A pleasant posie, or sweete Nosegay of
fragrant smellyng Flowers: gathered in the Garden of heavenly pleasure, the
holy and blessed Bible.
To the Tune of the black Alamyne.
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A Stock of flowers, bedewed with showers,
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In a Garden now there springs:
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With mirth and glee, upon a Tree,
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A Byrd there sits and sings,
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So pleasant is her voyce,
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It doth my hart rejoyce:
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She sets her tunes and noates so meete,
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That unto me it seemes so sweete:
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That all the Flowers that ever could be,
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Was never so swete as this to me,
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The lyke before I dyd never se.
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The Bible it is, that Garden iwys,
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Which God preserve alwayes:
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Lykewyse Gods worde it is that Byrde,
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That now so much I prayse.
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Also those goodly Flowers,
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So well bedewed with showers:
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I wyll now go about to gather,
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And put them in a Posy together:
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I wyll not put them in no Chest,
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But bynd them up as I thinke best,
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And kepe them alway next my brest.
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The fyrst I fynd, to please my mind,
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Abell he had to name:
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Enoch alwayes, is worthy of prayse,
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Likewyse of worthy Fame.
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Looke you what Moses wrytes,
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And in Genesis there resites:
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How God tooke hym the story sayth,
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That he should never tast of death:
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And also Noe that righteous man
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A curious worke dyd take in hand,
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To make the Arke we understand.
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Good Abraham, that faithfull man,
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In God dyd trust alway:
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He dyd not feare, nor once dispayre.
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His onely son to slay.
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Isacke was no weede,
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Nor Jacob in very deede:
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Joseph was a Flower of price,
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God dyd hym save from cruell device
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Also Moses eke we fynd,
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And Aaron lykewyse up we bynd,
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Josua is not out of mynd.
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The Judges also, both lesse and mo,
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They were of worthy Fame:
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To speake of all, my tyme is smal,
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To rehearce them all by name.
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The Prophet Samuell,
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Our God dyd love him well:
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David was a Flower so sweete,
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To make hym kyng God thought it meete
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For great Golias he hath slayne,
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And Sallomon after him dyd raygne
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Which unto wysedome dyd attayne.
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When Achab dyd florysh, the Ravens did norish
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Elia a man of God,
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Kynge Josias, and Esdras
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We finde and pacient Job.
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They feared our God of might,
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And served him day and night:
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No joy nor payne could them procure,
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But alwayes by hym to endure:
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Esay lykewyse and Jeremy,
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They preached alway earnestly
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and dyd their duty faithfully,
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And Daniell, destroyed Bell,
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The Babilonians God:
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The Dragon also, he brought to wo,
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Without either sword or Rod.
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To rehearce the prophets all,
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By their names them for to call:
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Although they be of worthy Fame,
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It is to long them for to name:
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We may not Tobyas leave behynd,
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Yet was he almost out of mind,
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But few such flowers now can we fynd.
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Full wel we know, no flowers can blow,
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But boysterous stormes must fynd:
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For that is no Flower, that every showre,
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Doth drive away with wynd;
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For all these goodly Flowers,
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Had many stormy showers:
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Before that they could blow or bud,
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Or bring forth seede to doe any good:
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They dyd abyde both cold and blast,
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Yet allwayes dyd they stand stedfast,
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Tyll all the stormes were gone and past.
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Now at this time, for our gracious queene,
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Let us geve harty prayes:
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God may her defend, from enemies hand:
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at this time and alwayes.
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And send her prosperous raygne,
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With us for to remayne,
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For to defend Gods word so pure,
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And ever with it for to endure:
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That she may be to us a bower,
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To kepe us alway when it doth showre,
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I pray God save that Princly flower.
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