THE LAMENTATION OF DAVID OVER SAUL AND JONATHAN HIS SON.
THY beauty, Israel, is gone:
Slaine in the places high is he.
The mighty now are ouerthrowne!
Oh! thus how commeth it to be?
Let not this newes their streets throughout In Gath or Askalon be told;
For fear Philistia's daughters flout,
Lest vaunt the vncircumcized should.
On you hereafter let no dewe,
You mountaines of Gilboa, fall:
Let there be neither showers on you,
Nor fields that breed an offering shall;
For there with shame away was throwne
The target of the strong, alas!
The shield of Saul, euen as of one
That neu'r with oile anoynted was.
Nor from their blood that slaughter'd lay,
Nor from the fatt of strong men slaine,
Came Jonathan his bow away,
Nor drew forth Saul his sword in vaine;
In life time they were louely faire,
In death they undiuided ayre;
More swift than eagles of the air,
And stronger they than lions were.
Weepe, Israel's daughters! weepe for Saul,
Who you with skarlet hath aray'd,
Who clothed you with pleasures all,
And on your garments gold hath layd.
How comes it he that mighty was
The foyle in battell doth sustaine ?
Thou Jonathan! oh, thou, alas!
Upon thy places high wert slaine.
And much distressed is my heart,
My brother Jonathan, for thee;
My very deare delight thou wert,
And wondrous was thy loue to me:
So wondrous it surpassed farre
The love of women eu'ry way.
Oh! how the mighty fallen are!
How warlike instruments decay.
THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL.
A BLEST conuersion and a strange
Was that, when Saul a Paul became ;
And, Lord, for making such a change
We praise and glorifie thy name;
For whil'st he went from place to place
To persecute thy truth and thee,
And running to perdition was,
By powerful grace cal'd backe was hee.
When from thy truth we goe astray,
Or wrong it through our pointed zeale,
Oh, come and stop vs in the way,
And then thy will to vs reveale.
That brightnesse show vs from above, Which proues the sensuall eyesight blinde; And from our eyes those scales remoue That hinder vs thy way to finde.
And as thy blessed servant Paul,
When he a conuert once became,
Exceeded thy apostles all
In painefull preaching of thy name;
So grant that those who haue in sinne Exceeded others heretofore,
The start of them in faith may winne-
Loue, serue, and honour thee the more.
How watchful neede we to become,
And how devoutly pray,
That thee, O Lord, we fall not from,
Upon our tryall day!
For if thy great apostle said
He would not thee denie,
Whom he that very night denayd,
On what shall we relie?
For of ourselues we cannot leaue
One pleasure for thy sake;
No, nor one vertuous thought conceiue,
Till vs thou able make:
Nay, we not onely thee denie,
When persecutions be,
But or forget, or from thee flie,
When peace attends on thee.
O let those prayers vs auail,
Thou didst for Peter daigne,
That when our foe shall us assaile
His labour may be vaine!
Yea, cast on vs those powerful eyes,
That mou'd him to lament ;
We may bemoane with bitter cries
Our follies, and repent.
And grant that such as him succeed
For pastors of thy fold,
Thy sheepe and lambes may guide and feede,
As thou appoint'st they should;
By his example speaking what
They out in truth to say,
And in their lives confirming that
They teach them to obey.
THE PRAYER OF HABAKUK.
Habak. iii.
LORD, thy answer I did heare,
And I grew therewith_afear'd;
When the times at fullest are,
Let thy work be then declar'd :
When the time, Lord, full doth grow,
Then in anger mercy shew.
God Almightie, he came downe,
Downe he came from Theman-ward ;
And the matchlesse Holy One
From mount Paran forth appear'd;
Heaven o'erspreading with his rayes,
And earth filling with his praise.
Sunne-like was his glorious light;
From his side there did appeare
Beaming rayes that shined bright,
And his pow'r he showed there;
Plagues before his face he sent :
At his feete hot coales there went.
Where he stood he measure tooke
Of the earth, and view'd it well;
Nations vanisht at his looke,
Auncient hils to powder fell;
Mountaines old cast lower were;
For his waies eternal are.
Cushan tents I saw diseas'd,
And the Midian curtaines quake.
Have the flouds, Lord, thee displeased?
Did the flouds thee angry make?
Was it else the sea that hath
Thus prouoked thee to wrath?
For thou rod'st thy horses there,
And thy saving charrets through ;
Thou didst make thy bow appeare,
And thou didst performe thy vowe;
Yea, thine oath and promise past,
To the tribes fulfilled hast.
Through the earth thou riftes didst make,
And the riuers there did flow;
Mountaines seeing thee did shake,
And away the flouds did goe.
From the deepe a voyce was heard,
And his hands on high he rear'd.
Both the sunne and moone made stay,
And remou'd not in their spheares;
By thine arrowes' light went they,
By thy brightly shining speares :
Thou in wrath the lands did crush,
And in rage the nations thresh.
For thy people's safe releefe,
With thy Christ for ayd went'st thou ;
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