Hear me, 0 God! A broken heart,
Is my best part; Use still thy rod,
That I may prove Therein thy love.
If thou hadst not been stern to me,
But left me free, I had forgot
Myself and thee.
For sin’s so sweet, as minds ill bent
Rarely repent, until they meet
Their punishment.
Who more can crave than thou hast done,
That gav’st a Son, to free a slave?
First made of naught, with all since bought.
Sin, Death, and Hell, His glorious Name
Quite overcame, yet I rebel,
And slight the same.
But I’ll come in before my loss
My farther toss, as sure to win
Under his Cross.
BEN JONSON
Prove : experience
Stern : strict
Sin : crime