Edward Farr, ed. Select Poetry of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth. 1845.
Good MorroweIV. George Gascoigne
Y
In sleepe and quiet rest,
And ioy to see the cheerefull lyght
That riseth in the East:
Now cleare your voyce, now cheere your hart,
Come helpe me now to sing:
Ech willing wight come beare a part,
To prayse the heauenly King.
Or sickenes doth suppresse,
Or secret sorowe breakes your sleepes,
Or dolours doe distresse:
Yet beare a part in dolefull wise;
Yea, thinke it good accorde,
And exceptable sacrifice,
Ech sprite to prayse the Lorde.
Had ouerspread the light,
And sluggish sleepe with drowsines
Had ouerprest our might:
A glasse wherein you may beholde
Ech storme that stops our breath,
Our bed the graue, our clothes lyke molde,
And sleepe like dreadfull death.
But for a little space,
And heauenly daye, now night is past,
Doth shewe his pleasaunt face:
So must we hope to see God’s face
At last in heauen on hie,
When we haue changde this mortall place
For Immortalitie.
As then we hope to holde,
All earthly sightes and worldly toyes
Are tokens to beholde.
The daye is like the daye of doome,
The sunne the Sonne of man,
The skyes the heauens, the earth the tombe
Wherein we rest till then.
Bedeckte with sundrye hewes,
Is like the seate of God on hie,
And seemes to tell these newes:
That as thereby he promised
To drowne the world no more,
So by the bloud which Christ hath shed
He will our helth restore.
And ouercast the skyes,
Are like to troubles of our time,
Which doe but dymme our eies:
Bu as such dewes are dryed vp quite,
When Phœbus shewes his face,
So are such fansies put to flighte,
Where God dooth guide by grace.
Which cries agaynst the rayne,
Both for hir hewe and for the rest
The Deuill resembleth playne:
And as with gunnes we kill the crowe,
For spoyling our releefe,
The Deuill so must we overthrowe
With gunshote of beleefe.
Are like the angells’ voyce,
Which render God his prayses meete,
And teache vs to reioyce:
And as they more esteeme that merth
Than dread the night’s annoy,
So must we deeme our dayes on erth
But hell to heauenly ioye.
God graunt vs all hys grace,
And send vs, after worldlie payne,
In heauen to haue a place:
Where wee maye still enioye that light,
Which neuer shall decaye:
Lord, for thy mercy lend vs might
To see that ioyfull daye.