| |
| ENOUGH delight, O mine eternall good! | |
| I feare to perish in this fiery flood; | |
| And doubt, lest beames of such a glorious light | |
| Should rather blind me, then extend my sight: | |
| For how dare mortals here their thoughts erect | 5 |
| To taste those ioyes which they in heauen expect? | |
| But God inuites them in his boundless loue, | |
| And lifts their heauy minds to things aboue. | |
| Who would not follow such a pow’rfull guide, | |
| Immid’st of flames, or through the raging tide? | 10 |
| What carelesse soule will not admit the grace | |
| Of such a Lord, who knowes the dang’rous place | |
| In which his seruants liue—their natiue woes, | |
| Their weake defence, and fury of their foes; | |
| And casting downe to earth these golden chaines, | 15 |
| From hel’s steepe brinke their sliding steps restraines? | |
| His deare affection flies with wings of haste; | |
| He will not stay till this short life be past: | |
| But in this vale, where teares of griefe abound, | |
| He oft with teares of ioy his friends hath drown’d. | 20 |
| Man, what desir’st thou? wouldst thou purchase health, | |
| Great honour, perfect pleasure, peace, and wealth? | |
| All these are here, and in their glory raigne: | |
| In other things these names are false and vaine. | |
| True wisdome bids vs to this banquet haste, | 25 |
| That precious nectar may renew the taste | |
| Of Eden’s dainties, by our parents lost | |
| For one poore apple, which so deare would cost, | |
| That eu’ry man a double death should pay. | |
| But mercy comes the latter stroke to stay | 30 |
| And—leauing mortall bodies to the knife | |
| Of iustice—striues to saue the better life. | |
| No sou’raigne med’cine can be halfe so good | |
| Against destruction as this angels’ food, | |
| This inward illustration, when it finds | 35 |
| A seate in humble and indifferent minds. | |
| If wretched men contemne a sunne so bright, | |
| Dispos’d to stray and stumble in the night, | |
| And seeke contentment where they oft haue knowne, | |
| By deare experience, that there can be none; | 40 |
| They would much more neglect their God, their end, | |
| If aught were found whereon they might depend, | |
| Within the compasse of the gen’rall frame; | |
| Or if some sparkes of this celestiall flame | |
| Had not engraued this sentence in their brest: | 45 |
| In him that made them is their onely rest. | |
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