FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172  
173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   193   194   195   196   197   >>   >|  
serve for general remark upon the mystical mode, as well as for comment explanatory of the close of the poem. THE NIGHT. JOHN iii. 2. Through that pure virgin-shrine, That sacred veil[145] drawn o'er thy glorious noon, That men might look and live, as glowworms shine, And face the moon, Wise Nicodemus saw such light As made him know his God by night. Most blest believer he, Who in that land of darkness and blind eyes, Thy long-expected healing wings could see When thou didst rise! And, what can never more be done, Did at midnight speak with the sun! O who will tell me where He found thee at that dead and silent hour? What hallowed solitary ground did bear So rare a flower, Within whose sacred leaves did lie The fulness of the Deity? No mercy-seat of gold, No dead and dusty cherub, nor carved stone, But his own living works did my Lord hold And lodge alone, Where trees and herbs did watch and peep And wonder, while the Jews did sleep. Dear night! this world's defeat; The stop to busy fools; care's check and curb, The day of spirits; my soul's calm retreat Which none disturb! Christ's progress, and his prayer time,[146] The hours to which high heaven doth chime![147] God's silent, searching flight;[148] When my Lord's head is filled with dew, and all His locks are wet with the clear drops of night, His still, soft call; His knocking time;[149] the soul's dumb watch, When spirits their fair kindred catch. Were all my loud, evil[150] days Calm and unhaunted as is thy dark tent, Whose peace but by some angel's wing or voice Is seldom rent, Then I in heaven all the long year Would keep, and never wander here. But living where the sun Doth all things wake, and where all mix and tire Themselves and others, I consent and run To every mire; And by this world's ill guiding light, Err more than I can do by night There is in God, some say, A deep but dazzling darkness; as men here Say it is late and dusky, because they See not all clear: O for that night! where I in him Might live invisible and dim! This is glorious; and its lesson of quiet and retirement we need more than ever in these hurried days upon which we have fallen. If men would but
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172  
173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   193   194   195   196   197   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
living
 

silent

 

darkness

 
sacred
 

heaven

 

glorious

 

spirits

 

kindred

 

prayer

 

retreat


disturb

 
Christ
 

progress

 
searching
 
flight
 

filled

 

knocking

 

seldom

 

dazzling

 

invisible


hurried

 

fallen

 

lesson

 

retirement

 

guiding

 
wander
 

consent

 

Themselves

 

things

 

unhaunted


believer

 

Nicodemus

 
expected
 

healing

 

glowworms

 

explanatory

 

comment

 

general

 

remark

 

mystical


Through
 
virgin
 

shrine

 

cherub

 

carved

 
defeat
 

midnight

 
hallowed
 
solitary
 

leaves