the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their _blossom_
shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of
hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.--Isaiah, v. 24.
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the
desert shall rejoice, and _blossom_ as the rose. It shall _blossom_
abundantly.--Isaiah, xxxv. 1, 2.
Fair pledges of a fruitful tree,
Why do you fall so fast?
Your date is not so past
But you may stay yet here awhile,
To blush and gently smile,
And go at last.
What! were ye born to be
An hour and half’s delight
And so to bid good-night?
’Twas pity nature brought ye forth
Merely to show your worth,
And lose you quite.
But you are lovely leaves, where we
May read how soon things have
Their end, though ne’er so brave,
And after they have shown their pride
Like you awhile, they glide
Into the grave.
_Herrick._
Our life hath many a wintry scene,
Deciduous are our sweetest joys;
And _blossoms_ that have loveliest been,
Some withering demon oft destroys.
But there are germs that inly lie,
Waiting the touch of some kind hand,
Germs that destruction’s power defy,
And soon in _bloom_ of hope expand.
_W. J. Brock._
Lo, the arid desert
Shall _blossom_ as the rose,
Wheresoe’er the messenger
Of the Saviour goes.
_Egone._
BOLDNESS.
I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit
whereinsoever any is _bold_, (I speak foolishly,) I am _bold_
also.--II. Corinthians, xi. 21.
Great is my _boldness_ of speech towards you.--II. Corinthians, vii. 4.
Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have _boldness_ and access with
confidence by the faith of him.--Ephesians, iii. 11, 12.
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have _boldness_ in the day
of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.--I. John, iv.
17.
We were _bold_ in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much
contention.--I. Thessalonians, ii. 2.
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are _bold_ as a
lion.--Proverbs, xxviii. 1.
Where high the heavenly temple stands,
The house of God not made with hands,
A great High Priest our nature wears,
The guardian of mankind appears.
He who for men their surety stood,
And poured on earth His precious blood,
Pursues in heaven His mighty plan,
The Saviour and the friend of man.
With _boldness_, therefore, at the throne
Let us make all our sorrows known,
And ask the aid of heavenly power
To help us in the evil hour.
_Logan._
Jesus! Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are my glorious dress;
’Midst flaming worlds, in these array’d,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
_Bold_ shall I stand in Thy great day;
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully absolv’d through these I am
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.
_Wesley._
The man is _bold_ who fronts the cannon’s mouth,
And trembles not when danger leads the way;
But _bolder_ far is he who speaks the truth
Regardless who may stand around and hear,
And with a kindly spirit dares reprove
The fool that cavils at a world to come.
_J. Burbidge._
BONDAGE.
The _bondage_ was heavy upon this people.--Nehemiah, v. 18.
They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in _bondage_ to
any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free.--John, viii. 33.
And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange
land: and that they should bring them into _bondage_, and entreat them
evil four hundred years.--Acts, vii. 6.
The creature itself also shall be delivered from the _bondage_ of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.--Romans,
viii. 21.
Put on charity, which is the _bond_ of perfectness.--Colossians, iii.
14.
Deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to _bondage_.--Hebrews, ii. 15.
Get up, my soul; redeem thy sluggish eyes
From drowsy _bondage_: O beware; be wise:
Thy foe’s before thee; thou must fight or fly:
Life lies most open in a closed eye.
_Quarles._
Lamb of God, for sinners slain,
To thee I feebly pray;
Heal me of my grief and pain,
O take my sins away;
From this _bondage_ Lord release;
No longer let me be opprest;
Jesus, Master, seal my peace,
And take me to thy breast.
_Wesley._
My God, what silken cords are thine!
How soft, and yet how strong!
While power, and truth, and love combine,
To draw our souls along.
Thou sawest us crushed beneath the yoke
Of Satan and of sin:
Thy hand the iron _bondage_ broke,
Our worthless hearts to win.
Drawn by such cords, we onward move,
Till round thy throne we meet;
And, captive in the chains of love,
Embrace our conqueror’s feet.
_Doddridge._
BOOK.
And he took the _book_ of the covenant, and read in the audience of the
people.--Exodus, xxiv. 7.
Ezra opened the _book_ in the sight of all the people; (for he was
above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood
up.--Nehemiah, viii. 5.
Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a
_book_!--Job, xix. 23.
Of making many _books_ there is no end; and much study is a weariness
of the flesh.--Ecclesiastes, xii. 12.
There shall in no wise enter into it (the holy city) any thing that
defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but
they which are written in the Lamb’s _book_ of life.--Revelation, xxi.
27.
Thy glass will shew thee how thy beauties wear,
Thy dial how thy precious minutes waste,
Thy vacant leaves thy mind’s imprint will bear,
And of this _book_ this learning may’st thou taste:
The wrinkles which thy glass will truly show,
Of mouthed graves will give thee memory;
Thou by the dial’s shady stealth may’st know
Time’s thievish progress to eternity;
Look, what thy memory cannot contain,
Commit to these waste blanks, and thou shall find
Those children nursed delivered from thy brain
To take a new acquaintance of thy mind.
These offices so oft as thou wilt look,
Will profit thee, and much enrich thy _book_.
_Shakspere._
But what strange art, what magic can dispose
The troubled mind to change its native woes,
Or lead us willing from ourselves, to see
Others more wretched, more undone than we?
This _books_ can do;--nor this alone, they give
New views of life, and teach us how to live.
They soothe the grieved, the stubborn they chastise,
Fools they admonish, and confound the wise;
Their aid they lead to all; they never shun
The man of sorrow, nor the wretch undone.
Unlike the hard, the selfish, and the proud,
They fly not sullen from the suppliant crowd;
Nor tell to various people various things,
But show to subjects what they show to kings.
Blessed be the gracious Power! who taught mankind
To stamp a lasting image of the mind.
Beasts may convey and tuneful birds may sing
their mutual feelings in the opening spring,
But man alone has skill and power to send
The heart’s warm dictates to a distant friend;
’Tis his alone to please, instruct, advise
Ages remote, and nations yet to rise.
_Crabbe._
I love the sacred _book_ of God,
No other can its place supply;
It points me to the saints’ abode,
It gives me wings, and bids me fly.
Blest _book_! in thee my eyes discern
The image of my absent Lord;
From thine instructive page I learn
The joys his presence will afford.
Then shall I need thy light no more,
For nothing shall be there concealed;
When I have reached the heavenly shore
The Lord himself will stand revealed.
When, ’midst the throng celestial placed,
The bright original I see,
From which thy sacred page was traced,
Blest _book_! I’ve no more need of thee.
But while I’m here thou shalt supply
His place, and tell me of His love;
I’ll read with faith’s discerning eye,
And thus partake of joys above.
_Kelly._
There is a _book_, who runs may read,
Which heavenly truth imparts,
And all the lore its scholars need
Pure eyes and Christian hearts.
The works of God above, below,
Within us, and around,
Are pages in that _book_, to show
How God Himself is found.
_Keble._
BOUNTY.
I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt _bountifully_ with
me.--Psalm xiii. 6.
Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt _bountifully_
with thee.--Psalm cxvi. 7.
Being enriched in every thing to all _bountifulness_, which causeth
through us thanksgiving to God.--II. Corinthians, ix. 11.
This goodly frame of temperance,
Formerly grounded, and fast settled
On firm foundation of true _bountihood_.
_Spenser._
Those godlike men, to wanting virtue kind,
_Bounty_ well placed preferred, and well designed,
To all their titles.
_Dryden._
How full of cheer,
Joyous, devout, and grateful is the soul
To see again its unexhausted God
Thus pile the table of a world with bread!
For what’s the globe on which we all subsist?
The table of immortal _bounty_ ’tis,
A feast perpetual, where unnumbered sons
Sit down to banquet as their sires withdraw,
And in succession generations feed,
Contented rise, give thanks, and pass away.
_Hurdis._
The hand that built the palace of the sky,
Formed the light wings that decorate a fly;
The power that wheels the circling planets round,
Rears every infant floweret on the ground;
That _bounty_ which the mightiest beings share,
Feeds the least gnat that gilds the evening air.
_J. Montgomery._
I love the Lord;--he lent an ear
When I for help implored;
He rescued me from all my fear,
Therefore I love the Lord.
* * * * *
Return, my soul, unto my rest,
From God no longer roam;
His hand hath _bountifully_ blest,
His goodness called thee home.
_J. Montgomery._
BREAD.
Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain _bread_ from heaven
for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every
day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or
no.--Exodus, xvi. 4.
Man doth not live by _bread_ only, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.--Deuteronomy, viii. 3.
_Bread_ which strengtheneth man’s heart.--Psalm civ. 15.
Cast thy _bread_ upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many
days.--Ecclesiastes, xi. 1.
He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth
the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes,
that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes
from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be
the munitions of rocks: _bread_ shall be given him; his waters shall be
sure.--Isaiah, xxxiii. 15, 16.
Give us this day our daily _bread_.--Matthew, vi. 11.
The _bread_ of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life
unto the world.--John, vi. 33.
O King of earth, and air, and sea!
The hungry ravens cry to thee;
To thee the scaly tribes that sweep
The bosom of the boundless deep.
Thy bounteous hand with food can bless
The bleak and lonely wilderness;
And thou has taught us, Lord, to pray
For daily _bread_ from day to day.
And O, when through the wilds we roam,
That part us from our heavenly home;
When lost in danger, want, and woe,
Our faithless tears begin to flow;
Do thou thy gracious comfort give,
By which alone the soul may live;
And grant thy servants, Lord, we pray,
The _bread_ of life, from day to day.
_Heber._
_Bread_ of Heaven! on thee I feed,
For thy flesh is meat indeed.
Ever may my soul be fed
With this true and living _bread_;
Day by day with strength supplied,
Through the life of Him who died.
_Conder._
“Give us our daily _bread_,”--and was that prayer
Unanswered from high Heav’n’s eternal dome?
No, poor man, no!--its music entered there,
And blessings dropp’d upon our earthly home:
Let thy sad eye look round thee everywhere,
When the rich showers or golden sunbeams come,
And plenty greets thee from the teeming sod--
The fruit that blossoms from the hand of God?
“Give us our daily _bread_;” Heaven whispers, “Yes.”
“Give us our daily _bread_;” Earth mutters, “No,”
And mocks the weepings of her sons’ distress:
Bright hours of change are coming, sure though slow,
When pride, and want, and error shall be less,
And more of Heaven be registered below;
Even now the half of Slavery’s flag is furled,
And Thought’s free sunshine circles the wide world.
_Burrington._
Kill not the flower that feeds the useful bee,
For more than beauteous is that sweet flower’s blush;
’Tis toil’s reward that sweetens industry,
As love inspires with strength th’ enraptured thrush.
To fall’n humanity our Father said,
That food and bliss should not be found unsought:
That man should labour for his daily _bread_;
But not that man should toil and sweat for nought.
Not that the best should live a living death,
To give the worst a beastly sense of life;
And waste in servitude their fleeting breath,
Weeping with care and want a hopeless strife.
_E. Elliott._
Father in heaven! thy sacred name
In hallowed strains be sung!
Thy kingdom spread o’er all the earth;
Thy praise fill every tongue.
By happy spirits round thy throne,
As thy commands are done;
So be thy perfect will obeyed
By all beneath the sun.
Our numerous wants are known to thee,
Who canst alone supply;
O grant each day our daily _bread_,
Nor other good deny.
_Hancox._
BREAK--BREAKING.
Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy
way; though thou hast sore _broken_ us in the place of dragons, and
covered us with the shadow of death.--Psalm xliv. 18, 19.
The Lord doth build up Jerusalem; he gathereth together the outcasts of
Israel.
He healeth the _broken_ in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.--Psalm
cxlvii. 2, 3.
The Lord hath annointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he
hath sent me to bind up the _broken_-hearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are
bound.--Isaiah, lxi. 1.
A bruised reed shall he not _break_.--Isaiah, xlii. 3.
For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law; but
if thou be a _breaker_ of the law, thy circumcision is made
uncircumcision.--Romans, ii. 25.
O many
Have _broke_ their backs with laying manors on ’em
For this great journey.
_Shakspere._
Virtues like these
Make human nature shine, reform the soul,
And _break_ our fierce barbarians into men.
_Addison._
Unhappy man, to _break_ the pious laws
Of nature, pleading in his children’s cause.
_Dryden._
Almighty Power, by whose most wise command,
Helpless, forlorn, uncertain, here I stand;
Take this faint glimmering of thyself away,
And _break_ into my soul with perfect day!
_Arbuthnot._
See Heaven its sparkling portals wide display,
And _break_ upon thee in a flood of day.
_Pope._
Not streaming blood, nor purging fire,
Thy righteous anger can appease;
Burnt-offerings thou dost not require,
Or gladly I would render these.
The _broken_ heart in sacrifice,
Alone may thine acceptance meet;
My heart, O God, do not despise,
_Broken_ and contrite, at thy feet.
_J. Montgomery._
BREATH--BREATHING.
By the blast of God they perish, and by the _breath_ of his nostrils
are they consumed.--Job, iv. 9.
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their
_breath_, they die, and return to their dust.--Psalm civ. 29.
Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger,
and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and
his tongue as a devouring fire.
And his _breath_, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of
the neck.--Isaiah, xxx. 27, 28.
Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my _breathing_, at my
cry.--Lamentations, iii. 56.
Since I in storms most used to be,
And seldom yielded flowers,
How shall I get a wreath for thee
From those rude barren hours?
The softer dressings of the spring,
Or summer’s later store,
I will not for thy temples bring,
Which thorns, not roses, wore:
But a twined wreath of grief and praise,
Praise soiled with tears, and tears again
Shining with joy, like dewy days,
This day I bring for all thy pain,
Thy causeless pain; and as sad death,
Which sadness breeds in the most vain,
O not in vain; now beg thy _breath_,
Thy quick’ning _breath_, which gladly bears
Through saddest clouds to that glad place
Where cloudless quires sing without tears,
Sing thy just praise, and see thy face.
_Henry Vaughan._
As those we love decay, we die in part,
String after string is severed from the heart;
Till loosened life, at last, but _breathing_ clay,
Without one pang is glad to fall away.
Unhappy he who latest feels the blow,
Whose eyes have wept o’er every friend, laid low,
Dragged lingering on, from partial death to death,
Till, dying, all he can resign is _breath_.
_Thomson._
BRIGHTNESS.
Through the _brightness_ before him were coals of fire kindled.--II.
Samuel, xxii. 13.
God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory
covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his
_brightness_ was as the light.--Habakkuk, iii. 3, 4.
Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the _brightness_ of his
coming.--II. Thessalonians, ii. 8.
Impotent words, weak lines, that strive in vain,
In vain, alas! to tell so heavenly sight!
So heavenly sight as none can greater feign,
Feign what he can, that seems of greatest might:
Could any yet compare with Infinite?
Infinite sure these joys; my words but light:
Light is the palace where she dwells--O then how _bright_!
_Giles Fletcher._
Through a cloud,
Drawn round about thee like a radiant shrine,
Dark with excessive _bright_ thy skirts appear.
_Milton._
Hope elevates, and joy
_Brightens_ his crest.
_Milton._
High in yonder realms of light,
Far above these lower skies,
Fair and exquisitely _bright_,
Heaven’s unfading mansions rise.
Built of pure and massy gold,
Strong and durable are they;
Deck’d with gems of worth untold,
Subjected to no decay.
_Raffles._
My Father’s house on high,
Home of my soul, how near
At times, to faith’s foreseeing eye,
Thy golden gates appear!
Ah! then my spirit faints
To reach the land I love,
The _bright_ inheritance of saints,
Jerusalem above.
_J. Montgomery._
BROTHERHOOD.
Thou shalt not hate thy _brother_ in thine heart.--Leviticus, xix. 17.
If thy _brother_ be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his
possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he
redeem that which his _brother_ sold.--Leviticus, xxv. 25.
If there be among you a poor man of one of thy _brethren_ within any of
thy gates, in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt
not harden thine heart, nor shut thy hand from thy poor _brother_: but
thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him
sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.--Deuteronomy, xv. 7,
8.
If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy
_brother_ hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the
altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy _brother_, and then
come and offer thy gift.--Matthew, v. 23, 24.
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my _brother_ sin
against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but,
Until seventy times seven.--Matthew, xviii. 21, 22.
Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth
nor his _brother_.--I. John, iii. 10.
Come, Christian _brethren_, ere we part,
Join every voice and every heart,
Our solemn hymn to God we raise
Our final song of grateful praise.
Christians we here may meet no more,
But there is yet a happier shore;
And there, released from toil and pain,
_Brethren_, we all shall meet again.
_H. Kirke White._
Even now a radiant angel goeth forth,
A spirit that hath healing in its wings--
And flyeth east and west, and south and north,
To do the bidding of the King of Kings;
Stirring men’s hearts to compass better things,
And teaching _Brotherhood_ as that sweet source,
Which holdeth in itself all blessed springs;
And showeth how to guide its silver course,
When it shall flood the world with deep exulting force.
_Mrs. Norton._
A _brother’s_ grave oft leads the soul
Up to a _brother’s_ joys;
Joys which ne’er yield to time’s controul,
Beyond the jewelled skies.
_W. J. Brock._
Oh, if the thought be beautiful, if it be wise and kind,
To weave the bond of _brotherhood_, the whole wide world to bind;
And if to sheathe the murderous sword be called a holy deed,
Let all the praise be given to Thee, from whom all such proceed!
Hail, manifested Saviour King! _Brother_ of every man!
Of the poor negro in his chains, the roving mountain clan;
Redeemer of the forest child, and of the fettered slave;
Lover of every human soul, in city, waste, or wave.
_Emma Tatham._
Give me thy hand, _brother_--give me thy hand,
But not as our fathers did, dropping with gore;
Dash down the gauntlet, and shiver the brand,
But not in the fashion they did so of yore;
Throw away war’s array,--come let us prove
Which has the heart that is strongest in love.
Dost thou come from Columbia, afar o’er the deep,
Where the forest its requiem sings in the storm;
Where the bison and elk o’er the broad prairie sweep,
And the hero of labour has conquered a farm?
Ah, then come away, as a _brother_ should come,
For our fathers had birth in the same island home.
_J. B. Syme._
Oh! never let us lightly fling
The barb of woe to wound another;
Oh! let us never haste to bring
The cup of sorrow to a _brother_.
Each has the power to wound, but he
Who wounds that he may witness pain,
Has learnt no law of charity,
Which ne’er inflicts a pang in vain.
’Tis godlike to awaken joy,
Or sorrow’s influence to subdue:
But not to wound, nor to annoy,
Is part of virtue’s lesson too;--
Peace, winged in fairer worlds above,
Shall lend her dawn and brighten this,
When all man’s labour shall be love,
And all his thoughts a _brother’s_ bliss.
_J. Bowring._
In all around we see
Links of the chain that binds the soul of man
Unto his _brother_ man. No human eye
Can gaze undazzled where those links begin,
Nor trace them to their end. Alone to Faith,
With her far eagle-gaze, ’tis given to see
That the all-loving heart of Nature’s God,
And man’s Redeemer, is the burning clasp
That joins in one that all-embracing zone,
Round as the circle of eternity.
* * * * *
This truth, more beautiful than all beside,
That He, whose name is Love, and from whose heart,
As from a living and immortal root,
The whole fair universe hath budded forth,
Hath granted him the high and holy right
To call him “Father”--So all things speak
God’s Fatherhood, and _Brotherhood_ of man.
_H. M. P._
Not with the flashing steel,
Not with the cannon’s peal,
Nor stir of drum;
But in the bonds of love,
Our white flag floats above;
Its emblem is the dove,--
Thus we come.
Oh, then! in God’s great name,
Let each pure spirit’s flame
Burn bright and clear;
Stand firmly in your lot,
Cry ye aloud, doubt not,
Be every fear forgot,
Christ leads us here.
So shall earth’s distant lands,
In happy, holy bands,
One _brotherhood_,
Together rise and sing,
Gifts to one altar bring,
And heaven’s eternal King
Pronounce it good.
_Elnathan Davis._
In these romantic regions man grows wild:
Here dwells the Negro, nature’s outcast child;
Scorned by his _brethren_; but his mother’s eye,
That gazes on him from her warmest sky,
Sees in his flexile limbs untutored grace,
Power on his forehead, beauty in his face;
Sees in his breast, where lawless passions rove,
The heart of friendship, and the home of love;
Sees in his mind, where desolation reigns,
Fierce as his clime, uncultured as his plains,
A soil where virtue’s fairest flowers might shoot,
And trees of science bend with glorious fruit;
Sees in his soul, involved in thickest night,
An emanation of eternal light,
Ordained,’midst sinking worlds, his dust to fire,
And shine for ever when the stars expire.
Is he not man, though Knowledge never shed
Her quickening beams on his neglected head?
Is he not man, though sweet Religion’s voice
Ne’er made the mourner in his God rejoice?
Is he not man, by sin and suffering tried?
Is he not man, for whom the Saviour died?
Belie the Negro’s powers:--in headlong will,
Christian! thy _brother_ thou shalt prove him still:
Belie his virtues; since his wrongs began,
His follies and his crimes have stamped him man.
_J. Montgomery._
For God, who made this teeming earth so full,
And made the proud dependent on the dull--
The strong upon the weak, thereby would show
One common bond should link us all below.
_Mrs. Norton._