The Heart The Mind The Soul BY F. M. IV. THE HEART, THE MIND, THE SOUL. ^^Keep thy Heart with all diligence^ for out of it are the issues of life'' *'I stir up yoitr p2ire Alinds by zvay of remembrance ^ ^'' Their Soul shall be as a watered garden'' By F. iM. W. NEW YORK: ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY, 3S WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET. n copyright, t887, ry Anson D. F. Randolph & Company. Edward O. Jenkins' Son5>, Printers atid Stereotypers, 20 North William St., New York. TKe jle^ff, the ^\nb, tl]^ Sobl, I. OAR in this planet's early dawn, At Nature's wondrous birth, Man was created, and became, The habitant of earth : In God's own image he was made On that eventful day. Which bound his bright immortal soul In tenement of clay ! The Hearty the Mind^ the Soul. And wherefore was this wonder wrought ?" Oh, why were souls compelled To lead on earth a captive life, And be fast prisoners held ? Why so securely shut within The body's circling bars, That death alone unlocks the gate To worlds beyond the stars ? We know this wonder-work was done By word of God Most High, And that this life on earth begun Continues in the sky ! We know the soul within its shell Held now in fast embrace. If faithful, shall hereafter dwell In boundless realms of space ! The Hearty the Mind, the Soul. 5 Ah, then, how strange that man thus born An heir of heaven by birth, And unto whom its peace may dawn E'en while he treads the earth ; Should rarely have the faith to gauge His life in worlds on high, Or realize the heritage That waits him in the sky ! How passing strange that he should stand On life's receding shore, And seek upon its shifting sand His transient wealth to store ! How passing strange this world's brief day Should bound his hopes and fears, While all unheeded, unperceived, Stretch vast, eternal years ! The Heart, the Mind, the Soul. O man, created being, born To live, and not to die. Endued with immortality And native of the sky ! Why, with such bright inheritance Cleave fast to things below ? And Esau-like, thy birthright sell, Thy purest joys forego ? It is the folly of our race, Oft worn with care and woe, To clothe the unknown future here With Hope's enchanting glow ; To store our wealth, to form our plans. For some approaching year When calmer, brighter days shall dawn^ And mirth dispel the tear ! The Hearty the Mind, the Soul. Could we but lift our wings of Hope And give them broader range In those remote, celestial realms, Beyond the power of change ; Could we but store our treasures w^here Nor moth, nor rust destroy, How sure our rich inheritance Of life, of peace, of joy ! To win this rich inheritance My verse would fain impart Some luring picture of the way, Some truth, some charm, some art, By which to draw the multitude (Without affliction's rod) To seek the straight and upward path That leads from earth, to God ! The Hearty the Mind^ the Soul. 11. niHIS path we vainly strive to find Through efforts of our own, Nor can we climb its steep ascent Unaided and alone : Our Saviour Jesus is the Way, No other can be found, And His the grace that lifts our feet Across the stony ground. But steadfast as this changeless truth That Christ alone can win Eternal life for us below And wash away our sin : Still, man the privileged gardener is Of his own human will, Himself, the richest garden ground That he can plant or till. The Hearty the Mind, the Soul. Within this heavenly garden held, Within the man enshrined, Are glorious powers invisible, The Heart, the Soul, the Mind. That these abide in every breast No mortal may withstand. For with each one to love his God He hath Divine command. And graven on the sacred page Of Holy Writ we read. That talents must be multiplied, And sown the harvest-seed. There's not a day that wings its flight But tends to good or ill. For Nature works untiringly, Altho' she seems so still ! lo The Hearty the Alind, the Soul. It is the story often told Of water, and of sand, The drops that fill the ocean's depths, The grains that form the land. So tiny seeds, and passing words Are scattered by the air. We cannot gather them again Or change the fruit they'll bear. III. fT(HE gracious God Who doth to man All varied gifts impart, Hath only asked in poor return, " My son, give Me thine Hearty And keep it with all diligence, With virtue ever rife, For out of it the issues are Of everlasting life." The Hearty the Mind^ the Soul, ii Bestow on it thy watchful care, Nor rest, till thou hast won : True wisdom is to fear the Lord While evil paths we shun. And know, that when thine heart becomes Pure, loving, true, and wise. Then even shall the heart of God Rejoice, in yonder skies ! Beside this heart, where good and ill Exist, and oft entwine. At times, dread hatred's dark abode, At times, love's sacred shrine ! — Beside this changeful, ardent heart, A kindred light we find, The source of man's bright intellect And called by him, the Mind ! 12 The Hearty the Mind^ the Soul. That wonder-working power, by which He soars afar on high, And step by step discerns the plan And systems of the sky ! By which he penetrates below And reads the storied birth Of mammoth ones that long ago Were tenants of the earth ! By which the vast cathedral fane With vaulted aisles so wide. That daylight ever seems to wane And twilight to abide, Was raised, with stone by stone create^ Till now all still and grand, It stands on earth, an open gate To God's celestial land. The Heart, the Aluid, the Soul. 13 Oh, mighty is the breadth of mind That God to man hath given, It spans the world from pole to pole, It leaps from earth to heaven ! A subtle charm upon it rests When cultured and refined, If reverence, faith, humility. Within it are enshrined, But cultured mind devoid of faith. Without the Gospel creed, Oh care not for its treasured wealth, Its learning do not heed : It is not of a perfect type. Its stature is not high, It is not meet, it is not ripe For mansions in the sky ! 14 The Hearty the Mind, the Soul. And now we pass unto the Soul. That germ the most divine Among the three unseen, and yet So capable to shine In radiance of reflected light, The light of Christ, the Lord, Whose Life in us our glory is, Our hope of sure reward. The Soul that may in stillness wend Through space a trackless flight, And by an aspiration send Its thought to realms of light, In silence, on the wings of prayer, Escape what it enshrouds, Ascend the airy firmament And pass beyond the clouds ! The Hearty the Mind, the Soul. 15 IV. \\) H EN seek the Heart, the Mind, the Soul, United to attain The true and best development That each, and all, may gain ; Then shall be seen perfected here The high and lofty plan, That dwelt within the mind of God When He created man. There's nothing great and beautiful Or of a value rare, But it hath grown by slow degrees Full oft through toil and care ; So these immortal germs of light Must here our labors share, If we would find them, as the stars, In radiant ""jorv there ! i6 The Hearty the Mind^ the Soul, And nothing in God's Universe Is lost, however small, From man, unto the faded leaves, That in the forest fall ! Again we find them reproduced, Again they bloom and bear, And always in the self-same garb The parent seed did wear. ■" Be not deceived, God is not mocked " If to the flesh ye sow, Ye shall of flesh corruption reap Above, and here below : But if, in wisdom and in faith. Ye, to the Spirit sow, Your seed to everlasting life Shall live and upward grow. The Heart, the Mind, the Soul. 17 Then hasten ere the cord be loosed, Or marred the golden bowl, And hasten while the days and years In quick succession roll ; Oh haste to plant for Harv^est-time And planting oft repeat. Ye cannot sow the thistle seed And reap the golden wheat ! Death works no great mysterious change When break the circling bars, The same the spirit sinks to sleep, It wakes, beyond the stars ! LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 016 165 948 4 L