NOT 4. PRAYER IS OF NO FORM. OT all the pomp of rituals, nor the savor please. As if his ear could bend with childish favor J. G. Whittier. 5. THE ACCEPTABLE OFFERING. 10 heaven approached a pious saint late, And, tapping timidly and faint, Said God, "Who seeks to enter here?" Sadly to earth the poor saint turned He roamed alone through weary years, Again he went, again he knocked. Said God, "Who now is at the door?" The saint replied. He doubts no more, Alger's Oriental Poetry. то 6. THE FORM OF GOD. Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love All pray in their distress, And to these virtues of delight For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love For Mercy has a human heart; Pity, a human face; And Love, the human form divine; And Peace, the human dress. Thus every man in every clime, That prays in his distress, Prays to the Human Form divine, — And all must love the Human Form, Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell, William Blake. T The 7. THE CALL OF NATURE. HE harp at Nature's advent strung song the stars of morning sung Has never died away. And prayer is made, and praise is given, Its waves are kneeling on the strand, As kneels the human knee; Their white locks bowing to the sand,- They pour their glittering treasures forth; The green Earth sends her incense up From many a mountain shrine: From folded leaf and dewy cup She pours her sacred wine. The mists above the morning rills The winds with hymns of praise are loud, The thunder organ of the cloud, The dropping tears of rain. With drooping head, and branches crossed, The twilight forest grieves, Or speaks with tongues of Pentecost From all its sunlit leaves. The blue sky is the temple's arch; So Nature keeps the reverent frame J. G. Whittier. |