Thomas Humphry Ward, ed. The English Poets. 1880–1918.rnVol. II. The Seventeenth Century: Ben Jonson to Dryden

George Wither (1588–1667)

Extracts from Hallelujah: The Prayer of Old Age

[Third part of Hallelujah]

AS this my carnal robe grows old,

Soil’d, rent, and worn by length of years,

Let me on that by faith lay hold

Which man in life immortal wears:

So sanctify my days behind,

So let my manners be refined,

That when my soul and flesh must part,

There lurk no terrors in my heart.

So shall my rest be safe and sweet

When I am lodgèd in my grave;

And when my soul and body meet,

A joyful meeting they shall have;

Their essence then shall be divine,

This muddy flesh shall starlike shine,

And God shall that fresh youth restore

Which will abide for evermore.