Bartas Iunior: or, The worlds epitome; man Set forth in his 1. generation, 2. degeneration, 3. regeneration.

* 1.1MAny there are that by the Cherubims, And firy Sword shooke by the Seraphins; Doe understand nought else but Phebus heat, In that same space wherein his power is great: They understand it for the torrid-Zone, Pointing upon the Indian-Horizone.

Others doe take it for materiall-Fire, Which should environ Paradise entire; And as a Wall incircling it about, With such like horrour for to keep him out.

* 1.2Some take it for the fire of Purgatory, And stand on their opinion peremptory. But these and all the rest the text confutes, And calls them Cherubims, to end disputes.

Others with the text in this agree, And call them Angels, as indeed they be: But going forward without wit or sense, They drown'd their judgement by this inference: Saying these Cherubs did not watch and ward * 1.3Onely from Man the Tree of Life to guard; But likewise for to keepe the Divell backe, Lest he should take it when as Man did lacke: And having life which that Tree did afford, Should proffer it to Man to be ador'd: A foolish and ridiculous conceit, Of which the superstitious Scholemen treat.

* 1.4Theodoret a Father did surmise Them onely Apparitions in the skies:

But from him all the Fathers disagreed, Maintaining them for Cherubims indeed; Which there continued as God thought good, Till Adams death, or after till the Flood:* 1.5 Then ceasing left some little glimpse behind, That we the place of Paradice might find.

And by the Fiery-blade they understand A two-edg'd Sword put in the Cherubs hand:* 1.6 Which blazing as a Comet to the eye, Made Adam to desist from comming nigh; And usually the Cherubs did appeare, With a two-edged Sword producing feare.

'Twas Such a one met Balaam in the way, And made his Asse to speake, and him to stay: 'Twas Such a one King David did beholde After the Plague when he the people tolde: And Such a one as ordered slew outright All the first-borne in Egypt in one night.

Such did appeare to holy-men with wings,* 1.7 Bearing the mandates of the King of Kings. Such, God by his appointment out did marke, To have their Figures placed in the Arke: Such onely doe delight in Gods aspect, And doe rejoyce to further his elect. One of them flies with more than winged speed, To helpe good Hezekiah in his need;* 1.8 And of Senach'ribs Host destroyed then One hundred foure score and five thousand men. Another comforts Hagar in her flight,* 1.9 And one restores Tobias to his sight: Two, Both at once, assisted righteous Lot, When out of Sodome he in safety got.

A multitude of Angels fills the Clouds; And makes the Aire shrill with beatitudes;

While all the Creatures are restor'd to favour, Angels to Man, Man to his God and Saviour.

What glorious exultations doe they vent, * 1.10If One ungodly Sinner but repent? How doe they guard our Persons and our State From the devouring mouth of Chance and Fate.

If we be sicke, they comfort us in love, With the celestiall Paradise above: If we be troubled with adversity, * 1.11They cheere us up to beare it patiently.

Waking, through Gods permission they doe save, When danger brings us almost to the grave: Sleeping they doe protect us from that foe, Which would both soule and body overthrow: If dead, unseene full solemnly they come, * 1.12Bearing our soules to Abrahams bosome.

The wicked'st person breathing on the earth, Hath One attending on him from his birth; Guarding his body from that accident, To which through Sinning it is incident: * 1.13The righteous person he hath two or three, According as his danger seemes to be: Millions of Angels shall attend the Iust, At the last day to bring them from the dust: When that all-sounding Trumpet shall be blowne, To summon all the World to Heav'ns high throne.

Then they that sleepe in Earth in costly tombes, Inclosed safe, as in their mothers wombes, Opprest with weight of many Marble Stones, And overcloy'd with skulls and dead mens Bones; Shall cast them off; I off, as things too light, And all appeare before their Makers sight.

* 1.14The Sea shall likewise regive up her dead, Which her vast Ocean once devoured:

And all againe shall the same shape assume,* 1.15 Which God and Nature gave them in the Wombe.

Onely this shall accrue the Property, They must be changed in the Quality: That which was sowne a carnall must arise A spirituall body without fallacies:* 1.16 That which was sowne in Weaknesse, in that hower, Must with a Word be raised up in Power.

Then shall our best beloved Saviour come, To judge the world in this great day of Doome: Met by the last surviving Saints that are, With shoutes and sounding clamours in the ayre.

Whil'st all the world lyes frying in a Flame, And hath no water for to quench the same: Whil'st wicked Soules shall gnash their teeth and grin,* 1.17 With howling noyse affrighted with their Sinne.

Cursing the day that brought them to this lucke, Cursing the Pappes that first did give them sucke: Cursing the first occasion of their Fall, Cursing Themselves, and cursing God and All:* 1.18 Wishing with all their hearts, that mountaines might Defend them from this great Avengers sight.

Who then, (as Scripture perfectly denotes, ••hall separate these barren, Carrion Goates,* 1.19 From fruitfuil Sheepe, whose vertue did afford ••lenty to Man, and Goodnesse to the Lord.

Who gave him Drink to drink, when he was thirsty,* 1.20 Who gave him Meat to eat, when he was hungry: Who gave him Clothes in his necessity, ••ho shew'd their Faith by perfect Charity. ••n distributing Almes unto the poore, ••n taking Orphanes straying by the doore;* 1.21 ••n helping Widdowes in their great distresse, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 pleading gratis for the Fatherlesse.

* 1.22For this they shall possesse their Masters joy, Which passeth all the slights of mans annoy: * 1.23For this their Foes shall all be trampled downe, And they receive an everlasting Crowne: * 1.24For want of this the Wicked are in Hell, And with the Divells lastingly must dwell.

Where they receive infinite penalties, For their unsatiate sinne and cruelties: * 1.25Not till a Wren may drinke the Ocean dry, For then they might expect recovery: But this word ever cuts off all reliefe, And makes it prove an everlasting griefe: A griefe though certaine, yet inutterable, A griefe to Mortalls most insufferable: * 1.26A griefe of griefes surpassing all their paine, To be debarr'd of comming forth againe.

* 1.27A griefe to thinke how happy they had bin, If they had not committed Such a Sin: A griefe to see those persons Angeliz'd, O're whom so often they once tyranniz'd: A griefe unable of them to be borne, * 1.28When God and Angels laugh at them with scorne: A greater griefe, excluded from His Face, To be included in so vile a Place. * 1.29Where in eternall darknesse they must 'bide, Tormented with the wicked Fiends beside: In fire not made to comfort, but torment, In fire the which no Fuell can augment: * 1.30In fire which burnes, yet not consumes the wight: In mystie fyer, fyer without light, Which fire no ayre, nor water can abate, No nor the length of Time extenuate.

There the rich Chuffe, or sinne-polluted Goate, Shall have hot-boyling Gold powr'd down his throat:

There the lascivious Person shall have sight Of all the ugliest Fiends that may affright. There the Blasphemer shall have satiation Of horrid oathes, of wicked execration:* 1.31 There the foule-bibbing-Drunkard shall have thirst To drinke whole tunnes of Gall, yet never burst.

The lowd-loquacious Lawyer there shall lacke A habeas corpus to remove him backe: There the litigeous Client shall have strife, Who never could be quiet in his life: The Atheist will acknowledge There a God,* 1.32 When he shall feele the vigour of his rod: And the seducing Hereticke will say, That he hath mist the right and perfect way.

How happy then shall those blest-Spirits be, ••njoying God their true Felicity: How worthy-happy in their Gods account, Whose sight doth all their greatest joyes amount.

They shall have Ioy without Anxiety,* 1.33 Mirth without mourning or disturbancy; Peace without Warre, Love without Envying, Life without death, life e're continuing: Never defective in their Purity, Ever establisht in Security. No neede of Angels there for to protect, For there shall be no Divell to detect. No need of Preaching; for that too shall cease, And God shall be their everlasting Peace.

Knowledge by Science shall be abrogated, Faith be extinguish'd, Hope annihilated:* 1.34 Nought shall remaine in Heaven of the Three, But perfect Love, and perfect Charity.

Each shall receive a crowne for his desert, And some withall shall have a greater part;

For there shall be many degrees in Glory, * 1.35As Austin writes in his most sacred story: Which he illustrates by similitude, To prove degrees in their Beatitude.

Take (saith he) Botles of their severall Marts, Some great, some lesse, of pottles and of quarts, Cast them into the sea when you have done, And being full, they all will overrunne.

So shall it with these Sainted-persons be, They shall be sated with saturity: And as the Finger envies not the Eye, * 1.36To be her equall in Supremacy: No more shall they envie at others Blisse, But as the Finger shall accord in this: None shall the others glory disanull, For every one shall have his Botle full.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Herom: tra∣dit. Hebr. in Gen.
• * 1.2

  Aquinas. Kupertus & Lyra.
• * 1.3

  ••orer: tom. 1. l. 6. cap.
• * 1.4

  Quest: on Gen. 40.
• * 1.5

  Epiph. ha∣res. 64.
• * 1.6

  Such a flame i•• to be seen in Babylo••, Plin: l. 2. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 106. sup∣posed to bee the place of Paradise. Numb. ••••. 1 Chro: 2•• 16.
• * 1.7

  Exod. 12, 29. Esay 6.6. Exo. 25, 1••
• * 1.8

  2 Kings 1•• 39.
• * 1.9

  Gen. 21, 17 Tob 11, 7 Gen. 19, 16
• * 1.10

  Luke 15, 7
• * 1.11

  Psa. 91.11, 12.
• * 1.12

  Luk 16, 22
• * 1.13

  Mat. 18, 10 1 Cor. 15, 52. Mat: 24, 31 Mar: 13, 27 1 Thes: 4, 16.
• * 1.14

  Rev: 20, 13
• * 1.15

  Note.
• * 1.16

  1 Cor. 15.44. Ibid v. 43 Acts ••, 1•• Luk 21, 27 1 Thes. 4.15, 16, 17
• * 1.17

  Luk 13, 18
• * 1.18

  Rev: 16, 11 Rev. 6, 16
• * 1.19

  Matth. 25, 32
• * 1.20

  Chrys. on this same text, Mar 25, 32. Zenchy.
• * 1.21

  Esay 58, •• Ezek: 18.••
• * 1.22

  Mat. 25
• * 1.23

  Mal. 4, 3
• * 1.24

  Rev: 14, 11
• * 1.25

  Bernard. Note,
• * 1.26

  Luk 16, 26
• * 1.27

  Parsons in his resolu∣tion.
• * 1.28

  Psa. 7, 13 Isay 26, 10
• * 1.29

  Mat: 8, 12 Rev: 14, 11
• * 1.30

  Parsons his resolutions set out by Bunny.
• * 1.31

  Rev: 16, 10, 11.
• * 1.32

  Reade the Practi•••• o•• Piety.
• * 1.33

  Read S. Au∣gust his Meditati∣ons. Mr. Bunn•• upon Par∣sons resolu∣tions.
• * 1.34

  1 Cor: 13. 1. Faith, 2. Hope, 3. Charity.
• * 1.35

  The glory one and the same, the diffe∣r••nce in the degrees Simile.
• * 1.36

  August. de Civit. Dei, l. 22. c. 30.