Thus, thus shall it soar when its foes expire;
It shall spread its wings o’er the ills that pained,
The evils that shadowed, the sins that stained;
It shall dwell where no rushing cloud hath sway,
And the pageants of earth shall have melted away.
_Mrs. Sigourney._
That mysterious thing,
Which hath no limit from the walls of sense,--
No chill from hoary time,--with pale decay
No fellowship,--but shall stand forth unchanged,
Unscorched amid the resurrection fires,
To bear its boundless lot of good or ill.
_Mrs. Sigourney._
SOWING.
They that _sow_ in tears shall reap in joy.--Psalm cxxvi. 5.
In the morning _sow_ thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine
hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that,
or whether both shall be alike good.--Ecclesiastes, xi. 6.
Sow in the morn thy seed,
At eve hold not thine hand;
To doubt and fear give thou no heed,--
Broad-cast it o’er the land.
Beside all waters _sow_,
The highway furrows stock;
Drop it where thorns and thistles grow,
Scatter it on the rock.
The good, the fruitful ground,
Expect not here nor there;
O’er hill and dale, by plots ’tis found;
Go forth, then, everywhere.
Thou know’st not which may thrive,
The late or early _sown_;
Grace keeps the precious germs alive,
When and wherever strown.
And duly shall appear,
In verdure, beauty, strength,
The tender blade, the stalk, the ear,
And the full corn at length.
Thou canst not toil in vain;
Cold, heat, and moist, and dry,
Shall foster and mature the grain,
For garners in the sky.
Thence, when the glorious end,
The day of God is come,
The angel-reapers shall descend,
And heaven cry, “Harvest home!”
_James Montgomery._
_Sow_ thy seed, and reap in gladness!
Man himself is all a seed;
Hope and hardship, joy and sadness,
Slow the plant to ripeness lead.
_John Sterling._
SPEECH.
Day unto day uttereth _speech_, and night unto night sheweth
knowledge.--Psalm xix. 2.
Let not an evil _speaker_ be established in the earth.--Psalm cxl. 11.
Let your _speech_ be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may
know how ye ought to answer every man.--Colossians, iv. 6.
The glittering heaven’s refulgent glow,
And sparkling spheres of golden light,
Jehovah’s work and glory show,
By burning day or gentle night.
In silence, through the vast profound,
They move their orbs of fire on high,
Nor _speech_, nor word, nor answering sound,
Is heard upon the tranquil sky;
Yet to the earth’s remotest bar
Their burning glory all is known;
Their living light has sparkled far,
And on the attentive silence shone.
God ’mid the shining legions, rears
A tent where burns the radiant sun;
As, like a bridegroom bright, appears
The monarch, on his course begun.
From end to end of azure heaven
He holds his fiery path along;
To all, his circling heat is given,
His radiance flames the spheres among.
By sunny ray, and starry throne,
The wonders of our mighty Lord
To man’s attentive heart are known,
Bright as the promise of His word.
_J. W. Eastbourne._
First think; and if thy thoughts approve thy will,
Then _speak_; and, after, that thou _speak’st_, fulfil.
_Thomas Randolph._
_Speak_ gently!--’tis a little thing
Dropped in the heart’s deep well;
The good, the joy that it may bring
Eternity shall tell.
_Daniel Bates._
SPIRIT.
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy _Spirit_ to them
that ask Him.--Luke, xi. 13.
The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my
name, he shall teach you all things.--John, xiv. 26.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty
wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat
upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with
other tongues, as the _Spirit_ gave them utterance.--Acts, ii. 2, 3, 4.
Likewise the _Spirit_ also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not
what we should pray for as we ought: but the _Spirit_ itself maketh
intercession for us.--Romans, viii. 26.
Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.--I. Corinthians, vi. 19.
Every _spirit_ as it is most pure,
And hath in it the more of heavenly light,
So it the fairer body doth procure
To habit in, and is more fairly dight
With cheerful grace, and amiable sight;
For of the soul the body form doth take,
For soul is form, and doth the body make.
_Spenser._
Darkness profound
Covered the abyss; but on the watery calm
His brooding wings the _Spirit_ of God outspread,
And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth,
Throughout the fluid mass.
_Milton._
Millions of _spiritual_ creatures walk the earth,
Unseen, both when we sleep and when we wake.
_Milton._
Immortal honour, endless fame
Attend the Almighty Father’s name;
The Saviour Son be glorified,
Who for lost man’s redemption died;
And equal adoration be,
Eternal Paraclete! to Thee.
_Dryden._
That He, The Third
In the Eternal Essence, to the prayer
Sincere should come, should come as soon as asked,
Proceeding from the Father and the Son,
To give Faith and Repentance, such as God
Accepts.
_Pollok._
Our God is a _Spirit_, and they who, aright,
Would perform the pure worship He loveth,
In the heart’s holy temple will seek with delight,
That _spirit_ the Father approveth.
_Bernard Barton._
Will He again in flames of glory
From His celestial hill unfold
His _Spirit_, to confirm the story
Of the inspired Twelve of old?
Else, when the light so brightly glowing,
Each dark cloud fringing with its flame,
Like snow-white mantle lightly flowing
Around the Ethiop’s sable frame?
Forth from the open doors of Heaven,
The radiance over all is shed;
A splendour to the earth is given,
Like glory round a saintly head!
The valleys all, the mountain spires,
The world and all therein, to-night
Are bathed in the celestial fire,
As once the Twelve were crowned with light!
To-morrow is the celebration
Of the out-flowing _Spirit’s_ might,
And all the earth, in preparation,
Is consecrated in this light!
And, like yon golden candles burning
Around the glorious evening skies,
The _Spirit’s_ holy fire returning,
From every Christian heart shall rise!
_Gostick, from the German of Freiligrath._
’Tis a solemn place:
For this dark purple loam, wherein I lie,
And this green mould, the mother of bright flowers,
Was bone and sinew once, now decomposed;
Perhaps has lived, breathed, walked, as proud as we,
And animate with all the faculties,
And finer senses of the human soul!
And now what are they? To their elements
Each has returned, dust crumbled back to dust,
The _spirit_ gone to God.
_William Thompson Bacon._
When the _Spirit_ of our God
Came down, His flock to find,
A voice from Heaven was heard abroad--
A rushing, mighty wind.
Nor doth the outward ear alone
At that high warning start;
Conscience gives back th’ appalling tone;
’Tis echoed in the heart.
_Keble._
If yet the Holy _Spirit_ deigns to dwell
In earthly domes, ’tis not in those defiled
With pride, with fraud, with rapine, or with lust;
’Midst the rough foliage of the thorny brake,
The clustering grape not blushes, and the fig
Decks not the prickly thistle’s barren stalk;
Even thus shall all be measured by their fruits.
_Charles Jenner._
On your souls
The _Spirit_ of God shall dart with inward ray,
And heavenly light in fullest streams be poured.
Then shall ye to remotest peoples, Jew
Or Gentile, bear Christ’s name, and through the world
Proclaim forgiveness of repented sins.
_Thomas Hughes._
The _Spirit_ of God
From Heaven descending, dwells in domes of clay;
In mode far passing human thought, He guides,
Impels, instructs: intense pursuit of good
And cautious flight of evil He suggests,
But in such gentle murmurs, that to know
His heavenly voice, we must have done His will.
_John Hay._
STARS.
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and
the lesser light to rule the night: he made the _stars_ also.--Genesis,
i. 16.
Where wast thou when the morning _stars_ sang together?--Job, xxxviii.
4, 7.
He telleth the number of the _stars_; he calleth them all by their
names.--Psalm cxlvii. 4.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the
king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his
_star_ in the east, and are come to worship him.--Matthew, ii. 1, 2.
Confusion heard His voice, and wild uproar
Stood ruled, stood vast infinitude confined;
Till, at His second bidding, darkness fled,
Light shone, and order from disorder sprung:
Swift to their several quarters hasted then
The cumbrous elements, Earth, Flood, Air, Fire;
And this ethereal quintessence of Heaven
Flew upward, spirited with various forms,
That rolled orbicular, and turned to _stars_
Numberless, as thou seest, and how they move:
Each had his place appointed, each his course.
_Milton._
At His birth, a _star_
Unseen before in Heaven, proclaims Him come,
And guides the eastern sages, who inquire
His place, to offer incense, myrrh, and gold,
His place of birth, a solemn angel tells
To simple shepherds, keeping watch by night:
They gladly thither haste, and by a choir
Of squadroned angels, hear His carol sung:
A Virgin is His Mother, but His Sire,
The Power of the Most High.
_Milton._
Child of the earth! oh, lift thy glance
To yon bright firmament’s expanse;
The glories of its realm explore,
And gaze, and wonder, and adore!
Doth it not speak to every sense,
The marvels of Omnipotence?
Seest thou not there the Almighty name
Inscribed in characters of flame?
Count o’er those lamps of quenchless light,
That sparkle through the shades of night;
Behold them!--can a mortal boast
To number that celestial host?
Mark well each little _star_, whose rays
In distant splendour meet thy gaze:
Each is a world by Him sustain’d
Who from eternity hath reign’d.
Each, kindled not for earth alone,
Hath circling planets of its own,
And beings whose existence springs
From Him, the all-powerful King of Kings.
_Mrs. Hemans._
Ye _stars_! bright legions that before all time,
Camped on yon plain of sapphire, what shall tell
Your burning myriads, but the eye of Him,
Who bade thro’ heaven your golden chariots wheel,
Yet who earth-born can see your hosts, nor feel
Immortal impulses--Eternity?
What wonder if the o’erwrought soul should reel
With its own weight of thought, and the wild eye
See fate within your tracks of sleepless glory lie?
For ye behold the Mightiest. From that steep
What ages have ye worshipped round your King,
Ye heard his trumpet sounded o’er the deep
Of earth:--ye heard the morning angels sing.
Upon that orb now o’er me quivering,
The gaze of Adam fixed from Paradise?
The wanderers of the deluge saw it spring
Above the mountain’s surge, and hailed its rise,
Lighting their lonely track with hope’s celestial dyes.
On Calvary shot down that purple eye,
When, but the soldier and the sacrifice,
All were departed.--Mount of Agony!
But Time’s broad pinion, ere the giant dies,
Shall cloud your clime.--Ye fruitage of the skies,
Your vineyard shall be shaken! From your urn,
Censers of heaven, no more shall glory rise
Your incense to the throne! The heavens shall burn!
For all your pomps are dust, and shall to dust return.
_Croly._
And ye, bright sisters, _stars_ my dear companions,
Which with enamel deck Heaven’s azure field,
And to the heavenly lyre your steps adapting,
Knit and unknit your choruses harmonious,
Into your chain celestial introduced,
Ye shall direct mine eyes to that bright desert,
That view bewildering labyrinths of fire;
Your beams should teach me how to praise and show
Him whom ye seek, and whom, perhaps, ye see;
And merging in my breast his trembling brightness,
I should perceive in him all ye perceive.
_Rev. W. Pulling, from Lamartine._
Ye quenchless _stars_! so eloquently bright,
Untroubled sentries of the shadowy night,
While half the world is lapp’d in downy dreams,
And round the lattice creep your midnight beams,
How sweet to gaze upon your placid eyes,
In lambent beauty looking from the skies.
_R. Montgomery._
_Stars_, wherefore do ye rise?
To light thy spirit to the skies.
_J. Montgomery._
When up to nightly skies we gaze,
Where _stars_ pursue their endless ways,
We think we see, from earth’s low clod,
The wide and shining home of God.
’Tis vain to dream those tracts of space,
With all their worlds, approach His face:
One glory fills each wheeling ball--
One love has shaped and moved them all.
This earth, with all its dust and tears,
Is no less His than yonder spheres;
And rain-drops weak, and grains of sand,
Are stamped by His immediate hand.
_John Sterling._
Yet as the _stars_, the holy _stars_ of night,
Shine out when all is dark,
So would I, cheered by hopes more purely bright,
Tread still the thorny path, whose close is light;
If, but at last, the tossed and weary barque,
Gains the sure haven of her final rest.
_Lucy Hooper._
STILLNESS.
And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the
mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord
was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was
not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and
after the fire a _still_ small voice.--I. Kings, xix. 11, 12.
Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed,
and be _still_.--Psalm iv. 4.
Be _still_, and know that I am God.--Psalm xlvi. 10.
’Tis _stillness_ now! A sudden stay
Has check’d the wild wind on its way,
As, screaming on its mother’s breast,
At once the infant sinks to rest.
And now, throughout the wood, that late
Wav’d bending to the tempest’s weight,
Nor could its depths an echo form,
Save to the wailing of the storm;
Nor bends a twig, nor breathes a breath:
’Tis silence, like the calm of death.
’Twould seem that winter had foregone,
By wrong unsurp’d, his stormy throne,
And giv’n the rightful sway again
To mild October’s placid reign.
Or rather He, whose boundless force
Directs each month’s, each season’s course,
Who formed creation’s works of old,
And, what He form’d, hath still controll’d,
Even He hath said, at whose high will
The wind or swells or falls, “Be _still_!”
_Mant._
The Almighty King,
Not always in the splendid scene of pomp
Tremendous, on the sounding tempest rides,
Or sweeping whirlwind; nor in the awful peal
Of echoing thunder is He always heard,
Or seen in lightning’s livid flames; but oft,
When every turbid element is hushed,
In the _still_ voice of nature stands confest
The Lord Omnipotent.
_Samuel Hayes._
STORM.
He commandeth, and raiseth the _stormy_ wind.
He maketh the _storm_ a calm.--Psalm cvii. 25, 29.
Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of Hosts with thunder, and with
earthquake, and great noise, with _storm_ and tempest.--Isaiah, xxix. 6.
The _storm_ was laid, the winds retired,
Obedient to Thy will;
The sea, that roared at Thy command,
At Thy command was still.
_Addison._
O God! have mercy in this dreadful hour
On the poor mariner! in comfort here
Safe shelter’d as I am, I almost fear
The blast that rages with resistless power.
What were it now to toss upon the waves--
The madden’d waves, and know no succour near;
The howling of the _storm_ alone to hear,
And the wild sea that to the tempest raves;
To gaze amid the horrors of the night,
And only see the billows’ gleaming light;
And in the dread of death to think of her
Who, as she listens sleepless to the gale,
Puts up a silent prayer and waxes pale?
O God! have mercy on the mariner!
_Southey._
A thunder-_storm_!--the eloquence of heaven,
When every cloud is from its slumber riven,
Who hath not paused beneath its hollow groan,
And felt Omnipotence around him thrown?
With what a gloom the ush’ring scene appears!
The leaves all fluttering with instinctive fears,
The waters curling with a fellow dread,
A breezeless fervour round creation spread,
And, last, the heavy rain’s reluctant shower,
With big drops patt’ring on the tree and bower,
While wizard shapes the low’ring sky deform,--
All mark the coming of a thunder-_storm_.
_R. Montgomery._
STRANGER.
I am a _stranger_ and a sojourner with you.--Genesis, xxiii. 4.
The Lord loveth the _stranger_, in giving him food and raiment.
Love ye therefore the _stranger_: for ye were _strangers_ in the land
of Egypt.--Deuteronomy, x. 18, 19.
Do no wrong, do no violence to the _stranger_.--Jeremiah, xxii. 3.
He will vouchsafe
This day to be your guest: bring forth, and pour
Abundance, fit to honour and receive
The heavenly _stranger_.
_Milton._
The _stranger’s_ heart! Oh, wound it not!
A yearning anguish is its lot;
In the green shadow of thy tree,
The _stranger_ finds no rest with thee.
Thou think’st the vine’s low rustling leaves
Are music round the household eaves;
To him that sound hath sorrow’s tone--
The _stranger’s_ heart is with his own.
Thou think’st the children’s laughing play
A lovely sight at fall of day;
Then are the _stranger’s_ thoughts opprest--
A mother’s voice comes o’er his breast.
Thou think’st it sweet when friend to friend
Beneath one roof in prayer may blend;
Then doth the _stranger’s_ eye grow dim--
Far, far are those who’ve prayed with him.
Thy hearth, thy home, thy vintage land--
The voices of thy kindred band;
Oh! ’midst them all when blest thou art,
Deal gently with the _stranger’s_ heart.
_Mrs. Hemans._
Why should I a _stranger_ be
In my Father’s dwelling,
While hill and river, rock and tree,
Of His love are telling?
Always heard, their simple voice,
Bidding child-like hearts rejoice,
Whispers us that love is near.
What we seek in yonder sphere,
Love can find it now, and here.
_J. Gostick._
STREAM.
There is a river, the _streams_ whereof shall make glad the city of
God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.--Psalm xlvi. 4.
He brought _streams_ also out of the rock, and caused waters to run
down like rivers.--Psalm lxxviii. 16.
In the wilderness shall waters break out, and _streams_ in the
desert.--Isaiah, xxxv. 6.
Who see not that the valleys of the world
Might even right with the mountains: that they grow
Green and lie warmer; and ever peaceful are
When clouds spit fire at hills, and burn them bare.
Not valley’s part, but we should imitate _streams_
That run below the valleys, and do yield
To every mole-hill; every bank embrace
That checks their currents; and when torrents come,
That swell and raise them past their natural height,
How mad they are and troubled; like low _streams_
With torrents crown’d are men with diadems.
_Chapman._
Around Thy throne, in peaceful _streams_,
O God! celestial pleasure glides;
The brightening wave Thine image beams,
Untinged by sorrow’s darkened tides.
That _stream_ my fainting spirit cheers
When sultry suns pour down their heat;
And when I cross the vale of tears,
It makes the cup of sorrow sweet.
_J. Alexander._
I know a _stream_, a gentle _stream_
Which by a valley glides along,
That well might suit a Poet’s theme,
Or fit a raptured Minstrel’s song;
And often I have stood to look
On the calm beauty of that brook,
And thought the scene was such as might
Have shone upon Creation’s morn,
When all the morning stars of light,
Sang joyously that earth was born;
And angels as they paused to see,
Joined the triumphant Jubilee!
And God himself in glory stood,
And there pronounced it very good.
_Ann Pratt._
STRENGTH.
As thy days, so shall thy _strength_ be.--Deuteronomy, xxxiii. 25.
The Lord is my _strength_ and song, and is become my salvation.--Psalm
cxviii. 14.
He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name.
He hath shewed _strength_ with his arm; He hath scattered the proud in
the imagination of their hearts.--Luke, i. 49, 51.
Vigour from toil, from trouble patience grows.
The weakly blossom, warm in summer bower,
Some tints of transient beauty may disclose;
But ah! it withers in the chilling hour.
Mark yonder oaks! Superior to the power
Of all the warring winds of heaven they rise,
And from the stormy promontory tower,
And toss their giant arms amid the skies,
While each assailing blast increase of _strength_ supplies.
_Beattie._
The _strength_ of man sinks in the hour of trial;
But there doth live a power, that to the battle
Girdeth the weak.
_Joanna Baillie._
When adverse winds and waves arise,
And in my heart despondence sighs,--
While life her throng of care reveals,
And weakness o’er my spirit steals,--
Grateful I hear the kind decree,
That “as my day, my _strength_ shall be.”
When, with sad footstep, memory roves
’Mid smitten joys, and buried loves,--
When sleep my tearful pillow flies,
And dewy morning drinks my sighs,--
Still to Thy promise, Lord, I flee,
That “as my day, my _strength_ shall be.”
One trial more must yet be past,
One pang,--the keenest and the last;
And when, with brow convulsed and pale,
My feeble quivering heart-strings fail,
Redeemer, grant my soul to see
That “as her day, her _strength_ shall be.”
_Mrs. Sigourney._
STRIFE.
Let there be no _strife_, I pray thee, between me and thee.--Genesis,
xiii. 8.
Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence from the pride of
man; Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the _strife_ of
tongues.--Psalm xxxi. 20.
He that passeth by, and meddleth with _strife_ belonging not to him, is
like one that taketh a dog by the ears.--Proverbs, xxvi. 17.
Foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender
_strifes_.--II. Timothy, ii. 22.
O shame to men! Devil with Devil damned
Firm concord holds, men only disagree
Of creatures rational, though under hope
Of heavenly grace; and God proclaiming peace,
Yet live in hatred, enmity, and _strife_
Among themselves.
_Milton._
O for thy children too confined!
Thy sons in peace thou canst not feed,
Doomed land! to strangers now resigned
Such judgment hath begun on thee.
A foe, by thee unharmed indeed,
Sits at thy board and mocks thy toils,
Divides thy frantic people’s spoils,
And holds thy sword of sovereignty.
Frantic he too! O never! no,
Was nation blessed by blood and wrong;
The conquered feel not all the wo;
Still turns to tears the guilty’s joy:
Though not his haughty way along
Th’ eternal vengeance sweeps and breaks;
It follows, watches still, and wakes,
At his last moment to destroy.
Stamped in one image at our birth,
Made in the likeness all of one;
Ever at every part of earth
Where breath of life we may inherit,
Be brethren all! Our unison
Accursed be he to _strife_ who turns,
Accursed who mocketh him that mourns,
Or saddeneth one immortal spirit!
_From the Italian of Manzoni._
SUBMISSION.
_Submit_ yourselves therefore to God.--James, iv. 7.
_Submit_ yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake.--I.
Peter, ii. 13.
Since ’tis Thy sentence I should part
With the most precious treasure of my heart,
I freely that and more resign,
My heart itself, as its delight is thine;
My little all I give to thee,
Thou gav’st a greater gift, Thy Son, to me.
Take all, great God, I will not grieve,
But still will wish that I had still to give;
I hear thy voice, thou bid’st me quit
My paradise; I bless and do _submit_;
I will not murmur at thy word,
Nor beg thy angel to sheathe up his sword.
_Norris._
Almighty power, I love Thee! blissful name,
My healer, God! and may my inmost soul
Love and adore for ever! Oh, ’tis good
To wait _submissive_ at Thy holy throne,
To leave petitions at Thy feet, and bear
Thy frowns and silence with a patient soul.
The hand of mercy is not short to save,
Nor is the ear of heavenly pity deaf
To mortal cries.
_Watts._
Though round him numerous tribes,
Sworn foes to Heaven’s dread Ruler, pitch their tents,
No wayward doubts or coward fears appal
The patriarch’s soul. By the bright hope sustained
That in his seed all nations should be blessed,
Calm and unmoved the delegated seer
_Submissive_ bends to the Eternal Will.
_Samuel Hayes._
Christ had his sorrows--so must thou,
If thou wilt tread the path He trod--
O then, like Him, _submissive_ bow,
And own the sovereignty of God.
_Anon._
SUFFERING.
For I reckon that the _sufferings_ of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.--Romans,
viii. 18.
Christ hath _suffered_ for us in the flesh.
If any man _suffer_ as a Christian let him not be ashamed.--I. Peter,
iv. 1, 16.