Two deaths: here and hereafter

Two deaths: here and hereafter

Hark, how the birds do sing, And woods ring. All creatures have their joy; and man hath his, Yet if we rightly measure, Man’s joy and pleasure Rather hereafter, than in present, is….   Not that he may not here Taste of the cheer, But as birds drink, and straight...
Born among the trees and leaves

Born among the trees and leaves

O who will show me those delights on high Echo. I Thou echo, thou art mortal, all men know. Echo. No Wert thou not born among the trees and leaves? Echo. Leaves. And are there any leaves that still abide? Echo. Bide. What leaves are they? Impart the matter wholly....
I wish I were a tree

I wish I were a tree

Now I am here, what thou wilt do with me None of my books will show: I read, and sigh, and wish I were a tree: For sure  then I should grow To fruit or shade: at least some bird would trust Her household to me, and I should be just.   George Herbert (1593-1633),...
Heaven in ordinary

Heaven in ordinary

Prayer the Church’s banquet, Angels age, God’s breath in man returning to his birth, The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage, The Christian plummet sounding heaven and earth; Engine against the almighty, sinners’ tower, Reversed thunder,...
How to listen to a sermon

How to listen to a sermon

Judge not the preacher; for he is thy Judge If thou mislike him, thou conceivs’t him not. God calleth preaching folly. Do not grudge To pick out treasures from an earthen  pot. The worst speak something good: if all want sense, God takes a text, and preacheth...