Eliza's babes, or, The virgins-offering being divine poems and meditations / written by a lady, who onely desires to advance the glory of God and not her own.

The Soules Agitation.

MY great and glorious God! In what a strange agita∣tion is my Soul, being assail'd by two contrary con∣siderations; the one of my heavenly bliss, in which thou didst at first make me, and to which thou hast and wilt, in the fulness of time againe restore me; the other of the sordid and vile condition, in which I had by my re∣bellion inwrapt my selfe. The thoughts of the first fils me with a sweet contenting joy; the consideration of the other with a hatefull detestation of my selfe; for when I record in my minde, how thou at the first mad'st me a creature of a rare composition, one part of thine owne divine spirit, the other of earth purified, by thy heavenly art, and built up fit for a Temple for thy divine greatnesse to inhabite; these thoughts fill me with a pleasing contentment. But when the considera∣tion of my vile condition, in which by my too much yeelding to please my earthly companion, comes into my minde, I then hate my selfe, for I have thereby made my self subject to all painfull diseases, yea, to mortality, by my intemperance; for how justly might I have pleas'd my selfe in the lawfull and temperate use of all thy other creatures; and could not a whole world of pleasures content us, but we must take that one for∣bidden? My God! I am to my selfe, a hatefull crea∣ture, how much more must I needs be to thee, whose eyes can behold no impurity? but my dear Father look not now on me as I have cloath'd my self, but look on me as new arrai'd by thy blessed Son, the King of Saints.

And to settle the disturbed motion of my mind, send

downe a beam from thy glorious divinity, that might so inlighten the eyes of my Soul, that I might now behold my selfe, as cloathed with thy self, for thou wert pleas'd to cloath thy divine nature with my mortality; that my mortall nature might be made immortall, by being joy∣ned to thy divinity. My great God! these thoughts will not onely take off my hatred from my self, but I fear, if it be possible, make me too much love and admire my selfe: but it cannot be; for that bright beame from thee, makes me see my selfe, not but in thee, and with these thoughts hast thou so rais'd my Soul beyond what it was, that I see my self cloath'd with the bright white robes of thy pure innocence; for thou knowest no sin. I now look on my selfe as sacred, and on this flesh as immortall, onely because it hath spo••ted it selfe with sin, after thou hadst made it purer then the common earth; therefore in the earth must it be laid again to be purified till it be fit to be new built up a glorious structure for her divine companion: Then wilt thou take us both up into thy glorious habitation, where we shall not be capable of doing any thing that shall any more cause us to part from our selves or thee.

I once immortall was Lord! made by thee, I that bliss lost; But I againe it see▪ Restor'd with more, great Prince of Saints to me.