290 NORTHERN MEMOIRS. 



tre. Then it is that the natural artifice of men 

 and means suddenly forsake us, and the secret 

 subtilties of our deceitful hearts basely and cow- 

 ardly renounce and desert us. 



And then it is, that our truckling faith pros- 

 trates a false heart on the cold and frozen altar 

 of despair, which formerly was the common fac- 

 torage, and receptable of impure flames, where 

 we used to offer up adulterated sacrifices, with 

 impious adorations, as the Athenians did to un- 

 known gods, prophetically prognosticating our 

 merited destruction. So that now in a clod, or 

 lump of clay, the lustre of life is silently sealed 

 up, and secretly conveyed to the sepulchres of 

 death ; and because translated from the beaute- 

 ous creation, is made to cease from a natural 

 state, and embrace corruption, and the putrid 

 grave in eternal silence ; where we shall never 

 see light nor day any more, nor with sorrow 

 or reluetancy look back upon the anguish and 

 anxiety of those we formerly persecuted by un- 

 just sentences ; when as judges we sat and per- 

 verted judgment yet would seem to appear as 

 angels of light. But strip'd and stark naked the 

 world now inspects us, and all those graces that 

 naturally adorn'd us, discover themselves but 

 personal deformities. So that disease finds as 

 little difficulty to attempt us, as death to en- 

 counter and overcome us. For have not our 



