CXXIII. Jud Smith. Paraphrase of the Fifth Chapter of the Song of Solomon. Edward Farr, ed. 1845. Select Poetry, Chiefly Devotional, of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth

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Edward Farr, ed. Select Poetry of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth. 1845.

Paraphrase of the Fifth Chapter of the Song of Solomon

CXXIII. Jud Smith


Christ speaketh to the Church. COME, 1 wend unto my garden gay,
My sister and my spowse:
For I haue gathered mirre with spice,
And other goodly bowes.
I meane to eate my honnye, and	5
My honny-combe so sweete;
And I will drinke my wyne and milke,
For so it seemeth meete.

Christ to the Apostles. Eat now, my frinds, do nothing spare,
But be of perfect cheare:	10
And drink with mirth; for you of me
Are sure beloued deare.

The Voice of the Church. As I laye in a slombring sleepe,
But being wake in mynde,
I heard my true loue speake and knocke,	15
And all was me to fynde.

Christe to the Churche. Open me the gates, said he,
My sister and my loue,
My darling and my hart’s desyre,
My onely Turtle-doue.	20
For why? my heade is full of dewe,
And so are all my lockes
Bedecked well in comely wise
With these benighted drops.

The Voice of the Spouses. I haue put off my coat; how can	25
I put it on againe?
And if I fyle my washed feete,
Then washt I them in vaine.

The Voice of the Church speaking of Christe. But when my loue put in his hande,
Then was my heart so prest	30
To him, that I was moued much,
And tooke but little rest.
So that I stoode up by aud by,
To open him the doore:
But then my handes coulde drop with myrre,	35
As was not seene before:
Which myrre ran down my fingers fast,
When they were on the lock,
When I was opening him the dore,
That there before did knocke.	40
But when to my Beloued I
The doore had opened wyde,
He was departed thence away,
And gone his wayes asyde.
And nowe, as he before did speake,	45
When I coulde not refraine,
So now I sought him mournfullye,
But found him not againe.
And then I cryed after him
As one that was forsake,	50
And listened still, but answere none
Woulde he unto me make.

Note 1. CXXIII. Jud Smith.—This author wrote “A Mysticall Devise, etc.” or a paraphrase of a portion of the Song of Solomon; to which is added “A Coppie of the Epistle that Jeremye sent unto the Jewes which were led away prisoners by the king of Babilon, wherein he certifyeth them of the thinges which was commanded him of God;” being a paraphrase of the sixth chapter of the apocryphal book of Baruch. At the end is a paraphrase of “The Commaundements of God our Creator geuen by Moyses, Exod. xx.” and “The Commaundements of Sathan put in practice dayly by the Pope.” This work was printed in 1575. [back]

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