Carmen Eucharisticon: A PRIVATE THANK-OBLATION, Exhibited to the Glory of THE LORD OF HOSTS, FOR The timely and wonderfull Deliverance, vouchsafed to this NATION, in the routing of a numerous Army of Irish Rebells before Dublin, by the Sword of his valiant Servant, MICHAEL JONES, Lievtenant-Generall for the Parliament of ENGLAND.
Composed by Geo. Wither Esquire, August 29. 1649.
The longest lasting
Sacrifice
Is that, which most neglected lies.
Sweet
Incense into nothing fumes;
The
Fat of Beasts away consumes;
A
Song, which doth
GOD's Works commend,
Continues longer; yet, hath end:
But
perfect-love is an
Oblation,
Which hath no finall consumation.
⟨Aug: 30⟩ London: Printed by Robert Austin. 1649.
Carmen Eucharisticon: A PRIVATE THANK-OBLATION, EXHIBITED To the Glory of the LORD OF HOSTS, &c.
PƲblike-Duties being done,
By my self, Ile now alone,
Consummate a
Private-one.
Therefore, O my Soul! awake;
And, let both, with heart and tongue,
Such a
Song of Praise be sung,
That, thereby, both old and young,
Of GOD's mercies heed may take.
For, such
Trophies (though now waved)
Moses, Deborah, and
David,
When they from their foes were saved,
Did, with good acceptance, raise:
And (though other
Thank-Oblations
Perish'd, with their Generations)
GOD is, yet, throughout all Nations,
Honor'd by their
Songs of Praise.
We, to thee, O LORD! have
praid,
Thanks returned,
sung, and
said,
And, our
common-duty paid,
As we could perform the same:
That, which we have seen, and heard,
Of thy
mercifull regard,
Hath been openly declar'd,
To the glory of thy
Name.
But, O GOD! we may as well
Close the
Seas up, in a
shell,
As inabled be to tell
Thy
Compassions large extent;
Or, to make full illustration
Of thy favours to this
Nation,
In our frequent preservation
From the furious
Foes intent.
For, that
single-mercy, LORD,
Which this Day we do record,
Many
mercies doth afford,
More then all men can perceive.
That
Deliverance, made way
For another
joyfull-day,
And that, peradventure, may
Bring to passe, what we would have.
With vain
Moab, did conspire
Ammon, Amalek, and
Tyre,
Threatning, like consuming fire,
To destroy thy
chosen Flock;
And, in hope, their will to do,
They have hired
Balaam too,
With
false Prophets many moe,
To advance a
stumbling-block.
Of their vaine presumings proud,
They like Thunder from a cloud,
Did begin to roar aloud
In deluded peoples ears;
And their empty vanities,
Blushlesse brags, and shamelesse lies,
Fill'd the hearts of men unwise,
With false hopes, and causelesse fears.
The fool'd
Welsh, the faithlesse
Scot,
And our
English mis-begot,
Joyning in an
Irish plot,
Sought to root us from the
Land:
They with
Sulphur, Sword, and
Flame,
Round about our
dwellings came,
And, had brought us all to shame,
Had not, GOD, stretch'd forth his hand.
But, he, thereof notice took;
And, as
Sisera he strook,
With his Host, by
Kishon-brook;
So, he smote them in their pride:
And, the same successe they had
Which befell to
Benhadad,
When, the like account he made,
That, the
spoile he should divide.
For, whilst
Ormond, and while
Taaff,
In their Tents, did game, and quaff,
(At our sad condition laugh)
And, of
Captives predispos'd;
Then, that
Arm, which they despis'd,
Suddenly, their
Camp surpriz'd;
And, the snares, which they devis'd
For our feet, their owne inclos'd.
Mich'el, and his
Angells, there
Threw their
Dragon-Cavaliere,
With his
Angells, from our
Sphere,
In confusion, to their owne;
Where, unable to repent,
They despairingly lament,
And blaspheme with discontent,
Him, that hath such
mercy showne.
For, though (blinded in their sin)
Outwardly, they jeer and grin;
Hellish horrors lurk within,
Filling their faint hearts with fears:
Their
chief refuge, is a
lie;
And, which way soe're they fly,
Guilt pursues them with a cry,
Which the GOD of Justice hears.
Their accusing
conscience, feels
Vengeance following them at heels,
And, her dreadfull Charet wheels
Threatning, what to them is due:
Yet, infernall indignation,
Stirs them up to vindication,
Height'ned by a desperation
Of those ends, which they pursue.
And, that made them take the field,
(Trusting in their sword and shield)
When their conscience bid them yeeld:
But, they soon did back retire,
And, to fly away began,
As when the
Philistins ran,
From the sword of
Jonathan,
And, but one sleight armed
Squire.
Never was there such a day
Seen till then at
Dublin.
Ballacleagh,Since the
The River at Dublin.
Liffy wash'd her Kea,And, there, first, the
The Sea Water.
Sea-Nimphs met:For, GOD's arm, did there, and then,
Give us
Limster back agen,
When it was nigh lost; and, when,
Hope, was with
despairs beset.
Yet, as if that daies successe,
Had too little been, unlesse
He consider'd our distresse,
In our
London-Derry friends;
Or, lest els, blind
ignorance
Might judge, that an act of
chance,
He, our free
deliverance,
Into
Ʋlster, too, extends.
And, by that redoubled blow,
Gave another overthrow;
For,
Designements one or two,
By that means dissolved be:
Which hath so inraged them,
That, they raile, revile, blaspheme,
And their own beleefe condemn,
For believing what they see.
Oh! what pen, or tongue is there
Fully able to declare,
What, to us, GOD'S
Mercies were
Since our
Champion he hath been?
Nay, who can half that recite,
VVhich for us, in open sight,
He hath done since
Nasby-Fight,
Where, he, first, was plainly seen?
He hath magnifi'd his
worth
In most glorious marchings forth,
From the
South, unto the
North,
And, through all our
British-Coasts;
England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales,
Towns, and
Fields, and
Hills, and
Dales,
Sea, and
Land, him, justly calls
The Victorious LORD of HOASTS.
Frequently, our eyes behold,
Mercies, great and manifold,
Such, as were in times of old,
By his
Chosen Flock enjoy'd:
Such, as were vouchsafed, when
Hundreds, chased were by
ten;
Thousands, by a hundred men,
And great
Hoasts, by few destroy'd.
VVe have seen God marching, so,
VVith our
Friends, against our
Foe,
As he did, long time ago,
VVhen his-
Isr'el were opprest:
And, securing us from feare;
VVhen our hopes at lowest were;
VVhen despis'd, we did appeare,
And our-perill most increast.
VVhen all seem'd at once on fire;
VVhen our
Brethren did conspire,
VVith our
Foes, to blow that higher,
VVhich did flame too high, before;
VVhen within their hearts they said,
We so deep, our Plots have laid,
That divine, with humane aid,
Shall prevent them, now no more.
Yea, when said it was by some,
What is of their God become,
Who, they dream'd, should save them from
What our Counsell hath decreed?
Then, did God, himself, arise;
Then, his
Arme, in glorious wise,
Saves us from our
Enemies,
In the times of greatest need.
And not only from their power,
(Arm'd, and gaping to devoure,)
Hath he kept this Land of our,
But, he more then this hath done;
Them, who to inslave us thought,
And, our causlesse ruine sought,
Underneath our feet he brought,
That they might be trod upon.
Nay, we have, yet more to say:
Though our
Foes, lie night and day,
In our bosomes, to betray;
And disguised are like Friends;
God, hath still prevented so,
VVhat their malice prompts them to,
That, themselves, they still undo;
But, accomplish not their ends.
VVe have seen GOD, in our daies,
VValking on, in all those
waies,
VVhich (to his eternall praise)
VVere in
former Ages, trod:
In our
joyes, and when we
weep,
In our
wakings, in our
sleep,
On the
Heights, and in the
Deep,
VVe have seen thy steps O GOD!
We have seen, here, where we dwell,
Works of thine, which parallel
All that
ancient-stories tell
Touching either
Foes, or
Friends.
Yea, if all
Records were lost,
We by that, which now thou dost,
Might collect what do we must,
And, what each mans
way attends.
We have seen (and see we shall)
What to
Pharoah did befall,
And ordained is for all
VVho shall obstinate remain:
VVe have seen, that upon such,
Plagues, or
Mercies work not much,
And, that these two often touch
On some, softned hearts, in vain.
VVe have known men, once or twice,
VVarned; yea, afflicted thrice;
Yet,
habituated Vice,
In her posture doth abide
And, her
Lovers, without stop,
Prosecute their fruitlesse
hope,
Though their
Partners daily drop,
Down to hell, on ev'ry side.
We have seen the pride of
Kings,
With those much desired things,
Whence their vain ambition springs,
Scorn'd, despis'd, and set at nought.
VVe, their
silk, their
pearls, their
gold,
And their
prccious Jemms, behold
Scattred, pawned, bought and sold;
And to shame, their glory brought.
VVe have seen fair seeming
Starrs,
Thither tumbled from high Sphears,
VVhere their vanity appears;
And that
wisemen may dispense
VVith deluding
Sophistries,
To promote, what they devise,
Till they put their trust in
lies,
Through a
reprobated sense.
VVe have seen, when GOD, once, makes
Search for
Blood, what
hills he shakes;
VVhat high
Cedars, down he breaks;
And what portion he prepares
For
Apostates, Balaamites,
For blood-thirsty
Canaanites,
And self-seeking
Hypocrites,
VVhen their sin at full appears.
All these things, and many moe
Such as these, we see and know:
Oh! that we could mind them too!
And our lives thereby amend:
For his
Mercy shown of late,
(And which we commemorate,
By Commandment from the
State)
Was vouchsafed to that end.
Let us therefore not suppose,
'Tis enough to do like those,
VVho make only
Verball showes
Of the duties in command;
For, unlesse, in deeds, as well
As in
words, our thanks we tell,
As unthankfully we deal,
As if we had curst, and ban'd.
Yea, although our
Temples ring
Of GODS praise; though loud we sing,
And all those
Thank-offrings bring,
VVhich the
Formalist oblates;
Yet, if we perform no more,
He our
presents doth abhor,
As the hiring of a whore,
And our vain
Lip-service hates.
If, we therewith, do not heed,
How with us GOD doth proceed;
And, how, he at every need,
Hears us, timely, when we call,
That, to such, as helplesse lie,
VVe may yeild the like supply,
VVhen to us, for help they cry;
VVe, ere long time, rue it shall.
Yea, unlesse we pity more
The oppressions of the
poore,
Then we-have done heretofore,
And to
Justice more adhere;
This, will prove but a
delusion,
And all
mercies in conclusion,
Bring upon us just confusion,
When such vengeance we least feare.
Still, in
selfnesse if we live;
Much receive, but nothing give;
Cheare our selves, and others grieve;
We are in the
way of
death:
And, of whatsoe're esteem,
In our owne conceits, we seem,
God will cast us quite from him,
If we settle in that
path.
For, it is for nothing lesse
Then this
Nations righteousnesse,
Or, our sakes, that GOD doth blesse
Those designes we undertake:
But, 'tis rather from their sin,
Who have our
opposers been,
Whence our
Victories begin,
And, for GOD's free mercy sake.
For no
goodnesse of our owne,
Did GOD's hand the
King uncrowne,
And pull other
Tyrants downe;
Nor, because, he, yet, doth see
That our zealous
Protestations,
Or pretended
Reformations
Of our great abhominations,
With our practises agree.
But by
mercie he makes way.
To his
feare; that, yet we may
Hear his voice, while 'tis, to day;
Whereunto, if we incline,
Maugre, then, all former sinnings,
Our late seasonable winnings,
Shall be pledges, and beginnings
Of a
mercy more divine.
Oh, now therefore, let our
praise
Be
right-walkings, in his
wayes,
And,
believing what he saies:
Let our
thankfulnesse be, still,
In true charity exprest;
In relieving men opprest;
And, indeavouring our best,
In obedience, to his
will.
Let us prudently forbeare
To wax proud, or domineere,
When GOD, for us, doth appeare;
And, with
awe expresse our joy:
Lest, if we presumptuous grow,
He may (for our doing so)
Turne his anger from our
Foe;
Or, both
him and
us destroy.
We have seen the
strong defeated;
By himself, the
cheater cheated;
Men ambitious lower seated;
And, long-fixed
Pow'rs remov'd;
Nay, ev'n such as we reputed
Things divinely constituted,
Are destroy'd; and, they confuted,
Who, have them, for such, approv'd.
We have seen those things despised,
Which our
Fathers highly prized,
And the
whole earth Idolized;
Therefore, let us, now, for ever,
Constant be to that
perfection,
Which deserveth not rejection,
And, renounce our vaine affection
To the waies of our
deceiver.
Let those things, which GOD hath done
For these
Isles, be thought upon,
Not at such set times, alone,
As the
Civill Pow'rs command;
But; now let us;
all our dayes,
Meditate his
works, and
waies,
And be mindfull of his
praise;
Whilst there shall be Sea, or Land.
And, Oh my eternall Lord!
Let thy al-subduing
Sword,
But, that chiefly of thy
Word,
Thus prevaile, for evermore;
Make it still victorious grow,
Till to thee all
Monarchs bow,
And, till vengeance thou shalt throw
On the
Dragon, and the
Whore.
Well accept, this day, what wee
Have in publike offred thee;
And, this
private Mite, from me,
Which I now presume to add:
For, in ev'ry
Act of Grace,
Which by thee vouchsafed was,
Since my breathings in this
place,
I, some speciall
fruits have had.
In the many variations
Of thy
works, and
dispensations,
Unto these
divided Nations,
I have learn'd to find out
thee.
I, by them, thy mind discover,
And, I daily read thee over,
As my
God, King, Father, Lover;
And, as
all in
all, to mee.
I have found thee in their
failings;
In their
losings, and
prevailings;
In their
joyes, and their
bewailings;
In their
hardnesse, and their
blindnesse:
In their
Trust, and their
suspitions,
In their
false, and
true professions,
In their
good, and
bad conditions;
In their
love, and their
unkindnesse.
And, although this
Generation,
Yet, beholds not what relation,
To their
fall; or
preservation,
My despised
Poems have;
Some, ere long, will better heed them,
And (though few, now, think they need them)
Thou, wilt give them cause to read them,
VVhen I shall be in my
grave.
Oh! till then, let me persever,
My known
duties to endeavour,
VVith true
patience, howsoever
Thou shalt exercise my
Faith:
And, in ev'ry strong
Temptation,
Tryall, Straight, or
Tribulation,
Mind me, for my
Consolation,
VVhat, thy truthfull
Spirit saith.
To what ever, thou shalt call me,
Or, what ever may befall me,
Let no
Terrene-Power appale me,
From declaring of thy
Truth;
Let me, all my wits apply,
Thy great
Name to magnifie,
VVhilst I live; and when I die,
Let thy
praise be in my mouth.
And, when here I have compleated,
That, for which I was created,
Let me thither be translated,
VVhere thy
Saints, the
Lamb attend;
That, I, may in praising him,
There communicate with them,
In that everlasting
Hymn,
VVhich, will never have an end.
AMEN. HALELUJAH.
FINIS.