IOSEPH, OR, PHAROAH'S FAVOVRITE.
ECCLES. 39.1, 4.
Hee only that applyeth his minde to the Law of the most high, and is occupied in the Meditation thereof; shall serue among Great men and appeare before the Prince.
LONDON, Printed by B. A. for Matthew Law, and are to be sold at his Shop in Pauls Church-yard. 1623.
To the right honourable and reuerend Father in God, Iohn Lord Bishop of Lincolne, Lord Keeper of the Great Seale.
WHat need I
any other
Dedication?
Thy life &
Iosephs are but one
narratiō
He kept King
Pharohs Seale which was his
Ring
Thou art the
great-Seale Keeper of our
King,
And art the
neerest seruant to his
Throne,
And in his
seate of Iudgment sitst
alone.
By
him the
kingdomes waight, Church, peoples care
Committed to thy
equall Ballance are,
Thus as to
Pharoh Ioseph was at
Nile,
So art
Thou to the
Monarch of this
Ile:
God make
thy seruice like good
Iosephs proue,
And thee reward with
Pharohs Grace and loue,
So
Thou shalt giue thy
Maister high content,
And make vs happy in
thy Gouernment.
Your Lordships most humbly deuoted ROBERT AYLET.
THE FIRST BOOKE OF IOSEPH.
Of him, whom God by brethrens enuy sent
From
Canaan to
Egypt, to preuent
Great dearth; I sing; thou that didst him protect
In all his trauels, me in mine direct.
NOw dwelt the holy Patriarch
Israel
At rest, in
Canaan in his fathers cell,
For
Esau now did in
mount Seir raigne,
One country could not all their flocks sustain:
And hauing many stormes and dangers past,
Now hop'd in quiet to haue liu'd at last,
Freed from his brothers hate and menacing,
From
Labans cruell gripes and coueting,
His teares for losse of
Rachel now were dride,
For
Dina's rape, and
Simeons homicide,
His sonnes abroad, in Peace their flocks do tend,
Ioseph at home, his father doth attend:
When lo! an enuious Spirit (which did reede,
In holy
Iacob, Isaacks promisd seede,
Which he to come of
Ioseph most did feare.
Because he to his father was so deare)
One day amongst the sonnes of God appeard,
Before the Lord, desiring to be heard:
[Page 2]And thus began: Dread
Thunderer: be iust,
Hast thou not raisd vp sinfull man from dust,
To make those heau'nly
Mansions, ay his owne,
From which thou
Angels in thy wrath hast throwne
And damn'd? yet we but once did thee displease,
But he offends each houre, yet liues at ease:
Iacob in
Isaacks Tents doth quiet liue,
As with his
Blessing he him
Peace did giue;
And though by thy
Decree man ought attaine
To Ioyes of Heau'n, by sorrow, care, and paine▪
To him thou so benigne and gratious art,
Hee sees the Pleasures, neuer feeles the smart;
So as it seemes 'tis thy determination,
To make base Man for
blisse, Vs for
damnation:
How hast thou blessed him on eu'ry side?
His Children many, his Possessions wide;
His flocks abound and couer all the Land,
So thou dost blesse all workes that passe his hand:
Well may he serue thee for so great reward,
But touch him, thou shalt see his slight regard,
Vexe thou but him, or any of his race,
And he will thee blaspheme vnto thy face:
When thus, th'
Almightie; say thou what thou can,
Iacob's a matchlesse, iust and perfect man,
Who feareth God, doth good, escheweth ill,
Try him or his, so thou no bloud dost spill.
Thus now had
Satan his desires attain'd,
By
Iacobs Angell till that time restrain'd;
And since for bloud he could not get permission,
He priuily sowes Enuie and Sedition,
Which make oft greater rents in Church and State,
Then open enmitie and knowne debate:
Simeon and
Leui, once his Instruments
Of murther, vnder couer'd false intents,
[Page 3]With the
two handmaids sonnes shall kindle hate,
And Enuy, for to ouerthrow the state
Of simple
Ioseph, who in honest sort,
To
Israel brought his brethrens ill report;
And in plaine meaning did to them vnfold
His dreames by day, which God by night had told:
Which enuiously this
Sp'rit interpreting,
As if he of his
Brethren would be king;
And for because he was to
Iacob deare,
And tales to him, as they suspect did beare▪
He by their malice labours cunningly,
To ruine
Iacob and his
Family
In
Iosephs losse: Thus did the
enuious Fiend
Proiect destruction, God a blessed end.
Little hereof thought good old
Iacob, when
He him to
Sichem to his bretheren
Doth send: where wandring he at last was told▪
That they at
Dothan pastured their fold
On side of hill which
Sol with chearefull eyes,
Salutes and comforts soone as he doth rise;
Vnder a stately Oake, whose armes dispread,
From Sunne and Raine all vnder sheltered,
Neare fairest meadowes and the Riuer side,
These
Brethren with their Flockes in Tents abide,
More healthfull, pleasant, fruitfull, spatious plaine,
Was not in
Canaan to be seene againe,
Where whilst their Flockes doe feede, they haue good leasure,
To leape, dance, caroll, sleepe, and take their pleasure,
And they that feele within diuiner motions,
In priuate shades may fall to their deuotions,
And imitate the plumed heaun'ly Quire,
Who in sweete notes Gods goodnesse doe admire;
Hither comes
Ioseph, where he first admires
The places fertilenesse and faire attires,
[Page 4]For his owne coate, all party coloured,
Seemd nought to that the ground apparelled:
But his ten brethren him no sooner spie,
But lo! here comes the
dreamer, all do crie
Come let vs kill, and in some pit him cast,
Then see how all his
Dreames will proue at last.
And when our father misseth him, weele say,
Some wicked beast deuour'd him on the way:
And had not
Prouidence with-held their knife
By
Ruben, they then taken had his life:
Full glad to see his Brethren was the childe,
And with a pleasing face vpon them smilde,
As little thinking by them to be sold,
As they at
Nile his glory to behold,
As cruell
Cain against his brother rose,
When nothing lesse good
Abel did suppose:
And as fierce
Simeon came most cruelly
On
Sichem looking for affinity:
So
Iacobs sonnes vnwares on
Ioseph run,
Who kindly to salute them then did come,
One bends his fist, another drawes his knife,
Another sweares he'le teare from his life.
Wretch! saith another, thou comest for a spy,
That thou returning home maist tell a lye,
And vs disgrace in our old fathers eare,
And be alone his ioy and darling deare:
Lo, saith another, we our sheaues must bring,
And do to thee obeisance as our king:
One saith, thou art the Sunne, we starres of night,
And must all bow, whence we do borrow light:
Then stripping off his party coloured coate,
They blindfold him, and on the shoulder smote:
And said, since thou diuin'st and dreamst so right,
Reckon now which of vs thee last did smite.
[Page 5]Whilst Lambe-like he before the sharer lies,
Mute and amaz'd, yet thus at last replies.
Ah brethren deare, though now too late, I proue
The peril's not so great in
Hate as
Loue:
Cain mortall hate did to his brother beare,
For that his offrings acceptable were,
My father hardly scap't mine
Vncles knife,
Because he was
Rebecca's dearest life:
So did you and your mother mine despise,
Because she gratious was in
Iacobs eyes;
Now him, that neuer did or thought you ill,
Because my father loues me, you will kill:
To him once, I confesse, I did relate
An ill report I heard, not for least hate
Or malice that my brethren I did beare,
But that you knowing it, might better cleare:
That which my father did but folly deeme,
To tell mine idle dreames, will you esteeme
It capitall? oh brethren deare, forbeare,
If not for loue or pittie, yet for feare
Of vengeance, which will follow fratricide,
Cains curse shall euer on that house abide,
If all consent your
Brother here to slay,
Iacob hath lost eleu'n sonnes in one day:
And whence shall then that
blessed one proceede
God promisd in our father
Isaacks seede?
That cursed
Cham, from whom these nations come
Which here inhabite, neuer yet haue done
So foule a sinne; nor
Nimrods cruell sword
Was ere in his owne brothers blood engor'd:
A brothers sight rough
Esaus fury chaces,
And makes him fall to kisses and embraces.
Looke on my youth, not halfe so loth to die,
As to be slaine by brethrens crueltie,
[Page 6]Looke on my innocence. Behold my teares,
Respect your and my Fathers grayer haires:
Who cannot but with griefe and sorrow die,
For losse of me by
Brethrens Butchery.
Oh! neuer hope this murther to conceale,
For though you your owne lips should all vp seale,
These beasts, stones, trees, my bloud to heau'n will cry
For vengeance, on this bloudy Felony:
And that which now you thinke in secret done,
Shall be made plaine and clearer then the Sunne.
Now
Isaack like I lye vnder your knife,
And willingly as he could leaue my Life,
Were I perswaded 'twere the
heaun'ly will,
But herein
Satans purpose you fulfill,
And your malicious enuy satisfie:
But Lord accept me as I guiltiesse die.
These words proceeding from a Soule opprest
With anguish, wrought so in his Brethrens brest,
That though they willingly all wish him slaine,
Yet each from bloud-shed would his hands retaine.
Wherefore they him into a dry pit cast,
With cold and hunger there to pine and wast,
And suddenly they sit them downe to eate,
Ne're pitying
Ioseph that must sterue for meate:
So haue I seene
tenne hounds of
bloudy kinde,
Who long haue chas'd, to kill the harmelesse Hinde;
When they haue lodg'd her in the hunters gin,
Whence neuer one escapes, if enterd in;
Turne to their Lodge, where for their labours meede,
They on the heart and bleeding intrailes feede.
Poore
Ioseph had thy Brethren now thee slaine,
Thou long since hadst beene rid out of thy paine:
But whilst thou seek'st by teares thy life to saue,
Thou now art buried quicke within thy graue:
[Page 7]What canst thou looke for in this Dungeon vast,
But eu'n with cold and hunger here to waste?
Depriu'd of Sunnes most comfortable Light,
And euill
Sp'rits with horrour thee to fright,
Yet as a fauour this was done to thee,
Thus are the wickeds mercies Crueltie.
But Lord! the childe to heau'n cries from the pit,
And doth to
righteous Iudge his cause commit;
Lord thou dost know how innocent I die;
Me saue, and pardon their iniquitie.
As when fierce
Caine, (out of base enuying,
That God should best accept his offering.)
Had
Abel slaine; His bloud to heau'n did cry,
So this childs grieuous
Lamentations flye
Into Gods eares, who sends the
Ishmaelites,
First persecutors of the
Israelites:
From Brethrens malice
Ioseph to set free,
And saue his life, though lose his
Libertie:
So he that late escaped being slaine,
Is raised vp out of the pit againe,
Whom to be rid off, and for present pay,
His Brethren sell to be conueid away.
And now large shadowes from the Mountaines fall,
And
Heau'n with his blacke mantle couers all,
Phebus for rest in
Sea his
Steedes bestowes,
And from her
Sea of rest the
Night arose:
When
Iacobs sonnes amongst themselues deuise
To couer their inhumane cruelties:
And as we euer see that one foule sinne
Begets another, to lye hidden in;
As some their foule adultery to hide,
Haue first vs'd
Drunkennesse, then
Homicide;
So these vniustly 'gainst their Fathers will,
One of the Kiddes then in his Flocke doe kill,
[Page 8]And dipping in his blood the colourd coate
Of
Ioseph, it vnto their father brought,
And say; Now see good father dost thou know,
Whether this be thy
Iosephs coate or no?
As Turtle deare, when seeking for her loue,
She finds at cu'n the feathers of a Doue,
Begoard with blood late party colourd gay,
Concluding now her mate hath beene the prey
Of cruell hawke, sends out most piteous cries,
And in those dearest blooded feathers dies.
So good old
Israel, whose dimmer sight,
Could scarce discerne of colours by the night,
Yet seeing
Iosephs coate begoared red,
Which lately was so finely coloured:
For whom, though long he look'd, and did enquire,
Yet saw nor heard least newes of his retire.
Cries out, 'tis
Iosephs coate with blood defild,
Some wicked beast deuoured hath the child.
I sent him out alone vnwittingly,
And therefore guilty of the crueltie.
So grieuous were his groanes and lamentation,
They turne to sorrow all his habitation,
And though his sonnes and daughters all arise
To comfort him, the best they can deuise,
Yet still the good old man doth groane and crie,
Ioseph is lost, I in his coate will die.
He with wilde beasts is into peeces torne,
Ile sooner cease to liue, then cease to mourne.
Father saith
Dina then, th'vnlucky maid,
Why should you without cause be thus dismaid?
Before times I haue often heard you say,
Gods Angell you conducted in your way,
From hence eu'n vnto the
Assyrian plaine,
And thence from
Laban brought you home againe;
[Page 9]Oh why should you despaire then thus and feare,
As God of yours had not as great a care?
What because here a bloody coate you see,
Must it be
Iosephs needes? or if it bee,
He may, whilst he from cruell beasts did flie,
Forsake his coate to scape more speedily:
He that this coate found loose vpon the ground,
Not any signe of murthering him found,
Nor found he either hand, head, foot or bone,
Onely this bloody coate lay all alone;
Blooded it seemes with iawes of cruell beast,
Which on some other prey had made his feast:
"Thus can the whole to sicke good counsell giue,
"And easier 'tis to teach well, then to liue:
But
Ruben, Iudah, all his sonnes may rise,
And daughters all to comfort him deuise,
He rends his clothes, puts sacke cloth on his loines,
And for his
Ioseph long time weepes and pines,
And mourning will goe downe vnto his graue
To
Ioseph, whom he here shall neuer haue.
Meane while to
Nile the
Midian merchants hie,
Laden with Balme, with mirrhe, and Spicerie,
When
Ioseph, whom if they could truely prize,
Was farre more worth than all their merchandize;
Did bondage base vnto his noble minde,
More bitter, then death to his body finde;
But hauing none to whom to make his mone,
Goes sighing, sobbing to himselfe alone,
Vntill a merchant willing him to cheare,
That hee might fairer looke, and sell more deare,
Enquireth of his parents and his kinde,
To put more pensiue thoughts out of his mind;
Know; saith the gentle childe, my parents came
From
Heber, whence we
Hebrewes haue our name,
[Page 10]The fourth from
Sem, first of that blessed seede,
Th' Almighty chose mankind againe to breede:
My Father
Iacob who the Birth right bought
Of
Esau, that
Gods Blessing set at nought,
Was
Isaacks sonne, eu'n
Abrams blessed seede,
In whom all Nations happinesse may reade.
My Mother
Rachel, now depriu'd of Life,
Was
Israels first
Loue, but second
Wife:
Laban both
Sonne and
Father in one night,
Deceau'd; of's wife him, me of my
Birth right:
For when his thoughts in nuptiall Bed embrace
My Mother
Rachel, Lea's in place:
Whereby my Brethren me in
yeares surpasse,
But I them in my Fathers
loue and
grace;
For enuy hereof, Lo! they me haue sold,
Thus briefly I my state to you haue told.
The Children of the
Bond woman were glad,
They one now Bound of the
Free-womans had:
But whilst such talke makes shorter seeme the houres,
Behold they now may see braue
Memphis Towres,
Turrets which seeme to dare the Starry skies,
And Temples which like Toppes of Mountaines rise,
Whose
Phanes and
Spires all guilt, with radiant gold,
They shining like the
Lampes of heau'n behold,
Which often with reflecting splendor bright,
Seeme to obscure
Sols clearest heau'nly Light.
When thus the
Lad. Good Masters, So must I
Now call you, and will serue you chearefully,
Tell me what glorious Buildings yonder bee,
Whose like in
Canaan I did neuer see;
Which seeme, except mine eyes me much doe faile,
Like to a Citie that on
Sea doth saile,
Or
Noahs Arke which floting on the Floud,
Preseru'd all kinde of Creatures with their food.
[Page 11]Boy, saith a Merchant, This is
Egypts Plaine,
Where neuer yet did fall a drop of raine;
The Waues you see are seu'n-fold headed
Niles,
Which now doth Ouer-flow the richest soiles,
Whence euer
Sol by his all quickning heate,
Rais'd Corne and Grasse, for Man and Beast to eate:
There where you see the Floud like Seas appeare,
Will be a Haruest twice within a yeare.
Beside, no mortall wight could euer wish,
Then's there more plenty of most dainty Fish:
Abram the Father of great
Ishmael,
(From whom our Nation) Famine did compell
For succour to descend, into this Land,
Where he is said to make them vnderstand
The Nature of the highest
Deitie,
Formes, Lawes, and Natures of the Starry skie,
And first them taught to measure out their yeare,
By
Sunnes iust course: For it doth plaine appeare,
That they till then the
Moone did measure by,
VVhich makes them bost of such antiquitie,
And reckon in their annuall Computation,
Thousands of yeares before the VVorlds Creation:
But though he gaue them in all
Arts direction,
Yet neuer brought they one to such perfection,
As that we call Diuine
Astronomie:
For in this Country best they might descrie,
The formes and orders of the
Lamps of
Night,
VVhere neuer Clouds obscure them from their sight.
First in
Caldea Abram learn'd this skill,
And grew so well acquainted with Gods will,
He knew all things, they say, by Reuelation,
Past, present, future, from the VVorlds Creation,
Till that last minute that it could expire,
VVhich as by
Water erst, shall be by
Fire.
[Page 12]Indeed, saith
Ioseph, I haue heard it tould,
The first man
Adam prophecide of ould,
The worlds destruction twice, for sinnes iust hire,
The one by
Water th'other by the
Fire,
Seth therefore
Adams scholler and his sonne,
Not knowing which was first: of earth and stone,
Two Pillars built; The earth against the fire,
The stone to stand 'gainst waters raging ire:
Where
Arts, which long Experience had obserued,
He vnto future ages faire preserued,
The earthen pillar perisht in the flood,
The stone the waters violence withstood,
These
Heber finding after published
In
Syria, where first learning flourished:
Till
Abram, who herein did all excell,
Came downe to
Egypt, and as you doe tell,
Conuerst with one they called
Mercury,
Whom, with these
Arts, he taught the mystery
Of one trine God-head, and the worlds creation,
Who read the same vnto their neighbour nation.
Whence now they are, and shall in time be spred
Through all the earthly globe inhabited▪
Thus they discourse, as if they would foretell
Of
Gentiles all, which after should excell,
In
Arts and
Sciences; which now dispread,
As men, through all the earth on which we tread:
For as the earth empeopled was below
By
Adam, so all
Arts and
Learning flow
First from the
Hebrews, vnto eu'ry nation,
As
Rules and
Precepts come by obseruation:
But now the cittie's towres obscure the skies,
And make them hold their tongues, and vse their eyes
The splendor of those buildings to behold,
Where they the second time good
Ioseph sold.
The end of the first Booke of Ioseph.
THE SECOND BOOKE OF IOSEPH.
NEuer did
Adam more lament and plaine,
For
Abel, by his cruell Brother slaine,
Then
Iacob mourn'd for fairest
Rachels Seede,
Nor would by any meanes be comforted:
All Day the field his Lamentations heares,
All Night his Couch he watreth with his teares:
And if least slumber close his blubbring eyes,
Him thinkes he sees a cruell Beare surprize
His dearest
Ioseph; crying out for aid,
And starting vp, awakes, much more afraid,
His Spirit's thus spent, his Body wearied,
With groanes, and tossing vp and downe his Bed:
Loe, aged
Isaack, who had long beene blinde
Of's fleshly eyes, but yet of clearer minde,
Comes to his comfort, being thither led
By
Beniamin, who to him ministred.
Long stood he mute, and to the grieuous moanes
Of his blist
Iacob, ecchoed with groanes,
Till's heart with sorrow ready now to breake,
With words all weight, he thus begins to speake.
Deare Sonne, the staffe and comfort of mine age▪
The blessed fruit of holy Marriage,
Mine only
Sonne, by
Promise, But thou here
Hast
Beniamin, by thy beloued wife,
Faire
Rachel, whilst she liu'd thy Ioy and Life:
Not that I
Ioseph dead or lost doe feare,
God that of mee and
Abram had such care,
Hath no lesse of thee and thy blest seede,
In which all happinesse is promised.
And if of all, of him especially
VVho is the chiefe of all thy Family:
To whom the
Sunne the
Moone and
Starres must fall,
VVhose
Sheafe his brethrens
Sheafs must worship all,
Of these two
dreames I was a due obseruer,
And reade thence he shall be a great preseruer,
A figure of that
Sauiour great, which shall
Himselfe by losing saue himselfe and all.
Thus was I once lost to my
faithfull sire,
VVhen on the
Altar kindled was the fire,
The knife was ready lift vp by his hand,
To sacrifice my Life at Gods command:
Thus thou as lost, for more then thrice seuen yeares,
Revail'd wert by mine and
Rebeccas teares,
VVhen
Esaus wrath thee draue to
Siria plaine,
But
God Almightie brought thee home againe:
And I presage before the reuolution
Of thrise seu'n yeares, God will the whole solution
of
Iosephs dreames with Ioy to thee vnfold,
VVhich shall reuiue thy spirit then being old:
Before great
Blessings God doth
Crosses send,
That we may on his
Prouidence attend,
And see the riches of his
grace more cleare,
VVhich hardlier here obtain'd, we hold more deare▪
Thus
Isaac doth interpret Visions darke,
As great
Mathuselah at building th'
Arke,
[Page 15]VVho liu'd vntill the yeare of th'
inundation,
As plaine appeares by
Ages Computation.
Good
Israel was wonderfully mou'd
At sight of those, he reuerenc'd so and lou'd,
His
Beniamin but newly taught to stride,
Of his blinde
Grandsires steppes then being guide,
Both which seem'd two good
Angels to him sent
From heau'n, to ease his griefe and discontent:
VVherefore soone rising on his wearie bed,
Hauing his Father duly honoured,
He answers with a piteous sigh and grone,
Ioseph is gone, and I am left alone:
Deare
Rachels first borne, whom to make my wife,
I was a seruant best part of my Life.
After we had beene maryed foureteene yeares,
Rachel and I, with Prayers, Vowes, and teares,
Begg'd him of God: Then did my yeares expire,
VVhich
Laban for my two wiues me did hire:
One daughter and tenne sonnes I had before,
By
Leah seu'n, and by my
Handmaids foure,
But I my
Ioseph priz'd them all aboue,
As I his Mother more then theirs did loue:
And though I churlish did mine
Vncle finde,
In many things herein he was most kinde,
To pay me wages ere my worke was done;
For I had
Rachel ere that I begun
My first yeares Seruice, whereby seu'n yeares seem'd
But a few daies, so I her loue esteem'd:
No man had euer more experience
Then I of Gods good grace and Prouidence,
VVhen I was first to
Padan Aram sent,
I only with my staffe forth from thee went
To
Bethel, where th'
Almightie Lord to mee
Appear'd by Vision, promising to bee
[Page 16]My God, and to my Seede the Land to giue,
Whereon I slept; which firmely I beleeue.
Then did I vow, so he would me protect
Safe in my Iourney, and my wayes direct,
Giuing me Bread to eate, and Clothes to weare,
The Tenth of all I had, to offer there:
God gaue my asking, and abundance more,
So as I thence return'd with stocke, and store:
And though I long forbare my Vow to pay,
God neuer me forgot, vnto this day.
I confident, beyond all hope, can proue
I him shall see againe, whom so I loue,
At the last day: till then, hee's dead, and gone,
No hope before of Resurrection.
This is his colour'd Coat, begored red
By Iawes of Beasts, which on his Carkasse fed.
Were I now blinde, I happy were, then could
I not this dismall spectacle behold.
But if, saith
Isaack, he hath chang'd his Tent
For heau'nly home, why should you thus lament,
As without hope? since now he is at rest,
Let likewise the remembrance of him rest.
Weepe you, because your losse turnes to his gaine?
Your mourning cannot bring him back againe.
God, our chiefe comforts oft from vs doth rend,
Lest we too much on outward meanes depend.
It may be, you your loue so on him set,
You thereby did your loue to God forget:
Then's Iustice iustly him from you hath rent,
And Mercy giues you cause now to repent.
But whether
Ioseph liuing be, or dead,
Let little
Beniamin stand in his stead:
What your affection so to him enclin'd,
You eu'n the same in
Beniamin shall find,
[Page 17]Of
Rachel both begot in marriage bed,
Only this last she neuer suckeled,
For in the paines of Birth she left her life,
Thus he a tender nurse lost, thou a wife:
This
Isaacks rubbing on an ancient sore,
Made
Israel lament more then before;
So as the childe who still was standing by,
To heare such mourning weepes for company:
And as a
Parret, newly taught to prate,
The voice doth of another imitate,
So cryes the Boy; good Father,
Ioseph's gone,
And I alas! here left am all alone.
T'is this fine colour'd coat he wont to weare,
Good father let vs it to
Ioseph beare,
(For that was euer vnder
Iacobs arme)
He may haue neede thereof to keepe him warme.
These pleasant reasons from the witty child,
Old
Iacob of his sorrowes so beguil'd,
He was content a while his heart to ease,
The better this his dearest Boy to please.
And since he
Ioseph thought dead, and at rest
By little he his
Lamentations ceast,
But euer little
Beniamin would cry,
To let him goe to
Ioseph by and by.
My Boy saith
Iacob, if that thou wilt goe
To
Ioseph, thou must first as
Ioseph doe,
Be a good Boy, serue God, thy prayers say
At Morne, at Night, and oftentimes a day:
All lying, swearing, idle talke forbeare,
Duly obey and serue thy Parents deare,
To any, nor of any speake least ill,
And alwaies be obedient to Gods will:
For so did
Ioseph, therefore I had giu'n
Him this fine colour'd coat, But now in heau'n
[Page 18]He is most gloriously by God arraid,
And sees all Ioyes and Pleasures can be said.
By this the Boy to imitate growes faine,
Ioseph in all, for hope of
Iosephs gaine;
If
Iacob any thing would haue him doe,
Say
Ioseph did it, he would doe it too,
If he from any ill would him retaine,
Say
Ioseph would not do't, he would refraine:
All which he so well ordered, that in fine,
The Boy was measur'd all by
Iosephs Line,
And
Iacob so delighted therewithall,
He leaues his couch and comes downe to the Hall,
Where euer
Beniamin his darling deare,
Was ready with his pratling him to cheare,
Till in the end his loue so on him set,
Makes him all griefe for
Iosephs losse forget:
And pleasure take in
Beniamin now more,
Then he in
Ioseph euer did before.
So doth one for his wife oft weepe and crie,
As, after her, he would not liue but die,
Forbeares his meat, till time of mourning past,
Then cheares his spirits, and fals to his repast,
And suddenly a second mariage proues,
Whome he more dearely then the former loues,
And so his deare affection on her sets,
He all his former sorrowes quite forgets.
Thus liu'd old
Iacob many happy yeares
With
Beniamin, but wisely he forbeares
Him to aduenture once out of his sight,
Lest as good
Ioseph him befall it might.
Twelue times through all the Signes the
Sunne had past,
And now through
Gemini was making hast,
When he more kindly on his
Paramore
The
Earth did shine, then euer heretofore:
[Page 19]Which made the superstitious
Cananite
Adore this
Planet, as a God of might,
And by
Religion of his owne deuising,
To worship the
Sunne-setting, well as
rising.
And amongst other their Inuentions vaine,
Dan Phoebus to leaue
Delos Ile they faine,
To court the
Nimph of
Iordane for his Bride,
And her to honour with his fertile side.
Therefore her
Bankes he richly doth adorne,
And Hills and Valleyes fills so thicke with Corne,
The eared
Lands seeme a continued plaine,
VVhose eares of Corne stoope to the ground againe,
And she proud of the honour of his rayes,
Her bosome all with fragrant flowres begayes,
The more him with sweet sauours to delight,
And seeme more faire embellisht in his sight:
VVhich made the Hills and Dales to laugh and sing▪
And all the Birds with sweetest warbeling,
VVith them to tune sweet ditties to his praise,
VVhose heat and Light diuides the night from daies.
Seu'n times this
Gyant his full course had run,
And ended, where his trauell he begun,
VVhilst
Iordans Nimph continues in his grace,
VVhich
Canaan made the happyest fruitfull place
Of all the Regions, where
Sunnes fertile heate,
Doth cause the
Laborer with Ioy to sweate▪
But as we alwaies after
Drowth see
Raine,
Warre after
Peace, and after
Pleasure Paine;
So after plenteous and fruitfull yeares,
Great famine, want, and scarcitie appeares
In
Canaans Land: For seu'n yeares being past
Of Plenty; Famine all the world doth wast.
Therefore, they that of late
Sols mariage fain'd,
Now of his wrath and
Iealousie complain'd,
[Page 20]That he which with his Beames late cherished
All fruits, the Earth in fruitfull bosome bred,
Was so inflam'd with Iealousie and Ire,
As if he all the
Earth would set on fire:
So as he either would her seedes not daigne
To quicken, or if that the hopefull graine
Promis'd a fruitfull haruest at the last,
He in his fury all would burne or blast,
Thus did those heathen of Gods wonders fable,
And vainly construe his workes admirable.
But good old
Israel who, like
Lilly-white
Amongst the
thornes, fear'd God and did vpright,
The glory they did to the
Creature giue,
Gaue the
Creator, who doth euer liue,
And looking to the Author of this store,
For this his greater plenty, honours more.
And takes the Famine for a Chastisement
To man for sinne, that so he might repent.
But as the plenteous store did nothing breede
But Pride and Follies vaine in
Canaans seede,
(Excessiue rioting, Lust, Drunkennesse,
Amongst the rich: Nicenesse and Idlenesse
Amongst the poore: who swinishly eu'n all
The Acornes eate, but looke not whence they fall,
Consuming all the Corne their land them beares,
Not laying vp least store for dearer yeares,
But loathing and despising courser graine,
Transport it as superfluous for their gaine,
So when the
Earth denide like store to bring
All fall to grudging and to murmuring,
And
Sol whom, they so honourd at the first
For his high fauours, for his Fury curst:
And those which late so plenteously were fed
In the first yeare, are like to sterue for bread.
[Page 21]Yea holy
Iacob though he were exempt
From
Canaans sinnes, yet in their punishment
Doth beare his share, and now for want of Bread
He feares the ruine of himselfe and seede.
And though he sole relyeth on Gods grace,
Of which he had good tryall in like case,
Neglects no meanes to make supply of store▪
But thus bespeakes his sonnes, I heretofore,
When plenty in your fields did so abound,
Wisht that a man amongst you might be found,
Who wisely would for future wants prouide,
But folly tis for
Had I wist to chide,
We heare ther's store of Corne in
Egypt land,
Yet one doth gaping on another stand;
Oh hast you thither Bread from thence to buy,
To saue aliue vs and our Family.
The brethren ten, (for
Iacob would not send
Downe
Beniamin with them) do soone descend
To
Egypt, where neare
Memphis on the way
A graue old
Sage they ouertake in gray,
Who seem'd by his graue gestures and his motions,
To be a
Hermit, now at his deuotions.
As
Isaacke going out one Eu▪n to pray,
Seeing his seruant lighting on the way,
With faire
Rebecca vaild, and all her traine,
Left his deuotions them to entertaine;
Eu'n so this
Sage, whose eyes on heauen were plast,
As they would thither ere his body hast,
Seeing these gentle strangers there alight,
And him to mutuall courtesie inuite,
Leaues his deuotions, and of them enquires,
(Knowing they
Hebrewes were by their attires)
In their owne language, what, and whence they are,
Which true and plainly they to him declare:
[Page 22]And farther tell him that a famine sore
Had now consum'd their Corne and all their store,
Compelling them from
Canaan to goe downe
To
Egypt, where they knew none, nor were knowne.
Therefore saith
Ruben, may we you request
Vs strangers to informe, as you may best,
Of your condition first, next of your king,
Your countrey, and your forme of gouerning:
And if, as Fame reports, here's store of graine,
And how and where we may the same obtaine,
For here, eu'n as at home, we see all wast,
No future haruest, nor least signe of
Past,
And therefore with my brethren I desire
To know the cause of what we so admire,
Without a
Seed-time or a
Haruest, Plentie.
And
Garners full, although the fields be
emptie.
Brethren said
Trismegist, for so he hight,
I first must here lay open to your sight,
That
Being's his goodnesse Power and
Prouidence:
By which we all haue
Motion, Being, Sense,
Who, the
first cause of all, doth things dispose
By
Second, these we see, that keepes he close:
I am a
Priests and
Princes eldest sonne,
For
Priests and
Princes are in
Egypt one,
And to the
Sunne, as was our countrey guize,
Was consecrate to offer Sacrifice,
Great
Trismegistus was mine ancester,
A
King, a
Priest, and a
Philosopher:
Soone as my
Tongue mens words could imitate,
And, though with little vnderstanding, prate,
My parents me instruct to learne by heart
The rules of
Wisedome, and the lawes of Art,
The aspects of the
Starres, their seuerall
wayes,
Coniunctions, Orders, Interposings, Stayes,
All that might make with them a sound Diuine.
And well I profited, for ere least haire
Of
Siluer, with my
Golden did appeare,
The wisest, I of all my Peeres was deem'd,
And most in
Temple and in
Court esteem'd:
Could best of all expound the hardest
Theames,
Tell men their
Fortunes, and interpret
Dreames:
Thus I the
Oracle was many a yeare
Of
Egypt, and of all the Countries neare;
Till that
high Wisdome which things
future knowes
As
present, Them by
Dreames to
Pharoh showes.
Fast by a Riuer side him thought he stood,
Whence came vp seu'n fat Kine, well flesht and good,
And other seu'n ill-fauour'd Leane, that houre
Came vp, and all the faire ones did deuoure:
Againe, he slept,
and saw seu'n eares of Corne
On one root, well-set, ranke, and goodly borne,
Which seuen thin blasted, spoild and eate vp cleane,
Then
Pharoh wak'd, and lo! it was a dreame.
The Morning come, and he sore troubeled,
His
Sonthsayers are all assembeled,
Pharoh thereof to vs makes declaration,
But not a man can giue th'interpretation▪
Our
Spheres, Spels, Circles, Birdes, nor
Sorceries
Had power to discerne these Mysteries:
Then
Pharoh mou'd, and thenceforth grieuing sore,
Forbeares his meate, and comes abroad no more:
Vntill his
Butler, rais'd againe to grace,
Who had forgot his friend in wretched case,
Till twice twelue times the
Moon with borrowed light,
Had fill'd her hornes (for friends once out of sight,
Are eu'n as soone out of a Courtiers minde,
"Such Curtesie in Court most Schollers finde):
[Page 24]Thus said to
Pharoh, Sir you cannot yet
Chuse but remember, how you did commit
Me and your
Baker to your
Stewards ward,
For some misdeeds, which you of vs had heard:
Where in the
Prison we a young man found,
In whom diuinest wisedome did abound,
For we a seuerall
Dreame had in a night,
Which told to him, to vs he read aright;
The
Baker to the
Gallowes, I to
Grace
Should be restor'd, and all in three dayes space:
This of our
Dreames th'interpretation was,
All which you saw most truely came to passe.
Thus ends the Butler:
Pharaoh glad to heare
Of ought might ease his longing, wishd him there,
Who quickly sent for, shau'd, appareld white,
As him became to stand in
Pharohs sight,
Heard, and as soone his
Dreame did right expound,
Which by nine yeares experience true is found.
For these
seau'n faire Kine, and ranke goodly eares,
He did interpret seu'n fat fruitfull yeares,
The seu'n thin sterued which did them deuower,
Seu'n yeares of famine ▪ In a lucky hower
For Egypt: for thus store we vp did lay
In fruitfull yeares, against this euill day:
And not sole happy for our
temporall store,
But
spirituall: For many who before
(Long led in ignorance and errour blind,
Till they
Gods Truth by good experience find)
To
stones and
stockes, Sunne, Moone, and
Starres did fall
Now worship
God the maker of vs all:
Of which, for euer (blessed be his name)
A thankfull one I, though th'vnworthiest, am.
And hauing all
vaine worldly ioyes forsaken,
Now to
deuotion sole my selfe betaken.
Hearing thy words, Gods goodnesse we admire,
Happy that God hath kindled in thy breast,
The holy
Fire these
flames doe manifest:
But tell vs what became of that great
Sage
Which of such store and famine did presage:
You told vs how the Butler him neglected,
But how hath
Pharoh his desert respected?
For great ones, for the most part, doe despise
The poore, though they be ne're so iust and wise:
And though the Land is by their wisedomes guarded,
They are not long respected or rewarded.
That's th'end, saith
Trismegist, for which I told
The rest. When as King
Pharoh did behold
Such heaun'ly wisedome, in such youthfull yeares,
(For scarce six
Lustres in his face appeares,)
Who counsell'd him with speede for to prouide,
A man of vnderstanding, that might guide
His vnder Officers, through all the Land,
To store vp plenty vnder
Pharohs hand:
The fifth part e'un of all their Corne and seede,
To feede his people in the time of neede:
The saying seem'd so good in
Pharohs eyes,
And all his
Seruants, that they soone deuise,
(Because no man in
Egypt could be found,
In whom the
Spirit of God did so abound)
To place him ouer all his house and Land,
That all might be eu'n as he should command,
Thus now he with the King is all as one,
He only sits aboue him in his
Throne,
Him then most sumptuously apparelling,
He made the
Lord and
Keeper of his
Ring,
The which he vsed, as the publique
Seale,
For all his
priuate state and
Common-weale:
[Page 26]And his second Charet brauely plac'd,
And with the highest princely honour grac'd:
This is the
Man hath stor'd vp in the
Land
Great
heapes of Corne, in number like the
Sand:
For as the
Sands cannot be numbered,
No more the Plenty he hath gathered.
Now twice the
Sunne hath his full course nigh past,
Since all our
Lands haue barren lien and wast;
Nilus no more our Fields hath watered,
Nor fertile dewes our fruits haue cherished:
And now the
dearth in all the
Land is sore,
As well amongst the
Richest as the
Poore;
The
Garners open'd are, and thence is sold
Great store of
Corne; Nor doth this Prince withhold
From strangers his Prouision; For well-ny
All
Regions hether come them Corne to buy:
This man will you for Money Corne afford,
For he's
wise, gentle, iust, and feares the Lord:
But, whilst the
Sage to them this tale relates,
They vnawares approach neere
Memphis gates,
Then to his
Cell returnes the aged
Sire,
They hast into the Citie to enquire
More of that
Prince, by whom the Corne was sold,
Where they their
Brother though vnknowne, behold.
The end of the second Booke of Ioseph.
THE THIRD BOOKE OF IOSEPH.
NOw is the time that all the
Sheaues must bend
To one, now rais'd on high vpon his end,
The
Sunne, Moone, &
Starres eleuen must now
To him they meanely erst accounted, bow.
For
Ioseph now by due desert and right,
Is plac'd
in honours Chariot shining bright,
And all the
Corne, the Treasure of the
Land,
Vnder his sole disposing and Command:
For this same
Ioseph which the
Hebrewes sold,
Is he of whom great
Trismegist erst told:
Who Corne had heap'd vp numberlesse like sand,
And was the Ruler ouer
Egypts land,
When lo! the brethren tenne before him brought,
Low bowing to the ground, him thus besought:
Great Lord! whose wisdome and deserued grace
Giue's thee in
Egypt eu'n the second place,
Whose Prudence, honour, glory and renowne,
Through all the habitable Earth is knowne,
Vouchsafe to vs thy
Seruants now such grace,
As thou hast done to many in our Case:
We
Brethren all, one mans
Sonnes, come to buy
Corne to releeue vs and our Family,
[Page 28]Except we by thy Clemencie be fedde,
We and our
Race must die for want of Bread.
The Lord of
Egypt then who them did know,
But was vnknown, Himself strange rough doth show,
And now remembring well his
Dreames of late,
For which these, that thus honour, him did hate,
Thus answers: See! you haue a faire pretence,
To buy you Corne and Victuall from hence;
But you are come into the Land as Spies,
To see wherein our strength and weakenesse lies:
I'st like ten Brethren should so farre descend?
None left at home their houses to defend,
Or are you all without a house or home,
And masterlesse about the Countrie rome?
Truly, saith
Iudah, we twelue Brethren bee.
All one mans sonnes, of which thou ten dost see,
The least, at home, doth with his Father stay,
But no man knowes, where th'other is this day:
To buy foode are thy
Seruants hither come,
For vs and for our
Families at home:
By this, saith then the
Prince, the truth I'le know,
Whether you, as I say, be
Spyes or no:
For,
by the life of Pharoh, no man home
Shall goe, before your younger Brother come:
Take them to Prison, till his comming tryes
The truth:
By Pharohs life you are but
Spyes.
Then he three dayes committeth them to ward,
Whilst of an answer they themselues prepar'd.
Thus, as Gods Minister and Substitute,
He vengeance on their sinnes doth retribute,
Sinnes now forgot, because so long since past,
But though
God's slow, he payes them home at last:
Yea then, when they themselues thinke most secure
For
Iosephs wrongs, he pay's them home and sure.
[Page 29]Happy who make right vse of Chastisement,
Which is to hate, forsake Sinne, and repent:
But, they in Prison,
Ioseph doth aduise
Alone with God, how he may best deuise,
Them for their foule offences to correct,
And yet his aged
Father not neglect,
Whom faine he would releeue with store of graine,
But feares his Brethren will not come againe.
The third day therefore, thus saith
Ioseph, heare,
Doe this and liue; for I the Lord doe feare:
If you be true men, as you all affirme,
Leaue one man bound, the rest all home returne,
With Corne for to releeue your Family,
Then bring your brother, And not one shall dye,
But traffique here as true men in the
Land,
And I will free your
Hostage from his Band.
His word preuail'd, But they in conscience
Prickt for their cruelty, and foule offence,
Long since committed 'gainst this
Lord vnknowne,
And thinking
God now payes them with their owne,
Thus one to other to complaine begin;
Ah! how did we against our Brother sinne,
When his Soules anguish did to vs appeare,
And he besought vs, yet we would not heare:
Therefore on vs, this trouble now doth fall,
When
Ruben thus; oh! did I not you all
Not to offend against the
Lad desire,
And now you see
God doth his bloud require:
Little thinke they that
Ioseph by doth stand,
And all their speeches plainly vnderstand,
Who turnes and weepes, yet soone returnes againe,
So Friends afflictions teares from friends constraine.
Then taking
Simeon he him binds with bands
Before their eyes: And secretly commands.
[Page 30]To fill their Sackes with Prouender and Graine,
And put their Money in their Sackes againe:
So they returne with Conscience tiring more,
Then all the Miles from
Nile to
Iordanes shore,
As when tenne horse men rouing out for prey,
Lose one of their deare fellowes by the way,
Though with rich Spoiles they to the campe returne,
All for him lost, lift vp their voice and mourne;
So mourne these
Brethren nine for
Simeons chaine,
Their brothers losse was greater then their gaine:
But when
Gad in the
Inne his Sacke vnbindes
For Prouender, and there his money findes,
Their hearts them failing, all are sore affraid,
That they as
Simeon likewise were betraid:
Ah! What, say they, hath God vpon vs brought
For all the wickednesse which we haue wrought?
This thing vpon vs all is iustly come,
But most especially on
Simeon:
Who was the cruellest, and rather would
Haue
Ioseph slaine; then to the
Merchants sold:
But when at home they to their Father tell
All that to them in
Egypt had befell:
And how that they for
Spyes were taken there,
Imprisoned three dayes, and put in feare;
And that the Man there still kept
Simeon bound,
Till by inquirie all the Truth he found:
And seeing also eu'ry man bring backe
The money, which he carryed, in his Sacke:
The good old man was wondrously affraid,
That
Simeon eu'n as
Ioseph was betraide:
And said, my sonnes you laugh mine age to scorne,
You haue my
Simeon pawn'd or sold for Corne,
Else where should you prouide such store of graine,
And yet bring all your Moneys home againe?
[Page 31]But when they farther told him in a word,
How rough and sterne they found th'
Egyptian Lord▪
And that their bringing
Beniamin must trye,
Whether or no they came the
Land to Spy;
He thinkes they likewise seeke him to depriue
Of
Beniamin, his dearest sonne aliue:
Wherefore he thus Laments and makes great mone,
His brother's dead, and he is left alone;
If mischiefe him befall vpon the way,
You bring my head to graue with sorrow gray:
The Dearth grows great, Corn's spent,
Iacob in vaine
Them bids for foode to
Egypt hast againe;
We dare not see, say they, the Princes face,
Except our youngest Brother be in place:
We straight will goe, so him with vs thou send.
But ah! saith
Iacob, what did you intend,
By telling of the man you had a brother?
Alas, saith
Iudah, how could we doe other?
He of our state and kindred did inquire,
Saying, what liueth yet your aged
Sire?
Haue you a Brother yet? we told him so,
Ah! how could we what he intended know?
But send the
Lad with vs, we instantly
Will bring you food for all your Family:
I am his surety, him of me require,
For euer let me beare thy blame and ire,
Except I bring him backe: The fault is thine,
Else we returned had the second time.
Father, saith
Ruben, let my Sonnes be slaine,
Except I safe doe bring him home againe.
As in some
Siege when
Famine growes so great,
That Mothers their owne children deare doe eat,
One close her
dearest Darling vp doth hide,
Lest others her compell it to diuide,
[Page 32]And rather chooseth eu'n to sterue and pine,
Then cleaue her tender infant in the Chine:
So when the
Famine now growes grieuous sore
In
Iacobs house, and like still to be more,
He steruing rather chooseth to abide,
Then part with his
deare darling from his side;
But when he saw himselfe, and all his race
With dearest
Beniamin, in equall case,
That all for want of Bread must sterue and dy,
Except from
Egypt they had new supply;
He said to them: Since needes it must be so,
A present of my hands take ere you goe,
Balme, Spice, and Myrrhe with best fruits of the land,
Take likewise double money in your hand,
And that brought backe returne, as it is right,
It may be it was but some ouer-sight,
And take your Brother with you, and arise,
God send you fauour in the Princes eyes.
To free my
Simeon, and this my delight,
Thus of my Children I am robbed quite:
With that he poured out a floud of teares,
But hungry Stomackes had nor eyes nor eares,
But tooke the Spice and money in their hand,
And haste with
Beniamin to
Egypts Land,
From
Hebron, three dayes Iourney, passe they right
To
Memphis, where they lodged all that night,
Early 'n the morning, when as
Ioseph sate,
Dispatching Suitors and affaires of
State,
Amongst the other suitors in the
Hall,
He first one of his Brethren spyes, then all;
But most his dearest
Beniamin he ei'd,
And therefore bids his
Steward soone prouide,
And take those
Hebrewes to some priuate roome,
For he would haue them dine with him at noone:
Should be to strangers kind and hospitall.
Then brought to
Iosephs house, they are affraid,
The money to their charges should be laid.
When
Iudah thus: The money we did finde
In our Sacks mouths, when we did them vnbinde,
We haue brought backe, with money eke to buy
New Corne for vs, and all our Family:
Peace, saith the Man, your
Father's God you sent
That treasure, I was paid and well content.
And forth-with
Simeon out vnto them brought,
Who each saluting other, as they ought,
Enquire at first of one anothers wealth,
But
Simeon chiefly of his Fathers health:
Then are they to a stately
Parlour brought,
All hang'd with curious
Arras richly wrought
By
Iosephs Bride, To whom he had made knowne
His Kindred, there in curious colours showne,
(For, as her Lord, so she no time mispends,
But duely with her Maides, her worke intends:
Lo!
Ioseph is the
Paterne of her life,
Thus a good
Husband alwaies makes a wise):
The
Deluge in the first peece was contain'd,
Where, but the
Arke, nought on the flouds remain'd,
But they abated, Lo! there commeth forth,
All liuing ceeeping things vpon the earth,
With such varietie and cunning wrought,
As plainer folkes them liuing would haue thought,
So skilfull
Art doth
Nature imitate,
The Dogges doe seeme to runne, the
Lambs to bleate▪
Here
Noah offreth on an
Altar built,
Of all
cleane Beasts to cleanse sinnes
foulest guilt;
Good
Sem, Arphaxad, Selah (of whose race
Came
Heber, whence the
Hebrewes) next had place,
[Page 34]And
Pelag next, who first diuides the Land,
Reu, Serug, Nahor, Tarah next doe stand,
From whence comes blessed
Abraham, by whom
The
blessed Seede of
Sarahs wombe should come:
Here
Angels him salute, with God he walkes,
And as two friends with
God familiar talkes,
Here
Sarah laughs to heare from her dry wombe,
Seede like
Sea sands, all numberlesse, should come:
Here
Isaack's Circumcis'd, Here sacrific'd
By
Faith, but for his bloud a
Lambe suffic'd:
Rebecca skins on
Iacobs hands here cleaues,
Here's Brother of his Blessing he deceaues:
And blessed, straight flyes from his brothers wrath
To
Laban, where he both his daughters hath:
Here he returnes, whom soone as
Laban misses,
With anger he pursues, but parts with kisses:
Here wrestles he with God, lo here he meetes
His angry brother, who him kindly greetes:
Before one
Sheafe, here ten
Sheaues seeme to fall,
Here
Sunne, and
Moone, and
Starres, it worship all;
Here are ten Brethren playing in the shadowes,
Whilst all their flockes are mowing of the Meadows,
Like liuely Shepheards all doe dance and sing,
That Woods and Hils with
Ecchos seeme to ring:
When comes a
Childe in party-colourd Coat,
Them to salute, but all flye to his Throat,
And like so many Butchers 'bout a
Lamb,
Seeke to bereaue him from his dearest
Dam,
Of all the stories they did there behold,
This had most life. For
Iosephs wife had told,
With her owne hands, it here so cunningly,
A man would thinke he saw the
Picture cry,
And on his knees with vnfeign'd
Innocence,
To begge his
Life of their
Maleuolence.
[Page 35]This made their eyes those curious sights forbeare,
And gastly one vpon another stare,
And so amaz'd them, they now surely thought,
God all their wickednesse to light had brought:
But now that
Ioseph is return'd they heare,
Therefore their Present ready they prepare.
As
Abram when he had recouered
His Kinsman
Lot, and
Captiues with him
led,
Returning by the way with Bread and Wine,
Was met by great
Melchizedek diuine,
And blessed, for that
God now by his hand
Had sau'd the
Prince and
People of the
Land;
Eu'n so good
Ioseph who by paines, not sword,
Had sau'd aliue th'
Egyptians and their
Lord,
And daily from fierce
Famine succored
Such as had died else for want of Bread,
Was met with
Presents comming to his Hall,
And blest as the
Preseruer of them all.
Amongst the rest these
Hebrewes louting low
Their Present offer him, who straight would know,
How they did all, and if their Father old
Liu'd still in health, of whom they last him told:
And what is this your Brother young, said he,
Of whom you told mee? They all answer'd yea.
God blesse my sonne, saith
Ioseph, and retires,
To weepe for Ioy, now hauing his desires:
But washing's eyes and face, he doth refraine,
And to his Brethren soone returnes againe,
So calls for meate, he by himselfe alone,
Th'
Egyptians by themselues are plac'd each one,
His brethren by themselues (For
Egypts Nation
Are ranked as their ages doe require,
Which made them this due order all admire;
[Page 36]To all then from his Board he messes sends,
But fiue to one on
Beniamins he spends,
Lo thus they all eate, drinke, and made good cheare,
Till they had drown'd all sorrow, griefe and care.
But
Ioseph; who amidst his feasts doth minde
Those, that abroad for hunger steru'd and pinde;
Thinkes of his Father old, and doth command
His
Steward for to fill, streight out of hand,
The
Hebrews sacks, so full as they can thrust,
And put their moneys in their sacks, as first:
And in the youngest's sacke his siluer Cup,
So in the morning, e're the Sunne was vp,
They with their Camels laden are let go,
But e're they thence are gone a mile or two,
Vp gets the
Steward, and them after hies,
Whom ouer-taking, thus aloud he cryes:
Ah! why haue you rewarded ill for good?
My
Master of his
Grace hath giu'n you food,
And you his
Cup wherein he drinketh wine,
And wont to Prophecie and to diuine,
Purloined haue, oh it is euill done.
Good sir, saith
Ruben, Thinke not any one
Of vs would doe such thing: the money found,
Last time, when we our sackes at home vnbound,
Was brought to thee againe, most truly told,
How should we then or Siluer steale or gold?
Dye let him wheresoeuer it is found;
Wee Bondmen to my Lord for euer bound.
He saith the Steward, shall be bound, where wee
The
Cup shall finde, the other shall goe free:
Then taking downe their sackes, they doe begin
To search from
Ruben, eu'n to
Beniamin,
There was it found, then all their clothes rend,
And backe againe vnto the Citie tend.
[Page 37]As Theefes who by the owner ouer-take,
In fresh pursuit, with goods about them take
And brought before the
Iudge, all mercy cry,
Without defence, for such their Felony:
So they to
Ioseph brought; before him fall,
And only vnto him for mercy call.
What haue you done, saith he, know you not, I
Am able to diuine and Prophecie?
Ah!
Iudah saith, what shall thy seruants say,
Or doe? How can we cleare our selues this day?
God hath made plaine thy seruants wickednesse,
We are thy
Bondmen all, we must confesse,
As likewise he with whom the
Cup was found,
Nay, God forbid, saith
Ioseph; he be bound
Who had the
Cup, The rest depart in peace
To your old Father, haste, why doe you cease.
My Lord, saith
Iudah, we haue no defence,
Yet let me speake one word without offence:
At our last beeing heere, thou didst inquire
Of this our
Brother, and our aged
Sire,
And we, thy seruants, true and plainly told,
We haue a Father which is very old,
Who also in his
age begat our brother,
The only childe aliue now of his mother,
His Brother's dead, and therefore more belou'd,
By this my Lord, then answerd, shall be prou'd
The truth of all your sayings, Bring him hither
That I may see the
Brethren all together:
We answerd, if the
Lad should but depart
From his old
Father, It would kill his heart;
My
Lord repli'd, except he to this place
With you returne, forbeare to see my face;
We comming home, this to our Father show,
Who to buy Corne againe would haue vs goe,
[Page 38]But, wee repli'd; except the
Lad we place
Before the
Man, wee may not see his face:
Ah! saith our Father, you my sonnes well know
That I had by his
Mother, onely two,
One's dead, and gone, if this away you haue,
You bring my head with sorrow to the graue:
Now if thou vs vnto my
Father send,
Without the
Lad, on whom his dayes depend,
Soone as our Father misseth him he dyes,
And we be Authors of his miseries.
Besides, I suretie for the
Lad became,
And if I bring him not, must beare the blame:
How shall I then my Fathers face behold,
Without the
Lad be there, except I would
Bring on my Fathers house such wrechednesse,
As no mans Tongue is able to expresse:
With that like
Iordanes flouds his teares doe fall,
And as he wept, so wept his Brethren all.
But
Ioseph then no longer could refraine,
But biddes forbeare, there may not one remaine
Within with him, whilst he himselfe declares
Vnto his Brethren, with such cryes and teares,
That the
Egyptians and
Pharoh heare
His
loud laments, and scarcely can forbeare
To mourne with him, who kept them all from mourning:
But
Ioseph to his Brethren soone returning,
Saith, I am
Ioseph; doth my Father liue?
Feare not my Brethren, I you all forgiue.
As when a
King, that he discouer may
Some traitrous plot, his body doth array
In such an habit, as none can descry
Him from one of that close Conspiracy,
Till hearing all the Traitours Coniuring,
He shewes himselfe to be their Lord and
King.
[Page 39]So that they all stand mute and in a maze,
And gastly one vpon another gaze:
So stand the ten, one looking on another,
To see so high their late betraied Brother:
Thus at the last, the wicked men shall hide
Their face at sight of him they Crucifide,
When on his Throne his glory they behold
Like
Iosephs, who shall like to him be sold.
But
Beniamin poore harmelesse innocent,
After he had endur'd this chastisement,
At hearing
Iosephs name lifts vp his eyes,
And lowder now for
Ioy then
Sorrow cryes:
So shall the innocent at last appeare,
To be absolued by their
Brother deare.
Then
Ioseph saith, my Brethren all, draw neare,
I am your Brother
Ioseph, doe not feare,
That very
Ioseph you to
Egypt sold,
But be not greeu'd therewith, nor doe it hold
A cruell thing; For God me sent before,
For to preserue your liues with millions more:
This is the second yeare, fiue are behinde,
When none shall reape, or mow, or sheaues vp binde,
God sent me to preserue your
Progeny,
And saue you by a great deliuery:
Not you, I say, but God me hither sent,
And made me here, to your astonishment,
Great
Pharoh's Father, and giu'n free command
Ore all his House, and ouer all his
Land,
Hast to my Father; Tell him in a word,
Thus saith thy
Ioseph, God hath made me Lord
Of
Egypt: Tarry not, but soone come downe,
And thou shalt dwell on
Goshens fruitfull downe:
Thy Children, Childrens children, and thy flocke,
Beasts, Asses, Camels, all thy store and stocke:
[Page 40]Lo there I sustenance for thee will finde,
For those fiue yeares of
Famine yet behinde:
Your owne eyes see, and
Beniamins behold,
I all in your owne tongue haue truly told.
My glory here then to my
Father tell,
As you haue seene, and hither hast to dwell,
So weeping he vpon the necke doth fall
Of
Beniamin ▪ and he on his, so all
He kisses, and doth after with them talke,
Familiarly, as they together walke.
As when a
Treasure in the earth is found,
Fames Trumpet doth it farre and neere resound,
So
Fame this newes in
Pharohs Court doth tell,
Which pleased him and all his seruants well:
Therefore he thus to
Ioseph, out of hand
Thy Brethren send with Corne into their Land,
To bring their Father and his family,
That they may eate my
Lands fertilitie.
Besides, I will my Charrets thou command
For to conuey your
Father to my
Land,
With Wiues and Children, let them leaue their stuffe,
Egypt shall furnish them with store enough.
Then
Ioseph, hasting them away to send,
Peace by the way doth thus to them commend:
I will not now things past commemorate,
Your griefe and sorrow more to aggrauate:
For
God hath turn'd your
morne of
griefe and
sadnesse,
Vnto a
day of
Feasting, Ioy, and
gladnesse,
Yet patiently my louing Counsell heare,
And, by your former harmes, learne to beware:
Let not that
wicked Enuyer of mankinde
Breede discords, strifes, or quarrels in your minde,
Nor question or dispute one with another,
Who's most in fault for selling of your brother:
[Page 41]Each of his sinne vnfainedly repent,
And giue God glory, who me hither sent,
And all the euill you against me thought,
Turning to good, this great deliuerance wrought,
I send now
Charrets by the
Kings command,
To bring my aged
Father to this
land:
Ten Asses laden all with
Egypts good,
I likewise send my father for his food:
And ten she-Asses lade with corne and bread,
That by the way, you may thereof be fed:
Changes of
Rayment I to each assigne,
These
fiue my dearest
Beniamin are thine;
With these three hundred siluer peeces: So
He hath his right, yet you no wrong I do.
Let not your eye, cause I am good, be ill,
'Tis reason good enough to say,
I will:
Yet
Nature may informe you of another,
He is my onely brother by my
mother.
Enuy him not, because he in mine eyes
Most gracious is, nor shall he you despise.
Brethren, in loue and amitie combind,
Are like small stickes we in a fagot bind:
No force them bends, whilst they remaine in one:
Disioynd, a child will breake them all alone.
Hast; Fare-you-well; fall not out by the way
W'offend against my Father by your stay,
Lo! thus they flie from
Nile to
Iordans shore,
To tell their Father all you heard before.
Ioseph is yet aliue, saith
Iudah, and
Is Gouernor of all King
Pharohs land:
Alas! saith
Iacob come you me to flout,
Ioseph now liues in heau'n, I make no doubt,
He was the
Prey long since of cruell beast,
I haue his bloody,
Coate still in my chest.
[Page 42]Ah! saith
Dan, to Gods glory we confesse,
(Who hath laid open all our wickednesse)
That we our brother out of enuy fold,
When we at
Dothan pastured our fold,
To
Ishmaelites, who after for their gaine,
In
Egypt, where we found him, sold againe:
His colourd
Coate which doth with thee abide,
We dipt in bloud, our fowlest sinne to hide:
Lo! now thy sonnes on knees before thee fall,
And for this our offence beg pardon all:
Ioseph vnaskd, our trespasse did remit,
Therefore good father also pardon it.
As
Indian merchant on the sodaine told,
His ship is safe arriu'd all lade with gold,
Which long since to be cast away he feard,
Because he neuer tidings of her heard,
First wauers, and it hardly can beleeue,
Fearing lest he too sodaine credence giue,
But when he sees the
Porters bringing in
The golden
Oare, and
Ingots, doth begin
For to reuiue: Eu'n so old
Israel
Misdoubts, when first he heard his children tell
Of
Iosephs life and
glory great at Nile;
But when he thus had wauered awhile,
And saw the goodly charrets
Ioseph sent,
To bring him and his houshold from their tent
To
Egypt; and his dearest
Beniamin
Confirm'd it all for Truth: Behold within,
The old mans spirit doth againe reuiue
And cryes with Ioy:
Ioseph is yet aliue,
God pardon you all your Iniquitie,
I will goe downe and see him ere I die.
The end of the third Booke of Ioseph.
THE FOVRTH BOOKE OF IOSEPH.
NOw
Iacobs tents abound with such great store
Of corne, which they had wanted heretofore;
As if God had
heau'n's windows opened,
And to his chosen thence had rained bread:
Which he as lib'rally participates,
Vnto his
Neighbours and
Confederates
Of whom then taking leaue, soone as he might,
He to
Bersheba iourneyed that night,
Full twenty miles; where freed from heathen eyes,
He to his
God might offer sacrifice,
And saith thus to his sonnes: this is the place,
Where the
Egyptian Agar first found grace,
When as
Gods Angell made her see the well
Which sau'd the life of her and
Ishmael.
Here let vs vp to
God an
Altar reare
For sacrifice: that
God which did appeare
To
Abraham and
Isaacke, also may
To vs appeare as well vpon our way,
And in our Iourney vs direct aright:
Then in a
Dreame and
Vision of the night,
When sleepe his bodyes senses seized all,
God to his
Soule doth
Iacob, Iacob, call.
[Page 44]
I am the God vnto thy fathers knowne,
Then feare not into Egypt to go downe,
For
I will goe with thee, and make thee there
A mighty people: Therefore do not feare,
But they shall come againe: And Iosephs hand
Shall close thine eyes in the Egyptian land.
Then early from
Bersheba all arose,
And in the
Waggons all themselues dispose,
(Sixty seu'n which with
Ioseph and his sonnes
Before in
Egypt iust to seu'nty comes)
Leauing the high montanous craggy hills
Of
Pharan, neare th'
Arabian rocky shells
Vpon their left hand; bend downe, on the right
To that which the
Egyptian sea is hight,
Where a plaine way from thence to
Egypt guides
Ore
Sihor, which from
Canaan it diuides
By
South, as great
Euphrates doth diuide
Chalde, by
North, from
Canaans fruitfull side.
Here Iacob, who doth all occasions take,
Gods promise certaine to his sonnes to make,
Thus tells them: By this Riuer's is bordered
The
land God promised to
Abrams seede;
From this Egyptian Riuer, all the
lands
1. Kin. 4.21.
Are giu'n vs, eu'n to great
Euphrates sands,A King of
Iudahs seed one day shall raigne
Gen. 15.18
called there the riuer of Egypt. A cittie so called.
Ore all from
Sihor, to the riuer
maine;
Sihor on South, shall border
Iudahs side,
Euphrates, Dan: so sure as God did guide
Ioseph to
Egypt to prouide vs graine,
He to this land will bring vs backe againe:
Then by this Prouerbe men shall vnderstand,
From
Dan vnto
Bersheba all the
land,
Oh how can you incredible this deeme?
Who haue in
Egypt, Iosephs glory seene;
[Page 45]That harder was then this to bring to passe:
This promisd, but that neuer hoped was,
Then, fording
Sihor, they through
Kedar past,
A countrey barren, sauage, wild and wast,
Call'd so of
Kedar, sonne of
Ishmael:
Here
Iacob eke occasion seekes to tell
Gen. 25.13
Of Gods great goodnesse, them a
land to giue,
Not fruitlesse, barren, where the dwellers liue,
As here, of Couin, Rapine, Theft and spoile,
But a most pleasant and well watered soyle,
Where plenty both of corne and wine do grow,
A
land which doth with Milke and Honey flow.
Besides, what cause haue we our God to praise,
Who vs conducts throgh these most dangerous waies,
Amidst these Robbers, without feare or dread,
As late he at
Bersheba promised.
There was a cittie,
Called
Ostracina or
Cheres.
built of costly matterA goodly outside, but it wanted water,
Like to a lampe, that shineth faire and bright,
But wants the Oyle, that should maintaine the light:
Or like some outside gallants complement,
That lacks minds inward grace and ornament.
From
Kedar passing towards
Casius mount,
They vp vnto a goodly citty mount,
Where stood a goodly
temple dedicate,
To
Iupiter, thence
Casius nominate:
Not that huge mount which doth in
Syria lie,
Which one reports to be neare foure miles high,
Plin lib. 5.
cap. 22.
This citty eu'n on
Egypts border stands,
And is the vtmost of the
Hagarian lands.
Here
Iacob grieues at the abhomination
Of his neare kindred, and his neighbour nation
His vnckle
Ishmael, who with him came
By
Hagar, from the loynes of
Abraham,
[Page 46]And in his flesh receiu'd the
Circumcision,
But falne to foulest heathenish superstition.
Oh my deare sonnes! beware; I speake to all,
How you to foule
Idolatry doe fall,
Leauing that God, which made the heau'ns alone,
To worship
Idoles made of wood and stone;
And, by religion of mans vaine deuising,
Adore
Moone, Planets, Starres, Fire and
Sun-rising.
How are we bound, aboue all other nations,
To blesse God for our often preseruations!
But most for that God vs hath giu'n his light,
And chosen vs to worship him aright,
This
Idole, whom these heathen
Casius name,
With
Hammon Iupiter's the very same,
In
Canaan worshipt; eu'n that cursed
Cham,
From whence the
Cananites receiue their name,
Whom holy
Noah in malitious pride,
As
Ishmael good
Isaacke, did deride.
Now fiue times had
Auroras tresses bright
Chased away the shadowes of the night,
Since
Iacob came from
Hebron with his traine,
And now was iournying on his way againe
To
Egypt, when thus
Ruben doth begin,
That place where we last lodged, is the In,
Where
Gad his money in his sacke did finde,
When he for Prouender did it vnbinde,
Lo there before vs is the fruitfull downe
Of
Goshen; there aboue is
Ram'sis towne:
Not one more pleasant, spacious, fruitfull plaine
For pasture is in all the world againe;
There
Pharohs pleasure is, that we shall keepe
Our Camels, Asses, all our flockes and sheepe:
Not ten miles thence are those two citties great,
Which
Pharoh houlds for his
Imperiall Seate.
[Page 47]The one call'd
On, Egypt's Metropolis,
The other
Memphis, whose large circuit is
By measure seuenteene miles and more about,
But
On is three miles larger out of doubt;
One with three thousand paces measure may,
Betwixt these two huge citties, the midway,
There's
Iosephs country house, whence to the court
He at his ease and pleasure may resort.
Whether the
King lye at his
Memphian Bowers,
Or in his stately
Ons more princely Towers:
If God shall guide vs on our Iourney right,
Thou mayst see yet thy
Iosephs face ere night.
Then
Iacob sends out
Iudah, from that place
To
Ioseph, rightly to direct the face
Of
Iacob, and of all his sonnes and traine,
And hasten backe to bring him word againe.
Then
Ioseph takes his Chariot for to meete,
His aged father, and him duely greete:
As when good
Iacob at
Mahanaun met
Gods host, in order like an Army set,
When
Esau threatned his last ouerthrow,
So doth the glory of these worthies show,
Iosephus ad Heroum oppidum Iacobo occurrit. Ios. lib. 2. Antiq. ca. 4.
When they do both in
Goshens plaine appeare,
And each vnto the other draweth neare:
Ioseph begins to welcome his great
Sire,
And
Iacob Iosephs glory doth admire,
And but they
Idol worship both abhorred,
They one another surely had adored.
As when this
Iacob after twenty yeares
With
Laban spent, to
Isaacke ould appeares,
They each in other wondrously delight,
So do these
Worthyes two in mutuall sight,
Ioseph forgets his honour and his state,
And weepes on
Iacobs necke, eu'n as he sate,
[Page 48]And
Israel forgets he was his sonne,
And as did
Ioseph, would to him haue done.
Clouds may, not
Muses can expresse their teares,
So long forbearance mutually endeares
Them each to other: but old
Israel
To
Ioseph saith, since I may with thee dwell,
And see thee in such great prosperitie,
Lo! willingly I am content to die.
So haue I seene a faire and tender
Lambe,
Purloynd by wicked hand from louing
Dam,
Long mist, at last, when both do meete againe,
With louing Bleatings fill both hills and plaine▪
Iosephus ibidem.
Yea so th'old man with ioy was extaside,It wanted little but he there had dide,
But pious
Ioseph, with great care and paine,
By chafing brought him to himselfe againe.
Both being then in
Ioseph's Chariot plast,
Iacob begins thus with Gods fauours past:
Many all done by
Chance and
Fortune deeme,
And little of Gods
Prouidence esteeme,
I wish such would in all my life obserue,
How all mens actions here Gods purpose serue:
It was not
Chance made
Esau set at nought
His birthright, for a messe of
Potage bought:
Nor the deuise alone of my deare mother,
That got my fathers
Blessing from my brother;
For's anger kindled thus, it forth me driues
To
Laban, where I children get and wiues.
'Twas
Labans churlishnesse and auarice
Inrich'd me, by a new and strange deuice,
Colours before his
yeaning Ewes to spread,
Which made
white sheepe bring
Lambs discoulered,
These he to me for wages did allow,
And suddenly they to a number grow.
[Page 49]The murmuring of
Labans sonnes constraine
Me with my household to hast home againe,
Whom
Laban followes with an angry hart,
But God vs made good friends before we part.
Lo!
Esaus feare at
Peniel by night
Brought me to wrestle with the Lord of might;
Whose blessing so away his fury chases,
He turnes his threates to kisses and embraces.
Simeon and
Leui, cruell instruments,
From
Sichem made me to remoue my tents
To
Bethel; where my house of
Idolls clear'd
I vp an
Altar to th'Almightie reard;
And payd my
Tenth as I to him did sweare,
When first from
Esau's wrath I fled or feare,
And saw a
Ladder, which from
Earth did tend
To heau'n, whereby the
Angels did descend:
Now last thy brethrens enuy spite and hate,
By selling thee, haue sau'd my life and state;
For but for thee, we all had perished,
Amongst the
Cananites for want of Bread.
That God causd all these things, it is most cleare,
For in the most he did to me appeare,
As late when I to
Egypt should descend,
Thus all doth on Gods
Prouidence depend.
Long did I thee as dead lament and plaine,
And neuer hop'd to see my sonne againe,
And so did
Isaack thy deare Gransire grieue,
But neuer would, that thou wer't dead, beleeue,
In God he was so confident and bold,
And in the dreames, which thou before hadst told,
As if, though blind, he had foreseene this day,
But now in heauenly Ioyes he liues for ay.
Some ten yeares since, him dying in his bed,
I and my brother
Esau buried.
[Page 50]Oh! my deare sonne, my soule is much delighted,
As to relate, eu'n so to heare recited
Gods goodnesse, towards his; therefore vnfould
How God preseru'd thee since thy brethren sold
Thee to the
Ishmaelites: for thrice seu'n yeare
Are past, since I least newes of thee did heare:
Good
Iacob had no sooner made an end,
But
Ioseph was as as ready to commend
Gods care and Goodnesse in his preseruation,
From all his troubles: in this next narration.
I know not whether, by their
fault or
Fate,
It oft befalleth great men in the state,
Rich, wise and happy in their
Princes grace,
Comely in body, beautifull in face,
To be conioyned to a wanton wife,
Which sowreth all the sweetnesse of their life:
This was the
fault or
Fortune of a
Peare
Of
Pharohs, to the King his
Master deare;
My master
Potiphar, who, as I weene,
Had in his youth a skilfull Merchant beene,
And
Stewarded so frugally his owne,
That
Pharoh wise, to whom all this was knowne,
Mad him chiefe steward; they that can hold fast
Their
owne, their
Masters treasure seldome wast.
He that did by experience vnderstand,
How things are hoist vp, bought at second hand,
Hearing that Merchants stor'd with spicery,
Were come to towne, goes his owne selfe to buy
The King his masters, and his owne prouision,
,,
Thrift stands not on nice court-like superstition.
Amongst some other wares then to be sold,
A faire young
Hebrew lad, he doth behold,
Adorn'd and set out in the fairest guise,
As horses to be sold at higher prize.
[Page]A price once pitchd, and I by running tride,
As some do horses, ere they buy them, ride,
Was sold to
Potiphar, who for his table
Me bought, as we our horses for our stable▪
I of this change was most exceeding glad,
For now I
ease for
paine and
trauell had,
For hard fare,
Good; but as a gratefull minde,
Returnes ay thankes, where Benefits they finde,
So did I my good Lords munificence
Requite with Industry and diligence:
And for I found he pleasd my
Master best,
That pleasd my
Mistresse well; aboue the rest,
I to obserue her was most diligent,
And all means vsde to giue her best content:
So that by Prudence more then taking paine,
I both their Loues and Fauours sought to gaine.
For who so will obserue, shall euer find
Best way to please▪ is to obserue the mind
And the affection of men of state,
And thereunto themselues accommodate:
Therefore a blisse on good men to attend,
But misery on wicked to depend,
Both prou'd by me, who, for my seruice true,
Was by my Lord preferd to honour due,
And for like seruice to my wicked dame,
Was brought to prison, obloquy and shame.
This my
faire Mistresse, (for no other name
I giue her willing, ay to hide her shame,)
Some meane
mechaniques daughter seemes to be,
First matcht in her owne order and degree,
But raisd to wealth and honour from the dust,
Thinks all to little for her
Pride and
Lust:
And as a man that stands on steeple high,
His
equals erst doth now like
Crowes descry,
[Page 52]So she now clambred vp on
honours Spire,
Thinkes all to low her greatnesse to admire.
Soone might I in her scornfull lookes descry
Her haughtinesse, and my base slauery,
But bearing then an honest gentle minde,
Omit no seruice that may fauour finde,
Which so succeedes, that ere the
Crescent bright
Had fild her hornes with
brothers borrowed light,
I by my diligence of her did gaine
Sweet
smiling lookes, in stead of
proud disdaine.
And now the
enuious spirit, which sought of late
To ruine by my
Fathers loue, my state,
Me by my
Mistresse lust seekes to intrappe,
And dandle in
vile sinfull pleasures lappe.
Damnd
sparke of hell! Base counterfet of loue,
And those pure warming flames from heau'n aboue,
Which so true louers hearts in one vnite,
That they enioy, without offence, delight:
Therefore
true loue, like
morne is faire and bright;
Lust like an
Ympe begot of blackest night;
But later dayes, since
Rapines did abound,
Do
Lust and
Loue most wickedly confound▪
This baser
Lustfull Loue the
Spirit did chuse
(As he did first the
Serpent to abuse
The
weaker Eue) this proudest dame to traine
To tast the
fruit forbidden by deaths paine,
And kindling in her eyes first lustfull fire,
This
Sense presents it with her foule desire
To
Reasons brighter eye, which soone that flame
Makes to returne into her cheekes, with shame.
Reason with this base
Passion striued long,
Put one weake, as the other groweth strong:
But nought so checks her
Pride and courage braue,
As stooping to an hated
Hebrew slaue:
[Page 53]That she who now did sit in highest grace,
Should thus her honour great and state debase,
As to become a
vassall to her
slaue,
Pride many womens chastities doth saue.
But now the violence of lustfull flame
Had sear'd the
Reason of th'
Egyptian Dame,
Who waiting till her Lord to Court was gone,
Thus, smiling, set vpon me all alone.
Faire
Hebrews sonne, whose equall neuer I
Yet saw, nor do I thinke
Sols searching eye
In all his trauels from the East to West,
A Beautie sees with thine fit to contest,
Not that hereby I vnderprize mine owne,
Mine no
Superiour, Thine hath neuer knowne
An
equall, and though
Fates vs vp did reare
In sundry
Climates, yet since now appeare,
In one
Horison, Sunnes so equall bright,
Let's each on other shine with mutuall light,
Let thy bright
Beames vpon my Beautie shine,
I on thee will reflect both thine and mine:
Deare seruant, do not thou my grace despise,
Thee I alone can make to honour rise,
Thou seest how
Potiphar alone doth stand
In
Pharohs grace, and rules both Court and Land.
To the I loue,
I dare be bold to say,
I
Potiphar, the
Court and
Kingdome sway:
See then thy happinesse, a slaue of late,
In me to rule all
Egypts glorious state:
And if the
Fates vs send a lucky heire,
Which may like to his Parents seeme most faire,
All hearts he by thy
Beautie shall command,
And by my
right inherit all our land:
Sweet
Ioseph, let not frownings cloud thy face,
Soure lookes thy glorious Beautie do disgrace.
[Page 54]Let's take th'occasion now we are alone,
As Bodyes so our soules to ioyne in one.
So may we with good likelyhood suppose
Bright
Phebus with faire
Cynthia to close,
When ioyning for their mutuall delight,
They seeme
eclipsed to the vulgars sight.
As when some lustfull
Prince alone, vnseene,
Doth tempt the
faithfull handmaid of his queene▪
To win her to his will and wicked lust,
The modest maid considring well the trust
Of her great
Dame; whom if she so offended,
She iustly were of God and man condemned,
Prayes and intreates his awfull maiestie
Her not to force to such iniquitie,
And breake the sacred Lawes (for lustfull rage)
Of faithfull trust and holy marriage;
So I poore wretch, whose fresh and youthfull chin
Fine softest downe, to shadow did begin,
Strangely amaz'd, and grieu'd at this foule fact,
Abhorring eu'n the
offer as the
act:
Yet with all due respect and reuerence,
Did shew my duty and obedience:
And thus replide: deare
Mistresse, you shall find
Me ready ay, to satisfie your mind,
In all, where I may iustly you obay,
And not my heauenly Masters will gainsay.
My master all commits vnto my hand,
Nor knoweth he, how his owne state doth stand,
No man is greater in his house then I,
Nor doth he to my custody denie
Ought but thy selfe; because thou art his wife,
His onely comfort, deare delight, and life:
How can I to this sinne then condescend,
And not against my fathers God offend?
[Page 55]The simple rude, saith she, a sinne it call,
But here at Court, 'tis no offence at all;
Those that are most seuere against this vice,
Delight it most, Oh 'tis a deepe deuice
Of
Polititians, to make a law,
To hold their children, wiues and fooles in aw,
When they, then keepe it, nothing lesse intend,
But at their pleasures diuersly offend:
I know not one braue spirit in
Pharohs Court,
That this esteems of other then a sport,
And yet their faire yong lusty able wiues
Must, like
reclused virgins, leade their liues;
For my part I haue learned this by kind,
Such measure as men meete vs, they shall find:
Then blushing she doth
Teares like
Pearles distill,
For she had
teares and
Blushes at her will.
But I replide,
good Madame, be content,
I cannot to your arguments consent:
To proue from
Greatnesse, lawfulnesse to euill,
Is for to draw a
Paterne from the
Deuill,
Who is the greatest worldly Potentate,
Yet no excuse 'tis him to imitate:
For great mens faults they are vnsearch'd, vnkowne
To me; I haue enough to mend my owne:
They that seuerely iudge sinne, yet delight
Therein, they iudge themselues, and yet iudge right:
And who do thus Gods iudgements iust abuse,
Must neuer hope, that
greatnesse shall excuse,
Will you, because men wrong your sexe, offend,
Your
Maker? God such wickednesse defend,
Embrace true chastitie of flesh and mind,
Which honours men and graceth womankind.
But notwithstanding she, from day to day,
Me wooes, yet would I not her voyce obay,
[Page 56]But shun'd, by all good meanes, her company,
Till one day she occasion did espy,
I being in my closet all alone,
And in the house not of the houshold one:
Then all inrag'd with
Fury heate and
Lust,
Like hungry Hawke that hath a Partridge trust,
She on my garment ceasde immodestly
And cride, come sleepe with me, or else I die.
Not
Rachels losse, my
Brethrens rage, nor yet
The
feare of Famine lying in the pit,
Nor
Midians bondage did me so perplexe,
As now this womans
furious Lust doth vexe,
Who as the
cruell Serpent's said to wind
About the noble
Elephant by kind;
So winds this
wicked monster, womans shame,
About me to my sorrow and her blame
What shall I fly? she me too fast doth hold,
Shall I cry out? for shame be it not told
A manlike heart did for a woman cry,
Oh who can but bewayle my misery!
Should I but now to dalliance consent,
Me followes honour, pleasure, worlds content,
But if that I this offerd grace reiect,
Bondage, disgrace, a prison I expect,
But fearing more diuine reuenging hand,
Then racke, disgrace, imprisonment or band,
Taking more pleasure in a conscience sound,
Then all wealth, honours, ioyes she did propound,
Acquite my body, though I left behind
My garment, and out of the rome doe winde:
So haue I seene some modest country maid,
With some vnciuill vsage much dismaid,
Closely her Aprons strings, to escape, vntie,
And left it with the clowne, away to flie.
[Page 57]Who can the
Leopards fell rage display,
Chasing a Pilgrim fast vpon the way,
And laying on his Cloke her cruell pawes,
Eu'n ready to deuoure him in her Iawes,
Who strucke with sudden terrour and affright,
Forsakes his Cloake and scapes by winged flight,
May tell the rage of this most cruell Dame,
Who now hath nothing left, but spight and shame:
Then raging, that her
Beautie which she priz'd
Aboue all others, should be so despis'd,
Shee cals her Seruants in, and to them told,
How that base
Hebrew slaue was growne so bold,
And proud of hers, and her deare husbands grace,
That now he did aspire into his place;
And would haue slept with her, had she not cride,
All which his garment left here testifide,
Which vp vntill her Lords returne, she laid,
Then with my Coate her malice she displaid;
For which my Lord, me into Prison cast,
My daies in paine and miserie to waste;
Thus lightly crediting the accusation,
And his false Wifes most guilefull simulation,
He by his rashnesse lost a seruant iust,
And still maintaines a strumpets Pride and Lust.
But as a six-squar'd Dye, or carued stone,
How euer cast, stands still vpright, all one,
So was I constant in
Aduersitie,
As resolute in my
prosperitie:
That
God which me had erst deliuered
From Brethrens
Fury, and me honored
In time of my vniust captiuitie,
Me leaues not now in this Calamitie,
Oh happy they! whose
Conscience them acquite,
That heere they
suffer wrong for doing
right,
[Page 58]So but a while
Gods leisure they attend,
They sure shall haue a good and happy end:
Let Tyrants rage, they God as gentle, kind,
In Prison, as in Paradise doe finde:
Wherefore though I was of my Coate bereft,
My masters Grace, and Fauour, and now left
In stinking dungeon, yet I felt no harme,
God gaue me power my
Iailours hands to charme;
And sent me in the
Prison-Keepers sight,
Fauour and grace for
Potiphars despight.
For now that former diligence, which gain'd
Mee fauour with my Lord, like trust obtain'd
Mee in the Prison, so that to my care,
Lo all the Prisoners committed are:
The Keeper lookes to nought vnder his hand,
God euer prospers all I did command.
About this season, as it oft befals,
Great
Fauorites in Court haue suddaine falls,
By their owne faults, or others accusation,
Or by their Lords dislike and alteration
Of Fauorites: Two Lords of high regard
In
Pharohs Court, committed are to warde:
The Keeper these doth to my trust commend,
That I with diligence should them attend:
These wanton Courtiers which had formerly
Liu'd all in plentie, ease, and Iollitie,
Acknowledging nor seruing other God
Then
Pharoh, and now chast'ned with his rod;
As without soules this change of Fortune beare,
But I by all meanes sought my charge to cheare,
And told them, if indeed they guiltlesse were,
The iustest
King of
Heau'n would finde them cleere;
And if they had through frailtie him offended,
So they their sinnes confessed and amended,
[Page 59]Hee eu'n as willing was them to forgiue,
As they in's Grace and fauour here to liue:
How earthly
Kings our bodies might enchaine,
But still our soules in Freedome did remaine:
With many such good words I sought to please
My charge, who found therein no little ease,
And grew lesse heauy; till both in one night
Had seuerall Dreams, which did them much affright,
Which soone as I had heard, I right aread,
And as I told, so all things followed.
Such Visions are not like Dreames naturall,
Which ordinary vs in sleepe befall:
They in our
Soules deeper impressions leaue,
Then such as commonly the
Sense deceiue;
Which in the
Fantasie worst reuell keepe,
When
Common-sense the
Master is a sleepe;
And doe th'
Imagination vaine delight
Sometime with hope, sometime with Feare affright,
Working most on th'
affections of the minde,
When
Sleepe the Bodies senses fastest binde,
For eu'n in Sleepe,
Griefe, Ioy, Feare, Hope, Hate, Loue,
The soules affections wake, and liuely moue.
God often by such Visions tels men plaine,
What things they ought to doe, and what refraine,
Sometimes by Dreames to them are
promised
Great
Blessings, and
great curses threatened:
God oft thus shewes one his determination,
And giues another the interpretation,
Thus vnto me two Dreames by night he told,
Which, as they proue, my
Grand-sire did vnfold,
Thus
Pharohs Seruants first, and next their
King
See things to come, But the interpreting
Was giu'n to me, which done, I told them plaine,
Interpreting to
God as
Dreames pertaine:
[Page 60]And now who thinkes, but that I thought it long
Yet two yeares to abide in Prison strong?
After I had so well interpreted
His dreame, whom now the King so honored,
But hauing learn'd with
Patience to attend
Gods leasure, and to hope vnto the end,
Eu'n at that time, when as I least expected,
So long of
Pharohs Cup-bearer neglected,
He that doth all things heere by weight and measure,
On whom they all attend to doe his pleasure,
By one poore Dreame but from an heathen King,
What's long before decreed to passe doth bring:
I rais'd to
Grace, the World from
Famine quite,
The
Butler doth acknowledge his
ore-sight:
South sayers weakenesse is discouered,
And God is all in all acknowledged,
My
Brethren bold are to
Repentance brought
For all the wickednesse, which they had wrought:
And this my wicked Mistris may reclame,
And bring her to acknowledgement with shame,
And make my master see his foolish passion,
And learne to Iudge by better information:
My two first Dreames proue true which I had told,
My Fathers spirit reuiu'd now being old:
Pharoh thus gaines the wealth of all his Land,
And must acknowledge it from Gods owne hand,
Thus all the parts of this sweet sacred story,
Are for mans good, but end all with
Gods glory,
All these are now the Consequence and Theames
Of mine, of
Pharohs and his seruants Dreames.
See farther heere,
Satans Maleuolence,
And
mans will freely serue
Gods prouidence:
Satan sought by my brethrens Crueltie,
In me to ruine
Isaacks Family.
[Page 61]My brethren me of wilfull enuie sould,
And for the twentie siluer peeces told,
The
Midian Merchants bought me for their gaine,
And into
Egypt meant to sell againe:
God hither sent me Graine heere to prouide,
Else thou and all thy sonnes for want had dide:
Thus
Satan sought dishonour of
Gods name,
And all for this my Brethren rightly blame,
Goodmen such Merchant's Couetise detest,
That buy and sell
Gods Image as a beast:
But
God who's only powrefull, good, and wise,
From all these euils makes the
Good arise.
But I thus hauing in great
Pharohs grace,
Obtain'd the first, in Realme the second place:
First pray to
God me to direct aright,
To vse this fauour and my borrowed Light;
Nor sought I mine owne honour, wealth, and praise,
But his, who did me from the Dungeon raise,
And therefore, first take care for publike good,
Prouiding 'gainst the
Future Famine food:
Wherefore, I first through
Egypt Circuit ride
And
garners great in eu'ry place prouide,
In those seu'n fruitfull yeares to fill with store
Of eu'ry
Graine: And sith it is no more
Vertue to purchase, then preserue, no tide
I slipt, but did most carefully prouide,
To kill all Vermine, cut off all excesse
Of Gluttonie, and beastly Drunkennesse:
Abate all needlesse Beasts, Dogges, Mules and Horse,
Ridde idle Rogues and Vagrants, which are worse
Then
Catter-pillars to consume the store,
To rob the richest and to sterue the poore:
No Corne out of the Land let I goe out,
But buy in rather from the Coasts about,
[Page 62]And many
Forrests which before did ly
All waste, I vnto
Tillage did apply:
Thus I proceede, and God so blest my hand,
That all things prosper ouer all the Land.
But when the yeares of plentie all are past,
And all the Land of
Egypt lyeth waste,
So that they liue of former yeares remaines,
Which them perhaps a month or two sustaines,
The people first of
Pharoh seeke supply,
Who them to
Ioseph sends; I suddenly
Set ope the Barnes, and sell for money out
The Corne to all the Nations round about.
Now is the time indeed, that I might buy
Castles and
Lands for my
Posteritie,
But I all money bring to
Pharohs hand,
To be the
strength, and
sinewes of the
Land:
If
Pharoh will bestow on me a
Place,
Or money to buy
Land, I of his
Grace
Will
House and
Land, as I my
Office hold:
Strangers in purchasing may be too bold.
When all their money's spent with buying bread,
One yeare with Corne I them for Cattell fedde:
But when the next yeare they in neede doe stand,
I will for Corne their Bodies buy and
Land,
But all for
Pharoh: whereby growing strong,
He and his Empire may continue long:
And to establish more his Segnurie,
From
Place to
Place I will each
Colonie
Transplant, who on the
East of
Nile abide,
I will remoue vnto the other side:
Thus
Pharoh Lord of Egypt shall be knowne,
By
Seisin, none shall say this is mine owne.
Thus haue I seene when
Want or
Waste compell
A
Gallant his Inheritance to sell,
[Page 63](Lest any right in him should still be thought)
Giue place to him that hath the purchase bought,
And in another Countrie dwelling hire,
Whether he with his houshold may retire.
Thus will I doe with all the
Common Lands,
But for the
Sacred in the
Prophets hands,
To
Muses and to
Learning dedicate,
Or to
Religious vses consecrate,
I thinke it
Sacriledge indeed to touch,
Could all by this example learne as much:
And let the
Priests their
Portions freely eate,
Whose Braines in youth for vnderstanding sweate,
Their age in
Prayers and
Perswasions spend,
To saue the Good, and wicked to amend.
When I
seau'n yeares haue furnisht them with bread,
I in the
eighth will furnish them with seede
To sowe their
Land, The
fifth of whose increase
Shall be the
Kings: The other
foure in Peace,
They and their Housholds eate: And this shall stand
For euer as a
Law in
Pharohs Land:
The
Priests Lands only shall be euer free,
For to the Lord they consecrated bee.
Now, as I said, when I did Circuit ride,
And
Egypts Land suruai'd from side to side:
One thing of greatest vse I did obserue,
Which doth perpetuall memory deserue,
Which, if it once were rightly vnderstood,
Would force all studious of the
publique good
To doe, speake, write, of this most rare inuention,
Till to effect they brought what next I mention:
A peece of Land an
Istmos, Barre, or
stay,
Twixt
Midland-Sea, and the
Arabian Bay,
Suppos'd some
Sex aut septem miliaeria a capite Delta admare rubrum. Gorop. Hisp. lib. 6.
Herod plus distantiae po
[...]it. lib. 2.
ten Miles ouer at the most,Adioineth fast vnto th'
Egyptian Coast,
[Page 64]Which if one by a
Channel did diuide,
Both Seas might each into the other slide.
This if it were once
Psamni. thus Egyptorum Rex hoc tentauit, sed oraculo interpellatus desutit. Herod. ibidem.
nauigable made,Would bring, to Kings and people of each trade,
Such wondrous gaine as cannot be expected,
With endlesse fame to those which it effected:
For it would ope an easie way and prest
To saile from
Europe, Affricke, Asia-West
Within
few daies to the rich
Indyes place,
Which hardly now is done in three yeares space:
How might all dwellers on the earth hereby,
Soone be enriched by their Industrie?
When by this
Channel Merchants might conuey,
Exchange of Merchandize so neare a way,
Eu'n from the
Northerne Iles and
Westerne Lands
To
China, Ganges, and the
Indian Sands.
This
proiect I to
Pharoh did commend,
Intreating him this
princely worke t' intend,
But some base mindes, actiue in nought but ill,
Men of acedious spirits, and little skill,
Who are most forward ay to vilisie
All workes of
Honour, Art, and
Industrie,
Were ready this most noble worke to stay,
Saying a
Beare, or
Lyon's in the way.
This
Isthmos, say
Eedam significat aggerem perpetuū nullo modo rumpendum: Gorop. lib. 6.
Hisp.
they, is ordain'd by fate,To barre these Seas that they should neuer meete,
But euermore remaine a fatall Damme,
Betwixt them both; and therefore call'd
Eedam.
A fancie vaine, which from mistaken name
Some superstitious wisards idely frame,
For 'tis not call'd
Eedam, and though it were,
Who for this name would this attempt forbeare?
For
Eedam notes in language
Cimbrica seu Germanica. Gorop.
which they meane,A
Dam significat aggerem fluctibus Maris & aquarum oppositum. Gorop. Herm lib 4.
Ee. significat firmum.
firme strong water-course great Bankes between;
[Page 65]So from that name they might more truly gather,
This
Isthmos should be a
firme current rather.
For waters course; which I more boldly say,
Because not
Eedam it, but
Hebraite sic vocatur & sic vocandae est.
Eetham ayWas call'd, and so is still; by which is ment
That with his double
Etham dicitur vel ab Hebraeo Thaam (permecathesin) qd. significat geminum quiae inter duo maria positum est: vel ab Ethah quod significat curro quia Ethā olim futurus est locus vbi mare currat.
side the Seas close pent,Shall one day haue a
Current faire and great,
In which the waues of both those Seas shall meete,
And haue so large a passage, Ships may turne,
As they goe to the
Indies or returne.
And whereas these fantastique men doe dreame,
This to effect impossible doth seeme.
They without reason, selfe-conceited, wise,
Against the publike profit this deuise;
High
Athas mons. celissimus factus est nauigabilis à Xerxe, Plut. Iust. & alij.
Mountaines, Rockes of flint haue bin made plaine,And forc'd to yeeld a passage to the
Maine,
Yea who knowes not that far more harder
Quales sunt obelisci 4.
quorum v. nusquis
(que) erat 480.
cubitorum longitudine.
things,Haue beene effected by the
Egyptian Kings,
But neuer any of such Eminence,
Nor any that could bring such recompence
As this; For little labour, cost and paine,
Would to th'whole world bring infinite great gaine.
Another let they tell as fond and vaine,
That if this
Barre be cut, th'
Arabian Maine
Doth rise so high, his waues would ouer-flow
All th'
Egyptian plaines, they ly so low:
But I vpon my view could not descry
Twixt Sea and Land such inequallitie:
But howsoeueuer Earth, stones, and that doth rise
From digging of the Channell, would suffice
To raise
Sea walles, for a most strong defence,
Against the waters rage, and violence,
And more secure on either side the shore,
From ouerflowing then it was before,
[Page 66]But though I haue small hope to win this Nation,
To cut this
shorter course, for
Nauigation,
Yet when
that King to whose high Scepters sway,
All Nations, will they, nill they, must obey,
Shall rule as well o're
Asia 'nd
Europes Lands,
As
China, India, and
Arabian Sands.
Some potent
Monarch will himselfe alone,
Or many
Princes ioyning all in one,
Will take this Noble enterprize in hand,
And make this shorter passage to each Land,
If not for th' ease and good of
Nauigation,
Yet for
Gods Gloryes farther propagation,
That so his
Words and
Wisedomes glorious sound,
May through all Corners of the Earth resound,
This for the
publique good I haue made knowne,
In
Egypt, as I now to thee haue showne,
Now whilst I for the
Publique take such care,
Pharoh at home a
helpe doth me prepare,
A
Princes daughter, Egypts ornament,
For whom
King Pharoh with her Father sent,
And welcomes thus: Great
On! who by thy place,
Art to me
next, and
second in my grace;
Ioseph is first, whose merits to display,
To light a candle were in clearest day:
All
Nilus Borders doe resound his fame,
And honour most-deseruedly his name:
Strength, youth, and vigour in his face appeares,
And wisedome in his heart of graiest haires:
His
Beauty, as his
Vertue hath no paire,
Him would I match with
Asenah thine heire,
I know he is a stranger in this place,
And wants
Possessions, yet in
Pharohs grace,
And he thou know'st deserueth at my hands,
To haue a part in all my
Goods and
Lands.
[Page 67]The reuerend
Priest replyes: Dread Soueraigne,
Lo! all the
Place and
honour I obtaine
In
Egypt, I acknowledge from thy grace:
Which is enough to raise to highest place
The
meanest, But thou dost a match propound,
Where
Vertues more then
honours doe abound:
Amongst the many
Fauours thou hast done
Thy
Seruant, this I deeme the highest one,
A
Priest to be so gracious in thy sight,
To match his Childe with
Pharohs Fauorite:
May't please your Grace to aske the maids consent,
But by her lookes, I see shee is content,
For then her
vaile (where modestly she shrouds
Her radiant Rayes, as
Sol doth his in clouds)
Put off, such heau'nly Beautie did disclose,
As if another
Sunne in Court arose,
Which as the
Rising Sunne the Courtiers all
Adore, and like a
Queene before her fall:
Then
Pharoh saith, her taking by the hand,
By silence thy consent we vnderstand,
Good daughter, thou art like thy Parents faire,
As of their
Goods, be of their
Graces heire:
A fitter match for
Ioseph none can find,
If to thy Bodies grace thou suit thy minde,
So, as thine
outward Beauties heaun'ly shine,
Thine
inward shall b' Angellicall diuine,
Oh! Labour to be glorious within,
So
Gods, mans Iosephs fauour thou shalt win,
The
King forth with then sends for me in haste,
And first repeating all things as they past,
With his owne hand her giues me for my Bride,
Assuring vs for euer to abide
As louing, as our Fathers naturall:
When humbly I vpon my face did fall,
[Page 68]And first gaue thankes, as dutie did require
To
Pharoh, next vnto her holy
Sire.
As when Garden
Adam all alone
Saw
Eue, flesh of his flesh, Bone of his Bone,
He her embrac'd, kiss'd and so highly priz'd,
As if all Beautie were epitomiz'd
In his faire Rib, now with the Body met,
(Two Sunnes, which but for sinne had neuer set)
So I, who, though in
honour, was alone
In
Egypt, till I met my flesh and Bone,
Sweete
Asenah, in whose faire eyes and face,
I saw my mother
Rachels comely grace;
This
Egypts Gem, whose eies I did behold,
Like radiant Diamonds faire set in
Gold;
Embrace, kisse, loue her, and her Grace admire,
And set her as the Bound of my desire:
Thinking I now did reape with treble gaine,
The Crop of all my trauell care and paine.
Then in the presence of the Court and King,
I courted her with this speech following.
Faire Lady whose high Grace and Beautie seene
To me your seruant, may become a
Queene.
Yet art, (such is thine humblenesse) content
To be poore
Iosephs: without complement,
I am all yours, nor doe I lesse esteeme
Your worth, because you it so meanely deeme:
Our
Sexes duety to your
Sexe I know,
Is you to Court intreate and humbly woe,
But since that seruice you to me remit,
I will so much remaine more in your debt.
My time is pretious, therefore let me show
To you in briefe, what
Iosephs wife must doe.
It is not this worlds false, vaine glittering glory,
So full of hazard, lubrique, transitorie,
[Page 69]At which I aime: 'Tis an eternall place,
Where we shall liue for ay in blessed case,
Whether the
gods, Th'
Egyptians wont to serue,
Can neuer bring you: He that will preserue
This
Land from
Famine by th'interpretation
Of
Pharoh's Dreames, must bring to this saluation▪
One
God with
Ioseph must his wife adore,
One
God one true Religion, and no more:
God iealous is, no
Idol-stocke or stone,
May be his
Riuall, God, and
Truth is one:
These worldly shewes delights and vanitie,
As
Mortall with our
Mortall Bodies die,
The
Pleasures which I speake off ay remaine,
Eternall thus for
Temporall we gaine.
This God my Fathers with their wiues haue serued
Who to this day from dangers me preserued,
This
God me from the dungeon deepe did raise
To be thy Husband, him for euer praise:
Madame, your
King and
Father are content,
But your owne mouth must shew your free consent.
When fairest
Asenah long silence breakes,
And as an Angell sent from Heau'n thus speakes:
Good sir such is my due and filiall awe,
My Fathers iudgement is to me a
Law,
Much more my
Soueraignes: But such worth in you
I see and heare of, I should rather sue,
But for my
Sexes bashfull modesty,
For such an honour, rather then deny:
Nor shall I meanely of my selfe thus deeme,
To honour him, whom
King and
Realme esteeme
Their Father, and the
Kingdomes Fauourite.
What greater Grace befals a mortall wight?
Sir, that Religion, which my holy
Sire
Taught me his child, inform'd my soules desire,
[Page 70]Worlds
Glory, Pompe, and vainenesse to despise,
But thy Religion makes men heau'nly wise,
And brings them by an vpright conuersation,
To happy euer lasting habitation.
Therefore as
thy Religion our transcends,
As aiming at more high and happy ends,
So greater is my Ioy and happinesse,
To match, where I it truly must professe.
So sure as that (whereof thou didst diuine
By Dreames) shall come to passe, so am I thine:
Thy
God shall be my
God, and mine thy Nation,
In earth, graue, heau'n one be our habitation:
What thou approu'st as good, the same doe I;
With thee,
Sweete Hebrew, let me liue and dye.
Pardon: A womans Tongue knowes no content,
Yea, is enough t'expresse a Maids consent.
Lo thus
Hearts, hands, words, wishes, ioin'd in one,
Two by
Consent, become
one Flesh and
Bone.
Then princely
On begins: Lo
God hath tide
These two in one, Let no
Man them diuide:
Deare Daughter, I to
Ioseph thee commit,
Thou therefore must thy Fathers house forget,
And people: so shall sonnes before thee stand,
Fit to beare rule as Princes in the Land:
That
God whom
Pharoh, On and
Ioseph serue,
Who, as he all things made, doth all preserue,
God who of things to come to
Pharoh told
By Dreames, which none but
Ioseph could vnfold,
When
God him from the Dungeon did aduance,
To saue vs by a great Deliuerance,
God Authour sole, and end of happinesse,
This holy Marriage and this Vnion blesse
Of the
Egyptian, and the
Hebrew Nations;
And make them happy in their Generations,
[Page 71]And honour ay in heau'n our Sou'raigne
King,
As he his
Seruants honours in this thing.
The
King thus pleas'd in royall pompe and state
With sumptuous Feasts and showes doth celebrate
Our Marriage day, where all with Musique rings,
And
King and Court a happy
Hymen sings.
Happy I hope though with an Heathen Dame,
Whose
Grace and
Vertues I the rather name,
That you may know we here as elsewhere finde,
Some
good as well as
bad of woman-kind,
As a
loose wicked wife of
Potiphar,
So a most
pious childe of
Putiphar:
But why should I time in her praises spend,
Since her owne Workes, her best of all commend,
God me hath giu'n, by her, two louely Boyes,
Before the
Famine, which are all my Ioyes:
Lo! here shee kindly comes with all her traine,
Her welcome Father for to entertaine:
For now they all at
Iosephs gate arriue,
Where
Pharohs Peares, and
Seruants all doe striue,
How best their
Loues and
Seruice shew they may,
To adde more honour to this happy day.
When
Asenah, first kneeling downe, begun
Oh holy
Father, of a blessed sonne,
Blesse me thy
Daughter; Blessed shall they be,
Whom thou dost blesse: As welcome now to me,
As dearest
Ioseph to his
Fathers sight.
All
Egypts glory yeelds not such delight.
When
Iacob, Daughter; Fitter 'tis for me,
To your great
state, to bow my humble knee,
But rightly you of me a blessing craue,
No other
Dower to bestow I haue,
The Lord on thee from Heau'n all Blessings shower:
But
Iacobs tongue not hauing farther power,
[Page 72]Now to expresse his Wondrous Ioy and Loue,
His eyes produce abundant Teares to proue
His ioyfull soule, for
Iosephs happy state,
When
Iosephs Steward tells him it was late
And supper time: Wherefore they all addrest
Themselues, in their due order, to the feast.
THE FIFTH BOOKE OF IOSEPH.
SOone as
Aurora, with her blushing face,
Vsherd the
Gyant out to run his race,
His longest Iourney from the
East to
West,
Good
Ioseph, though he ouernight did feast,
Eu'n all th'astates of
Egypt with their traine,
His father in more state to entertaine,
Gets vp and with his seruants all repaires
Vnto a
chappell by, to publike praiers,
Which
Pharoh had giu'n
Ioseph there to serue
God, who from famine
Egypt did preserue,
No time to men of action is so free
For their deuotions, as the Mornings bee,
Especially for those that liue at Court,
Where they make
Dinners long, but
Prayers short,
But they done;
Ioseph doth his speech direct
Thus to his Brethren: you perhaps expect,
That I, now for mine owne and houses grace,
Should raise you all to honourable place,
And make you Lords at least in
Pharohs land,
But if you wisely things will vnderstand.
And know that honour ladeth more then graces,
If
wealth and
vertues answer not your places,
To you, as quietly to liue in
tents.
You that haue had your
Breeding in such sort,
Cannot obserue the
Niceties of Court:
They, whose
ambition would be ouer all,
The higher climb'd oft take the greater fall:
Equals enuy▪ Superiours such disdaine,
Inferiours maligne, all seeke their gaine,
Grace and Preferment by anothers frowne;
Who get vp seeke to thrust the other downe.
Courtiers are
Dials, whilst
Sol on them shines,
Obseru'd of all, else but as painted
Lines.
Many
Court-honour onely do admire,
And as another
heau'n on
earth desire:
These onely looke on outward
splendour, showne,
Our inward cares and dangers are vnknowne,
None would enuy our glory and content,
Knew they the weight and cares of gouernment:
They
Altas burthen on their shoulders brare,
To whom committed is the
publique Care,
Besides most stand in such high slippery places,
I would not haue their
hazard for their graces.
I speake not to dehort from gouernment
The wise, for feare of griefes and discontent,
Vnder this burthen they must bow their backe,
Lest if the wicked rule all goes to wracke:
But who are
prudent, moderate and
wise,
Are rather raisd for
worth, then seeke to rise:
And such like tubs on their owne bottome stand,
Nor neede the least support of others hand;
When they which want this true worth of their owne,
No sooner clamberd vp, but tumble downe,
The first like
fixed Starres stand firme and fast,
Last make faire showes, like
Comets, but sonne wast,
[Page 75]Their matter is
pure elementall fire,
Of these
ambitious humour and
desire:
Such is the
Humour of
Ambition vaine,
For
grace and offices to take much paine,
Wherein they neuer comfort take nor rest,
So feare of loosing doth their mind molest:
When could they their
faire Fortunes vse aright,
They
Freedome might enioy with much delight.
I fiue of you, my brethren, will present
To
Pharoh, who I know hath an intent
To giue you any honour you require,
But you his
Fauour onely shall desire,
And tell him plainely how you haue been bred,
And heards and cattell all your life time fed.
(My reason is, for that this occupation
Is here in
Egypt of small reputation)
Desiring you of his
high grace may hold,
Some pastures onely for your flocks and fold,
Where you may serue God free from care and strife▪
And pray for
Pharohs long and happy life:
Should I you all now raise to
Dignitie,
Ones
Folly ruine might the
Family;
Many vnited stronger are then one,
But 'tis most: what more safe to stand alone:
Especially so high; where one mans
fall
May make a breach, and so indanger
all.
Oh happinesse, if knowne, of country bowers!
Where in
Deuotion they their freer howers
May spend, and with Groues citizens sweet sing
Diuinest praises to the heau'nly King:
Where free from plots and vndermining Arts,
All may the
Truth speake boldly from their hearts,
(For to a goodman 'tis no little paine
To flatter for the greatest grace and gaine)
[Page 76]There may they see their
Lambs grow great and more,
And heauenly blessings on their stocke and store;
There may they see corne thriue vpon their lands,
And God to prosper all workes passe their hands:
Happy whose
lot falls in so faire a ground,
Such pleasures are at Court but seldome found;
But lets make hast, my brethren to the court,
My businesse is long, my time but short.
And now had
Phoebus climb'd vp to such height,
His beames did warme the world, as well as light,
When
Israell old; with trauell wearied,
Slept sound, till waking, he much wondred
(Thinking himselfe at first in his owne tents)
To see such costly gorgeous ornaments:
But soone remembring where he did abide,
He turnes to
Leah lying by his side:
And thus begins, Deare wife! should I suruay
Gods blessings from my birth, vnto this day,
And in a summe his benefits recount;
They would my
dayes, nay eu'n my
howres surmount.
His
Goodnesse, Wisedome, Foure, Loue in those past
Shin'd seuerall, but all now in this last:
Goodnesse in drawing so much good from ill,
To worke the sound good purpose of his will:
His powre herein is manifestly showne,
In raising vp the
meeke, and throwing downe
The prowd; his heauenly
wisedome did foresee:
And told vs all by dreames which now we see:
The
Starres eleu'n to
Ioseph bow'd long sence,
Now we the
Sunne and
Moone him reuerence:
And lastly here appeares his wondrous
Loue
That all for's glory and our good doth proue.
Thus
Israel doth Gods benefits recite,
Beginning in the morning eu'n till night.
[Page 77]But whilst he thus Gods
Bounty magnifide
Like fairest
Ewe with
twin Lambs by each side,
Comes
Asenah, on either hand a sonne,
Smugge, liuely, like two Rabbets newly run:
Which seemd their mothers gracefull steps to guide,
As two trim
Squires that leade to Church a Bride,
The tender boyes, whose mothers pious care,
Before had taught themselues aright to beare,
Downe on their knees before their Grandsire fall,
And sweetly to him for his blessing call:
The good old man whose heart doth dance for ioyes
To see his
Nephews, thus begins, sweete boyes,
Which like two fairest
Iuly flowers showne,
Or buds of damaske
Roses scarcely blowne.
Oh these my daughter giue you more content
Then
Egypts wealth and costliest ornament.
Me thinks they hang vpon each arme of thine,
Like two faire
Clusters on a fruitfull
Vine.
These shall renew our dying memory,
And vs reuiue vnto Posteritie.
Behold I see in little
Ephraims face,
My dearest
Rachels louely lookes and grace.
Manasses like to
Ioseph doth appeare,
Who aboue all his brethen was my deare.
But oh! my daughter, how much am I bound
To you, for vndeserued fauours found;
But
Ioseph more; a Princesse of your state
So lowly to descend to be his mate?
God make him worthy of your grace and loue,
And that he may as acceptable proue
To you his deare, as he was wont be blest
With highest fauours, alwayes of the best.
For he at
home in
Bondage, Prison, Court,
In grace was alwayes with the better sort.
Best lou'd and trusted him in euery thing:
Then
Asenah? I wish you were obserued
Here, my deare
father, as you haue deserued:
As for your sonne no noblenesse of birth,
Nor
Egypts dowers can counteruaile his worth,
Who me hath taught the vanity of state,
Me
worthy make as
happy of my mate;
Such is his worth and noblenesse of mind,
I wonder not that he should fauour find
Amongst the best: But shall I you intreate
To tell your daughter, what you vse to eate,
For here you all must as at home command,
We but desire your will to vnderstand.
Daughter saith
Iacob I was neuer nice
Nor dainty to consume things of high price,
That's alwayes best you easiliest can prepare,
Better are
homely Cates then
forraine fare.
My heards my foode, my sheepe my clothing breade,
No better weare I, nor no other feede:
Sixe score and ten yeares haue I beene content
To liue on milke, fruits, and such nourishment:
Yet few or none that to mine age attaine,
So strong of body are, and free from paine:
But aboue all, the weather being faire,
I loue to walke abroad in freshest aire;
After my mornings draught to stirre, is good
For to refresh the
Spirits and warme the blood,
This is the way diseases to preuent,
I thanke God, I neere knew what phisicke ment.
Thus whilst they talke in plaine familiar sort,
Lo
Ioseph vnexpected comes from Court,
And tells his father, how he did present
His brethren to the King, who is content
[Page 79]Them to employ according to their breeding,
In looking vnto sheepe and cattell feeding,
And now he much desires to see your face,
And with all
Courtly honour you to grace:
I (
Iacob saith) with all my heart will goe
To that
good King, that
Ioseph honours so,
But I desire of him no greater grace,
Then to liue in his
Land and see
thy Face,
I hope he likewise will conceiue my breeding,
And leaue me to my flockes and Cattell feeding.
Ioseph his Father then to
Pharoh brings,
Who doing first Obeisance due to Kings
Begins, oh! blessed, blest thou euer be,
That rais'd my
Ioseph to such Dignitie,
From Dungeon where stockes did his
Limbs enroule,
And yrons enter'd eu'n into his Soule,
To rule all
Egypt by thy borrowed might,
And be alone great
Pharohs Fauorite.
And blest be ay for thy Benignitie,
Who sauest me and all my Family
From perishing; Alas! for want of food,
God render in thy Bosome all thy good,
And double thy fore-Fathers daies vpon
Thee, and thy seede that sit vpon thy throne.
Thus ends the
Sage: when
Pharoh thus replide,
How much more cause haue I to blesse the tide,
That noble
Ioseph did to
Egypt driue,
To saue me and my people all aliue:
Come hither
Iacob, let me thee embrace,
How can I but loue thee, and all thy race,
Whom now as Cause and Author I doe see
Oh
Ioseph? Father of all mine and mee:
It ioyes me
Israel most exceedingly,
When I thy sonne in ought can gratifie,
[Page 80]To whom my Kingdome, Life, and all I ow,
As thou and thine, and all the people know:
God sent thy
Ioseph, as a man before,
To lay vp here against this famine store,
For had we not by his foresight beene fed,
We, thou and all, for want, had perished.
Thy
Ioseph doth
informe my
Senatours,
And
Wisedome teach vnto my
Counsellours:
Well may he rule then ore my house and Land,
And all my substance haue at his command,
I am to this by
Prouidence but led,
God hath indeed thus
Ioseph honored.
Thou seemst of no lesse wisedome and defert,
Then good old father, tell how ould thou art,
And in what course, thou hast worne out this terme,
I aske not to examine, but to
learne:
Examples more then precepts teach to liue;
Good King, saith
Iacob, thou doest eu'n reuiue
My older age to heare thy wondrous loue
To
Ioseph, whom more then my selfe I loue.
But seeing thou inquirest of mine age,
Know that the dayes here of my
Pilgrimage
A hundred and full thirty yeares haue beene,
The dayes are
few and
ill which I haue seene,
Nor haue I yet attained to the age,
And dayes of my forefathers
Pilgrimage.
Two things I studdy here especially,
The first to
liue well, second well to
die,
For what is all our life once gone and past,
But eu'n a way vnto our happy last.
The
terme from whence to all flesh is the
wombe;
That whither all doe hasten is the
Tombe.
He happiest here who findeth on the way,
Fewest impediments his course to stay.
Honour, preferment, pleasure, strength and health,
Some equally of both participate,
This is the
meane, yet safe and happiest
Fate,
The highest I did euer here aspire:
And in this state I still to liue desire.
The highest honours to your
Grace are due,
For God hath with a
Kingdome honourd you,
Whereof you haue your selfe most worthy showne,
In looking to Gods
glory, not your owne.
Wisely therefore, I speake it to your praise,
You honour them, whom God would haue you raise,
And in your
Kingdome prudently depresse,
Those whom God hateth for their wickednesse.
Thus needs your Gouernment must happy be,
When
King and
Senatours in one agree,
The proud to cast downe, and to raise the iust,
So may the Rulers one another trust.
God that from
Famine vs deliuered,
And by a dreame foretold, thee counselled
Both for thy
land, and houshould to prouide,
And all the world, which else for want had dide,
Feede thee with inward and spirituall grace,
And giue in heau'n an euerlasting place,
For this, I your poore Beadsman, night and day,
Will in a homely countrey cottage pray.
Pharoh much ioy'd, would faine haue entertaind,
And him at his owne boord with bread sustaind▪
But good old
Iacob modestly denide,
And sayd, How long haue I on earth to bide?
I cannot now of good from ill make choyce,
Nor musique iudge by instrument or voyce,
Why should I be a burthen to the
King?
And he reward so my small-meriting,
[Page 82]But let my sonne for me before thee stand,
And ready alwayes be at thy command.
Good man, saith
Pharaoh, I haue giu'n command
To place thee in the fattest of my
Land,
The
Land of
Goshen be a habitation
To thee, thy children and thy generation
There is best pasture-ground for them to keepe,
Their
Camels, Asses, Cattell, Gotes and
Sheepe.
To raise to place of honour I desire
Thee and thy sonnes, but they of me require
Still to be
Heardsmen: wherefore the most bould
And actiue, I make
Rulers of my fould.
Then
Iacob blessing
Pharoh did depart
Out of his presence with a ioyfull heart.
Seu'nteene yeares after in prosperitie,
Liu'd
Iacob and did greatly multiplie,
And
Ioseph in his former
Grace did stand,
Still vnder
Pharoh ruling all the
Land.
Nor might be ere out of his masters sight,
Because he was his onely
Fauorite,
Till one day
Ioseph, absent from the Court,
Pharoh bespeakes his seruants in this sort.
Nere thrise ten times the Sunne with panting horse
Hath run through heau'n his swift and yeerly course,
Since first arose in this our hotter clime,
That
hebrew Sun, which euer since did shine,
And all the time he did in court appeare,
We haue had
Spring and
Summer all the yeare,
I cannot eate by day nor sleepe by night,
Without his Beames most comfortable bright:
That honest man, in whose ingenuous face,
A man may reade what in his heart hath place,
Now, by my life, I higher doe esteeme
This
Hebrew, then great
Egypts Diademe.
[Page 83]Nor is it to the least of you vnknowne,
He hath beene better to me then my Crowne,
And beares still for me, to all mens content,
The weight of all my kingdomes gouernment,
In those seu'n yeares of
Famine and of
Store,
When his employments greater were and more,
If he were but one day out of my sight,
I certaine was to heare from him at night,
But now of's light hath beene neere three daies pause
Yet no man here will tell to me the cause.
When thus the
Butler (who by
Pharohs grace
Restor'd was as he dream'd to's former place)
Dread Soueraigne! some small clouds do in this sort
Shadow his beames, which wont to shine at Court:
But no defect in his ay-constant light,
He's still the same, and shines as euer bright.
Ioseph at home for
Pharohs health now prayes,
To
Israels God, these are his mourning dayes.
His father
old now sleepes in happy rest,
Who dying made to him this last request.
My dearest sonne the honour of my race,
If in thy sight thy father hath found grace,
(For though thou art my sonne by true relation
Yea I am subiect to thy domination)
Now graciously and truely with me deale,
Not for my
priuate, but our common weale;
Well do I know that our posteritie,
Will soone admire faire showes and vanitie,
And not regard the
land of happinesse,
The
Type of
future and of
present blesse,
Therefore to me, my dearest
Ioseph, sweare,
Thou wilt not me in
Egypt here enterre,
But safely carry to the
land of Rest.
With my forefathers there my Bones to rest,
[Page 84]It may be ours will sooner hasten thither,
Where all their
Fathers Bones doe lye togither.
Then
Ioseph sware and
Israel worshipped,
The
Feare of Isaack sitting on his bed.
These words he me desir'd, with many teares,
That I would publish in
King Pharohs eares,
And Licence of thee to that end obtaine,
Which done he would to Court returne againe.
When
Pharoh thus: Is that good old man dead,
Like apple ripe in
Autumne gathered?
We all must follow, who can tell how soone,
Some fall at night, at morning, some at noone?
But I desire, if any here can tell,
How that good old man dide, that liu'd so well,
For most what it befals mortalitie,
As they haue liued here, eu'n so to dye.
Good
Ioseph, saith the Butler, thus me told,
That
Iacob growing weake, as he grew old,
He
Ephraim and
Manasses his two sonnes,
Takes with him, and vnto his Father comes,
Wherewith his weakenesse greatly comforted,
He takes his strength, and sits vp in his bed.
And thus begins: My sonne, my
Ioseph deare,
The
God Almightie did to me appeare
At
Luz in
Canaan, where he did me blesse,
And promise to my seede much fruitfulnesse,
Assuring me to make a mightie
Nation,
And giue that
Land vnto my Generation:
For those two sonnes God here hath giu'n to thee,
Before my comming, thou shalt giue them me,
As
Simeon and
Ruben, they are mine,
Thy Children since begotten, shall be thine;
These
two, I meane, shall be two
Tribes, The rest
In these
Tribes names, shall be of
Land possest▪
[Page 85]For I a double portion thee allot,
As my
First borne: Because I thee begot
Of
Rachel deare, my first, my lawfull Wife,
Who on my hand in
Canaan left her life,
Her there, alas! I buried on the way
To
Ephrata, call'd
Beth'lem to this day.
But what are these two Lads? my
Ioseph deare,
My sonnes saith
Ioseph God first gaue me heere:
Oh! bring them me saith
Iacob to this place,
Before I die, to kisse, blesse, and embrace:
Sweet Boyes! Good
Ioseph, I nere thought indeed
To see thy face, but now I see thy seede:
The
old man then, though he were dimme of sight,
His left hand on
Manasses, and his right
On younger
Ephraim layes, and wittingly,
Thus blesseth
Ioseph in his Progeny:
God in whose sight I here haue walk'd alway,
Who all my Life-long fed me to this day,
The God of
Abram, and great
Isaacks dread,
And th'
Angell which hath me deliuered
From euill, blesse these Lads, and let my name
With name of
Isaack and of
Abraham,
Be in them nam'd and in their
Tribes renew'd;
And grow on earth eu'n to a multitude.
But it displeasing was to
Iosephs sight,
To see on
Ephraims head, him lay his right,
And on
Manasses his left hand to place;
And would his
First borne with the right hand grace,
But
Iacob nould, but said I know indeed
Thy
First-borne shall be great: But lo! the seede
Of
Ephraim, shall be greater farre then he,
And a more strong and mightie people be.
Thus aged
Iacob bless'd them both that day,
And said in thee let
Israel blesse and say,
But
Ephraim he
Manasses set before:
Then said he, Lo! I die, now out of hand,
And God shall bring you to your fathers land,
Then ere he dide, he swan-like sung this song,
Most sweete, because he liu'd not after long.
Iacobs last blessing.
Sith, my deare sonnes, I haue not long to dwell
On earth, come hither: and I will you tell,
What shall come on you in the latter dayes,
Assemble and attend your Fathers
Sayes:
Ruben
My first borne
Ruben, thou that art the might,And first beginning of my strength by right,
Thou shouldst haue all my Power and Dignitie,
Which thou hast lost by thine iniquitie:
Vnstable water! thou shalt not be head,
Because thou wentst vp to thy fathers bed,
For then indeed thou didst my couch defile,
And thy true right of first-borne lost the while:
Simeon &
Simeon and
Leui, Brethren, instruments
Leui.
Of cruelty, neare to your fathers tents,My soule come not neare to their congregations,
Mine honour ioyne not in their machinations,
Who in their
Wrath the
Sichemites slew all,
And in their
Fury digged downe a wall:
Curst be their
wrath, for it was voyd of shame,
And
Fiercenesse which was cruelly to blame,
Lo! I their seede in
Iacob will diuide,
And them abroad in
Israel scatter wide.
Iudah
Iudah is next, whom all his brethren praise,Thine hand be in thine enemies necke alwayes,
[Page 87]Thy Fathers Children thee shall stoupe before,
Lo
Iudah like a
Lyons whelpe shall rore,
My sonne comes like a
Lion from the spoile,
Who laid him downe, and couch'd himselfe awhile,
Eu'n like a
Lion or a
Lionesse,
Who dares awake him from his sleepinesse?
The
Scepter from his race shall neuer start,
Nor a
Law giuer from his feete depart,
Till the
Messias come, who to him shall
By his great powre the
Nations gather all;
Lo! he shall binde his
Foale vnto the
Vine,
His Colt vnto the Branch, His Cloke in Wine
Is washt; His Cloths with bloud of grapes bedight,
Eyes red with wine: His Teeth with milke are white.
The
Sea-Haun's Zabulon shall dwell beside,
Zabulon.
And's Border eu'n to
Sidon shall diuide,
Like a
strong Asse shall
Isachar couch low
Betweene two burthens,
Isachar.
And for he doth know,That rest is good in such a pleasant
Land,
Shall stoupe and be anothers to command.
Dan shall be
Iudge and one of
Israels Tribes,
Dan.
A
serpent by the way him well describes,
Or
Adder in the path, horse-heeles to gall,
Vntill he make the rider backward fall:
To be a Iudge's a dangerous
Vocation,
Lord I haue waited long for thy
Saluation.
An host of men
God downe in warre shall cast,
Gal.
Yet they shall ouer-come him at the last.
Aser from fattest Lands his bread shall bring,
Aser.
And shall enioy eu'n pleasures for a King.
Napthalim is as nimble as the hind,
Napthalim.
But fauour seekes with pleasing words to finde:
Ioseph's like plant by well, whose boughs are small,
Ioseph.
Yet run vp flourishing vpon the wall:
[Page 88]With shooting many
Archers haue him harm'd
And with sharpe
Darts to's hindrance him disarm'd;
But he stands fast, his armes are made so strong
By God, to whom all strength and powre belong,
His glory all his Brethrens doth excell,
And hee's become a stone in
Israel:
His Fathers God shall helpe him from aboue,
And the
Almightie with his Blessings proue:
With Blessings that from hight and depth shall come,
With Blessings of the Breasts and of the Wombe,
To thee thy Fathers Blessings be more strong,
Then those that doe from mine, to me belong:
From th'vtmost hils they light on
Iosephs head,
That from his
Brethren once was seuered.
Beniamin.
Beniamin like a Wolfe shall spoile: The preyHe shall diuide by night, and eate by day:
Thus
Iacob of each seuerall prophecide,
What should to their Posteritie betide:
Some call it his
last will: Then to them all,
He dying spake these words in generall.
We all are
Pilgrims on the way, our
home
Is
Heau'n; as all men enter by the Wombe,
So through the
Gate of Death, we all must driue,
Before we at this Citie faire arriue:
Lusts of our youth, Infirmities of age,
Make few and ill our
daies of Pilgrimage,
All spend like
Lamps, some blowne out with a blast,
Some waste, some melt, some hold out till the last:
Like fruit all blow, bud, grow greene, ripe, then fall;
Bud, blossome, greene, or ripe, we perish all:
And turn'd to dust, are vnder
Deaths subiection
In
Graue, vntill the day of Resurrection.
Eu'n as our
ages, so we change our
minde,
For those things we doe most delightfull finde
Accord not with our
riper yeares desires:
Old-age in none of all the three delights,
The reason's plaine, we serue our appetites:
Truth and
Religions path we leaue to treade,
And follow as our
Lusts and Pleasures leade;
Which alter with our bodies constitutions,
And these are sensuall, beastly resolutions:
But who doth his affections measure by
Right rules of
Reason, and of
Pietie,
Them neuer alters, but is still the same,
All tending to the glory of Gods name:
No change of
state, age, health, wealth, constitution,
Can alter such desires and resolution.
This Life's a
minute to
Eternitie,
Like
mite vnto the
Globes immensitie,
Like
droppe compard vnto the
Ocean Maine,
Yet here we either all must lose or gaine;
Vpon this
mite, droppe, minute doth depend,
All
Blisse, we aye continue as we end.
All Gods most gracious, glorious promises,
But
types and
Shadowes are of future Blesse;
Phari on
Land, vs to the
Port to light;
And guide our
Barkes through worlds darke misty night,
In all our voiage, through worlds
Ocean-wast,
Are many
Rockes and
dangers to be past;
Without are
Satan and the Worlds infections,
Within, our Lusts, vaine, fraile, and vile affections,
Which like so many Traitours readiely
Against the Pilot ay to mutiny;
But most in danger of them all we stand,
When nearest we approch vnto the Land:
So some escape the boistrous raging
Sea,
And neere the
Port doe wrecke vpon the
Lea:
[Page 90]I looking backe my span like daies behold,
Like a fantastique Dreame or tale new told,
And were I now them to begin againe,
I should all worldly vaine delights refraine,
Yea could you see
heau'ns Ioyes by Faiths cleare eyes,
You would with me
Worlds Pleasures vaine despise,
And runne fast to the marke you set before
Your end; to liue with God for euermore.
As th'aire is hottest neerest to the Sunne,
Brookes deeper, neerer to the Sea they runne,
So nearer to your end; doe you aspire
To grow in grace, and glow with heaun'ly fire;
Now goe I hence, and shall be seene no more,
Haue mine examples alwaies you before,
So
Isaack followed faithfull
Abraham,
I holy
Isaack, from whose loines I came,
What we did well doe you the like: But when
We did amisse, obserue we were but men.
Oh let your wisedome shine with your gray haires,
Most of you now draw neere to seu'nty yeares,
Ioseph is fifty seu'n, a child eu'n when
The most of you, were growne vp to be men.
Seau'nty seau'n yeares a single life I led,
God since hath seau'nty to them numbred;
The youngest nor the strongest haue no power,
To adde a minute to their fatall hower.
Deferre not of Repentance then the date,
Now is the time, to morrow is too late,
Count all mens ages that on earth remaine,
More die before, then to your daies attaine,
And should you old
Mathuselaes surmount,
The longer life, the greater your account▪
I will not exprobrate offences past,
Repent, amend, and turne to God at last,
[Page 91]Leaue off to sinne, his Promises beleeue,
You cannot aske so much as God will giue,
You are a
chosen seede, a
holy race,
Not by
desert, or
worthinesse, but
Grace.
Oh make it knowne to all your Generations,
God vs hath chose before all other Nations,
To walke here worthy of this
Grace diuine,
And like to purest heau'nly
Tapers shine,
In this worlds mistie darke obscured night,
Whose euill workes abhorre to see the light.
Expect not worlds vaine glory, Pompe and state,
Those that liue Godly here, the world will hate,
But God doth euer them most highly prize,
Who here are meanest in the wickeds eyes.
The World will you deride, and say that this,
But some vaine, peeuish, single humor is,
Or some light idle motion, which doth rise
From some meane, ignorant, conceited wise,
Despise their censures, for I certaine know
The
spirit, whence such heau'nly motions flow:
What care I how their worldly wisdome deeme,
Of them, So they with
God be in esteeme?
Oh! were my words now written in a booke,
That who, so list to learne, on them might looke,
Or with a
Diamonds point engrauen plaine,
On
Adamant, for euer to remaine.
I know that my
Redeemer true and iust
Liues, and shall raise vs at the last from dust,
And though the wormes my skin and flesh destroy,
I God shall in my body see with ioy,
Eu'n with mine owne; and with no other eyes:
But now my
spirit begins so high to rise,
As if she meant to leaue this habitation,
And flye to heau'n, by holy contemplation;
[Page 92]Oft hath she striu'd to rise before this day,
As weary of her brittle Tent of Clay,
But hath beene by the weight thereof deprest,
But now shee feeles her selfe from thence releast,
I cannot last, my Lampe so fast doth spend,
And now burnes clearest, nearest to the end,
Farewell deare sonnes; my Blessing on you all
Continue to your after-Ages shall.
Oh
God of Life; now thou dost me denie,
The
Powre to liue, me willing make to die.
These all are those twelue
Tribes of
Israel,
Which good old
Iacob blest and wished well,
Besides the blessing to each seuerall,
Wherein he told them what should after fall:
And now as
Ioseph erst he made to sweare,
So chargeth he eu'n all his Children there,
To lay him in that place of Buriall,
Where his fore-fathers were interred all:
Thus when his swan-like song was at an end,
And all commanded that he did intend,
He plucked vp his feete into the Bed,
And was vnto his people gathered.
Oh happy man! saith
Pharoh, God me send
Eu'n such a
life, and such a happy end.
Lo, farther
Pharoh did that day command,
That all his
Peeres and
Nobles of the
Land,
Should goe with
Ioseph and his Brethren all,
To honour holy
Iacobs funerall:
Where they seu'n dayes made so great
Lamentation,
They draue the
Cananites to admiration:
And after he was buried in this sort,
Ioseph returnes againe to
Pharohs Court,
His Brethren vnto
Goshen, where in peace,
They Liued, and did mightily increase,
[Page 93]Till
Ioseph was an hundred ten yeares old,
So that he
Ephraims children did behold,
To their third Generation, and the seede
Of
Machir, eldest of
Manasses Breed,
Sate on his knees: Then saith he, lo I die,
But God will visit you assuredly,
And in that Land, a place for you prepare,
As he to
Abram, Isaack, Iacob sware,
Then, as I sware to
Iacob, to me sweare,
Thither my
Bones with you from hence to beare,
His
Brethren sware: So
Ioseph, as I told,
Dide honourably being very old,
Whose Body they imbalmed in a Chest,
And after carryed to the
land of
Rest:
Where they erect a
Pillar on his graue,
And thereupon this
Epitaph engraue:
FINIS.
IOSEPHS Epitaph.
HIs Fathers Darling,
mothers deare delight.
Obiect of
Satans malice, Brethrens spite:
To
Master iust; chaste, faithful to his
Dame:
In
Prison free, cōdemn'd, yet
void of blame:
From
Dungeon raisd to highest
reputation,
By
Wisdome, Counsell, Dreames, and
Diuinatiō:
Thus God by him a great
deliuerance wrought,
In
sauing them, who his
destruction sought:
A diligent, wise, prouident
Obseruer,
And therefore of Mankinde a great
preseruer.
In
Padan borne, In
Canaan nourished,
In
Midian bound, in
Aegypt honoured,
From whence his
soule flew to
eternall Rest,
His
Bones here in like
expectation rest.
He sau'd from Famine,
King, Priests, People all,
For which his
seede and
Nation they enthrall:
Vnworthy
Aegypt! of this sacred
Vrne,
Who such
rewards for
merits dost returne.
SVSANNA was of all thy
Poems best,
But IOSEPH
her excels, as
shee the rest.