| |
| OH, with thy grace my heart inspire, | |
| To bring forth fruites of thy desire. | |
| Give me thy Peter’s penitence, | |
| Paul’s faith, and Job his patience, | |
| And Marie’s grace, and John his loue, | 5 |
| That in my heart I may approue. | |
| When all these graces meete in mee, | |
| What ioy my soule shall have in thee: | |
| But oh, my God! my heart doth ake, | |
| My soule with trembling fear doth quake, | 10 |
| That sinne hath brought me in such plight | |
| As makes me ouglie in thy sight; | |
| And I (O wretch!) am one of those | |
| Whom thou hast reckoned for thy foes, | |
| And that thy mercie will not heare me, | 15 |
| Nor comfort euer shall come near mee; | |
| My prayer turned into sinne, | |
| No gate of grace shall enter in; | |
| But all my thoughts are farre amisse, | |
| Shall banisht be from hope of blisse; | 20 |
| And my poore soule, by sinne’s desart, | |
| Condemn’d vnto eternall smart. | |
| And yet again, meethinks, I see | |
| How thy great mercie lookes on mee, | |
| And tels me faith may be victorious, | 25 |
| While grace will be in mercie glorious, | |
| And what true hartes do truelie proue, | |
| That turne to thee in teares of loue; | |
| In which vnfaigned faithfull teares, | |
| Wherein the wofull spirit weares, | 30 |
| I humbly fall at mercie’s feete, | |
| Where grace, and loue, and glorie meete; | |
| And in teares of true contrition | |
| Thus makes my wofull soule’s petition: | |
| In mercie looke on me, deare God; | 35 |
| Forgive my sinnes, forbeare thy rod; | |
| Behold my griefe and ease my paine, | |
| And take me to thy grace againe, | |
| That I may see that bright Sunne shine, | |
| Whose glorie neuer can decline; | 40 |
| Where I with Simeon’s ioy may sing | |
| When I embrace my holy King, | |
| And sinne and sorrowes cease, | |
| As my soule may rest in peace. | |
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