Ye unbelieving! learn a wiser part,
Distrust your erring sense, and search your heart;
There, soon ye shall perceive a kindling flame
Glow for that Infant God from whom it came;
Resist not, quench not that divine desire,
Melt all your adamant in heavenly fire!
Not so will I requite thee, gentle Love!
Yielding and soft this heart shall ever prove;
And ev'ry heart, beneath thy power should fall,
Glad to submit, could mine contain them all.
But I am poor, oblation I have none,
None for a Saviour, but Himself alone:
Whate'er I render thee, from thee it came;
And if I give my body to the flame,
My patience, love, and energy divine
Of heart and soul and spirit, all are thine.
Ah vain attempt, t' expunge the mighty score!
The more I pay, I owe the still the more.
Upon my meanness, poverty, and guilt,
The trophy of thy glory shall be built;
My self-disdain shall be th' unshaken base,
And my deformity, its fairest grace;
For destitute of Good ând rich in Ill,
Must be my state and my description still.
And do 1 grieve at such a humbling lot?
Nay, but I cherish and enjoy the thought-
Vain pageantry and pomp of Earth, adieu !
I have no wish, no memory for you;
The more I feel my mis'ry, I adore
The sacred Inmate of my soul the more;
Rich in his Love, I feel my noblest pride
Spring from the sense of having nought beside.
In Thee I find wealth, comfort, virtue, might;
My wand'rings prove thy wisdom infinite;
All that I have, I give thee; and then see
All contrarieties unite in thee;
For thou hast join'd them, taking up our woe,
And pouring out thy bliss on worms below,
By filling with thy grace and love divine
A gulph of evil in this heart of mine.
This is indeed to bid the valleys rise,
And the hills sink-'tis matching Earth and Skies!
I feel my weakness, thank thee, and deplore
An aching heart that throbs to thank thee more;
The more I love thee, I the more reprove
A soul so lifeless, and so slow to love;
Till, on a deluge of thy mercy toss'd,
I plunge into that sea, and there am lost.
GOD NEITHER KNOWN NOR LOVED
YE Linnets, let us try, beneath this grove,
Which shall be loudest in our Maker's praise!
In quest of some forlorn retreat I rove,
For all the world is blind, and wanders from his ways,
That God alone should prop the sinking soul,
Fills them with rage against his empire now;
I traverse Earth in 'vain from pole to pole,
To seek one simple heart, set free from all below.
They speak of Love, yet little feel its sway,
While in their bosoms many an idol lurks;
Their base desires well satisfied obey,
Leave the Creator's hand, and lean upon his works,
'Tis therefore I can dwell with man no more;
Your fellowship, ye warblers! suits me best:
Pure Love has lost its price, though priz'd of yore,
Profan'd by modern tongues, and slighted as a Jest.
My God, who form'd you for his praise alone,
Beholds his purpose well fulfill'd in you;
Come, let us join the Choir before his throne,
Partaking in his praise with spirits just and true!
Yes, I will always love; and, as I ought,
Tune to the praise of Love my ceaseless voice
Preferring Love too vast for human thought,
In spite of erring men who cavil at my choice.
Why have I not a thousand thousand hearts,
Lord of my soul! that they might all be thine?
If thou approve the zeal thy smile imparts,
How should it ever fail! Can such a fire decline?
Love, pure and holy, is a deathless fire;
Its object heav'nly, it must ever blaze:
Eternal Love, a God must needs inspire,
When once he wins the heart, and fits it for his praise.
Self-love dismissed-'tis then we live indeed-
In her embrace, death, only death is found:
Come then, one noble effort, and succeed,
Cast off the chain of Self with which thy soul is bound!
Oh! I would cry that all the world might hear,
Ye self-tormentors, love your God alone;
Let His unequall'd Excellence be dear,
Dear to your inmost souls, and make him all your own!
They hear me not-alas! how fond to rove
In endless chase of Folly's specious lure!
'Tis here alone, beneath this shady grove,
I taste the sweets of Truth-here only am secure.
|