| |
| MY thirsty soule desires her drought | |
| At heauenly fountaines to refresh; | |
| My prysoned minde would fayne be out | |
| Of chaynes and fetters of the flesh. | |
| |
| She looketh vp vnto the state | 5 |
| From whence she downe by sin did slide; | |
| She mournes the more the good she lost, | |
| For present euill she doth abide. | |
| |
| She longs from rough and dangerous seas | |
| To harbour in the hauen of blisse; | 10 |
| Where safely anchor at her ease, | |
| And store of sweet contentment is. | |
| |
| From banishment she more and more | |
| Desires to see her countrey deare; | |
| She sits and sends her sighes before— | 15 |
| Her ioyes and treasures all be there. | |
| |
| From Babilon she would returne | |
| Vnto her home and towne of peace, | |
| Ierusalem, where ioyes abound, | |
| Continue still, and neuer cease. | 20 |
| |
| There blustering winter neuer blowes, | |
| Nor sommer’s parching heate doth harme; | |
| It neuer freezeth there, nor snowes; | |
| The weather’s euer temperate warme. | |
| |
| The trees doe blossome, bud, and beare; | 25 |
| The birds doe euer chirpe and sing; | |
| The fruit is mellow all the yeare: | |
| They haue an euerlasting spring. | |
| |
| The pleasant gardens euer keep | |
| Their hearbes and flowers fresh and greene; | 30 |
| All sorts of dainty plants and fruites | |
| At all times there are to be seene. * * * * * | |
| The riuer, wine most perfect flowes, | |
| More pleasant than the honnycombe; | |
| Vpon whose bankes the sugar growes, | 35 |
| Enclosed in reedes of sinamon. | |
| |
| Her walles of jasper stones be built, | |
| Most rich and fayre that euer was; | |
| Her streetes and houses pau’d and gilt | |
| With gold more cleare then christall glasse. | 40 |
| |
| Her gates in equall distance be, | |
| And each a glistering margarite, | |
| Which commers in farre off may see— | |
| A gladsome and a glorious sight. | |
| |
| Her sunne doth neuer clipse nor cloude; | 45 |
| Her moone doth neuer wax nor wane: | |
| The Lambe with light hath her endued, | |
| Whose glory pen cannot explaine. | |
| |
| The glorious saintes her dwellers be, | |
| In numbers more then men can thinke; | 50 |
| So many in a company | |
| As loue in likeness doth them linke. | |
| |
| The starres in brightnes they surpasse; | |
| In swiftnes, arrowes from a bowe; | |
| In strength, in firmnes, steele or brasse; | 55 |
| In brightnes, fire; in whitnes, snow. | |
| |
| Theyr cloathing are more softe then silke, | |
| With girdles gilt of beaten golde; | |
| They in their hands, as white as milke, | |
| Of palme triumphant branches holde. | 60 |
| |
| Theyr faces, shining like the sunne, | |
| Shoot forth their glorious gladsome beames: | |
| The field is fought; the battle won; | |
| Their heads be crown’d with diademes. | |
| |
| Reward as vertue different is; | 65 |
| Distinct their ioyes and happines; | |
| But each in ioy of other’s blisse | |
| Doth as his owne the same possesse. | |
| |
| So each in glory doe abound, | |
| And all their glories doe excell: | 70 |
| But where as all to each redound, | |
| Who can th’ exceeding glory tell? | |
| |
| Triumphant warriers you may heare | |
| Recount their daungers which doe cease; | |
| And noble citizens euerywhere | 75 |
| Their happy gaines of ioy and peace. * * * * * | |
| The King that heauenly pallace rules | |
| Doth beare vpon his golden shield | |
| A crosse in signe of tryumph, gules | |
| Erected in a uerdant field. | 80 |
| |
| His glory such as doth behoue | |
| Him in his manhood for to take, | |
| Whose Godhead earth and heauen aboue, | |
| And all that dwell therein, did make. | |
| |
| Like friends, all partners are in blisse, | 85 |
| With Christ their Lord and Master deare; | |
| Like spouses they the bridegroome kisse, | |
| Who feasteth them with heauenly cheare; | |
| |
| With tree of life, and manna sweete, | |
| Which taste doth such a pleasure bring, | 90 |
| As none to iudge thereof be meete, | |
| But they which banquet with the King. | |
| |
| With cherubins their wings they mooue, | |
| And mount in contemplation hye; | |
| With seraphins they burne in loue, | 95 |
| The beames of glory be so nygh. | |
| |
| O sweet aspect; vision of peace; | |
| Happy regard and heauenly sight; | |
| O endlesse ioy without surcease; | |
| Perpetuall day which hath no night! | 100 |
| |
| O well of weale; fountaine of life; | |
| A spring of euerlasting blisse; | |
| Eternal sunne; resplendant light; | |
| And eminent cause of all that is! | |
| |
| River of pleasure; sea of delight; | 105 |
| Garden of glory euer greene; | |
| O glorious glasse, and mirrour bright, | |
| Wherein all truth is clearly seene! | |
| |
| O princely pallace, royall court; | |
| Monarchall seate; emperiall throne! | 110 |
| Where King of kings, and Soueraigne Lord, | |
| For euer ruleth all alone: | |
| |
| Where all the glorious saints doe see | |
| The secrets of the Deity; | |
| The Godhead one, in persons three, | 115 |
| The super-blessed Trinity. | |
| |
| The depth of wisdome most profound, | |
| All puisant high sublimity; | |
| The breadth of loue without all bound, | |
| In endlesse long eternity. | 120 |
| |
| The heauy earth belowe by kinde | |
| Alone ascends the mounting fire: | |
| Be this the centor of my minde, | |
| And lofty spheare of her desire. | |
| |
| The chafed deare doth take the foyle; | 125 |
| The tyred hare the thickes and wood: | |
| Be this the comfort of my toyle, | |
| My refuge, hope, and soueraigne good. | |
| |
| The merchant cuts the seas for gaine; | |
| The soldier serueth for renowne; | 130 |
| The tyllman plowes the ground for graine: | |
| Be this my ioy and lasting crowne. | |
| |
| The faulkner seekes to see a flight; | |
| The hunter beates to view the game: | |
| Long thou, my soule, to see this sight, | 135 |
| And labour to enjoy the same. | |
| |
| No one ’s without some one delight, | |
| Which he endeauours to attaine: | |
| Seeke thou, my soule, both day and night, | |
| This one, which euer shall remaine. | 140 |
| |
| This one containes all pleasures true— | |
| All other pleasures be but vaine: | |
| Bid thou the rest, my soule, adue, | |
| And seeke this one alone to gaine. | |
| |
| To count the grass vpon the ground, | 145 |
| Or sandes that lye vpon the shore; | |
| And when yee haue the number found, | |
| The ioyes heereof be many more. | |
| |
| More thousand, thousand yeares they last, | |
| And lodge within the happy mynde; | 150 |
| And when so many yeares be past, | |
| Yet more and more be still behinde. | |
| |
| Farre more they be than we can weene; | |
| They doe our iudgment much excell: | |
| No ear hath heard, or eye hath seene; | 155 |
| No pen can write, no tongue can tell. | |
| |
| An angel’s tongue cannot recyte | |
| The endlesse ioy of heauenly blisse; | |
| Which, being wholly infinite, | |
| Beyond all speach and writing is. | 160 |
| |
| We can imagine but a shade; | |
| It neuer entred into thought, | |
| What ioyes he hath enioyed, that made | |
| All ioyes, and them that ioy, of nought. | |
| |
| My soule cannot those ioyes contayne: | 165 |
| Let her, Lord, enter into them, | |
| For euer with thee to remayne, | |
| Within thy towne, Ierusalem. | |
| |
