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

( 3 ) 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

our cevenanted Reformation,

And all our liberties of church and nation,

Betrayed, by this Popish toleration.

Whereby this absolute pow’r is reconosc’d,

its proud encroachings are ingross’d,

laws divine, human, all made void,

legal bulwarks all destroy’d,

blasphemy, idolatry, and sin,

suffer’d, yea invited to come in;

Church of all her privileges robb’d,

with a kiss, under the fifth rib stobb’d,

Lieu of all her laws, securities,

oaths, and vow, and solemn promises,

no more assurance, than a blind

, of one, whom no such bond can bind:

er doctrine, worship, and church government,

to our solemn Covenant,

hereby undermin’d and overturn'd,

which her sons should all have rather mourn’d)

ministers for sin have made Addresses,

with Babel’s flattering caresses,

with this intoxicating drink,

hell did brew, and Rome with art did blink,

in a deep zeal-quenching Lethargie,

hereby ease, and liberty,

terms of selling truth, and shifting duty;

Christ's Bride’s depriv’d of all her beauty.

such a day to loss a faithful witness,

d champion, accomplished with fitness,

strive for Christ’s prerogatives and laws,

all be bemoan’d by all that love his cause.

therefore, all ye doves, that dwell i’ th’ rock,

and deplore this wrath-presaging stroke:

chafed Birds hotly pursu’d to mountains;

hunted Harts, which pant and bray for fountains

, wandring Sheep, without a shepherd straying,

hidden ones, afraid of false bewraying, A 2Come,