Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

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

Psalme XCII

II. Archbishop Parker

1

A JOYFULL thyng to man it is,

The Lord to celebrate;

To thy good name, O God so hye,

Due laudes to modulate:

2To preach, and shew thy gentlenes

In early mornyng lyght;

Thy truth of worde to testifie

All whole by length of nyght.

3Upon the psalme, the decachord,

Upon the pleasant lute,

On sounding, good, sweete instruments,

With shaumes, with harpe, with flute.

4For thou hast ioyed my fearefull hart,

O Lord, thy workes to see;

And I with prayse will iust rejoyce

These handy-workes of thee.

5How glorious, O blessed Lord,

Be these the factes of thine!

Thy thoughts be depe, thy counsayles hye,

Inscrutable, deuyne.

12The true, elect, and ryghteous man,

Shall florishe lyke the palme;

As Ceder tree in Lybanus

Hymselfe shall sprede wyth balme.

13Depe planted, they, in rootes alway

In God’s swete house to bide,

Shall florish lyke, in both the courtes

Of this our God and guyde.

14In age most sure, they shall encrease

Theyr fruit abundantly;

Well likying they, and fat shall be,

To bear most fruitfully.

15That is to say, they out shall preach

This Lord’s true faithfulness,

Who is my strength and mighty rocke;

Who hateth unryghteousness.

Almighty God, which art the contynuall ioye and perpetuall felicitye of all thy sayntes, whom thou doost inwardly water with the dew of thy heauenly grace, whereby thou makest them to floryshe like the palme tree in the celestiall courts of thy Church: we besech thee that thou would so discusse from vs the burdenous weight of sinne, that we may enioye their felowship. Through Christ etc.