A Christian ADMONITION OR Friendly Exhortation, sent to WILLIAM LAWD, lace Arch-bishop of Canterbury, now Prisoner in the Tower.
Dedicated to all those that seeke for the peace of Sion, by the conversion of her Enemies. By, T. B.
When thou thine Enemy dost see,
In great distresse and miserie,
Pray for his State, and Counsell give,
That so his soule in peace may live.
13. Luke, 34.
As fragrant sweet parfumes the heart rejoyce,
So doth good Counsell from a friendly voyce.
27. Proverb. 9.
REDE AND CONSIDAR
Printed in the Yeare of Grace, M.DC.XLI.
A Christian Admonition, or friendly Exhortation to William Lawd, late Archbishop of Canterbury.
My Lord:
MY Idle Muse that long hath bin at ease,
Not daring to lanche forth into the seas
Of these distemper'd times, doth now at last
Her former sluggishnesse quite frō her cast,
And with earnest desiers which are not weake,
Wisheth she might one word unto you speake:
But not to jeere your Lordship; No not I,
It is a thing I alwayes did defie;
But in plaine honest termes, let me begin,
A soule-convincing song to you to sing.
What was the cause! O thou that sate so high,
To steare the sterne of our prosperity:
That thou so plainly to the world did'st show,
Thou sought'st to guide us to our overthrow?
What was the reason! may I be so bold
To aske the question, was it store of Gold
Thou did'st aime at, for to gratifie,
Thy vast desiers, and to satisfie
Thy covetous and carnall appetite,
And by that meanes to raise thee up delight?
Then hadst thou thy desiers, gold good store
Came in unto thee, dayly more and more;
Thousands, yea many thousands was the rate,
Which came in yearly thee to satiate;
Thy lands and livings which are large and great,
Thy Courts, wherein was thy judicall seat,
[Page 2]Thy fees, thy fines, thy Incomes every way,
Still brought thee store of gold both night & day,
Yet was all this too little, that thou must
Seeke still for more, by wayes which were unjust?
Must thou take bribes? Nay, which me thinkes is more?
Sell justice to augment thy boundles store,
Yea sell judiciall places too, which were
Misused by them, that bought them for to reare
Their summes of money up againe and so,
Injustice from thy Courts did daily flo?
Or was it honour, that thou sought'st to gaine?
Did that vaine shadow flote upon thy braine?
Did thy desires strive to pluck that floure,
Which wither will, thou seest in halfe an houre?
Why then thou had'st it in a large degree,
No man in all the land exceeded thee.
Thy place and person both adorned were:
With titles which did store of honours beare?
Thou was't Archbishop of old Canterbury;
Which title for to grace it, grace did carry;
Primate and Metropolitan of all
Those large Confines, which we doe England call,
Oxfords chiefe Chancellor thou wast also,
And ruld'st that place, from whence great Arts do flo?
Yet all this was too little to content,
Thy large desiers, which were daily bent,
To be some body greater then all this,
Some say thou hop'st that men thy toe shal kisse:
For thus they say, but 'tis a lye I hope,
Thou look'st to be a Cardinall or Pope:
And yet tis evident thou faine wouldst be
Something above the pitch of thy degree:
[Page 3]Or else thou wouldst not have us guided all
By Lawes which onely did thee maker call.
Was it a small thing in thine eyes to be
Rais'd to a place of so much dignitie:
From such a meane and low degree as thou,
Made Lord of them, and they to thee must bow,
Which did deserve the place better then thee,
Except that thou might'st use such tyrannie
Over thy brethren, as to make them yeeld
To what thou pleasedst, or to flye the field:
Or else both soules and bodies beare the thrall,
Which from thy sterne austeritie did fall?
What was the cause, J pray thee let us know,
(And now at last in plaine tearmes to us show:)
Thou soughtest for to lead us in a way,
Which God hath not commanded to obey?
What didst thou make thy selfe? a God on Earth?
Hast thou forgot the place of thy meane birth,
That thou so proudly shouldst upon thee take,
New duties, and new Doctrines for to make:
And by thy strict command inforce us all,
Thy wayes, the wayes of God and truth to call?
And to that end didst many men exalt,
Which 'twixt thy waies, & Gods did alwais halt,
And gav'st them store of worldly wealth and places,
Still favouring them in their base sinfull cases:
That so they might preach thee not Christ to men,
Nay many thou exaltst, which with their pen;
And in their preaching too, did much disgrace
The name of Christ, and sought for to deface
That glorious name, by which we saved are;
And all to make thy wayes and ends seeme faire:
[Page 4]And if a zealous Pastor did desire,
To doe that which his calling did require:
Which was to tell the people of their sinne,
And shew them the true way for to walke in
Then presently, he must suspended be,
And quite deposed of his Ministery;
Though ne're so antient, learned, grave, and wise:
Yet all this seemed nothing in your eyes?
Though wife and children should a begging goe,
You did not care, you did not feele their woe,
And some base Fellow then his place must take,
Which never any Conscience yet did make
Of what he taught, or how he lived, onely
To please your grace, he alwayes had an eye,
And would at your command, both cringe & bow
And sing a Masse, if you would it allow:
They were the men you did so much esteeme;
And those that lik'd thē, you did Christians deem:
But could your Lordship any way believe
That Christians true could any credit give,
To such base, idle, superstitious sots,
That best could preach over their Taverne pots?
No! though your grace thought ignorance to be
The Mother of devotion, yet did we
Justly believe, that 'twas the onely way,
Both soules and bodies utterly to slay,
But now me thinkes, I heare your grace reply
(Willing to cleare your selfe) and to denie
What here you are accused off, and say,
You did not seeke to walke this crooked way,
But all you did, was for to please the King,
That you his profit and content might bring:
[Page 5]You sought the peace and welfare of the Land,
And sought to give content upon each hand?
But pray my Lord, doe not your selfe deceive:
'Tis now hye time this lying plea to leave.
What? would you make us still beleeve, that we
Cannot the truth from so much falshood see?
What! did you rule the King, or he rule you?
Surely I thinke the former to be true;
For he good man put all his trust in you,
And what you did, he thought must needs be true:
Impossible it was, he thought, that he,
That raised was unto that high degree,
By his meere favour, should so basely deale
From him and his Gods truth for to conceale:
But yet suppose, the King command should give
To doe that, which m [...]ght his true subjects grieve;
Yet it had bin your dutie to have showne
His Majestie the truth, and have made knowne
His dutie to his God, and to his Land,
And so have caused him to understand
The inconveniences that would arise,
From such things, which Gods people did despise.
But now, J hope your wisedome will suppose,
Your vices onely I seeke to disclose;
And by that meanes, seeke for to amplifie,
And to increase your former miserie;
But ile assure you, that was not the end;
For which this short epistle now was pen'd;
But my aime was, if possible I might,
Let in your Conscience so much godly light,
Which now at last, might cause you to begin
With true remorse to looke upon your sinne.
[Page 4]O! that I now such rhetorick could use:
Or that my lines such vertue could infuse
Into your heart, as now might cause you make
A narrow search, and a strickt notice take
Of that soule, blacke, mishappen ugly sin:
Which you these many yeares have lived in!
Alas! you know, that Iesus Christ came downe,
To levell Ceremonies with the ground:
They did him and his Office typisie,
And he once come, they all must straightway die;
And yet, you needs must set them up again,
And none must from their exercise refraine:
Christ did all Altars utterly deface,
That in his Church they never might have place:
He made their stone like chalk-stones of the field
Which▪ little profit doe to any yeeld,
And yet you needs must them again erect,
And they forsooth must needs be trimly deckt
With superstitious Romish relicks base;
Which doe all Christianitie deface.
What did you think that Christ must come again,
And here submit himselfe for to be slaine;
To cleare the world of those enormities,
Which Antichrist doth on the earth devise?
No certainly, he shorter worke will make,
And ere long, to a strict [...]ccount him take:
Therefore J would intreat you now at last,
All selfe-conceitednesse from you to cast;
And looke upon your selfe, just as you are:
Let not your selfe, your selfe, in pitty spare;
And see what folly, yea what madnesse made,
You in that blacke and muddie waters wade?
[Page 7]Yea now the daies you have to live are few,
If Justice spare, yet Nature claimes her due,
An will ere long in you be satisfied,
It is a debt which cannot be denied:
Therefore in time, while it is cal'd to day,
The voice of Christian Counsell now obey,
And looke for mercie; fos it may be found,
God still will heare your true repenting sound.
Looke upon him, whom you have crucified,
Looke upon him, whom you have so denied;
Looke upon him, whose truth ye sought to hide,
He never mercie any man denied?
He died for them, which did his death conspire,
He died fer them, which did his death desire:
And therefore died for you, and I, and all,
That can for mercie from his sinnings call:
O! therefore let not grace resisted be
By blacke despaire, that mortall enemie,
Of every sinner, whose chiefe strength doth lye
In ignorance of Christs sufficiencie:
Whose pretious bloud doth in it power beare
The greatest sinners soule from sin to cleare.
Which that it may doe yours, my praier shall be
To God alone which doth all secrets see:
That he would all your hainous sins passe over,
And with Christs blood all your offences cover;
That so your soule being free from Satans bands,
He may receive it in his heavenly hands.
FINIS.