LX
The Spouse To Christe.

O That I once myght haue the hap to fynde
Thee (O my Loue) abrode in euery place:
That euery man of euery sort and kynde
Myght trust in thee, and eke thy wurde embrace.

Thus, thus abrode, would God I mought thee mete,
To receyue of thee, the kysse of peace and rest:
Whome I in hart, loue as my brother swete,
Whiche sumtyme suckt with me my mothers brest.

O that thou Christe my Spouse wouldest bryng to passe
That I myght mete and kysse thee in this wise
And that the worlde now ignoraunt alas,
Myght vs beholde, and neythre of vs despyse.

In the meane whyle I wyll thee leade my loue,
And bryng thy name into my mothers house:
That there thou Lorde mayest teache me from aboue,
And draw by grace my mother to thy spouse.

That I maye chere thee there with spiced wine
Of doctrine pure, well poudred with thy woorde:
And with the iuyce of swete Pomegranades fine,
The blud of martirs shead with fyer and swoorde.

LXI
The Spouse To The Younglynges

Vnder my head the chief men of my flocke,
That to the truth must stycke styll vnafrayed,
Of Christe my Spouse, my anker, and my rocke,
The lefte hande of aduersitie is layed.

Yet for all that, nothyng can me deface,
Though for a tyme harme doe preuayle through hate:
For why at length Christs ryght hande shall embrace
My body whole, with prosperous estate.

LXII
Christe To The Whole Worlde.

O o ye daughters of Ierusalem,
All suche as lyst my voyce to vnderstande:
Marke what I saye to you, and to all them
That hope to haue saluacion at my hande,
Concernyng my faythfull.

She doeth beleue the scriptures euery iote,
With all the truthes that therin are contaynde:
My sacramentes also she knoweth by rote,
With gyftes of grace that are by them attaynde
Of all that are faythfull.

She doeth beleue the father omnipotent,
To haue created the erth, and heauens hie:
From whome the wurde into the worlde was sent
And toke flesh of the virgin pure Marie
A woman moste faythfull.

And in that flesh was hanged on the tree,
Wheron he shed his blud to reconcile
His fathers wrathe, to whiche all subiect be
That know not Christe, but doe his death defyle,
Remaynyng vnfaythfull.

Who on the Crosse by death made recompence,
For all the sinnes of all that in hym trust:
From whome he frely pourged all offence,
And in Goddes syght through fayth alone made iust,
All them that are faythfull.

He rose agayne, she beleueth, with all the rest
Of tharticles that in the scripture be:
Through whiche belief she hath attayned rest
Of conscience, and slepeth nowe in me.
Through hope very ioyfull.

I charge you than on payne to lose the lyfe
Whiche dureth euer in heauen ioyes aboue,
Ye fayne no fayth, nor stirre vp any stryfe,
Whereby to wake from rest my quiet loue,
Through hope very ioyfull.

But let her lye tyll by her owne accorde
She wake herselfe, compelled by the zeale
She hath to you, to leade you to the Lorde,
Who can alone the soules sore wounded heale,
Of all that are faythfull.

LXIII
The Perfect Spouse To Christ.

What maye she be that doeth ascende,
Out from the desert place,
Of worldly folke that woulde not bende
Them selues to call for grace?

What is she that ascendeth hye,
Leanyng vpon her loue:
That trusteth whole in Christes mercy
Through grace sent from aboue?

LXIV
Christe To The Churche.

Emong the apple trees, I waked thee vp my spouse,
Where as thou sleptest in sin, in sin original,
Which Eua, by the frute she plukt fro the apple bowes,
Brought on her whole posteritie,
Whiche are condemned al,
For theyr parentes iniquitie,
And for theyr owne vnryght.

Vnder this apple tree, through whiche thou wast condemnde,
In whiche condemned state thy mother brought thee furth,
I waked thee: for I, my lyfe and all contemnde,
Vpon the tree dyd sheade my blood,
Whiche all that take in wurth
Are quit from sin, and newe made good
In God my fathers syght.

Vnder this apple tree, the swete tree of my crosse,
So soone as thou dydst syt, and therein put thy trust,
I waked thee from sin, I payed thy parentes losse:
And got thy former state agayne,
Whiche Eua by her lust
Had lost: and dyd mankynde constrayne
To slepe in sin and death.

Among these apple trees, bothe bytter, swete, and sower,
The apple tree of death, by whiche mankynde was lost,
And tree of lyfe, whiche I dyd purchace by my power,
I waked thee vp to lyfe and welth,
Because I sawe the tost
With waues of woe: and gaue the helth
Agaynst thy sin and death.

LXV
Christe To His Spouse.

O set me as a seale vpon thyne hart,
Remember me alwayes in all thy thought:
Out of thy mynde (my spouse) let not depart,
The wurthye wurkes whiche I haue for thee wrought.

Remembre how that I alone dyd clyme
The tree of death, to bryng thee vnto lyfe:
And shed theron my blud to cleanse the cryme,
For whiche the serpent fyrst began his stryfe.

Whose myght my power doeth holde from doyng harme
To thee, or them that in my merites trust:
O let therfore in me thy feble arme
With all thy strength continually be trust.

Vpon thyne arme o set me as a seale,
And as a bracelet bynde me all along:
For loue as death, and eke the gelous zeale
I beare to thee, as hell is myghtie strong.

For whiche my loue I nought requyre agayne
But thankfulnes, that maye my mercy moue:
For all my zeale, my lyfe, my death, my payne,
Nought I requyre saue only loue for loue.

Whose coales are fyerye, and a very flame
Sent of the Lorde: true loue is suche a fyer,
That many waters can not quenche the same,
No troubles can a faythfull louer tyer.

Ne may the streames of persecucion drounde
This earnest loue: yea yf a man woulde geue
For loue all goodes, that in his house are founde,
He woulde them all count nothyng I beleue.

This loue therfore that is so strong and sure,
Beare thou agayne to me that fyrste began:
So shall my loue and zeale for aye endure,
With thee and thyne, to further what I can.

LXVI
The Spouse To Christe.

We haue a sister young and small,
Whome I dyd leaue behynde:
Within the place where ye dyd call
Me from my mother blynde.

She is so young in Christes truthe
That yet she hath no teates:
She wanteth brestes to feede her youth
With sounde and perfect meates.

To our sister therfore so weake,
What shall we doe, saye you:
Whan we to her the wurdes shall speake
Of Christes gospell true?

I in my harte desyer ryght sore
My sister rule to teache:
What must we doe to her therfore,
Whan we begyn to preache?

LXVII
The Beloued To His Spouse.

Yf that thy sister be a wall,
Vpon the same than buylde we shall
A bulwarke of syluer,

Yf that she be an open dore,
We wyll her fasten close before
With borders of Ceder.

LXVIII
The Younglynges To The Spouse.

A wall am I, Strong, thycke, and hye,
In truthe I beare me bolde:
And with the same, Myself I frame
All errours to outholde.

Also my brestes, where succour restes,
Are lyke to towers strong,
Whiche vitayled are, For to kepe warre,
With all that would them wrong.

Because I was A wall, and as
The towers had brestes of myght
Swete peace I founde, And doe abounde
With fauour in Gods syght.

LXIX
Christe To His Spouse.

Of all the gydes that Israel euer had,
In wyt, in welth, in peace, prince Salomon
The chyefest Kyng, was not a litle glad
Of a vineyard he had at Baalhamon.

Whiche vineyard though it pleased his desyer,
Yet at the length he let it furth to hyer
To kepers suche, who yerely euery one
Should for suche frute as they tooke thence away,
Of syluer good a thousand pieces paye.

Thus dyd this kyng with his beloued vine:
But I contrary haue so great delyght,
That I myself this vineyard of myne
My churche I mean, wyll kepe styll in my syght:
And vnto thee O salomon I geue,
A thousande pieces for thy good beleue:
Eke to them all that kepe my vine vpryght
I geue two hundred, and the fruite to boote
Of lyfe eterne, whiche spryngeth from the roote.

If Salomon myght iustly well requier
A thousande for his vineyarde let to hyer,
Howe muche than is my churche nowe bounde to me,
Who doe both paye, and also ouersee?

LXX
Christe To His Spouse.

Thou my spouse that doest excell
In fayth all folke, and doest now dwell
In scripture gardeyns whiche do smell
Moste strong in sent:

Lyke to a trumpe exalt thy voyce,
With preachyng truth make suche a noyse,
That I may hear it, and reioyce,
That I thee sent.

Preache out my wurde so loude and hye,
That they whiche of my companye
Doe boast themselues, but yet they lye,
And loth my name:

Maye hear thy voyce, and know how ferre
They are from me, and how they erre
From truth: to whiche thou shalte preferre
Them, by the same.

That it maye cum to passe at length,
That all men doubtyng in theyr strength
Maye to my mercy them submit:
And so be fit,

To be engraft in thee my stocke,
That all maye be one faythfull flocke,
With shepherdes therof other none,
But only one.
LXXI
The Spouse To Christe.

To preache thy wurde thy felowes for to win,
Suche felowes false as Christen folke them fayne,
Loe prest I am: and gladly doe begyn,
With preachyng truth, to thee them to attayne.

But sith I know my labour shall be vayne
Except thy help be present therwithall,
Compeld therfore by force, loe I am fayne
To flee to thee, for thy chefe ayde to call.

Wherfore O Christe, whome euer loue I shal,
Auoyde from earth to heauen, and remayne
On Gods ryght hande, head father of vs all:
And there of hym all grace for vs obtayne.

And sende from thence thy sprite that may constrayne
All folke through fayth, to gather to thy folde:
That hypocrites theyr folly may refrayne,
And be in dede, the same that seme they wolde.

And whan that I suche secretes shall vnfolde
As darkly hyd, the scriptures do contayne,
That in the hartes of all they maye take holde,
And to thy truth all vnbeleuers gayne,

Lyke to a Roe or hart take thou the payne
Vpon the mountaynes of thy wurde to dwell:
And through thy power the hartes of all to trayne
Vnto thy truth, that shall thy mountaynes smell.

So shall my voyce all kynde of errours quel,
So shall all men resort to thee amayne:
So sin shall synke, so shall the power of hell,
We ryd therfrom through fayth in thee, be slayne.

So in the churche for aye, thou Lord shalt rayne,
All Death shall dye through fayth of styngles sin:
And we enioye that blisfull state agayne
Whiche bought by thee, we wer created in.

FINIS. Blessyng, honor, glory, and power,
Be vnto God, for euer and euer.
AMEN.