Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n
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A44493
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The divine wooer, or, A poem setting forth the love and loveliness of the Lord Jesus and his great desire of our welfare and happiness, and propounding many arguments ... to persuade souls to the faith and obedience of him ... / composed by J.H.
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Horn, John, 1614-1676.
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1673
(1673)
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Wing H2799; ESTC R27420
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153,766
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354
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He will freely grant He 's full and free and none will turn away That come to him and on his Name do stay To Him I call thee Reader Thou art He Who art invited and spoke to by me Who ere thou art rich poor wise or unwise I call Thee unto Christ do not despise What I present Thee though as 't is from me Thou many weaknesses therein mayst see Yea Christ doth call Thee by me in the main It is his language do not it disdain Slight not his love it 's He that doth Thee woo I 'm but his spokesman but the Trunk where thro He sends his voice to Thee do thou it hear Peruse this Book and mark well what is there Propounded to Thee Read it to the end And much good do 't Thee so desires Thy Friend April 30. 1673. JOHN HORNE Another to the READER of the Contents of this BOOK 1. REader If thou do'st look into this Book For wit and for high strains Thou 'lt loose thy pains 2. It was not my intent strains to invent Or witty phrases which some men count rich 3. 'T was not thy lust to feed while thou dost read Nor yet to satisfie a vain fancy 4. But 't was thy Soul to win from vice and sin And woo thee unto Bliss that I writ this 5. The mind and fancy have their lust and crave Food for their pleasure too which may undo 6. But here they will not find their sails with wind To fill I do not ride in state and pride 7. My wit runs plain and smooth yet doth not sooth Nor lull thy Soul a sleep to fall i th' deep 8. I do not soar or fly up loftily In words and phrases where all Stars appear 9. I go low near the ground both sure and sound My lines are not too heady but square and stedy 10. The matter which I write doth want no height But mounts up very high 'bove Stars and Sky 11. It opens Heaven to thee where thou mayst see Such excellencies as mans wit do pass 12. It treats of his high love who 's from above And who above is gone and 's on the Throne 13. Yet by the way doth tell the woes of Hell And warns thee for to keep from that sad deep 14. It shews the lovely face and glorious grace Of Heavens high heir in part to take thy heart 15. Though who can him declare He is so fair No pencel can set forth his wondrous worth 16. These great things to express I sought no dress Of flaunting eloquence nor great expence 17. Of wit and art for they cannot display Their glory more but hide their native pride 18. Is not his labour lost and all his cost Who would the Sun make fine and gild its shine 19. The finest cloth of Gold that may be sold Yea Pearls and Diamonds sure would it obscure 20. Rich lines with rich wits suits such tree such fruits Such as I have I give read well and live An Apology for writing the following Poem in Verse and at such a time as wherein I left my living it being writ in Anno 1662. after August 24. therein What 's hear thou'lt say A Preacher turn'd a Poet A marry'd man in 's Elder days to woo it What doth He dote Is this a time for him When He hath lost his Living to go rime As if He was well satisfi'd and pleas'd That He of Fourscore pounds by th' year is eas'd Alas He is not for a Poem fit His scull's too thick He wants both Art and Wit What can this Babler say can ought proceed From him that worthy is that we it read To this I something briefly answer shall And then commit it to thy perusal TO Poetry I do not much pretend Though at that time I found my Genius bend Somewhat thereto when this I wrote my skill Is small having but little dipt my quill In those still waters which do qualify The soul best for the Art of Poetry Yet to my inclination at that time A little I gave way to write in rime I scarcely can tell why but I did find That sort of Spirit or Muse to court my mind To which it having sometimes by the by Yielded it self a little amorously And yet divinely too at length it fell Vpon this subject wherewith it did swell Till far beyond what I did first intend It did this large production here forth send Wherein that happ'ned to me which sometime Befals young mayds or women in their prime Who while they tick and toy and to young men Perhaps their lovers they do now and then Yield up themselves after a wanton sort To taste the pleasures of the Nuptial sport Not thinking or desiring although wild Thence to conceive and to bring forth a child Yet after sometimes scaping which doth make Them bolder of those pleasures to partake Before they are aware they 're oft deceived Begin to swell and find they have conceiv'd Even so it far'd with me saving that I In my attempts did act more honestly And therefore not asham'd of what I did I have not sought to keep its product hid As is their wont who acting sinfully Are fill'd with shame and therefore seek to fly From peoples knowledge of it but while to That Spirit which my mind sometime did woo I somewhat pleasingly my self inclin'd It did insinuate into my mind That though I thought but only by the by To exercise my wit yet sodainly I felt my self to swell grow big and sick Of my conceptions that I see I quick Was prov'd before I thought so and perceived That something from that Spirit I had received That had the nature of an heavenly seed And this same Embrio in my mind did breed Which as it dropt into my mind in verse So I in meeter do it here rehearse A way which holy men have sometime took As may be shewed from Gods holy Book They holy things conceiv'd and pend in song Which their sweet singers did sing among The people at their solemn meetings oft As in the Book of Chronicles we 're taught Vnto the pure all things be pure and they May any gift of God use any way May take he leads them to thereby to draw Themselves and others more to mind his law And this of verse doth some men more delight Then if the same in prose peruse they might For I conceive that something there is found In most mens minds that doth of musick sound That it s much wrought on by and suiteth best With what in measur'd numbers is exprest And some where we are willed to our King Not only praise but skilful praise to sing The holy Spirit of Wisdom judges it A practise also for him not unfit To condescend to men in any ways Whereby He them from Earth to Heaven may raise And leads his servants to be All to any That they thereby may unto God win many That I should go a wooing now may be Perhaps an unbeseeming thing