When the just Judge of heaven and earth shall rise,
Tremendous Judge! to shake the earth and skies,
No covering then, nor fair pretence can screen,
Nor mountains form'd can hide, or intervene:
But open all and bare in perfect view,
To share their sentence as is justly due.
Here all the human race will then be seen,
And so rewarded as their works have been;
With either, "Go ye curs'd," or "Come ye blest,"
To endless woe, or everlasting rest.
Ye men of mirth and pleasure, next, attend, And hear some hints from one who is
your friend. Some short expostulations here I leave, Safe, both for you to hear and me to give. Can days in mirth, or nights in music spent, Afford you solid joy, or true content? Can losing rest, and wasting of your store, Refresh your limbs, or lasting good procure? Shall songs and dancing swallow up your time? Or lux'ry and debauch consume your prime? Can drink, with carnal pleasures and delight, In turning night to day, and day to night, Inverting nature's rules, direct you right? Can living thus at large and void of cares, Of Heaven's glorious kingdom make you heirs? Laughter is madness; and the end of mirth
Is heaviness, and but a spurious birth.
Woe, woe to you that laugh;-go, weep and mourn;
Let days of joy to nights of sorrow turn.
No more with madness laugh-with fear, control
Each ruling passion, hurtful to the soul.
Let time that's past in vanity, suffice,
And for the future study to be wise.
Let days of fasting follow nights of prayer,
And shun the sight of satan's subtil snare.
Weep, weep and wail; for mercy humbly sue,
And rev'rend homage pay to whom 'tis due.
By sowing to the flesh, comes loss and pain,
But, to the spirit, everlasting gain:
No longer then in sinful courses run,
But of the "chosen few," may each be one.
Ye careless females! also lend an ear; Heaven's voice alarms, and dare you not to fear? Do you consider how you spend your time? Must mirth and pleasure swallow up your prime? Judgment will come;—and yet another blast, Must sure be sounded; and perhaps in haste. Put off your gaudy robes and vain attire, Sin pleasing baits, which none but fools admire. Let haughty looks, vain dressings of the hair, And curled locks, with necks and bosoms bare;Large, lofty bonnets,-hats of uncouth shapes,And trimmings fitter far for dressing apes; Gay ribbons, feathers, fringe and costly lace, All Babylonish baubles! hence give place: Let masks and lockets, luxury and pride, In all their lines and shapes be laid aside. And let your wonted mirth to sorrow turn, Repent in ashes, and in sackcloth mourn. Turn nights of pleasure into nights of grief; The day of reck'ning cometh as a thief: Then you
in vain may to the mountains call, But rocks and mountains cannot hide at all:
Nor can they shelter from th' Almighty's wrath, Nor save th' unwise who shun the narrow path,— The path of safety to the place of rest,
The way of life and peace; of all ways best.
A path of crosses to the carnal will;
But in the broad way, satan leadeth still:
He leads deluded souls with hopes of joys,
And cheats the weak with baits of golden toys.
But all such joys will leave a certain sting,
And from such baits no lasting comforts spring.
No longer then believe the stranger's voice,
But change your course and make a wiser choice.
These vices all, you wholly must forsake,
Ere, in your sev'ral stations, you can make
Good wives or mothers, daughters, matrons, friends,
Or be what Truth and virtue recommends.
For pious christians you can never prove,
Nor worthy of a prudent husband's love,
TiH these are less esteem'd, and you begin
To wear the true adoring that's within:
Truth, love of virtue, meekness in your mien,
Where quietness of spirit may be seen.
As these begin and with advancement rise,
You'll be esteem'd in the Almighty's eyes.
When purg'd of dross and purifi'd from sin,
Lovely you'll be without, and glorious all within.
And last, my brethren, who with me profess,
Attend! and hearken to my kind address.
Great are the favours which to you are given,
Inward and outward, both of earth and heaven.
With outward loaves you have been plenty fed,
And made partakers of the heavenly bread.
Yet some of you are wand'ring far away,
Can eat and drink, and then rise up to play,-
Can shun the cross of Christ, and turn aside
From the directions of the Holy Guide.
Fountains of living waters, such forsake,
And broken cisterns of their own do make,
That hold no water to refresh the soul,
Nor can their strong unnat❜ral thirst control.
Some drink and frolick-at religion laugh,
At humble self-denial make a scoff.
Sobriety and plainness they despise,
And follow after vanity and lies.
Tho' "precept upon precept," hath been given,
And "line on line," with awful sound from heaven.
Yea, message after message hath been sent,
By ambassadors that thro' the Province went,
As cloth'd in sackcloth, with these solemn cries:
"Awake, ye sluggards! from your slumber rise:
Return, repent! let all forsake their crimes;
Their manners change, or God will change the times."
This, most have heard repeated in their ears;
And hence it is that some increasing fears
From time to time a remnant do attend,
Lest these should come to an unhappy end:
Or on the province, now so vicious grown,
Should call awaken'd judgments speedy down.
More particularly addressed to the people called
Quakers.
Lo! the Almighty to the woods and trees
Gives an instructive language when he please:
Gives elocution to the mute, and brings
Intelligence from stones and senseless things.
So Balaam's ass, tho' justly deem'd a brute,
Forbade her foolish master's rash pursuit.
So forest trees and timbers in the wall,
With silent language to the stubborn call.
The olive, bramble, and the fruitful vine,
In parables significant combine:
If men forbear, the stones not us'd to speak,
Will shew their Author's praise and silence break.
And now of late three warnings have been giv’n,
By the great Ruler of the earth and heaven,
Thro' things inanimate; to caution all,
Lest in their own security they fall.
The first to ministers seems most direct;
The next in course does discipline affect;
The third to worship, which relates to all;
Much down already;--more begins to fall.
Peaches, of all our summer fruits, the best,
Wholesome to eat and of delicious taste,
If by imprudence, nor excess, abus’d,
May be by all, by sick and healthy us'd.
So ministers who faithful stand their ground,
And in discharge of actual duty found;
With wisdom cloth'd, with righteousness and love,
And speech becoming, hearers will approve:
When free from affectation and from pride,
With prudence guarding ev'ry weaker side;
Fill'd with authority, and strength, and zeal,
Make good and bad, the sick and healthy feel.
Let all beware the canker and the worm,
The life it is, that beautifies the form.
But lo! about the peach tree roots was found,
Not far above, nor much within the ground,
An eating worm, that drain'd the sap away,
Which brought a ling'ring hue, and slow decay.
This with dwarfish fruit one side appears,
year,
The other plump, and to perfection bears;
Next, both the sides are feeble, weak and mean,
The middle still retains a lively green:
The third, or fourth, perhaps, no leaves nor fruit,
But, dead in branches, rotten in the root.
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