Divine poems :: :: University of Virginia Library

The Prince and people fasts, and prayes;
God heard, accepted, lik'd their wayes:
Upon their timely true repentance,
God rever'st, and chang'd his sentence.

Then suddenly, with holy zeale inflam'd,
He caus'd a generall Act to be proclaim'd,
By sage advice, and counsell of his Peeres;

“Let neither man, or child, of youth, or yeares,
“From greatest in the Citie, to the least,
“Nor Herd, nor pining Flocke, nor hungry beast,
“Nor any thing that draweth ayre, or breath,
“On forfeiture of life, or present death,
“Presume to taste of nourishment, or food,
“Or move their hungry lips to chew the cud;
“From out their eyes let Springs of water burst,
“With teares (or nothing) let thē slake their thirst:
“Moreo're, let every man (what e're he be)
“Of higher quality, or low degree,
“D'off all they weare (excepting but the same
“That nature craves, & that which covers shame)
“Their nakednesse with sackcloth let them hide,
“And mue the vest'ments of their silken pride;
“And let the brave cariering Horse of Warre,
“(Whose rich Caparisons, and Trappings are
“The glorious Wardrobe of a Victors show)
“Let him disrobe, and put on sackcloth too;

“The Oxe (ordain'd for yoke) the Asse (for load)
“The Horse (as well for race, as for the roade)
“The burthren-bearing Camell (strong and great)
“The fruitfull Kine, and every kinde of Neate,
“Let all put sackcloth on, and spare no voyce,
“But cry aloud to heaven, with mighty noise;
“Let all men turne the bias of their wayes,
“And change their fiercer hands to force of praise:
“For who can tell, if God (whose angry face
“Hath long bin waining from us) will embrace
“This slender pittance of our best indeavour?
“Who knowes, if God will his intent persever?
“Or who can tell, if he (whose tender love
“Transcends his sharper Iustice) will remove
“And change his high decree, & turn his sentence
“Vpon a timely, and unfain'd repentance?
“And who can tell, if heaven will change the lot,
“That we, and ours may live, and perish not?

So God perceiv'd their workes, & saw their waies,
Approv'd the faith, that in their workes did blaze,
Approv'd their works, approv'd their workes the rather
because their faith & works wēt both together:
He saw their faith, because their faith abounded;
He saw their works, because on faith they grounded
He saw their faith, their workes, and so relented,
H'approv'd their works, their faith & so repented;
Repented of the plagues they apprehended;
Repented of the evill, that he intended:
So God the vengeance of his hand withdrew,
He tooke no forfeiture although 'twere due;
The evill, that once hee meant, he now forgot,
Cancell'd the forfeit bond, and did it not.

Medita. 10.

See, into what an ebbe of low estate
The soule that seekes to be regenerate,
Must first descend; before the ball rebound,
It must be throwne with force against the ground;
The seed increases not in fruitfull cares,
Nor can she reare the goodly stalke she beares,
Vnlesse bestrow'd upon a mould of earth,
And made more glorious by a second birth:
So man, before his wisedome can bring forth
The brave exploits of truly noble worth,
Or hope the granting of his sinnes remission,
He must be humbl'd first in sad contrition.
The plant (through want of skill, or by neglect)
If it be planted from the Sunnes reflect,
Or lacke the dew of seasonable showres,
Decayes, and beareth neither fruit, nor flowres:
So wretched Man, if his repentance hath
No quickning Sun-shine of a liuely Faith,
Or not bedew'd with showres of timely teares,
Or workes of mercy (wherein Faith appeares)
His prayers and deeds, and all his forced groanes,
Are like the howles of dogs, and works of Drones,
The wise Chirurgeon, first (by letting blood)
Weakens his Patient, ere he does him good;
Before the Soule can a true comfort finde,
The body must be prostrate, and the minde
Truly repentive, and contrite within.
And loathe the fawning of a bosome sin.

But Lord! Can Man deserve? Or can his best
Doe Iustice equall right, which he transgrest?

When Dust and Ashes mortally offends,
Can Dust and Ashes make eternall mends?
Is Heaven unjust? Must not the recompence
Be full equivalent to the offence?
What mends by mortall Man can then be given
To the offended Majesty of Heaven?

O Mercy! Mercy! on thee my Soule relyes,
On thee we build our Faith, we bend our eyes;
Thou fill'st my empty strain, thou fill'st my tongue;
Thou art the subject of my Swan-like song;
Like pinion'd pris'ners at the dying tree,
Our lingring hopes attend and wait on thee;
(Arrain'd at Iustice barre) prevent our doome;
To thee with joyfull hearts wee cheerly come;
Thou art our Clergy; Thou that dearest Booke,
Wherein our fainting eyes desire to looke;
In thee, we trust to read (what will release us)
In bloody Characters, that name of Iesvs.

What shall we then returne the God of heaven?
Where nothing is (Lord) nothing can be given;
Our soules, our bodies, strength, and all our pow'rs,
(Alas!) were all too little, were they ours:
Or shall wee burne (untill our life expires)
An endlesse Sacrifice in Holy fires?

My Sacrifice shall bee my Heart intire,
My Christ the Altar, and my Zeale the Fire.