Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

A seed not lost; for which, in darker years, O Book of Heaven! I pour, with grateful tears,

Heart-blessings on the holy dead, and thee! Felicia Dorothea Hemans.

239. BIBLE, Fulness of the.

There is a lamp whose steady light
Guides the poor traveller in the night :-
'Tis God's own word! Its beaming ray
Can turn a midnight into day.

There is a storehouse of rich fare,
Supplied with plenty and to spare:-
'Tis God's own word! It spreads a feast
For every hungering, thirsting guest.

There is a chart whose tracings show
The onward course when tempests blow:-
'Tis God's own word! There, there is found
Direction for the homeward bound.

There is a tree whose leaves impart
Health to the burdened, contrite heart:-
'Tis God's own word! It cures of sin,
And makes the guilty conscience clean.

Give me this lamp to light my road;
This storehouse for my daily food;
Give me this chart for life's rough sea;
These healing leaves, this heavenly tree.
H. J. Betts.
240. BIBLE, Inspiration of the.
Whence, but from Heaven, could men un-

skill'd in arts,

In several ages born, in several parts,
Weave such agreeing truths? or how, or why,
Should all conspire to cheat us with a lie?
Unask'd their pains, ungrateful their advice,
Starving their gain, and martyrdom their
price.

If on the book itself we cast our view,
Concurrent heathens prove the story true:
The doctrine, miracles; which must convince,
For Heaven in them appeals to human sense:
And though they prove not they confirm the
[laws.
When what is taught agrees with nature's

cause,

Therefore the style, majestic and divine,
It speaks no less than God in every line:
Commanding words; whose force is still the

same

As the first fiat that produc'd our frame
All faiths beside, or did by arms ascend;
Or sense indulg'd has made mankind their
friend:

This only doctrine does our lusts oppose:
Unfed by nature's soil, in which it grows;
Cross to our interests, curbing sense and sin;
Oppress'd without, and undermin'd within,
It thrives through pain; its own tormentors
tires,

And with a stubborn patience still aspires.
John Dryden.

241. BIBLE, My Mother's.

This book is all that's left me now,

Tears will unbidden start,With faltering lip and throbbing brow press it to my heart.

I

For many generations past

Here is our family tree;

My mother's hands this Bible clasped,
She, dying, gave it me.

Ah! well do I remember those

Whose names these records bear:
Who round the hearthstone used to close,
After the evening prayer,

And speak of what these pages said
In tones my heart would thrill!
Though they are with the silent dead,
Here are they living still!

My father read this holy book
To brothers, sisters, dear;
How calm was my poor mother's look,
Who loved God's word to hear!
Her angel face,-I see it yet!

What thronging memories come!
Again that little group is met

Within the halls of home!

Thou truest friend man ever knew,
Thy constancy I've tried;

When all were false, I found thee true,
My counsellor and guide.

The mines of earth no treasures give
That could this volume buy ;
In teaching me the way to live,
It taught me how to die!

George P. Morris.

242. BIBLE, Perversion of the. Many believed; but more the truth of God Turned to a lie, deceiving and deceived;— Each, with the accursed sorcery of sin, To his own wish and vile propensity Transforming still the meaning of the text. Hear, while I briefly tell what mortals proved,

By effort vast of ingenuity,
[ble;-
Most wondrous, though perverse and damna-
Proved from the Bible, which, as thou hast
heard,

So plainly spoke that all could understand.
First, and not least in number, argued some
From out this book itself, it was a lie,
A fable framed by crafty men to cheat
The simple herd, and make them bow the knee
To kings and priests. These in their wisdom
left

The light revealed, and turned to fancies wild,
Maintaining loud, that ruined, helpless man,
Needed no saviour. Others proved that men
Might live and die in sin, and yet be saved,
For so it was decreed; binding the will,
By God left free, to unconditional,
Unreasonable fate. Others believed
That he who was most criminal, debased,
Condemned and dead, unaided might ascend
The heights of virtue; to a perfect law

Giving a lame, half-way obedience, which
By useless effort only served to show
The impotence of him who vainly strove
With finite arm to measure infinite;
Most useless effort! when to justify
In sight of God it meant, as proof of faith
Most acceptable, and worthy of all praise.
Another held, and from the Bible held,
He was infallible-most fallen by such
Pretence that none the Scriptures, open
to all,

And most to humble-hearted, ought to read, But priests; that all who ventured to disclaim

His forged authority, incurred the wrath
Of Heaven; and he who, in the blood of such,
Though father, mother, daughter, wife, or

[blocks in formation]

Unhealthy and abortive reasoning,
That brought his sanity to serious doubt,
'Mong wise and honest men, maintained that
He,

First Wisdom, Great Messiah, Prince of Peace,
The second of the uncreated Three,
Was nought but man-of earthly origin;
Thus making void the sacrifice Divine,
And leaving guilty men, God's holy law
Still unatoned, to work them endless death.
These are a part; but to relate thee all
The monstrous, unbaptized phantasies,
Imaginations fearfully absurd,
Hobgoblin rites, and moon-struck reveries,
Distracted creeds, and visionary dreams,
More bodiless and hideously misshapen
Than ever fancy, at the noon of night,
Playing at will, framed in the madman's
brain,
[proved,
That from this book of simple truth were
Were proved, as foolish men were wont to
prove,

Would bring my word in doubt, and thy be

lief

Stagger, though here I sit and sing, within The pale of truth, where falsehood never Robert Pollok.

came.

243. BIBLE, Philosophy of the. The lamp of revelation only shows What human wisdom cannot but oppose, That man, in nature's richest mantle clad And graced with all philosophy can add, Though fair without, and luminous within, Is still the progeny and heir of sin.

Thus taught, down falls the plumage of his pride,

He feels the need of an unerring guide,

And knows that, falling, he shall rise no more,

Unless the power that bade him stand, restore.
This is indeed philosophy: this known,
Makes wisdom worthy of the name, his own;
And, without this, whatever he discuss,
Whether the space betwixt the stars and us;
Whether he measure earth, compute the sea,
Weigh sunbeams, carve a fly, or spit a flea,-
The solemn trifler, with his boasted skill,
Toils much, and is a solemn trifler still;
Blind was he born, and his misguided eyes
Grown dim in trifling studies, blind he dies.
Wm. Couper.

244. BIBLE, Reading the.
Within this ample volume lies
The mystery of mysteries;
Happiest they of human race
To whom their God has given grace,
To read, to fear, to hope, to pray,
To lift the latch, to force the way;
And better had they ne'er been born
That read to doubt, or read to scorn.
Sir Walter Scott.

245. BIBLE, Rejecting the.
And can then true philosophy reject
As false, a book which the same sterling truths
As reason, following closely, brings to light,
Maintains with such corroborations? Seal'd
With the broad signet of the Eternal One
Stamp'd upon all its pages? Is it true
Philosophy, without examining,
Will scorn a book that purports to entail
Eternal bliss or everlasting woe

On its acceptance or rejection? Oh!

I could almost respond the prophet's words, Would that my head were waters, and my eyes Fountains of tears, that I might weep Nightly and daily through life's passing

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

To make his own; his thirst to satisfy [ply; From that pure well; must ear, eye, soul, apOn precept precept scan, and line on line; Search, ponder, sift, compare, divide, combine,

For truths that oft beneath the surface lie. Yes; there are things which he who runs may read,

Most wondrous book! bright candle of the
Star of eternity! the only star [Lord:
By which the bark of man could navigate
The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss
Securely; only star which rose on Time,
And, on its dark and troubled billows, still,
As generation, drifting swiftly by,
Succeeded generation, threw a ray

Of heaven's own light, and to the hills of God,
The everlasting hills, pointed the sinner's eye:
By prophets, seers, and priests, and sacred
bards,

Evangelists, apostles, men inspired, And by the Holy Ghost anointed, set Apart and consecrated to declare To earth the counsels of the Eternal One, This book, this holiest, this sublimest book, Was sent.-Heaven's will, Heaven's code of laws entire [bounds [chart; To man, this book contained; defined the 'Tis God's command, survey thy safety's Of vice and virtue, and of life and death; Lest arduous things, distorted, death-ward And what was shadow, what was substance

[part, Nor few there are, which yield a harder To mark, discern, and know. With cautious heed,

lead

The mind unlearned, and the unstable heart.
Bp. Mant.

248. BIBLE, Similes of the.
Thy word is like a garden, Lord,
With flowers bright and fair;
And every one who seeks, may pluck
A lovely nosegay there.

Thy word is like a deep, deep mine,
And jewels rich and rare
Are hidden in its mighty depths,
For every searcher there.

Thy word is like the starry host;
A thousand rays of light
Are seen, to guide the traveller
And make his pathway bright.
Thy word is like a glorious choir
And loud its anthems ring;
Though many tongues and parts unite,
It is one song they sing.

Thy word is like an armory,

Where soldiers may repair;
And find, for life's long battle-day,
All needful weapons there.

O, may I love Thy precious word,
May I explore the mine;
May I its fragrant flowers glean,
May light upon me shine!

O, may I find my armor there ;-
Thy word my trusty sword,
I'll learn to fight with every foe

The battle of the Lord!

Edwin Hodder.

249. BIBLE, Teachings of the.

The Author God himself; The subject, God and man; Salvation, life And death-eternal life, eternal deathDread words! whose meaning has no end, no bounds

taught.

Much it revealed; important all; the least Worth more than what else seemed of highest worth:

But this of plainest, most essential truth-
That God is one, eternal, holy, just,
Omnipotent, omniscient, infinite; [true;
Most wise, most good, most merciful and
In all perfection most unchangeable:
That man that every man of every clime
And hue, of every age, and every rank,
Was bad by nature and by practice bad;
In understanding blind, in will perverse,
In heart corrupt; in every thought and word,
Imagination, passion, and desire,

Most utterly depraved throughout, and ill,
In sight of Heaven, though less in sight of
man;

At enmity with God his maker born,
And by his very life an heir of death;
That man-that every man was, farther, most
Unable to redeem himself, or pay

One mite of his vast debt to God-nay, more,
Was most reluctant and averse to be
Redeemed, and sin's most voluntary slave:
That Jesus, Son of God, of Mary born
In Bethlehem, and by Pilate crucified
On Calvary for man thus fallen and lost,
Died; and, by death, life and salvation
bought,

And perfect righteousness, for all who should
In His great name believe; that He, the third
In the eternal Essence, to the prayer [asked,
Sincere should come, should come as soon as
Proceeding from the Father and the Son,
To give faith and repentance, such as God
Accepts to open the intellectual eyes,
Blinded by sin; to bend the stubborn will,
Perversely to the side of wrong inclined,
To God and His commandments, just and
good;

The wild rebellious passions to subdue,
And bring them back to harmony with
heaven;

To purify the conscience, and to lead
The mind into all truth, and to adorn
With every holy ornament of grace,
And sanctify the whole renewed soul,
Which henceforth might no more fall totally
But persevere, though erring oft, amidst
The mists of time, in piety to God,
And sacred works of charity to men: [thus,
That he, who thus believed, and practised
Should have his sins forgiven, however vile;
Should be sustained at mid-day, morn, and
By God's omnipotent, eternal grace [even,
And in the evil hour of sore disease,
Temptation, persecution, war, and death-
For temporal death, although unstinged, re-
mained-

Beneath the shadow of the Almighty's wings
Should sit unhurt, and at the judgment-day
Should share the resurrection of the just,
And reign with Christ in bliss for evermore:
That all, however named, however great,
Who would not thus believe, nor practise thus,
But in their sins impenitent remained,
Should in perpetual fear and terror live;
Should die unpardoned, unredeemed, unsaved,
And at the hour of doom should be cast out
To utter darkness in the night of hell,
By mercy and by God abandoned, there
To reap the harvests of eternal woe. [phrase,
This did that book declare in obvious
In most sincere and honest words by God
Himself selected and arranged; so clear,
So plain, so perfectly distinct, that none
Who read with humble wish to understand,
And asked the Spirit, given to all who asked,
Could miss their meaning, blazed in heavenly
light,

This book-this holy book, on every line
Marked with the seal of high divinity,
On every leaf bedewed with drops of love
Divine, and with the eternal heraldry
And signature of God Almighty stampt
From first to last-this ray of sacred light,
This lamp, from off the everlasting throne,
Mercy took down, and, in the night of time,
Stood, casting on the dark her gracious bow;
And evermore beseeching men, with tears
And earnest sighs, to read, believe, and live:
And many to her voice gave ear, and read,
Believed, obeyed; and now, as the Amen,
True, Faithful Witness swore, with snowy
robes
[life,
And branchy palms surround the fount of
And drink the streams of immortality,
Forever happy, and forever young.
Robert Pollok.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

And the lady smiled on the worn old man through the dark and clustering curls Which veiled her brow as she bent to view his silks and glittering pearls;

And she placed their price in the old man's hand, and lightly turned away, But she paused at the wanderer's call," My gentle lady, stay!"

"O Than the diamond flash of the jewelled crown on the lofty brow of kings,A wonderful pearl of exceeding price, whose virtues shall not decay,

lady fair, I have yet a gem which a purer lustre flings,

Whose light shall be as a spell to thee and a blessing on thy way!"

The lady glanced at the mirroring steel where her form of grace was seen,

Where her eyes shone clear and her dark locks "Bring forth thy pearl of exceeding worth, waved their clasping pearls between;

thou traveller gray and old,

And name the price of thy precious gem, and my page shall count thy gold.”

The cloud went off from the pilgrim's brow, as a small and meagre book, Unchased with gold or gem of cost, from his folding robe he took!

"Here, lady fair, is the pearl of price, may it prove as such to thee! Nay-keep thy gold-I ask it not, for the word of God is free!"

The hoary traveller went his way, but the gift he left behind

Hath had its pure and perfect work on the high-born maiden's mind.

And she hath turned from the pride of sin to the lowliness of truth,

And given her human heart to God in its beautiful hour of youth!

And she hath left the gray old halls, where an evil faith had power,

The courtly knights of her father's train, and the maidens of her bower;

And she hath gone to the Vaudois vales, by

lordly feet untrod,

Where the poor and needy of earth are rich in the perfect love of God! John G. Whittier.

251. BIGOTRY, Fate of. The bigot theologian-in minute Distinctions skilled, and doctrines unreduced To practice; in debate how loud! how long! How dexterous! in Christian love, how cold! His vain conceits were orthodox alone. The immutable and heavenly truth, revealed By God, was nought to him: he had an art, A kind of hellish charm, that made the lips Of truth speak falsehood; to his liking turned

The meaning of the text; made trifles seem The marrow of salvation; to a word,

A name, a sect, that sounded in the ear,
And to the eye so many letters showed,
But did no more-gave value infinite;
Proved still his reasoning best, and his belief,
Though propped on fancies, wild as mad-
men's dreams,

Most rational, most scriptural, most sound;
With mortal heresy denouncing all
Who in his arguments could see no force.
On points of faith too fine for human sight,
And never understood in heaven, he placed
His everlasting hope, undoubting placed,
And died: and when he opened his ear, pre-
pared

To hear, beyond the grave, the minstrelsy
Of bliss-he heard, alas! the wail of woe.
He proved all creeds false but his own, and
found
[cause
At last, his own most false-most false, be-
He spent his time to prove all others so.
Robert Pollok.

252. BIGOTRY, Infallible.

He was of that stubborn crew
Of errant saints, whom all men grant
To be the true church militant;
Such as do build their faith upon
The holy text of pike and gun;
Decide all controversies by
Infallible artillery,

And prove their doctrine orthodox
By apostolic blows and knocks;
Call fire, and sword, and desolation
A godly, thorough Reformation,
Which always must be carried on
And still be doing, never done;
As if religion were intended
For nothing else but to be mended.
A sect whose chief devotion lies
In odd perverse antipathies;
In falling out with that or this,
And finding somewhat still amiss;
More peevish, cross, and splenetic,
Than dog distract, or monkey sick;
That with more care keep holiday
The wrong, than others the right way;
Compound for sins they are inclined to,
By damning those they have no mind to;
Still so perverse and opposite,

As if they worshipped God for spite;
The self-same thing they will abhor
One way, and long another for.

253. BIGOTRY, Sin of

Samuel Butler.

O love-destroying, cursed Bigotry;
Cursed in heaven but cursèd more in hell!
The infidel who turned his impious war
Against the walls of Zion, on the Rock
Of Ages built, and higher than the clouds,
Sinned and received his due reward; but she
Within her walls sinned more; of Ignorance
Begot, her daughter, Persecution, walked
The earth from age to age, and drank the
Of saints.
[blood
Robert Pollok.

254. BIRTHDAY, for a Consecration.
Away with my fears!
The glad morning appears
When an heir of salvation was born.
From Jehovah I came,
For His glory I am,

And to Him I with singing return.

All honor and praise
To the Father of grace,
To the Spirit and Son I return;
The business pursue

He hath made me to do,
And rejoice that I ever was born.

My remnant of days

I spend in His praise,
Who died the whole world to redeem :
Be they many or few,
My days are His due,

And they all are devoted to Him.
Charles Wesley.

255. BIRTHDAY, Noting a.
Why should we count our life by ycars,
Since years are short, and pass away!
Or, why by fortune's smiles or tears,

Since tears are vain and smiles decay!
O! count by virtues-these shall last

When life's lame-footed race is o'er; And these, when earthly joys are past, May cheer us on a brighter shore.

Sarah J. Hale. 256. BIRTHDAY, Thought for a.

It is my natal day! Another year

Is registered against me in the account Of time to me entrusted, and the amount Of that rich talent for my trial here By one more year diminished.

As more near

My reckoning draws, does evil's inborn fount

Within me more subside, and, paramount To the world's love, the love of God sincere Reign arbiter?-Oh, may each year, each day,

By Him vouchsafed, to Him its tribute

[blocks in formation]
« AnteriorContinuar »