Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n
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A10264
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The historie of Samson: written by Fra: Quarles
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Quarles, Francis, 1592-1644.
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1631
(1631)
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STC 20549; ESTC S115482
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46,107
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126
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a full ag'd Lyon who had sought But could not finde his long desired prey Soone as his eye had given him hopes to pay His debt to nature and to mend that fault His empty stomacke found he made assault Vpon th' unarmed lovers brest whose hand Had neither staffe nor weapon to withstand His greedy rage but he whose mighty strength Or sudden death must now appeare at length Stretcht forth his brawny arme his arme supplide With power from heaven and did with ease divide His body limme from limme and did betray His Flesh to foules that lately sought his prey This done his quicke redoubled paces make His stay amends his nimble steps oretake His leading parents who by this discover The smoake of Timnah Now the greedy Lover Thinkes every step a mile and every pace A measur'd League untill he see that face And finde the treasure of his heart that lies In the faire Casket of his Mistresse Eyes But all this while close Samson made not knowne Vnto his parents what his hands had done By this the gate of Timnah entertaines The welcome travellers The parents paines Are now rewarded with their sonnes best pleasure The Virgin comes His eyes can finde no leasure To owne another object O the greeting Th' impatient lovers had at their first meeting The Lover speakes She answers He replies She blushes He demandeth She denyes He pleads affection She doubts Hee sues For nuptiall love She questions Hee renewes His earnest suite Importunes She relents He must have no deniall She consents They passe their mutuall loves Their joyned hands Are equall earnests of the nuptiall bands The parents are agreed All parties pleas'd The day 's set downe the lovers hearts are eas'd Nothing displeases now but the long stay Betwixt th' appointment and the mariage day MEDITAT 8. T Is too severe a censure If the Sonne Take him a wife the mariage fairely done Without consent of parents who perchance Had rais'd his higher price knew where t' advance His better'd fortunes to one hundred more He lives a Fornicator She a Whore Too hard a censure And it seemes to me The parent's most delinquent of the three What if the better minded Son doe aime At worth What if rare vertues doe inflame His rapt affection What if the condition Of an admir'd and dainty disposition Hath won his soule Where as the covetous Father Findes her Gold light and recommends him rather T' an old worne widow whose more weighty purse Is fill'd with gold and with the Orphans curse The sweet exubrance of whose full-mouth'd portion Is but the cursed issue of extortion Whose worth perchance lies onely in her weight Or in the bosome of her great estate What if the Sonne that does not care to buy Abundance at so deare a rate deny The soule-detesting profer of his Father And in his better judgement chooses rather To match with meaner Fortunes and desert I thinke that Mary chose the better part What noble Families that have out growne The best records have quite binoverthrowne By wilfull parents that will either force Their sonnes to match or haunt them with a curse That can adapt their humours to rejoyce And fancy all things but their childrens choice Which makes them often timerous to reveale The close desiers of their hearts and steale Such matches as perchance their faire advice Might in the bud have hindred in a trice Which done and past O then their hastie spirit Can thinke of nothing under Disinherit He must be quite discarded and exilde The furious father must renounce his childe Nor Prayre nor Blessing must he have bereiven Of all Nor must he live nor die forgiven When as the Fathers rashnesse often times Was the first causer of the Childrens crimes Parents be not too cruell Children doe Things oft too deepe for us t' enquire into What father would not siorme if his wild Sonne Should doe the deed that Samson here had done Nor doe I make it an exemplar act Only let parents not be too exact To curse their children or to dispossesse Them of their blessings Heaven may chance to blesse Be not too strict Faire language may recure A fault of youth whilst rougher words obdure SECT 9. ARGVMENT Samson goes downe to celebrate His mariage and his nuptiall feast The Lyon which he slue of late Hath hony in his putrid brest WHen as the long expected time was come Wherein these lingring Lovers should consumme The promis'd mariage and observe therites Pertaining to those festivall delights Samson went downe to Timnah there t' enjoy The sweet possession of his dearest joy But as he past those fruitfull Vineyards where His hands of late acquit him of that feare Wherewith the feirce assaulting Lyon quail'd His yet unpractis'd courage and prevail'd Vpon his life as by that place he past He turn'd aside and borrowed of his hast A little time wherein his eyes might view The Carkas of the Lyon which he flew But when his wandring footsteps had drawne neere The unlamented herse his wandring eare MEDITAT 9. HOw high unutterable how profound Whose depth the line of knowledge cannot sound Are the decrees of the Eternall God! How secret are his wayes and how untrod By mans conceipt so deeply charg'd with doubt How are his Counsells past our finding out O how unscrutable are his designes How deepe and how unsearchable are the Mines Of his abundant Wisedome How obscure Are his eternall Iudgements and how sure Lists he to strike The very Stones shall flie From their unmov'd Foundations and destroy Lists he to punish Things that haue no sense Shall vindicate his Quarrell on th' Offence Lists he to send a plague The winters heate And summers damp shall make his will compleate Lists he to send the Sword Occasion brings New Iealousies betwixt the hearts of Kings Wills he afamine Heaven shall turne to brasse And earth to Iron till it come to passe With stockes and stones and plants and beasts fulfill The secret Counsell of his sacred will Man onely wretched Man is disagreeing To doe that thing for which he hath his being Samson must downe to Timnah In the way Must meete a Lyon whom his hands must slay The Lyo'ns putrid Carkas must enclose A swarme of Bees and from the Bees arose A Riddle and that Riddle must be read And by the reading Choller must be bred And that must bring to passe Gods just designes Vpon the death of the false Philistines Behold the progresse and the royall Gests Of Heavens high vengeance how it never rests Till by appointed courses it fufill The secret pleasure of his sacred will Great Saviour of the world Thou Lambe of Sion That hides our sinnes Thou art that wounded Lyon O in thy dying body we have found A world of hony whence we may propound Such sacred Riddles as shall underneath Our feet subdue the power of Hell and Death Such Misteries as none but he that plough'd With thy sweet Hayfer's able to uncloud Such
How are thy Angells hacknei'd up and downe To visit man How poorely doe we crowne Their blessed labours They with Ioy dismount Laden with blessings but returneth ' account Of Filth and Trash They bring th' unvalued prize Of Grace and promis'd Glory while our eyes Disdaine these heavenly Factors and refuse Their proferd wares affecting more to chuse A Graine of pleasure then a Iemme of glory We finde no treasure but in Transitory And earth-bred Toyes while things immortall stand Like Garments to be sold at second hand Great God Thou know'st we are but flesh and blood Alas we can interpret nothing good But what is evill deceitfull are our Ioyes We are but children and we whine for Toyes Of things unknowne there can be no desire Quicken our hearts with the celestiall fire Of thy discerning Spirit and we shall know Both what is good and good desier too Vouchsafe to let thy blessed Angell come And bring the tydings that the barren wombe Of our Affections is enlarg'd O when That welcome newes shall be revealed then Our soules shall soone conceive and bring thee forth The firstlings of a new and holy birth SECT 3. ARGVMENT Manoah's wonder turnes to Zeale His zeale to prayre His prayres obtaine The Angell that did late reveale The joyfull newes returnes againe NOw when th' amazed woman had commended Her tongue to silence and her tale was ended Perplexed Manoah ravisht at the newes Within himselfe he thus began to muse Strange is the message And as strangely done Shall Manoah's loynes be fruitfull Shall a Sonne Blesse his last dayes Or shall an Issue come From the chill closset of a barren wombe Shall Manoah's wife give sucke and now at last Finde pleasure when her prime of youth is past Shall her cold wombe be now in age restor'd And was 't a man of God that brought the word Or was 't some false delusion that possest The weaknes of a lonely womans brest Or was 't an Angell sent from heaven to show What Heaven hath will as well as pow're to doe Till then thou must refraine to drinke or eate Wines and strong drinke and Law-forbidden meate Euill Angells rather would instruct to ryot They use not to prescribe so strickt a Dyet No no I make no further question of it 'T was some good Angell or some holy Prophet Thus having mus'd a while he bow'd his face Vpon the ground and prostrate in the place Where first he heard the welcome tydings pray'd His wonder now transform'd to Zeale and said Great God That hast engag'd thy selfe by vow When ere thy little Israell begs to bow Thy gratious eare O harken to the least Of Israel's sonnes and grant me my request By thee I live and breathe Thou did'st become My gratious God both in and from the wombe Thy precious favours I have still possest And have depended on thee from the Brest My simple Infancy hath bin protected By thee my Child-hood taught my youth corrected And sweetly chastned with thy gentle Rod I was no sooner but thou wert my God All times declare thee good This very houre Can testifie the greatnesse of thy power And promptnesse of thy Mercy which hast sent This blessed Angell to us to augment The Catalogue of thy favours and restore Thy servants wombe whose hopes had even given ore T' expect an Issue What thou hast begun Prosper and perfect till the worke be done Let not my Lord be angry if I crave A boone too great for me to beg or have Let that blest Angell that thou sent'st of late Reblesse us with his presence and relate Thy will at large and what must then be done When time shall bring to light this promis'd sonne About that time when the declining Lampe Trebles each shadow when the evening dampe Begins to moisten and refresh the land The Wife of Manoah under whose command The weaned Lambes did feed being lowly seated Vpon a Shrubbe where often she repeated That pleasing newes the subject of her thought Appear'd the Angell he that lately brought Those blessed tydings to her up she rose Her second feare had warrant to dispose Her nimble foot-steps to unwonted haste She runnes with speed she cannot runne too fast At length she findes her husband In her eyes Were Ioy and Feare whilst her lost breath denyes Her speech her trembling hands make signes She puffes and pants her breathlesse tongue disjoynes Her broken words Behold behold said she The man of God if man of God he be Appear'd againe These very eyes beheld The man of God I left him in our field MEDITAT 3. HEav'n is Gods Magazen wherein he hath Stor'd up his Vials both of love and wrath Iustice and Mercy waite upon his Throne Favors and Thunderbolts attend upon His sacred Will and Pleasure Life and Death Doe both receive their influence from his breath Iudgements attend his left at his right hand Blessings and ever lasting Pleasures stand Heav'n is the Magazen wherein he puts Both good and evill Prayre is the key that shuts And opens this great Treasure T is a key Whose wards are Faith and Hope and Charity Wouldst thou prevent a judgement due to sin Turncbut the key and thou maist locke it in Or wouldst thou have a Blessing fall upon thee Open the doore and it will shower on thee Can Heav'n be false Or can th' Almighties tongue That is all very truth doe Truth that wrong Not to performe a vow His lips have sworne Sworne by himselfe that if a Sinner turne To him by prayre his prayre shall not be lost For want of eare nor his desier crost How is it then we often aske and have not We aske and often misse because we crave not The things we should his wisedome can foresee Those blessings better that we want than wee Hast thou not heard a peevish Infant baule To gaine possession of a knife And shall Th'indulgent nurse be counted wisely kinde If she be mov'd to please his childish minde Is it not greater wisedome to denie The sharp-edg'd knife and to present his eye With a fine harmelesse Puppit We require Things oft unfit and our too fond desire Fastens on goods that are but glorious ills Whilst Heaven's high wisedome contradicts our wills With more advantage for we oft receive Things that are farre more fit for us to have Experience tells wee seeke and cannot finde We seeke and often want because we binde The Giver to our times He knowes we want Patience and therefore he suspends his grant T' increase our Faith that so we may depend Vpon his hand He loves to heare us spend Our childish mouthes Things easily obtain'd Are lewly priz'd but what our prayres have gain'd By teares and groanes that cannot be expest Are farre more deare and sweeter when possest Great God! whose power hath so oft prevail'd Against the strength of Princes and hast quail'd Their prouder stomackes with thy breath discrown'd Their heads and throwne their scepters to the ground Striking