from The Temple (1633), George Herbert:

 

¶   Church-lock and key.

I Know it is my sinne, which locks thine eares,
                                                 And bindes thy hands,
Out-crying my requests, drowning my tears;
Or else the chilnesse of my faint demands.

But as cold hands are angrie with the fire,
                                                 And mend it still;
So I do lay the want of my desire,
Not on my sinnes, or coldnesse, but thy will.

Yet heare, O God, onely for his blouds sake
                                                 Which pleads for me:
For though sinnes plead too, yet like stones they make
His blouds sweet current much more loud to be.


Shawcross, John T. "'The Virtue and Discipline' of Wrestling with God." Early Modern Literary Studies Special Issue 7 (May, 2001): 3.1-29 URL: http://purl.oclc.org/emls/si-07/shawcross.htm. Comparison with other authors.


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