Classic Poem

Lo how Apollos Pegasses prepare
To rend the ring-hedge of our Horizon
Be ready Muse , sith they so ready are
To flee with them in such proportion,
That both may moue by heau'nly motion:
And yet their Mouer moues not, but doth rest
In restful-restlesse perfect Action;
By which the worst still fals out for the best
For him, and them that by him still are blest.

He changeth not that truely euer Is;
Sith what Is truely, cannot changed be:
For, what is sometimes That , and sometimes This
Is mixt of Simples which do disagree;
But he is simply selfe Simplicity;
Then, That Is not, that is not simply so;
Sith in an Instant , It from Is doth flee:
And as the restlesse Seas do ebbe and flow:
So, that twixt Was and Is , doth come and go.

But, hee's ne're mou'd; and so can neuer change:
For what should moue him in whom all do moue?
He fils each Place , then can he neuer range:
And so is fixt, all Time and Place aboue;
So, still I A M he doth himselfe approue
I A M ; that Is: which is. That which He is:
Euer the same; as firme in hate, as loue:
Who could not be immortall but for This:
For, who doth change, dies throgh that change of his.

Each Essence changeable, is said to die
To what it Was , when it Is otherwise:
So may mans Soule, in immortality,
Be said to dy when it from Vertue flies;
And liue aright when it to Vices dies:
So, may immortall Spirits Angelicall
Dy through such change, and tumble from the skies
As some haue done; and so [no doubt] may all
But that a Pow'r still fixt preuents their fall.

For, what may sin, may die: and die they must
That sin, if Grace do not their death preuent:
If any Creature cannot be vniust,
That Iustice is not his, it is but lent;
Onely the Lender's iust, of his owne bent:
Who, by no change can possibly offend;
And much lesse dy: for, Hee's still permanent
The Fount of Grace , and Life; on whom depend
Al Changes, sith hee's changelesse without end!

But, if he might be chang'd, it needs must be
By actiue pow'r of some himselfe without;
Or, by himselfe, through passiue Potency ,
But, nought can euer bring this change about:
For; nought's more strong, then Pow'r most absolute
Nor, can a simple Act be passiue; so,
It puts the question clearely out of doubt
That neither can another Agent , no
Nor he himselfe, himselfe change too and fro.

For, that is chang'd, that not remaines the same:
But hee's the same he was, and euer is;
And That still Is, that neuer alters frame:
But such, alone, is that firme state of his,
That changeth all, yet changeth not by this!
Hee's Glories Sunne , whose Shade is constant sight;
Then can no Shade of change eclipse his Blisse,
In whom's no darknes; for, he blinds the sight
Of bright-Ey'd Angels , with his glory bright.

Though he assum'd our Shape; (so seem'd to change
Sith what he is he was not) yet, the same
He was, he is: and, though the case be strange
Yet it is true in nature; though his Name
Be doubl'd, by his confixt double Frame .
He came to take our Nature to his owne;
Yet ours into his nature neuer came:
But, ours from His, by eithers Acts , is knowne:
Then, by that change, no Changling is he growne.

That Hypostaticall rare Vnion
Which Pers'nally vnites both God and Man ,
Is two in Nature, though in Person, one:
For, God his nature neuer alter can;
And once begin, that neuer once began:
It is against Gods nature Man to be;
Sith one's eternall, th' others life a Span:
Yet Man is God , by God; and, God is he
That's Man, for Man; but, both keepe their degree!

For, that's not chang'd that keepes it selfe intire
From ought that may with it vnited be:
And, though thereat Mans reason may admire;
Yet onely Wisedome doth it, which doth see
How Two in One, vnchang'd, may well agree:
As erst we said Mans Soule, and Body did;
Which truely differ in true Vnity:
& thogh they change their states, their kinds forbid
That they should change their kinds in either hid.

So, did the Word remaine that which it was,
And truely That assum'd which it was not:
But yet, no change thereby was brought to passe
More then they change, that haue new garments got
In Name or Nature , though they change their Lot:
And to descend, and ascend come, and go,
And now become more cold, and then more hot,
These Words are Tropes [for, that Word doth not so]
That by our owne, his Actions we may know.

When he drawes neere vs, we are drawne by Him,
While still He stands: for, as the Magnet drawes
Without bee'ng mou'd, the Iron to his Brim;
Or, as the Iett , vnstirr'd, attracteth Strawes:
So, G OD , vnmoued, doth our motion cause.
They that are Shipt, in sailing from the Shore,
Do thinke they moue not, maugre Eolls Flawes,
But that the Land moues, which stands as before,
So God moues not: but we do euermore.

Nor yet, by locall motion are we brought
To God, when, to himselfe he vs doth bring;
Because without his Compasse there is nought:
For, all that is, is compast in that R ING ;
This motion then, is not by altering
The Place , but Person of the altered;
Yet, that not altred, but by gouerning,
The wil'de Affections , erst vngouerned;
So, moues this vnmou'd Motion , motioned!

Thus, when God seemes to change, by changing vs,
The change is not in Him, but vs alone;
So then, though Reth'ricke saith hee's various,
Yet saith Diuinity , Hee's euer One;
And, holds vp all things by his Vnion:
He, in the C HAOS , on the Waters mou'd
But that was but by preseruation;
Which by his Word alone, he did vnmou'd
As by his Word may pregnantly be prou'd.

Then, sith hee's euer changlesse, as hee's good
We Wormes, most mutable (in spight of change)
May euer stand in him that euer stood,
By Faith , and Hope , and Loue , and, neuer range
But when, through him, we go to Places strange
And though, by nature, mutable we be,
Yet may His Grace from vs, that state estrange
And match vs to immutability,
In the Bride-Chamber of Felicity .

Hee's true of promise, sith he cannot change;
Then, why should sorrowing Synners feare to dye?
Sith Earths familiars are to Heau'n strange;
Then, Heau'n we cannot haue, while here we lye:
And he that's free from all vncertainty
Hath (in his euer-neuer-failing Word )
Giu'n vs, by Deede , (with his Bloud seald) an hie
And Heau'nly Mantion which he doth affoord
To all whose Wills do with his Will accord.

The euer-liuing G OD , sole Lord of Life
He Was , and is , from all Eternity ,
If he be such a Husband , shall his Wife
Or any Member of her, feare to dye,
In him, with whom is Immortality?
Hee's life it selfe; then, of himselfe, he moues,
And, all his Members moues immediatly
To rest in him, the rest from him he shoues;
So, all moue by him which he hates, or loues.

Thus all that moue haue life: for, life's the Cause
And Motion the Effect ; for, we enstile
A flowing Fount , a liuely Spring , because
It is in motion: and, That dead the while
It standeth still, as do some Waters vile.
Siluer selfe-mouing, we call Siluer-quick;
But, Coine, though currant, we from life exile;
Because, of it's owne kind, it still doth stick
Where it is set, without some Chance it nick.

Yet though they liue, that moue, they liue as dead
(Much like Quick-siluer; dead although it moues)
That not as Members moue of Him their Head
That moues to grace , and glory whom he loues:
So, in them, his owne motions he approues:
Which doth inferre no motions liuely be
That, from this Marke, Synne all at pleasure roues:
For, such moue still through mutability;
And, that still moueth to mortality.

For, Motion , in the Creatures , moues to nought;
And, nought is nothing but the rest of Ill:
But where Ill rests, That's to confusion brought
That so is mou'd; and, so it resteth still;
Which rest , that mou'd with all disease doth fill:
For, that is restlesse rest, that ill doth rest;
And ill that rests, that rests with euill will;
But, ill's that will by which the Mind is prest
By motion ill, to rest in state vnblest.

Creatures moue not themselues: for, mou'd they be
By the First-mouer (mouing first of all)
Then by the End he moues them mediatly,
Which moues the Agent to be actuall:
Then Nature , and the Orbes -Celestiall
With th' Hoast , that still, vnweary, walkes those Rounds
Do moue them too, till they to rest do fall:
And rest they do, when Time their course confounds:
So, Motion resteth in Confusions Bounds.

Yet all must rest in him, from whom they came:
And Hee's the Soule of Order , ordering
Confusion , to the glory of his Name;
So, He Confusions doth to order bring;
And, order keeps in each confused Thing:
Within their Center diuerse Lines are one
Though out, they may be Millions , in the Ring:
And, in the Center , by Conuersion,
They meete againe in perfect Vnion!

Yet good , and bad , in Him, are not all one,
Though out of him be neither good, or bad;
But, both, in Him, so make an Vnion
As those which Syn hath mar'd, and he hath made:
Yet out of Him [meere O NE ) they cannot gadde.
But yet the worst He loathes, and loues the best;
Sith one grieues him, the other makes him glad:
And so, though both are said in Him to rest,
Yet rest they restlesse that do him molest.

As when, with good , bad Humours are in vs
In one vnited, working diuersly,
We to the bad are euer troublous
[Because they vex vs with their Malady]
By reauing of their rest where they do lye:
So, though we be not of Gods nature pure,
Yet Good , and Bad , in him haue Vnity;
But He the Bad molests, sith they procure,
His Spirits griefe, which he cannot endure.

Thus, still He liues all One; and, in him still
All are but One; though many still they be
All are his worke; whose Work is but his will :
Which wil is good: and good [in their degree]
He made his workes, which he did, blessing, see,
Themselues they mar'd, because themselues they made
Subiect to death, by vnmade perfidy:
So they from ought , to nought , do growing fade,
Sith Nought , that ought doth, marring, ouerlade.

This G OD that liues then, yea, for euer liues,
Is yesterday, to day, and ere the same:
Which constancy of state a diff'rence giues
Betwixt the Pagan Gods , which he did frame,
To be but halfe- Gods , that is, Gods in name
The neerer then, to this true God we draw
The more his Sonnes -beames feede our vitall flame,
Which, frozen in our dregs, that frost doth thaw;
And, make vs hot with loue, and cold with awe.

Thus, no lesse good is he, he then is great
Which are past Qualitie , and Quantitie ;
Both bee'ng much more then more then most compleat:
For, so they must by his Immensitie ,
Which is the cause of his Vbiquity:
For, nought but Greatnesse simply infinite
Can fill, and ouerfill All, really;
That is, aswell in Essence , as in might ,
Sith either are alike indefinite.

And, say'ng he fils all (who is all in all)
I meane not onely all his hands haue wrought,
As Heau'n, Earth, Hell; in part, or generall;
And, all they hold; but all that may be thought
(If Thought may reach it) that haue further raught,
Either in deed, or possibility:
For, He that in his Compasse all hath brought;
Not onely fils That Vniuersity ,
But, ouerfils farre more Capacity.

The Creatures finite are, sith they may be
Drawne to a generall or speciall Head,
By eithers Forme , or their Diuersity ;
But, no Predicament ere compassed
His Largenesse , that is still vnlimitted!
The Heathen Sages (led by Natures light)
Held the first C AVSE could not be measured,
Sith it, in greatnesse, was most infinite,
But what it was, they could not tell aright:

So, hee's each where in Essence , and in Pow'r ,
Sith all is One in Him, the onely O NE :
Like as the Soule though in the Head [her Towre]
She cheefely sits: yet, is she in that Throne
And euery Member ; totally alone!
Then, in each Part her Pow'r with her appeares
I 'inspire those Organs which she plaies vpon;
Yet, from the filthie Pipes no filth she beares,
Nor weares she euer, as the Organ weares.

So, in a sort, [but farre more excellent!]
Is God, in his whole Essence pow'r , and all,
In all that is in this A LL resident,
And ouer all, that A LL in generall,
Without bee'ng toucht with Matter corporall:
Though some grope for him, hee's not tangible,
Bee'ng a Sprit most simply Spirituall:
Which to the Soule alone is sensible,
But of the Sence incomprehensible.

And, Things are said to Bee , that be in Pow'r
In any thing wherein their pow'r hath port:
Our Caesars so, are chiefely in the Towre
Which C ESAR built, as in their cheefest Fort :
But God is all in all in other sort:
For in his Substance , totally intire,
Hee is in al that's liuing, or amort
Bee't great or small, Earth, water, Aire, or Fire,
Or what els is, or can haue Beeing hier!

Looke what our Bodies, by our Sences know
Our Soules, but by one Pow'r , perceiue the same:
Which sowed in our Vnderstanding , growes
More purely there, then in our Bodies frame,
[Although our Intellect may bee too blame]
For, it doth purge the Obiects of the Sence;
And, make that vpright, which the Sense made lame
Eu'n so, in G OD Things haue more excellence
Then in our dul, and base Intelligence .

Thus, is his Pow'r where ere his Essence is;
Which Pow'r is two-fold, as some Doctors teach:
That's Absolute , and Actuall , by this
He doth what ere he will within his reach;
Then, doth he All, sith it past all doth stretch!
By his Pow'r absolute he can fulfill
What may be done, without his Natures breach:
And so his Pow'r extends beyond his Will ,
Which could saue All: yet, some it saues to spill.

That which he doth is no lesse definite
Then it is certaine: but, what he can do
Is as vncertaine as it's infinite:
For, he can make more Heau'ns , and fill them too;
But, that he will not so his Word vndo:
Who by his Actuall powre can nought fulfill
But what his cleare Fore-sight did reach vnto:
But, his Pow'r absolute (beyond his Will )
Is able to do, all that is not ill!

Then, if his Will and Pow'r vnequall be
How shall we equall make his Properties?
Here is a Cloud , through which I cannot see
With Humane Reasons most vnequall Eyes;
Which made such Equals, Inequalities:
But, light me Lord of light, the Truth to view
Which in this Mistery ecclipsed lies;
And let me in thy Paths this Truth pursue
Till it I find: for, all thy Waies be true.

Thy Will , and Pow'r are equall (as thou art)
Both alike absolute, in their true kinds:
Yet hast thou bound them both, by heau'nly Art,
To Will , and do no more then W ISEDOME finds
Within her Bounds, which both the other binds;
There they are Equall , sith that each extends
To Wisedomes vtmost Compasse; and, that winds
About all Workes that haue all holy Ends .
And so, thy Will , and Pow'r are equall friends!

And, where thy Pow'r doth ouer-reach thy Will
There onely Wisedome wils it should do so:
That's in some Cases, by Her bounded stil;
That's when thy will doth let thy Creatures know
What thy Pow'r could, did not thy Will say no,
But, thou canst make thy Will to match thy Might
[If so thou would'st] but Wisedome cryeth ho
In thy Wils motion, it to stay aright;
And so thy Will , and Pow'r haue equall height.

Now, downe the Daies Eye goes, though yet it lookes
All firy redde, as chaft with Nights approach:
For, Light could neuer vgly Darknes brook,
No more then bright Renowne can black Reproch ;
Then halla heere, my Muse with Phaebus Coach:
This day too much thou hast bestow'd thy winges;
Too much thou dost on Secrets darke encroch;
Fly high; yet not too nigh too lofty Things ,
Which nought comes nere for Clouds and Glitterings .