CXXVI. DEATHLESS principle, arise! Lo, he beckons from on high! Shudder not to pass the stream, Venture all thy care on hin, Him, whose dying love and power Still'd its tossing, hush'd its war: Safe is the expanded wave, Gentle as a summer's eve; Not one object of his care Ever suffered shipwreck there ! See the haven full in view, Love divine shall bear thee through ; Trust to that propitious gale, Weigh thy anchor, spread thy sail ! Saints in glory perfect made, Wait thy passage through the shade: Ardent for thy coming o'er, See they throng the blissful shore ! Mount, their transports to improve, Join the longing choir above, Swiftly to their wish be given, Kindle higher joy in heaven ! Such the prospects that arise To the dying Christian's eyes! Such the glorious vista, Faith Opens through the shades of death! CXXVII. HAPPINESS, thou lovely name, Where's thy seat, О tell me, where ? Learning, pleasure, wealth, and fame, All cry out,—“ It is not here :" Jesus, crucified for me! Only to be found in thee : Lord it is not life to live, If thy presence thou deny; Lord, if thou thy presence give, 'Tis no longer death to die: Source and giver of repose, Singly from thy smile it flows ; Peace and happiness are thine, Mine they are, if thou art mine. CXXVIII. When first thine eyes unveil, give thy soul leave To do the like; our bodies but forerun The spirit's duty: true hearts spread and heave Unto their God as flowers do to the sun; Give him thy first thought then, so shalt thou keep Him company all day, and in him sleep. Yet never sleep the sun up; prayer should Dawn with the day: there are set awful hours 'Twixt heaven and us; the manna was not good After sun rising; far day sullies flowers : Rise to prevent the sun; sleep doth sins glut, And heaven's gate opens when the world's is shut. Walk with thy fellow-creatures: note the hush And whisperings amongst them. Not a spring Or leaf but hath his morning hymn; each bush And oak doth know I AM.-Canst thou not sing? O leave thy cares and follies! go this way, And thou art sure to prosper all the day. Serve God before the world ; let him not go, Until thou hast a blessing ; then resign The whole unto him, and remember who Prevailed by wrestling ere the sun did shine : Pour oil upon the stones, weep for thy sin, Then journey on, and have an eye to heaven. Mornings are mysteries : the first, world's youth, WALLER. CXXXI. The seas are quiet when the winds are o'er, So calm are we when passions are no more! For then we know how vain it was to boast Of fleeting things, so certain be lost. Clouds of affection from our younger eyes Conceal that emptiness which age descries : The soul's dark cottage, barter'd and decay'd, Lets in new lights thro' chinks that time has made. Stronger by weakness, wiser men become As they draw. near to their eternal home; Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view, That stand upon the threshold of the new. |