"Grace engraves holiness unto / The Lord upon the heart, in character, / Indelible"
— Billingsley, Nicholas (bap. 1633, d. 1709)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for the Author
Date
1667
Metaphor
"Grace engraves holiness unto / The Lord upon the heart, in character, / Indelible"
Metaphor in Context
159. On Cleansing
By nature we are all defil'd with sin,
And with the Leper must cry out, Unclean.
Sin is an impure [?] Issue, none can bring
Purity thence, tis a polluting thing;
A sinner's heart's so black, that only hell
Can pattern it, and be it's paralell;
But Grace is a spirit'al Lavor, stil'd
Regenerations washing; Souls defil'd,
Faith & Repentance cleanse; Grace lays the soul
A whitening, searches wounds, and makes them whole.
Grace is of a Celestial nature, though it
Wholly remove not sin, it doth subdue it;
Mary's tears as they washed Christs feet, so
Her heart; Grace engraves holiness unto
The Lord upon the heart, in character,
Indelible; to Glory Grace prefers.
By nature we are all defil'd with sin,
And with the Leper must cry out, Unclean.
Sin is an impure [?] Issue, none can bring
Purity thence, tis a polluting thing;
A sinner's heart's so black, that only hell
Can pattern it, and be it's paralell;
But Grace is a spirit'al Lavor, stil'd
Regenerations washing; Souls defil'd,
Faith & Repentance cleanse; Grace lays the soul
A whitening, searches wounds, and makes them whole.
Grace is of a Celestial nature, though it
Wholly remove not sin, it doth subdue it;
Mary's tears as they washed Christs feet, so
Her heart; Grace engraves holiness unto
The Lord upon the heart, in character,
Indelible; to Glory Grace prefers.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "heart" and "engrav" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Nicholas Billingsley, Thesauro-Phylakion, or A Treasury of Divine Raptures. Consisting of Serious Observations, Pious Ejaculations, Select Epigrams. Alphabetically Rank'd and Fil'd by a Private Chaplain to the Illustrious and Renowned Lady Urania The Divine and Heavenly Muse. (London: Parkhurst, 1667). <Link to EEBO>
Date of Entry
03/08/2005
