For thy acceptance. O, behold me right,
And take compassion on my grievous plight:
What odour can be, than a heart contrite,
Eternal Father, God, who didst create
This all of nothing, gav'st it form and fate,
And breath'st into it life and light, with state
To worship thee;
Eternal God the Son, who not deni'dst
To take our nature; becam'st man, and died'st,
To pay our debts, upon thy cross, and cried'st
Eternal Spirit, God from both proceeding,
Father and Son; the Comforter, in breeding
Pure thoughts in man; with fiery zeal them feeding
For acts of grace;
Increase those acts, O glorious Trinity
Of persons, still one God in Unity,
Till I attain the longed-for mystery
Beholding one in three, and three in one,
A Trinity to shine in Unity;
The gladdest light dark man can think upon;
Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, you three,
All co-eternal in your majesty,
Distinct in persons, yet in unity
My Maker, Saviour, and my Sanctifier;
To hear, to meditate, sweeten my desire,
With grace, with love, with cherishing entire :
O then how blest!
Among thy saints elected to abide,
And with thy angels placed, side by side,
But in thy presence truly glorified,
GOOD and great God! can I not think of thee,
But it must straight my melancholy be?
Is it interpreted in me disease,
That, laden with my sins, I seek for ease?
O be thou witness, that the reins dost know,
And hearts of all, if I be sad for show;
And judge me after, if I dare pretend
To aught but grace, or aim at other end.
As thou art all, so be thou all to me,
First, midst, and last, converted One and Three!
My faith, my hope, my love; and in this state,
My Judge, my Witness, and my Advocate.
Where have I been this while exiled from thee?
And whither rapt, now
thou but stoop'st to
Dwell, dwell here still: O, being every where,
How can I doubt to find thee ever here?
I know my state both full of shame and scorn,
Conceived in sin, and unto labour born;
Standing with fear, and must with horror fall,
And destined unto judgment after all.
I feel my griefs too; and there scarce is ground
Upon my flesh to inflict another wound;
Yet dare I not complain, or wish for death,
With holy Paul, lest it be thought the breath
Of discontent; or that these prayers be
For weariness of life, not love of thee.
LET angels sing her glories, who did call
Her spirit home to her original!
Who saw the way was made it; and were sent
To carry and conduct the compliment
"Twixt death and life; where her mortality
Became her birth-day to eternity!
And now, through circumfused light, she looks
On nature's secrets there, as her own books;
Speaks heaven's language; and discourseth free
To every order, every hierarchy;
Beholds her Maker, and in him doth see
What the beginnings of all beauties be;
And all beatitudes that thence do flow,
Which they that have the crown are sure to know!
Go now, her happy parents, and be sad,
If you not understand what child you had;
If you dare grudge at heaven, and repent
To have paid again a blessing was but lent,
And trusted so, as it deposited lay
At pleasure, to be called for every day,—
If you can envy your own daughter's bliss,
And wish her state less happy than it is,—
If you can cast about your either eye,
And see all dead here, or about to die,-
The stars, that are the jewels of the night,
And day, decreasing, with the prince of light,
The sun; great kings and mightiest kingdoms
fall,-
Whole nations-nay, mankind-the world, with all
That ever had beginning, there to end!
With what injustice should one soul pretend
To escape this common known necessity ?
When we were all born, we began to die;
And, but for that contention, and brave strife,
The Christian hath to enjoy the future life,
He were the wretched'st of the race of men;
But as he soars at that, he bruiseth then
The serpent's head; gets above death and sin,
And, sure of heaven, rides triumphing in.
THERE all the happy souls that ever were,
Shall meet with gladness in one theatre;
And each shall know there one another's face,
By beatific virtue of the place.
There shall the brother with the sister walk,
And sons and daughters with their parents talk;
But all of God: they still shall have to say,
But make him all in all their theme that day;
That happy day that never shall see night!
Where he will be all beauty to the sight;
Wine or delicious fruits unto the taste;
A music in the ears will ever last;
Unto the scent, a spicery or balm;
And to the touch, a flower, like soft as palm.
He will all glory, all perfection be,
God in the Union and the Trinity!
That holy, great and glorious mystery
Will there revealed be in majesty,
By light and comfort of spiritual grace;
The vision of our Saviour face to face,
In his humanity! to hear him preach
The price of our redemption, and to teach,
Through his inherent righteousness in death,
The safety of our souls and forfeit breath!
What fulness of beatitude is here!
What love with mercy mixed doth appear!
To style us friends, who were by nature foes!
Adopt us heirs by grace, who were of those
Had lost ourselves; and prodigally spent
Our native portions and possessed rent!
Yet have all debts forgiven us; an advance
By imputed right to an inheritance
In his eternal kingdom, where we sit
Equal with angels, and co-heirs of it.
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