Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
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A00012
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Ioseph, or, Pharoah's fauourite; Joseph.
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Aylett, Robert, 1583-1655?
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1623
(1623)
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STC 1001; ESTC S118664
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49,149
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99
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Because she gratious was in Iacobs eyes Now him that neuer did or thought you ill Because my father loues me you will kill To him once I confesse I did relate An ill report I heard not for least hate Or malice that my brethren I did beare But that you knowing it might better cleare That which my father did but folly deeme To tell mine idle dreames will you esteeme It capitall oh brethren deare forbeare If not for loue or pittie yet for feare Of vengeance which will follow fratricide Cains curse shall euer on that house abide If all consent your Brother here to slay Iacob hath lost eleu'n sonnes in one day And whence shall then that blessed one proceede God promisd in our father Isaacks seede That cursed Cham from whom these nations come Which here inhabite neuer yet haue done So foule a sinne nor Nimrods cruell sword Was ere in his owne brothers blood engor'd A brothers sight rough Esaus fury chaces And makes him fall to kisses and embraces Looke on my youth not halfe so loth to die As to be slaine by brethrens crueltie Looke on my innocence Behold my teares Respect your and my Fathers grayer haires Who cannot but with griefe and sorrow die For losse of me by Brethrens Butchery Oh! neuer hope this murther to conceale For though you your owne lips should all vp seale These beasts stones trees my bloud to heau'n will cry For vengeance on this bloudy Felony And that which now you thinke in secret done Shall be made plaine and clearer then the Sunne Now Isaack like I lye vnder your knife And willingly as he could leaue my Life Were I perswaded 't were the heaun'ly will But herein Satans purpose you fulfill And your malicious enuy satisfie But Lord accept me as I guiltiesse die These words proceeding from a Soule opprest With anguish wrought so in his Brethrens brest That though they willingly all wish him slaine Yet each from bloud-shed would his hands retaine Wherefore they him into a dry pit cast With cold and hunger there to pine and wast And suddenly they sit them downe to eate Ne're pitying Ioseph that must sterue for meate So haue I seene tenne hounds of bloudy kinde Who long haue chas'd to kill the harmelesse Hinde When they haue lodg'd her in the hunters gin Whence neuer one escapes if enterd in Turne to their Lodge where for their labours meede They on the heart and bleeding intrailes feede Poore Ioseph had thy Brethren now thee slaine Thou long since hadst beene rid out of thy paine But whilst thou seek'st by teares thy life to saue Thou now art buried quicke within thy graue What canst thou looke for in this Dungeon vast But eu'n with cold and hunger here to waste Depriu'd of Sunnes most comfortable Light And euill Sp'rits with horrour thee to fright Yet as a fauour this was done to thee Thus are the wickeds mercies Crueltie But Lord the childe to heau'n cries from the pit And doth to righteous Iudge his cause commit Lord thou dost know how innocent I die Me saue and pardon their iniquitie As when fierce Caine out of base enuying That God should best accept his offering Had Abel slaine His bloud to heau'n did cry So this childs grieuous Lamentations flye Into Gods eares who sends the Ishmaelites First persecutors of the Israelites From Brethrens malice Ioseph to set free And saue his life though lose his Libertie So he that late escaped being slaine Is raised vp out of the pit againe Whom to be rid off and for present pay His Brethren sell to be conueid away And now large shadowes from the Mountaines fall And Heau'n with his blacke mantle couers all Phebus for rest in Sea his Steedes bestowes And from her Sea of rest the Night arose When Iacobs sonnes amongst themselues deuise To couer their inhumane cruelties And as we euer see that one foule sinne Begets another to lye hidden in As some their foule adultery to hide Haue first vs'd Drunkennesse then Homicide So these vniustly 'gainst their Fathers will One of the Kiddes then in his Flocke doe kill And dipping in his blood the colourd coate Of Ioseph it vnto their father brought And say Now see good father dost thou know Whether this be thy Iosephs coate or no As Turtle deare when seeking for her loue She finds at cu'n the feathers of a Doue Begoard with blood late party colourd gay Concluding now her mate hath beene the prey Of cruell hawke sends out most piteous cries And in those dearest blooded feathers dies So good old Israel whose dimmer sight Could scarce discerne of colours by the night Yet seeing Iosephs coate begoared red Which lately was so finely coloured For whom though long he look'd and did enquire Yet saw nor heard least newes of his retire Cries out 't is Iosephs coate with blood defild Some wicked beast deuoured hath the child I sent him out alone vnwittingly And therefore guilty of the crueltie So grieuous were his groanes and lamentation They turne to sorrow all his habitation And though his sonnes and daughters all arise To comfort him the best they can deuise Yet still the good old man doth groane and crie Ioseph is lost I in his coate will die He with wilde beasts is into peeces torne I le sooner cease to liue then cease to mourne Father saith Dina then th' vnlucky maid Why should you without cause be thus dismaid Before times I haue often heard you say Gods Angell you conducted in your way From hence eu'n vnto the Assyrian plaine And thence from Laban brought you home againe Oh why should you despaire then thus and feare As God of yours had not as great a care What because here a bloody coate you see Must it be Iosephs needes or if it bee He may whilst he from cruell beasts did flie Forsake his coate to scape more speedily He that this coate found loose vpon the ground Not any signe of murthering him found Nor found he either hand head foot or bone Onely this bloody coate lay all alone Blooded it seemes with iawes of cruell beast Which on some other prey had made his feast Thus can the whole to sicke good counsell giue And easier 't is to teach well then to liue But Ruben Iudah all his sonnes may rise And daughters all to comfort him deuise He rends his clothes puts sacke cloth on his loines And for his Ioseph long time weepes and pines And mourning will goe downe vnto his graue To Ioseph whom he here shall neuer haue Meane while to Nile the Midian merchants hie Laden with Balme with mirrhe and Spicerie When Ioseph whom if they could truely prize Was farre more worth than all their merchandize Did bondage base vnto his noble minde More bitter then death to his body finde But hauing none to whom to make his mone Goes sighing sobbing to himselfe alone Vntill a merchant willing him to cheare That hee might fairer looke and sell more deare Enquireth of
plainer folkes them liuing would haue thought So skilfull Art doth Nature imitate The Dogges doe seeme to runne the Lambs to bleate Here Noah offreth on an Altar built Of all cleane Beasts to cleanse sinnes foulest guilt Good Sem Arphaxad Selah of whose race Came Heber whence the Hebrewes next had place And Pelag next who first diuides the Land Reu Serug Nahor Tarah next doe stand From whence comes blessed Abraham by whom The blessed Seede of Sarahs wombe should come Here Angels him salute with God he walkes And as two friends with God familiar talkes Here Sarah laughs to heare from her dry wombe Seede like Sea sands all numberlesse should come Here Isaack's Circumcis'd Here sacrific'd By Faith but for his bloud a Lambe suffic'd Rebecca skins on Iacobs hands here cleaues Here 's Brother of his Blessing he deceaues And blessed straight flyes from his brothers wrath To Laban where he both his daughters hath Here he returnes whom soone as Laban misses With anger he pursues but parts with kisses Here wrestles he with God lo here he meetes His angry brother who him kindly greetes Before one Sheafe here ten Sheaues seeme to fall Here Sunne and Moone and Starres it worship all Here are ten Brethren playing in the shadowes Whilst all their flockes are mowing of the Meadows Like liuely Shepheards all doe dance and sing That Woods and Hils with Ecchos seeme to ring When comes a Childe in party-colourd Coat Them to salute but all flye to his Throat And like so many Butchers 'bout a Lamb Seeke to bereaue him from his dearest Dam Of all the stories they did there behold This had most life For Iosephs wife had told With her owne hands it here so cunningly A man would thinke he saw the Picture cry And on his knees with vnfeign'd Innocence To begge his Life of their Maleuolence This made their eyes those curious sights forbeare And gastly one vpon another stare And so amaz'd them they now surely thought God all their wickednesse to light had brought But now that Ioseph is return'd they heare Therefore their Present ready they prepare As Abram when he had recouered His Kinsman Lot and Captiues with him led Returning by the way with Bread and Wine Was met by great Melchizedek diuine And blessed for that God now by his hand Had sau'd the Prince and People of the Land Eu'n so good Ioseph who by paines not sword Had sau'd aliue th' Egyptians and their Lord And daily from fierce Famine succored Such as had died else for want of Bread Was met with Presents comming to his Hall And blest as the Preseruer of them all Amongst the rest these Hebrewes louting low Their Present offer him who straight would know How they did all and if their Father old Liu'd still in health of whom they last him told And what is this your Brother young said he Of whom you told mee They all answer'd yea God blesse my sonne saith Ioseph and retires To weepe for Ioy now hauing his desires But washing's eyes and face he doth refraine And to his Brethren soone returnes againe So calls for meate he by himselfe alone Th' Egyptians by themselues are plac'd each one His brethren by themselues For Egypts Nation Are ranked as their ages doe require Which made them this due order all admire To all then from his Board he messes sends But fiue to one on Beniamins he spends Lo thus they all eate drinke and made good cheare Till they had drown'd all sorrow griefe and care But Ioseph who amidst his feasts doth minde Those that abroad for hunger steru'd and pinde Thinkes of his Father old and doth command His Steward for to fill streight out of hand The Hebrews sacks so full as they can thrust And put their moneys in their sacks as first And in the youngest's sacke his siluer Cup So in the morning e're the Sunne was vp They with their Camels laden are let go But e're they thence are gone a mile or two Vp gets the Steward and them after hies Whom ouer-taking thus aloud he cryes Ah! why haue you rewarded ill for good My Master of his Grace hath giu'n you food And you his Cup wherein he drinketh wine And wont to Prophecie and to diuine Purloined haue oh it is euill done Good sir saith Ruben Thinke not any one Of vs would doe such thing the money found Last time when we our sackes at home vnbound Was brought to thee againe most truly told How should we then or Siluer steale or gold Dye let him wheresoeuer it is found Wee Bondmen to my Lord for euer bound He saith the Steward shall be bound where wee The Cup shall finde the other shall goe free Then taking downe their sackes they doe begin To search from Ruben eu'n to Beniamin There was it found then all their clothes rend And backe againe vnto the Citie tend As Theefes who by the owner ouer-take In fresh pursuit with goods about them take And brought before the Iudge all mercy cry Without defence for such their Felony So they to Ioseph brought before him fall And only vnto him for mercy call What haue you done saith he know you not I Am able to diuine and Prophecie Ah! Iudah saith what shall thy seruants say Or doe How can we cleare our selues this day God hath made plaine thy seruants wickednesse We are thy Bondmen all we must confesse As likewise he with whom the Cup was found Nay God forbid saith Ioseph he be bound Who had the Cup The rest depart in peace To your old Father haste why doe you cease My Lord saith Iudah we haue no defence Yet let me speake one word without offence At our last beeing heere thou didst inquire Of this our Brother and our aged Sire And we thy seruants true and plainly told We haue a Father which is very old Who also in his age begat our brother The only childe aliue now of his mother His Brother 's dead and therefore more belou'd By this my Lord then answerd shall be prou'd The truth of all your sayings Bring him hither That I may see the Brethren all together We answerd if the Lad should but depart From his old Father It would kill his heart My Lord repli'd except he to this place With you returne forbeare to see my face We comming home this to our Father show Who to buy Corne againe would haue vs goe But wee repli'd except the Lad we place Before the Man wee may not see his face Ah! saith our Father you my sonnes well know That I had by his Mother onely two One's dead and gone if this away you haue You bring my head with sorrow to the graue Now if thou vs vnto my Father send Without the Lad on whom his dayes depend Soone as our Father misseth him he dyes And we be Authors of his miseries Besides I suretie for the Lad became And if I bring him not must beare the blame How shall I then my Fathers