FAIREST of those that left the calm of heaven,
And ventured down to man, with words of peace,
Daughter of Grace! known by whatever name,
Religion, Virtue, Piety, or Love
Of Holiness, the day of thy reward
Was come. Ah! thou wast long despised, despised
By those thou wooedst from death to endless life.
Modest and meek, in garments white as those
That seraphs wear, and countenance as mild
As Mercy looking on Repentance' tear;
With eye of purity, now darted up
To God's eternal throne, now humbly bent
Upon thyself, and, weeping down thy cheek,
That glowed with universal love immense,
A tear, pure as the dews that fall in heaven;
In thy left hand, the olive branch, and in
Thy right, the crown of immortality;—
With noiseless foot, thou walkedst the vales of earth,
Beseeching men, from age to age, to turn
From utter death, to turn from wo to bliss;
Beseeching evermore, and evermore
Despised-not evermore despised, not now,
Not at the day of doom; most lovely then,
Most honourable, thou appeared, and most
To be desired. The guilty heard the song
Of thy redeemed, how loud! and saw thy face
How fair! Alas! it was too late! the hour
Of making friends was passed, thy favour then
Might not be sought; but recollection, sad
And accurate, as miser counting o'er
And o'er again the sum he must lay out,
Distinctly in the wicked's ear rehearsed
Each opportunity despised and lost,
While on them gleamed thy holy look, that like
A fiery torrent went into their souls.
The day of thy reward was come, the day
Of great remuneration to thy friends,
To those, known by whatever name, who sought,
In every place, in every time, to do
Unfeignedly their Maker's will, revealed,
Or gathered else from nature's school; well pleased
With God's applause alone, that, like a stream
Of sweetest melody, at still of night
By wanderer heard, in their most secret ear
For ever whispered, Peace; and, as a string
Of kindred tone awoke, their inmost soul
Responsive answered, Peace; inquiring still
And searching, night and day, to know their duty,
When known, with undisputing trust, with love
Unquenchable, with zeal, by reason's lamp
Inflamed, performing; and to Him, by whose
Profound, all-calculating skill alone,
Results-results even of the slightest act,
Are fully grasped, with unsuspicious faith,
All consequences leaving; to abound,
Or want, alike prepared; who knew to be
Exalted how, and how to be abased;
How best to live, and how to die when asked.
Their prayers sincere, their alms in secret done,
Their fightings with themselves, their abstinence
From pleasure, though by mortal eye unseen,
Their hearts of resignation to the will
Of Heaven, their patient bearing of reproach
And shame, their charity, and faith, and hope,—
Thou didst remember, and in full repaid.
No bankrupt thou, who, at the bargained hour
Of payment due, sent to his creditors
A tale of losses and mischances, long.
Ensured by God himself, and from the stores
And treasures of his wealth, at will supplied,-
Religion, thou alone, of all that men,
On earth, gave credit, to be reimbursed
On the other side the grave, didst keep thy word,
Thy day, and all thy promises fulfilled.
As in the mind, rich with unborrowed wealth, Where multitudes of thoughts for utterance strive, And all so fair, that each seems worthy first To enter on the tongue, and from the lips Have passage forth,-selection hesitates Perplexed, and loses time, anxious, since all Cannot be taken, to take the best; and yet Afraid, lest what he left be worthier still; And grieving much, where all so goodly look, To leave rejected one, or in the rear Let any be obscured: so did the bard, Though not unskilled, as on that multitude Of men who once awoke to judgment, he Threw back reflection, hesitating pause. For as his harp, in tone severe, had sung What figure the most famous sinners made, When from the grave they rose unmasked; so did He wish to character the good; but yet, Among so many, glorious all, all worth Immortal fame, with whom begin, with whom To end, was difficult to choose; and long His auditors, upon the tiptoe raised Of expectation, might have kept, had not His eye-for so it is in heaven, that what Is needed always is at hand-beheld,
That moment, on a mountain near the throne
Of God, the most renowned of the redeemed,
Rejoicing: nor who first, who most, to praise,
Debated more; but thus, with sweeter note,
Well pleased to sing, with highest eulogy,
And first, whom God applauded most,-began.
With patient ear, thou now hast heard, though whiles,
Aside digressing, ancient feeling turned
My lyre,-what shame the wicked had, that day,
What wailing, what remorse; so hear, in brief,
How bold the righteous stood, the men redeemed,
How fair in virtue, and in hope how glad!
And first among the holy shone, as best
Became, the faithful minister of God.
See where he walks on yonder mount that lifts
Its summit high, on the right hand of bliss,
Sublime in glory, talking with his peers
Of the incarnate Saviour's love, and passed
Affliction lost in present joy! See how
His face with heavenly ardour glows, and how
His hand, enraptured, strikes the golden lyre!
As now, conversing of the Lamb, once slain,
He speaks; and now, from vines that never hear
Of winter, but in monthly harvest yield
Their fruit abundantly, he plucks the grapes
Of life! But what he was on earth it most
Behoves to say. Elect by God himself,
Anointed by the Holy Ghost, and set
Apart to the great work of saving men ;
Instructed fully in the will divine,
Supplied with grace in store, as need might ask,
And with the stamp and signature of heaven,
Truth, mercy, patience, holiness, and love,
Accredited; he was a man, by God,
The Lord, commissioned to make known to men
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