The Works of William Fowler :: :: University of Virginia Library

Eternal god, permit me now my mynd her mone beuray,
and suffer, lord, my guyltie hart his crymes then to desplay:
to the do I adres myself who both dois cuir and kill,
and potent is als well to hail as thow ar bent to spill.
I not complaine off the, o lord, who doest no thing but well,
whose ire I haue deserved, yea, and thairby euen the hell;
but I beseache [the], gracious lord, according to thy word
and promeis maid, thow will thy reuth and pardon me afford,
and spair these Iudgments which thow dois for damned soules reserve,
and such as by thy furie iust and Indignation sterve.
but rather, lord, if so thow wilt, then chaise me in [thy] grace,
that whi[l]st thow straik I may not schrink nor hyde me fro thy face.

thow wotest weill that I cry not as [they] that houles for nought,
or cryeeth loud for a smal greif which on thame chanse hes brought:
for it is euen depe to the quik, thyne arrow heides ar kene
which now be shot off so at me, whairwith I pearcst haue bene:
I see that now thy earnest hand is roughlye on me sell,
and now I se euen from thy heade thy plagues ar on me fell.

but, lord, regard this wrechted life, and this my bodie poore,
which hes me parted [?] of the same, that dois plagues indure.
but yet, o great god, respect my teares, my sighs, and grevous grones,
regard my sheavering shaiky limbs, and my poore grunded bones,

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which iustlye now dois thole these panis, such that these causes whole
off al my plague ar in my self, which Iustlye I doo thole.
this I confes, and so it is the spring of al my woes,
of sorrowes and my torments all, so from myself euen floues,
the spring, I say, whairin I am so soused ouer heade and eares,
and maks me faint vnneth this weght and burden of my feares,
a loade, a weght, and burden great, to great for me to beare,
if thow sustane and stay me not.

those killing bloues which thou me gauest corrupted matter bred,
euen such as rotten maid my wonds which ouer my bodye spred,
which putrefieth my carcase poore, which altogeather smells
of these firste fruits of foolish sin which in my bodye dwells.

bot now behold, o gratious god, I will not stiffen my nek;
I bow my bodye vnto the, and dois my hart derect,
and drawes my leggs to fallow thee, now parched and al broyld
through heate [and] woe and la[n]gour great whairwith I am now foyld.
alas, my reynes! alas, they burne! o god, quhat sal I say?
I altogeather am maid vp each sorrow to assay;
I am as in a mortar brayd and in a mil as ground,
so that I crye, or rather rores, for greatnes of my wound.

bot, o my lord, yit for al this thow art my suir retraite,
my longing is for the alone who may my woes abate,
my gronings al derect thame selfs, my lord and god, to the.
although through mightie greif my hart did pant within my brest,
and had in it a thousand thoughs and vaine conceates off rest,
yet both my strengh heare failed me, my eis did loss thair light,
and then my fote so far ouerthrowen did fail me with my sight.

bot heire my greifes, lord, dois not end, more sorrows ar behind,
that dois with greater tempest teare the calm[n]es of my mynd:
for whils my wrechted plight suld move the very haggard stones
and sensles bloks with me to waill and sorrow for my grones,

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they which in former tymes had cald them selfs my nerest friends,
whose part it was for to pertak the
thay stand stone still in steade to run or come theme selfs to me,
or in my [OMITTED] to giue help [OMITTED] my [OMITTED] supplie;
yea, those which ar my nixt of kynd and me belongs in blood
with much a doe will look at me to do me any good,
Quhils thus my bloodye cruell foes lay snaires to have my lyfe,
desyring nothing bot my death to put thair mynds fro [?] stryfe;
and quhills they can not compass this they slander me meane while,
and dois assay al meanes they can to chase me in exyle.

and thow agane considdereth this, and knowest this ful well,
how that with thame I skirmisht not, nor with theme wold anes mell:
I have not rendered euil for ill be ether deid or word,
but passed ouer al these wrongs (as thow dois knaw, o lord)
As if I had bene dumb & deafe, not giuing therto eare;
I gaue no sing nor tokens, yet I did such Inureis heare,
nor did [I] any word reply more then the dumbest man,
which hes no vsage of his tounge nor yet to speik well can:
I only silence haue opposed to al these grevous wrongs
which slandrouslie they bidew on me by thair Detracting tonges.
not that I had not iust defence to ansuer thame agane,
bot I had rather, lord, referd to the, who dois sustane
as pure protector of these men which ar with wrongs opprest,
these Iniuries aga[n]st me done, who will revenge be tymes
these sinning men which runs in sin from sins to greater crymes.

Now than, eternal holy god, it is thou, lord, alone
on quhome I wholy wayte and lookes for help to ease my mone:
thou art my god and so will not me now vnanswered leave,
bot pondring al my iust complants thow will thame al receave:

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for is it possible (quoth I) that thow, lord, will Indure
these weked men of [OMITTED] misheif aga[n]st me that conIure,
and which asseyes to hinder, lord, thy promeis and thy will,
which thow, quhen as it plesis the, will both performe and fil?
or wilt thow thoale my kind vnkynd which dois the lord assayle,
when as they fall vpon me now and would or me prevail?
will thow permitt or suffer, lord, that they haue causs to noy,
by setting thame ag[ain]st me, lord, whome they mene to destroy?
mak speed to me, o gratious god, and from this danger frie,
or o[the]rwayes I sal succumb if thow not giue supplie:
for sorrow is befoir my eyes, my troubles ar in sight,
which falloueth along the day and ar with me al night.

and for my part I alwayes am most reddie to confes
and to aknauledg my trespass, and al my faults expres,
the paine quharof I carye now with in me quhair I goe,
my body casten in to cair, my spreit al fra[u]ght with woe.