University of Virginia Library

Search this document 
The Wheatley Manuscript


collapse section 
[section]
  
I [AN ORISON ON THE PASSION]
 II. 
II [A PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN]
  
III [HYMN TO ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.]
collapse section 
IV. [THE SEVEN PENITENTIAL PSALMS]
 1. 
1
collapse section 
[section]
 2. 
2
 3. 
3
 4. 
4
 5. 
5
 6. 
6
 7. 
7
 8. 
8
 9. 
9
 10. 
10
 11. 
11
collapse section 
[section]
 12. 
12
 13. 
13
 14. 
14
 15. 
15
 16. 
16
 17. 
17
 18. 
18
 19. 
19
 20. 
20
 21. 
21
 22. 
22
 23. 
23
 24. 
24
 25. 
25
collapse section 
[section]
 26. 
26
 27. 
27
 28. 
28
 29. 
29
 30. 
30
 31. 
31
 32. 
32
 33. 
33
 34. 
34
 35. 
35
 36. 
36
 37. 
37
 38. 
38
 39. 
39
 40. 
40
 41. 
41
 42. 
42
 43. 
43
 44. 
44
 45. 
45
 46. 
46
 47. 
47
 48. 
48
collapse section 
[section]
 49. 
49
 50. 
50
 51. 
51
 52. 
52
 53. 
53
 54. 
54
 55. 
55
 56. 
56
 57. 
57
 58. 
58
 59. 
59
 60. 
60
 61. 
61
 62. 
62
 63. 
63
 64. 
64
 65. 
65
 66. 
66
 67. 
67
 68. 
68
collapse section 
[section]
 69. 
69
 70. 
70
 71. 
71
 72. 
72
 73. 
73
 74. 
74
 75. 
75
 76. 
76
 77. 
77
 78. 
78
 79. 
79
 80. 
80
 81. 
81
 82. 
82
 83. 
83
 84. 
84
 85. 
85
 86. 
86
 87. 
87
 88. 
88
 89. 
89
 90. 
90
 91. 
91
 92. 
92
 93. 
93
 94. 
94
 95. 
95
 96. 
96
 97. 
97
collapse section 
[section]
 98. 
98
 99. 
99
 100. 
100
 101. 
101
 102. 
102
 103. 
103
 104. 
104
 105. 
105
collapse section 
[section]
 106. 
106
 107. 
107
 108. 
108
 109. 
109
 110. 
110
 111. 
111
 112. 
112
 113. 
113
 114. 
114
 115. 
115
 116. 
116
 117. 
117
 118. 
118
 119. 
119

collapse section Collapse All | Expand All expand section
previous section The Wheatley Manuscript
next section

49

Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.

Mercy, God, of my mysdede,
For thi mercy that mykil is;
Let thi pite spryng and sprede,
Of thi mercy that I noght mys.
After goostly grace I grede;
Gode God, thow graunt me this,
That I mote here my lyfe lede
So that I doo no more amys.
36

50

Et secundum multitudinem miseracionum tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam.

And, aftir thi mercyes þat ben fele,
Lord, for-do my wykkednesse;
Help [me] for to hyde and hele
The blames of my bre[c]helnes.
Ȝif any strengh[e] wil me stele
Out of the close of thi clennes,
Wys me, Lorde, in wo and wele,
And kepe me for thi kyndenes.

51

Amplius laua me ab iniquitate mea, & a peccato me munda me.

More-ouere wassche me of my synne,
And fro my gyltes clense me;
Enserche my soule bothe oute & ynne,
That it no more defoulyd bee;
And, as thyn hert[e] cleef a-twynne
With doolful deth on the rode tre,
So let me neuer werke begynne
Lorde, bot if it lyke the.

52

Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco, & peccatum meum contra me est semper.

For alle my wykkednes I knowe,
And my synne is euer my sight agayne;
And therfore let thi pite growe,
Ihesu, þat were of Iewis slayne;
For ryche and pore, hygh and lowe,
And euer[y] wight, I am certayne,
On domesday, whan thow schal blowe,
Of thi mercy wil be fayne.
37

53

Tibi soli peccaui, malum coram te feci; ut iustificeris in sermonibus [tuis, et vincas cum iudicaris].

To the onely trespassyd haue I,
Wroght wikkedly and the not qwemed;
Þo werkys askys rightfully
Thow hast þe victory when þou art demed.
Demyd thow were wrongfully
For me þat haue [thi] f[eit]h for[y]emed;
Bot, Lord, let me neuer doo why
That I be fro thi face flemed.

54

Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum, & in peccatis concepit me mater mea.

Byholde, in synne I was conceyued
Of my moder, as men ere [a]lle;
Of my fadir noght I receyued
Bot boon and flesch freel to falle;
Bot sithen thi flesch, Lorde, was perceyued,
Where it was leyd ful streyt in stall,
Was ther noon synful man deceyued,
That wolde on[to] thi mercy calle.

55

Ecce enim ueritatem dilexisti; incerta & occulta sapiencie tue manifestasti michi.

Byholde, thow hast louyd the right,
And schewed me conseil of thi witte,
How thorow mercy and thorow myght
Two kyndes been to-gedir knytte:
[Thral is fre and knave is knyght],
God is man, as gospel writte,
And, if my soule in perell is pyght,
Mercy, God, and help thow itt!
38

56

Asperges me, Domine, ysopo, & mundabor; lauabis me, & super niuem dealbabor.

With holy water thow schalt me spryng,
And as the snowe I schal be quyte;
For, if my soule in synne synk,
With wepying water it may be qwyte.
Deedly draghtes if I drynk,
Of repentaunce gyf me respyte;
For, on the trestly who-so thynk,
In worldes welth is no delyte.

57

Auditui meo dabis gaudium & leticiam, & exultabunt ossa humiliata.

To my herying thow schal yeue
Gladnes, to glade my boones meke;
In lowenes lerne me to leue;
Be noght to fer when I the seke;
And let me noght to deeth be dreue,
Derworth Lorde, I the beseke,
Til my synnes be foryeue
Of thoght and worde and dede[s] eke.

58

Auerte faciem tuam a peccatis meis, & omnes iniquitates meas dele.

Fro my synnes turne thi face,
Put al my wykkednes awey;
Greet is my gilt, gretter thi grace,
And elles fayleth oure f[ey].
Defautes many þat me deface
Makes me syng welaway
And crye mercy when I trespasse;
I woot ther is noon othir [wey].
39

59

Cor mundum crea in me, Deus, & spiritum rectum innoua in uisceribus meis.

God, make my hert[e] clene,
A rightful goost in me renewe,
Fro seuen synnes make me schene,
Where-so thow goo þat I may sewe.
Allas! thi t[our]ment and thi tene
Made thi brest and bak al blewe;
Now g[rau]nt[e], Crist, it may be sene
With-inne my hert, thy hydouse hewe!

60

Ne proicias me a faci[e] tua, & spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me.

Cast me noght fro thi visage;
Take noght awey thi holy goost;
For in the sight of that ymage
Is fulsomnesse and myrth[e] moost.
I haue ben wylde & doon outrage,
Vnwisely wroght, as thow wele woost;
Therfore sende me some corage
To fight agaynes the fendes oost.

61

Redde michi leticiam salutaris tui, et spiritu principali confirma me.

Of thyn hele ȝelde me blisse,
And strenght me with thi spirit cheef;
Alle my fyue wittes thow wysse,
That I may lyf as the is leef;
And, as thow may my langour lysse,
That broghtest man to grete bonchef,
So lat me neuer mercy mysse
When I am greuyd with goostly greef.
40

62

Docebo iniquos uias tuas; & impij ad te conuertentur.

The wycked I schal th[i] weyes teche;
Th[e] synful schal to the conuert;
Synful man, beware of wreche,
And thenk on Crist with al thin hert,
How he become thi louely leche,
And for thi sake ful sore smert;
Ther was no scorne ne spytouse speche,
Dispite ne strook þat hym astert.

63

Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus salutis [mee, et exultabit lingua mea iusticiam tuam].

Delyuer me fro blameful bloode,
Almyghty God of alle my helth;
Than schal my tonge be myry of moode
To telle[n] of thi ryghtful telth.
Thi ryghtful bloode ran doun on rode,
That wasshe vs fro oure flesshly felth,
And many a storme agayne [thow] stoode,
To wys vs fro the worldes welth.

64

Domine, labia mea aperies; & os meum annun[ciabit laudem tuam].

My lyppes, Lorde, thow schal vndoo,
And my mouthe schal thi preysyng spelle;
Thi mercy and þi myght alsoo
Parfitely can no man telle;
For, whanne we dedely synnes doo,
Thei vs demen to goo to helle;
Bot, whanne we sees & can sey ‘hoo!’,
Thi mercy is oure wasshyng welle.
41

65

Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique; [holocaustis non delectaberis].

For, yif thow woldist haue had offryng,
I had it ȝeuen with hert[e] fre;
Bot thow schal haue noon lykyng
In sacrifyce of that degree;
For thow were offrid vp hongyng
For mannes sake on rode tree,
And of thin hert gan bloode oute sprynge,
Wherfore my hert I offre the.

66

Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus; cor c[ontritum et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies].

To God it is a sacrifyce,
The goost þat is [a]greuyd sore;
Meke hert schal thow noght despice,
Whiles repentaunce may it restore.
I haue forslowthid, Lorde, thi seruice,
And litel leuyd aftir thi lore,
Bot now I repent and aryse;
Mercy, Ihesu, I wil no more.

67

Benigne fac, Domine, in bona uoluntate tua [Sion, ut edificentur muri Ierusalem].

With benigne wil do to Syon
Þat Ierusalem walles were vp wroght;
Ierusalem, as saith seint Ion,
Is Holy Chirche, þat errith noght.
Too testamentes cordyng in oon,
Thise were walles to-gedir broght,
When Crist hym-self was corner stoon,
That mannes soule had dere boght.
42

68

Tunc acceptabis sacrificium iusticie, [oblaciones et holocausta; tunc imponent super altarem tuum vitulos].

Thanne shalt thow sacrifyce accepte
Of ryghtwysnesse and treuthe entier,
And calueren aftir thy precepte
Sall men leyn on thine autier.
On Caluarie a calf there crepte,
Crist on crosse both clene and clere;
For teris that his modir wepte,
He schild vs fro the fendes fere!
Amen.
previous section The Wheatley Manuscript
next section