Chapter LXXXVI: Preface: , by the Rev. John Gifford, (9)

The next word that I would unto thee say, Is how thou mayst attain without delay, Those blessed graces, and that holiness Thou dost with so much godly zeal express Thy love to, and thy longing to enjoy, That sins and weakness might thee less annoy. Know, then, as I have hinted heretofore, And shall now speak unto a little more, All graces in the person of the Son Are by the Father hid, and therefore none Can them obtain but they who with him close; All others graceless are but only those; For of his fulness 'tis that we receive, And grace for grace; let no man then deceive Himself or others with a feigned show Of holiness, if Jesus they eschew. When he ascended to his Father, then It was that he received gifts for men; Faith, hope, and love, true zeal, an upright heart, Right humbleness of mind, and every part Of what the word of life counts holiness, God then laid up in him, that we redress And help might have, who do unto him fly For righteousness and gospel sanctity.

[OF IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS.]

Now, if thou wouldst inherit righteousness, And so sanctification possess In body, soul, and spirit, then thou must To Jesus fly, as one ungodly first; And so by him crave pardon for thy sin Which thou hast loved, and hast lived in; For this cannot at all forgiven be, For any righteousness that is in thee; Because the best thou hast is filthy rags, Profane, presumptuous, and most beastly brags Of flesh and blood, which always cross doth lie To God, to grace, and thy felicity. Then righteousness imputed thou must have, Thee from that guilt and punishment to save Thou liest under as a sinful man, Throughout polluted, and that never can By any other means acquitted be, Or ever have true holiness in thee. The reason is, because all graces are Only in Christ, and be infused where, Or into those whom he doth justify, By what himself hath done, that he thereby Might be the whole of all that happiness The sinner shall enjoy here, and in bliss. Besides, if holiness should first be found In those whom God doth pardon, then the ground Why we forgiven are would seem to be, He first found holiness in thee and me; But this the holy Scriptures will refute, And prove that righteousness he doth impute Without respect to goodness first in man; For, to speak truth indeed, no goodness can Be found in those that underneath the law Do stand; for if God goodness in them saw, Why doth he once and twice say, There is none That righteous be; no, not so much as one; None understandeth, none seek after God, His ways they have not known, but have abode In wickedness, unprofitably they Must needs appear to be then every way. Their throats an open sepulchre, also Their mouths are full of filthy cursings too; And bitterness, yea, underneath their lips The asp hath poison. O how many slips And falls in sin must such poor people have! Now here's the holiness that should them save, Or, as a preparation, go before, To move God to do for them less or more? No, grace must on thee righteousness bestow, Or, else sin will for ever thee undo. Sweet Paul this doctrine also doth express, Where he saith, Some may have righteousness, Though works they have not; and it thus may stand, Grace by the promise gives what the command Requireth us to do, and so are we Quitted from doing, and by grace made free.

[OF HOLINESS OF LIFE.]

Now, then, if holiness thou wouldst obtain, And wouldst a tender Christian man remain, Keep faith in action, let that righteousness That Christ fulfilled always have express And clear distinction in thy heart, from all That men by Scripture, or besides, it, call Inherent gospel holiness, or what Terms else they please to give it; for 'tis that, And that alone, by which all graces come Into the heart; for else there is no room For ought but pride, presumption, or despair, No love or other graces can be there. Received you the Spirit, saith St. Paul, By hearing, faith, or works? not works, and shall No ways retain the same, except you do Hear faith, embrace the same, and stick thereto.

[THE OPERATION OF FAITH.]

The word of faith unto me pardon brings, Shows me the ground and reason whence it springs: To wit, free grace, which moved God to give His Son to die and bleed, that I might live This word doth also loudly preach to me, Though I a miserable sinner be, Yet in this Son of God I stand complete, Whose righteousness is without all deceit; 'Tis that which God himself delighteth in, And that by which all his have saved been.

[OF LOVE TO GOD.]

When I do this begin to apprehend, My heart, my soul, and mind, begins to bend To God-ward, and sincerely for to love His son, his ways, his people, and to move With brokenness of spirit after him Who broken was, and killed for my sin. Now is mine heart grown holy, now it cleaves To Jesus Christ my Lord, and now it leaves Those ways that wicked be; it mourns because It can conform no more unto the laws Of God, who loved me when I was vile, And of sweet Jesus, who did reconcile Me unto justice by his precious blood, When no way else was left to do me good. If you would know how this can operate Thus on the soul, I shall to you relate A little farther what my soul hath seen Since I have with the Lord acquainted been. The word of grace, when it doth rightly seize The spirit of a man, and so at ease Doth set the soul, the Spirit of the Lord Doth then with might accompany the word; In which it sets forth Christ as crucified, And by that means the Father pacified With such a wretch was thou, and by this sight, Thy guilt is in the first place put to flight, For thus the Spirit doth expostulate: Behold how God doth now communicate (By changing of the person) grace to thee A sinner, but to Christ great misery, Though he the just one was, and so could not Deserve this punishment; behold, then, what The love of God is! how 'tis manifest, And where the reason lies that thou art blest. This doctrine being spoken to the heart, Which also is made yield to every part Thereof, it doth the same with sweetness fill, And so doth sins and wickednesses kill; For when the love of God is thus reveal'd, And thy poor drooping spirit thereby seal'd, And when thy heart, as dry ground, drinks this in Unto the roots thereof, which nourish sin, It smites them, as the worm did Jonah's gourd, And makes them dwindle of their own accord, And die away; instead of which there springs Up life and love, and other holy things. Besides, the Holy Spirit now is come, And takes possession of thee as its home; By which a war maintained always is Against the old man and the deeds of his. When God at first upon mount Sinai spake, He made his very servant Moses quake; But when he heard the law the second time, His heart was comforted, his face did shine. What was the reason of this difference, Seeing no change was in the ordinance, Although a change was in the manner, when The second time he gave it unto men? At first 'twas given in severity, In thunder, blackness, darkness, tempest high, In fiery flames it was delivered. This struck both Moses and the host as dead; But Moses, when he went into the mount The second time, upon the same account No fear, nor dread, nor shaking of his mind, Do we in all the holy Scripture find; But rather in his spirit he had rest, And look'd upon himself as greatly blest. He was put in the rock, he heard the name, Which on the mount the Lord did thus proclaim: The Lord, merciful, gracious, and more, Long-suffering, and keeping up in store Mercy for thousands, pardoning these things, Iniquity, transgressions, and sins, And holding guilty none but such as still Refuse forgiveness, of rebellious will. This proclamation better pleased him Than all the thunder and the light'ning. Which shook the mount, this rid him of his fear, This made him bend, make haste, and worship there. Jehoshaphat, when he was sore opprest By Amnon and by Moab, and the rest Of them that sought his life, no rest he found, Until a word of faith became a ground To stay himself upon; O, then they fell, His very song became their passing-bell. Then holiness of heart a consequence Of faith in Christ is, for it flows from thence; The love of Christ in truth constraineth us, Of love sincerely to make judgment thus: He for us died that for ever we Might die to sin, and Christ his servants be. O! nothing's like to the remembrance Of what it is to have deliverance From death and hell, which is of due our right, Nothing, I say, like this to work delight In holy things; this like live honey runs, And needs no pressing out of honey-combs.

[LOVE INDUCING CHRISTIAN CONDUCT.]

Then understand my meaning by my words, How sense of mercy unto faith affords Both grace to sanctify, and holy make That soul that of forgiveness doth partake. Thus having briefly showed you what is The way of life, or sanctity, of bliss, I would not in conclusion have you think, By what I say, that Christian men should drink In these my words with lightness, or that they Are now exempted from what every day Their duty is. No, God doth still expect, Yea, doth command, that they do not neglect To pray, to read, to hear, and not dissent From being sober, grave, and diligent In watching, self-denial, and with fear To serve him all the time thou livest here. Indeed I have endeavoured to lay Before your eyes the right and only way Pardon to get, and also holiness, Without which never think that God will bless Thee with the kingdom he will give to those That Christ embrace, and holy lives do choose To live, while here all others go astray, And shall in time to come be cast away.

FROM MOUNT EBAL.

Thus having heard from Gerizzim, I shall Next come to Ebal, and you thither call, Not there to curse you, but to let you hear How God doth curse that soul that shall appear An unbelieving man, a graceless wretch; Because he doth continue in the breach Of Moses' law, and also doth neglect To close with Jesus; him will God reject And cast behind him; for of right his due Is that from whence all miseries ensue. Cursed, saith he, are thy that do transgress The least of my commandments, more or less. Nothing that written is must broken be, But always must be kept unto by thee, And must fulfilled be; for here no man Can look God in the face, or ever stand Before the judgment-seat; for if they be Convict, condemned too assuredly. Now keep this law no mortal creature can, For they already do, as guilty, stand Before the God that gave it; so that they Obnoxious to the curse lie every day, Which also they must feel for certainty, If unto Jesus Christ they do not fly. Hence, then, as they for ever shall be blest, That do by faith upon the promise rest, So peace unto the wicked there is none; 'Tis wrath and death that they must feed upon. That what I say may some impression make On carnal hearts, that they in time may take That course that best will prove when time is done, These lines I add to what I have begun. First, thou must know that God, as he is love So he is justice, therefore cannot move, Or in the least be brought to favour those His holiness and justice doth oppose. For though thou mayst imagine in thy heart That God is this or that, yet if thou art At all besides the truth of what he is, And so dost build thy hope for life amiss, Still he the same abideth, and will be The same, the same for ever unto thee. As God is true unto his promise, so Unto his threat'ning he is faithful too. Cease to be God he must, if he should break One tittle that his blessed mouth did speak. Now, then, none can be saved but the men With whom the Godhead is contented when It them beholds with the severest eye Of justice, holiness, and yet can spy No fault nor blemish in them; these be they That must be saved, as the Scriptures say. If this be true, as 'tis assuredly, Woe be to them that wicked live and die; Those that as far from holiness have been All their life long as if no eye had seen Their doings here, or as if God did not At all regard, or in the least mind what, Wherein, or how they did his law transgress, Either by this or other wickedness; But how deceived these poor creatures are, They then shall know when they their burthen bear. Alas, our God is a consuming fire; So is his law, by which he doth require That thou submit to him, and if thou be Not in that justice found that can save thee From all and every sentence which he spake Upon mount Sinai, then as one that brake It, thou the flames thereof shall quickly find As scourges thee to lash, while sins do bind Thee hand and foot, for ever to endure The strokes of vengeance for thy life impure. What I have said will yet evinced be, And manifest abundantly to thee, If what I have already spoken to Be joined with these lines that do ensue. Justice discovers its antipathy Against profaneness and malignity. Not only by the law it gave to men, And threatenings thereunto annexed then. But inasmuch as long before that day, He did prepare for such as go astray, That dreadful, that so much amazing place-- Hell, with its torments--for those men that grace And holiness of life slight and disdain, There to bemoan themselves with hellish pain. This place, also, the pains so dismal be, Both as to name and nature, that in me It is not to express the damning wights, The hellish torture, and the fearful plights Thereof; for as intolerable they Must needs be found, by those that disobey The Lord, so can no word or thought express Unto the full the height of that distress; Such miserable caitiffs, that shall there Rebukes of vengeance, for transgressions bear. Indeed the holy Scriptures do make use Of many metaphors, that do conduce Much to the symbolizing of the place, Unto our apprehension; but the case-- The sad, the woful case--of those that lie As racked there in endless misery, By all similitudes no mortals may Set forth in its own nature; for I say Similitudes are but a shade, and show Of those or that they signify to you. The fire that doth within thine oven burn, The prison where poor people sit and mourn, Chains, racks, and darkness, and such others, be As painting on the wall, to let thee see By word and figures the extremity Of such as shall within these burnings lie. But certainly, if wickedness and sin Had only foolish toys and trifles been, And if God had not greatly hated it, Yea, could he any ways thereof admit, And let it pass, he would not thus have done. He doth not use to punish any one With any place or punishment that is Above or sharper than the sin of his Hath merited, and justice seeth due; Read sin, then, by the death that doth ensue. Most men do judge of sin, not by the fruits It bears and bringeth forth, but as it suits Their carnal and deluded hearts, that be With sensual pleasures eaten up; but he That now so judgeth, shortly shall perceive That God will judge thereof himself, and leave Such men no longer to their carnal lusts, To judge of wickedness, and of the just And righteous punishment that doth of right Belong thereto; and will, too, in despite Of all their carnal reason, justify Himself, in their eternal misery. Then hell will be no fancy, neither will Men's sins be pleasant to them; but so ill And bitter, yea, so bitter, that none can Fully express the same, or ever stand Under the burden it will on them lay, When they from life and bliss are sent away. When I have thought how often God doth speak Of their destruction, who HIS law do break; And when the nature of the punishment I find so dreadful, and that God's intent, Yea, resolution is, it to inflict On every sinner that shall stand convict, I have amazed been, yet to behold, To see poor sinners yet with sin so bold, That like the horse that to the battle runs, Without all fear, and that no danger shuns, Till down he falls. O resolute attempts! O sad, amazing, damnable events! The end of such proceedings needs must be, From which, O Lord, save and deliver me. But if thou think that God thy noble race Will more respect, than into such a place To put thee; hold, though thou his offspring be, And so art lovely, yet sin hath made thee Another kind of creature than when thou Didst from his fingers drop, and therefore now Thy first creation stands thee in no stead; Thou hast transgressed, and in very deed Set God against thee, who is infinite, And that for certain never will forget Thy sins, nor favour thee if thou shalt die A graceless man; this is thy misery. When angels sinned, though of higher race Than thou, and also put in higher place, Yet them he spared not, but cast them down From heaven to hell; where also they lie bound In everlasting chains, and no release Shall ever have, but wrath, that shall increase Upon them, to their everlasting woe. As for the state they were exalted to, That will by no means mitigate their fear, But aggravate their hellish torment here; For he that highest stands, if he shall fall, His danger needs must be the great'st of all. Now if God noble angels did not spare Because they did transgress, will he forbear Poor dust and ashes? Will he suffer them To break his law, and sin, and not condemn Them for so doing? Let not man deceive Himself or others; they that do bereave Themselves by sin of happiness, shall be Cut off by justice, and have misery. Witness his great severity upon The world that first was planted, wherein none But only eight the deluge did escape, All others of that vengeance did partake; The reason was, that world ungodly stood Before him, therefore he did send the flood, Which swept them all away. A just reward For their most wicked ways against the Lord, Who could no longer bear them and their ways, Therefore into their bosom vengeance pays. We read of Sodom, and Gomorrah too, What judgments they for sin did undergo; How God from heaven did fire upon them rain, Because they would not wicked ways refrain; Condemning of them with an overthrow, And turned them to ashes. Who can know The miseries that these poor people felt While they did underneath those burnings melt? Now these, and many more that I could name, That have been made partakers of the flame And sword of justice, God did then cut off, And make examples unto all that scoff At holiness, or do the gospel slight; And long it will not be before the night And judgment, painted out by what he did To Sodom and Gomorrah, fulfilled Upon such sinners be, that they may now That God doth hate the sin, and persons too. Of such as still rebellious shall abide, Although they now at judgment may deride.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] On the reverse of the title-page is the following singular advertisement:--'This author having published many books, which have gone off very well, there are certain ballad-sellers about Newgate, and on London Bridge, who have put the two first letters of this author's name, and his effigies, to their rhymes and ridiculous books, suggesting to the world as if they were his. Now know, that this author publisheth his name at large to all his books; and what you shall see otherwise, he disowns.'--Ed.

[2] 'Convert,' for 'be ye converted,' was a common mode of speech in Bunyan's time. It is so used in Holy Writ, Isaiah 6:10.--Ed.

[3] Armorial bearings as now worn by heralds embroidered on the tabard or coat.--Ed.

[4] A common custom when death takes place. The two great toes are tied together, to make the body look decent; and formerly the hands were placed with the palms together, as if in the attitude of prayer, and were kept in that posture by tying the thumbs together.--Ed.

[5] Without fail, or in spite of all hindrance.--Ed.

[6] Alluding to wrestlers. Some modes of throwing each other down are called fair, others foul or unfair.--Ed.

[7] Sincerity is the fountain and source of all real inquiries after truth, holiness, and heaven. It leads to personal examination of God's Word, which leads us from the complexity of human inventions to the simplicity of the gospel.--Ed

[8] The exact spelling of Bunyan is here followed; but whether he meant 'coped,' 'covered,' or 'cooped'--inclosed, or shut in--must be left to the reader's judgment. I prefer the latter.--Ed.

[9] Fit, convenient. 'Deft' is now obsolete.--Ed.

[10] Full of fear and dread. Bunyan, in his Holy War, brings his immense armies of doubters, under General Incredulity, from Hell-gate Hill.--Ed.

[11] Quick, nimble, active, powerful spirits. Wight is now obsolete, except in irony; see Imperial Dictionary.--Ed.

[12] See note on verse fifty of the Meditations on Heaven.--Ed.

[13] This is a common temptation. Job felt it, and murmured at having been born, Job 3:3, and 10:18, 19. Jeremiah passed through the same experience, Jeremiah 20:14, 15. Bunyan had the same bitter feelings, and wished himself a dog or toad; see Grace Abounding, No. 104. Colonel Gardener was similarly tried. How awful is the havoc that sin has made with human happiness.-Ed.

[14] The finest particles or atoms of matter--

'As thick, as numberless 'As the gay motes that people the sunbeams.'--Milton.--Ed.

[15] How does this remind us of the awfully impressive cries of the man in the iron cage--'O, eternity, eternity! how shall I grapple with the misery that I must meet with in eternity!' 'A thousand deaths live in him, he not dead.'--Ed.

[16] From the Saxon scendan, to violate, spoil, revile; see Imperial Dictionary.--Ed.

[17] Altered by poetical license from 'bran.' Chaucer, in one instance, spells it 'bren,' to rhyme with men.--Ed.

[18] This evidently refers to a coin value four-penny half-penny, and, like a cracked groat, not so much prized as good coin. In Turner's Remarkable Providences, folio, 1697, pages 28, is a very singular allusion to one of these coins:--'Christian, the wife of R. Green, of Brenham, Somersetshire, in 1663, made a covenant with the devil. He pricked the fourth finger off her right hand, between the middle and upper joint, and took two drops of her blood on his finger, giving her four-pence half-penny. He then vanished, leaving a smell of brimstone behind.'--Ed.

***

A Book for Boys and Girls Or, Temporal Things Spritualized.

by John Bunyan,

Licensed and entered according to order.

London: Printed for, and sold by, R. Tookey, at his Printing House in St. Christopher's Court, in Threadneedle Street, behind the Royal Exchange, 1701.

Advertisement by the Editor.

Some degree of mystery hangs over these Divine Emblems for children, and many years' diligent researches have not enabled me completely to solve it. That they were written by Bunyan, there cannot be the slightest doubt.

'Manner and matter, too, are all his own.'[1]

But no book, under the title of Divine Emblems, is mentioned in any catalogue or advertisements of Bunyan's works, published during his life; nor in those more complete lists printed by his personal friends, immediately after his death. In all these lists, as well as in many advertisement, both before, and shortly after Mr. Bunyan's death, a little book for children is constantly introduced, which, judging from the title, must have been similar to, if not the same as, these Emblems; but the Editor has not been able to discover a copy of the first edition, although every inquiry has been made for it, both in the United Kingdom and America. It was advertised in 1688, as Country Rhymes for Children, upon seventy-four things.[2] It is also advertised, in the same year, as A Book for Boys and Girls, or Country Rhymes for Children, price 6d.[3] In 1692, it is included in Charles Doe's catalogue table of all Mr. Bunyan's books, appended to The Struggler for their preservation, No. 36; Meditations on seventy-four things, published in 1685, and not reprinted during the author's life. In Charles Doe's second catalogue of all Mr. Bunyan's books, appended to the first edition of the Heavenly Footman, March 1698, it is No. 37. A Book for Boys and Girls, or Country Rhymes for Children, in verse, on seventy-four things. This catalogue describes every work, word for word, as it is in the several title pages. In 1707 it had reached a third edition, and was 'ornamented with cuts';[4] and the title is altered to A Book for Boys and Girls, or Temporal Things Spiritualized, with cuts. In 1720, it was advertised, 'price, bound, 6d.'[5] In Keach's Glorious Lover, it is advertised by Marshall, in 12mo. price 1s. In 1724, it assumed its present title, and from that time was repeatedly advertised as Divine Emblems, or Temporal Things Spiritualized, fitted for the use of boys and girls, adorned with cuts.

By indefatigable exertions, my excellent friend and brother collector of old English bibles, James Dix, Esq., Bristol, has just discovered and presented to me the second edition of this very rare little volume, in fine preservation, from which it appears, that in 1701, the title page was altered from Country Rhymes and Meditations, to A Book for Boys and Girls, or Temporal Things Spiritualized. It has no cuts, but, with that exception, it contains exactly the same subjects as the subsequent editions published under the more popular title of Divine Emblems.

The only difficulty that remains is to discover seventy-four meditations in the forty-nine Emblems. This may be readily done, if the subjects of meditation are drawn out. Thus, the first emblem contains meditations on two things, the Barren Fig-tree, and God's Vineyard. So the second has a meditation on the Lark and the Fowler, and another on the comparison between the Fowler and Satan. Upon this plan, the volume contains exactly seventy-four meditations.

Under the title of Divine Emblems, it has passed through a multitude of editions, and many thousand copies have been circulated. It was patronized in those early efforts of the Religious Tract Society, which have been so abundantly blessed in introducing wholesome food to the young, instead of the absurd romances which formerly poisoned the infant and youthful mind.

Among these numerous editions, two deserve special notice. The first of these was published in 1757, 'on a curious paper, and good letter, with new cuts.' It has a singular preface, signed J. D., addressed 'to the great Boys, in folio, and the little ones in coats.' The first eight pages are occupied with a dissertation on the origin of language, perhaps arising from a line in the dialogue between a sinner and spider, 'My name entailed is to my creation.' In this preface, he learnedly attempts to prove that language was the gift of God by revelation, and not a gradual acquirement of man as his wants multiplied. The other remarkable edition was published about 1790.[6] It is, both the text and cuts, printed from copperplate engravings, very handsomely executed. This is an honour conferred upon very few authors;[7] nor was it ever conferred upon one more worthy the highest veneration of man than is the immortal allegorist.

The number of editions which have been printed of these little engaging poems, is a proof of the high estimation in which they have been held for nearly one hundred and seventy years; and the great rarity of the early copies shows the eager interest with which they have been read by children until utterly destroyed.

The cuts were at first exceedingly coarse and rude, but were much improved in the more modern copies. Those to Mason's edition are handsome. The engraver has dressed all his actors in the costume of the time of George the Third; the women with hooped petticoats and high head dresses; clergymen with five or six tier wigs; men with cocked hats and queues; and female servants with mob caps. That to Emblem Fifteen, upon the sacraments, is peculiarly droll; the artist, forgetting that the author was a Baptist, represents a baby brought to the font to be christened! and two persons kneeling before the body of our Lord!

GEO. OFFOR.

TO THE READER.

COURTEOUS READER,

The title page will show, if there thou look, Who are the proper subjects of this book. They're boys and girls of all sorts and degrees, From those of age to children on the knees. Thus comprehensive am I in my notions, They tempt me to it by their childish motions. We now have boys with beards, and girls that be Big[8]as old women, wanting gravity. Then do not blame me, 'cause I thus describe them. Flatter I may not, lest thereby I bribe them To have a better judgment of themselves, Than wise men have of babies on their shelves.[9] Their antic tricks, fantastic modes, and way, Show they, like very boys and girls, do play With all the frantic fopperies of this age, And that in open view, as on a stage; Our bearded men do act like beardless boys; Our women please themselves with childish toys. Our ministers, long time, by word and pen, Dealt with them, counting them not boys, but men. Thunderbolts they shot at them and their toys, But hit them not, 'cause they were girls and boys. The better charg'd, the wider still they shot, Or else so high, these dwarfs they touched not. Instead of men, they found them girls and boys, Addict to nothing as to childish toys. Wherefore, good reader, that I save them may, I now with them the very dotterel[10] play; And since at gravity they make a tush, My very beard I cast behind a bush; And like a fool stand fing'ring of their toys, And all to show them they are girls and boys. Nor do I blush, although I think some may Call me a baby, 'cause I with them play. I do't to show them how each fingle-fangle On which they doting are, their souls entangle, As with a web, a trap, a gin, or snare; And will destroy them, have they not a care. Paul seemed to play the fool, that he might gain Those that were fools indeed, if not in grain;[11] And did it by their things, that they might know Their emptiness, and might be brought unto What would them save from sin and vanity, A noble act, and full of honesty. Yet he nor I would like them be in vice, While by their playthings I would them entice, To mount their thoughts from what are childish toys, To heaven, for that's prepared for girls and boys. Nor do I so confine myself to these, As to shun graver things; I seek to please Those more compos'd with better things than toys; Though thus I would be catching girls and boys. Wherefore, if men have now a mind to look, Perhaps their graver fancies may be took With what is here, though but in homely rhymes: But he who pleases all must rise betimes. Some, I persuade me, will be finding fault, Concluding, here I trip, and there I halt: No doubt some could those grovelling notions raise By fine-spun terms, that challenge might the bays. But should all men be forc'd to lay aside Their brains that cannot regulate the tide By this or that man's fancy, we should have The wise unto the fool become a slave. What though my text seems mean, my morals be Grave, as if fetch'd from a sublimer tree. And if some better handle[12] can a fly, Than some a text, why should we then deny Their making proof, or good experiment, Of smallest things, great mischiefs to prevent? Wise Solomon did fools to piss-ants[13] send, To learn true wisdom, and their lies to mend. Yea, God by swallows, cuckoos, and the ass,[14] Shows they are fools who let that season pass, Which he put in their hand, that to obtain Which is both present and eternal gain. I think the wiser sort my rhymes may slight, But what care I, the foolish will delight To read them, and the foolish God has chose, And doth by foolish things their minds compose, And settle upon that which is divine; Great things, by little ones, are made to shine. I could, were I so pleas'd, use higher strains: And for applause on tenters[15] stretch my brains. But what needs that? the arrow, out of sight, Does not the sleeper, nor the watchman fright; To shoot too high doth but make children gaze, 'Tis that which hits the man doth him amaze. And for the inconsiderableness Of things, by which I do my mind express, May I by them bring some good thing to pass, As Samson, with the jawbone of an ass; Or as brave Shamgar, with his ox's goad (Both being things not manly, nor for war in mode), I have my end, though I myself expose To scorn; God will have glory in the close.

J.B.

A BOOK FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, &c.

DIVINE EMBLEMS, OR TEMPORAL THINGS SPIRITUALIZED, &c.

I.

UPON THE BARREN FIG-TREE IN GOD'S VINEYARD

What, barren here! in this so good a soil? The sight of this doth make God's heart recoil From giving thee his blessing; barren tree, Bear fruit, or else thine end will cursed be! Art thou not planted by the water-side? Know'st not thy Lord by fruit is glorified? The sentence is, Cut down the barren tree: Bear fruit, or else thine end will cursed be. Hast thou been digg'd about and dunged too, Will neither patience nor yet dressing do? The executioner is come, O tree, Bear fruit, or else thine end will cursed be! He that about thy roots takes pains to dig, Would, if on thee were found but one good fig, Preserve thee from the axe: but, barren tree, Bear fruit, or else thy end will cursed be! The utmost end of patience is at hand, 'Tis much if thou much longer here doth stand. O cumber-ground, thou art a barren tree. Bear fruit, or else thine end will cursed be! Thy standing nor they name will help at all; When fruitful trees are spared, thou must fall. The axe is laid unto thy roots, O tree! Bear fruit, or else thine end will cursed be.

II.

UPON THE LARK AND THE FOWLER.

Thou simple bird, what makes thou here to play? Look, there's the fowler, pr'ythee come away. Do'st not behold the net? Look there, 'tis spread, Venture a little further, thou art dead. Is there not room enough in all the field For thee to play in, but thou needs must yield To the deceitful glitt'ring of a glass, Plac'd betwixt nets, to bring thy death to pass? Bird, if thou art so much for dazzling light, Look, there's the sun above thee; dart upright; Thy nature is to soar up to the sky, Why wilt thou come down to the nets and die? Take no heed to the fowler's tempting call; This whistle, he enchanteth birds withal. Or if thou see'st a live bird in his net, Believe she's there, 'cause hence she cannot get. Look how he tempteth thee with is decoy, That he may rob thee of thy life, thy joy. Come, pr'ythee bird, I pr'ythee come away, Why should this net thee take, when 'scape thou may? Hadst thou not wings, or were thy feathers pull'd, Or wast thou blind, or fast asleep wer't lull'd, The case would somewhat alter, but for thee, Thy eyes are ope, and thou hast wings to flee. Remember that thy song is in thy rise, Not in thy fall; earth's not thy paradise. Keep up aloft, then, let thy circuits be Above, where birds from fowler's nets are free.

Comparison.

This fowler is an emblem of the devil, His nets and whistle, figures of all evil. His glass an emblem is of sinful pleasure, And his decoy of who counts sin a treasure. This simple lark's a shadow of a saint, Under allurings, ready now to faint. This admonisher a true teacher is, Whose works to show the soul the snare and bliss, And how it may this fowler's net escape, And not commit upon itself this rape.

III.

UPON THE VINE-TREE.

What is the vine, more than another tree? Nay most, than it, more tall, more comely be. What workman thence will take a beam or pin, To make ought which may be delighted in? Its excellency in its fruit doth lie: A fruitless vine, it is not worth a fly.

Comparison.

What are professors more than other men? Nothing at all. Nay, there's not one in ten, Either for wealth, or wit, that may compare, In many things, with some that carnal are. Good are they, if they mortify their sin, But without that, they are not worth a pin.

IV.

MEDITATIONS UPON AN EGG.

1.

The egg's no chick by falling from the hen; Nor man a Christian, till he's born again. The egg's at first contained in the shell; Men, afore grace, in sins and darkness dwell. The egg, when laid, by warmth is made a chicken, And Christ, by grace, those dead in sin doth quicken. The egg, when first a chick, the shell's its prison; So's flesh to the soul, who yet with Christ is risen. The shell doth crack, the chick doth chirp and peep, The flesh decays, as men do pray and weep. The shell doth break, the chick's at liberty, The flesh falls off, the soul mounts up on high But both do not enjoy the self-same plight; The soul is safe, the chick now fears the kite.

2.

But chicks from rotten eggs do not proceed, Nor is a hypocrite a saint indeed. The rotten egg, though underneath the hen, If crack'd, stinks, and is loathsome unto men. Nor doth her warmth make what is rotten sound; What's rotten, rotten will at last be found. The hypocrite, sin has him in possession, He is a rotten egg under profession.

3.

Some eggs bring cockatrices; and some men Seem hatch'd and brooded in the viper's den. Some eggs bring wild-fowls; and some men there be As wild as are the wildest fowls that flee. Some eggs bring spiders, and some men appear More venom'd than the worst of spiders are.[16] Some eggs bring piss-ants, and some seem to me As much for trifles as the piss-ants be. Thus divers eggs do produce divers shapes, As like some men as monkeys are like apes. But this is but an egg, were it a chick, Here had been legs, and wings, and bones to pick.

V.

OF FOWLS FLYING IN THE AIR.

Methinks I see a sight most excellent, All sorts of birds fly in the firmament: Some great, some small, all of a divers kind, Mine eye affecting, pleasant to my mind. Look how they tumble in the wholesome air, Above the world of worldlings, and their care. And as they divers are in bulk and hue, So are they in their way of flying too. So many birds, so many various things Tumbling i' the element upon their wings.

Comparison.

These birds are emblems of those men that shall Ere long possess the heavens, their all in all. They are each of a diverse shape and kind, To teach we of all nations there shall find. They are some great, some little, as we see, To show some great, some small, in glory be.[17] Their flying diversely, as we behold, Do show saints' joys will there be manifold; Some glide, some mount, some flutter, and some do, In a mix'd way of flying, glory too. And all to show each saint, to his content, Shall roll and tumble in that firmament.

VI.

UPON THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Our Father which in heaven art, Thy name be always hallowed; Thy kingdom come, thy will be done; Thy heavenly path be followed By us on earth as 'tis with thee, We humbly pray; And let our bread us given be, From day to day. Forgive our debts as we forgive Those that to us indebted are: Into temptation lead us not,[18] But save us from the wicked snare. The kingdom's thine, the power too, We thee adore; The glory also shall be thine For evermore.

VII.

MEDITATIONS UPON PEEP OF DAY.

I oft, though it be peep of day, don't know Whether 'tis night, whether 'tis day or no. I fancy that I see a little light, But cannot yet distinguish day from night; I hope, I doubt, but steady yet I be not, I am not at a point, the sun I see not. Thus 'tis with such who grace but now[19] possest, They know not yet if they be cursed or blest.

VIII.

UPON THE FLINT IN THE WATER.

This flint, time out of mind, has there abode, Where crystal streams make their continual road. Yet it abides a flint as much as 'twere Before it touched the water, or came there Its hard obdurateness is not abated, 'Tis not at all by water penetrated. Though water hath a soft'ning virtue in't, This stone it can't dissolve, for 'tis a flint. Yea, though it in the water doth remain, It doth its fiery nature still retain. If you oppose it with its opposite, At you, yea, in your face, its fire 'twill spit.

Comparison.

This flint an emblem is of those that lie, Like stones, under the Word, until they die. Its crystal streams have not their nature changed, They are not, from their lusts, by grace estranged.

IX.

UPON THE FISH IN THE WATER.

1.

The water is the fish's element; Take her from thence, none can her death prevent; And some have said, who have transgressors been, As good not be, as to be kept from sin.

2.

The water is the fish's element: Leave her but there, and she is well content. So's he, who in the path of life doth plod, Take all, says he, let me but have my God.

3.

The water is the fish's element, Her sportings there to her are excellent; So is God's service unto holy men, They are not in their element till then.

X.

UPON THE SWALLOW.

This pretty bird, O! how she flies and sings,[20] But could she do so if she had not wings? Her wings bespeak my faith, her songs my peace; When I believe and sing my doubtings cease.

XI.

UPON THE BEE.

The bee goes out, and honey home doth bring, And some who seek that honey find a sting. Now would'st thou have the honey, and be free From stinging, in the first place kill the bee.

Comparison.

This bee an emblem truly is of sin, Whose sweet, unto a many, death hath been. Now would'st have sweet from sin and yet not die, Do thou it, in the first place, mortify.

XII.

UPON A LOWERING MORNING.

Well, with the day I see the clouds appear, And mix the light with darkness everywhere; This threatening is, to travellers that go Long journeys, slabby rain they'll have, or snow. Else, while I gaze, the sun doth with his beams Belace the clouds, as 'twere with bloody streams; This done, they suddenly do watery grow, And weep, and pour their tears out where they go.

Comparison.

Thus 'tis when gospel light doth usher in To us both sense of grace and sense of sin; Yea, when it makes sin red with Christ's blood, Then we can weep till weeping does us good.

XIII.

UPON OVER-MUCH NICENESS.

'Tis much to see how over nice some are About the body and household affair, While what's of worth they slightly pass it by, Not doing, or doing it slovenly. Their house must be well furnished, be in print,[21] Meanwhile their soul lies ley,[22] has no good in't. Its outside also they must beautify, When in it there's scarce common honesty. Their bodies they must have tricked up and trim, Their inside full of filth up to the brim. Upon their clothes there must not be a spot, But is their lives more than one common blot. How nice, how coy are some about their diet, That can their crying souls with hogs'-meat quiet. All drest must to a hair be, else 'tis naught, While of the living bread they have no thought. Thus for their outside they are clean and nice, While their poor inside stinks with sin and vice.

XIV.

MEDITATIONS UPON A CANDLE.

Man's like a candle in a candlestick, Made up of tallow and a little wick; And as the candle when it is not lighted, So is he who is in his sins benighted. Nor can a man his soul with grace inspire, More than can candles set themselves on fire. Candles receive their light from what they are not; Men grace from Him for whom at first they care not. We manage candles when they take the fire; God men, when he with grace doth them inspire. And biggest candles give the better light, As grace on biggest sinners shines most bright. The candle shines to make another see, A saint unto his neighbour light should be. The blinking candle we do much despise, Saints dim of light are high in no man's eyes. Again, though it may seem to some a riddle, We use to light our candles at the middle.[23] True light doth at the candle's end appear, And grace the heart first reaches by the ear. But 'tis the wick the fire doth kindle on, As 'tis the heart that grace first works upon. Thus both do fasten upon what's the main, And so their life and vigour do maintain. The tallow makes the wick yield to the fire, And sinful flesh doth make the soul desire That grace may kindle on it, in it burn; So evil makes the soul from evil turn.[24] But candles in the wind are apt to flare, And Christians, in a tempest, to despair. The flame also with smoke attended is, And in our holy lives there's much amiss. Sometimes a thief will candle-light annoy, And lusts do seek our graces to destroy. What brackish is will make a candle sputter; 'Twixt sin and grace there's oft' a heavy clutter. Sometimes the light burns dim, 'cause of the snuff, Sometimes it is blown quite out with a puff; But watchfulness preventeth both these evils, Keeps candles light, and grace in spite of devils. Nor let not snuffs nor puffs make us to doubt, Our candles may be lighted, though puffed out. The candle in the night doth all excel, Nor sun, nor moon, nor stars, then shine so well. So is the Christian in our hemisphere, Whose light shows others how their course to steer. When candles are put out, all's in confusion; Where Christians are not, devils make intrusion. Then happy are they who such candles have, All others dwell in darkness and the grave. But candles that do blink within the socket, And saints, whose eyes are always in their pocket, Are much alike; such candles make us fumble, And at such saints good men and bad do stumble.[25] Good candles don't offend, except sore eyes, Nor hurt, unless it be the silly flies. Thus none like burning candles in the night, Nor ought[26] to holy living for delight. But let us draw towards the candle's end: The fire, you see, doth wick and tallow spend, As grace man's life until his glass is run, And so the candle and the man is done. The man now lays him down upon his bed, The wick yields up its fire, and so is dead. The candle now extinct is, but the man By grace mounts up to glory, there to stand.

XV.

UPON THE SACRAMENTS.

Two sacraments I do believe there be, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord; Both mysteries divine, which do to me, By God's appointment, benefit afford. But shall they be my God, or shall I have Of them so foul and impious a thought, To think that from the curse they can me save? Bread, wine, nor water, me no ransom bought.[27]

XVI.

UPON THE SUN'S REFLECTION UPON THE CLOUDS IN A FAIR MORNING.

Look yonder, ah! methinks mine eyes do see Clouds edged with silver, as fine garments be; They look as if they saw that golden face That makes black clouds most beautiful with grace. Unto the saints' sweet incense, or their prayer, These smoky curdled clouds I do compare. For as these clouds seem edged, or laced with gold, Their prayers return with blessings manifold.

XVII.

UPON APPAREL.

God gave us clothes to hide our nakedness, And we by them do it expose to view. Our pride and unclean minds to an excess, By our apparel, we to others show.[28]

XVIII.

THE SINNER AND THE SPIDER.

Sinner.

What black, what ugly crawling thing art thou?

Spider.

I am a spider-------------

Sinner.

A spider, ay, also a filthy creature.

Spider.

Not filthy as thyself in name or feature. My name entailed is to my creation, My features from the God of thy salvation.

Sinner.

I am a man, and in God's image made, I have a soul shall neither die nor fade, God has possessed me[29] with human reason, Speak not against me lest thou speakest treason. For if I am the image of my Maker, Of slanders laid on me He is partaker.

Spider.

I know thou art a creature far above me, Therefore I shun, I fear, and also love thee. But though thy God hath made thee such a creature, Thou hast against him often played the traitor. Thy sin has fetched thee down: leave off to boast; Nature thou hast defiled, God's image lost. Yea, thou thyself a very beast hast made, And art become like grass, which soon doth fade. Thy soul, thy reason, yea, thy spotless state, Sin has subjected to th' most dreadful fate. But I retain my primitive condition, I've all but what I lost by thy ambition.

Sinner.

Thou venomed thing, I know not what to call thee, The dregs of nature surely did befall thee, Thou wast made of the dross and scum of all, Man hates thee; doth, in scorn, thee spider call.

Spider.

My venom's good for something, 'cause God made it, Thy sin hath spoiled thy nature, doth degrade it. Of human virtues, therefore, though I fear thee, I will not, though I might, despise and jeer thee. Thou say'st I am the very dregs of nature, Thy sin's the spawn of devils, 'tis no creature. Thou say'st man hates me 'cause I am a spider, Poor man, thou at thy God art a derider; My venom tendeth to my preservation, Thy pleasing follies work out thy damnation. Poor man, I keep the rules of my creation, Thy sin has cast thee headlong from thy station. I hurt nobody willingly, but thou Art a self-murderer; thou know'st not how To do what good is; no, thou lovest evil; Thou fliest God's law, adherest to the devil.[30]

Sinner.

Ill-shaped creature, there's antipathy 'Twixt man and spiders, 'tis in vain to lie; I hate thee, stand off, if thou dost come nigh me, I'll crush thee with my foot; I do defy thee.

Spider.