Christians Earnest Expectation and Longing for the Glorious Appearing, Title page – Poem
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Chriſtians earneſt Expectation an… Longing for the glorious Appearing o… the great God and our Saviour Jeſus Chriſt.
Set forth in a DISCOURSE Occaſioned by the Deceaſe of that Excellent Chriſtian and Miniſter of Chriſt.
Mr. NOAH WEBB, Lately of Sandhurſt, in the County of Berks.
By Daniel Burgeſs, Miniſter of the Goſpel.
The Prophets, do they live for ever? Zech. 1.5.
I have fought a good fight, I have finiſhed my courſe, I have kept the Faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteouſneſs, which the Lord, the righteous Judg ſhall give me, at that day; and not to me only, but unto them alſo that love his Appearing, 2 Tim. 4.7, 8.
Printed for O.C. 1675.
To the Lady Martha Merryn, Wife of the right Worſhipful Sr. Audley Merryn; Mrs. Heſter Whitfield, Wife of [my Honoured Uncle] Henry Whitfield Eſq; and Mrs. Elizabeth Briſcoe, my juſtly Honoured Dear Mother-in-law.
My Excellent, and very Dear Friends.
OTher Readers [probably] will miſtake: But, I pray do not you. Here's no Epiſtle Dedicatory: I prefix your Names here for nothing elſe, but to make me place to ſhew you, that I Forget you not, nor my great Obligations to you. I and mine, do commemorate often in England, your goodneſs to us in Ireland. And being [you ſee on what Occaſion] now prevail'd with, to appear in publick, it liked me thus to have our Gratitude appear too. You will look on the following Pages, for the Author's ſake: And you will prize them for the Subjects ſake; I beſeech you ſet your ſelves to the Duty they commend, for God and your Souls ſake: I believe I ſhall never ſee you more, till Jeſus comes, Oh! may we then meet him, and each other with joy! And in the mean time, all our Days, keep providing for that great, and [if not provided for] Terrible one. Tis Death in your Thoughts, muſt put Life into your Actions, ſaid Bleſſed Vines. And Mr. Baxter himſelf could ſay of Heaven, [in Vines his Elegy]
Sin doth not only keep me thence,
But makes me loth to go from hence.
Look well to your ſelves, My Invaluable dear Friends! You have ſundry excelent Monitors by you; Singularly [my thrice deareſt] Dr. T. H. whoſe life and labours the Lord continue to Dub…in. I commend you, and all your deareſt Ones, to divine Tuition and Grace; it's moſt incorruptly that I profeſs my ſelf,
Your moſt Affectionate Remembrancer to the Lord, Dan. Burgeſs. From my Houſe in Bayden neer Malbrough, Wilts, Aug. 30. 1675.
Ʋpon the much Lamented Deceaſe of Mr. Noah Webb, who Died Aug. 14. in the 42d. year of his Age, A. D. 1675.
Bleſt God!
OH Turn [the glorious lamp of Heaven] the Sun
To darkeſt Darkneſs! Let his Courſe be done!
Nor let [the Queen of Heav'n] the Moon take 's Light,
And with it colour any future Night!
Black thou the Milkie way! Blow out the Stars,
No more to twinkle ſigns of Peace, of Wars!
Our Waters turn to Blood! to Lice our Duſt!
The World to Aſhes, if 't bee thy righteous Luſt!
For Pitie's ſake thus Curſe us, Righteous Lord,
Rather than Take the Teachers of thy Word,
From thy afflicted Church! Church, dare I ſay?
'Tis Hell, not Church, without ſuch Lights as they!
Much rather had we, Jeſus ſtrait ſhould come,
Then let the World, more Aggravate their Doom!
Did there ten thouſand Worlds to ruin fall,
One God could Save, one Chriſt Redeem them all,
(Well ſang Orinda;) Grace [who doubts?] divine
One Spirit could infufe, and all Refine.
Thou could'ſt, Oh Bleſſed Trinity, without
One of the Miniſters thou ſendeſt out,
Convert, Build up, Confirm, and make t' Increaſe
Thy Church, in Faith, in Purity, and Peace!
But oh! thy Will's thy Law! Teachers, we know,
Muſt be Co-workers; 'cauſe thy Will is ſo!
And ſeeing, Faith by Hearing them muſt come,
The day of their Loſs, muſt b' a day of Doom!
Thrice direful Doom! The World may better ſpar…
The Elements, Mat. 5.13, 14. Rev. 2.1. Heb. 13.7. 2 Cor. 5.20. 1 Cor. 4.1. 1 Cor. 3.9. 1 Cor. 4.15. Joh. 21.15. 1 Cor. 3.10. Heb. 13.17. and Iſai. 52.8. 2 Kings 13, 14.than the Church ſpare them, that a…
Her Lights, Salt, Angels, Rulers, Legates; and
Stewards of thy both Heav'nly houſe and land!
Husbandmen, Fathers, Shepheards, Builders, and
The Watch, which for thy Flocks, Oh Jeſu, ſtand!
Horſemen and Chariots of thy Iſrael,
In whom her Safeties and her Glories dwell.
Oh then allow us, Lord, to Sigh and Groan,
Under the Loſs of this Excelling One!
Smite, ſmite the Rocks too, that inſenſate be
Of its portending great Calamity!
The ſtop of Noah's preaching did of yore
Portend a Judgment, th' in-dwelt World o're!
Thy ſnatching our deer No'h into thine Ark,
Affrights us all; and chiefly ſuch as mark,
How faſt our Alleines, Janeways, and our Blakes,
Our Barrets and our Webbs, thy Hand up takes:
And do obſerve, what Sin and Strife be brewing,
For England's, Europe's, yea the World's undoing.
Next unto Sin, Oh God! [that's Strife with thee,]
Our mutual Strifes ſpeak imminent Miſery;
They both, in Gath and Aſcalon are known!
One hath the bitter laſt thus ſweetly ſhewn.
The Croſs muſt now againſt the Croſs be ſpread,Beaumont, in Pſych.
(Bluſh, oh ye Heavens at this!) and they who are
Under the King of Peace all Marſhalled
Be Barbarized by a mutual War.
Tearing the precious gentle Legacie,
Their Lord bequeathed to their Cuſtodie.
They who by Myſtick Union are knit
Under one Head, no other Foes do ſeek,
But their Fraternal members; and forget,
That whilſt on them their ſavage ſpight they wreak,
The tender Head feels every Wound, and will
Score up each drop, which of his Blood they ſpill.
Weep all good eyes, which ſee this dreadful Shame,
Oſ Chriſtians digging Chriſtian's bowels up;
Sure ſtreams of Blood deſerve your briny ſtream,
Weep then, and let your Bottels never ſtop!
Till you have waſh'd away this purple ſtain,
'Gainſt which all Powers, without your Tears are vain!
Had but the thouſandth part of this dear blood,
Adventur'd to be broach'd in Paleſtine;
Quite overwhelm'd by its exuberant flood,
Had Mahomet's wide ſpred Contagion bin:
And woful Greece had not enſlaved lain,
Under the bondage of a Pagan chain.
Or had that Power of Policy, and Wrath,
Of Arms, of Horſe, of Men, of ſtronger Gold,
Which in our ſelf-deſtroying Brittain hath
Of late bin laviſh'd out, (when England ſold
Her peace to miſery,) with provident
And pious Zeal, in Syria been ſpent;
Our guilty Swords had not now Bluſhed in
Fraternal blood; nor had our Palms and Bays
With any Engliſh curſe deflowred bin;
But Salem her ſad Head, had 'gan to raiſe,
Fleeing from her long preſſed Neck, the yoke
Of Ottamanick Barbariſm broke.
Oh Thou, who when thou didſt aſcend on High,God in Chriſt, hath committed to us the Word of Reconciliation. 2 Cor. 5.19.
Didſt give thine own Peace-teaching Miniſtry!
A Gift whereof thy Church doth humbly Boaſt,
As greateſt,, next the Gift of th' Holy Ghoſt!
Thy Church fill with thoſe Teachers! and them fill
With that moſt Holy Ghoſt, if 't be thy will!
Send [like of this our Brother took away,]
More Shepheards in this Wolf-abounding Day!
So ſhall On Earth be Peace! [through GOD-MAN] then
Men ſhall b' at Peace with God, and God with Men!
And as the whole Earth never ſhall again
Be Drown'd; thy Church too ever ſhall remain,
Safe from the Floods of Turk, of Pope, of Hell,
And all that 'gainſt the Peace of Sion ſwell!
When the twelve hundred Sixty Days are gone,
Rome's Scarlet and our Sackcloth will be done!
Satan ſhall hang in Chaines! Gentile and Jew
Shall both pray, Come Lord Jeſus, Holy, True!
On winged Hours, Oh haſt that bleſſed Day!
Unanimous Saints and Angels, Amen ſay,
With the Chief of Sinners, And leſs than the leaſt of Saints. D. B.