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The description of heauenly Ierusalem.

Ierusalem thy ioyes diuine,
No ioyes to be compar'd to them:
No people blessed so as thine,
No Citty like Ierusalem.
My thirsty soule desires her draught,
At heauenly fountaines to refresh:
My prysoned minde, would fayne be out
Of chaynes and fetters of the flesh.
She looketh vp vnto the state,
From whence, she downe by sinne did slide:
She mournes the more the good she lost,
For present euill she doth abide.
She longs, from rough and daungerous seas,
To harbour in the hauen of blisle:
Where safely anchor at her ease,
And shore of sweet contentment is.
From banishment she more and more,
Desires to see her country deare:
She sits and sends her sighes before,
Her ioyes and treasures all be there.

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From Babilon she would returne,
Vnto her home and towne of peace:
Ierusalem where ioyes abound,
Continue still and neuer cease.
There blustring winter neuer blowes,
Nor Sommers parching heate doth harme:
It neuer freezeth there, nor snowes,
The weather euer temperate warme.
The trees doe blossome, bud and beare,
the Birds doe euer chirpe and sing:
The fruite is mellow all the yeare,
they haue an euerlasting spring.
The pleasant gardens, euer keep
Their hearbes and flowers fresh and greene:
All sorts of dainty plants and fruites,
At all times there, are to be seene.
The Lilly white, and ruddy Rose,
The Crimson and Carnation flowers:
Be watred there with honny dewes,
And heauenly drops of golden showers.
Pomgran at prince of fruite, the Peach,
The dainty Date and pleasant Figge:
The Almond, Muscadell, and Grape,
Exceeding good and wondrous bigge.
The Lemmon, Orenge, Medler, Quince,
The Apricocke, and Iudian spice:
The Cherry, Warden, Plum and Peare,
More sorts then were in Paradice.

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With fruite more tooth some eye-some, faire,
Then that which grew on Adams tree:
With whose delight assailed were,
Wherwith suppris'd were Eue and hee.
The smelling odoriferous Balme,
Most sweetly there doth sweate and drop:
The fruitefull and victorious Palme,
Layes out her lofty mounting top.
The Ryuer wine most perfect flowes,
More pleasant then the honny combe:
Vpon whose bankes the Sugar growes,
Enclos'd in Reedes of Sinamon.
Her walles of Iasper stones be built,
Most rich and fayre that euer was:
Her streetes and houses pau'd and gilt,
with gold more cleare then Cristall glasse.
Her gates in equall distance be,
And each a glistring Margarite:
Which commers in farre off may see,
A gladsome and a glorious sight.
Her inward Chambers and delight,
Be deckt with pearle and precious stone
The doores and posternes all be white,
Of wrought and burnisht Iuory bone.
Her Sunne doth neuer Clipse nor cloude,
Her Moone doth neuer wax nor wane:
The Lambe with light hath her endued,
Whose glory, pen cannot explaine.

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The glorious Saints her dwellers be,
In numbers more then men can thinke:
So many in a company,
As loue in likenes doth them linke.
The starres in brightnes they surpasse,
In swiftnes arrowes from a bowe:
In strength, in firmnes steele or brasse,
In brightnes fire, in whitenes snowe.
Their cloathing are more soft then silke,
With girdles gilt of beaten golde:
They in their hands as white a milke,
Of Palme triumphant branches holde.
Theyr faces shining like the Sunne,
Shoote forth their glorious gladsome beames
The field is fought, the battle wonne,
Their heads be crown'd with Diademes.
Reward as vertue different is,
Destinct their ioyes and happines:
But each in ioy of others blisse,
Doth as his owne the same possesse.
So each in glory doe abound,
And all their glories doe excell:
But whereas all to each redound,
Who can th'exceeding glory tell?
Triumphant warriers, you may heare
Recount their daungers which doe cease:
And noble Citizens euery where,
Their happy gaines of ioy and peace.

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The learned clerkes with sharpned wit,
Theyr makers wondrous workes do tell
The Iudges graue on benches sit,
To iudge the Tribes of Israell.
The glorious Courtiers euer there,
Attend on person of their King:
With Angels ioyned in a Quire,
Melodious praise of hymmes to sing.
Queene Virgin, mother Innocent,
Then Saints and Angels more diuine:
Like Sun amidst the firmament,
Aboue the planets all doe shine.
The King that heauenly Pallace rules,
Doth beare vpon his golden shield,
A Crosse, in signe of tryumph gules,
Erected in a verdant field.
His glory such as doth behoue,
Him in his manhood for to take:
Whose God head earth and heauen aboue,
And all that dwell therein did make.
Like friends all partners are in blisse,
With Christ their Lord and Master deare:
Like spouses they the Bride-groome kisse,
who feasteth them with heauenly cheare.
With tree of life and Manna sweet,
Which taste, doth such a pleasure bring:
As none to iudge thereof be meete,
But they which banquet with the King.

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With Cherubins their wings they mooue,
And mount in contemplation hye:
With Seraphins they burne in Loue,
the beames of glory be so nygh.
O sweet aspect, vision of peace,
happy regard and heauenly sight,
O endlesse ioy without surcease,
perpetuall day which hath no night.
O well of weale, fountaine of life,
a spring of euerlasting blisse:
Eternall Sunne, resplendant light,
and eminent cause of all that is.
Riuer of pleasure, Sea of delight,
garden of glory euer greene:
O glorious glasse, and mirrour bright,
wherein all truth is clearely seene.
O princely pallace, royall Court,
Monarchall seate, Emperiall throne:
Where King of Kings, and Soueraigne Lord,
for euer ruleth all alone.
Where all the glorious Saints doe see,
the secrets of the Deity:
The God-head one, in persons three,
the superblessed Trinity.
The depth of wisedome most profound,
all puisant high sublimity:
The bredth of Loue without all bond,
iu endlesse long eternity.

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The beauty earth belowe, by kinde
alone, ascendes the mounting fire,
Be this the centor of my minde,
and lofty spheare of her desire.
The chafed Deare doth take the soyle,
the tyred Hare, the thickes and wood:
Be this the comfort of my toyle,
my refuge, hope, and Soueraigne good.
The Merchant cuts the Seas for gaine,
the Soldier serueth for renowne
The tyll-man plowes the ground for graine,
be this my ioy and lasting crowne.
The Faulkner seekes to see a flight,
the Hunter beates to view the game:
Long thou my soule to see this sight,
and labour to enioy the same.
No one, without some one delight,
which he endeuors to attaine:
Seeke thou my soule both day and night,
this one, which euer shall remaine.
This one containes all pleasure's true,
all other pleasures be but vaine:
Bid thou the rest my soule adue,
and seeke this one alone to gaine.
To count the grasse vpon the ground,
or Sandes that lye vpon the shore:
And when yee haue the number found,
the ioyes heereof be many more.

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More thousand thousand yeares they last,
And lodge within the happy mynde:
And when so many yeares be past,
Yet more and more be still behinde.
Farre more they be then we can weene,
They doe our iudgement much excell:
No eare hath heard, or eye hath seene,
No pen can write, no tongue can tell.
An Angels tongue cannot recyte,
The endlesse ioy of heauenly blisse:
Which being wholy infinite,
Beyond all speach and writing is.
We can imagine but a shade,
It neuer entred into thought:
What ioyes he hath enioyed, that made
All ioyes, and them that ioy of nought.
My soule cannot thy ioyes contayne,
Let her Lord enter into them:
For euer with thee, to remayne
Within thy towne Ierusalem.
FINIS.