Yet leaving here a name, I trust,
That will not perish in the dust.
95. TRUST IN GOD'S PROVIDENCE.
HINK not, when all your scanty stores afford
Is spread at once upon the sparing board;
Think not, when worn the homely robe appears,
While on the roof the howling tempest bears;
What farther shall this feeble life sustain,
And what shall clothe these shivering limbs again :
Say, does not life its nourishment exceed?
And the fair body its investing weed?
Behold! and look away your low despair-
See the light tenants of the barren air :
To them nor stores nor granaries belong,
Nought but the woodland and the pleasing song;
Yet your kind Heavenly Father bends his eye
On the least wing that flits along the sky:
He hears their gay and their distressful call,
And with unsparing bounty fills them all.
Observe the rising lily's snowy grace;
Observe the various vegetable race;
They neither toil nor spin, but careless grow;
Yet see how warm they blush! how bright they glow!
What regal vestments can with theirs compare!
What king so shining! or what queen so fair!
If ceaseless thus the fowls of heaven He feeds; If o'er the fields such lucid robes He spreads; Will He not care for you, ye faithless, say? Is He unwise? or are ye less than they?
96. THE TRUMPET.
THE trumpet's voice hath roused the land;
Light up the beacon pyre!
A hundred hills have seen the brand,
And waved the sign of fire:
A hundred banners on the breeze
Their gorgeous folds have cast-
And hark!
was that the sound of seas?
-A king to war went past.
The chief is arming in his hall,
The peasant by his hearth:
The mourner hears the thrilling call,
And rises from the earth:
The mother on her first-born son
Looks with a boding eye-
They come not back, though all be won,
Whose young hearts leap so high.
The bard hath ceased his song, and bound
The falchion to his side;
E'en for the marriage-altar crown'd,
The lover quits his bride.
And all this haste, and change, and fear,
By earthly clarion spread!
How will it be when kingdoms hear
The blast that wakes the dead?
97. THE DOG AND THE WATER-LILIES.
HE noon was shady, and soft airs
Swept Ouse's silent tide,
When, 'scaped from literary cares,
I wander'd by its side.
My dog, now lost in flags and reeds,
Now starting into sight,
Pursued the swallow o'er the meads
With scarce a slower flight.
It was the time when Ouse display'd
Its lilies newly blown ;
Their beauties I intent survey'd,
And one I wish'd my own.
With cane extended far, I sought
To steer it close to land:
But still the prize, though nearly caught,
Escaped my eager hand.
Beau marked my unsuccessful pains
With fix'd, considerate face,
And puzzling set his puppy brains
To comprehend the case.
But with a cherup clear and strong,
Dispersing all his dream,
I thence withdrew, and follow'd long
The windings of the stream.
My ramble ended, I return'd;
Beau, trotting far before,
The floating wreath again discern'd,
And plunging left the shore.
I saw him with that lily cropt
Impatient swim to meet
My quick approach, and soon he dropt
The treasure at my feet.
Charm'd with the sight-"The world," I cried,
"Shall hear of this thy deed:
My dog shall mortify the pride
Of man's superior breed.
But chief myself I will enjoin,
Awake at duty's call,
To show a love as prompt as thine
To Him who gives me all."
"His compassions fail not. They are new every morning."
UES of the rich unfolding morn,
That, ere the glorious sun be born,
By some soft touch invisible
Around his path are taught to swell;
Thou rustling breeze, so fresh and gay,
That dancest forth at opening day,
And brushing by with joyous wing,
Waken'st each little leaf to sing; -
Ye fragrant clouds of dewy steam,
By which deep grove and tangled stream
Pay, for soft rains in season giv'n,
Their tribute to the genial heav'n;-
Why waste your treasures of delight
Upon our thankless, joyless sight;
Who, day by day to sin awake,
Seldom of heav'n and you partake?
Oh! timely happy, timely wise,
Hearts that with rising morn arise!
Eyes that the beam celestial view,
Which evermore makes all things new!
New every morning is the love
Our wakening and uprising prove;
Through sleep and darkness safely brought,
Restored to life, and power, and thought!
New mercies, each returning day,
Hover around us while we pray;
New perils past, new sins forgiv'n;
New thoughts of GOD, new hopes of heav'n.
If on our daily course our mind
Be set to hallow all we find,
New treasures still, of countless price,
GOD will provide for sacrifice.
|