Poems by Elizabeth Melville, Lady Culross

 To M. Jhone Welshe 

 

My dear brother, with courage bear the crosse,

Joy sall be joyned to all thy sorrow here;

High is thy hope; disdain this earthlie drosse!

Once sall you see the wished day appear.

Now it is dark, thy sky cannot be clear;

Efter the clouds, it sall be calm anone.

Wait on his will whoes blood hath bought thee dear,

Extoll his name, tho’ outward joyes be gone;

Look to the Lord, thou art not left alone,

Since he is there quhat pleasure canst thou take! -

He is at hand, and hears thy heavy groan,

End out thy faught, and suffer for his sake!

   A sight most bright thy soul sall schortly see

   When store of Glore thy rich reward sall be.

Ane Thankisgiving to God for his Benefeitis

Oppin thow my lippis O Lord and my mouth shall schaw furth thy prais.        Ps.51: 15

 O God above

Sould not thy love

And mercies move

my saull and all the powers of my hairt

quill I have days

to pene thy prais

and scow always

Thy works, thy wonderous works in everie pairt.

O how can it be thoucht

the great mercie

that all the world hes wroucht

for us onlie

the earth the air

the hevins so fair

the stars into the firmament so bricht

the sune the moone

glansing abone

to caus the world to glitter with hir light

The angels all

celestiall

both great and small

Thou plac'd in hevin to execute Thy will

but quhen throw pryd

they could not byd

but sum did slyd

from hevin to hell their places for to fulfill

thou didst create the man

in paradice

thy gudeness plac'd him than

frie from all vyce

he saw the face

thy love and grace

evin as a fortress did him still defend

that sin nor death

nor Sathan's wraith

sould ever hurt him their world without end.

Thow maid the feild

unsawin or teild

hir fructs to yeild

aboundantlie bot labour greif or paine

Eden did flow

the herbs to strow

that they micht grow

and watered all the earth in stead of raine

the beasts michtie and tall

did serve the man

all thing both great and small

obeyit him than

Thow tuik sic cair

foulls of the air

beasts of the earth and fisches of the sea

thou maid for meat

for him to eat

that he might have all things aboundantlie.

But when throw sin

he did begin

from Thee to rin

and eat alce of the forbidden fruct

Thou in Thy wraith

pronounced daith

to cut his braith

with all that evir soud sring of his race

Yit was Thy anger so

mixit with love

quhen from that place of jo

he did remove

Thou ................  indeid

that blissed seid

to breck the serpent's head and so we cost

oure gairden heir

for hevin so cleir

and brichter paradise than evir we lost.

Thy love was so

that quhen our fo

procur'd our wo

and maid ws all in Adam for to stray

and eat the tree

to caus us die

eternallie

because Thy precepts we did disobey

then did Thou disappoint

that serpent's slicht

and did the Sonne anoint

with oill most bricht

and send Him doun

for our ransoun

for to redeim thy chosen chidren deir

that we micht rigne

with Christ our King

in endless joy efter our suffering heir.

Thou governs all

both great and small

and rids from thrall

the captive, and doth pitie the opprest

Thou danton kings

and only rigns

and reulls all things

evin as thy godlie wisdom thinketh best.

Thou tramps proud tirrants doun

under Thy feit

and plucks from kings thair croun

quhen thou Thinks meit

the humble men

exalts Thou then

and lifts the lowly hairt above the sky

The proud at last 

Thou dois douncast

and heirs the puir opprest quhen they do cry.

Thy children deir

that murneth heir

in bailfull beir

Thou dost comfort and help them at the lenth

their grone and cry

doth pearce the sky

and tho Thow try

Thy awin, is sal not be above their strenth.

O happie thryse are they

quhome Thou corrects

they live in welth alway

quhom Thow rejects

but we do fecht

under the wecht

of sin that dois ou'rset our souls full sore

but inthe end

comfort is sent

and efter tears we rigne in endles glore.

O Prince of peace

fontane of grace

how can I cceace

to celebrate thy prais with hairt and voice

how can I stay

to sing alway

both nicht and day

to Him that maks my saull to rejoyce

O great Jehova hie

O Lord of Hosts

that reulls both land and sea

and all their costs

proud me of wear

do quaik for fear

and stoup if once Thy anger kindled be

Thy bow is drawin

to help Thy awin

Thou thundereds down Thy darts from hevin so hie.

When all alone

I think upone

the mount Sione

Thy habitation and Thy pleasant place

Quhair we sall be

most joyfullie

and rigne with Thee

efter this vaill of miserie sall ceace

my hairt doth dance fer joy

my breist within

To think Thou sall distroy

this mass of sin

and at the feast

will cause us teast

Thy nectar coup that sweitlie dois ou'rflow

O loyall love

quhat doth Thee move

on us sic benefeits for to bestow?

O quhat is man

Lord think I than

Than Thow began

Thy great and wonderous works for him alone

Thou did not spair

Thy angels fair

but punisch'd sair

thair pryde and banisch'd them out of Thy throne

and put them claein away

out of Thy sicht

preferring dusta nd clay

to angell's bricht

Thou caused them go

to endless wo

because the onlie sinned in thair thoucht

and granted grace

to Adam's race

that hes so manie wicked actiouns wroucht.

O loving Lord

that ws restored

quho can record

Thy wondrous works and mercies manifold

quho can confes

Thy worthines

or yit express

Thy noble acts or how they can be told

quhen I puir wretch to preace

them to declare

I am constrained to ceas

and say no more

they far do pas

mans spirit so bas

my wit so waik can nevir comprehend

Thy majestie

in hevin so hie

that nevir did begin nor yet sall end.

To Thee theirfore

all praise and glore

be evirmore

O Father with the Sone oure Saviour sweit

quho was not laith

to suffer death

to stay Thy wraith

All praise be also to the Holie Spirit

quho does Thy awin defend

in dangers deip

and comforts to the end

Thy chosin scheip

O King of kings

that lives and rigns

Thrie Persons joynt in One and One in thrie

that schyns so bricht

in glorious licht

all laud and praise be to Thy majesty

Finis laus deo

Elizabeth Melville, Lady Culross  (c.1578–c.1640)

Verse by Lady Elizabeth Tyrwhit

 

I am the fruit of Adam’s hands.

Through sinne locked in Sathans bands:

Destined to death, the childe of ire,

A flaming brand of infernal fire.

Borne I was naked and bare,

And spend my time in sorrow and care:

And shall returne unto the dust,

And be deprived of carnal lust.

Yet thou Father didst Jesus send,

To pardon them that did offend.

We laude thee in the work of might,

That we be blessed in thy sight.

Lady Elizabeth Tyrwhit c1548-1582

Lady Jane Grey, Martha Moulsworth Widdowe

Deo iuvante, nil nocet liver malus;

Et non iuvante, nil iuvat labor gravis;

Post tenebras spiro lucem.

Lady Jane Grey 1537-1554

(Nine days queen of England: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Jane_Grey)

My version of this is:

If God should help, no harm shall bruise;

Without Him, we will only lose:

After the dark, I hope for light.

__________________________________

My name was Martha, Martha took much pain

Our Saviour Christ her guest to entertain;

God give me grace my inward house to dight                                  

That He with me may sup, and stay the night.

(Dight is "made ready")

Martha Moulsworth Widdowe (1577-after 1632)

see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Moulsworth

Mary Mollineux

A Meditation in Retirement

O that my mind were centred where it ought,

Entirely freed from all distracting thought,

Vain wandering thoughts, that crowd within my breast,

Do oft obstruct my soul from solid rest;

And like to vagrant clouds obscure the mind,

Which should to serious watching be inclined:

Ah! rise Thou Son of righteousness, Thy light

Can soon dispel the gloominess of night:

Appear, appear, let Thy victorious ray,

And longer for presence, still renew the day:

Whereby my slumbering eyes may wake and see

The dawning morning of felicity,

Still more and more break forth to perfect day,

Whose heavenly light leads in the blessed way,

That leads to that renowned holy hill;

Where true obedience to thy sacred will,

Makes glad the hearts of thy redeemed ones,

Who know the comfort of adopted sons,

And can sing praises to that glorious hand,

Which raised them up, and taught them how to stand,

To walk and run the pleasant paths of peace,

Rejoicing in true joys that never cease.

1677

A Contemplation

How amiable is Thy presence, Lord!

O how desirable Thy holy word!

Though as a fire or hammer it appear,

To burn and batter down whatever's dear

To sinful flesh and blood, Thy judgments be

Exceeding sweet and pleasant unto me:

For Zion's children are redeemed thereby,

And purified from their iniquity;

Yea, everlasting righteousness brought in,

Her converts ransomed from ensnaring sin;

And Thy salvation is hereby revealed

More near, and Thy great mysteries unsealed,

When judgment is brought forth to victory,

That Thine may walk with Thee in purity.

Ah, teach us daily patiently to wait,

In holy awe, to know this happy state

Confirmed and sealed unto us, that we may

Reign with the Lamb in the eternal day;

Then may we, to the praise of Zion's King,

A song of judgment and of mercy sing.

Contemplation

My Life, my Love, my Joy,

Who can enough admire

The sweetening influence

Of Shiloh's stream, from whence

Virtue abounds unto Thy plants, whereby

The Lily sprouts, far from the choking briar;

Thy trees do likewise being forth fruit and flourish,

To th' praise of Thee, who both both prune and cherish.

The time that is employed,

In holy meditation

Of Thy prevailing love,

Engaging from above

The upright heart, (wherein it is enjoyed)

I'm humble fear, and sacred admiration,

Is best improved; for this indeed doth tend

To true content and peace, world without end.

1678

1651-95

Mary Mollineux (new Southworth) was well educated, to the extent of preferring to speak in Latin. The family were Quakers and both she and her husband were imprisoned for their faith. Her book, Fruits of Retirement or Miscellaneous Poems Moral and Divine, was printed despite her objection.