To shorter labour, and a lighter weight,
Received but yesterday the gift of breath,
Ordered to-morrow to return to _Death_.
_Prior._
Leaves have their time to fall,
And flowers to wither at the north wind’s breath,
And stars to set--but all,
Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O _Death_!
_Mrs. Hemans._
O what is _Death_? ’Tis life’s last shore,
Where vanities are vain no more!
Where all pursuits their goal obtain,
And life is all retouched again;
Where, in their bright results, shall rise
Thought, virtues, friendships, griefs, and joys.
_Leigh Richmond._
Cold hand, I touch thee! Perished friend! I know
What years of mutual joy are gone with thee;
And yet from those benumbed remains there flow
Calm thoughts, that best with chastened hopes agree.
How strange is _Death_ to life! and yet how sure
The law which dooms all living things to _die_!
Whate’er is outward cannot long endure,
And all that lasts, eludes the subtlest eye.
_John Sterling._
Ere sin could blight, or sorrow fade,
_Death_ came with friendly care,
The opening bud to Heaven conveyed,
And bade it blossom there.
_Coleridge._
O _Death_! Thou great invisible,
Pale monarch of the unending Past,
Who shall thy countless trophies tell,
Or when shall be thy last!
By thee high thrones to earth are flung--
By thee the sword and sceptre rust--
By thee the beautiful and young
Lie mouldering in the dust.
Into thy cold and faded reign
All glorious things of earth depart;
The fairest forms are early slain,
And quenched the fiery heart.
But in yon world thou hast not been,
Where joy can fade, nor beauty fall:
O, mightiest of the things unseen,
Save One that ruleth all!
_Geo. H. Colton._
To _die_ is landing on some peaceful shore,
Where billows never beat, nor tempests roar,
Ere well we feel the friendly stroke ’tis o’er.
_Garth._
The air of _death_ breathes through our souls,
The _dead_ all round us lie;
By day and night the _death_-bell tolls,
And says, “Prepare to _die_!”
The loving ones we love the best,
Like music all are gone!
And the wan moonlight bathes in rest
Their monumental stone.
But not when the _death_-prayer is said,
The life of life departs;
The body in the grave is laid,
Its beauty in our hearts.
_Professor Wilson._
Sleep on, sleep on, ye resting _dead_;
The grass is o’er ye growing
In dewy greenness. Ever fled
From you hath Care; and in its stead
Peace hath with you its dwelling made,
Where tears do cease from flowing--
Sleep on!
_Robert Nicol._
All at rest now--all dust!--wave flows on wave;
But the sea dries not!--what to us the grave?
It brings no real homily; we sigh,
Pause for awhile and murmur, “all must _die_!”
Then rush to pleasure, action, sin once more,
Swell the loud tide, and fret unto the shore.
_Sir E. Bulwer Lytton._
Ah! it is sad when one thus link’d departs!
When _Death_, that mighty sev’rer of true hearts,
Sweeps through the halls so lately loud in mirth,
And leaves pale Sorrow weeping by the hearth!
_Mrs. Norton._
So live, that when thy summons comes,
The innumerable caravan that moves
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of _death_,
That thou, sustained and soothed, approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
Around him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.
_W. C. Bryant._
DEFENCE.
Be thou my strong rock, for an house of _defence_ to save me.--Psalm
xxxi. 2.
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God: _defend_ me from them that rise
up against me.--Psalm lix. 1.
Who trust in thee, O let not shame deject!
Thou ever just, my chased soule secure:
Lord lend a willing eare, with speede protect;
Be thou my rock; with thy strong arme immure.
My rock, my fortresse, for thy honour aid,
And my engaged feet from danger guide,
Pull from their subtile snares in secret laid,
O thou, my only strength, so often try’d.
O let thy face upon thy servant shine;
Save for thy mercies sake, from shame _defend_.
Shame cover those who keepe no lawes of thine,
And undeplored to the grave descend!
_Sandys._
How are thy servants blest O Lord!
How sure is their _defence_!
Eternal wisdom is their guide,
Their help omnipotence.
In midst of dangers, fears, and death,
Thy goodness I’ll adore;
And praise thee for thy mercies past,
And humbly hope for more.
My life, if thou preserv’st my life,
Thy sacrifice shall be;
And death, if death must be my doom,
Shall join my soul to Thee.
_Addison._
From common accidents of life
His care shall guard thee still;
From the blind strokes of chance, and foes
That lie in wait to kill.
At home, abroad, in peace, in war,
Thy God shall thee _defend_;
Conduct thee, through life’s pilgrimage,
Safe to thy journey’s end.
_Brady and Tate._
DELIGHT.
_Delight_ thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desire
of thine heart.--Psalm xxxvii. 4.
Then I was by him, as one brought up with him; and I was daily his
_delight_, rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable part
of his earth; and my _delights_ were with the sons of men.--Proverbs,
viii. 30, 31.
Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give
_delight_ unto thy soul.--Proverbs, xxix. 17.
O voice! once heard
_Delightfully_, increase and multiply;
Now death to him.
_Milton._
Holy and reverend is the name
Of our Eternal King:
Thrice holy Lord! the angels cry;
Thrice holy let us sing.
Holy is He in all His works,
And truth is His _delight_!
But sinners and their wicked ways,
Shall perish from His sight.
_Needham._
And was the day of my _delight_
As pure and perfect as I say?
We know the very Lord of Day
Is dash’d with wandering isles of night.
If all was good and fair we met,
This earth had been a paradise;
It never look’d to human eyes
Since Adam left his garden yet.
_Tennyson._
Amid a round of vain _delights_ he lived,
And took his fill of pleasure; never thought
That life had higher objects, nobler aims
Than just to eat, and drink, and pass away
The precious hours in revelry and mirth.
Born to a priceless heritage, he went
Down to his grave, and knew it not, and all
The everlasting pleasures and _delights_
Of heaven he forfeited--great loss was his!
_Egone._
DELIVERANCE.
Thou art my King, O God: command _deliverances_ for Jacob.--Psalm xliv.
4.
_Deliver_ me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand
of the unrighteous and cruel man.--Psalm lxxi. 4.
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be _delivered_: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be
_deliverance_, as the Lord hath said.--Joel, ii. 32.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me
to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
broken-hearted, to preach _deliverance_ to the captives, and recovering
of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.--Luke,
iv. 18.
Break off your tears, ye saints, and tell
How high our great _Deliverer_ reigns;
Sing how He spoiled the hosts of hell,
And led the monster, Death, in chains.
_Watts._
Lord, I have put my trust in Thee,
Turn not my confidence to shame;
Thy promise is a rock to me,
A tower of refuge is Thy name.
Thou hast upheld me from the womb;
Thou wert my strength and hope in youth;
Now, trembling, bending o’er the tomb,
I lean upon Thine arm of truth.
Cast me not off in mine old age,
Forsake me not in my last hour;
The foe hath not forgone his rage,
The lion ravens to devour.
Me, through what troubles hast Thou brought!
Me, with what consolations crown’d!
Now be Thy last _deliverance_ wrought:
My soul in peace with Thee be found!
_J. Montgomery._
Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing streams do flow;
Let the fiery cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through:
Strong _Deliverer_,
Be thou still my strength and shield.
_Oliver._
DELUSIONS.
I also will choose their _delusions_, and will bring their fears upon
them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did
not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I
delighted not.--Isaiah, lxvi. 4.
God shall send them strong _delusion_, that they should believe a
lie.--II. Thessalonians, ii. 11.
Who therefore seeks in these
True wisdom, finds her not, or by _delusion_.
_Milton._
Dreams and _delusions_ play
With man: he thinks not of his mortal fate:
Death treads his silent way;
The earth turns round, and then, too late,
Man finds no beam is left of all his fancied state.
Rise from your sleep, vain men!
Look round, and ask if spirits born of Heaven,
And bound to Heaven again,
Were only lent or given
To be in this mean round of shades and follies driven.
Turn your unclouded eye
Up to yon bright, to yon eternal spheres;
And spurn the vanity
Of time’s _delusive_ years,
And all its flattering hopes, and all its frowning fears.
What is the ground ye tread
But a mere point compared with that vast space
Around, above you spread--
Where, in the Almighty’s face,
The present, future, past, hold an eternal place?
_From the Spanish of Luis Ponce de Leon._
We walk amid _delusions_ here,
Our joys are unsubstantial things,
Though glorious our dreams appear,
They have their quick evanishings;
They cheat the sense, with vain pretence,
The heart that on them leans deceive;
_Delusive_ all, they rise and fall,
And nought but sad remembrance leave.
_Egone._
DENIAL.
Whosoever shall _deny_ me before men, him will I also _deny_ before my
Father which is in heaven.--Matthew, x. 33.
Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended
because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before
the cock crow, thou shalt _deny_ me thrice.
Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not
_deny_ thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.--Matthew, xxvi. 33,
34, 35.
I think that look of Christ might seem to say:--
“Thou, Peter! art thou then a common stone,
Which I at last must break my heart upon,
For all God’s charge to His high angels may
Guard my foot better? Did I yesterday
Wash my feet, my beloved, that they should run
Quick to _deny_ me, ’neath the morning sun,--
And do thy kisses, like the rest, betray?
The cock crows coldly,--Go, and manifest
A late contrition, but no bootless fear!
For when thy deathly need is bitterest,
Thou shalt not be _denied_, as I am here--
My voice to God and angels shall attest,--
‘Because I know this man let him go clear.’”
_Elizabeth Barrett._
She in her Saviour’s ranks had done
A veteran’s service, and with Polycarp
Might say to Death, “For more than fourscore years
He was my Lord--shall I _deny_ Him now?”
No! no! thou could’st not turn away from Him
Who was thy hope in youth, and on whose arm
The feebleness of hoary hairs were staid.
Before His Father, and the Angel host,
He will adjudge thee faithful. So farewell,
Blessed and full of days.
_Mrs. Sigourney._
Numbers before have try’d,
And found the promise true;
Nor yet one been _deny’d_,
Then why should I or you?
Let us by faith our footsteps trace,
And hasten to the throne of grace.
_John Newton._
DESIRE--DESIRES.
Lord, all my _desire_ is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from
thee.--Psalm xxxviii. 9.
And I will shake all nations, and the _desire_ of all nations shall
come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of
hosts.--Haggai, ii. 7.
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a _desire_ to depart, and to
be with Christ; which is far better.--Philippians, i. 23.
But our _desires’_ tyrannical extortion
Doth force us there to set our chief delightfulness,
When but a baiting-place is all our portion.
_Sir P. Sidney._
Thou blind man’s mark; thou fool’s self-chosen snare,
Fond fancy’s scum, and dregs of scatter’d thought;
Band of all evils; cradle of causeless care;
Thou web of ill, whose end is never wrought,
_Desire! Desire!_ I have too dearly bought,
With price of mangled mind thy worthless ware;
Too long, too long, asleep thou hast me brought,
Who should’st my mind to higher things prepare.
_Sir P. Sidney._
_Desire_’s the vast extent of human mind,
It mounts above, and leaves poor hope behind.
_Dryden._
How large are our _desires_! and yet how few
Events are answerable! So the dew,
Which early on the top of mountains stood,
Meaning, at least, to imitate a flood;
When once the sun appears, appears no more,
And leaves that parch’d which was too moist before.
_Gomersall._
Sages leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great _Desire_ of nations,
Ye have seen its natal star;
Come and worship,
Worship Christ the new-born King.
_J. Montgomery._
The _desire_ of the moth for the star--
Of the night for the morrow--
The devotion to something afar
From the sphere of our sorrow.
_Shelley._
DESOLATION.
Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the _desolation_ of the
wicked, when it cometh.--Proverbs, iii. 25.
And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the _desolation_
which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where
will ye leave your glory?--Isaiah, x. 3.
O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes and behold our
_desolations_, and the city which is called by thy name.--Daniel, ix.
18.
How is Babylon become a _desolation_ among the nations!--Jeremiah, l.
23.
Let us seek some _desolate_ shades, and there
Weep our sad bosoms empty.
_Shakespere._
My _desolation_ does begin to make
A better life.
_Shakespere._
God hath created nights
As well as days to deck the varied globe;
Grace comes as oft clad in the dusky robe
Of _desolation_, as in white attire.
_John Beaumont._
’Tis well to be a mourner, well to feel
My glad hope die;
And sicken at the tears that daily steal
O’er the dimmed eye,
If this strong _desolation_ should reveal
Where my sins lie.
_E. L. Montague._
I sometimes deem their pleasant smiles
Still on me sweetly fall,
Their tones of love I faintly hear
My name in sadness call.
I know that they are happy
With their angel plumage on,
But my heat is very _desolate_,
To think that they are gone.
_Park Benjamin._
But this was like those sudden blasts that
Unlook’d for, wonder on the face of spring;
And worst woe for the heart, whose early fate
Leaves it so young, and, oh, so _desolate_.
_Miss Landon._
DESTRUCTION.
Is not _destruction_ to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the
workers of iniquity?--Job, xxxi. 3.
O thou enemy, _destructions_ are come to a perpetual end; and thou hast
_destroyed_ cities; their memorial is perished with them.--Psalm ix. 6.
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is
the way that leadeth to _destruction_, and many there be which go in
thereat.--Matthew, vii. 13.
’Tis safer far to be that which we _destroy_,
Than by _destruction_ swell in doubtful joy.
_Shakspere._
What a scene of misery
Hath thine obdurate frowardness, old man,
Drawn on thy country’s bosom! and, for that,
Thy proud ambition could not mount so high
As to be styled thy country’s only patron;
Thy malice hath descended to the depth
Of hell, to be renowned in the title
Of her _destroyer_.
_Beaumont and Fletcher._
To _destruction_, sacred and devote,
He with his whole posterity must die.
_Milton._
Thus saith the righteous Lord,
My vengeance shall unsheath the flaming sword,
O’er all thy realms my fury shall be poured.
Where yon proud city stood,
I’ll spread the stagnant flood!
And there the bittern in the sedge shall lurk,
Moaning with sullen strain,
While sweeping o’er the plain,
_Destruction_ ends her work.
_Mason._
While like a tide our minutes flow,
The present and the past,
He fills his own immortal now,
And sees our ages waste.
The sea and sky must perish too,
And vast _destruction_ come;
The creatures--look, how old they grow,
And wait their fiery doom!
_Watts._
DEVOTION--DEVOUT.
No _devoted_ thing, that a man shall _devote_ unto the Lord of all that
he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession,
shall be sold or redeemed: every _devoted_ thing is most holy unto the
Lord.--Leviticus, xxvii. 28.
A _devout_ man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave
much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.--Acts, x. 2.
For as I passed by, and beheld your _devotions_, I found an altar with
this inscription, To the Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly
worship, him declare I unto you.--Acts, xvii. 23.
An aged holy man,
That day and night said his _devotion_,
No other worldly business did apply.
_Spenser._
One grain of incense with _devotion_ offer’d,
’S beyond all perfumes or Sabæan spices,
By one that proudly thinks he merits it.
_Massinger._
I fly
Those wicked tents _devoted_, lest the wrath
Impendent, raging into sudden flame,
Distinguish not.
_Milton._
In vain doth man the name of just expect,
If he _devotion_ to his God neglect.
_Denham._
Man at home, within himself, may find
The Deity immense, and in that frame
So fearfully, so wonderfully made,
See and adore His providence and power.
I see, and I adore! O God most bounteous!
O Infinite of goodness and of glory!
The knee that Thou hast shaped, shall bend to Thee;
The tongue which Thou hast tuned, shall chant Thy praise.
And Thine own image, the immortal soul,
Shall consecrate herself to Thee, for ever!
_Christopher Smart._
_Devotion_, when lukewarm, is un_devout_;
But when it glows, its heat is struck to heaven:
To human hearts her golden harps are strung;
High Heaven’s orchestra chants Amen to man.
_Young._
DEW.
Therefore God give thee of the _dew_ of heaven, and the fatness of the
earth, and plenty of corn and wine.--Genesis, xxviii. 28.
My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the
_dew_.--Deuteronomy, xxxii. 2.
As the _dew_ of Hermon, and as the _dew_ that descended upon the
mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life
for evermore.--Psalm cxxxiii. 3.
O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto
thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early _dew_
it goeth away.--Hosea, vi. 4.
See how the orient _dew_,
Shed from the bosom of the morn,
Into the blowing roses,
Yet careless of its mansion new,
For the clear region where ’twas born,
Round in itself incloses:
And in its little globe’s extent,
Frames as it can its native element.
How it the purple flower does slight!
Scarce touching where it lies;
But gazing back upon the skies,
Shines with a mournful light,
Like its own tear,
Because so long divided from the sphere.
Restless it rolls and insecure,
Trembling lest it grow impure,
Till the warm sun pities its pain,
And to the skies exhales it back again.
So the soul, that drop, that ray
Of the clear fountain of eternal day,
Could it within the human flower be seen,
Remembering still its former height,
Shuns the sweet leaves and blossoms green.
And recollecting its own light,
Does in its pure and circling thoughts express
The greater heaven in an heaven less.
In how coy a figure wound,
Every way it turns away;
So the world excluding round,
Yet receiving in the day;
Dark beneath but bright above,
Here disdaining, there in love:
How loose and easy hence to go;
How girt and ready to ascend;
Moving but on a point below,
It all about does upwards bend,
Such did the manna’s sacred _dew_ distil,
White and entire although congeal’d and chill;
Congeal’d on earth; but does dissolving run
Into the glories of the Almighty sun.
_Andrew Marvell._
The starlight _dews_
All silently their tears of love instil,
Weeping themselves away, till they infuse,
Deep into nature’s breast, the spirit of her hues.
_Byron._
Within these leaves the holy _dew_
That falls from heaven, hath won anew
A glory--in declining.
_Miss Barrett._
Those verdant hills now bathed in morning _dews_,
Whose every drop outvies Golconda’s gem.
Lo! one hangs glittering on yon blade of grass:
Spurn not that lucid trembler, but admire
Its glorious hues, and trace them to their source;
The nice arrangement of its particles.
Draw nigh;--through microscopic lens inspect
That single drop’s profound elaborateness--
Most delicate, and wonderfully wrought.
Is it a work of chance? It is a world
Replete with life, and love, and feud. Its crowds
Dart swift from verge to verge (their ocean depths.)
How nervous and minute each supple fin!
What made that film-like hinge on which it plays?
What hand, what eye, save God’s could fashion it?
_T. L. Merritt._
_Dews_ of the morning! wherefore were ye given?
--To shine on earth, then rise to heaven.
_J. Montgomery._
See how the _dewdrops_ in the morning flowers
Stand glistening, brighter than the precious gem
Whose worth exalts the kingly diadem!
Clear, tiny droplets, which some April showers
Born of big, listed clouds, did weep o’er them,
In their pure joy that summer’s rosy bowers
Were bursting into bloom. Oh! _dewdrops_ pale,
How bountiful His hand, who sends the blessing
Of your surpassing coolness to th’ oppressing
Thirst of the dying flowers, whose juices fail
(But for such timely aid) ’neath noontide’s sun.
There is no storm-wind with its rushing wail,
There is no storm-cloud lowers o’er the vale,
But scatters blessings as it passeth on.
_G. J. O. Allmann._
But, ah! what numbers still are dead,
Though under means of grace they lie!
The _dew_ still falling round their head,
And yet their heart untouched and dry.
Dear Saviour! hear us when we call,
To wrestling pray’r an answer give;
Pour down thy _dew_ upon us all,
That all may feel, and all may live.
_John Newton._
One morn I mark’d two _dewdrops_ bright,
Impendent on a thorny spray:
The gems had caught my roving sight,
Gay glittering in the sunny ray.
A sudden breeze pass’d o’er the ground,
And shook their faithless resting-place;
They trembled--waver’d--with a bound,
Commingled in a kind embrace,
’Tis thus, thought I, with loving hearts,
When adverse storms sweep o’er their sky,
In closer union, each imparts
To each, aid, comfort, soothing joy.
The mingled _dewdrops_ by the sun
Were cherish’d, then exhaled together:
Thus virtuous love, on earth begun,
Renew’d in Heaven, exists for ever.
_George Taylor._
DISTRESS.
Let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto
God, who answered me in the day of my _distress_, and was with me in
the way which I went.--Genesis, xxxv. 3.
I called upon the Lord in _distress_: the Lord answered me, and set me
in a large place.--Psalm cxviii. 5.
There shall be great _distress_ in the land, and wrath upon this
people.--Luke, xxi. 23.
Through all the changing scenes of life,
In trouble and in joy,
The praises of my God shall still
My heart and tongue employ.
Of His deliverance I will boast,
Till all who are _distrest_
From my example comfort take,
And charm their griefs to rest.
_Brady and Tate._
He can, He will, from out the dust,
Raise the blest spirits of the just;
Heal every wound, hush every fear,
From every eye wipe every tear;
And place them where _distress_ is o’er,
And pleasures dwell for evermore.
_Bishop Mant._
Lo! through the gloom of guilty fears,
My faith discerns a dawn of grace;
The Sun of Righteousness appears
In Jesus’ reconciling face.
My suffering, slain, and risen Lord!
In deep _distress_ I turn to Thee--
I claim acceptance in thy word,
My God! my God! forsake not me!
_James Montgomery._
Teach me in times of deep _distress_
To own Thy hand, my God!
And in submissive silence learn
The lessons of Thy rod.
_Heginbotham._
DOUBT.
And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some
_doubted_.--Matthew, xxviii. 17.
Then came the Jews round about Him, and said unto Him, How long dost
thou make us to _doubt_? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.--John,
x. 24.
Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple, and the chief
priests heard these things, they _doubted_ of them whereunto this would
grow.--Acts, v. 24.
Attempt the end, and never stand to _doubt_;
Nothing’s so hard, but search will find it out.
_Herrick._
But desperate is their doom whom _doubt_ has driven
To censure fate, and pious hope forego;
Like yonder blasted boughs by lightning riven,
Perfection, beauty, life, they never know,
But frown on all who pass, a monument of woe.
_Beattie._