A ballad intituled, Prepare ye to the Plowe,
To the Tune, of Pepper is blacke.
¶ The Queene holdes the Plow, to continew good seede.
Trustie Subiectes be readie to helpe if she neede.
LOoke vp my Lordes, and marke my wordes,
and heare what I shall sing ye:
And Subiects all, both great and small,
Now marke what word I bring ye.
Parnaso Hill, nor all the skill,
Of Nimphs or Muses fayned:
Can bring about that I finde out,
By Christ hin selfe ordayned.
Let wisdom be, as it is I see,
A gift most worth the telling:
Which neuer was, so brought to passe,
Where Pagans haue ben dwelling.
Is now in fine, by power deuine,
Among vs English planted:
Which many a day, was kept away,
And many a one it wanted.
And by that wisdom, haue we had,
Such proofe as yet was neuer:
To Iudge and deeme, both good and bad
To our great comfort euer.
Which sithes we haue, now let vs hold
This Tutchstone is the triall:
To beate the baggage from the Gold,
and truth from false deniall.
And by this knowledge we do know,
That euery thing is vaine:
Beneath the Sonn, which heare below,
We couet to attaine.
Let not the spright, geue vs delight,
To labour and attend vs:
To seke to haue, before our Graue,
The ioy that Christe may send vs.
In seking that, then must we nat,
Build on the Sandy Surges:
Now sow our Seede, where euery Weede,
His grace and bounty vrges.
Nor put our hope, in Preeste or Pope,
In Masse or other matters:
Or by our Dole, to saue our Soule,
With filling empty Platters.
Or by a Pardon, to appease,
The Surfits of our sinning:
Although our fathers, had all thease,
By wicked mens beginning
Nor let vs make our stock and store,
A burden to accuse vs:
For doing so, so much the more,
We tempt God to refuse vs.
Neither let vs once presume so far,
Of mercy or of meekenes:
To counterfait, to make or mar,
This Image or this likenesse.
That our forefathers did beleue,
Were Gods, to geue and guide them:
Such follies did the Christians greeue,
and Pagans now deride them.
Remember once the latter law
Left yet in Moyses Table:
That Neighbourly to liue in awe,
It is most commendable.
Then shouldst thou not desire to craue,
Thy Neigbours losse or lacke:
Neither excesse desire to haue,
That puts thy soule to wracke.
Neither Vsery, nor vse at all,
Of women, wealth, or Wine:
Neither of aboundance, great or small,
Ill gotten should be thine.
Neither should contencion, craft increase,
Nor swearing beare the sway:
Nor God vnserued men as beasts
Would break the Sabboth day.
Then would the honour duly hit,
To Parents Lord or King:
Then would ther be no doubt a whit,
To haue store of euery thing.
All this the new Law, with the old
Doth Nip vs to remember:
Euen as the frost, that waxeth cold,
Doth Nip vs in December.
And as vpon, a sodain heat,
We soone forget that freesing:
When God doth of his mercy great,
Spare vs for lack of leesing.
So let vs think, as Sommer shows
Grene Grasse to our deliting:
We se that all the Grasse that growes,
Goth down with litle smiting.
And when the Mowyer coms to Mowe,
Tis sone both Ripe and Rotten:
This tale I trust, of hye and low,
Will neuer be forgotten.
On Gods good Booke, then let vs loke,
For that which neuer faileth:
Without which boke, by Hooke, or crooke,
No worldly wit preuaileth.
God saue her grace that holds the Plow,
To sowe this trusty treasure:
Though many a one be stubborn now,
And Harrow it but at leasure.
God graunt that he that Harrowed Hell,
In guardon still may haue her:
And send you grace, that thinke not well,
Of God that so doth saue hir.
VV. Elderton.
¶Imprinted at London, in Fléetestréete, by William How, for Richard Iohnes: and are to be solds at his Shop, ioyning to the Southwest doore of Paules Church.