University of Virginia Library

LOVE and UNITY ENCOURAGED AND CONTENTION and DIVISION DISSWADED, in a POEM.

THe Costly Nard, on Jesus Feet,
Was dutifully Plac'd:
Light finger'd Judas vilely Cry'd,
What meaneth all this Waste?
His Discontent at mild Reproof,
Shot forth in Wrath and Strife,
And Consultations of Revenge
Against the Lord of Life.
By Giving of the Pascal Sop,
The Traitor was detected,
The Supper of the Lord came on;
He being first Ejected.
Christ's Sufferings hastened on apace,
And He Prepar'd to Die,
His Will and Testament Declar'd,
And His last Legacie:
And thus Began; The Son of Man
Is Glorify'd Hereby;
And in Him, God is Glorify'd,
And shall Him Glorify.
My Children Dear! Saith He, I go
Where yet you cannot Come,
(By Whom much Work is to be done,
Before your Martyrdome.)
Know all Men, Ye are Mine: Let All
My NEW Commandment View,
That Ye must One Another Love,
As I have Loved you.
This New Command is Mine; This Test
If you Endure, when Try'd,
And keep my Law, you in my Love,
And Favour shall Abide.
This Precept I'l Repeat, and say
My Love, that's wondrous Great
Unto you all, you labor shall
By Love, to Imitate.
Yea to my Friends, I'l say't again,
(Lest you Forgetful prove;)
I strictly do Command, That you
Shall One Another Love.
My Loves sweet Fruits, the Comforter
Shall then to you Impart,
A Life of Fruitfulness shall shew
Your Heav'nly Joyful Heart.
Abundantly when you shall Ask
The Father in My Name,
By all Our Truth, and Love, and Power,
We will Perform the same.
Much more He Spake, Ending at length,
His Farewel Exhortation;
Then to His Father turn'd, and made
His Fervent Supplication.
O FATHER! Glorify thy SON;
WHO Glorifys Thee still,
And Gives to Men Eternal Life
According to Thy Will.
My Taught-Apostles Sanctify;
From Evil keep them Free:
As Holy FATHER! We are ONE!
ONE also Let Them be.
Not for the World, But Them I Pray,
And Such as shall Believe
On Me, by vertue of the Word,
They shall of Them receive,
As Thou'rt in Me, & I in Thee,
In Glorious Unitie,
One in the Father and the Son,
That They may also be;
In Truth & Faith & Amitie
That every Christian Brother
Be Joyned unto Me and Thee,
And All to One Another.
The World doth Hate 'em, & will Strive
To Rob their outward Rest;
With God, with Conscience, & with Saints
My Peace shall make them Bless'd.
My Peace to them I therefore give;
My Peace I with them leave;
May they Enjoy 't, till I shall them
Unto My Self Receive.
To Purchase Love and Unity,
Dear Saviour! Thou hast bled,
And to pursue 'em, all thy Saints
Under strong bands hast laid.
That these thy precious Legacies,
They surely may Inherit,
Inherent and Assisting Grace
Are offer'd, by Thy Spirit.
How is it then (since Thou has made
Such plentiful Provision,
For Love and Unity) we find
Contention and Division!
Those Blessings, if we don't enjoy,
The Fault and Blame's our own:
We've shut up Heav'n, if they descend
Not from that Glorious Throne.
The Means and End lie close Conjoyn'd
In the Divine Decree:
Thou wait'st but till we use the means,
And well prepared be:
Thy Laws neglected, lose their Force;
Thy Promise is not Heeded;
Judgment on Murmurers takes Place;
So Grace is Superseded;
Our Meribahs are Multiply'd,
As if we were Possess'd;
Our Loose Affections soon Divide;
For Trifles, we Contest.
Our Honour's trampled under foot;
Our Crown is made Profane;
To many Souls, while Strife is rife,
The Means of Grace are vain.
The Storms grow long, the hopeful seeds
Under the Clods grow rotten;
The Blasted Years of strife do make
The plenteous years forgotten;
By Hot Contention's Thunderbolts
Are Temples rent in twain;
Armies of Abels too, Advance,
Arm'd with the Clubs of Cain.
Batter'd and Shatter'd by such Storms,
Are best mens Reputations;
In vain they talk, while strife is loud,
of working Reformations.
And by strife's means, much Pray'r is stop'd
And much is turn'd to Sin:
It breaks all Dams; so Hells black Waves
Amain come tumbling in.
Setting aside the Fear of God,
And violently mov'd
By Instigation of the Devil,
Thousands of times (it's prov'd)
This wicked strife has broke the Peace
In Christian Families,
In Kingdoms, Provinces and Towns,
Churches and Colonies;
It has Eclips'd, to great Degree,
Each Radiant Quality,
That gave 'em greatest likeness to
Th' Eternal Deity.
Their Wisdom, Justice, Holiness,
Long suffering, Clemency,
Their Meekness and Indulgence too,
Love and Benignity,
God's Great and Glorious Name also
Strife vilely doth Despise,
And what God's Soul Abominates
Doth to Him Sacrifice.
The Halt and Sick and Mutilated
(Which God doth not desire)
It doth upon His Altar burn,
All with Unhallowed Fire.
An Enemy to the Vitals 'tis;
Seizing both Heart and Head;
Many that seem'd Alive before,
It's Poysonous Breath strikes Dead.
To flay this fiery Dragon strife,
Where's the Effectual Dart?
O Saints! God's Word's the pow'rful sword
That Stabs it to the Heart:
Let Faith God's Promises improve,
And Fear His Threatnings Weild,
And Conscience stand by His Command,
And Strife will soon be Kill'd.
And is't a Plague, then call for Pray'r;
Our Churches often prove it;
No Hand but what inflicted it
Is able to Remove it.
Then set His Hand on work by Pray'r,
Add Faith and Fasting to it;
If 't's possible to cast it out,
This Heav'nly Course will do it.
Cutting Rebukes for to forbear
No such Forbearance is
As Christ will own, when milder means
Encourage the Disease.
Yet when Constrain'd to Cut and Lance,
Be sure you mourn and weep,
And tremble, lest by any means,
Your Lancet pierce too deep.
For things, in Notion, Disputable,
Not inconsistent with
Faith, Love, and New Obedience,
Do not Strifes Sword Unsheath.
If you must needs come to Debate,
You greatly ought to fear it:
And for such Trial of Self-denial,
Bring a submitting Spirit,
Knowing your weakness, come (I say)
With some degree of terrour,
Lest truth and right you would assert,
Should suffer by your Errour.
Be not of Evil Overcome:
Be good invincibly;
That ill men by your goodness great,
At length may vanquish't be.
Do Churlish Neighbors not deserve,
Your Pardons Peace and Kindness,
Yet Christ deserves; if you can't see't
'Tis owing to your Blindness.
Whoso desires that He himself,
And others live at Rest,
Must Hear and See, with Charity,
And wisely Say the best.
Be deaf to Tatling Tale-bearers;
Credit not all Reports;
Avoid the Charms of Whisperers;
Forbear all sharp Retorts;
Would you not have the Sun seem Red,
Put by the Heliotrope;
If you'd not hear the Clapper strike,
Then do not pull the Rope;
If you'd not have the Blood burst forth,
The nose then do not wring;
Do not disturb the wasps or bees,
If you'd avoid their sting;
Would you not have your Glass-house broke,
Then throwing stones forbear;
Would you prevent a Powder blast,
Then let no Coals come near;
Remove the Leaven you see laid
Before it be fermented;
Occasions of Disturbance, let
Be Carefully Prevented;
Forbear when Censures you receive,
Like Censures to return;
Of Fire-balls make no Foot balls, lest
You Towns and Churches burn.
Are Spirits roil'd and blood inflam'd
With Feavour to Convulsion;
Purge sharp and peccant humours well,
And make a quick Revulsion.
From the hot Caldron pluck the brands,
If you'd not have it boil;
VVould you not have the swelling burst,
Then supple it with Oyl.
Although for outward quietness,
POWERS are and LOTS ordain'd,
Yet Lotts, and Law-suits rarely use,
Lest they and Peace be stain'd.
Common Received Customs Good
Resolve, not to oppose;
Nor violently to impose
Whate're you shall propose.
In Doubtful Things and Difficult,
Be not too Peremptory;
Suspect, suspend your judgment then,
And be not Refractory.
Would you've good Peace and Unity
And Friendship with a Brother,
In Lawful Things let ev'ry one
Both serve and please each other.
Offences neither give nor take;
Pray God to make you Wise;
Let Patience have its perfect work;
Meekness it's Exercise;
All Envy and Vexatious Wrath,
Well mortify you must;
Contention comes by Pride, this Pride
It must be ground to Dust;
Lastly, break not your Peace with God;
His Laws keep as your Life,
If you'l secure your mutual Peace
And not be plagu'd with Strife.