University of Virginia Library

B

1. On Babel.

While the presumpt'ous world, swoln big with pride
Strove to enhance their names, and fondly try'd
To build a Tower, whose ambitions spire
Might kiss the Skies; Jehova in his ire
Dismounts his awful Throne, doth quickly quell
Their rash attempts to teach them to rebell tongues;
Against his Sov'raign power, confounds their
(Before but one) and they'r assembled throngs
He cleerly routs; enforcing them to run
Abroad the world, so leave their work undon:
Thus did the means they use, as safe and sure
T'avoid dispertion, the same procure:
Thus God will bring to naught their counsels still,
Who act contrary to his mind and will:
Great God! when my unlimited desires
Prompt me to ill, quench quench those raging fires,
O let the ill success of Babels Tower,
Tame my proud heart, & bring it one peg lower,
And if I must needs lofty Structures raise,
Grant I may seek thy glory, not mens praise.

2. On a Baby.

Natures Epitome, lifes dawn; a thrumb
Of man, forsakes the chamber of the womb,
To hang upon the brest, and loves to be
Sung to, and dandled on the mothers knee:
Nothing will sooner still its tear-throat cries
Then crackling rattles, and fond lullabies.
Man at the best is easily beguil'd
With flattering pleasures like the whimpering child,
Alas! how flux! how fading are the joys
Which are engendred, by vain trifling toys.
The world presents us with; Soul to thy rest
Return, King

Ps. 116. 17.

David's lullaby is best.

3. On Back-biting.

A good name upon earth is no small bliss,
No chain of Pearl doth so adorn as this;
To whom and what you speak of men be wary;
Sland'rers are Devils

The Greek word for Devil, signifies slanderer, 1 Tim. 3. 11. μη διαβολουε, not slanderers, in the Greek it is not Devils.

; O be exceeding chary
And very tender of a mans good name,
He acts the Devils part, that doth defame:
The wounds inflicted by a sland'rous tongue
Can no Physitian heal; yet will the wrong
That's done t'another many times rebound
Upon the shooters soul, he that doth wound
The reputation of his neighbour shall
Find in the end himself, hurt worst of all:
Such bury men alive (oh cruelty!)
Tis an irrepariable injurie;
Let us from calumny, as from the Devil flee.

4. On Back-sliding.

Ioash was good, while his good Unckle reign'd,
But when he dy'd, O how was Joash staind
With foul Idolatry; he did interr
Religion in his Unckle's Sepulcher.
We live in the Leass fall; how many tast
Of Heav'nly gifts, yet slink away at last,
A double Lamp, the word and spirit may
Enlighten men, who after fall away
Wholy and finally; Lord! work in me
A thorough-work of grace, let me not be
An Alch'my Christ'an, make me sound in heart,
And let not me from thy Statutes depart:
That which doth in Hypocrisie begin,
Ends in Apostacy, that hellish sin:
Lord! make me persevere, the race to run,
And perfect in me what thou hast begun;
That so, I may not, when I am almost
At hav'n be Ship-wrack'd, and for ever lost.

5. On a Bag of Money.

6. On a Ball.

The worlds a Ball, made up of quarters four,

Asia, Africa, Europe, America.

And with the spangled Heavn bequilted ore;
Pleasure, Honor, and Riches are its all,
Which though the earth stands still, still rise and fall;
Square dealings can scarce any where be found,
The reason is, because the world is round.

7. On a Ballance.

Theudas would to himself some-body seem,
So we do of our selves too well esteem;
Laid in the ballance of the Sanctuary,
Alas! we are too light, no weight we carry.

8. On Balm.

9. On Bands.

10. On Banishment.

Man for his fin from Paradise was sent
Into the world, his life's a banishment;
When the just soul is from the body freed,
O that's a blessed banishment indeed!

11. On a Banner.

Christ brings t'his Wine-cellar his Spouse, his Dove,
The Banner he spreads over her, is Love.

12. On a Banckrupt.

Plaut.

13. On a Banquet.

The King of Heav'n, his son, and spirit too,
Invite t'a banquet, but how few do go:
Let Nabal or Belshazar turn feast-maker,
Lord! what a multitude will be partaker,
But let such know, whose souls do feast on evils,
They are in the mean while a feast for Devils.

14. On Baptism.

We to the heav'nly Can'an cannot pass,
Unless we first wade through the sea of glass;
Regeneration's Lavour, is that sea,
Wherein we all must wash, and cleansed be:
A man God's Kingdom never can inherit,
That is not born of Water and the Spirit:
There's no approaching to Gods gracious throne
Unwash'd; the glassie sea must be sail'd on.
God's word's our compass, but the spirit driven
The Pinnace of our souls, arrives at Heaven:
In Baptism, we our selves engaged have
To Christ, took our press-money; there, we gave
Our names up to the Captain General
Of our Salvation, to obey his call:
There did we vow, and solemnly protest,
Still to be true to his sweet interest;
To fight it out under his Royal banner,
Till death, and that in a couragious manner.
Now if when call'd to suffer for his name.
We should flinch back, O were it not a shame?
Nay, Christ against us may our Baptism bring
As an Indictment for this very thing:
How shall we look on Christ another day,
Who from our colours falsly fall away?
O where alights, the curse, flying roul,
But in the dwelling of the perjur'd soul,

Zac. 5. 4.

15. On a Barber.

The Barber shaves the hair, and clips the face.
Nature deforms us, we are trimm'd by grace.

16. On Barrenness.

Ah me! how naked are we! O how bare?
Till with Christs right'ous robes we clothed are.

17. On a Bargain.

Who contracts with the Devil, & fells himself
To him for worldly pleasures, honors, pelf
That bargain yields bare gain, nay him undoes,
For light chaff, he his precious soul forgoes.

18. On a Barge, or Bark.

The world's a sea, we Barks by spirit-gales driven
We sail, O whither are we bound? to Heaven.

19. On Barking.

Ba'ls Priests are blind, they wander in the dark
Dumb dogs they are, & cannot therefore bark
But if they should; Saints live above their spite,
Dogs bark against the Moon, they cannot bite.

20. On Barley.

Christ above four thousand fed,
(Not with various dishes)
With seven loaves of barley-bread,
And a few small fishes:
Strange! seven baskets were repleat,
With the Offall, broken meat.

21. On a Barn.

The Sts. are wheat, the best, the noblest grain,
Heav'n is the barn wherein this wheat is lain.

22. On a Bar.

Christ is a Judge, before him at the Bar,
The trembling sinner one day must appear.

23. On a Barrel.

The woman of Sarepta could not fare ill,
Whose meals was still encreased in her Barrel:
Lord! when my stock of grace is well nigh spent,
Give more, and I therewith will be content.

24. On Barrenness.

To bear no fruit, was ever held a shame,
Nay a curse too, O how are we to blame?
On whom the largest showres of Gods word fall,
That yet are barren, bear no fruit at all.

25. On a Barretter.

The Barretter, who studies brawling Laws,
Will set his tongue to sale in any Cause;
Raw wounds he loves, and references hates,
In tricks and querks, and quarrelsom debates
He onely trades; his answers are evasions,
His arguments are snarling cavillations:
The work he brews in the Vacation long,
He in the Term-time broacheth with his tongue;
This greedy Horse-leech loves to suck and draw
The putrid bloud of the corrupted Law;
But of this wrangler soft, I must be mute,
For fear against me he commence a suit.
No more but this, such as delight in jarrs
Should God destroy, wo be to Barreters.

26. On a Basis.

The King's the Basis, people to sustain,
The Kings prop is the Lord, by whom King
Nay, if the Lord, who ruleth over all,
Did not uphold the world, the world would fall reign:

27. On Bashfulness.

Blushing is vertues tincture, comely grace
Is oft pourtrayed by the bashful face:
T'have cheeks distain'd with a vermiliion dy
For sin, oh this is pious modestie.

28. On a Basilisk.

Sin is a Basilisk, its poisnous breath,
Is mortal, 'tis the Harbinger of death:
Let's first discover it, and make it flie.
Lest it should us pursue, and so we die,

29. On a Basket.

Blessed shall be thy Basket and thy store,
If Gods Law thou obey, and him adore;
But curst thy basket, and thy store shall be,
Who wilt not do as God commandeth thee.

30. On a Bason.

When his disciples feet our Saviour scour'd,
Water into a Bason first he pour'd:
We are by nature Base ones, Lord pour in
Thy grace, & from our souls feet

The Affections are the feet of our souls.

wash off sin.

31. On a Bastard.

This luckless issue, Heavens image coin'd
With a forbidden stamp, but few do mind;
And yet who is there, that delights not in
That ugly monster, Satans bastard sin?
Considred in his natural estate,
Ev'ry man is an illegitimate:
The unbelieving wretch, is one base-born,
God looks upon him with contempt and scorn:
He is a person vile, one of earths breed,
A Brat engendred of the Serpents seed:
Be sure, God will not father him therefore,
But lay such Bastards at the Devils door.
By faith it is, that God takes cognizance
Of us for sons: 'tis faith doth us advance.
By faith we are Gods children through Christ's merit,
Faith gives us right and title to inherit.
Til faith be wrought, we have no right to heav'n,
Onely to lawful heirs that Land is given.
Tis faith that doth legitimate, until
Thou do believe, thou art a Bastard still.
Boast not thy Pedigree, the devil can show
As full as good a Coat of Arms as thou.

32. On a Bath.

33. On a Battel.

Away, fond fool, wilt thou prepare t'embatter
With the great God, whose thundring judgments rattle
About thine ears, when all the world records
With one consent, the Battel is the Lords.
Alas! alas! it is in vain to strive
Against that God, whose wisdom can contrive,
And power effect, thy certain overthrow,
And hurl thee head-long into hellish woe.

34. On a Bay-tree.

The wicked, spreading like a Bay-tree green,
Dies in a trice, and can no more be seen:
But mark the upright man, for that man's end
Is peace, flourishing blessings him attend.

35. On a Beacon.

We fire our Beacons when an en'mie's near,
When sin invades us, how secure we are!
The Beacon of mine heart, O Lord! enflame
With grace, and Satan shall retreat with shame.

36. On a Beagle.

The quick-nos'd Beagle, follows hard the chase,
How slow are we in the pursuit of grace!

37. On a Beam.

A beam is in our eye, we mind it not,
But in our brother's can discern a more;
To find out others failings, we are prone,
But O 'twere well, did we amend our own.

38. On Beans.

To him that brings his mind unto his means,
O how delicious is a mess of Beans!
He that hath in the bread of life a share,
Can be contented with the meanest fare.

39. On a Beard.

Methinks that hairy argument of Age,
To sober actions should men engage;
Its man prerogative: O what a grace
Where vertue ruleth, is a well-thatch'd face!

40. On a Bear.

I see an ill-shap'd Bear, and I begin
To think, am I not more deform'd by sin?
Lord, I by nature am austere and rough,
But ah! thy grace can make me smooth enough.

41. On Beasts.

The Forrest Burgesses by nature wild,
Rav'nous & fierce, Gods power makes more mild
Gentle, and merciful to man, than men;
Dan'el was safe when in the Lyons Den.
In Dioclesians Reign, the Christians thrown
To Leopards, Wolves, and Bears, were let alone.

42. On Beauty.

Beauty! what is it but a Vernal Flow'r,
Now fresh, alas! and wither'd in an hour
Grace is the best complexion of the Soul,
Compar'd to that, all other beauty's foul;
It is ev'n at the first Plantation,
Like Rachel, very fair to look upon.
But still the more it lives, the more it sends
Its rays of beauty forth; that which commends
Christs lovely Spouse, is Soul-adorning grace,
Not the external features of the Face.
All glorious the Kings Daughter is within,
She is fair, though she have a Black-Moors skin.
Christs sparkling Robes of Right'ousness adorn
The soul, these never can be thred-bare worn.
Grace is the Holy Ghosts Embroidery;
This roseate Beauty onely in Gods eye
Sets off a Soul; such as in heart are pure
He loves, but spir't'ual Lepers cann't endure.
Unto his lesser Heav'n God doth repair,
The Dove delighteth in the purest air.
The Spir't, who in the likeness of a Dove
Descended, fair-complexion'd souls doth love.
This is Gods rest, here he for ever dwells,
This beauty never fades, O this excells!
It is the fairest heart, not fairest face
Christ loves; the glory of a man is grace.
Christ Bride she wears no Necklace on her neck
The Graces are a Chain of Pearl that deck
Her Lilly Soul; Grace is a precious thing
To th'Soul, as is the Diamond to the Ring,
The Sun to th'world; an heav'n enamel'd mind
Is such a Beauty as is hard to find.
Grace is a Flower of Delight, which Christ
Loves to smel to; Grace makes us like the Highst:
O what is there that may with Grace compare!
There's nothing here below so rich, so rare.
But O the Jewels which on Christ were hung,
Cannot be blazon'd by a mortal tongue.
Deformities immediately flow
From sin, but blessed he, no sin did know.
By th'Spirit conceiv'd, that is the reason then
Why he was fairer than the sons of men.
Mirror of Beauty in his looks divine,
O what a graceful Majesty doth thine!
Christ is described with an head of Gold,
Ey-dazling gold, & his Doves eves behold Cant; 11
His Spouse, his cheecks are as a bed of spices,
His loveliness the Virgin-heart entices.
What may be said, falls infinitely short
Of his resplendent worth; who can report
His rare unparagon'd perfections? man
Can never do it, for no Angel can.
In's person, disposition, suff'rings, graces,
And conversation all men he surpasses.
To God, to Saints, and to the Angel-quire,
He's very lovely; what should we admire
But his perfections? there is not a spot
In him, his Beauty's seamless as his Coat.
Beauty draws love; his beauty Christ imparts,
O wear this Rose of Sharon in your hearts.
Sinners, get Christ, in gaining him you get
The richest Jewel in Heav'ns Cabinet.

43. On a Bed.

My body's earthly clothes which now I have,
I shortly shall put off, and in the grave,
My last bed, rest; but raised I shall be,
And with these very eyes my Savior see.

44. On Bees.

45. On a Beggar.

Oh! in my bones such a disease doth lurk,
A knavish beggar cry'd, I cannot work:
And afterwards confest it was the Lazies;
We work not for our souls, such our disease is.
Lord, we deserve thy whip, need no curb Bridles,
Who are by nature troubled with the idles.
Beggars we are, whose hourly wants implore
Each Meals relief; we beg at Heavens door,
Give us this day our daily bread; we crave,
God gives it us, we can but ask and have.
Who live upon Gods alms, must not refuse
His reffuse; beggars must not pick and chuse.
That news of Beadles, and their tort'ring whips
Is not the language of Gods angry lips,
Is a rich mercy: Beggars should be humble,
Thou art a Beggar, ah! why dost thou grumble
And murmure at thy God! wilt thou repine
That art sustain'd by Providence Divine?
If the Alms-basket of Gods Providence
We slight, how justly may he say, go hence:
Go hence, proud beggars, with your cursed state
And come no more for Alms at Heaven-gate.
I am a Beggar, Lord, let me partake
Of grace and glory, for Christ Jesus sake.

46. On Beginnings.

Sin its first rise, as ev'l must be withstood,
Grace its first rise, embrac'd as being good.
Where is no grace to crush sin in the shell,
Sin grows, and it will hurry men to hell.
Perpetuated woes are Vices dregs,
Lets crush betimes these Cockatrices Eggs.

47. On Being with Christ.

To be with Christ in Glory, doth include
A Priviledge of the first Magnitude;
Saint Paul long'd to d'epart, that he might rest
On that soft pillow, his dear Saviors brest,
As the belov'd Disciple John, once did,
While in the flesh, our life of grace is hid
Under Corruptions veil, until we be
With Christ, our grace is in its infancie.
O when we sit with Christ, and wear crown,
Our graces shall be fully ripe, and blown,
Which here are in the buds; here we inherit
The first-fruits, there the full crop of the Spirit.
Death is sweet to the Saints, to heav'n they come
By crossing of this Mare-Martinium:
Here we behold Christ darkly, through a glass;
There shall his veil be taken off his face,
And he in his Embroidery appear;
Heav'n were not Heav'n, if Christ were not there.
Christ with his graces, here his Spouse doth honor
In heav'n, his glory he will put upon her.
She shall shine by his beams, sit next his throne,
By vertue of her Marri'ge Union.
Here she's in sable for her absent Love;
But Christ in heav'n her mourning will remove,
And clothe her in white robes; Christ he prepares
An Handkerchief to dry up all her Tears.
O there the heart, and all the senses shall
Be fill'd with joy at once, none thence can fall.
In heav'n we ever with the Lord shall rest,
The Saint, when there, hath his Quietus est.

48. On Believing in Christ.

And shall the Saints for ever be possest
Of heav'nly thrones? with Christ in glory rest!
Oh then, lets try our selves whether or no
We are such persons, as to Christ shall go
At deaths arrest? from hence we must be gone
But shall we go to Christ? this may be known
As thus; if here the life of grace we live
In Christ, Christ us will when we die, receive:
How blest is union! union is the ground
Of priviledge; in Christ we must be found
Clad in his robes of Holiness, before we
Can be with Christ dress'd in his robes of glory
O labour to get faith; faith is the grace
Unites to Christ; faith moves Christ to embrace
Us in his loving arms; by faith alone
Christ as an husband, as a Lord we own.
Faith gives the interest, tis faith doth bring
Christ home unto the soul; Christ is the ring,
Faith's finger puts it on; faith opens wide
The orifice, in her sweet Saviors side,
And drinks his blood; faith justifies, make clear
O get faith, of all graces Faith is Queen:
Faith paves a Cawsie to a heav'nly throne,
Believers die Heirs to the glorious crown:
O Lord enrich me with that saving grace,
That I amongst thy Saints may have a place.

49. On a Bell.

The Gospel is a Silver-warning Bell,
To ring men in to Christ, and yet to Hell
How many go? its sound we cannot hear,
Unless God, Spirit ring it in our ear.

50. On Bellows.

My zeal is but a spark; Lord! I desire
Thy Spirits Bellows to blow up my fire,
That I may to the glory of thy Name
Ascend still to thee, in an holy flame.

51. On the Belly.

The Belly's Natures Kitchin, is't not odd
A House of Office, should become a God?
Many do serve their Bellies, oh how few
Yield God that honor which to him is due!

52. On Beloved.

God hath made us, whom sin had once undon,
Beloved, in his Well-beloved Son.

53. On a Belt.

Falshood surcingle most; how few are there
About their loins, Truths golden girdle wear!
That man must needs be strenuous and stout,
That with the Belt of Truth is girt about.

54. On a Bench.

The worlds a Bench, whereon a while we stay,
Till we to Heav'nly thrones are call'd away.

55. On a Benefice.

Men now adays fat Benefices get,
And straightway lay aside the Preachers net.
So I win souls to God, I do not care
How small my Profits, and my In-comes are.

56. On Benefits.

As benefits bestow'd, bind the receiver;
So hearty thanks return'd, oblige the giver,
Christ cleans'd the Leper, and we read but one
Often, that gave God thanks for what was done.

57. On the Best.

58. On a Beetle.

How beetle-blind are we ! how void of sight,
Ev'n in the midst of glorious-Gospel light.

59. On Betraying.

Judas his Master with a Kiss betrays,
How many Judasses are now adays!

60. On Betrothing.

O let's admire Christ's love in us betrothing,
Ev'n while we were the objects of his lothing.

61. On a Bever-beast.

Men for the skin pursue the Beaver-beast,
Satan from hunting souls, doth never rest.

62. On Bewitching.

The world's a witch, with honour, pleasures, riches,
The spells she casts, she multitudes bewitches.

63. On the Bible.

The sacred Testament both new and old,
Are the two Lips, by which God doth unfold
For our souls health, the counsels of his brest;
And therefore of all books, the Bible's best.

64. On Bigamy.

Christ's constant to his Spouse, the Church our Mother,
Nor will he ever marry any other.

65. On a Bile.

Sin is an angery bile, which few do feel,
And nothing but the bloud of Christ can heal.

66. On a Bill.

The bill chops wood, cuts off excresences,
So must repentance our iniquities.

67. On a Bill.

Satan against the Saints, prefers his bill,
But Christ the right'ous Judge acquit them will.

68. On Birds.

The feather'd people of the air agree
To carol forth Gods praise, and shall not we?

69. On the New-Birth.

Twice born! how can this be? by flesh & blood
This mystery cannot be understood:
By faith it may, without Regeneration,
Of water and the Spir't, there's no Salvation.

70. On a Bishop.

The Scripture sayes, a Bishop must be blamless,
Chaste, sober, holy, (not profane, & shameless)
Not close, but free; to godly men propitious,
Apt for to teach, (not piteful and malicious.
Such men were Titus, Timothy, and Paul,
And our late Jewels, Davenant, Usher, Hall.
Such are, (and O may they be long enjoy'd)
Laborious Reynolds, charitable Floyd:
To mild Nicholson, some wish the turn'd-out tribe
That can (they say) to Gods command subscribe:
Might be unchain'd, have freedom to dispense
The Gospel, though they miss'd preheminence,
Love best perswades, the learned have exprest,
And wise men find, the Golden mean is best.

71. On a Bit, or Morsel.

'Tis by free grace, we are sustain'd and fed,
Alas! we ne're deserv'd one bit of bread.

72. On Bitterness.

Sin makes fair promises, but nothing less
Performs, it always ends in bitterness.

73. On a Bit, or Snaffie.

Lord! when my tongue would gallop into sin,
Thy Presence is the bit must keep it in.

74. On a Blab, or Long-tongue.

'Twas Davids pray'r; Lord, set a watch before
My mouth, & of my lips keep thou the door,
He that gives too much freedom to his tongue,
Offends his God, and doth his neighbour wrong.

75. On Blackness.

There's none, but is originally soil'd
With inbre'd filth, and actually spoil'd,
We are born Moors, and by continual sin,
This swarthiness hath much increased been:
We have no virtual nitre of our own
To whiten us, the bloud of Gods dear son
Can only cleanse, and purifie the soul
And make us fair, who are by nature soul.

76. On a Bladder.

Pride puffeth up the heart, but death's design'd
To prick this bladder, and let out the wind.

77. On Blame.

For crucifying Christ their Lord, we blame
The Jewes, yet daily do the very same;
Our sins are ranckling thorns, the nails, the spear
That fear our Lord, and we shed not a tear.

78. On Blasphemy.

Blasphemy is a bullet, that rebounds
From God at whom 'tis shot, & the blaspheme wounds.

79. On Blessedness.

80. On blessings.

All blessings are from God, his golden bouls
Of mercies still refresh our bodies, souls;
His blessings ever over-flow the banks
Of our desires, and shall we ebb in thanks?
God will, if we be thankful for the store
Of blessings he allows, allow us more.

81. On Blindness.

82. On Blockishness.

Before the fall our understandings light
Was clear, but since how darkned is our sight
How blockish are we! how unapt to learn
The things; that do immediately concern
Our everlasting peace! O Lord restore
To us thine Image, by us lost before:
Be pleas'd to open our sin-sealed eyes
That we may know thee, and thy goodness prize.

83. On a Blossom.

Grace is the bud that sprouts on Par'dise tree
The blossome is glorious Eternitie:
Unless we bud in grace, we shall not bloom
In glory, none but Saints in Heaven find room.

84. On Bloud.

85. On Blowes.

We did commit the fault, but justice dealt
The blows to Christ; the dol'rous stripes he felt,
That so we might be heal'd, to him was carv'd
The punishment, that sinful we deserv'd.

86. On Boasting.

Tell me fond man, whereof hast thou to boast,
Whose days are ev'l at best, but few at most;
Earths best delights are checked-with'r with sorrow,
And dost thou brag of what shall be to morrow!
But if thou must be proud, make this thy Pride,
To know Christ Jesus, and him Crucifi'd.

87. On the Body.

How brittle is this fleshy Cabbinet,
Wherein the richest Diamond is set!
But time will come, when this vile mortal case,
Shall glorious Immortality imbrace.
The body is, while here infirm and weak
Our earthen ware, a little thing will break
Trajan's ashes after his death, to Rome
Were brought, and honor'd: at the day of doom
So shall the precious ashes of the Just,
Be much esteem'd, and shine as Silver dust.
Christ risen is, and he's the bodies head,
Therefore the body shall not still lie dead:
Saints bodies rais'd from out their slumbring grave
Neither diseases, nor defects shall have;
The body here's a clog, a lumpish thing,
In heaven it shall have a nimble wing.
Here muddy, vile, passive, and transitory,
In heav'n transparent, beautifi'd with glory
Impassible, grown to a perfect stature,
Free from the wants, and woes, & wrongs of nature
Immortal Heaven is an healthful Air,
There is no sadness, nor no dying there.
When the Saints soul shall with the body meet,
How blest will be their greeting! O how sweet!

88. On a Body of Death.

Sin is a body, for it weighs us down,
In prayer it hinders our Ascension;
We with corruption over-power'd shall be,
Till death pull off these weights and set us free.
Sin is deaths body, it is Carrion smell
Annoys the gracious soul, which loaths t'dwell
In Meseck, and sojourn in the Tents
Of Kedar, whence arise unsav'ry scents
O wo is me, that I am forc'd to stay
With sin! how long the pious soul doth say,
Shall I be vex'd with inmates, O my God,
With thee I long to settle mine abode.

89. On Boldness.

God holds his scepter forth, & ev'ry one
May come with boldness to his gracious throne
The child with confidence makes known his wants
To his dear father, and his father grants
What he desires, and shall not God much rather,
Who has the disposition of a father
As well as the relation, supply
His Childrens wants, when they unto him cry.
How should we to this tender father run
In all conditions, when by sin undone;
O say to God, Father, my heart, my heart,
O quicken, soften it; does Satan dart
Temptations at us? God relieves his Saints,
Who in his bosom pour forth their complaints.

90. On a Bolt.

A fools bolt is soon shot, the Proverb says.
Scripture Fools, wicked men: ah now adays
Do make a Bolt of their licentious tongue,
To blaspheme God, & do their neighbor wrong.

91. On a Bond.

Christ dy'd the Saints may well be over-joy'd.
For now Wraths bond and obligation's void.

92. On Bondage.

Embondaged for ever we had been,
But that our blessed Savior stood between
God and our souls, redeem'd us with his blood.
Which streamed from him like a crimson flood.
Sin, death, & hell, Christ by his death trod under
And snapt those bonds (that held us fast) in sunder

93. On a Bonfire.

The flick'ring flames of sprightly fire,
Unto the highest Arch aspire.
Mount up my soul, to God above,
On winged flames of holy love.

94. On Books.

Experience tells, vain Books, and idle Plays,
And such as Ovids Amatorious Lays,
How well they sell! whilst better Tractates lye
Untouch'd, Religious Books but few will buy.
Sad times! for one that in Gods Bible looks,
There's ten that pore on Cards, the devils books.
All want on books, could some have their desire,
Would be condemn'd to an Ephesian fire;
And though it would the Devil much displease,
Yet might one say, as Alcibiades,
Of the Athenian heaps of burning scrowls,
I ne're saw clearer fire, nor purer coals.

Nunquam vide ignem clariorem.

95. On Borrowing.

Our lives, and what we have, of God we borrow,
Who may recal them in before to morrow:
Let me not grumble, Lord, but be content
To pay what thou demand'st what thou hast lent

96. On Bosoms.

Meek Moses bosom is the Law Divine;
The golden gospel wherein grace doth shine
Christs bosom is, and as in sacred Story
It is recorded, Abraham's his glory.

97. On a Bottle.

When all the liquor in our bottle's spent,
So long as there's a Well, lets be content.

98. On a Bowl.

Wealth, honor, pleasures, to and fro do roul;
Nor is't a wonder, for the Worlds a Bowl.

99. On Bounds.

God who is boundless in himself surrounds,
The raging waters with appointed bounds,
Also the days of man, that then he can
Not pass, alas! our life is but a span.

100. On Bounty.

101. On a Bow.

God like our enemy hath bent his Bow,
And threats a universal overthrow:
To the ungodly world, withal our hearts,
Lets turn to him before he thrills his darts.

101. On a Bower.

The whole world is an heavenly earthly bow'r,
Hev'n is its sieling, and the Earth its floor,
But ah! our Bower, this heav'n, this earth, must pass
Away, as well as we, who are as grass.

103. On a Box.

Mans body is a box till death it split
The Soul, that precious Gem is kept in it.

104. On Boyes.

The world is in our eye like sportive boyes,
We trade for trifles, and are all for toyes.

105. On Bracelets.

Abrahams servant put loves Golden Bands,
A brace of Bracelets on Rebekah's hands;
But O how gloriously will Christ adorn
His spouse! what bracelets shall by her be worn!

106. On a Brand.

God plucked us as brands from out hel fire,
Who neither could deserve, nor yet desire
This at his hands My soul, free-grace admire!

107. On Bran.

How sieve-like is the Memory of man,
'Tis too retentive of the grosser bran;
All sinful trash, and rubbish, but alas:
It lets Gods word, the purer flour, through pass.

108. On Brass.

A man for Eloquent may pass,
But wanting Charity, alas!
He is as tinkling sounding Brass.

109. On Brawling.

For Bawling Curs and salvage Bears,
To fall together by the ears
Is common; 'tis a horrid shame,
For such to brawl that bear Christ's Name.
If we have wrangled heretofore,
Now let's be Friends, and sin no more.

110. On Bread.

Bread is life's staff, and yet we cannot stand
By it, unless God hold it with his hand.
God's blessing is the only stay and prop
Of that staff Bread, without it down we drop.
Our feeder is our food, not on his grounds,
This Shepherd feeds his sheep, but with his wounds
Christ is the living, & life-giving bread,
That soul that feeds on him, shall never need.

111. On the Breast.

With the humble Publican
May I smite upon my breast,
And sigh out this fair request,
Pardon Lord me sinful man.

112. On Breath.

The breath that in our Nostrils is,
Is the Anointed of the Lord;
And what he freely doth afford,
He may recal when ere he please.
Lord when I breath my last, grant I
May reign with thee Eternally.

113. On Breeches.

Breeches which in the room of fig-leaves came
Are but the badges of our guilt and shame,
And this (methinks) should serve to humble all
That wear them, since they minde us of our fall.

114. On Brethren.

All they that Christianity embrace,
Are Brethren by Creation or Race;
Are Brethren by Prosession or Place,
And by Regeneration or Grace.
Behold how good, how pleasing 'tis to see,
Brethren by Race, Place, Grace, in one t'agree.

115. On Brevity.

I came, I saw, and then I overcame
Victorious Cæsar, said King Philp wrote
Threats to th'Laconian Lords, but to the same
They only answer'd if—(as stories Note)
Lord come and see, and conquer us: Let man,
If thou be for us, hurt us if—(he can)

116. On Briars.

Sins are entangling briars, which are found
Within mans heart, that barren piece of ground.
These wound the soul the gracious soul desires
Nothing more, then to get out of these Briars.

117. On Bribes.

118. On a Bridegroom.

Christ is the Bridegroom, and the Church his Bride,
Whose hearts with loves eternal bands are ti'd,
He found her foul, but he hath wash'd her so,
That now she's whiter than the driven snow.

119. On a Bridge.

Death draws the bridge of life, sends in a trice
Sinners to Hell, but Saints to Paradise.

120. On Bride-well.

To work in Bride-well is an easie toil
To their's who must in broad hel always broil.

121. On a Bridle.

Think often on the all-discerning eye
Of the great God, who always doth descry
Thy secret thoughts from perpetraing sin,
No better bridle for to keep thee in.

122. On Brightness.

The blessed Saints though here obscure they be
To the World's eye, yet shall hereafter see
God face to face, and gloriously bright;
Out-shine the sparkling Jewls of the night.

123. On Brimstone.

Here blue flam'd brimstone much offends the smell,
Oh how doth it torment the damn'd in Hell.

124. On Brine.

Pray'rs that are pickel'd with the brine of tears,
God barrels up in his attentive ears.

125. On a Brink.

Alas! we dance upon destructions brink,
And each sin is a weight to make us sink.

126. On a Broad-way.

No wonder many love so well the road
That leads to ruin, tis because its broad.

127. On a Brood.

The brood is safe hous'd underneath the wings
Of the indulgent damm, our safety springs
From God whose wings shall ever over-spread
His Saints, and never any feathers shed.

128. On a Brook.

129. On a Broom.

How necessary is the Houswifes broom,
To sweep out dust that genders in the room!
But oh! the besome of Jehovahs ire
Sweeps dusty souls, into infernal fire.

130. On Broth.

Esau for a mess of broth
Sold his Birth-right; we are loth
To exchange things transitory,
For immortal boundless glory.

131. On the Brow.

Lord! I have sinn'd, that is the reason thou
Lookest on me with so severe a brow;
Behold me in the face of thy dear Son,
O then I know thou wilt no longer frown.

132. On a Brush.

We brush our dusty cloaths, sin soils the soul,
Yet how content are we to keep that foul.

133. On a Brute.

The Oxe will know his owner, and the Ass
Her master's crib, but Israel (alas!)
Will not know me, says God, they have destroy'd
Themselves, and made their understanding void.
Till God open our lips, our mouths are dumb,
And we more brutish then a Brute become.

134. On a Bubble.

How vain a thing is man; his life's a bubble,
Replenish'd with winds of care & trouble.

135. On a Buck.

We run from God, and are by nature wild
A Bucks, grace cicurates, & makes us mild,
O God, to me be pleased to impart
Thy grace, O that can tame my wanton heart.

136. On a Bucket.

We have a well, let's let our bucket down,
To fetch up waters of Salvation.

137. On a Buckler.

God is a guarding buckler to the just,
Who in his sure defence repose their trust.

138. On a Bud.

Lord nip the bud, before the bloom begins,
For ah! I would not flourish in my sins.

139. On a Bug, or Hob-gobling.

Our wayward children, we with bugbears fear,
T'were well if terrifi'd from sin we were.

140. On a Building.

The Royal Palace where the Saints shall dwell,
A building is, not made with mortal hands;
How doth it in Maginificence excell!
Above the starry Firmament it stands;
'Tis spacious, precious, specious, and pure,
And shall to all eternity endure.

141. On a Bullet.

Gods thund'ring judgments like the bullet run,
Shot from the bowels of the murd'ring Gun.

142. On a Bul-rush.

Hang down our head? we like a bul-rush may,
Yet not be truly humbled when we pray.

143. On a Bul-wark.

God to his people is a bulwark strong,
So that Hell-gates shal never do them wrong.

144. On Bundles.

The Tares that growing with the Wheat is found,
Shal for hell fire be in bundles bound.

145. On a Burgess.

Each Saint (chosen by God himself) is sent
To set, as Burgess, in Heav'ns Parli'ment:
And with those noble Peers the Angels sing
Immortal praise, to their triumphant King.

146. On Burials.

Nature, kind to her own, did first devise
T'entomb a Corps with solemn obsequies;
And surely grace allows a Burial,
To th'Holy Ghost his Temples, when they fall.

147. On Burning.

Come see my zeal for God, Jehu pretends;
An holy zeal, but he had base-by-ends:
Lord kindle in my heart, a burning flame
Of real zeal to glorifie thy name.

148. On Burrs.

Sinners to one another stick like burrs;
O why should Saints fall out, like wrangling currs!

149. On Burthens.

150. On a Bush.

The burning bush was unconsum'd with fire,
For God was in't, O let's his pow'r admire;
The fire of persecution, cannot tame
Christs Church, for he is with her in the flame.

151. On a Bushel.

Those graces which the Saints as lights conceal,
Under a bushel, tryals oft reveal.

152. On a Busie-body.

Ardelio , so much abroad doth roam,
Its hard for him to finde himself at home.

153. On Business.

The business that we are set about
While we are in this world, is to work out
Our own salvation with trembling fear.
But O how few make this their chiefest care!
O Lord, enable me to work, that I,
May have grace wages glory when I dy.

154. On a Butter-fly.

We smile to see our little Children try
Their skill, to catch the painted butter-flie.
And yet alas, we do the very same,
Nay worse our selves, O is not this a shame!

155. On But.

Bad is the But mars all, some but for some
Pleasures or Profit, unto Christ would come;
But for his wife, with whom he must go dwell,
But for the bidding of his friends farewel;
But for th'interring of his father dear,
But for his viewing of his field bought there.
But for the trial of his Oxon, he
Would follow Christ, ah Lord! such Buts have we,
'Tis blessed when our Buts are for the best,
Ye were as bad as any of the rest;
But ye are wash'd, but ye are cleansed now,
How sweet is the wine, from such good butts does flow!

156. On a But.

Gods glory is the but, but Christians hark,
Grace is the only Arrow hits that mark.

157. On a Butcher.

The Butcher lives by killing, we by dying
To sin, and our corruptions mortifying.

158. On a Butler.

The Butler keeps provision, O hoord
Up in thy heart the food of life, Gods word.

159. On Buttery.

The Butt'ry is a necessary place,
O blessed heart that is well stor'd with grace.

160. On Buying.

He buys, and sels, and liveth by the loss,
The Proverb says, when worldly things go cross
With any; but if they that buy and sell
Would speak the truth, doubtless things would go well.

161. On a By-way.

Sin is a by-way, easie to be found,
By all that are for hells dark Kingdom bound;
For want of light, and a good guide to lead
Them right, so many in sins by-path tread.
The words a light, Lord let thy spirit be
My guide, that I thy glorious face may see.
I must walk in the narrow way, before that I
Can finde true rest, grace leads us into glory.