Seuen Sobs of a Sorrowful Soule for Sinne Comprehending those seuen Psalmes of the Princelie Prophet David, commonlie called Poenitentiall; framed into a forme of familiar praiers, and reduced into meeter by William Hunnis ... Whereunto are also annexed his Handful of Honisuckles; the Poore Widowes Mite; a Dialog between Christ and a sinner; diuers godlie and pithie ditties, with a Christian confession of and to the Trinitie; newly printed and augmented |
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Domine exaudi. Psal. 102.
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 | Seuen Sobs of a Sorrowful Soule for Sinne |  |
Domine exaudi. Psal. 102.
The first part.
[1]
O blessed and most mightie God,of grace the fountaine spring,
Of mercie great and plentifull,
most rich in euerie thing:
2
Thy blessed sonne in power with thee,is euen the same thou art,
In wisedome, knowledge, and mercie
alike in eurie part:
3
Thou didst not spare him down to sendfrom heauenlie throne aboue,
To suffer death mankind to saue;
so ardent was thy loue.
4
Thou mad'st him poore was rich beforeto make vs rich thereby;
For now is he made one with vs,
through power of deitie.
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5
Good Lord my praier hearken to,and let my dolefull crie
Come vnto thee, and pearse the eares
of thine high maiestie.
6
Shew forth, ô Lord, thy countenanceof delectable shew,
And with the eies of pitie thine,
some fauour on me throw.
7
And in the daie of trouble minethine eare bow downe to me
And turne not thou thy face awaie,
when I shal cal on thee:
8
But chieflie at the point of death,giue eare and me defend;
And let thy grace procure and worke
in me a ioyfull end
9
In whatsoeuer daie I call,ô Lord, with speed giue eare;
And me deliuer from the greefes
of troubles and of feare.
10
In speedie calling on thy name,O Lord, thou tak'st delite,
And answer thine more readie is,
than any may recite.
11
Wherefore in hast make speed, ô Lordin hearing when I praie,
As I by need am driuen to craue
thine aiding helpe and staie.
12
For why the time of life is shortthat I haue here to bide,
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when time from me shal slide.
13
At first thou Adam didst indue,when he created was,
With life of immortalitie;
but sin brought death (alas)
14
Which death from him is due to vs,that beareth life this daie,
So that my daies like to the smoke
consume and wast awaie.
25
Age ouertaketh youth I see,and youth by stealth doth flie,
As doth the smoke vanish awaie
aloft vnder the skie.
16
Yea many times it chanceth so,yer age come vs vpon,
That death by stroke such wound dooth make
that life with speed is gone.
17
Thus passeth foorth my time of life,more swifter I may say,
Than is the ship good vnder saile,
or Egle after praie.
18
My bones are waxen verie drieas is the firebrand,
Or as the pot of claie, which doth
in flaming fornace stand.
19
As bones of mine do wel sustainethe flesh the bodie keepes;
So doth the power of soule susteine
the soule that neuer sleepes:
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20
Which being moistned with thy graceshal quicke and liuely bee,
And able for to worke those works
most pleasing vnto thee.
21
But if thy grace be stil withdrawne,then al shal drie remaine;
Both bodie, soule, and al their powers,
in euerlasting paine.
22
Full wel may men be likened tothe grasse or withered haie,
My heart is stricken with remorse
because I went astraie.
23
So long as man by gift of gracedoth liue and worke aright,
So long is he greene flourishing,
and liuely in thy sight:
24
But when that sinne makes entry in,which causeth man to fall,
Then by and by he withereth,
and barren is withall.
25
I haue forgot my bread to eat,that thou to me didst giue;
Which is thy holy sacred word,
by which my soule doth liue,
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And I haue eaten of the fruitof the forbidden tree,
And tasted haue of sinne and death,
and brought thy wrath on mee.
27
Wherefore my leaues wither away,my fruit fals on the ground,
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vnperfect and vnsound.
28
The feareful voice of sentence thinefor mine offences donne,
Doth cause me mourne, lament & grone,
my time yet for to ronne.
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And with my voice of mourning mind,my bones haue cleaued hard
Vnto my flesh, and sticke so fast,
that nothing I regard.
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Thus like vnto a pelican,I draw my selfe alone,
And call to mind my greeuous crimes,
and do the same bemone.
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The pelican, as some report,hir harmlesse birds doth kill,
And three daies after mourneth she,
and is vnquiet still.
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Then with her beake hir brest shee plucks,till bloud gush out amaine,
Which she lets drop vpon hir yong,
till they reuiue againe.
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Thus, Lord, do I with my sweet birds,which are my works through grace,
By sinne committed I them kill,
and do them al deface:
34
But yet by praier for thy grace,which springs of grace indeed,
The said dead works are quicke againe,
my sickly soule to feed.
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And Adam as a Pelican,touching some propertie;
For through his sin he slue the birds
came of his progenie.
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And dead he had remained still,had not sweet Christ thy sonne
Shed forth his bloud vs to reuiue,
by mercie great was donne.
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He kils and can raise vp to life,he strikes and heales againe,
As in the persecution
of Paule appeared plaine.
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Shame causeth me for to withdrawmy selfe to be alone:
As doth the crowe that flies by night
which would be seene of none.
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And if I could, I would me hide,from thee as Adam did,
Such time he tasted of the fruit
that thou didst him forbid.
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The works of darknesse loued I,and therefore did I flee
From the most bright and shining sunne
of iustice due to mee.
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O Lord, for this cause do I sigh,stil sorrow, weepe, and waile,
As one that ouerwatched is,
whose rest and sleepe doth faile.
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And as the sparrow do I watchthat drawes her selfe alone,
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hir fellowes want to mone.
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And to augment my griefe withall,mine enemies al daie
Do raile on me, and me reuiue;
so spiteful as they may.
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Againe, alas, My fained friends,that praised me before,
Against me now conspire themselues,
and vexe me verie sore.
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Such false and fained flattring friends,much worse and harmefull be,
Than those that openlie professe
and shew their enmitie.
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But both those sorts are sent to me,for plague vnto my sin,
And for the great iniquitie
that I haue wallowed in.
The second part.
[1]
My bread with ashes do I eate;that is I right well kno,
As I of earth and slime was made,
to earth againe shall go.
2
Thus, in such bitter thoughts as these,I eat my bread withal,
And minge my drinke with weeping teares,
that from mine eies do fall.
3
Bicause thou angrie art with mefor mine offenses past;
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of iudgement daie at last:
4
Thy wrath and indignationshal then proceed from thee,
And fall vpon the heads of those
that worke iniquitie.
5
ô Lord thou hast me lifted vp,and throwne me to the ground,
In that thou madst me like thy selfe,
yer I was to be found,
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No higher couldst thou lift me vp,than to beatitude;
But then alas, thou letst me fall,
whereby I this conclude:
7
My noble soule thou ioined hastwith massie earth and claie,
And bodie fraile, the weight whereof
driues downe my mind alwaie.
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And Lord, in my creationthou hast set me so hie,
Aboue al other creatures
that are vnder the skie.
9
And almost equal am I madewith blessed angels thine,
But in this state when I transgresse,
damnation then is mine.
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So that without thy mercies helpeI am in far worse plight
Than any beast, whose life or soule
with bodie dies outright.
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11
My daies (alas) awaie doth passe,as shadow new begun;
And I am withered like the grasse,
changed by heat of sun.
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Lord grant in shadow of this life,I may haue grace to see
The light and knowledge of thy word,
and waies prepard for mee:
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Which word giues light vnto the babeyet sucking at the brest;
For after that this life is past,
repentance none doth rest.
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And since the time, ô Lord, is shortof mine abiding heere,
Thy grace continue toward me,
my guiltinesse to cleere,
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For truly thine abiding isfor euer to indure,
And thy remembrance thorough out
al generations sure.
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But what is thy remembrance,through generations al?
It is the diuine propertie,
that vnto thee doth fall.
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For to be meeke and merciful,which thou hast euer dun,
From time to time, and age to age,
since first the world begun.
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And art more mindful of our state,and readier to forgiue,
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late borne with her to liue.
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Arise therefore and mercie shew,good Lord vpon Sion,
Which is thy faithful people all,
or congregation.
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For time it is on hir to looke,and mercie thine extend,
She hath long time great paine sustaind,
whereof she craues an end.
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What is this time, whereof we speake?was euer anie time,
In which thou didst not mercie shew,
to louing seruants thine?
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No verelie. For from the time,the angels down did fall,
Vntil the time the world shall end,
thy mercie euer shal,
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As it hath bin, from time to time,vpon al that repent;
But chieflie was thy mercie shewd,
when Christ was hither sent
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To suffer death, to win vs life,thereby he enter might
The glory of thy maiestie,
aboue the angels bright.
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This time was cald the time of grace,and was appointed when
The fulnesse of the time was come,
which was vnseene to men.
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26
And yet before this time, to himwas seene my Deitie,
Whereby, ô Lord, al things thou doost
in order with mercie.
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This time of heauenlie grace we trustshall stil continue heare,
To those in time that serueth thee,
with penance, loue and feare,
28
The stones of Sion pleased welthy seruant for thy truth,
And they vpon the ground thereof
shal pitie haue and ruth.
29
Apostles thine thy seruants were,the stones good christians bee;
And thou the sure foundation
of this faire worke to see.
30
Not vpon man nor angels brightdid they this building laie,
But vpon thee the corner stone,
of al their worke the staie.
31
And as the heathen, Lord, shal feareand tremble at thy name,
So Sion shal thy faithfull church,
giue glorie to the same,
32
Because thou Lord, hast Sion built,thou wilt be seene therein,
In glorie and great maiestie,
with mercie for our sin.
33
Wherefore most louing father deere,regard our humble sute,
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nor do our sinnes impute.
34
As thou beheldst the sacrificethat Abel gaue to thee,
And as the praier Iudith made;
so cast thine eie to me.
35
With those same eies vouchsafe to lookevpon vs when we praie,
Whereby the fame of mercie thine
may written be for aie.
36
For those that after vs shal come,by faith that borne shal be,
To render thanks, giue laud, and praise
vnto thy maiestie.
37
This mercie sure annexed isto nature thine diuine;
When al was lost through deadly sin,
yet didst thou make vs thine.
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Thou Lord aloft from heauenly throne,didst view al things alow,
And wouldst vouchsafe vpon the earth,
thy gracious eine to throw;
39
To see and heare the plaints we make,that fettered be in thrall,
And sent'st thy deare beloued Sonne
from sinne to loose vs all.
40
And he thereby put downe the diuelof death that victor was,
And death in victorie was consum'd;
this hath he brought to passe.
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41
For whie his sting of deadly sin,thou Lord hast pluckt awaie
To make vs thinke of goodnes thine,
wherein reioice we may;
42
And that in Sion we may shew,the glory of thy name,
And likewise in Ierusalem
with praise to do the same.
43
That is, when we together meetin faith with one accord,
As well the king as subiects poore,
to serue and praise the Lord.
44
Thou art, ô Lord, in substance one.and yet in persons three,
To whom al powers in heauen and earth,
obeisance giue to thee.
45
Thou sendest down thy dewes of gracevpon vs for to light,
That we therewith good works may shew
to euerie bodies sight.
46
I answere may, by no meanes else,good works be wrought by mee,
But by the vertue and the grace,
that doth proceed from thee.
47
Thorow thy might thy lawes we keepenot of our selues we know,
But by the measure of thy grace,
thou didst on vs bestow.
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And yet, ô Lord, I faine would know,how short my daies shall be,
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shal triumph ouer me:
49
Which is, thy church desires to knowhow long she shall abide,
Beset with cruel enemies
about on euerie side.
50
To whom thou hast an answere made,by Christ thy blessed sonne,
That still thy power with hir shal be,
vntil the world be donne,
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And we hir children thee desireto bring vs to the end
Of this short time, that we with thee
may to the heauens ascend.
52
And till that time good Lord vouchsafethou wilt continue stil
Thy grace and fauor toward vs,
according to thy wil.
53
And not to leaue me any time,in middle of my daies,
But by thine aid bring al my time
to end vnto thy praise:
54
That after these my temporall daies,I may behold and see
Thine euerlasting daies and yeeres,
which cannot numbred bee.
55
For al times here do swiftlie passe,as time that is vnsure,
But yet time of eternitie
for euer shal indure.
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For why, ô Lord, eternitieis verie substance thine;
Which substance who so seekes to know,
no reason can define.
The third part.
[1]
Without beginning Lord thou wast,and yet beginning gaue
To heauen and earth, and al therein,
which that creation haue,
2
Thy hands them wrought, which is thy power,thy word them made also,
And at the last, They perish shall,
and motions theirs forgo.
3
Their substance stil they al shall keepe,yet al shal changed be,
For heauen and earth shall now be made
of glorie great to thee.
4
Likewise the bodies of al men,shal perish with the rest,
And in another sort shall rise,
to thee as seemeth best.
5
But thou Lord, truly shalt indure,in thy high glorie great,
In maiestie omnipotent,
sitting on mercie seat;
6
When all shal wax and weare awaie,as garments old to see,
And as a vesture new out on,
we al shall changed bee.
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7
As garments to the bodie are,to couer them withall;
So be the bodies of the soule,
their vestures and their pall.
8
But thou art euen the selfe same one,which euer doost abide,
That is to saie omnipotent,
and so is none beside.
9
Inuisible thou art likewise,immortal eke withall,
And as thy yeeres shal neuer faile,
so euer bide they shall:
10
So shall the soules of thine electimmortallie remaine,
In ioy and great felicitie,
not knowing any paine.
11
The soules of those that wicked areimmortall be also,
But they contrarie shall endure
continuall paine and wo.
12
And Lord, The sonnes of seruants thine,togither they shall dwell:
Likewise their seed shall in thy sight
stil prosper and do well.
13
Thy seruants, Lord, the prophets wereapostles thine also,
From whom by faith we haue receiu'd,
as we beleeue and kno.
14
And now vouchsafe, most mighty Godto send vs of thy grace,
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may shine in euery place:
15
That they to all may signifiehow we thy seruants bee,
And that both soule and bodie may
remaine and rest with thee.
| Seuen Sobs of a Sorrowful Soule for Sinne | |