A Sacred Poem wherein the Birth Miracles :: :: University of Virginia Library

A Sacred Poem wherein the Birth Miracles

Death Resurrection and Ascension of the Most Holy Jesus are delineated With His Prayer before his Apprehension: Also Eighteen of David's Psalms with the Book of Lamentations Paraphrased. Together with Poems on several Occasions. By James Chamberlayne

Chamberlaine, James

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CHAP. I.

1. The miserable estate of Jerusalem by reason of her Sin. 12. She complaineth of her Grief. 18. And confesseth Gods Judgment to be Righteous.

1.

How doth the City, she that once was known
To have her Temples circled with a Crown,
Sit with a mournful Wreath of Cypress now,
Like a forsaken VVidow, on her Brow?
She that was once among the Nations great,
And as a glorious Princess ruling sate
Among the lesser Provinces, is made
Unto the Foe to bow her stately Head.

2.

Down her pale Cheeks the pearly drops do trill
Both Day and Night, which from her Eyes distill,
Amongst her Lovers she hath found not one,
That doth the troubles of her Soul bemoan,

144

And that which adds fresh Fuel to her Woes,
Is, that her Friends are now become her Foes.

3.

Judah, for all those Cruelties which She
Hath done, is gone into Captivity,
She dwells among the Heathen, where her mind
Doth no repose from all her Trouble find,
All her Pursuers, who did for her look
Have in the narrow ways her overtook.

4.

The Ways of Sion mourn, because no Guests,
As they were wont, approach her solemn Feasts:
All her frequented Gates forsaken are,
No more Oblations in her Courts appear:
Because these fail, her Rev'rend Priests do grieve,
Her lovely Virgins do in Sorrow live,
And She who once an undisturbed Peace
And plenty had, sits now in heaviness.

5.

Her Foes the only Chief are, who command
Within her Gates with an imperious Hand,
They prosper, happy and successful are,
While She the Judgments of the Lord doth bear,
For her Transgressions, are her Children gone
Captives before her Foes to Babylon.

6.

From Sions Daughter all the lovely Grace
Departed is, that once adorn'd her Face;

145

Her Princes are with Hunger almost pin'd,
Become like Harts that can no Pasture find;
Vainly they think with fainting Limbs to fly
Before the Hunter, but fall down and dye.

7.

Jerusalem did to remembrance call
When she afflicted was and made to fall,
Those pleasant and delightful things which she
Lost, when she went into Captivity.
Her jeering Foes upon her Sorrows play'd,
And May-Games at her sacred Sabbaths made.

8.

Jerusalem hath sinned grievously,
And is remov'd for her Impiety.
All that ador'd her, do her now despise
Having beheld her lew'd Adulteries:
Sighing she turns her mournful Face aside,
And vents her Sorrows in a Briny Tide.

9.

Fill'd with Pollution, in her wanton mind
Her fearful end could no admittance find:
Therefore, when least she did of Judgment dream,
Down from her fancy'd Bliss she headlong came
In a most fearful manner, and no Eye
Let fall a Tear at her Calamity.
Behold, O Lord, the troubles of my Breast,
And how they are by a proud Foe encreast.

146

10.

His impious hand hath from her Eyes remov'd
Those sacred things, which she so dearly lov'd:
Within her Courts the Heathen have been seen,
Who were forbad by Thee to enter in.

11.

Her starving People for the want of Bread
Do sighing sit, not to be comforted,
All their delightful things they given have
For Food, to save them from the noisome Grave:
Behold, O Lord, consider how I now
Am held in no esteem, and made to bow.

12.

Have ye no sense of my afflicted case,
Ye savage Monsters, who this way do pass?
Stay but a while, and tell me if your Eyes
Have seen such sad amazing Miseries,
As my incensed God is pleas'd to lay
Upon my Soul, in this his wrathful day.

13.

He from above into my Bones hath sent
Consuming-Fire, as a punishment:
He for my Feet an unseen Net hath spread,
Amid'st those sinful Paths I us'd to tread,
And backwards turn'd me; so that now I lye
Wasting, and fainting in my Misery.

14.

He round my Neck hath put the heavy Band,
Of my Transgressions with his angry Hand:

147

And my Herculean Strength hath weaken'd so,
That I am captiv'd by a feeble Foe;
Nor shall I ever able be again
To burst asunder my uneasie Chain.

15.

The Lord hath trampled under foot the strong
And valiant Men, which did to me belong:
In fury he hath sent an armed Host
To slay my Youth, and spoil my fertile Coast:
As in a Wine-Press, the Almighty hath
Trod Judah's Daughter, in his burning Wrath.

16.

No downy Sleep can on mine Eye-lids creep,
For these Afflictions day and night I weep;
Adown my Cheeks the briny Tears do rowl,
Because the Lord, who should relieve my Soul,
Is far from me; my Children des'olate are,
And Pris'ners made unto the Foe in War.

17.

Sion for Succour hath her Hands stretch'd out,
But all in vain; the Lord hath round about
Girt Jacob with his Foes; Jerusalem
Is as a menstr'ous Wretch, abhorr'd by them.

18.

The Lord is Righteous, and his Judgments all,
For my notorious Sins, do justly fall
Upon my wanton head: I all my days
Have been a Rebel to his sacred ways:
Hear, I beseech you, all ye passers by,
Look how forsaken I in Sorrow lye:

148

My Maids, and young Men by a conq'ring-hand
Are Captives led, into another Land.

19.

I call'd on those, whom I my Lovers thought,
To come and help me, but they help'd me not:
My Priests and Elders in the Streets fell Dead;
Famish'd with Hunger for the want of Bread.

20.

Behold, O Lord, the Judgments of my Sin;
My Bowels work, my heart can't rest within;
Sad and dejected in the midst of Woes
I trembling sit, to see the slaughtring Blows
Of the devouring Sword abroad; the while
Within my Gates pale Famine makes a spoil.

21.

My treach'rous Friends have heard how sadly I
Have mourn'd, but none would to my help draw nigh:
My Foes have likewise all my Trouble known,
And greatly joy at what thy Hand hath done:
But thou wilt bring their stablish'd day at last,
And plague them sorely, who have laid me waste.

22.

Then let their Sins in their full measure come
Before thy Face, and let them have their Doom;
A Doom as sharp as I have found from thee,
Do unto them as thou hast done to me:
It's time, O Lord, that thou should'st take my part,
And ease the Pains of my afflicted Heart.

149

CHAP. II.

1. Jeremiah lamenteth the Misery of Jerusalem. 20. He camplaineth thereof to God.

1.

How hath the Lord forsaken his delight,
And mask'd his Sion in the Shade of Night,
Took from her lovely Brow the awful Crown,
And hath from Heav'n to Earth her Beauties thrown,
Rememb'ring not in this his wrathful day
The sacred Temple, where we us'd to Pray.

2.

He ruin'd hath, and utterly destroy'd
Those pleasant Tents, which Jacob long enjoy'd:
Thrown down the Holds of Judah's Daughter round,
And raz'd, and made them level with the ground:
Yea as a thing unclean hath made the Land,
And all her Princes in his Eye-sight stand.

3.

He in his Fury Isr'els Strength hath quell'd,
And his all-sisting-Arm from him with-held
Before the Foe, in his consuming Ire
Hath Jacob wasted with devouring Fire.

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4.

To its full bent, like a revengeful Foe,
His sin'wy-Arm hath drawn the fatal Bow;
And slew whate're in Sions Tent was known
To be with pleasure, and delight look'd on.

5.

He, as a Foe, hath Isr'els Land laid waste,
And all his Forts, and Palaces defac'd:
In universal sorrow Judah lies,
Rending the gentle Air with mournful Cries.

6.

He from his Temple hath his presence took,
Like an unfruitful Garden it forsook:
In Rubbish laid his hallow'd House, and those
Scatter'd, who there to serve in Course were chose:
Hath caus'd the solemn Feasts, and Sabbaths too
Of Sion to forgotten be, and go
Without their due observance; and in's Wrath
The sacred King and Priest, despised hath.

7.

No mounting Flames upon his Altar rise;
His Temple hateful is unto his Eyes:
Her Walls within whose Guards we us'd to stand,
Are given up into the Heathens Hand:
As in a solemn Feast, their Voices are
Heard in our Courts to rend the sounding Air.

8.

The Lord hath purpos'd level as the ground
To lay the Walls that compass Sion round:

151

And hath stretch'd out a Line, resolved on
Her utter Ruine and Subversion:
Therefore the shielding-Rampart, and the Wall
Together sunk, and to the ground did fall.

9.

Her Brass-Ribb'd Gates, (which none could ever wound,)
And Iron-Bars lye broken on the ground:
Her Kings and Princes, who in Purple sate
Dispencing Justice in her peaceful Gate,
Are Captives now among the Heathen gone;
No Law nor Justice in her Gates are known,
Her Prophets find no Vision from the Lord,
Nor in his House sounds forth the sacred Word.

10.

In a deep silence on the dusty ground
The Elders sit, with Woes encompast round;
With fulsome Dust strow'd on each hoary-Head,
And with repenting Sack-cloath covered:
The lovely Maids of Sion, who would not
Within their Breasts admit a ruffling thought,
Prest down with sorrow like the Aged go,
With palsi'd Limbs and Heads that downwards bow.

11.

My spungy Eyes, which from their Channels ne're
Fail'd to assist me with a moistning Tear,
Keep back their kind asswaging Dews from me,
Now I should use them in my Misery:

152

My Bowels tremble to behold the Fall,
And fatal Ruine of my People all,
To hear the little Sucklings make complaint,
Seeking for Food, and as they seek it faint.

12.

They to their Mothers say with mournful Voice,
O where's the Corn and Wine that should rejoyce
Our drooping Souls? In vain for Food they cry,
Fainting they sink within their Arms and Dye.

13.

Tell me, forsaken Sion, tell what thing
Shall I to Witness take for thee, or bring,
That can with thee compare? O how shall I
Think on a way to ease thy Misery?
No 'tis beyond my Art thy Wound to reach,
For like the Sea, so wide and deep a Breach
Thy Sins have made, that to close up thy Wound,
And make it whole, no Balsome can be found.

14.

Thy Prophets have been busied with the Wind,
Taught thee according to thy wanton Mind,
They have not as they ought display'd thy Sin,
To turn thee from the Bondage thou art in;
But have pronounc'd instead of Truths base Lyes,
Which have ensnar'd thee in these Miseries.

153

15.

All that pass by, insulting o're thy Bands,
Do hissing wag their Heads, and clap their Hands;
Saying, is this the City that Men call,
The joy of the whole Earth, and chief of all?

16.

Thy hellish Foes, joyful to see thy day,
As they walk by, do gnash their Teeth, and say,
What we have look'd for long, proud Sions Doom,
Is on her now in all its rigour come:
Now we her Judgments have both seen and found,
Sion destroy'd, and levell'd with the ground.

17.

VVhat God hath purpos'd in the days of Old,
And by his Prophets long ago foretold,
He hath fulfill'd: unto the Earth hath thrown
Thy stately Buildings without pity shown:
Nay, he hath made thee to thy Foes a scorn,
And over thee exalted hath their Horn.

18.

They cry'd unto the Lord, O Sions Wall,
How art thou ruin'd and forsook by all?
Let Tears, like an o'reflowing River, rowl
Down from thy weeping Eyes, and to thy Soul
Give no repose, no respite to thine Eye,
Let it for ever flow, and ne're be dry.

19.

Arise, and cry in the first Watch o'th' Night:
Pour out thine Heart like water in the sight

154

Of the Almighty; and with Hands lift high,
Implore thy Sucklings Lives, that fainting lye
VVith Hunger in the top of ev'ry Street;
Beg till thou can'st with his Compassion meet.

20.

See and consider, Lord, on whom it is,
That thou hast laid so great a Plague as this:
Shall Women eat the tender fruit o'th' Womb,
Their Span-long-Children? Shall thy House a Tomb
Both to the Priest and Prophet now become?

21.

In ev'ry Street the youthful Heads are found,
With the Gray-hairs to kiss the flinty ground:
Thou hast my Virgins and my Young-Men all
Slain, and made pit'less by the Sword to fall.

22.

As in a Solemn Day thou hast call'd out
Thy Terrours, and beset me round about,
So that not one in this thy wrathful Day
Remain'd, or could by Flight escape away:
Those that I swadled, and brought up, the Foe
Hath now, O Lord, consumed to my VVoe.

155

CHAP. III.

1. The Faithful bewail their Calamities. 31. They acknowledge God's Justice.

1

I am the Man that hath Afflictions known,
By that smart Rod which he hath sent me down.

2

Into sad darkness he my Soul hath brought,
And from mine Eyes the chearful Light shut out.

3

Hath me forsaken, and hath turn'd his Hand
Against me, that I now do trembling stand.

4

He hath my tender Flesh, & Snow-white Skin
Shrivell'd; and broken all my Bones within.

5

He hath Besieg'd me, that I can't get free,
Walling me round with dreadful Misery.

6

In dark and hideous places hath me put,
As are the Dead, who in the Grave are shut,

7

Hath round about me made so strong a Fence,
So weighty made my Chains, I can't get hence.

156

8

When I with a loud cry assail his Ear,
He shuts my Prayer out, and will not hear.

9

He hath block'd up my ways, made me forsake
The beaten Road, and unknown Paths to take.

10

Like as a rav'ning Bear, he was to me,
Or as a Lyon lurking secretly.

11

He stop'd me, and in pieces did me Tear,
And left me mangled and unpityed there.

12

He bent his murth'ring Bow, & made me stand,
Like a most certain Mark to guide his Hand.

13

He caus'd the winged-Darts from's horned-Bow,
With a swift flight into my Reins to go.

14

I was a scorn to all my People, they
Made me the Subject of their Mirth all day.

15

He hath me fill'd with bitter things, and me
Made drunk with Wormwood, to my Misery.

16

He hath me wounded with afflictions sore,
And me with Ashes covered all o're.

17

He also hath my Soul remov'd from peace,
And I forget my former happiness.

157

18

And said my Courage, and my strength is fled,
And from the Lord my hope is perished.

19

When I remember all those Sorrows I
Have undergone, and under which I lye.

20

My Soul keeps them in mind, and for all this
She in my Bosome truly humbled is.

21

This gives me hopes, that the Almighty will
Be my Defence, and my Preserver still.

22

And this must say, that of his Mercy 'tis,
That we are not consum'd, because that his

23

Compassions fail not; dayly they increase,
And great's to us his Love and Faithfulness.

24

The Lord my Portion is, and therefore I
Will hope in him in all my Misery.

25

Good is the Lord, and gracious to those
Who seek him, and their Trust in him repose.

26

'Tis good for Man to wait the leisure time
Of Gods Salvation, and to trust in him.

27

'Tis good for Man, in's Youth his Neck to fit
Unto the Yoke, and to Gods Laws submit.

158

28

Us'd to the Yoke, he doth no murmurs vent,
But bears with patience Heaven's punishment.

29

Humbles himself, and doth with hopes attend,
When the Almighty will his succour lend.

30

Reproach'd by those, who do his Ruine seek,
Unto their Stroaks he gives his tender Cheek.

31

Knowing that God wont him forsake, but be
A just Avenger of his Injury.

32

That though he send Afflictions, yet at last
They, who them suffer, shall his Mercies taste.

33

He takes no pleasure to chastise at all,
Or let Afflictions on his Creatures fall.

34

To crush the Fetter'd Pris'ner of the Earth
Under his Feet, to whom he did give Birth:

35

To turn aside the Right of any one,
That craves admittance to the sacred Throne:

36

To overthrow the Cause, that righteous is,
The Lord doth not, nor will approve of this.

37

Who is't that says a thing, and when 'tis brought
To pass, dares say, that Heaven will'd it not?

159

38

Out from the sacred Lips of God can't come
Both Good and Bad, he gives a righteous Doom.

39

Why then doth Man repine, when struck by God?
Wer't not for's Sin, he'd never feel his Rod.

40

Let's search and try our ways, let's turn unto
Our angry God, and see what he will do.

41

Let's, with our Hands, lift up our Hearts on high,
And thus bespeak the dreadful Deity;

42

We all have sinn'd, we all have Rebels been,
Therefore thou hast us plagued for our Sin.

43

With Wrath thou hast o'rewhelm'd, and clos'd us all;
And made us pit'less to thy Fury fall.

44

In a thick Cloud thou hast thy self inshrin'd,
That through't our Prayers should no passage find.

45

We are by all men the Off-scouring deem'd,
And look'd on as unfit to be esteem'd.

46

With open Mouths our Foes their Joys express,
Glad to behold us plung'd in deep distress.

47

Fear, and a Snare are come on us, and we
Destroyed are with great severity.

160

48

Mine Eyes with Rivers of salt Tears, gush out,
For the Destruction on my People brought.

49

Adown my Cheeks they glide, and will not cease
Till from my troubles he doth me release:

50

Till that the Lord in mercy will look down,
They'l never stop, but Day and Night will run.

51

My very Heart with grief within me's torn,
To hear the Daughters of my City mourn.

52

Like as a Bird, so am I chas'd by those,
Who are, without just cause, my mortal Foes.

53

Into a Dung'on dark they have me thrown,
And over-whelm'd me with a Massy-Stone.

54

Billows of Sorrows o're my Head did pass,
Then I concluded that I ruin'd was.

55

I call'd upon thy Name, O Lord most high,
Out of the Dung'on in my Misery.

56

Unto my Voice thou hast inclin'd thine Ear,
With-hold not now, and be not deaf, but hear.

57

Thou, in the day when I did call, drew'st near,
Did'st answer, and command me not to fear.

161

58

Thou, & thou only, Lord, maintain'st my Cause,
And did'st my Life redeem from Bloody Paws.

59

And now, O Lord, since thou hast seen my wrong,
Judg thou my Cause, it doth to thee belong.

60

Thou hast with watchful Eye their Vengeance seen,
And all their thoughts, that have against me been.

61

Thou hast, O Lord, both heard their Scoffs and known
All, that against me in their hearts is done.

62

Unto those Lips, who do against me rise,
Thou art no Stranger, nor to their device.

63

When they uprise, or when they lye along,
I am the Subject of their mirthful Song.

64

Give them, O Lord, their due, and speedy Doom,
Full Cups of Vengeance, let them flowing come.

65

Let killing Sorrow sit on ev'ry Heart;
Let not thy Fatal Curse from them depart.

66

Pursue; and chase them in thine anger, Lord,
And from the Earth destroy them with thy Sword.

162

CHAP. IV.

1. Sion bewaileth her pitiful estate. 13. She confesseth her Sins.

1

How is the beamy-Gold grown dim as Night?
How is the pure Gold chang'd, which was most bright?
How are the Temple-stones with dirty Feet
Defil'd, and scatter'd into ev'ry Street?

2

The Noble Men of Sion, lik'ned to
The most fine Gold, how are they look'd on now?
But as the Potters handy-work of Clay;
No other Honour, or esteem have they.

3

The watry-Monsters ne're deny the Breast,
But give their Young the Teat, when they request:
My People cruel to their Young Ones are,
Like th'unnatural Ostrich, void of care.

4

With scortching thirst the tender Suckling's Tongue,
Cleaves to the vaulted Roof of's Mouth: the Young

163

And harmless Infants, that can scarcely speak,
Ask of their Parents Bread, but none they break.

5

They, who did use on choicest Food to feed,
Perish i'th' Streets, and none their crys do heed:
They who were Rob'd with Cloath of Tyrian-Dy,
Naked upon a loathsome Dunghil lye.

6

My People for their Sins more chast'ned are,
Than e're the People of lew'd Sodom were:
Their City soon consumed was to th'Ground,
And no appearing Foe Encamp'd it round.

7

Her Nazarites, who were more purely White
Than is the Fleecy Snow, and Milk to sight,
More Ruddy than the Rubies ever were,
And than the polish'd Saphyr, shin'd more clear;

8

So changed are, as to their Faces, now
That one them cannot for their Blackness know:
Close to their Iv'ry-Bones their Skin is shrunk,
And wither'd like a dead Trees Sapless Trunk.

9

Those, who are killed by the Sword, are far
Better, than they, who slain by Famine, are:
For these, when stricken by it, lingring lye,
And by degrees doe pine away, and Dye.

10

The half starv'd Mothers forced were to Eat
The Fruit of their own Wombs, for want of Meat,

164

So much distress'd, and to this dismal pass
Were they reduc'd, when Sion ruin'd was.

11

The Lord his furious Indignation hath
Accomplish'd, and pour'd out his burning Wrath;
He such a Fire hath in Sion made,
As hath in Rubbish her Foundations laid.

12

The Crowned Heads, and those of meaner Birth,
That trod the globous-Surface of the Earth,
Would not have thought, that ever any Foe
Should have on Sion seiz'd, and brought it low.

13

For the notorious Sins of those, who were
Her Priests & Prophets, all these Judgments are
Upon her brought, they are the Cause of all
The Purple Blood, that in her Streets did fall.

14

Defil'd with Blood, which in the Streets they shed,
Like Blind Men up and down they wandered,
And were so foul, that Men did them detest,
And durst not come to touch their sacred Vest.

15

The Rabble with a loud Stentorean cry
Call'd to the Priests, and bid them thence to fly;
Depart, depart, ye are unclean, said they,
Therefore they fled, and roved Night and Day:

165

The Heathen follow'd with a dreadful Yell,
And said they should no more in Sion dwell.

16

The Wrath of God hath them dispersed quite,
He will no more abide them in his sight:
Because they neither to their Priests did give
A due respect, nor did their Ag'd relieve.

17

Whil'st we expecting look'd towards the Coast
Of Egypt, waiting for a succ'ring Host,
Our gazing Eyes were dim and weary grown,
Looking for help, from whence we could have none.

18

From Street to Street they did pursue us so,
That we could no where from their Fury go:
Upon our Lives is past the fatal Doom,
Our Days are finish'd, and our End is come.

19

Our deadly Foes in Flight much swifter are
Than is the quick Wing'd Eagle of the Air:
They have pursu'd us on the Mountains, and
Have waited for us in the Desart Sand.

20

The Lord's Anointed in their Nets are tan'e,
In whom we hop'd, & by their Hands is Slain;
Of whom we said, under his Shaddow we
Shall live secure, and from our Fears be free.

21

Rejoyce, O Edom's Daughter, be thou joy'd,
Who did'st insult, when Sion was destroy'd:

166

Thou shalt e're-while the Cup of Fury taste,
Be sham'd, as She was, and like her laid Waste.

22

Thy Woes, O Sion, are fulfill'd, no more
Shalt thou be Captive made, as heretofore:
But, O thou Edom, Heaven will begin
To visit thine Offence, and show thy Sin.

CHAP. V.

A pitiful Complaint of Sion in Prayer to God.

1

Be mindful, thou, of all our Woes, whose Throne
In Heaven is: on our reproach look down.

2

The Land, thou gav'st us to Possess, is Till'd
By Heathens, and our Houses with them fill'd.

3

No King we have, our Cities all are left,
As mournful Widows, of their Loves bereft.

4

We can't fetch Water from the Chrystal Spring,
Nor Fuel get, unless its price we bring.

5

Our Necks are with a grievous Bondage prest,
Wearied we are, and can obtain no rest.

167

6

We have for Bread implored Egypts Aid,
And a firm League with wicked Ashur made.

7

Our Fathers have transgrest, and are no more;
We their Transgressions, and our own have bore.

8

Servants have rul'd, and had o're us command;
None would us free from their imperious Hand.

9

We ran the hazard of our lives for Meat,
Because the Sword around did for us wait.

10

Our Skin did black (as is the Oven) look,
Because lank-Famine rag'd in ev'ry nook.

11

They forc'd the Wives in Sion, and in wild,
And burning Lust their lovely Maids defil'd.

12

They hang'd our Princes up, and had no care
To honour them, who Priests or Aged were.

13

They made the Young-Men labour at the Mill,
With weighty Burdens did the Children kill.

14

No Law-dispensing-Elder now doth sit
In Sions Gate, nor's Musick heard in it.

15

The Joy and Pleasure of our Heart is fled,
Our Daunce we now in mournful Measures Tread.

168

16

The State and glory of our Realm is gone,
Wo to us, for our Sins have it undone.

17

For this our Hearts are Faint, our Griefs increase,
And for these things our Eyes ne're Weeping cease.

18

But chiefly for that Sion (fam'd of Old
To be thy Joy) is now the Foxes hold.

19

But why, O Lord, thou sole Eternal One,
Who hast an everlasting settled Throne,

20

Do'st thou so long forget, and leave us here;
And to our Out-cries wilt not lend an Ear?

21

Turn thou us, Lord, and we shall turned be,
And let us have the Days, we once did see:

22

But thou hast cast us off; thine angry look
Shows, that thou hast thy Sion quite forsook.