Some Reflections of His upon the Several Petitions in the Same Prayer
His sacred name with reverence profoundShould mention'd be, and trembling at the sound!It was Jehovah; 'tis Our Father now;So low to us does Heaven vouchsafe to bow!He brought it down that taught us how to pray,And did so dearly for our ransom pay.
His kingdom come. For this we pray in vainUnless he does in our affections reign.Absurd it were to wish for such a King,And not obedience to His sceptre bring,Whose yoke is easy, and His burthen light,His service freedom, and his judgments right.
His will be done. In fact 'tis always done;But, as in heaven, it must be made our own.His will should all our inclinations sway,Whom Nature, and the universe, obey.Happy the man! whose wishes are confinedTo what has been eternally designed;Referring all to His paternal care,To whom more dear than to ourselves we are.
It is not what our avarice hoards up;'Tis He that feeds us, and that fills our cup;Like new-born babes depending on the breast,From day to day we on His bounty feast;Nor should the soul expect above a day,To dwell in her frail tenement of clay;The setting sun should seem to bound our race,And the new day a gift of special grace.
That he should all our trespasses forgive,While we in hatred with our neighbours live;Though so to pray may seem an easy task,We curse ourselves when thus inclined we ask,This prayer to use, we ought with equal careOur souls, as to the sacrament, prepare.The noblest worship of the Power above,Is to extol, and imitate his love;Not to forgive our enemies alone,But use our bounty that they may be won.
Guard us from all temptations of the foe;And those we may in several stations know;The rich and poor in slipp'ry places stand.Give us enough, but with a sparing hand!Not ill-persuading want, nor wanton wealth,But what proportion'd is to life and health.For not the dead, but living, sing thy praise,Exalt thy kingdom, and thy glory raise.
Favete linguis!...Virginibus puerisque canto.--HOR.
Words in this poem
- vouchsafe v. t.
- To condescend to grant; to concede; to bestow. [Vouch + safe, that is, to vouch or answer for safety.]
- sceptre n.
- A staff or baton borne by a sovereign, as a ceremonial badge or emblem of authority; a royal mace. [F. sceptre, L. sceptrum, from Gr. shaft. See Shaft, and cf. Scape a stem, shaft.]
- eternally adv.
- In an eternal manner.
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- sacrament n.
- The oath of allegiance taken by Roman soldiers; hence, a sacred ceremony used to impress an obligation; a solemn oath-taking; an oath. [L. sacramentum an oath, a sacred thing, a mystery, a sacrament, fr. sacrare to declare as sacred, sacer sacred: cf. F. sacrament. See Sacred.]
- extol v. t.
- To place on high; to lift up; to elevate. [L. extollere; ex out + tollere to lift, take up, or raise: cf. OF. extoller. See Tollerate, and cf. Flate.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- canto n.
- One of the chief divisions of a long poem; a book. [It. canto, fr. L. cantus singing, song. See Chant.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Some Reflections of His upon the Several Petitions in the Same Prayer is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham, Project Gutenberg ebook #12322; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edmund Waller, Some Reflections of His upon the Several Petitions in the Same Prayer, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/some-reflections-of-his-upon-the-several-petitions-in-the-sa.html, id L09145.
Form and metre
Some Reflections of His upon the Several Petitions in the Same Prayer is 48 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 79% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBCC profoundA · soundA · nowB · bowB · prayC · payC
- 2 AABBCC vainA · reignA · kingB · bringB · lightC · rightC
- 3 --AABB-- done · own · swayA · obeyA · confinedB · designedB · care · are
- 4 AA--BBCC upA · cupA · breast · feast · dayB · clayB · raceC · graceC
- 5 AABBCCDD-- forgiveA · liveA · taskB · askB · careC · prepareC · aboveD · loveD · alone · won
- 6 AABBCCDD foeA · knowA · standB · handB · wealthC · healthC · praiseD · raiseD
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| His sacred name with reverence profound | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| Should mention'd be, and trembling at the sound! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| It was Jehovah; 'tis Our Father now; | 10 | ··˘/˘·//˘· |
| So low to us does Heaven vouchsafe to bow! | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| He brought it down that taught us how to pray, | 10 | ·········· |
| And did so dearly for our ransom pay. | 10 | ···/˘·//˘· |
| His kingdom come. For this we pray in vain | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Unless he does in our affections reign. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Absurd it were to wish for such a King, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| And not obedience to His sceptre bring, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Whose yoke is easy, and His burthen light, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| His service freedom, and his judgments right. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| His will be done. In fact 'tis always done; | 10 | ·······/·· |
| But, as in heaven, it must be made our own. | 10 | ···/····/· |
| His will should all our inclinations sway, | 10 | ····/·˘/˘· |
| Whom Nature, and the universe, obey. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Happy the man! whose wishes are confined | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| To what has been eternally designed; | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Referring all to His paternal care, | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| To whom more dear than to ourselves we are. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| It is not what our avarice hoards up; | 10 | ····//˘˘·· |
| 'Tis He that feeds us, and that fills our cup; | 10 | ········/· |
| Like new-born babes depending on the breast, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| From day to day we on His bounty feast; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Nor should the soul expect above a day, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| To dwell in her frail tenement of clay; | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| The setting sun should seem to bound our race, | 10 | ·/˘·····/· |
| And the new day a gift of special grace. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That he should all our trespasses forgive, | 10 | ····//·˘˘/ |
| While we in hatred with our neighbours live; | 10 | ···/˘·//˘· |
| Though so to pray may seem an easy task, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| We curse ourselves when thus inclined we ask, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| This prayer to use, we ought with equal care | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Our souls, as to the sacrament, prepare. | 10 | /····/˘˘˘/ |
| The noblest worship of the Power above, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/·· |
| Is to extol, and imitate his love; | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Not to forgive our enemies alone, | 10 | ··˘///˘˘˘/ |
| But use our bounty that they may be won. | 10 | ··//˘····· |
| Guard us from all temptations of the foe; | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| And those we may in several stations know; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| The rich and poor in slipp'ry places stand. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Give us enough, but with a sparing hand! | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Not ill-persuading want, nor wanton wealth, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| But what proportion'd is to life and health. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| For not the dead, but living, sing thy praise, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Exalt thy kingdom, and thy glory raise. | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Favete linguis!... | 4 | ···· |
| Virginibus puerisque canto.--HOR. | 9 | ······/˘· |
Notes from the edition 1
George Gilfillan's notes to the Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham (1857; Project Gutenberg #12322).
- Stanza 1, line 4 'Vouchsafe to bow': Psalm xviii. 9.
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