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Wesley, John, 1703-1791. Wesley, Charles, 1707-1788. Hymns and sacred poems: Published by John Wesley, ... and Charles Wesley, ... London: printed by William Strahan; and sold by James Hutton; and at Mr. Bray's, 1739. x,[6],223,[1]p.; 12⁰. (ESTC T31323; OTA K034809.000)
- HYMNS AND SACRED POEMS.
- THE PREFACE.
- THE CONTENTS.
- EUpolis's Hymn to the Creator Page 1
- Solitude. From the Latin 6
- The Mystery of Life 7
- Epitaph 9
- Virtue. Altered from Herbert ibid.
- Upon listning to the Vibrations of a Clock 10
- Doomsday. From Herbert ibid.
- Spritual Slumber. From the German 12
- Zeal 13
- On reading Mons. de Renty's Life 16
- Vanity. From Herbert ibid.
- Farewell to the World. From the French 17
- Giddiness. From Herbert 19
- To a Friend in Love 20
- She that liveth in Pleasure, &c. 23
- [Page]John xv. 18, 19. 24
- Hymn to Contempt 26
- The Agony. From Herbert 28
- The Thanksgiving. From the same 29
- The Reprizal. From the same 30
- Mattins. From the same 31
- Employment. From the same 32
- The Elixir. From the same 33
- Grace before Meat 34
- Another 35
- Grace after Meat 36
- On Clemens Alexandrinus's Description of a Perfect Christian 37
- Affliction. From Herbert 39
- The Frailty. From the same 41
- The Collar. From the same 42
- Grace. From the same 43
- Gratefulness. From the same 45
- The Method. From the same 46
- Grieve not the Holy Spirit. From the same 47
- The Sigh. From the same 48
- The Flower. From the same 49
- Desertion. From the same 51
- A True Hymn. From the same 52
- The Temper. From the same 53
- The same 54
- Bitter-sweet. From the same 55
- A Hymn for Midnight ibid
- After considering some of his Friends 57
- Religious-Discourse 58
- [Page]Man's Medley. From Herbert 63
- Misery. From the same 65
- The Sinner. From the same 67
- Repentance. From the same 68
- Complaining. From the same 69
- Home. From the same 70
- Longing. From the same 73
- The Search. From the same 75
- Discipline. From the same 77
- Divine Love. From the German 78
- Written in the Beginning of a Recovery from Sickness 80
- After a Recovery from Sickness 82
- A Prayer under Convictions 85
- The 53d Chapter of Isaiah 87
- Looking unto JESUS, &c. 91
- Gal. iii. 22. 92
- Hoping for Grace. From the German 94
- The Dawning. From Herbert 96
- Blessed are they that mourn 97
- The Change. From the German 99
- CHRIST the Friend of Sinners Page 101
- On the Conversion of a Common Harlot 103
- Rom. iv. 5. 105
- Acts i. 4. 106
- [Page]Hymn of Thanksgiving to the Father 107
- Hymn to the Son 108
- Hymn to the Holy Ghost 111
- Praise. From Herbert 113
- The Glance. From the same 115
- Desiring to praise worthily. From the German 116
- Free Grace 117
- The Call. From Herbert 119
- True Praise. From the same ibid
- The Dialogue. From the same 120
- Subjection to CHRIST. From the German 122
- Renouncing all for CHRIST. From the French 123
- The Invitation. From Herbert 125
- The Banquet. From the same 126
- Therefore with Angels, &c. 128
- Glory be to GOD on high, &c. ibid
- Hymn to CHRIST. Altered from Dr. Hickes 130
- On the Crucifixion 131
- Part of the lxiii Chapter of Isaiah. Altered from Mr. Norris 132
- The Magnificat 134
- Psalm xlvi. 135
- Psalm cxiii. 136
- Psalm cxvi. 138
- Psalm cxvii. 139
- Prayer. From Herbert 140
- Trust in Providence. From the German 141
- [Page]In Affliction 144
- In Affliction, or Pain. From the German 145
- Another. From the same 146
- In Desertion or Temptation 147
- Justified, but not sanctified 150
- Isaiah xliii. 1, 2, 3. 153
- The Believer's Support. From the German 154
- Living by CHRIST. From the same 156
- GOD's Love to Mankind. From the same 159
- GOD's Greatness. From the same 161
- Hymn on the Titles of CHRIST 165
- IId Hymn to CHRIST 168
- IIId Hymn to CHRIST 170
- Hymn to CHRIST the King 171
- IId Hymn to CHRIST the King 174
- The Saviour glorified by All. From the German 175
- A Morning Hymn 178
- A Morning Dedication of ourselves to CHRIST. From the German 179
- CHRIST protecting and sanctifying. From the same 181
- Supplication for Grace. From the same 182
- Hymn to the HOLY GHOST 184
- On the Descent of the HOLY GHOST at Pentecost. Altered from Dr. Henry More 185
- Publick Worship from the German 188
- [Page]Prayer to CHRIST before the Sacrament. From the same 189
- Hymn after the Sacrament 190
- Acts ii. 41, &c. 192
- To be sung at Work 193
- Another 194
- GOD with us. From the German 195
- GOD our Portion. From the Spanish 196
- Gratitude for our Conversion. From the German 198
- Boldness in the Gospel. From the same 200
- Acts iv. 29. 202
- Congratulation to a Friend, upon Believing in CHRIST 203
- Hymn for Christmas Day 206
- Hymn for the Epiphany 208
- Hymn for Easter Day 209
- Hymn for Ascension Day 211
- Hymn for Whitsunday 213
- Grace before Meat 215
- At Meals 216
- Grace after Meat 217
- Another 218
- John xvi. 24. 219
- Isaiah li. 9, &c. 222
- HYMNS AND SACRED POEMS. PART I.
- EUPOLIS' Hymn to the Creator. / Rev. Samuel Wesley
- SOLITUDE. From the Latin. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- The Mystery of Life. / Rev. John Gambold
- EPITAPH. / Rev. John Gambold
- VIRTUE. Altered from Herbert.
- Upon list'ning to the Vibrations of a Clock. / Rev. John Gambold
- DOOMSDAY. From Herbert.
- SPIRITUAL SLUMBER. From the German. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- ZEAL. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- On Reading Monsr. de RENTY's Life. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- VANITY. From Herbert.
- FAREWELL to the WORLD. From the French.
- GIDDINESS. From Herbert.
- To a FRIEND in LOVE. / Rev. John Gambold
- 1 TIM. v. 6. She that liveth in Pleasure, is Dead while She liveth. / Rev. John Gambold
- JOHN xv. 18, 19. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HYMN to CONTEMPT. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- The AGONY. From Herbert.
- The THANKSGIVING. From the same.
- The REPRIZAL. From the same.
- MATTINS. From the same.
- EMPLOYMENT. From the same.
- The ELIXIR. From the same.
- GRACE before MEAT. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- Another. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- GRACE after MEAT. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- On CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS'S Description of a Perfect Christian. / Rev. John Gambold
- AFFLICTION. From Herbert.
- FRAILTY. From the same.
- The COLLAR. From the same.
- GRACE. From the same.
- GRATEFULNESS. From the same.
- The METHOD. From the same.
- Grieve not the HOLY SPIRIT. From the same.
- The SIGH. From the same.
- The FLOWER. From the same.
- DESERTION. From the same.
- A TRUE HYMN. From the same.
- The TEMPER. From the same.
- The same.
- BITTER-SWEET. From the same.
- A HYMN for MIDNIGHT. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- After considering some of his Friends. / Rev. John Gambold
- RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE. / Rev. John Gambold
- MAN'S MEDLEY. From Herbert.
- MISERY. From the same.
- The SINNER. From the same.
- REPENTANCE. From the same.
- COMPLAINING. From the same.
- HOME. From the same.
- LONGING. From the same.
- The SEARCH. From the same.
- DISCIPLINE. From the same.
- DIVINE LOVE. From the German. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- Written in the Beginning of a Recovery from Sickness. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- After a Recovery from Sickness. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- A PRAYER under Convictions. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- The 53d Chapter of ISAIAH. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HEB. xii. 2. Looking unto JESUS, the Author and Finisher of our Faith. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- GAL. iii. 22. The Scripture hath concluded all under Sin, that the Promise by Faith of JESUS CHRIST might be given to them that believe. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- Hoping for GRACE. From the German. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- The DAWNING. From Herbert.
- MATTH. V. 3. Blessed are they that mourn. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- The CHANGE. From the German. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- HYMNS AND SACRED POEMS. PART II.
- CHRIST the Friend of Sinners. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- On the Conversion of a Common Harlot. LUKE XV. 10. There is Joy in the Presence of the Angels of GOD over one Sinner that repenteth. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- ROM. iv. 5. To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the Ungodly, his Faith is counted for Righteousness. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- ACTS i. 4. Wait for the Promise of the Father, which ye have heard of me. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HYMN of THANKSGIVING to the FATHER. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HYMN to the SON. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HYMN to the HOLY GHOST. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- PRAISE. From Herbert.
- The GLANCE. From the same.
- Desiring to praise worthily. From the German. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- FREE GRACE. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- The CALL. From Herbert.
- TRUE PRAISE. From the same.
- The DIALOGUE. From the same.
- Subjection to CHRIST. From the German. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- Renouncing all for CHRIST. From the French. Antoinette Bourignon
- The INVITATION. From Herbert.
- The BANQUET. From the same.
- Therefore with Angels, &c. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- Glory be to GOD on high, &c. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HYMN to CHRIST. Altered from Dr. Hickes's Reform'd Devotions.
- On the CRUCIFIXION. / Rev. Samuel Wesley
- Part of the LXIII Chapter of ISAIAH, Altered from Mr. Norris. John Norris
- The MAGNIFICAT. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- PSALM XLVI. / Henry Pitt
- PSALM CXIII. / Rev. Samuel Wesley
- PSALM CXVI. / Rev. Samuel Wesley
- PSALM CXVII. / Rev. Samuel Wesley
- PRAYER. From Herbert.
- TRUST in PROVIDENCE. From the German.
- In AFFLICTION. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- In AFFLICTION, or PAIN. From the German. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- Another. From the same. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- In DESERTION or TEMPTATION. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- JUSTIFIED, but not SANCTIFIED. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- ISAIAH xliii. 1, 2, 3. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- The BELIEVER's SUPPORT. From the German. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- Living by CHRIST. From the German.
- GOD's Love to Mankind. From the same.
- GOD's Greatness. From the same. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- HYMN on the Titles of CHRIST. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- IId HYMN to CHRIST. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- IIId HYMN to CHRIST. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HYMN to CHRIST the King. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- IId HYMN to CHRIST the King. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- The SAVIOUR glorified by All. From the German.
- A MORNING HYMN. / Rev. Charles Wesley (translator)
- A Morning Dedication of ourselves to CHRIST. From the German. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- CHRIST protecting and sanctifying. From the same. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- Supplication for Grace. From the same. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- HYMN to the HOLY GHOST. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- On the Descent of the HOLY GHOST at Pentecost. Altered from Dr. H. More.
- Supplication for Grace. PUBLICK WORSHIP. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- Supplication for Grace. Prayer to CHRIST before the Sacrament. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- HYMN after the Sacrament. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- ACTS ii. 41, &c. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- To be sung at WORK. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- Another. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- GOD with us. From the German. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- GOD our Portion. From the Spanish. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- GRATITUDE for our CONVERSION. From the German.
- BOLDNESS in the GOSPEL. From the same. / Rev. John Wesley (translator)
- ACTS iv. 29. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- Congratulation to a Friend, upon Believing in CHRIST. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HYMN for CHRISTMAS-DAY. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HYMN for the EPIPHANY. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HYMN for EASTER-DAY. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HYMN for ASCENSION-DAY. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- HYMN for WHITSUNDAY. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- GRACE before MEAT. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- At MEALS. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- GRACE after MEAT. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- Another. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- JOHN xvi. 24. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your Joy may be full. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- ISA. li. 9, &c. / Rev. Charles Wesley
- FINIS.
HYMNS AND SACRED POEMS.
Published by JOHN WESLEY, M. A. Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford; AND CHARLES WESLEY, M. A. Student of Christ-Church, Oxford.
Let the Word of CHRIST dwell in You richly in all Wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs, singing with Grace in your Hearts to the Lord. Col. iii. 16.
LONDON: Printed by WILLIAM STRAHAN; and sold by JAMES HUTTON, Bookseller, at the Bible and Sun, without Temple-Bar; and at Mr. BRAY's, a Brazier in Little-Britain.
MDCCXXXIX.
THE PREFACE.
1. SOME Verses, it may be observ'd, in the following Collection, were wrote upon the Scheme of the Mystick Divines. And these, 'tis own'd, we haa once in great Veneration, as the best Explainers of the Gospel of CHRIST. But we are now convinced that we therein greatly err'd: not knowing the Scriptures, neither the Power of GOD. And because this is an Error which many serious Minds are sooner or later exposed to, and which indeed most easily besets those, who seek the LORD JESUS in Sincerity; we believe ourselves indispensably obliged, in the Presence of GOD and Angels, and Men, to declare wherein[Page iv] we apprehend those Writers, Not to teach the Truth as it is in JESUS.
2. And first, we apprehend them to lay Another Foundation. They are carefull indeed to pull down our own Works, and to prove, that by the DEEDS of the Law shall no flesh be justified. But why is this? Only, to establish our own Righteousness in the place of our own Works. They speak largely and well, against expecting to be accepted of GOD for our Virtuous Actions: And then teach, That we are to be accepted, For our Virtuous Habits or Tempers. Still the Ground of our Acceptance is placed in ourselves. The Difference is only this: Common Writers suppose we are to be justified, for the Sake of our Outward Righteousness. These suppose we are to be justified, for the Sake of our Inward Righteousness: Whereas in truth, we are no more justified, for the sake of one than of the other. For neither our own Inward nor Outward Righteousness, is the Ground of our Justification. Holiness of Heart, as well as Holiness of Life, is not the Cause, but the Effect of[Page v] it. The Sole Cause of our Acceptance with GOD (or, That for the Sake of which on the Account of which we are accepted) is the Righteousness and the Death of CHRIST, who fulfilled GOD's Law, and died in our Stead. And even the Condition of it, is not (as they suppose) our Holiness either of Heart of Life: But our Faith Alone; Faith contradistinguish'd from Holiness as well as from Good Works. Other Foundation therefore can no Man lay, without being an Adversary to CHRIST and his Gospel, than Faith Alone, Faith, though necessarily producing both, yet not including either Good Works, or Holiness.
3. But supposing them to have laid the Foundation right, the Manner of building thereon which they advise, is quite opposite to that prescribed by CHRIST. He commands to build up one another. They advise, "To the Desert, to the Desert, and GOD will build you up." Numberless are the Commendations that occur in all their Writings, not of Retirement intermix'd with Conversation, but of an intire Seclusion from Men, (perhaps for[Page vi] Months or Years) in order to purify the Soul. Whereas, according to the Judgment of our Lord, and the Writings of his Apostles, it is only when we are knit together, that we have Nourishment from Him, and increase with the Increase of GOD. Neither is there any time, when the weakest Member can say to the strongest, or the strongest to the weakest, "I have no need of Thee." Accordingly our Blessed Lord, when his Disciples were in their weakest State, sent them forth, not alone, but Two by Two. When they were strengthen'd a little, not by Solitude, but by abiding with him and one another, he commanded them to wait, not separate but being assembled together, for the Promise of the Father. And they were all with one Accord in one Place, when they received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Express mention is made in the same Chapter, that when there were added unto them Three Thousand Souls, all that believed were together, and continued stedfastly not only in the Apostles Doctrine but also in fellowship and in breaking of Bread and in praying with one Accord. Agreeable[Page vii] to which is the Account the Great Apostle gives, of the Manner which he had been taught of GOD, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the edifying of the Body of CHRIST, even to the end of the World. And according to St. Paul, all who will ever come, in the Unity of the Faith, unto a perfect Man, unto the Measure of the Stature of the Fulness of CHRIST, must together grow up into him. From whom the whole Body fitly join'd together and compacted (or strengthen'd) by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual Working in the Measure of every part, maketh Increase of the Body, unto the Edifying of itself in Love. Ephesians iv. 15, 16.
4. So widely distant is the Manner of Building up Souls in CHRIST taught by St. Paul, from that taught by the Mysticks! Nor do they differ as to the Foundation, or the Manner of Building thereon, more than they do with Regard to the Superstructure. For the Religion these Authors wou'd edify us in, is Solitary[Page viii] Religion. If Thou wilt be Perfect, say they, "trouble not thyself about Outward Works. It is better to work Virtues in the Will. He hath attain'd the True Resignation, who hath estranged himself from all Outward Works, that GOD may work inwardly in him, without any turning to Outward Things. These are the true Worshippers, who worship GOD, in Spirit and in Truth." For Contemplation is with them, the fulfilling of the Law, even a Contemplation that "consists in a Cessation of all Works."
5. Directly opposite to this is the Gospel of CHRIST. Solitary Religion is not to be found there. "Holy Solitaries" is a Phrase no more consistent with the Gospel than Holy Adulterers. The Gospel of CHRIST knows of no Religion, but Social; no Holiness but Social Holiness. Faith working by Love, is the length and breadth and depth and height of Christian Perfection. This Commandment have we from CHRIST, that he who love GOD, love his Brother also: And that we manifest our Love,[Page ix] by doing good unto all Men; especially to them that are of the Household of Faith. And in truth, whosoever loveth his Brethren not in Word only, but as CHRIST loved him, cannot but be zealous of Good Works. He feels in his Soul a burning, restless Desire, of spending and being spent for them. My Father, will he say, worketh hitherto and I work, And at all possible Opportunities, he is, like his Master, going about doing good.
6. This then is the Way: Walk Ye in it, whosoever Ye are that have believed in his Name. Ye know, Other Foundation can no Man lay, than that which is laid, even JESUS CHRIST. Ye feel that by Grace Ye are saved thro' Faith; saved from Sin, by CHRIST form'd in your Hearts, and from Fear, by his Spirit bearing Witness with your Spirit, that Ye are the Sons of GOD. Ye are taught of GOD, not to forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as the Manner of some is; but to instruct, admonish, exhort, reprove, comfort, confirm and every Way build up one another. Ye[Page x] have an Unction from the Holy One, that teacheth you to renounce any other or higher Perfection, than Faith working by Love, Faith zealous of Good Works, Faith as it hath opportunity doing good unto all Men. As Ye have therefore received JESUS CHRIST the LORD, so Walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him, and stablish'd in the Faith and abounding therein more and more. Only, beware lest any Man spoil you thro' Philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of Men, after the rudiments of the World, and not after CHRIST. For Ye are complete in Him. He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last. Only continue in Him, grounded and settled and be not moved away from the Hope of the Gospel: And when CHRIST, who is our Life, shall appear, then shall Ye also appear with him in Glory!
THE CONTENTS.
PART I.
PART II.
HYMNS AND SACRED POEMS. PART I.
VIRTUE. Altered from Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
SWEET Day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The Bridal of the Earth and Sky:
The Dew shall weep thy Fall to Night,
For Thou with all thy Sweets must die!
II.
Sweet Rose, so fragrant and so brave,
Dazling the rash Beholder's Eye:
Thy Root is ever in its Grave,
And Thou with all thy Sweets must die!
III.
[Page 10]Sweet Spring, so beauteous and so gay,
Storehouse, where Sweets unnumber'd lie:
Not long thy fading Glories stay,
But Thou with all thy Sweets must die!
IV.
Only a Sweet and Virtuous Mind,
When Nature all in Ruins lies,
When Earth and Heav'n a Period find,
Begins a Life that never dies!
DOOMSDAY. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
[Page 11] "COME to Judgment, come away"!
(Hark, I hear the Angel say,
Summoning the Dust to rise)
"Hast, resume, and lift your Eyes;
" Hear, ye Sons of Adam, hear,
"Man, before thy GOD appear!"
II.
Come to Judgment, come away!
This the Last, the Dreadful Day.
Sov'reign Author, Judge of all,
Dust obeys thy quick'ning Call,
Dust no other Voice will heed:
Thine the Trump that wakes the Dead.
III.
Come to Judgment, come away!
Lingring Man no longer stay;
Thee let Earth at length restore,
Pris'ner in her Womb no more;
Burst the Barriers of the Tomb,
Rise to meet thy instant Doom!
IV.
Come to Judgment, come away!
Wide disperst howe'er ye stray,
Lost in Fire, or Air, or Main,
Kindred Atoms meet again;
Sepulchred where'er ye rest,
Mix'd with Fish, or Bird, or Beast.
V.
Come to Judgment, come away!
Help, O CHRIST, thy Work's Decay:
Man is out of Order hurl'd,
Parcel'd out to all the World;
Lord, thy broken Concert raise,
And the Musick shall be Praise.
VANITY. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
THE fleet Astron'mer travels o'er
The Spheres with his sagacious Mind,
Their Stations views from Door to Door,
As if to purchase he design'd:
[Page 17] Thro' all their circling Orbs he goes,
And all their mazy Wandrings knows.
II.
The nimble Diver with his Side
Cuts thro' the working Waves his Way,
To fetch the Pearl which GOD did hide
On purpose from the View of Day,
That He might save his Life, and hers
Whose Pride the costly Danger wears.
III.
The subtle Chymist can divest
Gay Nature of her various Hue;
Stript of her thousand Forms, confest
She stands, and naked to his View:
At Distance other Suitors stand;
Her inmost Stores wait his Command.
IV.
What has not Man sought out and found,
But GOD? Who yet his glorious Law
Plants in us; mellowing the Ground
With Show'rs and Frost, with Love and Awe.
Poor, busy, foolish Man! For Death
In Fire, and Air, and Sea, and Land,
Thro' Heav'n above, and Earth beneath
Thou seek'st; but missest Life at hand.
FAREWELL to the WORLD. From the French.
[Antoinette Bourignon]
I.
WORLD adieu, Thou real Cheat!
Oft have thy deceitful Charms
[Page 18] Fill'd my Heart with fond Conceit,
Foolish Hopes and false Alarms:
Now I see as clear as Day,
How thy Follies pass away.
II.
Vain thy entertaining Sights,
False thy Promises renew'd,
All the Pomp of thy Delights
Does but flatter and delude:
Thee I quit for Heav'n above,
Object of the noblest Love.
III.
Farewell Honour's empty Pride!
Thy own nice, uncertain Gust,
If the least Mischance betide,
Lays thee lower than the Dust:
Worldly Honours end in Gall,
Rise to Day, to Morrow fall.
IV.
Foolish Vanity farewell,
More inconstant than the Wave!
Where thy soothing Fancies dwell,
Purest Tempers they deprave:
He, to whom I fly, from Thee
JESUS CHRIST shall set me free.
V.
[Page 19]Never shall my wand'ring Mind
Follow after fleeting Toys,
Since in GOD alone I find
Solid and substantial Joys:
Joys that never overpast,
Thro' Eternity shall last.
VI.
LORD, how happy is a Heart
After Thee while it aspires!
True and faithful as Thou art,
Thou shalt answer its Desires:
It shall see the glorious Scene
Of thy Everlasting Reign.
GIDDINESS. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
O What a Thing is Man! from Rest
How widely distant, and from Pow'r!
Some twenty sev'ral Men at least
He seems, he is, each sev'ral Hour.
II.
Heav'n his sole Treasure now he loves;
But let a tempting Thought creep in,
His Coward Soul he soon reproves,
That starts t' admit a pleasing Sin.
III.
Eager he rushes now to War,
Inglorious now dissolves in Ease:
Wealth now engrosses all his Care;
And lavish now he scorns Increase.
IV.
[Page 20]A stately Dome he raises now:
But soon the Dome his Change shall feel;
See, level lies its lofty Brow,
Crush'd by the Whirlwind of his Will.
V.
O what were Man, if his Attire
Still vary'd with his varying Mind!
If we his ev'ry new Desire
Stamp'd on his alt'ring Form could find.
VI.
Could each one see his Neighbour's Heart,
Brethren and Social made in vain,
All would disband and range apart,
And Man detest the Monster Man.
VII.
If GOD refuse our Heart to turn,
Vain will his first Creation be:
O make us daily! Or we spurn
Our own Salvation, Lord, and Thee!
The AGONY. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
VAIN Man has measur'd Land and Sea,
Fathom'd the Depths of States and Kings,
O'er Earth and Heav'n explor'd his Way:
Yet there are Two vast spacious things,
To measure which doth more behove,
Yet few that sound them! Sin and Love.
II.
Who would know Sin, let him repair
To Calvary: There shall he see
A Man so pain'd, that all his Hair,
His Skin, his Garments bloody be!
[Page 29]Sin is that Rack, which forces Pain
To hunt its Food thro' ev'ry Vein.
III.
Wouldst thou know Love? behold the GOD,
The Man, who for thy Ransom dy'd:
Go taste the sacred Fount that flow'd
Fast-streaming from his wounded Side!
Love, is that Liquor most divine,
GOD feels as Blood, but I as Wine.
The THANKSGIVING. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
O King of Grief, (how strange and true
The Name, to JESUS only due!)
How, Saviour, shall I Grieve for Thee?
Who in All Griefs preventest me.
II.
Then let me vie with Thee in Love,
And try who there shall Conq'ror prove.
Giv'st Thou me Wealth? I will restore
All back unto Thee by the Poor.
III.
Giv'st Thou me Honour? All shall see
The Honour doth belong to Thee:
A Bosom-Friend? If false he prove
To Thee, I will tear thence his Love.
IV.
Thee shall my Musick find: each String
Shall have his Attribute to Sing;
[Page 30] And ev'ry Note accord in Thee,
To prove one GOD, one Harmony.
V.
Giv'st Thou me Knowledge? It shall still
Search out thy Ways, thy Works, they Will:
Yea I will search thy Book, nor move
Till I have found therein thy Love.
VI.
Thy Love I will turn back on Thee:
O my dear Saviour, Victory!
Then for thy Passion, I for That
Will do — alas, I know not what!
The REPRIZAL. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WELL have I weigh'd it, Lord, and find
Thy mighty Passion mocks my Skill:
Tho' I die for Thee, I'm behind;
My Sins deserve the Death to feel.
II.
O were I innocent, that I
Might bring Thee Off'rings pure and free!
Still my Attempt thy Wounds defy,
For they require me dead for Thee.
III.
Yet will I share the Conquest too:
Tho' I can do against Thee nought,
In Thee, O Lord, I will subdue
The Man that once against Thee fought!
MATTINS. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
I Cannot open, Lord, mine Eyes,
But Thou art ready still to claim
My Morning Soul in Sacrifice:
Thine then the foll'wing Day I am.
II.
My GOD, what is a Human Heart?
Silver or Gold, or precious Stone;
Or Star, or Rainbow; or a Part
Of All, or all thy World in One?
III.
My GOD what is a Human Heart?
Thou soft'nest it with heav'nly Dew,
Thou pour'st upon it all thy Art,
As all thy Business were to woo.
IV.
To serve his GOD, is Man's Estate;
This glorious Task asks all his Care:
He did not Earth and Heav'n create,
But may know Him by whom they are.
V.
Teach me at last thy Love to know —
That This new Light which now I see
May both the Work and Workman show:
A Sun-beam lifts me then to Thee!
EMPLOYMENT. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
THE Flow'r now blooms, now hangs its Head,
So fleets my shortliv'd Day!
O may my useful Fragrance spread
Before I fade away!
II.
What tho' the Throne I then should fill
At the Great Day, were mine?
The Sweetness, which they gracious Skill
Diffus'd, its Praise were Thine.
III.
Let me not languish then, and spend
A Life dead to thy Praise,
As is the Dust to which I tend
By sure tho' slow Decays!
IV.
All things are busy round but I:
Nor Honey with the Bees,
Nor Scent with Flow'rs, nor Husbandry
Have I to water these.
V.
I am no Link of thy great Chain,
A cumbrous, fruitless Weed:
O mend my Musick! Give one Strain
Ev'n to my useless Reed!
The ELIXIR. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
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!
II.
To scorn the Senses' Sway,
While still to Thee I tend:
In all I do, be Thou the Way,
In all be Thou the End.
III.
A Man that looks on Glass,
On That may fix his Eye;
Or unoppos'd may thro' it pass,
And Heav'n behind descry.
IV.
All may of Thee partake:
Nothing so small can be,
But draws, when acted for thy Sake,
Greatness and Worth from Thee.
V.
[Page 34]If done t' obey thy Laws,
Ev'n Servile Labours shine;
Hallow'd is Toil, if this the Cause,
The meanest Work Divine.
VI.
Th' Elixir This, the Stone
That All converts to Gold:
For that which GOD for His doth own,
Cannot for less be told.
AFFLICTION. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
WHEN first Thou didst entice my Heart
To Thee, I thought the Service brave;
So many Joys I for my Part
Set down; besides what I might have
Out of my Stock of natural Delights,
Augmented by thy gracious Benefits.
II.
I view'd thy Furniture so fine,
So gay, so rich; and All for Me!
Strongly it spoke the Hand Divine,
And lur'd my ravish'd Soul to Thee.
Such Stars I counted mine: both Heav'n and Earth
Paid me my Wages in a World of Mirth.
III.
What Pleasures could I want who serv'd
A King, where Joys my Fellows were?
Still my fond Hopes no Place reserv'd
For pining Grief, or anxious Fear:
Thus did my simple Soul thy Yoke embrace,
And made her Youth and Fierceness seek thy Face.
IV.
[Page 40]At first Thou gav'st me Sweetnesses,
And strew'dst with Flow'rs the narrow Way:
Smoothly my Soul sunk down to Peace,
My ev'ry joyous Month was May.
But with my Years Sorrow did twist and grow.
And made a Party unawares for Woe.
V.
My Flesh chastis'd with tort'ring Pain
My Soul, and Sickness clave my Bones;
Pale Agues dwelt in ev'ry Vein,
And sadly tun'd my Breath to Groans.
Sorrow was all my Soul; I scarce perceiv'd,
But by the Pains I suffer'd, that I liv'd.
VI.
Health's slowly-lingring, vain Return
A far severer Loss attends;
Sudden my ravish'd Life I mourn,
I lose it in my dying Friends.
Defenceless now, my ev'ry Comfort fled,
While Grief's whole Sea is empty'd on my Head.
VII.
How Thou wilt now thy Servant use,
Not one of all my Books can say.
On thy ignobler Works I muse,
And wish like them my GOD t' obey:
Blest, could I emulate the lifeless Mass,
Flow like the Stream, or flourish like the Grass.
VIII.
Yet must I, tho' opprest, submit
Strongly my Mis'ry to sustain —
Or I will now the Service quit,
And strait some other Master gain —
Ah! my dear Lord, tho' I am clean forgot,
Let me not love Thee, if I love Thee not!
FRAILTY. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
LORD, how in Silence I despise
The giddy Worldling's Snare!
This Beauty, Riches, Honour, Toys
Not worth a Moment's Care.
Hence painted Dust, and gilded Clay!
You have no Charms for Me:
Delusive Breath, be far away!
I waste no Thought on thee.
II.
But when abroad at once I view
Both the World's Hosts and Thine!
These simple, sad, afflicted, few,
These num'rous, gay and fine:
Lost my Resolves, my Scorn is past,
I boast my Strength no more;
A willing Slave they bind me fast
With unresisted Pow'r.
III.
O brook not this; let not thy Foes
Profane thy hallow'd Shrine:
Thine is my Soul, by sacred Vows
Of strictest Union Thine!
Hear then my just, tho' late Request,
Once more the Captive free;
Renew thy Image in my Breast,
And claim my Heart for Thee.
The COLLAR. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
NO more, I cry'd, shall Grief be mine,
I will throw off the Load;
No longer weep, and sigh, and pine
To find an Absent GOD.
II.
Free as the Muse, my Wishes move,
Thro' Nature's Wilds they roam:
Loose as the Wind, ye Wand'rers rove,
And bring me Pleasure home!
III.
Still shall I urge with endless Toil,
Yet not obtain my Suit?
Still shall I plant th' ungrateful Soil,
Yet never taste the Fruit?
IV.
Not so, my Heart! — for Fruit there is,
Seize it with eager Haste;
Riot in Joys, dissolve in Bliss,
And pamper ev'ry Taste.
V.
[Page 43]On Right and Wrong thy Thoughts no more
In cold Dispute employ;
Forsake thy Cell, the Bounds pass o'er,
And give a Loose to Joy.
VI.
Conscience and Reason's Pow'r deride,
Let stronger Nature draw,
Self be thy End, and Sense thy Guide,
And Appetite thy Law.
VII.
Away, ye Shades, while light I rise,
I tread you all beneath!
Grasp the dear Hours my Youth supplies,
Nor idly dream of Death.
VIII.
Whoe'er enslav'd to Grief and Pain,
Yet starts from Pleasure's Road,
Still let him weep, and still complain,
And sink beneath his Load —
IX.
But as I rav'd, and grew more wild
And fierce at ev'ry Word,
Methought I heard One calling "Child!"
And I reply'd — "My Lord!"
GRACE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
[Page 44]MY Stock lies dead, and no Increase
Does thy Past Gifts improve:
O let thy Graces without cease
Drop gently from above.
II.
If still the Sun should hide his Face,
Earth would a Dungeon prove,
Thy Works Night's Captives: O let Grace
Drop gently from above.
III.
The Dew unsought each Morning falls,
Less bounteous is thy Dove?
The Dew for which my Spirit calls,
Drop gently from above.
IV.
Death is still digging like a Mole
My Grave, where'er I move;
Let Grace work too, and on my Soul
Drop gently from above.
V.
Sin is still spreading o'er my Heart
A Hardness void of Love;
Let suppling Grace, to cross her Art,
Drop gently from above.
VI.
O come; for Thou dost know the Way!
Or if Thou wilt not move,
Translate me, where I need not say
Drop gently from above.
GRATEFULNESS. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
THOU, who hast giv'n so much to me,
O give a grateful Heart:
See how thy Beggar works on Thee
By acceptable Art!
II.
He makes thy Gifts occasion more;
And says, if here he's crost,
All Thou hast giv'n him heretofore,
Thyself, and All is lost.
III.
But Thou didst reckon, when at first
Our Wants thy Aid did crave,
What it would come to at the worst
Such needy Worms to save.
IV.
Perpetual Knockings at thy Door,
Tears sullying all thy Rooms;
Gift upon Gift; much would have more,
And still thy Suppliant comes.
V.
[Page 46]Yet thy unweary'd Love went on;
Allow'd us all our Noise;
Nay Thou hast dignify'd a Groan,
And made a Sigh thy Joys.
VI.
Wherefore I cry, and cry again,
Nor canst Thou quiet be,
Till my repeated Suit obtain
A Thankful Heart from Thee.
VII.
Hear then, and Thankfulness impart
Continual as thy Grace;
O add to all thy Gifts a Heart
Whose Pulse may be thy Praise!
The METHOD. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
LAment, unhappy Heart, lament!
Since GOD refuses still
To hear thy Pray'r, some Discontent
Unknown must cool his Will.
II.
Doubtless thy heav'nly Father could
Give All thy Suit does move;
For He is Pow'r: And sure He would
Give All; for He is Love.
III.
[Page 47]Go then the secret Cause explore,
Go search thy inmost Soul:
Let Earth divide thy Care no more,
Since Heav'n requires the Whole.
IV.
Ha! What do I here written see?
It tells me "Yesterday
Cold I prefer'd my careless Plea,
And only seem'd to Pray".
V.
But stay — What read I written there?
"Something I would have done;
His Spirit mov'd me to forbear,
Yet boldly I went on."
VI.
Then bend once more thy Knees and pray,
Once more lift up thy Voice:
Seek Pardon first; and GOD will say
"Again, Glad Heart, rejoice."
Grieve not the HOLY SPIRIT. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
AND art thou griev'd, O Sacred Dove,
When I despise or cross thy Love?
Griev'd for a Worm; when ev'ry Tread
Crushes, and leaves the Reptile dead!
II.
[Page 48]Then Mirth be ever banish'd hence,
Since Thou art pain'd by my Offence;
I sin not to my Grief alone,
The Comforter within doth groan.
III.
Then weep my Eyes, for GOD doth grieve!
Weep, foolish Heart, and weeping live:
Tears for the Living Mourner plead,
But ne'er avail the hopeless Dead.
IV.
Lord, I adjudge myself to Grief,
To endless Tears without Relief:
Yet O! t' exact thy Due forbear,
And spare a feeble Creature, spare!
V.
Still if I wail not, (still to wail
Nature denies, and Flesh would fail)
Lord, pardon — for thy Son makes good
My Want of Tears, with Store of Blood.
The SIGH. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
MY Heart did heave, and there came forth "O GOD!"
By that I knew that Thou wast in the Grief,
(Making a Golden Sceptre of thy Rod)
To guide and govern it to my Relief.
Hadst Thou not had a more than equal Part,
Sure the unruly Sigh had broke my Heart.
II.
But since thy Will my Bounds of Life assign'd,
Thou know'st my Frame: and if a single Sigh
Ask so much Breath, what then remains behind?
Why! if some Years of Life together fly,
[Page 49] The swiftly-wafting Sigh then only is
A Gale to bring me sooner to my Bliss!
III.
Thy Life on Earth was Grief: to this Thou still
Art constant, while thy suff'ring Majesty
Touch'd with my Mis'ry, feels whate'er I feel,
Adopts my Woes, and daily grieves in me.
Thy Death was but begun on Calvary;
Thou ev'ry Hour dost in thy Members die!
The FLOWER. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WHILE sad my Heart, and blasted mourns,
How chearing, Lord, and thy Returns,
How sweet the Life, the Joys they bring!
Grief in thy Presence melts away.
Refresh'd I hail the gladsome Day,
As Flow'rs salute the rising Spring.
II.
Who would have thought my wither'd Heart
Again should feel thy sov'reign Art,
A kindly Warmth again should know?
Late like the Flow'r, whose drooping Head
Sinks down, and seeks its native Bed
To see the Mother-Root below.
III.
These are thy Wonders, Lord of Pow'r,
Killing and Quick'ning! One short Hour
Lifts up to Heav'n, and sinks to Hell:
[Page 50] Thy Will supreme disposes All;
We prove thy Justice in our Fall,
Thy Mercy in our Rise we feel.
IV.
O that my Latest Change were o'er!
O were I plac'd where Sin no more
With its Attendant Grief, could come!
Stranger to Change, I then should rise
Amidst the Plants of Paradise,
And flourish in Eternal Bloom.
V.
Many a Spring since here I grew,
I seem'd my Verdure to renew,
And higher still to rise and higher:
Water'd by Tears, and fan'd by Sighs,
I pour'd my Fragrance thro' the Skies,
And heav'nward ever seem'd t' aspire.
VI.
But while I grow, as Heav'n were mine,
Thine Anger comes, and I decline;
Faded my Bloom, my Glory lost:
Who can the deadly Cold sustain,
Or stand beneath the chilling Pain
When blasted by thine Anger's Frost?
VII.
[Page 51]And now in Age I bud again,
Once more I feel the Vernal Rain,
Tho' dead so oft I live and write:
Sure I but dream! It cannot be
That I, my GOD, that I am He
On whom thy Tempests fell all Night!
VIII.
These are thy Wonders, Lord of Love,
Thy Mercy thus delights to prove
We are but Flow'rs that bloom and die!
Soon as This saving Truth we see,
Within thy Garden plac'd by Thee,
Time we survive, and Death defy.
DESERTION. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
JOY of my Soul, when Thou art gone,
And I (which cannot be) Alone;
(It cannot, Lord! for I on Thee
Depend, and Thou abid'st in me.)
II.
But when Thou dost the Sense repress,
Th' extatic Influence of thy Grace;
Seem to desert thy lov'd Abode,
And leave me sunk beneath my Load:
III.
O what a Damp and deadly Shade,
What Horrors then my Soul invade!
Less ghastly low'rs the gloomiest Night
Than the Eclipse that veils thy Light.
IV.
[Page 52]O do not, do not thus withdraw,
Lest Sin surprize me void of Awe,
And when Thou dost but shine less clear,
Say boldly, That Thou art not here.
V.
Thou, Lord, and only Thou canst tell
How dead the Life which then I feel;
Pursu'd by Sin's insulting Boast,
That "I may seek — but Thou art lost!"
VI.
I half believe (the deadly Cold
Does all my Pow'rs so fast infold)
That Sin says true. But while I grieve,
Again I see thy Face, and Live!
A TRUE HYMN. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
MY Joy, my Life, my Crown of Bliss,
My Heart was musing all the Day,
Fain would it speak; yet only this,
"My Joy, my Life, my Crown," could say
II.
Few as they are, and void of Art,
Yet slight not, Lord, these humble Words
Fine is that Hymn which speaks the Heart,
The Heart that to the Lines accords.
III.
[Page 53]He, who requires his Creature's Time,
And all his Soul, and Strength and Mind,
Complains, if Heartless flows the Rhyme,
What makes the Hymn is still behind:
IV.
The scanty Verse Himself supplies,
Let but the fervent Heart be mov'd;
And when it says with longing Sighs
"O could I love!" GOD writeth "Lov'd!"
The TEMPER. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
O Lord, how gladly would my Rhymes
Engrave thy Love in Steel,
If what my Soul doth feel sometimes,
My Soul might ever feel!
II.
Tho' there were forty Heav'ns or more,
Sometimes I mount them all;
Sometimes I hardly reach a Score,
Sometimes to Hell I fall.
III.
Rack me not to such vast Extent;
These Lengths belong to Thee;
The World's too little for thy Tent,
A Grave too big for me.
IV.
[Page 54]O mete not Arms with Man, nor stretch
A Worm from Heav'n to Hell!
Strive not with Dust, nor let a Wretch
Thy Pow'r Almighty feel.
V.
Yet take thy Way: thy Way is best;
Grant or deny me Ease:
This is but tuning of my Breast,
To make the Musick please.
VI.
Rise I to Heav'n, or sink to Dust,
In both, thy Hands appear;
Thy Pow'r and Love, my Love and Trust
Make One Place Ev'ry where I
The same.
[George Herbert]
I.
IT cannot be! Is this the Heart
That swelled so late with mighty Joy?
Lord, if Thou needs must use thy Dart,
Spare thy own Gifts, and Sin destroy.
II.
The Greater World knows no Decay;
But thy Diviner World of Grace
A new Creator ev'ry Day
Thou suddenly dost rear or rase.
III.
[Page 55]Set up thy Kingdom in my Heart,
That all my Pow'rs thy Sway may own:
For ah! my Lord, if Thou depart,
Strait rebel Nature mounts thy Throne.
IV.
Tho' Heav'n be mov'd, may I remain
Stedfast, and centred firm on Thee:
Here six thy Court, and still maintain
A standing Majesty in me!
BITTER-SWEET. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
AH my dear, angry Lord,
Since Thou dost love, yet strike,
Cast down, and yet thy Help afford,
Sure I will do the like.
II.
I will complain, yet praise,
Bewail, and yet approve,
And all my mournful, joyful Days
I will lament, and love.
MAN'S MEDLEY. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
HARK how the Woods with Musick ring,
How sweet the feather'd Minstrels sing!
They have Their Joys, and Man has His:
Yet, if we judge our State aright,
The present is not Man's Delight,
Hereafter brings his Perfect Bliss.
II.
This Life belongs to Things of Sense,
Justly to this They make Pretence;
[Page 64] Angels possess the Next by Birth:
Man, grov'ling glorious Man alone
Angel and Brute unites in one,
While this Hand Heav'n, that touches Earth.
III.
Glorious in Soul, he mounts and flies,
Grov'ling in Flesh, he sinks and dies:
His Treasure holds in Earth confin'd —
The Body's Calls forbid to hear,
Born to regard with list'ning Ear,
The Dictates of his nobler Mind.
IV.
Not but his gracious Master here
Allows and bids him taste the Cheer:
As Birds, that drinking lift their Head,
Thankful like them he bids him drink,
And of those Streams of Pleasure think
That ever chear th' Immortal Dead.
V.
His Joys are Double — And his Pains;
While of Two Winters he complains,
The Brute Creation feels but One:
Round, and Within him Tempests roll;
Frost chills his Veins, and Thought his Soul;
Two Deaths he fears, and He alone.
VI.
Yet ev'n the sharpest heaviest Grief
May with it bring its own Relief,
If right his State the Suff'rer weighs:
Happy the Man, who finds the Art
To turn, by Thankfulness of Heart,
His double Pains to double Praise!
MISERY. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
LORD, let the Angels praise thy Name,
Man is a Feeble, Foolish thing!
Folly and Sin play all his Game,
Still burns his House, He still doth sing:
To day he's here, to Morrow gone,
The Madman knows it — and sings on.
II.
How canst Thou brook his Foolishness?
When heedless of the Voice Divine,
Himself alone he seeks to please,
And carnal Joys prefers to Thine,
Eager thro' Nature's Wilds to rove,
Nor aw'd by Fear, nor charm'd by Love.
III.
What strange Pollutions does he wed,
Slave to his Senses and to Sin!
Naked of GOD, his Guilty Head
He strives in Midnight Shades to skreen:
Fondly he hopes from Thee to fly,
Unmark'd by thine all-seeing Eye.
IV.
[Page 66]The best of Men to Evil yield,
If but the slightest Trial come;
They fall, by Thee no more upheld:
And when Affliction calls them home,
Thy gentle Rod they scarce endure,
And murmur to accept their Cure.
V.
Wayward they haste, while Nature leads,
T' escape Thee; but thy Gracious Dove
Still mildly o'er their Folly spreads
The Wings of his expanded Love:
Thou bring'st them back, nor suff'rest those
Who Would be, to Remain thy Foes.
VI.
My GOD, thy Name Man cannot praise,
All Brightness Thou, all Purity!
The Sun in his Meridian Blaze
Is Darkness, if compar'd to Thee.
O how shall sinful Worms proclaim,
Shall Man presume to speak thy Name?
VII.
Man cannot serve Thee: All his Care
Engross'd by grov'ling Appetite,
Is fixt on Earth; his Treasure there,
His Portion, and his base Delight:
He starts from Virtue's thorny Road,
Alive to Sin, but dead to GOD!
VIII.
Ah foolish Man, where are thine Eyes?
Lost in a Crowd of Earthly Cares:
Thy Indolence neglects to rise,
While Husks to Heav'n thy Soul prefers;
Careless the starry Crown to seize,
By Pleasure bound, or lull'd by Ease.
IX.
To GOD, thro' all Creation's Bounds
Th' unconscious Kinds their Homage bring;
His Praise thro' Ev'ry Grove resounds,
Nor know the Warblers whom they sing:
[Page 67] But Man, Lord of the Creatures, knows
The Source from whence their being flows.
X.
He owns a GOD — but eyes him not,
But lets his mad Disorders reign:
They make his Life a constant Blot,
And Blood Divine an Off'ring vain.
Ah Wretch! thy Heart unsearchable,
Thy Ways mysterious who can tell!
XI.
Perfect at first, and blest his State,
Man in his Maker's Image shone;
In Innocence divinely great
He liv'd; he liv'd to GOD alone:
His Heart was Love, his Pulse was Praise,
And Light and Glory deck'd his Face.
XII.
But alter'd now and faln he is,
Immerst in Flesh, and dead within;
Dead to the Taste of native Bliss,
And ever sinking into Sin:
Nay by his wretched Self undone.
Such is Man's State — And such my own!
The SINNER. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WHEN all the Secrets of my Heart
With Horror, Lord, I see,
Thine is, I find, the smallest Part,
Tho' All be due to Thee.
[Page 68]Thy Footsteps scarce appear within,
But Lusts a countless Crowd;
Th'immense Circumference is Sin,
A Point is all my Good.
II.
O break my Bonds, let Sin enthrall
My struggling Soul no more;
Hear thy fall'n Creature's feeble Call,
Thine Image O restore!
And tho' my Heart senseless and hard
To Thee can scarcely groan,
Yet O remember, gracious Lord,
Thou once didst write in Stone!
REPENTANCE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
LORD, I confess my Sin is great,
Great is my Sin! O gently treat
Thy tender Flow'r, thy fading Bloom,
Whose LIfe's still aiming at a Tomb.
II.
Have Mercy, Lord! Lo I confess
I feel, I mourn my Foolishness:
O spare me, whom thy Hands have made,
A with'ring Leaf, a fleeting Shade.
III.
[Page 69]Sweeten at length this bitter Bowl
Which Thou hast pour'd into my Soul!
O tarry not! If still Thou stay,
Here sets in Death my short-liv'd Day.
IV.
When Thou for Sin rebukest Man,
His drooping Heart is fill'd with Pain;
Blasted his Strength, his Beauty too
Consumes away as Morning Dew.
V.
When wilt Thou Sin and Grief destroy
That all the broken Bones may joy;
And at thy all-reviving Word
Dead Sinners rise, and praise the Lord?
COMPLAINING. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
THOU, Lord, my Pow'r and Wisdom art,
O do not then reject my Heart!
Thy Clay that weeps, thy Dust I am
That calls, O put me not to Shame!
II.
Thy Glories, Lord, in all things shine,
Thine is the Deed, the Praise is Thine:
A seeble helpless Creature. I
Do at thy Pleasure live or die.
III.
[Page 70]Art Thou All Justice? — shews thy Word
Thro' Ev'ry Page and Angry Lord?
Am I all Tears? — Is this to live?
Is all my Business here, to grieve?
IV.
Fill not my Life's short Hour with Pain:
Or, O contract the Wretched Span;
So shall I mount from Sorrow free,
And find Relief and Heav'n in Thee!
HOME. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
FAINT is my Head, and sick my Heart,
While Thou dost ever, ever stay!
Fixt in my Soul I feel thy Dart,
Groaning I feel it Night and Day:
Come, Lord, and shew Thyself to me,
Or take, O take me up to Thee!
II.
Canst Thou with-hold thy healing Grace,
So kindly lavish of thy Blood;
When swiftly trickling down thy Face,
For Me the purple Current flow'd!
Come Lord, and shew, &c.
III.
[Page 71]When Man was lost, LOVE look'd about,
To see what Help in Earth or Sky:
In vain; for none appear'd without,
The Help did in thy Bosom lie!
Come, Lord, &c.
IV.
There lay thy Son: but left his Rest
Thraldom and Mis'ry to remove
From those, who Glory once possest,
But wantonly abus'd thy Love.
Come, Lord, &c.
V.
He came — O my Redeemer dear!
And canst Thou after this be strange?
Not yet within my Heart appear!
Can Love like Thine or fail or change?
Come Lord, &c.
VI.
But if Thou tarriest, why must I?
My GOD, what is this World to me!
This World of Woe — hence let them fly,
The Clouds that part my Soul and Thee.
Come, Lord, &c.
VII.
Why should this weary World delight,
Or Sense th'immortal Spirit bind?
Why should frail Beauty's Charms invite,
The trifling Charms of Womankind?
Come, Lord, &c.
VIII.
[Page 72]A Sigh Thou breath'st into my Heart,
And earthly Joys I view with Scorn:
Far from my Soul, ye Dreams depart,
Nor mock me with your vain Return!
Come, Lord, &c.
IX.
Sorrow and Sin, and Loss and Pain
Are all that here on Earth we see;
Restless we pant for Ease in vain,
In vain — till Ease we find in Thee.
Come, Lord, &c.
X.
Idly we talk of Harvests here,
Eternity our Harvest is:
Grace brings the great Sabbatic Year,
When ripen'd into Glorious Bliss.
Come, Lord, &c.
XI.
O loose this Frame, Life's Knot untie,
That my free Soul may use her Wing;
Now pinion'd with Mortality,
A weak, entangled, wretched Thing!
Come, Lord, &c.
XII.
Why should I longer stay and groan?
The most of me to Heav'n is fled:
My Thoughts and Joys are thither gone;
To all below I now am dead.
Come, Lord, &c.
XIII.
Come, dearest Lord! my Soul's Desire
With eager Pantings gasps for Home:
Thee, Thee my restless Hopes require;
My Flesh and Spirit bid Thee come!
Come, Lord, and shew Thyself to me,
Or take, O take me up to Thee!
LONGING. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WITH bending Knees, and aking Eyes,
Weary and faint, to Thee my Cries,
To Thee my Tears, my Groans I send:
O when shall my Complainings end?
II.
Wither'd my Heart, like barren Ground
Accurst of GOD; my Head turns round,
My Throat is hoarse: I faint, I fall,
Yet falling still for Pity call.
III.
Eternal Streams of Pity flow
From Thee their Source to Earth below:
Mothers are kind, because Thou art,
Thy Tenderness o'erflows their Heart.
IV.
LORD of my Soul, bow down thine Ear,
Hear, Bowels of Compassion, hear!
O give not to the Winds my Pray'r:
Thy Name, thy hallow'd Name is there!
V.
[Page 74]Look on my Sorrows, mark them well,
The Shame, the Pangs, the Fires I feel:
Consider, LORD; thine Ear incline!
Thy Son hath made my Suff'rings Thine.
VI.
Thou, JESU, on th' accursed Tree
Didst bow thy Dying Head for me;
Incline it now! Who made the Ear,
Shall he; shall He forget to hear!
VII.
See thy poor Dust, in Pity see,
It stirs, it creeps, it aims at Thee!
Haste, save it from the greedy Tomb!
Come! — Ev'ry Atom bids Thee come!
VIII.
'Tis Thine to help! Forget me not!
O be thy Mercy ne'er forgot!
Lock'd is thy Ear? Yet still my Plea
May speed: for Mercy keeps the Key.
IX.
Thou tarriest, while I sink, I die,
And fall to Nothing! Thou on high
Seest me Undone. Yet am I stil'd
By Thee (lost as I am) thy Child!
X.
Didst Thou for This forsake thy Throne?
Where are thy Ancient Mercies gone?
Why should my Pain my Guilt survive,
And Sin be dead, yet Sorrow live?
XI.
[Page 75]Yet Sin is dead; And yet abide
Thy Promises; they speak, they chide:
They in thy Bosom pour my Tears,
And my Complaints present as Theirs.
XII.
Hear, JESU! hear my broken Heart!
Broken so long, that ev'ry Part
Hath got a Tongue that ne'er shall cease,
Till Thou pronounce "Depart in Peace."
XIII.
My Love, my Saviour, hear my Cry;
By these thy Feet at which I lie!
Pluck out thy Dart! Regard my Sighs;
Now heal my Soul, or now it dies.
The SEARCH. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WHITHER, O whither art Thou fled,
My Saviour and my Love?
My Searches are my daily Bread,
Yet unsuccessful prove.
My Knees on Earth, on Heav'n mine Eye
Is fixt; and yet the Sphere,
And yet the Center both deny
That Thou, my GOD, art there.
II.
[Page 76]Yet can I mark that Herbs below
Their fragrant Greens display,
As if to meet Thee They did know,
While wither'd I decay.
Yet can I mark how Stars above
With conscious Lustre shine,
Their Glories borrowing from thy Love,
While I in Darkness pine.
III.
I sent a Sigh to seek Thee out,
Drawn from my Heart in Pain,
Wing'd like an Arrow; but my Scout
Return'd alas! in vain.
Another from my endless Store
I turn'd into a Groan,
Because the Search was dumb before:
But all alas! was one.
IV.
Where is my GOD? What secret Place
Still holds, and hides Thee still?
What Covert dares eclipse thy Face? —
Is it thy Awful Will?
O let not That thy Presence bound:
Rather let Walls of Brass,
Let Seas and Mountains gird Thee round,
And I thro' all will pass.
V.
Thy Will so vast a Distance is,
Remotest Points combine,
East touches West, compared to this,
And Heav'n and Hell conjoin.
Take then these Bars, these Lengths away,
Turn and restore my Soul:
Thy Love Omnipotent display,
Approach! and make me whole.
VI.
When Thou, my LORD, my GOD art nigh,
Nor Life, nor Death can move,
Nor deepest Hell, nor Pow'rs on high
Can part me from thy Love.
[Page 77]For as thy Absence passes far
The widest Distance known,
Thy Presence brings my Soul so near,
That Thou and I are One!
DISCIPLINE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
O Throw away thy Rod,
O throw away thy Wrath!
My Gracious Saviour and my GOD,
O take the gentle Path.
II.
Thou feest, my Heart's Desire
Still unto Thee is bent:
Still does my longing Soul aspire
To an entire Consent.
III.
Not ev'n a Word or Look
Do I approve or own,
But by the Model of thy Book,
Thy sacred Book alone.
IV.
Altho' I fail, I weep;
Altho' I halt in pace,
Yet still with trembling Steps I creep
Unto the Throne of Grace.
V.
[Page 78]O then let Wrath remove:
For Love will do the Deed!
Love will the Conquest gain; with Love
Ev'n stony Hearts will bleed.
VI.
For Love is swift of Foot,
Love is a Man of War;
Love can resistless Arrows shoot,
And hit the Mark from far.
VII.
Who can escape his Bow?
That which hath wrought on Thee,
Which brought the King of Glory low,
Must surely work on me.
VIII.
O throw away thy Rod;
What tho' Man Frailties hath?
Thou art my Saviour and my GOD!
O throw away thy Wrath!
The DAWNING. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
[Page 97]AWAKE, sad Heart, whom Sorrows drown,
Lift up thine Eyes, and cease to mourn,
Unfold thy Forehead's settled Frown;
Thy Saviour, and thy Joys return.
II.
Awake, sad drooping Heart, awake!
No more lament, and pine, and cry:
His Death Thou ever dost partake,
Partake at last his Victory.
III.
Arise; if thou dost not withstand,
CHRIST's Resurrection Thine may be:
O break not from the Gracious Hand
Which, as it rises, raises Thee.
V.
Chear'd by thy Saviour's Sorrows rise;
He griev'd, that Thou mayst cease to grieve;
Dry with his Burial Cloths thine Eyes,
He dy'd Himself, that Thou mayst live!
VIRTUE. Altered from Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
SWEET Day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The Bridal of the Earth and Sky:
The Dew shall weep thy Fall to Night,
For Thou with all thy Sweets must die!
II.
Sweet Rose, so fragrant and so brave,
Dazling the rash Beholder's Eye:
Thy Root is ever in its Grave,
And Thou with all thy Sweets must die!
III.
[Page 10]Sweet Spring, so beauteous and so gay,
Storehouse, where Sweets unnumber'd lie:
Not long thy fading Glories stay,
But Thou with all thy Sweets must die!
IV.
Only a Sweet and Virtuous Mind,
When Nature all in Ruins lies,
When Earth and Heav'n a Period find,
Begins a Life that never dies!
DOOMSDAY. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
[Page 11] "COME to Judgment, come away"!
(Hark, I hear the Angel say,
Summoning the Dust to rise)
"Hast, resume, and lift your Eyes;
" Hear, ye Sons of Adam, hear,
"Man, before thy GOD appear!"
II.
Come to Judgment, come away!
This the Last, the Dreadful Day.
Sov'reign Author, Judge of all,
Dust obeys thy quick'ning Call,
Dust no other Voice will heed:
Thine the Trump that wakes the Dead.
III.
Come to Judgment, come away!
Lingring Man no longer stay;
Thee let Earth at length restore,
Pris'ner in her Womb no more;
Burst the Barriers of the Tomb,
Rise to meet thy instant Doom!
IV.
Come to Judgment, come away!
Wide disperst howe'er ye stray,
Lost in Fire, or Air, or Main,
Kindred Atoms meet again;
Sepulchred where'er ye rest,
Mix'd with Fish, or Bird, or Beast.
V.
Come to Judgment, come away!
Help, O CHRIST, thy Work's Decay:
Man is out of Order hurl'd,
Parcel'd out to all the World;
Lord, thy broken Concert raise,
And the Musick shall be Praise.
VANITY. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
THE fleet Astron'mer travels o'er
The Spheres with his sagacious Mind,
Their Stations views from Door to Door,
As if to purchase he design'd:
[Page 17] Thro' all their circling Orbs he goes,
And all their mazy Wandrings knows.
II.
The nimble Diver with his Side
Cuts thro' the working Waves his Way,
To fetch the Pearl which GOD did hide
On purpose from the View of Day,
That He might save his Life, and hers
Whose Pride the costly Danger wears.
III.
The subtle Chymist can divest
Gay Nature of her various Hue;
Stript of her thousand Forms, confest
She stands, and naked to his View:
At Distance other Suitors stand;
Her inmost Stores wait his Command.
IV.
What has not Man sought out and found,
But GOD? Who yet his glorious Law
Plants in us; mellowing the Ground
With Show'rs and Frost, with Love and Awe.
Poor, busy, foolish Man! For Death
In Fire, and Air, and Sea, and Land,
Thro' Heav'n above, and Earth beneath
Thou seek'st; but missest Life at hand.
FAREWELL to the WORLD. From the French.
[Antoinette Bourignon]
I.
WORLD adieu, Thou real Cheat!
Oft have thy deceitful Charms
[Page 18] Fill'd my Heart with fond Conceit,
Foolish Hopes and false Alarms:
Now I see as clear as Day,
How thy Follies pass away.
II.
Vain thy entertaining Sights,
False thy Promises renew'd,
All the Pomp of thy Delights
Does but flatter and delude:
Thee I quit for Heav'n above,
Object of the noblest Love.
III.
Farewell Honour's empty Pride!
Thy own nice, uncertain Gust,
If the least Mischance betide,
Lays thee lower than the Dust:
Worldly Honours end in Gall,
Rise to Day, to Morrow fall.
IV.
Foolish Vanity farewell,
More inconstant than the Wave!
Where thy soothing Fancies dwell,
Purest Tempers they deprave:
He, to whom I fly, from Thee
JESUS CHRIST shall set me free.
V.
[Page 19]Never shall my wand'ring Mind
Follow after fleeting Toys,
Since in GOD alone I find
Solid and substantial Joys:
Joys that never overpast,
Thro' Eternity shall last.
VI.
LORD, how happy is a Heart
After Thee while it aspires!
True and faithful as Thou art,
Thou shalt answer its Desires:
It shall see the glorious Scene
Of thy Everlasting Reign.
GIDDINESS. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
O What a Thing is Man! from Rest
How widely distant, and from Pow'r!
Some twenty sev'ral Men at least
He seems, he is, each sev'ral Hour.
II.
Heav'n his sole Treasure now he loves;
But let a tempting Thought creep in,
His Coward Soul he soon reproves,
That starts t' admit a pleasing Sin.
III.
Eager he rushes now to War,
Inglorious now dissolves in Ease:
Wealth now engrosses all his Care;
And lavish now he scorns Increase.
IV.
[Page 20]A stately Dome he raises now:
But soon the Dome his Change shall feel;
See, level lies its lofty Brow,
Crush'd by the Whirlwind of his Will.
V.
O what were Man, if his Attire
Still vary'd with his varying Mind!
If we his ev'ry new Desire
Stamp'd on his alt'ring Form could find.
VI.
Could each one see his Neighbour's Heart,
Brethren and Social made in vain,
All would disband and range apart,
And Man detest the Monster Man.
VII.
If GOD refuse our Heart to turn,
Vain will his first Creation be:
O make us daily! Or we spurn
Our own Salvation, Lord, and Thee!
The AGONY. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
VAIN Man has measur'd Land and Sea,
Fathom'd the Depths of States and Kings,
O'er Earth and Heav'n explor'd his Way:
Yet there are Two vast spacious things,
To measure which doth more behove,
Yet few that sound them! Sin and Love.
II.
Who would know Sin, let him repair
To Calvary: There shall he see
A Man so pain'd, that all his Hair,
His Skin, his Garments bloody be!
[Page 29]Sin is that Rack, which forces Pain
To hunt its Food thro' ev'ry Vein.
III.
Wouldst thou know Love? behold the GOD,
The Man, who for thy Ransom dy'd:
Go taste the sacred Fount that flow'd
Fast-streaming from his wounded Side!
Love, is that Liquor most divine,
GOD feels as Blood, but I as Wine.
The THANKSGIVING. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
O King of Grief, (how strange and true
The Name, to JESUS only due!)
How, Saviour, shall I Grieve for Thee?
Who in All Griefs preventest me.
II.
Then let me vie with Thee in Love,
And try who there shall Conq'ror prove.
Giv'st Thou me Wealth? I will restore
All back unto Thee by the Poor.
III.
Giv'st Thou me Honour? All shall see
The Honour doth belong to Thee:
A Bosom-Friend? If false he prove
To Thee, I will tear thence his Love.
IV.
Thee shall my Musick find: each String
Shall have his Attribute to Sing;
[Page 30] And ev'ry Note accord in Thee,
To prove one GOD, one Harmony.
V.
Giv'st Thou me Knowledge? It shall still
Search out thy Ways, thy Works, they Will:
Yea I will search thy Book, nor move
Till I have found therein thy Love.
VI.
Thy Love I will turn back on Thee:
O my dear Saviour, Victory!
Then for thy Passion, I for That
Will do — alas, I know not what!
The REPRIZAL. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WELL have I weigh'd it, Lord, and find
Thy mighty Passion mocks my Skill:
Tho' I die for Thee, I'm behind;
My Sins deserve the Death to feel.
II.
O were I innocent, that I
Might bring Thee Off'rings pure and free!
Still my Attempt thy Wounds defy,
For they require me dead for Thee.
III.
Yet will I share the Conquest too:
Tho' I can do against Thee nought,
In Thee, O Lord, I will subdue
The Man that once against Thee fought!
MATTINS. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
I Cannot open, Lord, mine Eyes,
But Thou art ready still to claim
My Morning Soul in Sacrifice:
Thine then the foll'wing Day I am.
II.
My GOD, what is a Human Heart?
Silver or Gold, or precious Stone;
Or Star, or Rainbow; or a Part
Of All, or all thy World in One?
III.
My GOD what is a Human Heart?
Thou soft'nest it with heav'nly Dew,
Thou pour'st upon it all thy Art,
As all thy Business were to woo.
IV.
To serve his GOD, is Man's Estate;
This glorious Task asks all his Care:
He did not Earth and Heav'n create,
But may know Him by whom they are.
V.
Teach me at last thy Love to know —
That This new Light which now I see
May both the Work and Workman show:
A Sun-beam lifts me then to Thee!
EMPLOYMENT. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
THE Flow'r now blooms, now hangs its Head,
So fleets my shortliv'd Day!
O may my useful Fragrance spread
Before I fade away!
II.
What tho' the Throne I then should fill
At the Great Day, were mine?
The Sweetness, which they gracious Skill
Diffus'd, its Praise were Thine.
III.
Let me not languish then, and spend
A Life dead to thy Praise,
As is the Dust to which I tend
By sure tho' slow Decays!
IV.
All things are busy round but I:
Nor Honey with the Bees,
Nor Scent with Flow'rs, nor Husbandry
Have I to water these.
V.
I am no Link of thy great Chain,
A cumbrous, fruitless Weed:
O mend my Musick! Give one Strain
Ev'n to my useless Reed!
The ELIXIR. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
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!
II.
To scorn the Senses' Sway,
While still to Thee I tend:
In all I do, be Thou the Way,
In all be Thou the End.
III.
A Man that looks on Glass,
On That may fix his Eye;
Or unoppos'd may thro' it pass,
And Heav'n behind descry.
IV.
All may of Thee partake:
Nothing so small can be,
But draws, when acted for thy Sake,
Greatness and Worth from Thee.
V.
[Page 34]If done t' obey thy Laws,
Ev'n Servile Labours shine;
Hallow'd is Toil, if this the Cause,
The meanest Work Divine.
VI.
Th' Elixir This, the Stone
That All converts to Gold:
For that which GOD for His doth own,
Cannot for less be told.
AFFLICTION. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
WHEN first Thou didst entice my Heart
To Thee, I thought the Service brave;
So many Joys I for my Part
Set down; besides what I might have
Out of my Stock of natural Delights,
Augmented by thy gracious Benefits.
II.
I view'd thy Furniture so fine,
So gay, so rich; and All for Me!
Strongly it spoke the Hand Divine,
And lur'd my ravish'd Soul to Thee.
Such Stars I counted mine: both Heav'n and Earth
Paid me my Wages in a World of Mirth.
III.
What Pleasures could I want who serv'd
A King, where Joys my Fellows were?
Still my fond Hopes no Place reserv'd
For pining Grief, or anxious Fear:
Thus did my simple Soul thy Yoke embrace,
And made her Youth and Fierceness seek thy Face.
IV.
[Page 40]At first Thou gav'st me Sweetnesses,
And strew'dst with Flow'rs the narrow Way:
Smoothly my Soul sunk down to Peace,
My ev'ry joyous Month was May.
But with my Years Sorrow did twist and grow.
And made a Party unawares for Woe.
V.
My Flesh chastis'd with tort'ring Pain
My Soul, and Sickness clave my Bones;
Pale Agues dwelt in ev'ry Vein,
And sadly tun'd my Breath to Groans.
Sorrow was all my Soul; I scarce perceiv'd,
But by the Pains I suffer'd, that I liv'd.
VI.
Health's slowly-lingring, vain Return
A far severer Loss attends;
Sudden my ravish'd Life I mourn,
I lose it in my dying Friends.
Defenceless now, my ev'ry Comfort fled,
While Grief's whole Sea is empty'd on my Head.
VII.
How Thou wilt now thy Servant use,
Not one of all my Books can say.
On thy ignobler Works I muse,
And wish like them my GOD t' obey:
Blest, could I emulate the lifeless Mass,
Flow like the Stream, or flourish like the Grass.
VIII.
Yet must I, tho' opprest, submit
Strongly my Mis'ry to sustain —
Or I will now the Service quit,
And strait some other Master gain —
Ah! my dear Lord, tho' I am clean forgot,
Let me not love Thee, if I love Thee not!
FRAILTY. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
LORD, how in Silence I despise
The giddy Worldling's Snare!
This Beauty, Riches, Honour, Toys
Not worth a Moment's Care.
Hence painted Dust, and gilded Clay!
You have no Charms for Me:
Delusive Breath, be far away!
I waste no Thought on thee.
II.
But when abroad at once I view
Both the World's Hosts and Thine!
These simple, sad, afflicted, few,
These num'rous, gay and fine:
Lost my Resolves, my Scorn is past,
I boast my Strength no more;
A willing Slave they bind me fast
With unresisted Pow'r.
III.
O brook not this; let not thy Foes
Profane thy hallow'd Shrine:
Thine is my Soul, by sacred Vows
Of strictest Union Thine!
Hear then my just, tho' late Request,
Once more the Captive free;
Renew thy Image in my Breast,
And claim my Heart for Thee.
The COLLAR. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
NO more, I cry'd, shall Grief be mine,
I will throw off the Load;
No longer weep, and sigh, and pine
To find an Absent GOD.
II.
Free as the Muse, my Wishes move,
Thro' Nature's Wilds they roam:
Loose as the Wind, ye Wand'rers rove,
And bring me Pleasure home!
III.
Still shall I urge with endless Toil,
Yet not obtain my Suit?
Still shall I plant th' ungrateful Soil,
Yet never taste the Fruit?
IV.
Not so, my Heart! — for Fruit there is,
Seize it with eager Haste;
Riot in Joys, dissolve in Bliss,
And pamper ev'ry Taste.
V.
[Page 43]On Right and Wrong thy Thoughts no more
In cold Dispute employ;
Forsake thy Cell, the Bounds pass o'er,
And give a Loose to Joy.
VI.
Conscience and Reason's Pow'r deride,
Let stronger Nature draw,
Self be thy End, and Sense thy Guide,
And Appetite thy Law.
VII.
Away, ye Shades, while light I rise,
I tread you all beneath!
Grasp the dear Hours my Youth supplies,
Nor idly dream of Death.
VIII.
Whoe'er enslav'd to Grief and Pain,
Yet starts from Pleasure's Road,
Still let him weep, and still complain,
And sink beneath his Load —
IX.
But as I rav'd, and grew more wild
And fierce at ev'ry Word,
Methought I heard One calling "Child!"
And I reply'd — "My Lord!"
GRACE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
[Page 44]MY Stock lies dead, and no Increase
Does thy Past Gifts improve:
O let thy Graces without cease
Drop gently from above.
II.
If still the Sun should hide his Face,
Earth would a Dungeon prove,
Thy Works Night's Captives: O let Grace
Drop gently from above.
III.
The Dew unsought each Morning falls,
Less bounteous is thy Dove?
The Dew for which my Spirit calls,
Drop gently from above.
IV.
Death is still digging like a Mole
My Grave, where'er I move;
Let Grace work too, and on my Soul
Drop gently from above.
V.
Sin is still spreading o'er my Heart
A Hardness void of Love;
Let suppling Grace, to cross her Art,
Drop gently from above.
VI.
O come; for Thou dost know the Way!
Or if Thou wilt not move,
Translate me, where I need not say
Drop gently from above.
GRATEFULNESS. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
THOU, who hast giv'n so much to me,
O give a grateful Heart:
See how thy Beggar works on Thee
By acceptable Art!
II.
He makes thy Gifts occasion more;
And says, if here he's crost,
All Thou hast giv'n him heretofore,
Thyself, and All is lost.
III.
But Thou didst reckon, when at first
Our Wants thy Aid did crave,
What it would come to at the worst
Such needy Worms to save.
IV.
Perpetual Knockings at thy Door,
Tears sullying all thy Rooms;
Gift upon Gift; much would have more,
And still thy Suppliant comes.
V.
[Page 46]Yet thy unweary'd Love went on;
Allow'd us all our Noise;
Nay Thou hast dignify'd a Groan,
And made a Sigh thy Joys.
VI.
Wherefore I cry, and cry again,
Nor canst Thou quiet be,
Till my repeated Suit obtain
A Thankful Heart from Thee.
VII.
Hear then, and Thankfulness impart
Continual as thy Grace;
O add to all thy Gifts a Heart
Whose Pulse may be thy Praise!
The METHOD. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
LAment, unhappy Heart, lament!
Since GOD refuses still
To hear thy Pray'r, some Discontent
Unknown must cool his Will.
II.
Doubtless thy heav'nly Father could
Give All thy Suit does move;
For He is Pow'r: And sure He would
Give All; for He is Love.
III.
[Page 47]Go then the secret Cause explore,
Go search thy inmost Soul:
Let Earth divide thy Care no more,
Since Heav'n requires the Whole.
IV.
Ha! What do I here written see?
It tells me "Yesterday
Cold I prefer'd my careless Plea,
And only seem'd to Pray".
V.
But stay — What read I written there?
"Something I would have done;
His Spirit mov'd me to forbear,
Yet boldly I went on."
VI.
Then bend once more thy Knees and pray,
Once more lift up thy Voice:
Seek Pardon first; and GOD will say
"Again, Glad Heart, rejoice."
Grieve not the HOLY SPIRIT. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
AND art thou griev'd, O Sacred Dove,
When I despise or cross thy Love?
Griev'd for a Worm; when ev'ry Tread
Crushes, and leaves the Reptile dead!
II.
[Page 48]Then Mirth be ever banish'd hence,
Since Thou art pain'd by my Offence;
I sin not to my Grief alone,
The Comforter within doth groan.
III.
Then weep my Eyes, for GOD doth grieve!
Weep, foolish Heart, and weeping live:
Tears for the Living Mourner plead,
But ne'er avail the hopeless Dead.
IV.
Lord, I adjudge myself to Grief,
To endless Tears without Relief:
Yet O! t' exact thy Due forbear,
And spare a feeble Creature, spare!
V.
Still if I wail not, (still to wail
Nature denies, and Flesh would fail)
Lord, pardon — for thy Son makes good
My Want of Tears, with Store of Blood.
The SIGH. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
MY Heart did heave, and there came forth "O GOD!"
By that I knew that Thou wast in the Grief,
(Making a Golden Sceptre of thy Rod)
To guide and govern it to my Relief.
Hadst Thou not had a more than equal Part,
Sure the unruly Sigh had broke my Heart.
II.
But since thy Will my Bounds of Life assign'd,
Thou know'st my Frame: and if a single Sigh
Ask so much Breath, what then remains behind?
Why! if some Years of Life together fly,
[Page 49] The swiftly-wafting Sigh then only is
A Gale to bring me sooner to my Bliss!
III.
Thy Life on Earth was Grief: to this Thou still
Art constant, while thy suff'ring Majesty
Touch'd with my Mis'ry, feels whate'er I feel,
Adopts my Woes, and daily grieves in me.
Thy Death was but begun on Calvary;
Thou ev'ry Hour dost in thy Members die!
The FLOWER. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WHILE sad my Heart, and blasted mourns,
How chearing, Lord, and thy Returns,
How sweet the Life, the Joys they bring!
Grief in thy Presence melts away.
Refresh'd I hail the gladsome Day,
As Flow'rs salute the rising Spring.
II.
Who would have thought my wither'd Heart
Again should feel thy sov'reign Art,
A kindly Warmth again should know?
Late like the Flow'r, whose drooping Head
Sinks down, and seeks its native Bed
To see the Mother-Root below.
III.
These are thy Wonders, Lord of Pow'r,
Killing and Quick'ning! One short Hour
Lifts up to Heav'n, and sinks to Hell:
[Page 50] Thy Will supreme disposes All;
We prove thy Justice in our Fall,
Thy Mercy in our Rise we feel.
IV.
O that my Latest Change were o'er!
O were I plac'd where Sin no more
With its Attendant Grief, could come!
Stranger to Change, I then should rise
Amidst the Plants of Paradise,
And flourish in Eternal Bloom.
V.
Many a Spring since here I grew,
I seem'd my Verdure to renew,
And higher still to rise and higher:
Water'd by Tears, and fan'd by Sighs,
I pour'd my Fragrance thro' the Skies,
And heav'nward ever seem'd t' aspire.
VI.
But while I grow, as Heav'n were mine,
Thine Anger comes, and I decline;
Faded my Bloom, my Glory lost:
Who can the deadly Cold sustain,
Or stand beneath the chilling Pain
When blasted by thine Anger's Frost?
VII.
[Page 51]And now in Age I bud again,
Once more I feel the Vernal Rain,
Tho' dead so oft I live and write:
Sure I but dream! It cannot be
That I, my GOD, that I am He
On whom thy Tempests fell all Night!
VIII.
These are thy Wonders, Lord of Love,
Thy Mercy thus delights to prove
We are but Flow'rs that bloom and die!
Soon as This saving Truth we see,
Within thy Garden plac'd by Thee,
Time we survive, and Death defy.
DESERTION. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
JOY of my Soul, when Thou art gone,
And I (which cannot be) Alone;
(It cannot, Lord! for I on Thee
Depend, and Thou abid'st in me.)
II.
But when Thou dost the Sense repress,
Th' extatic Influence of thy Grace;
Seem to desert thy lov'd Abode,
And leave me sunk beneath my Load:
III.
O what a Damp and deadly Shade,
What Horrors then my Soul invade!
Less ghastly low'rs the gloomiest Night
Than the Eclipse that veils thy Light.
IV.
[Page 52]O do not, do not thus withdraw,
Lest Sin surprize me void of Awe,
And when Thou dost but shine less clear,
Say boldly, That Thou art not here.
V.
Thou, Lord, and only Thou canst tell
How dead the Life which then I feel;
Pursu'd by Sin's insulting Boast,
That "I may seek — but Thou art lost!"
VI.
I half believe (the deadly Cold
Does all my Pow'rs so fast infold)
That Sin says true. But while I grieve,
Again I see thy Face, and Live!
A TRUE HYMN. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
MY Joy, my Life, my Crown of Bliss,
My Heart was musing all the Day,
Fain would it speak; yet only this,
"My Joy, my Life, my Crown," could say
II.
Few as they are, and void of Art,
Yet slight not, Lord, these humble Words
Fine is that Hymn which speaks the Heart,
The Heart that to the Lines accords.
III.
[Page 53]He, who requires his Creature's Time,
And all his Soul, and Strength and Mind,
Complains, if Heartless flows the Rhyme,
What makes the Hymn is still behind:
IV.
The scanty Verse Himself supplies,
Let but the fervent Heart be mov'd;
And when it says with longing Sighs
"O could I love!" GOD writeth "Lov'd!"
The TEMPER. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
O Lord, how gladly would my Rhymes
Engrave thy Love in Steel,
If what my Soul doth feel sometimes,
My Soul might ever feel!
II.
Tho' there were forty Heav'ns or more,
Sometimes I mount them all;
Sometimes I hardly reach a Score,
Sometimes to Hell I fall.
III.
Rack me not to such vast Extent;
These Lengths belong to Thee;
The World's too little for thy Tent,
A Grave too big for me.
IV.
[Page 54]O mete not Arms with Man, nor stretch
A Worm from Heav'n to Hell!
Strive not with Dust, nor let a Wretch
Thy Pow'r Almighty feel.
V.
Yet take thy Way: thy Way is best;
Grant or deny me Ease:
This is but tuning of my Breast,
To make the Musick please.
VI.
Rise I to Heav'n, or sink to Dust,
In both, thy Hands appear;
Thy Pow'r and Love, my Love and Trust
Make One Place Ev'ry where I
The same.
[George Herbert]
I.
IT cannot be! Is this the Heart
That swelled so late with mighty Joy?
Lord, if Thou needs must use thy Dart,
Spare thy own Gifts, and Sin destroy.
II.
The Greater World knows no Decay;
But thy Diviner World of Grace
A new Creator ev'ry Day
Thou suddenly dost rear or rase.
III.
[Page 55]Set up thy Kingdom in my Heart,
That all my Pow'rs thy Sway may own:
For ah! my Lord, if Thou depart,
Strait rebel Nature mounts thy Throne.
IV.
Tho' Heav'n be mov'd, may I remain
Stedfast, and centred firm on Thee:
Here six thy Court, and still maintain
A standing Majesty in me!
BITTER-SWEET. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
AH my dear, angry Lord,
Since Thou dost love, yet strike,
Cast down, and yet thy Help afford,
Sure I will do the like.
II.
I will complain, yet praise,
Bewail, and yet approve,
And all my mournful, joyful Days
I will lament, and love.
MAN'S MEDLEY. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
HARK how the Woods with Musick ring,
How sweet the feather'd Minstrels sing!
They have Their Joys, and Man has His:
Yet, if we judge our State aright,
The present is not Man's Delight,
Hereafter brings his Perfect Bliss.
II.
This Life belongs to Things of Sense,
Justly to this They make Pretence;
[Page 64] Angels possess the Next by Birth:
Man, grov'ling glorious Man alone
Angel and Brute unites in one,
While this Hand Heav'n, that touches Earth.
III.
Glorious in Soul, he mounts and flies,
Grov'ling in Flesh, he sinks and dies:
His Treasure holds in Earth confin'd —
The Body's Calls forbid to hear,
Born to regard with list'ning Ear,
The Dictates of his nobler Mind.
IV.
Not but his gracious Master here
Allows and bids him taste the Cheer:
As Birds, that drinking lift their Head,
Thankful like them he bids him drink,
And of those Streams of Pleasure think
That ever chear th' Immortal Dead.
V.
His Joys are Double — And his Pains;
While of Two Winters he complains,
The Brute Creation feels but One:
Round, and Within him Tempests roll;
Frost chills his Veins, and Thought his Soul;
Two Deaths he fears, and He alone.
VI.
Yet ev'n the sharpest heaviest Grief
May with it bring its own Relief,
If right his State the Suff'rer weighs:
Happy the Man, who finds the Art
To turn, by Thankfulness of Heart,
His double Pains to double Praise!
MISERY. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
LORD, let the Angels praise thy Name,
Man is a Feeble, Foolish thing!
Folly and Sin play all his Game,
Still burns his House, He still doth sing:
To day he's here, to Morrow gone,
The Madman knows it — and sings on.
II.
How canst Thou brook his Foolishness?
When heedless of the Voice Divine,
Himself alone he seeks to please,
And carnal Joys prefers to Thine,
Eager thro' Nature's Wilds to rove,
Nor aw'd by Fear, nor charm'd by Love.
III.
What strange Pollutions does he wed,
Slave to his Senses and to Sin!
Naked of GOD, his Guilty Head
He strives in Midnight Shades to skreen:
Fondly he hopes from Thee to fly,
Unmark'd by thine all-seeing Eye.
IV.
[Page 66]The best of Men to Evil yield,
If but the slightest Trial come;
They fall, by Thee no more upheld:
And when Affliction calls them home,
Thy gentle Rod they scarce endure,
And murmur to accept their Cure.
V.
Wayward they haste, while Nature leads,
T' escape Thee; but thy Gracious Dove
Still mildly o'er their Folly spreads
The Wings of his expanded Love:
Thou bring'st them back, nor suff'rest those
Who Would be, to Remain thy Foes.
VI.
My GOD, thy Name Man cannot praise,
All Brightness Thou, all Purity!
The Sun in his Meridian Blaze
Is Darkness, if compar'd to Thee.
O how shall sinful Worms proclaim,
Shall Man presume to speak thy Name?
VII.
Man cannot serve Thee: All his Care
Engross'd by grov'ling Appetite,
Is fixt on Earth; his Treasure there,
His Portion, and his base Delight:
He starts from Virtue's thorny Road,
Alive to Sin, but dead to GOD!
VIII.
Ah foolish Man, where are thine Eyes?
Lost in a Crowd of Earthly Cares:
Thy Indolence neglects to rise,
While Husks to Heav'n thy Soul prefers;
Careless the starry Crown to seize,
By Pleasure bound, or lull'd by Ease.
IX.
To GOD, thro' all Creation's Bounds
Th' unconscious Kinds their Homage bring;
His Praise thro' Ev'ry Grove resounds,
Nor know the Warblers whom they sing:
[Page 67] But Man, Lord of the Creatures, knows
The Source from whence their being flows.
X.
He owns a GOD — but eyes him not,
But lets his mad Disorders reign:
They make his Life a constant Blot,
And Blood Divine an Off'ring vain.
Ah Wretch! thy Heart unsearchable,
Thy Ways mysterious who can tell!
XI.
Perfect at first, and blest his State,
Man in his Maker's Image shone;
In Innocence divinely great
He liv'd; he liv'd to GOD alone:
His Heart was Love, his Pulse was Praise,
And Light and Glory deck'd his Face.
XII.
But alter'd now and faln he is,
Immerst in Flesh, and dead within;
Dead to the Taste of native Bliss,
And ever sinking into Sin:
Nay by his wretched Self undone.
Such is Man's State — And such my own!
The SINNER. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WHEN all the Secrets of my Heart
With Horror, Lord, I see,
Thine is, I find, the smallest Part,
Tho' All be due to Thee.
[Page 68]Thy Footsteps scarce appear within,
But Lusts a countless Crowd;
Th'immense Circumference is Sin,
A Point is all my Good.
II.
O break my Bonds, let Sin enthrall
My struggling Soul no more;
Hear thy fall'n Creature's feeble Call,
Thine Image O restore!
And tho' my Heart senseless and hard
To Thee can scarcely groan,
Yet O remember, gracious Lord,
Thou once didst write in Stone!
REPENTANCE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
LORD, I confess my Sin is great,
Great is my Sin! O gently treat
Thy tender Flow'r, thy fading Bloom,
Whose LIfe's still aiming at a Tomb.
II.
Have Mercy, Lord! Lo I confess
I feel, I mourn my Foolishness:
O spare me, whom thy Hands have made,
A with'ring Leaf, a fleeting Shade.
III.
[Page 69]Sweeten at length this bitter Bowl
Which Thou hast pour'd into my Soul!
O tarry not! If still Thou stay,
Here sets in Death my short-liv'd Day.
IV.
When Thou for Sin rebukest Man,
His drooping Heart is fill'd with Pain;
Blasted his Strength, his Beauty too
Consumes away as Morning Dew.
V.
When wilt Thou Sin and Grief destroy
That all the broken Bones may joy;
And at thy all-reviving Word
Dead Sinners rise, and praise the Lord?
COMPLAINING. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
THOU, Lord, my Pow'r and Wisdom art,
O do not then reject my Heart!
Thy Clay that weeps, thy Dust I am
That calls, O put me not to Shame!
II.
Thy Glories, Lord, in all things shine,
Thine is the Deed, the Praise is Thine:
A seeble helpless Creature. I
Do at thy Pleasure live or die.
III.
[Page 70]Art Thou All Justice? — shews thy Word
Thro' Ev'ry Page and Angry Lord?
Am I all Tears? — Is this to live?
Is all my Business here, to grieve?
IV.
Fill not my Life's short Hour with Pain:
Or, O contract the Wretched Span;
So shall I mount from Sorrow free,
And find Relief and Heav'n in Thee!
HOME. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
FAINT is my Head, and sick my Heart,
While Thou dost ever, ever stay!
Fixt in my Soul I feel thy Dart,
Groaning I feel it Night and Day:
Come, Lord, and shew Thyself to me,
Or take, O take me up to Thee!
II.
Canst Thou with-hold thy healing Grace,
So kindly lavish of thy Blood;
When swiftly trickling down thy Face,
For Me the purple Current flow'd!
Come Lord, and shew, &c.
III.
[Page 71]When Man was lost, LOVE look'd about,
To see what Help in Earth or Sky:
In vain; for none appear'd without,
The Help did in thy Bosom lie!
Come, Lord, &c.
IV.
There lay thy Son: but left his Rest
Thraldom and Mis'ry to remove
From those, who Glory once possest,
But wantonly abus'd thy Love.
Come, Lord, &c.
V.
He came — O my Redeemer dear!
And canst Thou after this be strange?
Not yet within my Heart appear!
Can Love like Thine or fail or change?
Come Lord, &c.
VI.
But if Thou tarriest, why must I?
My GOD, what is this World to me!
This World of Woe — hence let them fly,
The Clouds that part my Soul and Thee.
Come, Lord, &c.
VII.
Why should this weary World delight,
Or Sense th'immortal Spirit bind?
Why should frail Beauty's Charms invite,
The trifling Charms of Womankind?
Come, Lord, &c.
VIII.
[Page 72]A Sigh Thou breath'st into my Heart,
And earthly Joys I view with Scorn:
Far from my Soul, ye Dreams depart,
Nor mock me with your vain Return!
Come, Lord, &c.
IX.
Sorrow and Sin, and Loss and Pain
Are all that here on Earth we see;
Restless we pant for Ease in vain,
In vain — till Ease we find in Thee.
Come, Lord, &c.
X.
Idly we talk of Harvests here,
Eternity our Harvest is:
Grace brings the great Sabbatic Year,
When ripen'd into Glorious Bliss.
Come, Lord, &c.
XI.
O loose this Frame, Life's Knot untie,
That my free Soul may use her Wing;
Now pinion'd with Mortality,
A weak, entangled, wretched Thing!
Come, Lord, &c.
XII.
Why should I longer stay and groan?
The most of me to Heav'n is fled:
My Thoughts and Joys are thither gone;
To all below I now am dead.
Come, Lord, &c.
XIII.
Come, dearest Lord! my Soul's Desire
With eager Pantings gasps for Home:
Thee, Thee my restless Hopes require;
My Flesh and Spirit bid Thee come!
Come, Lord, and shew Thyself to me,
Or take, O take me up to Thee!
LONGING. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WITH bending Knees, and aking Eyes,
Weary and faint, to Thee my Cries,
To Thee my Tears, my Groans I send:
O when shall my Complainings end?
II.
Wither'd my Heart, like barren Ground
Accurst of GOD; my Head turns round,
My Throat is hoarse: I faint, I fall,
Yet falling still for Pity call.
III.
Eternal Streams of Pity flow
From Thee their Source to Earth below:
Mothers are kind, because Thou art,
Thy Tenderness o'erflows their Heart.
IV.
LORD of my Soul, bow down thine Ear,
Hear, Bowels of Compassion, hear!
O give not to the Winds my Pray'r:
Thy Name, thy hallow'd Name is there!
V.
[Page 74]Look on my Sorrows, mark them well,
The Shame, the Pangs, the Fires I feel:
Consider, LORD; thine Ear incline!
Thy Son hath made my Suff'rings Thine.
VI.
Thou, JESU, on th' accursed Tree
Didst bow thy Dying Head for me;
Incline it now! Who made the Ear,
Shall he; shall He forget to hear!
VII.
See thy poor Dust, in Pity see,
It stirs, it creeps, it aims at Thee!
Haste, save it from the greedy Tomb!
Come! — Ev'ry Atom bids Thee come!
VIII.
'Tis Thine to help! Forget me not!
O be thy Mercy ne'er forgot!
Lock'd is thy Ear? Yet still my Plea
May speed: for Mercy keeps the Key.
IX.
Thou tarriest, while I sink, I die,
And fall to Nothing! Thou on high
Seest me Undone. Yet am I stil'd
By Thee (lost as I am) thy Child!
X.
Didst Thou for This forsake thy Throne?
Where are thy Ancient Mercies gone?
Why should my Pain my Guilt survive,
And Sin be dead, yet Sorrow live?
XI.
[Page 75]Yet Sin is dead; And yet abide
Thy Promises; they speak, they chide:
They in thy Bosom pour my Tears,
And my Complaints present as Theirs.
XII.
Hear, JESU! hear my broken Heart!
Broken so long, that ev'ry Part
Hath got a Tongue that ne'er shall cease,
Till Thou pronounce "Depart in Peace."
XIII.
My Love, my Saviour, hear my Cry;
By these thy Feet at which I lie!
Pluck out thy Dart! Regard my Sighs;
Now heal my Soul, or now it dies.
The SEARCH. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WHITHER, O whither art Thou fled,
My Saviour and my Love?
My Searches are my daily Bread,
Yet unsuccessful prove.
My Knees on Earth, on Heav'n mine Eye
Is fixt; and yet the Sphere,
And yet the Center both deny
That Thou, my GOD, art there.
II.
[Page 76]Yet can I mark that Herbs below
Their fragrant Greens display,
As if to meet Thee They did know,
While wither'd I decay.
Yet can I mark how Stars above
With conscious Lustre shine,
Their Glories borrowing from thy Love,
While I in Darkness pine.
III.
I sent a Sigh to seek Thee out,
Drawn from my Heart in Pain,
Wing'd like an Arrow; but my Scout
Return'd alas! in vain.
Another from my endless Store
I turn'd into a Groan,
Because the Search was dumb before:
But all alas! was one.
IV.
Where is my GOD? What secret Place
Still holds, and hides Thee still?
What Covert dares eclipse thy Face? —
Is it thy Awful Will?
O let not That thy Presence bound:
Rather let Walls of Brass,
Let Seas and Mountains gird Thee round,
And I thro' all will pass.
V.
Thy Will so vast a Distance is,
Remotest Points combine,
East touches West, compared to this,
And Heav'n and Hell conjoin.
Take then these Bars, these Lengths away,
Turn and restore my Soul:
Thy Love Omnipotent display,
Approach! and make me whole.
VI.
When Thou, my LORD, my GOD art nigh,
Nor Life, nor Death can move,
Nor deepest Hell, nor Pow'rs on high
Can part me from thy Love.
[Page 77]For as thy Absence passes far
The widest Distance known,
Thy Presence brings my Soul so near,
That Thou and I are One!
DISCIPLINE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
O Throw away thy Rod,
O throw away thy Wrath!
My Gracious Saviour and my GOD,
O take the gentle Path.
II.
Thou feest, my Heart's Desire
Still unto Thee is bent:
Still does my longing Soul aspire
To an entire Consent.
III.
Not ev'n a Word or Look
Do I approve or own,
But by the Model of thy Book,
Thy sacred Book alone.
IV.
Altho' I fail, I weep;
Altho' I halt in pace,
Yet still with trembling Steps I creep
Unto the Throne of Grace.
V.
[Page 78]O then let Wrath remove:
For Love will do the Deed!
Love will the Conquest gain; with Love
Ev'n stony Hearts will bleed.
VI.
For Love is swift of Foot,
Love is a Man of War;
Love can resistless Arrows shoot,
And hit the Mark from far.
VII.
Who can escape his Bow?
That which hath wrought on Thee,
Which brought the King of Glory low,
Must surely work on me.
VIII.
O throw away thy Rod;
What tho' Man Frailties hath?
Thou art my Saviour and my GOD!
O throw away thy Wrath!
The DAWNING. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
[Page 97]AWAKE, sad Heart, whom Sorrows drown,
Lift up thine Eyes, and cease to mourn,
Unfold thy Forehead's settled Frown;
Thy Saviour, and thy Joys return.
II.
Awake, sad drooping Heart, awake!
No more lament, and pine, and cry:
His Death Thou ever dost partake,
Partake at last his Victory.
III.
Arise; if thou dost not withstand,
CHRIST's Resurrection Thine may be:
O break not from the Gracious Hand
Which, as it rises, raises Thee.
V.
Chear'd by thy Saviour's Sorrows rise;
He griev'd, that Thou mayst cease to grieve;
Dry with his Burial Cloths thine Eyes,
He dy'd Himself, that Thou mayst live!
HYMNS AND SACRED POEMS. PART II.
PRAISE. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
O King of Glory, King of Peace,
Thee only will I love:
Thee, that my Love may never cease,
Incessant will I move!
II.
[Page 114]For Thou hast granted my Request,
For Thou my Cries hast heard,
Mark'd all the Workings of my Breast,
And hast in Mercy spar'd.
III.
Wherefore with all my Strength and Art
Thy Mercy's Praise I sing;
To Thee the Tribute of my Heart,
My Soul, my All I bring.
IV.
What tho' my Sins against me cry'd?
Thou didst the Sinner spare:
In vain th' Accuser still reply'd,
For Love had charm'd thy Ear.
V.
Thee sev'n whole Days, not one in sev'n,
Unweary'd will I praise,
And in my Heart, a little Heav'n,
Thy Throne triumphant raise.
VI.
Soften'd and vanquish'd by my Tears
Thou could'st no more withstand,
But when stern Justice call'd for Fears,
Disarm'd her lifted Hand.
VII.
Small is it in this humble sort
Thy Mercy's Pow'r to raise:
For ev'n Eternity's too short
To utter all thy Praise.
The GLANCE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WHEN first thy gracious Eye's survey,
Ev'n in the midst of Youth and Night,
Mark'd me, where sunk in Sin I lay;
I felt a strange unknown Delight.
II.
My Soul in all its Pow'rs renew'd
Own'd the Divine Physician's Art,
So swift the Healing Look bedew'd,
Embalm'd, o'er-ran and fill'd my Heart.
III.
Since then I many a bitter Storm
Have felt, and feeling sure had dy'd,
Had the malicious Fatal Harm
Roll'd on its unmolested Tide:
IV.
But working still, within my Soul,
Thy sweet Original Joy remain'd;
Thy Love did all my Griefs controul,
Thy Love the Victory more than gain'd.
V.
[Page 116]If the first Glance, but open'd now
And now seal'd up, so pow'rful prove,
What wondrous Transports shall we know
When glorying in thy full-ey'd Love!
VI.
When Thou shalt look us out of Pain,
And raise us to thy Blissful Sight,
With open Face strong to sustain
The Blaze of thy unclouded Light!
The CALL. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
COME, O my Way, my Truth, my Life!
A Way that gives us Breath,
A Truth that ends its Followers' Strife,
A Life that conquers Death!
II.
Come, O my Light, my Feast, my Strength!
A Light that shews a Feast;
A Feast that still improves by Length,
A Strength that makes the Guest!
III.
Come, O my Joy, my Love, my Heart!
A Joy that none can move;
A Love that none can ever part,
A Heart that joys in Love!
TRUE PRAISE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
[Page 120]WHEN first my feeble Verse essay'd,
Of heav'nly Joys to sing,
Fancy was summon'd to my Aid
Her choicest Stores to bring.
II.
With study'd Words each rising Thought
I deck'd, with nicest Art,
And shining Metaphors I sought
To burnish ev'ry Part.
III.
Thousands of Notions swift did run,
And fill'd my lab'ring Head;
I blotted oft' what I begun,
This was too flat, that dead.
IV.
To cloath the Sun, no Dress too fine
I thought, no Words too gay,
Much less the Realms that glorious shine
In one Eternal Day.
V.
Mean while I whisp'ring heard a Friend,
"Why all this vain Pretence?
" Love has a Sweetness ready penn'd,
"Take that, and save Expence.
The DIALOGUE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
SAVIOUR, if Thy precious Love
Could be merited by mine,
Faith these Mountains would remove;
Faith would make me ever Thine:
But when all my Care and Pains,
Worth can ne'er create in Me,
[Page 121] Nought by me thy Fulness gains;
Vain the Hope to purchase Thee.
II.
C. Cease, my Child, thy Worth to weigh,
Give the needless Contest o'er:
Mine Thou art! while thus I say,
Yield Thee up, and ask no more.
What thy Estimate may be,
Only can by Him be told,
Who to ransom Wretched Thee,
Thee to gain, Himself was sold.
III.
S. But when All in Me is Sin,
How can I thy Grace obtain?
How presume Thyself to win?
GOD of Love, the Doubt explain —
Or if Thou the Means supply,
Lo! to Thee I All resign!
Make me, LORD, (I ask not why,
How, I ask not) ever Thine!
IV.
C. This I would — That humbly still
Thou submit to my Decree,
Blindly subjecting thy Will,
Meekly copying after Me:
That as I did leave my Throne;
Freely from my Glory part;
Die, to make thy Heart my own —
S. Ah! no more — Thou break'st my Heart!
Renouncing all for CHRIST. From the French. [Antoinette Bourignon]
I.
COME, Saviour JESU, from above,
Assist me with thy heav'nly Grace,
Withdraw my Heart from worldly Love,
And for Thyself prepare the Place.
II.
O let thy sacred Presence fill
And set my longing Spirit free,
Which pants to have no other Will,
But Night and Day to feast on Thee.
III.
While in these Regions here below,
No other Good will I pursue;
I'll bid this World of Noise and Show
With all its flatt'ring Snares adieu.
IV.
[Page 124]That Path with humble Speed I'll seek
Wherein my Saviour's Footsteps shine,
Nor will I hear, nor will I speak
Of any other Love than thine.
V.
To Thee my Earnest Soul aspires,
To Thee I offer all my Vows,
Keep me from false and vain Desires,
My GOD, my Saviour and my Spouse.
VI.
Henceforth may no profane Delight
Divide this consecrated Soul;
Possess it Thou, who hast the Right,
As Lord and Master of the whole.
VII.
Wealth, Honour, Pleasure, or what else
This short enduring World can give,
Tempt as you will, my Heart repels,
To CHRIST alone resolv'd to live.
VIII.
Thee I can love and Thee alone
With holy Peace and Inward Bliss;
To find Thou tak'st me for thy own,
O what a Happiness is This!
IX.
Nor Heav'n nor Earth do I desire
But thy pure Love within my Breast,
This, this I always will require,
And freely give up all the rest.
X.
Thy Gifts, if call'd for, I resign,
Pleas'd to receive, pleas'd to restore;
Gifts are Thy Work; it shall be mine
The Giver only to adore.
The INVITATION. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
COME hither All, whose grov'ling Taste
Inslaves your Souls, and lays them waste;
Save your Expence, and mend your Cheer:
Here GOD Himself's prepar'd and drest,
Himself vouchsafes to be your Feast,
In whom Alone all Dainties are.
II.
Come hither all, whom tempting Wine
Bows to your Father Belial's Shrine,
Sin all your Boast, and Sense your GOD:
Weep now for what you've drank amiss,
And lose your Taste for sensual Bliss
By drinking here your Saviour's Blood.
III.
Come hither all, whom searching Pain,
Whom Conscience's loud Cries arraign
Producing all your Sins to view:
Taste; and dismiss your Guilty Fear,
O taste and see that GOD is here
To heal your Souls and Sin subdue.
IV.
[Page 126]Come hither all, whom Careless Joy
Does with alluring Force destroy,
While loose ye range beyond your Bounds:
True Joy is here, that passes quite
And all your transient mean Delight
Drowns, as a Flood the lower Grounds.
V.
Come hither all, whose Idol-Love,
While fond the pleasing Pain ye prove,
Raises your foolish Raptures high:
True Love is here; whose dying Breath
Gave Life to Us; who tasted Death,
And tasting once no more can die.
VI.
LORD, I have now invited All,
And instant still the Guests shall call,
Still shall I All invite to Thee:
For, O my GOD, it seems but right
In mine, thy meanest Servant's Sight,
That where All Is, there All should be!
The BANQUET. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WElcome, delicious Sacred Cheer,
Welcome, my GOD, my Saviour dear,
O with me, In me live and dwell!
Thine, Earthly Joy surpasses quite,
The Depths of thy supreme Delight
Not Angel Tongues can taste or tell.
II.
[Page 127]What Streams of Sweetness from the Bowl
Surprize and deluge all my Soul,
Sweetness that is, and makes Divine!
Surely from GOD's right Hand they flow,
From thence deriv'd to Earth below
To chear us with Immortal Wine.
III.
Soon as I taste the Heav'nly Bread,
What Manna o'er my Soul is shed,
Manna that Angels never knew!
Victorious Sweetness fills my Heart,
Such as my GOD delights t' impart,
Mighty to save, and Sin subdue.
V.
I had forgot my Heav'nly Birth,
My Soul degen'rate clave to Earth,
In Sense and Sin's base Pleasures drown'd:
When GOD assum'd Humanity,
And spilt his Sacred Blood for me,
To find me grov'ling on the Ground.
V.
Soon as his Love has rais'd me up,
He mingles Blessings in a Cup,
And sweetly meets my ravish'd Taste,
Joyous I now throw off my Load,
I cast my Sins and Care on GOD,
And Wine becomes a Wing at last.
VI.
Upborn on This, I mount, I fly;
Regaining swift my Native Sky, —
I wipe my streaming Eyes and see
Him, whom I seek, for whom I sue,
My GOD, my Saviour there I view,
Him, who has done so much for me!
VII.
O let thy wondrous Mercy's Praise
Inspire and consecrate my Lays,
[Page 128] And take up all my Lines and Life;
Thy Praise my ev'ry Breath employ:
Be all my Business, all my Joy
To strive in This, and love the Strife!
HYMN to CHRIST. Altered from Dr. Hickes's Reform'd Devotions.
[William Birchley]
I.
JESU, behold the Wise from far
Led to thy Cradle by a Star,
Bring Gifts to Thee their God and King!
O guide us by thy Light, that we
The Way may find, and still to Thee
Our Hearts, our All for Tribute bring.
II.
JESU, the pure, the spotless Lamb,
Who to the Temple humbly came
Duteous the Legal Rights to pay:
O make our proud, our stubborn Will
All thy wise, gracious Laws fulfil,
Whate'er rebellious Nature say.
III.
JESU, who on the fatal Wood
Pour'dst out thy Life's last Drop of Blood,
Nail'd to th' accursed shameful Cross:
O may we bless thy Love, and be
Ready, dear LORD, to bear for Thee
All Shame, all Grief, all Pain, all Loss.
IV.
[Page 131]JESU, who by thine own Love slain,
By thine own Pow'r took'st Life again,
And Conqueror from the Grave didst rise:
O may thy Death our Souls revive,
And ev'n on Earth a new Life give,
A glorious Life that never dies.
V.
JESU, who to thy Heav'n again
Return'dst in Triumph, there to reign
Of Men and Angels Sov'reign King:
O may our parting Souls take Flight
Up to that Land of Joy and Light,
And there for ever grateful sing.
VI.
All Glory to the sacred Three,
One undivided Deity,
All Honour, Pow'r, and Love and Praise;
Still may thy blessed Name shine bright
In Beams of uncreated Light,
Crown'd with its own eternal Rays.
Part of the LXIII Chapter of ISAIAH, Altered from Mr. Norris. [John Norris]
I.
NO common Vision this I see
In more than human Majesty!
Who is this mighty Hero, who,
With glorious Terror on his Brow?
His deep dy'd Crimson Robes outvie
The Blushes of the Morning Sky:
Lo, how triumphant he appears
And Vict'ry in his Visage bears!
II.
How strong, how stately does he go!
Pompous and solemn is his Pace,
And full of Majesty his Face,
Who is this mighty Hero, who?
'Tis I, who to my Promise stand:
I, who sin, Death, Hell, and the Grave
Have foil'd with this all-conquering Hand:
'Tis I, the LORD mighty to save.
III.
Why wear'st Thou then this Crimson Dye;
Say Thou all-conquering Hero, why?
[Page 133]Why do thy Garments look all red
Like them that in the Wine fat tread?
The Wine-press I alone have trod,
That pond'rous Mass I ply'd alone:
And with me to assist was none:
A Task, worthy the Son of GOD!
IV.
Angels stood trembling at the Sight,
Inrag'd, I put forth all my Might,
And down the Engine prest; the Force
Put frighted Nature out of Course;
The Blood gush'd out, and checquer'd o'er
My Garments with its deepest Gore.
With glorious Stains bedeck'd I stood,
And writ my Victory in Blood.
V.
The Day, the signal Day is come
Vengeance of all my Foes to take;
The Day, when Death shall have its Doom,
And the dark Kingdom's Pow'rs shall shake.
I look'd, who to assist stood by:
Trembled Heav'n's Hosts nor ventur'd nigh:
Ev'n to my Father did I look
In Pain: My Father me forsook!
VI.
A while amaz'd I was to see
None to uphold or comfort me:
Then I arose in Might array'd,
And call'd my Fury to my Aid;
My single Arm the Battle won,
And strait th' acclaiming Hosts above
Hymn'd, in new Songs of Joy and Love,
Jehovah and his conquering Son.
PRAYER. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
HOW swiftly wafted in a Sigh,
Thou GOD that hear'st the Pray'r,
Do our Requests invade the Sky,
And pierce thy bending Ear?
II.
My Suit is made, my Pray'r is o'er,
If I but lift my Eye;
Thou, Omnipresent, can'st no more
Not hear, than Thou canst die.
III.
How shall we Thy great Arm revere,
Which gives this All to be,
Connects the Center with the Sphere,
And spans Infinity!
IV.
Whate'er our ardent Souls require,
Whate'er we wish is there;
Thy Pow'r exceeds our Scant Desire,
And chides our partial Pray'r.
V.
[Page 141]O how unbounded is Thy Love,
Which, when Thou could'st not die,
Descending from Thy Throne Above
Put on Mortality!
VI.
Thou leav'st Thy Father's blissful Face
Our Guilt and Curse t'assume,
To burst the Bars that stopp'd Thy Grace,
And make Thy Bounty Room.
VII.
Still then may Pray'r with me remain,
This my Companion be;
So shall I all my Wants obtain,
Obtain all Heav'n in Thee.
TRUST in PROVIDENCE. From the German.
[Paul Gerhardt]
I.
COMMIT thou all thy Griefs
And Ways into his Hands;
To his sure Truth and tender Care,
Who Earth and Heav'n commands.
II.
Who points the Clouds their Course,
Whom Winds and Seas obey;
He shall direct thy wand'ring Feet,
He shall prepare thy Way.
III.
[Page 142]Thou on the LORD rely,
So safe shalt thou go on;
Fix on his Work thy stedfast Eye,
So shall Thy Work be done.
IV.
No Profit canst thou gain
By self-consuming Care;
To Him commend thy Cause, his Ear
Attends the softest Pray'r.
V.
Thy everlasting Truth,
Father, thy ceaseless Love
Sees all thy Children's Wants, and knows
What best for each will prove.
VI.
And whatsoe'er Thou will'st,
Thou dost, O King of Kings;
What thy unerring Wisdom chose
Thy Pow'r to Being brings.
VII.
Thou ev'ry where hast Way,
And all things serve thy Might;
Thy ev'ry Act pure Blessing is,
Thy Path unfully'd Light.
VIII.
When Thou arisest, LORD,
What shall thy Work withstand?
When all thy Children want Thou giv'st,
Who, who shall stay thy Hand?
IX.
[Page 143]Give to the Winds thy Fears;
Hope, and be undismay'd;
GOD hears thy Sighs, and counts thy Tears,
GOD shall lift up thy Head.
X.
Thro' Waves and Clouds and Storms
He gently clears thy Way;
Wait thou his Time, so shall this Night
Soon end in joyous Day.
XI.
Still heavy is thy Heart?
Still sink thy Spirits down?
Cast off the Weight, let Fear depart,
And ev'ry Care be gone.
XII.
What tho' Thou rulest not?
Yet Heav'n and Earth and Hell
Proclaim, GOD sitteth on the Throne
And ruleth all things well!
XIII.
Leave to his Sov'reign Sway
To choose and to command;
So shalt thou wondring own, his Way
How wise, how strong his Hand.
XIV.
Far, far above thy Thought
His Counsel shall appear,
When fully He the Work hath wrought,
That caus'd thy needless Fear.
XV.
[Page 144]Thou seest our Weakness, LORD,
Our Hearts are known to Thee;
O lift Thou up the sinking Hand,
Confirm the feeble Knee!
XVI.
Let us in Life, in Death,
Thy stedfast Truth declare,
And publish with our latest Breath
Thy Love and Guardian Care!
Living by CHRIST. From the German.
[Paul Gerhardt]
I.
JESU, thy boundless Love to me
No Thought can reach, no Tongue declare:
O knit my thankful Heart to Thee,
And reign without a Rival there.
Thine wholly, thine alone I am:
Be Thou alone my constant Flame.
II.
O grant that nothing in my Soul
May dwell, but thy pure Love alone:
O may thy Love possess me whole,
My Joy, my Treasure, and my Crown.
Strange Fires far from my Soul remove,
My ev'ry Act, Word, Thought, be Love.
III.
O Love, how chearing is thy Ray?
All Pain before thy Presence flies!
Care, Anguish, Sorrow melt away
Where'er thy healing Beams arise:
O JESU, nothing may I see,
Nothing hear, feel or think but Thee!
IV.
[Page 157]Unwearied may I this pursue,
Dauntless to the high Prize aspire;
Hourly within my Breast renew
This holy Flame, this heav'nly Fire;
And Day and Night be all my Care
To guard this sacred Treasure there.
V.
My Saviour, Thou thy Love to me
In Want, in Pain, in Shame, hast show'd;
For me on the accursed Tree
Thou pouredst forth thy guiltless Blood:
Thy Wounds upon my Heart impress,
Nor ought shall the lov'd Stamp efface.
VI.
More hard than Marble is my Heart,
And foul with Sins of deepest Stain:
But Thou the mighty Saviour art,
Nor flow'd thy cleansing Blood in vain.
Ah! soften, melt this Rock, and may
Thy Blood wash all these Stains away.
VII.
O that my Heart, which open stands,
May catch each Drop, that torturing Pain
Arm'd by my Sins, wrung from thy Hands,
Thy Feet, thy Head, thy ev'ry Vein:
That still my Breast may heave with Sighs,
Still Tears of Love o'erflow my Eyes.
VIII.
O that I as a little Child
May follow Thee, nor ever rest
Till sweetly Thou hast pour'd thy mild
And lowly Mind into my Breast.
Nor may we ever parted be
Till I become one Spirit with Thee.
IX.
O draw me, Saviour, after Thee,
So shall I run and never tire:
[Page 158] With gracious Words still comfort me;
Be Thou my Hope, my sole Desire.
Free me from ev'ry Weight: nor Fear
Nor Sin can come, if Thou art here.
X.
My Health, my Light, my Life, my Crown,
My Portion and my Treasure Thou!
O take me, seal me for thine own;
To Thee alone my Soul I bow.
Without Thee all is Pain; my Mind
Repose in nought but Thee can find.
XI.
Howe'er I rove, where'er I turn,
In Thee alone is all my Rest.
Be Thou my Flame; within me burn,
JESU, and I in Thee am blest.
Thou art the Balm of Life: My Soul
Is faint; O save, O make it whole!
XII.
What in thy Love possess I not?
My Star by Night, my Sun by Day;
My Spring of Life when parch'd with Drought,
My Wine to chear, my Bread to stay,
My Strength, my Shield, my safe Abode,
My Robe before the Throne of GOD!
XIII.
[Page 159]Ah Love! Thy Influence withdrawn
What profits me that I am born?
All my Delight, my Joy is gone,
Nor know I Peace, till Thou return.
Thee may I seek till I attain;
And never may we may part again.
XIV.
From all Eternity with Love
Unchangeable Thou hast me view'd;
Ere knew this beating Heart to move,
Thy tender Mercies me pursu'd.
Ever with me may they abide,
And close me in on ev'ry Side.
XV.
Still let thy Love point out my Way,
(How wondrous Things thy Love hath wrought!)
Still lead me lest I go astray,
Direct my Work, inspire my Thought:
And when I fall, soon may I hear
Thy Voice, and know that Love is near.
XVI.
In Suff'ring be thy Love my Peace,
In Weakness be thy Love my Pow'r;
And when the Storms of Life shall cease,
JESU, in that important Hour,
In Death as Life be Thou my Guide,
And save me, who for me hast died!
GOD's Love to Mankind. From the same.
[Johann Scheffler]
I.
[Page 160]O GOD, of Good th' unfathom'd Sea,
Who would not give his Heart to Thee?
Who would not love Thee with his Might?
O JESU, Lover of Mankind,
Who would not his whole Soul and Mind
With all his Strength to Thee unite?
II.
Thou shin'st with everlasting Rays;
Before the unsufferable Blaze
Angels with both Wings veil their Eyes:
Yet free as Air thy Bounty streams
On all thy Works; thy Mercy's Beams
Diffusive as thy Sun's, arise.
III.
Astonish'd at thy frowning Brow,
Earth, Hell, and Heav'ns strong Pillars bow,
Terrible Majesty is Thine!
Who then can that vast Love express
Which bows Thee down to me, who less
Than nothing am, till Thou art mine?
IV.
High-thron'd on Heav'ns eternal Hill,
In Number, Weight and Measure still,
Thou sweetly ord'rest all that is:
And yet Thou deign'st to come to me,
And guide my Steps that I with Thee
Enthron'd may reign in endless Bliss.
V.
Fountain of Good, all Blessing flows
From Thee; no Want thy Fulness knows:
What but Thyself canst Thou desire?
Yes: Self-sufficient as Thou art,
Thou dost desire my worthless Heart,
This, only this Thou dost require.
VI.
Primeval Beauty! in thy Sight
The first-born, sairest Sons of Light
[Page 161] See all their brightest Glories fade:
What then to me thy Eyes could turn
In Sin conceiv'd, of Woman born,
A Worm, a Leaf, a Blast, a Shade?
VII.
Hell's Armies tremble at thy Nod,
And trembling own th' Almighty GOD
Sov'reign of Earth, Air, Hell and Sky.
But who is This that comes from far,
Whose Garments roll'd in Blood appear?
'Tis GOD made Man for Man to die!
VIII.
O GOD, of Good th' unfathom'd Sea,
Who would not give his Heart to Thee?
Who would not love Thee with his Might?
O JESU, Lover of Mankind,
Who would not his whole Soul and Mind
With all his Strength to Thee unite?
The SAVIOUR glorified by All. From the German.
[Johann Scheffler]
I.
THOU, JESU, art our King,
Thy ceaseless Praise we sing:
Praise shall our glad Tongue employ,
Praise o'erflow our grateful Soul,
While we vital Breath enjoy,
While eternal Ages roll.
II.
Thou art th' Eternal Light,
That shin'st in deepest Night.
Wondring gaz'd th' Angelic Train
While Thou bow'dst the Heav'ns beneath,
GOD with GOD wert Man with Man,
Man to save from endless Death.
III.
[Page 176]Thou for our Pain didst mourn,
Thou hast our Sickness born:
All our Sins on Thee were laid;
Thou with unexampled Grace
All the mighty Debt hast paid
Due from Adam's helpless Race.
IV.
Thou hast o'erthrown the Foe,
GOD's Kingdom fix'd below.
Conqu'ror of all Adverse Pow'r,
Thou Heav'n's Gates hast open'd wide:
Thou thine own dost lead secure
In thy Cross, and by thy Side.
V.
Enthron'd above yon Sky
Thou reign'st with GOD most high.
Prostrate at thy Feet we fall:
Pow'r supreme to Thee is giv'n;
Thee, the righteous Judge of all,
Sons of Earth and Hosts of Heav'n.
VI.
Cherubs with Seraphs join
And in thy Praise combine:
All their Quires thy Glories sing:
Who shall dare with Thee to vie?
Mighty LORD, eternal King,
Sov'reign both of Earth and Sky!
VII.
Hail venerable Train,
Patriarchs, first-born of Men!
Hail Apostles of the Lamb,
By whose Strength ye faithful prov'd:
Join t' extol his sacred Name
Whom in Life and Death ye lov'd.
VIII.
The Church thro' all her Bounds
With thy high Praise resounds.
[Page 177]Confessors undaunted here
Unasham'd proclaim their King;
Children's feebler Voices there
To thy Name Hosanna's sing.
IX.
'Midst Danger's blackest Frown
Thee Hosts of Martyrs own.
Pain and Shame alike they dare,
Firmly, singularly Good;
Glorying thy Cross to bear,
Till they seal their Faith with Blood.
X.
Ev'n Heathens feel thy Pow'r,
Thou suff'ring Conqueror!
Thousand Virgins, chaste and clean,
From Love's pleasing Witchcraft free,
Fairer than the Sons of Men,
Consecrate their Hearts to Thee.
XI.
Wide Earth's remotest Bound
Full of thy Praise is found:
And all Heav'ns eternal Day
With thy streaming Glory flames:
All thy Foes shall melt away
From th' insufferable Beams.
XII.
[Page 178]O LORD, O GOD of Love,
Let Us thy Mercy prove!
King of all, with pitying Eye
Mark the Toil, the Pains we feel:
'Midst the Snares of Death we lie,
'Midst the banded Pow'rs of Hell.
XIII.
Arise, stir up thy Pow'r
Thou deathless Conqueror!
Help us to obtain the Prize,
Help us well to close our Race;
That with Thee above the Skies
Endless Joys we may possess.
On the Descent of the HOLY GHOST at Pentecost. Altered from Dr. H. More.
[Dr Henry More]
I.
WHEN CHRIST had left his Flock below,
The Loss his faithful Flock deplor'd:
Him in the Flesh no more they know,
And languish for their absent LORD.
II.
[Page 186]Not long — for He gone up on high
Gifts to receive, and claim his Crown,
Behold them sorrowing from his Sky,
And pour'd the Mighty Blessing down.
III.
He, for the Presence of his Flesh,
The Spirit's sev'n-fold Gifts imparts,
And living Streams their Souls refresh,
And Joy divine o'erflows their Hearts.
IV.
While all in sweet Devotion join'd
Humbly to wait for GOD retire,
The promis'd Grace in rushing Wind
Descends, and cloven Tongues of Fire.
V.
GOD's mighty Spirit fills the Dome,
The feeble Dome beneath him shook,
Trembled the Crowd to feel him come,
Soon as the Sons of Thunder spoke.
VI.
Father! if justly still we claim
To Us and Ours the Promise made,
To Us be graciously the same,
And crown with Living Fire our Head.
VII.
Our Claim admit, and from above
Of Holiness the Spirit show'r,
Of wise Discernment, humble Love,
And Zeal and Unity and Pow'r.
VIII.
[Page 187]The Spirit of convincing Speech
Of Pow'r demonstrative impart,
Such as may ev'ry Conscience reach
And found the Unbelieving Heart.
IX.
The Spirit of refining Fire:
Searching the Inmost of the Mind,
To purge all fierce and foul Desire,
And kindle Life more pure and kind.
X.
The Spirit of Faith in this thy Day
To break the Pow'r of cancel'd Sin,
Tread down its Strength, o'erturn its Sway,
And still the Conquest more than win.
XI.
The Spirit breath of Inward Life
Which in our Hearts thy Laws may write;
Then Grief expires, and Pain and Strife,
'Tis Nature all, and all Delight.
XII.
On all the Earth thy Spirit show'r,
The Earth in Righteousness renew;
Thy Kingdom come, and Hell's o'erpow'r,
And to thy Sceptre all subdue.
XIII.
Like mighty Wind, or Torrent fierce
Let it Opposers all o'er-run,
And ev'ry Law of Sin reverse,
That Faith and Love may make all one.
XIV.
[Page 188]Yea, let thy Spirit in ev'ry Place
Its Richer Energy declare,
While lovely Tempers, Fruits of Grace
The Kingdom of thy CHRIST prepare.
XV.
Grant this, O Holy GOD, and True!
The Ancient Seers Thou didst inspire:
To Us perform the Promise due,
Descend, and crown us Now with Fire.
GRATITUDE for our CONVERSION. From the German.
[Johann Scheffler]
I.
THEE will I love, my Strength, my Tower,
Thee will I love, my Joy, my Crown,
Thee will I love with all my Power,
In all my Works and Thee alone!
Thee will I love till the pure Fire
Fill my whole Soul with chast Desire.
II.
[Page 199]Ah! why did I so late Thee know,
Thee, lovelier than the Sons of Men!
Ah! why did I no sooner go
To Thee, the only Ease in Pain!
Asham'd I sigh, and inly mourn
That I so late to Thee did turn.
III.
In Darkness willingly I stray'd;
I sought Thee, yet from Thee I rov'd:
For wide my wandring Thoughts were spread,
Thy Creatures more than Thee I lov'd.
And now, if more at length I see,
'Tis thro' thy Light, and comes from Thee.
IV.
I thank Thee, Uncreated Sun,
That thy bright Beams on me have shin'd:
I thank Thee, who hast overthrown
My Foes, and heal'd my wounded Mind.
I thank Thee, whose enliv'ning Voice
Bids my freed Heart in Thee rejoice.
V.
Uphold me in the doubtful Race,
Nor suffer me again to stray:
Strengthen my Feet, with steady Peace
Still to press forward in thy Way.
My Soul and Flesh, O LORD, of Might,
Fill, satiate with thy heav'nly Light.
VI.
Give to my Eyes refreshing Tears,
Give to my Heart chast, hallow'd Fires,
Give to my Soul with filial Fears
The Love that all Heav'n's Host inspires:
"That all my Pow'rs with all their Might
" In thy sole Glory may unite.
VII.
Thee will I love, my Joy, my Crown!
Thee will I love, my LORD, my GOD!
[Page 200]Thee will I love, beneath thy Frown
Or Smile, thy Scepter or thy Rod.
What tho' my Flesh and Heart decay?
Thee shall I love in endless Day!
PRAISE. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
O King of Glory, King of Peace,
Thee only will I love:
Thee, that my Love may never cease,
Incessant will I move!
II.
[Page 114]For Thou hast granted my Request,
For Thou my Cries hast heard,
Mark'd all the Workings of my Breast,
And hast in Mercy spar'd.
III.
Wherefore with all my Strength and Art
Thy Mercy's Praise I sing;
To Thee the Tribute of my Heart,
My Soul, my All I bring.
IV.
What tho' my Sins against me cry'd?
Thou didst the Sinner spare:
In vain th' Accuser still reply'd,
For Love had charm'd thy Ear.
V.
Thee sev'n whole Days, not one in sev'n,
Unweary'd will I praise,
And in my Heart, a little Heav'n,
Thy Throne triumphant raise.
VI.
Soften'd and vanquish'd by my Tears
Thou could'st no more withstand,
But when stern Justice call'd for Fears,
Disarm'd her lifted Hand.
VII.
Small is it in this humble sort
Thy Mercy's Pow'r to raise:
For ev'n Eternity's too short
To utter all thy Praise.
The GLANCE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WHEN first thy gracious Eye's survey,
Ev'n in the midst of Youth and Night,
Mark'd me, where sunk in Sin I lay;
I felt a strange unknown Delight.
II.
My Soul in all its Pow'rs renew'd
Own'd the Divine Physician's Art,
So swift the Healing Look bedew'd,
Embalm'd, o'er-ran and fill'd my Heart.
III.
Since then I many a bitter Storm
Have felt, and feeling sure had dy'd,
Had the malicious Fatal Harm
Roll'd on its unmolested Tide:
IV.
But working still, within my Soul,
Thy sweet Original Joy remain'd;
Thy Love did all my Griefs controul,
Thy Love the Victory more than gain'd.
V.
[Page 116]If the first Glance, but open'd now
And now seal'd up, so pow'rful prove,
What wondrous Transports shall we know
When glorying in thy full-ey'd Love!
VI.
When Thou shalt look us out of Pain,
And raise us to thy Blissful Sight,
With open Face strong to sustain
The Blaze of thy unclouded Light!
The CALL. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
COME, O my Way, my Truth, my Life!
A Way that gives us Breath,
A Truth that ends its Followers' Strife,
A Life that conquers Death!
II.
Come, O my Light, my Feast, my Strength!
A Light that shews a Feast;
A Feast that still improves by Length,
A Strength that makes the Guest!
III.
Come, O my Joy, my Love, my Heart!
A Joy that none can move;
A Love that none can ever part,
A Heart that joys in Love!
TRUE PRAISE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
[Page 120]WHEN first my feeble Verse essay'd,
Of heav'nly Joys to sing,
Fancy was summon'd to my Aid
Her choicest Stores to bring.
II.
With study'd Words each rising Thought
I deck'd, with nicest Art,
And shining Metaphors I sought
To burnish ev'ry Part.
III.
Thousands of Notions swift did run,
And fill'd my lab'ring Head;
I blotted oft' what I begun,
This was too flat, that dead.
IV.
To cloath the Sun, no Dress too fine
I thought, no Words too gay,
Much less the Realms that glorious shine
In one Eternal Day.
V.
Mean while I whisp'ring heard a Friend,
"Why all this vain Pretence?
" Love has a Sweetness ready penn'd,
"Take that, and save Expence.
The DIALOGUE. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
SAVIOUR, if Thy precious Love
Could be merited by mine,
Faith these Mountains would remove;
Faith would make me ever Thine:
But when all my Care and Pains,
Worth can ne'er create in Me,
[Page 121] Nought by me thy Fulness gains;
Vain the Hope to purchase Thee.
II.
C. Cease, my Child, thy Worth to weigh,
Give the needless Contest o'er:
Mine Thou art! while thus I say,
Yield Thee up, and ask no more.
What thy Estimate may be,
Only can by Him be told,
Who to ransom Wretched Thee,
Thee to gain, Himself was sold.
III.
S. But when All in Me is Sin,
How can I thy Grace obtain?
How presume Thyself to win?
GOD of Love, the Doubt explain —
Or if Thou the Means supply,
Lo! to Thee I All resign!
Make me, LORD, (I ask not why,
How, I ask not) ever Thine!
IV.
C. This I would — That humbly still
Thou submit to my Decree,
Blindly subjecting thy Will,
Meekly copying after Me:
That as I did leave my Throne;
Freely from my Glory part;
Die, to make thy Heart my own —
S. Ah! no more — Thou break'st my Heart!
Renouncing all for CHRIST. From the French. [Antoinette Bourignon]
I.
COME, Saviour JESU, from above,
Assist me with thy heav'nly Grace,
Withdraw my Heart from worldly Love,
And for Thyself prepare the Place.
II.
O let thy sacred Presence fill
And set my longing Spirit free,
Which pants to have no other Will,
But Night and Day to feast on Thee.
III.
While in these Regions here below,
No other Good will I pursue;
I'll bid this World of Noise and Show
With all its flatt'ring Snares adieu.
IV.
[Page 124]That Path with humble Speed I'll seek
Wherein my Saviour's Footsteps shine,
Nor will I hear, nor will I speak
Of any other Love than thine.
V.
To Thee my Earnest Soul aspires,
To Thee I offer all my Vows,
Keep me from false and vain Desires,
My GOD, my Saviour and my Spouse.
VI.
Henceforth may no profane Delight
Divide this consecrated Soul;
Possess it Thou, who hast the Right,
As Lord and Master of the whole.
VII.
Wealth, Honour, Pleasure, or what else
This short enduring World can give,
Tempt as you will, my Heart repels,
To CHRIST alone resolv'd to live.
VIII.
Thee I can love and Thee alone
With holy Peace and Inward Bliss;
To find Thou tak'st me for thy own,
O what a Happiness is This!
IX.
Nor Heav'n nor Earth do I desire
But thy pure Love within my Breast,
This, this I always will require,
And freely give up all the rest.
X.
Thy Gifts, if call'd for, I resign,
Pleas'd to receive, pleas'd to restore;
Gifts are Thy Work; it shall be mine
The Giver only to adore.
The INVITATION. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
COME hither All, whose grov'ling Taste
Inslaves your Souls, and lays them waste;
Save your Expence, and mend your Cheer:
Here GOD Himself's prepar'd and drest,
Himself vouchsafes to be your Feast,
In whom Alone all Dainties are.
II.
Come hither all, whom tempting Wine
Bows to your Father Belial's Shrine,
Sin all your Boast, and Sense your GOD:
Weep now for what you've drank amiss,
And lose your Taste for sensual Bliss
By drinking here your Saviour's Blood.
III.
Come hither all, whom searching Pain,
Whom Conscience's loud Cries arraign
Producing all your Sins to view:
Taste; and dismiss your Guilty Fear,
O taste and see that GOD is here
To heal your Souls and Sin subdue.
IV.
[Page 126]Come hither all, whom Careless Joy
Does with alluring Force destroy,
While loose ye range beyond your Bounds:
True Joy is here, that passes quite
And all your transient mean Delight
Drowns, as a Flood the lower Grounds.
V.
Come hither all, whose Idol-Love,
While fond the pleasing Pain ye prove,
Raises your foolish Raptures high:
True Love is here; whose dying Breath
Gave Life to Us; who tasted Death,
And tasting once no more can die.
VI.
LORD, I have now invited All,
And instant still the Guests shall call,
Still shall I All invite to Thee:
For, O my GOD, it seems but right
In mine, thy meanest Servant's Sight,
That where All Is, there All should be!
The BANQUET. From the same.
[George Herbert]
I.
WElcome, delicious Sacred Cheer,
Welcome, my GOD, my Saviour dear,
O with me, In me live and dwell!
Thine, Earthly Joy surpasses quite,
The Depths of thy supreme Delight
Not Angel Tongues can taste or tell.
II.
[Page 127]What Streams of Sweetness from the Bowl
Surprize and deluge all my Soul,
Sweetness that is, and makes Divine!
Surely from GOD's right Hand they flow,
From thence deriv'd to Earth below
To chear us with Immortal Wine.
III.
Soon as I taste the Heav'nly Bread,
What Manna o'er my Soul is shed,
Manna that Angels never knew!
Victorious Sweetness fills my Heart,
Such as my GOD delights t' impart,
Mighty to save, and Sin subdue.
V.
I had forgot my Heav'nly Birth,
My Soul degen'rate clave to Earth,
In Sense and Sin's base Pleasures drown'd:
When GOD assum'd Humanity,
And spilt his Sacred Blood for me,
To find me grov'ling on the Ground.
V.
Soon as his Love has rais'd me up,
He mingles Blessings in a Cup,
And sweetly meets my ravish'd Taste,
Joyous I now throw off my Load,
I cast my Sins and Care on GOD,
And Wine becomes a Wing at last.
VI.
Upborn on This, I mount, I fly;
Regaining swift my Native Sky, —
I wipe my streaming Eyes and see
Him, whom I seek, for whom I sue,
My GOD, my Saviour there I view,
Him, who has done so much for me!
VII.
O let thy wondrous Mercy's Praise
Inspire and consecrate my Lays,
[Page 128] And take up all my Lines and Life;
Thy Praise my ev'ry Breath employ:
Be all my Business, all my Joy
To strive in This, and love the Strife!
HYMN to CHRIST. Altered from Dr. Hickes's Reform'd Devotions.
[William Birchley]
I.
JESU, behold the Wise from far
Led to thy Cradle by a Star,
Bring Gifts to Thee their God and King!
O guide us by thy Light, that we
The Way may find, and still to Thee
Our Hearts, our All for Tribute bring.
II.
JESU, the pure, the spotless Lamb,
Who to the Temple humbly came
Duteous the Legal Rights to pay:
O make our proud, our stubborn Will
All thy wise, gracious Laws fulfil,
Whate'er rebellious Nature say.
III.
JESU, who on the fatal Wood
Pour'dst out thy Life's last Drop of Blood,
Nail'd to th' accursed shameful Cross:
O may we bless thy Love, and be
Ready, dear LORD, to bear for Thee
All Shame, all Grief, all Pain, all Loss.
IV.
[Page 131]JESU, who by thine own Love slain,
By thine own Pow'r took'st Life again,
And Conqueror from the Grave didst rise:
O may thy Death our Souls revive,
And ev'n on Earth a new Life give,
A glorious Life that never dies.
V.
JESU, who to thy Heav'n again
Return'dst in Triumph, there to reign
Of Men and Angels Sov'reign King:
O may our parting Souls take Flight
Up to that Land of Joy and Light,
And there for ever grateful sing.
VI.
All Glory to the sacred Three,
One undivided Deity,
All Honour, Pow'r, and Love and Praise;
Still may thy blessed Name shine bright
In Beams of uncreated Light,
Crown'd with its own eternal Rays.
Part of the LXIII Chapter of ISAIAH, Altered from Mr. Norris. [John Norris]
I.
NO common Vision this I see
In more than human Majesty!
Who is this mighty Hero, who,
With glorious Terror on his Brow?
His deep dy'd Crimson Robes outvie
The Blushes of the Morning Sky:
Lo, how triumphant he appears
And Vict'ry in his Visage bears!
II.
How strong, how stately does he go!
Pompous and solemn is his Pace,
And full of Majesty his Face,
Who is this mighty Hero, who?
'Tis I, who to my Promise stand:
I, who sin, Death, Hell, and the Grave
Have foil'd with this all-conquering Hand:
'Tis I, the LORD mighty to save.
III.
Why wear'st Thou then this Crimson Dye;
Say Thou all-conquering Hero, why?
[Page 133]Why do thy Garments look all red
Like them that in the Wine fat tread?
The Wine-press I alone have trod,
That pond'rous Mass I ply'd alone:
And with me to assist was none:
A Task, worthy the Son of GOD!
IV.
Angels stood trembling at the Sight,
Inrag'd, I put forth all my Might,
And down the Engine prest; the Force
Put frighted Nature out of Course;
The Blood gush'd out, and checquer'd o'er
My Garments with its deepest Gore.
With glorious Stains bedeck'd I stood,
And writ my Victory in Blood.
V.
The Day, the signal Day is come
Vengeance of all my Foes to take;
The Day, when Death shall have its Doom,
And the dark Kingdom's Pow'rs shall shake.
I look'd, who to assist stood by:
Trembled Heav'n's Hosts nor ventur'd nigh:
Ev'n to my Father did I look
In Pain: My Father me forsook!
VI.
A while amaz'd I was to see
None to uphold or comfort me:
Then I arose in Might array'd,
And call'd my Fury to my Aid;
My single Arm the Battle won,
And strait th' acclaiming Hosts above
Hymn'd, in new Songs of Joy and Love,
Jehovah and his conquering Son.
PRAYER. From Herbert.
[George Herbert]
I.
HOW swiftly wafted in a Sigh,
Thou GOD that hear'st the Pray'r,
Do our Requests invade the Sky,
And pierce thy bending Ear?
II.
My Suit is made, my Pray'r is o'er,
If I but lift my Eye;
Thou, Omnipresent, can'st no more
Not hear, than Thou canst die.
III.
How shall we Thy great Arm revere,
Which gives this All to be,
Connects the Center with the Sphere,
And spans Infinity!
IV.
Whate'er our ardent Souls require,
Whate'er we wish is there;
Thy Pow'r exceeds our Scant Desire,
And chides our partial Pray'r.
V.
[Page 141]O how unbounded is Thy Love,
Which, when Thou could'st not die,
Descending from Thy Throne Above
Put on Mortality!
VI.
Thou leav'st Thy Father's blissful Face
Our Guilt and Curse t'assume,
To burst the Bars that stopp'd Thy Grace,
And make Thy Bounty Room.
VII.
Still then may Pray'r with me remain,
This my Companion be;
So shall I all my Wants obtain,
Obtain all Heav'n in Thee.
TRUST in PROVIDENCE. From the German.
[Paul Gerhardt]
I.
COMMIT thou all thy Griefs
And Ways into his Hands;
To his sure Truth and tender Care,
Who Earth and Heav'n commands.
II.
Who points the Clouds their Course,
Whom Winds and Seas obey;
He shall direct thy wand'ring Feet,
He shall prepare thy Way.
III.
[Page 142]Thou on the LORD rely,
So safe shalt thou go on;
Fix on his Work thy stedfast Eye,
So shall Thy Work be done.
IV.
No Profit canst thou gain
By self-consuming Care;
To Him commend thy Cause, his Ear
Attends the softest Pray'r.
V.
Thy everlasting Truth,
Father, thy ceaseless Love
Sees all thy Children's Wants, and knows
What best for each will prove.
VI.
And whatsoe'er Thou will'st,
Thou dost, O King of Kings;
What thy unerring Wisdom chose
Thy Pow'r to Being brings.
VII.
Thou ev'ry where hast Way,
And all things serve thy Might;
Thy ev'ry Act pure Blessing is,
Thy Path unfully'd Light.
VIII.
When Thou arisest, LORD,
What shall thy Work withstand?
When all thy Children want Thou giv'st,
Who, who shall stay thy Hand?
IX.
[Page 143]Give to the Winds thy Fears;
Hope, and be undismay'd;
GOD hears thy Sighs, and counts thy Tears,
GOD shall lift up thy Head.
X.
Thro' Waves and Clouds and Storms
He gently clears thy Way;
Wait thou his Time, so shall this Night
Soon end in joyous Day.
XI.
Still heavy is thy Heart?
Still sink thy Spirits down?
Cast off the Weight, let Fear depart,
And ev'ry Care be gone.
XII.
What tho' Thou rulest not?
Yet Heav'n and Earth and Hell
Proclaim, GOD sitteth on the Throne
And ruleth all things well!
XIII.
Leave to his Sov'reign Sway
To choose and to command;
So shalt thou wondring own, his Way
How wise, how strong his Hand.
XIV.
Far, far above thy Thought
His Counsel shall appear,
When fully He the Work hath wrought,
That caus'd thy needless Fear.
XV.
[Page 144]Thou seest our Weakness, LORD,
Our Hearts are known to Thee;
O lift Thou up the sinking Hand,
Confirm the feeble Knee!
XVI.
Let us in Life, in Death,
Thy stedfast Truth declare,
And publish with our latest Breath
Thy Love and Guardian Care!
Living by CHRIST. From the German.
[Paul Gerhardt]
I.
JESU, thy boundless Love to me
No Thought can reach, no Tongue declare:
O knit my thankful Heart to Thee,
And reign without a Rival there.
Thine wholly, thine alone I am:
Be Thou alone my constant Flame.
II.
O grant that nothing in my Soul
May dwell, but thy pure Love alone:
O may thy Love possess me whole,
My Joy, my Treasure, and my Crown.
Strange Fires far from my Soul remove,
My ev'ry Act, Word, Thought, be Love.
III.
O Love, how chearing is thy Ray?
All Pain before thy Presence flies!
Care, Anguish, Sorrow melt away
Where'er thy healing Beams arise:
O JESU, nothing may I see,
Nothing hear, feel or think but Thee!
IV.
[Page 157]Unwearied may I this pursue,
Dauntless to the high Prize aspire;
Hourly within my Breast renew
This holy Flame, this heav'nly Fire;
And Day and Night be all my Care
To guard this sacred Treasure there.
V.
My Saviour, Thou thy Love to me
In Want, in Pain, in Shame, hast show'd;
For me on the accursed Tree
Thou pouredst forth thy guiltless Blood:
Thy Wounds upon my Heart impress,
Nor ought shall the lov'd Stamp efface.
VI.
More hard than Marble is my Heart,
And foul with Sins of deepest Stain:
But Thou the mighty Saviour art,
Nor flow'd thy cleansing Blood in vain.
Ah! soften, melt this Rock, and may
Thy Blood wash all these Stains away.
VII.
O that my Heart, which open stands,
May catch each Drop, that torturing Pain
Arm'd by my Sins, wrung from thy Hands,
Thy Feet, thy Head, thy ev'ry Vein:
That still my Breast may heave with Sighs,
Still Tears of Love o'erflow my Eyes.
VIII.
O that I as a little Child
May follow Thee, nor ever rest
Till sweetly Thou hast pour'd thy mild
And lowly Mind into my Breast.
Nor may we ever parted be
Till I become one Spirit with Thee.
IX.
O draw me, Saviour, after Thee,
So shall I run and never tire:
[Page 158] With gracious Words still comfort me;
Be Thou my Hope, my sole Desire.
Free me from ev'ry Weight: nor Fear
Nor Sin can come, if Thou art here.
X.
My Health, my Light, my Life, my Crown,
My Portion and my Treasure Thou!
O take me, seal me for thine own;
To Thee alone my Soul I bow.
Without Thee all is Pain; my Mind
Repose in nought but Thee can find.
XI.
Howe'er I rove, where'er I turn,
In Thee alone is all my Rest.
Be Thou my Flame; within me burn,
JESU, and I in Thee am blest.
Thou art the Balm of Life: My Soul
Is faint; O save, O make it whole!
XII.
What in thy Love possess I not?
My Star by Night, my Sun by Day;
My Spring of Life when parch'd with Drought,
My Wine to chear, my Bread to stay,
My Strength, my Shield, my safe Abode,
My Robe before the Throne of GOD!
XIII.
[Page 159]Ah Love! Thy Influence withdrawn
What profits me that I am born?
All my Delight, my Joy is gone,
Nor know I Peace, till Thou return.
Thee may I seek till I attain;
And never may we may part again.
XIV.
From all Eternity with Love
Unchangeable Thou hast me view'd;
Ere knew this beating Heart to move,
Thy tender Mercies me pursu'd.
Ever with me may they abide,
And close me in on ev'ry Side.
XV.
Still let thy Love point out my Way,
(How wondrous Things thy Love hath wrought!)
Still lead me lest I go astray,
Direct my Work, inspire my Thought:
And when I fall, soon may I hear
Thy Voice, and know that Love is near.
XVI.
In Suff'ring be thy Love my Peace,
In Weakness be thy Love my Pow'r;
And when the Storms of Life shall cease,
JESU, in that important Hour,
In Death as Life be Thou my Guide,
And save me, who for me hast died!
GOD's Love to Mankind. From the same.
[Johann Scheffler]
I.
[Page 160]O GOD, of Good th' unfathom'd Sea,
Who would not give his Heart to Thee?
Who would not love Thee with his Might?
O JESU, Lover of Mankind,
Who would not his whole Soul and Mind
With all his Strength to Thee unite?
II.
Thou shin'st with everlasting Rays;
Before the unsufferable Blaze
Angels with both Wings veil their Eyes:
Yet free as Air thy Bounty streams
On all thy Works; thy Mercy's Beams
Diffusive as thy Sun's, arise.
III.
Astonish'd at thy frowning Brow,
Earth, Hell, and Heav'ns strong Pillars bow,
Terrible Majesty is Thine!
Who then can that vast Love express
Which bows Thee down to me, who less
Than nothing am, till Thou art mine?
IV.
High-thron'd on Heav'ns eternal Hill,
In Number, Weight and Measure still,
Thou sweetly ord'rest all that is:
And yet Thou deign'st to come to me,
And guide my Steps that I with Thee
Enthron'd may reign in endless Bliss.
V.
Fountain of Good, all Blessing flows
From Thee; no Want thy Fulness knows:
What but Thyself canst Thou desire?
Yes: Self-sufficient as Thou art,
Thou dost desire my worthless Heart,
This, only this Thou dost require.
VI.
Primeval Beauty! in thy Sight
The first-born, sairest Sons of Light
[Page 161] See all their brightest Glories fade:
What then to me thy Eyes could turn
In Sin conceiv'd, of Woman born,
A Worm, a Leaf, a Blast, a Shade?
VII.
Hell's Armies tremble at thy Nod,
And trembling own th' Almighty GOD
Sov'reign of Earth, Air, Hell and Sky.
But who is This that comes from far,
Whose Garments roll'd in Blood appear?
'Tis GOD made Man for Man to die!
VIII.
O GOD, of Good th' unfathom'd Sea,
Who would not give his Heart to Thee?
Who would not love Thee with his Might?
O JESU, Lover of Mankind,
Who would not his whole Soul and Mind
With all his Strength to Thee unite?
The SAVIOUR glorified by All. From the German.
[Johann Scheffler]
I.
THOU, JESU, art our King,
Thy ceaseless Praise we sing:
Praise shall our glad Tongue employ,
Praise o'erflow our grateful Soul,
While we vital Breath enjoy,
While eternal Ages roll.
II.
Thou art th' Eternal Light,
That shin'st in deepest Night.
Wondring gaz'd th' Angelic Train
While Thou bow'dst the Heav'ns beneath,
GOD with GOD wert Man with Man,
Man to save from endless Death.
III.
[Page 176]Thou for our Pain didst mourn,
Thou hast our Sickness born:
All our Sins on Thee were laid;
Thou with unexampled Grace
All the mighty Debt hast paid
Due from Adam's helpless Race.
IV.
Thou hast o'erthrown the Foe,
GOD's Kingdom fix'd below.
Conqu'ror of all Adverse Pow'r,
Thou Heav'n's Gates hast open'd wide:
Thou thine own dost lead secure
In thy Cross, and by thy Side.
V.
Enthron'd above yon Sky
Thou reign'st with GOD most high.
Prostrate at thy Feet we fall:
Pow'r supreme to Thee is giv'n;
Thee, the righteous Judge of all,
Sons of Earth and Hosts of Heav'n.
VI.
Cherubs with Seraphs join
And in thy Praise combine:
All their Quires thy Glories sing:
Who shall dare with Thee to vie?
Mighty LORD, eternal King,
Sov'reign both of Earth and Sky!
VII.
Hail venerable Train,
Patriarchs, first-born of Men!
Hail Apostles of the Lamb,
By whose Strength ye faithful prov'd:
Join t' extol his sacred Name
Whom in Life and Death ye lov'd.
VIII.
The Church thro' all her Bounds
With thy high Praise resounds.
[Page 177]Confessors undaunted here
Unasham'd proclaim their King;
Children's feebler Voices there
To thy Name Hosanna's sing.
IX.
'Midst Danger's blackest Frown
Thee Hosts of Martyrs own.
Pain and Shame alike they dare,
Firmly, singularly Good;
Glorying thy Cross to bear,
Till they seal their Faith with Blood.
X.
Ev'n Heathens feel thy Pow'r,
Thou suff'ring Conqueror!
Thousand Virgins, chaste and clean,
From Love's pleasing Witchcraft free,
Fairer than the Sons of Men,
Consecrate their Hearts to Thee.
XI.
Wide Earth's remotest Bound
Full of thy Praise is found:
And all Heav'ns eternal Day
With thy streaming Glory flames:
All thy Foes shall melt away
From th' insufferable Beams.
XII.
[Page 178]O LORD, O GOD of Love,
Let Us thy Mercy prove!
King of all, with pitying Eye
Mark the Toil, the Pains we feel:
'Midst the Snares of Death we lie,
'Midst the banded Pow'rs of Hell.
XIII.
Arise, stir up thy Pow'r
Thou deathless Conqueror!
Help us to obtain the Prize,
Help us well to close our Race;
That with Thee above the Skies
Endless Joys we may possess.
On the Descent of the HOLY GHOST at Pentecost. Altered from Dr. H. More.
[Dr Henry More]
I.
WHEN CHRIST had left his Flock below,
The Loss his faithful Flock deplor'd:
Him in the Flesh no more they know,
And languish for their absent LORD.
II.
[Page 186]Not long — for He gone up on high
Gifts to receive, and claim his Crown,
Behold them sorrowing from his Sky,
And pour'd the Mighty Blessing down.
III.
He, for the Presence of his Flesh,
The Spirit's sev'n-fold Gifts imparts,
And living Streams their Souls refresh,
And Joy divine o'erflows their Hearts.
IV.
While all in sweet Devotion join'd
Humbly to wait for GOD retire,
The promis'd Grace in rushing Wind
Descends, and cloven Tongues of Fire.
V.
GOD's mighty Spirit fills the Dome,
The feeble Dome beneath him shook,
Trembled the Crowd to feel him come,
Soon as the Sons of Thunder spoke.
VI.
Father! if justly still we claim
To Us and Ours the Promise made,
To Us be graciously the same,
And crown with Living Fire our Head.
VII.
Our Claim admit, and from above
Of Holiness the Spirit show'r,
Of wise Discernment, humble Love,
And Zeal and Unity and Pow'r.
VIII.
[Page 187]The Spirit of convincing Speech
Of Pow'r demonstrative impart,
Such as may ev'ry Conscience reach
And found the Unbelieving Heart.
IX.
The Spirit of refining Fire:
Searching the Inmost of the Mind,
To purge all fierce and foul Desire,
And kindle Life more pure and kind.
X.
The Spirit of Faith in this thy Day
To break the Pow'r of cancel'd Sin,
Tread down its Strength, o'erturn its Sway,
And still the Conquest more than win.
XI.
The Spirit breath of Inward Life
Which in our Hearts thy Laws may write;
Then Grief expires, and Pain and Strife,
'Tis Nature all, and all Delight.
XII.
On all the Earth thy Spirit show'r,
The Earth in Righteousness renew;
Thy Kingdom come, and Hell's o'erpow'r,
And to thy Sceptre all subdue.
XIII.
Like mighty Wind, or Torrent fierce
Let it Opposers all o'er-run,
And ev'ry Law of Sin reverse,
That Faith and Love may make all one.
XIV.
[Page 188]Yea, let thy Spirit in ev'ry Place
Its Richer Energy declare,
While lovely Tempers, Fruits of Grace
The Kingdom of thy CHRIST prepare.
XV.
Grant this, O Holy GOD, and True!
The Ancient Seers Thou didst inspire:
To Us perform the Promise due,
Descend, and crown us Now with Fire.
GRATITUDE for our CONVERSION. From the German.
[Johann Scheffler]
I.
THEE will I love, my Strength, my Tower,
Thee will I love, my Joy, my Crown,
Thee will I love with all my Power,
In all my Works and Thee alone!
Thee will I love till the pure Fire
Fill my whole Soul with chast Desire.
II.
[Page 199]Ah! why did I so late Thee know,
Thee, lovelier than the Sons of Men!
Ah! why did I no sooner go
To Thee, the only Ease in Pain!
Asham'd I sigh, and inly mourn
That I so late to Thee did turn.
III.
In Darkness willingly I stray'd;
I sought Thee, yet from Thee I rov'd:
For wide my wandring Thoughts were spread,
Thy Creatures more than Thee I lov'd.
And now, if more at length I see,
'Tis thro' thy Light, and comes from Thee.
IV.
I thank Thee, Uncreated Sun,
That thy bright Beams on me have shin'd:
I thank Thee, who hast overthrown
My Foes, and heal'd my wounded Mind.
I thank Thee, whose enliv'ning Voice
Bids my freed Heart in Thee rejoice.
V.
Uphold me in the doubtful Race,
Nor suffer me again to stray:
Strengthen my Feet, with steady Peace
Still to press forward in thy Way.
My Soul and Flesh, O LORD, of Might,
Fill, satiate with thy heav'nly Light.
VI.
Give to my Eyes refreshing Tears,
Give to my Heart chast, hallow'd Fires,
Give to my Soul with filial Fears
The Love that all Heav'n's Host inspires:
"That all my Pow'rs with all their Might
" In thy sole Glory may unite.
VII.
Thee will I love, my Joy, my Crown!
Thee will I love, my LORD, my GOD!
[Page 200]Thee will I love, beneath thy Frown
Or Smile, thy Scepter or thy Rod.
What tho' my Flesh and Heart decay?
Thee shall I love in endless Day!
FINIS.