HAPPY SOLITUDE-UNHAPPY MEN.
HAPPY SOLITUDE UNHAPPY MEN.
Vol. 2, Cantique 89.
MY heart is easy, and my burden light;
I smile, though sad, when thou art in my sight:
The more my woes in secret I deplore,
I taste thy goodness, and I love, the more.
There, while a solemn stillness reigns around,
Faith, Love, and Hope, within my soul abound;
And while the world suppose me lost in care,
The joys of angels, unperceiv'd, I share.
Thy creatures wrong thee, O! thou sov'reign Good!
Thou art not lov'd, because not understood;
This grieves me most, that vain pursuits beguile
Ungrateful men, regardless of thy smile.
Frail beauty, and false honor, are ador'd ;
While Thee they scorn, and trifle with thy word;
Pass, unconcern'd, a Saviour's sorrows by ;
And hunt their ruin, with a zeal to die.
TRUTH AND DIVINE LOVE REJECTED &c.
But shallow cisterns yield
A scanty, short supply;
The morning sees them amply fill'd,
The ev'ning finds them dry.
TRUTH AND DIVINE LOVE REJECTED BY THE WORLD.
O LOVE! of pure and heav'nly birth!
O! simple Truth, scarce known on earth!
Whom men resist with stubborn will;
And more perverse and daring still,
Smother and quench, with reas'nings vain,
While error and deception reign.
Whence comes it, that, your pow'r the same
As His on high, from whom you came,
Ye rarely find a list'ning ear,
Or heart that makes you welcome here ?—
Because ye bring reproach and pair,
The world is proud, and cannot bear
The scom and calumny ye share :
"The praise of men, the mark they mean,
They fly the place where ye are seen;
Pure Love, with scandal in the rear,
Suits not the vain; it costs too dear.
Then, let the price be what it may,
Though poor, I am prepar'd to pay :
Come shame, come sorrow; spite of tears,
Weakness, and heart-oppressing fears;
One soul, at last, shall not repine,
To give you room, come, reign in mine!
Vol. 2, Cantique 119.
THOU hast no lightnings, O! thou Just !
Or I their force should know ;
And if thou strike me into dust,
My soul approves the blow.
The heart, that values less its ease,
Than it adores thy ways;
In thine avenging anger, sees
A subject of its praise.
Pleas'd, I could lie conceal'd, and lost
In shades of central night;
Not to avoid thy wrath, thou know'st,
But lest I grieve thy sight.
Smite me, O! thou, whom I provoke !
And I will love thee still:
The well-deserv'd, and righteous stroke,
Shall please me, though it kill.
Am I not worthy, to sustain
The worst thou canst devise;
And dare I seek thy throne again,
And meet thy sacred eyes?
Far from afflicting, thou art kind;
And in my saddest hours,
An unction of thy grace I find,
Pervading all my pow'rs.
Alas! thou spar'st me yet again;
And when thy wrath should move,
Too gentle to endure my pain,
Thou sooth'st me with thy Love.
I have no punishment to fear;
But ah! that smile from thee,
Imparts a pang, far more severe
Than woe itself would be.
THE SOUL THAT LOVES GOD FINDS HIM
Vol. 2, Cantique 108.
OH thou, by long experience tried,
Near whom no grief can long abide;
My Love! how full of sweet content
All scenes, alike engaging prove,
To souls impress'd with sacred love;
Where'er they dwell, they dwell in thee
In heav'n, in earth, or on the sea.
To me remains nor place nor time;
My country is in ev'ry clime;
I can be calm and free from care
On any shore, since God is there.
While place we seek, or place we shun,
The soul finds happiness in none;
But with a God to guide our way,
"Tis equal joy to go or stay.
Could I be cast where thou art not,
That were indeed a dreadful lot;
But regions none, remote I call,
Secure of finding God in all.
My country, Lord, art thou alone;
Nor other can I claim or own;
The point where all my wishes meet;
My Law, my Love; life's only sweet!
I hold by nothing here below;
Appoint my journey, and I go;
Though pierc'd by scorn, opprest by pride,
I feel thee good-feel nought beside.
No frowns of men can hurtful prove
To souls on fire with heav'nly love :
Though men and devils both condemn,
No gloomy days arise for them.
Ah then! to his embrace repair;
My soul, thou art no stranger there;
There Love divine shall be thy guard,
And peace and safety thy reward.
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