For the grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee: They that go down into the pit, cannot hope for Thy truth.

The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day the Father to the children shall make known Thy truth.

:

O Lord! Thou hast been merciful, Thou hast brought back my life from corruption: Thou hast redeemed me from my sin.

They that follow after lying vanities, forsake their own mercy.

Therefore shall Thy songs be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

I will go unto the altar of my God, unto God, the joy of my youth; and in Thy fear will I worship towards thy holy temple.

I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed; salvation is of the Lord.

To my most merciful, my most loving, and dearly loved REDEEMER, the ever blessed, the onely HOLY and JUST ONE,

JESUS CHRIST,

The Son of the living GOD, and the sacred
Virgin Mary.

I.

Y God! Thou that did'st dye for me,
These Thy death's fruits I offer Thee

M

Death that to me was life and light,
But dark and deep pangs to Thy sight.
Some drops of Thy all-quickning blood
Fell on my heart; those made it bud,
And put forth thus, though Lord, before
The ground was curst and void of store.
Indeed I had some here to hire
Which long resisted Thy desire,
That ston'd Thy servants, and did move
To have Thee murthred for Thy love;
But Lord, I have expell'd them, and so bent,
Beg Thou wouldst take Thy tenant's rent.

II.

Dear Lord, 'tis finished! and now he

That copyed it, presents it Thee.

'Twas Thine first, and to Thee returns,

From Thee it shin'd, though here it burns.
If the sun rise on rocks, is't right,
To call it their inherent light?
No, nor can I say, this is mine,

For, dearest Jesus, 'tis all Thine,

As Thy cloaths,-when Thou with cloaths wert

clad

;

Both light from Thee, and virtue had
And now-as then-within this place
Thou to poor rags dost still give grace.
This is the earnest Thy love sheds,
The candle1 shining on some heads,
Till at Thy charges they shall be,
Cloath'd all with immortality.

III.

My dear Redeemer, the world's light,
And life too, and my heart's delight!
For all Thy mercies and Thy truth,
Shew'd to me in my sinful youth,
For my sad failings and my wilde
Murmurings at Thee, when most milde;
For all my secret faults, and each
Frequent relapse and wilful breach,
For all designs meant against Thee,
And ev'ry publish'd vanity,

1 Job xxix., 3. G.

Which Thou divinely hast forgiven,

While Thy blood wash'd me white as heaven;

I nothing have to give to Thee,

But this Thy own gift, given to me.
Refuse it not; for now Thy token

Can tell Thee where a heart is broken.1

REVELATIONS] Cap. I. ver. 5, 6, 7.

.

Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.

And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion, for ever and ever. Amen.

Behold He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, they also which pierced Him; and all kin reds of the earth shall wail because of Him: even so. Amen.

1 See our Memorial-Introduction for the first form of this dedicatory-poem. G.

AIN wits and eyes

Leave, and be wise:

Abuse not, shun not holy fire,

But with true tears wash off your mire.
Tears and these flames will soon grow kinde,
And mix an eye-salve for the blinde.
Tears cleanse and supple without fail,

And fire will purge your callous veyl.

Then comes the light! which when you spy, And see your nakedness thereby,

Praise Him, Who dealt His gifts so free

In tears to you, in fire to me.1

1 Appeared first in 1655 edn, G.