of his power and loue Goliah boasted greatly of his strength Yet little Dauid kild him with a stone The Madian Hoast was strong but yet at length By Gideons hand the kings were ouerthrowne By change of tongues fell Babylons high tower And Christ his word did breake the diuels power Yet in it selfe what weaker is than water Which drownd proud Pharao with his mighty host A lowse or flie is of a little matter Yet with such vvormes are men tormented most What strength alas is in a little stone Yet so vve reade Goliah ouerthrowne Know then From whence this wonder power groweth But from the force of the almighty hand Which to the vvorld his glorious power showeth When vvith the weake the strongest cannot stand King Dauid vvrote and it is truely knowne That power belongeth vnto God alone To proue the prowesse of the heauenly power How many more examples may be showne There is no yeare no day no night nor houre But some such action to the vvorld is knowne That truth may vvell vnto his glorie speake God is of power and all the vvorld is weake But since the vvorld cannot the bookes containe Wherein his vvorks of vvonder may be vvrit To admiration let his power remaine And say All powers are subiect vnto it And let me of his loue and mercy write Which is the substance of the soules delight This powerfull Loue the glorie of all grace When he had wrought the world vnto his will And planted each thing in his proper place And in the course that they continue still Of all the workes that he in wonder wrought Made onely man the dearest of his thought For what he made he made but man to serue And man to serue his onely sacred loue And in his loue doth so mans life preserue As may the comfort of his care approue And so approue as may this sentence giue His onely loue doth make the soule to liue He loued the earth when he did giue it life He loued the life when he his Image gaue it He loued the flesh that made the bone a wife He loued the soule when he from death did saue it He loued him euer yet he loued him most To fetch him home when he himselfe had lost Come Poets ye that fill the world with fansies Whose faining Muses shew but madding fits Which all too soone do fall into those franzies That are begotten by mistaking vvits Lay downe your liues compare your loue vvith mine And say whose virtue is the true diuine For further triall let me giue you leaue To adde a trueth vnto your idle stories Wherevvith so oft you do the vvorld deceaue And gaine your selues but ill conceited glories Yet when you see vvhere sweetest sights are showne Looke on my Loue and blush to see your owne With sunny beauties let your loues be blest The sunne doth fetch his light but from my Loue You haue your wonders from the Phoenix nest Mine honour liues but in the heauens aboue Your Muses do your Ladies praises sing The Angels sing in glory of my King The earth alas from whence your loues receiue Their floures sweets their pearls pretius stones To decke themselues with which they do deceiue The blinded spirites of the simple ones This earth from whence their outward graces spring Is but the footestoole of my heauenly King And if he so hath deckt the earth belovv Imagine then the glory of his seate Which may persvvade where Angels tremble so For humane eies the glory is too great For vvhere the sun the moone and stars haue light For natures eies the Beauty is too bright And vvho doth liue that euer ye did loue But that ye could their fairest faire vnfolde And my faire loue let fairest truth approue No eie can liue in glory to behold Your clearest beauty is vvith age declining My Loues bright glory is for euer shining If you be vvise thinke vvhere true wisedome liueth And then allovv the honour to my loue If yours be kinde thinke vvho the comfort giueth And knovv the turkey from the turtle doue If constant yours that truth let my loue trie Who lost his life to saue his loue thereby And let me see hovv liueth all your loue But on desert the stay of all your state And in my Loue a further life approue Who lou de indeede vvhen he had cause to hate Your fancies oft for lacke of fauour starue But my Loue doth both mine and yours preserue Then truly say whom chiefe your loues doe chuse To cast the countenance of their fauours on Then vvhom againe they vvholy do refuse In liking thought as most to looke vpon Then do but looke vpon my loue his choice And vvhose heart most he maketh to reioyce The vvealthy mighty vvise and vvell at ease Doe fit the fansies of your Ladies best But poore and vveake and simple soules best please My heauenly Loue to labour in his brest And vvho the world doth vtterly refuse Those doth my Loue vnto his fauour chuse And see vvhat power is in your louing natures To take or giue vvhat ye may gaine or lose And ye shall see they are but my loues creatures Whose liues are at his pleasure to dispose And vvhile your fauours all doe fade away My sweete Loues blessings neuer vvill decay Could ye conceiue the smallest of the sweete That doth discend from my soules dearest Loue Vpon the faith that falleth at his feete That doth in prayer but his mercy proue And you vvill blot out euery idle line And yeeld your soules vnto this Loue of mine Compare a vveede vnto a holsome flower A cloudy euening to a sunny daie A foggie miste vnto an Aprill shower Nouember blaste vnto a bloome of May And you shall easily see the difference plaine Betwixt my sun-shine and your showers of raine Compare meere folly to the finest vvit The coursest copper to the purest golde The healthfull body with an ague fit And set the youthfull age against the old The Rauens foule note to Philomelaes voice And quickly say which is the better choice Compare foule pride to faire humility A kinde discretion to a dogged nature The clownish race to true gentility A blessed Angell to a cursed creature Fauours to frownes and smiling vnto scowles And say the Phoenix akes all birds but owles Compare the earth vnto the heauen on hie The spirites treasures vnto fleshly toies The pibble stone vnto the Azurde Skie The woes of men vnto the Angels ioyes The lowest weakenes vnto the highest powers Then see the difference twixt my loue and yours And when you see how all sweete blessings grow But from the ground of my loues liuing grace And do againe the imperfection know VVherein you doe your fond affection place Then all your titles to this truth resigne There is no life but in this loue of mine And giue me leaue to praise my princely Loue. Although my wittes are short of such a worth And let my spirite in my
passions proue VVhat his high hand in mercy will bring forth And write but truth that may be truly proued My onely loue alonely to be loued Before all times al thoughts al things he was And euer is and will be aye the same That doth in wonder wonders wonder passe In Truths high triumph of eternall fame VVhere life and loue in grace and glory crownd Do sway the Scepter of the heauns renownd Now what he was cannot be comprehended VVho in himselfe doth al things comprehend And when that all things shall be wholy ended Himselfe his word his wil shal neuer end Whose gratious life al glorious loue beginning Doth adde all grace and endlesse glory winning And of his Essence this is al we finde A spirite fully incomprehensible A louing God vnto his seruants kind And in his humane nature sensible In wisedomes wonder knowledge quintessence And in that Essence highest excellence The high Creator of al creatures liuing The sweet Redeemer of his seruants lost The glorious grace all grace and glory giuing The ioy of ioyes that glads the spirit most The loue of life and life of loue indeed Gainst death and hell that standes the soule in steed His seate is heauen the earth his footstoole is His chiefest dwelling with his soules elected His ioy to loue and to be lou'd of his His fauour life vnto his loues affected His word is truth which doth the spirit try Where fruitfull faith shall liue and neuer die His blessing is the peace of conscience His comfort mercies contemplation His pretious gift the spirites patience His mercy vertues meditation His grace the oyle that kils the spirits euill His death the life that did subdue the deuill His garments are the sundry sortes of graces His tribute is but sinners sacrifice His worke the planting vertues in their places His gaine the loue of humble spirits seruice His musicke Psalmes that angels neuer cease To sing in glory of the King of Peace This King of peace this God of life and loue Who in himselfe doth al and only holde The highest blessings of the hearts behoue That faithful truth hath to the spirit tolde This is the substance of my soules delight Vnworthy subiect of his worth to write Yet as his mercy will vouchsafe me grace With intercession of his high assistance Against the power that would my thoughts deface And proudly make against the soule resistance I will a little giue his loue a tuch Whose smallest praise is for my penne too much What loue was that which made him like man best Of all the workes that euer he created What loue againe did in that liking rest To loue him so he neuer can be hated What loue was more to giue the man a wife What loue was most to die to giue him life The earth within with siluer gemmes and gold Without with trees and herbs and fruits and flowers The waters deepe where fishes keepe their hold The Elements with all their inward powers These hath my Love all made for man to chuse And to his pleasure in his seruice vse The fire was made to kill the chilling cold The water made to slacke the burning heate The subtile ayre a secret breath to hold The earth to drie when moisture is too great These crosse in natures yet doe meete in one Onely to serue the vse of man alone Each bird each beast each foule and euery fish The flesh of man must serue to cloath and feede What eye can see or heart of man can wish But some way serues to stand poore men in steede And for that cause their being first began From mercies Loue to serue the life of man The light was made to glad the lightsome eie The sound to please the pure attentiue eare The aire to drawe a liuing breath thereby The earth the body and the limmes to beare The clouds the stars the sunne the moone the Skie Were made for man to make him looke on high All these were made out of the mould of Loue Was neuer Loue came euer neere to this Which doth a wonder in affection proue Euen when we least deserude the loue of his For when our soules did most offences do him He came himselfe in loue to call vs to him To make redeeme preserue defend and cherish His faithfull soules and so in loue to nourish As in his loue their liues shall neuer perish But like the Lilly liue and euer flourish Are these not points sufficient to approue The true affection of a pierelesse Loue Yet more to say that truely may be said In humble honour of this heauenly Loue In mercies sweete to make the soule dismaide To see the blessing of his God aboue The louing spirit liuely to refresh He let his seruants see him in the flesh To see him so as might not hurt their sight For none might see his high supernall power But in his loue to see that glorious light That gaines that sweete that cuts off euery sower The second person of himselfe his sonne In whom are all things to his glory done And see the cause why so he came vnto vs His onely loue the onely cause we liue And when we came what comfort did he doe vs To saue our liues his Loue his life did giue And so to saue vs from the fire of hell That with his Loue we might for euer dwell What Loue was this to leaue his heauenly seate Among his angels all in glory serued To come to man who did too ill intreate The sacred Loue that hath his life preserued From being honourde praisde and glorifide To be disgraced whipte and crucifide In loue he left his highest heauenly pleasures Aboue his Angels in their heapes of ioyes To liue on earth in sorrowes out of measures With change of nothing but the worlds annoies In toile and trauell long in loue he sought vs And with his death at last full dearely bought vs. Oh woful trauaile that he vndertooke To bring our liues vnto his sacred loue Which paine nor crosse nor death it selfe forsooke That to our faith might his affection proue Which left the spirite of his loue behinde him To shew the loue that seekes him how to finde him In loue he came that he might comfort doe vs In loue went from vs to prouide our places In loue he sent his comforter vnto vs In loue he guides vs with his holy graces In loue he made bought keepes and guides vs thus And shal not we loue him that so loued vs Yes my deare Lord be thou my dearest loue For Christ his sake let my soule neuer leaue thee Who in thy loue thy liuing truth doth proue That makes me find the world doth all deceiue me And were there truth on earth as there is none Yet were thy loue the ioy of life alone And let these teares be witnes of my loue Which first do begge remission of my sinne And in repentance do but mercy moue To ope the gates of grace
and let me in VVhere humble faith but at thy feete may fall VVith my soules seruice loue and life and all Forget O Lord my workes of wickednes VVhereby my soule with sorrow is oppressed And with the finger of thy holines In mercy touch my spirit so distressed And saue my life that draweth nigh to hel Loue mea little and I shal be wel Loue no sweete Lord mercie I craue no more My sinnes are such I dare not speake of loue But in thy mercie to thy loue restore My humble faith that may but mercie proue And so approue that al the world may see The ioyful loue betwixt my God and mee Oh call me home and make me heare thy call And heare thee so that I may runne vnto thee And hold me fast that I may neuer fall But that my soule may euer seruice do thee Shew some good token that the world may know My soule is blest whom thou hast loued so And while I liue here in this wretched vale Of feareful danger of infernal death Where earthly pleasures take those soules to sale VVhich haue their bargaine in the hel beneath Let my soules loue and life and labour be To seeke my ioy my loue and life in thee Make me not rich lest I forget to thinke From whence I haue the comfort of my hart Nor in such want let thy poore seruant sinke That I be driuen to craue the needy part Giue me but meanes the needie to relieue To feede thy flocke and not the wolfe to grieue Let me not listen to the sinners songs But to the Psalmes thy holy saints do sing Nor let me folow tyrants in their wrongs But kisse the rocke where righteousnes doth spring Let not mine eye affect the outward part But let me loue the vertue of the hart And let my loue be to behold thy loue And let my loue be but to liue in thee And so to liue that al the world may proue The gracious good my God hath done for me To call my soule out of this world of woe In faithful loue to serue my Sauiour so And when they see the blot of al their blame To loue the world but al in wretched toyes And do confesse with inward blushing shame They are but sorrowes vnto heauenly ioyes They may with me forsake al worldly pleasure And make thy loue an euerlasting treasure For Lord by thee we are in thee we liue And in thy loue the liuing cannot die And since thy death did our liues wholly giue For thy loues sake shall we affection flie No my deare Lord let life be death to me So I may die to liue in loue with thee A ioyfull life were such a death indeede From earthly paine to passe to heauenly pleasure A ioyfull line for louing hearts to reade To leaue the flesh to take the spirits treasure Whose glorious sence vnto the sunne doth fall That all is nothing to that all in all And I alas of many thousand soules Vnworthie most of his high worth to write Who in his mercies true record inrowles The louing substance of the soules delight Must mercie crie for feare my loues presuming Of too high sence may be my soules consuming And with the teares of true repentant loue Looking vppon the wonders of that wonder That in his least perfection may approue The greatest wisdome of the world put vnder Confesse my wit as short to penne his prayse As darkest nights in light of clearest daies And say but this in grace and glories height Where vertues loue doth liue for euer crowned And all the Hoast of heauen and heauens await Vpon the highest of the heauens renowned Whom Saints and Angels trembling do adore To him alone be praise for euermore If honour praise and glory euer bee Vnto my louing euerlasting King This King of life who so hath loued me To giue my soule this gratious power to sing In heart and minde in man and Angels loue All glorious glory be to God aboue Nicholas Britton FINIS