o.. 4. -f < I 3 . SV ::> V 7 O A V v « - & % v N <^ r> » << 0„ y o l B , «P ! B a *o p <\ v <\ " ^ ^ V ^ ^ HYMNS AND POEMS Sid* attft Suffering R1VINGT0NS London . Waterloo Place Oxford High Street Cambridge Trinity Street HYMNS AND POEMS FOR THE xck ant) (Suffering EDITED BY THOMAS VINCENT FOSBERY, M.A. VICAR OF ST. GILES, READING V RIVINGTONS Hontfon, ©xfartf, anil CamfcrtUge 1871 [Eighth Edition} ■ Ft Siick &nb Suffering tfjts Folttme is trttitrateti in tfje affectionate trestre tfjat tfje helpless Uags antf Wearisome rttgfjts appoints to tfjem mag be sootfjen ann ftrigfjteneti bg tfje $cns£ of Jfatt!) FOR THE Suk anb Suffering " r I ^HE heart knoweth his own bitterness, and X a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy." These touching words apply both to the greater and also to the lesser and more frequent trials of life. We never fully understand how heavily even daily and common griefs press upon the hearts of others, nor how keenly troubles may be felt by them which we should think easy to bear. Nor are we always ready to admit, what is yet most true, that of each of these sorrows, a far greater portion is hidden from our view, than that which lies open before us. And if this be so in ordinary measures of pain or sorrow, much more must it be, in those instances of acute suffering, or deep affliction which sometimes occur. The isolation of spirit, expressed in this remarkable passage, is certain then to make itself felt, even amidst all the tender sympathy of those who best love the sufferer, and the unlooked-for kindnesses which so often spring up around him in the hour of his distress. ?So Vlll HYMNS AND POEMS other can read the secrets of his inner life, nor measure his capacities for sorrow. It may be that the outward aspect of his trial gives but the faintest indication of its real power; but even when it is plainly seen to be one of the most grievous which can afflict man, the bitterness of his anguish can be tasted by no other ; we are divided from him by the necessary condition of our separate existence, and though we too bear about with us the incom- municable joys and sorrows which belong to our own individual being, we do not and cannot know how deeply the iron is entering into his soul. When we are grieved at his griefs, and do most truly feel for and with him, there is still very much in which we cannot share ; the heaviness that clouds many long hours of every day, the burthen of the night-watches, the protracted aching of the heart ; much that is too deeply felt to be told, and can be fully known only to God. None should be more ready to confess that their acquaintance with the peculiarities of others' suffer- ings is limited and imperfect, than those who address the sick and afflicted. It were grievous, did we seem to them intrusive, insensible to the sacredness of affliction, or yet unprepared to offer that true sympathy which, with all its imperfections, is most soothing, which they may well claim, and which we have known too much of suffering our- selves to withhold. If we would trace the history of suffering, we must first look back to its origin. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING IX We know that as our unfallen nature was created in the beginning, every faculty and affection was so ordered as to minister only to happiness, and that the wonderful connexion between soul and body contributed to the perfectness of both. It was not until Adam sinned by putting self in the place of God, the will of the creature above the will of the Creator, that death came into the world. Had there been no transgression, there would have been no pain; which is not known among the sinless, and has no place in heaven. Hence it is that all forms of suffering are evi- dences of man's fall ; those which wear down the physical strength, and make the course of life a protracted dying ; such also as are occasioned by the loss of those we love ; the griefs which spring from crushed affections ; and still more evidently the pain which follows actual wrong-doing, and the fearful throes of impenitent remorse. In these thoughts there is, alas ! no comfort ; for if by nature we are prone to evil, and by character are actually sinful, and if therefore suffering be what we both inherit and also deserve, what is there to hinder every new sin from bringing fresh suffering, and then increased suffering from lashing us into the madness of more aggravated transgression ? This indeed were frightful to contemplate \ for who could endure to be abandoned here to pain, to be searched through and through by anguish, without seeing either a limit to its duration, or a purpose for it to accomplish ? Yet if we consider only man's HYMNS AND POEMS deservings, how should he look for better things, who at the first revolted from God, and has ever since been ready to widen the breach between himself and his Maker ? The compassion of God Himself could alone deliver us from so fearful a condition. And the name which we all bear suggests the means of this deliverance. We are called Christians because we belong to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He, the eternal Son of God, graciously took the burthen of humanity upon Him to redeem us through His life, death, and resurrection, from sin, and from its necessary consequence, suffering. By His one ob- lation of Himself once offered, He made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satis- faction for the sins of the whole world. 1 For His merit only, are we, through faith, counted righteous before God. 2 The power both of sin and of suffering is thus broken for us. Of sin, since if we are living members of Him to whom we were joined in our baptism, we are ever receiving through Him, from the Father, the gift of the Holy Ghost, to enlighten and sanctify us, and mould us into conformity with His blessed image ; so that we may continually in this strength put sin away, as that which can no longer claim dominion over us. — Of suffering too ; for our Lord in our place, and as our representative, suffered for us, that He might deliver us from the bitter pains of eternal death ; and that, to them that are truly His, there should remain no condemnation. 1 Communion Service. 2 Xlth Article. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING XI And by the same great and mysterious atonement, He has changed the character of those temporal sufferings about which we are now inquiring. When He stood forth, in our nature, as the new head of our race, and triumphed where Adam fell, He healed the sick, and raised the dead, as being the Conqueror for us of those powers to which man had been brought into subj ection ; and if we are "found in Him," we are made partakers of His victories. Those afflictions which were as fierce beasts going about to destroy, have been tamed by the gracious hand of Christ, and are made to minister to the wants of His people. Those which were as deadly poisons, aggravating the diseases of our souls, are changed into healing medicines, in the gift of the great Physician. While we are in a world where sin and temptation are yet found, suffering cannot be taken away. But if we are able to recognize in it the loving correction of a Father, we may even "rejoice in tribulation." For with all its bitterness it is indeed a dispensation of healing, and it is ever meant to accomplish, through the blessing of God's good Spirit, some merciful purpose for all who will receive it meekly as from Him. Generally, something will be found in the nature of the affliction, which addresses itself to some peculiarity in the character or circumstances of him to whom it is sent, — and if this fitness be perceived by the sufferer, he may see also the hand from which it comes, and the purposes for which it is appointed. Xll HYMNS AND POEMS Perhaps the world is all fair and bright round some young and joyous spirit; the present full of pleasures which have not yet lost their freshness ; the future glowing with still happier anticipations. A thousand engagements fill the time ; nor, amidst the pressure of all these daily pursuits, is God quite forgotten. His public worship is not altogether slighted, private prayer is not wholly neglected. His service takes its turn with that of the world and of self. But the heart has not yet learned that God is the Supreme Object, His will the standard to which all must be referred : there is no depth, perhaps no reality in its religion. Affliction comes, and the tumult of the world is exchanged for the stillness of a sick or saddened chamber. God has called aside out of the crowd this one of His servants to speak with alone. Solemn truths, before unknown, or forgotten, or put aside to a more convenient season, are now brought before the stricken heart. Perhaps for the first time , it learns that "life is earnest;" that time itself is a gift, which we must not abuse by a thoughtless abandonment to the impulses of the undisciplined mind; that religion does not consist in a certain amount of work done, one day in seven given to God, to ransom all the others for ourselves ; in a certain portion of religious reading got through, chiefly that we may have leave from our consciences to read, and think, and feel, in the main, after the imaginations of our own hearts ; in a certain amount of almsgiving, to set free all the rest of our worldly FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING goods for selfish purposes; in a word, in the reluctant giving up of a part of this world, that we may, in the rest, be worldly without risk. In this time of trial the utter vanity of every such system of compromise may first be clearly perceived, and the great distinctive principle of Christianity, as proclaimed by our Lord Himself, be first truly apprehended ; that principle which reveals to us the secret of all real spiritual life : — " Abide in Me and I in you : as the branch cannot bear fruit, except it abide in the vine \ no more can ye, except ye abide in Me." And if so, the notion of resting satisfied because we occasionally approach Him, while in truth we are living a separate and independent life, — which is in such manifest opposition to His own most blessed will concerning us, — will be altogether abandoned. For we may not consider our religion as an affair, which, though indeed important, has but its set time, and which, being transacted, may be put aside to give room for others. For our life is our religion, — our life, and nothing less. Insomuch that all our engagements and pursuits, our daily intercourse with others, even when not a word is spoken on strictly religious subjects, all must be chastened, elevated, brightened, pervaded, by the grace of Christ within. If such truths are wrought into the heart when the hour of sickness or calamity has touched and opened it, if a new meaning is given to life, and if, when eternity in all its vastness appears so close at hand, God also is brought very near ; then indeed XIV HYMNS AND POEMS there will be reason to bless Him for all this time of severe and heavy trial. But affliction is perhaps sent to some other, who having had far better opportunities of knowing the truth, is too wayward to follow it. God has long been speaking to him by His providence, by the example and by the ministry of others, by His holy word and sacraments ; and His voice has been disregarded. For here is an open understanding, but a closed heart, and a rebellious and disobedient will. With all the great truths of which mention has just been made, he is quite familiar ; his con- science is not asleep ; and he is far from happy ; knowing himself to be in doubtful and dangerous circumstances, but still resolved that he w T ill not, at least for the present, relinquish what he loves so much better than he loves God. Yet because he dares not look down into that abyss, upon the edge of which this disobedience places him, he interposes some slight screen of moral respectabilities and religious observances; he half persuades himself that the peril is not imminent, and would rejoice if in his inmost heart he could only arrive at some settled belief that his duty to himself or to others justifies the risk. Expostulation is idle here ; the ear that is closed against the voice of God will not be open to that of man. To such an one it is vain to plead the cause of Him to whom all pure intelligences throughout the range of unnumbered worlds bow and obey. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING The clear understanding, so strong in argument, so ready with illustration, so keen in detecting sophistry, is here all darkened and confused. He can but feebly strive to defend his false position with reasonings of which he more than half perceives the hollowness. He can but speak of what society — (which means his fragment of society) — and its usages demand : for these usages form his gospel, —what is written there he will believe and obey. He dares not stand alone in wrong doing, but finds great sense of security in a crowd. — And yet when did their multitude ever protect offenders from the wrath of God? It did not amongst the angels which sinned ; it did not when the Lord overthrew the cities of the plain. — He is, however, glad (for his convictions are all on the side of religion) that his associates, in breaking down the distinctions between right and wrong, and confounding the evil with the good, do so only in pursuit of pleasure, and not in deliberate and proclaimed hostility to God. He has heard, indeed, the solemn command, " Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil," but it is inconvenient to him to believe, and therefore he will not believe that this can refer to the brilliant throng by which he is surrounded. The gracious God, who willeth not the death of a sinner, has visited him ere now with the discipline of affliction. Heavily it has fallen upon him once and again. Under the pressure of his calamity, and when other objects were excluded, he turned to God. And ever, with restored health or recovered XVI HYMNS AND POEMS spirits, he went back again to his idol worship : and so he has lost the blessing of these visitations, and grieved the Holy Spirit, who would have wrought in the midst of them. Once more, now — and per- haps for the last time — God has come to him with the merciful severity of suffering ; and our best hope for him is — alas that we should say so ! — that whether it be the wasting power of some lingering and sore disease, or the ruin of his best earthly good — it may not pass away, until he be turned to Him whom he might have served in joy and glad- ness. For otherwise what remains for him, if it be ■ not that fearful sentence — only less fearful than the final judgment doom — "Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone?" In the first of the two instances just given, God's service had been neglected from ignorance, from pre-occupation of the time and thoughts, and un- broken prosperity. In the second, there was no such ignorance, nor had the sunshine of life been always unclouded. The strong love of the world, the hunger and thirst after pleasure, as the chief good (next to which the love of God had leave to stand, if it could), these, stimulated by success in society, and the conscious- ness of being supported by the multitude, had led away the heart from God; though the desire of doing right, when the cost was not too great, had never wholly been relinquished. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING Take, however, a third case, differing in many- respects from these. It is that in which affliction lights upon one who has lived hitherto a life of selfish ungodliness, pursuing unchecked a course of manifest evil doing. It may be, and too often it is so, that affliction drives such a man still further from God. But on the other hand it may be the beginning of a most blessed change. Imagine him to have passed on hitherto through life in bold and undoubting confidence, giving him- self up to every solicitation of evil which promised him present enjoyment; and if thoughts of death and eternity ever crossed his mind, putting them easily from him. Suddenly, at the stroke of this calamity, at the first sight perhaps of approaching death, all his confidence forsakes him. He cannot shake off the fearful thoughts and clinging apprehensions which now for the first time have taken hold of him. All that sustained him hitherto is gone, he knows not how. From the height of that confident security where he soared, he feels himself falling suddenly, as with a smitten wing, down into utter and irre- trievable ruin. What has his life been ? In his baptism he was made " a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven." His whole life has been one continued practical denial of this relationship, one practical assertion, begun how soon, continued, alas ! how long, that he is his own, and that he need render no service to any: ignorant B XV111 HYMNS AND POEMS that no one can be truly his own but as he belongs to Christ, " whose service is perfect freedom." In- deed his has hitherto been a slavery of the worst kind, — " serving divers lusts and pleasures," yet not perceiving his chains, but dwelling willingly " in the tents of these so miserable felicities." He has lived far from God, and has met the efforts of those who would have brought him back, perhaps with fierce anger, perhaps with careless contempt. As this affliction now comes upon him, there is much more to awaken in us fear than hope : not from any doubt of the infinite mercies of God, but lest these mercies should again be despised ; lest the purpose of this visitation should not be recognized. So much has already been done for him by God, whicn he has never acknowledged, so many calls to repentance have been slighted ; his heart has grown so hard, his alienation from God so confirmed. How widely different would it have been with him, had he from the beginning cast himself upon the covenanted fatherhood of God, taken his assigned place in Christ's kingdom, and claimed the continued guidance and indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, as a right purchased for him by the precious blood of Christ, out of which, were he but faithful, he could be kept neither by earth nor hell, — neither by men nor devils ! Yet if he will even now turn to his Father with a penitent heart, he will be met with a gracious wel- come. The history of the Prodigal in the Gospel is given him for both guidance and encouragement. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING XIX His first act was to break away altogether from his father, as soon as it became possible to do so; with- drawing himself into a far country, and forsaking at once his duties and his blessings. There, unre- strained, he led his separate and independent life. He chose his own ways, following the dictates of " the flesh and of the mind." It was not until ad- versity fell heavily upon him, and he found himself left to the husks which the swine did eat, that " he came to himself." It may be that God, following this wanderer un- seen, has hedged up his way, and kept him from the gross and flagrant sins of the Prodigal. But the alienation is the same ; alienation from that One to whom the deepest love and the most faithful service were due. If now he be repentant and anxious to return, perhaps he feels at the same time crushed to the earth by the dreadful apprehension that he may not be accepted. Perhaps he is inquiring into his right to approach God as a child, seeking with troubled heart to get into some state of feeling, some frame of mind, or to do some previous act, which may give him, as it were, a claim upon God. But it was net so with the Prodigal. He knew that he had a father to go to ; that thought was as light in his darkness, and in his helpless misery he arose and went to him as a father. And so must this bewil- dered sufferer do. He is no more worthy to be called His son, whose family he has thus forsaken. Yet let him not be hindered by that secret pride XX HYMNS AND POEMS which pretends to be humility, or by half-hearted- .ness, or by any other cause, from seeking with all his soul the fulfilment of those blessed promises which he had forgotten or despised — which he had never sought to realize, since the day when they were visibly sealed to him in baptism. The hum- blest station, the lowest room, so that it be only appointed by his Father, is all he seeks ; for if he is indeed a penitent, he will choose rather to be henceforth a door-keeper in the house of his God, than to dwell in the tents of the ungodly. But coming thus, his Father will meet him and welcome him with better blessings than he dared to look for, and there will be joy in heaven over this repentant sinner. Such instances may serve, not indeed to give any idea of the vast range over which it pleases God to send affliction as His messenger, but to suggest to those who have not before considered the subject, how these calamities, which fall so frequent around us, may each have some special work to do. To many, alas ! such visitations come in vain. Some persons are quite lost in the mere sense of pain or grief. The severity of physical suffering, the rest- lessness of its fever, the consciousness of danger which it brings, the hurry of spirit which accom- panies it, the ill-concealed anxiety of friends, all combine to perplex and distract the mind. There may be a blind reaching forth after help, but there is no real power to grasp or retain it ; and thus a FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING XXI fearful lesson is often given us of the peril of de- laying until sickness comes that for which sickness may only render us less capable. But even when the pressure of the trial is less severe, such seasons are, to them, times of infinite disquiet and distress, and nothing more. The best blessings lie neglected at their door. They assent indeed to any amount of religious truth which may be brought before them, but without the least attempt to make it their own. Religion is to them, under such circumstances, a not unpleasant lullaby; bat they seek no good from it, and find none. Others, less absorbed by their troubles, yet fail to perceive their need of them. It may be that for months, or even years, they are bearing the burthen of some sickness, some grievous loss, or some deep disappointment, and yet they have not found out the secret of all this affliction. They have not thought of it as meant to bring them nearer to God, but are tempted to complain of the severity of what seems to them purposeless suffering. Alas ! there are some, who, going still beyond this, do not fear to speak of God's visitation as cruel and unjust, and even as it were a personal unkind- ness. Nor, on the other hand, are there wanting those who receive affliction with a strange sort of satisfac- tion, almost as if it had in it, — what of course none of our sufferings ever can have, — some power of atonement : and who feel that it is well to have, as they will sometimes say, all their punishment in this XX11 HYMNS AND POEMS life, and thus to pay the penalty of their sins now, rather than face the tremendous future. Against these various and opposite errors the comprehensive injunction seems directed — " My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, neither faint when thou art rebuked of Him." And they are met by the assurances of God's word, that affliction is His discipline; that "whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth :" that it is sent "for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness :" and that it comes from the very same good and gracious Lord who has already Himself made satisfaction for our sins. It is not therefore to be slighted, — it is not objectless, — far less can it be cruel and un- just, — neither is it possible that it should have any atoning efficacy. Meantime there is much that must ever be mys- terious to us in the distribution of suffering. We perceive that a large portion of it follows upon evil doing as its consequence ; as when disease is the result of excess, or poverty pursues the spendthrift. But much remains for which we cannot thus account. It is clearly not apportioned according to any law that we can assign of retributive punishment. We cannot determine, from a comparison of the cha- racters of any two men, the amount of trouble which will be sent to each. It is enough for us to know, that when God sends affliction to the faithful, it has relation not so much to the respective demerits, as to the positive necessities and capacities of those FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING XX111 to whom it is appointed : and thus that He ordains for every individual Christian that extent of suffering which is best for him, and no more ; combining in some inscrutable way all that the highest interests of His whole Church requires, with the wisest pro- vision for the needs of each of her members. But though sorrow and pain " shall work together for good to them that love God," yet we cannot with confidence expect that they will be made bless- ings to those who, in their more prosperous days, neglect the training and instruction which He has provided for us in our daily duties, in the relations of life, through the dispensations of His Providence, and by the means of grace. The calls to repentance and to holiness, the messages of mercy and love, and all the revelations of the mind and will of God, are not sent to us in the time of affliction only. They are with us continually, although it is often in affliction that the ear is readiest to catch their tones, when the world's turmoil is hushed around the sick-bed. The heavenly voice is often first heard in some hour of darkness and perplexity, but we must listen for it again and again, amidst all the circumstances of ordinary life, if we would have it make us wise unto salvation. "He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned." It would well accord with our unwatchful and slothful tendencies to take shelter, in the day of prosperity, under another belief, and to say that as trouble, which comes to all, must some time come to us, then, when it does come, XXIV HYMNS AND POEMS will be just the time for religious progress, and meanwhile " a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep." Man's work is commonly done by interrupted efforts and sudden puttings forth of visible endea- vour. But amidst the works of God all is steady, continual progression; "first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." Indeed, the Divine injunction, " Grow in grace," and many others in Holy Scripture, bring before us these analogies of nature, as if to lead us to an imitation, in our spiritual life, of the Divine pattern. But it is this which is so difficult : any sacrifice, any labour which, once performed, we could rest from and have done with, we are ready for ; but we are not ready for this daily, never-ending task. But if we may not regard the time of affliction or trial as the only time in which we are to look for Divine instruction, so it is most dangerous to slight or put from us the good which such a season is meant to bring. We may persuade ourselves that there is little to be done then but to learn the one lesson of endurance ; and that if we have but passed through our grief or sickness with few complainings, we are as much benefited as we could be by it. Yet this were but a scanty advantage, compared with those which we are encouraged to expect. Let us form a far larger and worthier estimate of what God has prepared for us in this visitation ; of what we should long for, and strive after, as its result. — For affliction is meant to discipline the whole man ; to FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING XXV bring out the several graces of the Christian cha- racter, — "tribulation working patience," not as a single and separate work, but in such wise that " pa- tience worketh experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given us." What a harvest of blessings this one passage of Scripture exhibits to us as spring- ing from affliction : — and indeed is it not written, that " afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby?" Consider also David's testimony: " Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept Thy word." How much is there not implied in this, of subsequent persevering diligence, of daily self-denial and watchfulness, of faithful service, of holy obedience. Surely it is most evident that the training of affliction is meant to produce in us great and lasting results. Has then affliction fallen upon you ? — Say first, " ' It is the Lord. Let Him do what seemeth Him good.' It is the Lord. And with Him are infinite wisdom, power, and love ; therefore let Him do what seemeth Himgood : Hebest — nay, He alone — knows what to do for and with me." — We are in danger at such times of looking away from Him, and thinking only of second causes, greatly disquieting ourselves by doing so. We reflect with bitter anguish, that but for some untoward circumstance, some pre- caution neglected, some one little thing done or left undone, all might now be well with us. Vain XXVI HYMNS AND POEMS thoughts, — which yet perseveringly return to haunt us : surely most vain : for it is the good and merci- ful Lord who has appointed the trial, and He might as easily have brought it about in any one of a thousand other ways. It is the Lord : — and remember how in the night- storm on the sea, when the disciples' hearts failed them for fear of that dim mysterious form which drew near, half hidden by the darkness, the voice of their Master spoke instant peace : " It is I, be not afraid." If you indeed know who it is that cometh to you upon the waves of these afflictions, amidst the darkness of this trial, you will not be dismayed. You are not forbidden the natural outpouring of sorrow: for "Jesus wept." What an unspeakable blessing in the day of adversity to know that our Lord, who is very and Eternal God, is also most truly man ; that He is acquainted with grief, having taken it to His bosom for long years that He might experience what it was ; and is so touched with a feeling of our infirmities, that there is not a throb of anguish, not a pang of mental or physical pain, which we may not bring to Him for sympathy. He knows all, He has felt all, He can heal all. The world, after its fashion, will offer consolation, and tell you that others suffer still more, and that things might have been worse; some greater evil might have befallen you. These are in themselves but comfortless thoughts, and there is nothing help- ful in the strange unconscious half-athesim, from FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING which they often spring ; as if man was the plaything of blind destiny, instead of a being experiencing the love and compassion of the merciful God. But you will find a Christian meaning for what is thus igno- rantly said, and will mark with gratitude how the goodness of our blessed Lord has indeed shielded you from the many aggravations which might have accompanied your sorrow, and how He has provided for you many unexpected alleviations instead. Numberless circumstances, each perhaps small in itself, but full of meaning, will combine to show you, that you are not forsaken in this time of trial. Many of God's promises, too, will now seem as if they had been written especially for your consolation. Some of these will assure you of His presence during affliction : — " When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee : when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned \ neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour." 1 — Others will direct you to the true source of strength : " Cast thy burthen upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee." 2 "He giveth power to the faint; to them that have no might He increaseth strength :" 3 "Come unto Me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 4 — Some will remind you of the parental character of God : " Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that 1 Is. xliii. 2. 2 p s . lv. 22. 3 Is. xl. 29. 4 St. Matt. xi. 28. XXV111 HYMNS AND POEMS fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He re- membereth that we are dust." 1 Others will teach you that it is the very love whereby you were at the first adopted into His family that now moves Him to employ this needful discipline : — " Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." 2 Your chiefest and most earnest desire will be to gain from this trial, whatever it may be, all the good which it is meant to convey. God forbid that it should pass away without having accomplished its purpose. For such visitations of affliction never leave any man exactly where he was before. Either they advance him on his heavenward way, teach him to live above the world's slavery, and nerve him for his daily conflicts : or else, when slighted, they render his condition far less hopeful ; the chains of earth press more heavily, and the heart sinks down into a deeper slumber than ever. It is thus that afflictions are such turning-points in a life's history; to many they are most abundantly blessed; the holiest and the best are, through God's grace, made better by them : to many, alas ! they are but occa- sions of still further alienation from God. But you will inquire what, under these circum- stances of trial, you are to do ; what are the means by which you are to seek for the blessings you desire to obtain. For you clearly perceive that the mere presence of this trial cannot possibly benefit or bless you, but that it must be in some way made use of. 1 Ps. ciii. 13, 14. 2 Heb. xii. 5, 6. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING First, then, let it be to you an occasion of ap- proaching to God with a quickened diligence and a more confiding love. Cultivate habits of devotion ; so essential to the peace and health of your soul. Pray much and earnestly ; that He would graciously " sanctify this His fatherly correction to you," — that He would " renew in you whatsoever hath been de- cayed by the fraud and malice of the devil, or by your own carnal will and frailness," — that while you live "you may live to Him, and be an instrument of His glory, by serving Him faithfully, and doing good in your generation," — that He may give you "a right understanding of yourself, and of His threats and promises," — that He may be Himself a your defence, and make you know and feel that there is none other name under heaven given to man, in whom and through whom you may receive health and salvation, but only the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 The languor and weariness of extreme illness will sometimes form a serious hindrance to frequent and collected prayer. Yet this should be earnestly com- bated with, and may often in a great measure be overcome. Where the exhaustion is very great, and the powers of speech and almost of connected thought really fail, God will graciously accept, for prayer, the looking of the heart towards Him ; for " He knoweth our frame, He remembereth that we are but dust." Go continually to the blessed word of God for 1 Prayer Book. Visitation of the Sick. HYMNS AND POEMS guidance and consolation : let it be " a lantern to your feet, and a light unto your path." Be a fre- quent and faithful partaker of the Holy Eucharist, to " the strengthening and refreshing of your soul." If you are debarred by sickness or infirmity from frequenting the public services of the Church, yet be often in spirit with those who go up to the house of the Lord, following them with your prayers and sympathy. You are not forgotten there, where remembrance is made before God of the weariness of the bed of pain, and the loneliness of the aching heart. For you supplication is made in those prayers which are offered up for all "who are afflicted and distressed in mind, body, or estate ;" for all " that are in danger, necessity, or tribulation;" for all " who are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity." Meantime you will remember to what end these means are designed to conduct you. You will then most highly appreciate them, when you know them but as means ; when you feel that sacraments, and prayers, j.nd God's word, will fail utterly of their object if they do not produce in you, through the blessed Spirit working in and by them, conformity of heart and life to the holy will of God. This is the great purpose to be accomplished in each one of us. For this were we born into the world ; for this have we been kept in life hitherto ; for this our Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for us, that "He might purify to Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works;" that " denying ungodliness FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING and worldly lusts, we might live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world ;" that being justi- fied for His merit sake, we might, as becomes His ransomed people, " glorify God in our body, and in our spirit, which are God's." But you ask how, in the sick chamber to which, it may be, you are confined — how, in the narrow span which, perhaps, is all that is left to you of life, you can thus glorify God. If yours is a truly teachable spirit, this question will be soon answered. You will soon learn that sickness and sorrow bring with them peculiar duties and responsibilities. He to whom you belong will give you not only patience to suffer, but strength to do : and as this strength increases, your sphere of action will enlarge itself around you. In pro- tracted sickness how many are the trials through which you have to pass ; how many victories over self you have to win. How much is there for which your sick room is perhaps the very fittest place, with the multiplied occasions which it affords for the full exercise of Faith, and Hope, and Love. For this is not, in truth, a narrow sphere in which God has placed you. You know how that some even of the lowest forms of heathenism wit- ness to the great truth, that man's heart is ever craving for union with a nature higher than his own : and you know too, that the necessity, the provision for, and the conditions of this union form the main subject of God's revelation to man. XXX11 HYMNS AND POEMS If you, on that bed of suffering, are learning by ex- perience the full blessing of this unspeakable union, you will not complain that your circle of privilege and duty is too limited. You are not left there alone ; some better portion is yours than the cold abstractions of a false philosophy, which, because it has caught some faint and broken echoes of the Christian truth, still speaks of goodness, virtue, and purity, but which never leads man to Him who is the Good, the Holy, and the Pure; and which cannot offer even the poorest substitute for the presence of that living Friend, union and com- munion with whom is the deepest reality of the Christian life. Perhaps those who are suffering from protracted sickness have most need to watch against that cold exclusive temper of mind which would tempt them to put away every thing which does not seem to bear directly on their own separate religious con- dition. Such a temper would greatly impede your progress, and weaken your spiritual life ; while it would rob you of that true fellowship with the family of Christ, for which the Church, as we have already seen, has made provision in her special re- membrances of you and of your sufferings ; and would close your heart against her loving sympathy. Be, on the contrary, drawn out of yourself towards others, participate in their interests, pray for them and seek their good, and set yourself to lessen the weight of sin and suffering around you. Doubtless you can do much to benefit and bless your brethren ; FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING XXX111 by your example, by your influence, by direct or indirect teaching, by a right use of money — perhaps by ways which do not discover themselves to you, until you have made some resolute advance in this path of duty. However limited your range may be (the more limited from the circumstances of your broken health), yet you will always find some within your reach to whom you may exhibit this gracious and loving spirit ; your own immediate family, the friends who visit your sick chamber, the servants who minister to your wants. Assume no functions, undertake no duties beyond those which belong to " that state of life to which it has pleased God to call you." But in that state you will find, if you seek, abundant employment. Such engage- ments will supply the best defence against the many forms of selfishness which beset the hours of sickness ; and that some preservative is then needed, they who watch over their hearts under such circumstances can abundantly testify. In these pursuits you will find a source of true and sustained cheerfulness, most unlike that false and transient excitement with which the world seeks to dissipate the thoughts of the sorrowful and suffering. But, whether doing or enduring, beware of fancy- ing that you have a fund of faith, or hope, or patience, laid up within, to which you can always resort, and independent of Him who supplies by His Spirit daily strength to His people. For in the moment that you look from Him to yourself, you c XXXIV HYMNS AND POEMS will find yourself left alone with impatience and distrust, and ready to sink under the burthen of those cares which He would have borne for you. Life to others is very bright, notwithstanding your distress. Let not the contrast between their condition and your own hinder your being cheered by the happiness around you. If God is with you in your sorrow, pray that He may be with them in their joy. If some have wept with you who weep, endeavour on your part to rejoice with them that do rejoice. It may cost you at first a struggle be- fore you can fully sympathize in their happiness. But the effort will daily become less : let it not be seen of men, and thus become poisoned by that selfish littleness which evermore claims notice of the sacrifices it makes. Nor should we close our hearts against the mar- vellous beauty of God's creation which lies around us. The clouds of sorrow must not so come down upon us as utterly to obscure that reflexion of Him which yet is left to us here. The perfection of its first days is indeed gone, and with fallen man it "groaneth and travaileth together" in mysterious sympathy. But it is still most beautiful. We may neither form a fanciful mock-religion for ourselves out of our admiration for " the things that are seen," which cannot of course satisfy the needs of an im- mortal spirit ; nor yet turn coldly away from God's great works. Ours should be, in this, the safer path of humility and faith ; and we should rejoice in them as what our Master's hands have made. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING They are evidences of His power, and witnesses of His love ; and it is good for us to live under their calming and elevating influences. Many of those who will read these pages have already, I trust, gained the truest and best blessings from the afflictions which have been sent to them. If this be your case, how full evgn this present time is of encouragement and of blessing. Could you formerly have imagined that under these circum- stances of pain and grief — when all around is dark — all within could ever be so full of light ? True to His promises, God is now blessing you with that peace which passeth all understanding, and which abides with you undiminished amidst all the vicissi- tudes of life. Are you sometimes filled with longings to depart — to leave all this suffering behind, and to pass from the strife of the battle-field to the rest of the victors ? Yet remember that you are " immortal till your work is done." One can imagine what it must be for you, lying now at the very gates of Paradise, to be obliged to take up again the burthen of life, and to look forward to long years here, amongst us whose sky is so often dimmed by temptation, grief, and weariness. But do not be discouraged ; for if you are giving yourself truly to the service of God, your Lord shall lead you, and the wilderness and the solitary place shall be gladdened by His pre- sence. In joy and in grief you shall find Him near; your strength in temptation, your shield in XXXVI HYMNS AND POEMS danger, your guide in difficulty. You long now to be with Him; but all along the journey of life He will be with you — your unseen but ever-present Defence. Wait then His time in whose unchangeable faith- fulness is all your trust. Consider the immeasurable depths of His wisdom. You cannot assign the limits of time, place, or circumstance, within which He may design to work His sovereign will in you. After marvelling long at the character and duration of this trial, perhaps a ray of light may touch some object before unnoticed, and reveal all that has been hitherto hidden in such darkness. Can you say that you have yet received the full measure of blessing which this affliction was designed to bring ? Per- haps the well-being of others depends, far more than you can know or even imagine, on the prolongation of this trial to you ; since one of the strongest evidences of the reality and power of religion is seen in the constancy of the faithful in the midst of suf- fering, and in the good which God brings for them out of such seeming evil. We are encompassed by many living witnesses in the Church, who, having long endured tribulation, can bear testimony to the power of His sustaining love now, from the midst of their trials; while others, who once gave their testimony to the same truth, have been one by one called away to exchange that condition in which they received from their Lord sympathy in suffering, for that in which they are made partakers of His joy. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING XXXV11 Our Lord is carrying on this work from age to age before the eyes of the Church. Doubtless there are some to whom you are thus appointed as a witness : — to but few perhaps — yet if but to one, be thankful that to you it is assigned to strengthen that one in the faith. If this book should help you to interpret truly the meaning of God's afflictive dispensations, teaching you in any measure their nature, purposes, and effects ; and leading you to look through their out- ward show of mere pain and loss to their inner signi- ficance and real character — if thus you are confirmed in an humble, holy confidence in God, and are quickened to a more diligent following of Him — if you perceive that while every trial is attended by its peculiar duties and responsibilities, it brings with it heavenly blessings also; and if the practical knowledge of these truths should lead you, by His grace, to a closer and more abiding union with Him, then indeed the object of these pages will have been fully accomplished. May He graciously allow this blessed issue. May your heart be cheered and en- couraged by His promises, and may you look beyond these hours of trial to the hope set before you in the Gospel, The Lord is indeed at hand. He is re- turning to His waiting Church. We know neither the day nor the hour — but He brings with Him everlasting joy for all them that love His appearing. " I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Be- hold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, XXXV111 HYMNS AND POEMS and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain : for the former things are passed away." T. V. FOSBERY. Westcliffe, Isle of Wight, April iqth, 1844. In preparing the following Hymns and Poems for the use of the Sick and Suffering, it was natural to turn to what the Church had done for her afflicted members, and to try whether the services which she has provided for their benefit could not, at least in part, be made available in connexion with this Volume of Sacred Poetry. The Offices for the Visitation and Communion of the Sick, in the Prayer Book, are conceived in a spirit of such true sympathy with the suffering, and so combine the deepest devotion with the wisest and most faithful instruction, as to render them in sick- ness and sorrow inestimably precious. The exhor- tations and prayers in the former of these services are here placed, in their due order, one before every section into which the volume is divided ; and a sentence, taken from this, forms the heading to each of the several poems contained in the section. These sentences give to the poems remarkable sig- nificance and definiteness of application. The Rubrics, which are unusually full and in- FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING XXXIX structive, — the Absolution, — and the Communion Service, all which necessarily imply the presence of the minister, are not thus employed. Those who may first learn, perhaps in solitude, from these pages, the great blessing provided for them in the Service for the Visitation of the Sick, will be, I trust, amongst the most desirous, as cer- tainly they will be the best prepared, to avail them- selves, when they can do so, of the presence and ministrations of such as are " over them in the Lord" — ministering to them in the words or in the spirit of this beautiful Service, as their respective neces- sities may require. In compiling this volume, I have but assisted one to whom it owes its chief value, and who " having learned from the Service for the Visitation of the Sick the meaning and value of sickness, earnestly desires to recommend the frequent perusal of that Service to the sick and suffering members of Christ's body." There are here two hundred and twenty-six sepa- rate pieces. Of this number ninety-three are by writers who lived prior to the eighteenth century : the rest are modern. The poems of George Herbert, by which, says Walton, " he hath comforted and raised many a dejected and discomposed soul," are peculiarly suitable for the purposes of this work. But as he is the best known of all the older sacred poets, it did not seem desirable to insert very many of his poems. There are accordingly only fourteen in this volume, and to those best acquainted with their value this will seem but a small number. xl HYMNS AND POEMS From the works of Henry Vaughan nineteen poems have been selected. This writer, a few of whose poems have of late years been reprinted in different collections, deserves to be far better known. He was born on the banks of the Usk, in Brecknock- shire, in 162 1 ; and because that part of Wales was anciently peopled by the Silures, he was quaintly styled the Silurist. Though then very young, he was engaged in the study of the law in London, at the breaking out of the great rebellion. But he was immediately taken home by his friends, and there in tranquil retirement "he followed the pleasant paths of poetry and philology." He soon exchanged the law for physic, in which he became eminently skilled, and spent the greater part of his useful and happy life near his native place in Brecknockshire, where he died in 1695. Vaughan ever held the memory of George Herbert in affectionate reverence. He could have known him only by his works, as Herbert died when Vaughan was very young ; but in the preface to one of his books, speaking of the success of the former in purifying the stream of song, he calls him " the blessed man, Mr. George Herbert; — whose holy life and verse," he adds, " gained many pious con- verts, of whom I am the least." The sacred poetry of the age of Herbert and Vaughan is becoming daily better known, and more truly appreciated. Its occasional conceits and ob- scurity do not hinder men from acknowledging its fulness, purity, and truth. To some few, however, FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING xli this old poetry may seem at first harsh and strange — their taste having been formed in a different school. Such readers will be amply repaid for whatever effort it may cost them to grapple with its first difficulties. There is much and precious instruction to be gathered amongst these old poems. They have a strength and depth in them which many more grace- ful verses have not. They enshrine thoughts worthy to be treasured up in the heart, instead of feebly expressing — with much reiteration — what may be called the sentimentality of religion. The love of God was not to these men a passing emotion; it was their principle of life. They and their works should be had in honour amongst us. The poems of Herbert in this volume are re- printed from the edition of 1641, but the modern spelling of later editions has been followed. Many of Vaughan's poems were transcribed at first from the copy of the first edition (1650) of his "Silex Scintillans, or Sacred Poetry and Private Ejaculations," in the British Museum Library; but the second, which appeared in his lifetime (1655), and is probably the more correct, and which also contains about fifty additional poems, has since been consulted ; for which purpose it was kindly lent by its possessor, the Rev. H. F. Lyte. It is a rare and valuable book. The old spelling has here been re- tained, except where there seemed any risk of its obscuring the sense. Nothing has been taken from the writings of any living English poet without the author's express xlii HYMNS AND POEMS permission, which has always been most readily and kindly granted. Those poems which have not be- fore been published are distinguished by an asterisk prefixed to each. Two of them, however, viz., those at pp. 41 and 123, had already been printed for private circulation. Where only part of a short poem has been re- tained, the word " Part" is prefixed to the portion thus selected. But no liberty has been taken with the poetry itself. The words of the several writers (in the case of some living authors with their latest corrections) have been faithfully given in every instance. Not one word in the whole volume has been knowingly and wilfully altered. In a very few instances it was found necessary to trust, at least for the present, to compilations ; but wherever it was possible, the best editions of the author's works have been consulted. T. V. F. NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION. To the two hundred and twenty-six pieces of the former edition, all of which are here retained, seven others have been added, which will be found at pp. 253, 257, 260, 262, 266, 270, 301. The work has been carefully revised, and a few changes, chiefly verbal, have been made in the introductory address. T. V. F. SUNNINGDALE, May 2, 1850. HYMNS AND POEMS peate be to tljt* rjonge, anb to ail tfyat fctoell in it Remember not, florb, our iniquities, nor tl)e iniquities of our forefathers : Ji>pare us, goob |Dor&, spare Sfrjg people, xorjom STI)otx Ijast refceemeb rattl) S^g most precious bloob, anti be not angrg tottl) us for euer, llnstoer, $pare us, goob Jortu ?|eare &e to tfjis fjouse, anil to all tljat tifoell in it. PEACE. Henry Vaughan. MY soul, there is a country Afar beyond the stars, Where stands a winged sentry All skilful in the wars. There, above noise and danger, Sweet Peace sits crowned with smiles, And One born in a manger Commands the beauteous files. HYMNS AND POEMS He is thy gracious friend, And (0 my soul, awake !) Did in pure love descend, To die here for thy sake. It thou canst get but thither, There grows the flower of peace, The rose that cannot wither, Thy fortress and thy ease. Leave then thy foolish ranges ; For none can thee secure, But One, who never changes, Thy God, thy Life, thy Cure. Peace be ta tfjfe fjottse, anti to all tfjat Ufoell in it %s. THE more by thought thou leav'st the crowd behind, Draw near by deeper love to all thy kind ; So shall thy heart in lowly peace be still, And earthly wisdom serve a Heavenly will. % s. O holier truth has reached us from above Than this, Love errs not but by want of Love. N FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING $tm it to tfjts Jjottse, anil to all tfjat toll fit it* J. S. Monsell. BIRDS have their quiet nest, Foxes their holes, and man his peaceful bed ; All creatures have their rest, — But Jesus had not where to lay His head. Winds have their hour of calm, And waves, to slumber on the voiceless deep : Eve hath its breath of balm, To hush all senses and all sounds to sleep. The wild deer hath his lair, The homeward flocks the shelter of their shed ; All have their rest from care, — But Jesus had not where to lay His head. And yet He came to give The weary and the heavy-laden rest ; To bid the sinner live, And soothe our griefs to slumber on His breast. What then am I, my God, Permitted thus the paths of peace to tread ? Peace, purchased by the blood Of Him who had not where to lay His head ! I, who once made Him grieve ; I, who once bid His gentle spirit mourn ; Whose hand essayed to weave For His meek brow the cruel crown of thorn : — HYMNS AND POEMS O why should I have peace ? Why ? but for that unchanged, undying love, Which would not, could not cease, Until it made me heir of joys above. Yes ! but for pardoning grace, I feel I never should in glory see The brightness of that face, That once was pale and agonized for me ! Let the birds seek their nest, Foxes their holes, and man his peaceful bed ; Come, Saviour, in my breast Deign to repose Thine oft rejected head ! Come ! give me rest, and take The only rest on earth Thou lovest, — within A heart, that for Thy sake Lies bleeding, broken, penitent for sin. Iftememto not, 3LorK, ottr iniquities* SIGHS AND GROANS. George Herbert. ODO not use me After my sins ! look not on my desert, But on Thy glory ; then Thou wilt reform, And not refuse me. For Thou only art The mighty God ; but I, a silly worm ; O do not bruise me ! FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING O do not urge me ! For what account can Thy ill steward make ? I have abused Thy stock, destroyed Thy woods, Sucked all Thy magazines. My head did ache Till it found out how to consume Thy goods ; O do not scourge me ! O do not blind me ! I have deserved that an Egyptian night Should thicken all my powers, because my lust Hath still sewed fig-leaves to exclude Thy light. But I am frailty, and already dust ; O do not grind me ! O do not fill me With the turned vial of Thy bitter wrath • For Thou hast other vessels, full of blood, A part whereof my Saviour emptied hath, Even unto death. Since He died for my good, O do not kill me ! But O reprieve me ! For Thou hast life and death at Thy command ; Thou art both Judge and Saviour, Feast and Rod, Cordial and Corrosive. Put not Thy hand Into the bitter box ; but, O my God, My God, relieve me ! HYMNS AND POEMS Iftememta not, 3LorU, our iniquities* LAMENTATION OF A SINNER. " Hymns of the Primitive Church' OLORD, turn not Thy face away From him that lies prostrate, Lamenting sore his sinful life, Before Thy mercy-gate, — Which Thou dost open wide to those Who do lament their sin : shut it not against me, Lord, But let me enter in. Call me not to a strict account How I have lived here ; For then I know right well, O Lord, How vile I shall appear. 1 need not to confess my life ; For surely Thou canst tell What I have been : and what I am Thou knowest very well. O Lord, I need not to repeat What I do beg and crave ; For Thou dost know before I ask, The thing that I would have. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING Mercy, good Lord, mercy I ask, This is the total sum : For mercy, Lord, is all my suit ; let Thy mercy come. Sftememfrer not, ILorXr, nut iniquities, $£or tfje iniquities of our forefathers* REPENTANCE. George Herbert. L< ORD, I confess my sin is great ; Great is my sin. O gently treat With Thy quick flower, Thy momentary bloom ! Whose life, still pressing, Is one undressing, A steady aiming at a tomb. Man's age is two hours' work, or three ; Each day doth round about us see. Thus are we to delights : but we are all To sorrows old, If life be told From what life feeleth, Adam's fall. O let thy height of mercy then Compassionate short-breathed men. Cut me not off for my most foul transgression : I do confess My foolishness : My God, accept of my confession. D 8 HYMNS AND POEMS Sweeten, at length, this bitter bowl, Which Thou hast poured into my soul : Thy wormwood turn to health; winds to fair weather ; For if Thou stay, I and this day, As we did rise, we die, together. When Thou for sin rebukest man, Forthwith he waxeth woe and wan : Bitterness fills our bowels ; all our hearts Pine and decay, And drop away, And carry with them the other parts. But Thou wilt sin and grief destroy ; That so the broken bones may joy, And tune together in a well-set song, Full of His praises Who dead men raises. — •Fractures well cured make us more strong. f>t n* prag. |Lorb, fyane mereg upon n$. (Iljrigt, fyane mercg npon tig. ILorb, Ijane mercg ttpon ng. @nr /atljer, tofyicl) art in Heaven, Hallomeb be Sfljg Jtame. ©fyg liingbom tome, Sfl)g to ill be bone in eartf), |t* it ig in Heauen. (Sine ng tljig bag onr bailg breab. |inb forgiue tt^ onr tregpaggeg, |t* toe forgioe tl)em tljat tre0pa££ against u$. |tnb leab n# not into temptation : ffot beliner n# from entL Jlmen. THE SHORTER LITANY. Jttinigter. © ILorb, gane ©!)g gernant ; Itngmer. Wtt)it\) pnttet!) \)'x$ tmgt in Styee. JE. $enb l)im Ijeip from ©l)g fyolg place ; |t. |tnb enermore migljtiig befenb l)im. JE. f>t tK)e enemg ljat>e no abnantage of l)im ; |t. jKor ttje toickeb approach to Iqnxt I)im. JE. |ge nnto l)im, © JLorb, a strong totoer, |t. Jrom tlje face of I)ig enemg. JE. © florb, I)ear onr pragerg. |t. |tnb let onr erg come nnto Styee. 10 HYMNS AND POEMS R. C. Trench. LORD, what a change within us one short hour Spent in Thy presence will prevail to make, What heavy burdens from our bosoms take, What parched grounds refresh, as with a shower ! We kneel, and all around us seems to lower \ We rise, and all, the distant and the near, Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear ; We kneel, how weak, we rise, how full of power. Why therefore should we do ourselves this wrong, Or others — that we are not always strong, That we are ever overborne with care, That we should ever weak or heartless be, Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer, And joy and strength and courage are with Thee ? 3Let tts pra|K PRAYER. Luke xxii. 46. E.M. ART thou a pilgrim and alone ? Far from the home once called thine own ? From friendship's faithful bosom wrested, In stranger hands thy comforts vested, Thy life a cheerless wintry day Unlit by sunshine ? — Rise and pray ! FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING 1 1 Smiled on thee once the bliss of earth, And glittering joys of transient worth ? Hast thou adored some idol shrine, Or bent has many a knee at thine ? Faded these creatures of a day, What hast thou left ? — Arise and pray ! Or hast thou, driven by deepest woe, Thy soul's sure refuge learned to know ? And every storm of life would meet Beneath the sheltering Mercy-Seat ? Whether in youth, or life's decay, Thy lot is blest — thou lovest to pray ? But haply thou, even thou hast found Religion's consecrated ground With sorrows and with snares beset, Which, though the Almighty Sufferer met To conquer, we must yet obey His welcome mandate — Rise and prav ! O mournful lot to mortals given, Might not the winged thought to Heaven Amidst opposing myriads rise To claim its refuge in the skies ! " Where is thy God ? " whilst mockers say, To Him mounts up the soul to pray ! Though, mingled in one bitter draught, Thou every earthly woe hast quaffed ; 12 HYMNS AND POEMS Around, though enemies prevail, And darts from cherished friends assail ; These but in image faint pourtray His griefs, who bids thee rise and pray ! Ev'n should that direst hour be thine, When in the darkening Heavens no sign Appears ; — but thou in combat fell Must meet the adverse hosts of hell, O never cast the hope away, While thou canst lift thy heart to pray. With tears, with bitterest agony The Saviour wrestled, Soul ! for thee, Ere He could all-triumphant rise To plead the accepted sacrifice ; So, till the world shall pass away, Shall stand His words — " Arise and pray ! " PRAYER. Cowper. WHAT various hindrances we meet In coming to a mercy-seat ! Yet who that knows the worth of prayer, But wishes to be often there ? Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw, Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw, FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING 13 Gives exercise to faith and love, Brings every blessing from above. Restraining prayer, we cease to fight ; Prayer makes the Christian's armour bright ; And Satan trembles when he sees The weakest saint upon his knees. While Moses stood with arms spread wide, Success was found on Israel's side ; But when through weariness they failed, That moment Amalek prevailed. 1 Have you no words ? O think again, Words flow apace when you complain, And fill your fellow-creature's ear With the sad tale of all your care. Were half the breath thus vainly spent, To heaven in supplication sent, Your cheerful song would oftener be, — " Hear what the Lord hath done for me ! " 1 Exod. xvii. 11, 12. 14 HYMNS AND POEMS Hortf, fjafo mtxtg upon us* (Gtyrtst, ftafo mercg uputt us. itortr, fyabe meres upon us. DIVINE EJACULATION. John Quarles. GREAT God, whose sceptre rules the earth, Distil Thy fear into my heart, That being rapt with holy mirth I may proclaim how good Thou art ; Open my lips, that I may sing Full praises to my God, my King. Great God, Thy garden is defaced, The weeds thrive there, Thy flowers decay ; O call to mind Thy promise past, Restore Thou them, cut these away : Till then let not the weeds have power To starve or stint the poorest flower. In all extremes, Lord, Thou art still The Mount whereto my hopes do flee ; O make my soul detest all ill, Because so much abhorred by Thee : Lord, let Thy gracious trials show That I am just, or make me so. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING 1 5 Shall mountain, desert, beast, and tree, Yield to that heavenly voice of Thine \ And shall that voice not startle me, Nor stir this stone — this heart of mine ? No, Lord, till Thou new-bore mine ear, Thy voice is lost, I cannot hear. Fountain of Light and living Breath, Whose mercies never fail nor fade * Fill me with Life that hath no death, Fill me with Light that hath no shade ; Appoint the remnant of my days To see Thy power, and sing Thy praise. Lord God of gods — before whose throne Stand storms and fire ! O what shall we Return to Heaven, that is our own, When all the world belongs to Thee ? We have no offering to impart, " But praises, and a wounded heart. O Thou that sitt'st in Heaven, and seest My deeds without, my thoughts within — Be Thou my Prince, be Thou my Priest, Command my soul, and cure my sin : How bitter my afflictions be I care not, so I rise to Thee. What I possess, or what I crave, Brings no content, great God, to me, If what I would, or what I have, Be not possest, and blest in Thee : 1 6 HYMNS AND POEMS What I enjoy, make it mine, In making me, that have it, Thine. When winter-fortunes cloud the brows Of summer-friends, — when eyes grow strange ; When plighted faith forgets its vows ; When earth and all things in it change : O Lord, Thy mercies fail me never — Where once Thou lovest, Thou lovest for ever. Great God, whose kingdom hath no end ; Into whose secrets none can dive ; Whose mercy none can apprehend ; Whose justice none can feel — and live ; What my dull heart cannot aspire To know, Lord, teach me to admire ! f^aZlofreti foe &Jjg Iffame* THE ELIXIR. George Herbert. TEACH me, my God and King, In all things Thee to see ; And what I do in any thing, To do it as for Thee : Not rudely, as a beast, To run into an action ; But still to make Thee prepossest, And give it his perfection. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING 1 7 A man that looks on glass, On it may stay his eye ; Or, if he pleaseth, through it pass, And then the Heaven espy. All may of Thee partake : Nothing can be so mean, Which, with this tincture, — for Thy sake, Will not grow bright and clean. A servant, with this clause, Makes drudgery divine : Who sweeps a room, as for Thy laws, Makes that, and the action, fine. This is the famous stone That turneth all to gold ; For that which* God doth touch and own, Cannot for less be told. &fj2 WB fo tone* C. E. MY God, my Father, while I stray Far from my home in life's rough way, O teach me from my heart to say — " Thy will be done ! " Though dark my path, and sad my lot, Let me be still and murmur not ; And breathe the prayer divinely taught, — " Thy will be dene ! r i8 HYMNS AND POEMS What though in lonely grief I sigh, For friends beloved, no longer nigh, Submissive still would I reply, — " Thy will be done ! " If Thou shouldst call me to resign What most I prize — it ne'er was mine ■ I only yield Thee what was Thine : " Thy will be done ! " Should pining sickness waste away My life in premature decay, My Father — still I'll strive to say, — " Thy will be done ! " If but my fainting heart be blest With Thy sweet Spirit for its guest, My God, to Thee I leave the rest : — " Thy will be done ! " Renew my will from day to day ; Blend it with Thine, and take away All that now makes it hard to say — " Thy will be done ! " Then, when on earth I breathe no more The prayer oft mix'd with tears before, I'll sing, upon a happier shore, — " Thy will be done ! " FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING 1 9 Gifo tts tfjts Bag our tfatlg taatu THE HOLDFAST. George Herbert. I THREATENED to observe the strict decree Of my dear God, with all my power and might : But I was told by one, it could not be ; Yet I might trust in God to be my light. " Then will I trust," said I, " in Him alone." Nay, e'en to trust in Him was also His : We must confess that nothing is our own. " Then I confess that He my succour is." But to have nought is ours ; not to confess That we have nought. I stood amazed at this ; Much troubled : till I heard a friend express, That all things were more ours by being His. What Adam had, and forfeited for all, Christ keepeth now, who cannot fail or fall. e l)im comfort anb 0ure contfbence in SUtjee, befenb l)im from % banger of tlje enemg, anb keep f)tm in perpetual peace anb tfafetg ; tljrougl) ge£u$ (SHjrtet onr ILorb. Jlmen. SECOND COLLECT. Hear u& $llmigl)tg anb mo£t merciful dob anb jfeauiour; estcnb ®!)g accugtomeb goobneg* to tl)i£ ®l)2 geruant rol)o i# griet)eb mitl) gickne$£. j£>anctifg, toe be^eecl) Ken. S UBMIT yourself to God, and you shall find, God fights the battles of a will resigned. &fjat tije sense of Jjts foeaftness mag atft strength to Jjts fait!;, anti seriousness to fjts repentance* o " Hymns of the Primitive Church." GOD of our salvation, Lord Of wond'rous power and love ! May faith, salvation's holy seed, Be sent us from above. 'Tis faith that gives us strength to fight, That we our foes may quell ; And with the shield of faith we quench The fiery darts of hell. By faith we make our prayers to Thee, In that most holy Name, On which, for mercy and for peace, Hope rests her stedfast claim. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING 4 1 For that Name's sake, assist us, Lord, To run our heavenward race ; And O may no unholy life Our holy faith disgrace. To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Be praise and glory given ; Who pour into the hearts of men True light and heat from heaven. Efjat, after tfjis painful life en&eU, \z mag tteli bit]) Wfyzz in life etalastittg* II. COR. V. 4. IN health, O Lord ! and prosperous days, When worldly wealth or worldly praise, When worldly thoughts have filled our heart, We would not from the body part ; — And then the very thought is loathed, That we must be by death unclothed. In sickness, sorrow, or in shame, We fain would quit this mortal frame ; — But thus to shrink from toil and pain, This is not longing for Thy reign ; Brought low, we only seek to be Unclothed, not clothed upon by Thee. O rather help us as we ought To feel what Thine Apostle taught, — 42 HYMNS AND POEMS That not for aye we seek to wear This form of clay, corruption's heir, Nor yet impatient ask alone To be unclothed, but clothed upon ! O blessed Lord ! whose merits dress Thy saints in robes of righteousness ; Through whom for us eternal stands That heavenly house not made with hands, — When this frail dwelling sets us free, Quench Thou in life mortality ! THE EXHORTATION. FIRST PART. Pearig bekmeb, knoto tljig, tljat $timigl)tg (got) i# tlje |Lorb of life anb beatlj, anil of all tfyingg to tljem pertaining, a£ gon% jstrengtl), tyealtl), age, toeakne£$, anb $ickne££. 2Hl)erefore, tofyatgoeuer gonr £ickne££ ig, knoto gon certainlg, tfyat it ijs (flob'g nictation. $tnb for toljat can*e goeuer tl)ig gieknegj* ig gent unto gon ; toljetfyer it be to trg gonr patience for tlje example of ott}er^ anb tljat gonr fait!) mag be fonnb in ttje bag of tlje |Lorb lanbable, glorionj*, anb Ijononrable, to tlje increase of glorg anb enblegg felicitg ; or eige it be jsent unto gon to correct anb amenb in gon tofyateoener botl) offenb t^e egeg of gonr fyeasenlg Jfatfyer ; knoto gon certainlg, tljat if gon tmlg repent gon of gonr £in£, anb bear gonr gickne$$ patientlg, trngting in (Sob'j* mercg, for l§i£ bear ^on gegn* &t)ri£t'g sake, anb renber nnto Him Ijnmble tljanktf for Hi* fatl)erlg nictation, jsnb- mitting gonrgeif mijoilg nnto |p£ toili, it £l)atl tnrn to gonr profit, anb fjelp gon fortoarb in t!)e rigljt toag tfjat leabetl) nnto enerlagting life* 44 HYMNS AND POEMS Bearlp Mofce&, ftnofo tfjts, tfjat ^Imtgfjtg ©rft is tfje Horfc of life antr treaty* THE EVENING-WATCH. A DIALOGUE. Henry Vaughan. Body. AREWELL ! I goe to sleep ; but when The day-star springs, I'll wake agen. F Soul. Goe, sleep in peace ; and when thou lyest Unnumber'd in thy dust, when all this frame Is but one dramme, and what thou now descriest In sev'rall parts shall want a name, Then may His peace be with thee, and each dust Writ in His book, who ne'er betray'd man's trust ! Body. Amen ! but hark, ere we two stray, How many hours, dost think, till day ? Soul. Ah ! go ; thou'rt weak, and sleepie. Heav'n Is a plain watch, and without figures winds All ages up ; who drew this Circle, even He fills it ; Dayes and hours are Blinds. Yet this take with thee ; The last gasp of Time Is thy first breath, and man's etemall Prime. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING 45 ^Imtgjtg ©0X1 is tfje 3Lor& of life anti tieatfj, anti of ail ifjings to tljem pertaining, as goutfj, strength, fjealtfj, age, Weakness, anti sickness. " Hickes' Devotio?is." MY God, to Thee ourselves we owe, And to Thy bounty all we have ; Behold to Thee our praises flow, And humbly Thy acceptance crave. If we are happy in a friend, That very friend 'tis Thou bestow'st, His power, his will to help our end, Is just so much as Thou allow'st. If we enjoy a free estate, Our only title is from Thee ; Thou madest our lot to bear that rate, Which else an empty blank would be. If we have health, — that well-tuned ground Which gives the music to the rest, — It is by Thee our air is sound, Our food secured, our physic blest. If we have hope one day to view The glories of Thy blissful face, Each drop of that refreshing dew Must fall from Heaven and Thy free grace. 46 HYMNS AND POEMS Thus then to Thee our praises bow, And humbly Thy acceptance crave ; Since 'tis to Thee ourselves we owe, And to Thy bounty all we have. Glory to Thee, great God, alone, Three Persons in one Deity ; As it has been in ages gone, May now, and still for ever be. Dearlg foefatatt, fcnofo tfjts, tfjat ^Imtg^tg ffiotr is tfje 3LortJ of life atttr fceatfj, antt of all tfjings t0 tfjem pertaining. i?. C. Trench. THOU cam'st not to thy place by accident, It is the very place God meant for thee ; And shouldst thou there small scope for action see, Do not for this give room to discontent ; Nor let the time thou owest to God be spent In idly dreaming how thou mightest be, In what concerns thy spiritual life, more free From outward hindrance or impediment : For presently this hindrance thou shalt find That without which all goodness were a task So slight, that Virtue never could grow strong : And wouldst thou do one duty to His mind, The Imposer's — over-burdened thou shalt ask, And own thy need of grace to help, ere long. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING 47 <mgfjt2 (Bob is tfje SLorfc of life an& fceatfj, antJ of all things to tfjem pertaining* A Elizabeth Thomas. H ! strive no more to know what fate Is pre-ordained for thee : Tis vain in this thy mortal state, For Heaven's inscrutable decree Will only be revealed in vast eternity. Then, my soul, Remember thy celestial birth, And live to Heaven while here on earth. Thy God is infinitely true, All Justice, yet all Mercy too : To Him then, through thy Saviour, pray For grace to guide thee on thy way, And give thee will to do. But humbly, for the rest, my soul, Let Hope and Faith the limits be Of thy presumptuous curiosity ! &lmigf}t2 &tto is tfje 2LorU of life antr teatfj, anto of all tljings to tfjem pertaining* FROM THE ARABIC. Elegiac Poems. D ESPAIR not in the vale of woe, Where many joys from suffering flow. 4-8 HYMNS AND POEMS II. Oft breathes Simoom, and close behind A breath of God doth softly blow. in. Clouds threaten — but a ray of light, And not of lightning, falls below. IV. How many winters o'er thy head Have past — yet bald it does not show. v. Thy branches are not bare — and yet What storms have shook them to and fro. VI. To thee has time brought many joys, If many it has bid to go ; VII. And seasoned has with bitterness Thy cup, that flat it should not grow. VIII. Trust in that veiled hand, which leads None by the path that he would go ; IX. And always be for change prepared, For the world's law is ebb and flow. FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING 49 X. Stand fast in suffering, until He Who called it shall dismiss also ; XI. And from the Lord all good expect, Who many mercies strews below, XII. Who in life's narrow garden-strip Has bid delights unnumbered blow. Ilmigfftg 0otf is tfje Horti of life amfc tatfj, atttJ of all things to tfjem pertaining* SUPPORT UNDER AFFLICTION. Wordsworth. ONE adequate support For the calamities of mortal life Exists, one only ; — an assured belief That the procession of our fate, howe'er Sad or disturbed, is ordered by a Being Of infinite benevolence and power ; Whose everlasting purposes embrace All accidents, converting them to good. — The darts of anguish y£# not, where the seat Of suffering hath been throughly fortified By acquiescence in the Will Supreme, 50 HYMNS AND POEMS For time and for Eternity ; by faith, Faith absolute in God, including hope, And the defence that lies in boundless love Of His perfections ; with habitual dread Of aught unworthily conceived ; endured Impatiently ; ill-done, or left undone, To the dishonour of His holy Name. — Soul of our souls, and safeguard of the world ! Sustain, Thou only canst, the sick of heart, Restore their languid spirits, and recal Their lost affections unto Thee and Thine !