Loves Revenge VVHEREIN IS BRIEFLY SHEWED FROM THE HISTORIE OF the holy Scripture the rising grouth and finall fall of the Man of Sinne with the long and continuall strife betwixt the two Seeds how they have from time to time sought to disinherite each other and how that Christ by his righteous life and long sufferings in the end shall get the victory and justly revenge himself upon his adversarie Omnia vincit amor c. By Ios Speed HABAK. 1.5 ACT. 13.41 Behold ye despisers and wonder and vanish away for I work a work in your daies a work which ye shall not believe if a man should declare it you At AMSTERDAM Printed by Richard Raven 1631. The Preface WHen darknesse is supprest by light That nights black shadows shun the day True faith doth give the soul clear sight To see and finde the living way Then must proud Death give place to Life In vain it is his strength to try For Hope will end that deadly strife And swallow Death in victory And Errour must acknowledge Truth For all his fierce and cruell rage For Loue hath threatned him in youth And will not spare him in his age When Faith hath light for to discerne And Hope can hold in storm and rain If Love be there to guid the stern The wished shore they shall attain No travell can unfruitfull prove When Faith Hope do work by Love When unbelief is beaten down And Faith hath got the upper hand Then light doth shew true faith her crown Which she shall have if she do stand And then despair of force must flie In vain it is if she contend For life will give Hope victory If she continue to the end And hatred must of force depart And give true Love free place to dwell For truth will give Love true desert And hatred due reward in hell Light is the glance of Faiths clear sight Life is the crown which Hope requires Truth is the guide which leads both right Through Love to finish their desires Where Light and Life and Truth agree Faith Hope and Love make unitie To the Reader LEt prejudice be laid aside Christian Reader in thy reading Let love unfained be thy guide Thy thoughts to equall judgement leading The labour and the charge is mine I wish the profit may be thine To think that I should all men please All men would think such thoughts were vain Esteeming it a fools disease Arising from an idle brain That labour which I here bestow Is but to pay the debt I owe Vnto my Countrey and my Friends And all which do professe Christs name In him our faith begins and ends By him we hope to purchase fame If then our love be like to his We all shall see him as he is If any thing displeaseth thee When thou my Faith and hope dost prove Yet fasten malice to that tree On which she once did murder love And break in twain that Serpents head For love shall reigne when hate is dead I seek to trouble no mans minde Nor yet to give offence to any Yet dare not hide nor leave behind That good which may redound to many Whereat if any kick or hinch Were he not gauld he should not winch The mark whereat I chiefly aim Is to unfould the fraud of sinne What rightes and titles he doth claim The evill daies that we live in Our present danger his desire To bring us to eternall fire If then by chance I hit the mark At which my bow is holy bent Or if I misse this subtle Clark T is but one headlesse arow spent Yet hit or misse thus much I know The blinde by chance may kill a Crow The Authors Faith I Do believe in God alone Whose love doth passe all breadth length And do relie on other none To make the arm of flesh my strength My faith is such not to remove Such is my Hope such is my Love He is the onely Lord of lords A King of mighty strength and fame His Majesty with truth accords And great Iehovah is his name The first the last the totall summe Which is which was which is to come He is the God of Israel Their root and generation The vanquisher of Death and Hell The horn of our salvation Before whole throne all flesh shall come The wicked to their finall doom Then why should I fear mortall man Whose breath within his nostrills lies His life for length is but a span Although his malice never dies My body he may keep in thrall But cannot hurt my soul at all Let cursed Cain then fret and rage And wicked Lamech boast his fill Let scoffing Ham come on the stage Let bloudy Nimrod work his will Let Babels Tow'r through Satans pride Be once again re-edifi'd Let pharaoh with his hoast pursue Let Amaleck stand in the way Let Og and Sihons hatefull crue Their bloudy banners still display Let proud Goliah's hellish cry The God of Israel defie Let Balaam lay a stumbling block Let Rabshecah come railing down Let dogged Doeg accuse Christs flock Let Shemey curse let Nabal frown Let Philistines their battells pitch Let Saul ask counsell of a Witch Let the ten tribes of Israel Give care to Ieraboam's call Let Ahab marry Iesabel And build an altar unto Baal Let Baals Priests cry till heare doth break Their God can neither hear nor speak Let Nebuchadnezar pour out His thundring threats rage and revile Let Baltazar his drunken rout The vessells of the Lord defile Let haughtie Hamans pride bewray His hatefull thoughts to Mordekay Antiochus that wicked root Let him run on his wretched race To waste and trample under foot Gods Temple and his dwelling place Let Holofernes rule and sway Till Iudith take his head away Let Samballat the Horonite With all his cursed crue accord To race to sack to vanquish quite The walls and building of the Lord. Let men conspire with malice fraught Yet shall their counsells come to nought Let cruell Herod still assail The tender infants for to stay Let Scribes and Pharisees prevail Give Iudas money to betray My faith is fixt on him above So is my hope so is my love His waies are right his judgements just His mercy alwaies firm and sure To such as on his goodnesse trust And stedfast to the end endure He giveth all men life and breath And grieveth at the sinners death He did admonish wretched Cain To leave his wicked enterprise Suffer said he not sinne to reigne Least Abels bloud for vengeance cries Abandon wrath ther 's grace in store If not lo sinne is at thy door And when he saw and well perceiv'd All flesh corrupting of their waies His spirit strove his soul was griev'd Contain'd his wrath yet many daies Had true repentance there been found The world had sur'ly not been drown'd When Sodom and Gomorahs cries Ascended up unto his throne Yet was there mercy in his eyes He would have saved them each one Could he have found some godly
What God hath promised in troth To Abrahams posterity And hath confirmed by an oath That cannot fail God cannot lie Then Isaac dead and Jacob slain No seed but Esau is to reigne Should I do this and Jsaac live In vain my labour would be spent God would him strength and courage give My wicked purpose to prevent And raise him seed in Iacob's stead Although Rebekahs wombe were dead Have I not once before been crost When I did think my self most sure Then Ishmael his birth-right lost God did old Abraham procure Another seed which then was bred In Sarahs wombe decaid and dead Revenge applauded this for good But hatred overcome with rage Could not contein her angry mood Nor could her passions asswage Her soul was ready to depart Vntill her tongue had eas'd her heart Thus was his project overthrown By trusting of his secret friend This rumour soon abroad was blown What mischief Esau did intend Which comming to Rebekahs eare The losse of both her sonnes did fear Wherefore she then without delay Call'd Iacob in her youngest sonne Sent him to Haran there to stay Vntill his brothers rage were done And Iacob willing to obey Receiv'd his charge and went his way As darknesse doth pursue the light And constantly his course doth run So doth the day expell the night At the arising of the Sunne Each one doth chase each one doth flie Till light at length gets victory Darknesse did claim the highest right Because he was the first in place But God did soon beget true light Proud darknesse from the earth to chase And that the day might bring to light What darknes had wrought in the night Darknesse betrothed was to lust Which did conceive beguiling sinne Who being born mans soul with rust Was cankred foul and eaten in Man scarcely had received breath But man was subject unto death But light took faith to be his wife Which did conceive unfained love Who being born abandon'd strife Did darknesse daunt and sinne reprove Bondage renounce and death affright And brought eternall life to light The Serpents craft his crown did gain By craft he made the woman fall The woman by her craft again Did thrust the Serpent out of all By craft he won by craft he lost Thus craft by craft was ever crost The Serpents seed by cruelty Did seek his crown for to maintain The womans seed as cruelly In time shall thrust him out again When bloud doth flow up to the brink Then bloud for bloud shall be his drink But once again for to return The Serpents malice to relate Who did through rage and fury burn To execute his deadly hate And did the shadow hunt and chase Vntill the substance came in place At him it was that he did aim At him which should his seed advance At him which did by promise claim True Canaans inheritance Could he bring him unto his fall The Serpent then was lord of all In time the substance did appear This Isaac was Gods onely sonne Which came to shed his bloud most dear To lose the works which sinne had done His life eternall life did win His death destroy and vanquish sinne The Wisemen from the East did spring When they did see his starre appear For to be hold this blessed King And worship him in love and fear And did enquire of the Iews To know where they should finde this news But Herod taking it in scorn Perceiving it for to be true The star did shew a King was born He called all the learned crue This King which shall subdue the earth Quoth he where shall he have his birth At Beth-lehem they did reply In Davids house he must arise According to the prophesie This hearing he did call the wise And sent them there to seek about Vntill that they had found him out When you have found him come and tell Me where he is that I may go And worship him I know it well This King is borne it must be so His star will go before your face Vntill you come unto the place These men they went as Herod told They found the babe and did him greet They did present incense and gold And did fall down before his feet But being warned of this thing They went not back unto the king But did return another way Vnto the place where they did dwell Which Herod hearing left delay And calling murder out of hell This cruell bloudy Edomite Did seek to cut off David's right David quoth he did Ioab send To trample Edom under foot And slay his males ev'n to the end And leave him neither branch nor root He thought he would not leave him one For to uphold his fathers throne But Hadad being then a childe Escaped David's tyranny And Ioab also was beguild For Hadad did to Aegypt flie Where he did finde a dwelling place For to preserve our kingly race This Hadad did escape alone Of all the kings posterity But Herod will leave David none He now shall prove my tyranny I le lay his males all at my foot And leave him neither branch nor root With that he sent his Horsemen out To execute his full command At Beth-lehem and there about All males to murder out of hand Even all from two years old and under Must feel the rage of Herod's thunder But Ioseph warned in the night This Persecutor then beguil'd And into Aegypt took his flight With Mary and this tender Childe There to preserve this Infants breath Vntill this cruell Tyrants death This Childe escap't the Tyrants rage For he was manifest to none Till he was thirty years of age And then baptized was of Iohn For John was sent to make him known Though not received of his own When he out of the water went Then presently faith hope and love Which God from heav'n unto him sent Came down upon him like a Dove This Spirit kept him from all evill When he was tempted of the Devill Twise twenty daies and nights arow He then did fast no more nor lesse And did to extream hunger grow Who being in the wildernesse A desolate and barren place Began to wail his wofull case And to his father he did cry Oh help me out of this distresse And suffer not thy sonne to dye For hunger in this wildernesse Let not my soul be overthrown Father thou know'st I am thine own When Ishmael did heare this cry As he was shooting in that place He did imagine presently This sure is he for whose disgrace I and my mother heretofore Were both of us thrust out of dore I was deprived of my right And brought into this wildernesse Where hunger did my soul affright And I did lie in great distresse Which did augment my mothers grief Till God from heav'n did send relief Now he is come into my case Hunger doth make him now complain Now will I mock him to his face And get my birth-right once again With meat I will delude his eye But keep him fasting till he
dye The Serpent thought here is no fence This man he is with hunger crost Distrusting of Gods providence Sharp hunger Esau's birth-right lost Could I but bring him to despaire His case were mine and I the heir While Isaac then through hunger great Vnto his father loud did cry Came Ishmael and shew'd him meat And did present it fore his eye But did intend to give him none But mock him till his breath was gone He seeing food for food did cry Restore my birth-right then quoth he No Ishmael I le rather die Then sell my birth-right unto thee Though hunger doth my soul affright Yet will I not resigne my right If thou refuse the means to live It sheweth but a stubborn will For man must take when God doth give The law doth say Thou shall not kill If thou wilt live lay hold in time For murther is a deadly crime What cruelty was that in Saul On his own sword to fall and die Ahitophel's sinne was not small Which hang'd himself as wickedly Wilt thou be strangled with sins coard Or run thy self on hungers sword Or canst thou change these stones to bread Thy hungry body to sustein Or dost thou think for to be fed With Manna here yet once again What hope hast thou to finde red resse Within this desert wildernesse When Abraham returned faint From that great slaughter of the kings His hungry soul did make complaint Melchisedech him succour brings And he his life for to defend Did take such food as God did send What need I reason any more Or why dost thou contend in vain What measure thou didst mete before I le measure now to thee again For if thou live thou must resigne Or if thou die the right is mine Though thou have bread and I have none Though thou be strong and I be weak Yet man lives not by bread alone But by each word which God doth speak Vpon each word I will relye Although I should for hunger dye When God did Abraham command To offer up his onely sonne The knife was ready in his hand He said Oh Lord thy will be done He knew Gods promise was not vain His might could raise him up again To leave the means which God doth give Is God to tempt death may ensue To sell my birth-right for to live Is to distrust that God is true As if Gods justice truth and might Could not give life to maintain right The law which saies Thou shalt not kill It doth reprove all other evill And teacheth to obey Gods will And not submit unto the Devill If I through hunger faint and pine That is Gods sword and none of min Saul spent his daies and time in hate Neglected truth and equity Therefore his end was desperate Did hopelesse live and hopelesse die His life nor death resemble mine But life and death and all is thine Ahithophel grew to despair Because his counsell might not stand And hung himself up in the aire The Tempter being at his hand Therefore I do no counsell crave From such as wicked counsell have Melchisedech to Abraham Did bring a blessing with his meat But this doth come from cursed Cham And brings a curse if I do eat I le rather fast and dying win Then eat to live and die for sinne Dost thou to me what thou dost crave That I to thee should do again Then justice thou shalt surely have Thy labour is not spent in vain I hunger thou dost keep thy store But thou shalt hunger evermore Though I can change no stones to bread Nor God from heav'n no Manna rain The Spirit which me hither led Will surely bring me hence again No subtle plot nor hungers lust Shall make me in my God distrust This arrow being spent in vain He did provide another shaft I le shoot quoth he yet once again Experience hath taught me craft Trust and distrust did both conspire And Esau's crown laid in the mire When he by birth was plac't on high And seated on the highest Tower Gods providence was alwaies nigh His Angels watching day and hower Vain confidence did work his fall Neglecting means neglected all The Hart and Hinde were Esau's game And fish and fowl both small and great With other beasts both wilde and tame And Venison was Esau's meat He daily hunting daily found Which made him daily to abound And therefore laid up none in store Nor did for any want provide But vainly trusting to have more Did tempt the Lord set means aside And once dismissed of his game He lost his birth-right and his name But now I see that hungers sword Cannot bring this man to despaire But still he feeds upon Gods word I le take him up into the aire And set him on a Tower hie There prove if he will live or die His faith is firm I now will prove And trie him if his hope be sure If so I le tempt him in his love And prove if I can him allure If he can stand out all these three Then I shall know that this is he The Serpent then did thus begin Quoth he I am not void of pitie Thou seest that I have brought thee in The compasse of this holy Citie And freed thee from the wildernesse VVhere thou didst lie in great distresse And now I cleare and plainly see That fire water famine sword No beasts nor fishes cruelty Can make thee to forsake Gods word That is thy buckler sword and shield Wherewith thou dost maintain the field And sure it is that God is just And true for he did never fail Those to preserve which in him trust His eye is alwaies in the sail No hight nor depth can fright or scare That man which liveth in his fear I call to minde how God did save Daniel in the Lions den The fishes wombe was Ionah's grave Yet God did bring him out agen Three holy men walk't in the fire Which had no pow'r to sienge their tire Eliah was by Ravens fed VVhen as the famine first begun One handfull meal gave daily bread To him the widow and her sonne That little oyl and meal did last Vntill that famine great was past And God did David still preserve From cruel Saul's pursuing sword Such men I say which do not swerve But still do feed upon Gods word Gods love to them cannot be cold They cannot perish though they would Now thou art freed from hungers power Her 's food enough within this town But how shall I come from this Tower Leap off from hence cast thy self down No danger can lay thee on board While thou dost feed upon Gods word His Angels have charge over thee If that thou be his Holy-one Thou canst not fall by his decree Nor dash thy foot against a stone This is the writing of Gods hand What God hath written that must stand But it is written then again Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God Then labour thou no more in vain For I will settle mine
water for her childe And fil'd her bottle to the brink And gave her sonne thereof to drink But now when Jshmael did flout Abram's faith and Isaac's hope And Hagar did cast Isaac out The Serpent did provide a rope To strangle love and hatred send To bring true love unto his end Hate would not wait for a command And malice would be nothing slack For she did take him by the hand And lay a tree upon his back And made him bring it to the place Where hatred would true love disgrace She nailed him fast hand and foot Vnto the tree which he had born For to complain it was no boot Thus he was made an open skorn And gainst all nature law and grace She mock't her sonne ev'n to his face She thought he was the most accurst And at his torments she did wink When pangs of death did make him thirst She gave him Vineger to drink VVhich done he yeeled up his breath And dying he did vanquish death Herode and Pilate did consent They did agree upon one day Isaac and Jacob to prevent But guiltlesse Isaac first to slay Then scatter Iacob by their might To take away his lawfull right VVhen Jshmael had Isaac slain He thought to lock him in the grave But Isaac did come forth again And made proud Ishmael deaths slave And bound him fast in mortall bands Till he be slain by Isaac's hands VVhen Herode heard he rose again Edom his maliee did renue And Jsaac's males he would have slain For hopefull James this tyrant slue And faithfull Peter kept in bands To murder him by cruell hands VVhen he escaped Edom's rage And that Gods Angell set him free Then Jshmael came on the stage To act his cruell tragedie And faithfull Peter did deride For to cut off the Christian guide When faith and hope had lost their right The Serpent did through malice move These tyrants both with all their might To murder and to vanquish love That Ishm'el might for Isaac reigne And Esau Jacobs blessing gain Then John they catcht within their claws On him their tortures they did prove Love pluck't him out the Lyons jaws For malice could not murder love Love had before his life laid down For Jsaac's promise Iacob's crown VVhen Isaac shall come down again His childeren for to advance That they with him might live and reigne In Canaans inheritance Then Jshmael shall play his part That he may have his due desert For Pilate then shall work his will By his edicts and tyranny The Males in Galile to kill Or bring them into slavery That Jsaac comming there may see All boued again what he set free But then Rebecca shall complain To Herode of this open wrong This is the land where thou dost reigne VVhy dost thou suffer him so long My Males be slain by Pilate's hand Where thou dost rule bear command Herode shall give her good content And say I will thy Males set free And Pilate's malice will prevent If thou wilt vow and swear to me Never to injure me nor mine Then will I stand for thee and thine And thus Rebecca to get free And be releast from Jshm'els bands Shall enter into slaverie She and her Males in Edom's hands That when as Isaac comes in fight They all shall lose their lawfull right For when as Isaac shall appeare Her love and constancy to try She will not then of Isaac heare But flatly shall her man denye Then Bashemath and Edom stout Shall thrust both her and Iacob out When Edom hath by cruellty Got Iacobs birthright for to reigne He then shall think as subtlely His blessing likewise to obtayne But when this thing shall come about Jsaac will feel and smell him out For though he once deceived was And cast his first-born out the nest Yet God did bring it so to pas He blest him whom God would have blest Which Jsaac soone did understand To be the work of Gods own hand When Edom subtlely therefore Shall come unto his father first Isaac shall turn him out a dore And curse him whom God will have curst The blessing shall on Jacob rest He blessed him he must be blest But when as Edom bould and stout Hath by a strong and cruell hand Thrust Iacob and Rebecca out For to possesse their native land Then shall the Iew come in again Which hath so long liv'd in disdain For then the Lord he will awake And unto his remembrance call The covenante which he did make With Abraham and Sarah shall Conceive and beare that promis'd seed Which on the Serpents head shall tread His judgments shall be just and pure And he shall reigne from Sea to Sea So long as Sun and Moon endure In glory strength and majesty The Kings to him shall bring their store All Kings I say shall him adore Then Sarahs love shall not be vain Though she did offer up that Lambe For she shall then come in again Her constant love to Abraham In all her troubles then shall win The love of God to bring her in If then Rebecca do the same VVhen like temptations provoke She shall again come out of blame And Iacob cast off Esau's yoak So he do not his promise break Which unto Laban he did make VVhen Sarahs time is come to bear That she delivered shall be Then cruell Pharaoh shall appear He shall arise out of the sea And come again upon the earth To kill this childe ev'n at his birth But God attending to her cry VVhen she is ready for to bear Shall with his power stand her by And free her from the Dragon's fear And take her sonne up to his thronc For he must reigne and rule alone For her he shall prepare a way Into the wildernesse to flie Lest that the Dragon should her slay And shew on her his tyranny There shall she learn to know his waies Thousand two hundred threescore daies There shall she learn to live in aw And from her God no more depart For there the Lord will write his law Within the tables of her heart All shall his holy name confesse Ev'n from the greater to the lesse Then shall those witnesses appear Which were with Jesus in the mount To bring the world in servile fear And call them to their last account For murder theft adultery And all their other cruelty If any man will do them wrong Then fire out of their mouthes shall go They shall be powerfull and strong To work their adversaries wo And Moses Rod which once did bud Shall turn the waters into bloud And sundry plagues bring on the earth If they their prophesie disdain Eliah he shall bring a dearth Vpon the world for want of rain And so their enemies shall kill Till they their prophesie fulfill But when their prophesie is done Then Ishmael and Edom stout Their strength shall both combine in one To cast these holy Prophets out These witnesses shall then be slain And then the world shall laugh
a childe For Abram did obey her voice Went in to Hager she conceive He was content with Sarahs choise For he did stedfastly believe God would not fail in time of need To raise him up a holy seed When Hager found her self with childe She presently gan to disdain Sarah her Mistrisse meek and milde Who unto Abram did complain I put my handmaid in my place And now she holds me in disgrace Quoth Abram then to end this strife Peace loving Sarah I am thine Thou art my spouse and lawfull wife And Hagar but my concubine Thy maid is bound but thou art free Do with thy maid what pleaseth thee Then Sarah did rebuke her maid for her disdain and haughtinesse And Hagar being sore afraid Did flie into the wildernesse Where sitting by a fountain fair An Angel found her in despair Hagar quoth he what makes thee cry How art thou come into this place My Dames displeasure made me flie Quoth she I dare not see her face Return quoth he remove this blame Submit thy self unto thy Dame Thou art with childe and from this birth I will encrease and multiply Thy seed to overspread the earth Like as the stars do fill the skie For multitude so infinite That none shall number them aright To Abram thou a sonne shalt beare Amongst his brethren he shall dwell He shall be wilde and full of haire He shall be called Ishmael The course and tenor of his life Shall be to live in hate and strife When Hagar brought forth Abrams sonne The Serpent did begin to vaunt The day is got the field is won Quoth he this is Gods covenant Though Cham may here no longer dwell Yet I shall reigne in Ishmael But Abram being full of yeares They were in number ninety nine The Lord again to him appears I am the God of thee and thine Quoth he thou art my sole delight Walk thou before me be upright With thee I le make a covenant VVith thee I say with thee alone Thy seed shall be inheritant VVithin this land and other none Yea thou shalt many nations breed And kings shall from thy loyns proceed Thou shalt be called Abraham And Sarah be thy Spouses name Which shall bring forth that blessed Lamb At least the shadow of the same For Sarah hath the blessing won She shall conceive and beare a sonne Then Abraham fell on his face And laughing said within his heart I have almost run out my race Am almost ready to depart An hundred years have spent in care My wife ten lesse shall she now beare Quoth Abraham then at the length Let Ishmael live in thy sight He is the first-born of my strength Let him not lose his lawfull right He is as yet my onely sonne I say no more thy will be done Then quoth the Lord I heare thy cry Concerning Ishmaels first birth I will increase and multiply And make him fruitfull on the earth Do thou not languish faint nor fret Twelve Princes shall thy sonne beget But will establish my decree My covenant shall firmely stand Which I before did make with thee When thou didst leave thy native land In Isaac will I plant my fear Which Sarah shall to Abram beare The Serpent then found little chance For now he plain and clearly saw That Canaans inheritance Was giv'n by promise not by law And neither craft nor birth nor merit Could make the handmaids son inherite Wherefore he grew much discontent Yet knew not where first to assault But like a Hound which lost the sent Run back again to finde the fault He did no time nor travell spare Thinking at length to kill the hare And while the game was yet afoot His first exploit that would not addle Now laies the axe unto the root To win the horse or lose the saddle He now did think to make all sure To get this crown and sit secure For Isaac grown to yeares and strength And Abraham through yeares decai'd He took to him a wife at length A vertuous a godly maid Rebekah she was cal'd by name A comely sweet and lovely dame But she was barren could not breed VVhich caused her to mourn and grieve But Isaac praid to God for seed VVho soon was heard she did conceive Now quoth the Serpent I le entombe My self within Rebekahs wombe I now have found that onely pair Though Hagars son could have no chance Rebekahs sonne and Isaac's heire Must have the sole inheritance Then though Rebekahs womb should burst Yet will I strive to be the first VVhen as Rebekah felt this strife VVithin her wombe she gan to muse And almost weary of her life VVent to the Lord to know this news VVhat hath quoth she my wombe possest That thus deprives me of my rest Within thy wombe two nations Are bred quoth he be not derided Two sundry generations Shall out thy bowels be devided The greater shall for honour hunger Yet shall the elder serve the yonger VVhen she came to deliverance Twins did appear she had a pair The first born to inheritance VVas ragged red and rough with hair The yongest white and smooth to feell VVho held his brother by the heel The Serpent now did nothing want He was no longer under awe For he was in the Covenant By birth by promise and by law By birth by law the land possessing By promise to obtain the blessing He which rebuked was at first That he our father had undone Then by the sonne in Cain accurst For hatefull murdring of the sonne In Ham a treble curse did merit For vexing of Gods holy Spirit Yet now he thought the field was won He from the curse should now be freed For he was Isaac's lawfull sonne And one of blessed Abrams seed The former curse was all in vain He which did curse had blest again But now the story to relate What time in time did bring to passe These boyes grew up to mans estate Esau a cunning Hunter was And in the field much time he spent Plain Iacob dwelling in a tent Esau was Isaac's onely boy He brought his father pleasant meat But Jacob was Rebekaes joy His mothers love to him was great In him she had her whole delight And kept him alwaies in her sight Vpon a time it came to passe That Esau weary almost spent In great distresse through hunger was Who comming to his brothers tent Give me quoth he some broth bread For I am faint and almost dead Then Jacob thought he would requite His brother for his former wrong That he by strength had got his right When he was weak and Esau strong I le strive quoth he yet once again Though he be rough and I be plain I faint I languish I despaire Shut not thine eares unto my cry Quoth Esau then shall Jsaac's heire Through hunger perish fainting die What shall our father Jsaac say If Jacob do his first-born slay I do not seek to have thy life Nor shorten any of thy dayes I am not
bent to hate nor strife Quoth Iacob then t is hunger slayes Isaac's first born so Esau die Thou shouldst provide so well as I. That man doth kill that will not save A man from death if in his power For God I say will mercy have Not cruelty for to devoure Quoth Esau then let mercy move And do not break the band of love Sell me thy birth-right then quoth he And I will lave thy hungry soul But thou shalt sweare twixt thee and me That it shall stand without controul Which being done I then will save Thy fainting body from the grave Then Esau with himself at strife Began to reason in his minde Should I through hunger lose my life VVhat comfort should I therein finde To sell my birth-right were a shame An endlesse blemish to my name Should I refuse for to consent And yeeld unto my brothers will And perish so through discontent The law which saies Thou shalt not kill Would soon reprove this evill fact And judge it for a murdrous act Should I unto my brother give My birth-right for a messe of broth I were unworthy for to live I should exclude my self by oath From Canaan the worlds delight Mine heritage by law and right Should Esau Jsaac's first-born die VVithout his blessing he would grieve Should he through hungers cruelty Perish unblest who should relieve His dying soul in this distresse And bring him unto happinesse Two evills hold my soul in thrall I must choose one I le choose the least Lose life I lose my land and all And more then that shall die unblest To live is bad to die is worse To lose a crown and win a curse Should I not shun sharp hungers blow And seek my self for to defend How should my father Isaac know VVho brought his first-born to his end I le sell my land and hold my blisse For live or die the land is his And yet to live in this disgrace Is worse then languishing to die For where shall Esau finde a place For him and his posterity When Jacob is by oath possest For Esau's seed there is no rest Better had Esau been unborn And never to have seen the light Then thus to be with hunger torn And live or die to lose his right Oh Jacob heare thy brothers cry Give me some broath I faint I die Sell me thy birth-right thou shalt have Both bread and broth to save thy life But thou must yeeld to what I crave And by an oath must end this strife What hopes can Esaus birthright give If Esau die and Jacob live Thus Esau was at length compel'd When he was weak could hardly stand Through cruell hunger for to yeeld Vnto his brothers full demand To sell renounce and binde by oath His birthright for a messe of broth But yet alas this was not all A greater wo was yet to come This but an entry to his fall A passage to his finall dome For now he lost laws right alone The promise lost then all was gone As he grew up in yeres and strength So did he grow in worlds delights And took to him two wives at length Both daughters of the Cananites Whereat Rebekah mourn'd and pin'd They were a grief to Isaac's minde But Isaac waxing old and blinde His glasse then being almost run His first-born came into his minde He called for his eldest sonne Let Esau come let him appear Father quoth he thy sonne is here My sonne quoth Jsaac I am old And almost ready to depart My first-born Esau is enrold Within the bowells of my heart Make haste my sonne and be not slow Take thou thy quiver and thy bow And get thee gone into the field Provide for me some pleasant meat Such as the woods and forrests yeeld Such as thy father loves to eate That I may feed thou standing by My soul may blesse thee fore I die Rebekah hearing what had past When Esau to the field was gone She called then in all the haste For Iacob her beloved sonne Who letting other matters fall Attended on his mothers call Thy father hath sent Esau out With all his instruments to hunt My sonne quoth she be bold and stout Thou must yet stand another brunt And I will be thy instrument Thy brothers blessings to prevent He that our mother Eye misled And did beget that wicked seed VVhich stroke our father Adam dead And made our brother Abel bleed And held mankinde in fetters bound Till God the world in justice dround Then did deride his fathers shame Almost brought Sarah to despair That vertuous and godly dame Distrusting how to have an heir And in my wombe did make such strife That I was weary of my life Shall he which was accurst in Cham In Hagars sonne was made a slave Be blest again in Abraham And in Isaac the promise have Then will he still himself advance In Iacobs true inheritance VVhile Esau Venison doth kill Bring thou two kids out of the fold It shall misse of a womans will If he which then his birth-right sold Lose not his blessing now again And Jacob unto both attain I will provide thee dainty meat And thou shalt bring it unto him Such as his soul desires to eate He cannot see his eies be dim Stand thou but by while he doth feed Thou shalt be blest in Esau's stead Then Iacob to his mother said My brother Esau he is rough And I am smooth therefore afraid With Esau's Heifer for to plough Though he be blinde I stand in doubt That he will feel and finde it out Thus doing I may him provoke Sharply to punish this offence And bring me under Esau's yoak A just reward and recompence For such a fact Nay that is worse My blessing may turn to a curse My sonne quoth she be not afraid But hearken to thy mothers voice Thou onely do what I have said Out of the goats take thou the choise Bring me two kids fat and well fed Then let the curse light on my head In all the haste then Iacob went And did his mothers minde fulfill His brother Esau to prevent He brought two kids and did them kill Rebekah she made pleasant meat Even such as he did love to eate And to attain to her desire All other things then being done She took her eldest sonnes attire And put it on her yongest sonne The yong goats skins she then did take His neck and hands rough for to make Then she did put into his hand That pleasant meat which she had drest Go thou quoth she at my command And bring it him thou shalt be blest When he came to his father near He said My father I am here Quoth Isaac then but who art thou Thy first-born Esau then quoth he I bring thee pleasant meat even now I have done as thou baddest me Arise and eate father t is I Give me thy blessing fore thou die Then Jsaac rising from his bed Began again for to demand How is my sonne so