Specimens with Memoirs of the Less-known British Poets Part 84

10 Thou from thy upper springs above, from those Chambers of rain, where heaven's large bottles lie, Dost water the parched hills, whose breaches close, Healed by the showers from high.

11 Gra.s.s for the cattle, and herbs for man's use Thou mak'st to grow; these, blessed by thee, the earth Brings forth, with wine, oil, bread; all which infuse To man's heart strength and mirth.

12 Thou giv'st the trees their greenness, even to those Cedars in Lebanon, in whose thick boughs The birds their nests build; though the stork doth choose The fir-trees for her house.

13 To the wild goats the high hills serve for folds, The rocks give conies a retiring place: Above them the cool moon her known course holds, And the sun runs his race.

14 Thou makest darkness, and then comes the night, In whose thick shades and silence each wild beast Creeps forth, and, pinched for food, with scent and sight Hunts in an eager quest.

15 The lion's whelps, impatient of delay, Roar in the covert of the woods, and seek Their meat from thee, who dost appoint the prey, And feed'st them all the week.

16 This past, the sun shines on the earth; and they Retire into their dens; man goes abroad Unto his work, and at the close of day Returns home with his load.

17 O Lord my G.o.d, how many and how rare Are thy great works! In wisdom hast thou made Them all; and this the earth, and every blade Of gra.s.s we tread declare.

18 So doth the deep and wide sea, wherein are Innumerable creeping things, both small And great; there ships go, and the shipmen's fear, The comely, s.p.a.cious whale.

19 These all upon thee wait, that thou mayst feed Them in due season: what thou giv'st they take; Thy bounteous open hand helps them at need, And plenteous meals they make.

20 When thou dost hide thy face, (thy face which keeps All things in being,) they consume and mourn: When thou withdraw'st their breath their vigour sleeps, And they to dust return.

21 Thou send'st thy Spirit forth, and they revive, The frozen earth's dead face thou dost renew.

Thus thou thy glory through the world dost drive, And to thy works art true.

22 Thine eyes behold the earth, and the whole stage Is moved and trembles, the hills melt and smoke With thy least touch; lightnings and winds that rage At thy rebuke are broke.

23 Therefore as long as thou wilt give me breath I will in songs to thy great name employ That gift of thine, and to my day of death Thou shalt be all my joy.

24 I'll spice my thoughts with thee, and from thy word Gather true comforts; but the wicked liver Shall be consumed. O my soul, bless thy Lord!

Yea, bless thou him for ever!

THE TIMBER.

1 Sure thou didst flourish once! and many springs, Many bright mornings, much dew, many showers Pa.s.sed o'er thy head; many light hearts and wings, Which now are dead, lodged in thy living bowers.

2 And still a new succession sings and flies; Fresh groves grow up, and their green branches shoot Towards the old and still-enduring skies, While the low violet thrives at their root.

3 But thou, beneath the sad and heavy line Of death, doth waste all senseless, cold, and dark; Where not so much as dreams of light may shine, Nor any thought of greenness, leaf, or bark.

4 And yet, as if some deep hate and dissent, Bred in thy growth betwixt high winds and thee, Were still alive, thou dost great storms resent, Before they come, and know'st how near they be.

5 Else all at rest thou liest, and the fierce breath Of tempests can no more disturb thy ease; But this thy strange resentment after death Means only those who broke in life thy peace.

6 So murdered man, when lovely life is done, And his blood freezed, keeps in the centre still Some secret sense, which makes the dead blood run At his approach that did the body kill.

7 And is there any murderer worse than sin?

Or any storms more foul than a lewd life?

Or what resentient can work more within Than true remorse, when with past sins at strife?

8 He that hath left life's vain joys and vain care, And truly hates to be detained on earth, Hath got an house where many mansions are, And keeps his soul unto eternal mirth.

9 But though thus dead unto the world, and ceased From sin, he walks a narrow, private way; Yet grief and old wounds make him sore displeased, And all his life a rainy, weeping day.

10 For though he should forsake the world, and live As mere a stranger as men long since dead; Yet joy itself will make a right soul grieve To think he should be so long vainly led.

11 But as shades set off light, so tears and grief, Though of themselves but a sad blubbered story, By showing the sin great, show the relief Far greater, and so speak my Saviour's glory.

12 If my way lies through deserts and wild woods, Where all the land with scorching heat is cursed; Better the pools should flow with rain and floods To fill my bottle, than I die with thirst.

13 Blest showers they are, and streams sent from above; Begetting virgins where they use to flow; The trees of life no other waters love, Than upper springs, and none else make them grow.

14 But these chaste fountains flow not till we die.

Some drops may fall before; but a clear spring And ever running, till we leave to fling Dirt in her way, will keep above the sky.

'He that is dead is freed from sin.'--ROM. vi. 7.

THE JEWS.

1 When the fair year Of your Deliverer comes, And that long frost which now benumbs Your hearts shall thaw; when angels here Shall yet to man appear, And familiarly confer Beneath the oak and juniper; When the bright Dove, Which now these many, many springs Hath kept above, Shall with spread wings Descend, and living waters flow To make dry dust, and dead trees grow;

2 Oh, then, that I Might live, and see the olive bear Her proper branches! which now lie Scattered each where; And, without root and sap, decay; Cast by the husbandman away.

And sure it is not far!

For as your fast and foul decays, Forerunning the bright morning star, Did sadly note his healing rays Would shine elsewhere, since you were blind, And would be cross, when G.o.d was kind,--

3 So by all signs Our fulness too is now come in; And the same sun, which here declines And sets, will few hours hence begin To rise on you again, and look Towards old Mamre and Eshcol's brook.

For surely he Who loved the world so as to give His only Son to make it free, Whose Spirit too doth mourn and grieve To see man lost, will for old love From your dark hearts this veil remove.

4 Faith sojourned first on earth in you, You were the dear and chosen stock: The arm of G.o.d, glorious and true, Was first revealed to be your rock.

5 You were the eldest child, and when Your stony hearts despised love, The youngest, even the Gentiles, then, Were cheered your jealousy to move.

6 Thus, righteous Father! dost thou deal With brutish men; thy gifts go round By turns, and timely, and so heal The lost son by the newly found.

PALM-SUNDAY.

1 Come, drop your branches, strew the way, Plants of the day!

Whom sufferings make most green and gay.

The King of grief, the Man of sorrow, Weeping still like the wet morrow, Your shades and freshness comes to borrow.

2 Put on, put on your best array; Let the joyed road make holyday, And flowers, that into fields do stray, Or secret groves, keep the highway.

3 Trees, flowers, and herbs; birds, beasts, and stones, That since man fell expect with groans To see the Lamb, come all at once, Lift up your heads and leave your moans; For here comes he Whose death will be Man's life, and your full liberty.

4 Hark! how the children shrill and high 'Hosanna' cry; Their joys provoke the distant sky, Where thrones and seraphim reply; And their own angels shine and sing, In a bright ring: Such young, sweet mirth Makes heaven and earth Join in a joyful symphony.

5 The harmless, young, and happy a.s.s, (Seen long before[1] this came to pa.s.s,) Is in these joys a high partaker, Ordained and made to bear his Maker.