The Sexton.

THE Church's key-keeper opens the door,
And nuts it, fweeps the floor,

Rings bells, digs graves, and fills them up again
All emblems unto men,

Openly owning christianity,

To mark and learn many good leffons by.

O thou that hast the key of David, who

Open'ft and fhutteft fooo !!!"

That none can shut or open after thee,

Vouchfafe thyfelf to be

Our foul's door-keepers bleffed Spirit:

The lock and key's thy

hot our merit.

Cleanfe thou our fin-foil'd fouls from the dirt and duft Of every noifome luft, 1

Brought in by the foul feet of our affections,

The befom of afflictions,

With th Bleffing of the fpirit added to it,
If thou be pleafed to fay it fhall, will do it.dere

mochanges all our bells Hath marr'd, Lord, ringing changes

Jangled they have and jarr'd

So long, they're out of tune, and out of frame,

They feem not now the fame.

Put them in frame anew, and once begin

To tune them fo, that they may chime all in.!

Let all our fins be bury'd in the grave,

No longer rant and rave

As they have done, to our eternal fhame, ire in o 37And the fcandal of thy name: I

Let's as door-keepers in thine houfe attend,
Rather than th' throne of wickedness ascend..

The Clerk.

HE Church's bible-clerk attends

THer utenfils, and ends

Her prayers with amen.

Tunes pfalms, and to the facraments
Brings in the elements,

And takes them out again;

Is humble minded, and induftrious handed,
Doth nothing of himself, but as commanded.
All that the vessels of the Lord

Do bear with one accord

Muft ftudy to be pure,

As they are: If his holy eye
Do any spot espy,

He cannot it endure;
But most expecteth to be fanctify'd
In those come nearest him, and glorify'd.
Pfalms then are always tuned best
When there is most exprest

The holy penman's heart:
All mufic is but difcord, where
That wants, or doth not bear
The first and chiefest part.
Voices without affection answerable,
When beft, to God are most abominable.
Though in the bleffed facraments

The outward elements
Are but as husks and fhells;

Yet he that knows the kernel's worth,
If even those send forth

Some aromatic smells,

Will not esteem it waste, left Judas like,

Through Mary's fide he Christ himself should strike,

L

Lord, without whom we cannot tell
How to fpeak or think well,
Lend us thy helping hand,
That what we do may pleafing be
Not to ourselves but thee,

And anfwer thy command:

So that not we alone, but thou may' fay
Amen to all our pray's, pray'd the right way,

TH

The Overseer of the Poor.

'HE Church's almóner takes care that none
In their neceffity

Shall unprovided be

Of maint'nance, or employment; thofe alone
Whom carolefs idleness,

Or riotous exceft,

Condemns to needlefs want, he leaves to bo
Chaften'd awhile by their own poverty,
Thou gracious Lord, rich in thyfelf, doft give
To all men lib'rally,
Upbraiding none. "Thine øye

Is open upon all. In thee we live,

We move, and have our being:
But there is more than feeing

For th' poor with thee; they are thy fpecial charge ;
To them thou doft thy heart and hand enlarge,

Four forts of poor there are with whom thou deal'ft, Though always differently,

With fuch indifferency,

That none hath reafon to complain, thou beal'ft
All those whom thou doft wound:

If there be any found

Hurt by themfelves, thou leav'ft them to endure
The pain, till th' pain render them fit for cure.

Some in the world are poor, but rich in faith
Their outward poverty
A plentiful fupply

.1 1

Of inward comforts and contentments hath;

And their eftate is blest

In this above the reft,

It was thy choice, whilft thou on earth didst stay,
And hadft not whereupon thy head to lay,
Some poor in spirit in the world are rich.
Although not many fuch:

And no man needs to grutch

Their happiness: who to maintain that pitch
Have an hard task in hand,

Nor eas'ly can withstand

The strong temptations that attend on riches ;
Mountains are more expos'd to forms than ditches.
Some rich in th' world are (p'ritually poor,
And deftitute of grace,

Who may perchance have place

In the Church upon earth; but heaven's door
Too narrow is t' admit

Such camels in at it,

Till they fell all they have that field to buy
Wherein the true treasure doth hidden lie.
Some fp'ritually poor, and destitute

Of grace, in th' world are poor
Begging from door to door,

Accurfed both in God's and man's repute,
Till by their miseries

Tutor'd, they learn to prize

Hung'ring and thi ríking after righteousness,
Whilst they're on ourth, their greatest happiness.
Lord, make me poor in spirit, and relieve
Me how thou wilt thyfelf,
No want of worldly pelf

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Shall make me difcontented, fret and grieve.
I know thine alms are beft:1

But above all the reft,

1.

Condemn me not unto the hell of riches,
Without thy grace to countercharm the witches.

The Church-warden.

THE Church's guardian takes care to keep
Her buildings always in repair;

Unwilling that any decay fhould creep
On them before he is aware.

Nothing defac'd,

Nothing difplac'd

He likes; but most doth long and love to fee
The living ftones order'd as they should be.
Lord, thou not only supervisor art

Of all our works, but in all thofe,

Which we dare own, thine is the chiefeft part:
For there is none of us that knows
How to do well:

Nor can we tell

What we should do, unless by thee directed:
It profpers not that's by ourfelves projected.
That which we think ourselves to mend, we mar,
And often make it ten times worse:

Reforming of religion by war

Is th' chymic bleffing of a curfe.

Great odds it is

That we fhall mifs

Of what we looked for: Thine ends cannot
By any but by thine own means be got.
'Tis ftrange we so much doat upon our own
Deformity, and others fcorn,

As if ourselves were beautiful alone:

When that which did us most adorn