| |
| ETERNAL God—for whom who ever dare | |
| Seek new expressions, do the circle square, | |
| And thrust into straight corners of poor wit | |
| Thee, who art cornerless and infinite— | |
| I would but bless Thy name, not name Thee now | 5 |
| —And Thy gifts are as infinite as Thou— | |
| Fix we our praises therefore on this one, | |
| That, as thy blessed Spirit fell upon | |
| These Psalms’ first author in a cloven tongue | |
| —For ’twas a double power by which he sung | 10 |
| The highest matter in the noblest form— | |
| So Thou hast cleft that Spirit, to perform | |
| That work again, and shed it here, upon | |
| Two, by their bloods, and by Thy Spirit one; | |
| A brother and a sister, made by Thee | 15 |
| The organ, where Thou art the harmony. | |
| Two that make one John Baptist’s holy voice, | |
| And who that Psalm, “Now let the Isles rejoice,” | |
| Have both translated, and applied it too, | |
| Both told us what, and taught us how to do. | 20 |
| They show us islanders our Joy, our King; | |
| They tell us why, and teach us how to sing. | |
| Make all this all three choirs, heaven, earth, and spheres; | |
| The first, Heaven, hath a song, but no man hears; | |
| The spheres have music, but they have no tongue, | 25 |
| Their harmony is rather danced than sung; | |
| But our third choir, to which the first gives ear | |
| —For angels learn by what the Church does here— 1 | |
| This choir hath all. The organist is he | |
| Who hath tuned God and man, the organ we; | 30 |
| The songs are these, which heaven’s high holy Muse | |
| Whisper’d to David, David to the Jews; | |
| And David’s successors in holy zeal, | |
| In forms of joy and art do re-reveal | |
| To us so sweetly and sincerely too, | 35 |
| That I must not rejoice as I would do, | |
| When I behold that these Psalms are become | |
| So well attired abroad, so ill at home, | |
| So well in chambers, in Thy Church so ill, | |
| As I can scarce call that reform’d until | 40 |
| This be reform’d; would a whole state present | |
| A lesser gift than some one man hath sent? | |
| And shall our Church unto our Spouse and King | |
| More hoarse, more harsh than any other, sing? | |
| For that we pray, we praise Thy name for this, | 45 |
| Which, by this Moses 2 and this Miriam, is | |
| Already done; and as those Psalms we call, | |
| —Though some have other authors—David’s all, | |
| So though some have, some may some Psalms translate, | |
| We Thy Sidneian psalms shall celebrate, | 50 |
| And, till we come th’ extemporal song to sing | |
| —Learn’d the first hour that we see the King, | |
| Who hath translated those translators—may | |
| These their sweet learned labours all the way | |
| Be as our tuning, that when hence we part, | 55 |
| We may fall in with them, and sing our part! | |
