HEAVENLY LOVE.

LOVE! lift me up upon thy golden wings

From this base world unto thy heaven's height,
Where I may see those admirable things

Which there thou workest by thy sovereign might,
Far above feeble reach of earthly sight,

That I thereof an heavenly hymn may sing
Unto the God of Love, high heaven's King.

Before this world's great frame, in which all things
Are now contained, found any being place,

Ere flitting Time could wag his eyas' wings

About that mighty bound which doth embrace
The rolling spheres, and parts their hours by space,

That high Eternal power, which now doth move
In all these things, moved in itself by love.

It loved itself because itself was fair,

(For fair is loved,) and of itself begot, Like to itself, his eldest son and heir,

Eternal, pure, and void of sinful blot,
The firstling of his joy, in whom no jot
Of love's dislike, or pride, was to be found,-
Whom He therefore with equal honor crowned.

With Him He reigned before all time prescribed,
In endless glory and immortal might,
Together with that Third from them derived,

Most wise, most holy, most Almighty Sprite,

Whose kingdom's throne no thoughts of earthly wight

Can comprehend, much less my trembling verse

With equal words can hope it to rehearse.

'Eyas, young, newly fledged; a young hawk not fit for flight.

Yet, O most blessed Spirit! pure lamp of light,

Eternal spring of grace and wisdom true,

Vouchsafe to shed into my

barren sprite

Some little drop of thy celestial dew,

That may my rhymes with sweet infuse imbrue,

And give me words equal unto my thought,

To tell the marvels by thy mercy wrought.

Yet being pregnant still with powerful grace,
And full of fruitful love, that loves to get
Things like 'Himself, and to enlarge his race,

His second brood, though not of power so great,
Yet full of beauty, next He did beget

An infinite increase of angels bright,
All glist'ning glorious in their Maker's light.

To show the heaven's illimitable height,

(Not this round heaven which we from hence behold,) Adorned with thousand lamps of burning light,

And with ten thousand gems of shining gold,
He gave as their inheritance to hold,

That they might serve him in eternal bliss,
And be partakers of those joys of his.

There they in their trinal triplicities

About Him wait, and on his will depend,

Either with nimble wings to cut the skies
When He them on his messages doth send,
Or on his own dread presence to attend,

Where they behold the glory of his light,
And carol hymns of love both day and night.

Both day and night is unto them all one,

For He his beams doth unto them extend,
That darkness there appeareth never none;

Nor hath their day, nor hath their bliss, an end,
But there their timeless time in pleasure spend;

Nor ever should their happiness decay
Had they not dared the Lord to disobey.

But pride, impatient of long-resting peace,

Did puff them up with greedy bold ambition, That they 'gan cast their state how to increase

Above the fortune of their first condition,

And sit in God's own seat without commission:

The brightest angel, e'en the child of light,
Drew millions more against their God to fight.

The Almighty, seeing their so bold assay,

Kindled the flame of his consuming ire, And with his only breath them blew away

From heaven's height, to which they did aspire,
To deepest hell and lake of damned fire,
Where they in darkness and dread horror dwell,
Hating the happy light from which they fell.

So that next offspring of the Maker's love,
Next to Himself in glorious degree,

Degenering' to hate, fell from above

Through pride, (for pride and love may ill agree,)

And now of sin to all ensample be.

How then can sinful flesh itself assure,

Sith purest angels fell to be impure?

But that eternal fount of love and grace,

Still flowing forth his goodness unto all,

Now seeing left a waste and empty place

In his wide palace, through these angels' fall,
Cast to supply the same, and to install

A new and unknown colony therein,

Whose root from earth's base groundwork should begin.

Therefore of clay, base, vile, and next to naught,

Yet formed by wondrous skill, and by his might, According to an heavenly pattern wrought,

Which He had fashioned in his wise foresight,
He man did make, and breathed a living sprite

1 Degenerating.

Into his face most beautiful and fair,

Endued with wisdom's riches, heavenly, rare.

Such He him made, that he resemble might
Himself as mortal thing immortal could;
Him to be lord of every living wight

He made by love out of his own like mould,
In whom He might his mighty self behold;
For love doth love the thing beloved to see,
That like itself in lovely shape may be.

But man, forgetful of his Maker's grace,

No less than angels whom he did ensue,'
Fell from the hope of promised heavenly place
Into the mouth of death, to sinners due,
And all his offspring into thraldom threw,
Where they forever should in bonds remain
Of never-dead, yet ever-dying pain.

Till that great Lord of Love, which him at first
Made of mere love and after liked well,

Seeing him lie like creature long accursed

In that deep horror of despairing hell,

Him wretch in dole would let no longer dwell,

But cast out of that bondage to redeem
And pay the price, all' were his debt extreme.

Out of the bosom of eternal bliss

In which He reigned with his glorious sire,

He down descended, like a most demiss1

And abject thrall, in flesh's frail attire, That He for him might pay sin's deadly hire, And him restore into that happy state

In which he stood before his hapless fate.

1 Follow.

2 Sorrow.

3 Although.

• Humble.

In flesh at first the guilt committed was,
Therefore in flesh it must be satisfied;
Nor spirit, nor angel, though they man surpass,
Could make amends to God for man's misguide,
But only man himself, whose self did slide:

So taking flesh of sacred virgin's womb,
For man's dear sake He did a man become.

And that most blessed body, which was born
Without all blemish or reproachful blame,
He freely gave to be both rent and torn

Of cruel hands, who, with despiteful shame
Reviling Him that them most vile became,

At length Him nailed on a gallow-tree,
And slew the just by most unjust decree.

O blessed well of love! O flower of grace!

O glorious morning star! O lamp of light!

Most lively image of thy father's face,

Eternal King of Glory, Lord of Might,

Meek Lamb of God before all worlds belight,'
How can we thee requite for all this good?
Or what can prize that thy most precious blood?

Yet naught thou ask'st in lieu of all this love

But love of us, for guerdon of thy pain. Ay me! what can us less than that behove? Had He required life of us again,

He

Had it been wrong to ask his own again? gave us life, He it restored lost;

Then life were least that us so little cost.

But He our life hath left unto us free,

Free that was thrall, and blessed that was banned,'

Nor aught demands but that we loving be,

As He himself hath loved us aforehand,

And bound thereto with an eternal band

' Named.

2 Reward.

• Cursed