The Minor Poems of John Lydgate :: :: University of Virginia Library

Blesse him and preyse, and forget him nought.
Alle myn entraylles booþe in deed and word,
And al þat euer is in myn Inward thought,
Gyf thank to hym þat þee so deere haþe bought.
Of kyndenes he was no thing to blame,
Late serche þyn hert with al þat may be thought,
And ofre al vp vn-to his hooly name.

2

And þou my soule, yit blesse him efft ageyne,

Benedic anima mea domino & noli oblinisciomnes retribuciones eius.

Haue euer in mynde his consolacyons,
Be not forgetful, but be truwe and pleyne,
Ay to remembre his retribuciouns.
To him haue ay þy contemplacyouns,

Sith he þee bought with his precyous blood,
Be not vnkynde, but in þyne orysouns
Thenk for þy saake he starff vpon þe rood,

3

Qui propiciatur omnibus iniquitatibus qui sanat omnes infirmitates tuas.

Which is alwey to þine Iniquytees
So pacyent ay, and mooste suffrable;
Heleþe and rekureþe alle þyne infirmytees
Of lordes alle þe moost mercyable,
Moost loving eeke, euer oon and not vnstable,
Voyde of chaunge and of al doublenesse,
God graunt my preyer beo to þee acceptable,
Þat schewest to me so muche kyndenesse.

4

Qui redimitur de interitu vitam tuam qui coronat te in misericordia & miseracionibus.

For he byeþe euer and makeþe redempcyoun,
Þy lyf frome deeth and frome captyvytee:
With his blood he made þy raunsoun,
And with his mercyes he corowneþe þee,
And in his mercyes he gyveþe þee liberte,
Whane for þy synne þe feonde doþe þee manace,
And condescendeþe of mercyful pytee
Ay whan þou axest for to do þee grace.

5

Qui repletur in bonis desiderium tuum renouabitur vt aquile inuentus tua.

He accomplissheþe in goodnes þy desyres,
He is in loue so stedfast and so trewe.
Þyne hert enamoureþe with his goostely fyres,
And lyke an Egle þy youþe shal renuwe
Elyche fresshe of face and eek of huwe,
Cladde with a mantel of Inmortalyte,
With-oute appalling, of aage elyke nuwe,
With Citeseyns of þyne hevenly Cite.

6

ffaciens miseri ordias domine et iudicium omnibus iniuriam pacientibus.

Þowe art þe lord, prophetes doon recorde,
Moost renommed of power and of might,

Doyng mercy and misericorde,
And doome to alle wheche þat souffre vnright.
Cast on me lord þy mercyable sight,
And graunt me mercy toforne er þat þou deeme,
Set pees to-forne & modefye þy right,
For of my self I haue nought þee to qweeme.

7

He made hees weyes vn-to Moyses

Notas fecitum vias suas moysi filiis Israel voluntates eius.

For to be knowe, þe byble can weel telle,
His willes also, by vertuous encresce,
Vn-to his loued people of Israell,
And Pharao þat on hem was so felle
Out of his daunger made hem free to goo,
So let þy mercy, O lord, þy right precelle,
Ageynst þacusing of oure goostly foo.

8

Mercy, lord, on wrecches in distresse,

Miserator & misericors dominus longanimis & multum misericors.

Which on þy mercy beon ay awayting,
With-oute vengeaunce souffrest of goodenesse
Synners repent hem, þeyre leyser abyding
Moost mercyable þou art in forgyving
To suche as beon redy to do penaunce,
Nowe graunte me grace, lord, in my lyving
Or I passe hennes, to haue ful repentaunce.

9

Þis lord shal not perpetuelly be wrothe,

Non in perpetuum irascetur dominus.

Nor he shal not eternally manace
For mercy euer toforne his right it gooþe,
And alle his werkis pacyence dooþe enbrace,
And he is redy euer to doo grace
Who axeþe mercy, he wil him not forsaake;
Þerfore O lord, whane we shal hens passe,
To-fore þy doome vs to þy mercy take.

10

After oure synnes þe lord moost gracyous

Non secundum pecca nostra facit nobis neque secundum iniquitates nostras.

List for noon haast avenged for to be,

Nor lyke oure trespasses he is not rygorous
To do vengeaunce of his benignyte,
Mercy preferring to-forne his equyte;
For but his mercy sooþely passed his right—
I cane namore, but I seye for me,
Whane he shal deeme I durst not come in sight.

11

Quoniam secundum altitudinem.

For affter þe hevens heghe altytude
Passeþe þe eorþe in comparysoun,
He haþe made strong his mercy to conclude
On alle þat drede him of truwe affeccyoun.
I cleyme mercy and voyde away reysoun,
And to his grace lowly me submitte,
For vpon mercy stant my saluacion,
On which to trist myn hert shal neuer flytte.

12

Quantum distat ortus ab occidente.

Als fer in seoþe as þe cleer oryent
Is in distaunce whane Phebus shyneþe bright
Frome þe west party of þoccydent,
Right so þe lord which is moost of might
Haþe sette oure synnes asyde out of his sight,
His doome delaying þat we may come to grace,
Making appeel to mercy frome his right,
What synfull ellys durst peer afore his face?

13

Quomodo miseretur filiorum misertus est dominus timentibus se.

And as a fader mercyful is founde
Vpon his childre for to haue pytee,
Right so þe lord of mercy most habounde
Is mercyful to alle þat dreedful be,
For he allone knoweþe our freeltee,
And who of hert can dreed him, loue, and serve;
Nowe graunt vs lord, of þy benignytee,
Mercy toforne or we þy doome deserue.

14

Recordatus est quoniam puluis sumus.

He is Remembred þat we but poudre be,
A mannys dayes beon but welked hay,

Or lyke a floure ful feyre and fresshe to se
Which in feelde faadeþe and goþe awey,
For whane beautee is cloosed vnder clay,
Fare weel of youþe al þe lustynesse,
Which tyme O lord, ne sey not to vs nay
To haue mercy vpon oure wrecchednesse.

15

Þe spiryt of man shal soone frome him passe

Quoniam spiritus per transibit in illo.

Al sodeynly, and no whyle abyde,
In þis worlde here no more knowe his place,
And fare weel þanne al worldly pompe and pryde,
Sette lordship and ricchesse þanne a-syde,
Al tresor here nys but transytorye;
Wherfore, O lord, let mercy so provyde
Þat we wiþ þee may regnen in þy glorye.

16

Þy mercyes, lorde, beon preysed frome eterne,

Misericordias autem ab eterno et vsque.

Euer lasting, who can beholde and se,
Who loueþe þee and can with dreed conserne
Þy kyndenessis and þy gret bountee,
To alle suche þy mercy is mooste free,
And of a mayde thorughe mercy þou were borne,
Thorughe whos preyer and humylytee,
For lack of mercy ne lat vs nat be lorne.

17

And of þis lord þe gret rightwysnesse,

Et iusticia illius in filios filiorum hiis qui seruant testamentum eius.

Meynt with his mercy by lyneal discent,
Shal sprede to children þat doon hir bysynesse
For to obserue of hert his testament,
And truly keepe his comaundement,
Þeyre issu no mescheef shal encoumbre;
Nowe, goode lorde, of feythful truwe entent,
Graunt me grace I may beon of þe noumbre.

18

Et memores sunt mandata tua.

For þey beon fully, as in þeyre ententys,
Of oon hert stable as any stoone,
Remembring ay of his comaundementes,
For to fulfille hem and forget noon,
But hem conserve, what so þey ryde or goon,
Now goode lord, moost stedfast and moost kynde,
Rent on þe Roode bytwixe Marye and Iohn,
To-fore þou deeme vs haue mercy in þy mynde.

19

Dominus in celo.

God in his palays above celestyal
Haþe bylt a see and a manysoun;
And his regne moost Imperyal
Haþe ouer al his domynacyoun,
And al stant vnder his subieccyoun;
Wherfore, O lord, thenk on oure freeltee,
And late þy mercy beon oure proteccyoun
For oþer saufconduyt haue I noon for me.

20

Benedicite domino omnes angeli.

Alle þe Aungelles of euery Ierarchye,
Blesseþe þee lord with al your ful might,
Mighty of vertu his preceptis to applye,
His worde tacomplisshe, as it is skil and right;
His voyce, his speeche, herkenyng day and night,
By attendaunce aboue þe sterres cleer.
Nowe, goode lord, of mercy sheed þy lyght
Myn hert tenlumyne þat boughtest me so deer.

21

Benedicite domino omnes virtutes.

And alle þe vertues of þee lord also,
Gyveþe laude and prys to his magnyfysence
And blesseþe him as yee aught to doo,
Alle hees mynistres with duwe reuerence,
Which þat doon with duwe diligence
His wille, his word, and may not disobeye.
O lord do mercy ageyne my gret offence,
Or cruwel deeþe me sodeynly werrey.

22

Blesseþe þee lord, O yee his werkes alle,

Benedicite domino omnia opera eius et omnia.

Yche place where he haþe domynacion,
O þou my soule vn-to þee lord do calle,
And to his lord gif benediccyoun,
For lyff and dethe, and oure saluacion
Eternally dependeþe in his grace,
Asseele oure quytaunce with þy redempcion,
Whane þou shalt deme vs stondyng to-fore þy face.

Explicit Anima mea domino &c.