I’d travel with the wind,
And wherever I saw the nations torn
By warfare, jealousy, or scorn,
Or hatred of their kind,
I’d fly, I’d fly, on the thunder crash,
And into their blinded bosoms flash;
And all their evil thoughts subdued,
I’d teach them Christian _Brotherhood_.
_C. Mackay._
CALAMITY.
They prevented me in the day of my _calamity_: but the Lord was my
stay.--II. Samuel, xxii. 19.
Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and my _calamity_ laid in the
balances together!--Job, vi. 2.
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth
in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until
these _calamities_ be overpast.--Psalm lvii. 1.
He that is glad at _calamities_ shall not be unpunished.--Proverbs,
xvii. 5.
Strict necessity
Subdues me, and _calamitous_ constraint!
Lest in my hand both sin and punishment,
However insupportable, be all
Devolved.
_Milton._
Much rather I shall choose
To live the poorest in my tribe, than richest
To be in that _calamitous_ prison left.
_Milton._
From adverse shores in safety let her hear
Foreign _calamity_, and distant war;
Of which, great heav’n, let her no portion bear.
_Prior._
Friends counsel quick dismission of our grief;
Mistaken kindness! Our hearts heal too soon,
Are they more kind than He who struck the blow?
Who bids it do His errand in our hearts,
And banish peace till nobler guests arrive,
And bring it back, a true and endless peace?
_Calamities_ are friends.
_Young._
When great _calamities_ afflict the soul,
Then, God of Mercy, then, we cry to Thee!
Thou the physician art to make us whole;
Thou art the help in our _calamity_.
But when the clouds of grief be overpast,
And we may bask in sunshine once again,
Then praise and prayer become a weary task;
Thee we forget, and so neglect to ask
The aid we implored amid our grief and pain.
_Calamities_ are links of that bright chain
Of love divine around us ever cast,
Weaning us from the world, and all things light and vain.
_Egone._
CALMNESS.
Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may
be _calm_ unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so
shall the sea be _calm_ unto you: for I know that for my sake this
great tempest is upon you.
So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea
ceased from her raging.--Jonah, i. 11, 12, 15.
As they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on
the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish!
Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and
they ceased, and there was a _calm_.--Luke, viii. 23, 24.
Be _calm_ in arguing--for fierceness makes
Error a fault, and truth discourtesy.
Why should I feel another man’s mistakes,
More than his sicknesses or poverty?
In love I should, but anger is not love,
Nor wisdom neither: therefore gently move.
_Calmness_ is great advantage--he that lets
Another chafe, may warm him at his fire,
Mark all his wanderings, and enjoy his frets,
As cunning fencers suffer heat to tire.
Truth dwells not in the clouds: the bow that’s there
Doth often aim at, never hit the sphere.
_Herbert._
There is a _calm_ the poor in spirit know,
That softens sorrow, and that sweetens woe;
There is a peace that dwells within the breast,
When all without is stormy and distrest;
There is a light that gilds the darkest hour,
When dangers thicken, and when tempests lower;
That _calm_ is faith, and hope and love is given;
That peace remains when all beside is riven,
That light shines down to man direct from heaven.
_James Edmeston._
The roaring tumult of the billowed sea
Awakes him not: high on the crested surge,
Now heaved, his locks flowed streaming to the blast:
And now descending, ’tween the sheltering waves,
The falling tresses veil the face divine:
Meek through that veil, a momentary gleam,
Benignant shines; he dreams that he beholds
The opening eyes,--that hopeless long had rolled
In darkness,--look around bedimmed with tears
Of joy; but suddenly the voice of fear
Dispelled the happy vision. Awful he rose,
Rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea,
“Peace, be thou still!” and straight there was a _calm_.
With terror-mingled gladness in their looks,
The mariners exclaim--“What man is this,
That even the wind and sea obey his voice?”
_Grahame._
Earth has not anything to show more fair!
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty!
This city now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields and to the sky--
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air,
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour valley, rock, or hill;
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a _calm_ so deep!
The river glideth at its own sweet will;
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still.
_Wordsworth._
Like a frail bark upon an angry sea
Is man, o’erburdened with a weight of sin;
Tossed to and fro, and like to perish, he
Seeks how he best may ’scape, and safety win:
What trembling Jonah is it hides within,
That from the Lord would vainly strive to flee?
Seek till ye find him, straight the quest begin!
And cast him forth that ye may lightened be.
Then with a prayer approach the throne of grace,
The Saviour’s with thee, though he seems to sleep;
Have ye but faith, and wait a little space,
He will arise, and say unto the deep--
“Be still!” The waves will sink, like your alarm,
O’er troubled heart and soul will come a mighty _calm_.
_Egone._
CALVARY.
And when they were come to the place which is called _Calvary_, there
they crucified him.--Luke, xxiii. 33.
O _Calvary_! how blessed are thy borders,
More holy than God’s sanctuary mount,
Of whose high praise be Angels the recorders;
But grateful Man thy praises shall recount,
There Jesus is adored, but here he died!
O _Calvary_! that road is as a fount,
Whence with a sanguine stream thou art supplied,
Yet healing as Bethesda.--_Calvary!_
_J. A. Heraud._
From _Calvary_ a cry was heard,
A long reiterated cry;
My Saviour’s every mournful word
Bespeaks thy soul’s deep agony.
* * * * *
Let the dumb world her silence break;
Let pealing anthems rend the sky!
Awake, my sluggish soul, awake!
He died, that we may never die.
_Cunningham._
When on Sinai’s top I see
God descend in Majesty,
To proclaim His holy law,
All my spirit sinks with awe.
When, in ecstacy sublime,
Tabor’s glorious steep I climb,
At the too transporting light,
Darkness rushes o’er my sight.
When on _Calvary_ I rest,
God, in flesh made manifest,
Shines in my Redeemer’s face,
Full of beauty, truth, and grace.
Here I would for ever stay,
Weep and gaze my soul away;
Thou art heaven on earth to me,
Lovely, mournful _Calvary_.
_J. Montgomery._
CANAAN.
And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the
land of _Canaan_, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were
strangers.--Exodus, vi. 4.
Behold the land of _Canaan_, which I give unto the children of Israel
for a possession.--Deuteronomy, xxxii. 49.
Unto thee will I give the land of _Canaan_, the lot of your
inheritance.--I. Chronicles, xvi. 18.
O! could we make our doubts remove
Those gloomy doubts that rise,
And see the _Canaan_ that we love,
With unbeclouded eyes.
Could we but climb where Moses stood,
And view the landscape o’er;
Nor Jordan’s streams, nor death’s cold flood,
Should fright us from the shore.
_Watts._
On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wishful eye
To _Canaan’s_ fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.
O the transporting, rapt’rous scene,
That rises to my sight!
Sweet fields, arrayed in living green,
And rivers of delight.
All o’er those wide extended plains,
Shines one eternal day;
There God the Son for ever reigns,
And scatters night away.
When shall I reach that happy place,
And be for ever blest?
When shall I see my Father’s face,
And in his bosom rest?
_Stennet._
Tell me, where is the promised land--
The _Canaan_ of our earthly hopes,
Where Peace and Joy go hand in hand,
By sparkling streams, and flowery slopes?
It may be far, it may be near,
Oh, Pilgrim, faith must be thy guide
Across the desert wild and drear,
And o’er the Jordan’s swelling tide.
_Egone._
CAPTIVITY.
By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we
remembered Zion.
We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
For there they that carried us away _captive_ required of us a song,
saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?--Psalm cxxxvii. 1,
2, 3, 4.
The Lord their God shall visit them, and turn away their
_captivity_.--Zephaniah, ii. 7.
That they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are
taken _captive_ by him at his will.--II. Timothy, ii. 26.
He that leadeth into _captivity_ shall go into
_captivity_.--Revelations, xiii. 10.
We sat by Babel’s waters; and our tears
Mingled in silence with the silent stream;
For, oh! our hearts went back to happier years,
And brighter scenes, that faded like a dream.
Our harps, neglected, hung upon the trees,
That threw their shadows o’er the wave’s dark rest,
And sighed, responsive to each passing breeze
That stirred a ripple on its slumbering breast.
But they who led us _captive_ touched the string,
And waked its music with unhallowed hand,
And--mocking all our sadness--bade us sing
The song of Zion in a foreign land.
Oh! never, never!--hushed be now its strains,
Far, far away her exiled children roam;
And never will they sound on other plains,
The holy music of their native home.
_T. K. Hervey._
Thousands of Angels at Thy gate,
And great archangels stand,
And twenty thousand chariots wait,
Great Lord, Thy dread command!
Through all Thy great, Thy vast domain,
With Godlike honours clad,
_Captivity_ in _captive_ chains
Triumphing Thou hast led.
_Mickle._
CARE--CAREFUL.
And the _cares_ of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and
the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh
unfruitful.--Mark, iv. 19.
That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should
have the same _care_ one for another.--I. Corinthians, xii. 25.
Be _careful_ for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God.--Philippians, iv. 6.
Casting all your _care_ upon him; for he _careth_ for you.--I. Peter,
v. 7.
Esteem none happy by their outward air;
All have their portion of allotted _care_,
Though wisdom wears the semblance of content,
When the full heart with agony is rent,
Secludes its anguish from the public view,
And by secluding, learns to conquer too;
Denied the fond indulgence to complain,
The aching heart its peace may best regain.
By love directed, and in mercy meant,
Are trials suffer’d, and afflictions sent;
To stem imperious passion’s furious tide,
To curb the insolence of prosperous pride,
To wean from earth, and bid our wishes soar
To that blest clime where pain shall be no more;
Where wearied virtue shall for refuge fly,
And every tear be wiped from every eye.
_Hannah More._
The insect that with puny wing,
Just shoots along one summer ray;
The flow’ret, which the breath of spring
Wakes into life for half a day.
The smallest mote, the tenderest hair,
All feel our heavenly Father’s _care_.
E’en from the glories of His throne,
He bends to view this earthly ball;
Sees all as if that all were one,
Loves as if that one were all;
Rolls the swift planets in their spheres,
And counts the sinner’s lonely tears.
_Cunningham._
Will then the merciful One, who stamped our race
With his own image, and who gave them sway
O’er earth, and the glad dwellers on her face,
Now that our flourishing nations far away
Are spread, where’er the moist earth drinks the day,
Forget the ancient _care_ that taught and nursed
His latest offspring? will he quench the ray
Infused by his own forming smile at first,
And leave a work so fair all blighted and accursed?
Oh, no! a thousand cheerful omens give
Hope of yet happier days whose dawn is nigh.
He who has tamed the elements, shall not live
The slave of his own passions; he whose eye
Unwinds the eternal dances of the sky,
And in the abyss of brightness dares to span
The sun’s broad circle, rising yet more high,
In God’s magnificent works his will shall scan--
And love and peace shall make their paradise with man.
_W. C. Bryant._
Father of earth and heaven,
Whose arm upholds creation,
To thee we raise the voice of praise,
And bend in adoration.
We praise the Power that made us,
We praise the love that blesses,
While every day that rolls away,
Thy gracious _care_ confesses.
_Henry Ware, Jun._
Faithful servant of the Lord,
Sower of the gracious Word,
Scattering thy seed abroad,--
Much of it will fall, and sink
Where the cattle come to drink,
Trodden in the river’s brink;
Much of it on bogs unsound,
Much on hard and stony ground,
Much where thorns and briers abound.
In the path of daily life
Worldly _cares_, like thorns, are rife,
Ever with the word at strife.
_Egone._
CHANGE.
Because they have no _changes_, therefore they fear not God.--Psalm lv.
19.
My son, fear thou the Lord and the king: and meddle not with them that
are given to _change_.--Proverbs, xxiv. 21.
For I am the Lord, I _change_ not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed.--Malachi, iii. 6.
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all
be _changed_.--I. Corinthians, xv. 51.
Emblem of life! see _changeful_ April sail
In varying vest along the shadowy skies,
Now bidding summer’s stormy zephyrs rise,
Anon, recalling winter’s softest gale,
And pouring from the cloud her sudden hail;
Then, smiling through the tear that dims her eyes,
While Iris with her braid the welkin dyes,
Promise of sunshine, not so prone to fail.
So to us sojourners in life’s low vale,
The smiles of fortune flatter to deceive,
While still the fates the web of misery weave;
So hope exultant spreads her airy sail,
And from the present gloom the soul conveys
To distant summers, and far happier days.
_H. K. White._
Still on its march, unnoticed and unfelt,
Moves on our being. We do live and breathe,
And we are gone. The spoiler heeds us not.
We have our spring-time and our rottenness;
And as we fall, another race succeeds,
To perish likewise. Meanwhile nature smiles--
The seasons run their round--the sun fulfils
His annual course--and heaven and earth remain
Still _changing_, yet _unchang’d_--still doomed to feel
Endless mutation in perpetual rest.
_H. K. White._
Not seldom, clad in radiant vest,
Deceitfully goes forth the morn;
Not seldom, evening in the west,
Sinks smilingly forsworn.
The smoothest seas will sometimes prove
To the confiding bark untrue;
And if she trust the stars above,
They can be treacherous too.
The umbrageous oak, in pomp outspread,
Full oft when storms the welkin rend,
Draws lightening down upon the head
It promised to defend.
But Thou art true, incarnate Lord!
Who didst vouchsafe for man to die;
Thy smile is sure, thy plighted word
No _change_ can falsify.
I bent before Thy gracious throne,
And asked for peace with suppliant knee;
And peace was given,--nor peace alone,
But faith, and hope, and ecstacy!
_Wordsworth._
Of chance, or _change_, O let not man complain,
Else shall he never, never cease to wail;
For, from the imperial dome, to where the swain
Rears the lone cottage in the silent dale,
All feel the assault of fortune’s fickle gale;
Art, empire, earth itself, to _change_ are doomed;
Earthquakes have raised to heaven the humble vale,
And gulfs the mountain’s mighty mass entombed,
And where the Atlantic rolls, wide continents have bloomed.
_Beattie._
The day was dark and stormy; but the night
Dawns into brightness, and the silvery moon
Pours over sea and land her urn of light,
Making of midnight a most pleasant noon.
The autumn blasts were withering, and their blight
Brought desolation: but a richer boon
The balmy showers and breathing zephyrs bring;
And the cold earth, fanned by the breath of spring,
Again shall start into luxuriant life,
Deformity and beauty--storm and calm--
The day-dawn and the darkness--quiet and calm--
Throughout all nature, mix and mingle rife.
Then why should man expect a fixed state,
Where all is _change_--or shrink beneath his fate?
_A. Bethune._
CHARITY.
_Charity_ suffereth long and is kind; _charity_ envieth not; _charity_
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things.
And now abideth faith, hope, _charity_, these three; but the greatest
of these is _charity_.--I. Corinthians, xiii. 4, 5, 6, 7, 13.
Above all these things put on _charity_, which is the bond of
perfectness.--Colossians, iii. 14.
Now the end of the commandment is _charity_.--I. Timothy, i. 5.
Above all things have fervent _charity_ among yourselves; for _charity_
shall cover the multitude of sins.--I. Peter, iv. 8.
Attain the sum
Of Wisdom; hope no higher, though all the stars
Thou knew’st by name, and all the ethereal powers,
All secrets of the deep, all Nature’s works,
Or works of God in heaven, air, earth, and sea,
And all the riches of the world enjoyedst,
And all the rule, one empire; only add
Deeds to thy knowledge answerable; add faith,
Add virtue, patience, temperance; add love,
By name to some called _charity_, the soul
Of all the rest.
_Milton._
Did sweeter sounds adorn my flowing tongue
Than ever man pronounced, or angel sung;
Had I all knowledge, human and divine,
That thought can reach, or Science can define:
And had I power to give that knowledge birth
In all the speeches of the babbling earth;
Did Shadrach’s zeal my glowing breast inspire,
To weary tortures, and rejoice in fire:
Or had I faith like that which Israel saw,
When Moses gave them miracles and law;
Yet gracious _Charity_, indulgent guest,
Were not thy power exerted in my breast,
Those speeches would send up unheeded prayer,
That scorn of life would be but wild despair;
A tymbal’s sound were better than my voice;
My faith were form; my eloquence were noise.
* * * * *
Each other gift, which God on man bestows,
Its proper bounds and due restriction knows,
To one fixt purpose dedicates its power,
And finishing its act, exists no more.
Thus in obedience to what heaven decrees,
Knowledge shall fail, and prophecy decrease,
But lasting _Charity’s_ more ample sway,
Ne’er bound by time, nor subject to decay,
In happy triumph shall for ever live,
And endless good diffuse, and endless praise receive.
_Prior._
Here see, acquitted of all vain pretence,
The reign of genuine _charity_ commence.
Though scorn repay her sympathetic tears,
She still is kind and still she perseveres;
The truth she loves a sightless world blaspheme,
’Tis childish dotage, a delirious dream;
The danger they discern not, they deny;
Laugh at their only remedy, and die.
But still a soul thus touch’d can never cease,
Whoever threatens war, to speak of peace.
Pure in her aim, and in her temper mild,
Her wisdom seems the weakness of a child:
She makes excuses where she might condemn,
Reviled by those that hate her, prays for them;
Suspicion lurks not in her artless breast,
The worst suggested, she believes the best;
Not soon provoked, however stung and teazed,
And if perhaps made angry, soon appeased,
She rather waives than will dispute her right,
And, injured, makes forgiveness her delight.
_Cowper._
Man is dear to man; the poorest poor
Long for some moments in a weary life,
When they can know and feel what they have been;
Themselves the fathers and the dealers out
Of some small blessings, have been kind to such
As needed kindness, for this single cause
That we have all of us one human heart.
Such pleasure is to one kind being known,
My neighbour, when with punctual care, each week
Duly as Friday comes, though press’d herself
By all her wants, she from her store of meal
Takes one unsparing handful for the scrip
Of this old mendicant, and from her door
Returning with exhilarated heart,
Sits by her fire, and builds her hope in heaven.
_Wordsworth._
Gentle reader, see in me,
An emblem of true _charity_;
That while my bounty I bestow,
I’m neither heard nor seen to flow;
And I have fresh supplies from heaven
For every cup of water given.
_Bishop Hoadly, on a Spring._
Were we as rich in _charity_ of deed
As gold--what rock would bloom not with the seed?
We give our alms, and cry “What can we more?”
One hour of time were worth a load of ore!
Give to the ignorant our wisdom!--give
Sorrow our comfort!--lend to those who live
In crime, the counsels of our virtue!--share
With souls our souls, and Satan shall despair!
Alas! what converts one man, who would take
The cross, and staff, and house with Guilt, could make!
* * * * *
Search the material tribes of earth, sea, air,
And the fierce SELF, which strives and slays, is there;
What but that SELF to man doth Nature teach?
Where the charmed link that binds the all to each?
Where the sweet law, (doth Nature boast its birth?)
“Good will to man, and _charity_ on earth?”
_Sir E. B. Lytton._
What though to poverty’s imploring voice
I give my earthly goods; though to the pile
I yield my body, if thy genuine love
Inspire not, this alike is void and vain.
* * * * *
Thou, mild and gentle nature, art estranged
From envy, hatred, insolence, or pride;
Thou seekest not thy own, but others’ weal;
Slow to reprove, but studious to applaud,
And from the eyes of malice to conceal
The weakness thou lamentest to behold:
For thou of each forgiv’st and hop’st the best,
Forbearing and forgiving every ill.
* * * * *
The time shall come when prophecy itself,
And all the knowledge which exalts mankind,
Shall lose their use; these, while the state of man
In imperfection lies, by Heaven are made
To compass ends sublime; but when that state
Imperfect, for perfection shall be changed,
Shall fade away, and boast that use no more.
But, subject to no change, through endless time
Shall Faith, and Hope, and _Charity_ endure;
And thou, O _Charity_, of these the chief,
In high pre-eminence shalt ever reign!
_C. P. Layard._
The consciousness of wrong, in wills not evil
Brings _charity_.
_Leigh Hunt._
When prophecies shall fail,
When tongues shall cease, when knowledge is no more,
And the Great Day is come, thou by the throne
Shalt sit triumphant.
_Glynn._
“Chief grace below, and all in all above!”
What shall I call thee? _Charity_ or Love?
Thy name is bliss; for let but grace remove
The Serpent, Selfishness, and lo! the Dove,
Cover’d with silver wings, or plumes of gold,[1]
Enters the rescued heart, and keeps her hold:
Then love to God on high, good will to men,
With all the gentle virtues in their train,
Flourish together, and together prove
That bliss is but another name for Love!
Blest affluence of that bright flame that glows
Amid the Seraphim, “in burning rows,”
Fill my whole soul! since who has most of Love,
Knows most of Heaven, and of the joys above.
_Mary Milner._
[1] Psalm lxviii. 13.
CHARGE.
The Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a _charge_ unto
the children of Israel.--Exodus, vi. 13.
He shall give his angels _charge_ over thee, to keep thee in all thy
ways.--Psalm xci. 11.
Who shall lay any thing to the _charge_ of God’s elect. It is God that
justifieth.--Romans, viii. 33.
A _charge_ to keep I have,
A God to glorify;
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.
To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfil;--
O may it all my powers engage
To do my Master’s will.
Arm me with jealous care,
As in thy sight to live;
And Oh! thy servant Lord prepare,
A strict account to give.
Help me to watch and pray,
And on thyself rely;
Assured if I my trust betray,
I shall for ever die.
_Wesley._
Since, with pure and firm affection,
Thou on God hast set thy love,
With the wings of His protection,
He will shield thee from above:
Thou shalt call on Him in trouble,
He will hearken, He will save,
Here for grief reward thee double,
Crown with life beyond the grave.
He shall _charge_ His angel legions
Watch and ward o’er thee to keep,
Though thou walk through hostile regions,
Though in desert wilds thou sleep;
On the lion vainly roaring,
On his young, thy foot shall tread,
And, the dragon’s den exploring,
Thou shalt bruise the serpent’s head.
_J. Montgomery._
CHASTENING.