He plasmatour of thingis vniuersall,

Thou renewar of kynd, that creat all,

Incomprehensibill thy warkis ar to consave,

Quhilk grantyt hes to every wight to haue

Quhat thing mast ganys onto hys governall.5

Quhou mervellus beyn divisions of thy gracis,

Distribut so to ilk thing in all placis!

The son to schyne our all, and schaw hys lyght,

The day to laubour, for rest thou ordanyt nycht;

For diuers causys schupe seir sessonys and spacis.10

Fresch veir to burgioun herbys and sweit flowris;

The hait symmyr to nurys corn all howris,

And breid all kynd of fowlys, fysch, and beste;

Hervist to rendir hys frutis maste and leste;

Wyntir to snyb the erth with frosty schowris.15

Not at thou nedyt ocht, all thyng thou wrocht,

Bot to that fyne thou maid all thing of nocht,

Of thy gudnes tobe participant;

Thy Godhed na rychar, nor ȝit mar skant,

Nowthir now nor then, set thou ws wrocht and bocht.20

Thy maist supreme indiuisibill substans,

In ane natur thre personys, but discrepans,

Regnand etern, ressauys nane accident;

For quhy? thou art rycht at this tyme present

It at thou was, and evir sal, but varians.5

Set our natur God hes to hym vnyte,

Hys Godhed incommixt remanys perfyte,

The son of God havand verray naturis twane

In a person, and thre personys all ane

In deite, natur, maieste, and delyte.10

The Son the self thing with the Fader is;

The self substans the Haly Gaist, I wys,

Is with thame baith; thre distinct personage,

Ar, war, and be sall, euer of ane age,

Omnipotent, a Lord, equale in blys.15

Quhilk souerane substans, in gre superlatyve,

Na cunnyng comprehend may nor discryve;

Nowther generis, generat is, nor doith proceid,

Allane begynnar of euery thing, but dreid,

And in the self remanys etern on lyve.20

The Fader, of nane generat, creat, ne boir,

Hys only Son engendris evirmor;

Not makis, creatis, bot engendris all way

Of hys substans; and all tyme of baith twa

Procedis the Haly Gaist, equal in glor.25

Of baith, from ane begynnyng, procedis he;

So bene the warkis of the Trinite

Maist excellent, and wondirfull to consave:

Ȝit thame to traste the mair meryte we have,

That be na manys rayson prevyt may thai be.5

The Fader knawys hym self, quhilk knawlege spredis

Be generatioun etern, that evir bredis

Hys Son, hys word and wysdom eternall:

Betwix thir twa is luf perpetuall,

Quhilk is the Haly Gaist, fra baith procedis.10

Not at the Faderis natur mynyst is,

Of hys substans he generis his Son in blys;

Ne so the Son of hys kynd is ybor,

That he a part hes tharof, and na mor;

Bot all he gevys hys Son, and all is hys.15

The ilk thing he hym gevis, that he remanys:

Thys syngill substans indifferently thus ganys

To thre in ane, and ilk ane of the thre

The sammyn thing is in a maieste,

Thocht thir personys be seuerall in thre granys.20

Lyke as the sawle of man is ane, we wait,

Havand thre poweris distinct and separate,

Vnderstandyng, rayson, and memor:

Intelligens consideris the thing befor,

Rayson discernys, memor kepis the consait.25

As thai beyn in a substans knyt all thre,

Thre personys ryngnys in a Deite.

We may tak als ane other simylytude,

Grosly the sammyn purpos to conclud;

Flame, lycht, and hait, bene in a fyre we se.5

Quhar euer the low is, lycht and heit bene thar;

And had the fyre bene byrnand euermar,

Evyr suld the flambe engendrit haue hys lyght,

And of the byrnand low the flambys brycht

Perpetualy suld heit haue sprung alquhar.10

So generis the Fader the Son with hym etern,

From baith procedis the Haly Gaist coetern.

Thus rude exemplys and figuris may we geif;

Thocht, God by hys awin creaturis to preif,

War mar onliknes than liknes to discern.15

Frend, farly nocht, na caus is to complene

Albeit thy wyt gret God may nocht attene;

For, mycht thou comprehend be thyne engyne

The maist excellent maieste dyvyne,

He mycht be reput a pretty God and meyn.20

Consider thy raison is so febill and lyte,

And hys knawlage profund and infynyte;

Consider quhou he is onmensurabill:

Hym, as he is, to knaw thou art not habill;

It sufficis the beleif thy creid perfyte.25

God is, I grant, in all thing nocht includyt;

Gevis all gudnes, and is of nocht denudyt;

Of hym hes all thing part, and he nocht mynyst;

Hail he is alquhar, not diuidit, ne fynyst;

Without all thing he is, and nocht excludit.5

O Lord, thy ways beyn investigabill!

Sweit Lord, thy self is sa inestimabill,

I can write nocht bot wondris of thy mycht,

That lawyt sa far thy maieste and hyght

Tobe born man intill ane oxis stabill.10

Thow tuke mankynd of ane onwemmyt maid,

Inclosyt within a virginis bosum glaid,

Quham all the hevynnys mycht nevir comprehend;

Angellis, scheiphyrdis, and kyngis thy Godheid kend,

Set thou in cryb betwix twa bestis was laid.15

Quhat infynyte excellent hie bonte

Abufe thy warkis all, in wonderfull gre!

Lord, quhen thou man wrocht to thyne awyn ymage,

That tynt him self throu hys fulych dotage,

Thou man becam, and deit to mak hym fre.20

Maid thou not man first president vnder the,

To dant the bestis, fowlys, and fysch in see,

Subdewit to him the erth, and all tharin;

Syne paradice grantit hym and all his kyn,

Gave him fre will, and power nevir to dee?25

Enarmyt him with raison and prudence;

Only bad hym kepe thyne obediens,

And to hym suld all creaturis obey?

Bitter was that fruyt for his ofspryng, and fey,

Maid deth onknawin be fund, and lyfe go hens.5

O thyne inestimabill luf and cheryte!

Becam a thrall to mak ws bondis fre,

To quykkyn thy sclavys tholyt schamfull ded maste fell.

Blissyt be thou virginal frute, that hereit hell,

And pait the pryce of the forbodin tre!10

Thocht thou large stremys sched apon the rude,

A drop had bene sufficient of thy blude

A thousand warldis to haue redemyt, I grant;

Bot thou the well of mercy wald nocht skant,

Ws to provoik to lufe the, and be gude.15

Our all this syne, thyne infynyte Godhed,

Thy flesch and blude in form of wyne and bred,

Tobe our fuyd of grace, in plege of glor,

Thou hest ws geif, in perpetuall memor

Of thy passioun and dolorus paynfull ded.20

Quhat thankis dew or ganȝeld, Lord benyng,

May I, maist wracht synfull catyve indyng,

Rendir for this souerane peirles hie bonte?

Sen body, saule, and all, I haue of the,

Thou art my pryce, mak me thy praye condyng.25

My makar, my redemar, and support,

Fra quham all grace and gudnes cumis at schort,

Grant me that grace my mysdedis til amend,

Of this and all my warkis to mak gud end:

Thus I beseik the, Lord, thus I exort.5

From the begynnyng and end be of my muse:

All other Jove and Phebus I refus.

Lat Virgill hald hys mawmentis to him self;

I wirschip nowder ydoll, stok, nor elf,

Thocht furth I write so as myne autour dois.10

Is nane bot thou, the Fader of Goddis and men,

Omnipotent eternal Jove I ken;

Only the, helply Fader, thar is nane other:

I compt not of thir paygane Goddis a fudder,

Quhais power may nocht help a haltand hen.15

The scripture clepys the God, of Goddis Lord;

For quha thy mandat kepys in ane accord

Bene ane with the, not in substans, bot grace,

And we our Fader the clepys in euery place:

Mak ws thy sonnys in cherite, but discord.20

Thow haldis court our cristall hevynnys cleir,

With angellis, sanctis, and hevynly spretis seir,

That, but cessyng, thy glor and lovyng syngis:

Manifest to the, and patent, bene all thyngis;

Thy spows, and queyn maid, and thy moder deir.25

Concord for ever, myrth, rest, and endles blys,

Na feir of hell, nor dreid of ded, thar is

In thy sweit realm, nor na kynd of ennoy,

Bot all weilfair, eys, and euerlestand joy;

Quhais hie plesance, Lord, lat ws neuer mys! Amen.5