N-Town Cycle, Play 39

[The Ascension of Christ and the Selection of Matthias as the Twelfth Disciple]

Hic incipit Ascencio Domini nostri, cum Maria, et vndecim discipulis, et duobus angelis sedentibus in albis; et Jesus dicit discipulis suis et cetera:

  1  JESUS Pax vobis. Amonge 3ow pes,
  2  Bothe love, and reste, and charyté.
  3  Amonge all vertues lete it not ses,
  4  For amonge all vertues prynspal his he.

  5  3e be to blame I may wel preve,
  6  For Iwyl vse to 3ow wordys pleyn
  7  žat 3e be so hard of herte to beleve
  8  žat from deth to lyve I am resyn ageyn.
  9  Nottwithstondynge as 3e knowe, serteyn,
 10  To 3ow viij sythys aperyd haue I
 11  Be soundry tymes, the trewth to seyn;
 12  And žis is že ix tyme, sothly,
 13  Evyn and no mo.
 14  But now sum mete
 15  Anon doth gete;
 16  For I wyl ete
 17  With 3ow and goo.

 18  My dyscyplis, here what I sey,
 19  And to my wourdys 3evyth attencyon.
 20  From Jerusalem loke 3e go not awey,
 21  But mekely abydyth my fadyres promiscyon,
 22  Off whiche be my mowth 3e haue had informacyon
 23  Whyll bodyly with 3ow I was dwellynge.
 24  For Johan, sothly, for mannys saluacyon
 25  Onlye in watyr was me baptysynge.
 26  But I 3ow behete
 27  Withinne fewe days žat 3e
 28  In že Holy Goost xul baptyzid be.
 29  Therfore rysyth up and folwyht me
 30  Onto že Mownte of Olyvete.

 31  JACOBUS MAJOR O Lord, vowchesaff vs for to telle
 32  Iff žu wylt now, withowte more delay,
 33  Restoryn že kyngdam of Israell
 34  And 3eve vs že joye, Lord, žat lestyth ay.
 35  JESUS Serys, že tymes and že monthis knowe 3e ne may
 36  Whiche my fadyr hath put in his owyn power.
 37  But 3e xul take within short day
 38  Of že Holy Goost že vertu cler,
 39  Thorwe whiche xul 3e
 40  In Jerusalem and in Jury,
 41  And moreovyr also in Samary,
 42  And to že worldys ende vttyrly,
 43  My wyttnes only be.

 44  Lovyth no wrath nor no wronge,
 45  But levyth in charyté with mylde stevyn,
 46  With myrthe, and melody, and aungell-songe.
 47  Now I stey streyte from 3ow to hevyn.

Hic ascendit ab oculis eorum, et in celo cantent et cetera.

 48  ANGELUS Returnyth ageyn to 3oure loggynge,
 49  To Jerusalem, for he wyl thus,
 50  His promys mekely žer abydynge;
 51  For dowteles žis forseyd Jesus,
 52  Whiche from 3ow is take
 53  In a clowde, as 3e hym seyn
 54  Steyng vp, so xal comyn ageyn.
 55  Of al mankynde, žis is serteyn,
 56  Jugement xal he make.

 57  [PETRUS] O 3e bretheryn, attendyth to me,
 58  And takyth good hede what I xal seyn:
 59  It behovyth že scripture fulfyllyd to be
 60  žat of Dauyd was seyd with wourdys pleyn
 61  Of Judas, whiche was že gyde, serteyn,
 62  Of hem žat Cryst slow cruelly;
 63  Which aftyr from deth ros vp ageyn,
 64  And hath abedyn in erthe ful days fourty.
 65  And aftyr all this,
 66  Before oure eye
 67  In a bryght skye
 68  He dede up stye
 69  To hevyn blys.

 70  This seyd Judas was amongys us
 71  Noumbryd apostyll, and had lych dygnyté.
 72  But whan he betrayd oure Lord Jesus,
 73  He hynge hymself vpon a tre;
 74  In whos sted muste nedys ordeyned be
 75  Another, oure noumbre for to restore,
 76  On of žo whiche, as weel knowe we,
 77  Han be conuersaunt here longe before
 78  In oure company;
 79  Whiche xal wyttnes
 80  Berun expresse
 81  To more and lesse
 82  Of Crystys resurrexion stedfastly.

Hic statuent duos, Joseph Justum et Mathiam, et cetera.

 83  O sovereyn Lorde, whiche of every man
 84  The hertys dost knowe most inwardly,
 85  With all že lowlyness we may or kan,
 86  To že we prey ful benygnely
 87  That žu vowchesaff thorwe ži mercy
 88  Vs hym to shewe whiche in žis cas
 89  žu lykyst to chesyn effectuously
 90  To ocapye že lot of Judas plas.

Hic dabunt sortes, et cadet super Mathiam, et cetera.

 91  Now gramercy, Lord!
 92  And to fulfylle
 93  žin holy wylle,
 94  As it is skylle,
 95  We all accorde.