GRATITUDE AND LOVE TO God.
All are indebted much to Thee,
But I far more than all,
From many a deadly snare set free,
And raised from many a fall.
Overwhelm me, from above,
Daily with thy boundless Love.
What bonds of Gratitude I feel,
No language can declare;
Beneath th'oppressive weight I reel,
'Tis more than I can bear:
When shall I that blessing prove,
To return thee Love, for Love?
Spirit of Charity, dispense
Thy grace to ev'ry heart;
Expel all other Spirits thence,
Drive self from ev'ry part;
Charity divine, draw nigh,
Break the chains in which we lie!
All selfish souls, whate'er they feign,
Have still a slavish lot;
They boast of liberty in vain,
Of Love, and feel it not.
He whose bosom glows with Thee,
He, and he alone, is free.
Oh blessedness, all bliss above,
When thy pure fires prevail;
Love only teaches what is Love ;
All other lessons fail;
We learn its name, but not its pow'rs,
Experience only makes it ours.
HAPPY SOLITUDE-UNHAPPY MEN.
My heart is easy, and my burden light:
I smile, though sad, when thou art in my sight;
The more my woes in secret I deplore,
I taste thy goodness, and I love thee more.
There, while a solemn stillness reigns around, Faith, Love, and Hope, within my soul abound! And, while the world suppose me lost in care, The joys of angels, unperceived, I share.
Thy creatures wrong thee, O thou sov'reign Good!
Thou art not loved, because not understood;
This grieves me most, that vain pursuits beguile
Ungrateful men, regardless of thy smile.
Frail beauty, and false honor, are adored;
While thee they scorn, and trifle with thy word;
Pass, unconcern'd, a Saviour's sorrows by ;
And hunt their ruin with a zeal to die.
The fountain in its source,
No drought of summer fears :
The farther it pursues its course,
The nobler it appears.
But shallow cisterns yield
A scanty, short supply;
The morning sees them amply fill'd,
At ev'ning they are dry.
TRUTH AND DIVINE LOVE REJECTED BY THE WORLD
O Love, of pure and heav'nly birth!
O simple Truth, scarce known on earth!
Whom men resist with stubborn will;
And, more perverse and daring still,
Smother and quench with reas'nings vain,
While Error and deception reign.
Whence comes it, that, your pow'r the same
As His on high, from whence you came,
Ye rarely find a list'ning ear,
Or heart that makes you welcome here?
Because you bring reproach and pain,
Where'er ye visit, in your train.
The world is proud, and cannot bear
The scorn and calumny ye share;
The praise of men the mark they mean,
They fly the place where ye are seen;
Pure Love, with scandal in the rear,
Suits not the vain: it costs too dear.
Then, let the price be what it may,
Though poor, I am prepared to pay ;
Come shame, come sorrow; spite of tears,
Weakness, and heart-oppressing fears;
One soul, at least, shall not repine,
To give you room; come, reign in mine!
Thou hast no lightnings, O thou Just!
Or I their force should know;
And, if thou strike me into dust,
My soul approves the blow.
The heart, that values less its ease,
Than it adores thy ways,
In thine avenging anger sees
A subject of its praise.
Pleased 1 could lie, conceal'd and lost,
In shades of central night;
Not to avoid thy wrath, thou know'st,
But lest I grieve thy sight.
Smite me, O thou whom I provoke !
And I will love thee still
The well deserved, and righteous stroke
Shall please me, though it kill.
Am I not worthy to sustain
The worst thou canst devise:
And dare I seek thy throne again,
And meet thy sacred eyes?
Far from afflicting, thou art kind;
And in my saddest hours,
An unction of thy grace I find
Pervading all my pow'rs.
Alas! thou spar'st me yet again;
And when thy wrath should move,
Too gentle to endure my pain,
Thou sooth'st me with thy love.
I have no punishment to fear:
But ah! that smile from thee,
Imparts a pang far more severe,
Than woe itself would be.
THE SOUL THAT LOVES GOD FINDS HIM
Oh thou, by long experience tried,
Near whom no grief can long abide :
My love! how full of sweet content
I pass my years of banishment!
All scenes alike engaging prove,
To souls impress'd with sacred love!
Where'er they dwell, they dwell in thee:
In heav'n, in earth or on the sea.
To me remains nor place nor time;
My country is in ev'ry clime;
I can be calm and free from care
On any shore, since God is there
While place we seek, or place we shun,
The soul finds happiness in none;
But with a God to guide our way,
'Tis equal joy to go or stay.
Could I be cast where thou art not,
That were indeed a dreadful lot:
But regions none remote I call,
Secure of finding God in all.
My country, Lord, art thou alone:
Nor other can I claim or own;
The point where all my wishes meet:
My Law, my Love; life's only sweet!
I hold my nothing here below;
Appoint my journey, and I go;
Though pierced by scorn, oppress'd by pride,
I feel thee good-feel nought beside.
No frowns of men can hurtful prove
To souls on fire with heav'nly love;
Though men and devils both condemn,
No gloomy days arise from them.
Ah then! to this embrace repair;
My soul, thou art no stranger there;
There love divine shall be thy guard,
And peace and safety thy reward.
THE TESTIMONY OF DIVINE ADOPTION.
How happy are the new-born race,
Partakers of adopting grace:
How pure the bliss they share!
Hid from the world and all its eyes,
Within their heart the blessing lies,
And conscience feels it there.
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