Classic Poem

Now [in the resurrection of his Light
That late lay buried in the Ocean Lake ]
Arise dead Muse resume thy wonted Spright
And once againe, with Him , thy Iourny take
Through Heau'n, to find him out, that All did make:
Yet knowes he more then he did ere create:
For all created Was when as he spake
With Time; whose Tearme had no eternall state:
But, he knowes more then Time can circulate.

He knowes those Things that are not, nor shalbe;
And cals That which Is not, as though it Were:
For, in him Selfe, he more then All doth see;
And, thogh they be not, there, he knows them there:
That is, he knowes them though they ne're apeare;
For, sith his Knowledge and himselfe are One,
He knowes well what he can, though will dOnere;
So, That may in his knowledg Bee alone,
That neuer shal Bee by Creation!

This knowes he simply by his Intellect ,
As That which nere shalbe but in his might
But, That which he doth purpose to effect
Is euermore existing in his sight:
For, all is present to his Wisedoms Sp'rite!
And though of that That which Is not, nor shal Be
Can be no Notion ; so, no knowledge right,
Yet, Creatures onely know in that degree;
But God knowes ( Notionlesse ) Essentially.

Those Things haue euer an vnbeing Beeing
Which in his Vnderstanding onely Bee :
And neuer obiect made to his All-seeing ,
But Them he intellectually doth see,
As though they were , yet are but virtually:
As Pictures are in Painters Fantasies;
Although they neuer make them actually:
So, without Notion (sith all in Him lies)
These are in Him, as Thinges he could deuise.

So then we must obserue a difference
Betweene the knowledge of what once shall Be ,
And that which shall not: for, as t' wer, by sence
God sees the first, the last he doth not see
But as they are in Possibility.
Yet some may vrge, what truth can be of Those
That ner'e shall be? Yes, They, with truth agree
That truely are in Gods pow'r to disclose:
So, in that Pow'r , with truth , they still repose.

For, sith his knowledge is indefinite
To Things indefinite it must extend:
And sith his Pow'r can make Things infinite
He needs must know them, sith he knowes the end
Of All that on his endlesse Pow'r depend:
But all that is or euer shall be made
Is finite; then, his knowledge must transcend
Their highest Reach ; as Reason doth perswade:
For, it is infinite, and cannot fade.

One is an Vnity, which can extend
To Numbers infinite [if multiplide]
For, eu'ry Number doth thereon depend:
Then, if that Vnity did know how wide
It could extend, it knew the rest beside.
Man, in Conceit, can multiply this One
To Numbers infinite: for, such abide
Still subiect to increase, by Vnion:
Then, God must know past limitation.

He knowes distinctly, and in generall:
For, knowledge indistinct imperfect is:
He counts the Starres , & by their names them call;
Numbers our Haires, & knows when one we misse:
Then, must his knowledge be distinct by This
He in their Causes sees Contingent Things
Yet nought's contingent to that sight of his:
For, he that all in All to Being brings
Must hatch them ere they Be , beneath his Wings.

In him that did betray the Lord of light
It was Contingent; sith in him it was
To do, or not to do that damn'd dispight:
But, God did in himselfe [as in a Glasse ]
Past Time, see It , in Time, should come to passe
Then, in the second and Contingent Cause ,
Contingently he knowes: but, if it has
Relation to his preordaining Lawes,
Necessity it on the Action drawes!

Then must he needes knowe Ill aswell as good
But, Ill is nothing, but a meere Defect;
Which hath no Notion , by a Likelihood,
So nought can know the same in true Effect ;
And nought to know, Gods knowledge doth reiect
Then Ill is know'n by good (as death by life)
Though by no Notion it can Sence direct:
For though Ill nothing be, tis still at strife
With Goodnesse: so this knowledge still is rife.

God knowes not Euill by receiuing in
A Notion to his Mind; which knowes not so:
For if he so should do, so should he sinne;
But sith he knowes himselfe, he Ill doth know
By his owne goodnesse: so, knowes Ill , his foe
But if, by Notions , he did ought perceiue,
Them that perceiu'd, those Notions needs must show;
So, should he more then erst before conceiue
And so might be deceiued, and deceiue.

But his high knowledge is the Cause of all:
Then, must it be before All Actually:
His Prouidence could not be generall
If ought there were he knew not specially:
But, he knowes All from all Eternity:
Then, must he needs know Ill , that all doth marre,
By his owne goodnesse , most essentially:
But, if that Ills do stretch themselues so farre
To yeeld such knowledge, more then nought they are.

This knowledge knows together what it knowes;
So doth it not augment, much lesse decrease:
Himselfe (the Medium of his knowledge) showes
The state of Things, at once (not peece, by peece;
As men do know, their knowledge to increase:)
Then is his Knowledge firme, as infinite,
And can no more be chang'd, then it can cease:
So, to his vndeceiueable fore-sight
All Haps on All inevitably light.

If so; it seemes this Knowledge doth impose
On all Mens Acts a meere necessity:
Not so; for his fore-sight doth not dispose
The wils of Men, nor lets their liberty;
But what they do, they do most willingly:
Though second Causes , by their natures course,
Make vs to do some things vnwillingly;
Yet, Gods Fore-sight doth not those Causes force:
No more then ours makes great Loads lame an Horse.

So, Gods fore-knowledge may two waies be wai'd:
First, as he did foresee what ere should Be;
Last, as his fore-sight in his Will is staid:
And so his fore-sight is his Wils decree;
Which must be acted of necessity:
So al Things, of necessity, are such;
Though they be such perhaps condicionally:
For God doth moue them but by natures touch
So, moues them as they will, lest She should gruch.

Two Causes in the World his Pow'r hath set
To Cause (as second Causes ) all Effects:
The first are certaine, and Effects beget
As certaine: As the fire with heate affects,
The Sunne giues light: and so of other Sects:
The later Causes are indefinite,
And their Products vncertainly respects:
Those are Contingent, and extend their might
Vnto Mens Wills , and Actions, wrong, or right.

Now, though Gods fore-sight , ioyned with his Wil ,
Be such, as by no Pow'r can changed be;
Yet we thereby are not enforc'd to Ill
But meerely do it of our owne decree,
As mou'd by nature, to Iniquity:
Yet can we not do other then we do,
If it we waigh as God did it foresee:
And so foreseeing, iustly willd it too:
For, what he doth, he iustly may vndo!

Say we fore-knew the nature of a Frend
Would credit vs in all that we should say;
Should our fore-knowledge so his nature bend
As it were bound; and so must needs obay,
It hauing liberty it selfe to sway?
Not so: no more doth Gods Foreknowledge force
Mens Wills against their Nature any way:
But still their Wils by Nature haue their Course.
Yet nought their Wils from Gods will can deuorce.

For as we freely in a Ship do walke,
And yet our walking hinders not her Way;
But holds her Course [wel stir'd] and Lets doth balke
Till she arriues where shee's designd to stay,
By him whose Goodes she safely doth convay:
So in the surest Ship of Gods D ECREE
Wherein we saile, [and cannot fall away]
Though our Will crosse the Course, yet cannot we
That Course auert, but needs must with it flee.

And, as one hauing fastned a Boat
Vnto a Rocke , hales at the rope to draw
The Rocke to him; yet, so himselfe doth float
Vnto the Rocke (vnmou'd) by Natures law:
So, we being fast to That which God foresaw
Do striue to pull his Purpose to our Will;
Yet are we driv'n therby (as by a Flaw)
Vnto his Purpose , which is stedfast still:
So though we seeke our Wils, we His fulfill!

But though Man workes, as of necessity,
According vnto Gods most staide decree
Yet workes he at his Natures liberty;
And so he workes as being bond and free;
Both which Gods wisedome could not but fore-see:
So then he might Mans nature haue restrain'd
From working ill, but then it bound should be:
For though Mans Workes to Gods Decree are chain'd
Yet workes he by his nature vnconstraind.

Then, though he knows from al eternity
What we would do; that caused not our Deede:
But what he wil'd impos'd necessity
Vpon our workes [who works as he decreed]
Which Works his practicke knowledge do succeed
His Will and Knowledge then is cause of All
At once: For, all at once from them proceed:
Sith in Him nought we first, and last must call
But. He is all One Cause in generall.

Then in this fearefull Sea which we be in
We must beware two Rocks: That is to wit
We must make God no Cause of any sin:
Which we do if we say he willeth it:
For, as its Ill , he doth it but permit.
The other is, when that without his Will
And his Fore-knowledge we do Ill admit:
For, so we do his perfect knowledge spill;
As in the other make his Goodnesse ill.

Our Soule doth moue our Body , being lame,
And yet our Soule is whole in euery Limbe:
Then God is not for our misdeeds to blame,
Though he Workes all in All as pleaseth Him:
Who makes the sinfull in their sinnes to swim
Vntill they sinke to Hell: so, punnisheth
Much Sinne, by Sinne: for, he their Eyes doth dim
That they should not perceiue the Snares of Death.
Vntill they fall those mortal Snares beneath.

He moues aright the most peruersest Will;
But, by that crooked Will it waxeth Wrong:
As good meat put into a Stomacke ill
Turnes to bad Humors , with disease among:
So, Good , to God , and Ils to Men belong
He worketh all in All: or good, or bad:
Either, as either are, or weake, or strong:
And so we are or ill or well bestad,
As our demerits him do greeue, or glad.

Then, wicked Actions, as they Actions are,
[And not as they are wicked] God doth will:
For, they are Beeings , but we must beware
(Sith ere our fall we well could them fulfill)
We make him not the Author of their Ill :
For, he may willingly stil suffer sin,
Though to his Wil it be repugnant still;
Which suffring, by indulgence, seekes to win
The lost Sheepe, though astray the more it ryn.

Then, willing suffrance, needs must be his Wil;
So then in God two ouert Wils we proue:
The Greater , and the Lesse ; yet neither il;
Although the lesse to suffer Ill doth loue,
Which yet the Greater euer doth reproue:
He, by the Greater , would we should do wel;
And, if by Ill , the Lesse we more approue.
Against the Greater then we do rebell,
By doing his wil that doth not so excell.

He suffers vs to sin, when by his grace,
He might restraine vs from transgression:
So, willingly doth Wil it, in this Case,
As tis an Act, to show his Goodnes on;
Either by Iustice , or Remission:
The lesser Good is th' obiect of his Will
Aswell as that Good past Comparison:
But this doth saue; and that doth often spill,
Yet glory gaines when he doth each fulfill.

So, though his Will be one, yea, simply One,
Yet, is he said to will both Good , and Ill :
Most properly he willeth good alone;
But, Ill he wils as t'were against his Will
Improperly; against his nature stil.
He willeth al that to himselfe pertaines
Vrg'd by his nature, not by Force, or Skil:
But, his free-wil his Creatures state maintaines;
Whose Good , or Il in his free choise remaines.

No Man doth good or ill against his wil;
Though some do il (in sort) vnwillingly:
Yet, in so doing, do their Lusts fulfil;
Therefore the Wil excludes Necessity,
Sith it, by nature, hath free liberty.
Then none are damned but for wilful sin;
Nor, saued but for willing Piety:
So, the Wil's free, as it hath euer bin,
From al Constraint, saue Sin the same within.

Then, Reprobates vniustly do complaine
Of being preordain'd for Castawaies :
For, though to perish, God did them ordaine;
Yet die they not, but for their wicked Waies;
And so the vniust iustly stil decaies:
They freely sinne, by nature, which is free;
Then God, Sinnes wages, euer iustly paies:
So, Sinne steps in betwixt his iust Decree
And th' execution , that he iust might be!

There's no Discourse nor Motion in his will
That he should now wil This, then That againe;
His Will is euen with his Knowledge stil;
Though it in Order do behind remaine;
For, nought but God, Gods Substance can containe:
Then, from eternity, He wils their wrack
On whom, by Iustice , He doth glory gaine:
Yet dye they for their sinnes (sith grace they lack)
So, God doth iudge, and neuer Iustice Rack!

His Iudgments then, are all iust, strange, and deepe:
For (in a most vnutterable kind)
They that transgresse his Will , his Will do keepe:
For nought is simply done against his Mind ,
And al fals out, as he hath fore-disignde!
He suffers Ill , and that most willingly;
But would not suffer it, did he not find
His Might can make Ill, Good almightly:
So, Ill he wils, to make it good thereby!

H E , and his Glory is the End of all;
And all that are , are meanes vnto that End
For, as they are by Him, in generall;
So, are they for him; and on him depend!
For him: That is, his glorie to defend
But yet, this End doth not so moue his Will ,
As by the End ours moue, and to it tend:
To seeke a Cause of his good-Will , is ill,
More then his onely most good Pleasure still!

Then, no Cause is there why he saueth some,
But onely that good pleasure, which is free
To saue, or spill his Works, by vpright doome:
Sith through all freedome, all Deaths Vassals be;
Then, some to saue, is freest Clemency:
And, as of All , he freely some ellects:
So, by his eviternall sure D ECREE
Ordaines them to the E ND , and the Effects :
And, so his own free Guifts in them Affects .

Then, in his Will , remaines our Weale, or Wo
Yet, still we pray his will may still be done:
Who by that Act doth will our ouerthrow,
By which he wils his owne dominion;
To which all Pow'rs are in subiection!
Then must we needs submit vs to his will
Although it be to our Confusion:
(Sith that is good for him, though for vs ill)
And seeke, for life, his know n-will to fulfill.

But let no temprall Torment, or anoy
Perswade vs, he is not our willing friend:
For, as the Persians punishments imploy
Vpon their Nobles Weeds , when they offend,
That by that grace , they may their manners mend:
So, God doth deale with those he loueth best,
Whose Rods he on their Corpes, & State doth spend,
To saue their Soules; and, those he loueth least,
He plagues, in Soule, and lets their Bodies rest.

For, as an ouer-gorged Stomack makes
An aking Head, by Vapors that arise,
So, too much Weale the staidest Iudgement shakes;
And quite smoks out the Vnderstandings Eies:
For, Ouer-much makes fondlings of the Wise
Then let all outward griefes be heapt on me,
So inward Comforts giue my wants supplies:
For so, by Iustice, God still makes me free
From his iust vengance, in great Clemency!

The higher we from Earth vp-lifted be
The lesser will all Earthly Things appeare;
And so the neerer we to Heau'n do flee,
The lesse we value Things that Earthly are;
But, Cloggd with Earth , that Clogg is all our care
Then (with that Heu'n-rapt Saint ) rapt Muse , ascend
That third aethereall Heau'n-reuealing Spheare!
Yet, lo, quite spent, before our Iournies end,
We must t' a lower full Point now descend.

And, though we must confesse all Helps we tooke
That God , and Men affoorded vs herein,
Out of Mens Writings, and Gods blessed Booke
Yet to our Muse , it hath so waighty bin
That now she (fainting) sincks, for feare to sinne:
Then, here an End , before an endlesse End ,
Sith we may lose, if more we seeke to win:
And what is done, we meekely do commend
To mortall Saints: to vse, refuse, or mend.