The soules heavenly exercise set downe in diuerse godly meditations, both prose and verse, by Nicholas Breton gent
Breton, Nicholas, 1545?-1626?
IF I could set downe twenty thousand waies,
And twentie thousand thousand, thousand moe,
To penne his highest heauenly comforts praise,
That will not see my spirits ouerthowe:
If I could thinke of nothing els but glory,
And in the highest, highest, highest height,
Page 117To shewe the state of that celestiall story,
Where Aungels wonders in their honours waite:
If all the powers of heauen & earth would meete,
And all acknowledge all their powers too little,
To shew the smallest of his smallest sweete,
Yet, to his title, All were but a title▪
Then since no thoughts
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can to his praise be raised,
Aboue all praises Let my God be praised:
While the Aungels all are singing,
All of glory euer springing,
In the grounde of high heauens graces,
Where all vertues haue their places,
Oh that my poore heart were neare them,
With an humble soule
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to heare them.
Then should faith in loues submission,
Ioying but in mercie: blessing,
Where that sinnes are in remission,
Sing the ioyfull soules confessing
Of her comforts high commending,
All in glory neuer ending,
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But ah wretched, sinfull creature,
How should the corrupted nature
Of this wicked heart of mine
Thinke vpon that loue diuine,
That doth tune the Aungels voice,
While the hoastes of heauen reioyce!
No, the songe of deadly sorrowe,
Page 121In the night, that hath no morrowe,
And their paines (not eas'd, not ended)
That haue heauenly powers offended,
Are more fitting to the merit
Of my foule infected spirit.
Yet, while mercie is remoouing
All the sorrowes of the louing,
Page 122How can faith be full of blindenesse,
To despaire of mercies kindnesse,
While the hande of heauen is giuing
Comfort, from the euerliuing?
No, my soule be no more sory,
Looke vnto that life of glory
Which the grace of faith regardeth,
Page 123And the teares of loue rewardeth:
Where the soule the comfort getteth
That the Aungels musicke setteth.
There, when thou art well conducted,
And by heauenly grace instructed,
How the faithfull thoughts to fashion
Of a rauisht louers passion,
Sing with Saints,
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to Aungels nighest,
Halleluiah, in the highest.
