In this sequestered corner,
None hears what I express;
Delivered from the scorner,
What peace do I possess !
Beneath the boughs reclining,
Or roving o'er the wild,
I live as undesigning
And harmless as a child.
No troubles here surprise me ;
I innocently play,
While Providence supplies me,
And guards me all the day :
My dear and kind Defender
Preserves me safely here,
From men of pomp and splendour,
Who fill a child with fear.
HAPPY SOLITUDE-UNHAPPY MEN.
My heart is easy, and my burthen light ;
I smile, though sad, when Thou art in my sight:
The more my woes in secret I deplore,
I taste Thy goodness, and I love Thee more.
There, while a solemn stillness reigns around,
Faith, Love, and Hope within my soul abound ;
And while the world suppose me lost in care,
The joys of angels, unperceived, I share.
Thy creatures wrong Thee, O Thou Sovereign Good!
Thou art not loved, because not understood;
This grieves me most, that vain pursuits beguile
Ungrateful men, regardless of Thy smile.
Frail beauty and false honour are adored;
While Thee they scorn, and trifle with Thy Word;
Pass, unconcerned, a Saviour's sorrows by;
And hunt their ruin with a zeal to die.
ASPIRATIONS OF THE SOUL AFTER GOD.
My Spouse in whose presence I live,
Sole object of all my desires,
Who knowest what a flame I conceive
And canst easily double its fires;
How pleasant is all that I meet!
From fear of adversity free,
I find even sorrow made sweet;
Because 'tis assigned me by Thee.
Transported I see Thee display
Thy riches and glory divine;
I have only my life to repay,
Take what I would gladly resign.
Thy will is the treasure I seek,
For Thou art as faithful as strong
There let me, obedient and meek,
Repose myself all the day long.
My spirit and faculties fail;
Oh finish what love has begun!
Destroy what is sinful and frail,
And dwell in the soul Thou hast won!
Dear theme of my wonder and praise,
I cry, who is worthy as Thou!
I can only be silent and gaze :
'Tis all that is left of me now.
O glory in which I am lost,
Too deep for the plummet of thought! On an ocean of deity tossed,
I am swallowed, Í sink into nought. Yet lost and absorbed as I seem,
I chant to the praise of my King; And, though overwhelmed by the theme, Am happy whenever I sing.
THOU hast no lightnings, O Thou Just!
Or I their force should know;
And if Thou strike me into dust,
My soul approves the blow.
The heart, that values less its ease
Than it adores Thy ways,
In Thine avenging anger sees
A subject of its praise.
Pleased I could lie, concealed and lost,
In shades of central night; Not to avoid Thy wrath, Thou knowest, But lest I grieve Thy sight.
Smite me, O Thou, whom I provoke ; And I will love Thee still;
The well-deserved and righteous stroke Shall please me, though it kill.
Am I not worthy to sustain
The worst Thou canst devise?
And dare I seek Thy throne again,
And meet Thy sacred eyes?
Far from afflicting, Thou art kind;
And in my saddest hours
An unction of Thy grace I find,
Pervading all my powers.
Alas! Thou sparest me again;
And when Thy wrath should move, Too gentle to endure my pain, Thou sooth'st me with Thy love, I have no punishment to fear; But, ah! that smile from Thee Imparts a pang far more severe Than woe itself would be.
THE TRIUMPH OF HEAVENLY LOVE DESIRED.
AH! reign, wherever man is found,
My Spouse, beloved and divine!
Then I am rich, and I abound,
When every human heart is Thine.
A thousand sorrows pierce my soul,
To think that all are not Thine own:
Ah! be adored from pole to pole;
Where is Thy zeal? arise; be known!
All hearts are cold, in every place,
Yet earthly good with warmth pursue;
Dissolve them with a flash of grace,
Thaw these of ice, and give us new!
TRUTH AND DIVINE LOVE REJECTED BY THE WORLD.
O LOVE, of pure and heavenly birth!
O simple Truth, scarce known on earth!
Whom men resist with stubborn will;
And, more perverse and daring still,
Smother and quench, with reasonings vain,
While error and deception reign.
Whence comes it, that, your power the same
As His on high, from whence you came,
Ye rarely find a listening ear,
Or heart that makes you welcome here?—
Because ye bring reproach and pain,
Where'er ye visit, in your train.
The world is proud, and cannot bear
The scorn and calumny ye share ;
The praise of men the mark they mean,
They fly the place where ye are seen;
Pure Love, with scandal in the rear,
Suits not the vain; it costs too dear.
Then, let the price be what it may,
Though poor, I am prepared to pay;
Come shame, come sorrow; spite of tears,
Weakness, and heart-oppressing fears;
One soul, at least, shall not repine,
To give you room; come, reign in mine!
I hold by nothing here below;
Appoint my journey, and I go; [pride,
Though pierced by scorn, oppressed by
I feel Thee good, feel nought beside.
No frowns of men can hurtful prove To souls on fire with heavenly Love!
Though men and devils both condemn, No gloomy days arise from them.
Ah, then! to His embrace repair;
My soul, thou art no stranger there;
There Love divine shall be thy guard,
And peace and safety thy reward.
GRATITUDE AND LOVE TO GOD.
ALL are indebted much to Thee,
But I far more than all,
From many a deadly snare set free,
And raised from many a fall.
Overwhelm me from above,
Daily, with Thy boundless love!
What bonds of gratitude I feel
No language can declare;
Beneath the oppressive weight I reel,
'Tis more than I can bear :
When shall I that blessing prove,
To return Thee Love for Love?
Spirit of Charity, dispense
Thy grace to every heart;
Expel all other spirits thence,
Drive self from every part;
Charity divine, draw nigh,
Break the chains in which we lie!
All selfish souls, whate'er they feign,
Have still a slavish lot;
They boast of liberty in vain,
Of Love, and feel it not.
He whose bosom glows with Thee,
He, and he alone, is free.
O blessedness, all bliss above,
When thy pure fires prevail !
Love only teaches what is Love;
All other lessons fail :
We learn its name, but not its powers,
Experience only makes it ours.
THE TESTIMONY OF DIVINE ADOPTION.
How happy are the new-born race; Partakers of adopting grace,
How pure the bliss they share! Hid from the world and all its eyes, Within their heart the blessing lies, And conscience feels it there.
The moment we believe, 'tis ours; And if we love with all our powers The God from whom it came, And if we serve with hearts sincere, 'Tis still discernible and clear,
An undisputed claim.
But, ah! if foul and wilful sin Stain and dishonour us within,
Farewell the joy we knew ;
Again the slaves of Nature's sway,
In lab'rinths of our own we stray,
Without a guide or clue.
The chaste and pure, who fear to grieve
The gracious Spirit they receive,
His work distinctly trace;
And, strong in undissembling love,
Boldly assert and clearly prove
Their hearts His dwelling-place.
O messenger of dear delight,
Whose voice dispels the deepest night,
Sweet peace-proclaiming Dove!
With Thee at hand to soothe our pains,
No wish unsatisfied remains,
No task but that of Love.
'Tis Love unites what sin divides; The centre, where all bliss resides; To which the soul once brought, Reclining on the first great Cause, From His abounding sweetness draws Peace passing human thought.
Sorrow foregoes its nature there,
And life assumes a tranquil air,
Divested of its woes ; [breast,
There sovereign goodness soothes the
Till then incapable of rest,
In sacred sure repose.
To lay the soul that loves him low
Becomes the Only Wise:
To hide, beneath a veil of woe,
The children of the skies.
Man, though a worm, would yet be great;
Though feeble, would seem strong; Assumes an independent state, By sacrilege and wrong.
Strange the reverse, which, once abased,
The haughty creature proves!
He feels his soul a barren waste,
Nor dares affirm he loves.
Scorn'd by the thoughtless and the vain,
To God he presses near;
Superior to the world's disdain,
And happy in its sneer.
Oh welcome, in his heart he says,
Humility and shame!
Farewell the wish for human praise,
The music of a name !
But will not scandal mar the good
That I might else perform?
And can God work it, if he would,
By so despised a worm?
Ah, vainly anxious !-leave the Lord
To rule thee, and dispose ;
Sweet is the mandate of His word,
And gracious all He does.
He draws from human littleness
His grandeur and renown;
And generous hearts with joy confess
The triumph all His own.
Down then with self-exalting thoughts!
Thy faith and hope employ,
To welcome all that He allots,
And suffer shame with joy.
No longer, then, thou wilt encroach
On His eternal right;
And He shall smile at thy approach,
And make thee His delight.
SOURCE of love, and light of day,
Tear me from myself away;
Every view and thought of mine
Cast into the mould of Thine;
Teach, oh teach this faithless heart
A consistent, constant part;
Or, if it must live to grow
More rebellious, break it now!
Is it thus that I requite
Grace and goodness infinite?
Every trace of every boon
Cancelled and erased so soon!
Can I grieve Thee, whom I love;
Thee, in whom I live and move?
If my sorrow touch Thee still,
Save me from so great an ill!
Oh! the oppressive, irksome weight,
Felt in an uncertain state;
Comfort, peace, and rest, adieu,
Should I prove at last untrue!
Still I choose Thee, follow still
Every notice of Thy will ;
But, unstable, strangely weak,
Still let slip the good I seek.
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