CHARITY

Are you so disposed to do To follow vice and let virtue go You had need to ask God mercy Why do you so prase your body what shall it be when thou shalt flyt For the wealth into the pit Therefore of it be not to boolde Least thou for think it when y e art old You may be likened to a tre In youth flourishing with royallte And in age it is cut down And to the fire is thrown. So shalt thou but thou amend Be burned in hell without end ¶ A yet sir do by my rede And ask mercy for Thy misdeed And thou shalt be and herytoure of bliss Where all joy and mirth is Where thou shall see a glorious sight Of aungeles singing with saints bright Before the face of God ¶ Oh yet remember call to Thy mind The mercy of God passes all thing For it is written by noble clerks The mercy of God passes all works That witnesseth holy scripture saying thus Miseratio domin super omniam operam ju Therefore doubt not gods grace There of is plenty in every place ¶ Thus question is but vanity It longeth not to me Such questions to assoil Sir it falls not for me to fight Neither by day ne be night therefore do my counsel I say Than to heaven ̄ thou shalt have the wai ¶ God save every Christian body From such evil destroy And send us of his grace In heaven to have a place Think what God suffered for the His arms to be spread upon a tree A knight with a spear opened his syd In his heart appeared a wound wid That bought both you and me Oh sir hear what I you tell, And be ruled of my counsel That you might fit in heaven hie with God and his company Sir I see it will none otherwise be I will go to my brother Humility And take good counsel of him How it is best to be do therein Fare well my masters everyone I will come again anon And tell you how I have done Abide fellow a word with the whither go you tell me Abyd and here what I shall you tell And ruled by my counsel Yet sirs let this cease And let us talk of goodness Sir I pray you me not spare For nothing I do care That you can do to me. Jesu that was born of Mare mild From all evil he us shield And send you grace to amend Or our life be at and end For I tell you truly That you live full wickedly I pray God it amend. They please me well in deed The more sorrow the more mede For God said while he was man Beati qui ꝑsecucione ̄ patifitur propter justicia ̄ Unto his apostles he said so To teach them how they should do ¶Lo masters here you may see beforn that the weed overgroweth the corn Now may you see all in this tide How vice is taken, & virtue set aside yonder you may see youth is not stable But evermore changeable And the nature of men is frail that he wotteth not what may avail Virtue for to make Oh good Lord it is a pitiful case Sith G hath lent me wit a ̄ worser grace To chosen of good and evil that man should voluntarily To such things him self apply that his soul should spill Dear brother Humility you be welcome unto me Where have you be so long I shall tell you anon The fellows that I told you on Have me thus arrayed Sir to the tavern they begone And they will come again anon And that shall you see I will help you that I can To convert that wicked man Do by our counsel and our rede And ask mercy for thy misdeed And endeavour the for gods sake For thy sins amends to make Or ever that thou die Sir if it please you to do thus Forsake them and do after us The better shall you do youth leave that counsel for it is nought And amend that thou hast myswrought That thou mayest save that God hath bought Sir this he did for the When thou wast bound he made the from And bought the with his blood Sir I shall tell you When Adam had done great trespass And out of paradise exiled was Then all the soles as I can you tell Were in y e bondage of the devil of hell Till the father of heaven of his great mercy Sent the second person in Trinity Us for to redeem And so with his precious blood He bought us on the rood And our souls did save Here is a new array For to walk by the way your prayer for to say Than shall you be and heritor of bliss Where all joy and mirth is We thank all this present Of their meek audience Now thou must forsake pride And all Riot set aside