Methinks an angel sits upon the stone;
Like those of old, on that thrice-hallowed night,
Who sat and watched in raiment heavenly bright;
And with a voice inspiring joy, not fear,
Says, pointing upwards--that he is not here,
That he is _risen_.
_Samuel Rogers._
Deign from Thy glory, Saviour, now to shed
On us Thy quickening Spirit’s influence,
That, _risen_ with Thee, our hearts with strong desire
May seek the things above, and join the strain
Of seraphs that surround Thy sapphire throne,
Mingle our songs with theirs, till, in one tide
Of harmony, the pealing anthem roll
O’er the eternal hills, and waft Thy deathless fame.
_S. Stennet._
REVELATION.
The wrath of God is _revealed_ from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God
hath shewed it unto them.--Romans, i. 18, 19.
Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and
the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the _revelation_ of the
mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made
manifest.--Romans, xvi. 25, 26.
Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the
grace that is to be brought unto you at the _revelation_ of Jesus
Christ.--I. Peter, i. 13.
_Revealed_ religion first informed thy sight,
And Reason saw not till Faith sprung to light.
Hence all thy natural worship takes the source:
’Tis _Revelation_, what thou think’st discourse,
Else how com’st thou to see those truths so clear,
Which so obscure to heathens did appear.
_Dryden._
Thy throne is darkness in the abyss of light,
A blaze of glory that forbids the sight;
O, teach me to believe Thee thus concealed,
And search no farther than Thyself _revealed_.
_Dryden._
Bright as the morning of primeval day
Burst on the waters of chaotic gloom,
Came _Revelation_ on the darksome world!--
Then error vanish’d in celestial truth,
Hush’d were the oracles, and quench’d the fires
That savage bigotry for ages fed:
New light, new order, new existence rose!
The pangs of woe, the wrongs of patient worth,
Were now no more, as once their truth had been:
Eternity would pay the debt of time,
The soul redeem, and justify her God.
_R. Montgomery._
Sad error this, to take
The light of Nature, rather than the light
Of _Revelation_ for a guide. As well
Prefer the borrowed light of earth’s pale moon
To the effulgence of the noon-day sun.
_David Bates._
REVENGE.
All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will
be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our
_revenge_ on him.--Jeremiah, xx. 10.
Dearly beloved, _avenge_ not yourselves, but rather give place unto
wrath.--Romans, xii. 19.
Talk not of fame! What fame enjoyed that wretch
That slew his brother? he who could not brook
Rejection from his God, with anger fired,
With envy stung, the ties of nature burst,
And sacrificed the guiltless to _revenge_.
_C. P. Layard._
The fairest action of our human life
Is, scorning to _revenge_ an injury;
For who forgives without a further strife,
His adversary’s heart doth to him tie:
And ’tis a firmer conquest, truly said,
To win the heart, than overthrow the head.
_Lady Carew._
How rash, how inconsiderate is rage!
How wretched, O, how fatal is our error,
When to _revenge_ precipitate we run!
_Revenge_, that still with double force recoils
Back on itself, and is its own _revenge_.
While to the short-lived, momentary joy,
Succeeds a train of woes--an age of torment.
_Frowde._
A wrong _avenged_ is doubly perpetrated;
Two sinners stand, where lately stood but one.
_Thomas McKeller._
Why should man
For a hasty syllable or two,
And vented only in forgetful fury,
Chain all the hopes and riches of his soul
To the _revenge_ of that? Die lost for ever!
For he that makes his last peace with his Maker
In anger, anger is his peace eternally:
He must expect the same return again
Whose venture is deceitful.
_Rowley._
REVERENCE.
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be
had in _reverence_ of all them that are about Him.--Psalm lxxxix. 7.
He sent redemption unto His people: He hath commanded His covenant for
ever: holy and _reverend_ is His name.--Psalm cxi. 9.
We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them
_reverence_.--Hebrews, xii. 9.
While they pervert pure nature’s healthful rules
To loathsome sickness, worthily, since they
God’s image did not _reverence_ in themselves.
_Milton._
Eternal Spirit! grant
The wisdom meek, that lives on truth divine
However veiled. A waiting mind impart,
And in our weakness show our strength to dwell,
Like as of old the pensive Mary sat
Low at His feet, and listened to her Lord;
Absorb’d and self-renouncing, be our soul
Before the cross in docile _reverence_ bent.
_R. Montgomery._
Leaning on Him, make with _reverent_ meekness
His own, thy will;
And with strength from Him shall thy utter weakness
Life’s task fulfil;
And that cloud itself, which now before thee
Lies dark in view,
Shall with beams of light, from the inner glory,
Be stricken through.
_Whittier._
He that to his earthly parent
Pays not _reverence_ due,
To His great Almighty Father
Will be careless too:
He whose filial love is mingled
With no filial fear,
Scarcely will from sad reproaches
Keep his conscience clear.
Grant me, Lord, to duly mingle
Love and fear, that so
I _revere_ my parents earthly,
And for Thee true _reverence_ know.
_Egone._
REWARD.
Verily there is a _reward_ for the righteous.--Psalm lviii. 11.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the _reward_ of the
wicked.--Psalm xci. 8.
Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall
rule for him; behold, his _reward_ is with him, and his work before
him.--Isaiah, xl. 10.
To judge the unfaithful dead, but to _reward_
His faithful, and receive them into bliss.
_Milton._
Blest are the humble souls that see
Their emptiness and poverty,
Treasures of grace to them are given,
And crowns of joy laid up in heaven.
Blest are the men of broken heart,
Who mourn for sin with inward smart,
The blood of Christ divinely flows,
A healing balm for all their woes.
Blest are the souls who thirst for grace,
Hunger and long for righteousness;
They shall be well supplied, and fed
With living streams and living bread.
Blest are the sufferers, who partake
Of pain and shame for Jesus’ sake,
Their souls shall triumph in the Lord,
Glory and joy are their _reward_.
_Watts._
And I am glad that he has lived thus long,
And glad that he has gone to his _reward_:
Nor deem that kindly Nature did him wrong,
Softly to disengage the vital cord.
When his weak hand grew palsied, with his eye
Dark with the mists of age, it was his time to die.
_Wm. C. Bryant._
_Reward_ me not according to my deeds,
But give me grace to stand before Thy throne,
Clad in the robe of righteousness, which He,
The Saviour, graciously hath lent to hide
The foul and leprous taint of guilt. O grant
That His _reward_ may rescue me from death!
_Egone._
RICHES.
Labour not to be _rich_: cease from thine own wisdom.
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for _riches_
certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward
heaven.--Proverbs, xxiii. 4, 5.
How hardly shall they that have _riches_ enter into the kingdom of
God.--Mark, x. 23.
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was
_rich_, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty
might be _rich_.--II. Corinthians, viii. 9.
High-built abundance, heap on heap! for what?
To breed new wants, and beggar us the more;
Then make a _richer_ scramble for the throng,
Soon as this feeble pulse, which leaps so long,
Almost by miracle, is tired of play.
_Young._
All flesh is grass, and all its glory fades
Like the fair flower, dishevelled in the wind;
_Riches_ have wings, and grandeur is a dream.
_Cowper._
Nor _riches_ boast intrinsic worth,
Their charms at best superior earth:
These oft the heaven-born mind enslave,
And make an honest man a knave.
“Wealth cures my wants,” the miser cries.
Be not deceived--the miser lies:
One want he has, with all his store,
That worst of wants--the want of more.
_Cotton._
My soul, with all thy weakened powers
Survey the heavenly prize!
Nor let these glittering toys of earth
Allure thy wandering eyes.
The joys and treasures of a day
I cheerfully resign;
_Rich_ in that large, immortal store,
Secured by grace divine.
_Doddridge._
_Riches_ are akin
To fear, to change, to cowardice, and death.
_Wordsworth._
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our _righteousnesses_ are
as filthy rags.--Isaiah, lxiv. 6.
We do not present our supplications before Thee for our
_righteousnesses_, but for thy great mercies.--Daniel, ix. 18.
For they being ignorant of God’s _righteousness_, and going about to
establish their own _righteousness_, have not submitted themselves unto
the _righteousness_ of God.--Romans, x. 3.
Ay me! how many perils do enfold
The _righteous_ man, to make him daily fall!
Were not that heavenly grace doth him uphold,
And steadfast truth acquit him out of all.
_Spenser._
Lord, grant my just request; O hear my cry,
And prayers that lips untouched by guile unfold,
My cause before Thy high tribunal try,
And let Thine eyes my _Righteousness_ behold.
For impious men, and such as deadly hate
My guiltless soul, have compassed me about;
Who swell with pride, enclosed in their own fate,
And words of contumely thunder out.
Filled with Thy secret treasure, to Thy race,
They their accumulated riches leave!
But I with _righteousness_ shall see Thy face;
And rising in Thy image, joy receive.
_Sandys._
What is all _righteousness_ that men devise?
What, but a sordid bargain for the skies?
But Christ as soon would abdicate His own,
As stoop from Heaven to sell the proud a throne.
_Cowper._
All hail!--the age of crime and suffering ends;
The reign of _righteousness_ from Heaven descends;
Vengeance for ever sheathes the afflicting sword!
Death is destroyed, and Paradise restored;
Man, rising from the ruins of his fall,
Is one with God, and God is All in all.
_James Montgomery._
RIVERS.
There is a _river_, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of
God, the holy places of the tabernacles of the Most High.--Psalm xlvi.
4.
All the _rivers_ run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto
the place from whence the _rivers_ come, thither they return
again.--Ecclesiastes, i. 7.
River! _river!_ headlong _river_!
Down you dash unto the sea;
Sea, that line hath never sounded,
Sea, that voyage hath never rounded,
Like unto Eternity!
_Mrs. Southey._
I think of that great _River_
That from the throne flows free;
Of weary pilgrims on its brink,
Who, thirsting, have come down to drink;
Of that unfailing Stream I think,
When earthly streams I see!
_Mary Howitt._
_River_, beyond the rest
Thou wert supremely blest,
When Zion’s King stood in thy pearly bed;
There did the Saviour stand,
Pour by the prophet’s hand
Thy simple waves o’er His anointed head.
O Saviour! in that tide
Which from Thy pierced side
On Calvary’s mount was poured out like wine,
Cleanse my polluted soul,
The wounds of sin make whole,
And breathe Thy spirit o’er this heart of mine.
_W. H. Brownlee._
Bountiful _rivers_! not upon the earth
Is record traced of God’s exuberant grace,
So deeply graven, as the channels worn
By ever-flowing streams.
_Thomas Ward._
Oh, beautiful _river_,
Flowing so fresh and so free,
I thank the Great Giver
Of every good gift for thee.
_Egone._
ROCK.
The Lord is my _rock_.--Psalm xviii. 2.
He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly;
He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of
_rocks_.--Isaiah, xxxiii. 15, 16.
Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling-stone and _rock_ of offence: and
whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.--Romans, ix. 33.
God, known in Hebron, and by Kedar’s hill,
His glory to those _rocks_ was once laid bare;
Upon the mountain top we seek Thee still,
Lord, tell us whether Thou art there?
Ye peaceful dwellers in these blest retreats;
As at the foot of mountains Israel prayed,
For tranquil nights, and on your _rocky_ seats
Are sounds to you from heav’n conveyed?
Never behold ye the celestial bands
Upon your sacred domes alight and bend?
Never the harpings hear of angel-hands,
Back from the _rocks_ their echoes send?
_Rev. W. Pulling, from Lamartine._
_Rock_ of ages! cleft for me!
Let me hide myself in thee!
Let the water and the blood
From thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.
While I draw this fleeting breath
When my eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on thy judgment throne,
_Rock_ of ages shelter me!
Let me bide myself in thee!
_Toplady._
As the shade of a _rock_ in a weary land
Whence gush the fresh waters at thy command;
As a _rocky_ foundation whereon to build,
As a fortress of _rock_ when the foe is afield,
Such Maker and Saviour of man art thou,
Our fortress, our _rock_, and our shield below.
_Egone._
ROD.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy _rod_ and Thy staff they
comfort me.--Psalm xxiii. 4.
I will cause you to pass under the _rod_.--Ezekiel, xx. 37.
The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see
thy name: hear ye the _rod_, and who hath appointed it.--Micah, vi. 9.
Give me the voice of mirth, the sound of laughter,
The sparkling glance of pleasure’s roving eye,
The past is past,--Avaunt thou dark hereafter!
“Come, eat and drink--to-morrow we must die!”
So, in his desperate mood, the fool hath spoken--
The fool whose heart hath said, “There is no God.”
But for the stricken heart, the spirit broken,
There’s balm in Gilead yet.--The very _rod_,
If we but kiss it, as the stroke descendeth,
Distilleth balm to allay the inflicted smart,
And “Peace that passeth understanding,” blendeth
With the deep sighing of the contrite heart.
_Caroline Bowles._
He who each bitter cup rejects,
No living spring shall quaff;
He whom Thy _rod_ in love corrects,
Shall lean upon Thy staff:
Happy, thrice happy, then, is he,
Who knows the chastening is from Thee!
_Bernard Barton._
Faith and hope
Will teach me how to bear my lot;
To think Almighty Wisdom best,
To bow my head and murmur not.
The chastening hand of One above
Falls heavy, but I kiss the _rod_:
He gives the wound, and I must trust
Its healing to the self-same God.
_Eliza Cook._
SABBATH.
Remember the _Sabbath_ day to keep it holy.--Exodus, xx. 8.
Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation
is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold
on it: that keepeth the _Sabbath_ from polluting it, and keepeth his
hand from doing any evil.--Isaiah, lvi. 1, 2.
The _Sabbath_ was made for man, and not man for the _Sabbath_.
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the _Sabbath_.--Mark, ii. 27,
28.
Great Lord of time! Great King of Heav’n,
Since weekly Thou renew’st my days,
To Thee shall daily thanks be giv’n,
And weekly sacrifice of praise.
This day the light, time’s eldest born,
Her glorious beams did first display,
And then the evening and the morn
Did first obtain the name of day.
Discretion grant me so to know
What _Sabbath_-rites Thou dost require,
And grace my duty so to do,
That I may keep Thy law entire.
_George Wither._
Bright shadows of true rest! some shoots of bliss;
Heaven once a week;
The next world’s gladness pre-possessed in this.
_Henry Vaughan._
How many blessed groups this hour are bending
Through England’s primrose meadow paths, their way
Towards spire and tower, ’midst shadowy elms descending,
Whence the sweet chimes proclaim the hallowed day.
The halls from old heroic ages grey,
Pour their fair children forth; and hamlets low,
With whose thick orchard blooms the soft winds play,
Send out their inmates in a happy flow,
Like a freed vernal stream. I may not tread
With them those pathways--to the feverish bed
Of sickness bound--yet oh my God! I bless
Thy mercy, that with _Sabbath_ peace hath filled
My chastening heart, and all its throbbings stilled
To one deep calm of lowliest thankfulness.
_Mrs. Hemans._
The cheerful _Sabbath_ bells, wherever heard,
Strike pleasant on the sense, most like the voice
Of one who from the far off hills proclaims
Tidings of good to Zion.
_Charles Lamb._
The _Sabbath_ bell,
That over wood, and wild, and mountain-dell
Wanders so far, chasing all thoughts unholy
With sounds most musical, most melancholy.
_Samuel Rogers._
Ah! why should a thought of a world that is flying,
Encumber the pleasure of seasons like these?
Or, why should the _Sabbath_ be sullied with sighing,
While Faith the bright side of eternity sees!
Now let us repose from our care and our sorrow,
Let all that is anxious and sad pass away;
The rough cares of life lay aside till to-morrow,
But let us be tranquil and happy to-day.
Let us say to the world, should it tempt us to wander,
As Abraham said to his men on the plain,
There’s the mountain of prayer, I am going up yonder,
And tarry you here till I seek you again.
To-day on that mount we would seek for Thy blessing,
O Spirit of Holiness meet with us there!
Our hearts then will feel, Thine high influence possessing,
The sweetness of praise, and the favour of prayer.
_James Edmeston._
’Tis past! no more the Summer blooms!
Ascending in the rear,
Behold, congenial Autumn comes,
The _Sabbath_ of the year!
What time thy holy whispers breathe,
The pensive evening shade beneath,
And twilight consecrates the floods;
While nature strips her garment gay,
And wears the verdure of decay,
O, let me wander through the sounding woods!
_Logan._
When through the peaceful parish swells
The music of the _Sabbath_ bells,
Duly tread the sacred road
Which leads you to the house of God;
The blessing of the Lamb is there,
For “God is in the midst of her.”
_Bishop Mant._
Whether men sow or reap the fields,
Her admonitions nature yields;
That not by bread alone we live,
Or what a hand of flesh can give;
That every day should leave some part
Free for a _Sabbath_ of the heart;
So shall the seventh be truly blest,
From morn to eve with hallowed rest.
_Wordsworth._
On the seventh day reposing, lo! the great Creator stood,
Saw the glorious work accomplished,--saw and felt that it was good;
Heaven, earth, man, and beast have being, day and night their
courses run,--
First creation,--infant manhood,--earliest _Sabbath_,--it is done.
On the seventh day reposing, Jesus filled His sainted tomb,
From His spirit’s toil retreating, while He broke man’s fatal doom;
’Twas a new creation bursting, brighter than the primal one,--
’Tis fulfilment,--reconcilement; ’tis redemption,--it is done.
_Da Costa._
The All-beneficent
Cares for man’s better nature, and has given
This _Sabbath_-rest to lead his thoughts to Heaven.
Myriads of thanks for this divinest gift,
For this perpetually recurring day--
Wherein both rich and poor--bond--free--can lift
Their hopes above this fading world, and pray.
_E. J. Eames._
The solemn tolling of the _Sabbath_ bell
Hath something in it holier than of earth;
And when loud anthems to Jehovah swell,
The spirit longeth for a heavenly birth;
And, catching impulse from the good man’s prayer,
The heart is softened to contrition there.
_Isaac F. Shepard._
With silent awe I hail the sacred morn,
Which slowly wakes while all the fields are still;
A soothing calm on every breeze is borne,
A graver murmur gurgles from the rill,
An echo answers softer from the hill,
And softer sings the linnet from the thorn,
The skylark warbles in a tone less shrill:
Hail, light serene! Hail, sacred _Sabbath_ morn!
The rooks float by in silent, airy drove;
The sun a placid yellow lustre shows;
The gales that lately sighed along the grove,
Have hushed their downy wings in dead repose;
The hovering rack of clouds forgets to move:
So smiled the day, when the first morn arose!
_Dr. Leyden._
Yes! blessed _Sabbath_ morn, thy light
Is affluent in pure delight
To those who love thy rest;
Beyond thy sun, a heavenly ray
Adds moral lustre to the day,
And shines into the breast.
_J. K. Mitchell._
Too soon our earthly _Sabbaths_ end!
Cares of a work-day will return,
And faint our hearts, and fitful, burn:
O, think, my soul, beyond compare,
Think what a _Sabbath_ must be there;
Where all is holy bliss, that knows
Nor imperfection, nor a close.
_Thomas Grinfield._
It is the _Sabbath_, O my soul
Own its divine and potent sway;
Let it each sinful thought control,
For thee, for that, was blest this day.
_Anon._
SACRIFICE.
For thou desirest not _sacrifice_: else would I give it: thou
delightest not in burnt offering.
The _sacrifices_ of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite
heart. O God, thou wilt not despise--Psalm li. 16, 17.
I will offer to thee the _sacrifice_ of thanksgiving, and will call
upon the name of the Lord.--Psalm cxvi. 17.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take
away sins.
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, _Sacrifice_, and
offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me.--Hebrews,
x. 4, 5.
See where man’s voluntary _sacrifice_
Bows His meek head, the God eternal dies!
Fixed to the Cross His bleeding arms are bound,
While copious Mercy streams from every wound.
_Bishop Louth._
Thou, Lord, hast said, “the blood of goats,
The flesh of rams I will not prize;--
A contrite heart, a lowly thought,
Are mine accepted _sacrifice_.”
_Sir W. Scott._
When all the breast is pure, each warm desire
Sublimed by holy Love’s ethereal fire,
On winged words our breathing thoughts may rise,
And soar to Heaven, a grateful _sacrifice_.
_James Scott._
Well may the cavern depths of earth
Be shaken and her mountains nod;
Well may the sheeted dead come forth
To gaze upon a suffering God!
Well may the temple-shrine grow dim,
And shadows veil the Cherubim,
When He, the chosen One of Heaven,
A _sacrifice_ for guilt is given!
_J. G. Whittier._
When bees sing chorus in the light,
Of infant day in joy begun,
And sparkling dewdrops clear and bright
Mirror the full uprising sun,
Then let us, Lord of light, arise,
To pay our early _sacrifice_.
_W. Martin._
SAFETY--SAVING.
I am the Lord your God.
Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;
and ye shall dwell in the land in _safety_.--Leviticus, xxv. 17, 18.
The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but _safety_ is of the
Lord.--Proverbs, xxi. 31.
Look unto me, and be ye _saved_, all the ends of the earth: for I am
God, and there is none else.--Isaiah, xiv. 22.
The Son of man is come to _save_ that which was lost.--Matthew, xviii.
11.
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that
believe to the _saving_ of the soul.--Hebrews, x. 39.
Should any to himself for _safety_ fly?
The way to _save_ himself (if any were)
Is to fly from himself. Should he rely
Upon the promise of his wife? What there,
What can he see, but that he most may fear,
A syren sweet to death? Upon his friends?
Who what he needs, or what he hath not, lends?
Or wanting aid himself, and to another sends?
His strength? ’Tis dust:--His pleasure? cause of pain:
His hope? False courtier:--Youth or beauty? Brittle:
Intreaty? Fond:--Repentance? Late and vain:
Just recompense? The world were all too little:
Thy love? He hath no title to a tittle:
Hell’s force? In vain her furies hell shall gather:
His servants, kinsmen, or his children rather?
His child (if good) shall judge; (if bad) shall curse his father.
His life? That brings him to his end, and leaves him:
His end? That leaves him to begin his woe:
His goods? What good is this which so deceives him?
His gods of wood? Their feet, alas! are slow
To go to help, which must be helped to go:
Honours, great worth? Ah! little worth they be
Unto their owners:--Wit? That makes him see
He wanted wit, who thought he had it, wanting Thee.
_Giles Fletcher._
O _save_ me, Power
Of powers supreme, in that tremendous hour!
Thou, who beneath the frowns of fate hath stood,
And in Thy dreadful agony sweat blood;
Thou who for me, through ev’ry throbbing vein,
Hast felt the keenest edge of mortal pain;
Whom death led captive through the realms below,
And taught those horrid mysteries of woe:
Defend me, O my God! O _save_ me, Power
Of powers supreme, in that tremendous hour!
_Young._