Prison-Pietie or, Meditations Divine and Moral. Digested into Poetical Heads, On Mixt and Various Subjects. Whereunto is added A Panegyrick to The Right Reverend, and most Nobly descended, Henry, Lord Bishop of London. By Samuel Speed, Prisoner in Ludgate, London |
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St. Austin's Prayer. |
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St. Austin's Prayer.
Before thy holy eyes, O Lord,We sinners heartily accord,
Humbly to own our griefs of heart
Are nothing to our just desert.
The evils we have done, exceed
What we can write, or may be read.
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And say, Thy Chastisements are light.
We feel the punishments of sin,
And yet we do persist therein.
Weak Nature faints at ev'ry scourge,
Yet perverse wills do dayly urge.
Our restless minds do still provoke
Thy Justice, and despise thy Yoke.
We sigh away our days in grief,
Yet sorrow gives us small relief:
For when our sighs do once expire,
We wallow in our former mire.
If we repent, 'tis at a rate,
That we had need repent for that.
If thou revenge our stubbornness,
Thy Justice doth our hearts depress.
Thy anger fills our Souls with fears;
We weep, but soon forget our Tears.
If thou stretch out thy hand, we then
Promise to turn to Saints, from men;
But if thy Sword suspension shows,
We then forget to pay our Vows.
If thou dost strike, we pardon crave;
And when thou pardon letst us have,
We sin again, and ne're give o're,
With provocations more and more.
Thus we our guilty selves accuse,
Thus we thy mercies do abuse;
Yet Mercy, Mercy, still we cry,
Or we are drench'd in misery.
Then, Lord, O let thy goodness give
Those streams by which the Angels live;
Our Souls inspire, amend our days;
Touch thou our tongues, and we shall praise.
All glory be to God on high,
The Father of Eternity,
To Three in One, and One in Three.
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