An Hundred Godly LESSONS,
Which a Mother on her Death-bed gave to her Children, whereby they may know how to guide themselves
towards GOD and Man, to the Benefit of the Common-wealth, to the Joy of ther Parents, and to the
Good of themselves.
Tune of, Flying Fame.
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MY Children dear, mark well my Words
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And keep my Precepts well,
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Consider daily in your Minds,
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The Words which I shall tell:
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The Gain is great which I shall tell,
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Good Counsel doth direct,
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Their Ways and Actions for the best,
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That do it not neglect.
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First worship God above all Things,
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Vain Swearing see you shun,
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Hear much, but see you little say,
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Thereby much good is won:
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Speak thou no ill of any Man,
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Tend well thy own Affairs,
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Bridle thy Wrath and Anger so,
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For thereof comes no Cares.
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Be mild and gentle in thy Speech,
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Both unto Man and Child:
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Refuse not good and lawful Gains,
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With Friends be not beguild;
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Forget not any good Thing done,
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Relieve thy Neighbours Need;
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And when thou lives in Wealth and Ease,
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The Hungry see thou feed.
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In God repose thy Strength and Stay,
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With Tongue extol his Praise;
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Honour thy Parents and the Lord,
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He will Prolong thy Days;
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He that his Father honour doth,
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God will forgive his Sin,
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He who his Mother loves is like,
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Much Favour for to win.
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A Son obedient to the Lord,
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His Mother comfort shall;
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The Fathers Blessing stays the House,
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When it is like to fall
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A wise Son makes the Father glad,
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Fools do their Mother grieve,
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For when their Parents aged are,
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They will not them relieve.
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He that his Mother doth despise,
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Shall come to nought and worse,
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The Ravens shall pick out their Eyes,
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That do their Parents curse.
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From needy Men turn not thy Face,
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Let not thy Right Hand know
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What thou dost with thy Left Hand give,
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Or on the Poor bestow.
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Cast no Man in the Teeth with that,
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Which you for him hath done,
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But in constant steady Course
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Let all your Favours run:
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Before thou talkst not that which may,
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Much Trouble to thee bring:
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With godly Fear serve thou the Lord,
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And reverence the King.
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Boast not thyself before Gods Sight,
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Who knows thy Heart always;
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Offend not thou the Multitude,
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Faint not when thou dost pray:
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Scorn not a man in Misery,
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Esteem not tatling Tales;
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Consider Reason is exild
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When as a Drunkard rails.
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Use not thy Lips to loathsome Lies,
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By Craft increase no Wealth,
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And strive not with a mighty man,
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With Temperance nourish Health:
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Look that thou order well thy Words,
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Leave not thy Friends for Gold,
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Trust not too much before you try,
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In venturing be not too bold.
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They that upon the Poor bestow,
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Unto the Lord doth lend,
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And God unto such Men again,
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A thousand Fold doth send;
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As Water doth the Fire quench;
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Whose Fury great doth grow,
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Even so shall Mercy quench their Sins,
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The which doth Mercy Show.
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Hear thou Gods Word with earnest care,
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With Wisdom answer make;
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Be thou not movd with every Wind,
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Such Courses Sinners take;
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They talk well of thy Fame or Shame
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Fools do themselves annoy;
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Trust not thy own Will over much,
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For that will thee destroy.
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They that the living God do fear,
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A faithful Friend will find,
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A true Friend is a Jewel rare,
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And Comfort to the Mind:
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Hear Sermons, and good Sentences
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Thou must receive aright,
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In Gods Commandment exercise
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Thyself both Day and Night.
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Think on the Pain thy Mother had,
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In bringing thee to Life;
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Fear God who knows thy secret Thoughts
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And look thou makes no Strife;
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Visit the Sick with carefulness,
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The Prisoners Grief consider,
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Shew Pity to the Fatherless,
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And God will thee deliver.
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Help still to right the Widows wrong,
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Remember still thy End,
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So thou shalt never do amiss,
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Nor wilfully offend.
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Trust not a reconciled Friend,
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More than an open Foe,
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They that touch Pitch must be defild,
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Take Heed thou dost not so.
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Take not a Wife that wanton is,
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And full of shamful Words;
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The flattering of an Harlot is
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At length more sharp than Swords;
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Cast not thy Love on such a one,
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Whose Looks can thee alure;
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In every Face where Beauty is,
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The Hearts not always pure.
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A Woman fair and indiscreet,
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Is like a Ring of Gold,
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The which in a Swines Snout is set,
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Unseemly to behold.
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The Malice of lewd Women shun,
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For they will thee destroy,
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Hate her that doth on every Man
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Set her Delight and Joy.
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From others let thy Praise proceed
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Boast not thyself in ought;
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He that hath a flattering Tongue,
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Is oft to Ruin brought.
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The Child that doth its Parents rob,
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Is guilty of great Sin;
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He always wil[l] be disesteemd,
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And shall no Favour win.
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Correction bringeth Wisdom sound,
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Fools hate good Council still,
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That Child doth grieve his Mother much
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That strives against her will;
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The good Child shineth as the Light,
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Which bringeth on the Day,
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The Wicked know not where they w[alk,]
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For Darkness is their way.
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Put far from thee a forward Mouth,
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A slanderous Tongue is ill,
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And do not thou a slanderous Mind
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In any wise fulfil.
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A Harlot brings a Man to beg,
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In her is found no Truth;
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In gladness therefore live and die
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With the Wife of thy Youth.
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Much babling breedeth much Offence,
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He that speaks least is wise;
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Gods Blessing only makes Men rich.
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From whence all Joys arise;
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Better is little, fearing God,
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Than Bags of Gold got ill,
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And better is one Bit of Bread,
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Than a fat Ox with Ill-will.
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Who brooks not Warning hates his Soul
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True Age worship aright;
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A patient Man far better is,
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Than one endowed with Might:
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Mans Credit comes by doing Good,
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An humble Mind indeed
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Is better than a Liar proud,
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From whom vain Brags proceed.
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By this, dear Children, you may learn
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How to direct your Ways
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To God, to Man, to Common-wealth,
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Where eer thy dwelling stays,
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Print well in Remembrance,
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Those Lessens I have shewn,
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Then shall you live in happy State,
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When I am dead and gone.
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