Oh! hear, and to my longing eyes And suddenly or I shall sleep Blessed Saviour, in thee we behold the face of God as a reconciled Father; and dost thou withdraw thyself? O how welcome will thy return be! How like the breakings of immortal day will thy presence cheer me! How dearly shall I prize my happiness! How fearful shall I be of every thing that would offend thee! How joyful in the blessed discovery and possession of thy love! I would whisper my bliss to the listening streams and groves. I'd carve our passion on the bark, And ev'ry wounded tree Shall drop, and bear some mystic mark The swains shall wonder when they read Inscrib'd on all the grove, That Heav'n itself came down and bled To win a mortal's love. But why do I flatter myself with these delightful scenes? I find thee absent still. I mourn and complain as one unpitied. What is life while thou art absent! Oh! return and bless me with thy presence, thou who knowest my distress,, and art acquainted with my secret cares. Thou who art the witness of my midnight sighs, and dost hear when at the dawning day I call thee; but still ers. thou answerest not, and seemest deaf to my pray- He is my sun, though he refuse to shine; I dwell for ever on his heart, For ever he on mine. My Nothing can break the sacred union; but for this confidence I were undone; but for this beam of hope I were lost in eternal darkness. "Why art "thou disquieted, O my soul, and why art thou cast down within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him for the light of his countenance." I shall yet welcome his return, I shall yet hear his chearing voice, and meet his favourable smiles. But why, O my God, this long suspence? Why do these intervals of night and darkness abide upon me, and torment my heart so long? Wilt thou deny a bliss so easily granted? I ask not more than is lawful for mortality to wish: I ask not the visions of angels here below; nor the beatitudes of perfected spirits; I ask but what thou hast bid me seek, and given me hopes to obtain; I ask that sacred fellowship, that ineffable communion with which thou favourest thy saints. Oh! let me hear these heavenly whispers, that give them the foretastes of immortal pleasures; Oh! hear, and to my longing eyes Restore thy wonted light; And suddenly; or I shall sleep Blessed Saviour, in thee we behold the face of God as a reconciled Father; and dost thou withdraw thyself? O how welcome will thy return be! How like the breakings of immortal day will thy presence cheer me! How dearly shall I prize my happiness! How fearful shall I be of every thing that would offend thee! How joyful in the blessed discovery and possession of thy love! I would whisper my bliss to the listening streams and groves. I'd carve our passion on the bark, And ev'ry wounded tree Shall drop, and bear some mystic mark That Jesus died for me. The swains shall wonder when they read Inscrib'd on all the grove, That Heav'n itself came down and bled To win a mortal's love. But why do I flatter myself with these delightful scenes? I find thee absent still. I mourn and complain as one unpitied. What is life while thou art absent! Oh! return and bless me with thy presence, thou who knowest my distress,, and art acquainted with my secret cares. Thou who art the witness of my midnight sighs, and dost hear when at the dawning day I call thee; but still thou answerest not, and seemest deaf to my prayers. I am, it is true, a worthless wretch; but vile as I am, thou hast, in thy immense compassion, brought me into,covenant with thee. "My, "beloved is mine, and I am his." He is my sun, though he refuse to shine; 1 dwell for ever on his heart, For ever he on mine. Nothing can break the sacred union; but for this confidence I were undone; but for this beam. of hope I were lost in eternal darkness. "Why art "thou disquieted, O my soul, and why art thou "cast down within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him for the light of his countenance." I shall yet welcome his return, I shall yet hear his chearing voice, and meet his favourable smiles. But why, O my God, this long suspence? Why do these intervals of night and darkness abide upon me, and torment my heart so long? Wilt thou deny a bliss so easily granted? I ask not more than is lawful for mortality to wish: I ask not the visions of angels here below; nor the beatitudes of perfected spirits; I ask but what thou hast bid me seek, and given me hopes to obtain; I ask that sacred fellowship, that ineffable communion with which thou favourest thy saints. Oh! let me hear these heavenly whispers, that give them the foretastes of immortal pleasures; let me be sensible of those divine approaches that kindle celestial ardour in their souls: let me meet those beams that darken all mortal beauty; let me enjoy, at this earthly distance, those smiles that are the bliss of angels in heaven. Though it is but darkly, and afar off, yet let me feel their influence, it will brighten the passage of life, it will direct me through its mazes, and gild its rough and gloomy paths: it will raise the flowers of sacred love: it will waken th divine principle within me, and set it a-glowing through all my powers. I abandon, I shall forget the vanities below, and the glories of the world will be no more. But while thou, O my God, hidest thy face, I lose my sun, I languish and die: yet to thee I will lift p my eyes, to thee I lift up my soul. Come, Lord, and never from me go; This world's a darksome place: I find no pleasure here below, When thou dost veii thy face. XXVII. Breathing after God, and weary of the world. 'Tis no mean beauty of the ground That has allur'd my eyes; I faint beneath a noble wound, Nor love below the skies. If words can reach the heights of love and gratitude, let me pour out the secret ardour of my soul; O let it not offend thy greatness, that dust and vanity adores and loves thee. If thou hadst |