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| O LAUD 1 the Lord with invocation | |
| Amidst his holy congregation; | |
| Shew forth his works, set forth his fame, | |
| Sing praise, sing praise unto his name; | |
| And let the heart, and tongue, and voice | 5 |
| Of them that love the Lord, rejoice. | |
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| O seeke the Lord our God eternall, | |
| O seeke and search his power supernall; | |
| O seeke and sue to come in sight | |
| Of his most lovely beauty bright; | 10 |
| Of his most amiable face, | |
| Full of refulgent heavenly grace. | |
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| Keepe still in due commemoration, | |
| Recount with true gratification | |
| The wondrous works which God had done, | 15 |
| By famous facts his honour wonne; | |
| Let not his judgments just depart | |
| From your most mindful, thankful heart. | |
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| Ye sacred sonnes regenerated, | |
| Ye saint-like seed, first propagated | 20 |
| From Abraham, God’s servant deare, | |
| Which him in faith doth loue and feare— | |
| Ye sons of Jacob, his delight, | |
| Extol the Lord’s majesticke might. | |
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| For Hee which safely us preserveth, | 25 |
| He only of us best deserveth | |
| To be our Lord and Soveraigne blest, | |
| Having apparently exprest | |
| His judgments just, his equity; | |
| Which all the world can testifie. | 30 |
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| What he hath promised and protested | |
| To all that in his promise rested, | |
| Even to his saints a thousand fold, | |
| Which on him with faith’s hand lay hold, | |
| Unto his everlasting praise, | 35 |
| His word he hath made good always: | |
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| E’en that blest promise once compacted, | |
| That cov’nant good, once precontracted | |
| To Abraham and Isaac’s seed, | |
| And so to Jacob’s sons decreed, | 40 |
| And unto Israel stablisht sure, | |
| To time’s last period to endure; | |
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| When in these words the Lord affirmed, | |
| And (thus) to those his truth confirmed;— | |
| Behold, I Canaan freely give | 45 |
| To you and yours, therein to live; | |
| This lot of your inheritance | |
| My name and fame (there) to advance. | |
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| And tho’ the number of that nation | |
| Was yet of slender valuation, | 50 |
| Did yet but very small appeare, | |
| When (thus) his love esteemed them deare; | |
| And that beside their number small, | |
| They in the land were strangers all; | |
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| Walking from nation unto nation, | 55 |
| Without all settled habitation, | |
| Now here, now there, conducted still | |
| By their all prudent Pilot’s will; | |
| Who suffered no man wrong to take | |
| But plag’d princes for their sake. | 60 |
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| And where they came, thus charg’d, appointed, | |
| Let none offend my deare anointed, | |
| Nor use my prophets spightfullie! | |
| For these are precious in mine eye. | |
| Fierce famine (then) the Lorde orelaide, | 65 |
| Whereby their staffe of bread decaide: | |
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| But God good Joseph then ordained, | |
| By whom (foresent) they were sustained, | |
| Tho’ thither he a slave was sould, | |
| Tho’ foes in fetters him did hold, | 70 |
| Untill, in heaven’s appointed time, | |
| God heard his cause, cleared him of crime. | |
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| Pharao him found a faithful liver, | |
| And him from prison did deliver, | |
| The Ægyptian king was to him kinde, | 75 |
| And in him did such wisdom finde, | |
| That of his kingdom and whole state | |
| He made him lord, prince, potentate. | |
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| That all his peeres might be instructed, | |
| And to his lore and lure conducted, | 80 |
| His senators by Joseph taught: | |
| Then Jacob was to Egypt brought— | |
| I’ th’ land of Ham (then) Israell | |
| Did as a harbour’d stranger dwell. | |
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| His flocke, his flock (there) fructified, | 85 |
| And to great numbers multiplied, | |
| And then their foes did farre transcend: | |
| Which only did their foes offend, | |
| Which turned their love to hatred great, | |
| Their smiles to guiles and slie deceipt. | 90 |
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| Mild Moses then the Lord elected, | |
| And holy Aaron much respected, | |
| Both whom to Ægypt soone he sent, | |
| There to declare his great intent, | |
| And in the land of Ham to showe | 95 |
| His signs and wonders, to their woe. | |
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| Darknesse, strange darknesse, his commission, | |
| Did them obey with expedition, | |
| And overspread all Egypt’s land: | |
| And by Heaven’s all ore-ruling hand | 100 |
| Their waters all gore blood became, | |
| And slew all fishes in the same. | |
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| With croaking froggs he them infested, | |
| The land and lodgings where they rested, | |
| Not sparing Pharao’s chamber neate: | 105 |
| He sent huge swarms, noisome and greate, | |
| Of crawling lice and stinging flies | |
| ’Mongst their heard-hearted enemies. | |
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| Instead of raine haile-stones he rained, | |
| And with feirce flames of fire them bained, | 110 |
| And thereby totallie orethrew | |
| Vines, fig-trees, yea, all trees that grew; | |
| Their caterpillars did abound, | |
| Great grasshoppers their fruits confound. | |
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| Their first-born babes he deadly wounded, | 115 |
| And strongest of their land confounded, | |
| Yea, ev’n the prime of all their strength, | |
| And led his servants forth at length, | |
| All fraught with gold or silver store: | |
| Not one was feeble, faint, or poore. | 120 |
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| The Ægyptians’ hearts were then revived, | |
| Being of their presence thus deprived, | |
| Such feare of them had broke their hearte; | |
| And as they thus did thence depart | |
| A cloud by day hid them from heate, | 125 |
| Their guide by night a fire most great. | |
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| At their request he quailes down rained, | |
| With manna sweet their state sustained, | |
| Whiles through the wildernesse they went; | |
| And then the rigid rocke he rent, | 130 |
| From whence did floods of water flow, | |
| To quench their thirst, as they did goe. | |
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| For as he ever was delighted | |
| With mindfulnesse of promise plighted, | |
| So (then) the Lord did mind the same, | 135 |
| And, to his everlasting fame, | |
| He brought them forth with mirth and joy | |
| Whence they had lived in dire annoy. | |
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| Yea, such to them was his good pleasure, | |
| That all the labours, lands, and treasure | 140 |
| Of heathen folke his flock did take, | |
| That they might not his lawes forsake, | |
| But faithfully observe his lore,— | |
| Oh let us praise the Lord therefore! | |
