A broken heart

A Hymn to God the Father

Heare mee, O God!
A broken heart
Is my best part:
Use still thy rod,
That I may prove
Therein, thy Love.

If thou hadst not
Beene sterne to mee,
But left me free,
I had forgot
My selfe and thee.

For, sin’s so sweet,
As minds ill bent
Rarely repent,
Untill they meet
Their punishment.

Who more can crave
Then thou hast done:
That gav’st a Sonne,
To free a slave?
First made of nought;
With all since bought.

Sinne, Death, and Hell,
His glorious Name
Quite overcame,
Yet I rebel,
And slight the same.

But, I’le come in,
Before my losse,
Me farther tosse,
As sure to win
Under his Crosse.

Ben Johnson (1573-1637)