Our rock (say they) is riven, o welcome hower,
Our Eagles wings are clypt that wrought so hie:
Our thundring Cloude made noise but cast no shower, [615]
He prostrate lies that would have scal'd the sky;
In woman's tongue our runner found a rub,
Our Cedar now is shrunke into a shrub.
These scornful words upbraid my inward thought,
Proofs of their damned prompters' neighbour-voice: [620]
Such ugly guests still wait upon the naught,
Fiends swarm to souls that swerve from virtue's choice:
For breach of plighted truth this true I try;
Ah! that my deed thus gave my word the lie!
Once, and but once, too dear a once to twice it! [625]
A heaven in earth, saints near myself I saw:
Sweet was the sight, but sweeter loves did spice it,
But sights and loves did my misdeed withdraw.
From heaven and saints, to hell and devils estranged,
Those sights to frights, those loves to hates are changed. [630]
Christ, as my God, was templed in my thought,
As man. He lent mine eyes their dearest light;
But sin his temple hath to ruin brought,
And now he lighteneth terror from His sight.
Now of my late unconsecrate desires, [635]
Profaned wretch! I taste the earned hires.
Ah! sin, the nothing that doth all things file,
Outcast from heaven, earth's curse, the cause of hell;
Parent of death, author of our exile,
The wreck of souls, the wares that fiends do sell; [640]
That men to monsters, angels turns to devils,
Wrong of all rights, self-ruin, root of evils.
A thing most done, yet more than God can do;
Daily new done, yet ever done amiss;
Friended of all, yet unto all a foe; [645]
Seeming an heaven, yet banishing from bliss;
Served with toil, yet paying nought but pain,
Man's deepest loss, though false-esteemed gaine.
Notes
[l613] Our rock: Peter. The lines in this stanza come from 'the dispossessed devels' (l606).[18] And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [Matthew 16]
[l617] rub: gen. Any physical obstacle or impediment to movement, esp. one that is unexpected. Also in figurative contexts. Obsolete.Bowls. An unevenness of the ground which impedes or diverts a bowl; the slowing or diversion of a bowl caused by this.1597 Shakespeare Richard II iii. iv. 4 Lady Madame weele play at bowles. Quee. Twil make me thinke the world is full of rubs, And that my fortune runs against the bias.
[l620] prompters: prompter - A person who urges, incites, or moves another to action; an instigator; (also) a thing which gives rise to or precipitates a condition, state, or action, a stimulus.
[l620] neighbour: adj. nearby
[l621] nought: destruction, death, emptying out. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Perir,..to come to ruine, or to naught.
[l623] truth...true...trie: a reference to the loyalty even unto death that Peter pledged to Christ. this true: this supposedly true and loyal friend (himself). trie: to determine the guilt or otherwise of (an accused person) by consideration of the evidence; to sit in judgement on; to judge.
[ll625-627]: A reference to the Transfiguration (the 'Saints' are Moses and Elias):
[1] And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter and James and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them. [2] And his garments became shining and exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller upon earth can make white. [3] And there appeared to them Elias with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. [4] And Peter answering, said to Jesus: Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. [5] For he knew not what he said: for they were struck with fear. [6] And there was a cloud overshadowing them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying: This is my most beloved son; hear ye him. [Mark 9][l631] templed: to temple - To enclose in or as in a temple, to enshrine; to honour with a temple or temples, to build a temple to or for. Also fig. See: let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, [Mark 9,4]
[l632] dearest light: In a general sense but perhaps also a reference to: [2] And his garments became shining and exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller upon earth can make white.[Mark 9]
[l633] But sin his temple hath to ruin brought: A possible reference to Christ's seizure, Passion and death. Man's sin has caused the sacrificial offering by Christ of His life mankind:
[19] Jesus answered, and said to them: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. [20] The Jews then said: Six and forty years was this temple in building; and wilt thou raise it up in three days? [21] But he spoke of the temple of his body. [John 2][l634] lightneth: to lighten - To remove a burden from, relieve (the heart or mind).
[l635] lay unconsecrate desires: After the Last Supper, the Apostles were ordained priests with the power to consecrate bread and wine. Here, Peter reveals that during his denials, his thoughts and desires were far removed from that high point in his life.
[ll637-648]: These two stanzas talk of sin.
[l643] more than God can doe: Sin is more than God can do because God cannot sin.
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