(Rawl. P. 125-6).
Lord God that erthe tokist in erthe And suffredist paynes ful stille.
Possibly MS. Laud has transposed the and, and the correct reading should be that erthe madist for the erthe & suffredist paynes ille, in which case Harl. 4486 has merely omitted the first erthe, while the other two texts have modified the older version.
[Page 24.] MS. Porkington 10. Erthe upon Erthe is preceded by the two following stanzas:—
Lo wordly folkes thouȝ þis procese of dethe
Be not swete, ne synke not in your mynde.
When age commyþ & schorteth is her brethe,
And dethe commyþ, he is not far behynde;
Then her dyscression schal wel knov & fynde
That to have mynd of deþ it is ful nesseserry,