Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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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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Crowne Yet Man O most ungratefull Man can ever Enjoy the Gift but never minde the Giver And like the Swine though pamper'd with enough His eyes are never higher then the Trough We still receive Our hearts we seldome lift To heaven But drowne the giver in the Gift We tast the Skollops and returne the Shells Our sweet Pomgranats want their silver Bells We take the Gift the hand that did present it We oft reward forget the Friend that sent it A blessing given to those will not disburse Some thanks is little better then a curse Great giver of all blessngs thou that art The Lord of Gifts give me a gratefull heart O give me that or keepe thy favours from me I wish no blessings with a Vengeance to me SECT 6. ARGVMENT Affrighted Manoah and his wife Both prostrate on the naked earth Both rise The man despaires of life The woman cheares him Samsons birth VVHen time whose progresse moderates and outweares Th' extreamest passions of the highest Feares By his benignant power had reinlarg'd Their captive senses and at length discharg'd Their frighted thoughts the trembling Couple rose From their unquiet and disturb'd repose Have you beheld a Tempest how the waves Whose unresisted Tyranny out-braves And threats to grapple with the darkned Skies How like to moving Mountaines they arise From their distempred Ocean and assaile Heavens Battlements nay when the windes doe faile To breathe another blast with their owne motion They still are swelling and disturbe the Ocean Even so the Danite and his trembling wife Their yet confused thoughts are still at strife In their perplexed brests which entertain'd Continued feares too strong to be refrain'd Speechlesse they stood till Manoah that brake The silence first disclos'd his lips and spake What strange aspect was this that to our sight Appear'd so terrible and did affright Our scattering thoughts What did our eyes behold I feare our lavish tongues have bin too bold What speeches past betweene us Can'st recall The words we entertain'd the time withall It was no man It was no flesh and blood Me thought mine eares did tingle while he stood And commun'd with me At each word he spake Me thought my heart recoil'd his voice did shake My very Soule but when as he became So angry and so dainty of his name O how my wonder-smitten heart began To faile O then I knew it was no man No no It was the face of God Our eyes Have seene his face who ever saw 't but dies We are but dead Death dwells within his eye And we have seen 't and we shall surely die Where to the woman who did either hide Or else had over come her feares replide Despairing Man take courage and forheare These false predictions there 's no cause of feare Would Heaven accept our offerings and receive Our holy things and after that bereive His servants of their lives Can he be thus Pleas'd with our offerings unappear'd with us Hath he not promis'd that the time shall come Wherein the fruits of my restored wombe Shall make thee Father to a hopefull Sonne Can Heaven be false Or can these things be done When we are dead No no His holy breath Had spent in vaine if he had ment our death Recall thy needlesse feares Heaven cannot lye Although we saw his face we shall not dye So said they brake off their discourse and went He to the field and she into her Tent Thrice forty dayes not full compleate being come Within th' enclosure of her quickned wombe The babe began to spring and with his motion Confirm'd the faith and quickned the devotion Ofhis believing parents whose devout And heaven-ascending Orizans no doubt Were turn'd to thankes and heart-rejoycing praise To holy Hymnes and heavenly Roundelaies The child growes sturdy Every day gives strength Vnto his wombe fed limmes till at the length Th' apparant mother having past the date Of her accoumpt does onely now awaite The happy houre wherein she may obtaine Her greatest pleasure with her greatest paine When as the faire directresse of the night Had thrice three times repair'd her wained light Her wombe no longer able to retaine So great a guest betrai'd her to her paine And for the toilesome worke that she had done She found the wages of a new borne Sonne Samson she call'd his name The childe encreast And hourely suckt a blessing with the brest Daily his strength did double He began To grow in favour both with God and Man His well attended Infancie was blest With sweetnesse in his Childhood he exprest True seeds of Honour and his youth was crown'd With high and brave adventures which renown'd His honour'd name His courage was supplide With mighty strength His haughty spirit defide An hoast of men His power had the praise 'Bove all that were before or since his dayes And to conclude Heav'n never yet conjoin'd So strong a body with so stout a minde MEDITAT 6. HOw pretious were those blessed dayes wherein Soules never startled at the name of Sin When as the voyce of Death had never yet A mouth to open or to clame a debt When bashfull nakednesse forbare to call For needlesse skinns to cover Shame withall When as the fruit-encreasing earth obay'd The will of Man without the wound of Spaide Or helpe of Art When he that now remaines A cursed Captive to infernall chaines Sate singing Anthems in the heavenly Quire Among his fellow Angells When the Bryer The fruitlesse Bramble the fast growing weed And downie Thistle had as yet no seed When labour was not knowne and man did eate The earths faire fruits unearned with his sweate When wombes might have conceiv'd without the staine Of sinne and brought forth children without paine When Heaven could speake to mans unfrighted care Without the sense of sin-begotten feare How golden were those dayes How happy than Was the condition and the State of man But Man obay'd not And his proud desire Cing'd her bold feathers in forbidden fier But Man transgrest And now his freedome feeles A sudden change Sinne followes at his heeles The voice calls Adam But poore Adam flees And trembling hides his face behind the trees The voice whilere that ravisht with delight His joyfull eare does now alas affright His wounded conscience with amaze and wonder And what of late was musicke now is Thunder How have our sinnes abus'd us and betrai'd Our desperate soules What strangenesse have they made Betwixt the great Creator and the worke Of his owne hands How closely doe they lurke To our distempred soules and whisper feares And doubts into our frighted hearts and eares Our eyes cannot behold that glorious face Which is all life unruin'd in the place How is our natures chang'd That very breath Which gave us being is become our death Great God! O whither shall poore mortalls flie For comfort If they see thy face they dye And if thy life-restoring count'nance give Thy presence from us then we cannot live How necessary
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