 | Miscellaneous works of George Wither |  |
IV. A Hymn of Thanksgiving, for deliverance from a dangerous and sharp Sickness, during his Imprisonment.
[1]
LORD! they who thy Affection measureBy what thou givest into their possessings,
Of Riches, Honours, or of Pleasure,
Or, of such other Temporary Blessings,
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May think I am despis'd of thee;
For, when I seem'd opprest before
With losse of Liberty and Wealth,
So that I could well bear no more,
Thou thereto addedst loss of health,
Imbitter'd and made sharp, with as much pain
As Flesh and Blood were able to sustain.
2
Yet neither was thy Love impaired,Whilst in that manner I afflicted was,
Nor doubted I, nor ought despaired
Of thy continuing and assisting Grace;
But, as the violence and length
Of pain deprived me of strength,
My Spirit thereby stronger grew;
Yea, so thou didst my Faith encrease;
(So Fortitude and hope renew)
That Suffrings were not pleasureless;
Because I knew I underwent thy Rod,
Who art as well my Father, as my GOD:
3
I know thee not alone by hearing,But, also by thy being in my heart,
And, by thy thereunto declaring,
How just, wise, good, and merciful thou art:
Thou tak'st no pleasure in our pain,
Nor dost, nor ever didst constrain
The soul of any to a path,
Which leads him from a happy course,
To Sin, Shame, Sorrow, or to Death,
Or, renders his condition worse.
For, that thou more delighted art to save,
Than to destroy, I good assurance have.
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4
For ever, let thy Name be blessed;For, when my patience did begin to fail,
And pain, a cold-sweat forth had pressed,
As if in me, fire had been mixt with hail;
Thou in my first Fit, easedst me
By means, lest means despis'd might be:
And when I was shut up alone,
Of all external helps depriv'd,
(Where means of Cure or Ease was none)
Then, by thy Self I was reliev'd;
That I might alwayes confident be made
Of thy help, when no other can be had.
5
When so extreamly I was pained,That I could hardly for one minutes space,
Endure the torment I sustained,
In any posture, or in any place,
Thou hug'dst me fast asleep; and then
Gav'st Ease, I know not how, nor when;
Which so amazed me, when I awak't,
That, I at first, could hardly tell
Whether, I for a Dream might tak't,
Or, whether I were sick or well;
For, in the fire I thought assoon I might
Have slept (erewhile) as in my bed that night.
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Therefore, to thee, for this CompassionI do now consecrate a Hymn of Praise:
Be pleas'd, O GOD of my Salvation,
To be thus my Physician all my dayes.
Let this preserve me from the fear
Of what I may yet suffer here:
And when this Mercy shall be known,
Thereby assur'd let others be
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To them, as was vouchsaf'd to me,
If in thy Truth and Fear they shall abide,
And, without wavering, in thee confide.
| Miscellaneous works of George Wither | |