The Triumph of Mercy in the Chariot of Praise, Title page – Dedication
'Ελεοθζιαμβοσ''
Or the Triumph of Mercy In the Chariot of Praiſe.
A TREATISE OF Preventing ſecret and unexpected Mercies with ſome mixt Reflexions.
Pſal. 21.3. Thou preventeſt him with the bleſſings of goodneſs.
LONDON, Printed for John Hancock, at the three Bibles in Popes-head Alley in Cornhill, 1677.
To the unknown Diſpenſer of a conſiderable Kindneſs, on Thurſday Febr. 4. 1674.
Honoured Sir,
WHen I lay faint and weak in my bed, under a dispiriting and waſting Diſtemper of the Yellow Jaundies; by the holy dispenſation of the all-wiſe God, an unknown Meſſenger comes from an unknown Benefactor with a Token of value, who determined, that his left hand ſhould not diſcern what his right hand did;Mat. 6.3. but the Eye of God ſaw both. Though, Sir, my Tongue as yet hath not found you out, yet I hope my Pen may reach you. Should I never ariſe to that happy Cognizance; yet I could not ſuffer your kindneſs to lie hid under the clods of ingratitude; but heartily return a publick Teſtimony by theſe Papers, which I have enjoyned the duty of diligent ſearching out the path to the ſame hands, and to kiſs them in the dark by a private reception. Aelian reports of Democritus, that great Thracian Philoſopher, [foreign] That he moſt earneſtly coveted to lie hid, though a great Benefactor to the world by his learned Studies. You have traced his foot-ſteps in trampling-upon the airy bubble of vain glory; deſiring to be good rather then ſeem to be ſo. Kindneſſes done to others with a ſingle Eye to God, are conſecrated into Free-will-offerings: For with ſuch Sacrifices God is well pleaſed.Heb. 13.16. Lamprid. in Sever. Lug. B. p. 378. Alexander Sever the Roman Emperour, when an Embaſſadour had preſented his Empreſs with Two Oriental Pearls, of price invaluable, cauſed her to dedicate them to the Temple and Statue of Venus, judging the too splendid to hang in the Ears of Mortals. Happy perſons, that preſent of their gain and ſubſtance to the God of the whole Earth!Mic. 4.13. Cold water in the name of a Diſciple ſhall be warm'd at the Hearth in Zion, and run to account. Nay it will turn into a more precious Liquor then Gold potable, and prove more Cordial then all Earthly Treaſure. Suidas relates,Suid. p. 1197. That Hercules us'd to ſuccour the oppreſſed before he was entreated; and being of a generous temper wrencht the three Apples of Anger, Pleaſure and Covetouſneſs from the mouth of the Dragon of Luſt: to intimate that no covetous man can be truly beneficent or noble minded, especially to relieve the indigent with unexpected kindneſs, and to reap no harveſt but the ſatiating of an enlarged heart;Upton de milit. offic. p. 172. like the Princely Eagle that diſdains to eat of his prey alone. Though kindneſſes are to be given freely, and not put to the uſury of return, either by open praiſe, or ſecret requital; yet who will plow upon the rocks, or ſcatter his precious ſeed upon the ſands. The whole circle of Nature teaches the duty of Gratitude. The wiſe Athenians enacted a Law,Valer. max. l. 5. c. 3. …hat ungratefulneſs ſhould bear an action in their Courts; and the Roman ſtate made a Decree, that Women ſhould take the upper hand in streets, becauſe two Noble Matrons had prevail'd with Coriolanus their Son and Husband, not to invade their City. From whom, during their abode in Britain, it's likely that Cuſtom might be deriv'd to us.
To contract: Let this little Treatiſe be hung up like a votive Table in the Temple of praiſe, and your Honourable Name be engraven on the bowls of the Altar,Acts 10.4. when your Prayers and Alms riſe up like Incenſe for a memorial before God. If any demand, why theſe Characters came in ſo late for Sculpture upon the Marble Pillars? Know, that ſome ſhowers and ſtorms of afflictive providence from Heaven detain'd the Votary.
If others of uncandid breasts doom theſe Lines precarious, I hope I may ſafely reply, they are of a more generous Off-spring, and like the Lark which ſings praiſes in a May morning, flies up towards Heaven, diſregarding tatling Travellers. Their vitious breath, like that of Cats, brings Hecticks to ſuch as hug them, and diſtills corroſive Salt upon their own Lungs. The cheerful Roſe with a ruddy bluſh ſmells ſweetly among the prickles of Envy, and much ſweeter when ſet among rank Onions.
I know not your Noble Perſonage, nor can divine whether my Pen be pluck'd from ſo dextrous a wing as to fly to your bounteous boſom, and utter complaints how I have weltred in the ſhame of ſilence. I bleſs God 'twas a ſeaſonable mercy, and I truſt ſome ſecret mercy of more inestimable value will in due time find you out. I magnifie God,Prov. 30.8 I am in Agurs station, and for thoſe that have ſtrengthned it to help ſome charge, I beg the bleſſings of the God of Jabez; 1 Chron. 4.10.enlarging my grateful thoughts towards the Heavenly Manſions: and as the Speakers before the Conference in Plato's Timaeus went to prayer; ſo let this Preface lift up its hand toward his Holy Temple: That the ſcent of your name may be fragrant as the Field which the Lord hath bleſſed:Gen. 27.27. Eccl. 9.8. That your Head may lack no Oyntment, and your Garments be always white and odoriferous, taken out of Cedar Cheſts of the growth of Lebanon: Num. 24.6That the perfuming Trees of Lignaloes of the Lords planting may grow thick and ſhady about your Tabernacle, as in their native and genuine Soil: That the Spices of Eden, and the Heavenly Indies and Diamonds more orient then thoſe of Borneo may lade your Veſſels: That a greater then Solomon, even the true proprietor of the Iſle of Ceylon (the ancient Ophir) would invest your Soul with Faith,Pſal. 45.9. Rev. 3.18. that true cloth of Gold; with the meekneſs of our bleſſed Saviour, more ſoft then the Oyls of Zant, or the Silks of Smyrna: That your hopes of Glory may flower more pleaſant and lovely then the beautiful Bloſsoms of the Piſtachia in the Gardens of Syria, and ſend them as experienced Tokens to your Children, as holy Jacob did to his beloved Joſeph. Gen. 43.11. Rev. 2.8.That the firſt and laſt who was dead and is alive, would wreath your Temples with a Crown of Life, and keep you from hurt by the ſecond death. That the wealth of the Terra Incognita, the Land of Promiſe may be your inheritance, ſo little known to rambling Mortals that pant after the duſt of Aegypt. Suid. in Dioclet.That the fatneſs of Heaven may drop down upon your heart;Deut. 33.13, &c. the dew and the deep which coucheth beneath may run by your roots, the precious fruits thruſt forth by the Sun and Moon, and the chief things of the Eaſtern Mountains, and the choice things of the lasting Hills, and the coſtly things of the Earth and its fulneſs from every corner; above all, the good will of him who dwelt in the buſh of Horeb defend all your flouriſhing Mercies from flames of wrath; and like that marching Pillar of Fire, conduct you to that City above, whoſe builder and maker is God, where your feet may tread that malleable pavement of tranſparent Gold,Rev. 21.18. and your thirſt after righteouſneſs quencht with the Living Water of the Well of Jacob, Joh. 4.14.that Water of Paradiſe which iſſues from the Throne of God,Rev. 22.1. and be repleniſht with thoſe 12 ſorts of Fruits which hang upon the Trees of Life, and drink abundantly with the beloved Spouſe of Chriſt,Song 5.1. of the ſpiced Wine of the Kingdom, in the preſence of the Father and his Holy Angels, at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Samuel Lee Febr. 8. 1676.