SINS, in respect of man, all mortal be;
All venial, Jesu, in respect of Thee.
AND dars't thou venture still to live in sin,
And crucify thy dying Lord again ?
Were not his pangs sufficient?
Yet more? O, must our sinful pleasures feed
Upon his torments, and augment the story
Of the sad passion of the Lord of glory!
Is there no pity? Is there no remorse
In human breasts? Is there a firm divorce
Betwixt all mercy and the hearts of men?
Parted for ever-ne'er to meet again?
No mercy bides with us: 'tis thou alone,
Hast it, sweet Jesu, for us, that have none
For thee thou hast forestall'd our markets so,
That all's above, and we have none below:
Nay, blessed Lord, we have not wherewithal
To serve our shiftless selves; unless we call
To thee, that art our Saviour, and hast power
To give, and whom we crucify each hour:
We are cruel, Lord, to thee, and ourselves too;
Jesu forgive us; we know not what we do.
No marvel, thou great monarch didst complain, And weep there were no other worlds to gain,
Thy griefs and thy complaints were not amiss :He's grief enough, that finds no world but this.
THE SINNER'S REFUGE.
He that shall shed, with a presumptous hand,
The blood of man, must by thy just command
Be put to death; the murderer must die;
Thy law denies him refuge where to fly:
Great God, our hands have slain a man; nay, further,
They have committed a presumptuous murder
Upon a guiltless man; nay, what is worse,
They have betrayed our brother to the curse
Of a reproachful death; nay, what exceeds,
It is our Lord, our dying Saviour bleeds;
Nay, more, it is thy Son, thy only Son :
All this have we, all this our hands have done.
On what dear objects shall we turn our eye
Look to the law: O! by the law we die.
Is there no refuge, Lord? no place that shall
Secure our souls from death?
What shall poor mortals do?
Ah, none at all?
Thy laws are just,
And most irrevocable: shall we trust
Or fly to our own merits, and be freed
By our good works? Ay, there were help indeed!
Is there no city for a soul to fly
And save itself? Must we resolve to die?
O infinite! O not to be exprest!
Nay, not to be conceived by the breast
Of men or angels! O transcendent love!
Incomprehensible! as far above
The reach of man, as man's deserts are under
The sacred benefit of so blest a wonder!
The very blood our sinful hands have shed,
Cries loud for mercy, and those wounds do plead
For those that made them: he, that pleads, for-
And is both God and man; both dead and lives.
He whom we murdered is become our guardian;
He's man to suffer, and he's God to pardon :
He's our protection here; our refuge city,
Whose living springs run piety and pity.
Go then, my soul, and pass the common bounds
Of passion, go, and kneel before his wounds;
Go, touch them with thy lips; thou need'st not
fear-
They will not bleed afresh, though thou be there :
But if they do, that very blood thou spilt,
Believe it, will plead thy pardon, not thy guilt.
LORD, I'm in debt, and have not wherewithal
To pay my score is great, my wealth but small.
My house is poorly furnished, and my food
Is slender, I have nothing that is good:
Lord, if my wasted fortunes prove no better,
My debt is ev'n as desperate as the debtor:
All the relief thy servant this long while
Hath had, is but a little cruse of oil:
There's none will give of alms: I neither get
Enough to satisfy my wants nor debt.
Lord, if thou please to show the self-same art
Upon the slender vessel of my heart,
The prophet did upon the widow's cruse,
I shall have oil to sell, have oil to use;
So shall my debt be paid, and I go free:
No debt is desperate in respect of thee.
I FEAR'D the world' and I were too acquainted;
I hope my fears are like her joys, but painted :
Had I not been a stranger, as I past,
Her bawling curs had never bark'd so fast.
Two potent enemies attend on man,
One's fat and plump, the other lean and wan
The one fawns and smiles, the other weeps as fast;
The first Presumption is, Despair the last :
That feeds upon the bounty of full treasure,
Brings jolly news of peace, and lasting pleasure;
This feeds on want, unapt to entertain
God's blessings; finds them ever in the wane.
Their maxims disagree; but their conclusion
Is the self-same; both jump in man's confusion.
Lord, keep me from the first, or else I shall
Soar up and melt my waxen wings and fall:
Lord, keep the second from me; lest I then
Sink down so low, I never rise again :
Teach me to know myself, and what I am,
And my presumption will be turned to shame :
Give me true faith to know thy dying Son,
What ground has then despair to work upon ?
To avoid my shipwreck upon either shelf,
O, teach me, Lord, to know my God-myself.
ABEL was silent, but his blood was strong,
Each drop of guiltless blood commands a tongue,
A tongue that cries. 'Tis not a tongue, implores
For gentle audience; 'tis a tongue that roars
For hideous vengeance; 'tis a tongue that's bold
And full of courage, and that cannot hold:
O, what a noise my blessed Saviour's blood
Makes now in heaven! how strong it cries! how
loud!
But not for vengeance: from his side has sprung
A world of drops; from every drop, a tongue.
THE soul is like a virgin, for whose love
Two jealous suitors strive; both daily move
For nuptial favour; both, with lover's art,
Plead for the conquest of the virgin's heart.
The first, approaching, knocked, and knocked
The door being opened, at his entering in,
He blush'd; and (as young bashful lovers use)
Is more than half discouraged, ere he sues:
At length, that love that taught him what to fear,
Gave resolution to present her ear
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