Page:Elegy upon the death of that famous and faithful minister and martyr Mr. James Renwick.pdf/3

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When few that’s called so deserve the name;
But many are the ages bane and Shame;
When now instead of valour for the truth,
And crying loud with trumpets at their mouth,
Upon such loudly clamant, clear occasions;
When Babel's bastards boldly make invasions,
By blinding bribes, corrupting flatteries,
By cunning craft, and cheating shams, and lies
Upou our cevenanted Reformation,
And all our liberties of church and nation,
Betrayed, by this Popish toleration.
Whereby this absolute pow’r is reconosc’d,
And its proud encroachings are ingross’d,
Over laws divine, human, all made void,
Religion’s legal bulwarks all destroy’d,
All blasphemy, idolatry, and sin,
How suffer’d, yea invited to come in;
The Church of all her privileges robb’d,
And with a kiss, under the fifth rib stobb’d,
In Lieu of all her laws, securities,
All oaths, and vow, and solemn promises,
Having no more assurance, than a blind
Promise, of one, whom no such bond can bind:
(illegible text)er doctrine, worship, and church government,
According to our solemn Covenant,
All hereby undermin’d and overturn'd,
For which her sons should all have rather mourn’d)
Our ministers for sin have made Addresses,
harmed with Babel’s flattering caresses,
Bewitch’d with this intoxicating drink,
Which hell did brew, and Rome with art did blink,
Left in a deep zeal-quenching Lethargie,
Purchasing hereby ease, and liberty,
In terms of selling truth, and shifting duty;
Whereby Christ's Bride’s depriv’d of all her beauty.
In such a day to loss a faithful witness,
(illegible text)d champion, accomplished with fitness,
(illegible text) strive for Christ’s prerogatives and laws,
(illegible text) all be bemoan’d by all that love his cause.
Come therefore, all ye doves, that dwell i’ th’ rock,
Come and deplore this wrath-presaging stroke:
Come chafed Birds hotly pursu’d to mountains;
Come hunted Harts, which pant and bray for fountains
Come, wandring Sheep, without a shepherd straying,

Come hidden ones, afraid of false bewraying,

A 2Come,