Ar last he came unto a gloomy glade,
Cover'd with boughes and shrubs from heaven's
light,
Where as he sitting found in secret shade
An uncouth salvage and uncivile wight,
Of griesley hew and fowle ill-favour'd sight: His face with smoke was tand, and eies were bleard,
His head and beard with sout were ill bedight, His cole-blacke hands did seem to have beene
In smythe's fire-spitting forge, and nayles like clawes appeard.
His yron cote, all overgrowne with rust,
Was underneath enveloped with gold;
Whose glistring glosse, darkned with filthy dust,
Well yet appeared to have beene of old
A worke of rich entayle and curious mould,
Woven with antickes and wyld ymagery:
And in his lap a masse of coyne he told,
And turned upside downe, to feede his eye
And covetous desire with his huge threasury.
And round about him lay on every side
Great heapes of gold that never could be spent ;
Of which some were rude oure, not purifide
Of Mulciber's devouring element;
Some others were new driven, and distent
Into great ingowes and to wedges square;
Some in round plates withouten moniment:
But most were stampt, and in their metal bare
The antique shapes of Kings and Kesars straung
and rare.
THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.
AND is there care in heaven? And is there love
In heavenly spirits to these creatures bace,
That may compassion of their evils move?
There is else much more wretched were the cace
Of men then beasts. But O! th' exceeding grace
Of Highest God, that loves his creatures so,
And all his workes with mercy doth embrace,
That blessed angels he sends to and fro,
To serve to wicked man, to serve his wicked foe!
How oft do they their silver bowers leave
To come to succour us that succour want!
How oft do they with golden pineons cleave
The flitting skyes, like flying pursuivant,
Against fowle feendes to ayd us militant!
They for us fight, they watch and dewly ward,
And their bright squadrons round about us plant;
And all for love and nothing for reward:
O, why should Hevenly God to men have such
regard!
THE WAYS OF GOD UNSEARCHABLE. Or things unseene how canst thou deeme aright
Then answered the righteous Artegall
Sith thou misdeem'st so much of things in sight?
What though the sea with waves continuall
Doe eate the earth? it is no more at all:
Ne is the earth the lesse, or loseth ought:
For whatsoever from one place doth fall
Is with the tide unto another brought:
For there is nothing lost, that may be found if
sought
Likewise the earth is not augmented more
By all that dying unto it doe fade;
For of the earth they formed were of yore:
However gay their blossome or their blade
Doe flourish now, they into dust shall vade.
What wrong then is it, if that when they die
They turne to that whereof they first were made?
All in the powre of their great Maker lie:
All creatures must obey the voice of the Most Hie.
They live, they die, like as He doth ordaine,
Ne ever any asketh reason why.
The hils doe not the lowly dales disdaine;
The dales doe not the lofty hils envy.
He maketh kings to sit in soverainty;
He maketh subiects to their powre obay:
He pulleth downe, He setteth up on hy;
He gives to this, from that He takes away :
For all we have is His: what He list doe, He
may.
Whatever thing is done, by Him is done,
Ne any may His mighty will withstand;
Ne any may his soveraine power shonne,
Ne loose that He hath bound with stedfast band:
In vaine therefore doest thou now take in hand
To call to 'count, or weigh his workes anew,
Whose counsel's depth thou canst not understand;
Sith of things subiect to thy daily vew
Thou doest not know the causes, nor their courses dew.
For take thy ballaunce, if thou be so wise, And weigh the winde that under heaven doth blow:
Or weigh the light that in the East doth rise; Or weigh the thought that from man's mind doth
But if the weight of these thou canst not show, Weigh but one word which from thy lips doth fall: For how canst thou those greater secrets know, That doest not know the least thing of them all? Ill can he rule the great, that cannot reach the small.
Most glorious Lord of lyfe! that, on this day, Didst make thy triumph over death and sin; And, having harrow'd hell, didst bring away Captivity thence captive, us to win:
This ioyous day, deare Lord, with ioy begin; And grant that we, for whom thou diddest dy, Being with thy deare blood clene washt from sin,
May live for ever in felicity!
And that thy love we weighing worthily
May likewise love thee for the same againe
And for thy sake, that all lyke deare didst buy,
With love may one another entertayne!
So let us love, deare Love, lyke as we ought:
Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.
FROM depth of doole wherein my soule dooth dwell, From heauie heart which harbors in my brest, From troubled sprite whych sildome taketh rest, From hope of heauen, from dreade of darkesome hell,
O gracious God, to thee I crie and yell:
My God, my Lorde, my louely Lorde alone,
To thee I call, to thee I make my mone.
And thou, good God, vouchsafe in gree to take
This wofull plaint
Oh, heare me then, for thy great mercies sake!
Oh, bende thine eares attentiuely to heare,
Oh, turne thine eies-behold me how I waile;
Oh, hearken, Lorde, giue eare for mine auaile ;
Oh, marke in minde the burthens that I beare!
See how I sinke in sorrowes euerywhere;
Beholde and see what dolors I indure;
Giue eare and marke what plaints I put in vre:
Bende willing eare, and pitie therewithall
My wayling voyce,
Which hath no choyce
But euermore upon thy name to call.
If thou, good Lorde, shouldst take thy rod in hande,
If thou regard what sinnes are daylye done,
If thou take hold where wee our workes begone,
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