Hymns and songs of the Church. With an introd. by Edward Farr

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HYMNS AND SONGS OF
THE CHURCH. ^

BY GEORGE WITHER.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
EDWARD FARR.

LONDON:

JOHN RUSSELL SMITH,

SOHO SQUARE.
1856.

INTRODUCTION.

|MONG the numerous poets of the six
teenth and seventeenth centuries, there
is scarcely a name more worthy of
honour than that of George Wither.

Some writers have, indeed, pronounced
Wither a fanatical rhymer and an intemperate Puri
tan. Such was the judgment of Ritson, Heylin,
Dryden, Swift and Pope : all writers of undoubted
talent, hut whose criticism and taste must have been
governed by prejudice. In the " neglected leaves"
of Wither, Dr. Southey discerned " felicity of ex
pression ;" " tenderness of feeling ;" and " elevation
of mind ;" and Sir Egerton Brydges, Mr. Park,
Mr. Willmott, and that truly Christian poet and
critic, James Montgomery, have all borne testimony
to Wither's merits. The cloud which obscured his
merits as a poet, arose from his mingling in the
political warfare of the turbulent period in which he
lived.

Sir Egerton Brydges in his Restituta has thus
given the pedigree of the poet.

" Thomas Wither of the County of Lancaster,
Esq. left three sons.

vi INTRODUCTION.

11 Kobert Wither, third son, came to Manydowne
in Hampshire, and there lived, leaving issue.

" Thomas Wither, of Manydowne, who married
Joane, daughter and heir of Eichard Mason of Lyd-
monton in Hampshire, and had three sons, John,
Thomas, and Eichard.

" John, eldest son, of Manydowne who married
Ann daughter of — Ayliffe of Skeynes in Hampshire,
had three sons, John, Eichard and George (which
last married Avelyn, daughter of John Shank, and
had Gilbert, Thomas, John and Eeginald ; and the
said Gilbert was father of George, William, Eeginald
and Henry).

" Eichard Wither, second son of John Wither
and Ann Ayliffe, was of Manydowne, and married
a daughter of WiUiam Poynter of Whitchurch in
Hampshire, by whom he had four sons, John, George,
(father of the poet) Otho and Ferdinando.

" John Wither of Manydowne, eldest son, married
Jane, daughter of John Love of Basing in Hamp
shire, and had five sons, William, Anthony, John,
James, and Eichard. William, eldest son, was of
Manydowne, and married Susan, daughter of Paul
Eisley of Chetwood in Buckinghamshire, and had
issue, John, Paul, and Susan.

" George Wither (second son of Eichard Wither
by the daughter of — Poynter) had issue three sons,
viz. George Wither the poet, James Wither, and
Anthony Wither."

In most of Wither's poems something of his private
history may be collected. The date of his birth even
is better substantiated by his verse than by the bap
tismal Eegister. Aubrey and Anthony Wood state

INTRODUCTION. vii

that lie was born in 1588 : other authors assert that
the poet was born in 1590. His verse settles the
question in favour of Wood and Aubrey. In a
paraplilet entitled " Salt upon Salt," written and
published in 1658 he writes : —

When I began to know the world and men,
I made records of what I found it then,
Continuing even since to take good heed
How they stood still, went back, or did proceed :
Till of my scale of time ascending heaven
The round I stand in maketh ten times seven.

" Ten times seven" or seventy years, fixes the date
of his birth in 1588.

The poet received his early education in the
village of Colemore, under one John Greaves, a
schoolmaster of some celebrity. The tutor evidently
gained the love of his pupil, for he is noticed in the
poet's epigrams in this touching language : —

If ever I do wish I may be rich

(As oft perhaps such idle breath I spend),

I do it not for any thing so much,

As to have wherewithal to pay my friend :

For trust me there is nothing grieves me more

Than this, that I should still much kindness take,

And have a fortune to my mind so poor,

That though I would, amends I cannot make :

Yet to be still as thankful as 1 may,

(Sith my estate no better means afford)

What I indeed receive, I do repay

In willingness, in thanks, and gentle words.

The father of the poet appears to have enjoyed con
siderable affluence, for alluding to his juvenile years,
Wither, in a poem entitled Britain's Remembrancer,
writes : —

When daily I on change of dainties fed,
Lodged night by night upon an easy bed,

viii INTRODUCTION.

In lordly chambers, and had wherewithall
Attendants forwarder than I to call,
Who brought me all things needful ; when at hand
Hounds, hawks, and horses, were at my command,
Then choose I did my walks on hills or vallies,
In groves, near springs, or in sweet garden allies,
Reposing either in a natural shade
Or in neat harbours which by hands were made,
Where I might have required without denial,
The lute, the organ, or deep sounding viol,
To cheer my spirits ; with what else beside
Was pleasant, when my friends did thus provide
Without my cost or labour.

From the village school of Colemore Wither was
sent to Magdalen College, Oxford, and it was here
that his poetical talents were first developed. Before
he left the school of Greaves he had become acquainted
with " Lilly's Latin" and " Camden's Greek," but
at the University he seems to have neglected classical
learning, and to have devoted his powers to the
Muses, until his kind old tutor, " by his good per
suasion," again brought him to a love of what he had
been taught. Then after Cynthia " had six times
lost her borrowed light," he again ' < drank at Aristotle's
well."

It was while Wither was redevoting his attention
to classical studies, and when he had been at Oxford
about two years, and was beginning to love a college
life, that the change in his father's temporal circum
stances seems to have taken place, for he was sud
denly removed from the University and taken home
" to hold the plough." He alludes thus touchingly
to this change in " Abuses Whipt and Stript:"-

But now ensues the worst — I setting foot
And thus digesting learning's bitter root,

|*V<

y

oei

INTRODUCTION. ix

Ready to taste the fruit ; then when I thought
I should a calling in that place have sought,
I found that I for other ends ordain'd
Was from that course perforce to be constrain'd.

If the plough had a charm for Cincinnatus, not
so had it for Wither. According to Aubrey he re
turned in discontent to " the beechy shadows of
Brentworth ;" and his sojourn at home was more
embittered by officious friends, who were constantly
urging his relations to apprentice him to some trade.
But the mind of/Wither was not to he cast down.
When only eighteen years of age he made his way
to London of/ais own accord, there to seek his for
tune. Shoddy after his arrival in the metropolis, he
entered h/mself of Lincoln's Inn, where he appears
to have/formed an acquaintance with the pastoral
poetyAVilliam Brown, who belonged to the Inner
Teple. This seems to have been the turning point
history. Anthony Wood says that hanging
after things more smooth and delightful than the law,
he did at length make himself known to the world
by certain specimens of his poetry, which being dis
persed in several hands, he became shortly after a
public author.

The poetical works of George Wither are nume
rous. Most of them are of a secular character, but
interspersed throughout his writings are beautiful
passages indicating the mind of a Christian. There
is the fine gold of Christian thought even in " Abuses
Stript and Whipt," a satire of the most galling nature ;
and in " Prince Henry's Obsequies," " Epithalarnia,"
or " Nuptial Poems," the " Shepherds Hunting,"
the " Motto," " Fair Virtue," the " Remembrancer,"

x INTRODUCTION.

and the " Emblems," there are lines on almost every
page which reflect a hallowed light over much that
is unworthy of a Christian poet.

In his earlier years of authorship Wither appears
to have obtained the semblance of court favour.
But the favour of courts is proverbially fickle, and
so Wither found. His expectations of preferment
were not realized, and being unable to procure pre
ferment, he applied himself to watching the vices of
the times. These vices were abundant, and in his
" Abuses Stript and Whipt" he exposed them un
sparingly. Never did satirist write with more
thrilling effect, but the chief result of his exertions
to mend the public morals was his committal to the
Marshalsea prison. What sufferings he there en
dured he thus describes in the " Scholar's Pur
gatory:" —

" All my apparent good intentions were so mis
taken by the aggravation of some ill affected towards
my endeavours, that I was shut up from the society
of mankind, and as one unworthy the compassion
vouchsafed to thieves and murderers, was neither
permitted the use of my pen, the access or sight of
acquaintance, the allowances usually afforded other
close prisoners, nor means to send for necessaries
befitting my present condition : by which means I
was for many days compelled to feed on nothing but
the coarsest bread, and sometimes locked up four-
and-twenty hours together, without so much as a
drop of water to cool my tongue : and being at the
same time in one of the grossest extremities of dull
ness that was ever inflicted upon my body, the help
both of physician and apothecary was uncivilly denied

INTRODUCTION. xi

me. So that if God had not, by resolutions of the
mind which he infused into me, extraordinarily en
abled me to wrestle with those and such other afflic
tions as I was then exercised withall, I had been
dangerously and lastingly overcome. But of these
usages I complain not ; he that made me, made me
strong enough to despise them."

But Wither did not so quietly endure his incarce
ration as these last sentences would lead us to suppose.
His " Shepherds Hunting" was written in the Mar-
shalsea, which, although it is a pastoral poem of
great beauty, yet contains some passages burning
with indignation against his persecutors. But his
indignation is more clearly seen in a satire which he
addressed to King James. In this satire he writes : —

Did I not know a great man's power and might

In spite of innocence can smother right,

Colour his villanies to get esteem,

And make the honest man the villain seem.

I know it, and the world doth know 'tis true,

Yet I protest if such a man I knew,

That might my country prejudice or thee

Were he the greatest or the proudest he,

That breathes this day ; if so it might be found

That any good to either might redound,

I unappalled, dare in such a case

Rip up his foulest crimes before his face,

Though for my labour I were sure to drop

Into the mouth of ruin without hope.

This Satire was addressed to the King in 1614,
and it has been asserted that his liberation from
prison was attributable to its influence. It would
rather appear from some lines in one of his Emblems,
that his release was owing to the friendly interposi
tion of the Earl of Pembroke. He writes that this
friend —

xii INTRODUCTION.

found such means and place
To bring and reconcile me to his grace,
That therewithall his majesty bestow'd
A gift upon me which his bounty show'd,
And had enrich'd me if what was intended
Had not by othersome been ill befriended.

The gift alluded to in these lines was a patent for
his Hymns and Songs of the Church. This is the
work we lay before our readers, and it may be safely
asserted that none of Wither's works possess greater
interest.

The King's patent bears date the 17th of February,
1622-3. It reads thus : — " James by the Grace of
God. To all and singular printers, booksellers.
Whereas, our well beloved subject George Wither,
gentleman, by his great industry and diligent study
hath gathered and composed a book, entitled Hymns
and Songs of the Church, by him faithfully and
briefly translated into lyric verse, which said book
being esteemed worthy and profitable to be inserted
in convenient manner and due place into every English
Psalm book in metre. We give and grant full and
free license, power and privilege unto the said George
Wither, his executors and assigns, only to imprint
or cause to be imprinted, for the term of fifty and
one years, <fcc. Witness our self at Westminster the
17th day of February." Eeg. 20—1622-3.

The origin of the privilege granted by King James
has thus been explained by Wither : —

" For before I had license to come abroad again
into the world, I was forced to pay expenses so far
beyond my ability that ere I could be clearly dis
charged, I was left many pounds worse than nothing,
and to enjoy the name of liberty, was cast into a

INTRODUCTION. xiii

greater bondage than before. Wherefore coming
abroad again into the world, accompanied thither
with those affections which are natural to most men,
I was loth (if it might conveniently be prevented)
either to sink below my rank, or to live at the mercy
of a creditor. And, therefore, having none of those
helps, or trades, or shifts which many others have to
relieve themselves withall, I humbly petitioned the
King's most excellent Majesty (not to be supplied at
his, or by any projectment to the oppression of his
people) but that according to the laws of Nature, I
might enjoy the benefits of my own labours, by virtue
of his royal privilege. His Majesty vouchsafed my
reasonable request with addition of voluntary favours,
beyond my own desire."

But the publication of the Hymns and Songs of
the Church brought no profit to their author. The
work did not, it is true, like " Abuses Stript and
Whipt," have the effect of casting him into the Mar-
shalsea prison, but it not only failed to produce him
the profit he so much needed and desired, but it
raised against him a powerful body of active and
malignant enemies in the Company of Stationers,
who considered their own privileges invaded by the
patent the King had granted to Wither. The result
of the publication of the Hymns and Songs is related
in the before mentioned curious prose tract entitled
" The Scholar's Purgatory," which Wither issued
in 1624. This tract was addressed to Archbishop
Abbott and the other bishops of the Convocation, in
vindication of the patent. The following copious
extract from it is deeply interesting, as relating to the
poetical pages of this volume : —

xiv INTRODUCTION.

" With a good purpose, I began and finished those
Hymns and Songs, which make up the book called,
the HYMNS AND SONGS OF THE CHURCH. So named,
not for that I would have them accounted part of our
Liturgy, as I have delivered to his Majesty in my
Epistle ; but because they do for the most part treat
of such particulars as concern the whole Church of
God. And this is that Book, for which his Majesty
vouchsafed me the privilege before mentioned, and
which he piously and graciously commanded to be
annexed to the Singing Psalms, that it might be
the more generally and more conveniently divulged
among his subjects, for their instruction.

" And indeed, by that means, these poor people,
whose pastors suffer them, or cause them to be mis
informed concerning that point, shall carry about with
them, in their most usual book, what may at one time
or other open their understandings, to perceive their
error.

" This is that Book, for which I, ever worst used
for my best intentions, suffer more than for all my
former indiscretions ; and for which I have received
those affronts, that may well be ranked among my
greatest injuries ; notwithstanding it had besides the
ordinary allowance of authority, the particular appro
bation and commendation both of the King himself,
and of many the Members of this most reverend
Convocation.

" Yea, this is that Book, for which the Common
wealth of Stationers, a tyranny unheard of in former
ages, desire to make me as odious, as if I had em
ployed my whole study to the oppression of this weal
public, or to the subversion of religion : and for which

INTRODUCTION. xv

they have pursued me with such violence and clamour,
as hath seldom or never been exampled in any cause.

* * * *

" Some give out that my Book contains nothing
but a few needless Songs ; which I composed, and
got privilege by Patent, merely for my private be
nefit, to the oppression of the Commonwealth.

" Some discourage those that come to buy the
Book ; otherwhiles denying that it is to be had ; and
otherwhile peremptorily protesting against the selling
of it ; or disgracefully telling such as enquire after
the same, that the book is ridiculous ; and that it
better befitted me to meddle with my Poetry than to
be tampering with Divinity ; with such like other
words of contempt.

" Other some there be, who dare aver that my
Lord's Grace of Canterbury, with many of the Bi
shops and best Divines, do much dislike and oppose
the said HYMNS.

" Others again buzz in the people's ears, that the
Hymns for the observable times are Popish, and
tending to the maintenance of superstition.

" And some there be among them, who in such
terms of ribaldry, as no Stews can go beyond them,
blasphemingjy affirm, that the CANTICLES are ob
scene, and not fit to be divulged in song or verse.

" Yea, many other objections they make, and cast
out diverse aspersions, as well upon the Author, as
on his Book, to bring both into contempt.

* * * *

" To keep myself the closer to that, which shall
be pertinent to this apology, I will make these par
ticular objections my themes, which I have repeated:

xvi INTE OD UOTION.

nor will I bring any other authorities to make good
my defence than the true relations of what hath been
done, and such plain arguments as mine own reason
shall be able to frame. For, if this discourse come
to the view of your Eeverences only, you well enough
know what the records of antiquity can afford to these
purposes. And if it happen among those only of
mean capacity, such plain expressions, as I purpose
to use, will acquire most credit among them.

" And, first, whereas they give out that my Hymns
are needless ; they do not only thereby contemn and
slight my pains, but lay imputation upon the wisdom
of the Holy Ghost also. For a great part of them
are parcels of the Canonical Scriptures ; originally
Song. And to say, any fragment thereof were need
less, is, in effect, to diminish from God's words, upon
which follows a heavy curse.

" God deserves every day to be praised of us for
delivering his Church, by the overthrow of Pharaoh
in the Eed Sea, as much as he did in the very mo
ment of their deliverance. And the Song of Moses,
then used, doth in every particular, as properly con
cern every Christian congregation, as it did the Jews
themselves upon that occasion. For God's mercy
shewed to us in our baptism, and the spiritual over
throw of the Devil, pursuing us with an host of sins
and temptations, is, in mine opinion, more effectually
expressed to a spiritual understanding by apprehend
ing the actions and circumstances of that temporal
deliverance, than it could be by the power of any
words, or by any other ordinary means ; except by
contemplating, of that most excellent material object,
the Sacrament of Baptism itself, of which the other
was but a type.

INTRODUCTION. xvii

" In like manner, all the other Canonical Hymns
do admirably help towards God's everlasting mercies,
and for illustrating those particular mysteries of our
Christian Faith, which they did typically and pro
phetically foreshow. Yea, they are part of the Pro
phetical Witness, as the Hymns of the New Testa
ment are part of the Evangelical Witness, of our
interest in Christ Jesus. And, verily, the late neg
lect of their application in our Christian mysteries
hath not only much injured one of the two great
witnesses of our salvation, but given occasion also,
that many unsound professors have corrupted them,
even to the bringing in of diverse Jewish and Tal-
mudical fancies, to the fearful distraction of weak
people.

" But, were not those Hymns necessary in re
spect of the variety of their arguments, yet the
variety of expression were somewhat neediul, although
the matter were the same. For, as the several
dressings of one sort of meat make it diversely
agreeable to the palates and stomachs of men, so the
various manner of things delivered in Holy Scrip
tures makes them applicable to our understandings :
and what in one kind of delivery seems harsh or ob
scure, in another kind is acceptable, and more easily
apprehended. That, which is easy to you, is hard
perhaps to me ; and what may be thought an im
propriety to some great judgments doth many times
most properly insinuate the speaker's meaning unto
them of meaner capacities.

" If it be but to awaken our dulness, and take
away our wearisomeness in holy duties, variety is

b

xviii INTR OD UCTION.

needful. For flesh and blood, as we find by daily
experience, loaths those things, wherewithal they are
naturally best pleased, if they be too frequent : how
much more tedious then will those things be unto
us, which are perpetually iterated in the same words,
being naturally unpleasing to a carnal ear? Since
God in mercy hath provided and permitted, as means
to assist our weaknesses, let not such as are strong
enough to be without them, condemn the use of such
helps in those who, being not so able, must have
their affections weaned by degrees from their childish
inclinations.

" We see the flesh and the Devil, having for their
service thousands of vain songs and profane ballads,
stored up in the stationers' warehouses, have never
theless many Muses perpetually employed for the
composing of new strains ; and that many hundred
pounds are yearly consumed upon them, to the en
riching of those merchants ; to the shame of our pro
fession ; to the corruption of youth ; and to the
building up of the kingdom of sin and Satan : as it
is well known and observed by many of good note in
this Reverend Assembly. Yet there having been,
for divers ages together, but so many Hymns com
posed and published, as make in some impressions
not above two sheets and an half of paper, for the
reverence and practice of devotion unto the honour
of God, they are censured impertinent ; maliciously
exclaimed on ; violently opposed ; and the author of
them seeking, for the needful hire of his labour, but
his due, and what strangers should have been suffered
to make thereof, is publicly accused, as a man co
vetously hunting after the world, and an injurious
oppressor of the Commonwealth.

INTRODUCTION. xix

* * * *

" My weak fortunes, my troubles, and the charge-
ableness of a study, that brings with it no outward
supply, put me into a kind of necessity to cast my
thoughts aside unto worldly respects ; but I have
since been sorry for it upon better consideration.
And as a just reward for my too earnest looking
after vain hopes, I do now accept of my present
trouble, that outwardly is like to impoverish me. And
the time thereof draws me the more needfully to
consider it, being just about that season wherein I
expected to reap some contentment in the fruition of
my labour and expences. God grant this experience
may enrich me another way, and settle my hopes
upon more certain things ; and that those, who accuse
me of this imperfection, may examine their own hearts,
and if they find them guilty of the like infirmity,
learn by mine example to confess their error: and
my prayer shall be, that we both may more directly
seek God's glory in our undertakings.

" But why should I be the man more accused than
all others, for seeking after the just hire of my labours?
Am I the only one guilty of studying mine own profit,
in the course of my painful endeavours for religious
end ? I would to God I were ; and that no man living,
save I, were so wicked as to make his own glory and
enriching, the end and scope of his Christian dili
gence ! For, doubtless, such an universal piety would
be a powerful means of drawing me to repentance !
But I believe there be so few that can, with the
Apostle, clear himself herein, that if none might be
permitted to tlirow at me the stone of reproof, but
only they who are free from this weakness, I may

xx INTR OD UCTION.

walk from St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall to Dover,
and from thence even through our Metropolitan
Churches, to the farthest Northern Isles, without
touch of exception.

" And whereas they object I have compassed a
privilege to the public grievance ; your Reverences
shall perceive how innocent I am from giving cause
of such an imputation, if you please to consider the
circumstances of his Majesty's grant, with his pious
intention, and my carriage in the procuring and
execution of it : for I did not, as some of the Sta
tioners have done in the name of many, and by pre
tending the relief of the poor, whom they may be
proved thereby to oppress, monopolize the principal
books of sale within this realm, even those wherein
the Commonwealth have a just interest, which is
really one of those monopolies which our State abhors:
but having composed a new Book, which no man
could claim a share in, while it remained mine own,
and in mine own power to make public or no ; and
proposing the same to his Majesty briefly and plainly,
without pretence of any bye-respect, I obtained a
free and gracious grant to make such benefit there
of as usually heretofore, in like cases his Majesty
hath vouchsafed unto others : yea, such as the Sta
tioners would have made of it without a privilege, if
so be I had left it in their power.

* * * *

" How unfortunate am I, as some think, that,
having performed a good work, do nevertheless hear
it exclaimed upon as a frivolous labour ; and stand
accused for oppressing the people, because a few
Hymns, containing the praises of God, are commanded

INTRODUCTION. xxi

to be divulged the most convenient way, while such
abuses as these aforementioned, and many of an
higher nature, may be winked at in my accusers.
Yet I say rather, how happy am I, and how much
bound to praise God's mercy, who covers the multi
tude of my transgressions, and still brings me into
public question for such actions only as shall upon
trial become mine honour ; and to the shame of my
traducers. For I am confident that I shall in due
time be delivered from that, and from all other scan
dalous imputations, which the world hath laid to my
charge. And, therefore, whether it be now or here
after, I am indifferent, and place such assurance in
God's word, that I can stay his leisure.

" I procured the King's grant, being the possi
bility of a temporal blessing, by moving for it where
I ought ; and as I ought to seek the same, without
any man's furtherance : and if it be not in every
particular just and convenient that I should enjoy the
same, it shall go ; and I will venture an utter undoing,
rather than make use of any man's friendship to de
tain it. For God, who hath hitherto provided for me
in such a manner, as best befitted both my temporal
and spiritual condition, will, I know, continue his
provident care of me, while I can have grace to be
thankful, and retain the resolution to do my lawful
endeavour. Howsoever, let the world conceit of me
as it pleaseth, I scorn to enjoy my life, much more
any privilege, to the common prejudice: and am
able to demonstrate, as shall hereafter appear, that
my Book, and the King's Grant, have been mali
ciously traduced without cause.

jxii INTR OD UCTION.

" I will omit to particularize those many dis
courtesies which I am offered, and proceed to answer
such other objections as they and their ahettors have
framed, to bring both my Hymns and me into con
tempt.

" And first, they object, forsooth, that they are
not worthy to be annexed with their Psalms in metre,
in respect of that insufficiency which they have dis
covered in my expressions. For so harsh and im
proper do my lines appear to these judicious censurers
and their chaplains, that some compare them to Dod
theSilkmaris late ridiculous translation of the Psalms;
which was by authority worthily condemned to the
fire. Some term them in scorn, WITHEB'S SONNETS ;
and some, among them, the better to express what
opinion they have of their pious use, are pleased to
promise that they will procure the roving ballad-singer
with one leg, to sing and sell them about the city :
which base speeches, proceeding from those scoffing
Ismaelites, I could well enough brook in respect of
mine own person or merit ; for there is so much evil,
even in the best of my actions, that contempt is the
fairest reward which they can justly challenge. Yet
when I call to mind with what Christian intentions
I was employed upon those Hymns ; and how many
hours at midnight I spent about them, whilst, it may
be, my traducers were either sleeping out their time,
or worse employed : when I consider also how many
learned and religious men have approved them, and
how much their pious use might further the reverence
and practice of devotion to the praise of God; it
grieves me that there should be in this nation any so
wicked as to oppose so Christian a work to so frivolous

INTRODUCTION. xxiii

an end. But when I remember by whom and by
what authority that book was allowed and commanded
to be made public ; and withal, what mystery of
iniquity it is that hath conspired against the same,
methinks it is an injury not to be tolerated.

" Is it reason, they, who live by books, should be
permitted to abuse the authors of their livelihood ?
Or is it seemly, that those, who, as I said before,
are but the pedlars of books, should become their
censurers ; and, by consequent, both the censurers
and depravers of that authority which allowed them ?
If this be tolerated, the fairest draughts of Apelles
shall be daily subject to the foolish criticisms of those
arrogant cobblers ; and the State shall not be able,
ere long to publish any thing but what they have a
fancy to approve. For to this pass it is already
come, that whatsoever the State dislikes, shall be
imprinted and divulged by them, though both absurd
and scandalous, with twice more seriousness, than
any book lawfully commanded : but let it tend to
schism, and they will disperse more underhand in
one week, than the Royal Authority shall be able to
divulge in a year, toward the settling of unity in the
Church.

" I know not what it is which should make my
Boole of Hymns appear so ridiculous unto them, or
or so unworthy to be annexed to the English Psalm-
Book, as they pretend. In respect of the matter, it
cannot justly be excepted against ; for a great part
thereof is Canonical Scripture ; and the rest also is
both agreeable thereunto in every particular, and
consonant to the most approved discipline of the
Church of England. So that, how squeamishly so-

xxiv I NT ROD UCTION.

ever some of their stomachs brook it, they, being
allowed by authority, are as fit, I trust, to keep
company with David's Psalms, as ROBERT Wis-
DOME'S Turk and Pope, and those other apocryphal
Songs and Prayers, which the Stationers add to the
Psalm-Book, for their more advantage. Sure I am,
that if their additions shall be allowed of by the most
voices, yet mine shall be approved of, before those,
by the best judgments.

* * * *

" I did not leap of a sudden, and irreverently into
this employment ; but having consumed almost the
years of an apprenticeship in studies of this kind, I
entered thereunto conscionably, and in the fear of
God ; nor have I proceeded without his assistance,
as the difficulties and discouragements which I have
passed through do witness unto me. For if it be
well weighed, how full of short sentences and sudden
breakings off, those Scriptures are ; how frequently
these particles, for, but, and such like, which are
graceful in the original text, will seem to obscure the
dependency of sense in the English phrase, if the
power of their signification be not needfully observed
in those places : how harsh the music will be, if the
chief pauses be not carefully reduced into the same
place in the line throughout the whole Hymn, which
they have in the first stanza ; how many differences
must be observed between Lyric Verse, and that
which is composed for reading only : how the Trans
lator is tied not to make choice of those fashion stanzas,
which are easiest to express the matter in, but to
keep that with which he first began : how he is
bound, not only to the sense, (according to the liberty

INTRODUCTION. XXY

used int other translations) but to the very words, or
words of the same power with those used in our
allowed interpretations : lastly, how precise he must
be, when he is forced to express any sentence by
circumlocution, to labour still to retain a relish of
the holy phrase in his expressions : I say, if all these
circumstances be well considered, (and how difficult
they make it to close up every stanza with a period,
or some such point that the voice may decently pause
there,) I am persuaded a work of this nature could
not have been persisted in, to this conclusion, by a
man having so many weaknesses and discouragements ,
as I have had ; unless the Almighty had been with \
me. Nor can I believe that the Devil would have
raised up so many maliciously to oppose the same,
if it had not tended to God's honour.

" But sure no man will grudge the annexing of
the Book of Hymns to our metrical Psalms now used,
in regard of any faultiness in their expression, if they
consider the meanness of that translation. For
though some, of no mean degree, are very violent
for the maintenance and continuance of their old
version, pleading, as the papists do, for many of their
trumperies, a long prescription instead of better argu
ments : yet I know it to be so much to blame, that
no man of understanding can sing many of those
Psalms, but with trouble to his devotion. And I
dare undertake to demonstrate, that they are not only
full of absurdities, solecisms, improprieties, nonsense,
and impertinent circumlocutions, to more than twice
the length of their originals in some places, but that
there are in them many expressions also, quite be
side, if not quite contrary, to the meaning of the text ;

xxvi INTRODUCTION.

which I would not thus openly have declared, but
that even school-boys perceive it ; though some, that
would be thought wiser, do ignorantly or wilfully
protest against an alteration of our singing Psalms.
Excuse me, I beseech you, if I seem a little too
plain in discovering the faultiness of that, whereof
so many are overweening; for I do it not to dis
parage the pious endeavours of those who took pains
in that translation ; but rather, commending their
laborious and Christian intention, do acknowledge,
that, considering the times they lived in, and of what
quality they were, they made so worthy an attempt,
as may justly shame us, who came after, to see it
no better seconded during all the flourishing times
which have followed their troublesome age : especially,
seeing how curiously our language and expressions
are refined in our trivial discourses.

" This hath given the Papist, the Atheist, and
the Libertine occasion to scoff at our Christian exer
cises ; and troubles the devotion of many a religious
man, who being desirous to sing with his understand
ing in the congregations, doth often, before he is
aware, lose the sense of the Prophet : yea, and some
times fall upon direct nonsense, among those many
impertinent circumlocutions and independencies,
which he is for rhyme's sake compelled to wander
through in that translation.

" Nevertheless, some I know will be obstinate in
defence of their old metre ; and I shall seem to them,
as one that had presumptuously laid an imputation
upon our Church, and unreverently taxed what her
authority had commanded ; which, I thank God, I
am not guilty of. For I well enough know, and

INTRO D UCTION. xxvii

your Reverences can witness it, that those metrical
Psalms were never commanded to be used in divine
service, or in our public congregations, by any canon
or ecclesiastical constitution, though many of the
vulgar be of that opinion. But whatsoever the Sta
tioners do in their title-page pretend to that purpose,
they being first allowed for private devotion only,
crept into public use by toleration rather than com
mand. Yea, custom hath been hitherto their chief
authority ; and therefore we may not only lay open
their defects to a good purpose, without just blame
to ourselves, or scandal to the Church, but, I hope,
charge them also without offence, when a better
translation shall come to light. For the mean time
there shall be no reason, I am sure, why those should
condemn my expressions, while they approve those
measures we have hitherto made use of in our de
votions.

" But lest the work should be able to justify itself,
in spite of their detraction, my adversaries do pick
personal quarrels also : alleging that I haveundecently
intruded upon the divine calling ; and that my per
formances, being but the fruits of a private spirit, are
therefore void and unwarrantable. Yea, if we may
believe the Stationers, many zealous ministers have
taxed me for meddling with a work of that nature,
affirming that it was a task fitter for a divine, than
for me: and so bitterly have many of them, as I
hear, censured me for it in their private conferences,
that I have good cause to suspect it was rather envy
than any thing else, which induced most of them to
be of that opinion. If it be a work so proper to a
divine that no man else ought to have meddled with

xxviii INTR OD UCTION.

it, I would some of them had taken it in hand, who
give me so little thanks for my labour, that we might
have seen with what spirit they are guided. I wonder
what divine calling HOPKINS and STERNHOLD had
more than I have, that their metrical Psalms may
be allowed of, rather than my Hymns. Surely, if
to have been Groom of the Privy Chamber were
sufficient to qualify them, that profession which I am
of,* may as well fit me for what I have undertaken,
who having first laid the foundation of my studies in
one of our famous Universities,^ have ever since
builded thereon, towards the erecting of such fabrics,
as I have now in hand.

" But I would gladly know by what rule those
men discern of spirits, who condemn my endeavour
as the work of a private spirit. The time was, men
did judge the tree by his fruit ; but now they will
judge the fruit by the tree. If I have expressed any
thing repugnant to the analogy of the Christian Faith ;
or irreverently opposed the orderly and allowed dis
cipline ; or dissented in any point from that spirit of
verity, which breathes through the Holy Catholick
Church, then let that which I have done, be taxed
for the work of a private spirit. Or if it may appear
that I have undecently intruded myself to inter
meddle with those mysteries of our Christian Sanc
tuary, which the God of order hath by his divine law
reserved for those who have, according to his ordi
nance, a special calling thereunto ; then indeed let
me be taxed as deserving both punishment and re-
proof.

" But if, making conscience of my actions, I ob-
* The Law. f Oxford.

I NT ROD UCTION. xxix

served that seemly distance, which may make it ap
pear I intended not upon ought appropriated to the
outward ministry ; if, like an honest hearted Gibeonite,
I have but a little extraordinarily laboured to hew
wood and draw water, for the spiritual sacrifices ; if,
according to the art of the Apothecary, I have com
posed a sweet perfume to offer up to God, in such
manner as is proper to my own faculty only ; and
then brought it to those unto whom the consecration
thereof belongs ; if, keeping my own place, I have
laboured for the building up of God's House, as I
am bound to do, in offering up of that which God
hath given me, and making use with modesty of
those gifts which were bestowed on me to that pur
pose : if, I say, the case be so, what blame-worthy
have I done? Why should those disciples, which
follow Christ in a nearer place, forbid us from doing
good in his name, who follow him further off ? Why
should they with Joshua forbid Eldad and Medad
from prophesy ing, seeing every good Christian wisheth
with Moses, that all God's people were prophets, and
that he would give his spirit to them all ?

* * # *

" Let it not therefore, I beseech you, be an im
putation unto me, that I have performed a better
work than my calling seems to oblige me unto. For
though some have taxed me for meddling with that
which seems more properly to belong to their pro
fession ; it is odds but they are otherwhile as busy
in some employments, which would better have be
seemed a man of my quality, than a man of my coat;
and therefore let us excuse and forgive one another.
That which I have done, when it was my own, was

xxx INTRODUCTION.

subject to any man's censure; but now Authority
hath consecrated it, and delivered the same forth
for public use, it is no more mine, but the work of
Authority which they traduce.

" Let all my writings, privately or publicly dis
persed, be examined, from the first Epigram that
ever I composed, until the publishing of these Hymns,
now traduced by my adversaries ; and if there can
be found one line savouring of such a mind as may
give cause to suspect I undertook that task, without
that true Christian aim which I ought to have had ;
or if the performance itself shall make it appear that
I proceeded without that due preparation ; or if you can
have any probable testimony that through the course
of my life, or by any one scandalous act, I have
given that cause of oifence, as may disparage my
studies, or trouble their devotions to whose use my
Hymns are tendered, let those things be laid to my
charge, until I find means to disprove and wash away
imputations. Sure I am, no man can attempt such
a work, with a heart more desirous to be rectified,
or more fearful to offend by a negligent performance;
and therefore if I wanted an outward calling there
unto, which this reverend Assembly may supply, yet
I hope I had that inward calling, which is beyond
the power of any to confer."

The anxiety Wither displays in this extract from
the Scholar's Purgatory, respecting his Hymns and
Songs of the Church, may well be pardoned, for
beside his hope of relief from previous necessities by
the sale of the work, he had been induced by the
favour of the King " to engage his credit almost
.£300 further to divulge the book," and by the ani-

INTRODUCTION.

XXXI

mosity of the Stationers he felt himself deprived even
of the means of subsistence. The special pleadings
of the poet, however, were of no avail. Self-interest
made the Worshipful Company of Stationers in
exorable, and the patent granted by King James
was to him a dead letter.

But notwithstanding the exertions of the Stationers
to keep the Hymns and Songs of the Church " out
of print," they will be read and admired so long as
the English language is extant. " His language,"
says Mr. Willmott, " is unadorned and homely, and
the thoughts such as would naturally arise to a calm
and benevolent mind. Yet his humblest strains
frequently awake a cheerfulness and serenity in the
heart of the reader. The spirit of his supplication
is so pure and beautiful, that we do not doubt for an
instant that the golden sceptre of mercy will be ex
tended to it."

The Hymns and Songs were set to music by
Orlando Gibbons, a distinguished musician of the
day, and it is thought that a reprint of these old and
rare tunes would render the work more acceptable
to the public. These tunes are described by Sir
John Hawkins as melodies in two parts and excellent
in their kind ; in them may be traced the germs of
several of the most popular church tunes now used
in Divine Worship.

In 1625 Wither was a spectator of the great
plague which desolated London. This plague broke
out in the house of a Frenchman " without the
bishop-gate," and the poet has given a glowing
description of its ravages, and the effects which it had
on society in general, in a poem which he published

xxxii INTR OD UCTION.

soon after entitled " Britain's Kemembrancer."
Wither seems to have lived on the banks of the
Thames at the time the plague broke out, and while
the rich fled from the devoted city he remained to
aid the perishing multitude. He is decidedly an
advocate of non-contagion, for he records as a fact
that but few sextons and surgeons died of the plague,
and that he did not hear of a single death among
the market people, who brought provisions into the
city. But what is more remarkable, he adds, that
in the parish where he resided and where about five
hundred died of the plague weekly, not one of the
common- oearers of the pestilential corpses fell a
victim to its ravages. There is not a more graphic
picture of Death and Desolation extant than Britain's
Kemembrancer gives of this terrible Scourge ; and
the man who could quietly remain in the midst of it
to aid the sick and dying deserves immortal honour
for his philanthropy. As Mr. Willmott justly ob
serves, " It is impossible to contemplate the conduct
of Wither during this season of grief without a feeling
of admiration and respect." But the Christian poet
placed his trust in the protecting care of the Almighty
and was safe.

From the date of the plague no mention is made
of Wither till the year 1631, when we are told that
he assisted the Kev. William Bedwell in the publi
cation of the Tournament of Tottenham. In the
following year he published the " Psalms of David
translated into Lyric verse, according to the scope
of the Original." He was again favoured with the
King's Patent " that this translation should be printed
and bound to all Bibles that were sold," but his old

INTRODUCTION.

XXXlll

enemies the Stationers by their influence set it aside.
In Wither's own estimation this version of the Psalms
was the best jewel he possessed : and it is certain that
it was the best which had yet been written for de
votional purposes. Even that harsh critic Johnson
awarded him the praise of having done best what ho
dogmatically asserted " no one could do well."

Wither was in the Netherlands when he published
his Psalter. He does not appear to have sojourned
long in that country, but the publication of his Em
blems, in 1634 seems to have been promoted by his
residence there. In his Emblems the poet shewed
himself to be a warm supporter of Monarchy and the
Church. In various parts he inveighs bitterly against
the Puritan spirit of the age. Within a few years,
however, after the publication of his Emblems, a great
change took place in his sentiments. In the year
1646 he had become, indeed, as fiery a puritan as
any in England. The Church was denounced by him
as the cause of all the misery in the country : " her
avarice and pride" he asserted had first divided the
island ; and it was from her the

firebrands came,
That set this empire in a flame.

Alas, how weak a thing is human nature ! This
change in the sentiments of Wither is evidently the
fruit of disappointment. While hope of patronage
warmed his breast he firmly supported the existing
institutions of his country, but when poverty stared
him in the face as it did at this period ; when " death
and wasting time" had removed from him those
friends from whom to ask a favour was to receive,
the poet lost heart, and not only used the pen but

xxxiv INTRODUCTION.

unsheathed the sword against the cause he had so
long and nobly supported.

Before, however, this change came over the poet,
he rendered considerable service to the cause of de
votional literature by the publication in 1641 of the
Halleluiah, or Britain's Second Kemembrancer. This
book is very rare, but copious extracts have been
given from it by Wither himself in the Fragmenta
Prophetica ; by Sir Egerton Brydges, in the Censura
Literaria ; and by Dalrymple, in his selections from
the Juvenilia . The touching pathos of many of these
hymns have rarely been equalled, and the republica-
tion of them would be a boon to the age in which
we live. Witness the beautiful Hymn for Anniversary
Marriage days : —

Lord, living here are we

As fast united yet,
As when our hands and hearts by thee

Together first were knit.

And in a thankful song,

Now sing we will thy praise,
For that thou dost as well prolong

Our loving as our days.

The frowardness that springs

From our corrupted kind,
Or from those troublous outward things

Which may distract the mind ;

Permit not thou, O Lord,

Our constant love to shake,
Or to disturb our true accord,

Or make our hearts to ache.

Who would have imagined that the mind from which
such tender thoughts as these emanated, could have
mingled in the strife and bitterness of party spirit,
which was every day and hour becoming stronger

INTRODUCTION. xxxv

and stronger at this period of English History ? yet
BO it was. With the Halleluiah the poetical life of
Wither seems to have terminated. He became
actively engaged in the earlier part of the civil war ;
and the " sweetness of his Shepherd's pipe was lost
to him for ever." In an address to his Muse written
years before this period he writes : —

Therefore Muse to thee I call,
Thou (since nothing else avails me)
Must redeem me from my thrall.
If thy sweet enchantments fail me,
Then adieu, life, love, and all.

The latter years of the life of Wither were worn out
in strife, in petulant complaints, in penury, and in
sorrow. Over this dreary period of the poet's history we
draw a veil. The discordant din of politics, war, and
fanaticism was to him like as the evil spirit was to Saul :
it drove far from him that fine spirit of poesy, which
had so long been to him the comfort and solace of
his heart. He continued it is true from time to time
to pour out rhymes, and that with considerable facility,
but the spirit and the life of poetry were no longer
discernible in his verse. In a word, the after poetry
of Wither chiefly consists of narrations and invectives
relative to the strife of Royalists and Parliamentarians.

Wither reaped the bitterest fruits of his tergiver
sation at the Restoration of the Royal Family. His
property was confiscated; and all his MSS. and
books were seized under a warrant from Secretary
Nicholas, while he himself was sent to Newgate.
He was subsequently removed to the Tower, where
he appears to have remained for more than a year.
Campbell says that he died in the Tower ; but this

xxxvi INTE OD UCTION.

is a mistake, for he was released on the 27th of July,
1663, after having given bond for his good behaviour.

Before his incarceration in the Tower, Wither
appears to have been living in retirement in Hamp
shire. It is probable he returned thither, but if so
he shortly after took up his abode in London. He
was living there at the time of the second plague and
the great fire of London, as we gather from his
Meditations upon the Lord's Prayer, and his Frag-
menta Prophetica. In the former he remarks : —
" During the great mortality yet continuing, and
wherein God evidently visited his own household,
my little family, consisting of three persons only, was
visited and with my dear consort, long engaged in
daily expectation of God's diviner purpose concerning
our persons : yet with confidence, whether we were
smitten or spared, lived or died, it would be in mercy ;
for having nothing to make us in love with the world,
we had placed our hopes upon the world to come."

The pestilence and the fire so thinned and separ
ated the poet's friends that he contemplated retire
ment " to a solitary habitation in the place of his
nativity," but this intention was abandoned on the
advice of some of his few remaining friends. But
his end was drawing nigh. His " path had gradually
been growing rougher and more painful, as he wound
deeper into the vale of years," but it is pleasing to
observe from some of the last words traced by the
poet's pen that, after all the storms and roughnesses
of life his faith remained unshaken, and that he
awaited his final summons with the calm fortitude of
a genuine Christian. He died on the 2nd of May,
1667, and was buried in the church belonging to the
Savoy Hospital in the Strand.

INTRODUCTION. xxxvii

According to Aubrey Wither married Elizabeth
Emerson, of South Lambeth, who was a great wit,
and could also write verse. How tenderly he was
attached to his consort many touching passages in
his poetry testify. No mention is made of her death,
but it seems probable that she had preceded him to
the tomb. His wife had borne him six children, but
one only, a daughter, survived her parents.

The private character of Wither was one of almost
patriarchal simplicity. It was a reflex of his poetry.
As a son, a friend, a parent, and a husband, never
did character shine more brightly. Austerely simple
and unostentatious he loathed the fawning adulation
of the age in which he lived. To use his own language,

When any bow'd to me with congee's trim,
All I could do was stand and laugh at him :
Bless me ! I thought what will this coxcomb do,
When I perceived one reaching at my shoe.

In his habits he was very temperate. His chief in
dulgence was in the luxury of smoking. In New
gate his pipe was a solace to him, and he gratefully
acknowledged God's mercy in wrapping up " a bless
ing in a weed."

As a politician no praise can be given to Wither.
Yet though in reference to politics he was like a
reed shaken by every wind, he seems on the whole
to have preserved his honesty. He was unbending
even to Cromwell, and for this he finally lost the Pro
tector's favour. His political sentiments can scarcely
be defined, nor are his religious feelings less difficult
to portray. In early life he was a strict Episcopalian,
and when he joined the ranks of Republicanism he
seems to have forsaken the outward forms of Episco-

xxxviii INTR OD UCTION.

pacy rather than its ordinances. He called himself a
Catholic Christian ; and asserted that he separated
" from no church adhering to the foundations of
Christianity." Of his inherent piety there can be no
question. His writings abound with proofs of the
sincerity of his religious profession, and though there
is in " all of them somewhat savouring of a natural
spirit," yet there is also in all, much " that is dictated
by a better spirit than his own." Amidst all his mis
fortunes, his character was marked by dignity and
fortitude — the result of true piety. Even in the
midst of the deepest affliction he could sing, —

But, Lord, though in the dark,
And in contempt thy servant lies ;
On me there falls a spark
Of lovingkindness from thine eyes.

As a poet Wither ranks high among those who were
his contemporaries. His secular poetry contains
touches of rural simplicity rarely surpassed ; and his
sacred poetry reminds the reader of the fine chords
of the sweet singer of Israel. There is no exuberant
fancy displayed in his verse : he deals not with elabo
rate metaphors, nor produces any striking imagery
to enchain the senses ; but still by the natural grace
and melody of his style, by the touching simplicity
of his language, and by the skilful handling of his
metre, he carries conviction to the mind of the reader
that his verse everywhere contains the fine gold of
poetry. Simplicity is a primary quality of genius,
and never did writer display this quality in richer
profusion than the poet Wither. A flower is not the
less beautiful for being simple ; on the contrary, the
rose and the lily vie in beauty with the most gor-

INTRODUCTION.

XXXIX

gcous flowers produced by nature or by art. Just
so it is with the language of Wither's poetry com
pared with that of many of his contemporaries. Faith
ful to nature and truth he despised their glittering
eccentricities, their fantastic images, their inflated
diction, their quaint conceits, their forced pathos,
and their far-fetched learning ; and the result is, that
while their verse fails to affect the heart, his comes
home to every bosom. Nature answers to nature,
as in the glass face answers to face ; thus demon
strating the high qualities of his poetical genius.

These remarks on the poetical talent of Wither
will be borne out by a perusal of his Hymns and
Songs; and we intend laying before our readers
other works from his pen which will equally testify
to his merits as a poet.

EDWARD FABR.

&MT,

July 1st, 1856.

THE

HYMNES AND

SONGS OF THE

C H V R C H.

Diuided into two Parts.

The firft Part comprehends the Ca-
nonicall Hymnes, and fuch parcels of

Holy Scripture, as may properly be fung :

With fome other ancient Songs

and Creeds.

The fecond Part confifts of Spirituall

Songs, appropriated to the feuerall Times

and Occasions, obferuable in the

Church of England.

Tranjlated, and Compofed

BY

G. W.

LONDON,

Printed by the Affignes of GEORGE

WITHER. 1623.
Cum Priuilegio Regis Regali.

TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE,

JAMES,

BY THE GRACE OP GOD, KING OP GREAT BRITAIN,

PRANCE, AND IRELAND, DEFENDER
OP THE PAITH, &C.

MERCY AND PEACE, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
OUR LORD.

]SE HYMNS, dread Sovereign, hav
ing divers ways received life from your
Majesty, as well as that approbation
which the Church alloweth, are now
imprinted according to your royal privilege, to come
abroad under your gracious protection. And what
I delivered unto your princely view at several times,
I here present again, incorporated into one volume.
The first part whereof comprehends those canonical
Hymns, which were written, and left for our in
struction, by the Holy Ghost. And those are not
only plainly and briefly expressed in lyric verse, but
by their short Prefaces properly applied also to the

xliv DEDICATION.

Church's particular occasions in these times : inso
much, that, however some neglect them as imper
tinent, it is therehy apparent, that they appertain no
less to us than unto those in whose times they were
first composed. And (if the conjecture of many good
and learned men deceive them not) the latter part,
containing Spiritual Songs, appropriated to the
several times and occasions observable in the Church
of England (together with brief Arguments, declar
ing the purpose of those observations) shall become
a means both of increasing knowledge, and Christian
conformity within your dominions ; which, no doubt,
your Majesty wisely foresaw, when you pleased to
grant and command that these Hymns should be
annexed to ah* Psalm Books in English metre.
And I hope you shall thereby increase both the hon
our of God, and of your Majesty : for these Hymns,
and the knowledge which they offer, could no other
way, with such certainty, and so little inconvenience,
be conveyed to the common people, as by that means
which your Majesty hath graciously provided.

And now (maugre their malice, who labour to
disparage and suppress these helps to devotion) they
shall, I trust, have free scope to work that effect
which is desired ; and to which end I was encouraged
to translate and compose them. For, how meanly
soever some men may think of this endeavour, I
trust the success shall make it appear, that the

DEDICATION.

xlv

Spirit of God was the first mover of the work :
wherein, as I have endeavoured to make my ex
pressions such as may not be contemptible to men of
best understandings ; so I have also laboured to suit
them to the nature of the subject, and the common
people's capacities, without regard of catching the vain
blasts of opinion. The same also hath been the aim
of Master Orlando Gibbons (your Majesty's servant,
and one of the Gentlemen of your honourable Chapel)
in fitting them with tunes: for he hath chosen to
make his music agreeable to the matter, and what
the common apprehension can best admit, rather
than to the curious fancies of the time ; which path
both of us could more easily have trodden. Not
caring, therefore, what any of those shah1 censure,
who are more apt to control than to consider, I com
mit this to God's blessing, and your favourable pro
tection ; humbly beseeching your Majesty to accept
of these our endeavours, and praying God to sanctify
both us and this work to his glory: wishing, also,
most unfeignedly, everlasting consolations to your
Majesty, for those temporal comforts you have vouch
safed me, and that felicity here, which may advance
your happiness in the life to come. Amen.

Your Majesty's

Most loyal Subject,

GEOBGE WITHER.

A TABLE OF

THE HYMNS AND SONGS CONTAINED

BOTH IN THE FIRST AND SECOND

PART OF THIS BOOK;

The first Number declaring the Song, the second the Page.

Hymns found in the Books of Moses, and in the other Books
of Holy Scripture, called Hagiographa.

Song Page

1. The first Song of Moses 2

2. The second Song of Moses ....... 6

3. The Song of Deborah, &c 14

4. The Song of Hannah 23

5. The Lamentation of David 26

6. David's Thanksgiving 29

7. Nehemiah's Prayer 32

8. The Song of Lemuel 36

The Song of Solomon , divided into ten Canticles.

9. The first Canticle 41

10. The second Canticle 44

11. The third Canticle 47

12. The fourth Canticle 51

xlviii CONTENTS.

Song Page

13. The fifth Canticle 53

14. The sixth Canticle 58

15. The seventh Canticle 61

16. The eighth Canticle 65

17. The ninth Canticle 68

18. The tenth Canticle . 73

The Hymns found in the Books of the Prophets, with
the Lamentations of Jeremiah.

19. The first Song of Esai 77

20. The second Song of Esai 80

21. The third Song of Esai 82

22. The Prayer of Hezekiah 88

23. Hezekiah's Thanksgiving 90

24. The first Lamentation of Jeremiah 94

25. The second Lamentation 102

26. The third Lamentation 109

27. The fourth Lamentation 117

28. The fifth Lamentation 122

29. The Prayer of Daniel 125

30. The Prayer of Jonah 130

31. The Prayer of Habakuk 133

The Hymns of the New Testament.

32. The Song of our Lady, or Magnificat .... 140

33. The Song of Zachary, or Benedictus .... 142

34. The Song of Angels 144

35. The Song of Simeon 146

36. The Song of the Lamb 147

The rest that make up the first part are these.

37. The Ten Commandments 149

38. The Lord's Prayer 152

39. The Apostles Creed 153

CONTENTS. xlix

Song Page

40. A Funeral Song 155

41. The Song of the Three Children 157

42. The Song of St. Ambrose 160

43. The Creed of Athanasius 163

44. Come, Holy Ghost, or Veni Creator .... 168

THE SECOND PART OF THE HYMNS
AND SONGS OF THE CHURCH.

Spiritual Songs, appropriated to those times, in which are com
memorated the principal Mysteries of Christian Rei'gion.

45. The Song for Advent 175

46. For Christmas . 178

47. Another for Christmas 179

48. For the Circumcision 181

49. For Twelfth Day 184

50. For the Purification 186

51. The First Day of Lent 189

52. The Annunciation 191

53. Palm Sunday 193

54. Thursday before Easter 195

55. Good Friday 198

56. Easter Day 203

57. Ascension Day 206

58. Whit Sunday 208

59. Trinity Sunday ....<< 212

60. Sunday 216

Spiritual Songs appropriated to the Saints Days, most
observable throughout the year.

61. For St. Andrew's Day 218

62. For St. Thomas's Day 220

d

1 CONTENTS.

Song Page

63. St. Stephen's Day 222

64. St. John the Evangelist 224

65. Innocents' Day 226

66. The Conversion of St. Paul 228

67. St. Matthias's Day 230

68. St. Mark's Day 231

69. St. Philip and Jacob's Day ....... 233

70. St. Barnabas's Day 235

71. St. John Baptist's Day 237

72. St. Peter's Day 240

73. St. James's Day 242

74. St. Bartholomew's Day 244

75. St. Matthew's Day , . , . 246

76. St. Michael's Day , . 249

77. St. Luke's Day 251

78. St. Simon and Jude's Day 253

79. All Saints' Day 255

Spiritual Songs fated for other Solemnities, and to
praise God for public Benefits.

80. For Kogation Week 261

81. St. George's Day 266

82. For Public Deliverances 268

83. For the Communion 271

84. For Ember Weeks 282

85. For seasonable Weather 285

86. For Plenty 287

87. For Peace 289

88. For Victory 291

89. For Deliverance from Public Sickness ... 293

90. For the King 295

The Author's Hymn 298

To the Eeader . 304

The Tunes , 305

THE FIRST PART OF THE

HYMNS AND SONGS OF
THE CHURCH.

CONTAINING THOSE WHICH ARE TRANSLATED OUT

OF THE CANONICAL SCRIPTURE,

TOGETHER WITH SUCH OTHER HYMNS AND CREEDS,

AS HAVE -ANCIENTLY BEEN SUNG IN

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

THE PEEFACE.

false is their supposition,
who conceive that the Hymns, Songs,
and Elegies of the Old Testament are
impertinent to these later ages of the
Church ; for, neither the actions nor writings of the
ancient Israelites, which are recorded by the Holy
Spirit, were permitted to be done or written for
their own sakes, so much as that they might be
profitable to warn and instruct us of the latter times,
according to St. Paul, 1 Cor. x. And, indeed, so
much is not only testified by that Apostle, in the

lii PREFACE.

place afore recited, and throughout the Epistle to
the Hebrews, hut the very names of those Persons
and Places, mentioned in these Hymns and Songs,
do manifest it, and far better express the nature of
that which they mystically point out, than of what
they are literally applied unto ; as those who will
look into their proper significations shall apparently
discover. That, therefore, these parcels of Holy
Scripture (which are for the most part metre in their
original tongue) may be the better remembered, to
the glory of God ; and the oftener repeated, to those
ends for which they were written ; they are here
disposed into lyric verse, and do make the First Part
of this BOOK ; which BOOK is called The Hymns and
Songs of the Church ; not for that I would have it
thought part of the Church's Liturgy, but because
they are made in the person of all the faithful, and
do (for the most part) treat of those things which
concern the whole Catholic Church.

THE FIKST SONG OF MOSES.

EXOD. xv.

I HIS Song was composed and sung to
praise the Lord for the Israelites'
miraculous passage through the Red
Sea, and for their delivery from those
Egyptians who were there drowned. It may (and
should also) be sung in the Christian congregations,
or by their particular members, both with respect to
the historical and mystical senses thereof : Histori
cally, in commemoration of that particular deliver
ance, which God had so long ago and so wondrously
vouchsafed to his persecuted and afflicted church:
Mystically, in acknowledgement of our own powerful
deliverance from the bondage of those spiritual ad
versaries, whereof those were the types : for Pharaoh
(signifying Vengeance) typified our great enemy,
who, with his host of temptations, afflictions, <fec.
pursueth us in our passage to the spiritual Canaan.

2 HYMNS AND SONGS

The Eed Sea represented our baptism, 1 Cor. x. 2.
By the Dukes and Princes of Edom (mentioned in
this Song) are prefigured those Powers and Friends
of the kingdom of darkness, which are, or shall be,
molested at the news of our regeneration : and there
fore this Hymn may very properly be used after the
administration of baptism.

THE FIKST SONG.

1.

NOW shall the praises of the Lord be sung ;
For he a most renowned Triumph won :
Both horse and man into the sea he flung ;
And them together there hath overthrown.
The Lord is he whose strength doth make me strong,
And he is my salvation and my song ;
My God, for whom I will a house prepare,
My father's God, whose praise I will declare.

2.

Well knows the Lord to war what doth pertain,
The Lord Almighty is his glorious name :
He Pharaoh's chariots, and his armed train,
Amid the sea o'erwhelming, overcame :
Those of his army that were most renown'd,
He hath together in the Eed Sea drown'd ;

OF THE CHURCH.

The deeps a covering over them were thrown,
And to the bottom sunk they like a stone.

3.

Lord, by thy power thy right hand famous grows ;
Thy right hand, Lord, thy foe destroyed hath ;
Thy glory thy opposers overthrows,
And stubble-like consumes them in thy wrath.
A blast but from thy nostrils forth did go,
And up together did the waters flow :
Yea, rolled up on heaps, the liquid flood
Amid the sea, as if congealed, stood.

4.

I will pursue them (their pursuer cried),
I will o'ertake them, and the spoil enjoy :
My lust upon them shall be satisfied :
With sword unsheath'd my hand shall them destroy.
Then from thy breath a gale of wind was sent ;
The billows of the sea quite o'er them went :
And they the mighty waters sunk into,
E'en as a weighty piece of lead will do.

5.

Lord, who like thee among the Gods is there !
In holiness so glorious who may be !
Whose praises so exceeding dreadful are !
In doing wonders, who can equal thee !

4 HYMNS AND SONGS

Thy glorious right hand thou on high didst rear,
And in the earth they quickly swallowed were.
But thou in mercy onward hast conveyed
Thy people, whose redemption thou hast paid.

6.

Them by thy strength thou hast been pleas'd to bear
Unto a holy dwelling-place of thine :
The nations at report thereof shall fear,
And grieve shall they that dwell in Palestine.
On Edom's princes shall amazement fall ;
The mighty men of Moab tremble shall ;
And such as in the land of Canaan dwell,
Shall pine away, of this when they hear tell.

7.

They shall be seized with a horrid fear.
Stone-quiet thy right hand shall make them be,
Till passed over, Lord, thy people are ;
Till those pass over, that were bought by thee.
For thou shalt make them to thy hill repair,
And plant them there (O Lord) where thou art heir ;
E'en there, where thou thy dwelling hast prepar'd,
That holy place, which thine own hands have rear'd.

8.

The Lord shall ever and for ever reign,
His sovereignty shall never have an end ;

OF THE CHURCH.

For when as Pharaoh did into the main,
With chariots and with horsemen, down descend,
The Lord did back again the sea recall,
And with those waters overwhelm'd them all.
But through the very inmost of the same
The seed of Israel safe and dry-shod came.

THE SECOND SONG OF MOSES.

DEUT. xxxii.

IHS Song was given hy God himself, to
he taught the Jews, that it might remain
as a witness against them when they
should forget his benefits. For it ap
pears the Divine "Wisdom knew that when the Law
would be lost or forgotten, a Song might be remem
bered to posterity. In this Hymn (heaven and earth
being called to witness) the Prophet makes first a
narration of the Jews' perverseness, and then deliver-
eth prophetically three principal things, wherein
divers other particulars are considerable. The first
is a prediction of the Jews' idolatry, with the punish
ments of it. The second is their hatred to Christ,
with their abjection. And the last is of the calling
of the Gentiles. We, therefore, that have by faith

6 HYMNS AND SONGS

and experience seen the success of what is herein
foretold, ought to sing it often, in remembrance of
God's Justice and mercy. And (seeing we are all
apt enough to become forgetful of our Redeemer's
favour as they) we should, by the repetition hereof,
seek to stir up our considerations, that (as St. Paul
counselleth) we might the better meditate the good
ness and severity of God, &c. for if he hath not spared
the natural branches, let us take heed, as the same
Apostle adviseth, Bom. xi. 24.

SONG II.

Sing this as the First Song.
1.

TO what I speak, an ear, ye heavens, lend,
And hear, thou earth, what words I utter will
Like drops of rain my speeches shall descend,
And as the dew my doctrine shall distil,
Like to the smaller rain on tender flowers,
And as upon the grass the greater showers ;
For I the Lord's great name will publish now,
That so our God may praised be of you.

2.

He is that Rock, whose works perfection are ;
For all his ways with judgment guided be :

OF THE CHURCH. 1

A God of truth, from all wrong-doing clear,
A truly just and righteous one is he.
Though they themselves defil'd, unlike his sons,
And are a crooked race of fro ward ones.
Oh mad and foolish nation ! why dost thou
Thyself unto the Lord so thankless show ?

3.

Thy Father and Kedeemer, is not he ?

Hath he not made, and now confirm'd thee fast ?

Oh call to mind the days that older be,

And weigh the years of many ages past !

For if thy father, he will tell,

Thy elders also can inform thee well,

How he (the High'st) did Adam's sons divide,

And shares for every family did provide.

4.

And how the nation's bounds he did prepare,

In number with the sons of Israel.

For in his people had the Lord his share,

And Jacob for his part allotted fell :

Whom finding in a place possest of none,

(A desert vast, untilled, and unknown)

He taught them there ; he led them far and nigh ;

And kept them as the apple of his eye.

8 HYMNS AND SONGS

5.

E'en as an eagle, to provoke her young,
About her nest doth hover here and there,
Spread forth her wings to train her hirds along,
And sometimes on her hack her younglings hear :
Right so the Lord conducted them alone,
When for his aid strange God with him was none.
Then on the high lands of the earth he set,
Where they the plenties of the field might eat.

6.

For them he made the rock with honey flow,
He drained oil from stones, and them did feed
With milk of sheep, with hutter of the cow,
With goats, fat lambs, and rams of Bashan breed.
The finest of the wheat he made their food,
And of the grape they drank the purest blood :
But, herewithal, unthankful Israel
So fat became, he kicked with his heel.

7.

Grown fat, and with their grossness covered o'er,
Their God, their Maker, they did soon forsake :
Their Rock of health regarded was no more,
But with strange Gods him jealous they did make.
To move his wrath they hateful things devis'd ;
To devils in his stead they sacrific'd ;

OF THE CHURCH. J

To Gods unknown, that new invented were,
And such as their forefathers did not fear.

8.

They minded not the Rock who them begat,
But quite forgot the God that form'd them hath ;
Which when the Lord perceiv'd, it made him hate
His sons and daughters, moving him to wrath.
To mark their end, said he, I'll hide my face,
For they are faithless sons of froward race ;
My wrath, with what is not a God, they move,
And my displeasure with their follies prove.

9.

And I, by those that are no people, yet
Their wrathful jealousy will move for this ;
And by a foolish nation make them fret ;
For, in my wrath, a fire inflamed is,
And down to hell the earth consume it shall,
E'en to the mountains' bottoms, fruit and all.
In heaps upon them mischiefs will I throw,
And shoot mine arrows till I have no mo'.*

10.

With hunger parched, and consum'd with heat,
I will enforce them to a bitter end ;

* More.

10 HYMNS AND SONGS

The teeth of beasts upon them will I set,
And will the poisonous dust-fed serpent send.
The sword without, and fear within, shall slay ;
Maids, young men, babes, and him whose hair is gray.
Yea, I had vowed to spread them here, and there ;
Men might forget that such a people were.

11.

But this the foe compell'd me to delay,
Lest that their adversaries (prouder grown)
Should (when they heard it) thus presume to say,
This, not the Lord, but our high hand hath done.
For in this people no discretion is ;
Nor can their dulness reach to judge of this.
O had they wisdom this to comprehend,
That so they might bethink them of their end.

12.

How should one make a thousand run away,
Or two men put ten thousand to the foil,*
Except their Eock had sold them for a prey,
And that the Lord had clos'd them up the while ;
For though our foes themselves the judges were,
Their God they cannot with our God compare :
But they have vines like those that Sodom yields,
And such as are within Gomorrha fields.

* Flight.

OF THE CIIURCH. 11

13.

They bear the grapes of gall upon their vine ;
Extremely bitter are their clusters all ;
Yea, made of dragon's venom is their wine,
And of the cniel asp's infectious gall.
And can this (ever) be forgot of me ?
Or not be sealed where my treasures be ?
Sure, mine is vengeance ; and I will repay ;
Their feet shall slide at their appointed day.

14.

Their time of ruin near at hand is come ;
Those things that shall befall them haste will make ;
For then the Lord shall give his people doom,
And on his servants kind compassion take,
When he perceives their strength bereft and gone,
And that in prison they are left alone.
Where are their gods become ? he then shall say ;
Their rock, on whom affiance they did lay ?

15.

Who ate the fattest of their sacrifice ?
Who of their drink-oblations drank the wine ?
Let those unto their succour now arise,
And under their protection them enshrine.
Behold, consider now that I am He,
And that there is no other God with me.

12 HYMNS AND SONGS

I kill, and make alive ; I wound, I cure ;
And there is none can from my hand assure.

16.

For up to heav'n on high my hand I rear,
And (as I live for ever) this I say,
When I my shining sword to whet prepare,
And shah* my hand to acting vengeance lay,
I will not cease till I my foes requite,
And am aveng'd on all that bear me spite :
But in their blood, which I shall make to flow,
Will steep mine arrows, till they drunken grow.

17.

My sword shall eat the flesh and blood of those,
Who shall be either slain or brought in thrall,
When I begin this vengeance on my foes.
Sing, therefore, with his people, nations all !
For he his servants' blood with blood will pay,
And due avengement on his foes will lay.
But to his land compassion he will show,
And on his people mercy shall bestow.

OF TUB CHURCH. 13

THE SONG OF DEBOKAH AND BAKAK.
JUDGES v.

*\ HIS Hymn was composed to glorify God
for the great overthrow given to Sisera,
who coming armed with many hundred
chariots of iron against the poor oppres
sed Israelites (when they had not a sword or spear
among forty thousand of them) was nevertheless
miraculously discomfited; to shew the unbelieving
people that the Lord only is the God of battles, and
that he is both able, and doth often, deliver his
Church without the ordinary means. By the re
petition hereof we praise God, in commemorating
one of the great deliverances heretofore vouch
safed to his Church. And in these times of fear
and wavering, we may also, by this memorable ex
ample of God's providence, strengthen our faith,
which is many times weakened by the outward
power, prosperity, or vain boastings of the Church's
adversaries, who shall (doubtless) be at last shame
fully ruined (according to the prophetical impreca
tion concluding this Song), notwithstanding their
many likelihoods of prevailing. Yea, then perhaps
shall that destruction come on them, to God's greater
glory, when our estate seems to be most desperate.

14 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG III.

1.

SING praises, Israel, to the Lord,
That thee avenged so,
When to the fight with free accord,
The people forth did go.

You Kings, give ear,
You Princes, hear,
While to the Lord I raise
My voice aloud,
And sing to God,
The Lord of Israel, praise.

2.

When thou departedst, Lord, from Seir,
When thou left'st Edom field,
Earth shook, the heavens dropped there,
The clouds did water yield.

Lord, at thy sight,

A trembling fright,
Upon the mountains fell :

E'en at thy look

Mount Sinai shook,
Lord God of Israel.

OF THE CHURCH. 15

3.

Not long ago, in Shamghar's days,
Old Anath's valiant son ;
And late in Jael's time, the ways
Frequented were of none :

The passengers

Were wanderers
In crooked paths unknown ;

And none durst dwell

Through Israel,
But in a walled town.

4.

Until I, Dehorah, arose
(Who rose a mother there)
In Israel, when new Gods they chose,
That filPd their gates with war ;
And they had there
Nor shield nor spear
In their possession then,
To arm for fight
One Israelite
'Mong forty thousand men.

5.

To those that Israel's Captains are
My heart doth much incline ;

16 HYMNS AND SONGS

To those, I mean, that willing were ;
O Lord ! the praise be thine.
Sing ye for this,
Whose use it is
To ride on asses gray,
All ye that yet
In Middin set,
Or travel by the way.

6.

The place where they their waters drew,
From archers now is clear ;
The Lord's uprightness they shall shew,
And his just dealing there.
The hamlets all
Through Israel shall
His righteousness record ;
And down unto
The gates shall go
The people of the Lord.

7.

Arise, O Deborah, arise,
Rise, rise, and sing a song ;
Abinoam's son, O Barak, rise ;
Thy captives haste along :

Their princes all

By him made thrall,

OF THE CHURCH. 17

To the survivor be,

To triumph on

The Mighty One,
The Lord vouchsafed me.

8.

A root, from out of Ephraim
'Gainst Amalek arose,
And (of the people) next to him
The Benjamites were those.
From Machir (where
Good leaders are)
Came well experienc'd men :
And they came down,
From Zabulon,
That handle well the pen.

9.

Along with Deborah did go
The Lords of Isachar ;
With Isachar, e'en Barak too,
Was one among them there.
He forth was sent,
And marching went
On foot the lower way.
For Reuben (where
Divisions were)
Eight thoughtful hearts had they.

18 HYMNS AND SONGS

10.

The bleating of the flocks to hear,
O wherefore didst thou stay ?
For Keuben (where divisions were)
Eight thoughtful hearts had they.
But why did they
Of Gilead stay
On Jordan's other side ?
And wherefore then
Did'st thou, O Dan,
Within thy tents abide ?

11.

Among his harbours, lurking by
The sea-side, Asher lay ;
But Zabulon and Nephthali
Kept not themselves away.
They people are,
Who fearless dare
Their lives to death expose ;
And did not yield
The hilly field,
Though Kings did them oppose.

12.

With them the Canaanitish kings
At Tana'ch fought that day,

OF THE CHURCH. 19

Close by Megiddo's water-springs,
Yet bore no prize away.
For, lo ! the stars
Fought in their spheres ;
'Gainst Sisera fought they.
And some (by force)
The water-course
Of Kishon swept away.

13.

E'en Kishon river, which was long
A famous torrent known.
Oh, thou, my soul ! oh, thou, the strong
Hast bravely trodden down.

Their horse (whose pace
So lofty was)

Their hoofs with prancing wound ;
Those of the strong,
That kick'd and flung,
And fiercely beat the ground.

14.

A heavy curse on Meroz lay ;
Curst be her dwellers all.
The Angel of the Lord did say,
That city curse you shall.

And, therefore, this

Accursing is :

20 HYMNS AND SONGS

They came not to the fight,
To help the Lord
(To help the Lord)

Against the men of might.

15.

But, blest he Jael, Heher's spouse,
The Kenite ; blest be she,
More than all women are, of those
That use in tents to be.
To him did she
Give milk, when he
Did water only wish ;
And butter set,
For him to eat,
Upon a lordly dish.

16.

She in her left hand took a nail,
And rais'd up in the right
A workman's hammer, wherewithal
She Sisera did smite ;

His head she took,
When she had struck
His pierced temples through ;
He fell withal,
And in the fall
He at her feet did bow.

OF THE CHURCH.

21

17.

He at her feet did bow his head,
Fell down, and life forsook.
Meanwhile his longing mother did
From out her window look ;

Thus crying at

The latticed grate,
' Why stays his chariot so,

From hasting home ?

Oh ! wherefore come
His chariot wheels so slow?*

18.

As thus she spake, her ladies wise
To her an answer gave ;
Yea, to herself, herself replies ;
' Sure, sped (saith she) they have :
And all this while
They part the spoil ;
A damsel, one or tway,*
Each homeward bears,
And Sisera shares
A party-coloured prey.

19.

Of needle-work, both sides of it
In divers colours are :

* Two.

22 HYMNS AND SONGS

E'en such as doth his neck befit,
That useth spoils to wear. '
So, Lord, still so
Thy foes o'erthrow ;
But who in thee delight,
Oh let them be
Sun-like, when he
Ascendeth in his might.

THE SONG OF HANNAH.

ISAM.ii. 1.

the wife of Elkanah, being
barren (and therefore upbraided and
vexed by Peninnah, her husband's
other wife), prayed unto the Lord for a
Son ; and having obtained him, glorified God in this
Song, for delivering her from the contempt of her
adversary. By Hannah (which signifieth Grace,
or Gracious) was the Church of Christ represented :
and by Peninnah (signifying Despised, or Forsaken)
was figured the Jewish Synagogue : this Song,
therefore, is to be understood as a mystical prophecy
of that abjection of the Jews, and calling of the
Gentiles, which was fulfilled upon the birth of Jesus

OF THE CHURCH. 23

Christ, our true Samuel ; at whose conception the
hlessed Virgin Mary, in her Magnificat, acknow
ledged the verifying of many particulars foretold in
this Song; even almost in the same words. In
memorial, therefore, of these mysteries, we ought to
sing this Hymn, to comfort us, also, against the pride
and arrogancy of those who, by reason of their mul
titudes, shall scorn and upbraid the true Church, as
mother only of a few and obscure children. And
we may use it likewise to praise God for that fruit-
fulness which he hath given to our Holy Mother,
who hath lately had many children advanced to be
Kings, and to sit on the most eminent thrones of
glory in the earth, according to this prophetical Song.

N

SONG IV.
1.

O W in the Lord my heart doth pleasure take ;

My horn is in the Lord advanced high :
And to my foes an answer I will make,
Because in his salvation joy'd am I.
Like him there is not any Holy One ;
And other Lord beside him there is none.

2.

Nor like our God another God is there ;
So proudly vaunt not, then, as heretofore ;

24 HYMNS AND SONGS

But let jour tongues from henceforth now forbear
All vain presuming words for evermore.
For why ? the Lord is God, who all things knows,
And doth each purpose to his end dispose.

3.

Now broken is their bow that once were stout ;
And girt with vigour they that stumbled are.
The full themselves for bread have hired out,
Which now they need not do, that hungry were.
The barren womb doth seven children own,
And she that once had many, weak is grown.

4.

The Lord doth slay ; and he revives the slain ;
He to the grave doth bring, and back he bears.
The Lord makes poor, and rich he makes again :
He throweth down, and up on high he rears.
He from the dust and from the dunghill brings
The beggar and the poor, to sit with Kings.

5.

He rears them to inherit glory's throne ;

For why ? the Lord's the earth's upholders are :

The world hath he erected thereupon ;

He to the footing of his saints hath care ;

But dumb in darkness sinners shah1 remain,

For in their strength shall men be strong in vain.

OF THE CHUECH. 25

6.

The Lord will to destruction bring them all,
(E'en every one) that shall with him contend.
From out of heav'n he thunder on them shall,
And judge the world unto the farthest end.
With strength and power his king he will supply,
And raise the horn of his Anointed high.

THE LAMENTATION OF DAVID OVEE
SAUL AND JONATHAN HIS SON.

2 SAM. i. 17.

iN this funeral Elegy David hewaileth
the death of Saul and Jonathan ; from
whence these observations may be col
lected. First, that the slaughter of a
valiant Prince is an outward blemish, and just cause
of sorrow in the State. Secondly, that the insulting
of an adversary is not the least affliction. Thirdly,
that the mountains of Gilboa are accursed to this
day; for by Gilboa (which is interpreted slippery
or inconstant) is mystically understood that irreso
lution or despair, by which men fall into the power
of their spiritual adversary. Fourthly, we hence
may learn to commemorate those things which are

26 HYMNS AND SONGS

•

praise- worthy, even in our enemy. Lastly, it
sheweth us that wise and good men may tender one
friend more affectionately than another ; and that if
it misbeseems them not to bewail their death. This
is to be sung historically for our instruction in the
particulars beforementioned ; and may be observed
as a pattern for our funeral poems.

SONG V.

1.

THY beauty, Israel, is gone ;
Slain in the places high is he ;
The mighty now are overthrown ;
O thus how cometh it to be !
Let not this news their streets throughout,
In Gath or Askalon, be told ;
For fear Philistia's daughters flout,*
Lest vaunt the uncircumcised should.

2.

On you, hereafter, let no dew,
You mountains of Gilboa, fall :
Let there be neither showers on you,
Nor fields that breed an offering shall.

* Rejoice.

OF THE CHURCH. 27

•

For there with shame away was thrown
The target of the strong (alas),
The shield of Saul, e'en as of one,
That ne'er with oil anointed was.

3.

Nor from their blood that slaughter'd lay,
Nor from the fat of strong men slain,
Came Jonathan his bow away,
Nor drew forth Saul his sword in vain.
In lifetime they were lovely fair,
In death they undivided are.
More swift than eagles of the air,
And stronger they than lions were.

4.

Weep, Israel's daughters, weep for Saul,
Who you with scarlet hath array'd ;
Who clothed you with pleasures all,
And on your garments gold hath laid.
How comes it he, that mighty was,
The foil in battle doth sustain !
Thou, Jonathan, oh thou (alas)
Upon thy places high wert slain !

5.

And much distressed is my heart,
My brother Jonathan, for thee ;

28 HYMNS AND SONGS

My very dear delight thou wert,
And wondrous was thy love to me :
So wondrous, it surpassed far
The love of women (every way).
Oh, how the mighty fallen are !
How warlike instruments decay !

DAVID'S THANKSGIVING.

1 CHEON. xxix. 10.

ING David having, by persuasions and
his own liberal example, stirred up
the people to a bountiful benevolence
toward the building of God's House,
praised him for that wilhng and cheerful free-offer
ing. And in this thanksgiving we observe this me
thod: First, he acknowledgeth God's Blessedness,
Greatness, Power, Glory, Victory, Majesty, Bounty,
with the like ; and confesseth in general that Honour
and Eiches, Strength, with all other good things,
are at the Almighty's disposing. Secondly, he
therefore praiseth the Lord, and acknowledgeth also,
that his and the people's willingness to give, came
not of themselves, but was God's own proper gift (as
well as that which they had given). Lastly, he
prayeth for the continuance of God's blessing, both

OF THE CHURCH. 29

upon their purposes and endeavours ; and that their
benevolence may he disposed to that end for which
it was given. This Song may he very properly
used, whensoever among us there hath been any
free and liberal contributions to good and pious ends.
And to fit the same the better to such purposes, the
persons and some few circumstances are a little
changed in this translation.

SONG VI.
Sing this as the Fifth Song.

1.
H, Lord, our everlasting God !

Bliss, Greatness, Power, and Praise is thine
With thee have conquests their abode,
And glorious Majesty divine.
All things that earth and heaven afford,
Thou at thine own disposing hast.
To thee belongs the kingdom, Lord,
And thou for head o'er all art plac'd.

O

2.

Thou wealth and honour dost command ;
To thee made subject all things be :
Both strength and power are in thine hand,
To be dispos'd as pleaseth thee.

30 HYMNS AND SONGS

And now to thee, our God, therefore,
A Song of Thankfulness we frame ;
(That what we owe we may restore,)
And glorify thy glorious Name.

3.

But what, or who, are we (alas)
That we in giving are so free !
Thine own before, our offering was,
And all we have we have from thee.
For we are guests and strangers here,
As were our fathers in thy sight ;
Our days hut shadow-like appear,
And suddenly they take their flight.

4.

This offering, Lord our God, which thus
We for thy namesake have bestown,
Derived was from thee to us ;
And that we give is all thine own.
Oh God ! thou prov'st the heart, we know,
And dost affect uprightness there ;
With gladness, therefore, we bestow
What we have freely offered here.

5.

Still thou (O Lord our God) incline
Their meaning, who the people be ;

OF THE CHURCH. 31

And ever let the hearts of thine
Be thus prepared unto thee.
Yea, give us perfect hearts, we pray,
That we thy precepts err not from,
And grant, our contribution may
An honour to thy name become !

THE PRAYER OF NEHEMIAH.

NEHEM. i. 5.

JEREMIAH, determining (as the story
sheweth) to move Artaxerxes for the
repairs of the City and the House of
the Lord, first made this Prayer,
wherein, having acknowledged the Majesty, Justice,
and Mercy of God, he confesseth the heinousness of
his and his people's sins ; desireth forgiveness ; en-
treateth for the people's deliverance from captivity ;
and requesteth he may find favour in the sight of
the King his master. Now we who by regenera
tion are the sons of Israel (and such as in a spiritual
sense, may be said also to be dispersed among the
heathen, as often as we are carried captive by the
heathenish concupiscences and vanities of the world)
even we may, in a literal sense, make use of this
excellent form of confession, before our several pe-

32 HYMNS AND SONGS

titions. And doubtless a faithful using of these, the
Holy Ghost's own words (with remembrance of the
happy success they heretofore had) will much
strengthen and increase the hope, confidence, and
comfort of him that prayeth ; who, changing the
two last lines only, may appropriate it to any neces
sity. For example, if it be to be sung before labour,
conclude it thus, " and be thou pleased, O Lord, to
bless our labours with a good success." If before
a journey, thus, " And, Lord, all dangers keep us
from, — Both going forth and coming home." If
before a battle, thus, " And be thou pleased, in the
fight, — To make us victors by thy might." If in
the tune of famine, thus, " And, Lord, vouchsafe
thou, in this need, — Our souls and bodies both to
feed." If before a sermon, <fcc. thus, " And grant
that we, Lord, in thy fear, — May to our profit speak
and hear." And the like, as occasion requires.

SONG VII.
Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.

OED God of Heav'n ! who only art
The Mighty God, and full of fear ;
Who never promise-breaker wert,
But ever shewing mercy there,

OF THE CHURCH. 33

Where men affection bear to thee,
And of thy laws observers be.

2.

Give ear, and ope thine eyes, I pray,
That heard thy servant's suit may be ;
Made in thy presence night and day,
For Israel's seed, that serveth thee,
For Israel's seed, who (I confess)
Against thee grievously transgress.

3.

I and my father's house did sin ;
Corrupted all our actions be ;
And disrespective we have been
Of statutes, judgements, and decree :
Of these, which to retain so fast,
Thy servant Moses charg'd thou hast.

4.

0 yet remember thou, I pray,

These words, which thou didst heretofore

Unto thy servant Moses say.

If e'er (saidst thou) they vex me more,

1 will disperse them every where,
Among the nations here and there.

D

34 HYMNS AND SONGS

5.

But if to me they shall convert,
To do those things my law contain,
Though spread to heav'n's extremest part,
I would collect them thence again,
And hring them there to make repose,
Where I to place my name have chose.

Now these thy people are (of right)
Thy servants who to thee belong,
Whom thou hast purchas'd by thy might,
And by thine arm exceeding strong ;
Oh ! let thine ear, Lord, I thee pray,
Attentive be to what I say.

7.

The prayer of thy servant hear,
Oh, hear thy servants when they pray,
(Who willing are thy name to fear)
Thy servant prosper thou to day ;
And be thou pleas'd to grant that he
May favour'd in thy presence be !

OF THE CHURCH. 35

THE SONG OF KING LEMUEL.

PBOV. xxxi. 10.

i HIS Song is alphabetical in the original.
It contains an admirable description
of a good wife ; and these three things
are here principally considered; the
advantage her husband receiveth by her ; the com
mendable virtues she hath in herself; and the reward
that follows her. Her husband's advantages are
these : A quiet heart, free from jealousy or distrust
of her; a rich estate, without oppressing others ; and
place of honour in the commonwealth. Her virtues
are industry, providence, cheerfulness, courage, and
unweariedness in providing for and disposing of her
temporal affairs. Moreover, continual love to her
husband ; liberality to the poor ; government of her
tongue ; and needfulness to those courses her house
hold takes. Her reward is this ; her husband is con
fident in her ; she shall have comfort of her labours ;
her posterity shall bless her ; her husband shall
praise her above other women ; she shall be honoured
in life, and have joy at her death. — It is indeed an
excellent Marriage Song, fit to be used at the solemn
izing of those rites ; for it ministereth instruction

W

36 HYMNS AND SONGS

becoming that occasion : yea, perhaps the music of
it would stir up good affections also (where unpleasing
discords are now heard) if it were often sung in
private families.

SONG VIII.

Sing this as the Sixth Song.

1.
HO finds a woman good and wise,

A gem more worth than pearls hath got ;
Her husband's heart on her relies ;
To live by spoil he needeth not.
His comfort all his life is she ;
No wrong she willingly will do ;
For wool and flax her searches be,
And cheerful hands she puts thereto.

2.

The merchant ship resembling right,
Her food she from afar doth fet,*
Ere day she wakes, that give she might
Her maids their task, her household meat.
A field she views, and that she buys ;
Her hand doth plant a vineyard there ;
Her loins with courage up she ties,
Her arms with vigour strengthened are.
* Bring.

OF THE CHURCH. 37

3.

If in her work she profit feel,
By night her candle goes not out :
She puts her finger to the wheel,
Her hand the spindle twirls about.
To such as poor and needy are
Her hand (yea, both hands) reacheth she.
The winter none of hers doth fear,
For double-cloth'd her household be.

4.

She mantles maketh, wrought by hand,
And silk and purple clothing gets.
Among the rulers of the land
(Known in the gate) her husband sits.
For sale fine linen weaveth she,
And girdles to the merchant sends.
Renown and strength her clothing be,
And joy her later time attends.

5.

She speaks discreetly when she talks ;
The law of grace her tongue hath learn'd ;
She heeds the way her household walks,
And feedeth not on bread unearned.
Her children rise, and blest her call :
Her husband thus applaudeth her,

38 HYMNS AND SONGS

Oh, thou hast far surpass'd them all,
Though many daughters thriving are I

6.

Deceitful favour quickly wears,
And beauty suddenly decays ;
But, if the Lord she truly fears,
That woman well deserveth praise,
The fruit her handywork obtains :
Without repining grant her that,
And yield her what her labour gains,
To do her honour in the gate.

THE SONG OF SONGS.

THE PREFACE.

UCH is the mercy of God, that he
taketh advantage even of our natural
affections, to beget in our souls an
apprehension of his love, and of the
mysteries which tend to our true happiness ; so fitting
his divine expressions to the several inclinations of
men, that means might be provided to win some of
all. For otherwhile he doth it by comparing the
same to the glories of a temporal kingdom, to win

OF THE CHURCH. 39

such as are most desirous of honours. Sometimes
he illustrates it by treasures, gold, and precious
stones, <fcc. the better to allure such as are tempted
with things of that nature. And divers other ways
also, as appears throughout the book of God. But
in this Song of Solomon (wherein is mystically ex
pressed the mutual aiFection betwixt Christ and his
Church, with the chief passages thereof throughout
all ages, from Abel to the last judgment, at which
time their blessed marriage shall be fully consum
mated), he doth most movingly impart unto us the
ravishing contentments of the divine love, by com
paring it to that delight which is conceived in the
strongest, the commonest, the most pleasing, the
most natural, and the most commendable of our af
fections. And doubtless it powerfully prevaileth to
the enflaming their spiritual love, who seek rightly
to understand and apply the mysteries and expres
sions herein contained. Let no man, therefore,
presume to sing, or repeat in a carnal sense, what is
here spiritually intended, upon pain of God's heavy
indignation. Nor let the wisdom of flesh and blood
vainly neglect God's favour, in offering this for the
comfort of such as will rightly apply the same : be
cause some atheists and sensual men shall perhaps
turn this grace of God into wantonness, to their own
condemnation.

40 HYMNS AND SONGS

THE FIKST CANTICLE.

this Canticle is first expressed that
longing which the whole Catholic
Church had for the embraces of her
Redeemer (from the time of Abel till
his first coming), with her acknowledgment of his
ravishing excellencies ; her desire to be drawn after
him ; and her confession of that joyful happiness
which will arise from his favours. Secondly, the
particular Church of the Gentiles is brought in, en
treating an undespised union with the Synagogue
of the Jews, both confessing and excusing her
blemishes. Thirdly, the whole Catholic Church is
again introduced, as desiring to be fed and guided
by her beloved Shepherd. Fourthly, her petition is
most graciously answered, and she directed to follow
the steps of the holy Patriarchs and Prophets.
Finally, Christ setteth forth the power and rich
graces of his Spouse, with what other ornaments he
will prepare for her. This Canticle we may sing to
the stirring up of our spiritual love; having first
seriously meditated these things, to wit, That desire
we ought to have in our souls to be joined to Christ ;
the excellency of his perfections ; the backwardness
of our human nature to entertain his love ; the de-

OF THE CHURCH. 41

formity and damage we sustain, till we be received
into the communion of saints; the readiness of
Christ to receive and direct us ; the pleasure he will
take in our love ; and the provision he will make
for the further beautifying of our souls.

SONG IX.
1.

COME, kiss me with those lips of thine ;
For better are thy loves than wine ;
And as the powered* ointments be,
Such is the savor of thy name.
And for the sweetness of the same,
The virgins are in love with thee.

2.

Begin but thou to draw me on,
And then we after thee will run ;

Oh, King, thy chambers bring me to ;
So we in thee delight shall find,
And more than wine thy love will find,

And love thee as the righteous do.

3.

And, daughters of Jerusalem,
VI pray you do not me contemn,
* Poured forth.

42 HYMNS AND SONGS

Because that black I now appear ;
For I as lovely am (I know)
As Kedar tents (appear in show)

Or Solomon his curtains are.

4.

Though Hack I am, regard it not ;
It is but sun-beam I have got,

Whereof my mother's sons were cause ;
Their vineyard keeper me they made,
(Through envy which to me they had)

So my own vine neglected was.

5.

Thou whom my soul doth best affect,
Unto thy pastures me direct,

Where thou at noon art stretch'd along ;
For why should I be straggling spied,
Like her that loves to turn aside,

Thy fellow shepherds' flocks among ?

Oh, fairest of all womankind !

(If him thou know not where to find)

Go where the paths of cattle are ;
Their tracks of footsteps stray not from,
Till to the shepherds' tents thou come,

And feed thy tender kidlings there.

OF THE CHURCH. 43

7.

My love thou art, of greater force
Than Pharaoh's troops of chariot horse ;

Thy cheeks and neck made lovely be,
With rows of stones, and many a chain,
And we gold borders will ordain,

Beset with silver studs for thee.

THE SECOND CANTICLE.

,HIS Song seemeth to set forth the mys
tery of Christ his Incarnation, where
by the Church's first petition (men
tioned in the former Canticle) is
accomplished. And herein these particulars appear
to be mystically expressed: — His birth and repose
between the two Testaments, with his sweet and
sanctifying operations. Secondly, the Church's ac
knowledgment of her Redeemer's beauty, inno-
cency, and delightfulness ; with how pleasant and
incorruptible an habitation is prepared for those
lovers; and what excellent privileges she hath by
his favour. Thirdly, Christ and his Church do (as
two lovers) interchangeably prefer one another be
fore all others, by way of comparison. Fourthly,

44 HYMNS AND SONGS

the spouse's spiritual love-sick passions are express
ed. And lastly (she having declared how she is
enclosed in his embraces), there is warning given that
their sweet union be not disturbed. — This Canticle
may properly be sung upon the feast of Christ's Na
tivity, or at any other time ; we having first pre
pared ourselves by a fruitful meditating the particu
lar mysteries of the Song.

SONG X.
Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.
HILE that the King was at repast,

W

My Spikenard his perfumings cast ;

And 'twixt my breasts repos'd my dear ;
My love, who is as sweet to me
As myrrh or camphor bundles be,

Which at En-gedi vineyards are.

2.

Lo, thou art fair ; lo thou, my love !
Art fair, and eyed like the dove !*

Thou fair and pleasant art, my dear ;
And lo, our bed with flowers is strowed,
* Hast eyes like those of the dove.

OF THE CHURCH, 45

Our house is beam'd with cedar wood,
And of the fir our rafters are.

3.

I am the Rose that Sharon yields,
The Eose and Lily of the fields,

And flower of all the dales helow ;
My love among the daughters shows,
As when a sweet and beauteous rose

Amid her bush of thorns doth grow.

4.

Among the sons, such is my dear,
As doth an apple-tree appear,

Within a shrubby forest plac't ;
I sat me down beneath his shade,
(Whereto a great desire I had)

And sweet his fruit was to my taste.

5.

Me to his banquet-house he bare,
E'en where his wine provisions are,

And there his love my banner was ;
With flagons me from fainting stay,
With apples comfort me, I pray,

For I am sick of love (alas) !

46 HYMNS AND SONGS

6.

My head with his left hand he stay'd,
His right hand over me he laid ;

And by the harts and roes (said he)
You, daughters of Jerusalem,
Stir not (for you I charge by them)

Nor wake my love, till pleas'd she be.

THE THIKD CANTICLE.

|Y contemplating this Canticle we may
be mystically informed of Christ's
calling his Church in the apostles, and
of her estate in the beginning of
Christianity, when he went from place to place (as
a hind over the mountains), to further the work of
our redemption, moving his disciples (and in them
his Church) to follow him, by shewing his divinity
a little and a little (as it were) through the grate
and from behind the wall of his humanity. More
over, the spring-like season of the Gospel, after the
cloudy and winter-like time under the law, is here
set forth. And then the Church, having petitioned
that the curtains of the ceremonial law might be so
drawn away, as that she may both hear and see her

OF THE CHURCH. 47

Beloved in his unveiled perfections ; she requesteth
also, that the sly enemies of his vineyard may be
destroyed. She rejoiceth likewise in their mutual
looks ; and prayeth him, that while the day of grace
lasteth, she may on all occasions enjoy his speedy
consolations. Lastly, the Church coufesseth how
hlindly she sought Christ during the night of the
law ; how diligently (and through what afflictions)
she searched after him; how at length she found
him ; where also, and with what affections, she en
tertained him ; and so concludes, as in the former
Canticle. It ought therefore to he sung with reve
rence, and consideration of the mysteries therein
contained.

SONG XL

Sing this as the Fifth Song.
1.

I HEAR my Love, and him I see
Come leaping by the mountains there ;
Lo, o'er the hillocks trippeth he,
And roe or stag-like doth appear.
Lo, from behind the wall he pries ;*
Now at the window-grate is he :
Now speaks my dear, and says, Arise,
My love, my fair, and come with me !
* Looks.

48 HYMNS AND SONGS

2.

Lo, winter's past, and come the spring,
The rain is gone, the weather's clear ;
The season wooes the hirds to sing,
And on the earth the flowers appear ;
The turtle croweth in our field,
Young figs the fig-tree down doth weigh,
The blossomed vines a savour yield ;
Bise, love, my fair, and come away.

3.

My Dove, that art obscured where
The rock's dark stairs do thee infold ;
Thy voice (thy sweet voice) let me hear,
And thee (that lovely sight) behold.
Those foxes' cubs, the vines that mar,
Go take us whilst the grapes be young.
My love's am I, and mine's my dear,
Who feeds the lily flowers among.

4.

While break of day, when shades depart,
Return, my well-beloved one,
E'en as a roe or lusty hart,
That doth on Bether mountains run.
For him that to my soul is dear,
Within my bed by night I sought ;

OF THE CHURCH. 49

I sought, but him I found not there ;
Thus therefore with myself I thought :

5.

I'll rise, and round the city wend ;*
Through lanes and open ways I'll go,
That I my soul's delight may find.
So there I sought and miss'd him too.
The city-watch me lighted on,
Them ask'd I for my soul's delight ;
And, somewhat past them being gone,
My soul's beloved found I straight.

6.

Whom there in my embrace I caught,
And him forsook I not, till he
Into my mother's house I brought,
Her chamber, who conceived me.
You daughters of Jerusalem,
Stir not (by field-bred harts and roes,
For you I do adjure by them)
Nor wake my love, till she dispose.

* Walk.

50 HYMNS AND SONGS

THE FOURTH CANTICLE.

the Boyal Prophet first singeth
Christ, his going forth to preach the
gospel, metaphorically expressing it
(and, as it were) by way of admira
tion, at the excellent name thereof. Next he men-
tioneth his couch (or resting-place), meaning either
the church, or else that bed of his humanity, which
the holy fathers and pastors of the church (as her
valiant champions), defended by the sword of God's
word against infidels, hereticks, and all the powers
and terrors of the kingdom of darkness. Then he
mystically describeth that palace, throne, or abiding
place of Christ, together with the glory of it, as well
in regard of the precious matter of each several part,
as in respect of the form and beauty of the whole
fabrick. And lastly, he exhorteth all the faithful
(under the name of the daughters of Sion) to con
template seriously the excellent glory of Christ, when
(by his incarnation) the Deity was espoused to the
humanity. In singing this, we are to meditate in
what security and glorious contentment we shall
enjoy the embraces of our Kedeemer; seeing his
bed and place for entertainment of the daughters of

OF THE CHURCH.

51

Jerusalem (that is, the souls of the faithful) is so
excellently built and furnished, as this allegory im-
plieth.

W

SONG XII.

Sing this as the Fifth Song.

1.

•HAT'S he, that from the desert, there,

Doth like those smoky pillars come,
Which from the incense and the myrrh,
And all the merchant spices fume ?
His bed (which, lo, is Solomon's)
Threescore stout men about it stand ;
They are of Israel's valiant ones,
And all of them with swords in hand.

2.

All those are men expert in fight,
And each man on his thigh doth wear
A sword, that terrors of the night
May be forbid from coming there.
King Solomon a goodly place,
With trees of Lebanon, did rear ;
Each pillar of it silver was,
And gold the bases of them were.

52 HYMNS AND SONGS

3.

With purple covered he the same,
And all the pavement (thoroughout)
Oh, Daughters of Jerusalem !
For you, with charity is wrought.
Come, Sion* Daughters, come away;
And crowned with his diadem,
King Solomon behold you may.
That crown his mother set on him,
When he a married man was made,
And at his heart contentment had.

THE FIFTH CANTICLE.

loveliness which is found in the
most beautiful body, endowed with the
riches of the mind, and adorned with
the goods of fortune (being of all ob
jects the most powerful over human affections), the
Holy Ghost, in this Song of Songs hath thereby
mystically expressed the Church's estate in her
several ages ; that so it might the better work into
our souls an apprehension both of those excellent
perfections Christ hath bestowed on his church, and
the better inform us also of that unspeakable affection
* The original reads, " Come Syon daughters."

OF THE CHURCH. 53

which he hareth unto her. And it seemeth (the
metaphors in this allegory being expounded), that
the state of the Church, in her several members, is
here described; with her lover's affection shewed
towards her, about the time of the gospel's entrance,
even when our blessed Saviour was abiding on the
earth. But the explanation of each several metaphor
will be too large for this place. Nor will every ca
pacity reach unto the particular application of them.
It may suffice, therefore, if such do (by an implicit
faith) sing these mysteries with a general application
of them to Christ and his Church, believing them
selves members of that spouse; and that Jesus
Christ is he, who in this Song professeth an entire
affection, not only to the whole mystical body of the
faithful, but even to every member of it in particular.

SONG XIII.

1.

OH, my Love ! how comely now,
And how beautiful art thou !
Thou of dove-like eyes a pair
Shining hast within thy hair,
And thy locks like kidlings be,
Which from Gilead Hill we see.

54 HYMNS AND SONGS

2.

Like those ewes thy teeth do show,
Which in rows from washing go,
When among them there is none
Twinless, nor a barren one.
And thy lips are of a red,
Like the rosy coloured thread.

3.

Speech becoming thee thou hast :
Underneath thy tresses plac'd,
Are thy temples (matchless fair)
Which, overshadowed with thy hair,
Like pomegranates do appear,
When they cut asunder are.

4.

To that fort thy neck's compared,
Which with bulwarks David rear'd,
Where a thousand shields are hung,
All the targets of the strong.
Breasts thou hast, like twinned roes,
Feeding where the lily grows.

5.

While day-break, and shades are gone,
To the mountains I will run ;

OF THE CHURCH. 55

To that hill, whence myrrh doth come,
And to that of Lebanon ;
Thou, my love, all beauty art,
Spotless fair in ev'ry part.

6.

Come, my spouse, from Lebanon,
Come with me from Lebanon.
From Amana turn thy sight,
Shenir's top, and Herman's height ;
From the dens of lions fell,*
And the hills where leopards dwell.

7.

Thou, my sister, thou art she,
Of my heart that robbeth me ;
Thou, my spouse, oh, thou art she,
Of my heart that robbeth me ;
With one of thine eyes aspect,
And with one lock of thy neck.

8.

Sister, and espoused peer,
Those, thy breasts, how fair they are !
Better be those dugs of thine,
Than the most delicious wine ;
* Fierce.

56 HYMNS AND SONGS

And thine ointments odours are
Sweeter than all spices far.

9.

Love, thy lips drop sweetness so,
As the combs of honey do ;
Thou hast underneath thy tongue
Honey mixt with milk among ;
And thy robes do scent as well
As the frankincense doth smell.

10.

Thou, my sister and espous'd,
Art a garden, fast enclos'd ;
Walled-spring, a fountain seal'd ;
And the plants thy orchard yield
Are of the pomegranate tree,
With those fruits that pleasant be.

11.

Camphor, there, with nard doth grow,
Nard commixM with crocus too ;
Calamus, and cinnamon,
With all trees, of Lebanon ;
Sweetest aloes, and myrrh,
And all spice that precious are.

OF THE. CHURCH. 57

12.

All the gardens ev'ry where
Take their first beginning there ;
There the precious fountain lies,
Whence all living waters rise ;
Even all those streams that come
Running down from Lebanon.

THE SIXTH CANTICLE.

this Canticle is mystically set forth
the death and passion of Jesus Christ ;
from whence all the sacraments and
spiritual graces bestowed on the Church
took their beginning. First, Christ desireth that,
by the blowing of those two contrary winds, the cha
ritable will of God, and the malicious will of his ad
versaries, the work of our redemption might be
wrought : to which purpose the Church also addeth
her request. Secondly, Christ sheweth, that he
hath accomplished his own* with the Church's desire
therein ; and (expressing the fulfilling of his bitter
sweet passion) inviteth all the faithful to come and
take benefit thereof. Thirdly, here is wondrousf
movingly intimated, both our Redeemer's watchful-

* Original. " Accomplished his own."
f Original. " Wondrous movingly."

58 HYMNS A&D SONGS

ness to secure us (even while he slept in the grave),
and those love passages of his, wherewith he came
to woo us in his human nature (as it were a lover
knocking and calling at his beloved's window) in
the dark night of his passion, and unheeded afflictions.
Lastly, here is described the Church's readiness to
open to his Beloved ; with that love distemperature,
which appeared in her, when the women and the
disciples missed him in the grave ; and when, through
fear of the high priests, they were for a time spoiled
of their robe and veil of faith. This Canticle may
properly be sung in commemoration of our Re
deemer's sufferings, and of his Spouse's fear and
sorrow before his Resurrection.

SONG XIV.

1.

ARISE, thou north wind, from the north,
And from the south, thou south wind, blow ;
Upon my garden breathe ye forth,
That so my spices (there that grow)
From thence abundantly may flow ;
And to thy garden come, my dear,
To eat the fruits of pleasure there.

2.

My sister and espoused peer,
Unto my garden I am come ;

OF THE CHURCH. 59

My spice I gather'd with my myrrh,
I ate my honey in the comh,
And drunk my wine with milk among ;
Come friends, and best belov'd of me,
Come eat and drink, and merry be,

3.

I slept, but yet my heart did wake ;

It is my love I knocking hear ;

It was his voice, and thus he spake,

Come, open unto me, my dear,

My love, my dove, my spotless peer ;

For with the dew my head is dight,*

My locks with droppings of the night.

4.

Lo, I have now undressed me,
Why should I clothe me as before ?
And since my feet clean washed be,
Why should I soil them any more ?
Then through the crevice of the door
Appear'd the hand of my belov'd,
And towards him my heart was mov'd.

5.

I rose, unto my love to ope,

And from my hands distilled myrrh ;

• Adorned.

60 HYMNS AND SONGS

Pure myrrh did from my fingers drop
Upon the handles of the bar ;
But then departed was my dear.
When by his voice I knew 'twas he,
My heart was like to faint in me.

6.

I sought, but seen he could not be ;
I call'd, but heard no answer sound.
The city watchmen met with me,
As they were walking of the round,
And gave me stripes that made a wound
Yea, they that watch and ward the wall,
E'en they have took away my veil.

THE SEVENTH CANTICLE.

is allegorically expressed the ma
jesty, power, and excellency of Christ ;
and is the effect of that which was
evangelically sung of him after his
Resurrection and Ascension. First, the bride is
introduced adjuring the faithful Israelites, that when
they have attained the knowledge of Christ, her
spouse, they should profess and teach him to the
rest of their members. Secondly, those who long to
find him, desire again of the Church to know the

OF THE CHUECH. 61

excellencies of that beloved of hers ; and (by doubling
the question) seem to imply a two-fold excellency.
Thirdly, the Church speedily answers those that in
quire after her spouse ; and by describing his excel
lency in his ten principal members) mystically noti-
fieth his ten fold spiritual perfection ; whereupon to
insist were not here convenient ; Lastly, the faithful
crave the Church's direction to help her find him
out ; and receive her gracious answer to that purpose.

SONG XV.
Sing this as the Thirteenth Song.

1.

OH ! if him you happen on,
Who is my beloved-one,
Daughters of Jerusalem,
I adjure you seriously
To inform him how that I
Sick am grown of love for him.

2.

Fairest of all women, tell
How thy lover doth excel,
More than other lovers do.
Thy beloved, what is he,
More than other lovers be ;
That thou dost adjure us so?

62 HYMNS AND SONGS

3.

He in whom I so delight,
Is the purest red and white ;
Of ten thousands chief is he ;
Like fine gold his head doth show,
Whereon curled locks do grow ;
And a raven-black they be.

.

4.

Like the milky doves that bide
By the rivers, he is ey'd ;
Full and fitly set they are :
Cheeks like spicy-beds hath he ;
Or like flowers that fairest be :
Lips like lilies dropping myrrh.

5.

Hands like rings of gold, beset
With the precious chrysolet ;
Belly'd like white ivory,
Wrought about with sapphires rich ;
Legs like marble pillars, which
Set on golden bases be.

6.

Pac'd like Libanus is he,
Goodly as the cedar tree,

OF THE CHURCH. 63

Sweetness breathing out of him :
He is lovely ev'ry where.
This, my friend is, this my dear,
Daughters of Jerusalem.

7.

Oh, thou fairest (ev'ry way)
Of all women ! whither may
Thy beloved turned be ?
Tell us whither he is gone ?*
Who is thy beloved-one,
That we seek him may with thee ?

8.

To his garden went my dear,
To the beds of spices there ;
Where he feeds, and lilies gets :
I my love's am, and (alone)
Mine is my beloved-one,
Who among the lilies eats.

* Whither is he gone ?
What accident hath wrapt him from us ?

Par. Regained.

64 HYMNS AND SONGS

THE EIGHTH CANTICLE.

EHEIN" is contained a continuation of
the praises of the Bride, and of that
ardent affection expressed by her Be
loved in the fifth Canticle ; yet it is no
unnecessary repetition : for it seemeth to have respect
to the Church's estate, and the passages between her
and Christ in another age ; even when the Gentiles
began to be called and united unto the church of the
Jews, according to what is desired in the first Can
ticle : and therefore she is here compared to Tyrzah
and Jerusalem for loveliness. Her glorious increase,
her singular purity, her extraordinary applause, the
splendour of her majesty, and the powerfulness of her
authority, is here also described. Moreover, the
fears and hinderances sustained in her first persecu
tions are here mystically shewn. And, lastly, they
who through fear or obstinacy are separated from her,
are called to return, in regard of her apparent power.
This we may sing to remember us of those graces
God hath bestowed on his Church. To comfort our
souls, also, with that dearness which Christ express-
eth towards her of whom we are members, and on
divers other occasions, according as he that useth it
hath capacity to understand and apply the same.

B

OF THE CHURCH. 65

SONG XVI.

Sing this as the Thirteenth Song.

1.
EAUTIFUL art thou, my dear !

Thou as lovely art as are
Tirzah or Jerusalem,
(As the beautifuPst of them,)
And as much thou mak'st afraid,
As arm'd troops with flags display'd.

2.

Turn away those eyes of thine ;
Do not fix them so on mine ;
For there heam forth (from thy sight)
Sweets that overcome me quite :
And thy locks like kidlings be,
Which from Gilead-hill we see.

3.

Like those ewes thy teeth do show,
Which in rows from washing go ;
When among them there is none
Twinless, nor a barren one.
And (within thy locks) thy brows
Like the cut pomegranate shows.

HYMNS AND SONGS

4.

There are with her sixty queens ;
There are eighty concuhines ;
And the damsels they possess
Are in number numberless :
But my dove is all alone,
And an undefiled one.

5.

She's her mother's only dear,
And her joy that did her bear ;
When the daughters her surveyed,
That she blessed was they said :
She was praised of the queens,
And among the concubines.

Who is she (when forth she goes)
That so like the morning shows ?
Beautiful, as is the moon ;
Purely bright, as is the sun ;
And appearing full of dread,
Like an host with ensigns spread !

7.

To the nut-yard down went I,
(And the vale's increase to spy)

OF THE CHURCH. 67

To behold the vine-buds come,
And to see pomegranates bloom ;
But the prince's chariots did
Vex me so, I could not heed.

8.

Turn, oh turn, thou Shulamite !
Turn, oh turn thee to our sight !
What, I pray, is that which you
In the Shulamite would view,
But that (to appearance) she
Shews like troops that armed be.

THE NINTH CANTICLE.

kOLOMON, in the first part of this
Canticle, commending the Church's
universal beauty in her several parts,
is understood to have respect to that
time after the conversion from Paganism, wherein
she was endowed and made lovely by the variety of
those offices, states, and degrees, into which her
members were for order's sake distinguished ; as well
as by the addition of those other graces formally re
ceived : which states and degrees are here mystically
understood by the parts of a beautiful woman (as
doth excellently appear, the allegory being particu-

68 HYMNS AND SONGS

larly expounded.) The second part of this Hymn
expresseth the mutual interchange of affections be
tween the Bridegroom and his bride; and those
sweet contentments they enjoy in each other's loves.
Lastly, here is set forth both the Church's desire to
be freed from those persecutions, which hinder her
open and full fruition of her beloved ; and mention
is here made also of those public and undisturbed
embraces which they shall at length enjoy. The
first part hereof we ought so to sing, that it may
remember us to shun their blindness, who discern
not the beauty of order and degrees in the Church.
The second part puts us in mind that she is the
treasuress both of those graces which cause content
ment within ourselves, and make us acceptable to
God. By the last part we may apprehend the com
fort that will follow, when we desire that the open
profession of Christ may be granted merely for the
love of him.

SONG XVII.
Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.

HOU daughter of the royal line,*

T

How comely are those feet of thine,
When their beseeming shoes they wear !

* Weep, daughter of a Royal line ! — Byron.

OF THE CHURCH.

The curious knittings of thy thighs
Is like the costly gems of prize,
Which wrought by skilful workmen are.

2.

Thy navel is a goblet crown'd,
Where liquor evermore is found ;
Thy fair and fruitful belly shows,
As doth a goodly heap of wheat,
With lilies round about beset,
And thy two breasts like twinned roes.

3.

Thy neck like some white tower doth rise ;
Like Heshbon fish-pools are thine eyes,
Which near the gate Bath-rabbim lie.
Thy nose (which thee doth well become)
Is like the tower of Libanum,
That on Damascus hath an eye.

G9

4.

Thy head like scarlet doth appear ;
The hairs thereof like purple are ;
And in those threads the King is bound.
Oh, Love ! how wondrous fair art thou !
How perfect do thy pleasures show !
And how thy joys in them abound !

70 HYMNS AND SONGS

5.

Thou statured* art in palm-tree wise ;
Thy breasts like clusters do arise :
I said unto this palm, I'll go,
My hold shall on her branches he ;
And those thy breasts shall be to me
Like clusters that on vines do grow.

Thy nostrils savour shall as well
As newly-gathered fruits do smell.
Thy speech shall also relish so,
As purest wine, that for my dear
As fitting drink, and able were
To cause an old man's lips to go.

7.

I my beloved's am, and he
Hath his affection set on me.
Come, well-beloved, come away,
Into the fields let's walk along ;
And there the villages among,
E'en in the country we will stay.

8.

We to the vines betimes will go,
And see if they do spring or no ;
* Like a Statue.

OF THE CHURCH. 71

Or, if the tender grapes appear:
We will, moreover, go and see
If the pomegranates blossom'd be ;
And I my love will give thee there.

9.

Sweet smells the mandrakes do afford,
And we within our gates are stor'd,
Of all things that delightful be :
Yea, whether new or old they are,
Prepared they be for my dear,
And I have laid them up for thee.

10.

Would as my brother thou might'st be,
That suck'd my mother's breast with me ;
Oh, would it were no otherwise !
In public then I thee would meet,
And give thee kisses in the street,
And none there is should thee despise.

11.

Then I myself would for thee come,
And bring thee to my mother's home :
Thou likewise shouldst instruct me there ;
And wine that is commixt with spice
(Sweet wine of the pomegranate juice)
I would for thee to drink prepare.

72 HYMNS AND SONGS

12.

My head with his left hand he staid ;
His right hand over me he laid ;
And heing so embrac'd by him,
Said he, I charge you, not disease,
Nor wake my love, until she please,
You daughters of Jerusalem.

THE TENTH CANTICLE.

this last part of Solomon's Song he
first singeth that sweet peace and ex
traordinary prosperity vouchsafed unto
the Church after her great persecu
tions ; and expresseth it by putting the question,
who she was that came out of the wilderness leaning
on her Beloved. Secondly, he introduceth Christ
putting the human nature in remembrance from
what estate he had raised it, and requiring the dear
est of our affections, in regard of the ardency, un-
quenchableness, and inestimable value of his love.
Thirdly, having remembered the Church of the af
fection due to him, Christ teacheth her the charitable
care she ought to have of others ; and that she being
brought into his favour and protection, should seek
the preferment of her younger sister also, even the

OF THE CHURCH. 73

people who have not yet the breasts of God's two
testaments to nourish their souls. Fourthly, the
Church's true Solomon, or Peace-Maker (meaning
Jesus Christ) having a vineyard in Baal-hammon
(that is) wheresoever there are people ; herein is
declared the reward of such as are profitably em
ployed in that vineyard. And lastly, the confirma
tion of Christ's marriage upon the hills of spice
(meaning Heaven) is hastened. In singing this
Canticle we ought to meditate what estate God hath
raised us from ; what love he hath vouchsafed ; what
our charity should be to others; what we should
mind concerning this life, and what desire we should
have to the comforts of the world to come.

SONG XVIII.

1.

WHO'S this, that leaning on her friend,
Doth from the wilderness ascend ?
Mind how I raised thee,
E'en where thy mother thee conceiv'd,
Where she that brought thee forth conceiv'd,
Beneath an apple-tree.

2.

Me in thy heart engraven bear,

And seal-like on thy hand-wrist wear ;

74 HYMNS AND SONGS

For love is strong as death ;
Fierce as the grave is Jealousy,
The coals thereof do burning lie,

And furious flames it hath.

3.

Much water cannot cool love's flame,

No floods have power to quench the same,

For love so high is priz'd,
That who to buy it would essay,
Though all his wealth he gave away,

It would be all despis'd.

4.

We have a sister, scarcely grown,
For she is such a little one,

That yet no breasts hath she ;
What things shall we now undertake
To do for this our sister's sake,

If spoken for she be ?

5.

If that a wall she do appear,
We turrets upon her will rear,

And palaces of plate ;
And then with boards of cedar-tree
Enclose, and fence her in will we,

If that she be a gate.

OF THE CHURCH. 75

A wall already built I am,

And now my breasts upon the same,

Do turret-like arise ;
Since when, as one that findeth rest,
(And is of settled peace possest)

I seemed in his eyes.

7.

A vineyard hath King Solomon,
This vineyard is at Baal-hammon,

Which he to keepers put ;
And ev'ry one that therein wrought,
A thousand silver-pieces brought,

And gave him for the fruit.

8.

My vineyard, which belongs to me,
E'en I myself do oversee :

To thee, O Solomon,
A thousand-fold doth appertain,
And those that keep the same shall gam

Two hundred-fold for one.

9.

Thou whose abode the gardens are,
(Thy fellows unto thee give ear)

76 HYMNS AND SONGS

Cause me to hear thy voice :
And let my Love as swiftly go,
As doth a hart or nimble roe,

Upon the hills of spice.

THE FIKST SONG OF ESAL

ESA. v.

this Song the Prophet, singing of
Christ and his vineyard, first sheweth,
that, notwithstanding his labour be
stowed in fencing and manuring there
of, it brought forth sour grapes. Secondly, he sum-
moneth their consciences whom he covertly upbraided,
to be judges of God's great love, and their unprofit
ableness. Thirdly, he shows both how he intends
to deal with his vineyard, and who they are whom
he pointeth out in this parable. Now, seeing it
hath befallen the Jews according to this prophetical
hymn, we are to make a twofold use in singing it.
First, thereby to memorize the mercy and justice of
God, both which are manifested in this song: his
mercy in forewarning, his justice in punishing even
his own people. Secondly, we are so to meditate
thereon, that we may be warned to consider what
favours God hath vouchsafed us, and what fruits we
ought to bring forth; lest he leave us also to be

OF THE CHURCH. 77

spoiled of our adversaries : for in this parable the
Holy Spirit speaketh unto every congregation who
abuseth his favours. And doubtless all such (as it
hath fallen out in Antioch, Laodicea, and many other
particular churches) shall be deprived of God's pro
tection, of the dews of his Holy Spirit, and of the
sweet showers of his word, to be left to thorns and
briers, the fruit of their natural corruptions.

SONG XIX.
Sing this as the Fourteenth Song.

1.
SONG of Him whom I love best,

A

And of his Vineyard sing I will.
A vineyard once my love possest,
Well-seated on a fruitful hill ;
He kept it close-immured still :
The earth from stones he did refine,
And set it with the choicest vine.

2.

He in the midst a fort did rear,
(A wine-press therein also wrought ;)
But when he look'd it grapes should bear,
Those grapes were wild ones that it brought.
Jerusalem, come speak thy thought,

78 HYMNS AND SONGS

And you of Judah judges be,
Betwixt my vineyards here, and me.

3.

Unto my vineyard what could more
Performed be, than I have done ?
Yet looking it should grapes have bore,
Save wild ones it afforded none.
But go to, (let it now alone)
Eesolv'd I am to shew you too,
What with my vineyard I will do.

4.

The hedge I will remove from thence,
That what so will, devour it may.
I down will break the walled-fence,
And through it make a trodden way.
Yea, all of it I waste will lay.
To dig or dress it none shall care :
But thorns and briers it shall bear.

5.

The clouds I also will compel,
That there no rain descend for this ;
For lo the house of Israel
The Lord of Armies' vineyard is :
And Judah is that plant of his,

OF THE CHURCH. 79

That pleasant one, who forth hath brought
Oppression, when he judgment sought.
He seeking justice, found therein,
In lieu thereof, a crying sin.

THE SECOND SONG OF ESAI.

ESAI xii.

kSAIAH having a little before prophe
sied of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ,
and the excellency of his kingdom,
doth in this Hymn praise him for his
mercy ; and foreshows the Church also, what her
Song should be in that day of her redemption, the
principal contents whereof are these : A confession
of God's mercy, a prediction concerning the sacra
ment of baptism, and an exhortation to a joyful
thanksgiving. This Song the Church should still
sing to the honour of Jesus Christ for our redemp
tion. Yea, in regard the Prophet (foreseeing the
good cause we should have to make use hereof) hath
prophesied it should be the Church's Hymn, it seem-
eth not improper to be used on those days, which
are solemnized in memorial of our Saviour's Nativ
ity ; or whensoever we shall be moved to praise God,

80 HYMNS AND SONGS

in memorizing the gracious comforts promised us
by his Prophets, and fulfilled by his own coming.
And to fit the same the better to that purpose, I
have changed the person and the time in this
translation.

SONG XX.

1.

LOKD, I will sing to Thee,
For thou displeased wast,
And yet withdrew'st thy wrath from me,
And sent me comfort hast.
Thou art my health, on whom
A fearless trust I lay ;
For thou, oh Lord ! thou art become
My strength, my song, my stay !

2.

And with rejoicing now,

Sweet waters we convey,

Forth of those springs whence life doth flow

And, thus, we therefore say,

Oh, sing unto the Lord ;

His name and works proclaim ;

Yea, to the people bear record

That glorious is his name.

OF THE CHURCH. 81

3.

Unto the Lord, oh sing,
For wonders he hath done,
And many a renowned thing,
Which through the earth is known.
Oh sing aloud, all ye
On Sion-hUl that dwell ;
For, lo, thy Holy One in thee
Is great, oh Israel !

THE THIKD SONG OF ESAI.

ESAI. xxvi.

composed this Song to comfort the
Israelites in their captivity ; to strength
en their patience in affliction and settle
their confidence on the promises of
God. First, it remembereth them that God's pro
tection being every where as available as a de-
fenced city, they ought always to rely on the firm
peace which that affordeth. Secondly, he sheweth
that the pride of sin shall be overthrown ; and that
the faithful are resolved to fly unto their Kedeemer,
and await his pleasure in their chastisements. Third
ly, he singeth the utter desolation of tyrants ; the
increase of the Church ; her afflictions ; her deli-
G

82 HYMNS AND SONGS

verance ; and the resurrection from death through
Christ. Lastly, the faithful are exhorted to attend
patiently on the Lord their Saviour, who will come
shortly to judgment, and take account for the blood
of his saints. This Song is made in the person of
the Church, and may he sung to comfort and con
firm us in all our chastisements and persecutions ;
by bringing to our consideration the short time of
our endurance, and the certainty of our Kedeemer's
coming. It may be used also to praise God both
for his justice and mercy.

SONG XXI.
Sing this as the Third Song.

1.

A CITY now we have obtained,
Where strong defences are ;
And God salvation hath ordain'd
For walls and bulwarks there.
The gates thereof wide open ye,
That such as justly do,
(And those that Truth's observers be)
May enter thereunto.

2.

There thou in peace wilt keep them sure,
Whose thoughts well grounded be ;

OF THE CHURCH. 83

In peace that ever shall endure,
Because they trusted Thee.
For ever, therefore, on the Lord,
Without distrust, depend ;
For in the Lord, th' eternal Lord,
Is strength that hath no end.

3.

He makes the lofty city yield,

And her proud dwellers bow ;

He lays it level with the field,

E'en with the dust below.

Their feet that are in want and care,

Their feet thereon shall tread ;

Their way is right, that righteous are,

And thou their path dost heed.

4.

Upon the course of judgments we,

Oh, Lord, attending were,

And to record thy name and thee,

Our souls desirous are.

On thee our minds, with strong desire,

Are fixed in the night ; x

And after thee our hearts inquire,

Before the morning light.

84 HYMNS AND SONGS

5.

For when thy righteous judgments are
Upon the earth discern'd,
By those that do inhabit there,
Uprightness shall he learn'd.
Yet sinners for no terror will
Just dealing understand,
But in their sins continue still,
Amid the Holy Land.

6.

To seek the glory of the Lord
They unregardful he ;
And thy advanced hand, oh Lord,
They will not deign to see.
But they shall see, and see with shame,
That bear thy people spite ;
Yea, from thy foes shall come a flame,
Which will devour them quite.

7.

Then, Lord, for us thou wilt procure
That we in peace may be,
Because that every work of our
Is wrought for us by thee.
And, Lord our God, though we are brought
To other lords in thrall,
Of thee alone shall be our thought,
Upon thy name to call.

OF THE CHURCH. 85

8.

They are deceas'd, and never shall
Kenewed life obtain ;
They die, and shall not rise at all
To tyrannise again :
For thou didst visit them, therefore,
And wide dispersed them hast ;
That so their fame for evermore
May wholly be defac'd.

9.

But, Lord, increas'd thy people are,
Increased they are by thee ;
And thou art glorified as far
As earth's wide limits be ;
For, Lord, in their distresses, when
Thy rod on them was laid,
They unto thee did hasten then,
And without ceasing pray'd.

10.

As one with child is pain'd, when as
Her throes of bearing be,
And cries in pangs (before thy face ;)
O Lord, so fared we.
We have conceiv'd, and for a birth
Of wind have pained been.
The world's unsafe, and still on earth
They thrive that dwell therein.

86 HYMNS AND SONGS

11.

The dead shall live, and rise again
With my dead body shall.
Oh, you, that in the dust remain,
Awake, and sing you all !
For as the dew doth herhs renew,
That buried seem'd before,
So earth shall through thy heavenly dew
Her dead to life restore.

12.

My people, to thy chambers fair ;

Shut close the door to thee,

And stay a while (a moment there)

Till past the fury be :

For lo, the Lord doth now arise,

He cometh from his place,

To punish their impieties,

Who now the world possess.

13.

The earth that blood discover shall
Which is in her concealed,
And bring to light those murders all
Which yet are unrevealed.

The edit, of 1623 has the above stanza with only four lines.

OF THE CHURCH. 87

THE PRAYER OF HEZEKIAH.

ESAI. xxxvii. 15.

|N this Prayer, Hezekiah, having first
acknowledged God's majesty and al
mighty power, desires him, both to
hear and consider his adversaries' blas
phemy : then (to manifest the necessity of his present
assistance) urgeth the power his foe had obtained
over such as served not the true God: and, as it
seemeth, importunes deliverance, not so much in re
gard of his own safety, as that the blasphemer, and
all the world, might know the difference between the
Lord's power, and the arrogant brags of men. This
Song may be used whensoever the Turk, or any
other great adversary (prevailing against false wor
shippers) shall thereupon grow insolent, and threaten
God's Church also ; as if, in despite of him, he had
formerly prevailed by his own strength. For the
name of Sennacherib may be mystically applied to
any such enemy. We may use this Hymn also
against those secret blasphemies which the Devil
whispers unto our souls ; or when by temptations
he seeks to drive us to despair, by laying before us

88 HYMNS AND SONGS

how many others he hath destroyed, who seemed to
have been in as good assurance as we ; for he is in
deed that mystical Assyrian Prince, who hath over
thrown whole countries and nations, with their gods
in whom they trusted. Such as are these, temporal
power, riches, superstitious worship, carnal wisdom,
idols, <fec. which being but the works of men (and
yet trusted in as gods), he hath power to destroy
them.

O

SONG XXII.

1.

LOKD of Hosts, and God of Israel!
Thou who between the Cherubims dost dwell ;

Of all the world thou only art the King,

And heaven and earth unto their form didst bring.

2.

Lord, bow thine ear ; to hear attentive be ;
Lift up thine eyes, and deign, O Lord, to see
What words Sennacherib hath cast abroad,
And his proud message to the living God !

3.

Lord, true it is, that lands and kingdoms all
Are to the king of Ashur brought in thrall ;

OF THE CHURCH. 89

Yea, he their gods into the fire hath thrown,
For gods they were not, hut of wood and stone.

4.

Man's work they were, and men destroyed them have ;
Us, therefore, from his power vouchsafe to save,
That all the kingdoms of the world may see
That thou art God, that only thou art he.

HEZEKIAH'S THANKSGIVING.
ESAI. xxxviii. 10.

lEZEKIAH, having been sick, and re
covered, made this Song of Thanks
giving ; and setteth forth the mercy
of God, by considering these particu
lars : The tune of his age ; the fears of his soul ;
the rooting out of his posterity ; the violence of his
disease ; and the forgiveness of his sins, added to
the restoring of his health. Then (seeming to have
entered into a serious consideration of all this) he
confesseth who are most bound to praise God, and
voweth this deliverance to everlasting memory. This
Song may be used after deliverance from temporal
sickness. But, in the principal sense, it is a special

90 HYMNS AND SONGS

Thanksgiving for that cure which Jesus Christ
wrought upon the human nature, being in danger of
everlasting perdition : for Hezekiah which signifieth
helped of the Lord, typifieth mankind labouring under
the sickness of sin and death. Isaiah, who brought
the medicine that cured him (and is interpreted the
Salvation of the Lord,) figured our blessed Kedeem-
er, by whom the human nature is restored; and
whose sending into the world was mystically shewed
by the miracle of the sunrs retrogadation. To
praise God for that mystery therefore, (the circum
stances being well considered) this Hymn seemeth
very proper. And doubtless for this cause it was
partly preserved for these our times, and ought often
and heartily to be sung to that purpose.

SONG XXIII.
Sing this as the Fourth Song.

1.

WHEN I suppos'd my time was at an end,
Thus to myself I did myself bemoan :
Now to the gates of hell I must descend,
For all the remnant of my years are gone.
The Lord (said I) where now the living be,
Nor man on earth shah1 I for ever see.

OF THE CHURCH. 91

2.

As when a shepherd hath remov'd his tent,
Or as a weaver's shuttle slips away,
Right so, my dwelling and my years were spent ;
And so, my sickness did my life decay ;
Each day, ere night, my death expected I ;
And ev'ry night, ere morning, thought to die.

3.

For he, so lion-like, my bones did break,
That I scarce thought to live another day ;
A noise I did like cranes or swallows make,
And, as the turtle, I lamenting lay.
Then, with uplifted eye-lids, thus I spake,
Oh Lord, on me oppressed, mercy take !

4.

What shall I say ? he did his promise give,
And as he promis'd he performed it ;
And, therefore, I will never, whilst I live,
Those bitter passions of my soul forget :
Yea, those that live, and those unborn, shall know
What life and rest thou didst on me bestow.

5.

My former pleasures sorrows were become ;
But in that love, which to my soul thou hast,

92 HYMNS AND SONGS

The grave, that all devours, thou keepst me from,
And didst my errors all behind thee cast ;
For, nor the grave, nor death, can honour thee ;
Nor hope they for thy truth that buried be.

6.

Oh ! he that lives, that lives as I do now,
E'en he it is that shall thy praise declare :
Thy truth the father to his seed shall shew.
And how thou me, oh Lord, hast deign'd to spare !
Yea, Lord, for this I will, throughout my days,
Make music in thy house unto thy praise.

THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEKEMIAH.

[S useful as any part of the Old Testa
ment, for these present times (nigh
fallen asleep in security) are these
Elegical Odes; for they bring many
things to our consideration. First, what we may
and should lament for. Secondly, how careful we
ought to be of the common-wealth's prosperity ; be
cause, if that go to ruin, the particular Church there
in cherished must needs be afflicted also, and God's
worship hindered. Thirdly, they teach us, that the
overthrow of kingdoms and empires follows the abuse

OF THE CHURCH. 93

and neglect of religion : and that (sin being the only
cause thereof) we ought to endure our chastisements
without murmuring against God. Fourthly, they
warn us not to abuse God's merciful long-suffering.
Fifthly, they persuade us to commiserate and pray
for the Church and our brethren in calamities, and
not to despise them in their humiliations. Sixthly,
they leave us not to judge the truth of professions, by
those afflictions God lays upon particular churches,
seeing the Jewish religion was the truth, and those
idolaters, who led them into captivity. Seventhly,
they shew us, that neither the antiquity, strength,
fame, or formal sanctity of any place (no, nor God's
former respect thereunto) shall privilege it from de
struction, if it continue in abusing his grace. And
lastly, they (as it were, limiting our sorrows) mind
us to cast our eyes on the mercies of God ; and to
make such use of his chastisements, as may turn our
lamentations into songs of joy.

LAMENT. I.

I HIS Elegy first bewaileth, in general
terms, that calamity and destruction
of Judah and Jerusalem, which is
afterwards more particularly mention
ed. Secondly, it makes a confession of their mani-

94 HYMNS AND SONGS

fold sins committed ; and is full of many passionate
and penitential complaints, justifying the Lord in his
judgments, and confessing the vanity of human con
solations. Lastly, it containeth a short prayer for
God's mercy, and a divine prediction of those judg
ments which will fall on them, by whom his people
have been afflicted. This Elegy may be sung when
soever any general calamity falleth on the common
wealth in which we live ; we having first considered
and applied the particular circumstances, as there
shall be cause. We may sing it also historically,
to memorize the justice of God, and the miserable
desolations of Judah and Jerusalem, recorded for our
example.

SONG XXIV.
1.

HOW sad and solitary now (alas !)
Is that well-peopled city come to be,
Which once so great among the nations was !
And, oh, how widow-like appeareth she !
She rule of all the provinces hath had,
And now herself is tributary made !

2.

All night she maketh such excessive moan,
That down her cheeks a flood of tears doth flow !

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And yet among her lovers there is none
That consolation doth on her bestow !
For they that once her lovers did appear,
Now turned foes, and faithless to her are !

3.

Now Judah in captivity complains

That (others) heretofore so much opprest,

For her false service, she herself remains

Among those heathens, where she finds no rest.

And apprehended in a strait is she,

By those that persecutors of her he !

4.

The very ways of Sion do lament ;
The gates thereof their loneliness deplore ;
Because that no man cometh to frequent
Her solemn festivals, as heretofore.
Her priests do sigh, her tender virgins be
Uncomfortable left, and so is she !

5.

Her adversaries are become her chiefs ;
On high exalted, those that hate her are ;
And God hath brought upon her all those griefs,
Because so many her transgressions were.
Her children, driven from her by the foe,
Before him into loathed thraldom go.

96 HYMNS AND SONGS

6.

From Sion's daughters (once without compare)
Now all her matchless loveliness is gone :
And like those chased harts, her princes fair,
Who seek for pasture, and can find out none.
So (of their strength depriv'd, and fainting nigh)
Before their abler foes they feebly fly.

7.

Jerusalem now thinks upon her crimes,
And calls to mind (amid her present woes)
The pleasure she enjoy 'd in former times,
Till first she was surprised by her foes :
And how (when they perceived her forlorn)
They at her holy sabbaths made a scorn.

8.

Jerusalem's transgressions many were ;
And therefore is it she disdained lies :
Those who in former time have honour'd her,
Her baseness now behold, and her despise.
Yea, she herself doth sit bewailing this,
And of herself herself ashamed is.

9.

Her own uncleanness in her skirt she bore,
Not then Jbelieving what her end would be :

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This great destruction falls on her therefore,
And none to help or comfort her hath she.
Oh, heed thou, Lord ! and pity thou my woes,
For I am triumph'd over hy my foes !

10.

Her foe hath touch'd with his polluted hand
Her things that sacred were, before her face :
And they, whose entrance thou didst countermand,
Intruded have into her holy place ;
Those, that were not so much approv'd by thee,
As of thy congregation held to be.

11.

Her people do, with sighs and sorrows, get
That little bread, which for relief they have :
And give away their precious things for meat,
So to procure wherewith their life to save :
Oh, Lord ! consider this, and ponder thou,
How vile and how dejected I am now !

12.

No pity in you, passengers, is there ?
Your eyes, oh ! somewhat hitherward incline ;
And mark, if ever any grief there were,
Or SOITOW that did equal this of mine !
This which the Lord on me inflicted hath,
Upon the day of his incensed wrath.
H

98 HYMNS AND SONGS

13.

He from above a flame hath hurled down,
That kindles in my bones prevailing fire :
A net he over both my feet hath thrown,
By which I am compelled to retire.
And he hath made me a forsaken one,
To sit and weep out all the day alone.

14.

The heavy yoke of my transgressions now
His hand hath wreathed, and upon me laid ;
Beneath the same my tired neck doth bow,
And all my strength is totally decay'd.
For me to those the Lord hath given o'er,
Whose hands will hold me fast for evermore.

15.

The Lord hath trampled underneath their feet
E'en all the mighty in the midst of me :
A great assembly he hath caus'd to meet,
That all my ablest men might slaughter'd be ;
And Judah's virgin daughter treads upon,
As in a wine-press grapes are trodden on.

16.

For this (alas !) thus weep I ; and mine eyes,
Mine eyes drop water thus, because that he,
On whose assistance my sad soul relies,

OF THE CHURCH. 99

In my distress is far away from me :
E'en while (because of my prevailing foe)
My children are compell'd from me to go.

17.

In vain hath Sion stretched forth her hand,
For none unto her succour draweth nigh ;
Because the Lord hath given in command,
That Jacob's foes should round about her lie :
And poor Jerusalem, among them there,
Like some defiled woman doth appear.

18.

The Lord is justified, nay-the-less,*
Because I did not his commands obey ;
All nations, therefore, hear my heaviness,
And heed it (for your warning) you, I pray ;
For into thraldom (through my follies) be
My virgins, and my young men, borne from me.

19.

Upon my lovers I have cried out ;
But they my groundless hopes deceived all :
I for my rev'rend priests inquir'd about ;
I, also, did upon my elders call ;
But in the city up the ghost they gave,
As they were seeking meat, their lives to save.
* Nevertheless.

100 HYMNS AND SONGS

20.

Oh, Lord ! take pity now in my distress ;
For, lo, my soul distempered is in me ;
My heart is overcome with heaviness,
Because I have so much offended thee !
Thy sword abroad, my ruin doth become,
And death doth also threaten me at home !

21.

And of my sad complaints my foes have heard ;
But to afford me comfort there is none :
My troubles have at full to them appear'd,
Yet they are joyful that thou so hast done :
But thou wilt bring the time set down by thee,
And then in sorrow they shah1 equal me.

22.

Then shall those foul offences they have wrought
Before the presence be remembered all :
And whatsoe'er my sins on me have brought,
(For their transgressions) upon them shall fall :
For so my sighings multiplied be,
That, therewithal, my heart is faint in me.

OF THE CHURCH. 101

f

LAMENT. II.

^N this Elegy the Prophet useth a very
pathetical exordium, the hetter to
awaken the people's consideration ;
and to make them the more sensible
of their horrible calamity ; which he first illustrateth
in general terms, by comparing their estate to the
miserable condition of one fallen from the glory of
heaven to the lowest earth : and in mentioning their
being deprived of that glorious temporal and eccle
siastical government, which they formerly enjoyed.
Afterwards, he descends to particulars ; as the de
struction of their palaces, forts, temples, walls, and
gates ; the profaning of their sabbaths, feasts, rites,
<fec. ; the suspending of their laws, priests, prophets;
the slaughter of young men and virgins, old men
and children ; with the famine and reproaches they
sustained, <fec. All which acknowledging to be the
just judgments of God, he adviseth them not to
hearken to the delusions of their false prophets, but
to return unto the Lord by tears and hearty repent
ance. For the use and application, see what hath
been said, before the former Elegy.

102 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG XXV.
Sing this as the Twenty-fourth Song.

1.

OW dark, and how be-clouded (in his wrath)

The Lord hath caused Sion to appear !
How Israel's beauty he obscured hath,
As if thrown down from heav'n to earth he were !
Oh ! why is his displeasure grown so hot ?
And why hath he his footstool so forgot ?

H

2.

The Lord all Sion's dwellings hath laid waste ;
And, in so doing, he no sparing made :
For in his anger to the ground he cast
The strongest holds that Judah's daughter had.
Them, and their kingdom, he to ground doth send,
And all the Princes of it doth suspend.

3.

When at the highest his displeasure was,

From Israel ah1 his horn of strength he broke ;

And from before his adversary's face

His right-hand (that restrained him) he took.

Yea, he in Jacob kindled such a flame,

As, round about, hath quite consum'd the same.

OF THE CHURCH. 103

4.

His bow he as an adversary bent,

And by his right-hand he did plainly shew

He drew it with an enemy's intent ;

For all that were the fairest marks he slew.

In Sion's tabernacle this was done ;

E'en there the fire of his displeasure shone.

5.

The Lord himself is he that was the foe ;
By him is Israel thus to ruin gone.
His palaces he overturned so ;
And he his holds of strength hath overthrown :
E'en he it is, from whom it doth arise,
That Israel's daughter thus lamenting lies.

6.

His tabernacle, garden-like that was,
The Lord with violence hath took away :
He hath destroyed his assembling-place ;
And there no feasts nor sabbaths now have they :
No, not in Sion ; for in his fierce wrath
He both their King and Priests rejected hath !

7.

The Lord his holy altar doth forego ;
His sanctuary he hath quite despis'd.

104 HYMNS AND SONGS

Yea, by his mere assistance hath our foe
The bulwarks of our palaces surpriz'd :
And in the Lord's own house rude noises are
As loud as heretofore his praises were.

8.

The Lord his thought did purposely incline,
The walls of Sion should be overthrown :
To that intent he stretched forth his line,
And drew not back his hand till they were down.
And so, the turrets, with the bruised wall,
Did both together to destruction fall.

9.

Her gates in heaps of earth obscured are ;
The bars of them in pieces broke hath he :
Her king, and those that once her princes were,
Now borne away among the Gentiles be.
The law is lost, and they no prophet have,
That from the Lord a vision doth receive.

10.

In silence, seated on the lowly ground,
The senators of Sion's daughter are :
With ashes they their careful heads have crown'd,
And mourning sackcloth girded on them wear.
Yea, on the earth in a distressed-wise,
Jerusalem's young virgins fix their eyes.

OF THE CHURCH. 105

11.

And, for because my people suffer this,
Mine eyes with much lamenting dimmed grow ;
Each part within me out of quiet is,
And on the ground my liver forth I throw ;
When as mine eyes with so sad objects meet,
As babes half dead, and sprawling in the street.

12.

For, to their mothers called they for meat ;
Oh where shall we have meat and drink ! they cry ;
And in the city, while they food entreat,
They swoon, like them that deadly wounded lie :
And some of them their souls did breathe away,
As in the mother's bosom starv'd they lay.

13.

Jerusalem ! for thee what can I say ?
Or unto what may'st thou resembled be ?
Oh ! whereunto, that comfort thee I may,
Thou Sion's daughter, shall I liken thee ?
For, as the seas, so great thy breaches are ;
And to repair them then, ah, who is there ?

14.

Thou by thy prophets hast deluded been ;
And foolish visions they for thee have sought.

106 HYMNS AND SONGS

For, they revealed not to thee thy sin,
To turn away the thraldom it hath brought.
But lying prophecies they sought for thee,
Which of thy sad exile the causes he.

15.

And those, thou daughter of Jerusalem,

That on occasions pass along this way,

With clapping hands, and hissings, thee contemn ;

And, nodding at thee, thus in scorn they say :

Is this the city men did once behight*

The flower of beauty, and the world's delight ?

16.

Thy adversaries (every one of them)
Their mouths have open'd at thee to thy shame :
They hiss, and gnash at thee, Jerusalem ;
We, we (say they) have quite destroy'd the same :
This is that day hath long expected been :
Now cometh it, and we the same have seen.

17.

But, this the Lord decreed, and brought to pass ;
He, to make good that word which once he spake,
(And that which long ago determin'd was)
Hath hurled down, and did no pity take.
He thus hath made thee scorned of thy foe,
And rais'd the horn of them that hate thee so.
* Or call.

OF THE CHURCH. 107

18.

Oh wall of Sion's daughter, cry amain ;
E'en to the Lord set forth a hearty cry :
Down, like a river, cause thy tears to rain,
And let them neither day nor night be dry.
Seek neither sleep, thy hody to suffice,
Nor slumber for the apples of thine eyes.

19.

At night, and when the watch is new begun,
Then rise, and to the Lord Almighty cry :
Before him let thy heart like water run,
And lift thou up to him thy hands on high.
E'en for those hunger-starved babes of thine,
That in the corners of the streets do pine.

20.

And thou, oh Lord, oh be thou pleas'd to see,
And think on whom thy judgments thou hast thrown !
Shall women fed with their own issue be,
And children that a span are scarcely grown ?
Shall thus thy priests and prophets, Lord, be slain,
As in thy sanctuary they remain ?

21.

Nor youth, nor age, is from the slaughter free ;
For in the streets lie young, and old, and all.

108 HYMNS AND SONGS

My virgins and my young men murdered be ;
E'en both beneath the sword together fall.
Thou, in thy day of wrath, such havoc mad'st,
That in devouring thou no pity hadst.

22.

Thou round about hast call'd my feared foes,
As if that summon'd to some feast they were ;
Who in thy day of wrath did round enclose,
And shut me so, that none escaped are.
Yea, those that hate me, them consumed have,
To whom I nourishment and breeding gave.

LAMENT. III.

the Prophet Jeremy, having con
templated his own afflictions, with the
destruction of Judah and Jerusalem,
seemeth, by that material object, to
have raised his apprehension higher, and, by the
spirit of prophecy, both to foresee the particular suf
ferings of Jesus Christ, and to become sensible also
of those great afflictions which the church militant
(his mystical body) should be exercised withal. And
in this most passionate Elegy, either in his own per
son bewaileth it, or else personates Jesus Christ, the

OF THE CHURCH. 109

head of that mystical body; taking upon himself
those punishments, with that heavy burden of God's
wrath, and that unspeakable sorrow, which mankind
had otherwise been overwhelmed withal. In brief,
this Elegy contains an expression of God's heavy
anger for our sins ; the severity and bitterness of his
judgments ; the greatness of his mercies ; the hope
and patience of the faithful in all afflictions ; the un
willingness of God to punish ; the hearty repentance
of his people; and a prophetical imprecation concern
ing the enemies of the spiritual Jerusalem. This
may be sung to move and stir us up with a feeling
of our Redeemer's Passion ; to remember us of our
miserable condition through sin ; to move us to re
pentance ; and to comfort and instruct, us amid our
afflictions.

SONG XXVI.

Sing this as the Twenty-fourth Song.
I.

I AM the man, (who scourged in thy wrath)
Have in all sorrows throughly tried been :
Into obscurity he led me hath ;
He brought me thither, where no light is seen ;
And so adverse to me himself he shows,
That all the day his hand doth me oppose.

110 HYMNS AND SONGS

2.

My flesh and skin with age he tired out ;

He bruis'd my bones, as they had broken been ;

He with a wall enclosed me about,

With cares and labours he hath shut me in :

And me to such a place of darkness led,

As those are in, that be for ever dead.

3.

He shut me where I found no passage out,
And there my heavy chains upon me laid ;
Moreover, though I loudly cried out,
He took no heed at all for what I pray'd :
My way with hewed stones he stopped hath,
And left me wand'ring in a winding path.

4.

He was to me like some way-laying bear ;
Or as a lion that doth lurk unseen ;
My course he hind'ring, me in pieces tare,
Till I quite ruin'd and laid waste had been.
His bow he bended, and that being bent,
I was the mark at which his arrow went.

5.

His arrows from his quiver forth he caught,
And through my very reins he made them pass :

OF THE CHURCH. Ill

E'en mine own people set me then at naught,
And all the day their sporting song I was.
From him my fill of bitterness I had,
And me with wormwood likewise drunk he made.

6.

With stones my teeth he all to pieces brake
He dust and ashes over me hath strown ;
All rest he from my weary soul did take,
As if contentment I had never none.
And then I cried, Oh ! I am undone !
All my dependance on the Lord is gone !

7.

Oh mind thou my afflictions and my care,
My miseries, my wormwood, and my gall ;
For they still fresh in my remembrance are,
And down in me my humbled soul doth fall.
I this forget not ; and when this I mind,
Some help again I do begin to find.

8.

It is thy mercy, Lord, that we now be,
For had thy pity fail'd, not one had liv'd.
The faithfulness is great that is in thee,
And ev'ry morning it is new reviv'd :
And, Lord, such claim my soul unto thee lays,
That she will ever trust in thee, she says.

112 HYMNS AND SONGS

9.

For thou art kind to those that wait thy will,
And to their souls, that after thee attend :
Good therefore is it, that in quiet still,
We hope that safety, which thou, Lord, wilt send.
And happy he, that timely doth enure
His youthful neck the hurden to endure.

10.

He down will sit alone, and nothing say ;
But since 'tis cast upon him, hear it out :
(Yea, though his mouth upon the dust they lay)
And while there may be hope will not misdoubt.
His cheek to him that smiteth offers he,
And is content, though he reviled he.

11.

For sure is he (whatever doth befall)
The Lord will not forsake for evermore ;
But that, he having punish'd, pity shall,
Because he many mercies hath in store.
For God in plaguing take no pleasure can,
Nor willingly afflicteth any man.

12.

The Lord delighteth not to trample down
Those men that here on earth enthralled are ;

OF THE CHURCH. 113

Or that a righteous man should be o'erthrown,
When he before the Highest doth appear.
Nor is the Lord well-pleased in the sight,
When he beholds the wrong subvert the right.

13.

Let no man mutter then, as if he thought
Some things were done in spite of God's decree ;
For all things at his word to pass are brought,
That either for our good or evil be.
Why then lives man, such murmurs to begin ?
Oh, let him rather murmur at his sin !

14.

Our own lewd courses let us search and try ;
We may to thee again, O Lord, convert.
To God, that dwelleth in the heav'ns on high,
Let us (oh, let us) lift both hand and heart :
For we have sinned, we rebellious were,
And therefore was it that thou didst not spare.

15.

For this (with wrath o'ershadow'd) thou hast chas'd,
And slaughter made of us, without remorse :
Thyself obscured with a cloud thou hast,
That so our prayers might have no recourse.
And lo, among the heathen people, we
As outcasts and off-scourings reckon'd be.

114 HYMNS AND SONGS

16.

Our adversaries all (and ev'ry where)
Themselves with open mouth against us set ;
On us is fallen a terror and a snare,
Where ruin hath with desolation met :
And for the daughter of my people's cares,
Mine eyes doth cast forth rivulets of tears.

17.

Mine eyes perpetually were overflown,
And yet there is no ceasing of my tears ;
For if the Lord in mercy look not down,
That from the heav'ns he may behold my cares,
They will not stint : hut for my people's sake
Mine eyes will weep until my heart doth break.

18.

As when a bird is chased to and fro,
My foes pursued me, when cause was none ;
Into the dungeon they my life did throw,
And there they rolled over me a stone.
The waters, likewise, overflow'd me quite,
And then, methought, I perished outright.

19.

Yet on thy name, oh Lord ! I called there,
(E'en when in that low dungeon I did lie)

OF THE CHURCH. 115

Whence thou wert pleased my complaint to hear,
Not slighting me, when I did sighing cry ;
That very day I called, thou drew'st near,
And saidst unto me, that I should not fear.

20.

Thou, Lord, my soul maintainest in her right ;
My life hy thee alone redeemed was ;
Thou hast, oh Lord ! observed my despight :*
Vouchsafe thy judgement also in my cause :
For all the grudge they bear me thou hast seen,
And all their plots that have against me been.

21.

Thou heardst what slanders they against me laid,
And all those mischiefs they devis'd for me :
Thou notest what their lips of me have said,
E'en what their dayly closest whisperings be ;
And how, whene'er they rise, or down do lie,
Their song and subject of their mirth am I.

22.

But, Lord, thou shalt reward and pay them all,
That meed their actions merit to receive ;
Thy heavy malediction seize them shall ;
E'en this, sad hearts, they shall for ever have ;
And by thy wrath pursued they shall be driven,
Till they are chased out from under heaven.
* Wrongs.

116 HYMNS AND SONGS

LAMENT. IY.

|S in the two first Elegies, the Prophet
here begins by way of exclamation,
and most passionately sets forth the
cause of his complaining by a threefold
explication : First, by expressing the dignity, sex,
and age, of the persons miserably perishing in this
calamity ; as, princes, priests, men, women, and
children. Secondly, by paralleling their estate with
that of brute creatures, and their punishment with
Sodom's. Thirdly, by shewing the horrible effects
which followed this calamity ; as, the nobility being
driven to clothe themselves from the dunghill, and
women to feed on their own children, &c. After
this he sheweth what are the causes of all that misery
which he bewaileth. Secondly, declareth the vanity
of relying on temporal consolations. Thirdly, setteth
forth the power and fierceness of the Church's adver
saries. Fourthly, prophesieth that even Christ was
to suffer the fury of their malice, before God's wrath
could be appeased. And lastly, assureth that the
Church shall be at length delivered, and her enemies
rewarded according to their wickedness. This Song
may be sung to set before our eyes the severity of
God's wrath against sin, to win us to repentance,
and to comfort us upon our conversions.

OF THE CHURCH. 117

SONG XXVII.

Sing this as the Fifth Song,

1.

HOW dim the gold doth now appear !
(That gold, which once so brightly shone :)
About the city, here and there,
The sanctuary-stones are thrown.
The sons of Sion, late compared
To gold (the richest in esteem)
Like potsheards are, without regard,
And base as earthen vessels seem.

2.

The monsters of the sea have care
The breasts unto their young to give ;
But crueller my people are ;
And, *Estridge-like, in deserts live.
With thirst the sucklings' tongues are dry,
And to their parched roofs they cleave :
For bread young children also cry,
But none at all they can receive.

3.

Those, that were us'd to dainty fare,
Now in the streets half-starved lie :
* Ostrich.

118 HYMNS AND SONGS

And they, that once did scarlet wear,
Now dunghill rags about them tie.
Yea, greater plagues my people's crime
Hath brought on them, than Sodom's were :
For that was sunk in little time,
And no prolonged death was there.

4.

Her Nazarites, whose whiteness was
More pure than either milk or snow,
Whose ruddiness did rubies pass,
Whose veins did like the sapphire show,
Now blacker than the coal are grown ;
And in the streets unknown are they :
Their flesh is clung unto the bone,
And like a stick is dried away.

5.

Such, therefore, as the sword hath slain,
Are far in better case than those,
Who death for want of food sustain,
Whilst in the fruitful field it grows.
For when my people were distress'd,
E'en women (that should pity take)
With their own hands their children dress'd,
That so their hunger they might slake.

OF THE CHURCH. 119

6.

The Lord accomplish'd hath his wrath ;
His fierce displeasure forth is pour'd ;
A fire on Sion set he hath,
Which e'en her ground- work hath devour'd ;
When there was neither earthly king,
Nor, through the whole world, one of all
Thoughts any foe to pass could bring,
That thus Jerusalem should fall.

7.

But this hath happened for the guilt
Of those that have her prophets been ;
And those, her wicked priests, that spilt
The blood of innocents therein.
Along the streets they stumbling went,
(The blindness of these men was such)
And so with blood they were besprent,*
That no man would their garments touch.

8.

Depart, depart ('twas therefore said)
From these pollutions get ye far ;
So, wand'ring to the heathen, fled,
And said there was no biding there.
And them the Lord hath now in wrath
Exil'd, and made despised live ;

* Covered over, or polluted.

120 HYMNS AND SONGS

Yea, sent their priests and elders hath,
Where none doth honour to them give.

9.

And as for us, our eyes decayed,
With watching vain reliefs, we have ;
'Cause we expect a nation's aid,
That is unable us to save :
For at our heels so close they be,
We dare not in the streets appear ;
Our end we, therefore, coming see,
And know our rooting-out is near.

10.

Our persecutors follow on,
As swift as eagles of the sky ;
They o'er the mountains make us run,,
And in the deserts for us lye :
Yea, they have Christ (our life) betray'd,
And caus'd him in their pits to fall :
(E'en him) beneath whose shade, we said,
We live among the heathen shall.

11.

O Edom ! in the land of Huz
(Though yet o'er us triumph thou may)
Thou shalt receive this cup from us,
Be drunk, and hurl thy clothes away ;

OF THE CHURCH. 121

For when thy punishments for sins

Accomplished, oh Sion, be,

To visit Edom he begins,

And publick make her shame will he.

LAMENT. V.

this Elegy the Prophet prayeth unto
the Lord to remember and consider
his people's afflictions, acknowledging
before him their miseries, and present
ing them unto him as distressed orphans, widows,
and captives, (by such humiliation) to win his com
passion. He moveth him also, by repetition of the
miserable ruin they were fallen into, by the noble
possessions and dignities they had lost, by the base
condition of those under whose tyranny they were
brought, and by the generality of their calamity, from
which no sex, age, nor degree escaped. Then (in
genuously confessing their sin to be the just cause of
all this) glorifieth God, and concludeth this petition
ary Ode with desiring that he would both give them
grace to repent, and restore them to that peace which
they formerly enjoyed. This elegiacal Song we may
sing unto God in the behalf of many particular
Churches, even in these times ; especially if we con-

122 HYMNS AND SONGS

sider that mystical bondage, which the devil hath
brought them into ; and apply these complaints to
those spiritual calamities, which are befallen them
for their sins.

SONG XXVIII.
Sing this as the Fifth Song.

I.

OH mind thou, Lord, our sad distress ;
Behold, and think on our reproach ;
Our houses strangers do possess,
And on our heritage encroach.
Our mothers for their husbands grieve,
And of our fathers robb'd are we :
Yea, money we compelPd to give
For our own wood and water be.

2.

In persecution we remain,
Where endless labour try us doth ;
And we to serve for bread are fain,
To Egypt and to Ashur both.
Our fathers err'd, and, being gone,
The burden of their sin we bear :
E'en slaves the rule o'er us have won,
And none to set us free is there.

OF THE CHURCH. 123

3.

For bread our lives we hazard in
The perils which the deserts threat ;
And like an oven is our skin,
Both soil'd and parch'd for want of meat.
In Sion wives defiled were,
Deflowered were the virgins young,
(Through Judah's cities every where)
And princes hy their hands were hung.

4.

Her elders disrespected* stood ;
Her young men they for grinding took ;
Her children fell beneath the wood,
And magistrates the gate forsook.
Their musick young men have forborne ;
Rejoicing in their hearts is none :
To mourning doth our dancing turn,
And from our head the crown is gone.

5.

Alas, that ever we did sin !
For therefore feels our heart these cares ;
For that our eyes have dimmed been,
And thus the hill of Sion fares.
Such desolation there is seen,
That now the foxes play thereon ;
* Original. " Were not honoured."

124 HYMNS AND SONGS

But thou for ever, Lord, hast been,
And without ending is thy throne.

6.

Oh, why are we forgotten thus ?
So long time wherefore absent art ?
Convert thyself, oh Lord, to us,
And we to thee shall soon convert.
Eenew, oh Lord, those ages past,
In which thy favour we have seen !
For we extremely are debas'd,
And bitter hath thine anger been.

THE PEAYEK OF DANIEL.

DAN. ix. 4.

Prophet Daniel, in this prayer, be-
seecheth God to be merciful unto his
people in captivity : and these four
things are principally considerable
therein : First, an acknowledgement of God's power,
justice, and mercy, with a confession that, from the
highest to the lowest, they had broken his com
mandments, and were therefore justly punished.
Secondly, it is confessed, that as their punishment is

OF THE CHURCH. 125

that which they deserved, so it is also the same that
was foretold should come upon them. Thirdly, he
beseecheth that God, for his own mercy's sake, and
the sake of his Messias, would (nevertheless) be
merciful unto them ; as well in regard he had here
tofore gotten glory by delivering them, as in respect
they were his own elected people, and were already
become a reproach unto their neighbours. This may
be sung whensoever any of those judgments are
poured out on the commonwealth, which the prophets
have threatened for sin ; or in our particular afflic
tions, we having first applied it by our meditations.

SONG XXIX.
Sing this as the Twenty-second Song.

1.

LOUD God Almighty ! great, and full of fear ;
"Who always art from breach of promise free,
And never failing to have mercy there,
Where they observe thy laws, and honour thee :
We have transgressed, and amiss have done ;
We disobedient and rebellious were ;
For from thy precepts we astray are gone,
And we departed from thy judgments are.

126 HYMNS AND SONGS

2.

We did thy servants' prophecies withstand,
Who to our dukes, our kings, and fathers came,
When they to all the people of the land
Proclaimed forth their message in thy name.
In thee, oh Lord ! all righteousness appears,
But public shame to us doth appertain ;
E'en as with them of Judah now it fares,
And those that in Jerusalem remain.

3.

Yea, as to Israel now it doth befall,
Throughout those lands in which they scatter'd be ;
For that their great transgression, wherewithall
They have transgressed, and offended thee.
To us, our kings, our dukes, and fathers, doth
Disgrace pertain (oh Lord) for angering thee :
Yet mercy, Lord our God, and pardon, both
To thee belong, though we rebellious be.

4.

We did (indeed) perversely disobey
Thy voice (oh Lord our God,) and would not hear
To keep those laws thou didst before us lay,
By those thy servants, who thy prophets were.
E'en all that of the race of Israel be,
Against thy law have grievously misdone ;

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And that they might not listen unto thee,

They backward from thy voice, oh Lord, are gone.

5.

On them, therefore, that curse and oath descended,
Which in the law of Moses written was ;
(The servant of that God whom we offended,)
And now his speeches he hath brought to pass ;
On us, and on our judges, he doth bring
That plague, wherewith he threatened us and them ;
For under heaven was never such a thing,
As now is fallen upon Jerusalem.

6.

As Moses' written law doth bear record,
Now all this mischief upon them is brought.
And yet we prayed not before the Lord,
That, leaving sin, we might his truth be taught :
For which respect, the Lord in wait hath laid,
That he on us inflict this mischief might :
And sith* his holy word we disobey'd,
In all his doings he remains upright.

7.

But now, oh Lord our God, who from the land
Of cruel Egypt brought thy people hast ;
* Since.

128 HYMNS AND SONGS

And by the power of thy almighty hand,
Achiev'd a name, which to this day doth last ;
Though we have sinned in committing ill,
Yet, Lord, by that pure righteousness in thee,
From thy Jerusalem, thy holy hill,
Oh let thy wrathful anger turned be !

For through the guilt of our displeasing sin,
And for our fathers' faults, Jerusalem,
(Thy chosen people) hath despised been,
And are the scorn of all that neighbour them.
Now, therefore, to thy servant's prayer incline ;
Hear thou his suit, oh God, and let thy face,
(E'en for the Lord's dear sake) vouchsafe to shine
Upon thy (now forsaken) holy place !

9.

Thine ears incline thou (oh, my God) and hear ;
Lift up thine eyes, and us, oh, look upon ;
Us, who forsaken with thy city are ;
That city, where thy name is called on ;
For we upon ourselves presume not thus
Before thy presence our request to make,
For aught that righteous can be found in us,
But for thy great and tender mercy's sake.

OF THE CHURCH. 129

10.

Lord, hear (forgive, oh Lord) and weigh the same ;
Oh, Lord, perform it, and no more defer,
For thine own sake, my God ; for by thy name,
Thy city and thy people called are.

THE PKAYEK OF JONAH.

JONAH ii.

|ONAH, flying from God, and being
preserved in a fish's belly, when he
was cast into the sea, made this Prayer
to praise God for delivering him in so
great an extremity. And the principal things re
markable therein are these : First, the place where
he prayed : Secondly, the terrible danger that en
closed him : Thirdly, the despair he was nigh falling
into: Fourthly, God's mercy, with the Prophet's
timely application thereof, and the comfort it infused
into him : Fifthly, the occasions drawing men into
such perils : Sixthly, the vow made upon his deliver
ance, and the reason of that vow. This burial of
Jonas in the fish's belly, and his deliverance from
thence, was a type of the burial and resurrection of
our blessed Saviour, Matth. xii. 4. This Prayer,

130 HYMNS AND SONGS

therefore, we ought not only to sing historically, to
memorize this wondrous work of God, but to praise
him also for the Eesurrection of Christ, and raising
mankind from that fearful and bottomless gulf of per
dition, wherein it lay swallowed up, without possi
bility of redeeming itself.

SONG XXX.
Sing this as the Twenty-fourth Song.

1.

IN my distress to thee I cried, oh Lord !
And thou wert pleased my complaint to hear
Out from the bowels of the grave I roar'd,
And to my voice thou didst incline thine ear :
For I amid the raging sea was cast,
And to the bottom there thou plung'd me hast.

2.

The floods did round about me circles make ;
Thy waves and billows overflow'd me quite ;
And then unto myself (alas) I said,
I am for evermore depriv'd thy sight :
Yet once again thou pleased art, that I
Should to thy holy temple lift mine eye.

OF THE CHURCH. 131

3.

E'en to my soul the waters clos'd me had ;
O'erswallow'd by the deeps, I fast was pent :
About my head the weeds a wreath had made ;
Unto the mountains' bottoms down I went ;
And so, that forth again I could not get,
The earth an everlasting bar had set.

4.

Then thou, oh Lord my God, then thou wert he,
That from corruption didst my life defend :
For when my soul was like to faint in me,
Thou thither didst into my thought descend.
And, Lord, my prayer thence to thee I sent,
Which upward to thy holy temple went.

5.

Those who believe in vain and foolish lies,
Despisers of their own good safety be ;
But I will offer up the sacrifice
Of singing praises with my voice to thee :
And I will that perform, which vow'd I have,
For unto thee belongs it, Lord, to save.

132 HYMNS AND SONGS

THE PKAYER OF HABAKUK.

HABAK. iii.

K tliis petitionary and prophetical Hymn,
the Deliverer of mankind is first prayed
for. Secondly, the glorious majesty
of his coming is described by excellent
allegories, and by allusions to former deliverances
vouchsafed to the Jews. Thirdly, here is foretold
the overthrow of Antichrist, who shall be destroyed
by the brightness of our Saviour's coming. Fourth
ly, here is set forth the state of the latter times.
Fifthly, he expresseth the joy, confidence, and safety
of the elect of God, even amid those terrors that
shall await upon their Redeemer's coming. This
Song is to be sung historically, in commemoration
of the Church's deliverance by the first coming of
Jesus Christ : and prophetically, to comfort us con
cerning that perfect delivery, assured at his second
coming. For though the Prophet had some respect
to the Jews' temporal deliverance, that he might
comfort the Church in those times ; yet the Holy
Ghost had principal regard to the spiritual deliver
ance of his spiritual kingdom, the holy Catholic
Church. And to her, and her enemies, do the

OF THE CHURCH. 133

names (of the Church's enemies,) here mentioned,
very properly agree. Nay, Cushan, signifying dark,
black, or cloudy, and Midian, which is interpreted
condemnation, or judgment, better suit unto the
nature of those spiritual adversaries, whom they pre
figured, than to those people who were literally so
called. For none are so fitly termed People of
Darkness, or of Condemnation, as the members of
Antichrist, and the spiritual Babylon.

SONG XXXI.

1.

LORD, thy answer I did hear,
And I grew therewith afeard ;
When the times at fullest are,
Let thy work be then declar'd :
When the time, Lord, full doth grow,
Then in anger mercy show.

2.

God Almighty he came down ;
Down he came from Theman-ward ;
And the matchless Holy One,
From mount Paran forth appear'd,
Heav'n o'erspreading with his rays,
And earth filling with his praise.

1,34 HYMNS AND SONGS

3.

Sun-like was his glorious light ;
From his side there did appear
Beaming rajs, that shined bright ;
And his power he shrouded there.
Plagues before his face he sent ;
At his feet hot coals there went.

4.

Where he stood he measure took
Of the earth, and viewM it well ;
Nations vanished at his look ;
Ancient hills to powder fell :*
Mountains old cast lower wero.
For his ways eternal are.

5.

Cushan tents I saw diseas'd,f
And the Midian curtains quake.
Have the floods, Lord, thee displeas'd ?
Bid the floods thee angry make ?
Was it else the sea that hath
Thus provoked thee to wrath ?

For thou rod'st thy horses there,
And thy saving chariots through :

* Original. " The Everlasting Mountains were scattered."
t Afflicted.

OF THE CHURCH. 135

Thou didst make thy bow appear,
And thou didst perform thy vow :
Yea, thine oath and promise past
(To the tribes) fulfilled hast.

7.

Through the earth thou rifts didst make,
And the rivers there did flow :
Mountains, seeing thee, did shake,
And away the floods did go :
From the deep a voice was heard,
And his hands on high he rear'd.

8.

Both the sun and moon made stay,
And remov'd not in their spheres :
By thine arrows h'ght went they,
By thy brightly shining spears.
Thou in wrath the land didst crush,
And in rage the nations thresh.

9.

For thy people's safe release,
With thy Christ, for aid went'st thou :
Thou hast also pierc'd the chief
Of the sinful houshold through ;
And display'd them, till made bare
From the feet to neck they were.

136 HYMNS AND SONGS

10.

Thou, with javelins of their own,
Didst their armies leader strike :
For against me they came down,
To devour me, whirlwind-like :
And they joy in nothing more,
Than unseen to spoil the poor.

•

11.

Through the sea thou mad'st a way,
And didst ride thy horses there,
Where great heaps of water lay :
I the news thereof did hear,
And the voice my bowels shook ;
Yea, my lips a quivering took.

12.

Eottenness my bones possest ;
Trembling fear possessed me ;
I that troublous day might rest :
For, when his approaches be
Onward to the people made,
His strong troops will them invade.

13.

Bloomless shall the fig-tree be,
And the vine no fruit sjiall yield ;

OF THE CHURCH. 137

Fade shall then the olive-tree ;
Meat shall none be in the field :
Neither in the fold or stall,
Flock or herd continue shall.

14.

Yet the Lord my joy shall be,
And in him I will delight ;
In my God, that saveth me,
God the Lord, my only might :
Who my feet so guides, that I,
Hind-like, pace my places high.

138 HYMNS AND SONGS

THE HYMNS OF THE NEW
TESTAMENT.

kHESE five that next follow are the
Hymns of the New Testament ; be
tween which, and the Songs of the Old
Testament, there is great difference:
for the Songs of the Old Testament were either
thanksgivings for temporal benefits, typifying and
signifying future benefits touching our redemption ;
or else Hymns prophetically foreshowing those mys
teries which were to be accomplished at the coming
of Christ. But these Evangelical Songs were com
posed, not for temporal, but for spiritual things pro
mised and figured by those temporal benefits men
tioned in the Old Testament, and perfectly fulfilled
in the New. Therefore, these Evangelical Hymns
are more excellent than such as are merely prophe
tical ; in regard the possession is to be preferred be
fore the hope, and the end before the means of ob
taining it.

OF THE CHURCH. 139

MAGNIFICAT.
LUKE i. 46.

blessed Virgin Mary, being saluted
by the Angel Gabriel, and having by
the Holy Ghost conceived our Re
deemer Jesus Christ in her womb,
was made fruitful also, in her soul, by the oversha
dowing of that Holy Spirit ; and thereupon brought
forth this evangelical and prophetical Hymn : where
in three things are principally observable. First,
she praiseth God for his particular mercies and fa
vour towards her. Secondly, she glorifies God for
the general benefit of our redemption. Thirdly, she
magnifies God for the particular grace vouchsafed
unto the seed of Israel, according to what was pro
mised to Abraham. This is the first Evangelical
Song ; and was indicted by the Holy Ghost, not only
to be the Blessed Virgin's Thanksgiving, but to be
sung by the whole Catholic Church (whom she typi
cally personated) to praise God for our redemption
and exaltation ; and therefore it is worthily inserted
into the Liturgy, that it may be perpetually and
reverently sung.

140 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG XXXII.
Sing this as the Third Song.

1.

HAT magnify'd the Lord may be,

T

My soul now undertakes ;
And in the God that saveth me

My Spirit merry makes.
For he vouchsafed hath to view

His handmaid's poor degree ;
And lo, all ages that ensue,

Shall blessed reckon me.

2.

Great things for me the Almighty does,

And holy is his name ;
From age to age he mercy shows,

On such as fear the same.
He by his arm declar'd his might,

And this to pass hath brought,
That now the proud are put to flight,

By what their hearts have thought.

3.

The mighty plucking from their seat,
The poor he placed there ;

OF THE CHURCH. 141

And for the hungry takes the meat

From such as wealthy are.
But, minding mercy, he hath show'd

His servant Isr'el grace,
As he to our forefathers vow'd,

To Abraham and his race.

BENEDICTUS.

LUKE i. 68.

ACHARY the Priest, being (upon the
birth of his son) inspired with the
knowledge of our Redeemer's incar
nation, sung the second Evangelical
Hymn ; in which two things are especially consider
able : — First, he blesseth God, because, through the
coming of Christ, all the promises made unto the
Patriarchs and Prophets were fulfilled, for the sal
vation of his people. Secondly, he declareth the
office and duty of his own Son, who was sent before
to prepare the way of the Lord. This Song the
Church hath worthily inserted into the Liturgy also,
and we ought therefore to sing it reverently, in me
morial of our Saviour's Incarnation ; and to praise
God both for the fulfilling of his promises, and for
that means of our evangelical preparation which he
vouchsafed, by sending his Forerunner.

142 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG XXXIII.

Sing this as the Third Song,
1.

BLEST be the God of Israel,
For he his people bought ;
And in his servant David's house
Hath great salvation wrought ;
As by his Prophets he foretold,

Since time began to be,
That from our foes we might be safe,
And from our haters free.

2.
That he might show our fathers grace,

And bear in mind the same,
Which by an oath he vow'd unto

Our father Abraham ;
That from our adversaries freed,

We serve him fearless might,
In righteousness and holiness,

Our lifetime in his sight.

3.

And (of the Highest) thee, oh Child !
The Prophet I declare, 9

OF THE CHURCH. 143

Before the Lord his face to go,

His coming to prepare ;
To teach his people how they shall

That safety come to know,
Which, by remission of their sins,

He doth on them bestow.

4.
For it is through the tender love

Of God alone, whereby
That day-spring hath to visit us

Descended from on high ;
To light them who in darkness sit,

And in Death's shade abide,
And in the blessed way of peace

Their wandering feet to guide.

144 HYMNS AND SONGS

THE SONG OF ANGELS.

LUKE ii. 13.

i HIS is the third Evangelical Song
mentioned in the New Testament;
and it was sung by a choir of Angels
(at the birth of our blessed Saviour
Jesus Christ), whose rejoicing shall be made com
plete by the redemption of mankind. In this Song
they first glorify God, and then proclaim that happy
peace and reconciliation, which his Son's Nativity
should bring unto the world, rejoicing therein ; and
in that unspeakable good-will and dear communion,
which was thereby established between the godhead,
the manhood, and them. We therefore ought to
join with them in this Song, and sing it often, to
praise God, and quicken faith and charity in our
selves.

SONG XXXIV.

^ I ^HUS Angels sung, and thus sing we ;

_1_ To God on high all glory be ;
Let him on earth his peace bestow,
And unto men his favour show.

OF THE CHURCH. 145

NUNC DIMITTIS.

LUKE ii. 29.

I HE fourth Evangelical Hymn is this
of Simeon, who, being in expectation
of the coming of the Messias (which,
according to Daniel's seventy weeks,
was in those days to be accomplished), it was revealed
unto him, that he should not die till he had seen
Christ : and, accordingly, he coming into the Temple
by the Spirit's instigation (when he was presented
there as the law commanded), both beheld and em
braced his Eedeemer. In this Song, therefore, he
glorifieth God for the fulfilling of his promise made
unto him ; and joyfully confesseth Jesus Christ be
fore all the people. In repeating this Hymn we
ought also to confess our Kedeemer: for Simeon
was, as it were, the Church's speaker ; and hath for
us expressed that thankful joy, wherewithal we should
be filled, when God enlightens us with the knowledge
and spiritual vision of our Saviour.

146 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG XXXV.

Sing this as the Third Song.

GKANT now in peace (that by thy leave)
I may depart, oh Lord !
For thy salvation seen I have,

According to thy word :
That which prepared was by thee,

Before all people's sight,
Thy Israel's renown to be,
And to the Gentiles light.

THE SONG OF MOSES AND THE LAMB.
KEY. xv. 3.

fifth and last Song recorded in the
New Testament is this, called by St.
John, The Song of Moses and the
Lamb; being indeed the effect of
that triumph Song, which the Saints and blessed
Martyrs shall sing unto the honour of that Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sins of the world, when
they have gotten the victory over Antichrist. This
Hymn the members of the true Church may sing to

OF THE CHURCH. 147

God's glory, and the increase of their own comfort,
when they perceive the power of the Almighty any
way manifested upon that adversary. It may be
repeated also amid our greatest persecutions, to
strengthen our faith, and remember us, that whatso
ever we suffer, there will come a day, wherein we
shall have cause to make use of this Hymn with a
perfect rejoicing.

SONG XXXVI.

Sing this as the Thirteenth Song.
1.

OH thou Lord, thou God of might,
(Who dost all things work aright)
Whatsoe'er is done by thee,
Great and wondrous proves to be.

2.

True thy ways are, and direct,
Holy King of Saints elect.
And (oh, therefore) who is there,
That of thee retains no fear ?

r ft

3.

Who is there that shall deny
Thy great Name to glorify ?

148 HYMNS AND SONGS

For thou, Lord, and thou alone,
Art the perfect Holy One.

4.

In thy presence nations all
Shall to adoration fall ;
For thy judgments now appear
Unto all men what they are.

Here end the Hymns of the New Testament.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

EXOD. xx.

ILTHOUGH the Decalogue be not
originally in verse, yet among us it hath
been heretofore usually sung : because,
therefore, it may be a means to pre
sent these precepts somewhat the oftener to remem
brance, make them the more frequently repeated,
and stir up those who sing and hear them to the
better performance of their duties, they are here also
inserted, and fitted to be sung.

OF THE CHUECH. 149

SONG XXXVII.
Sing this as the Fourth Song.

THE Great Almighty spake, and thus said he ;
I am the Lord thy God ; and I alone
From cruel Egypt's thraldom set thee free :
And other Gods hut me thou shalt have none.

Have mercy, Lord, and so our hearts incline,
That we may keep this blessed Law of thine.

Thou shalt not make an image, to adore,
Of aught on earth, above it, or below :
A carved work thou shalt not bow before ;
Nor any worship on the same bestow.

For I, thy God, a jealous God am known,
And on their seed the fathers' sins correct,
Until the third and fourth descent be gone :
But them I always love, that me affect.

Have mercy, Lord, and so our hearts incline,
That we may keep this blessed Law of thine.

The Name of God thou never shalt abuse,
By swearing, or repeating it in vain :

150 HYMNS AND SONGS

For him that doth his Name profanely use,
The Lord will as a guilty-one arraign.

Have mercy, Lord, and so our hearts incline,
That we may keep this blessed Law of thine.

To keep the Sabbath holy, bear in mind ;
Six days thine own affairs apply thou to ;
The seventh is God's own day, for rest assign'd,
And thou no kind of work therein shalt do.

Thou, nor thy child, thy servants, nor thy beast ;
Nor he that guest-wise with thee doth abide ;
For after six days labour God did rest,
And therefore he that day hath sanctify'd.

Have mercy, Lord, and so our hearts incline,
That we may keep this blessed Law of thine.

See that unto thy parents thou do give
Such honour, as the child by duty owes ;
That thou a long and blessed life may'st live,
Within the land the Lord thy God bestows.

Have mercy, Lord, and so our hearts incline,
That we may keep this blessed Law of thine.

Thou shalt be wary, that thou no man slay :
Thou shalt from all adultery be clear :
Thou shalt not steal another's goods away :
Nor witness false against thy neighbour bear.

Have mercy, Lord, and so our hearts incline,
That we may keep this blessed Law of thine.

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With what is thine remaining well apaid,
Thou shalt not covet what thy neighbour's is ;
His house, nor wife, his servant, man nor maid,
His ox, nor ass, nor any thing of his.

Thy mercy, Lord, thy mercy let ns have.
And in our hearts these Laws of thine engrave.

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

MATT. vi. 7.

E Lord's Prayer hath been anciently
and usually sung also; and to that
purpose was heretofore both translated
and paraphrased in verse ; which way
of expression (howsoever some weak judgments have
condemned it) doth no whit disparage or misbeseem
a Prayer ; for David made many prayers in verse :
and, indeed, measured words were first devised and
used to express the praises of God, and petitions
made to him. Yea, those are the ancient and pro
per subjects of poesy, as appears throughout the
sacred writ, and in the first human antiquities.
Verse, therefore, dishonours not divine subjects ; but
those men do profane and dishonour verse, who abuse
it on vain and mere profane expressions. The scope
and use of this Prayer is so frequently treated of,
that I think I shall not need to insist thereon in this
place.

152 HYMNS AND SONGS

O

SONG XXXVIII.
Sing this as the Third Song.

UR Father, which in Heaven art,

We sanctify thy name :
Thy kingdom come : thy will be done :

In heaven and earth the same :
Give us this day our daily bread :

And us forgive thou so,
As we on them that us offend

Forgiveness do bestow :
Into Temptation lead us not,

But us from evil free :
For thine the kingdom, power, and praise

Is, and shall ever be.

OF THE CHURCH. 153

THE APOSTLES' CREED.

•HE effect and use of this Creed is so
generally taught, that this preface need
not be enlarged : and as touching the
singing and versifying of it, that which

is said in the preface of the Lord's Prayer may serve

for both.

SONG XXXIX.

1.

IN God the Father I believe,
Who made all creatures by his word ;
And true belief I likewise have
In Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord ;
Who by the Holy Ghost conceiv'd,
Was of the Virgin Mary born ;
Who meekly Pilate's wrongs receiv'd,
And crucified was with scorn.

2.

Wlio died, and in the grave hath lain ;
Who did the lowest pit descend :

154 HYMNS AND SONGS

Who on the third day rose again,
And up to Heaven did ascend.
Who at his Father's right hand there
Now throned sits, and thence shall come
To take his seat of judgment here ;
And give hoth quick and dead their doom.

3.

I in the Holy Ghost helieve,
The holy Church Catholick too,
(And that the Saints communion have)
Undoubtedly believe I do.
I well assured am, likewise,
A pardon for my sins to gain ;
And that my flesh from death shall rise,
And everlasting life obtain.

A FUNEKAL SONG.

E first stanza of this Song is taken
out of St. John's Gospel, chap. xi. ver.
25, 26. The second stanza, Job xix.
25, 26, 27. The third stanza, I Tim.
vi. 7, and Job i. 21. The last stanza, Eev. xiv. 13.
And in the Order of Burial appointed by the Church
of England, it is appointed to be sung or read, as

OF THE CHURCH. 155

the minister pleaseth : that therefore it may be the
more conveniently used either way, according to the
Church's appointment, it is here turned into lyric
verse. It was ordained to comfort the living, by
putting them in mind of the Resurrection, and of
the happiness of those who die in the faith of Christ
Jesus.

SONG XL.

Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.

AM the Life (the Lord thus saith)
The Resurrection is tlirough me ;
And whosoe'er in me hath faith,
Shall live, yea, though now dead he be
And he for ever shall not die,
That living doth on me rely.

2.

That my Redeemer lives, I ween,*
And that at last I rais'd shall be
From earth, and, cover'd with my skin
In this my flesh, my God shall see.
Yea, with these eyes, and these alone,
E'en I my God shall look upon.
* Know.

156 HYMNS AND SONGS

3.

Into the world we naked come,

And naked back again we go :

The Lord our wealth receive we from ;

And he doth take it from us too :

The Lord both wills, and works the same,

And blessed therefore be his name.

4.

From Heaven there came a voice to me,
And this it will'd me to record ;
The dead from henceforth blessed be,
The dead that dieth in the Lord :
The Spirit thus doth likewise say,
For from their works at rest are they.

THE SONG OF THE THREE CHILDBED.

Song hath been anciently used in
the Liturgy of the Church, as profit
able to the stirring up of devotion, and
for the praise of God : for it earnestly
calleth upon all creatures to set forth the glory of
their Creator, even angels, spirits, and reasonable
creatures, with those also that are unreasonable, and
unsensible. And this speaking to things without

OF THE CHURCH. 157

life is not to intimate that they are capable of such
like exhortations ; hut rather, that upon consideration
of the obedience which beasts and insensible creatures
continue towards God, according to the law imposed
at their creation, men might be provoked to remem
ber the honour and praise, which they ought to
ascribe unto their Almighty Creator, as well as all
his other creatures.

SONG XLI.
Sing this as the Ninth Song.

I.

H all you creatures of the Lord,

O

You Angels of the God most high ;
You heavens, with what you do afford ;
And waters all above the sky :

Bless ye the Lord, him praise, adore,
And magnify him eiermore.

Of God, you everlasting Powers,
Sun, moon, and stars, so bright that show ;
You soaking dews, you dropping showers ;
And all you winds of God that blow :

Bless ye the Lord, him praise, adore,
And magnify him evermore.

158 HYMNS AND SONGS

3.

Thou fire, and what doth heat contain ;
Cold winter, and thou summer fair ;
You blustering storms of hail, and rain ;
And thou, the frost-congealing air :

Bless ye the Lord, him praise, adore,
And magnify him evermore.

4.

Oh praise him both, you ice and snow ;
You nights and days, do you the same,
With what or dark or light doth show ;
You clouds, and ev'ry shining flame.

Bless ye the Lord, him praise, adore,
And magnify him evermore.

5.

Thou earth, you mountains, and you hills,
And whatsoever thereon grows ;
You fountains, rivers, springs, and rills ;
You seas, and ah1 that ebbs or flows :

Bless ye the Lord, him praise, adore,
And magnify him evermore.

You whales, and all the water yields ;
You of the feather'd airy breed ;

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You beasts and cattle of the fields ;
And you that are of human seed :

Bless ye the Lord, him praise, adore,
And magnify him evermore.

7.

Let Israel the Lord confess ;
So let his priests, that in him trust ;
Him, let his servants also bless ;
Yea, souls and spirits of the just :

Bless ye the Lord, him praise, adore,
And magnify him evermore.

8.

You blessed Saints, his praises tell ;
And you, that are of humble heart,
With Ananias, Misael ;
And Azarias (bearing part) :

Bless you the Lord, him praise, adore.
And magnify him evermore.

160 HYMNS AND SONGS

THE SONG OF ST. AMBEOSE;
OE TE DEUM.

Song, commonly called Te Deum,
or the Song of St. Ambrose, was re
peated at the baptizing of St. Augus
tine ; and (as it is recorded) was com
posed at that very time by those two reverend Fathers,
answering one another, as it were by immediate in
spiration. It is one of the most ancient Hymns of
the Christian Church, excellently praising and con
fessing the blessed Trinity; and therefore is daily
and worthily made use of in our Liturgy, and reck
oned among the sacred Hymns.

SONG XLII.

p

Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

1.

WE praise thee, God, we knowledge thee
To be the Lord, for evermore :
And the eternal Father we,
Throughout the earth, do thee adore :

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All Angels, with all powers within
The compass of the heavens high ;
Both Cherubin, and Seraphin,
To thee perpetually do cry.

2.

Oh holy, holy, Holy One,
Thou Lord and God of Sabbath art ;
Whose praise and majesty alone
Fills heaven and earth in ev'ry part :
The glorious troop apostolick,
The Prophets' worthy company ;
The Martyrs' army royal eke*
Are those whom thou art praised by.

3.

Thou through the holy Church art known,
The Father of unbounded power :
Thy worthy, true, and only Son :
The Holy Ghost the Comforter :
Of glory, thou, oh Christ, art King ;
The Father's Son, for evermore ;
Who men from endless death to bring
The Virgin's womb didst not abhor.

4.

When Conqueror of Death thou wert,
Heaven to the faithful openedst thou ;
* Also.

M

162 HYMNS AND SONGS

And in the Father's glory art

At God's right hand enthroned now :

Whence we helieve that thou shalt come

To judge us in the day of wrath.

Oh, therefore, help thy servants, whom

Thy precious blood redeemed hath.

5.

Them with those saints do thou record,
That gain eternal glory may :
Thine heritage and people, Lord,
Save, hless, guide, and advance for aye.*
By us thou daily prais'd hast heen,
And we will praise thee without end.
Oh keep us, Lord, this day from sin,
And let thy mercy us defend.

Thy mercy, Lord, let us receive,
As we our trust repose in thee :
Oh, Lord, in thee I trusted have ;
Confounded never let me be.
* Ever.

OF THE CHURCH. 163

ATHANASIUS'S CKEED ;
OR, QUICUNQUE VULT.

I HIS Creed was composed by Athana-
sius (after the wicked heresy of Arms
had spread itself through the world),
that so the faith of the Catholic Church,
concerning the mystery of the blessed Trinity, might
be the better understood, and professed, to the over
throw and preventing of Arianism, or the like here
sies. And to the same purpose it is appointed to be
said or sung upon certain days of the year in the
Church of England.

SONG XLIII.
Sing this as the Third Song.

I.

THOSE that will saved be, must hold
The true Catholick Faith,
And keep it wholly, if they would

Escape eternal death.
Which faith a Trinity adores
In One, and One in Three :

164 HYMNS AND SONGS

So, as the substance being one,
Distinct the persons be.

2.
One Person of the Father is,

Another of the Son,
Another of the Holy Ghost,

And yet their godhead one :
Alike in glory ; and in their

Eternity as much ;
For as the Father, both the Son

And Holy Ghost is such.

3.

The Father uncreate, and so

The Son and Spirit be :
The Father he is infinite ;

The other two as he.
The Father an eternal is,

Eternal is the Son :
So is the Holy Ghost ; yet these

Eternally but One.

4.
Nor say we there are infinites,

Or uncreated Three ;
For there can but one infinite

Or uncreated be.

OF THE CHURCH. 165

So Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

All three Almighties are ;
And yet not three Almighties though,

But only One is there.

5.

The Father likewise God and Lord ;

And God and Lord the Son ;
And God and Lord the Holy Ghost,

Yet God and Lord but One.
For though each Person by himself

We God and Lord confess,
Yet Christian faith forbids that we

Three Gods or Lords profess.

6.
The Father not begot, nor made ;

Begot (not made) the Son ;
Made, nor begot, the Holy Ghost,

But a proceeding One.
One Father, not three Fathers, then ;

One only Son, not three ;
One Holy Ghost we do confess,

And that no more they be.

7.

And less, or greater than the rest,
This Trinity hath none ;

166 HYMNS AND SONGS

But they both co-eternal he,

And equal ev'ry one.
He therefore that will saved he,

(As we have said before)
Must One in Three, and Three in One,

Believe, and still adore.

8.

That Jesus Christ incarnate was,

He must believe with this ;
And how that both the Son of God

And God and Man he is.
God, of his Father's substance pure,

Begot ere time was made :
Man of his mother's substance born,

When time his fulness had.

9.

Both perfect God, and perfect Man,

In soul, and flesh, as we :
The Father's equal being God,

As man beneath is he.
Though God and Man, yet but one Christ ;

And to dispose it so,
The Godhead was not turn'd to flesh,

But manhood took thereto.

OF THE CHURCH. 167

10.
The substance unconfus'd ; he one

In person doth subsist :
As soul and body make one man,

So God and Man is Christ ;
Who suffer'd, and went down to hell,

That we might saved be ;
The third day he arose again,

And Heaven ascended he.

11.

At God the Father's right hand there

He sits ; and at the doom,
He to adjudge both quick and dead,

From thence again shall come.
Then all men with their flesh shall rise,

And he account require :
Well-doers into bliss shall go,

The bad to endless fire.

168

HYMNS AND SONGS

VENI CEEATOK.

is a very ancient Hymn, composed
in Latin rhyme, and commonly called
Veni Creator, because those are the
first words of it. By the canons of
our Church it is commanded to be said or sung at
the consecration of Bishops, and at the ordination of
Ministers, <fcc. It is therefore here translated syl
lable for syllable, and in the same kind of measure
which it hath in the Latin.

SONG XLIV.

1.

COME Holy Ghost, the Maker, come ;
Take in the souls of thine thy place ;
Thou whom our hearts had being from,
Oh, fill them with thy heavenly grace.
Thou art that Comfort from above,
The Highest doth by gift impart ;
Thou spring of life, a fire of love,
And the anointing Spirit art.

OF THE CHURCH. 169

2.

Thou in thy gifts art manifold ;
God's right-hand finger thou art, Lord :
The Father's promise made of old ;
Our tongues enriching by thy word.
Oh ! give our blinded senses light ;
Shed love into each heart of our,
And grant the body's feeble plight
May be enabled by thy power.

3.

Far from us drive away the foe,
And let a speedy peace ensue :
Our leader also be, that so
We every danger may eschew.
Let us be taught the blessed Creed
Of Father, and of Son, by thee :
And how from both thou dost proceed,
That our belief it still may be.

To Thee, the Father, and the Son,
(Whom past and present times adore)
The One in Three, and Three in One,
All glory be for evermore !

HERE ENDS THE FIRST PART OP THE HYMNS
AND SONGS OF THE CHURCH.

THE SECOND PAKT

OF THE HYMNS AND SONGS

OF THE CHURCH.

(VERY thing hath his season,' saith the
Preacher, Eccl. iii. And St. Paul ad-
viseth, ' That all things should be done
honestly, in order, and to edification/
1 Cor. xiv. Which counsel the Church religiously
heeding (and how, by observation of times, and other
circumstances, the memories and capacities of weak
people were the better assisted) it was provided, that
there should be annual commemorations of the prin
cipal mysteries of our redemption : and certain par
ticular days were dedicated to that purpose, as nigh
as might be guessed (for the most part) upon those
very seasons of the year, in which the several mys
teries were accomplished. And, indeed, this is not
that heathenish or idolatrous heeding of times, repre
hended in Isaiah xlvii. ; nor such a Jewish or super-

172 HYMNS AND SONGS

stitious observation of days, and months, and times,
and years, as is reproved by St. Paul, Gal. iv. Nor
a toleration for idleness, contrary to the fourth com
mandment ; but a Christian and warrantable obser
vation, profitably ordained, that things might be done
in order, that the understanding might be the better
edified ; that the memory might be the oftener re
freshed ; and that the devotion might be the more
stirred up.

It is true, that we ought to watch every hour :
but if the Church had not by her authority appointed
set days and hours to keep us awake in, some of us
would hardly watch one hour : and, therefore, those
who have zeal according to knowledge, do not only
religiously observe the Church's appointed times, but
do, by her example, voluntarily also appoint unto
themselves certain days, and hours of the day, for
Christian exercises. Neither can any man suppose
this commendable observation offcasts (neither bur
densome by multitude, nor superstitious by institu
tion) to be an abridgment of Christian liberty, who,
as he ought to do, believeth that the service of God
is perfect freedom. We persuade not, that one day
is more holy than another in his own nature ; but
admonish that those be reverently and christianly
observed, which are, upon so good ground, and with
prudent moderation, dedicated to the worship of God :
for, it cannot be denied, that even those who are but

OF THE CHURCH. 173

coldly affected to the Church's ordinances in this
kind, do nevertheless often apprehend the mystery
of Christ's Nativity and Passion, upon the days of
commemorating them, much more feelingly than at
other times : and that they forget also some other
mysteries altogether, until they are remembered of
them by the distinction and observation of times
used in the Church.

These things considered ; and because there be
many, who, through ignorance rather than obstinacy,
have neglected the Church's ordinance in this point,
here are added (to those Songs of the Church which
were either taken out of the canonical Scripture, or
anciently in use) certain other Spiritual Songs and
Hymns, appropriated to those days and occasions
which are most observable throughout the year.
And before each several Hymn is prefixed a brief
Preface also, to declare their use, and the purpose
of each commemoration ; that such, who have here
tofore through ignorance contemned the Church's
discipline therein, might behave themselves more
reverently hereafter, and learn not to speak evil of
those things they understand not.

174 HYMNS AND SONGS

ADVENT SUNDAY.

Advent is that for Christmas, which
John Baptist was to Christ (even a
forerunner for preparation) : and it is
called the Advent (which signifieth
coming) hecause the Church did usually, from that
time until the Nativity, commemorate the several
comings of Christ, and instruct the people concern
ing them. Which comings are these, and the like :
His Conception, hy which he came into the Virgin's
womb : His Nativity, hy which he came (as it were)
further into the world : His coming to preach in his
own person: His coming hy his Ministers: His
coming to Jerusalem : The coming of the Holy
Ghost : His spiritual coming, which he vouchsafeth
into the heart of every regenerate Christian : And
finally, that last coming of his, which shall he unto
judgment, &c. All which comings are compre
hended in these three ; his coming to men, into
men, and against men ; to men, by his Incarnation ;
into men, by Grace ; against men, to Judgment.

OF THE CHURCH. 175

SONG XLV.
Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.

WHEN Jesus Christ incarnate was,
To be our brother then came he :
When into us he comes by grace,
Then his beloved spouse are we :
When he from Heaven descends again,
To be our judge returns he then.

2.

And then despair will those confound,
That his first comings nought regard ;
And those, who till the trumpet sound,
Consume their leisures unprepar'd :
Curst be those pleasures, cry they may,
Which drove the thought of this away.

3.

The Jews abjected yet remain,
That his first advent heeded not ;
And those five virgins knock'd in vain,
Who to provide them oil forgot :
But safe and blessed those men are,
Who for his comings do prepare.

176 HYMNS AND SONGS

4.

O let us therefore watch and pray,
His times of visiting to know ;
And live so furnish'd, that we may
With him unto his wedding go :
Yea, though at midnight he should call,
Let us be ready, lamps, and all.

5.

And so provide before that feast,
Which Christ his coming next doth mind,
That he to come, and be a guest
Within our hearts, may pleasure find ;
And we bid welcome, with good cheer,
That coming, which so many fear.

6.

Oh come, Lord Jesu, come away ;
(Yea, though the world it shall deter)
Oh let thy kingdom come, we pray,
Whose coming most too much defer :
And grant us thereof such foresight,
It come not like a thief by night.

OF THE CHURCH.

177

CHRISTMAS DAY.

| HIS day is worthily dedicated to be
observed in remembrance of the blessed
Nativity of our Redeemer Jesus Christ :
at which tune it pleased the Almighty
Father to send his only begotten Son into the world
for our sakes ; and by an unspeakable union to join
in one person God and Man, without confusion of
natures, or possibility of separation. To express,
therefore, our thankfulness, and the joy we ought to
have in this love of God, there hath been anciently,
and is yet continued in England (above other coun
tries), a neighbourly and plentiful hospitality in in
viting, and (without invitation) receiving unto our
well-furnished tables, our tenants, neighbours, friends,
and strangers ; to the honour of our nation, and in
crease of amity and free-hearted kindness among us.
But, most of all, to the refreshing of the bowels of
the poor, being the most Christian use of such festi
vals. Which charitable and good English custom
hath of late been seasonably re-advanced by his
Majesty's gracious care, in commanding our Nobility
and Gentry to repair (especially at such tunes) to
their country mansions.

178 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG XLVI.
1.

AS on the night before this blessed morn
A troop of Angels unto Shepherds told,
Where in a stable he was poorly born,
Whom nor the earth nor heaven of heavens can hold,

Through Bethlehem rung,
This news at their return ;

Yea, Angels sung,
That GOD WITH us was born :
And they made mirth, because we should not mourn.

CHORUS.

Their Angels caroll sing we then,
To God on high all glory be ;
For peace on earth bestoweth he,
And sheweth favour unto men.

2.

This favour Christ vouchsafeth for our sake :

To buy us thrones he in a manger lay ;

Our weakness took, that we his strength might take,

And was disrob'd, that he might us array :

Our flesh he wore,
Our sin to wear away :

Our curse he bore,
That we escape it may ;

And wept for us, that we might sing for aye.*
With Angels therefore sing again,
To God on high all glory be ;
For peace on earth bestoweth he,
And sheweth favour unto men.
* Ever.

OF THE CHURCH. 179

SONG XLVII.
ANOTHER FOR CHRISTMAS-DAY.

1.

A SONG OF JOY unto the Lord we sing,
And publish forth the favours he hath shown :
We sing his praise, from whom all joy doth spring,
And tell abroad the wonders he hath done ;
For such were never since the world begun.

His love, therefore, oh ! let us all confess ;
And to the sons of men his works express.

2.

As on this day the Son of God was born,
The blessed Word was then incarnate made ;
The Lord to be a servant held no scorn ;
The Godhead was with human nature clad,
And flesh a throne above all Angels had.
Hit love, therefore, fyc.

3.

Our sin and sorrows on himself he took,
On us his bliss and goodness to bestow :
To visit earth, he Heaven awhile forsook ;
And to advance us high, descended low ;
But with the sinful angels dealt not so.
His love, therefore, fyc.

180 HYMNS AND SONGS

4.

A maid conceiv'd, whom man had never known :
The fleece was moistened, where no rain had been
A virgin she remains that had a son :
The bush did flame that still remained green :
And this befell, when God with us was seen.
His love, therefore, fyc.

5.

For sinful men all this to pass was brought,
As, long before, the Prophets had forespoke :
So he, that first our shame and ruin wrought,
Once bruis'd our heel, but now his head is broke :
And he hath made us whole, who gave that stroke.
His love, therefore, fyc.

6.

The Lamb hath plaj'd devouring wolves among,
The morning star of Jacob doth appear ;
From Jesse's root our tree of life is sprung,
And all God's works (in him) fulfilled are :
Yet we are slack his praises to declare.
His lovet therefore, fyc.

OF THE CHURCH. 181

THE CIKCUMCISION,

OR NEW YEAR'S DAY.

IE Church solemnizcth this day, com
monly called New Year's Day, in
memorial of our Saviour's Circum
cision ; that remembering how, when
he was but eight days old, he began to smart and
shed his blood for us, we might praise him for the
same ; and that with due thankfulness, considering
how easy a sacrament he hath left us (instead of
that bloody one, which the law enjoined) we might
be provoked to bring forth the fruits of regeneration.

SONG XLVIII.
Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

1.

HIS day thy flesh, oh Christ, did bleed,

Mark'd by the circumcision -knife ;
Because the law, for man's misdeed,
Kequir'd that earnest of thy life :
Those drops divin'd that shower of blood,
Which in thine agony began :

T

182 HYMNS AND SONGS

And that great shower foreshew'd the flood,
Which from thy side the next day ran.

2.

Then, through that milder sacrament,
Succeeding this, thy grace inspire ;
Yea, let thy smart make us repent,
And circumcised hearts desire.
For he that either is baptiz'd,
Or circumcis'd in flesh alone,
Is hut as an uncircumcis'd,
Or as an unhaptized one.

3.

The year anew we now begin,
And outward gifts receiv'd have we ;
Kenew us also, Lord, within,
And make us new year's gifts for thee :
Yea, let us, with the passed year,
Our old affections cast away ;
That we new creatures may appear,
And to redeem the time essay.

OF THE CHURCH. 183

TWELFTH-DAY,

OR THE EPIPHANY.

otherwise called the
Epiphany, or the Day of Manifestation,
is celebrated by the Church to the
praise of God, and in memorial of that
blessed and admirable discovery of our Saviour's
birth, which was vouchsafed unto the Gentiles shortly
after it came to pass. For as the Shepherds of the
Jews were warned thereof, and directed to the place
by an Angel from Heaven ; so the Magi of the Gen
tiles received the same particular notice of it by a
star in the East, that both Jews and Gentiles might
be left inexcusable, if they came not to his worship.
This day is observed also in commemoration of our
Saviour's Baptism, and of his first miracle in Canaan,
by which he was likewise manifested to be the Son
of God.

184 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG XLIX.

Sing this as the Forty -first Song.
1.

THAT so thy blessed birth, oh Christ,
Might through the world be spread about,
Thy star appeared in the East,
Whereby the Gentiles found thee out ;
And offering thee myrrh, incense, gold,
Thy three-fold office did unfold.

2.

Sweet Jesus, let that star of thine,
Thy grace, which guides to find out thee,
Within our hearts for ever shine,
That thou of us found out may'st be :
And thou shalt be our King, therefore,
Our Priest and Prophet evermore.

3.

Tears, that from true repentance drop,
Instead of myrrh, present will we :
For incense we will offer up
Our prayers and praises unto thee ;
And bring for gold each pious deed,
Which doth from saving grace proceed.

OF THE CHURCH. 185

4.

And as those Wise Men never went
To visit Herod any more ;
So, finding thee, we will repent
Our courses follow'd heretofore :
And that we homeward may retire,
The way hy thee we will inquire.

THE PURIFICATION OF ST.
MAEY THE VIRGIN.

CCOEDING to the time appointed in
the law of Moses, the blessed Virgin
St. Mary reckoned the days of Purifi
cation, which were to be observed
after the birth of a male child ; and then, as the law
commanded, presented both her son and her appointed
offering in the Temple. Partly, therefore, in com
memoration of that her true obedience to the law,
and partly to memorize that presentation of our Re
deemer (which was performed by his blessed mother
at her Purification) this anniversary is worthily ob
served.

186 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG L.
Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.

NO doubt but she that had the grace,
Thee in her womb, oh Christ, to bear,
And did all womankind surpass,
Was hallow'd by thy being there ;
And where the fruit so holy was,
The birth could no pollution cause.

2.

Yet in obedience to thy law,
Her purifying rites were done,
That we might learn to stand in awe,
How from thine ordinance we run ;
For if we disobedient be,
Unpurified souls have we.

3.

Oh keep us, Lord, from thinking vain,

What by thy word thou shalt command :

Let us be sparing to complain,

On what we do not understand ;

And guide thy Church, that she may still

Command, according to thy will.

OF THE CHURCH. 187

4.

Vouchsafe that with one joint consent
We may thy praises ever sing ;
Preserve thy seamless robe unrent,
For which so many lots do fling :
And grant that, being purified
From sin, we may in love abide.

5.

Moreover, as thy mother went
(That holy and thrice blessed maid)
Thee in thy Temple to present,
With perfect human flesh array'd ;
So let us, offer'd up to thee,
Replenish'd with thy Spirit be.

6.

Yea, let thy Church, our mother dear,
(Within whose womb new-born we be)
Before thee at her time appear,
To give her children up to thee ;
And take, for purified things,
Her, and that offering which she brings.

188 HYMNS AND SONGS

THE FIRST DAY OF LENT.

I HE observation of Lent is a profitable
institution of the Church, not abridg
ing the Christian liberty of meats, but
intended for a means to help to set the
spirit at liberty from the flesh : and therefore this
fast consisteth not altogether in a formal forbearance
of this or that food, but in a true mortification of the
body : for abstinence from flesh only (wherein also
we ought to be obedient to the higher powers) more
tendeth to the increase of plenty and well-ordering
things in the common -wealth, than to a spiritual
discipline. Because it is apparent we may over-
pamper ourselves, as well with what is permitted as with
what is forbidden ; this commendable observation
(which every man ought to observe so far forth as
he shall be able, and his spiritual necessity requires)
was appointed ; partly to commemorate our Saviour's
miraculous fasting, whereby he satisfied for the glut
tony of our first parents ; and (at this season) partly
to cool our wanton blood, which at this time of the
year is aptest to be enflamed with evil concupiscences ;
and partly, also, to prepare us the better both to
meditate the passion of our Saviour, which is always
commemorated about the end of Lent, and to fit us
to receive the blessed Sacrament of his Last Supper
to our greater comfort.

OF THE CHURCH.

SONG LI.

Sing tfiis as the Forty-fourth Song.
I.

TIIY wondrous fasting to record,
And our rebellious flesh to tame,
A holy fast to thee, oh Lord,
We have intended in thy name :
Oh sanctify it, we thee pray,
That we may thereby honour thee ;
And so dispose us, that it may
To our advantage also be.

2.

Let us not grudgingly abstain
Nor secretly the gluttons play,
Nor openly, for glory vain,
Thy Church's ordinance obey ;
But let us fast, as thou hast taught,
Thy rule observing in each part,
With such intentions as we ought,
And with true singleness of heart.

3.

So thou shalt our devotions bless,
And make this holy discipline

190 HYMNS AND SONGS

A means that longing to suppress,
Which keeps our will so cross to thine :
And though our strictest fastings fail
To purchase of themselves thy grace,
Yet they to make for our avail
(By thy deservings) shall have place.

4.

True fasting helpful oft hath been,
The wanton flesh to mortify ;
But takes not off the guilt of sin,
Nor can we merit ought thereby :
It is thine abstinence, or none,
Which merit favour for us must ;
For when our glorioust works are done,
We perish, if in them we trust.

THE ANNUNCIATION OF MAKY.

Church hath dedicated this day to
memorize the Annunciation of the
blessed Virgin St. Mary, who was
about this time of the year saluted by
the Angel Gabriel ; and we ought to sanctify it with
praising God for that inexpressible mystery of our
Saviour's conception, which was the happy news the

OF THE CHURCH. 191

holy Angel brought unto his mother. Nothing in
the world is more worthy to be spoken of than this
favour, and yet nothing more unspeakable.

SONG LII.

Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

1.

UR hearts, oh blessed God, incline,

o

Thy true affection to embrace ;
And that humility of thine,
Which for our sakes vouchsafed was,
Thy goodness teach us to put on,
As with our nature thou wert clad ;
And so to mind what thou hast done,
That we may praise thee, and be glad.

2.

For thou not only heltf'st it meet
To send an angel from above,
An humble maid on earth to greet,
And bring the message of thy love :
But laying (as it were) aside
Those glories none can comprehend,
Nor any mortal eyes abide,
Into her womb thou didst descend.

192 HYMNS AND SONGS

3.

Bestow thou also thy respect
On our despis'd and low degree ;
And, Lord, oh, do not us neglect,
Though worthy of contempt we be :
But through thy messengers prepare
And hallow so our hearts, we pray,
That thou conceived being there,
The fruits of faith bring forth we may.

PALM SUNDAY.

JALM Sunday is so called, by reason it
was upon that day in which Jesus
riding to Jerusalem (according to the
Prophets), the people strewed the way
for him with their garments, and the branches of the
Palm Tree. And, indeed, it was in a manner the
day of proclaiming him .King, as the Friday follow
ing was the day of his coronation. Worthily, there
fore, is it commemorated ; and many excellent mys
teries are thereby brought to remembrance, which,
but for this anniversary, most would forget, and
many, perhaps, never come to know.

w

OF THE CHURCH. 193

SONG LIII.
Sing this as the Tliird Song.

1.
HEN Jesus to Jerusalem,

(And there to suffer) rode,
The people all the way for him
With palm and garments strow'd :
And though he did full meekly ride,
And poorly on an ass,
" Hosanna to the King !" they cried,
As he along did pass.

His glory, and his royal right,

(E'en by a power divine)

As if, in worldly pomp's despite,

Through poverty did shine ;

And though the greater sort did frown,

He exercis'd his power,

Till he himself did lay it down,

At his appointed hour.

3.

Possession of his house he got,
The merchants thence expell'd ;

194 HYMNS AND SONGS

And though the priests were mad thereat,

His lectures there he held.

Oh ! how should any he so dull,

To douht who this might be ?

When they did things so wonderful,

And works so mighty, see.

4.

Lord, when to us thou drawest nigh,
Instruct us thee to know ;
And to receive thee joyfully,
How mean so ere in show :
Yea, though the rich and worldly-wise,
When we thy praises sing,
Both thee, and us, therefore despise,
Be thou approv'd our King.

THUESDAY BEFOEE EASTEE.

[S upon this day our blessed Saviour,
eating the Passover with his disciples,
instituted the blessed Sacrament of his
Last Supper; afterward he washed
their feet ; prayed for them, and for all the faithful ge
neration ; instructed them ; comforted them ; warned
them of what should come to pass, both concerning

OF THE CHURCH. 195

themselves, and his own death and resurrection ;
promised to send them a Comforter ; and expressed
many other excellent things for the confirmation of
their faith. Then departing to a garden, he praying,
fell into his most bitter agony, which having over
come, he was that night betrayed, and forsaken of
all his disciples. In commemoration of which pas
sages, the Church holds this yearly assembly, that
our pious affections towards our Redeemer may be
stirred up, to his glory, and our comfort.

SONG LIV.

Sing this as the Ninth Song.
1.

A HOLY Sacrament this day,
To us thou didst, oh Lord, bequeath ;
That by the same preserve we may
A blest memorial of thy death ;
Whereof, oh, let us so partake,
We may with thee one body make.

2.

Thy Holy Supper being done,
The last which thou vouchsafed'st here,
By thee the feet of every one
Of thy disciples washed were ;

196 HYMNS AND SONGS

To which humility of thine,

Our haughty minds do thou incline.

3.

The rest of that day thou didst use,
To pray, to comfort, and advise :
None might, when thou wert gone, ahuse
Thy friends, or make of them a prize ;
Yet when thy pleasure thou hadst said,
By one of thine thou wert betray'd.

4.

And lo, that night they all did fly,
Who sate so kindly by thy side ;
E'en he, that for thy love would die,
With oaths, and curses, thee deny'd ;
Which to thy soul more nigh did go,
Than all the wrongs thy foes could do.

Sweet Jesus, teach us to conceive,
How near unto thy heart it strook,*
When thy beloved thee did leave,
And thou didst back upon him look :
We may hereafter nigh thee keep,
And for our past denials weep.
* Struck.

OF THE CHURCH. 197

6.

Yea, let each passage of this day
Within our hearts be graven so,
That mind them we for ever may,
And still thy promise trust unto :
So our affections shall to thee,
In life and death, unchanged be.

FRIDAY BEFOEE EASTER.

day we commemorate the insuffer
able passion of Jesus Christ, our blessed
Redeemer ; who was at this season
of the year despitefully crucified by
Pilate, and the Jews. Every day we ought seri
ously to think upon it by ourselves ; but this day
we ought to meet about it in the public assemblies,
that we might provoke each other to compunction
of heart ; to renew the memory of it ; and to move
those that have not yet taken notice thereof, to come
along with us to hear the story of his unmatchless
sorrow, who for the love of us took upon himself
those punishments which our wickedness deserved.

198 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG LV.

Sing this as the Twenty-fourth Song.

1.

OU that like heedless strangers pass along,
As if nought here concerned you to day ;
Draw nigh, and hear the saddest passion song,
That ever you did meet with in your way :
So sad a story ne'er was told before,
Nor shah1 there be the like for evermore.

Y

2.

The greatest King that ever wore a crown,
More than the basest vassal was abus'd ;
The truest lover that was ever known,
By them he lov'd was most unkindly us'd :
And he that liv'd from all transgressions clear,
Was plagu'd for all the sins that ever were.

3.

E'en they, in pity of whose fall he wept,
Wrought for his ruin, whilst he sought their good ;
And watched for him, when they should have slept,
That they might quench their malice in his blood :
Yet, (when their bonds from him he could have thrown,)
To save their lives he deign'd to lose his own.

OF THE CHURCH. 199

4.

Those, in whose hearts compassion should have been,
Insulted o'er his poor afflicted soul ;
And those that nothing ill in him had seen,
(As guilty,) him accus'd of treason foul :
Nay, him, (that never had one idle thought,)
They for blaspheming unto judgment brought.

5.

Where, some to ask him vain demands begin ;
And some to make a sport with him devise :
Some at his answers and behaviour grin,
And some do spit their filth into his eyes :
Some give him blows, some mock, and some revile,
And he, (good heart,) sits quiet all the while.

6.

Oh that, where such a throng of men should be,
No heart was found, so gentle to relent !
And that so good and meek a Lamb as he
Should be so us'd, and yet no tear be spent !
Sure, when once malice fills the heart of man,
Nor stone, nor steel, can be so hardened then.

7.

For, after this, his clothes from him they stript,
And then, as if some slave this Lord had been,

200 HYMNS AND SONGS

With cruel rods and scourges him they whipt,
Till wounds were over all his hody seen :
In purple clad, and crowned too with thorn,
They set him forth, and honour'd him in scorn.

8.

And, when they saw him in so sad a plight,
As might have made a flinty heart to bleed,
They not a whit recanted at the sight,
But in their hellish fury did proceed :
Away with him ! Away with him ! they said ;
And, Crucify him ! Crucify him ! cried.

9.

A cross of wood, that huge and heavy was,
Upon his bloody shoulders next they lay ;
Which onward to his execution-place
He carried, till he fainted in the way :
And when he thither weak and tired came,
To give him rest, they nail'd him to the same.

10.

Oh ! could we but the thousandth part relate,
Of those afflictions, which they made him bear ;
Our hearts with passion would dissolve thereat,
And we should sit and weep for ever here ;
Nor should we glad again hereafter be,
But that we hope in glory him to see.

OF THE CHURCH. 201

11.

For while upon the cross he pained hung,
And was with soul-tormentings also griev'd,
(Far more than can be told by any tongue,
Or in the hearts of mortals be conceiv'd)
Those, for whose sake he underwent such pain,
Kejoic'd thereat, and held him in disdain.

12.

One offer'd to him vinegar and gall ;
A second did his pious works deride ;
To dicing for his robes did others fall ;
And many mock'd him, when to God he cried ;
Yet he, as they his pain still more procur'd,
Still lov'd, and for their good the more endured.

13.

But, though his matchless love immortal were,
It was a mortal body he had on,
That could no more than mortal bodies bear ;
Their malice, therefore, did prevail thereon :
And lo, their utmost fury having tried,
This Lamb of God gave up the ghost, and died.

14.

Whose death, though cruel unrelenting man
Could view, without bewailing, or affright ;

202 HYMNS AND SONGS

The sun grew dark, the earth to quake began,
The Temple veil did rend asunder quite ;
Yea, hardest rocks therewith in pieces brake,
And graves did open, and the dead awake.

15.

Oh, therefore, let us all that present be,
This innocent with moved souls embrace ;
For this was our Eedeemer, this was he,
Who thus for our unkindness used was :
E'en he, the cursed Jews and Pilate slew,
Is he alone, of whom all this is true.

16.

Our sins of spite were part of those that day,
Whose cruel whips and thorns did make him smart;
Our lusts were those 'that tir'd him in the way ;
Our want of love was that which pierc'd his heart :
And still when we forget, or slight his pain,
We crucify and torture him again.

OF THE CHURCH. 203

EASTER DAY.

day is solemnized in memorial of
our Saviour's blessed Resurrection
from the dead ; upon which (as the
members with their head) the Church
began her triumph over sin, death, and the devil ;
and hath, therefore, appointed, that to record this
mystery, and to stir up thankful rejoicings in our
hearts, there should be an annual commemoration
thereof; that we might, in charitable feasts and Chris
tian glee, express the joy of our hearts to the glory
of God, to the comfort of our brethren, to the increase
of charity one towards another, and to the confirma
tion of a true joy in ourselves.

SONG LVI.

Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song,

1.

HIS is the day the Lord hath made,

T

And therein joyftil we will be ;
For, from the black infernal shade
In triumph back return'd is he :

204 HYMNS AND SONGS

The snares of Satan, and of Death,
He hath victoriously undone,
And fast in chains he bound them hath,
His triumph to attend upon.

2.

The grave, which all men did detest,
And held a dungeon full of fear,
Is now become a bed of rest,
And no such terrors find we there.
For Jesus Christ hath took away
The horror of that loathed pit ;
E'en ever since that glorious day,
In which himself came out of it.

3.

His mockings, and his bitter smarts,
He to our praise and case doth turn,
And all things to our joy converts,
Which he with heavy heart hath borne :
His broken flesh is now our food,
His blood he shed, is ever since
That drink, which doth our souls most good,
And that which shall our foulness cleanse.

4.

Those wounds so deep, and torn so wide,
As in a rock our shelters are ;

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That, which they pierced through his side,
Is made a dove-hole for his dear ;
Yea, now we know, as was foretold,
His flesh did no corruption see ;
And that hell wanted strength to hold
So strong, and one so blest as he.

5.

Oh let us praise his name therefore,
(Who thus the upper hand hath won)
For we had else, for evermore,
Been lost, and utterly undone :
Whereas this favour doth allow
That we with boldness thus may sing,
Oh Hell, where is thy conquest now ?
And thou (oh Death,) where is thy sting?

ASCENSION DAY.

IFTER Jesus Christ was risen from the
dead, and had many times shewed
himself unto his disciples, he was lifted
from among them, and they beheld
him ascending up into Heaven, till a cloud took him
out of their sight. In memory of which Ascension,
and to praise God for so exalting the human nature

206 HYMNS AND SONGS

to his own glory, and our advantage, the Church
worthily celebrated this day, and hath commended
the observation thereof to her children.

SONG LVII.

Sing this as the Third Song.

1.
0 God, with heart and cheerful voice,

T

A Triumph Song we sing ;
And with true thankful hearts rejoice
In our Almighty King ;
Yea, to his glory we record,
(Who were but dust and clay)
What honour he did us aiford
On his ascending day.

The human nature, which of late,

Beneath the angels was,

Now raised from that meaner state,

Above them hath a place.

And at man's feet all creatures bow,

Which through the whole world be,

For at God's right-hand throned now,

In glory sitteth he.

OF THE CHURCH. 207

3.

Our Lord, and Brother, who hath on
Such flesh, as this we wear,
Before us unto Heaven is gone,
To get us places there :
Captivity was captiv'd then,
And he doth from above
Send ghostly presents down to men,
For tokens of his love.

4.

Each door and everlasting gate
To him hath lifted been ;
And in a glorious wise thereat
Our King is enter'd in.
Whom if to follow we regard,
With ease we safely may,
For he hath all the means preparM,
And made an open way.

5.

Then follow, follow on a pace,

And let us not forego

Our Captain, till we win the place,

That he hath scaled unto :

And for liis honour, let our voice

A shout so hearty make,

The Heavens may at our mirth rejoice,

And Earth and Hell may shake.

208 HYMNS AND SONGS

PENTECOST, OR WHITSUNDAY.

'FTEK our Saviour was ascended, the
fiftieth day of his Resurrection, and
just at the Jews' Feast of Pentecost,
the Holy Ghost (our promised Com
forter) was sent down upon the Disciples assembled
in Jerusalem, appearing in a visible form, and mira
culously filling them with all manner of spiritual gifts
and knowledge, tending to the divine work they had
in hand : whereby, they being formerly weak and
simple men, were immediately enabled to resist all
the powers of the kingdom of darkness, and to lay
those strong foundations, upon which the Catholic
Church now standeth, both to the glory of God, and
our safety. In remembrance, therefore, of that great
miraculous mystery, this day is solemnized.

SONG LVIII.

Sing this as the Third Song.
1.

EXCEEDING faithful in thy word,
And just in all thy ways,
We do acknowledge thee, O Lord,
And therefore give thee praise :

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For as thy promise thou didst pass,
Before thou went'st away,
Sent down thy Holy Spirit was,
At his appointed day.

While thy Disciples, in thy name,

Together did retire,

The Holy Ghost upon them came,

In cloven tongues of fire ;

That in their calling they might be

Confirmed fi-om above,

As thou wert, when he came on thee,

Descending like a dove.

3.

Whereby those men, that simple were,
And fearful till that hour,
Had knowledge at an instant there,
And boldness arm'd with power ;
Receiving gifts so manifold,
That (since the world begun,)
A wonder seldom hath been told,
That could exceed this one.

4.

Now also, blessed Spirit, come,
Unto our souls appear,

p

210 HYMNS AND SONGS

And of thy graces shower thou some

On this assembly here :

To us thy dove-like meekness lend,

That humble we may be,

And on thy silver wings ascend,

Our Saviour Christ to see.

5.

Oh, let thy cloven tongues, we pray,

So rest on us again,

That both the truth confess we may,

And teach it other men.

Moreover, let thy heavenly fire,

Enflamed from above,

Burn up in us each vain desire,

And warm our hearts with love.

6.

Vouchsafe thou likewise to bestow
On us thy sacred peace,
We stronger may in union grow,
And in debates decrease :
Which peace, though many yet contemn,
Eeformed let them be,
That we may (Lord,) have part in them,
And they have part in thee.

OF THE CHURCH. 211

TRINITY SUNDAY.

FTER Arius, and other heretics, had
broached their damnable fancies, where
by the faith of many, concerning the
mystery of the blessed Trinity, was
shaken, divers good men laboured in the rooting out
of those pestilent opinions : and it was agreed upon
by the Church, that some particular Sunday in the
year should be dedicated to the memory of the Holy
Trinity, and called Trinity Sunday, that the name
might give the people occasion to enquire after the
mystery. And moreover (that the pastor of each
several congregation might be yearly remembered to
treat thereof, as necessity required) certain portions
of the Holy Scripture, proper to that end, were ap
pointed to be read publickly that day. In some
countries they observed this institution on the Sun
day next before the Advent ; and in other places the
Sunday following Whitsunday, as in the Church of
England.

212 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG LIX.

Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.
HOSE, oh, thrice holy Three in One,

T

Who seek thy nature to explain,
By niles to human reason known,
Shall find their labour ah1 in vain ;
And in a shell they may intend
The sea, as well, to comprehend.

2.

\Vhat, therefore, no man can conceive,
Let us not curious he to know ;
But, when thou bid'st us to believe,
Let us obey, let reason go :
Faith's objects true, and surer be,
Than those that reason's eyes do see.

3.

Yet, as by looking on the sun,
(Though to his substance we are blind,)
And by the course we see him run,
Some notions we of him may find :
So, what thy brightness doth conceal,
Thy word and works in part reveal.

OF THE CHURCH. 213

4.

Most glorious essence, we confess,
In thee, (whom by our faith we view,)
Three Persons, neither more nor less,
Whose workings them distinctly shew :
And sure we are, those Persons Three
Make but One God, and thou art he.

5.

The sun a motion hath, we know,
Which motion doth beget us light ;
The heat proceedeth from those two,
And each doth proper acts delight :
The motion draws out time a line,
The heat doth warm, the light doth shine.

6.

Yet, though this motion, light, and heat,
Distinctly by themselves we take,
Each in the other hath his seat,
And but one sun we see they make :
For whatsoe'er the one will do,
He works it with the other two.

7.

So in the Godhead there is knit
A wondrous threefold true-love-knot,

214 HYMNS AND SONGS

And perfect union fastens it,
Though flesh and blood perceive it not ;
And what each Person doth alone,
By all the Trinity is done.

8.

Their work they jointly do pursue,
Though they their offices divide ;
And each one by himself hath due
His proper attributes beside :
But One in substance they are still,
In virtue one, and one in will.

Eternal all the Persons be,

And yet Eternal there's but One ;

So likewise Infinite all Three,

Yet Infinite but One alone :

And neither Person aught doth miss,

That of the Godhead's essence is.

10.

In Unity and Trinity,
Thus, oh Creator, we adore
Thy ever-praised Deity,
And thee confess for evermore,
One Father, One begotten Son,
One Holy Ghost, in Godhead One.

OF THE CHURCH. 215

SUNDAY IN GENERAL.

UNDAY is our natural appellation, the
Sabbath the Hebrew term, and the
Lord's Day the Christian name, where
by we entitle God's Seventh Day ; and
(if wilful affectation be avoided) either name is
allowable. It is a portion of time sanctified by God,
immediately after the world's creation, and by the
divine law dedicated to be perpetually observed to
the honour of our Creator : and though some things
accidentally pertinent to the observation thereof have
been changed, yet that which is essential thereunto
is for ever immutable. Our Saviour hath by his
Resurrection hallowed for us that which we now ob
serve, instead of the Jewish Sabbath, which being
the day whereon he rested in the grave, the obser
vation thereof, and of all other Jewish ceremonies,
was buried with him ; because they were to continue
but till the accomplishment of those things whereof
they were types. This is that day wherein our Re
deemer began (as it were) his eternal rest, after he
had finished the work of our reparation, and con
quered Death, the last that was to be destroyed.
This day we ought, therefore, to sanctify, according
to God's first institution : not Jewishly, that is, by

210 HYMNS AND SONGS

a strict or mere outward abstaining from the servile
works of the body only, according to the letter ; but
Christianly, to wit, in spirit and truth, both inwardly
and outwardly ; so recreating our bodies and souls,
that we may, with a sanctified pleasure (and, as much
as may be, without weariness) spend that day to the
glory of God, according to his command, and the
Church's direction ; even to the use of bodily labours
and exercises, whensoever (without respect to sensual
or covetous ends) a rectified conscience shall per
suade us, that the honour of God, the charity we
owe to our neighbours, or an unfeigned necessity re
quires them to be done.

SONG LX.

Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

1.
IX days, oh Lord, the world to make,

S

And set all creatures in array,
Was all the leisure thou wouldst take,
And then didst rest the seventh day :
That day thou therefore hallowed hast,
And rightly, by a law divine,
(Which till the end of time shall last,)
The seventh part of time is thine.

OF THE CHURCH. 217

2.

Then teach us willingly to give
The tribute of our days to thee ;
By whom we now both move and live,
And have attain 'd to what we be.
For of that rest, which by thy word
Thou hast been pleased to enjoin,
The profit all is ours, oh Lord,
And but the praise alone is thine.

3.

Oh, therefore, let us not consent
To rob thee of thy Sabbath Day,
Nor rest with carnal rest content,
But sanctify it all we may ;
Yea, grant that we from sinful strife,
And all those works thou dost detest ;
May keep a Sabbath all our life,
And enter thy eternal rest.

218 HYMNS AND SONGS

ST. ANDREW'S DAY.

HE holy Church celebrateth this day
to glorify God for that favour which
he vouchsafed unto her hy the calling
and ministry of blessed Andrew his
Apostle ; and that, by the remembrance of his rea
diness to follow and preach Christ, both the honour
able and Christian memorial, due to an Apostle,
might be preserved, and we stirred up also to the
imitation of his forwardness in our several callings,
advancing God's honour and gospel : in which ge
neral sense every the meanest Christian hath a kind
of apostleship, to build up (not only in himself, but
in others also) the temple of the living God, and to
increase and establish the kingdom of Christ.

SONG LXI.

Sing this as the Forty -fourth Song.
1.

AS blessed Andrew, on a day,
By fishing did his living earn,
Christ came, and called him away,
That he to fish for men might learn :

OF THE CHURCH. 219

And no delay thereat he made,
Xor questions fram'd of his intent,
But quite forsaking all he had,
Along with him that call'd he went.

2.

Oh, that we could so ready be,
To follow Christ when he doth call !
And that we could forsake, as he,
Those nets that we are snar'd withal :
Or would this fisherman of men,
(Who set by all he had so light)
By his obedience shewed then
(And his example) win us might.

3.

But precepts and examples fail,
Till thou thy grace, Lord, add thereto ;
Oh grant it, and we shall prevail
In whatsoe'er thou bid'st us do :
Yea, we shall then that bliss conceive,
Which in thy service we may find,
And for thy sake be glad to leave
Our nets, and all we have, behind.

220 HYMNS AND SONGS

S. THOMAS'S DAY.

I HIS day was set apart by the Church,
that it might be sanctified to the praise
of God for his holy Apostle St. Thomas,
by whose preaching the Christian ge
neration was multiplied ; and that we might strengthen
the belief we have of our Saviour's undeniable Re
surrection, by taking a yearly occasion to refresh our
memories with that part of the evangelical story,
which mentioneth both this Apostle's doubting, and
the confirmation of his faith by a sensible demon
stration.

SONG LXII.
Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.
HEN Christ was risen from the dead,

w

And Thomas of the same was told,
He would not credit it, he said,
Though he himself should him behold,
Till he his wounded hands had eyed,*
And thrust his fingers in his side.
* Seen.

OF THE CHURCH. ±.'1

2.

Which trial he did undertake,
And Christ his frailty did permit,
By his distrusting sure to make
Such others, as might doubt of it :
So we had right, and he no wrong,
For by his weakness both are strong.

3.

Oh, blessed God, how wise thou art !
And how confoundest thou thy foes !
Who their temptations dost convert,
To work those ends which they oppose :
When Satan seeks our faith to shake,
The firmer he the same doth make.

4.

Thus whatsoe'er he tempts us to,
His disadvantage let it be ;
Yea, make those very sins we do,
The means to bring us nearer thee :
Yet let us not to ill consent,
Though colour'd with a good intent.

222 HYMNS AND SONGS

ST. STEPHEN'S DAY.

, TEPHEN was one of the Seven Dea
cons mentioned Acts vi, and the first
Martyr of Jesus Christ ; whose truth
having powerfully maintained by dis
pute, he constantly sealed it with his blood. The
Church, therefore, hath appointed this anniversary
in remembrance thereof, that so God might perpet
ually be glorified for the same ; and the story of his
martyrdom the oftener mentioned, to the encourage
ment and direction of other men in their trials.

SONG LXIII.
Sing this as the Fourth Song.

1.

LORD, with what zeal did thy first Martyr breathe
Thy blessed truth, to such as him withstood !
With what stout mind embraced he his death !
A holy witness sealing with his blood !
The praise is thine, that him so strong didst make,
And blest is he, that died for thy sake.

OF THE CHURCH. 223

2.

Unqucnched love in him appeared to be,
When for his murd'rous foes he did intreat :
A piercing eye made bright by faith had he,
For he beheld thee in thy glory set ;
And so unmov'd his patience he did keep,
He died, as if he had but fallen asleep.

3.

Our lukewarm hearts with his hot zeal inflame,

So constant, and so loving, let us be ;

So let us living glorify thy name ;

So let us dying fix our eyes on thee :

And when the sleep of death shall us o'ertake,

With him to life eternal us awake.

ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST.

day is celebrated by the Church
to praise God for his Mossed Evange
list and beloved Disciple, St. John,
who hath been an admirable instrument
of his glory, and the Church's instruction : for, the
mystery of the sacred Trinity, and the Divinity of
Christ, is by him most plainly expressed in his writ
ings, among many other great mysteries and ex-

224 HYMNS AND SONGS

cellent doctrines concerning our redemption ; for
which we are bound particularly to honour God, and
worthily stirred up thereunto by this annual com
memoration.

SONG LXIV.

Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.
1.

TEACH us by his example, Lord,
For whom we honour thee to day,
And grant his witness of thy Word
Thy Church enlighten ever may :
And as belov'd, oh Christ, he was,
And therefore leaned on thy breast,
So let us also in thy grace,
And on thy sacred bosom rest.

2.

Into us breathe that life divine,
Whose testimony he intends ;
About us cause thy light to shine,
That which no darkness comprehends :
And let that ever-blessed Word,
Which all things did create of nought,
Anew create us now, oh Lord,
Whose ruin sin hath almost wrought.

OF THE CHURCH. 22o

3.

Thy holy faith we do profess,
Us to thy fellowship receive ;
Our sins we heartily confess,
Thy pardon therefore let us have :
And as to us thy sen-ant gives
Occasion thus to honour thee,
So also let our words and lives
As lights and guides to others be.

INNOCENTS' DAY.

ING HEROD understanding that a King
of the Jews was born in Betlilehem
Juda (and fearing that by him he
might be dispossessed), he murdered
all the young infants of that circuit, in hope among
them to have slain Jesus Christ: but he was sent
into Egypt by God's special appointment ; and so
the tyrant's fury proved vain. In honour, therefore,
of the Almighty's providence, the Church celelua « i h
this day ; to put us in mind, also, how vainly the
Devil and his members rage against God's derive :
and, that the cruel slaughter of those poor infants
may never be forgotten ; which, in a large sense*
may be called a Martyrdom ; as in the generality of
Q

226 HYMNS AND SONGS

the cause (being for Christ), and in the passion of
the body, though not in the intention of the mind :
and so in proper sense doth St. Stephen hold still
the place of the first captain of that band.

SONG LXV.
Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

I.

HAT rage, whereof the Psalm doth say,

T

Why are the Gentiles grown so mad ?'
Appear'd in part upon that day,
When Herod slain the Infants had :
Yet (as it saith) they storm'd in vain,
(Though many Innocents they slew)
For Christ they purpos'd to have slain,
Who all their counsels overthrew.

2.

Thus still vouchsafe thou to restrain
All tyrants, Lord, pursuing thee ;
Thus let our vast desires be slain,
That thou may'st living in us be ;
So whilst we shall enjoy our breath,
We of thy love our songs will frame ;
And, with those Innocents, our death
Shall also glorify thy name.

OF THE CHURCH. 227

3.

In type those many died for one :

That one for many more was slain ;

And what they felt in act alone,

He did in will and act sustain.

Lord, grant that what thou hast decreed,

In will and act, we may fulfil ;

And though we reach not to the deed,

From us, oh God, accept the will.

THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL.

,T. PAUL, as appears, Acts ix. having
been a great persecutor of the Chris
tian faith before his conversion, was
extraordinarily called to embrace the
same profession, even as he proceeded in journey
purposely undertaken to suppress the truth : and so,
of a wolf became afterward a Pastor, and the most
laborious Preacher of Jesus Christ : which mercy of
God, that we may still remember it to the praise of
his name, and our own comfort, the Church hath
appointed a yearly commemoration thereof.

A

228 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG LXVI.

Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

1.

BLEST conversion, and a strange,
Was that, when Saul a Paul hecame ;
And, Lord, for making such a change,
We praise and glorify thy name :
For whilst he went from place to place,
To persecute thy truth and thee,
(And running to perdition was)
By powerful grace call'd hack was he.

2.

When from the truth we go astray,
(Or wrong it through our blinded zeal)
Oh come, and stop us in the way,
And then thy will to us reveal ;
That brightness shew us from above,
Which proves the sensual eye-sight blind ;
And from our eyes those scales remove,
That hinder us thy way to find.

3.

And as thy blessed servant Paul,
When he a convert once became,

OF THE CHURCH. 229

Exceeded thy Apostles all,

In painful preaching of thy name :

So grant that those who have in sin

Exceeded others heretofore,

The start of them in faith may win,

Love, serve, and honour thee the more.

ST. MATTHIAS.

ATTIIIAS was the Disciple which was
chosen in the room of Judas Iscariot ;
and his anniversary is commanded to
be observed, that it might give us
continual occasion to praise God for his justice and
favour ; for his justice shewed in discovering and not
sparing Judas the traitor, abusing his apostleship ;
for his favour, declared in electing Matthias a faithful
Pastor of the Church. Moreover, the rememln amv
of divers other mysteries is renewed by the observa
tion of this day. And by taking occasion to read
publickly the story of Judas's apostacy, men arc
that day put in mind to consider what judgments
hang over their heads, who shall abuse the divine
callings, »fec.

230 HYMNS AND SONGS

LXVII.

1.

WHEN one among the twelve there
That did thy grace abuse,
Thou leftst him, Lord, and in his place

Didst just Matthias choose :
So, if a traitor do remain

Within thy church to day,
To grant him true repentance deign,
Or cast him out, we pray.

2.

Though horned like the lamb he shew,

Or sheep-like clad he be,
Let us his dragon language know,

And wolfish nature see ;
Yea, cause the lot to fall on those,

The charge of thine to take,
That shall their actions well dispose,

And conscience of them make.

3.
Let us, moreover, mind his fall,

Whose room Matthias got,
So to believe, and fear withal,

That we forsake thee not :

OF THE CHURCH. 231

For titles, be they ne'er so high,

Or great, or sacred place,
Can no man's person sanctify,

Without thy special grace.

ST. MAKK'S DAY.

( T. MARK, being one of the four blessed
Evangelists, by whose pen the Gospel
of Jesus Christ was recorded ; this day
is purposely appointed to praise God
for those glad tidings he brought, and that we might
honour him also with such a Christian memorial, as
becometh the Ambassador of so great a King as
our Redeemer : which civil honour, due to the Saints
of God, it is hoped none will deny them ; nor con
ceive such institutions superstitious, or to have been
purposed to an idolatrous end.

SONG LXVIII.
Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

1.

7*OR those blest Penmen of thy Word,
u Who have thy holy Gospel writ,

232 HYMNS AND SONGS

We praise and honour thee, oh Lord,
And our belief we build on it :
Those happy tidings which it brings,
With joyful hearts we do embrace,
And prize, above all other things,
That precious token of thy grace.

2.

To purchase what we hope thereby,
Our utmost wealth we will bestow ;
Yea, we our pleasures will deny,
And let our lives and honours go :
And whomsoe'er it cometh from,
No other Gospel we will hear ;
No, though an Angel down should come
From heav'n, we would not give him ear.

3.

Our resolutions, Lord, are such,
But in performance weak are we ;
And the deceiver's craft is much ;
Our second, therefore, thou must be :
So we assuredly shall know,
When any doctrines we receive,
If they agreeing be, or no,
To those which we professed have.

OF THE CHURCH. 233

ST. PHILIP AND JACOB.

day is celebrated to the honour of
God, and the Christian memorial of
the two blessed Apostles, Philip and
Jacob: at which time the Church
taketh occasion to offer to our remembrance such
mysteries, as Christ delivered unto them, that we
might the oftener consider them, receive further in
struction concerning them, and praise God, both for
such his favours and for those instruments of his
glory.

SONG LXIX.
Sing this as the Third Song.

I.

O thy Apostles thou hast taught

T

What they, oh Christ, should do ;
And those things which believe they ought,

Of thee they learned too :
And that which thou to them hast shewn,

Hath been disposed thus,
They unto others made it known,

And those have told it us.

234 HYMNS AND SONGS

2.
With them we do confess and say,

(What shall not be denied)
Thou art the Truth, the Life, the Way,

And we in thee will bide :
By thee the Father we have known,

Whom thou descendest from ;
And unto him, by thee alone,

We have our hope to come.

3.

For thou to Philip didst impart,

(Which our belief shall be)
That thou within the Father art,

And that he is in thee ;
And saidst, whatever in thy name

We should with faith require,
Thou wouldst give ear unto the same,

And grant us our desire.

4.
Of thee, oh Lord, we therefore crave,

(Which thou wilt deign, we know)
The good belief which now we have

We never may forego :
And that thy sacred truth, which we

Thy Word have learned from,
From age to age deriv'd may be,

Until thy kingdom come.

OF THE CHURCH. 235

ST. BAKNABAS'S DAY.

day is solemnized in commemora
tion of St. Barnabas, a faithful Disci
ple of Jesus Christ ; and to honour
God for the benefit vouchsafed to the
Church by his ministry ; for he was a good man, full
of the Holy Ghost, and of faith, as St. Luke testi-
fieth, Acts xi. 24. He was also, by the Holy Ghost's
immediate appointment (together with Paul) sepa
rated for the ministry of the Gospel, and confirmed
in the Apostleship by the laying on of hands, Acts
xiii. 2.

SONG LXX.
Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

1.

HY gifts and graces manifold,

T

To many men thou, Lord, hast lent,
Both now, and in the days of old,
To teach them faith, and to repent :
Thy Prophets thou didst first ordain,
And they as legates did appear ;

236 HYMNS AND SONGS

Then cam'st thyself, and in thy train
Apostles for attendants were.

2.

For legier,* when thou went'st away,

The Holy Ghost thou didst appoint ;

And here, successions, till this day,

Remain of those he did anoint ;

Yea, thou hast likewise so ordain'd,

That to make good what those have taught,

An army royal was maintain'd

Of Martyrs, who thy battles fought.

3.

For those, and him, for whom we thus
Are met, to praise thy name to day,
We give thee thanks, as they for us,
That should come after them, did pray ;
And by this duty we declare,
Our faith assures that they and we
(In times divided though we are)
Have one communion still with thee.
* Legacy.

OF THE CHURCH. 237

ST. JOHN BAPTIST.

|OHN, called the Baptist, was he (as
Christ himself testifieth) who was pro
mised to be sent before him to prepare
his way, Luke vii. 27, and by his
preaching and baptism the people were accordingly
prepared to receive him that was to follow. He was
the true expected Elias, and slain by Herod, for re
proving the incest which the said Herod committed,
in taking his brother's wife. That we might praise
God, therefore, for this Forerunner of our Saviour
(and by his example remember to provide for his
entertainment) the Church hath set apart this day.

SONG LXXI.

Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.
ECAUSE the world might not pretend

B

It knew not of thy coming day,
Thou didst, oh Christ, before thec send
A cryer, to prepare thy way :
Thy kingdom was the bliss he brought,
Repentance was the way he taught.

238 HYMNS AND SONGS

2.

And, that his voice might not alone
Inform us what we should believe,
His life declar'd what must he done,
If thee we* purpose to receive :
His life our pattern, therefore, make,
That we the course he took may take.

3.

Let us not gad to Pleasure's court,
With fruitless toys to feed the mind ;
Nor to that wilderness resort,
Where reeds are shaken with the wind
But tread the path he trod before,
That both a Prophet was, and more.

4.

Clad in repentant cloth of hair,
Let us, oh Christ, (to seek out thee)
To those forsaken walks repair,
Which of so few frequented be :
And true repentance so intend,
That we our courses may amend.

5.

Let us hereafter feed upon
The honey of thy W^ord divine ;

OF THE CHURCH. 239

Let us the world's enticement shun,
Her drugs, and her bewitching wine ;
And on our loins (so loose that are)
The leather-belt of temperance wear.

6.

Thus from the cryer let us learn,
For thee, sweet Jesus, to prepare,
And others of their sins to warn,
However for the same we fare :
So thou to us, and we to thee,
Shall when thou comest welcome be.

ST. PETER'S DAY.

(E observe this day to the honour of God,
and to the pious memory of his blessed
Apostle St. Peter; that we may be
thereby put in mind to be thankful for
those continuing favours received by his ministry ;
that Pastors also may make him their pattern, in dis
charging the charge Christ committeth unto them ;
that by considering his weakness, we may all learn
not to presume on our own strength ; and that, by
his Christian example, we may be taught to bewail
our escapes with bitter tears of true repentance.

240 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG LXXII.

Sing this as the Third Song.

1.

HOW watchful need we to become,
And how devoutly pray,
That thee, oh Lord, we fall not from,

Upon our trial day :
For, if thy great Apostle said,

He would not thee deny,
Whom he that very night denayd,*
On what shall we rely ?

2.
For of ourselves we cannot leave

One pleasure for thy sake ;
No, not one virtuous thought conceive,

Till us thou able make :
Nay, we not only thee deny,

When persecutions be,
But, or forget, or from thee fly,

When peace attends on thee.

3.

Oh ! let those prayers us avail,
Thou didst for Peter deign,
* Denied.

OF THE CHURCH. 241

That when our foe shall us assail,

His labour may be vain :
Yea, cast on us those powerful eyes,

That mov'd him to lament,
We may bemoan, with bitter cries,

Our follies, and repent.

4.
And grant that such as him succeed,

For Pastors of thy fold,
Thy sheep and lambs may guide and feed,

As thou appoint'st they should :
By his example speaking what

They ought in truth to say,
And in their lives confirming that

They teach them to obey.

ST. JAMES'S DAY.

,IIIS day we praise God for his blessed
Apostle St. James, the son of Zebedeus,
who was one of those two that desired
of Christ they might sit at his right
hand, and at his left, in his kingdom, as the Gospel
for the day declareth : and by occasion of that igno-

242 HYMNS AND SONGS

rant petition (proceeding from their carnal weakness)
Christ taught both them, and the rest of the Apostles,
and all other Christians also, what greatness best
becometh his followers ; and that we are to taste
the cup of his passion, before we can be glorified
with him : so this holy Apostle did ; for he was slain
by Herod, as it is declared in the Epistle appointed
for the day.

SONG LXXIII.

Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

1.

HE that his father had forsook,
And followed Christ at his commands,
By human frailty overtook,
For place and vain preferment stands,
Till by his Master he was taught,
Of what he rather should have care,
How undiscreetly he had sought,
And what his servants' honours are.

2.

Whereby we find how much ado
The best men have this world to leave ;
How, when they wealth and friends forego,
Ambitious aims to them will cleave :

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And sure this angel-sin aspires

In such men chiefly to reside,

That have " put off" those brute desires,

Which in the vulgar sort abide.

3.

To thee, oh God, we therefore pray,
Thy humble mind may in us dwell ;
And charm that fiend of pride away,
Which would thy graces quite expel :
But, of all other, those men keep
From this delusion of the foe,
Who are the Shepherds of thy sheep,
And should each good example show.

4.

For such as still pursuing be
That greatness which the world respects,
Their servile baseness neither see,
Nor feel thy Spirit's rare effects :
And doubtless they, who most of all
Descend to serve both thee and thine,
Are those, who in thy kingdom shall
In seats of greatest glory shine.

244

HYMNS AND SONGS

ST. BAETHOLOMEW.

HIS day is consecrated to the honour
of God, and the pious memory of his
blessed Apostle St. Bartholomew, that
(as appeareth in the Epistle appointed
for the day) we might take occasion to praise our
Redeemer for those many wonders which were
wrought hy his Apostles, to the great increase of the
Christian faith, and open confusion of the Church's
adversaries.

SONG LXXIV.
Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.

EXCEEDING gracious favours, Lord,
To thy Apostles hast thou shown ;
And many wonders hy thy Word,
And in thy name, by them were done :
The blind did see, the dumb could talk,
The deaf did hear, the lame did walk.

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2.

They all diseases took away ;
The dead to life they did restore ;
Foul spirits dispossessed they,
And preach'd the gospel to the poor :
The Church grew strong, thy faith grew plain,
Their foes grew mad, and mad in vain.

Oh ! let their works for ever be
In honour to thy glorious name ;
And by thy power vouchsafe that we
(Whom sin makes deaf, blind, dumb, and lame)
May hear thy word, and see thy light,
And speak thy truth, and walk aright.

4.

Each deadly sickness of the soul,
Let thy Apostles' doctrines cure :
Let them expel the spirits foul,
Which make us loathsome and impure,
That we the life of faith may gain,
Who long time dead in sin have lain.

246 HYMNS AND SONGS

ST. MATTHEW.

kT. MATTHEW, otherwise called LE vi,
was a publican, that is, a custom-
gatherer; from which course of life
(being hateful in those countries) he
was called to the Apostleship, and became also one
of the four Evangelists : to his religious memory,
therefore, and to honour God, for the favour vouch
safed (both to him and us) by his ministry, this day
is observed by the Church's authority.

SONG LXXV.
Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

I.

WHY should unchristian censures pass
On men, or that which they profess ?
A publican St. Matthew was,
Yet God's beloved ne'ertheless ;
And was elected one of Christ's
Apostles and Evangelists :

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2.

For God doth not a whit respect
Profession, person, or degree ;
But maketh choice of his elect
From every sort of men that be,
That none might of his love despair,
But all men unto him repair.

3.

For those, oh let us therefore pray,
Who seem uncalled to remain ;
Not shunning them, as cast away,
God's favour never to obtain :
For some awhile neglected are,
To stir in us more loving care.

4.

And for ourselves, let us desire,
That we our avarice may shun,
When God our service shall require,
As this Evangelist hath done,
And spend the remnant of our days
In setting forth our Maker's praise.

248 HYMNS AND SONGS

ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS.

day we glorify God for the victory
of St. Michael and his Angels obtained
over the Dragon and his angels ;
whereby the Church is freed from
being prevailed against by the furious attempts or
malicious accusations of the Devil. This com
memoration is appointed, also, to mind us thankfully
to acknowledge God's mercy towards us, in the daily
ministry of his Angels, who are said to pitch their
tents about his children, and to defend them from the
temptations and mischievous practices of evil spirits,
watching every moment for advantage to destroy
them: which, if we oftener considered, and how there
be armies of Angels and Devils, night and day,
fighting for us, and round about us, we would become
more careful how we grieved those good Spirits,
(who attend us for our safety), to the rejoicing of
them that seek our destruction. By St. Michael,
who was Prince of the good Angels (and termed by
St. Jude an Archangel), some understand Jesus
Christ ; for he is indeed the principal Messenger or
Angel of our salvation, and the chief of the Princes,
as holy Daniel called him ; yea, to him alone this
name Michael (which signifieth who is like God) doth
most properly appertain, seeing he only is the per
fect image of his Father.

T

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SONG LXXVI.
Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

1.

0 praise, oh God, and honour thee,

For all thy glorious triumphs won,
Assembled here this day are we,
And to declare thy favours done :
Thou took'st that great Archangel's part,
With whom in Heaven the Dragon fought ;
And that good army's friend thou wert,
That cast him and his angels out.

2.

Whereby we now in safety are,
Our dangers all secured from ;
For to increase thy glory here,
Thy kingdom with great power is come :
And we need stand in dread no more,
Of that enraged fiend's despite,
Who in thy presence, heretofore,
Accused us both day and night.

3.

In honour of thy blessed name,

This hymn of thanks we therefore sing ;

250 HYMNS AND SONGS

And to thine everlasting fame,

Through Heav'n thine endless praise shall ring:

We praise thee for thy proper might,

And, Lord, for all those Angels too,

Who in thy battles came to fight,

Or have been sent thy will to do.

4.

For many of that glorious troop,
To bring us messages from thee,
From Heav'n vouchsafed have to stoop,
And clad in human shape to be :
Yea, we believe they watch and ward
About our persons evermore,
From evil spirits us to guard ;
And we return thee praise therefore.

ST. LUKE.

day we memorize the benefit the
Church received by the blessed Evan
gelist St. Luke, a physician both for
soul and body, and the first ecclesias
tical historiographer ; for he was author, not only of
that Gospel, which beareth his name; but also of
that book called the Acts of the Apostles, and an

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eye-witness of most part of that which he hath written,
remaining a constant companion of St. Paul in his
tribulations : worthily, therefore, ought we to honour
him with a Christian memorial, and praise God for
the grace vouchsafed us by his means.

SONG LXXVII.
Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

1.

F those physicians honoured be,

I

That do the body's health procure,
Then worthy double praise is he,
Who can both soul and body cure.
In lifetime both ways Luke excell'd,
And those receipts hath also left,
Which many soul-sick patients heal'd,
Since from the world he was bereft.

2.

And to his honour this beside,
A blessed witness hath declar'd,
That constant he did still abide,
When others from the truth were scar'd
For which the glory, Lord, be thine,
For of thy grace those gifts had he,

252 HYMNS AND SONGS

And thou his actions didst incline,
Our profit, and his good, to be.

3.

By his example, therefore, Lord,
Uphold us, that we fall not from
The true profession of thy Word,
Nor by this world be overcome ;
And let his wholesome doctrine heal
That leprous sickness of the soul,
Which more and more would on her steal,
And make her languish and grow foul.

SIMON AND JTJDE, APOSTLES.

day is dedicated to the praise of
God, and the pious memory of the two
blessed Apostles of Jesus Christ, Si
mon called Zelotes, or the Canaanite,
and Jude the brother of James. And in this so
lemnity we are, among other things, principally put
in mind of that love, which Christ commandeth to be
continued among us, and of that heed we ought to
have unto our abiding in that state of grace, where-
unto God hath called us, as appeareth in the Epistle
and Gospel appointed for the day.

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SONG LXXVIII.
Sing this as the Third Sony.

1.

NO outward mark we have to know
Who thine, oh Christ, may be,
Until a Christian love doth show

Who appertains to thee :
For knowledge may be reached unto,

And formal justice gain'd,
But till each other love we do,
Both faith and works are feign'd.

2.

Love is the sum of those commands,

Which thou with thine dost leave ;
And for a mark on them it stands,

Which never can deceive :
For when our knowledge folly turns,

When shows no shew retain,
And zeal itself to nothing burns,

Then love shall still remain.

By this were thy Apostles knit,
And joined so in one,

254 HYMNS AND SONGS

Their true-love-knot could never yet

Be broken, nor undone :
Oh let us, Lord, received be

Into that sacred knot,
And one become, with them and thee,

That sin undo us not.

4.
Yea, lest when we thy grace possess,

We fall again away,
Or turn it into wantonness,

Assist thou us, we pray :
And, that we may the better find

What heed there should be learn'd,
Let us the fall of Angels mind,

As blessed Jude hath warn'd.

ALL SAINTS' DAY.

day the Church hath appointed,
that, to the praise of God, and our
comfort, we should commemorate that
excellent mystery of the Communion
of Saints (which is one of the twelve articles of
Christian belief) : and that (considering how admir
ably the divine wisdom hath knit all his elect into

OF THE CHURCH. 255

one body, for their more perfect enjoying both of his
love, and the love of one another) we might here
receive a taste of the pleasure we shall have in the
full fruition of that felicity, and be stirred up also to
such mutual love and unity, as ought to be betwixt
us in this life. This is the last Saint's Day in the
ecclesiastic circuit of the year, generally observable
by the ancient ordinance of the Church : and it
seemeth to have a mystery in it, shewing, that when
the circle of time is come about, we shall, in one
everlasting holy day, honour that blessed communion
and mystical body, which shall be made perfect, when
all those (whom we have memorized apart) are united
into one; that is, when the Father, the Son, the
Holy Ghost, the Angels, and all the holy Elect of
God, shall be incorporated together into a joyful,
unspeakable, and inseparable union in the kingdom
of Heaven ; which the Almighty hasten, Amen.

SONG LXXIX.

Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.

N

O bliss can so contenting prove,
As universal love to gain,

256 HYMNS AND SONGS

Could we with full requiting love
All men's affections entertain :
But such a love the heart of man
Nor well contain, nor merit can.

2.

For though to all we might be dear,
(Which cannot in this life befall)
We discontented should appear,
Because we had not hearts for all :
That we might all men love, as we
Beloved would of all men be.

3.

For love in loving joys as much,
As love for loving to obtain ;
Yea, love unfeign'd is likewise such,
It cannot part itself in twain :
The rival's friendship soon is gone,
And love divided loveth none.

4.

Which causeth that with passions pain'd,
So many men on earth we see ;
And had not God a means ordain'd,
This discontent in Heaven would be :
For all the Saints would jealous prove
Of God's, and of each other's love.

OF THE CHURCH.

5.

But he whose wisdom hath contriv'd
His glory, with their full contents,
Hath from himself to them deriv'd
This favour (which that strife prevents).
One body all his Saints he makes,
And for his spouse this one he takes.

6.

So each one of them shall obtain
Full love from all, returning to
Full love to all of them again,
As members of one body do :
None jealous, but all striving how
Most love to others to allow.

257

For as the soul is all in all,
And all through every member too,
Love in that body mystical
Is as the soul, and fills it so ;
Uniting them to God as near
As to each other they are dear.

8.

Yea, what they want to entertain,
Such overflowing love as his,

258 HYMNS AND SONGS

He will supply, and likewise deign
What for his full delight they miss ;
That he may all his love employ,
And they return his fill of joy.

9.

The seed of this content was sown,
When God the spacious world did frame,
And ever since the same hath grown,
To be an honour to his name ;
And when his Saints are sealed all,
This mystery unseal he shall.

10.

Meanwhile as we in landscape view
Fields, rivers, cities, woods, and seas,
And (though but little they can shew,)
Do therewithal our fancies please,
Let contemplation maps contrive
To shew us where we shall arrive.

11.

And though our hearts too shallow be,
That blest communion to conceive,
Of which we shall in Heaven be free,
Let us on earth together cleave :
For those who keep in union here,
Shall know by faith what will be there.

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12.

Where all those Angels we admir'd,
With every Saint since time begun,
(Whose sight and love we have desir'd,)
Shall he with us conjoin'd in one :
And we and they, and they and we,
To God himself espoused be.

13.

Oh happy wedding ! where the guests,
The bride and bridegroom shall be one ;
Where songs, embraces, triumphs, feasts,
And joys of love are never done :
But thrice accurst are those that miss
Their garment when this wedding is.

14.

Sweet Jesus, seal'd and clad, therefore,

For that great meeting let us be,

(Where people, tongues, and kindreds, more

Than can be told, attend on thee,)

To make those shouts of joy and praise,

Which to thine honour they shall raise.

260 HYMNS AND SONGS

EOGATION WEEK.

;HIS is called Rogation Week, being
so termed by antiquity a rogando, from
the public supplications ; for then the
Litany, which is full of humble peti
tions and intreaties, was, with solemn procession,
usually repeated ; because there be, about that sea
son, most occasions of public prayer, in regard princes
go then forth to battle ; the fruits and hope of plenty
are in their blossom ; the air is most subject to con
tagious infections ; and there is most labouring and
travelling, both by land, and sea also, from that time
of the year forward. Which laudable custom (though
it be lately much decayed, and in some countries
abused from the right end, and mingled with super
stitious ceremonies) is in many places orderly re
tained, according as the Church of England approv-
eth it ; and we yearly make use also of those pro
cessions, to keep knowledge of the true bounds of
our several parishes, for avoiding of strife. And
those perambulations were yearly appointed likewise,
that, viewing God's yearly blessing upon the grass,
the corn, and other fruits of the earth, we might be
the more provoked to praise him.

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SONG LXXX.
Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

I.

IT was thy pleasure, Lord, to say,
That whatsoever in thy name
We pray'd for, as we ought to pray,
Thou wouldst vouchsafe to grant the same :
Oh, therefore, we beseech thee now,
To these our prayers which we make,
Thy gracious ear in favour bow,
And grant them for thy mercy's sake.

2.

Let not the seasons of this year,
(As they their courses do observe,)
Engender those contagions here,
Which our transgressions do deserve :
Let not the summer worms impair
Those bloomings of the earth we see ;
Nor blastings, or distemper'd air,
Destroy those fruits that hopeful be.

3.

Domestic brawls expel thou far,

And be thou pleas'd our coast to guard ;

262 HYMNS AND SONGS

The dreadful sounds of in-brought war
Within our confines be not heard :
Continue also here thy Word,
And make us thankful, (we thee pray ;)
The pestilence, dearth, and the sword,
Have been so long withheld away.

4.

And, as we needfully observe
The certain limits of our grounds,
And outward quiet to preserve,
About them walk our yearly rounds :
So let us also have a care,
Our soul's possessions, Lord, to know,
That no encroachments on us there
Be gained by our subtile foe.

5.

What pleasant groves, what goodly fields !
How fruitful hills and dales have we !
How sweet an air our climate yields !
How stor'd with flocks and herds are we !
How milk and honey doth o'erflow !
How clear and wholesome are our springs !
How safe from ravenous beasts we go !
And oh, how free from poisonous things !

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6.

For these, and for our grass, our corn ;
For all that springs from blade or bough ;
For all those blessings that adorn
Or wood, or field, this kingdom through :
For all of these, thy praise we sing,
And humbly, (Lord,) entreat thee too,
That fruit to thee we forth may bring,
As unto us thy creatures do.

7.

So in the sweet refreshing shade
Of thy protection sitting down,
Those gracious favours we have had,
Relate we will to thy renown ;
Yea, other men, when we are gone,
Shall for thy mercies honour thee,
And famous make what thou hast done,
To such as after them shall be.

264 HYMNS AND SONGS

ST. GEOKGE'S DAY.

\~HIS may be called the Court Holiday ;
for with us it is solemnized upon com
mand in the court royal of the Majesty
of Great Britain only, or in the families
of those Knights of the Order, who are constrained
to he absent from the solemnity there held, which is
usually on the day anciently dedicated to George the
Martyr. Nevertheless, we believe not that it was he
whom they anciently chose to be the Patron of the
forenamed order ; for the relation of him who deliv
ered the lady from the dragon is only a Christian
allegory, invented to set forth the better the Church's
deliverance. Jesus Christ is the true St. George,
and our English tutelary Saint ; even he that cometh
armed upon the White Horse, Eev. xix. 11. The
Dragon he overthrows is the Beast mentioned in
the same chapter, and called (a little before) ' the
Dragon with seven heads and ten horns :' the lady
he delivers is that woman whom the Dragon perse
cutes, Eev. xii. And to the honour of him I con
ceive the most honourable order of St. George to be
continued, and this day consecrated. Nor is there
any irreverence in imposing this name on our Ke-
deemer ; for George signifieth a Husbandman, which

OF THE CHURCH. 265

is a name or attribute that even Christ applied to
his Father, John xv. 2. ' My Father,' saith he,
(6 YeupyoG iari) ' is the George,' or the Husband
man. And, indeed, very properly may this nation
call GOD their George or Husbandman, for he hath
(as it were) moted this island with the sea, walled it
with natural bulwarks, built towers in it, planted his
truth here, weeded, dressed, and replenished it like
a garden ; and, in a word, every way done the part
of a good Husbandman thereon. Howsoever, there
fore, the first occasion of this day's great solemnity
seem but mean (as the beginning of many noble in
ventions were) yet I conceive that institution to have
been ordained to weighty and Christian purposes :
even to oblige the Peers of this kingdom, by the new
and strict bands of an honourable order, to imitate
their Patron's care over his vineyard, to remember
them, that they are the band-royal, to whom the
guard thereof is committed, to stir up in them vir
tuous emulations, and to shew them how to make
use of their temporal dignities to the glory of God.
For, beside many other reverend officers, there be
longs a Prelate also to these solemnities ; and, me-
thinks, we should not imagine that the Founder of
it (being a Christian Prince, assisted by a wise and
religious counsel) would have so profaned the most
excellent dignity of the Church, as to make it wait
on ceremonies ordained for ostentation, or some

266 HYMNS AND SONGS

other vain ends. More discreetly they deal, who
apprehend the contrary, and are not in danger of this
sentence, * Evil to him that evil thinketh.'

SONG LXXXI.

Sing this as the Third Song.

1.

LL praise and glory that we may,

A

Ascribe we, Lord, to thee,
From whom the triumphs of this day,

And all our glories be :
For of itself, nor east, nor west,

Doth honour ebb or flow,
But as to thee it seemeth best,

Preferments to bestow.

2.
Thou art, oh Christ, that valiant Knight,

Whose order we profess,
And that Saint George, who oft doth fight

For England in distress :
The Dragon thou o'erthrew'st is he,

That would thy Church devour,
And that fair Lady, (Lord,) is she,

Thou savest from his power.

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3.

Thou like a Husbandman prepar'd

Our fields, yea sown them hast ;
And, Knight-like, with a warlike guard,

From spoil inclos'd them fast.
Oh deign, that those, who in a band

More strict than heretofore,
Are for this vineyard bound to stand,

May watch it now the more :

4.

Yea grant, since they elected are,

New orders to put on,
And sacred hieroglyphics wear,

Of thy great conquest won,
That those, (when they forget,) may tell

Why such of them are worn,
And inwardly inform as well,

As outwardly adorn ;

5.

That so their Christian Knighthood may

No Pagan order seem ;
Nor they their meetings pass away,

As things of vain esteem ;
And, that we may our triumphs all

To thy renown apply,
Who art that Saint, on whom we call,

When we Saint George do cry.

268 HYMNS AND SONGS

FOR PUBLIC DELIVERANCES.

^OD hath vouchsafed unto this kingdom
many public deliverances, which ought
never to be forgotten, but rather should
be celebrated by us, as the days Purim
by the Israelites, Hester ix. 26. Especially that
of the fifth of November : for the celebration whereof
there is a statute enacted : and it is hoped we shall
never neglect or be ashamed to praise God for that
delivery, according to provision made to that purpose.
For that, and the like occasions, therefore, this
Hymn is composed.

SONG LXXXII.

Sing this as the Ninth Song.

I.

ITH Israel we may truly say,

w

If on our side God had not been,
Our foes had made of us their prey,
And we this light had never seen :
The pit was digg'd, the snare was laid?
And we with ease had been betray'd.

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2.

But they that hate us undertook

A plot they could not bring to pass ;

For he that all doth overlook,

Prevented what intended was :

We found the pit, and 'scap'd the gin,*

And saw their makers caught therein.

3.

The means of help was not our own,
But from the Lord alone it came ;
(A favour undeserved shown) ;
And therefore let us praise his name :
Oh, praise his name, for it was he
That broke the net, and set us free.

4.

Unto his honour let us sing,
And stories of his mercy tell ;
With praises let our temples ring,
And on our lips thanksgiving dwell :
Yea, let us not his love forget,
While sun or moon doth rise or set.

5.

Let us redeem again the times,
Let us begin to live anew,
* Snare.

270 HYMNS AND SONGS

And not revive those heinous crimes,
That dangers past so near us drew ;
Lest he that did his hand revoke,
Keturn it with a double stroke.

A true repentance takes delight
To mind God's favours heretofore ;
So, when his mercies men recite,
It makes a true repentance more :
And where those virtues do increase,
They are the certain signs of peace.

7.

But where increasing sins we see,
And to such dulness men are grown,
That slighted those protections he,
Which God in former time hath shown,
It shall betoken to that land
Some desolation near at hand.

8.

Our hearts, oh, never harden so,
Nor let thine anger so return ;
But with desire thy will to do,
For our offences let us mourn :
And mind to praise, (e'en tears among,)
Thy mercies in a joyful song.

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FOE THE COMMUNION.

jE have a custom among us, that, during
the time of administering the blessed
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, there
is some Psalm or Hymn sung, the
better to keep the thoughts of the Communicants
from wandering after vain objects : this Song, there
fore (expressing a true thankfulness, together with
what ought to be our faith concerning that mystery,
in such manner as the vulgar capacity may be capa
ble thereof) is offered up to their devotion, who shall
please to receive it.

SONG LXXXIII.

Sing this as the Third Song.
1.

THAT favour, Lord, which of thy grace
We do receive to day,
Is greater than our merit was,
And more than praise we may :

272 HYMNS AND SONGS

For, of all things that can be told,
That which least comfort hath,

Is more than e'er deserve we could,
Except it were by wrath.

2.

Yet we not only have obtain'd

This world's best gifts of thee,
But thou thy flesh hast also deign'd

Our food of life to be ;
For which, since we no mends can make,

(And thou requir'st no more)
The cup of saving health we take,

And praise thy name therefore.

3.

Oh teach us rightly to receive

What thou dost here bestow ;
And learn us truly to conceive,

What we are bound to know ;
That such as cannot wade the deep

Of thy unfathom'd Word,
May, by thy grace, safe courses keep

Along the shallow ford.

4.

This mystery, we must confess,
Our reach doth far exceed,

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And some of our weak faiths are less

Than grains of mustard seed :
Oh, therefore, Lord, increase it so,

We fruit may bear to thee,
And that implicit faith may grow

Explicit faith to be.

5.

With hands we see not, as with eyes ;

Eyes think not as the heart ;
But each retains what doth suffice

To act his proper part :
And in the J)ody, while it bides,

The meanest member shares
That bliss, which to the best betides,

And as the same it fares.

6.

So, if in union unto thee

United we remain,
The faith of those that stronger be,

The weaker shall sustain :
Our Christian love shall that supply,

Which we in knowledge miss,
And humble thoughts shall mount us high.

E'en to eternal bliss.

274 HYMNS AND SONGS

7.
Oh, pardon all those heinous crimes,

Whereof we guilty are :
To serve thee more in future tunes,

Our hearts do thou prepare ;
And make thou gracious in thy sight

Both us, and this we do,
That thou therein mayst take delight,

And we have love thereto.

8.

No new eolation we devise,

For sins preferr'd to be ;
Propitiatory sacrifice

Was made at mil by thee :
The sacrifice of thanks is that,

And all that thou dost crave,
And we ourselves are part of what

We sacrificed have.

We do no gross realities
Of flesh in this conceive ;

Or that their proper qualities
The bread or wine do leave :

Yet in this holy Eucharist
We, (by a means divine,)

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Know we are fed with thee, oh Christ,
Receiving bread and wine.

10.
And though the outward elements

For signs acknowledg'd he,
We cannot say thy Sacraments

Things only signal he :
Because, whoe'er thereof partakes,

In those this power it hath,
It either them thy members makes,

Or slaves of sin and death.

11.

Nor unto those do we incline,

(But from them are estranged,)
Who yield the form of bread and wine,

Yet think the substance changed :
For we believe each element

Is what it seems indeed,
Although that in thy Sacrament

Therewith on thee we feed.

12.
Thy real presence we avow,

And know it so divine,
That carnal reason knows not how

That presence to define :

276 HYMNS AND SONGS

For when thy flesh we feed on thus,
(Though strange it do appear,)

Both we in thee, and thou in us,
E'en at one instant are.

13.

No marvel many troubled were,

This secret to unfold,
For mysteries faith's objects are,

Not things at pleasure told.
And he that would by reason sound,

What faith's deep reach conceives,
May both himself and them confound,

To whom his rules he leaves.

14.

Let us, therefore, our faith erect

On what thy Word doth say,
And hold their knowledge in suspect,

That new foundations lay :
For such full many a grievous rent

Within thy Church have left ;
And by thy peaceful Sacrament

The world of peace bereft.

15.

Yea, what thy pledge and seal of love
Was first ordain'd to be,

OF THE CHURCH. 277

Doth great and hateful quarrels move

Where wrangling spirits be :
And many men have lost their blood

(Who did thy name profess,)
Because they hardly understood

What others would express.

16.

Oh, let us not hereafter so,

About mere words contend,
The while our crafty common foe

Procures on us his end :
But if in essence we agree,

Let all with love essay
A help unto the weak to be,

And for each other pray.

17.
Love is that blessed cement, Lord,

Which must us reunite ;
In bitter speeches, fire and sword,

It never took delight :
The weapons those of malice are,

And they themselves beguile,
Who dream that such ordained were

Thy Church to reconcile.

278 HYMNS AND SONGS

18.
Love brought us hither, and that love

Persuades us to implore,
That thou all Christians hearts wouldst move

To seek it more and more ;
And that self-will no more hewitch

Our minds with foul dehate,
Nor fill us with that malice which

Disturbs a quiet state.

19.
But this especially we crave,

That perfect peace may be
'Mong those that disagreed have

In show of love to thee ;
That they with us, and we with them,

May Christian peace retain,
And both in New Jerusalem

With thee for ever reign.

20.

No longer let ambitious ends,

Blind zeal, or cankered spite,
Those Churches keep from being friends,

Whom love should fast unite :
But let thy glory shine among

Those candlesticks, we pray,

OF THE CHURCH. 279

We may behold what hath so long
Exil'd thy peace away :

21.
That those, who, heeding not thy word,

Expect an earthly power,
And vainly think some temporal sword

Shall Antichrist devour ;
That those may know thy weapons are

No such as they do feign,
And that it is no carnal war

Which we must entertain.

22.

Confessors, Martyrs, Preachers strike

The blows that gain this field :
Thanks, prayer, instructions, and the like,

Those weapons are they wield :
Long-suffering, patience, prudent care,

Must be the court-of-guard ;
And faith and innocency are

Instead of walls prepared.

For these, (no question,) may as well

Great Babel overthrow,
As Jericho's large bulwarks fell,

When men did ram's-horns blow ;

280 HYMNS AND SONGS

Which, could we credit, we should cease

All bloody plots to lay,
And to suppose God's holy peace

Should come the Devil's way.

24.
Lord, let that flesh and blood of thine,

Which fed us hath to day,
Our hearts to thy true-love incline,

And drive ill thoughts away :
Let us remember what thou hast

For our mere love endur'd,
E'en when of us despis'd thou wast,

And we thy death procur'd.

25.
And with each other, for thy sake,

So truly let us bear,
Our patience may us dearer make,

When reconcil'd we are :
So when our courses finish'd be,

We shall ascend above
Sun, moon, and stars, to live with thee,

That art the God of Love.

OF THE CHURCH. 281

EMBER WEEK.

Ember Weeks are four fasts, an
ciently solemnized at the four princi
pal seasons of the year, and by an in
stitution appointed to be observed for
divers good purposes. First, to humble ourselves by
fasting and prayer, that God might, upon our
humiliation, be moved to grant us the blessings be
longing to those seasons. Secondly, that it might
please God to strengthen our constitutions against
the distemperatures occasioned by the several hu
mours predominate at those times, to the endanger
ing of our bodily healths. Thirdly, that we might
be remembered to dedicate a part of every season
to God's glory. And lastly, that there might be a
public fasting and prayers made for those (according
to the Apostle's use) who by the laying on of hands
were to be confirmed in the ministry of the Gospel :
for the Sunday next after these fasts is the time
ordinarily appointed for the ordination of such as
are called to those offices.

282 HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG LXXXIV.

Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.

HOU dost, from ev'ry season, Lord,

T

To profit us, advantage take,
And at their fittest times afford
Thy blessings for thy mercy's sake :
At winter, summer, fall, or spring,
We furnish'd are of ev'ry thing.

2.

A part, therefore, from each of these,
With one consent reserv'd have we,
In prayer and fasting to appease
That wrath our sins have mov'd in thee ;
And that thou mayst not, for our crimes,
Destroy the blessings of the times.

3.

Oh, grant that our devotions may
With true sincereness be perform'd,
And that our lives, not for a day,
But may for ever be reform'd :
Lest we remain as fast in sin,
As if we ne'er had fasting been.

OF THE CHURCH. 283

4.

Our constitutions temper so,
Those humours, which this season reign,
May not have power to overthrow
That health which yet we do retain :
Else, through that weakness which it brings,
Lord, make us strong in better things.

5.

And, since thy holy Church appoints
These times, thy workmen forth to send,
And those for Pastors now anoints,
Who on thy fold are to attend :
Bless thou, where they who (should ordain)
With prayer and fasting hands have lain.

6.

Oh, bless them, ever blessed Lord,
Whom for thy work the Church doth choose ;
Instruct them by thy sacred Word,
And with thy Spirit them infuse,
That live and teach aright they may,
And we their teaching well obey.

284 HYMNS AND SONGS

These that follow are Thanksgivings
for Public Benefits.

FOR SEASONABLE WEATHER

|T is our duty to give God thanks, and
praise him, both publickly and pri
vately, for all his mercies ; especially
for such as tend to the general good :
and, therefore, the Church hath in her Liturgy or
dained set forms of Thanksgiving for such ends ; in
imitation whereof these following Hymns are com
posed, that we might the oftener, and with more de
light exercise this duty, which is most properly done
in song : and thereby, also, the forms of Thanks
giving are much the more easily learned of the com
mon people, to be sung of them amid their labours.
This, that next follows, is a Thanksgiving for sea
sonable Weather; by means whereof we enjoying
the blessings of the earth, ought at all times to praise
God for the same.

OF THE CHURCH.

285

SONG LXXXV.
Sing this as the Third Song.

1.

LOUD, should the sun, the clouds, the wind,
The air, and seasons he
To us so froward and unkind,

As we are false to thee ;
All fruits would quite away be burn'd,

Or lie in water drown'd,
Or blasted be, or overturned,
Or chilled on the ground.

2.
But, from our duty though we swerve,

Thou still dost mercy show,
And deign thy creatures to preserve,

That men might thankful grow ;
Yea, though from day to day we sin,

And thy displeasure gain,
No sooner we to cry begin,

But pity we obtain.

3.

The weather now thou changed hast,
That put us late to fear,

HYMNS AND SONGS

And when our hopes were almost past,

Then comfort did appear.
The Heaven the earth's complaint hath heard,

They reconciled be,
And thou such weather hast prepared,

As we desir'd of thee :

4.
For which, with lifted hands and eyes,

To thee we do repay
The due, and willing sacrifice

Of giving thanks to day ;
Because such offerings we should not

To render thee be slow ;
Nor let that mercy be forgot,

Which thou art pleas'd to show.

FOR PLENTY.

LENTY is the cure of famine, and a
blessing which, above all other, we
labour and travail for ; yet, when we
have obtained the same, it makes us
many times so wanton, instead of being thankful,
that we forget not only God's mercy in that, but
abuse all other benefits. To put us, therefore, in mind

OF THE CHURCH.

287

of our duty, and to express the better a continual
thankfulness to the Almighty, this Hymn is com-

SONG LXXXVI.

Sing this as the Third Song.

1.

HOW oft, and in how many crimes,
Thee jealous have we made ;
And, blessed God, how many times

Have we forgiveness had ?
If we with tears to bed at night

For our transgressions go,
To us thou dost, by morning light,
Some comfort deign to show.

2.
This pleasant land, which for our sin

Was lately barren made,
Her fruitfumess doth new begin,

And we are therefore glad :
We for those creatures thankful be,

Which thou bestowest, Lord,
And for that plenty honour thee,

Which thou dost now afford.

288 HYMNS AND SONGS

3.

Oh, let us therewith in excess

Not wallow, like to swine,
Nor into graceless wantonness

Convert this grace of thine ;
But so revive our feeble powers,

And so refresh the poor,
That thou mayst crown this land of ours

With plenties evermore.

FOR PEACE.

|E ACE is the nurse of Plenty, and the
means of so many other blessings, both
public and private, that God can never
be sufficiently praised for it ; yet, in
stead of glorifying him, men most commonly abuse
it to the dishonour of God, and their ruin. This
Hymn, therefore, is composed, that it may give
occasion to us more often to meditate God's mercy,
and to glorify his name, who, above all other nations,
have tasted the sweetness of this benefit.

s

OF THE CHURCH. 289

SONG LXXXVII.
Sing this as the Third Sony.

1.

O cause us, Lord, to think upon

Those blessings we possess,
That what is for our safety done,

We truly may confess :
For we, whose fields, in time forepast,

Most hloody war did stain,
Whilst fire and sword doth others waste,

In safety now remain.

2.

No armed troops the ploughman fears :

No shot our walls o'erturn ;
No temple shakes about our ears ;

No village here doth burn ;
No father hears his pretty child

In vain for succour cry ;
Nor husband sees his wife defil'd,

Whilst he half dead doth lie.

3.

Dear God, vouchsafe to pity those,
In this distress that be ;
u

290 HYMNS AND SONGS

They, to protect them from their foes,
May have a friend of thee :

For, by thy friendship we obtain
These gladsome peaceful days,

And, (somewhat to return again,)
We thus do sing thy praise,

4.
We praise thee for that inward peace,

And for that outward rest,
Wherewith, unto our joy's increase,

This kingdom thou hast blest :
Oh, never take the same away,

But let it still endure ;
And grant, oh Lord, it make us may

More thankful, not secure.

FOR VICTOEY.

JUR GOD is the Lord of Hosts, and the
God of Battles : whensoever, therefore,
we have gotten the upper hand over
our enemies, we ought not to glory in
our own strength, policy, or valour, but to ascribe
the glory of it to him only, and return him public
thanks for making us victorious over our enemies :
and this Hymn serveth to help their devotion, who
are willing to perform that duty.

w

OF THE CHURCH. 291

SONG LXXXVIII.
Sing this as the Forty-fourth Song.

1.

E love thee, Lord, we praise thy name,

Who, by thy great Almighty arm,
Hast kept us from the spoil and shame
Of those, that sought our causeless harm :
Thou art our life, our triumphs-song,
The joy and comfort of our heart ;
To thee all praises do belong,
And thou the Lord of Annies art.

2.

We must confess it is thy power
That made us masters of the field ;
Thou art our bulwark and our tower,
Our rock of refuge, and our shield ;
Thou taughtst our hands and arms to fight ;
With vigour thou didst gird us round ;
Thou mad'st our foes to take their flight,
And thou didst beat them to the ground.

3.

With fury came our armed foes,
To blood and slaughter fiercely bent,

292 HYMNS AND SONGS

And perils round did us enclose,

By whatsoever way we went ;

That hadst thou not our Captain been,

(To lead us on, and off again,)

We on the place had dead been seen,

Or mask'd in blood and wounds had lain.

4.

This Song we therefore sing to thee,
And pray that thou for evermore
Wouldst our Protector deign to be,
As at this tune, and heretofore ;
That thy continual favour shown,
May cause us more to thee incline,
And make it through the world be known,
That such as are our foes are thine.

FOR DELIYEEANCE FKOM A
PUBLIC SICKNESS.

E Pestilence, and other public sick
nesses, are those arrows of the Al
mighty, wherewith he punisheth public
transgressions : this Hymn, therefore,
is to praise him, when he shall unslack the bow
which was bent against us ; and the longer he with-

OF THE CHURCH. 293

holds his hand, the more constantly ought we to con
tinue our public thanksgivings ; for when we forget
to persevere in praising God for his mercies past,
we usually revive those sins that will renew his judg
ments.

SONG LXXXIX.

Sing this as the Ninth Song.

1.

WHEN thou would'st, Lord, afflict a land,
Or scourge thy people that offend,
To put in practice thy command,
Thy creatures all on thee attend ;
And thou, to execute thy word,
Hast famine, sickness, fire, and sword.

2.

And here among us, for our sin,
A sore disease hath lately reign'd,
Whose fury so unstay'd hath been,
It could by nothing be restrained,
But overthrew both weak and strong,
And took away both old and young.

3.

To thee our cries we therefore sent,
Thy wonted pity, Lord, to prove ;

294 HYMNS AND SONGS

Our wicked ways we did repent,
Thy visitation to remove ;
And thou thine Angel didst command,
To stay his wrath-inflicting hand.

4.

For which thy love, in thankful wise,
Both hearts and hands to thee we raise,
And in the stead of former cries,
Do sing thee now a Sopg of Praise ;
By whom the favour yet we have
To 'scape the never-filled grave.

FOR THE KING'S DAY.

E first day of Kings' Eeigns hath
heen anciently observed in most king
doms; and with us that custom is
worthily retained, partly for civil ends,
and partly that the people might assemble together,
to praise God for the benefit the commonwealth re-
ceiveth by the Prince ; to pray for his preservation
also; and to desire a blessing upon him and his
government; to which purpose this Song is composed.

OF THE CHURCH. 295

SONG XC.

Sing this as the Third Song.

1.

WHEN, Lord, we call to mind those things,
That should be sought of thee,
Remembering that the hearts of Kings

At thy disposing be ;
And how, of all those blessings which

Are outwardly possest,
To make a kingdom safe and rich,
Good Princes are the best ;

2.

We thus are mov'd to sing thy praise

For him thou deigned hast,
And humbly beg, that all our days

Thy care of us may last.
Oh, bless our King, and let him reign

In peaceful safety long,
The Faith's Defender to remain,

And shield the truth from wrong.

3.
With awful love, and loving dread,

Let us observe him, Lord ;
And, as the members with their head,

In Christian peace accord :

296 HYMNS AND SONGS

And fill him with such royal care,

To cherish us for this,
As if his heart did feel we are

Some living parts of his.

4.
Let neither party struggle from

That duty should he shown,
Lest each to other plagues become,

And both be overthrown :
For, o'er a disobedient land

Thou dost a tyrant set,
And those, that tyrant-like command,

Have still with rebels met.

5.

Oh, never let so sad a doom

Upon these kingdoms fall ;
And to assure it may not come,

Our sins forgive us all :
Yea, let the parties innocent

Some damage rather share,
Than, by unchristian discontent,

A double curse to bear.

6.

Make us, (that placed are below,
Our callings to apply,)

OF THE CHURCH.

Not over curious be to know

What he intends on high :
But teach him justly to command,

Us rightly to obey,
So both shall safe together stand,

And doubts shall fly away.

7.
When hearts of Kings we pry into,

Our own we do beguile ;
And what we ought ourselves to do,

We leave undone the while :
Whereas, if each man would attend

The way he hath to live,
And all the rest to thee commend,

Then all should better thrive.

8.
Oh, make us, Lord, disposed thus,

And our dread Sovereign save ;
Bless us in him, and him in us,

We both may blessings have ;
That many years for him we may

This Song devoutly sing,
And mark it for a happy day,

When he became our King.

HEBE ENDETH THE HYMNS AND SONGS
OP THE CHUBCH.

297

THE AUTHOK'S HYMN.

EEAT Almighty, God of Heaven !
Honour, praise, and glory be
Now, and still hereafter given,
For thy blessings deigned me :

Who hast granted and prepared

More than can be well declared.

By thy mercy thou didst raise me

From below the pits of clay ;

Thou hast taught my lips to praise thee,

Where thy love confess I may :

And those blessed hopes dost leave me,

Whereof no man can bereave me.

By thy grace, those passions, troubles,
And those wants that me opprest,
Have appear'd as water-bubbles,
Or as dreams, and things in jest :
For thy (leisure still attending,)
I with pleasure saw their ending.

THE AUTHOR'S HYMN. 299

Those afflictions, and those terrors,
Which to others grim appear,
Did but shew me where my errors
And my imperfections were :
But distrustful could not make me
Of thy love, nor fright nor shake me.

When in public to defame me,

A design was brought to pass,

On their heads, that meant to shame me,

Their own malice turned was ;

And that day, most grace was shown me,

Which they thought should have undone me.*

Therefore, as thy blessed Psalmist,
When he saw his wars had end,
(And his days were at the calmest,)
Psahns and Hymns of praises penn'd :
So, my rest by thee enjoyed,
To thy praise I have employed.

Yea, remembering what I vowed,
When enclosed from all but thee,
I thy presence was allowed,
While the world neglected me :

* This stanza is not in the Edition of 1623. It was
added in the later editions.

300 THE AUTHOR'S HYMN.

This my Muse hath took upon her,
That she might advance thine honour.

Lord, accept my poor endeavour,
And assist thy servant so,
In good studies to persever,
That more fruitful he may grow ;
And become thereby the meeker,
Not his own vain glory seeker.

Grant my frailties and my folly,
(And those daily sins I do,)
May not make this work unholy,
Nor a blemish bring thereto :
But, let all my faults committed
With compassion be remitted.

Those base hopes that would possess me,
And those thoughts of vain repute,
Which do now and then oppress me,
Do not, Lord, to me impute ;
And though part they will not from me,
Let them never overcome me.

Till this present, from obsceneness,
Thou, oh Lord, hast kept my pen ;
And my verse abhorr'd uncleanness,
Though it vain were, now and then :

THE A UTHOR'S HYMN. 301

My loose thoughts it ne'er inflamed,
But I thereby them have tamed.

Still withhold me from delighting
That, which thine may misbeseem ;
And from every kind of writing,
Whereby this may lose esteem ;
That I may, with faith and reason,
Every future volume season.

Oh, preserve me from committing
Aught that's heinously amiss ;
From all speeches him unfitting,
That hath been employ'd on this :
Yea, as much as may be deigned,
Keep my very thoughts unstained.

That these helps unto devotion
May no scandal have at all,
Lord, I make to thee this motion,
For their sakes that use them shall :
Of the world I am not fearful,
Nor of mine own glory careful.

Whilst thy favours thou dost deign me,
I despise the world's respect ;
And most comfort entertain me,
When I suffer most neglect :

302 THE A UTHOR'S HYMN.

Yea, I then am best rewarded,
When I seem the least regarded.

For, (oh,) when I mind my Saviour,
And how many a spiteful tongue
Slander'd his most pure behaviour,
And his pious't works did wrong :
I contented am, and care not,
Though my life detraction spare not.

Therefore, when that I shall blamed,
Or with cause, or causeless be,
So thy truth be not defamed,
Fall what can befall on me :
Let my fame of none be friended,
So thy Saints be not offended.

That is most my fear, (oh Father ;)
Thy assistance therefore lend ;
And, oh let me perish rather,
Than thy littte ones offend :
Let my life some honour do thee,
Or by death return me to thee.

For thy praise I wish and love it ;
And, (oh,) let my end be shame,
If for mine own sake I covet
Either life, or death, or fame :

THE AUTHOR'S HYMN.

So it may be to thy glory,
Let detraction write my story.

But to thee which way availing,
Can my shame or honour be ?
Truth shall ever be prevailing,
Whatsoe'er is thought of me :
Thou nought losest through my folly,
Nor gain'st aught by the most holy.

And, I know, that whatsoever
Hath thy glory in esteem,
Will accept this good endeavour,
Whatsoe'er the workman seem ;
Let, (oh therefore,) be fulfilled
That which thou, oh Lord, hast willed.

And when I, with Israel's Singer,
To these Songs of Faith shall learn
Thy ten-stringed law to finger,
And that music to discern ;
Lift me to that angel quire,
Whereunto thy Saints aspire !

303

THE END.

304

TO THE READER

AT such as have skill, and are de
lighted with music, may have the more
variety,* to stir up the soon cloyed
affections, these Hymns are fitted with
many new tunes ; nevertheless, all (but some few of
them) may be sung to such tunes as have been here
tofore in use. For the benefit, therefore, of those
who have no experience in music, I have here set
down which songs they be, and to what old tunes
they may be sung.

To the tune of the 1, 2, 3, and of an hundred
other Psalms, may be sung Songs 3, 21, 32, 33, 35,
38, 43, 53, 57, 58, 67, 69, 72, 78, 81, 83, 85, 86,
87, 90.

To the tune of the 51, 100, 125 Psalms, and the
Ten Commandments, &c. may be sung Songs 5, 6,

8, 11, 12, 27, 28, 34, 42, 44, 48, 51, 52, 56, 60,
61, 64, 65, 66, 68, 70, 73, 76, 77, 80, 88.

To the tune of the 112, 127 Psalms, and the
Lord's Prayer, &c. may be sung Songs 7, 40, 41,
45, 49, 50, 54, 59, 62, 71, 74, 75, 79, 82, 84, 89.

To the tune of the 113 Psalm may be sung Songs

9, 10, 17.

To the tune of the 25 Psalm may be sung Song 20.
To the tune of the 124 Psalm maybe sung Song 47.

C. WH1TTINGHAM, TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.

THE TUNES TO WITHER'S SONGS.

COMPOSED BY ORLANDO GIBBONS.
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CHORUS.

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FINIS.

Wither, George
2392 Myron s and songs

118
1856

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