| Edward Farr, ed. Select Poetry of the Reign of King James the First. 1847. | | | | St. Peter’s Day | | XXXVIII. George Wither |
| | | 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 | 5 |
| He would not thee denie, | |
| Whom he that very night denayd, | |
| On what shall we relie? | |
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| For of ourselues we cannot leaue | |
| One pleasure for thy sake; | 10 |
| 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, | 15 |
| When peace attends on thee. | |
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| O let those prayers vs auail, | |
| Thou didst for Peter daigne, | |
| That when our foe shall us assaile | |
| His labour may be vaine! | 20 |
| Yea, cast on vs those powerful eyes, | |
| That mou’d him to lament; | |
| We may bemoane with bitter cries | |
| Our follies, and repent. | |
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| And grant that such as him succeed | 25 |
| 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, | 30 |
| And in their lives confirming that | |
| They teach them to obey. | | | | |
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