University of Virginia Library

Furor-Poeticus (i.e.)Propheticus.

A Poetick-Phrensie.

Some, (probably) will call it so:
Thus named, therefore, let it go.

It is the result of a private-musing, occasioned by a publike report in the Country, of the Parliaments restauration by General GEORGE MONCKE, in February 1659. and meditated soon after the said General's arrival in LONDON,

In dorso Pagi, recubans sub tegmine Fagi:

To the Reader.

That, which henceforth, the common Lot, will be
In Weal, or Woe, shall be foreshown in me:
For, whether to the right or left it run,
Judgement shall at GOD's House be first begun.

Furor-poeticus,(i.e.)Propheticus.

A Poetick-Phrensie.

A Fit, that some will call poetick-madness,
Hath now surprized me, in sober-sadness;
Which, how it seiz'd me, shall be here declar'd,
If any think it worthy of regard:
Nay, heard it shall be, since it is begot,
Whether regarded, or regarded not:
For, good to them, is equally intended,
Who, shall be therewith, pleased or offended,
If, quite insensible, they are not grown
Both of the publike welfare, and their own;
And, if well taken, this despised-bable,
Will hint some Notions not unprofitable.
From thence, where many did of wrongs complain,
(And, where, to right them, some few strove in vain)
I was retir'd, as far as I could go,
From hearing, what Knaves, Fools, and mad men do;
Expecting no such influence from heaven
As now appears, till nights and daies were even:
About which time (though why I do not know)
I look'd for something, like what's happen'd now:
But, Rumor, which is flutt'ring ev'ry whither,
Hath of a quicker change brought tidings hither:
Whereon, a greater change will soon ensue,
If probable conjectures may be true.
The Wind is strangely turn'd; but, none yet knows
For whose avail, or to whose harm it blows:
Because, to guess who is a foe or friend,
Or, what, men by their words or deeds intend,
'Tis now so hard, that none can scape deceit
Save he, who keepeth his own heart upright,
And he (ev'n then) may suffer naytheless,
Who walketh in the paths of righteousness.
I hear the news; and I have heard it too,
With as much joyful hope as most men do
Who know the World, and how much doubt and fear
May rise from ev'ry thing they see and hear;
When there is little Justice, Truth, or Order,
The preservation of their peace to further;
And where they are so puzz'led in the dark,
That they rejoyce in any glim'ring spark.
A Star, is now shot hither from the North;
But, what events the same will usher forth
I cannot tell; nor (though the Morning's bright)
What clouds may overshadow us ere night;
And, therefore, I must wait a while, to heed
With what Aspects those Planets will proceed
Which regulate our Clime, before I can
Conclude on anything design'd by man.
The greatest Planet, that appears in heaven
Hath no more influence than one in seven;
And, from malevolence, we are not free
While Mars and Saturne in conjunction be,
Although to comfort us, we may receive
Fair promisings, from all the other five;
Except that he who plac'd them in their Orbs
Their Constellations qualifies and curbs;
And, they are lying Prophets, who shall dare
In his name, any sequel to declare,
As absolute, and not conditional,
Relating meerly to to things temporal:
For, that could only, but a means become,
To make men desperate, or to presume.
He, that, our grand Ænigma's must unriddle
Is in the Zenith now, ev'n in the middle
Of that place, where our fatall Gordian-knot,
(If my conjectures greatly fail me not)
Must be unti'd, or cut; and if so fast
And so ensnarl'd it be, that, at the last
The Sword must once again the same unknit,
Woe be to them who shall occasion it.
O'er LONDON, now that Luminary shines,
Which, I foretold in my last publish'd lines,
Should be the Mountain whence that winde would blow
Which of our greatest weal, or greatest woe,
Should instrumental be; and I expect
Accordingly, ere long time, an effect.
We oft see miracles (I must confess)
But, I would fain see truth and righteousness
Ascend the Throne; that, we at length might feast
Upon that Peace, whereof we had a taste;
And, on those mercies which in little time
GOD would vouchsafe, if we reli'd on him,
And wilfully pursu'd not still that course
Which to destroy our hopes, may him enforce;
And which, by long neglect of good endeavour,
Are now in hazard to be lost for ever.
He, many Patrons and Deliv'rers gave us,
From Forraign and Domestick foes to save us:
Of whom, some, by their self-will and Ambition,
Wrought both our sorrow, and their own perdition.
Some of them, we disabled; some despis'd:
We flatter'd some, and some we Idoliz'd,
Untill to such a height we puft them had,
That to our servants, slaves our selves we made;
Yet cease not at this hour to do the same,
Though still, it brings more sorrow, and more shame;
And will, to be deliver'd from one curse
Thereby incurr'd, run headlong to a worse.
Mark, (though you sleight me) what we dayly do;
And brand me, if it shortly prove not so,
Unless we tack and wheel about to that
Which may prevent it, ere it be too late.
GOD, still, in his long suffering doth persever,
And, us, from our distractions to deliver
Renews his mercy still, when we (almost)
Our hopes of reparation have quite lost.
Yea, though he finds us willing to return
To our late Bondage; to distrust and scorn
The Doom pronounced for this Common-weal
When we did in the field to him appeal:
Although he sees us prone in ev'ry triall
To make of our just Cause a base deniall;
To bid to his assistances defiance;
With his, and our known foes to have compliance;
From our professions to apostatize,
And to requite him with hypocrisies
For all his favours; he is still to us
The same he was, though we continue thus;
And, though he from our sins himself withdraws,
Still owneth both our Principles and Cause.
He hath now rais'd, beyond our expectation,
A likely means of timely reparation,
And, by his providence, a man begot
To perfect it, if we corrupt him not,
Nor he decline from what he hath profest
In order to the publike Interest;
Which I suspect not, if he be so strong
As to resist the batt'ries of the Tongue,
And use those Antidotes that may prevent
The poys'ning that's infus'd by Complement.
At this time, to be GOD's Probationer
In his great Work, as others lately were,
He takes his turn; and peradventure, may
Attain a Pow'r as absolute as they;
That, what by them was wilfully neglected,
(And by a less Power cannot be effected)
May now be done. LORD! make him wise and strong,
To do what to his duty doth belong;
And mindful, that, his chiefest Obligations
Are, to be true to Thee, and to these Nations.
St George for England, we were wont to say;
And, to that Name, assign'd a solemn day
We knew not why: But, if what's now begun
Shall with sincerity be carried on,
It did, perhaps, by way of Allegory,
Presage what will produce an Actual Story;
That shall in future times, deserve much better
Mens credit morally, than in the Letter
That Fable did: For, we may hope (unless
Good probabilities have ill success)
A Champion of this Name shall free us from
That Dragon which infests all Christendome,
And, set a Bar to their malignant-pow'r,
Who threaten this Republike to devour.
If so it happen, it will more endear
This Name of George, than Dick, or Oliver;
Yea, more than all their Names, who lately lost
That honour, which they purchas'd at our cost,
And left us in those hazards, from whence, none
Now can deliver us, but, GOD alone
By his own Arm, or else by an advance
Of one design'd for our deliverance,
And qualifi'd by his especial grace,
To be a Guardian Angel for this place.
Instead of that imaginary Saint,
Which on our Inns, and Tavern-signs we paint,
And, whom our Grandees, in blew Ribbands wore,
As badge of their chief honour heretofore;
(And in his room, of whom about next Spring,
Another Party seem'd in hope to sing
John for the King) GOD, hath perhaps, prepar'd
That Hero for our Tutelary Guard;
Whom Fame reports arriv'd with an intent
To re-invest the baffl'd Parliament
With her lost Pow'r: which, if it so ensue,
Will make some bid their old St George adieu:
His Legend, will be very little priz'd,
Except, as now, it is Mythologiz'd:
And, this GEORGE will henceforward, by this Nation
Be thought more worthy of Canonization
Than either He, or any one of those
On whose new Saintships, we did trust repose,
Till many did our confidence contemn,
And few, at last, trust either us, or them.
This GEORGE for England, probably intends
The publike weal without sinister ends,
And is One meaning that which he professes;
One, whom nor gifts, nor flattering Addresses
Shall tempt from an heroick Resolution,
Or, draw to an ignoble prosecution;
One, whom the Strumpet, who bewitcheth Kings,
Nor those enchanting Songs the Syren sings,
Shall so seduce, as they seduced were,
Who, by the Dragons tail were from their Sphere
Unhors'd of late: But, one who shall proceed,
Till from his Fangs these Nations he hath freed,
Despising those Allurements, whereby they
Who would divert him, hope to stop his way:
For, if his heart be right, he will suspect
Those Baits laid to corrupt his Intellect,
Or blind his eyes; that, from what's well begun
Into their Pitfals he may stumble on.
He will consider, that, they who profess
Much love (and fawn with most obsequiousness)
Are either some of those, or such as they
Who did the same to them the other day,
Whom now most barbarously they revile;
And may abuse him worse within a while.
And, he will see, that he must be more wary
Than they were, who, not long since, did miscarry,
By playing like a Moath about the flame,
Till thereby quite consumed they became.
I hope, that as I have exprest him here,
He is resolv'd: If not, I wish he were;
That I might live to see, before I die,
One man, whose Deeds made not his words a lie.
A Monk profest, an Instrument became
Of Reformation: Why not one by Name?
If love of honesty with him prevail,
The hopes of honest men he will not fail:
If love of honour, or of safety move him,
Those Interests, will for our Cause improve him.
It is a much more honourable thing,
To save a People, than to make a King,
And safer too; if he that makes him one
Shall be his Liege-man whom he doth enthrone:
For, Kings are of their Makers so afraid,
That, seldome are such benefits repay'd
With less than ruine; specially, if he
A man beloved of the People be:
But, much more hazardous will be his Case,
If he be likewise of the Royal Race.
This General, hath been a Royalist,
Engag'd against the publike Interest,
And, therefore, some suspitious are become
He may, at last, his first Cause re-assume:
But, that's improbable: For hitherto
He nothing seemeth to neglect, or do,
Save what he should; If there be neither ought
Done or omitted, more than yet, is brought
Unto my ears; and his professions are
Sufficient to abate the Peoples fear;
Yet, with that modesty consist, whose want
Made others, lately so exorbitant,
That, many did suspect their gaudy signe
VVas hung forth but to vent unwholsome wine.
He may appear to those who cannot see,
Whereto he shall necessitated be
To deviate sometimes; yet, naitheless
No whit infringe essential righteousness;
As when he is compell'd to raise a Blind
To frustrate what is by his Foes design'd,
And hoped for, by letting them enjoy
Those hopes a while, which may themselves destroy;
Or, that he may discov'ries make, thereby,
Whom to suspect, and on whom to relie.
That, he was once a Captain for the King,
Doth him with me, in no suspition bring,
If he retain but so much gen'rousness
As honourable Sword-men do profess:
For, there are many persons whom I know,
True to him then, and faithful to us now:
And touching him, this is considerable,
That he made no revolt dishonourable
To his Profession: nor his aide withdrew
Fro him, to whom he thought his service due;
Or left him till that Obligation ended
By his decease, on whose life it depended:
No, nor did afterward desert his Cause,
Till having leisure to peruse the Laws
And Customes of this Nation, he perceiv'd,
Crowns were not alwaies by descent receiv'd;
Nor justly could be worn by any here,
Till by the People they elected were
Upon conditions; whereto they were both
By Law obliged, and engag'd by Oath:
Which having weigh'd; and that by GOD's permission
The Pow'r was in another mans possession
Without dispute; meer conscienciousness
(Not Levity) induc'd him to profess
And Act, as he hath done. This, I take leave
Till he shall contradict it, to conceive;
And, of my hopes concerning him, expect
To see ere long, a sutable effect;
Whereof, if I unhappily shall miss,
My damage will be ten times less than his;
Since really, he thereby forfeits more
His honour, than he did in shew before:
And, if at this time, to his moral trust,
And his Engagements he shall prove unjust,
(Which may be possible) no further, then,
Thenceforward, in the words or deeds of men
Will I confide, beyond what I know true;
Whether of honesty, they make a shew,
Or of Religion: But conclude that we
On whomsoere we trust, may cheated be;
And think, (as I did heretofore suppose)
None but false friends, and reconciled foes
Should overthrow our Cause. My hopes of him
Are better yet: (Oh GOD! continue them.)
No cause to me appeareth of suspect,
Save such as I may reasonably reject.
Yet, since he's but a man; and lest I seem
To under-prize, or over-value him;
Yea, since the heart's unknown; and I now am
Of him inform'd, but by a common fame,
At such a distance too, as cannot give me
Assurance that Report will not deceive me,
I'll keep him on the Balance, till I hear
How he proceedeth and shall persevere:
For Lucifer did fall; yea, and he fell
Whom some thought lately, more than parallel
To Moses, Josuah, and many more,
Renowned for their vertues heretofore:
And, since he possibly, by Adulations,
May be exposed to the like temptations;
I will not, though he bravely hath begun,
A Garland make him, till the field is won.
But, if I live to hear he shall persever
In prosecuting of his best endeavour
To that effect for which GOD seems to raise him,
Whatere event shall follow, I will praise him,
In such a Mode, as cannot justly be
By others blam'd, or shame to him or me;
Which none can do, though his deserts were greater,
Who doth not praise a man to make him better.
Faithful performances have been so rare,
That this Republike barb'rous would appear,
If, what he merits be not duly weigh'd
And well rewarded, when her debts are paid.
Yet, lest he may be (if deferr'd till then)
As ill repaid as other faithful men,
Let them reward him now, (and whilst they may;)
For, here will be new changes ev'ry day.
But, though he do his duty; nor his Pow'r
Or Virtue will avail us, till of our
Known duties, our regard be somewhat more
Than it appears to have been heretofore.
No good success, though he continue true,
If we be false, can possibly ensue.
No Nation can from servitude be saved,
Which, when it may be free, will be enslaved.
They easily, and justly are betray'd,
Where Traitors are for treason better paid
Than faithful men, who freely did oppose,
With life and livelihood, their Countries Foes.
Who can be safe, where it is hardly known
Either what Laws, or Cause, or Pow'r to own,
Or to disown? VVhere, merited or not,
Knaves, Fools, and Wise men have the self-same Lot?
And honest men, deserving best, (and first)
A worse than they, who have deserved worst?
Yea, where some suffer, till they cannot fear
VVorse mischiefs, than they feel already there,
Although he should deceive their expectations,
Who, now, preserves the peace of these three Nations,
Expose us to the fury of the Dragon,
And with his horse, draw hither Charles his Wagon.
Some, are of this, in hope, and some afraid;
But chiefly they who have been largely paid
For little work; and some for doing none,
Or, that, which had been better left undone.
Some, who were paid with little, for great cost,
Which then may be in hazard to be lost:
Some likewise, whom their Conscience hath accus'd
For having wilfully their pow'r abus'd.
But, be it as GOD pleaseth it shall be,
It no whit startles, or affrighteth me:
For, though this George should act that which will further
His ends, who is the Soveraign of the Order
Of George on horseback, guiltless I have bin
Of what may make me dread his coming in;
Because, I acted nothing with intent
To Innovate the former Government,
Or to uphold this Pow'r, save that, whereto
Conscience and Duty did oblige me to.
For, when the late Intestine war begun,
I did not by a self-inducement run
To make a Breach; but, (called by that Power
Which was by Law intrusted, both with our
And his Prerogatives who then did raign)
Came arm'd, aswell his Interest to maintain,
As to preserve our own: Which may appear
By that Impress my Cornet then did bear.
Pro Rege, Lege, Grege, was the WORD
Which manifested why I drew my Sword;
And if the Pow'r I ought to have obey'd
Misled me, let the fault on that be laid.
What is't to me, since I am innocent,
If they proceeded further than I went?
The Pow'rs that rule, my lawful warrant be,
And ought not to be questioned by me.
If they had ill intents, in what was done,
What blame have I deserved, who had none?
Or, who can blame them justly, if perforce
The Consequents have hapned to be worse
Then their Design? as I believe (and shall
Believe) it was, in some, though not in all.
If for the sins of Nations and of Kings
GOD casts out Governours, and Judgements brings
Upon a People; What man can resist
His hand, or mend the matter, till he list?
Who doth not stand obliged to maintain
The Pow'r that GOD sets up, whilst it must raign,
Although it shall oppress him, and were sent
To be, for his defaults, a punishment?
And, who so little reason understands,
That when without advancing of his hands
He, by anothers act, (through GOD's permission,
May of his long-lost Freedom gain fruition)
Will not accept it, when it may be had,
Although they who were fools, will be so mad
To venture their own lives, those to betray
That would not be as very slaves as they?
When GOD enthrals a Nation, 'tis a crime
To break their chains and cords before his time;
And when he setteth ope the prison door,
They do offend as much, or rather more,
By adding to ungrateful disrespects
Of GOD's free grace, unnatural neglects:
If therefore, when our sins we had confest,
GOD, them removes from us who then opprest;
And when we slip into our former course,
Brings back again those Tyrants, or else worse,
Why should I murmur to behold him just?
Or, (if I do repent, and in him trust)
Fear, I shall him inexorable find,
Whom I offend not, but against my mind?
When frailty, and the torrents of the times,
Have hurri'd me into the vulgar crimes?
This I have well considered: And, though they
Who, wilfully have gone out of the way,
And, with corrupt minds, do again begin
To tread the paths which they have erred in;
(Not yet repenting) find, that evil-tidings
(Because they have not settled their abidings
Beneath the shade of GOD-Almighties wings)
Are, in these times of trouble, dreadful things;
He arms my heart against them; and the more
They shake the Earth, and make the Waters roare,
The more I slight them. Yea, although, beside
Those dangers, which have others terrifi'd,
My ruine threatning, there, at present stand
Steep mountains, and a Desart on each hand;
Deep seas before me, and an host behind
Which doth appear malignantly enclin'd;
Yet, all these cannot from my hopes remove me,
Because, I see GOD in a cloud above me.
My chief well-being, totally consists
With that wind, which blows when, and where it lists,
And, 'twill not mar my prime contentment, whether
We shall have Parliaments, Kings, both, or neither;
Whether or no, the old Lords, or the new;
All the secluded Members, none, or few,
Shall to this Parliament admitted be,
Or to the next, and all men then be free
To chuse, or to be chose: Whether this Sect,
Or that; the supream Pow'r will best respect.
So Justice henceforth over us may raign,
And Truth may her due freedom still retain,
I shall be pleas'd, and my endeavour bend
To suffer, what I know not how to mend.
Whatever GOD permits, his will be done:
For, he is not a careless looker on,
But, active in disposing to his ends,
What, man, to his vain purposes intends:
And, our designs will frustrate be for ever,
Unless, with him concurrence we endeavour.
The peoples voice is GOD's, the Proverb saies;
And is so, many times, but, not alwaies.
Their Voice is, that the best means to prevent
Our threatned ruine, is a Parliament
(Next under GOD) that must be truly free.
This, I believe, but, gain'd how shall that be,
Or when procur'd? If, none we free must call,
But, when there is a freedom left to all
To chuse, or to be chose; Some other way
We must be sav'd before we see that day,
Else we shall be destroy'd. Must we give Theeves
(Who live but by their pardons and Reprieves)
Pow'r, to dispose as they shall please to do
Of our Estates, and think it reason too?
To sober men appears it to be just,
With murtherers to put our Lives in trust?
To any wise men, will it prudence seem,
To leave those Freedoms which we did redeem
With bloud and vast sums, in the hands of those,
From whom we won them, (being still our Foes?)
Consent to take what freedom they will give us,
Who are the men who did, and would inslave us?
And, cauterized consciences permit
In judgement, on our consciences to sit?
Free Parliaments, can we call such as those?
Or, think the Members of it freely chose,
When they who much less worthy men do seem
In others eyes, than in their own esteem,
(And they, who have more wealth and pow'r, than grace,
Wit, or sincerity) with shameless face,
By bribes, threats, fawnings, or corrupted friends,
Procure their own Elections for self ends?
And when th'Electors likewise cheated are
Of their free choice, by weakness, hopes, or fear?
Call you that free, which was at first begot
In bondage? Which, at full enjoyeth not
A freedom yet? and, was to come and go,
When others pleased were to have it so?
Can that be free, or freemen make of us,
Which is begot and constituted thus?
To which a Coney-burrough, or a village,
Not able with rents, labour, trade, and tillage,
The Charges of one Burgess to maintain,
Is as well priviledg'd, to send in twain
Unto a Parliament, as any Shire
Which doth two hundred times their burdens bear?
And may corrupted be to make a choice
Which will destroy three Nations, with one voice?
But, if a Parliament thus chosen, be
By Custome lawful, and reputed free;
We must be as we are, till resolution
Be taken up, to mend that Constitution.
For though this Age to GOD alloweth not
His choice, out of our chosen ones, by lot,
(As when Matthias, after mans election,
Was chose, when chusers had less imperfection:)
And though this Lottery was thrown aside,
Because it bounded Avarice and Pride;
And pleas'd not them whose aime was to retain,
Or to acquire pre-eminence and gain;
Yea, though it hath, without good reason why,
Been wav'd by Clergy and by Laity;
By Lot, not only the first vacant place
To an Apostleship supplied was,
But, also, Saul thereby Election had
Before he by the people King was made:
Moreover, Achans crime when close conceal'd
From humane knowledge, was by Lot reveal'd.
Then, that Expedient, why should we explode,
And, in things doubtful, shun the Test of GOD?
His providence will order all we do,
Whether, thereby we pleased are or no;
And his concurrence in our choice by Lot
Is just and needfull, though we like it not.
For, of his Kingdom, we have oft confest,
These Isles are part: Our noblest Interest
Depends upon his Title and protection;
They are now much endanger'd by defection
From him, and by self-trust: That wicked one,
Who hath in other Lands usurp'd his Throne,
(And here in former Ages) doth intend
To re-inslave us; he hath to that end
Made up his Breaches; is (with false pretence
Of doing right to wronged innocence)
Now aiming to invade us, with a Pow'r,
In probability, too strong for our;
And, to resist, we have not many more
Of chosen-ones, than made up heretofore,
That little number, whereby (though so few)
A mighty Army, Gideon overthrew,
Through GOD's assistance, who compel'd their foes
To make him way, by their self-overthrows,
Because, he credit gave to his direction,
Who sent him helpers by divine election;
And shall we, in so visible a danger,
Make him, that's most concern'd, to us a stranger?
All, this premised, why should we refuse
To let GOD chuse among us when we chuse?
Or, thereupon distrustful grow, that we
Shall in so doing, prosper worse than he?
GOD, by despised helpers, oft enables;
By Instruments that most esteem but bables;
By Lamps concealed in weak earthen pots,
And things much more to be despis'd than Lots.
But, what expedient likelier can be found
To fix that which is alwaies running round?
Or, make a choice with which men pleas'd may be,
Who, in so many matters disagree,
Than (having chose as well as they can do)
To let GOD add perfection thereunto?
Since, when he lists, he can; and ever will
Make all we act, effect his pleasure, still?
This makes me, having acted what may seem
Injoyn'd by reason, leave the rest to him.
This makes me patiently to wait and heed
Mens counteractings, with what will succeed;
And, wait the more content, because I see,
That, sometimes things contemned useful be
In that which he at this time hath in hand,
If his intents, I rightly understand.
For my part, I will there no chuser be
Of any, where GOD may not chuse with me;
And, I their free choice also would refuse
If (singly) Shire or Burrough me should chuse
Without a Lot. But little need I feare
My being put to such a trial here;
For, one unfitting to be call'd unto
That trust, most think me; and if not, I do:
For, whose end can I serve, that am well known
This Principle, and such as this to own?
Or, who can hope I will to them be just,
Who trust to none but him, whom they distrust?
Let them who of themselves have high esteem
Pursue that course which best to them shall seem,
Set up what Pow'r, and make what Laws they please,
I shall have comfort, though but little ease;
And if instead of right, I still have wrong,
My time of suffering, will not now be long.
To whatsoever Pow'r, GOD, me subjects,
I will obey it with all due respects
Till he removes it; (as I still have done,
Ev'n then, when I was censur'd to have gone
Beside my Rule.) When Anarchy takes place
By reason, to preserve the common peace,
I'll use all good and likely means I may;
Sing, whilst it lasteth; when it faileth, pray;
That, though from me my Foes the out-works win,
I may secure the Fortresses within,
And, in the mean space, neither be perplext,
Or scar'd, to think, who will enslave me next:
For, he that trusts to an internal aid,
Of no external Pow'r need be afraid.
The troubles of this life will soon be past;
The bliss that follows, will for ever last:
And, I have seen the Authors of our troubles
So oft blown up, and puft away like Bubbles,
That much I am asham'd to think how poor
My courage was to fear them heretofore.
I know what Changes are now menaced,
Yet, I'll attend them without servile dread.
Let all those do the like, who have took part
In this Republicks Cause with single heart;
For, though, if he who doth our Peace prolong,
Should follow those, who heretofore went wrong,
To make them prosp'rous in their undertakings,
Who may be mark'd out by their cursed speakings,
(Their malice, slanders, and scurrilities
Their great delight and confidence in Lies.)
They must endure the sharpest blast that blew
Within this Climate, since the world they knew;
GOD, will vouchsafe them his assisting grace
To bear it stoutly when it comes to pass,
And, put a signal difference, between
Those that have honest, and unfaithful been.
A storm, is brewing, whereunto, perchance,
The late North wind, hath given an advance;
For, I perceive, (although from Camps or Courts
There be where now I am, but few reports)
Some Actings have produced an effect
Much differing from what I did expect,
And working on the common peoples passions
According to their various inclinations;
So that he must be wiser than Apollo,
Who shall inform us, what events will follow.
Some rail, some rave, some scoff, and some do jeer,
Some ring, some sing, some hope, and some do fear,
Some of them do insult, some others whine;
But, all these whirlwinds shake no corn of mine:
To my old Principles, I still am true,
And will be, whatsoever Change ensue:
Because, I am assur'd the Cause we had
Was very good, though we our selves are bad;
And, that, if after all our pains and cost
We lose it, by our wickedness 'tis lost.
And, for my part, my portion hath been such,
That, if I lose all, I cannot lose much;
Nor by my Foes be much worse dealt withall
Than I have been by those whom Friends we call.
The World can me of nothing disinvest,
Save that, which heretofore my cares increast;
And, though she somewhat more oppress me may,
She shall not take my happiness away,
Nor mar my hopes with all her scorns and brags,
Although, she wears, and tears, my flesh to rags.
I can be but abus'd, and ground between
Two Mill-stones, as I hitherto have been.
The favours of the World, to men upright,
Makes them the more obnoxious to despight.
If she, to place of Pow'r and Trust commends
Well-minded men, 'tis but for her own ends:
For, when her purposes to pass are brought
By them, who, her preferments never sought,
(And, others for her service fitter seem)
The first she slights, with barb'rous disesteem,
And them exposeth to disgraceful scorns,
Because, no longer they can serve her turns.
Therefore, though worse I speed than heretofore,
My peace thereby shall be disturb'd no more,
Than if I heard a drivelling fool did swear,
His Bable, and Bell'd-cap, I should not wear.
As well mine, I confess, as others crimes,
Have multipli'd the troubles of these times;
And, therefore, I must undergo my share,
In what our National demerits are.
But, they can never force me to despair,
Because, I have a Mediators pray'r;
And, such a gracious GOD to trust unto,
As neither looks for more than men can do,
Nor doth severely mark what's done amiss
Through frailty, and without maliciousness.
And, though, a real unsuccesseful zeal
To do my duty to this Commonweal
Hath lost me some friends, and foes made me many,
I, am not a malicious foe to any;
Nor were my suff'ings, since these wars begun,
For any knavery, but, for having none:
And, therefore, I shall thrive, when honest men
May have a thriving time; but, not till then:
And such a time (though by what's pre-declar'd,
It may a very long time be deferr'd)
May, very possibly, soon come to pass,
If he, that shall have pow'r, hath also grace
To use it prudently, when he receives it
To that intent, for which GOD chiefly gives it;
And shall vouchsafe a more indulgent eare
To them, whose words, by deeds confirmed were,
Than to the Complements of seeming friends,
Who fawn upon him for sinister ends.
To fortifie that hope, a little more,
I have, (beside what is express'd before)
Consider'd this, that, understanding men,
Although they make some uses, now and then,
Of Parasites, to them, no trust will give,
Till they may be induced to believe
That, Crows, which flock about a new-yean'd Lamb,
(To pick his eyes out) to protect him came;
That, they have oft observ'd, it is their guise,
To worship all new Stars, when first they rise;
Hosanna unto him, this day to cry,
Whom they will next day seek to crucifie;
Set up a Man of clouts, to be their King,
Yea, honour as a God-head any thing,
Whereby their present Lust may be enjoy'd,
Though thereby, they at last may be destroy'd;
And, when by their own faults they are distress'd,
Curse their best friends, and those whom they have bless'd.
But, this mans fortitude, I hope is such,
That, their Bolts will not thereon batter much;
For, GOD confers the Pow'r on him bestown,
Ev'n for this Peoples sake, not for his own;
And, if their trust in him, he should betray
By whom he is, that which he is this day,
His loss will be as great (perhaps much more)
As their, who have, betray'd it heretofore.
Whether to this, or to that Interest,
He will decline, 'tis coming to the Test:
For, he now standeth on that forged Y,
Wherein, a right way, and a wrong doth lie;
And, he shall hear a voice behind him, say,
GEORGE, that's the left, and this the right hand way:
This, leads to honour here, and future bliss;
That way, the next way to destruction is:
That way, the greatest number doth pursue;
Yet, this the safest, although trod by few.
Now, whether this, or that way he encline,
The danger will be rather his, than mine.
Whatever shall succeed, which more or less
Obstructs th'enjoyment of our outward-peace,
Me, 'twill not make much merrier, or much sadder,
Than ratling of three blew beans in a bladder;
So, GOD gives patience till the storm be past,
And Truth and righteousness prevail at last.
What, MONCK perhaps will do, or leave undone,
May mar some Trifles, I have doated on;
But, that, whereon my best hopes fixed be
Doth lie secured betwixt GOD, and me.
That, which conduceth to my noblest ends,
No more on his, than his on mine depends,
And, GOD, I know, will constantly proceed
In prosecuting what he hath decreed
Concerning this Republick, whatsoever
He, we, or any other shall endeavour:
And, when their falshhood, malice, and despight,
Insultings, and vain hopes, are at the height,
(Who, now, against this Commonwealth conspire
To bring on such a Change as they desire)
They shall but to and fro, like drunkards reel,
Do, and undo, and run round in a wheel,
Till they have made that, not to be endur'd,
Whereby, they dream distempers may be cur'd;
And, GOD shall fool their wisdom in that hour;
So break their snares, and weaken so, their pow'r,
That, what they did suppose would have o'rthrown
His purposes, will quite destroy their own.
This I believe, who oft-times have foreseen
Contingent things, that have unlikely been:
And, though for this, I may be flouted more
Than for the like expressions heretofore,
And more in hazard; I am not afeard
To let them any where, be seen or heard,
Nor will be discontent with him who shall
Conceive of me, as Festus did of Paul;
For, I expect not, that Grapes can be born
Upon a Thistle, or Figs on a Thorn.
And though the Scorners ask to what intent
I have compos'd this Ribble-rabblement,
(As they will call it) I, will tell them why,
In meekness, that they may as well as I
Be thereby profited; and (if their pride,
Obstruct it not) lay prejudice aside.
At first relation of the foresaid News,
I stept aside, to counsel with my Muse,
That, as I often do, I might thereby
My heart against assailings fortifie:
For, (my infirmities, I'll not dissemble)
My flesh as prone is to look pale and tremble
As other mens, if I neglect the cures
That must be took for such distemperatures
As are begot, by sudden informations
Of accidents beyond our expectations.
To which end, if I did not oft retire
To seek by musings, what, GOD, will inspire,
And thus preserve them in my slighted Rimes,
I could not bear the burdens which these times
Impose on me, or mine, and upon those
Who first made head against our common foes
By their encouragement, who had the pow'r,
Which might have sav'd those whom they did devour,
And have as well brought scorn and outward shame
On those who acted with them, without blame,
As on themselves; and, when GOD did restore
Their Pow'r twice lost, still acted, as before.
In that, and such like Cases, not in vain,
I thus distill out from the heart and brain,
The spirits of those many mus'd-on matters
Which there I find, to make some cordial waters.
For, though they, who confide in men and horse,
Deride them, as meer whimsies of no force;
They make me merry, when my heart was sad,
They keep me sober, when men think me mad;
And, by my musings also, now and then,
The like effects are wrought on other men:
For, they assist us to consider so,
Those things, which men may; those, which GOD will do;
What, we our selves must act; what, leave undone;
What, may in reason, follow thereupon;
What madness 'twere to overcharge with sorrow
The present day, with dreading more to morrow;
Or, mar our sleep, by being discontented
At what may not be, or not be prevented,
That, I take up what likely hopes I may
My present fears or doubtings to allay;
And fix my confidence on him, by whom,
I am assured help at last will come:
And he still sends in, (when I know not where
To find supply for things that needful are)
So much, as may support me to persever
In what I am obliged to endeavour.
I, am as sensible, as most men are,
Of all those Dangers, which do now appear;
And, till with GOD, I had convers'd awhile,
GEORGE MONCK with all his Forces in this Isle,
And all that He and Mountague can do
At Sea and Land, with help of LONDON too,
Could put me in no hope they should prevent
The perils which appeared imminent:
But, now, though all their Forces they should bend
Against that Cause, which we hope they befriend,
And, all the strength both Spaine & France can bring,
Were joyned to impose on us a King
Without Conditions, I should not repent
My Principles, or fear the consequent.
Because, if by his coming, he shall heal
Our wounds, and breaches, we are safe and well;
And if he come in vengeance, we shall taste
A bitter Cup, and, he the dregs, at last.
For, having as Appendants to that Pow'r
Sins unrepented, and as great as our,
Which daily will encrease, when they come in,
SIN, shall do execution upon sin:
Prophaness, joyning hands with superstition,
And, Sanctity dissembled, with Ambition;
They shall so plague each other, that, if ten
Of honest and true-hearted English men
Be left in ev'ry thousand, and, together
Knit in true Charity fast to each other,
They shall be a RESERVE, to make this Nation
More prosp'rous in another Generation,
I, would have said, before this year be gone,
If, I, had now seen Justice better done;
Or, any probability perceiv'd,
That, what I should declare, would be believ'd.
But, peradventure, 'tis a day too late,
This day, on any terms to promise that,
Which yet, expected is, by some of them,
Who, have the means neglected, and the time.
For, Charles those great advantages hath won
By what hath been omitted, and miss-done,
(Which, I long since foresaw) that, though his Pow'r
MONCK shall employ for us; nor his, nor our,
Nor both united; nor a Parliament,
Established with full and free consent,
Of all the People; (if by penitence,
GOD, reconciled be unto that Prince)
Can at this present, make the scale so even,
(Vnless our peace be likewise made in heaven)
But, that there will be ten for one, at least,
To weigh him out his claimed Interest,
And, force us those conditions to receive,
Which he himself shall pleased be to give.
For, our great Wars, confusions, and dissenting,
Will frustrate so, endeavours of preventing
Our fears, and setling true peace, in that way,
Whereby, we for a settlement assay;
That he, by whom, lost hopes reviv'd became,
May accidentally, without just blame,
Through breach of trust, make way to bring him in,
Who, hitherto hath most opposed bin.
For, that, which cures, where one distemper lies,
Kills, where are complicated maladies:
Or, else, at least, produceth an effect
Much differing, from what we did expect.
If still both Parties be the same they were,
They rather shall encrease confusions here
Than qualifie them: and, for ought that, yet,
To me appeareth likely to beget
A better hope: nought, Reason offers us,
But this; GOD, grant it prove no worse than thus.
If, he be qualifi'd, as now some say
He is; and as (for ought I know) he may,
That will be then effected, which few thought
Could have here whilst they liv'd to pass been brought.
And, if to GOD, he reconciled be,
Why, not to men? Or, wherefore not to me,
Who, never was for self-respects to him
An Adversary, or, a friend to them
Who were his Enemies, for being so,
But, as he was, or seem'd to be, a Foe
To GOD and Justice? If, he be not such,
Why should I doubt his favour? Or, fear much
His wrath? For, doubtless, if he be upright,
He, then, in honest men will take delight;
Yea, peradventure, may have need of one
To do such services as I have done,
Without regarding greatly what men shall
Be pleased, or displeased therewithall;
And, if he be a Tyrant, I know why
He, will have greater cause to fear, than I.
If, her, who with her Cup of fornications
Hath long made drunk the Kings of many Nations,
He hath not pledg'd in secret; nor, so long
Drunk her inchantments, that they are too strong
To be expell'd, there may be perfect cures
For all meer natural distemp'ratures,
Whereby, he from Impostures may depart,
To own what GOD hath written in his heart.
And, then, it will be evidently seen
Which way, he might a glorious King have been,
Who, now is none; and what the Parliament,
Which promised to make him such, then meant;
For, he that governs men, must righteous be,
And, there is no such glorious King as he.
When King and People are confin'd by Laws
Neither the Princes, nor the Peoples Cause
Can be infring'd; and questionless, if he
Inclin'd to such a condescention be;
This would, when both sides thereunto submit,
Good will to men, and peace on earth, beget;
And, both GOD's Justice, and his mercy too
It would illustrate, if it might be so.
For, GOD's Long-suff'ring doth abide for ever;
And, Judgements, very seldom times, or never,
Are past by such an absolute Decree,
As, by Repentance not revers'd to be;
Nor doth he look, that, man's Repentance should
Proportion with his Deviations hold,
Since his Free Grace, a standing help supplies,
To make amends for those deficiencies.
Manasses, guilty of sins most abhorr'd,
Was cast out of his Kingdom, and restor'd;
Yea, and this Parliament, whose Crimes are more
Ten times, than his, were twice shut out of doore;
Yet, now in grace again (God grant they may
Take heed of falling the third time away,)
For, GOD, will then perhaps, the second time,
(As he did of the rest) make proof of him.
What he will do, is known to him alone,
Because, he only knows, what will be done
By them, to whom Conditions are declar'd
With threatnings, and a promised reward,
As they shall be neglected, or fulfill'd;
Or, men are either well, or evill-will'd:
For, they, the Devil's, not GOD's, Prophets are,
Who, absolutely, either peace, or war,
Or shame, or honour, poverty, or wealth,
Or life, or death, or sicknesses, or health)
Shall promise unto them, who have transgress'd
Without conditions tacite, or express'd;
And they are Fools abus'd by ill suggestions,
Who tempt men, by demanding of such questions.
This, doubtless, will by no man be withstood
Who seeks his own weal in the common good,
And, doth not either strive to have possession
Of other mens concernments, by oppression,
Or, is displeas'd with ev'ry Government,
Save that, which his own wisdom shall invent.
If this, may be vouchsaf'd, or, any thing
Which might appear to have a modelling
By GOD's, and Natures Laws; I am so far,
From Jonah's frowardness, when, GOD, did spare
Great Niniveh, that, though it quite dissented,
From all that I have aimed at, or hinted,
(Here, or elsewhere) I, therein should rejoyce,
And praise Almighty GOD, with heart and voyce,
That, though he both did threaten to destroy,
He lets both parties, at the last enjoy
More grace than they deserve; and turns to them,
In mercy, though they turn not, yet, to him:
For, my endeavours wholly were bestown,
To have GOD's mind fulfilled, not mine own;
And, whether he in mercy or in wrath
To give us Kings again, determin'd hath;
If he, shall bring one hither, I'll receive him
With such obedience as I ought to give him;
And, praise GOD for his Justice, though his hand
Shall smite me first of any in this Land.
But, I shall not believe he hath Commission
To raign here, by GOD's grace, or his permission,
Untill he gets admittance by th'Assents
Of these three Nations in their Parliaments;
Or, by re-conquest: Nor, will I desist
From still adhering to that Interest
Which we possess, and, on Appeals from heaven,
Was by GOD's Doom, unto this People given:
But, I'll assert it, while life shall endure,
Or, till for sin, GOD, takes the forfeiture
Of what he gave; and absolutely shall
Translate it; or, on terms conditionall:
Or, till I see our diff'rences decided,
And, how the Pow'r now claim'd shall be divided.
Mean while, I neither to be saved from
His wrath, or, to find grace in time to come,
Will have with him compliance; lest I wrong
That Pow'r to which my services belong:
Nor, will I, whilst this lasts, one deed assay
Which tendeth to removing it away.
Nay, notwithstanding it should me oppress,
And, ill requite me for my faithfulness,
I would not tell in secret, how it should
Supplanted be, although, perhaps, I could:
Except, in telling Charles, his Resignation,
Will be the best means of that supplantation:
For, though the Cause, I fought for, were unjust,
I am a Traytor if I break my trust.
Yea, though thereof, I be well satisfied,
If I shall turn unto the other side
Before that trust, I, totally resign,
With all that Pow'r, which by that trust was mine,
Or, make my self a starting hole, whereby
I may be false, with shews of Loyalty.
The Royal Pow'r, I loyally obey'd;
And, though it did oppress, was so afraid
Of innovating; that a Reformation
Thereof I wished, not an extirpation.
But, when by other men, through GOD's permission
It was remov'd; to that, did yield submission,
Which then succeeded; and so would have done,
Had twenty been admitted one by one,
In whom I saw the soveraign pow'r reside,
And, with most visibility abide:
For, ev'ry private person it behoves,
Till that whole Orbe, wherein he's fixed, moves,
To keep his place, not medd'ling any way
To overthrow the Pow'r he should obey.
Let that MONCK, whom I see but through a cloud,
(And may two faces hide beneath one hood,)
Consider this; and take heed, lest he may
By fair appearances be led astray,
And make his Pow'r to over-balance that
Which must be weigh'd out, by their free debate
To whom it appertains: for, they alone,
Must, now, untill their own set time is gone,
Determine that which in suspence doth stand;
And, if the Pow'r then slip into his hand,
(As possibly it will) he then may do
What GOD and his own conscience prompts him to.
Mean while, it will behove him to be wary;
For, if an equal hand he shall not carry,
As their Affairs now stand, 'twill treason be,
Ev'n in the most superlative degree;
And, shall be, doubtless, in the final swinge
Rewarded with superlative revenge,
Whether the Pow'r, from whom his Pow'r he had
Were perfect, or, some way imperfect made,
Either by their own faults, or other mens;
For, his defects have no excuse from thence:
Because, a servants trust, must be maintain'd,
How e'r their Masterships, his Masters gain'd.
Let him consider well, that, he is bound
To them in that state, wherein them he found
When they intrusted him; till their own Acts,
Or, providence, invalid those Contracts;
Or, totally annihilates the Band
By which they mutually obliged stand;
And, that, if they, through what he shall miss-do,
Be either forc'd, misled, or frighted to
Those condescentions, which may quite destroy
That Pow'r, by which he did his Pow'r enjoy,
His Faith is broke; unless, he do his best,
To re-impow'r them; or, make good, at least,
That End, for which GOD and the people gave
To them, and him, the Pow'r which now they have.
And, this, (if there befall an oversight)
Must be endeavoured with all his might;
For, ev'ry promise, vow, and undertaking,
Repugning this, is made null in the making;
And, all the bloud which is in this Cause shed,
Will down be showr'd, in vengeance on his head,
Who shall to wrong the Common right endeavor,
And in that prosecution still persever.
This is the Judgement, which this day, my Musings,
Dictate (as I think, by divine infusings)
To some good purposes, if we repent
That Course, which yet obstructeth GOD's intent.
And, when that mad distemper is allay'd
Which frustrates all that can be writ or said.
These Principles, by musing, I assay
To keep up, in my self; and, as I may,
To build in others, thereby, to encrease
Their faithfulness, and settle common-peace.
These Principles, so long as that Pow'r lasts
Which is in being, though it dayly wastes,
Is much contemn'd; (and without likelihood
Of ought effecting for the publike good)
Compels me conscientiously to wave
All self-respects; and all those which I have
To them, whose welfare is to me more dear
Than mine own life, and all things mortal are,
Rather, than I those duties would neglect,
Which, I think, may the common-peace effect,
(Though duties nor exacted, nor regarded,
But, oft, with injuries, and spights rewarded.)
Yea, still, though most my purposes deride,
And, make me scorn'd of Fools on either side;
I, take up all occasions to re-mind them
Of needful Cautions which they cast behind them,
As now I do, and heretofore have done:
Sometimes, foretelling, what would fall thereon,
And, then, remembring them as I saw need,
How, that which was foretold them, did succeed;
That, them (if possible) reduce I may
Before it be too late, into that way,
Wherein they may be safe; for, they have bin
Long out, and likely, never to come in,
Till GOD, by what he seems about to do,
(Or, some such way) shall force them thereunto.
For, 'tis not that course which hath practis'd bin,
Our putting this man out, and that man in;
Our punishing, of some for miss-conceiving
Their duties; nor, our giving, or forgiving,
According as our ends, it may effect,
Or, as we favour, or, else dis-respect;
Nor our Prudentials, though they did excell
The plots and counsels of Achitophel,
That will procure our safety; or, succeed
Much better, at this present, than his did.
No sure Conclusions, can be grounded on
That, which this General hath lately done,
Although, to make his passage hither smooth,
He Lambert foyl'd, as Lambert foiled Booth;
For, men, and humane actions, whatsoe'r
They promise, or portend, so trustless are,
That, none can yet know, whether of the Three
Shall to himself, or us, most prosp'rous be;
Though, for the present, there is in the One
Hope of much good, and in the other none.
'Tis not discov'ring of each others shame,
(And of those dunghils, out of which they came)
By suff'ring scurrilous base Pamphleteers
To fill the streets, with slanders, lies, and jeers,
Till there is hardly left us time and room
Of useful Truths, informed to become.
Nor preaching Swordmen, nor the fighting Priests,
Are they, who must support our Interests.
Nor they, who make our publike plagues the more
By shutting private mercies out of door:
For doubtless they, who, find not time, to hear
A man oppressed, once in twice four year,
Though urg'd with frequent importunities,
Will make GOD's ears as deaf unto their cries.
'Tis not our Fellowship with pious friends,
Made instrumental for meer carnal ends:
'Tis not our eagerness to miss-apply
The grace of GOD, and cloud it with a Lie,
Which will endear, and make us acceptable
To him, who to deliver us is able.
Nor is't our formal Off'rings, or our zeal
To GOD, and safety of this Commonweal
Pretended, by our weeding from his Corn
Those, whom he doth command to be forborn
Till harvest-time, (lest, as we dayly do,
Among the Tares, we pluck up good wheat, too)
That, will be our protection from the smart
And sting of Conscience, when GOD tries the heart;
Nor from those outward plagues, which many run
To meet, in hope, by that course, them to shun.
'Tis neither our, nor the designs of those
Who, to this Commonwealth are open foes,
That help, or harm us: For, none can contrive
Worse mischieves, than both Parties do derive
From their own projects; (as it would appear
If, they of their successes heedful were.)
Nor will it be our having of a King
Or no King good or bad, that peace will bring
To either side, till they shall better heed
How mis-advisedly they do proceed.
Nor is't a pack'd, peec'd, or, new Parliament,
Elected by a general assent,
That will repair us, though it might be had:
But, some things, whereof small account is made,
As we shall shortly find, when we have tri'd
What, by exper'ence will be verifi'd,
Some will desire to know them: would they could
As heartily desire it, as they should,
And mend what is amiss, when they do know it,
As easily as I can truly show it.
It is, that Mercy, and that righteousness,
Which, hypocritically we profess,
When we do shut our doors, our eyes, and ears,
Against the sad Petitions, cries, and tears
Of men oppress'd, and cast away that Bread
To dogs and swine, that Children should have fed.
'Tis self-denial, and not that alone
Which ought by all men to be undergone,
But also that in chief, which by a Vote
Was once pretended, and e'r since forgot.
It is a conscientious reparation
Of this Republicks Faith, whose violation
Makes all unprosp'rous which we take in hand;
And, which hath brought a Curse upon this Land
That will not be remov'd, till we have payd
Those Vows, which have been shamelesly delay'd.
'Tis want of meekness upon either side,
And Charity, which (making men divide,
And subdivide) doth day by day, encrease
Those Discords, which destroy the common peace;
For, nor mens wrath, nor their Phanatick zeal,
Compleats GOD's will, or cures the Commonweal,
Or edifies his Church: But, Righteousness,
And Truth profess'd, with sincere soberness.
'Tis these things, that must cure our Grand disease,
And, if we perish, 'tis through want of these.
These, are the sins, (as often heretofore
I have affirm'd, and say it now once more)
Which have destroy'd, and totally laid waste
Great Monarchies, and States in Ages past.
Yet, to these Crimes, this Age hath added many,
Beside hypocrisie, the worst of any.
Yea, they have crown'd them with impenitencies
For sins committed under fair pretences;
With perseverance in them, whilst GOD's hand
Is stretched forth in anger o'er this Land.
And, it is Penitence for these Transgressions,
As also, for our manifold omissions,
That must prevent the plagues now coming on.
GOD, grant, it may be timely, thought upon;
And, this, therewith, in season minded too;
That, we in conscience, are oblig'd to do
As much as possibly we shall be able
To seek preventing of that miserable
And sad condition, whereto they are brought,
Who, for the common Interest, have fought
By their injoynments, (who then managed
The Pow'r, which their obedience warranted)
And, thereto, not alone contributed
Their Livelihoods, but, in their service shed
Their precious bloud, with hazard of their lives,
And ruine to their children, and their wives;
Whom, if we slightly leave indempnifi'd,
Will raise the loudest CRY that ever cri'd;
Make all men say, (who have their Cause well scann'd)
That honest men by knaves have been trapann'd;
Fulfill, what, in my OPOBALSAMVM,
I, fifteen years now past, foretold should come;
And in some other Premonitions too,
(Though heeded not) nigh forty years ago.
Yea, and, bring Vengeance, ev'n on those who shall
Suppose, it them concerneth not at all;
For, most, one way or other, guilty be,
And from the punishment, few shall be free.
What pinch was that? Oh gracious GOD! where art?
Stay by me: For, a sudden twinge at heart,
So gripeth it, with an injected fear,
As if some dreadful thing, were drawing near.
Waves, after waves, begin (methinks) to roul,
And, are come up, ulmost, ev'n to my soul.
Yet, why my soul, art thou cast down in me?
What is it, that can thus disquiet thee?
Still, trust in GOD; thy self to him resigne:
For, thou art his, and he is truly thine.
Although the Waters roar, the waves mount high,
And we are far from shore, yet, GOD is nigh;
Although the ship sinks, he can, if he please,
Make us, with safety, walk upon the Seas;
And, if we down into the Deeps must go,
There, we shall find him, and enjoy him too.
Take courage then, my heart, firm credit give,
To what he promiseth, and thou shalt live.
This pang is wholly past, and all my fear
Is now, for them, who, senceless do appear
Of their own hazards; who are without dread
Of that destruction which hangs o'er their head;
And, who have help and peace expected from
Those hills, from whence, their welfare cannot come;
As, they would soon find, if they heedful were
What winds breathe from them, and what fruits they bear.
How long! how long! shall GOD unto this place
Make dis-respected offers of his Grace?
How often, since great failings first begun,
Hath he provoked almost ev'ry one,
Apart, or joyntly? Ceasing not to prove
By Judgements and by mercies interwove,
How difficultly, either Grace or Nature
Can work upon a self-corrupted Creature?
By all things which may any way relate
To soul or body, credit or estate
We have been call'd upon, one way or other;
By sweet, and sharp things, and both mixt together.
By what to our chief joy, and sorrow tends;
By servants, neighbours, kindred, and by friends;
By sicknesses, and health; by scorns, and jeers;
By shame, and honour, and by hopes, and fears:
By other mens examples, GOD, forewarns;
Sometimes, by our own suff'rings, wisdom learns;
One while by wise men, and true Prophets teaches,
Sometimes, by Wizards, fools, and children preaches;
Then, last of all, when no effect these take,
By things (as now) like Bal'ams Ass, doth speak:
And, that, which all this, probably presages,
Is (without swift repentance) Bal'ams wages;
Which will be surely paid, when they who may
Prevent it yet, shall give their pow'r away:
Unless that Mercy, which no ending hath,
Shall once again, put off the day of wrath;
(Now near approaching) when, in few, or none,
There shall be any hope it may be done.
So, for a while, my mad fit now is over,
Would other mad men might as soon recover;
And, be as sober in their Intervalls,
As I have hope to be, whatere befalls.
Thus, once again, although that heretofore,
In this mode, I resolved to write no more,
(As, justly, otherwhile, the Parliament
Revokes their Orders, when impertinent
To Common safety) I, have boldness took,
For like respects, my purpose to revoke.
And, though, as our Cause now at hazard lies,
Most men will judge me far more bold than wise,
To own these Musings, I so dreadless am,
That, to attest them, I subscribe this Name

A Postscript to Mr. R. Hamon, Merchant.

SIR,