^^^H ' &£r+Tt?^> I 'RttimkRIAN HI#OmCALSpOI£Lv ye3€ HEAVENWARD COLLECTION OV HYMN'S AND POEMS OF CONSOLATION. And I said. Oil that I had wings like u dove! For then would I riV away, and be at rest. — Psu.vt. NEW YO K K : A N S 0 N I) . V . II A NDOLPH No. 77 0 BRO A 1) W A Y . Corner of Ninth Stn-vt. 1 5< H 0 . Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1S66. By ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. NEW YORK : EDWARD O. JENKINS, PRINTER, 20 NORTH WILLIAM ST. CONTENTS. PART I. HEAVEN ' 1 DEATH AND RESURRECTION 59 IMMORTALITY 161 PART II. REVERIES AND RETROSPECTIONS 239 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://archive.org/details/heavenwardOOnewy IN MEMORIAM. I sometimes hold it half a sin To put in words the grief I feel ; For words, like Nature, half reveal And half conceal, the soul within. But for the unquiet heart and brain, A use in measured language lies ; The sad mechanic exercise — Like dull narcotics, numbing pain. In words like weeds, I'll wrap me o'er, Like coarsest clothes against the cold; But that large grief which these enfold, Is given in outline, and no more. Tennyson. TO MY CHILDREN. THESE SELECTIONS, CULLED FOR THEM, ARE OFFERED, WITH A MOTHER'S TRUE LOVE. ' Sept., 1866. This selection of gems from the rich mine of Sacred Poetry, which was made to beguile the weary hour in a season of sorrow, is now pre- sented to mourning hearts, in the hope that it may he of benefit in ministering consolation in trials, in soothing the distressed, and in cheering the heavy-laden in their aspirations Heavenward. Umben. HEAVEN'S GLORIES. ©ax&inal Samtani. 1003-1072. In the Fount of life perennial, the parched heart its thirst would slake, And the soul, in flesh imprison?d, longs its prison walls to break — Exile, seeking, sighing, yearning, in her Fatherland to wake. When with cares oppressed and sorrows, only groans her grief can tell, Then she contemplates the glory which she lost, when first she fell ; Present evil but the memory of the vanished good can swell. Who can utter what the pleasures and the peace unbroken are, * Where arise the pearly mansions, shedding silvery light afar? Festive seats and golden roofs, which glitter like the even- ing star ! Wholly of fair stones most precious are those radiant struc- tures made ; With pure gold, like glass transparent, are those shining streets inlaid : Nothing that defiles can enter, nothing that can soil or fade. 1 2 HEAVEN'S GLORIES. Stormy Winter, burning Summer, rage within those regions never, But perpetual bloom of roses, and unfading Spring for- ever ; — Lilies gleam, the crocus glows, and dropping balms their scents deliver. Honey pure, and greenest pastures, this the land of prom- ise is ; Liquid odors soft distilling, perfumes breathing on the breeze ; Fruits immortal cluster always, on the leafy, fadeless trees. There no moon shines chill and changing, there no stars with twinkling ray, For the Lamb of that blest city is at once the Sun and Day; Night and time are known no longer, day shall never fade away. There, the saints like suns are radiant, like the sun at dawn they glow ; Crowned victors after conflict, all their joys together flow, And secure they count the battles where they fought the prostrate foe. Every stain of flesh is cleansed, every strife is left behind, Spiritual are their bodies, perfect unity of mind ; Dwelling in deep peace forever, no offence or grief they find. heaven's glories. • 3 Putting off their mortal vesture, in their Source their souls they steep — Truth by actual vision learning, on its form their gaze they keep — Drinking from the living Fountain draughts of living wa- ters deep. Time, with all its alternations, enters not those hosts among ; Glorious, wakeful, blest, — no shade of change o'er them is flung ; Sickness cannot touch the deathless, nor old age the ever young. There, their being is eternal, things that cease have ceased to be ; All corruption there has perish'd, there they flourish strong and free : Thus mortality is swallowed up of life eternally. Naught from them is hidden, knowing Him to whom all is known. All the spirit's deep recesses, sinless to each other shown. — Unity of will and purpose, heart and mind forever one. Divers as their varied labors, the rewards to each that fall. But Love, what she loves in others, evermore her own doth call ; Thus the several joy of each becomes the common joy of all. Where the body is, there ever are the eagles gathered ; For the saints and for the angels, one most blessed feast is spread, — Citizens of either country living on the self-same bread. Ever filled, and ever seeking, what they have they all desire : Hunger there shall fret them never, nor satiety shall tire, — Still enjoying whilst aspiring, in their joy they still aspire. There the new song, new forever, those melodious voices sing, Ceaseless streams of fullest music through those blessed regions ring ; Crowned victors ever bringing praises worthy of the King ! Blessed who the King of Heaven in His beauty thus behold, And beneath His throne rejoicing see the universe unfold. — Sun and moon, and stars and planets, radiant in His light unrolFd ! Christ, the Palm of faithful victors! of that city make me free ; When my warfare is accomplished, to its mansions lead Thou me, — Grant me, with its happy inmates, sharer of Thy gifts to be. Let Thy soldier, yet contending, still be with Thy strength supplied ; Thou wilt not deny the quiet, when the arms are laid aside ; Make me meet with Thee forever, in that countrv to abide ! HE A VEN'S JO VS. &j)omas-a-lUmpts. 1380-1471. High the angel choirs are raising Heart and voice in harmony ; The Creator King, still praising, ,. Whom in beauty there they see. Sweetest strains from soft harps stealing ; Trumpets, notes of triumph pealing ; Radiant wings, and white stoles gleaming, Up the steps of glory streaming ; Where the heavenly bells are ringing ; Holy, holy, holy ! singing — To the mighty Trinity ! Holy, holy, holy ! crying ; For all earthly care and sighing In that city cease to be ! Every voice is there harmonious, Praising God in hymns symphonious ; Love each heart witli light unfolding, As they stand in peace beholding HEAVEN S JOYS. There the Triune Deity ! Whom adore the seraphim Aye. with love eternal burning : Venerate the cherubim, To their Fount of honor turning : Whilst angelic thrones adoring, Gaze upon His majesty. 0 how beautiful that region ! And how fair that heavenly legion. Where thus men and angels blend ! Glorious will that city be. Full of deep tranquillity. Light and peace from end to end ! All the happy dwellers there Shine in robes of purity. Keep the laws of charity. Bound in firmest unity : — Labor finds them not. nor care. Ignorance can ne'er perplex. Nothing tempt them, nothing vex : — Joy and health their fadeless bless in 2' Always all things good possessing ! THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. Staaxfc, of Glugnp, ^totlftS Crnturp. Translated by Dk. Nkale. Brief life is here our portion, Brief sorrow, short-lived care The life that knows no ending — e The tearless life, is There. And now we fight the battle, But then shall wear the crown, Of full and everlasting And passionless renown : And now we watch and struggle, And now Ave live in hope, And Syon, in her anguish. With Babylon must cope ; — But He whom now we trust in Shall then be seen and known. And they that know and see Him, Shall have Him for their own. There Jesus shall embrace us, There Jesus be embraced — THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. That spirit's food and sunshine Whence earthly love is chased. Amidst the happy chorus, A place however low, Shall show Him us, and, showing, Shall satiate evermo. For thee, 0 dear, dear Country ! Mine eyes their vigils keep : For very love, beholding Thy happy name, they weep. The mention of thy glory Is unction to the breast, And medicine in sickness, And love, and life, and rest. 0 one, 0 only Mansion, 0 Paradise of Joy ! Where tears are ever banished. And smiles have no alloy. Beside thy living waters All plants are, great and small — The cedar of the forest, The hyssop of the wall ; — With jaspers glow thy bulwarks, Thy streets with emeralds blaze, The sardius and the topaz Unite in thee their rays ; THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. Thine ageless walls are bonded With amethyst unpriced ; Thy Saints build up its fabric. And the corner-stone is Christ. Thou hast no shore, fair ocean ! Thou hast no Time, bright day ! Dear Fountain of refreshment To pilgrims far away ! Upon the Rock of Ages They raise thy holy Tower ; Thine is the victor's laurel, And Thine the golden dower. Jerusalem the Golden ! . With milk and honey blest, Beneath thy contemplation Sink heart and voice oppressed. I know not, 0 I know not, What social joys are There ! What radiancy of glory, What Light beyond compare ! They stand, those halls of Syon, Conjubilant with song, And bright with many an angel, And all the martyr throng ; The Prince is ever in them, — The daylight is serene ; The pastures of the blessed Are decked in glorious sheen. 10 THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. There is the throne of David, And There, from toil released. The song of them that triumph. The shout of them that feast ; And they, who with their Leader, Have conquered in the fight, Forever and forever Are clad in robes of white ! Jerusalem the glorious ! The glory of tV Elect! 0 dear and future vision That eager hearts expect ! Even now by faith I see thee — Even here thy Avails discern ; To thee my thoughts are kindled. And strive, and pant, and yearn. Jerusalem the onely ; That look'st from Heaven, below In thee is all my glory, In me is all my woe ; And though my body may not. My spirit seeks thee fain — Till flesh and earth return me To earth and flesh again. 0 mine, my golden Syon ! 0 lovelier far than a-old. HERE AND THERE. ' 11 With laurel-girt battalions And safe victorious fold ! 0 sweet and blessed Country, Shall I ever win thy grace ? 1 have the hope within me To comfort and to bless ! Shall I ever win the prize itself? 0 tell me, tell me, yes ! HERE AND THERE. What no human eye hath seen. What no mortal ear hath heard, What on thought has never been In its noblest flights conferred — This has God prepared in store For His people evermore ! When the shaded pilgrim-land Fades before my closing eye, Then revealed on either hand, Heaven's own scenery shall lie ; — Then the veil of flesh shall fall, Now concealing, darkening all. Heavenly landscapes, calmly bright, Life's pure river, murmuring low ; 12 HERE AND THERE. Forms of loveliness and light Lost to earth long time ago ; Yes, mine own lamented long, Shine amid the angel throng ! Many a joyful sight was given, Many a lovely vision here — Hill, and vale, and starry even, Friendship's smile, — affection's tear ; These were shadows sent in love, Of realities above ! When upon my wearied ear Earth's last echoes faintly die, Then shall angel-harps draw near, — All the chorus of the sky ; Long-hushed voices blend again Sweetly in that welcome strain ! Here, were sweet and varied tones — Bird, and breeze, and fountain's fall ; Yet creation's travail-groans Ever sadly sighed through all. There no discord jars the air — Harmony is perfect There ! When this aching heart shall rest, All its busy pulses o'er, From her mortal robes undrest Shall my spirit upward soar. HERE AND THERE. • 13 Then shall unimagined joy All my thoughts and powers employ. Here, devotion's healing balm, Often comes to soothe my breast. Hours of deep and holy calm — Earnests of eternal rest. But the bliss is here unknown, Which shall There be all my own ! Jesus reigns, the Life, the Sun Of that wondrous world above ; All the storms and clouds are gone, .All is light, and all is love ; All the shadows melt away In the blaze of perfect day ! THE DWELLING-PLACE ABOVE iMsfiop ittant. There is a dwelling-place above ; Thither, to meet the God of love, The poor in spirit go ; There is a paradise of rest ; For contrite hearts and souls distrest Its streams of comfort flow. 14 THE DWELLING-PLACE ABOVE. There is a goodly heritage, Where earthly passions cease to rage ; The meek that haven gain. There is a board, where they who pine, Hungry, athirst, for grace divine, Many feast, nor crave again. There is a voice to mercy true ; To them who mercy's path pursue That voice shall bliss impart — There is a sight from man concealed, That sight— the face of God revealed Shall bless the pure in heart. There is a name, in Heaven bestowed, That name, which hails them " Sons of God The friends of peace shall know : There is a kingdom in the sky, Where they shall reign with God on high, Who serve him best below. Lord, be mine like them to choose The better part,— like them to use The means Thy love hath given. Be holiness my aim on earth, That Death be welcome as a birth To life and bliss in Heaven ! THE GOODLY LAXD ! iHrs. Hunt Stfrlc. Far from these narrow scenes of night Unbounded glories rise And realms of infinite delight. Unknown to mortal eyes. Far distant land ! could mortal eyes But half its joys explore, How would our spirits long to rise And dwell on earth no more ! There, pain and sickness never come. And grief no more complains : Health triumphs in immortal bloom — And endless pleasure reigns. From discord free, and war's alarms. And want, and pining care, Plenty and peace, unite their charms, And smile unchanging There. There, rich varieties of joy, Continual feast the mind ; Pleasures which fill, but never cloy — Immortal and refined ! 16 THE GOODLY LAND ! No factious strife, no envy there, The sons of peace molest ; But harmony, and love sincere - Fill every happy breast. No clouds those blissful regions know, Forever bright and fair ! For sin, the source of mortal woe Can never enter There. There, no alternate night is known, Nor sun's faint sickly ray ; But glory, from the Sacred Throne Spreads everlasting day. The glorious Monarch, There displays His beams of wondrous grace ; His happy subjects sing His praise, And bow before His face. Oh, may the heavenly prospect fire Our hearts with ardent love, Till wings of faith and strong desire, Bear every thought above. Prepare us, Lord, by grace divine, For Thy bright courts on high ; Then bid our spirits rise and join, The chorus of the sky ! THE NEW JERUSALEM. " BLpra Upostoltca." The Holy Jerusalem From highest Heaven descending And crowned with a diadem Of angel bands attending. The Living City built on high Bright with celestial jewelry ! She comes the Bride, from Heaven's gate, In nuptial new adorning, To meet the Immaculate Like coming of the morning. Her streets of purest gold are made — Her walls, a diamond palisade. There with pearls the gates are dight Upon that Holy Mountain ; And thither come forth day and night, Who in the Living Fountain Have washed their robes from earthly stain, And borne below Christ's lowly chain. By the hand of the Unknown, The living stones are moulded To a glorious shrine All One, Full soon to be unfolded : 2 lg THE SEAT OF GLORY. The building wherein God doth dwell The Holy Church Invisible. Glory be to God, who layed In Heaven the foundation ; And to the Spirit who hath made The walls of our salvation To Christ Himself, its Corner Stone ; Be glory to the Three in One. THE SEAT OF GLORY. ©rummoitti. If with such passing beauty, choice delights, The Architect of this great round, did frame This palace visible, short lists of fame, And silly mansion of but 'dying wights ; How many wonders, what amazing lights. Must that triumphing Seat of Glory claim, That doth transcend all this All's vastly heights. Of whose bright sun, ours here is but a beam ! 0 blest abode! 0 happy dwelling-place ! Where visibly th' Invisible doth reign ; Blest people, who do see true Beauty's face, With whose far shadows, scarce He earth cloth deign All Jov is but annoy, all concord strife. Matched with your endless bliss and happy life. THAT LAND. Wan*. There is a land where beauty will not fade, / Nor sorrow dim the eye ; Where true hearts will not sink nor be dismayed, And Love will never die. Tell me — I fain would go — For I am burdened with a heavy woe : The beautiful have left me all alone ; The true, the tender, from my path have gone. And I am weak and fainting with despair ; Where is it ? tell me where ? Friend, thou must trust in Him, who trod before The desolate path of life ; Must bear in meekness, as He meekly bore Sorrow, and toil, and strife. Think how the Son of God These thorny paths has trod ; Yet tarried out for thee the appointed woe : Think of His loneliness in places dim, When no man comforted or cared for Him ; — Think how He prayed, unaided and alone. In that dread agony, " Thy will be done !" Friend, do thou not despair, Christ, in his Heaven of Heavens, will hear thy prayer. THE FATHER-LAXD. JFrom ifoi German, im Sr. £b"UlI=. Know ye the land? — On earth 'twere vainly sought To which the heart in sorrow? turns its thought : Where no complaint is heard — tears never flow — The good are blest — the weak with vigor glow ! Know ye it well ? For this, for this All earthly wish or care, my friends, dismiss ! Know ye the way — the rugged path of thorns ? His lagging progress there, the traveler mourn- : He faints, lie sinks. — from dust lie cries to God — •• Relieve me. Father, from the weary road ! " Know ye it well ? It guides, it guides. To that dear land, where all we hope abides. Know ye that Friend ? — In Him a man you see : Yet more than man. more than all men is He : Himself before us trod the path of thorns. To pilgrims now His heart with pity turns. Know ye Him well ? His hand. His hand Will safelv bring as to that Father-Land. PIL GRIM SONG. (GccrjPiarJtr (Eerstccjcrt. Come, brothers, let us onward — Night comes without delay, And in this howling desert It is not good to stay. Take courage, and be strong, We are hasting on to Heaven ; Strength for warfare will be given, And glory won ere long. The Pilgrim's path of trial We do not fear to view : We know His voice who calls us, We know Him to be true. Then, let who will contemn ; — Strong in His Almighty grace. Come, every one, with steadfast face On to Jerusalem ! Here, all unknown we wander, Despised on every hand ; Unnoticed, save when slighted — As strangers in the land. 22 PILGRIM SONG. Our joys they will not share- Yet sing, that they may catch the song Of Heaven, and the happy throng That now await us there ! Come, gladly, let us onward- Hand in hand still go, Each helping one another Through all the way below. One family of love, — Oh, let no voice of strife be heard, No discord, by the angel-guard Who watch us from above ! 0 brothers ! soon is ended The journey we've begun— Endure a little longer, The race will soon be won ! And in the land of rest, In yonder bright, eternal home, Where all the Father's loved ones come We shall be safe and blest ! NOT VERY FAR. loonar. Surely yon Heaven, where angels see God's face, Is not so distant as we deem From this low- earth ! — 'Tis but a little space, The narrow crossing of a slender stream : — Tis but a mist which winds might blow aside. Yes, these are all that us of earth divide From the bright dwellings of the glorified ; — The Land of which I dream. These peaks are nearer Heaven than earth below, These hills are higher than they seem ; Tis not the clouds they touch, nor the soft brow Of the o'erbending azure, as we deem : 'Tis the blue floor of Heaven that they upbear, And, like some old and wildly rugged stair. They lift us to the land where all is fair. — The Land of which I dream. These ocean waves, in their unmeasured sweep, Are brighter, bluer than they seem : True image here of the celestial deep. Fed from the fullness of the unfailing stream ; 24 NOT VERY FAR. Heaven's glassy sea of everlasting rest, With not a breath to stir its silent breast, The sea that laves the land where all are blest, — The Land of which I dream. And these keen stars, the bridal gems of night, Are purer, lovelier than they seem ; Filled from the inner fountain of deep light, They pour down Heaven's own beam ; Clear, sparkling, from their throne of glorious blue, In accents ever ancient, ever new, Of the glad home above, beyond my view, — The Land of which I dream. This life of ours, these lingering years of earth, Are briefer, swifter, than they seem ; A little while, and the great second birth Of Time shall come, — the prophets' ancient theme. Then He, the King, the Judge, at length shall come, And from this desert, where we sadly roam, Shall give the Kingdom, for our endless home, — The Land of which I dream ! THAT CITY! I know the walls are jasper, The palaces are fair, And to the sounds of harpings The saints are singing There ; I know that living waters Flow under fruitful trees ; But oh, to make my heaven, It needeth more than these ! Read in the sacred story, What more doth it unfold, Beside the pearly gateways And streets of shining gold ? No temple hath That city, For none is needed There, No sun nor moon enlighteneth ;— Can darkness then be fair ? Ah, now the bright revealing, The crowning joy of all ! What need of other sunshine Where God is all in all ? •_>,- THAT CITY'. He fill? the wide ethereal With glory all His own.— He. whom my soul adoreth, The Lamb amidst the throne ! 0 Heaven, without my Saviour, Would be no heaven to me : Dim were the walls of jasper — Rayless the crystal sea. He gilds earth's darkest valleys With light, and joy. and peace : What then must be the radiance When Night and Death shall cease ? Speed on. 0 lagging moments ! Come, birthday of the soul ! How long the night appeareth, The hours, how slow they roll ! How sweet the welcome summons That greets the willing bride ! And when mine eyes behold Him. •• I shall be satisfied.'" HOW CAN WE KNOW THE WAY?" JFrom t]jc (German o£ J. Stiller. From out this dim and gloomy hollow, Where hang the cold clouds heavily, Could I but gain the clue to follow, How blessed would the journey be ! Aloft, I see a fair dominion. Through time and change, all vernal still ; But what the power, and where the pinion, To gain the ever-blooming hill ? Afar, I hear the music ringing, The lulling sounds of Heaven's repose ; And the light gales are downward bringing The sweets of flowers the mountain knows. I see the fruit, all golden glowing, Beckon, the glassy leaves between : — And o'er the winds that there are blowing, Nor blight nor winter's wrath hath been. Ye suns that shine forever yonder, O'er fields that fade not, sweet to flee ; — The very zephyrs there that wander, How healing must their breathing be ! XOXE IN HE A VEX BUT THEE. %ix rftottrt Grant. Lord of earth ! thy bounteous hand Well this glorious frame hath planned : Woods that waive, and hills that tower. Ocean, rolling in his power. All that strikes the gaze unsought. All that charms the lonely thought ; — Friendship. — gem transcending price. Love, a flower of Paradise : — Yet. amid this scene so fair. Should I cease Thy smile to share. What were all its joys to me ? •■ Whom have I in Heaven but Thee ?" Lord of Heaven ! beyond our sight Rolls a world of purer light : There, in Love's unclouded reign. Parted hands shall join again : Martyrs there, and prophets high. Blaze, a glorious company : — While immortal music rings From unnumbered seraph strings ; IN HEAVEN ALONE IS REST. .29 Oh, that scene is passing fair ! Yet, shouldst Thou be absent there, What were all its joys to me ? " Whom have I in Heaven but Thee ?" Lord of earth. and Heaven! my breast Seeks in Thee its only rest ; I was lost — thy accents mild Homeward lured Thy wandering child ; I was blind — Thy healing ray Charmed the long eclipse array ; Source of every joy I know, Solace of my every woe ; Yet should once Thy smile divine Cease upon my soul to shine, What were Heaven or earth to me ? " Whom have I in Heaven but Thee ?" IN HEAVEN ALONE IS REST. Xot in this weary world of ours Can perfect rest be found ; Thorns mingle with earth's fairest flowers, Even on cultured ground. A brook to drink of by the way, A rock its shade to cast, May cheer our path from day to day, But such can not long last ; 30 IN HEAVEN ALONE IS BEST. Earth's pilgrim still his loins must gird To seek a lot more blest : And this must be his onward word. — •■ In Heaven alone is rest." This cannot be thy resting-place. Though now and then a gleam Of lovely nature, heavenly grace. May on thee briefly beam : Griefs pelting shower, care's dark ning shroud. Still falls, or hovers near : And sin's pollutions often cloud The light of life while here : Nor till it - sliuffle off the coil" In which it lies depressed. Can the pure spirit cease from toil. — •• In Heaven alone is rest." Rest to the weary, anxious soul. That on life's toilsome road Bears onward to the destined goal Its heavy galling load : — Rest unto eyes that often weep. Beneath the day's broad light. Or oftener painful vigils keep Through the dark hours of night : But let us bear witli pain or care. As ills to be redressed :— Relying on the promise fair. " In Heaven alone is rest." MORE BLEST THAN EDEN Bishop (Coxe. There is a land like Eden fair, But more than Eden blest ; The wicked cease from troubling There, The weary are at rest. There is a land of calmest shore. Where ceaseless summers smile. And winds, like angel- whispers, pour Across the shining isle. There is a land of purest mirth, Where healing waters glide ; And There, the wearied child of earth Untroubled may abide. There is a land where Sorrow's sons Like ocean wrecks are tossed ; Bat There revive those weeping ones, When life's dull sea is crossed. There is a land where small and great Before the Lord appear ; The spoils of fortune and of fate, Whom heaven alone can cheer. 32 HIS THRONE AND TEMPLE. There is a land where star-like shine The pearls of Christ's renown ; And gems long buried in the mine Arc jewels in His crown. There is a land like Eden fair, But more than Eden blest ; Oh, for a wing to waft me There, To fly, and be at rest ! HIS THRONE AND TEMPLE. &ib. m. &. iBu&Itniurfl. Since o'er thy footstool here below Such radiant gems are strewn, Oh, what magnificence must glow, My God, about Thy throne ! So brilliant here those drops of light — Where the full ocean rolls, how bright ! If night's blue curtain of the sky, With thousand stars inwrought, Hung like a glittering canopy With royal diamonds fraught, Be, Lord, Thy temple's outer veil What splendor at the shrine must dwell ! TO BE there! 33 The dazzling sun, at noontide hour, Forth from his flaming vase Flinging o'er earth the golden shower Till vale and mountain blaze, — But shows, 0 Lord, one beam of Thine, What, then, the Day, where Thou dost shine ! Oh, how shall these dim eyes endure That noon of living rays ; Or how my spirit, so impure. Upon Thy glory gaze ? Anoint, 0 Lord, anoint my sight, And robe me for that world of light ! TO BE THERE! We speak of the realms of the blest, Of that country so bright and so fair — And oft are its glories confessed, But what must it be to be There ! We speak of its pathways of gold, Of its walks decked with jewels so rare, Of its wonders and pleasures untold — But what must it be to be There ! We speak of its freedom from sin, From sorrow, temptation, and care, 3 34 THE OTHER WORLD. From trials without and within — But what must it be to be There ! We speak of its service of love, Of the robes which the glorified wear, Of the Church of the First-born above — But what must it be to be There ! Do Thou, Lord, midst sorrow and woe Still for Heaven our spirits prepare 3 And shortly we also shall know, And feel what it is to be There ! THE OTHER WORLD Mis. It 33. Stofoc. It lies around us like a cloud, — A world we do not see ; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us There to be ! Its gentle breezes fan our cheek ; Amid our worldly cares Its gentle voices whisper love, And mingle with our prayers. THE OTHER WORLD. ' 35 Sweet hearts around us throb and beat. Sweet helping hands are stirred, — And palpitates the veil between With breathings almost heard: The silence — awful, sweet, and calm — They have no power to break ; For mortal words are not for them To utter or partake. So thin, so soft, so sweet they glide'. So near to press they seem, — As fain to lull us to our rest, And melt into our dream. And in the hush of rest they bring, 'Tis easy now to see How lovely and how sweet a pass The hour of death may be. To close the eye, and close the ear, Wrapped in a trance of bliss, And gently dream, in loving arms To swoon to That — from this. Scarce knowing if we wake or sleep, Scarce asking where we are, — To feel all evil sink away, All sorrow and all care. 36 HEAVEN NEAR. Sweet souls around us ! watch us still, Press nearer to our side, Into our thoughts— into our prayers With gentle helpings glide. Let Death between us be as naught— A dried and vanished stream ; Our joy, be the reality— Our suffering— life, the dream. HEA VEN NEAR. Oh, Heaven is nearer than mortals think, When they look with a trembling dread At the misty future, that stretches on From the silent home of the dead. Tis no lone isle on a boundless main, No brilliant, but distant shore, Where the lovely ones who are called away Must go, to return no more. No, Heaven is near us— the mighty veil Of mortality blinds the eye, And we cannot sec the angel bands On the shore of Eternity. HEAVEN NEAR. ' 3*7 The eye that shuts in a dying hour Will open the next in bliss ; The welcome will sound in the heavenly world. Ere the farewell is hushed in this. We pass from the clasp of mourning friends. To the arms of the loved and lost, And those smiling faces will greet us There, Which on earth we have valued most. Yet oft, in the hours of holy thought, To the thirsting soul is given That power to pierce through the mist of sense, To the beauteous scenes of Heaven. Then very near seem its pearly gates, And sweetly its harpings fall ; Till the soul is restless to soar away, And longs for the angels' call. I know when the silver cord is loosed, When the veil is rent away, i^ot long or dark shall the passage be, To the realms of endless da v. HEAVENLY ASPIRATIONS Bofolcs. 0, talk to me of Heaven ! I love To hear about my home above ; For there doth many a loved one dwell In light and joy ineffable. 0 tell me how they shine and sing, While every harp rings echoing ; And every glad and tearless eye Beams, like the bright sun, gloriously. Tell me of that victorious palm Each hand in glory beareth ; Tell me of that celestial calm Each face in glory weareth. 0 happy, happy country, where There entereth not a sin ; And Death, who keeps those portals fair, May never once come in. No grief can change their day to night ; The darkness of That Land is Light. — Sorrow and sighing God hath sent 'Far thence, to endless banishment. And never more may one sad tear Bedim a burning eye — THE CITY OF REST. . 39 For God shall soothe away all fears, And make all glad through endless years. 0 happy, happy land ! in thee Shines the unveiled Deity, Shedding through each adoring breast A holy calm, a halcyon rest, And those blest souls whom death did sever Have met to mingle joys forever. 0, soon may Heaven unclose to me ; 0, may I soon that glory see ! And my faint, weary spirit stand Within that blissful, happy land ! THE CIT Y 0 F BEST. " $.oust|)oltr ^Mortis." Oh birds from out the east, oh birds from out the west, Have ye found that happy City, in all your weary quest? Tell me, tell me, from earth's wanderings may the heart find glad surcease ; Can ye show me, as an earnest, any olive-branch of peace ? I am weary of life's troubles, of its sin, and toil, and care ; I am faithless, crushing in my heart so many a fruitless prayer ; Oh birds from out the east, oh birds from out the west, Can ye tell me of that City, " the name of which is Rest?" 40 THE CITY OF REST. Say. doth a dreamy atmosphere that blessed City crown? Are there couches spread for sleeping, softer than eider- down ? Does the silver sound of waters, falling 'twixt its marble walls, Hush its solemn silence, even into stiller interval- ? Does the poppy shed its influence there, or doth the fabled Moly With its peaceful, leaden Lethe, bathe the eyes with slumber holy ? Do they never wake to sorrow, who after toilsome quest, Have entered in that City. " the name of which is Rest?'' Doth the fancy wile not there for aye ? Is the restless soul's endeavor Hushed in a hymn of solemn calm, forever and forever ? Are human natures satisfied of their intense desire — Is there no more good beyond to seek, or do they not aspire ? But weary, weary, of the oar, within its yellow sun Do they lie and eat the lotus-leaves, and dream life's toil is done ? Oli tell me. do they there forget what here hath made them blest ? Nor sigh again for home and friends, in the City called Rest? Oh, little birds, fly east again : oh, little birds, fly west ; Ye have found no happy city, in all your weary quest : — Still shall ye find no spot of rest where'ver ye may stray. And still like ye the weary soul must wing its weary way ! ABOVE THE STARS. . 41 There sleepeth uo such city within the wide earth's bound — Nor hath the dreaming fancy yet its blissful portals found ! We arc but children, crying here, upon a Mother's breast' For life, and peace, and blessedness, and for eternal rest. Bless God ! I hear a still, small voice, above life's clam'rous din, Saying, " Faint not, oh weary one, thou yet may'st enter in. That City is prepared for those who well do win the fight, Who tread the wine-press, till its blood hath washed them pure and white ; Within it is no darkness, nor any baleful flower Shall There oppress thy waking eyes with stupefying power ; It lieth calm, within the light of God's Peace-giving breast ; Its walls are called Salvation — that City's name is ; Rest.' " ABOVE THE STARS. Ye golden lamps of Heaven, farewell, With all your feeble light ; Farewell, thou ever-changing moon, Pale empress of the night. 42 ABOVE THE STARS. And thou, refulgent orb of day, In brighter flames arrayed ; My soul that springs beyond thy sphere No more demands thine aid. Ye stars are but the shining dust Of my divine abode, The pavement of those heavenly courts, Where I shall reign with God. The Father of Eternal Light Shall There His beams display ; Nor shall one moment's darkness mix With that unvaried day ! No more the drops of piercing grief Shall swell into mine eyes, Nor the meridian sun decline Amidst those brighter skies. There, all the million of the saints Shall in one song unite, And each the bliss of all shall view, With infinite delight. NO NIGHT SHALL BE IN HEAVEN. ©Somas ftafflcs. No night shall be in Heaven, — no gathering gloom Shall o'er that glorious landscape ever come ; No tears shall fall in sadness o'er those flowers That breathe their fragrance through celestial bowers. No night shall be in Heaven, — no dreadful hour' Of mental darkness, or the tempter's power ; — Across those skies no envious cloud shall roll, To dim the sunlight of the enraptured soul. No night shall be in Heaven. Forbid to sleep, These eyes no more their mournful vigils keep ; Their fountains dried, their tears all wiped away, They gaze undazzled on Eternal Day. No night shall be in Heaven, — no sorrows reign, No secret anguish, no corporeal pain, No shivering limbs, no burning fever there — No soul's eclipse, no winter of despair. No night shall be in Heaven, — but endless noon ; No fast-declining sun, nor waning moon ; But There the Lamb shall yield perpetual light, 'Mid pastures green, and waters ever bright. 44 NO GRAVES ARE THERE. No night shall be in Heaven, — no darkened room, No bed of death, nor silence of the tomb ; But breezes ever fresh with love and truth Shall brace the frame with an immortal vouth ! Xo night shall be in Heaven. But night is here — The night of soitoav and the night of fear ; I mourn the ills that now my steps attend, And shrink from others that may yet impend. No night shall be in Heaven. Oh, had I faith, To rest in what the Faithful Witness saith. That faith should make these hideous phantoms flee, And leave no nis;ht henceforth on earth to me ! NO GRA VES ARE THERE. £. 3. 33.1jccs. " Xo graves are there,'' Xo willow weeps above the grassy bed Where sleeps the young, the fondly loved, the fair. The early dead ! Xo funeral knell Blends with the breeze of spring its mournful tone. Bidding henceforth the balmy breezes tell Of loved ones gone. NO GRAVES ARE THERE. - 45 O'er the cold brow No bitter tears of agony are shed ; None o'er the still, pale form, in anguish bow, Whence life has fled. " No graves are there," Nor sunny slope, green turf, or quiet grot, Those sad mementoes of departure bear, For death is not. That fearful foe ! Here, ever bearing from us those we love, Resistless as his power is owned below, Has none above. No ! in the tomb Ends his dominion ; — there his power is o'er, And they who safely tread its path of gloom Shall die no more ! " No graves are there ;" Father, we thank thee that there is a clime Guarded alike from death, and grief, and care, Untouched by Time. We praise Thy name That from the dust and darkness of the tomb We can look up in faith, and humbly claim Our future home. 46 ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN. Hasten the day When, passing death's dark vale without a fear. We, as we reach that heavenly home, may say No slaves are here ! A T TR A C TIOXS OF HE A VEX. Xo sickness There— Xo weary wasting of the frame away. Xo fearful shrinking from the midnight air. Xo dread of summer's bright and fervid ray ! Xo hidden grief, No wild and cheerless vision of despair ; Xo vain petition for a swift relief, No tearful eye. no broken heart, are There ! Care has no home Within that realm of ceaseless praise and song : Its surging billows toss and melt in foam. Far from the mansions of the spirit-throng. The storm's black wing- Is never spread athwart celestial skies : Its waitings blend not with the voice of Spring, As some too tender flow'ret fades and die^. ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN. • 47 No night distills Its chilling dews upon the tender frame ; No morn is needed There ! the light which fills The land of glory, from its Maker came. No parted friends O'er mournful recollections have to weep — No bed of death — enduring love attends, To watch the coming of a pulseless sleep ! No withered flower, Or blasted bud, celestial gardens know ! No scorching blast or fierce descending shower Scatters destruction like a ruthless foe. No battle-word Startles the sacred hosts with fear and dread ; The song of Peace, Creation's morning heard, Is sung wherever angel footsteps tread ! Let us depart, If home like this await the weary soul ! Look up, thou stricken one ! Thy wounded heart Shall bleed no more at sorrow's stern control. With Faith our guide, White-robed and innocent, to tread the way, — Why fear to plunge in Jordan's rolling tide, And find the Haven of eternal dav ? ALLUREMENTS OF HEAVEN. fttfc. 3B. WL BitkitJsUtf). Thus Heaven is gathering one by one, in its capacious breast, All that is pure and permanent, and beautiful and blest ; The family is scattered yet, though of one home and heart, Part militant in earthly gloom, in heavenly glory part : — But who can tell the rapture, when the circle is complete, And all the children, scattered now, before the Father meet ? One fold — one Shepherd — one employ — one universal home ! " Lo, I come quickly." Even so — "Amen — Lord Jesus, come !" REUNION. I count the hope no day-dream of the mind, No vision fair, of transitory hue, — The souls of those whom once on earth we knew And loved, and walked with, in communion kind. Departed hence, again in Heaven to find ! Sucli hope to nature's sympathies is true : And such, we deem, the holy word to view Unfolds, an antidote for grief designed ; — THE MEETING-PLACE. ' 49 One drop from comfort's well. 'Tis true we read The book of life ; but if we read it not amiss, By God prepared, fresh treasures shall succeed, To kinsmen, fellows, friends, a vast abyss Of joy, nor aught the longing spirit need To fill its measure of enormous bliss ! 23isf)op Jtm. The saints on earth, when sweetly they converse, And the dear favors of kind Heaven rehearse, Each feels the other's joys, both doubly share The blessings which devoutly they compare. If saints such mutual joy feel here below, When they each other's heavenly foretastes know, — What joys transport them at each other's sight, When they shall meet in the empyrean height ! Friends e'en in Heaven one happiness would miss, Should they not know each other, when in bliss. THE MEETING-PLACE. 36onar. Where the faded flower shall freshen — Freshen never more to fade ; Where the faded sky shall brighten — Brighten never more to shade : 4 50 THE MEETING-PLACE. Where the sun-blaze never scorches, Where the star-beams cease to chill ; Where no trumpet stirs the echoes Of the wood, or wave, or hill ; Whore the morn shall wake in gladness, And the noon the joy prolong ; Where the daylight dies in fragrance, 'Mid the burst of holy song ; — Brother, we shall meet and rest 'Mid the holy and the blessed ! Where no shadow shall bewilder, Where life's vain parade is o'er, Where the sleep of sin is broken, And the dreamer dreams no more ; Where the bond is never severed, — Partings, claspings, sobs and moans, Midnight waking, twilight weeping, Heavy noon-tide, — all are done. Where the child has found its mother, Where the mother finds her child ; Where clear families are gathered, That were scattered on the wild ; — Brother, we shall meet and rest 'Mid the holy and the blessed ! Where the hidden wound is healed, Where the blighted life reblooms, Where the smitten heart, the freshness, Of its buoyant youth resumes ; THE MEETING-PLACE. • 51 Where the love that here we lavish On the withering leaves of Time, Shall have fadeless flowers to fix on, In an ever spring-bright clime ; Where we find the joy of loving As we never loved before — Loving on, unchilled, unhindered, Loving once, and never more ! Brother, we shall meet and rest 'Mid the holy and the blessed ! Where a blasted world shall brighten, Underneath a bluer sphere ; And a softer, gentler sunshine Sheds its healing splendor There ; When earth's barren vales shall blossom, Putting on her robes of green, And a purer, fairer Eden Be where only wastes have been, — Where a King, in Kingly glory, Such as earth has never known, Shall assume the Righteous Sceptre, Claim and wear the holy crown ; — Brother, we shall meet and rest 'Mid the holy and the blessed ! MEE TIN G ABO VE. Hltsscti If yon bright stars which gem the night Be each a blissful dwelling sphere Where kindred spirits reunite Whom death hath torn asunder here ; — How sweet it were at once to die, To leave this blighted orb afar ! Mixt soul and soul to cleave the sky. And soar away from star to star. But oh, how dark, how drear, how lone, Would seem the brightest world of bliss, If, wandering through each radiant one, We failed to meet the loved of this ! If there no more the ties shall twine Which Death's cold hand alone could sever. Ah, would those stars in mockery shine. — More joyless, as they shine forever! It cannot be — each hope, each fear That lights the eye or clouds the brow. Proclaims there is a happier sphere Than this bleak world that holds us now. heaven's rest. • 53 There is a voice which sorrow hears, When heaviest weighs life's galling chain ; 'Tis Heaven that whispers — " Dry your tears. The pure in heart shall meet again." HE A VEN'S REST. iftrij. 3rtap ^alnur. Lord, Thou wilt bring the joyful day ! — Beyond earth's weariness and pains. Thou hast a mansion far away. Where for Thine own a rest remains. No sun there climbs the morning sky, There never falls the shade of night ; God and the Lamb, forever nigh, O'er all shed everlasting light. The bow of mercy spans the throne, Emblem of love and goodness there : While notes to mortals all unknown. Float on the calm celestial air. Around the throne bright legions stand, Redeemed by blood from sin and hell And shining forms — an angel band, The mighty chorus join to swell. 54 THE GATES OF THE CELESTIAL CITY. There. Lord, Thy way-worn saints shall find The bliss for which they longed before ; And holiest sympathies shall bind Thine own to Thee, forever-more. 0 Jesus, bring us to that rest. Where all the ransomed shall be found. In Thine eternal fullness blest — While ages roll their cycles round. THE GATES OF THE CELESTIAL CITY I see them far away. In their calm beauty, on the evening skies : Across the golden west their summits rise. Bright with the radiance of departing day. And often, ere the sunset light was gone. Gazing and longing. I have hastened on. As with new strength, all weariness and pain Forgotten, in the hope those blissful heights to gain ! Heaven lies not far beyond ; — But then these hills of earth — our changeful air Circles around them, and the dwellers there ^till own Mortality's mysterious bond. The ceaseless contact, the continued strife, Of sin and Brace, which can but close witli life. THE GATES OF THE CELESTIAL CITY. 55 Is not yet ended, and the Jordan's roar Still lies between their path and the Celestial shore. But then — the pilgrims say, On those calm heights, the tumult and the noise Of all our busy cares and restless joys Has almost in the distance died away. All the past journey, li a right way" appears, Thoughts of the future wake no faithless fears, And through the clouds, to their rejoicing eyes, The City's golden gates and pearly gates arise. Courage, poor fainting heart! These happy ones, in the far distance seen, Were sinful wanderers once, as thou hast been, Weary and sorrowful, as now thou art. Linger no longer on the lonely plain — Press boldly onward — and thou too shalt gain Their vantage-ground ; and then, with vigor new, All thy remaining race and pilgrimage pursue. Ah ! far too faint, too poor Are all our views and aims — we only stand Within the borders of the Promised Land ; — Its precious things we seek not to secure ; And thus our hands hang down, and oft unstrung, Our harps are left the willow-trees among. Lord, lead us forward, upward, till we know How much of heavenly bliss may be enjoyed below. SYOJV THE GOLDEN Bernard of Cluing — I2tft Gtnturjj. Heee. brief is the sighing, And brief is the crying". For brief is the life. The life There is endless. The joys There are fadeless. When ended the strife! What joys are in Heaven ! To whom are they given ? Oh, whoin — and to whom ? The stars to the earthborn. " Best robes'' to the sin-worn ;— The crown for the boon. 0 Country the fairest ! 0 Country the dearest ! We press on to Thee. 0 Syon the golden ! Our eyes now are holden Thv light till we see. SYON THE GOLDEN. " 57 Thy crystalline ocean, Unvexed by commotion, Thy Fountain of Life ! Thy deep peace unspoken, Pure, sinless, unbroken, Thy peace beyond strife. Thy meek saints all glorious, Thy martyrs victorious, Who suffer no more. Thy halls full of singing, Thy hymns ever ringing Along the bright shore. Like the lily for whiteness, Like the jewel for brightness, Thy vestments, 0 Bride ! The Lamb ever with thee — The Bridegroom aye near thee — With thee to abide ! We know not, we hear not, All human words show not. The joys we may reach — The mansions preparing Tbe bliss for our sharing The welcome for each ! 58 STON THE GOLDEN. 0 Syon the golden ! My eyes still are holden Thy light till I see. And deep in Thy glory Unveiled before me, My King, look on me ! eatjj anir licsurrcctton. DEATH AND RESURRECTION (Cicorcjt Croto. Earth to earth, and dust to dust ! Here the evil and the just, Here the youthful and the old, Here the fearful and the bold. Here the matron, and the maid. In one silent bed are laid : Here the vassal and the king Side by side lie withering ; Here the sword and sceptre rust : " Earth to earth, and dust to dust !" Age on age shall roll along. O'er this pale and mighty throng ; Those that wept them, those that weep, All shall with these sleepers sleep ; Brothers, sisters of the worm. Summer's sun, or winter's storm. Song of peace, or battle's roar, Ne'er shall break their slumbers more ; Death shall keep his silent trust : " Earth to earth, and dust to dust !" But a day is coming fast, Earth thy mightiest and thy last ; 62 DEATH AND RESURRECTION. It shall come in fear and wonder, Heralded by trump and thunder ; It shall come in strife and spoil ; It shall come in blood and toil ; It shall come in empire's groans, Burning temples, trampled thrones j Then, ambition, rule thy lust : " Earth to earth, and dust to dust I" Then shall come the judgment sign ;- In the east, the King shall shine, Flashing from Heaven's golden gate, Thousands, thousands round his state, Spirits with the crown and plume. Tremble, then, thou sullen tomb ; Heaven shall open on our sight, Earth be turned to living light, Kingdoms of the ransomed just : " Earth to earth, and dust to dust!" Then, thy Mount Jerusalem, Shall be gorgeous as a gem ; Then, shall in the desert rise Fruits of more than Paradise ; Earth by angel feet be trod, One great garden of her God ; — Till are dried the martyrs' tears, Through a thousand glorious yearn. Now in hope of Him we trust : " Earth to earth, and dust to dust !" SOARING TO GOD. Deathless principle, arise ! Soar, thou native of the skies ! Pearl of price, by Jesus bought, To His glorious likeness wrought, Go to shine before His throne, Deck the mediatorial crown ; Go, His triumphs to adorn. Born for God, to God return. Lo, He beckons from on high ! Fearless to His presence fly ; — Thine, the merit of His blood, Thine, the righteousness of God ! Angels, joyful to attend, Hovering round thy pillow bend, Wait to catch the signal given, And escort thee quick to Heaven. Is thy earthly house distressed, Willing to retain its guest ? Tis not thou, but it, must die. Fly, celestial tenant, fly ! Burst thy shackles, — drop thy clay Sweetly breathe thyself away ! 64 SOARING TO GOB. Singing, to thy crown remove, Swift of wing, and fired with love ! Shudder not to pass the stream : Venture all thy care on Him ! Him. whose dying love and power Stilled its tossings, hushed its roar ; Safe in 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 thine 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 joys in Heaven ! Such the prospects that arise To the dying Christian's eyes : Such the glorious vista Faith Opens through the shades of Death! MOR TALI TIF. jsamutl Sped*. Lord, what a shadow is the life of man ! A nothing-, less than is a little span. Just as a bird when as it takes its flight From off the owner's hand, is out of sight. Our present time is as a fading flower, — A flying minute, or a running hour. The time to come, after the present 's fled. Uncertain is ; next sun may see us dead. Lord, in this hour, 0 make me sure of Thee, Lest in the next I miss felicitie. SIC VITA. Simon BSfastril. Like as the damask rose you see, Or like the blossom on the tree, Or like the dainty flower of May, Or like the morning of the day, Or like the sun. or like the shade, Or like the gourd which Jonas had, E'en such is man — whose thread is spun, Drawn out and cut, and so is done ; — 5 THE LIFE OF MAX. The rose withers, the blossom blasteth, The flower fades, the morning hasteth . The sun sets, the shadow flies, The gourd consumes, and man he dies. Like to the grass that's newly sprung, Or like a tale that's new begun, Or like the bird that's here to-day, Or like the pearled dew of May, Or like an hour, or like a span, Or like the singing of the swan, E'en such is man — who lives by breath, Is here, now there — in life or death. The grass withers, the tale is ended, The bird is flown, the dews descended ; The hour is short, the span's not long, The swan's near death — man's life is done. THE LIFE OF MAN. Bisijop itimj. Like to the falling of a star, Or as the flights of eagles are, Or like the fresh Spring's gaudy hue, Or silver drops of morning dew, Or like the wind that chafes the flood, Or bubbles which on water stood — DEATH EVER IN LIFE. 67 E'en such is man, whose borrowed light Is straight called in, and paid to-night.. The wind blows out ; the bubble dies ; The Spring entombed in Autumn lies ; The stream dries up ; the star is shot : The flight is past — and man forgot. DEATH EVER IN LIFE. 1&,tnx$ JBtlaunf. Early set forth to your eternal race : Th' ascent is steep and craggy you must climb ; God, at all times, has promised sinners grace If they repent ; but He ne'er promised time. Cheat not yourselves, as most ; who then prepare For death, when life is almost turned to fume : One thief was saved, that no man might despair : And but one thief — that no man might presume. Wealth, honor, friends, wife, kindred, all We so much dote on, and wherein we trust. Are withering gourds, blossoms that fade and fall Landscapes in water, and deeds drawn in dust. 08 TO DEATH. How many has the morn beheld to rise In their youth's prime, as glorious as the sun, Who, like a flower cropt, have had their eyes Closed up by death before the day was done ! TO DBA TH. Utrrtcfe. Thou bidst me come away, And I'll no longer stay. Than for to shed some tears For faults of former years ; And to repent some crimes Done in the present times ; To don my robes of love. Fit for the place above ; To gird my loins about With Charity throughout ; And so to travel hence With feet of innocence ; This done — I'll only cry " God's mercy !"— and so die. EMBLEM. (Kcorgc Mtfjcr. Why, with a trembling faintnesse, should we feare The face of deathe ? and fondly linger here As if we thought the voyage to be gone Lay through the shades of Styx or Acheron ? Or, that we either were to travell downe To uncouth deapthes, or up to heights unknowne : Or, to some place remote, whose nearest end Is farther than earth's limits doe extend ? It is not by one halfe that distance, thither Where Death lets in, as it is any whither : Noe, not by halfe so farre as to your bed : Or, to that place where you should rest your head If on the ground you layd your sclfe, (cv'n there) Where at this moment you abiding are. This emblem shewes (if well you look thereon) That, from your glasse of life, which is to runne, There's but one step to death : and that you tread At once among the living and the dead. ETERNAL LIGHT. Thy light from whence it came, mounts still on high Unto the Source of light that's never dry. Like as the rivers to the ocean runne. From whence their secret fountaines first begun ; Like as the stone doth to the centre sway — So to the spheres my light shall make its way. No joyes, delights, and greatest weights of gold, Nor pampering pleasures fast our soule can hold. The panting soule rests not, untill it see His Maker God, a Triune Deitie. LIBERA NOS, DO MINE %. M. Sarins. But there's a tide remains at last To pass, when all the rest are passed ; And deep to deep proclaims afar That Death's dark billows mighty are. Yet Thou, who mightier art to save. Did'st cross that Jordan's parted wave, And bear into the land of rest The graven jewels on thy breast. EASTER DAY. 71 Where Thou hast trod, we too will go ; For there no floods shall overflow. With us in those waters be : Libera nos. Domine! And since once more Thou shalt appear, With trump that e'en the dead shall hear, Stamp now Thine image on this clay, And own it there in Thy great day : When wide unfurl'd all flesh shall see Thy perfect law ; and every knee Shall bend, and every tongue avow, " Thou, Lord, art righteous — only Thou !" If then the voice of prayer we raise, Ere prayer shall quite dissolve in praise, Faith shall breathe that latest plea, Libera nos, Domine ! EASTER DA Y. (£rasfoafo. Rise, heir of fresh Eternity, From thy virgin tomb ; Rise, mighty Man of wonders, and Thy world with Thee, Thy tomb, the universal east, Nature's new womb, — Thy tomb, fair Immortality's perfumed nest ; 72 FUNERAL HYMN. Of all the glories, make noon gay. This is the morn : This rock buds forth, the fountain of the streams of Day In joy's white annals live this hour When Life was born : No cloud-scowl on his radiant lids, no tempests lower. Life by this Light's nativity All creatures have : Death only by this Day's just doom is forced to die : Nor is Death forced ; for he may lie Throned in Thy grave : Death will on this condition be content to die. FUNERAL HYMN. Prutontius — -+tft Ccnturn. Ah! hush now your mournful complainings. Nor mothers, your sweet babes deplore : This death, we so shrink from, but cometh The ruin of life to restore. Who now would the sculptor's rich marble, Or beautiful sepulchres, crave? We lay them but here in their slumber — This earth is a couch, not a grave. FUNERAL HYMN. - 73 This body a desolate casket, Deprived of its jewel, we see ; But soon, her old colleague rejoining. The soul reunited shall be. For quickly the day is approaching, When life, through these cold limbs shall And the dwelling, restored to its inmate, With its old animation shall glow. The body we lay in dishonor In the mouldering tomb to decay. Rejoined to the spirit, which dwelt there, Shall soar like a swift bird away. The seed which we sow in its weakness, In the Spring, shall rise green from the earth ; And the dead, we thus mournfully bury, In Gods spring-time, again shall shine forth.. Mother Earth, in thy soft bosom cherish Whom we lay to repose in thy dust ; For precious these relics we yield thee : Be faithful, 0 Earth, to thy trust ! This once was the home of a spirit, Created, and breathed from its God ; The wisdom and love, Christ imparteth, Once held in this frame their abode. 74 FUNERAL HYMN. Then shelter the sacred deposit : Their Maker will claim it of thee : — The Sculptor will never forget it. Once formed in His image to be. The happy and just times are coming, When He every hope shall fulfill. And visibly then thou must render. What now. in thy keeping, lies still. For though through the slow lapse of ages, These mouldering bones shall grow old. Reduced to a handful of ashes, A child in its hands might enfold : Though flames should consume it, and breezes Invisibly float it away. Yet the body of man cannot perish : — Indestructible through its decay. Yet whilst. 0 our God, o'er the body Thou watchest, to mould it again, What region of rest hast Thou ordered, AVI iore the spirit unclothed may remain ? In the bosom of saints is her dwelling, Where the Fathers and Lazarus are. Whom the rich man. athirst in his anguish. Beheld in their bliss, from afar. A FUNERAL SONG. 75 We follow thy words, 0 Redeemer, When trampling on Death, in his pride, Thou sentest to tread in Thy footsteps The thief on the cross at Thy side. The bright way of Paradise opened For every believer her space ; And that garden again we may enter, Which the serpent once closed to our race. Thus violets sweet, and green branches, Oft over these relics we strew ; — The names on these cold stones engraven. With perfumes we'll fondly bedew. A FUNERAL SONG. (Gceorg* (Utitfjtr. " I am the Life," (the Lord thus saith.) The Resurrection is through Me. And whosoe'er in Me hath faith, Shall live, yea, though now dead he be And he forever shall not die, That living doth on Me reive. That my Redeemer lives I weene, And that at last I raised shall be 76 BURIAL OF THE DEAD. From earth, and covered with my skinne In this my flesh, my God shall see ; Yea. with these eies. and these alone, E'en I my God shall looke upon. Into the world we naked come. And naked back again we goe : The Lord onr wealthe receive we from. And He doth take it from ns too. The Lord both wills and workes the same And blessed, therefore, be Hi< Name ! From Heaven there came a voyce to me. And this it willed me to record : The dead from henceforth blessed be. The dead that dieth in the Lord : The spirit thus did likewise say. For from their workes at rest are thev. BURIAL OF THE DEAD. " Ipra Sipostolica." I thought no more to meet — so dreary seemed Death's interposing veil, and then so pure Thy place in Paradise — Bevond where I could soar. BURIAL OF THE DEAD. -77 Yet happier thoughts Spring like unbidden violets from the sod Where patiently thou takest Thy sweet and sure repose. The shadows fall more soothing : the soft air Is full of cheering whispers like thine own ; While memory, by thy grave, Lives o'er thy funeral day. The deep knell dying down — the mourners pause, Waiting their Saviour's welcome at the gate. Sure with the words of Heaven Thy spirit met us there, And sought with us along the accustomed way The hallowed porch, and entering in, beheld The pageant of sad joy, So dear to Faith and Hope. 0 ! had'st thou brought a strain from Paradise To cheer us, happy soul ! thou hadst not touched The sacred springs of grief More tenderly and true, Than those deep-warbled anthems, high and low, — Low as the grave, high as th' Eternal Throne, Guiding through light and gloom Our mourn ino; fancies wild, 78 BURIAL OF THE DEAD. Till gently, like soft golden clouds at eve, Around the western twilight, all subside Into a placid faith. That even with beaming eye Counts thy sad honors, coffin, bier, and pall ; So many relics of a frail love lost, So many tokens dear Of endless love begun. Listen ! it is no dream — the Apostle's trump Gives earnest of the Archangel's : — calmly now Our hearts yet beating high To that victorious lay, Most like a warrior's, to the martial dirge Of a true comrade, in the grave we trust Our treasure for a while : And if a tear steal down. If human anguish o'er the shaded brow Pass shuddering, when the handful of pure earth Touches the coffin-lid : — If at our loved one's name. Once and again the thought, " forever gone," Come o'er us like a cloud, yet. gentle spirit, Thou tamest not away. — Thou knowest us calm at heart. THE BURIAL SERVICE. "79 One look, and we have seen our last of thee, Till we too sleep, and our long sleep be o'er ; — 0 cleanse us, ere we view That countenance pure again, Thou, who canst change the heart and raise the dead; — As Thou art by to soothe our parting hour, Be ready when we meet, With Thy dear pardoning words ! THE BURIAL SERVICE. But lo ! where by yon gleaming tower The sun sinks to its western bower, As weeping mourners stand around, Like evening dews there fall around, On hearts by sorrow withered, The words of Him who woke the dead. 0 Father of the fatherless, to Thee We turn, sole Comforter, and seek release : When shall Thy better kingdom come, and wc Be gathered to Thy feet, and be at peace ? Thou giv'st and tak'st away, Thy name be blest ; Fain would we have that cup to pass away ; But may Thy will be done! only our rest To know that Thou art good, and to oboy. 80 THOUGHTS AT A FUNERAL. " Thy will be done on earth, as 'tis in Heaven ; Give us enough each day to bear us on. Tis not our home ; — as vre have forgiven. Forgive us e'er we die. for Thy dear Son. Look on us, for like leaves we haste away. And are not : to Thy mercy let us cling. Till we have past this world of evil sway — Hide us beneath the shelter of Thv wins;.'' THOUGHTS AT A FUNERAL. " Christian gear." Who says, the wan autumnal sun Beuins with too faint a smile To light up Nature's face again. — And, though the year be on the wane. With thoughts of Spring the heart beguile Waft him. thou soft September breeze. And gently lay him down Within some circling woodland wall. Where bright leaves, reddening ere thy fall. Waive gayly o'er the waters brown. THOUGHTS AT A FUNERAL. • 81 And let some graceful arch be there With wreathed mullions proud, With burnished ivy for its screen, And moss that glows as fresh and green As though beneath an April cloud. Even such a peaceful soothing calm We sometimes see alight On Christian mourners, while they wait In silence, by some church-yard gate, Their summons to the holy rite. And such the tones of love, which break The stillness of that hour, Quelling th' embitered spirit's strife — " The Resurrection and the Life Am 1 : believe and die no more."' Unchanged that voice — and though not yet The dead sit up and speak, Answering its call ; we gladlier rest Our darlings on earth's quiet breast, And our hearts feel they must not break. Far better they should sleep awhile Within the Church's shade, Nor wake till a new heaven and earth Meet for their new immortal birth For their abiding-place be made, 6 82 COMMUNINGS. Than wander back to life, and lean On our frail love once more. 'Tis sweet, as year by year we lose Friends out of sight, in Faith to muse How grows in Paradise our store. Then pass, ye mourners, cheerly on, Through prayer unto the tomb, Still, as ye watch life's falling leaf, Gathering from every loss and grief Hope of new spring and endless home. Then calmly to your work again, With hearts new-braced and set, To run untired love's blessed race, As meet for those, who face to face Over the grave their Lord have met. COMMUNINGS. Not to the grave, not to the grave, my soul, Descend to contemplate The form that once was dear : The spirit is not there Which kindled that dead eye, Which throbbed in that cold heart, COMMUNINGS. " 83 Which in that motionless hand Hath met thy friendly grasp — The spirit is not there ! It is but lifeless, perishable flesh, That moulders in the grave ; Earth, air and water's ministering particles Now to the elements Resolved — their uses done. Not to the grave, not to the grave, my soul, Follow thy friend beloved ; The spirit is not there ! — Often together have we talked of death ; How sweet it were to see All doubtful things made clear ! How sweet it were with powers Such as the cherubim To view the depth of heaven ! 0 ! friend, thou hast first Begun the travel of eternity ! I look upon the stars, And think that thou art there, Unfettered as the thought that follows thee ! And we have often said how sweet it were With unseen ministry of angel power To watch the friends we loved. — My friend, we did not err ! Sure I have felt thy presence ; thou hast given A birth to holy thought, 84 MEMORY OF THE DEAD. Hast kept me from the world unstained and pure. My friend, we did not err ! Our best affections here They arc not like the toys of infancy, The soul outgrows them not, — We do not cast them off. 0, if it could be so It were a fearful thins to die ! Not to the grave, not to the grave, my soul, Follow thy frieud beloved : But in the lonely hour, But in the lonely walk, Think that he companies thy solitude, Think that he holds with thee Mysterious intercourse. And, though remembrance wake a tear, There will be joy in grief. MEMORY OF THE DEAD. Oh, hearts that never cease to yearn ; 0 brimming tears that ne'er are dried ; — The dead, though they depart, return As if tliev had not died ! MEMORY OF THE DEAD. • 85 The living are the only dead ; The dead live — nevermore to die ; And often, when we mourn them fled, They never were so nigh. And though they lie beneath the waves, Or sleep within the church-yard dim — (Ah, through how many different graves God's children go to Him !) Yet every grave gives up its dead Ere it is overgrown with grass ! Then why should hopeless tears be shed, Or need we cry, Alas ! Or why should Memory, veiled with gloom, And like a sorrowing mourner craped, Sit weeping o'er an empty tomb, Whose captives have escaped ! 'Tis but a mound — and will be mossed Whene'er the summer grass appears ; — The loved, though wept, are never lost ; We only lose our tears. Nay, Hope may whisper with the dead, By bending forward where they are ; But Memory, with a backward tread, Communes with them afar ! CHRIST UNCHANGING. The joys we lose are but forecast, And we shall find them all once more ; — We look behind us for the past, But lo ! 'tis all before ! CHRIST UNCHANGING. Change is written everywhere — Time and death o'er all are ranging. Seasons, creatures, all declare Man is mortal, earth is changing. Life, and all its treasures, seem Like a sea in constant motion ; Thanks for an eternal beam Shining o'er the pathless ocean. One by one, although each name Providence or death shall sever Jesus Christ is still the same Yesterday, to-day, forever ! DEATH. There are who fear thy summons, Death ! And all thy pale and cold array ; The young, who with rejoicing breath, Are opening on Life's sunny day. Yes, all to them seems fresh and sweet ; And as they gaze, with raptured eye, On all the beautiful they meet, They feel it would be hard to die. There are, to whom thy call would come, As to the exile's weary heart Would be the summons to his home ; — That home from which he wept to part. There are, who, worn with cares and tears, Look on thee as the blessed one, Whose hand shall close their mortal years, Before their faith and trust be gone. And, Death ! there are who look to thee, But as the minister of grace, And who thy dark approach can see With smiles, for they have won the race. 88 THE GLAD EVANGEL. The good, the blest ! to thee they trust, To crown them with the' immortal wreath And fearless of the dreams of dust. — As conquerors, welcome thee, 0 Deatli ! THE GLAD EVANGEL. We need no change of sphere To view the heavenly sights, or hear The songs that angels sing. The hand Which gently pressed the sightless orbs erewhile, Giving them light — a world of beauty and the friendly smile, Can cause our eyes to see the Better Land. We need no wings To soar aloft to realms of higher things, But only feet, which walk the paths of peace, Guided by Him whose voice Greets every ear — makes every heart rejoice, Saying, Arise, and walk where sorrows cease. Visiting spirits are near — They are not wholly silent — but we cannot hear Nor understand their speech. Our Saviour caught His Father's word, And men of old dreaming and walking heard The breathings of a world we cannot reach. THE FEAR OF DEATH. • 89 They mounted to the skies, And read deep mysteries. While yet on earth, they placed a ladder there, Like Jacob's, that each round should lead, By prayer outspoken, in a word or deed, The soul to heights of clearer, purer air. They saw no messenger of gloom In him whom we call Death — nor met their doom As prisoner his sentence, but naturally, as bud unfolds to flower — As child to man, so man to angel — ■ They, recognizing Death the Glad Evangel, Leading to higher scenes of Life and power ! THE FEAR OF DEATH. But thou that hast conversed with God and Death, In speculation shall thy breath Unwillingly expire into His hand, That comes to fetch it by command ? — From God that made thee art thou loth to be Possessed of thy felicity, Because thy guide looks pale, and must Convey thy flesh to dust ? 90 A LITTLE LONGER YET. Though that to worms converted be, What is all this to thee? Thou shalt not feel Death's sting, but instant have Full joys and triumph o'er the grave ; Where thy long-loved companion, flesh, shall rest, Until it be refined, new drest — For thy next wearing in that holy place, That Heaven where thou shalt, face to face, With saints and angels, daily see Thy God, and ever be Replenished with celestial bliss : 0 my soul, think of this ! A LITTLE LONGER YET. " ©foristiaiT fttcjisttr." A little longer yet, a little longer Shall violets bloom for thee and sweet birds sing, And the lime branches, where soft winds are blowing, Shall murmur the sweet promise of the spring. A little longer yet, a little longer, Thou shalt behold the quiet of the morn, While tender grasses, and awakening flowers, Send up a golden tint to greet the dawn. A LITTLE LONGER YET. . 91 A little longer yet, a little longer, The tenderness of twilight shall be thine, The rosy clouds that float o'er dying daylight, Nor fade till trembling stars begin to shine. A little longer yet, a little longer, Shall starry night be beautiful to thee, And the cold moon shall look through the blue silence, Flooding her silver path upon the sea. A little longer yet, a little longer, Life shall be thine — life with its power to will, Life with its strength to bear, to love, to conquer, Bringing its thousand joys thy heart to fill. A little longer yet, a little longer The voices thou hast loved shall charm thine ear, And thy true heart, that now beats quick to hear them, A little longer yet, shall hold them dear. A little longer still, patience, beloved : A little longer still, ere Heaven unroll The glory, and the brightness, and the wonder, Eternal and divine, that waits thy soul. A little longer, ere life, true, immortal, (Not this our shadowy life) will be thine own ; And thou shalt stand where winged archangels worship. And trembling bow before the Great White Throne. 92 GONE INTO LIGHT. A little longer still, and Heaven awaits thee, To fill thy spirit with a great delight ; Then our pale joys will seem a dream forgotten, Our sun a darkness, and our day a night. A little longer, and thy heart beloved, Shall beat forever with a love divine : And joy so pure, so mighty, so eternal, No mortal knows and lives, shall then be thine. A little longer yet, and angel voices Shall break in heavenly chant upon thine ear ; Angels and saints await thee, and God needs thee Beloved, can we keep thee longer here ? GONE INTO LIGHT. tymig Taucjfjan. They are all gone into a world of Light, And I alone sit lingering here ; Their very memory is fair and bright, And my sad thoughts doth cheer. It glows and glitters in my cloudy breast * Like stars upon some gloomy grove ; Or those faint beams in which this hill is drest After the sun's remove. GONE INTO LIGHT. - 93 I see them walking in an air of glory, Whose light cloth trample on my days ; My days, which are at best but dull and hoary, Mere glimmerings and decays. 0 holy hope! and high humility, High as the heavens above ! These are your walks, and you have show'd them me, To kindle my cold love. Dear, beauteous Death ! the jewel of the just, Shining nowhere but in the dark ; What mysteries do lie beyond thy dust, Could man outlook that mark ! He that hath found some fledg'd bird's nest may know At first sight if the bird be flown ; 9 But what fair vale or grove he sings in now, That is to him unknown. And yet, as angels in some brighter dreams Call to the soul when man doth sleep ; So some strange thoughts transcend our wonted themes, And into glory peep. If a star be confined into a tomb, Her captive flames must needs burn there ; But when the hand that locked her up gives room, She'll shine through all the sphere. 94 GOING HOME. 0 Father of Eternal Life, and all Created glories under Thee j Resume my spirit from this world of thrall Into true liberty. Either disperse these mists, which blot and fill My perspective still, as they pass ; Or else remove me hence unto that Hill Where I shall need no glass. GOING HOME. HLancje. Our beloved have departed, While we tarry broken-hearted ; In the dreary empty house, They have ended life's brief story, They have reached the home of glory, Over death victorious ! Hush that sobbing, weep more lightly, On we travel, daily, nightly, To the rest that they have found : Are we not upon the river, Sailing fast, to meet forever, On more holy, happy ground ? GOING HOME. 95 Whilst with bitter tears we're mourning Thought to buried love returning, Time is hastening us along, Downward to the grave's dark dwelling, Upward, to the fountain welling, With eternal life and song ! Feel ye not the breezes hieing ? Clouds, along in hurry flying — But we haste more swiftly on — Ever changing our position, Ever tossed in strange transition — Here to-day, to-morrow gone ! Every hour that passes o'er us Speaks of comfort yet before us, Of our journey's rapid rate ; — And like passing vesper bells, The clock of Time its chiming tells, At Eternity's broad gate. On we haste, to home invited, There with friends to be united In a surer bond than here ; Meeting soon, and met forever ! Glorious hope ! forsake us never, For thy glimmering light is dear ! Ah ! the way is shining clearer, As we journey, ever nearer 96 OUR DEAD. To our everlasting home. Friends, who There await our landing, Comrades, round the Throne now standing, We salute you, and we come ! 0 UR DEAD. Thou God of Love! beneath Thy sheltering wings We leave our holy dead, To rest in hope ! From this world's sufferings Their souls have fled ! Oh, when our souls are burdened with the weight Of life, and all its woes. Let us remember them, and calmly wait For our life's close ! PARTING. Spttta. What mean ye by this weeping. To break my bleeding heart ? As if the love that binds us Could alter or depart ! PARTING. 97 Our sweet and holy union Knows neither time nor place ; The love that God has planted, Is lasting as His grace. Ye clasp these hands at parting, As if no hope could be ; While still we stand forever, In blessed unity ! Ye gaze as on a vision Ye never could recall, While still each thought is with you, And Jesus with us all. Ye say — " We here, thou yonder Thou goest — and we stay !" And yet Christ's mystic body Is one eternally. Ye speak of different journeys, A long and sad adieu ! While still one way I travel, And have one end with you ! Why should ye now be weeping Those agonizing tears ? Behold our gracious Saviour. And cast away your fears. 7 98 THE LAND TO WHICH KM GOING. We tread one path to glory. And guided by One hand. And led in faith and patience Unto one Fatherland ! Then let this hour of parting- No bitter grief record : But be an hour of union More blessed with our Lord ! With Him to guide and save us, No changes that await. No earthly separations. Can leave us desolate ! THE LAXD TO WHICH I'M GOING. When the death-dews dim my eyes. And my bosom panting lies. Ebbing life's receding sighs Shorter, fainter growing : Ere my spirit breaks her way. Through her prison-walls of clay, Into realms of endless day — The land to which I'm going. May the dear familiar band Of weeping friends that round me stand, Watching the decreasing sand. THE LAND TO WHICH l'M GOING. . 99 Fast and faster flowing, Chant some low strain, blending well With the solemn passing bell, Of the holy home to tell ; — The land to which I'm going. Let them sing " Thy Saviour, guide, For thy guilty sake that died, Even now is by thy side, Comfort-thoughts bestowing. Angelic forms their arms extend. And smileth many a long-lost friend Glad welcome to thy journey's end— The land to which thou'rt going. Then, as the burden of their song In faint sweet cadence dies along, One happy, radiant look among That group of mourners throwing ;- Just as they faded from my view, I fain would breathe one fond adieu, Till in that land we meet anew — The land to which I'm going. PASSING A WA Y . 3c. itt. arn&i Go and dig my grave to-day ! Weary of these wanderings all, Now from earth I pass away, For the Heavenly Peace doth call ;- Angel voices from above Call me to their rest and love. Go and dig my grave to-day ! Homeward doth my journey tend, And I lay my staiF away, Here, where all things earthly end And I lay my weary head In the only painless bed. What is there I yet should do, Lingering in this darksome vale ? Proud and mighty, fair to view, Are our schemes, and yet they fail Like the sand before the wind, That no power of man can bind. Farewell earth, then — I am glad That in peace I now depart, For thy very joys are sad, And thy hopes deceive the heart ; PASSING AWAY. 101 Fleeting is thy beauty's gleam, False and changing as a dream. And to you a last good-night, Sun and moon and stars so dear, Farewell all your golden light ; I am traveling far from here, To the splendors of that day Where ye all must fade away. Weep not that I take my leave Of the world, — -that I exchange Errors that too closely cleave, Shadows, empty ghosts that range Through this world of naught and night, For a land of truth and light. Weep not, dearest, to my heart, For I find my Saviour near, And I know that I have part In the pains He suffered here, When He shed His sacred blood For each sinner's highest good. Weep not — My Redeemer lives ; — Heavenward, springing from the dust, Clear-eyed Hope her comfort gives ; Faith, Heaven's champion, bids me trust ; Love Eternal whispers nigh, 11 Child of God, fear not to die !" THE FAITHFUL DEAD. Hark ! a voice divides the sky ; Happy are the faithful dead, In the Lord who sweetly die : — They from all their toils are freed. Them the Spirit hath declared Blest, unutterably blest ; Jesus is their great reward, Jesus is their endless rest. Followed by their works they go, Where the Head hath gone before ; Reconciled by grace below, Grace hath opened Mercy's door. Justified through Faith alone, Here they know their sins forgiven ; Here they lay their burdens down, Hallowed and made meet for Heaven ! Who can now lament the lot Of a saint in Christ deceased ? Let the world who know them not, Call them hopeless and unblest ; — When from flesh, the spirit free, Hastens homeward to return, Mortals cry, " A man is dead," Angels sing — '; A child is born." DYING WORDS OF NEAXBER '• I'm weary — I'm weary — let me go home.*' Qib. Hap 33alnur. I'm weary — weary — let me go ! For now the pulse of life declineth, My spirit chides its lingering flow, For her immortal life she pineth. 1 feel the chill night-shadows fall ; — The sleep steals on, that knows no waking ; Yet well I hear blest voices call, And bright above the day is breaking ! Not now the purple and the gold Of trailing clouds at sunset glowing, These dim and fading eyes behold ; But splendors from the Godhead flowing ! 'Tis not the crimson orient beam. O'er mountain-tops, in beauty glancing ; Light from the Throne ! a flooding stream ! 'Tis the eternal Sun advancing. As oft, when waked the summer morn, Sweet breath of flowers the breezes bore me, In this serener, fairer dawn, Perfumes from Paradise float o'er me. 104 DYING WORDS OF NBANDER. As -when, by sultry heats oppressed. I've sought still shades, cool waters keeping. So long 1 for that holier rest. Where Heaven's own living streams are sweeping. The joy of life hath been to stand With spirits noble, true, confiding. Oh, joy unthought, to reach the band Of spotless souls, with God abiding ! Ye loved of earth ! this fond farewell That now divides us, cannot sever ; Swift-flying years their round shall tell. And our glad souls be one forever ! On the far-off celestial hills I see the tranquil sunshine lying — Aud God Himself my spirit fills With perfect peace — and this is dying ! Methinks I hear the rustling wings Of unseen messengers descending : And notes, from softly trembling strings, With myriad voices softly blending. 0 Thou, my Lord adored ! this soul Oft, oft its warm desires hath told Thee! NowT, wearily the moments roll. Until these longing eyes behold Thee ! IT IS NOT DYING. 105 Ah, stay my spirit here no more, That for her home so fondly yearneth ;- There, joy's bright cup is running o'er — There, love's pure flame forever burnetii IT IS NOT DYING. <&. jHUIait. No, no, it is not dying To go unto our God ; — The glowing earth forsaking, Our journey homeward taking Along the starry road. No, no, it is not dying To hear the precious word ; Receive a Father's blessing, Forevermore possessing The favor of the Lord. No, no, it is not dying To wear a lordly crown ; Among God's people dwelling, The glorious anthem swelling Of Him whose love we own. 106 THE GLORIFIED. Oh, no, this is not dying, Thou Saviour of mankind ! Streams, There, are overflowing Of love, no hindrance knowing ;- Dross only here we find. THE GLORIFIED. "3risf) }9ap*r." Call them not dead — the faithful whom Green earth closed lately o'er. Nor search within the silent tomb For those who " die no more." The cold earth hides them from our love, But not from His who pleads above. They passed — as all must pass, the deep Dread portals of the grave ; But not in dull decay they sleep. Whom Jesus died to save : To mortal eye their path is dim. But 'tis enough they rest in Him ! We saw the momentary cloud, The pale eclipse of mind, From earthly sight, that came to shroud The deathless ray behind , THE GLORIFIED. 107 A moment more, the shade is gone- The sun, the spirit, burnetii on. To die ! 'tis but to pass, all free, From death's dominion here, To burst the bonds of earth and flee From every mortal fear ; To plunge within that gulf untried. And stand bevond it — glorified ! Thou weep'st — perchance they weep for thee, If heavenly tears can flow. To think of all the ills that be In this sad world below. Oh ! not for all its climes contain Would they return to earth again ! Yet weep — for earth's a vale of care And those who mourn are blest. If He who hears the mourner's prayer Send comfort to the breast ; If hallowed hope break through the gloom Earth has no teacher like the tomb. HUSH! HE A VEX! Last Words of the late Bishop of Durham. " 5LoniJon £trcor!&." Hush ! Heaven ! he whispered soft and clear. As note? angelic caught his ear : Then quitting earth and mortal clay. Hi< spirit soared to heavenly day. Hush ! stay your sorrows, loved ones stay ! I would not linger by the way — Now Death for me has lost its sting! I hear the welcome of my King ! Hush ! from the everlasting hills The glorious trumpet's echo thrills. — The mighty Conqueror leads the band. And I must ready waiting stand. Hush ! 'tis the song of lasting peace, All struggles now forever cease. Each bitter pang, each weary sigh — My Saviour beckons from on high ! Hush ! sin can ne'er disturb me more. I'm treading close on Canaan's shore! Oh, earth ! be still ! for I would fain List to this new and wondrous strain ! THE SANCTIFIED. . 109 Hush ! 'tis a charmed spirit swell Of sweetest chords. No tongue can tell To earth the grandeur of its flow ! 'Tis Heaven ! Then life has closed below ! The gate of pearl wide open flew, The Lord of glory shone in view ! — This gaze of wondrous love and light Enrobed the saint in glory bright ! He fled ! to join the brilliant throng, To add fresh triumph to " the song" — And, ere the link to earth was riven, Deatli was dissolved in tasting Heaven ! THE SANCTIFIED. iHrs. i&ofcritt. 0 Spirit, freed from earth. Rejoice, thy work is done ! The weary world \s beneath thy feet Thou brighter than the Sun. Arise, put on the robes That the redeemed win, Now sorrow hath no part in thee, Thou sanctified within ! 110 THE NEW SONG. Awake, and breathe the air Of the celestial clime ! Awake to love which knows no change Thou who hast done with Time ! Awake, lift up thine eyes ! See, all Heaven's host appears ! And be thou glad eternally Thou who hast done with tears. Ascend ! thou art not now With those of mortal birth ; The living God hath touched thy lips, Thou who hast done with earth ! THE NEW SONG. Bonar. Beyond the hills where suns go down And brightly beckon as they go, I see the land of far renown The land which I so soon shall know. » Above the dissonance of Time, And discord of its angry words, I hear the everlasting chime, The music of unjarring chords. ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. . Ill I bid it welcome ; and my haste To join it cannot brook delay ; — 0 song of morning, come at last. And ye who sins: it. come away ! - 0 song of light, and dawn and bliss, Sound over earth, and fill these skies, Nor ever, ever, ever cease Thy soul-entrancing melodies ! Glad song of this disburdened earth, Which holy voices then shall sing : Praise for Creation's second birth And glory to Creations King ! ST. FRANCIS X A VIER Lo ! on the slope of yonder shore Beneath that lonely shed A saint hath found his conflicts o'er And laid his dying head ! No gloom of fear hath glazed his eye, For though loud billows roll, — The Aurora of Eternity Is rising on his soul. 112 ST. FRANCIS XAVJER. Champion of Jesus ! — man of God, Servant of Christ, well done ! Thy path of thorns hath now been trod, Thy red-cross crown is won ! O'er the wide waste of watery waves, And leagues on leagues of land, Amidst a wilderness of graves, With death on every hand, — He flew to woo and win a world ; That men might kiss the feet Of Him whose banner he unfurled, — Father, — Son, — Paraclete ! His lips were love, his touch was power, His thoughts were vivid flame, The flashes of a thunder-shower — Where'er, or when he came ! Around him shone the light of life ; Before him darkness fell — Satan receded from the strife, And sought his native hell ! Yet who so humbly walk'd as he, A conqueror in the field, Wreathing the rose of victory Around his radiant shield. ON MANY SAINTS. 113 As silvery clouds, at eventide, Float on the balmy gale, Nor seem to heed the stars they hide Beneath their fleecy veil ; So lowly sense of slightest worth Fresh graces o'er him threw ; For he unconscious lived on earth, Of all the praise he drew ! Champion of Jesus ! on that breast From whence thy fervor flow'd — Thou hast obtained eternal rest The bosom of thy God ! ON MANY SAINTS. Sing we the peerless deeds of many Saints Their glorious merits, and their portion blest ; Of all the conquerors the world has seen, The greatest and the best. They trod beneath them every threat of man, And came victorious all these torments through ; For conscious innocence their souls upheld, And trials never could their faith subdue. 114 SAINTS. What tongues those joys, 0 Jesu! can disclose, Which for thy martyr'd Saints Thou dost prepare ; Happy who in their pains, thrice happy those Who in Thy glory share ! Our faults, our sins, our miseries remove, Great Deity, supreme, immortal King ! Grant us thy peace, grant us thine endless love. Through endless years to sing. SAINTS. fflmxv Taujjjjait. Stars are of mighty use : the night Is dark and long. The road foul — and where one goes right, Six may go wrong. One twinkling ray Shot o'er some cloud, May clear much way And guide a crowd. God's Saints are shining lights : who stays Here long, must passe O're hills, swift streams, and steepe ways As smooth as glasse ; But these, all night, Like candles, shed Their beams, and light Us into bed. A JEWISH APOLOGUE. "^Etojiat poms." Up and down his gardens paced a King, In the blessed season of the Spring, Lovely flow'rets there by him were seen In their earliest bud and blossoming. How should he those lovely flow'rets pull, Half whose glory lay a hidden thing ? When a few short days were gone again Visited his garden-plots the King : And those flowers so dewy fresh and fair, Brighter than the brightest insect's wing, Each was hanging now its drooping head, Each lay now a wan discolored thing. And he thought their scent and sweetness, I Had rejoiced in earlier gathering. So when in his gardens of delight Did that Monarch pace another Spring, 116 TO FLOWERS. And the folded buds again admired, That did round him fragrant odour fling, He with timely hand prevented now The sad season of their withering, Culled them in the glory of their prime, Ere their fresh delight had taken wing ; Culled the young and beautiful and laid In his bosom gently, home to bring. TO FLO WEES. ffcmftfe. Fair flowers, we weep to see You haste away so soon ; As yet the early rising sun Has not attained his noon. Stay. stay. Until the hasting day Has run. But to the Evening song : And, having prayed together, we Will go with you along. OVER THE RIVER. .117 We have short time as you to stay, We have as short a spring : As quick a growth to meet decay As you, or anything. We die As your hours do, and dry Away, Like to the summer's rain ; Or as the pearls of morning's dew, Ne'er to be found again. 0 VER THE RIVER. Over the river they beckon to me — Loved ones who 've crossed to the further side ; The gleam of their snowy robes I see, But their voices are drowned in the rushing tide. There's one with ringlets of sunny gold, And eyes, the reflection of Heaven's own hue ; He crossed in the twilight — gray and cold, And the pale mist hid him from mortal view. We saw not the angels who met him there ; The gates of the city we could not see — Over the river, over the river, Our loved one stands waiting to welcome me ! Over the river, the boatman pale, Carried another — the household pet : 118 OVER THE RIVER. Her brown curls waived in the gentle gale — Darling Minnie ! I see her yet. She crossed on her bosom her dimpled hands. And fearlessly entered the phantom bark : We watched it glide from the silver sands, And all our sunshine grew strangely dark. We know she is safe on the further side, Where all the ransomed and angels be : Over the river, the mystic river, My childhood's idols are waiting for me. For none return from those quiet shores. Who cross with the boatman cold and pale : We hear the dip of the golden oars, And catch a gleam of the snowy sail, — And lo ! they have passed from our yearning heart ; They cross the stream and are gone for aye : We may not sunder the veil apart, That hides from our vision the gates of clay. We only know that their bark 's no more. May pail with us o'er life's stormy sea : Yet somewhere, I know, on the unseen shore They watch, and beckon, and wait for me. IN THE VALLEY. aite 38. p.abcit. Gently sloped the rugged pathway, To her fainting, failing tread, Downward to the dreaded valley, By her Saviour gently led. Day by day she neared the darkness, Leaning on that steadfast arm, As a child who fears no clanger, Shrinks not from approaching harm ; Till she walked within the shadow, Little dreaming where she trod, Knowing not " the staff" sustaining, As she passed beneath " the rod f — Knowing not how short the distance, To the home she longed to see ; Thinking, in the far off future, There were terrors yet to be. For the Love in which she trusted, TJpward drew her waiting eyes, Till we saw them change and brighten, With a smile of glad surprise. She had guessed not of the darkness, Till she saw the breaking day, Caught no glimpse of Death's dark shadows, Till they changed and fled away. 120 SMILING IN DEATH. Gentle life, with gentlest closing, Could we wish for aught more blest, Could we ask more sweet transition To the promised Land of Rest ? SMILING IN DEATH. "(Christian Siamtiur. " She's dying — life is yielding place To that mysterious charm Which spreads upon the troubled face A fixed, unchanging calm — That deepens as the parting breath Is gently sinking into death. A thoughtful beauty rests the while Upon her snowy brow : But those pale lips could never smile More radiantly than now ; A nd sure some heavenly dreams begin To dawn upon the soul within. Oh, that those mildly conscious lips Were parted to reply — To tell how Death's severe eclipse Is passing from thine eye : — The change that now is wrought in thee. SMILING IN DEATH. .121 Perhaps thy sight is wandering far, Throughout thy kindred sky, In tracing every brilliant star, Amid the flames on high ! Souls of the blest, whose path is bent Around the glorious firmament. Perhaps thine eye is gazing down Upon the earth below, Rejoicing to have gained thy crown And hurried from all woe, To dwell beneath the throne of Him Before whose glory Heaven is dim. Thy life, how cold it might have been, If it had grown to years ! How dark, how often stained with sin, With weariness and tears ! How happy thus to sink to rest So early numbered with the blest ! 'Tis well, then, that the smile should lie Upon thy marble cheek ; It tells to our inquiring eye, What words could never speak — A revelation sweetly given Of all that we can learn of Heaven. DEATH'S IMPRESS. ft. C.