Rebel against the light, abhor instruction?  
As though thou didst desire with death to dwell,  
Thou hatest to hear tell  
How yet thou Mayst do well.   

7.  
Oh that thou didst but see how blind thou art,  
And seel the dismal darkness of thine heart:  
Then wouldst thou labour for, and I would lend  
My light to guide thee: that's not light alone,  
But life, eyes, sight, grace, glory, all in one.  
Then shouldst thou know whither those by ways bend,  
And that death in the end  
On darkness doth attend.     


Emblem 4.    

The absence of the Heart.  PROV. 17. 16. Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he bathe no heart to it? 

Epigr. 4.  
Hadst thou an heart, thou fickle Fugitive,  
How would thine heart hate and disdain to live  
Mindful of such vain trifles, as these be,  
Resting forgetful of itself and me?   

ODE 4.  
The soul.  

1.  
Brave, dainty, curious, rare, rich, precious things!  
Able to make fate-blasted mortals blessed,  
Peculiar treasures, and delights for Kings,  
That having power of all would choose the best.  
How do I hug mine happiness that have  
Present possession of what others crave?   
Christ.  

2.  
Poor, silly, simple, sense-besotted soul,  
Why dost thou hug thy self-procured woes?  
Release thy freeborn thoughts, at least control  
Those passions, that enslave thee to thy foes.  
How wouldst thou hate thyself, if thou didst know  
The baseness of those things thou prizest so!   
The soul.  

3.  
They talk of goodness, virtue, piety,  
Religion, honesty, I know not what;  
So let them talk for me: so long as I  
Have goods and lands, and gold, and jewels, that  
Both equal and excel all other treasure,  
Why should I strive to make their pain my pleasure   
Christ.  

4.  
So Swine neglect the pearls that lie before them,  
Trample them under foot, and feed on draff:  
So fools gild rotten Idols, and adore them,  
Cast all the corn away, and keep the chaff.  
That ever reason should be blinded so,  
To grasp the shadow, let the substance go!   
The soul.  

5.  
All's but opinion that the world accounts  
Matter of worth: as this or that man sets  
A value on it, so the price amounts:  
The sound of strings is varied by the frets.  
My mind's my kingdom: why should I withstand,  
Or question that, which I myself command?   
Christ.  

6.  
Thy tyrant passions captivate thy reason:  
Thy lusts usurp the guidance of the mind:  
Thy sense-led fancy barters good for geason:  
Thy seed is vanity, thine harvest wind:  
Thy rules are crooked, and thou writ'st awry:  
Thy ways are wandering, and thine end to die.   
The soul.  

7.  
This table sums me myriads of pleasure:  
That book enrols mine honour's inventory:  
These bags are stuffed with millions of treasure:  
Those writings evidence my state of glory:  
These bells ring heavenly music in mine ears,  
To drown the noise of cumbious cares and fear.   
Christ.  

8.  
Those pleasures one day will procure thy pain:  
That which thou glorist in will be thy shame:  
Thou'lt find thy loss in what thou thought'st thy gain:  
Thine honour will put on another name.  
That music in the close will ring thy knell,  
In stead of heaven toll thee into hell.   

9  
But why do I thus wast my words in vain  
On one, that's wholly taken up with toys,  
That will not lose one dram of earth to gain  
A full eternal weight of heavenly joys?  
All's to no purpose, 'tis as good forbear,  
As speak to one, that hath no heart to hear.     


Emblem 5.    

The vanity of the Heart.  Job 15.31. Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity, for vanity shall be his recompense. 

Epigr. 5.  
AMbitious bellows with the wind of honour  
Puff up the swelling heart, that dotes upon her:  
Which filled with empty vanity breathes forth  
Nothing, but such things as are nothing worth.   

ODE 5.  

1.  
The bane of kingdoms, worlds disquieter,  
Hell's heir apparent, Satan's eldest son,  
Abstract of ills, refined Elixir,  
And quintessence of sin, Ambition,  
Sprung from th'infernal shades, inhabits here,  
Making man's heart its horrid mansion,  
Which, though it were of vast content before,  
Is now puffed up, and swells still more and more.   

2.  
Whole armies of vain thoughts it entertains,  
Is stuffed with dreams of kingdoms and of crowns,  
Presumes of profit without care or pains,  
Threatens to baffle all its foes with frowns,  
In every bargain makes account of gains,  
Fancies such frolic mirth, as chokes and drowns  
The voice of conscience, whose loud alarms  
Cannot be hard for pleasures countercharmes.   

3.  
Were't not for anger and for pity, who  
Could choose but smile to see vainglorious men  
Racking their wits, straining their sinews so,  
That thorough their transparent thinness, when  
They me●… with Wind and Sun, they quickly grow  
Riu'led and dry, shrink till they crack again,  
And all but to seem greater than they are:  
Stretching their strength they lay their weakness bare   

4.  
See how hell's Fueller his bellows plies,  
Blowing the fire, that burned too fast before:  
See how the furnace flames, the sparkles rise  
And spread themselves abroad still more and more:  
See how the doting soul hath fixed her eyes  
On her dear fooleries, and doth adore  
With hands and heart lift up those trifling toys,  
Wherewith the devil cheats her of her joys.   

5.  
Alas, thou art deceived, that glittering crown,  
On which thou gazest, is not gold but grief,  
That sceptre sorrow: if thou take them down,  
And try them, thou shalt find what poor relief  
They could afford thee, though they were thine own,  
Didst thou command even all the world in chief,  
Thy comforts would abate, thy cares increase,  
And thy perplexed thoughts disturb thy peace.   

6.  
Those pearls so thorough pierced, and strung together,  
Though jewels in thine eyes they may appear,  
Will prove continued perils, when the weather  
Is clouded once, which yet is fair and clear.  
What will that fan, though of the finest feather,  
Steed thee, the brunt of winds and storms to bear?  
Thy flagging colours hang their drooping head,  
And the shrill trumpets sound shall strike thee dead.   

7.  
Were all those balls, which thou in sport dost toss,  
Whole worlds, and in thy power to command,  
The gain would never countervail the loss,  
Those slippery globes will glide out of thine hand,  
Thou canst have no fast hold but of the cross,  
And thou wilt fall, where thou dost think to stand.  
Forsake these folly then, if thou wilt live:  
Timely repentance may thy death reprieve.     


Emblem 6.    

The oppression of the Heart.  Luke 21.34. Take heed lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness. 

Epigr. 6.  
Two massy weights, Surfciting, drunkenness,  
Like mighty logs of lead, do so oppress  
The heau'n-born hearts of men, that to aspire  
Upwards they have nor power nor desire.   

ODE. 6.  

1.  
Monster of sins! See how th'inchanted soul  
O'rcharged already calls for more.  
See how the hellish skinker plies his bowl,  
And's ready furnished with store,  
Whilst cups on every side  
Planted attend the tide.   

2.  
See how the piled dishes mounted stand,  
Like hills advanced upon hills,  
And the abundance both of sea and land  
Doth not suffice, even what it fills,  
Man's dropsy appetite,  
And Cormorant delight.   

3.  
See how the poisoned body s puffed, and swelled,  
The face inflamed glows with heat,  
The limbs unable are themselves to welld,  
The pulses death's alarm do beat:  
Yet man sits still, and laughs,  
Whilst his own bane he quaffes.   

4.  
But where's thine heart the while, thou senseless sot?  
Look how it lieth crushed, and quelled,  
Flat beaten to the board, that it cannot  
Move from the place, where it is held,  
Nor upward once aspire  
With heavenly desire.   

5.  
Thy belly is thy God, thy shame thy glory,  
Thou mindest only earthly things;  
And all thy pleasure is but transitory,  
Which grief at last and sorrow brings:  
The courses thou dost take  
Will make thine heart to ache.   

6.  
Is't not enough to spend thy precious time  
In empty idle compliment,  
Unless thou strain (to aggravate thy crime)  
Nature beyond its own extent,  
And force it to devour  
An age within an hour?   

7.  
That which thou swallowest is not lost alone,  
But quickly will revenged be,  
●… on thine heart, which like a stone  
lies buried in the midst of thee,  
Both void of common sense  
And reasons excellence.   

8.  
Thy body is diseases rendezvous,  
Thy mind the market place of vice,  
The devil in thy will keeps open house,  
Thou liv'st, as though thou wouldst entice  
Hell torments unto thee,  
And thine own devil be.   

9  
Oh, what a dirty dunghill art thou grown,  
A nasty stinking kennel foul!  
When thou awakest and seest what thou hast done,  
Sorrow will swallow up thy soul,  
To think how thou art foiled,  
And all thy glory spoiled.   

10.  
Or if thou canst not be ashamed, at least  
Have some compassion on thyself:  
Before thou art transformed all to beast,  
At last strike sail, avoid the shelf,  
Which in that gulse doth lie,  
Where all that enter die.     


Emblem 7.    

The covetousness of the Heart.  MAT. 6.21. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

Epigr. 7.  
DOst thou inquire, thou heartless wanderer,  
Where thine heart is? Behold, thine heart is here.  
Here thine heart is, where that is, which above  
Thine own dear heart thou dost esteem, and love.   

ODE. 7.  

1.  
See the deceitfulness of sin,  
And how the devil cheateth worldly men:  
They heap up riches to themselves, and then  
They think they cannot choose but win,  
Though for their parts  
They stake their hearts.   

2.  
The Merchant sends his heart to sea  
And there together with his ship 'tis tossed:  
If this by chance miscarry, that is lost,  
His confidence is cast away:  
He hangs the head,  
As he were dead.   

3.  
The Pedlar cries, What do you lack?  
What will you buy? and boasts his wares the best:  
But offers you the refuse of the rest,  
As though his heart lay in his pack,  
Which greater gain  
Alone can drain.   

4.  
The ploughman furrows up his land,  
And sows his heart together with his seed,  
Which both alike earthborn on earth do feed,  
And prosper or are at a stand:  
He and his field  
Like fruit do yield.   

5.  
The Broker, and the scrivener have  
The Us'rers heart in keeping with his bands:  
His souls dear sustenance lies in their hands,  
And if they break their shop's his grave.  
His interest is  
His only bliss.   

6.  
The Money-horder in his bags  
Binds up his heart, and locks it in his chest;  
The same key serves to that, and to his breast,  
Which of no other heaven brags:  
Nor can conceit  
A joy so great.   

7.  
So for the greedy Landmunger:  
The Purchases he makes in every part  
Take livery and seifin of his heart:  
Yet his insatiate hunger,  
For all his store,  
Gapes after more.   

8.  
Poor wretched Muckwormes, wipe your eyes,  
Uncase those ●… that be●…ot you so:  
Your rich appearing wealth is real woe,  
Your death in your de●…res lies.  
Your hearts are where  
You love, and fear.   

9  
Oh, think not then the world deserves  
Either to ●…e beloved, or feared by you:  
Give heaven these affections as its due,  
Which always what it hath preserves  
In perfect bliss  
That endless is.     


Emblem 8.    

The hardness of the Heart.  ZECH. 7. 12. They made their hearts as an adamant stone, lost they should bear th●… Law. 

Epigr. 8.  
Word's move thee not, nor works: nor gifts, no●… strokes  
Thy sturdy adamantine heart provokes  
My Justice, sleights my mercies: An●…le ●…  
Thou stand'st unmoved, though my ha●…mer strike.   

ODE 8.  

1.  
What have we here? An heart? It looks like one,  
The shape, and colour speak it such:  
But having brought it to the touch  
I find it is no better than a stone.  
Adamants are  
Softer by far.   

2.  
Long hath it steeped been in Mercies milk,  
And soaked in salvation,  
Meet for the alteration  
Of anvils to have made them soft as silk;  
Yet it is still  
Hardened in ill.   

3.  
Oft have I rained my Word upon it, oft  
The dew of heaven hath distilled,  
With promises of mercy filled,  
Able to make mountains of marble soft:  
Yet it is not  
Changed a jot.   

4.  
My beams of love shine on it every day,  
Able to thaw the thickest ice,  
And where they enter in a trice  
To make congealed Cry●…all melt away:  
Yet warm they not  
This frozen clot.   

5.  
Nay more, this hammer, that is wont to grind  
Rocks unto dust, and powder small,  
Makes no impression at all,  
Nor dint, nor crack, nor flaw, that I can find;  
But leaves it as  
Before it was.   

6.  
Is mine Almighty arm decayed in strength?  
Or hath mine hammer lost its weight?  
That a poor lump of earth should slight  
My mercies, and not feel my wrath at length,  
With which I make  
Even heaven to shake?   

7.  
No, I am still the same, I alter not,  
And, when I please, my works of wonder  
Shall bring the stoutest spirits under,  
And make them to confess it is their lot  
To bow or break,  
When I but speak.   

8.  
But I would have men know, 't is not my Word,  
Or works alone can change their hearts:  
These instruments perform their parts,  
But 'tis my Spirit doth this fruit afford.  
'Tis I, not art,  
Can melt man's heart.   

9  
Yet would they leave their customary sinning,  
And so unclench the devil's claws,  
That keeps them captive in his paws,  
My bounty soon should second that beginning:  
Even hearts of ●…eel  
My force should feel.     


3.  
I gave't thee whole, and fully furnished  
With all its faculties entire,  
There wanted not  
The smallest jot,  
That strictest justice could require  
To render it completely perfected.   

4.  
And is it reason what I gave in gross  
Should be returned but by retail?  
To take so small  
A part for all,  
I reckon of no more avail,  
Then where I scatter gold to gather dross.   

5.  
Give me thine heart but as I gave it thee:  
Or give it me at least as I  
Have given mine  
To purchase thine.  
I halved it not when I did die:  
But gave myself wholly to set thee free.   

6.  
The heart I gave thee was a living heart,  
And when thine heart by sin was slain,  
I laid down mine  
To ransom thine,  
That thy dead heart might live again,  
And live entirely perfect, not in part.   

7.  
But whilst thine heart's divided it is dead,  
Dead unto me, unle●… it live  
To me alone,  
It is all one  
To keep all, and a part to give:  
For what's a body worth without an head?   

8.  
Yet this is worse, that what thou keep'st from me  
Thou dost bestow upon my foes:  
And those not mine  
Alone but thine,  
The proper causes of thy woes,  
For whom I gave my life to set thee free.   

9  
Have I betrothed thee to myself, and shall  
The devil, and the world, intrude  
Upon my right,  
Even in my fight?  
Think not thou canst me so delude.  
I will have none, unless I may have all.   

10.  
I made it all, I gave it all to thee,  
I gave all that I had for it:  
If I must lose,  
I'll rather choose  
Mine interest in all to quit:  
Or keep it whole, or give it whole to me.    


Emblem 10    

The insatiableness of the Heart.  HAB. 2.5. Who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied. 

Epigr. 10.  
THe whole round world is not enough to fill  
The Hearts three corners, but it craveth still.  
Only the Trinity, that made it, can  
Suffice the vast triangled heart of man.   

ODE. 10.  

1.  
The thirsty earth and barren womb cry, Give:  
The grave devoureth all that live:  
The fire still burneth on, and never saith,  
It is enough: The horseleech hath  
Many more daughters: but the heart of man  
Outgapes them all as much as heaven one span.   

2.  
Water hath drowned the earth: the barren womb  
Hath teemed sometimes, and been the tomb  
To its own swelling issue: and the grave  
Shall one day a ●…cke surfeit have:  
When all the fuel is consumed, the fire  
Will quench itself, and of itself expire.   

3.  
But the vast heart of man's insatiate,  
His boundless appetites dilate  
Themselves beyond all limits, his desires  
Are endless still: whilst he aspires  
To happiness, and fain would find that treasure  
Where it is not, his wishes know no measure.   

4.  
His eye with seeing is not satisfied,  
Nor's care with hearing: he hath tried  
At once to furnish ●…ry several sense  
With cho●…e of curious objects, whence  
He might e●…tract, ●… into one unite  
A perfect quinteflence of all delight.   

5.  
Yet, having all that he can fancy, still  
There wanteth something more to fill  
His empty appetite. His mind is vexed,  
And he is inwardly perplexed  
He knows not why: when as the truth is this,  
He would find something there where nothing is.   

6.  
He rambles over all the faculties,  
Ransacks the secret treasuries  
Of Art and Nature, spells the Universe  
Letter by letter, can rehearse  
All the Records of time, pretends to know  
Reasons of all things, why they must be so.   

7.  
Yet is not so contented, but would fain  
Pry in God's Cabinet, and gain  
Intelligence from heaven of things to come,  
Anticipate the day of doom,  
And read the issues of all actions so,  
As if God's secret counsels he did know.   

8.  
Let him have all the wealth, all the renown,  
And glory, that the world can crown  
Her dearest da●…gs with; yet his desire  
Will not rest there, but still aspire.  
Earth canno●… hold him, nor the whole creation  
Contain his wishes, or his expectation.   

9  
The heart of man's but little, yet this All  
Compared thereuntoes but final,  
Of such a large unparalleled extense  
Is the short-lined ●…  
Of that three-cornered figure, which to fill  
With the round world is to leave empty still.   

10.  
Go greedy soul, address thyself to heaven,  
And leave the world, as 't is, bereaven  
Of all true happiness, or any thing  
That to thine heart content can bring,  
But there a trine-une God in glory fits,  
Who all grace-thirsting hearts both fills and fits.     


Emblem 11.    

The returning of the Heart.  isaiah 46.8. Remember this, and show yourselves men: bring it again to heart, O ye transgressors. 

Epigr. 11.  
OFt have I called thee: O return at last,  
Return unto thine heart: let the time passed  
Suffice thy wanderings: know that to cherish  
Revolting still is a mere will to perish.   

ODE. 11.  
Christ.  

1.  
Return O wanderer, return, return.  
Let me not always wast my words in vain  
As I have done too long. Why dost thou spurn  
And kick the counsels that should bring thee back again?   
The soul.  

2.  
What's this that checks my course? Me thinks I feel  
A cold remissness seifing on my mind:  
My staggered resolutions seem to reel,  
As though they had in haste forgot mine heart behind.   
Christ.  

3.  
Return, O wanderer, return, return.  
Thou art already gone too far away,  
It is enough: unless thou mean to burn  
In hell for ever, stop thy course at last and stay.   
The soul.  

4.  
There's something holds me back, I cannot move  
Forward one foot: methinks the more I strive  
The least I stir. Is there a power above  
My will in me, that can my purposes reprieve?   
Christ.  

5.  
No power of thine own: 'tis I, that lay  
Mine hand upon thine haste: whose will can make  
The restless motions of the heavens stay,  
Stand still, turn back again, or new found courses take.   
The soul.  

6.  
What? am I riveted, or rooted here?  
That neither forward, nor on either side  
I can get loose? Then there's no hope I fear,  
But I must back again, what ever me betide.   
Christ.  

7.  
And back again thou shalt. I'll have it so.  
Though thou hast hitherto my voice neglected,  
Now I have handed thee, I'll have thee know,  
That what I will have done shall not be uneffected.   
The soul.  

8.  
Thou wilt prevail then, and I must return.  
But how? or whither? when a world of shame,  
And sorrow, lie before me, and I burn  
With horror in myself to think upon the same.   

9  
Shall I return to thee? Alas, I have  
No hope to be received: a run away,  
A rebel to return! mad men may rave  
Of mercy miracles, but what will Justice say?   

10.  
Shall I return to mine own heart? Alas,  
'Tis lost, and dead, and rotten long ago,  
I cannot find it what at first it was,  
And it hath been too long the cause of all my woe.   

11.  
Shall I forsake my pleasures, and delights,  
My profits, honours, comforts, and contents,  
For that, the thought whereof my mind affrights,  
Repentant sorrow, that the soul asunder rents?   

12.  
Shall I return, that cannot though I would?  
Ay, that had strength enough to go astray,  
Find myself saint, and feeble, now I should  
Return. I cannot run, I cannot creep this way.   

13.  
What shall I do? Forward I must not go,  
Backward I cannot: if I tarry here,  
I shall be drowned in a world of woe,  
And antedate mine own damnation by despair.   

14.  
But is't not better hold that which I have,  
Then unto future expectation trust?  
Oh no: to reason thus is but to rave.  
Therefore return I will, because return I must.   
Christ.  

15.  
Return, and welcome: if thou wilt thou shalt.  
Although thou canst not of thyself, yet I,  
That call, can make thee able. Let the fault  
Be mine, if when thou wilt return I let thee lie.     


Emblem 12.    

The pouring out of the Heart.  LAM. 2. 19 pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord. 

Epigr. 12.  
WHy dost thou hide thy wounds? why dost thou hide  
In thy close breast thy wishes, and so side  
With thine own sores and so rows? Like a spout  
Of water let thine heart to God break out.   

ODE. 12.  
The soul.  

1.  
Can death, or hell, be worse than this estate?  
Anguish, amazement, horror, and confusion,  
Drown my distracted mind in deep distress.  
My grief's grown so transcendent, that I hate  
To hear of comfort, as a false Conclusion  
Vainly inferred from feigned Premises.  
What shall I do? what strange course shall I try,  
That, though I loath to live, yet dare not die?   
Christ.  

2.  
Be ruled by me, I'll teach thee such a way,  
As that thou shalt not only drain-thy mind  
From that destructive deluge of distress,  
That overwhelmes thy thoughts but clear the day,  
And soon recover light, and strength to find,  
And to regain thy long lost happiness.  
Confess, & pray. Say what it is doth ail thee,  
What thou wouldst have, and that ●…all soon ava●…e thee●…   
The soul.  

3.  
Confess and pray? If that be all, I will.  
Lord, I am sick, and thou art health, restore me.  
Lord, I am weak, and thou art strength, sustain me.  
Thou art all goodness, Lord, and I all ill.  
Thou Lord, art holy, I unclean before thee.  
Lord, I am poor, and thou art rich, maintain me.  
Lord, I am dead, and thou art life, revive me.  
Justice condemns, let mercy, Lord, reprieve me.   

4.  
A wretched miscreant I am, composed  
Of fin, and misery; 't is hard to say,  
Which of the two allies me most to hell:  
Native corruption makes me indisposed  
To all that's good, but apt to go astray,  
Prone to do ill, unable to do well.  
My light is darkness, and my liberty  
Bondage, my beauty foul deformity.   

5.  
A plague of leprosy o'rspreadeth all  
My powers, and faculties: I 'em unclean,  
I am unclean: my liver broils with lust,  
Rancour and malice overflow my gall,  
Envy my bones doth rot, and keep me lean,  
Revengeful wrath makes me forget what's just:  
Mine ear's uncircumcised, mine eye is evil,  
And hating goodness makes me parcel devil.   

6.  
My callous conscience is cauterised;  
My trembling heart shakes with continual fear:  
My frantic passions fill my mind with madness:  
My windy thoughts with pride are tympanized:  
My boys' nous tongue spits venom every where:  
My wounded spirit's swallowed up with sadness:  
Impatient discontentment plagues me so,  
I neither can stand still, nor forward go.   

7.  
Lord, I am all diseases: hospitals,  
And bills of Mountebanks, have not so many,  
Nor half so bad. Lord, hear, and help, and heal me.  
Although my guiltiness for vengeance calls,  
And colour of excuse I have not any,  
Yet thou hast goodness, Lord, that may avail me.  
Lord, I have poured out all my heart to thee:  
Vouchsafe one drop of mercy unto me.     


Emblem 13.    

The circumcision of the Heart.  DEVT. 10. 16. Circumcise the foreskin of your heart, an be no more stiffnecked. 

Epigr. 13.  
HEre, take thy saviour's cross, the nails, and spear,  
That for thy sake his holy flesh did tear:  
use them as knives thine heart to circumcise,  
And dress thy God a pleasing sacrifice.   

ODE. 13.  

1.  
Heale thee? I will. But first I'll let thee know  
What it comes to.  
The plaster was prepared long ago:  
But thou must do  
Something thyself, that it may be  
Effectually applied to thee.   

2.  
Ay, to that end, that I might cure thy sores,  
Was slain, and died,  
By mine own people was turned out of doors,  
And crucified:  
My side was pierced with a spear,  
And nails my hands and feet did tear.   

3.  
Do thou then to thyself, as they to me:  
Make haste, and try,  
The old man, that is yet alive in thee,  
To crucify.  
Till he be dead in thee, my blood  
Is like to do thee little good:   

4.  
My course of physic is to cure the soul  
By killing sin.  
So then, thine own corruptions to control  
Thou must begin.  
Until thine heart be citcumcised,  
My death will not be duly prized.   

5.  
Consider then my cross, my nails, and spear,  
And let that thought  
Cut Rasor-like thine heart, when thou dost hear,  
How dear I bought  
Thy freedom from the power of sin,  
And that distress which thou wast in.   

6.  
Cut out the iron finew of thy neck,  
That it may be  
Supple, and pliant to obey my beck,  
And learn of me.  
Meekness alone, and yielding, hath  
A power to appease my wrath.   

7.  
Shave off thine hairy scalp, those curled locks  
Powdered with pride,  
Wherewith thy scornful heart my judgements mocks,  
And thinks to hide  
Its thunder-threatned head, which bared  
Alone is likely to be spared.   

8.  
Rip off those seeming robes, but real rags,  
Which earth admires  
As honourable orna●…nts, and brags  
That it attires,  
Cumbers thee with indeed. Thy sores  
Fester with what the world adores.   

9  
Clip thine ambition's wings, let down thy plumes,  
And learn to stoop,  
Whilst thou hast time to stand. Who still presumes  
Of strength will droop  
At last, and flag, when he should fly.  
Falls hurt them most that climb most high   

10.  
Scrape off that scaly scurf of vanities,  
That clogs thee so:  
Profits and pleasures are those enemies,  
That work thy woe.  
If thou wilt have me cure thy wounds,  
First rid each humour that abounds.     


Emblem 14.    

The contrition of the Heart.  PSAL. 51.17. A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 

Epigr. 14.  
HOw gladly would I bruise, and break this heart  
Into a thousand pieces, till the smart  
Make it confess, that, of its own accord,  
It wilfully rebelled against the Lord?   

ODE. 14.  

1.  
Lord, if I had an arm of power like thine,  
And could effect what I desire,  
My love-drawn heart, like smallest wire,  
Bended and writhe, should together twine,  
And twisted stand  
With thy command:  
Thou shouldst no sooner bid, but I would go,  
Thou shouldst not will the thing I would not do.   

2.  
But I am weak, Lord, and corruption strong:  
When I would fain d●…e what I should,  
Then I cannot do what I would:  
Mine action's short, when ●… intention's long:  
Though my desire  
be ●… as fire,  
Yet my performance is as dull as earth,  
And stitles its own issue in the birth.   

3.  
But what I can do, Lord, I will, since what  
I would I cannot: I will try  
Whether mine heart, that's hard and dry,  
Being calmed, and tempered with that  
liquour which falls  
From mine eyeballs,  
Will work more pliantly, and yield to take  
Such new impression as thy grace shall make.   

4.  
In mine own conscience then, as in a mortar  
I'll place mine heart, and bray it there:  
If grief for what is past, and fear  
Of what's to come be a sufficient torture,  
I'll break it all  
In pieces small:  
Sin shall not find a sheard without a flaw,  
Wherein to lodge one lust against thy law.   

5.  
Remember then, mine heart, what thou hast done;  
What thou hast left undone: the ill  
Of all my thoughts, words, deeds, is still  
Thy cursed issue only: thou art grown  
To such a pass,  
That never was,  
Nor is, nor will there be, a sin so bad,  
But thou some way therein an hand hast had.   

6.  
Thou hast not been content alone to sin,  
But hast made others sin with thee,  
Y●… made their sins thine own to be,  
By liking, and allowing them therein.  
Who first begins,  
Or follows, sins  
Not his own sins alone, but sinneth o'er  
All the same sins, both after, and before.   

7.  
What boundless sorrow can suffice a guilt  
Grown so transcendent? Should thine eye  
Weep seas of blood, thy sighs outvie  
The winds when with the waves they run at tilt,  
Yet they could not  
Cancel one blot.  
The least of all thy sins against thy God  
Deserves a thunderbolt should be thy rod.   

8.  
Break then, mine heart: and since thou cannot grieve  
Enough at once, while thou art whole,  
Shiver thyself to dust, and dole  
Thy sorrow to the several atoms, give  
All to each part,  
And by that art  
Strive thy dissevered self to multiply,  
And want of weight with number to supply     


Emblem 15.    

The humiliation of the Heart.  ECCL. 7.9. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 

Epigr. 15.  
MIne heart, alas, exalts itself too high,  
And doth delight a loftier pitch to fly,  
Than it is able to maintain, unless  
It feel the weight of thine imposed press.   

ODE. 15.  

1.  
So let it be,  
Lord, I am well content,  
And thou shalt see  
The time is not misspent,  
Which thou dost then bestow, when thou dost quell  
And crush the heart, that pride before did swell.   

2.  
Lord, I perceive  
As soon as thou dost send,  
And I receive  
The blessings thou dost lend,  
Mine heart begins to mount, and doth forget  
The ground whereon it goes, where it is set.   

3.  
In health I grew  
Wanton, began to kick,  
As though I knew  
I never should be sick.  
Diseases take me down, and make me know,  
Bodies of brass must pay the death they owe.   

4.  
If I but dream  
Of wealth, mine heart doth rise  
With a full stream  
Of pride, and I despise  
All that is good, until I wake, and spy  
The swelling bubble pricked with poverty.   

5.  
A little wind  
Of undeserved praise  
Blows up my mind,  
And my swollen thoughts doth raise  
Above themselves, until the sense of shame  
Makes me contemn my self-dishonoured name.   

6.  
One moment's mirth  
Would make me run stark mad,  
And the whole earth,  
Could it at once be had,  
Would not suffice my greedy appetite,  
Didst thou not pain in stead of pleasure write.   

7.  
Lord, it is well,  
I was in time brought down,  
Else thou canst tell,  
Mine heart would soon have flown  
Full in thy face, and studied to-requite  
The riches of thy goodness with despite.   

8.  
Slack not thine hand,  
Lord, turn thy Screw about:  
If thy press stand,  
Mine heart may chance slip out.  
O quest it unto nothing, rather than  
It should forget itself, and swell again.   

9  
Or if thou art  
Disposed to let it go,  
Lord, teach mine heart  
To lay itself as low,  
As thou canst cast it: that prosperity  
May still be tempered with humility.   

10.  
Thy way to rise  
Was to descend: let me  
Myself despise,  
And so ascend with thee.  
Thou throwest them down, that lift themselves on high,  
And raisest them, that on the ground do lie.     


Emblem 16.    

The softening of the Heart.  Job 23.16. god maketh my heart soft. 

Epigr. 16.  
Mine heart is of itself a marble ice,  
Both cold, and hard: but thou can●… in a trice  
Meli it like ●…axe, great God, if from above  
Thou kindle in it once thy fire of love.   

ODE. 16.  

1.  
Nay, blessed Founder, leave me not:  
If out of all this grot  
There can but any gold be got,  
The time thou dost bestow, the cost,  
And pains will not be lost:  
The bargain is but hard at most.  
And such are all those thou dost make with me:  
Thou know'st thou canst not but a loser be.   

2.  
When the Sun shines with glittering beams,  
His cold dispelling gleams  
Turn snow, and ice to wat'ry streams.  
The wax, as soon as it hath smelled  
The warmth of fire, and felt  
The glowing heat thereof, will melt.  
Yea pearls with vinegar dissolve we may,  
And adamants in blood of goats, they say.   

3.  
If nature can do this, much more,  
Lord, may thy grace restore  
Mine heart to what it was before.  
There's the same matter in it still,  
Though new informed with ill,  
Yet can it not refist thy will.  
Thy power, that framed it at the first, as oft  
As thou wilt have it, Lord, can make it soft.   

4.  
Thou art the Sun of right●… e●…e:  
And though I must ●…  
Mine heart's grown hard in wickedness,  
Yet thy resplendent rays of light,  
When once they come in sight,  
Will quickly thaw what froze by night.  
Lord, in thine healing wings a power doth dwell  
Able to melt the hardest heart in hell.   

5.  
Although mine heart in hardness pass  
Both iron, steel, and brass,  
Yea th'hardest thing that ever was,  
Yet, if thy fire thy Spirit accord,  
And working with thy word  
A blessing unto it afford,  
It will grow liquid, and not drop alone,  
●…●… itself ●… before thy throne.   

6.  
Yea, though my flinty heart be such,  
That the Sun cannot touch,  
Nor fire sometimes affect it much,  
Yet thy warm reeking self shed blood,  
O Lamb of God, 's so good  
It cannot always be withstood.  
That Aqua-regia of thy love prevails,  
Even where thy powers aquafortis fails.   

7.  
Then leave me not so soon, dear Lord,  
Though I neglect thy Word,  
And what thy power doth afford,  
Yet try thy mercy, and thy love,  
The force thereof may move,  
When all things else successesse prove.  
Soaked in thy blood mine heart will soon surrender  
Its native hardness, and grow soft, and tender.     


Emblem 17.    

The cleansing of the Heart.  IER. 5. 14. O Jerusalem wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou Mayst be saved. 

Epigr. 17.  
Out of thy wounded husband's saviour's side,  
Espoused soul, there flows with ●… tide  
A sountaine for uncleanness: wash thee there,  
Wash there thine heart, and then thou needest not fear.   

ODE. 17.  

1.  
O endless misery!  
I labour still, but still in vain.  
The stains of sin I see  
Are oaded all, or d●…d in grain.  
There's not a blot  
Will stir a jot  
For all that I can do:  
There is no hope  
In fuller's soap,  
Though I add nitre too.   

2.  
I many ways have tried,  
Have often soaked it in cold fears,  
And, when a time I spied,  
Poured upon it scalding tears,  
Have rinsed, and rubbed,  
And scraped and scrubed,  
And turned it up, and down:  
Yet can I not  
Wash out one spot,  
It's rather fowler grown.   

3.  
O miserable state!  
Who would be troubled with an heart,  
As I have been of late,  
Both to my sorrow, shame, and smart?  
If it will not  
Be cleaner got,  
'T were better I had none.  
Yet how should we  
Divided be,  
That are not two, but one?   

4.  
But am I not stark wild,  
That go about to wash mine heart  
With hands that are defiled,  
As much as any other part?  
Whilst all thy tears,  
Thine hopes, and fears,  
Both every word, and deed,  
And thought is foul,  
Poor silly soul,  
How canst thou look to speed?   

5.  
Can there no help be had?  
Lord, thou art holy, thou art pure:  
Mine heart is not so bad,  
So soul, but thou canst cleanse it sure.  
Speak, blessed Lord,  
Wilt thou afford  
Me means to make it clean?  
I know thou ●…:  
Thy ●…loud were spilled  
Should it run still in vain.   

6.  
Then to that blessed spring,  
Which from my saviour's sacred side  
Doth flow, mine heart I'll bring,  
And there it will be purified.  
Although the die,  
Wherein I lie,  
Crimson, or scarlet were,  
This blood I know  
Will make't, as snow,  
Or wool, both clean, and clear.     


Emblem 18.    

The giving of the Heart.  PROV. 23.21. My son give me thine heart. 

Epigr. 18.  
THe only love, the only fear, thou art,  
Dear, and dread Saviour, of my in-sick heart.  
●… heart thou gavest, that it might be mine:  
Take thou mine heart then, that it may be thine.   

ODE. 18.  

1.  
Give thee mine ●… Lord so I would,  
And there's great reason that I should,  
If it were worth the having:  
Yet sure thou wilt esteem that good,  
Which thou hast purchased with thy blood,  
And thought it worth the craving.   

2.  
Give thee mine heart? Lord, so I will,  
If thou wilt first impart the skill  
Of bringing it to thee:  
But should I trust myself to give  
Mine heart, as sure as I do live,  
I should deceived be.   

3.  
As all the value of mine heart  
Proceeds from favour, not ●…,  
Acceptance is its worth:  
So neither know I how to bring  
A present to my heavenly King,  
Unless he set it forth.   

4.  
Lord of my life, me thinks I hear  
Thee say, that thee alone to fear,  
And thee alone to love,  
Is to bestow mine heart on thee,  
That other giving none can be,  
Whereof thou wilt approve.   

5.  
And well thou dost deserve to be  
Both loved, Lord, and feared by me,  
So good, so great, thou art:  
Greatness so good, goodness so great,  
As pa●…eth all finite conceit,  
And ravisheth mine heart.   

6.  
Should I not love thee, blessed Lord,  
Who freely of thine own accord  
Laidest down thy life for me?  
For me, that was not dead alone,  
But desp'ratly transcendent grown  
In enmity to thee?   

7.  
Should I not fear before thee, Lord,  
Who●… hand ●… heaven, at whose word  
Devils themselves do quake?  
Whose eyes outshine the sun, whose beck  
Can the whole ●… of Nature check,  
And its foundations shake?   

8.  
Should I withhold mine heart from thee,  
The fountain of felicity,  
Before whose presence is  
Fullness of joy, at whose right hand  
All pleasures in perfection stand,  
And everlasting bliss?   

9  
Lord, had I hearts a million,  
And ●…riads in every one  
Of choicest loves, and fears,  
They were too little to bestow  
On thee, to whom I all things owe,  
I should be in arrears.   

10.  
Yet, since mine heart's the most I have,  
And that which thou dost chiefly crave,  
Thou shalt not of it miss.  
Although I cannot give it so,  
As I should do, I'll offer't though:  
Lord take it, here it is.     


Emblem 19    

The Sacrifice of the Heart.  PSAL 51.17. The sacrifices of God are a broken heart 

Epigr. 19  
NOr calves, nor bulls, are sacrifices good  
Enough for thee, who gav'st for me thy blood,  
And more ●… that, thy life: Take thine own part,  
Great God, that gavest all, here take mine heart.   

ODE. 19  

1.  
Thy former covenant of old,  
Thy Law of Ordinances, did require  
Fat sacrifices from the fold,  
And many other oft rings made by fire.  
Whilst thy first Tabernacle stood,  
All things were consecrate with ●…   

2  
And can thy better Covenant,  
Thy law of grace, and truth by Jesus Christ,  
It's proper sacrifices want  
For such an Altar, and for such a Priest?  
No, no, thy gospel doth require  
Choice offerings too, and made by fire.   

3.  
A sacrifice for ●…nne indeed,  
Lord, thou didst make thyself, and once for all:  
So that there never will be need  
Of any more sin-off'rings, great, or small.  
The life blood thou didst shed for me,  
Hath set my soul for ever free.   

4.  
Yea, the same sacrifice thou dost  
Still offer in behalf of thine elect:  
And to improve it to the most,  
Thy Word, and Sacraments do in effect  
Offer thee oft, and sacrifice  
Thee daily in our eare●…, and eyes.   

5.  
Yea, each believing soul may take  
Thy sacrificed flesh, and blood by faith,  
And therewith an atonement make  
For all its trespasses, thy gospel faith.  
Such infinite transcendent price  
Is there in thy sweet sacrifice.   

6.  
But is this all? Must there not be  
Peace-offerings, and sacrifices of  
Thanksgiving tendered unto thee?  
Yes, Lord, I know I should but mock, and scoff  
Thy sacrifice for ●…nne, should I  
My sacrifice of praise deny.   

7.  
But I have nothing of mine own  
Worthy to be presented in thy fight,  
Yea the whole world affords not one  
Or ram, or lamb, wherein thou canst delight.  
Less than myself it must not be:  
For thou didst give thyself for me.   

8.  
Myself than I must sacrifice:  
And so I will, mine heart, the only thing  
Thou dost above all other prize  
As thine own part, the best I have to bring.  
An humble heart's a sacrifice,  
Which I know thou wilt not despise,   

9  
Lord, be my altar, ●…  
Mine heart thy sacrifice, and ●… thy Spirit  
Kindle thy fire of love, that I,  
Burning with zeal to mag●… thy merit,  
May both consume my ●…, and ●…  
Et●…nall ●…phie to thy ●….     


Emblem 20.    

The weighing of the Heart.  PROV. 21.2. The Lord pondereth the heart. 

Epigr. 20.  
THe heart thou giv'st as a great gift, my love,  
Brought to the trial nothing such will prove,  
If justice equal baliance tell thy fight  
That weighed with my Law it is too light.   

ODE 20.  

1.  
'Tis true indeed, an heart  
Such as it ought to be,  
Entire, and sound in every part,  
Is always welcome unto me.  
He that would please me with an offering  
Cannot a better have, although he were a King.   

2.  
And there is none so poor,  
But if he will he may  
Bring mean heart, although no more,  
And on mine altar may it lay.  
The sacrice which I like best, is such  
As rich men cannot beast, and poor men need not grudge   

3.  
Yet every heart is not  
A gift sufficient,  
It must be purged from every spot,  
And all to pieces must be rent.  
Though thou hast sought to circumcise, and bruiseed,  
It must be weighed too, or else I shall refuse't.   

4.  
My balances are just,  
My Law's an equal weight,  
The beam is strong, and thou Mayst trust  
My steady hand to hold it straight.  
Were thine heart equal to the world in ●…ght,  
Yet it were nothing worth, if it should prove too light.   

5.  
And so thou seeest it doth,  
My pond rous Law doth press  
This scale, but that, as filled with froth,  
Tilts up, and makes no show of stress.  
Thine heart is empty sure, or else it would  
In weight, as well as bulk, better proportion hold.   

6.  
Search it, and thou shalt find  
It wants integrity,  
And is not yet so thorough lined  
With single eyed sincerity,  
As it should be: some more humility  
There wants to make it weight, and some more constancy.   

7.  
Whilst windy vanity.  
Doth ●…any up with pride,  
And double faced hypocri●…  
Doth many empty hollows hide,  
It is but good in part, and that but little,  
Wavering unstaidness ma●… its resolutions brittle.   

8.  
The heart, that in my sight  
As currant coin would pass,  
Must not be the least grain too light,  
But as at first it stamped was.  
Keep then thine heart till it be better grown,  
And, when it is full weight, I'll take it for mine own.   

9  
But if thou art ashamed  
To find thine heart so light,  
And art afraid thou shalt be blamed,  
I'll teach thee how to set it right.  
Add to my Law my gospel, and there see  
My merits thine, and then the scales will equal be.     


Emblem 21.    

The trying of the Heart.  PROV. 17.3. The fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts. 

Epigr. 21.  
THine heart, my deer, more precious is then gold,  
Or the most precious things that can be told:  
Provided first that my pure fire have tried  
Out all the dross, and pass it purified.   

ODE. 21.  

1.  
What? take it at adventure, and not try  
What metal it is made of? No, not I.  
Should I now lightly let it pass,  
Take sullen lead for silver, sounding brass  
In stead of solid gold, alas,  
What would become of it? In the great day  
Of making jewels 't would be cast away.   

2.  
The heart thou giv'st me must be such a one,  
As is the same throughout. I will have none  
But that, which will abide the fire.  
'Tis not a glittering outside I desire,  
Whose seeming shows do soon expire:  
But real worth within, which neither drossy,  
Nor base alloys, make subject unto loss.   

3.  
If in the composition of thine heart  
A stubborn steely wilfulness have part,  
That will not bow and bend to me,  
Save only in a mere formality  
Of tinsell-trimed hypocrisy,  
I care not for it, though it show as fair,  
As the first blush of the Sun-gilded air.   

4.  
The heart that in my furnace will not melt,  
When it the glowing heat thereof hath felt  
Turn liquid, and dillolve in tears  
Of true repentance for its faults, that hears  
My threatning voice, and never fears,  
Is not an heart worth having. If it be  
An heart of stone, 't is not an heart for me.   

5.  
The heart, that cast into my furnace spits,  
And sparkles in my face, falls into fits  
Of discontented grudging, whines  
When it is broken of its will, repines  
At the least suffering, declines  
My fatherly correction, is an heart  
On which I care not to bestow mine art.   

6.  
The heart that in my flames asunder flies,  
Scatters iself at random, and so lies  
In heaps of ashes here, and there,  
Whose dry d●…persed parts will not draw nee●…  
To one another, and adhere  
In a firm union, hath no metal in't  
Fit to be stamped, and coined in my mint.   

7.  
The heart, that vapours out itself in smoke,  
And with those cloudy shadows thinks to cloak  
Its empty nakedness, how much  
So ever thou esteemest it, is such  
As never will endure my touch.  
Before I take't for mine than I will try  
What kind of metal in thine heart' doth lie.   

8.  
I'll bring it to my furnace, and there see  
What it will prove, what it is like to be.  
If it be gold, it will be sure  
The hottest fire that can be to endure,  
And I shall draw it out more pure.  
Affliction may refine, but cannot wast,  
That heart wherein my love is fixed fast.     


Emblem 22.    

The sounding of the Heart.  JER. 17.9. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I the Lord. 

Epigr. 22.  
ay, that alone am infinite, can try  
How deep within itself thine heart doth lie.  
The seaman's plummet can but reach the ground:  
I find that which thine heart itself ne'er sound,   

ODE. 22.  

1.  
A goodly heart to see to, fair and fat!  
It may be so: and what of that?  
Is it not hollow? Hath it not within  
A bottomless whirlpool of sin?  
Are there not secret creeks, and crannies there,  
Turning, and winding corners, where  
The heart itself even from itself may hide,  
And lurk in secret unespied?  
I'll none of it, if such a one it prove:  
Truth in the inward parts is that I love.   

2.  
But who can tell what is within thine heart?  
'Tis not a work of Nature, Art  
Cannot perform that task: 't is I alone,  
Not man, to whom man's heart is known.  
Sound it thou Mayst, and must: but then the line  
And plummet must be mine, not thine,  
And I must guide it too, thine hand, and eye  
May quickly be deceived: but I,  
That made thine heart at first, am better skilled  
To know when it is empty, when't is filled.   

3.  
Lest then thou shouldst deceive thyself, for me  
Thou canst not, I will let thee see  
Some of those depths of Satan, depths of hell,  
Wherewith thine hollow heart doth swell.  
Under pretence of knowledge in thy mind  
Error and ignorance I find,  
Quicksands of rotten Superstition  
Spread over with misprision.  
Some thing thou knowest not, misknowest others,  
And oft thy conscience its own knowledge smothers.   

4.  
Thy crooked will, that seemingly inclines  
To follow reasons dictates, twines  
Another way in secret, leaves its guide  
And lags behind, or swarves aside,  
Crablike creeps backward when it should have made  
Progress in good, is retrograde.  
Whilst it pretends a privilege above  
Reason's prerogative, to move  
As of itself unmoved, rude passions learn  
To leave the oar, and take in hand the stern.   

5.  
The tides of thine affections ebb, and flow,  
Rise up aloft, fall down below,  
Like to the sudden land-floods, that advance  
Their swelling waters but by chance.  
Thy love, desire, thy hope, delight, and fear,  
Ramble they care not when, nor where,  
Yet cunningly bear thee in hand they be  
Only directed unto me,  
Or most to me, and would no notice take  
Of other things, but only for my sake.   

6.  
Such strange prodigious impostures lurk  
In thy prestigious heart, 't is work  
Enough for thee all thy life time to learn  
How thou mayst truly it discern:  
That, when upon mine altar thou dost lay  
Thine offering, thou mayst sasely say,  
And swear it is an heart: for, if it should  
Prove only an heart-case, it would  
Nor pleasing be to me, nor do thee good.  
An heart's no heart not rightly understood.     


Emblem 23.    

The levelling of the Heart.  PSAL. 97.11. gladness to the upright in heart. 

Epigr. 23.  
SEt thine hear upright, if thou wouldst rejoice,  
And please thyself in thine hearts pleasing cho●…se:  
But then be sure thy plimme, and level be  
Rightly applied to that which pleaseth me.   

ODE. 23.  

1.  
Nay, yet I have not done: one trial more  
Thine heart must undergo, before  
I will accept of it:  
Unless I see  
It upright be,  
I cannot think it fit  
To be admitted in my sight,  
And to partake of mine eternal light.   

2.  
My Will's the rule of righteousness, as free  
From error as uncertainty:  
What I would have is just.  
Thou must desire  
What I require,  
And take it upon trust:  
If thou prefer thy will to mine,  
The levell's lost, and thou go'st out of line.   

3.  
Dost thou not see how thine heart turns aside,  
And leans toward thyself? How wide  
A distance there is here?  
Until I see  
Both sides agree  
Alike with mine, 't is clear  
The middle is not where't should be,  
Likes something better, though it look at me.   

4.  
Ay, that know best how to dispose of thee,  
Would have thy portion poverty,  
Lest wealth should make thee proud,  
And me forget:  
But thou hast set  
Thy voice to cry aloud  
For riches, and unless I grant  
All that thou wishest, thou complainest of want.   

5.  
Ay, to preserve thine health, would have thee fast  
From nature's dainties, lest at last  
Thy senses sweet delight  
Should end in smart:  
But thy vain heart  
Will have its appetite  
Pleased to day, though grief, and sorrow  
Threaten to cancel all thy joys to morrow.   

6.  
Ay, to prevent thine hurt by clining high,  
Would have thee be content to lie  
Quiet and safe below,  
Where peace doth dwell;  
But thou dost swell  
With vast desires, as though  
A little blast of vulgar breath  
Were better than deliverance from death.   

7.  
Ay, to procure thine happiness, would have  
Thee mercy at mine hands to crave:  
But thou dost merit plead,  
And wilt have none  
But of thine own,  
Till Justice strike thee dead.  
Thus still thy wandering ways decline,  
And all thy crooked ●… go cross to mine.     


Emblem 24.    

The renewing of the Heart.  EZEK. 36.26. A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. 

Epigr. 24.  
ARt thou delighted with strange novelties,  
Which often prove but old fresh garnished lies?  
Leave then thine old, take the new heart I give thee:  
Condemn thyself, that so I may reprieve thee.   

ODE. 24.  

1.  
No, no, I see  
There is no remedy,  
An heart, that wants both weight, and worth,  
That's filled with nought but empty hollowness,  
And screwed aside with stubborn wilfulness,  
Is only fit to be cast forth,  
Nor to be given me  
Nor kept by thee.   

2.  
Then let it go,  
And if thou wilt bestow  
An acceptable heart on me,  
I'll furnish thee with one shall serve the turn,  
Both to be kept, and given: which will burn  
With zeal, yet not consumed be:  
Nor with a scornful eye  
Blast standers by.   

3.  
The heart, that I  
Will give thee, though it lie  
Buried in seas of sorrows, yet  
Will not be drowned with doubt, or discontent,  
Though sad complaints sometimes may give a vent  
To grief, and tears the checks may wet,  
Yet it exceeds their art  
To hurt this heart.   

4.  
The heart I give,  
Though it desire to live,  
And bathe itself in all content,  
Yet will not toil, or taint itself, with any:  
Although it take a view, and taste of many,  
It feeds on few, as though it meant  
To break fast only here,  
And dine elsewhere.   

5.  
This heart is fresh,  
And new: an heart of flesh,  
Not, as thine old one was, of stone.  
A lively sp'ritly heart, and moving still,  
Active to what is good, but slow to ill:  
An heart, that with a sigh, and groan  
Can blast all worldly joys,  
As trifling toys.   

6.  
This heart is sound,  
And solid will be found;  
'Tis not an empty airy flash,  
That baits at Butterflies, and with full cry  
Opens at every flirting vanity.  
It sleights, and scorns such paltry trash:  
But for eternity  
Dares live, or die.   

7.  
I know thy mind:  
Thou seek'st content to find  
In such things as are new, and strange.  
Wander no further then: lay by thine old,  
Take the new heart I give thee, and be bold  
To boast thyself of the exchange,  
And say, that a new heart  
Exceeds all art.     


Emblem 25.    

The enlightening of the Heart.  PSAL. 34.5. They looked unto him, and were lightened. 

Epigr. 25.  
THou that art Light of lights, the only sight  
Of the blind world, lend me thy saving light:  
Disperse those mists, which in my soul have made  
Darkness as deep as hell's eternal shade.   

ODE. 25.  

1.  
Alas, that I  
Could not before espy  
The soule-confounding misery  
Of this, more than Egyptian, dreadful night!  
To be deprived of the light,  
And to have eyes, but eyes devoid of sight,  
As mine have been, is such a woe,  
As he alone can know,  
That feels it so.   

2.  
Darkness hath been  
My God and me between  
Like an opacous doubled screen,  
Through which nor light, nor heat could passage sinned.  
Gross ignorance hath made my mind,  
And understanding not bleer-eyed, but blind;  
My will to all that's good is cold,  
Nor can I, though I would,  
Do what I should.   

3.  
No, now I see  
There is no remedy  
Lest in myself: it cannot be  
That blind men in the dark should find the way  
To blessedness: although they may  
Imagine that high midnight is noonday,  
As I have done till now, they'll know  
At last unto their woe,  
'Twas nothing so.   

4.  
Now I perceive  
Presumption doth bereave  
Men of all hope of help, and leave  
Them, as it finds them, drowned in misery:  
Despairing of themselves, to cry  
For mercy is the only remedy  
That sin-sick souls can have: to pray  
Against this darkness may  
Turn it to day.   

5.  
Then unto thee,  
Great Lord of light, let me  
Direct my prayer, that I may see.  
Thou, that didst make mine eyes, canst soon restore  
That power of fight they had before,  
And, if thou seest it good, canst give them more.  
The night will quickly shine like day,  
If thou do but display  
One glorious ray.   

6.  
I must confess,  
And I can do no less,  
Thou art the Sun of righteousness:  
There's healing in thy wings: thy light is life;  
My darkness death. To end all ●…rise,  
Be thou mine husband, let me be thy wife.  
Then both the light, and life that's thine,  
Though light, and life divine,  
Will all be mine.     


Emblem 26    

The table of the Heart.  IER. 31.33. I will put my Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. 

Epigr. 26.  
IN the soft table of thine heart I'll write  
A new Law, which I newly will indite.  
Hard stony tables did contain the old:  
But tender leaves of flesh shall this enfold.   

ODE. 26.  

1.  
What will thy fight  
Avail thee, or my light,  
If there be nothing in thine heart to see  
Acceptable to me?  
A self-writ heart will not  
Please me, or do thee any good, I wot,  
The paper must be thine,  
The writing mine.   

2.  
What I indite  
'Tis I alone can write,  
And write in books that I myself have made.  
'Tis not an easy trade  
To read or write, in hearts:  
They that are skilful in all other arts,  
When they take this in hand,  
Are at a stand.   

3.  
My Law of old  
Tables of stone did hold,  
Wherein I writ what I before had spoken,  
Yet were they quickly broken:  
A sign the Covenant  
Contained in them would due ob●…ervance want.  
Nor did they long remain  
Coppy'd again.   

4.  
But now I'll try  
What force in flesh doth lie:  
Whether thine heart renewed afford a place  
Fit for my Law of grace.  
This covenant is better  
Than that, though glorious, of the killing letter.  
This gives life, not by merit,  
But by my Spirit,   

5.  
When in men's hearts,  
And their most inward parts,  
I by my Spirit write my Law of love,  
They then begin to move,  
Not by themselves, but me,  
And their obedience is their liberty.  
There are no slaves, but those  
That serve their foes.   

6.  
When I have writ  
My Covenant in it,  
View thine heart by my light, and thou shalt fee  
A present fit for me.  
The worth for which I look,  
Lies in the lines, not in the leaves of th' book.  
Course paper may be lined  
With words refined.   

7.  
And such are mine.  
No furnace can resine  
The choicest silver so to make it pure,  
As my Law put in ●…  
Purgeth the hearts of men:  
Which being ruled, and written with my Pen,  
My Spirit, every letter  
Will make them better.     


Emblem 27.    

The tilling of the Heart.  EZEK. 36.9. I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled, and sown. 

Epigr. 27.  
MIne heart's a field, thy cross a plow: be pleased  
Dear Spouse, to till it, till the mould be raised  
Fit for the seeding of thy Word: then sow,  
And if thou shine upon it, it will grow.   

ODE. 27.  

1.  
So, now methinks I find  
Some better vigour in my mind,  
My will begins to move,  
And mine affections stir towards things above:  
Mine heart grows big with hope it is a field,  
That some good fruit may yield,  
If it were tilled, as it should be,  
Not by myself, but thee.   

2.  
Great Husbandman, whose power  
All difficulties can devour,  
And do what likes thee best,  
Let not thy field, mine heart, lie lay, and rest,  
Lest it be overrun with noisome weeds,  
That spring of their own seeds:  
Unless thy grace the growth should stop,  
Sin would be all my crop.   

3.  
Break up my fallow ground,  
That there may not a clod be found  
To hide one root of fin.  
Apply thy plow betime: now, now begin  
To furrow up my stiff, and starvy heart,  
No matter for the smart,  
All though it roar, when it is rent,  
Let not thine hand relent.   

4.  
Corruption's rooted deep,  
Showers of repentaut tears must steep  
The mould to make it soft:  
It must be stirred, and turned, not once, but oft.  
Let it have all its feasons. O impart  
The best of all thine art.  
For, of itself it is so tough,  
All will be but enough.   

5.  
Or, if it be thy will  
To teach me, let me learn the skill  
Myself to plow mine heart:  
The profit will be mine, and 't is my part  
To take the pains, and labour, though th' increase  
Without thy blessing cease:  
If fit for nothing else, yet thou  
mayst make me draw thy Plow.   

6.  
Which of thy ploughs thou wilt,  
For then hast more than one. My guilt,  
Thy wrath, thy rods, are all  
●… fit to ●… mine heart to pieces small:  
And, when in ●…●… prehends thee near,  
'Tis furrowed with fear:  
Each weed turned under hides its head,  
And shows as it were dead.   

7.  
But, Lord, thy blessed passion  
Is a Plow of another fashion,  
Better than all the rest.  
Oh fasten me to that, and let the best  
Of all my powers strive to draw it in,  
And leave no room for fin.  
The virtue of thy death can make  
Sin its fast hold forsake.     


Emblem 28.    

The seeding of the Heart.  Luke 8.15. That on the good ground are they, which with an honest, and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. 

Epigr. 28.  
Lest the field of mine heart should unto thee,  
Great Husbandman that mad'st it, barren be,  
Manure the ground, then come thyself and seed it;  
And let thy servant's water it, and weed it.   

ODE. 28.  

1.  
Nay, blessed Lord,  
Unless thou wilt afford  
Manure, as well as tillage, to thy field,  
It will not yield  
That fruit which thou expectest it should bear:  
The ground I fear  
Will still remain  
Barren of what is good: and all the grain  
It will bring forth,  
As of its own accord, will not be worth  
The pains of gathering  
So poor a thing.   

2.  
Some faint desire,  
That quickly will expire,  
Wither, and die, is all thou canst expect.  
It thou neglect  
To sow it now't is ready, thou ●… find  
That ●…●…●…,  
And ●… grow  
Then at the first it was. Thou must bestow  
Some further cost,  
Else all thy former labour will be lost.  
Mine heart no corn will breed  
Without thy seed.   

3.  
Thy Word is seed,  
And manure too: will seed,  
As well as fill mine heart. If once it were  
Well rooted there,  
It would come on apace: O then neglect  
No time expect  
No better season.  
Now, now thy field mine heart is ready: reason  
Surrenders now,  
Now my rebellious will begins to bow,  
And mine affections are  
Tamer by far.   

4.  
Lord, I have lain  
Barren too long, and sane  
I would redeem the time, that I may be  
Fruitful to thee,  
Fruitful in knowledge, saith, obedience,  
Ere I go hence:  
That when I come  
At harvest to be reaped, and brought home;  
Thine Angels may  
My soul in thy celestial garner lay,  
Where perfect joy, and bliss  
Eternal is.   

5.  
If, to entreat  
A crop of purest wheat,  
A blessing too transcendent should appear  
For me to bear,  
Lord, make me what thou wilt, so thou wilt take  
What thou dost make,  
And not disdain  
To house me, though amongst thy coursest grain,  
So I may be  
Laid with the gleanings gathered by thee,  
When the full sheaves are spent,  
I am content.     


Emblem 29.    

The watering of the Heart.  ISA. 27.3. I the Lord do keep it. I will water it every moment. 

Epigr. 29.  
CLose downwards towards the earth, open above  
Towards heaven mine heart is. O let thy love  
Distil in fructifying dews of grace,  
And then mine heart will be a pleasant place.   

ODE. 29.  

1.  
See how this dry, and thirsty land,  
Mine heart, doth gaping gasping stand,  
And close below opens towards heaven, and thee  
Thou fountain of felicity,  
Great Lord of living waters, water me:  
Let not my breath that pants with pain,  
Waste, and consume itself in vain.   

2.  
The mists, that from the earth do rise,  
An heau'n-born heart will not suffice:  
Cool it without they may, but cannot quench  
The scalding heat within, nor drench  
Its dusty dry desires, or fill one trench.  
Nothing, but what comes from on high,  
Can heaven-bred longings satisfy.   

3.  
See how the seed, which thou didst sow  
Lies parched, and withered, will not grow  
Without some moisture, and mine heart hath none,  
That it can truly call its own,  
By nature of itself, more than a stone:  
Unless thou watered, it will lie  
Drowned in dust, and still be dry.   

4.  
Thy tender plants can never thrive,  
Whilst want of water doth deprive  
Their roots of nourishment: which makes them call,  
And cry to thee, great All in All,  
That seasonable showers of grace may fall,  
And water them: thy Word will do't,  
If thou vouchsafe thy blessing to't.   

5.  
O then be pleased to unseal  
Thy fountain, blessed Saviour, deal  
Some drops at least, wherewith my drooping spirits  
May be revived. Lord, thy merits  
Yield more refreshing than the world inherits:  
Rivers, yea seas, but ditches are,  
If with thy springs we them compare.   

6.  
If not whole showers of rain, yet Lord,  
A little pearly dew afford,  
Begot by thy celestial influence  
On some chaste vapour, raised hence  
To be partaker of thine excellence:  
A little, if it come from thee,  
Will be of great avail to me.   

7.  
Thou boundless Ocean of grace,  
Let thy free spirit have a place  
Within mine heart: full rivers than I know  
Of living waters forth will flow,  
And all thy plants, thy fruits, and flowers will grow.  
Whilst thy Springs their roots do nourish,  
They must needs be fat, and flourish.     


Emblem 30.    

The flowers of the Heart.  CANT. 6. 2. My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. 

Epigr. 30.  
THese lilies I do consecrate to thee,  
Beloved Spouse, which spring as thou ma●…st see,  
Out of the seed thou sowedst, and the ground  
Is bettered by thy flowers, when they abound.   

ODE. 31.  

1.  
Is there a joy like this?  
What can augment my bliss?  
If my beloved will accept  
A po●…e of these flowers kept,  
And consecrated unto his content,  
I hope hereafter he will not repent  
The cost, and pains he hath bestowed  
So freely upon me, that owed  
Him all I had before,  
And infinitely more.   

2.  
Nay, try them, blessed Lord,  
Take them not on my word,  
But let the colour, ●…ast and ●…  
The truth of their ●…●… tell.  
Thou that art in●…nite in wisdom ●…ee  
If they be not the same that came from thee.  
If any difference be found,  
It is occasioned by the ground,  
Which yet I cannot see  
So good as it should be.   

3.  
What sayst thou to that Rose,  
That queen of flowers, whose  
Maidenly blushes, fresh, and fair,  
Outbrave the dainty morning air?  
Dost thou not in those lovely leaves espy  
The perfect picture of that modesty,  
That self-condemning shamefastness,  
That is more ready to confess  
A fault, and to amend,  
Than it is to offend?   

4.  
Is not this lily pure?  
What Fuller can procure  
A white so perfect, spotless, clear,  
As in this flower doth appear?  
dost thou not in this milky colour see  
The lively lustre of sincerity,  
Which no hypocrisy hath painted,  
Nor self-respecting ends have tainted?  
Can there be to thy sight  
A more entire delight?   

5.  
Or wilt thou have beside  
Violets purple-died?  
The Sun-observing Marigold,  
Or Orpin never waxing old,  
The Primrose, Cowslip, Gilliflow'r, or pink,  
Or any flower, or herb, that I can think  
Thou hast a mind unto? I shall  
Quickly be furnished with them all,  
If once I do but know  
That thou wilt have it so.   

6.  
Faith is a fruitful grace,  
Well planted stores the place,  
Fills all the borders, beds, and bowers  
With wholesome herbs, and pleasant flowers.  
Great Gardiner, thou sayst, and I believe,  
What thou dost mean to gather thou wilt give.  
Take then mine heart in hand to fill't,  
And it shall yield thee what thou wilt.  
Yea thou, by gathering more,  
Shalt still increase my store.     


Emblem 31.    

The keeping of the Heart.  PROV. 4.23. keep thy heart with all diligence. 

Epigr. 31.  
Like to a ●…, that is ●…,  
●… heart is ●…, ●… still is found  
Comp●…st w●…th care, ●…nd ●… with the fear  
Of God, as with a flaming sword, and spear.   

ODE 31.  
The soul.  

1.  
Lord, wilt thou suffer this? Shall vermin spoil  
The ●…uit or all thy toil,  
Thy trees, thine herbs, thy plants, thy flowers thus:  
And for an overplus  
Of spite, and malice overthrow thy mounds,  
Lay common all thy grounds?  
Canst thou endure thy pleasant garden should  
Be thus turned up as ordinary mould?   
Christ.  

2.  
What is the matter? why dost thou complain?  
Must I as well maintain,  
And keep, as make thy fences? wilt thou take  
No pains for thine own sake?  
Or doth thy self-confounding fancy fear thee,  
When there's no danger near thee?  
Speak out thy doubts, and thy desires, and tell me,  
What enemy or can, or dares to quell thee?   
The soul.  

3.  
Many, and mighty, and malicious, Lord,  
That seek, with one accord,  
To work my speedy ruin, and make haste  
To lay thy garden waste.  
The devil is a ramping roaring lion,  
Hates at his heart thy Zion,  
And never gives it respite day, nor hour,  
But still goes seeking whom he may devour.   

4.  
The world's a wilderness, wherein I find  
Wild beasts of every kind,  
Foxes, and Wolves, and Dogs, and boars, and Bears;  
And which augments my fears,  
Eagles and Vultures, and such birds of prey,  
Will not be kept away:  
Besides the light-abhorring owls, and Bats,  
And secret corner-creeping Mice and Rats.   

5.  
But these, and many more would not dismay  
Me much, unless there lay  
One worse than all within, myself I mean,  
My false, unjust, unclean,  
Faithless, disloyal self, that both entice,  
And entertain each vice.  
This homebred traitorous partake's worse,  
Than all the violence of foreign force.   

6.  
Lord, thou Mayst see my fears are grounded, rise  
Not from a bare surmise,  
Or doubt of danger only, my desires  
Are but what need requires,  
Of thy divine protection, and defence  
To keep these vermin hence:  
Which, if they should not be re●…rain'd by thee,  
Would grow too strong to be kept out by me.   
Christ.  

7.  
Thy fear is just, and I approve thy care.  
But yet thy comforts are  
●… for, ●… in that care, and fear:  
Whereby it d●…th appear  
●…●… what than ●…, my protection  
To keep thee from defection.  
The ●…●… cares, and ●…, is kept by me.  
I watch thee, whilst thy foes are watched by thee.     


Emblem 32.    

The watching of the Heart.  CANT. 5.2. I sleep, but my heart waketh. 

Epigr. 32.  
WHilst the soft hands of sleep tie up my senses,  
My watchful heart, free from all such ●…,  
Searches for thee, inquires es all about thee,  
Nor day, nor night, able to be without thee.   

ODE. 32.  

1.  
It must be so: that God that gave  
Me senses, and a mind, would have  
Me use them both, but in their several kinds.  
Sleep must refresh my senses, but my minds  
A ●… of heavenly fire, that seeds  
On ●…, and employment, needs  
No ●… or rest: for, when it thinks to please  
●… with idleness, 'tis least at ease.  
Though quiet rest refresh the head,  
The heart that stirs not sure is dead.   

2.  
Whilst then my body ease doth take,  
My ●… refusing heart ●… all wake:  
And that mine heart the better watch may keep,  
I'll lay my senses for a t●…e to sleep.  
Wanton de re shall not ●…,  
Nor lust inveigle them to vi●…e:  
No sading colours shall ●… my fight,  
Nor sounds enchant mine ears with their delight:  
I'll bind my smell, my touch, my taste,  
To keep a strict religious fast.   

3.  
My worldly business shall lie still,  
That heavenly thoughts my mind may fill:  
My Martha's cumb'ring cares shall cease their noise,  
That Mary may attend her better choice.  
That meditation may advance  
Mine heart on purpose, not by chance,  
My body shall keep holy day, that so  
My mind with better liberty may go  
About her business, and engross  
That gain, which worldly men count loss.   

4.  
And though my senses sleep the while,  
My mind my senses shall beguile  
With dreams of thee, dear Lord, whose rare perfections  
Of excellence are such, that bare inspections  
Cannot suffice my greedy soul,  
Nor her fierce appetite control,  
By'r that the more she looks the more she longs,  
And strives to thrust into the thickest throngs  
Of those divine discoveries,  
Which dazzle even Angels eyes.   

5.  
Oh could I lay aside this flesh,  
And follow after thee with fresh  
And free desires, my disentangled soul,  
Ravished with admiration, should roll  
Itself, and all its thoughts on thee,  
And by believing strive to see,  
What is invisible to flesh and blood,  
And only by fruition understood,  
The beauty of each several grace,  
That shines in thy Sunne-shaming face.   

6.  
But what I can do that I will,  
Waking and sleeping, seek thee still:  
I'll leave no place unpried into behind me,  
Where I can but imagine I may find thee:  
I'll ask of all I meet, if they  
Can tell thee where thou art, which way  
Thou go'st, that I may follow after thee,  
Which way thou com'st, that thou mayst meet with me.  
If not thy face, Lord, let mine heart  
Behold with Moses thy back part.     


Emblem 33.    

The wounding of the Heart.  LAM. 3.12. He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. 

Epigr. 33.  
A Thousand of thy strongest shasts, my light,  
Draw up against this heart with all thy might,  
And strike it through: They, that in need do stand  
Of cure, are healed by thy wounding hand.   

ODE. 33.  

1.  
Nay, spare me not dear Lord, it cannot be  
They should be hurt, that wounded are by thee.  
Thy shafts will heal the hearts they hit,  
And to each sore its salve will fit.  
All hearts by Nature are both sick, and sore,  
And mine as much as any else, or more:  
There is no place that's free from fin,  
Neither without it, nor within,  
And universal maladies do crave  
Variety of medicines to have.   

2.  
First, let the arrow of thy piercing eye,  
Whose light outvieth the star-spangled sky,  
Strike through the darkne●… of my mind,  
And leave no cloudy mist behind.  
Let thy resplendent rays of knowledge dart  
Bright beams of understanding to mine heart,  
To my finne-shadowed heart, wherein  
Black ignorance did first begin  
To blur thy beauteous Image, and deface  
The glory of thy self-sufficing grace.   

3.  
Next let the shaft of thy sharp-pointed power  
Discharged by that strength that can devour  
All difficulties, and incline  
Stout opposition to resign  
Its steely stubborness, subdue my will,  
Make it hereafter ready to fulfil  
Thy royal Law of righteousness,  
As gladly, as I must confess  
It hath fulfilled heretofore th' unjust,  
Profane, and cruel laws of its own lust.   

4.  
Then let that love of thine, which made thee leave  
The bosom of thy Father, and be●…eave  
Thyself of thy ●… glory,  
Matter for an eternal story.  
Strike through mine affections all together,  
And let that Sun shine ●…eer the cloudy weather,  
Wherein they wander without guide,  
Or order, as the wind, and tide  
Of floating ●… transport, and toss them,  
Till self-begotten troubles curb and cross them.   

5.  
Lord, empty all thy Quivers, let there be  
No corner of my spacious heart left free,  
Till all be but one wound, wherein  
No subtle sight-abhorring sin  
May lurk in secret unespied by me,  
Or reign in power unsubdued by thee.  
Perfect thy purchased victory,  
That thou mayst ride triumphantly,  
And leading captive all captivity  
mayst put an end to enmity in me.   

6.  
Then, blessed Archer, in requital I  
To shoot thine arrows back again will try.  
By prayers, and praises, sighs, and sobs,  
By vows, and tears, by groans, and throbs,  
I'll see if I can pierce, and wound thine heart,  
And vanquish thee again by thine own art.  
Or, that we may at once provide  
For all mishaps that may betide,  
Shoot thou thyself, thou polished shaft, to me,  
And I will shoot my broken heart to thee.     


Emblem 34.    

The inhabiting of the Heart.  GAL. 4.6. God hath sent ●… the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. 

Epig●…. 34.  
MIne heart's an ●…, my ●…, and thou ●… tell  
●…●… enough ●… thy Spirit dwell  
For ever ther●…●…●…●… mayst love me,  
And being to ●… I m●…y aga●…ne love thee.   

ODE. 34.  

1.  
Welcome, great guest, this house, mine heart,  
Shall all be thine:  
I will resign  
Mine interest in every part:  
Only be pleased to use it as thine own  
For ever, and inhabit it alone:  
There's room enough, and if the furniture  
Were answerably fitted, I am sure  
Thou wouldst be well content to stay,  
And by thy light  
Possess my sight  
With sense of an eternal day.   

2.  
It is thy building, Lord, 't was made  
At thy command,  
And still doth stand  
Upheld, and sheltered by the shade  
Of thy protecting providence: though such  
As is decayed, and impaired much,  
Since the removal of thy residence,  
When with thy grace glory departed hence,  
It hath been all this while an inn  
To entertain  
The vile, and vain,  
And wicked companies of sin.   

3.  
Although't be but an house of clay,  
Framed out of dust,  
And such as must  
Dissolved be, yet it was gay,  
And glorious indeed, when every place  
Was furnished, and fitted with thy grace:  
When in the Presence-chamber of my mind,  
The bright sunbeams of perfect knowledge shined:  
When my will was thy bedchamber,  
And every power  
A stately tower  
Sweetened with thy spirit's amber.   

4.  
But whilst thou dost thyself absent,  
It is not grown  
Noisome alone,  
But all to pieces torn, and rent.  
The windows all are stopped, or broken so,  
That no light without wind can thorough go.  
The roofe's uncovered, and the wall's decayed,  
The door's flung off the hooks, the floor's unlaied,  
Yea, the foundation rotten is,  
And everywhere  
It doth appear  
All that remains is far amiss,   

5.  
But if thou wilt return again,  
And dwell in me,  
Lord, thou shalt see  
What care I'll take to entertain  
Thee, though not like thyself, yet in such sort,  
As thou wilt like, and I shall thank thee for't.  
Lord, let thy blessed Spirit keep possession,  
And all things will be well; at least confession  
Shall tell thee what's amiss in me,  
And then thou shalt  
Or mend the fault,  
Or take the blame of all on thee.     


Emblem 35.    

The enlarging of the Heart.  PSAL. 119.32. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shall enlarge my heart. 

Epigr. 35.  
HOw pleasant is that now, which heretofore  
Mine heart hela buter, sacred learning's l●…e?  
●… hearts enter with greatest ease  
The ●… paths, and run the narrowest ways.   

ODE. 35.  

1.  
What a blessed change I find,  
Since I entertain d this guest!  
Now methinks another mind  
Moves and rules within my breast.  
Surely I am not the same,  
That I was before he came,  
But I then was much too blame.   

2.  
When before my God commanded  
Any thing he would have done,  
I was close, and gripple handed,  
Made an end ere I begun.  
If he thought it fit to lay  
Judgements on me, I could say  
They are good, but shrink away.   

3.  
All the ways of righteous●…sse  
I did think were full of trouble,  
I complained of tediousness,  
And each duty ●… double.  
Whilst I served him but of fear,  
Every minute did appear  
Longer sarre than a whole year.   

4.  
Strictness in Religion seemed  
Like a pined pinioned thing:  
Bolts, and fetters I esteemed  
More beseeming for a King,  
Then for me to bow my neck,  
And be at another's beck,  
When I felt my conscience check.   

5.  
But the case is altered now:  
He no sooner turns his eye,  
But I quickly bend, and bow,  
Ready at his feet to lie:  
Love hath taught me to obey  
All his precepts, and to say,  
Not to morrow, but to day.   

6.  
What he wills I say I must:  
What I must I say I will:  
He commanding, it is just  
What he would I should fulfil.  
Whilst he biddeth I believe  
What he calls for he will give.  
To obey him is to live.   

7.  
His commandments grievous are not  
Longer than men think t●…m so:  
Though he send me forth I care not,  
Whilst he gives me strength to go.  
When, or whither, all is one,  
On his business, not mine own,  
I shall never go alone.   

8.  
If I be complete in him,  
And in him all fullness dwelleth.  
I am sure aloft to swim,  
Whilst that Ocean overswelleth,  
Having him that's All in All,  
I am confident I shall  
Nothing want, for which I call.     


Emblem 36.    

The inflaming of the Heart.  PSAL. 39.3. My heart was hot within me: while I was musing the sire burned. 

Epigr. 36.  
SPare not, my love, to kindle, and inflame  
Mine heart within throughout, until the same  
Break forth, and burnc: that so, thy Salamander,  
Mine heart may never from thy furnace wander.   

ODE. 36.  

1.  
Welcome, holy, heavenly fire,  
Kindled by immortal love:  
Which descending from above,  
Makes all earthly thoughts retire,  
And give place  
To that grace,  
Which with gentle violence  
Conquers all corrupt affections,  
Rebel nature's insurrections,  
Bidding them be packing hence.   

2.  
Lord, thy fire doth heat within,  
Warmeth not without alone;  
Though it be an heart of stone,  
Of itself congealed in sin,  
Hard as steel,  
If it feel  
Thy dissolving power, it groweth  
Soft as wax, and quickly takes  
Any print thy Spirit make,  
Paying what thou sayest it oweth.   

3.  
Of itself mine heart is dark,  
But thy fire by shining bright,  
Fills it full of saving light  
Though't be but a little spark  
Lent by thee,  
I shall see  
More by it, than all the light,  
Which in fullest measures streams  
From corrupted Natures beams,  
Can discover to my sight.   

4.  
Though mine heart be ice, and snow,  
To the things which thou hast chosen,  
All benumed with cold, and frozen,  
Yet thy fire will make it glow.  
Though it burns,  
When it turns  
Towards the things which thou dost hate:  
Yet thy blessed warmth, no doubt,  
Will that wildfire soon draw out,  
And the heat thereof abate.   

5.  
Lord, thy fire is active, using  
Always either to ascend  
To its native heaven, or lend  
Heat to others: and diffusing  
Of its store  
Gathers more,  
Never ceasing till it make  
All things like itself, and longing  
To see others come with thronging  
Of thy goodness to partake.   

6.  
Lord, then let thy fire inflame  
My cold heart so thoroughly,  
That the heat may never die,  
But continue still the same:  
That I may  
Every day  
More, and more, consuming sin,  
Kindling others, and attending  
All occasions of ascending,  
Heaven upon earth begin,     


Emblem 37.    

The ladder of the Heart.  PSAL. 84. 5. In whose heart are the ways of them. 

Epigr. 37.  
Wouldst thou, my love, a ladder have, whereby  
Thou mayst climb heaven to sit down on high?  
In thine own heart then frame thee steps, and bend  
Thy mind to muse how thou mayst there ascend.   

ODE. 37.  
The soul.  

1.  
What?  
Shall I  
Always lie  
Grovelling on earth,  
Where there is no mirth?  
Why should I not ascend,  
And climb up, where I may mend.  
My mean estate of misery?  
Happiness I knows exceeding high:  
Yet sure there is some remedy for that   
Christ.  

2.  
True,  
There is.  
Perfect bliss,  
The fruit of love,  
May be had above:  
But he, that will obtain  
Such a gold-exceeding gain,  
Must never think to reach the same,  
And scale heaven's walls, until he frame  
A ladder in his heart ●…●…●…   
The soul.  

3.  
Lord,  
I will:  
But the skill  
Is not mine own:  
Such an art's not known,  
Unless thou wilt it teach:  
It is far above the reach  
Of mortal minds to understand.  
But if thou wilt lend thine helping hand,  
I will endeavour to obey thy Word.   
Christ.  

4.  
Well  
Then, see  
That thou be  
As ready pressed  
To perform the rest,  
As now to promise fair,  
And I'll teach thee how to rear  
A scaling-ladder in thine heart  
To mount heaven with: no rules of art,  
But I alone, can the composure tell.   

5.  
First,  
Thou must  
Take on trust  
All that I say,  
Reason must not sway  
Thy judgement cross to mine,  
But her sceptre quite resign.  
Faith must be both thy ladder sides,  
Which will stay thy steps what e'er betides,  
And satisfy thine hunger, and thy thirst.   

6.  
Then,  
The round  
Next the ground,  
Which I must see;  
Is humility:  
From which thou must ascend,  
And with perseverance end.  
Virtue to virtue, grace to grace,  
Must each orderly succeed in'ts place.  
And when thou hast done all begin again.     


Emblem 38.    

The flying of the Heart.  ISA. 60. 5. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the Doves to their windows? 

Epigr. 38.  
OH that mine heart had wings like to a Dove,  
That I might quickly hasten hence, and move  
With speedy flight towards the cel●…stiall spheres,  
As weary of this world, its faults, and fears!   

ODE. 38.  

1.  
This way, though pleasant, yet methinks is long:  
Step after step makes little haste,  
And I am not so strong  
As still to last  
Among  
So great  
So many lets:  
Sweltered and swilled in sweat  
My toiling soul both fumes and frets,  
As though she were inclined to a retreat.   

2.  
Corruption clogs my feet like filthy clay,  
And I am ready still to slip:  
Which makes me often stay,  
When I should trip  
Away.  
My fears  
And faults, are such,  
As challenge all my tears  
So justly, that it were not much,  
If I in weeping should spend all my years.   

3.  
This makes me weary of the world below,  
And greedy of a place above,  
On which I may bestow,  
My choicest love,  
And so  
Obtain  
That favour, which  
Excels all worldly gain,  
And maketh the possessor rich,  
In happiness of a transcendent strain.   

4.  
What? must I still be rooted here below,  
And riveted unto the ground,  
Wherein mine haste to grow  
Will be though sound,  
But slow?  
I know  
The sun exhales  
Gross vapours from below,  
Which, scorning as it were the Vales,  
On mountaine-topping clouds themselves bestow.   

5.  
But my fault-frozen heart is flow to move,  
Makes poor proceedings at the best,  
As though it did not love,  
Nor long for rest  
Above.  
Mine eyes  
Can upward look,  
As though they did despise  
All things on earth, and could not brook  
Their presence: but mine heart is slow to rise.   

6.  
Oh that it were once winged like the Dove,  
That in a moment mounts on high,  
Then should it soon remove,  
Where it may lie  
In love.  
And lo,  
This one desire  
Me thinks hath imped it so,  
That it already flies like fire,  
And even my verses into wings do grow.     


Emblem 39    

The union of the Heart.  EZEK. 11.19. I will give them one heart. 

Epigr. 39  
LIke minded minds, hearts alike heartily  
Affected will together live, and die:  
Many things meet, and part: but loves great gable  
Tying two hearts makes them inseparable.   

ODE. 39  
The soul.  

1.  
All this is not enough: methinks I grow  
More greedy by fruition: what I get  
Serves but to set  
An edge upon mine appetite,  
And all thy gifts do but invite  
My prayers for more.  
Lord, if thou wilt not still increase my store,  
Why didst thou any thing at all bestow?   
Christ.  

2.  
And is 't the fruit of having still to crave?  
Then let thine heart united be to mine,  
And mine to thine  
In a firm union, whereby  
We may no more be thou, and I,  
Or, I, and thou,  
But both the same: and then I will avow,  
Thou canst not want what thou dost wish to have.   
The soul.  

3.  
True, Lord, for thou art All in All to me,  
But how to get my stubborn heart to twine,  
And close with thine,  
I do not know, nor can I guess  
How I should ever learn, unless  
Thou wilt direct  
The course that I must take to that effect.  
'Tis thou, not I, must knit mine heart to thee.   
Christ.  

4.  
'T is true, and so I will: but yet thou must  
Do something towards it too: First, thou must lay  
All ●…nne away,  
And separate from that, which would  
Our meeting intercept, and hold  
Us distant still:  
I am all goodness, and can close with ill  
No more, than richest diamonds with dust.   

5.  
Then thou must not count any earthly thing,  
How ever gay, and gloriously set forth,  
Of any worth,  
Compared with me, that am alone  
Th' eternal, high, and holy One:  
But place thy love  
Only on me, and on the things above:  
Which true content, and endless comfort bring.   

6.  
Love is the loadstone of the heart, the glue,  
The cement, and the ●…oder, which alone  
Unites in one  
Things that before were not the same,  
But only like, imparts the name,  
And nature too  
Of each to th' other: nothing can undo  
The knot that's knit by love, if it be true.   

7.  
But if in deed, and truth thou lovest me,  
And not in word alone, than I shall find  
That thou dost mind  
The things I mind, and regulate  
All thine affections, love, and hate,  
Delight, desire,  
Fear, and the rest, by what I do require,  
And I in thee myself shall always see.     


Emblem 40.    

The rest of the Heart.  PSAL. 116.7. return unto thy rest, O my soul. 

Epigr. 40.  
MY busy, stirring heart, that seeks the best,  
Can find no place on earth wherein to rest:  
For God alone, the author of its bliss,  
It's only rest, its only centre ●….   

ODE. 40.  

1.  
Move me no more, mad world, it is in va●…ne,  
Experience tells me plain  
I should deceived be,  
If ever I again should trust in thee.  
My weary heart hath ransacked all  
Thy treasuries both great, and small,  
And thy large inventories bears in mind:  
Yet could it never find  
One place wherein to rest,  
Though it hath often tried all the best.   

2.  
Thy profits brought me loss in stead of gain,  
And all thy pleasure's pain:  
Thine honours blurred my name  
With the deep stains of self-confounding shame,  
Thy wisdom made me turn stark fool,  
And all the learning, that thy school  
Afforded me, was not enough to make  
Me know myself, and take  
Care of my better part,  
Which should have perished for all thine heart.   

3.  
Not that there is not place of rest in thee  
For others: but for me  
There is, there can be, none:  
That God, that made mine heart, is he alone,  
That of himself both can, and will,  
Give rest unto my thoughts, and fill  
Them full of all content, and quietne●…,  
That so I may ●…  
My soul in patience,  
Until he find it time to call me hence.   

4.  
On thee then, as a sure foundation,  
A tried cornerstone,  
Lord, I will strive to raise  
The tower of my salvation, and thy praise.  
In thee, as in my centre, shall  
The lines of all my longings fall.  
To thee, as to mine anchor, surely tied  
My ship shall safely ride.  
On thee, as on my bed  
Of soft repose, I'll rest my weary head.   

5.  
Thou, thou alone, shalt be my whole desire,  
I'll nothing else require,  
But thee, or for thy sake.  
In thee I'll sleep secure, and when I wake  
Thy glorious face shall satisfy  
The longing of my looking eye.  
I'll roll myself on thee, as on my rock,  
And threatning dangers mock.  
Of thee, as of my treasure,  
I'll boast, and brag, my comforts know no measure.   

6  
Lord, thou shalt be mine All, I will not know  
A profit here below,  
But what ●… on thee:  
Thou shalt be all the pleasure I will see  
In any thing the earth affords.  
Mine heart shall own no words  
Of honour, out of which I cannot raise  
The matter of thy praise.  
Nay, I will not be mine,  
Unless thou wilt vouchsafe to have me thine.     


Emblem 41.    

The bathing of the Heart.  JOEL 3.21. I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed. 

Epigr. 41.  
THis bath thy Saviour sweat with drops of blood,  
Sick heart, of purpose for to do thee good.  
They that have tried it can the virtue tell,  
Come then and use it, is thou wilt be well.   

ODE. 41.  

1.  
All this thy God hath done for thee:  
And now mine heart  
It is high time that thou shouldst be  
Acting thy part,  
And meditating on his blessed Passion,  
Till thou hast made it thine by imitation.   

2.  
That exercise will be the best  
And surest means,  
To keep thee evermore at rest,  
And free from pains.  
To suffer with thy Saviour is the way  
To make thy present comforts last for aye.   

3.  
Trace then the steps, wherein he trade,  
And first begin  
To sweat with him. The heavy load,  
Which for thy sin  
He underwent, squeezed blood out of his face,  
Which in great drops came trickling down apace.   

4.  
Oh let not then that precious blood  
Be spilled in vain,  
But gather every drop. 'Tis good  
To purge the stain  
Of guilt, that hath defiled, and overspread  
Thee from the sole of th'foot to th'crown of th'head.   

5.  
Poison possesseth every vein,  
The fountain is  
Corrupt, and all the streams unclean:  
All is amiss.  
Thy blood's impure, yea thou thyself, mine heart,  
In all thine inward powers polluted art.   

6.  
When thy first father first did ill,  
Man's doom was read,  
That in the sweat of's face he still  
Should eat his bread.  
What the first Adam in the garden caught,  
The second Adam in a garden taught.   

7.  
Taught by his own example, how  
To sweat for sin,  
Under that heavy weight to bow,  
And never linne  
Begging release, till with strong cries, and tears  
The soul be drained of all its faults, and ●…eares.   

8.  
If sins imputed guilt oppressed  
Th' Almighty so,  
That his sad soul could find no rest  
Under that woe:  
But that the bitter agony he felt  
Made his pure blood, if not to sweat, to melt.   

9  
Then let that huge inherent mass  
Of sin, that lies  
In heaps on thee, make thee surpass  
In tears, and cries,  
Striving with all thy strength, until thou sweat  
Such drops as his, though not as good, as great.   

10.  
And if he think it fit to lay  
Upon thy back,  
Or pains, or duties, as he may  
Until it crack,  
Shrink not away, but strain thine utmost force  
To bear them cheerfully without remorse.     


Emblem 42.    

The binding of the Heart.  HOS. 11.4. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love. 

Epigr. 42.  
Mr sins, I do confess, a cord were found  
Heavy, and hard by thee, when thou wast bound,  
Great Lord of love, with them, but thou hast twined  
Gentle love cords my tender heart to bind.   

ODE. 42.  

1.  
What? could those hands,  
That made the world, be subject unto bands?  
Could there a cord be found,  
Wherewith omnipotence itself was bound?  
Wonder mine heart, and stand amazed to see  
The Lord of liberty  
Led captive for thy sake, and in thy stead.  
Although he did  
Nothing deserving death, or bands, yet he  
Was bound, and put to death, to set thee free.   

2.  
Thy sins had tied  
Those bands for thee, wherein thou shouldst have died  
And thou didst daily knit  
Knots upon knots, whereby thou mad'st them ●…t  
Closer, and faster, to thy faulty self.  
So like a cursed else,  
helpless, and hopeless, friendless, and forlorn,  
The sink of scorn,  
And kennel of contempt, thou shouldst have lain  
Eternally enthralled to endless pain.   

3.  
Had not the Lord  
Of love and life been pleased to afford  
His helping hand of grace,  
And freely put himself into thy place.  
So were thy bands transferred, but not untied,  
Until the time he did,  
And by his death vanquished, and conquered all,  
That Adam's sall  
Had made victorious. Sin, Death, and Hell,  
Thy fatal foes, under his footstool sell.   

4.  
Yet he meant not  
That thou shouldst use the liberty he got  
As it should like thee best,  
To wander as thou listest, or to rest  
In soft repose careless of his commands:  
He that hath loosed those bands,  
Whereby thou wast enslaved to the foes,  
Binds thee with those,  
Where with he bound himself to do thee good,  
The bands of love, love writ in lines of blood.   

5.  
His love to thee  
Made him to lay aside his Majesty,  
And clothed in a veil  
Of frail, though faultless flesh, become thy bail.  
But love requireth love: and since thou art  
Loved by him, thy part  
It is to love him too: and love affords  
The strongest cords  
That can be: for it ties, not hands alone,  
But heads, and hearts, and souls, and all in one.   

6.  
Come then, mine heart,  
And freely follow the prevailing art  
Of thy redeemer's love.  
That strong magnetic tie hath power to move  
The steeliest stubborness. If thou but twine,  
And twist his love with thine,  
And by obedience labour to express  
Thy thankfulness,  
It will be hard to say on whether side  
The bands are surest, which is fastest tied.     


Emblem 43.    

The prop of the Heart.  PSAL. 102.7, 8. His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid. 

Epigr. 43.  
My weak, and seeble heart, a prop must use,  
But pleasant fruits, and flowers doth refuse:  
My Christ my pillar is, on h●…m rely,  
Repose, and rest myself, alone will I.   

ODE. 43.  

1.  
Suppose it true, that whilst thy saviour's side  
Was furrowed with ●…courges he was tied  
Unto some pillar fast,  
Think not, mine heart, it was because he could  
Not stand alone, or that left loose he would  
Have shrunk away at last.  
Such weakne●… suits not with Omnipotence,  
Nor could man's malice match his patience.   

2.  
But, if so done, 't was done to tutor thee,  
Whose frailty, and impatience he doth see  
Such, that thou hast nor strength,  
Nor will, as of thyself, to undergo  
The least degree of duty, or of woe,  
But wouldst be sure at length  
To flinch, or faint, or not to stand at all,  
Or in the end more fearfully to fall.   

3.  
Thy very frame, and figure, broad above,  
Narrow beneath, apparently doth prove  
Thou canst not stand alone,  
Without a prop to bolster, and to stay thee.  
To trust to thine own strength would soon betray thee.  
Alas, thou now art grown  
So weak, and feeble, wavering, and unstaid,  
Thou shrink'st at the least weight that's on thee laid.   

4.  
The ea●…est commandments thou declinest,  
And at the lightest punishments thou whinest:  
Thy restless motions are  
Innumerable, like the troubled sea  
Whose waves are tossed, and tumbled every way.  
The Hound-pursued Hare  
●…●… so many doubles, as thou dost,  
Till thy cross courses in themselves are lost.   

5.  
Get thee some stay that may support thee then,  
And stablish thee, lest thou shouldst start again.  
But where may it be found?  
Will pleasant fruits, or flowers serve the turn?  
No, no, my tottering heart will overturn,  
And lay them on the ground.  
Dainties may serve to minister delight,  
But strength is only from the Lord of might.   

6.  
Betake thee to thy Christ then, and repose  
Thyself in all extremities on those  
His everlasting arms,  
Wherewith he girds the heavens, and upholds  
The pillars of the earth, and safely folds  
His faithful flock from harms.  
Cleave close to him by saith, and let the bands  
Of love tie thee in thy redeemer's hands.   

7.  
Come life, come death, come devils, come what will,  
Yet ●… ned so thou shalt stand ●… still:  
And all the powers of hell  
Shall not ●… to shake thee with their shock,  
So long as ●… art founded on that rock:  
No duty shall thee quell,  
No danger shall ●… thy ●… state,  
Nor soule-perplexing ●… thy mind ●…     


Emblem 44.    

The scourging of the Heart.  PROV. 10.13. A rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding. 

Epigr. 44.  
WHen thou withholdest thy scourges, dearest love,  
My sluggish heart is slack, and slow to move.  
Oh let it not stand still, but lash it rather,  
And drive it, though unwilling, to thy Father.   

ODE. 44.  

1.  
What do those scourges on that sacred flesh,  
Spotless and pure?  
Must he, that doth sin-wearied souls refresh,  
Himself endure  
Such tearing tortures? Must those sides be gashed?  
Those shoulders lashed?  
Is this the trimming that the world bestows  
Upon such robes of majesty as those?   

2.  
Is't not enough to die, unless by pain  
Thou antedate  
Thy death before hand, Lord? What dost thou mean  
To aggravate  
The guilt of sin? or to enhance the price  
Thy sacrifice  
Amounts to? Both are infinite I know,  
And can by no additions greater grow.   

3.  
Yet dare I not imagine that in vain  
Thou didst endure  
One stripe: though not thine own thereby, my gain  
Thou didst procure,  
That when I shall be scourged for thy sake,  
Thy stripes may make  
Mine acceptable, that I may not grudge,  
When I remember thou hast borne as much.   

4.  
As much, and more, for me. Come then mine heart,  
And willingly  
Submit thyself to suffer: smile at smart  
And death de●…e.  
Fear not to feel that hand correcting thee,  
Which set thee free.  
Stripes as the tokens of his love he leaves,  
Who scourgeth every son whom he receives.   

5.  
There's foolishness bound up within thee fast:  
But yet the rod  
Of fatherly correction at the last,  
If blessed by God,  
Will drive it far away, and wisdom give,  
That thou Mayst live,  
Not to thyself, but him, that first was slain,  
And died for thee, and then rose again.   

6.  
Thou art not only dull, and slow of pace  
But stnbborne too,  
And refractory, ready to outface,  
Rather than do,  
Thy duty: though thou know'st it must be so,  
Thou wilt not go  
The way thou shouldst, till some affliction  
First set thee right, than prick, and spur thee on.   

7.  
Top-like thy figure, and condition is,  
Neither to stand,  
Nor stir, thyself alone, whilst thou dost ●…  
An helping hand  
To set thee up, and store of stripes bestow  
To make thee go.  
Beg then thy blessed Saviour to transfer  
His scourges unto thee, to make thee stir.     


Emblem 45.    

The hedging of the Heart.  HOS. 2.6. I will hedge up thy way with thorns. 

Epigr. 45.  
HE, that of thorns would gather roses, may  
In his own heart, if handled the right way.  
Hearts hedged with Christ's crown of thorns, in stead  
Of thorny cares, will sweetest roses breed.   

ODE 45.  

1.  
A crown of thorns! I thought so: ten to one,  
A crown without a thorn there's none:  
There's none on earth I mean, what shall I then  
Rejoice to see him crowned by men,  
By whom King's rule, and reign? Or shall I scorn,  
And hate, to see earth's curse, a thorn,  
Prepost'rously preferred to crown those brows,  
From whence all bliss, and glory flows?  
Or shall I both be clad,  
And also sad,  
To think it is a crown, and yet so bad?   

2.  
There's cause enough of both, I must confess:  
Yet, what's that unto me, unless  
I take a course his crown of thorns may be  
Made mine, transferred from him to me?  
Crowns had they been of stars could add no more  
Glory, where there was all before,  
And thorns might scratch him, could not make him worse  
than he was made fin, and a curse.  
Come then, mine heart, take down  
Thy saviour's crown  
Of thorns, and see if thou canst make't thine own.   

3.  
Remember first, thy saviour's head was crowned  
By the same hands that did him wound:  
They meant it not to honour, but to scorn him,  
When in such sort they did bethorne him.  
Think earthly honours such, if they redound  
Not to his glory, th' are not sound.  
Never believe they mind to dignify  
Thee, that thy Christ would crucify.  
Think every crown a thorn,  
Unless 't adorn  
Thy Christ, as well as him, by whom 't is worn.   

4.  
Consider then that, as the thorny crown  
Circled thy saviour's head, thine own  
Continual care to please him, and provide  
For the advantage of his side,  
Must fence thine actions, and affections so,  
That they shall neither dare to go  
Out of that compass, nor vouchsafe access  
To what might make that care goe ●….  
Let no such thing draw nigh,  
Which shall not spy  
Thorns ready placed to ●…ick it till it die.   

5.  
Thus, compassed with thy saviour's thorny crown,  
Thou mayst securely sit thee down,  
And hope that he, who made of water wine,  
Will turn each thorn unto a Vine,  
Were thou ●… gather grapes, and to delight thee  
Roses: nor need the prickles fright thee.  
Thy saviour's sacred temples took away  
The curse, that in their ●… lay.  
So thou mayst crowned be,  
As well as he,  
And at the last light in his light shalt see.     


Emblem 46.    

The fastening of the Heart.  JER. 32.40. I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 

Epigr. 46.  
THou, thath wast nailed to the cross for me,  
Lest I should slip, and fall away from thee,  
Drive home thine holy fear into mine heart,  
And clench it so, that it may ne'er depart.   

ODE. 46.  

1.  
What? dost thou struggle to get loose again?  
Hast thou so soon forgot the former pain,  
That thy licentious bondage unto sin,  
And lust enlarged thraldom, put thee in?  
Hast thou a mind again to rove, and ramble  
Rogue-like a vagrant through the world, and scramble  
For scraps, and crusts of earth bred base delights,  
And change thy days of joy for tedious nights  
Of sad repentant sorrow?  
What? wilt thou borrow  
That grief to day, which thou must pay to morrow?   

2.  
No, self-deceiving heart, lest thou shouldst cast  
Thy cords away, and burst the bands at last  
Of thy redeemer's tender love, I'll try  
What further fastness in his fear doth lie.  
The cords of love soaked in lust may rot,  
And bands of bounty are too oft forgot:  
But holy filial fear, like to a nail  
Fastned in a sure place, will never fail.  
This driven home will take  
Fast hold, and make  
Thee that thou darest not thy God forsake.   

3.  
Remember how, besides thy saviour's bands,  
Wherewith they led him bound, his holy hands,  
And feet, were pierced, how they nailed him fast  
Unto his bitter ●…, and how at last  
His precious side was gored with a spear.  
So hard sharp-pointed ●…, and steel did tear  
His tender flesh, that from those wounds might flow  
The sovereign salve for sin-procured woe.  
Then that thou mayst not sail  
Of that avail,  
Refuse not to be fastened with his nail.   

4.  
Love in an heart of flesh is apt to taint,  
Or be fly-blown with folly: and its saint  
And feeble spirits, when it shows most fair,  
Are often fed on by the empty air  
Of popular applause, unless the salt  
Of holy fear in time prevent the fault:  
But seasoned so it will be kept for ever.  
He, that doth fear because he loves, will never  
Adventure to offend,  
But always ●…end  
His best endeavours to content his friend.   

5.  
Though perfect love cast out all servile fear,  
Because such fear hath torment: yet thy dear  
Redeemer meant not so to set thee free,  
That filial fear, and thou should strangers be.  
Though, as a son, thou honour him thy father,  
Yet, as a master, thou Mayst fear him rather.  
fear's the soul's sentinel, and keeps the heart,  
Wherein love lodges so, that all the art,  
And industry, of those,  
That are its foes,  
Cannot betray it to its former woes.     


Emblem 47.    

The new wine of the Heart.  PSA●…. 104.115. Wine that maketh glad the heart of man. 

Epigr. 47.  
CHrist the true Vine, grape, cluster, on the cross  
Trod the winepress alone, unto the loss  
Of blood, & life. Draw, thankful heart, and spare not:  
Here's wine enough for all, save those that care not.   

ODE. 47.  

1.  
Leave not thy Saviour now, what e'er thou dost,  
Doubtful distrustful heart,  
Thy former pains, and labours, all are lost,  
If now thou shalt depart,  
And faithlessly fall off at last from him,  
Who to redeem thee spared nor life nor limb.   

2.  
Shall he, that is thy Cluster, and thy Vine,  
Tread the winepress alone,  
Whilst thou stand'st looking on? Shall both the wine,  
And work be all his own?  
See how he bends, crushed with the straightened Screw  
Of that fierce wrath, that to thy sins was due.   

3.  
Although thou canst not help to bear it, yet  
Thrust thyself under too,  
That thou mayst feel some of the weight, and get  
Although not strength to do,  
Yet will to suffer something as he doth,  
That the same stress at once may squeeze you both.   

4.  
Thy Saviour being pressed to death, there ran  
Out of his sacred wounds  
That wine, that maketh glad the heart of man,  
And all his foes confounds.  
Yea, the full-flowing fountain s open still  
For all grace-thirsting hearts to drink their fill.   

5.  
And not to drink alone, to satiate  
Their longing appetites,  
Or drown those cumbrous cares, that would abate  
The edge of their delights,  
But, when they toil, and foil themselves, with sin,  
Both to refresh, to purge, and cleanse them in.   

6.  
Thy Saviour hath begun this Cup to thee,  
And thou must not refuse't.  
Press then thy sin-swoll'n sides, until they be  
Empty, and fit to use't.  
Do not delay to come, when he doth call,  
Nor fear to want, where there's enough for all.   

7.  
Thy bounteous Redeemer in his blood  
Fills thee not wine alone,  
But likewise gives his flesh to be thy food,  
Which thou ●… make thine own,  
And feed on him, who hath himself revealed  
The bread of Life by God the Father sealed.   

8.  
Nay, he's not food alone, but physic too,  
When ever thou art sick,  
And in thy ●… strength, that thou mayst do  
Thy duty, and not stick  
At any thing, that he requires of thee,  
How hard soever it may seem to be.   

9  
Make all the haste then that thou canst to come,  
Before the day be past,  
And think not of returning to thy home,  
Whilst yet the light doth last.  
The longer, and the more thou drawest this wine,  
Still thou shalt find it more, and more divine.   

10.  
Or if thy Saviour think it meet to throw  
Thee in the press again,  
To suffer as he did: yet do not grow  
Displeased at thy pain:  
A Summer season follows Winter weather,  
Suffering you shall be glorified together.   
REVEL. 22. 17.  
The Spirit, and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is a thirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.    

The conclusion.  

IS this my period? Have I now no more  
To do hereafter? Shall my mind give o'er  
It's ●…●… thus, and idle be,  
Or bussed other wise? Should I not see  
How to improve my thoughts more ●…,  
Before ●… these Heart School ●… by?  
Sea-knowledge is an ●…●…,  
An ●… that doth not only ask  
A ●… time, but challengeth  
To ●… until death.  
Yet as in ●… they have a care  
To call for ●…●…, and are  
●…  
●…  
●…  
●…  
So ●…  
What I have done, ●…  
Perhaps I may ●…  
To alter, or to ●…  
And I may ●…  
With my great ●…  
From taking our ●…  
How I retain ●… old ●…  
And if it be his pleasure, I shall say  
These ●… before others, that they may,  
Or learn them too, or only censure me;  
I'll wait with patience the success to see.  
And though I look not to have leave to play,  
For that this School allows not, yet I may  
Another time perhaps, if they approve  
Of these, such as they are, and show their love  
To the School of the Heart, by calling for't,  
Add other lessons more of the like sort.    

The Learning of the Heart.  
The Preface.  

I Am a Scholar. The great Lord of Love  
And life, my Tutor is: Who from above  
All that lack Learning, to his School invites,  
My Hearts my Prayer-book, in which he writes,  
Systems of all the Arts and Faculties:  
First reads to me, than makes me exercise,  
But all in paradoxes, such high strains,  
As flow from none but love Inspired Brains;  
Yet bids me publish them abroad and dare  
T' excel his Arts above all other Arts that are.  
Why should I not? methinks it cannot be,  
But they should please others as well as me.  
Come then joined hands, and let our heart's embrace,  
Whilst thus loves Labyrinth of Arts we ●…;  
I mean the Sidem's called ●…:  
Both ●…, and ●….  
With the higher ●…, ●…;  
And Law, and ●…    

The Grammar of the Heart.  
PSAL. 15. 2.  
That speaketh the Truth in his Heart.  

MY Grammar, I define to he an Art,  
Which teacheth me to write and speak mine heart,  
By which I learn that smooth tongued flatteries are  
False Language, and in love irregular.  
Amongst my Letters, Vow-wells I admit,  
Of none but Consonant to sacred ●….  
And therefore when my Soul in silence moans,  
Half voweled sighs, and double deep thonged groans,  
Mute looks, and liquid tears in stead of words,  
Are of the language that mine heart affords.  
And since true love abhors all variations,  
My Grammar hath no moads nor conjugations:  
Tenses, nor Persons, nor Declensions,  
Cases, nor genders, nor comparisons:  
What are my Letters are, my Words but one,  
And on the meaning of it love alone.  
Concard is all my Syntax and agreement:  
Is in my Grammar perfect regiment.  
He wants no Language that hath learned to love,  
When tongues are still, hearts will be heard above.    

The rhetoric of the Heart.  
PSAL. 45. 1.  
My Heart is inaiting a good matter.  

MY rhetoric is not so much an Art,  
As an infused habit in mine Heart,  
Which a sweet secret Elegance Instills,  
And all my Speech with Tropes and Figures fills.  
Love is the tongues Elixir, which doth change  
The ordinary sense of words, and range  
Them under other kinds, dispose them so  
That to the height of eloquence they grow,  
E'un in their native plainness, and must be  
So understood as liketh love and me.  
When I say Christ, I mean my Saviour;  
When his commandment my behaviour;  
For to that end it was he ●…●…,  
And to this purpose 'tis I bear his Name.  
When I say hallowed be thy name, he knows  
I would be holy: for his glory grows  
Together with my good, and he hath not  
Given more honour than himself hath got  
So when I say, Lord let thy Kingdom come,  
He understands it, I would be at home;  
To reign with him in glory. So grace brings  
My love in me to be the ●… of Kings  
He teacheth me to say. Thy will be done,  
But meaneth he would ●… me do mine own;  
By making ●… to ●…  
And so to rule myself and serve him both.  
So when he saith, My Son give me thine heart:  
I know his meaning is, that I should part  
With all I have for him, give him myself,  
And to be rich in him from worldly pelf.  
When he says come to me, I know that he  
Means I should wait his coming unto me,  
Since 'tis his coming unto me that makes  
Me come to him, my part he undertakes.  
And when he says, Behold I come, I know  
His purpose and intent is I should go  
With all the speed I can, to meet him whence  
His coming is attract ve, draws me hence.  
Thick folded Repititions in Love,  
Are no ●…, but strongly move  
And bind ●… Attention. Exclamations,  
Are the heart's heaven ●… Exaltions.  
Epiphonemaes and Apostrophes,  
Love likes of well, but no Prosopopes.  
Not doubtful but careful deliberations,  
Love holds as grounds of strongest Resolutions.  
Thus love and I a thousand ways can find,  
To speak and understand each others' mind,  
And descant upon that which unto others,  
Is but plain Song, and all their music smothers  
●… that which worldly wit worms call nonsense,  
Is many times loves purest Eloquence.    

The logic of the Heart.  
1 Pet. 3. 15.  
Be ready always to give an Answer to every man that asketh you a Reason of the Hope that is in you.  

MY logic is the faculty of Faith,  
Where all things are resolved ●… be saith;  
And Ergoes drawn from trust and ●…  
Twist and tie Truths with stronger ●…  
Then either sense or reason: for the heart  
And not the head is fountain of this Art.  
And what the heart objects none can ●…,  
But God himself, till death the frame ●…,  
Nay Faith can after death ●… with dust,  
And argue ashes into stronger trust.  
And better hopes than Brass and ●… can  
Be emblems, of unto the outward man.  
All my invention is to find what terms  
My Lord and I stand in: how he confirms  
His ●… to me, how I inherit  
What he hath purchased for me by his merit.  
My judgement is submission to his will.  
And when he once hath spoken to be still.  
My Method's to be ●… by him  
What he ●…, that I think most trim.  
love's Arguments, are all will, thou must,  
What he says and commands are true and ●….  
When to dispute and argue's ●… of ●…,  
Then to ●… and to ●… is ●….   
FINIS.