Songs of Zion, Title page 1 – Dedication 2
SONGS OF SION.
Set for the ioy of gods deere ones, vvho sitt here by the brookes of this vvorlds Babel, & vveepe vvhen they thinke on Hierusalem vvhichwhich is on highe.
By W. L.
Let the vvord of god dvvell in you plenteouslie in all vvisdome teaching, & admonishing your ovvne selues in Psalmes, & Hymnes, & spirituall songs, singing vvith a grace in your harts to the lord.
Colos. 3. 16.
To all such of the Congregation both men, woemen, and children o… discretion that are of the English nation▪ residing at Hamborough that seeke, & serue god in sincerity vvithout hipocrisie or faction.
Grace be giuen in Christ
BLessed, & beloued in the lord. The Christian sobriety▪ & cōfortable charitie vvhichwhich I obserued in my table brothers occasioned the cōposing of these hymnes. It vvas their goodnes to make them publique for the benefitt of others also. They are all deuine songs, yea from meditations of the scripture are they dravvne. If you shall vse them in your priuate families to gods glorie, …ur ovvne solace, & to the instructiō, …edification of your children I hauehave …e end of my desire. Receaue them as …e symptomes of my soules affection the generall aduancment of gods …uice, to the priuate consolation of you your children, & to the praise, and …nour of our ovvne mother tongue. …us in the midest of manie harshe …mes of grudge, and despite I hauehave …arned to tune the songs of Sion. For vvhichwhich I praise god, and shall neuer …ase to pray for your blessednes in the …uing mercies of Iesus Christ his …uours. resting
Yours in the lord W. L.
An hymne or song.
Of seauen straines, or strings …et to the tone of seaven sobs, and sighes of a seaven times seauen s…d soule for sinne, and is to be song i… the tune of
I life mine hart to thee.
PSAL 25 or.
Flie soule vntounto thy rest.
Seauen times a daie vvill I praie to thee o god, and vvill prâise thee o lord for thy great gifts, and good graces, both to me, and mine
PSALM CXIX.
When the spright of mā doth sighe and sob to god, and is lift vp on highe, the spright of god doth bovve it selfe to man in ioy, and peace.
CYPRIAN.
To his much esteemed good frend Mr. …OHN POWELL one of …he assistants of the worthy cōpanie of the Marchants Aduenturers residing at Hamborough.
Grace, peace, & merciemercy be multiplied in Christ Iesu.
WOrthy frend. VVhen Iuliā the Apostate infested the church of god, sōtimes by barbarous cruelty, & somtimes by deuilish policie, among other his vvicked practises that vvas not the least, nor the last vvhen …e interdited the christians all vse of bookes, both priuatly, & publike… for their children to learne excepte Poetry. It pleased almighty god in that distresse of his church to stirre vp a learned man one Apollinarius a singular Metaphrast to put into heroicall Greeke verse all the psalmes of Dauid by vvhichwhich blessing the children of god had vse, and comfort of that excel lent booke of the psalme, & the tyrants decree tooke noe hold of thē, because novve it vvas become deuine poesie, & poetry they might read. Which shevves vntounto vsus gods especiall, & singular providence for his church vponupon all occasions. And novve albeit (god be blessed) there is noe cause to complaine either of any such Apostatical povver, for vve hauehave an Apostolicall king, nor of any such vvicked pollicy, for vve hauehave had kings, & Queēs nursing fathers, & nursing mothers of our church; yet in these Hal…yon daies of ours I hauehave presumed to metaphrase some passages of Dauid psalmes as an Essay to knovve vvhether vve might expresse our harts to god in our holy soliloquies by mōasillables in our ovvne mother tongue, or no. It being a receaued opinion amōgst many of those vvho seeme rather to be iuditious, then caprichious, that heretofore our english tongue in the true idiome thereof consisted altogether of Monasillables, vntill it came to be blended, and mingled vvith the commixture of Exotique languages. And I my selfe hauehave seene all the lord prayer vsed in the tyme of Iohn Wickleefe to be expressed in vvords of one sillable. And because gods children did reckon seauen tymes seauen yeares before they could enioy their yeare of Iubile. I hauehave made allusion in this little Essay to tune forth seauē tymes seauen sad sobbs for sinne, that vvhen vve hauehave spent the remaynder of our vvretched dayes of our pilgrimage here, god may in his merciemercy vvipe avvay all teares from our eyes, & bring vsus to our eternall Iubile in his glorious kingdome. Which god grant to you, to me, & to all Christian people for his ovvne rich merciemercy sake, and the satisfactory meritts of Iesus Christ our lord Amen.
Written from my studie vvithin the English house at Hamborough Jan. 24.
Yours because you are of Christ. WILL: LOE.