Chapter VIII: Part 8

Not inspiration can obtain
That _fame_, which poets languish for in vain.
How mad their aim, who thirst for glory, strive
To grasp, what no man can possess alive!
_Fame_’s a reversion in which men take place
(O late reversion!) at their own decease.
_Young._

Of all the phantoms fleeting in the mist
Of Time, though meagre all, and ghostly thin,
Most unsubstantial, unessential shade,
Was earthly _Fame_. She was a voice alone,
And dwelt upon the noisy tongues of men.
She never thought, but gabbled ever on,
Applauding most what least deserved applause.
The motive, the result, was nought to her.
The deed alone, though dyed in human gore,
And steeped in widows’ tears, if it stood out
To prominent display, she talked of much,
And roared around it with a thousand tongues.
As changed the wind her organ, so she changed
Perpetually; and whom she praised to-day,
Vexing his ear with acclamations loud,
To-morrow blamed, and hissed him out of sight.
_Pollok._

True _fame_’s a plant that seems to need
A body buried--for its seed;
And ere the churlish sucklings thrive,
The parent-stock must cease to live.

The good, the great, the wise, the just,
Are little valued till they’re dust,
Nor till they mutter “Earth to earth,”
Can men perceive another’s worth.
_C. C. Colton._

What though the mounds that mark’d each name,
Beneath the wings of Time,
Have worn away?--Theirs is the _fame_
Immortal and sublime;
For who can tread on Freedom’s plain,
Nor wake her dead to life again.
_R. Montgomery._

FAREWELL.

Another said, Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me first go bid them _farewell_, which are at home at my house.--Luke, ix. 61.

When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; but bade them _farewell_.--Acts, xviii. 20, 21.

Finally, brethren, _farewell_.--II. Corinthians, xiii. 11.

_Farewell!_ There is a spell within the word:
Methinks I never heard it sound so mournful;
Oh, thou subdued, oft scarce articulate sound,
How powerful thou art! How strong to move
The hidden strings that guide us puppet mortals!
Pass-word of memory--of by-gone days--
Thou everlasting epitaph--is there
A land in which thou hast no dwelling-place?
Wherein may be nor pageantry nor pride,
Nor altars, save the pure one of the heart,
Nor tombs, except for sorrow; and no tears;
There is a world, Oh God, where human lips
May say _Farewell!_ no more.
_Dilnot Sladden._

When eyes are beaming
What never tongue might tell,
When tears are streaming
From their crystal cell:
When hands are link’d that dread to part,
And heart is met by throbbing heart.
Oh! bitter, bitter is the smart
Of them that bid _Farewell_!

When hope is chidden,
That fain of bliss would tell,
And love forbidden
In the breast to dwell:
When fettered by a viewless chain,
We turn and gaze, and turn again;
Oh! death were mercy to the pain
Of them that bid _Farewell_.
_Bishop Heber._

’Tis well, if well thou farest
Upon thy heavenly way;
With joy the lips that love thee
Then _Fare-thee-well_ may say.
_Egone._

FATHER.

The Mighty God, the everlasting _Father_.--Isaiah, ix. 6.

O Lord, Thou art our _Father_; we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand.--Isaiah, lxiv. 8.

Our _Father_ which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.--Matthew, vi. 9, 10.

We have one _Father_, even God.--John, viii. 41.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the _Father_ of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.--James, i. 17.

_Father_, King, whose heav’nly face
Shines serene upon our race;
Mindful of Thy guardian care,
Slow to punish, prone to spare;
We Thy majesty adore,
We Thy well-known aid implore;
Not in vain Thy aid we call,
Nothing want, for Thou art all!

Source of being, source of light,
With unfading beauties bright;
Thee, when morning greets the skies,
Blushing sweet with humid eyes:
Thee, when soft declining day
Sinks in purple waves away;
Thee, O Parent, will I sing,
To Thy feet my tribute bring!
_Wesley._

_Father_ and Friend! Thy light, Thy love,
Beaming through all Thy works we see;
Thy glory gilds the heavens above,
And all the earth is full of Thee.

Thy voice we hear, Thy presence feel,
Whilst Thou, too pure for mortal sight,
Involved in clouds invisible,
Reignest the Lord of life and light.

We know not in what hallowed part
Of the wide heavens Thy throne may be;
But this we know, that where Thou art,
Strength, wisdom, goodness dwell with Thee.

And through the various maze of time,
And through the infinity of space,
We follow Thy career sublime,
And all Thy wondrous footsteps trace.

Thy children shall not faint nor fear,
Sustained by this delightful thought,
Since Thou their God art everywhere,
They cannot be where Thou art not.
_Anon._

The Sabbath sun was setting slow,
Amidst the clouds of even;
“Our _Father_,”--breathed a voice below--
“_Father_, who art in Heaven!”

Beyond the earth--beyond the cloud--
Those infant words were given;
“Our _Father_,” angels sang aloud--
“_Father_, who art in Heaven!”

“Thy kingdom come”--still from the ground,
That childlike voice did pray;
“Thy kingdom come”--God’s hosts resound--
Far up the starry way!

“Thy will be done,”--with little tongue,
That lisping love implores;
“Thy will be done,”--the angelic throng--
Sing from seraphic shores!

“For ever,”--still those lips repeat,
Their closing evening prayer;
“For ever,”--floats in music sweet--
High ’midst the angels there!

Thine be the glory evermore,
From Thee may man ne’er sever;
But every Christian land adore
Jehovah!--God!--for ever!
_C. Swain._

One _father_ have we here on earth,
Another up in heaven;
By Him to us the second birth,
And lasting life is given.
_Egone._

FEAR.

The _fear_ of the wicked it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.--Proverbs, x. 24.

The _fear_ of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.--Proverbs, xxix. 25.

Say to them that are of a _fearful_ heart, Be strong, _fear_ not; behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; He will come and save you.--Isaiah, xxxv. 4.

_Fear_ not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather _fear_ Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.--Matthew, x. 28.

For God hath not given us the spirit of _fear_; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.--II. Timothy, i. 7.

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not _fear_ what man shall do unto me.--Hebrews, xiii. 6.

Since nature’s work be good, and death doth come
As nature’s work, why should we _fear_ to die?
Since _fear_ is vain, but when it may presume,
Why should we _fear_ that which we cannot fly?
_Fear_ is more pain than is the pain it _fears_,
Disarming human minds of native might;
While each conceit an ugly figure bears,
Which were not ill well viewed in reason’s light.
_Sir P. Sidney._

Persuade them then,
_Fearless_ to be resolved to die like men;
For want of such a resolution stings
At point of death, and dreadful horror brings
Ev’n to the soul; ’cause, wanting preparation,
She dies, despairing of her own salvation.
Yea, and moreover this full well know I,
He that’s at any time _afraid_ to die,
Is in weak case, and whatsoe’er he saith,
Hath but a wavering and a feeble faith.
_George Wither._

_Fear_ on guilt attends, and deeds of darkness;
The virtuous breast ne’er knows it.
_Havard._

Some, for _fear_ of want,
Want all their lives; and others ev’ry day,
For _fear_ of dying, suffer worse than death.
Ah! from your bosoms banish if you can
That fatal guest, I mean the demon _fear_,
That trembles at impossible events,
Lest aged Atlas should resign his load,
And Heaven’s eternal battlements rush down.
Is there an evil worse than _fear_ itself?
And what avails it, that indulgent Heav’n
From mortal eyes has wrapt the woes to come,
If we, ingenious to torment ourselves,
Grow pale at hideous fictions of our own?
Enjoy the present, nor with needless cares
Of what may spring from blind Misfortune’s womb
Appal the surest hour that life bestows;
Serene and master of yourself, prepare
For what may come, and leave the rest to heaven.
_Armstrong._

God’s altar grasping with an eager hand,
_Fear_, the wild-visaged, pale, eye-starting wretch,
Sure-refuged, hears his hot-pursuing fiends
Yell at vain distance. Soon refreshed from Heaven,
He calms the throb and tempest of his heart,
His countenance settles; a soft solemn bliss
Swims in his eye--his swimming eye upraised:
And faith’s whole armour glitters on his limbs!
And thus transfigured with a dreadless awe,
A solemn hush of soul, meek he beholds
All things of terrible seeming.
_Coleridge._

Happy beyond description he
Who _fears_ the Lord his God,
Who hears His threats with holy awe
And trembles at His rod.

Let _fear_ and love, most holy God,
Possess this soul of mine.
Then shall I worship Thee aright,
And taste Thy joys divine.
_Needham._

My son, be this thy simple plan:
_Fear_ God and love thy fellow-man;
Forget not in temptation’s hour
That sin lends sorrow double power:
With hand, and brow, and bosom clear,
_Fear_ God and know no other _fear_.
_Anon._

FELLOWSHIP.

Shall the throne of iniquity have _fellowship_ with thee, which frameth mischief by a law.--Psalm xciv. 20.

Have no _fellowship_ with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.--Ephesians, v. 11.

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have _fellowship_ with us; and truly our _fellowship_ is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.--I. John, i. 3.

We would not die in that man’s company,
That fears his _fellowship_ to die with us.
_Shakspere._

From blissful bowers
Of amaranthine shade, fountain or spring,
By the waters of life where’er they sat.
In _fellowship_ of joy.
_Milton._

The blessings which the poor and weak can scatter
Have their own season. ’Tis a little thing
To give a cup of water; yet its draught
Of cool refreshment, drained by fevered lips,
May give a shock of pleasure to the frame,
More exquisite than when nectarean juice
Renews the life of joy in happiest hours.
It is but a little thing to speak a phrase
Of common comfort, which by daily use
Has almost lost its sense; yet on the ear
Of him who thought to die unmourned, ’t will fall
Like choicest music; fill the glazing eye
With gentle tears; relax the knotted band
To know the bonds of _fellowship_ again.
_Talfourd._

O, sweet it is, through life’s dark way
In Christian _fellowship_ to move,
Illumed by one unclouded ray,
And one in faith, in hope, in love.
_Charlotte Elizabeth._

How sweet it is when friend with friend
In holy _fellowship_ can walk!
When thoughts and sympathies may blend,
And hearts be open as their talk!
Such will the preparation prove
For lasting _fellowship_ above.
_Egone._

FINISHED.

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also _finish_ it.--Zechariah, iv. 8, 9.

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is _finished_; and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.--John, xix. 30.

As he had begun, so he would also _finish_ in you the same grace also.--II. Corinthians, viii. 6.

He that of greatest works is _finisher_,
Oft does them by the weakest minister.
_Shakspere._

O prophet of glad tidings! _finisher_
Of utmost hope.
_Milton._

Though here you all perfection should not find,
Yet it is all the Eternal will designed;
It is a _finished_ work, and perfect in its kind.
_Blackmore._

Hark! the voice of love and mercy
Sounds aloud from Calvary!
See! it rends the rocks asunder,
Shakes the earth and veils the sky!
“It is _finished_!”
Hear the dying Saviour cry!

“It is _finished_!”--O what pleasure
Do those charming words afford!
Heavenly blessings without measure
Flow to us from Christ the Lord:
“It is _finished_!”--
Saints the dying words record.

_Finished_ all the types and shadows
Of the ceremonial law!
_Finished_ all that God had promised;
Death and hell no more shall awe:
“It is _finished_!”--
Saints from hence their comfort draw.

Happy souls, approach the table,
Taste the soul-reviving food;
Nothing’s half so sweet and pleasant
As the Saviour’s flesh and blood:
“It is _finished_!”--
Christ has borne the heavy load.
_J. Evans._

FLOOD.

And the _flood_ was forty days upon the earth.--Genesis, vii. 17.

The Lord sitteth upon the _flood_: yea the Lord sitteth King for ever.--Psalm xxix. 10.

For as in the days that were before the _flood_ they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

And knew not until the _flood_ came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.--Matthew, xxiv. 38, 39.

By faith _Noah_, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.--Hebrews, xi. 7.

God spared not the old world, but saved _Noah_, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the _flood_ upon the world of the ungodly.--II. Peter, ii. 5.

He preached
Conversion and repentance, as to souls
In prison under dangers imminent:
But all in vain, which, when he saw, he ceased
Contending, and removed his tents far off,
Then from the mountain hewing timbers tall,
Began to build a vessel of huge bulk.
_Milton._

And now, the thickening sky
Like a dark ceiling stood; down rushed the rain
Impetuous, and continued till the earth
No more was seen. The floating vessel swam
Uplifted, and secure with beaked prow,
Rode tilting o’er the waves; all dwellings else
_Flood_ overwhelmed, and them, with all their pomp,
Deep under water rolled; sea covered sea,
Sea without shore; and in their palaces,
Where luxury late reigned, sea monsters whelped
And stabled. Of mankind, so numerous late,
All left in one small bottom swam imbarked.
_Milton._

Methinks I see a distant vessel ride,
A lonely object on the shoreless tide,
Within whose ark the innocent have found
Safety, when stayed destruction ravens round;
Thus, in the hour of vengeance, God, who knows
His servants, spares them, while He smites His foes.
_James Montgomery._

Sunk beneath the wave,
The guilty share an universal grave;
One wilderness of waters rolls in view,
And heaven and ocean wear one turbid hue;
Still stream unbroken torrents from the skies,
Higher, beneath, the inundations rise;
A lurid twilight glares athwart the scene,
Now thunders peal, faint lightnings flash between.
_James Montgomery._

Down rush the torrents from above; the deep
Opens in all its fountains, ceaseless, still
Ceaseless: the muddy waters eddying fill
The valleys. High on every mound and steep,
In crowds, men, women, children, cattle, sheep,
Stand shivering with dismay, the horrible
Confusion eyeing; and, from hill to hill,
They shout in agony, or shriek, or weep,
In vain! the waters gain upon them. Lo!
The ark careering past, their hands they stretch
For help; and now you see some drowning wretch
Pursue the sacred vessel; but in woe
No pity must they have; so on they go.--
Now all is one wide sea without a beach.
_Morehead._

Behold the awful Deity enthroned
In darkness awful--inaccessible,
And order almost unto chaos changed;
Tremendous gloom! that blots the sun’s bright beams,
And more than midnight horrors shroud the skies,
The faint grey twilight gleaming thro’ the clouds,
Discover, floating on a shoreless sea,
The chosen eight embosom’d in the Ark,
One family preserved to renovate
The world, Jehovah’s judgments have destroyed.

* * * * *

But see the bow its new-created dyes
Begin to beam propitious from the cloud--
“Destructive waters shall no more prevail,
No more become a _flood_ upon the earth.”
_S. Hughes._

FLOWERS.

Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

He cometh forth like a _flower_, and is cut down.--Job, xiv. 1, 2.

As for man, his days are as grass: as a _flower_ of the field, so he flourisheth.--Psalm ciii. 15.

Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

If then God so clothe the grass, which is to-day in the field, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will He clothe you, O ye of little faith.--Luke, xii. 27, 28.

Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

But the rich in that he is made low: because as the _flower_ of the grass, he shall pass away.--James, i. 9, 10.

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the _flower_ of grass. The grass withereth, and the _flower_ thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever.--I. Peter, i. 24, 25.

When with a serious musing I behold
The grateful and obsequious marigold;
How duly every morning she displays
Her open breast. When Titan spreads his rays,
How she observes him in his daily walk.
Still bending towards him her small slender stalk.
For when he down declines, she droops and mourns,
Bedew’d as ’twere, with tears till he returns;
And how she veils her _flowers_ when he is gone,
As if she scorned to be looked on
By an inferior eye, or did contemn
To wait upon a meaner light than him.
When thus I meditate, methinks the _flowers_
Have spirits far more generous than ours;
And give us fair examples to despise
The servile fawning and idolatries
Wherewith we court these earthly things below,
Which merit not the service we bestow.
_George Wither._

To me the meanest _flower_ that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.
_Wordsworth._

Foster the good, and thou shalt tend the _flower_
Already sown on earth;--
Foster the beautiful, and every hour,
Thou call’st new _flowers_ to birth.
_Schiller._

The enlivening sap,
Obedient to Thy laws, through fitted tubes
Ascends fermenting, and, at length, matured,
Breaks forth in gems, and germinates in leaves.
By Thee each family of _flowers_ is clothed
In one unvarying dress, and breathes the same
Transmitted essences; and though the loom
No virgin fingers ply to swell her pride,
The lily shines, more gorgeously arrayed
Than monarchs, where the East, with hand profuse,
Showers on their pomp barbaric, pearl and gold.
_Smart._

There is a lesson in each _flower_,
A story in each stream and bower;
In every herb on which you tread
Are written words, which, rightly read,
Will lead you from earth’s fragrant sod,
To hope, and holiness, and God.
_Allan Cunningham._

When spring returns, the little children play,
In the grave-yard of the cathedral grey,
Busy as morning bees, and gather _flowers_--
Daisies and gold-cups--of the hurrying hours
Thoughtless as unsolicitous, though time
Speeds like a spectre, and their playful prime
Bears on to sorrow. Angel! cry aloud!
Speak of the knell, the grave-worm and the shroud!
No! let them play! for solitude and care
Too soon will teach them what poor mortals are.
Yes! let them play, but as their thoughts expand,
May smiling pity lead them by the hand,
When they look up, and in the clouds admire
The lessening shaft of that aërial spire,
So be their thoughts uplifted from the sod,
Where time’s brief _flowers_ they gather to their God.
_W. Lisle Bowles._

This cottage door, this gentle gale,
Hay-scented, whispering round,
Yon path-side rose, that down the vale,
Breathes incense from the ground,
Methinks should from the dullest clod,
Invite the thankful heart to God.

But, Lord, the violet bending low,
Seems better moved to praise;
From us what scanty blessings flow,
How voiceless close our days;--
Father, forgive us, and the _flowers_
Shall lead in prayer the vesper hours.
_James T. Fields._

_Flowers!_ wherefore do ye bloom?
--We strew the pathway to the tomb!
_J. Montgomery._

God might have made the earth bring forth
Enough for great and small--
The oak tree and the cedar tree,
Without a _flower_ at all.
He might have made enough, enough,
For every want of ours,
For luxury, medicine, and toil,
And yet have made no _flowers_.

Our outward life requires them not,
Then wherefore had they birth?
To minister delight to man--
To beautify the earth;
To whisper hope, to comfort man,
Whene’er his faith is dim;
For whoso careth for the _flowers_,
Will care much more for him.
_Mary Howitt._

“See,” said Marian unto me,
Standing by the cressy brook,
“How my wealth of _flowers_ increaseth;
Have they not a pleasant look?”

“Deeper still,” I said unto her,
“There the ceaseless worm alway
Feeds upon the living _flower_,
Drooping, drooping to decay.”

“Deeper yet,” said Marian,
“Love, and thank the love that giveth;
In the death of every one,
Future wealth uncounted liveth.”
_J. B. Kington._

FOLLY.

The _fool_ hath said in his heart, There is no God.--Psalm xiv. 1.

I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to _folly_.--Psalm lxxxv. 8.

The crown of the wise is their riches: but the _foolishness_ of _fools_ is _folly_.--Proverbs, xiv. 24.

Answer not a _fool_ according to his _folly_, lest thou also be like unto him.--Proverbs, xxvi. 4.

Whosoever shall say, Thou _fool_, shall be in danger of hell fire.--Matthew, v. 22.

The rout is _folly’s_ circle which she draws
With magic wand. So potent is the spell,
That none decoy’d into that fatal ring,
Unless by Heaven’s peculiar grace, escape.
There we grow early grey, but never wise;
There form connections, but acquire no friend;
Solicit pleasure, hopeless of success;
Waste youth in occupations only fit
For second childhood; and devote old age
To sports, which only childhood could excuse.
_Cowper._

Many there are who wear the cap and bells,
And tread the maze of _folly_;
And some who dwell apart in hermit cells
With moping melancholy.
Many there are who toil, and moil, and scrape,
For gold they cannot keep;
And many who from toil and care escape,
Wrapped in a drunken sleep.
Some of their brothers in their anger cry--
Thou _fool_! nor heed the sin;
And some their God and Saviour would deny
Human applause to win.
All this is _foolishness_, but worst of all
The last mad _folly_,
Building betwixt the soul and heaven a wall,
Spreading o’er nature’s face a gloomy pall
Of hopeless melancholy.
_Egone._

FORGETFULNESS.

How long wilt thou _forget_ me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?--Psalm xiii. 1.

But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath _forgotten_ me.

Can a woman _forget_ her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may _forget_, yet will I not _forget_ thee.--Isaiah, xlix. 14, 15.

Behold the inexorable hour at hand!
Behold the inexorable hour _forgot_!
And to _forget_ it, the chief aim of life;
Though well to ponder it is life’s chief end.
_Young._

_Forget_ me not! _Forget_ me not!
Thou utterest, Lord, from earth or skies,
In glittering glory--rainbow dyes,
And every breeze that sheds a balm
On morning’s joy or evening’s calm,
In open glade or lonely spot,
Maintains a tongue to tell Thy power,
And whispers in Thy name and hour,
_Forget_ me not! _Forget_ me not!

_Forget_ me not! _Forget_ me not!
The record of Thy will doth say,
Revealing Thee in glory’s ray,
On Sinai’s mount with justice crowned,
Throwing Thy awful thunders round,
But most, when pitying the hard lot
Of man, Thy Son rejoiced to die
Upon the mount of Calvary,
Thy voice was heard--_Forget_ me not!

_Forget_ us not! _Forget_ us not!
In that dread hour when tyrant death
Shall gripe this form and stop its breath;
Oh! in each struggling throe, that clay
Feels when the soul is wrenched away,
And it is left for earth to rot,
Look down in mercy--Lord, be nigh,
To curb the dying agony;
We are but dust--_Forget_ us not!
_William Martin._

FORGIVENESS.

To the Lord our God belong mercies and _forgivenesses_, though we have rebelled against him.--Daniel, ix. 9.

When ye stand praying, _forgive_, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may _forgive_ you your trespasses.

But if ye do not _forgive_, neither will your Father which is in heaven _forgive_ your trespasses.--Mark, xi. 25, 26.

When they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

Then said Jesus, Father, _forgive_ them; for they know not what they do.--Luke, xxiii. 33, 34.

Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, _forgiving_ one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath _forgiven_ you.--Ephesians, iv. 32.

Though in the secret paths of sin I trod,
Yet do not quite forsake me, O my God!
’Tis Thou alone canst ease me of my pain,
Thy healing hand can wash out every stain,
Can cleanse my soul, and make the leper clean.
Speak, love divine, and bid the suppliant live,
Oh, let mine ear but hail the word, “_Forgive!_”
_Daniel._

_Forgive_ thy foe;--nor that alone,
His evil deed with good repay;
Fill those with joy who leave thee none
And kiss the hand upraised to slay.
_From the Persian._

Good nature and good sense must ever join;
To err is human, to _forgive_ divine.
_Pope._

Great souls _forgive_ not injuries till time
Has put their enemies into their power,
That they may show _forgiveness_ in their own.
_Dryden._

My foemen, Lord, are fierce and fell,
They spurn me in their pride;
They render evil for my good,
My patience they deride.

Arise, O King! and be the proud
To righteous ruin driven!--
“_Forgive!_” an awful answer came,
“As thou would’st be _forgiven_.”
_Heber._

O thou unknown, Almighty cause
Of all my hope and fear!
In whose dread presence, ere an hour,
Perhaps I must appear!

If I have wandered in those paths
Of life I ought to shun,
As something, loudly, in my breast,
Remonstrates I have done;

Thou know’st that Thou hast formed me
With passions wild and strong;
And list’ning to their witching voice
Has often led me wrong.

Where human weakness has come short,
Or frailty stept aside,
Do Thou, All-Good! for such thou art,
In shades of darkness hide.

Where with intention I have err’d,
No other plea I have,
But Thou art good; and Goodness still
Delighteth to _forgive_.
_Burns._

_Forgiveness!_ ’tis a joyful sound,
To rebel sinners doomed to die:
Publish the bliss the world around;
Ye seraphs shout it from the sky!

’Tis the rich gift of love divine;
’Tis full--outmeasuring every crime;
Unclouded shall its glories shine,
And feel no change by changing time.

For this stupendous love of heaven,
What grateful honour shall we shew?
Where much transgression is _forgiven_,
Let love with equal ardour glow.

Cheered by the hope of pardoning grace,
We come Thy mercy, Lord, to prove;
Like weeping Mary, let us taste
A pledge of Thy _forgiving_ love.
_Gibbons._

She rose from her untroubled sleep,
And put aside her soft brown hair,
And in a tone as low and deep
As love’s first whisper, breath’d a prayer.
And there, from slumber soft and warm,
Like a young spirit fresh from heaven,
She bow’d her slight and graceful form,
And humbly pray’d to be _forgiven_.

Oh, God! if souls unsoiled as these
Need daily mercy from Thy throne,
If she, upon her bended knees,
Our loveliest and purest one--
She, with a face so clear and bright,
We deem her some stray child of light;
If she, with those soft eyes in tears,
Day after day, in her first years,
Must kneel and pray for grace from Thee,
What far, far deeper need have we?
How hardly if she win not heaven,
Will our wild errors be _forgiven_?
_N. P. Willis._

When on the fragrant sandal tree
The woodman’s axe descends,
And she who bloomed so beauteously
Beneath the keen stroke bends--
E’en on the edge that brought her death,
Dying, she breathes her sweetest breath,
As if to token in her fall
“Peace to her foes, and love to all.”
How hardly man this lesson learns,
To smile, and bless the hand that spurns;
To see the blow, and feel the pain,
But render only love again.
This spirit ne’er was given on earth;
One had it,--he of heavenly birth;
Reviled, rejected, and betrayed,
No curse He breathed, no plaint He made,
But when in death’s deep pang He sighed,
Prayed for his murderers--and died.
_Edmeston._

FOUNDATION.

Of old hast thou laid the _foundation_ of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.--Psalm cii. 25.

Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a _foundation_ a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure _foundation_: he that believeth shall not make haste.--Isaiah, xxviii. 16.

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the _foundation_, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

For other _foundation_ can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.--I. Corinthians, iii. 10, 11.

Why build ye on the unsteady sand,
A worthless house that cannot stand?
Behold, in winter’s stormy day,
That frail support will glide away,
And rising billows lightly sweep
Your fortress to the yawning deep.
God hath a sure _foundation_ given,
Fix’d as the firm decrees of heaven:
The changeless, everlasting rock,
That braves the storm, and bides the shock;
There build: the gates of hell in vain
Against that rock their war maintain.
Christ is the rock, the corner stone,
Faith rears her beauteous house thereon;
Adorn’d with works of willing love,
And pointing to the scenes above;
Where faith and hope their sway resign,
Swallow’d in sight and joy divine.
_Charlotte Elizabeth._

I built my house upon a rock,
(Faith’s strong _foundation_ firm and sure,)
Fixed my abode, the heaviest shock
Of time and tempest to endure.

Nor small, nor large, nor low, nor high,
Midway it stands upon the steep,
Beneath the storm-mark of the sky,
Above the flood-mark of the deep.

And here I humbly wait, while He
Who pluck’d me from the lowest hell,
Prepares a heavenly house for me,
And calls me hence with Him to dwell.
_J. Montgomery._

FOUNTAIN.

How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

For with thee is the _fountain_ of life: in thy light shall we see light.--Psalm xxxvi. 7, 9.

In that day there shall be a _fountain_ opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.--Zechariah, xiii. 1.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the _fountain_ of the water of life freely.--Revelation, xxi. 6.

He set before him spread
A table of celestial food divine,
Ambrosial fruits, fetched from the tree of life,
And from the _fount_ of life ambrosial drink.
_Milton._

Abused mortals! did you know
Where joy, heart’s-ease, and comforts grow,
You’d scorn proud towers,
And seek them in these bowers,
Where winds sometimes our woods perhaps may shake,
But blustering care could never tempest make,
Nor murmurs e’er come nigh us,
Saving of _fountains_ that glide by us.
_Sir Walter Raleigh._

How free the _fountain_ flows
Of endless life and joy!
The spring which no confinement knows,
Whose waters never cloy.

How sweet the accents sound
From the Redeemer’s tongue!
Assemble all ye nations round
In one obedient throng.

Ho, every thirsty soul
Approach the sacred spring,
Drink, and your fainting spirits cheer,
Renew the draught and sing.
_Doddridge._

Why should the soul a drop bemoan,
Who has a _fountain_ near,--
A _fountain_ which shall ever run
With waters sweet and clear?
_Ryland._

FRAILTY.

Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how _frail_ I am.--Psalm xxxix. 4.

But man with _frailty_ is allied by birth.
_Bishop Lowth._

By nature peccable and _frail_ are we,
Easily beguiled; to vice, to error prone;
But apt for virtue too. Humanity
Is not a field where tares and thorns alone
Are left to spring; good seed hath there been sown
With no unsparing hand. Sometimes the shoot
Is choked with weeds, or withers on a stone;
But in a kindly soil it strikes its root,
And flourisheth, and bringeth forth abundant fruit.
_Southey._

“How meanly dwells th’ immortal mind!
How vile these bodies are!
Why was a clod of earth designed
T’ enclose a heavenly star?

“Weak cottage where our souls reside,
This flesh a tott’ring wall;
With frightful breaches gaping wide,
The building bends to fall.

“All round it storms of trouble blow,
And waves of sorrow roll;
Cold waves and winter storms beat through,
And pain the tenant soul.

“Alas! how _frail_ our state!” said I;
And thus went mourning on,
Till sudden from the cleaving sky
A gleam of glory shone.

My soul felt all the glory come,
And breathed her native air;
Then she remembered heaven, her home,
And she a prisoner here.

Straight she begun to change her key,
And joyful in her pains,
She sang the _frailty_ of her clay
In pleasurable strains.
_Watts._

FREEDOM.

He that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s _freeman_: likewise also he that is called, being _free_, is Christ’s servant.--I. Corinthians, vii. 22.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you _free_.--John, viii. 32.

If the Son therefore shall make you _free_, ye shall be _free_ indeed.--John, viii. 36.

As _free_, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.--I. Peter, ii. 16.

_Freely_ we serve,
Because we _freely_ love, as in our will
To love or not; in this we stand or fall.
_Milton._

Yet gave me in this dark estate
To see the good from ill,
And, binding Nature fast in fate,
Left _free_ the human will.
_Pope._

Placed for his trial on this bustling stage,
From thoughtless youth to ruminating age,
_Free_ in his will to choose or to refuse,
Man may improve the crisis, or abuse;
Else, on the fatalist’s unrighteous plan,
Say to what bar amenable were man?
With nought in charge he could betray no trust;
And if he fell, would fall because he must;
If Love reward him, or if Vengeance strike,
His recompense in both unjust alike.
_Cowper._

Grace leads the right way: if you choose the wrong,
Take it and perish, but restrain your tongue;
Charge not, with light sufficient, and left _free_,
Your wilful suicide on God’s decree.
_Cowper._

True _freedom_ is where no restraint is known
That scripture, justice, and good sense disown,
Where only vice and injury are tied,
And all from shore to shore is _free_ beside.
_Cowper._

Where had been
The test of faith if the expanded arm
Of Heaven, in glory and in power displayed,
Had curbed the _freedom_ of the human will,
Nor left the scope of choice!
_Samuel Hayes._

If, with streamy radiance, God
Had dazzling beamed upon His creatures’ eyelids,
And shown Himself to their unbandaged view,
And with a voice divine to us had spoken,
Destroying in our hearts the wondrous balance,
(Man ceasing to be man had lost his _freedom_,)
Our soul would not have struggled with our senses,
And void of _freedom_ what would virtue be?
_Pulling, from Lamartine._

For what is _freedom_, but the unfettered use
Of all the powers which God for use had given?
But chiefly this, Him first, Him last to view
Through meaner powers and secondary things
Effulgent, as through clouds that veil His blaze.
_Coleridge._

Man (ingenious to contrive his woe,
And rob himself of all that makes this vale
Of tears bloom comfort) cries, If God foresees
Our future actings, then the objects known
Must be determined, or the knowledge fail:
Thus liberty’s destroyed, and all we do
Or suffer, by a fatal thread is spun.
Say, fool, with too much subtilty misled,
Who reasonest but to err, does Prescience change
The property of things? Is aught thou seest
Caused by thy vision, not thy vision caused
By forms that previously exist? To God
This mode of seeing future deeds extends,
And _freedom_ with foreknowledge may exist.
_George Bally._

In a service which Thy will appoints
There are no bonds for me;
For my inmost heart is taught “the truth”
That makes thy children “_free_;”
And a life of self-renouncing love
Is a life of liberty.
_A. L. Waring._

FRIENDSHIP.

A _friend_ loveth at all times.--Proverbs, xvii. 17.

A man that hath _friends_ must shew himself _friendly_: and there is a _friend_ that sticketh closer than a brother.--Proverbs, xviii. 24.

The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a _friend_ of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.--Matthew, xi. 19.

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the _friendship_ of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a _friend_ of the world is the enemy of God.--James, iv. 4.

O world, thy slippery turns! _Friends_ now fast sworn,
Whose double bosoms seem to wear one heart;
Whose hours, whose bed, whose meat, and exercise,
Are still together; who twin, as ’t were, in love,
Unseparable, shall within this hour,
On a dissension of a doit, break out
To bitterest enmity: so, fellest foes,
Whose passions and whose plots have broke their sleep,
To take the one the other, by some chance,
Some trick not worth an egg, shall grow dear _friends_,
And interjoin their issues.
_Shakspere._

Each _friend_ by fate snatched from us, is a plume
Plucked from the wing of human vanity,
Which makes us stoop from our aerial heights,
And, damped with omen of our own decease,
On drooping pinions of ambition lowered,
Just skim earth’s surface, ere we break it up;
O’er putrid earth to scratch a little dust,
And save the world a nuisance.
_Young._

Heaven gives us _friends_ to bless the present scene;
Resumes them to prepare us for the next.
_Young._

Celestial happiness! Whene’er she stoops
To visit earth, one shrine the goddess finds,
And one alone, to make her sweet amends
For absent heaven,--the bosom of a _friend_,
Where heart meets heart, reciprocally soft,
Each other’s pillow to repose divine.
_Young._

A _friend_ is worth all hazards we can run,
Poor is the _friendless_ master of a world;
A world in purchase of a _friend_ is gain.
_Dr. Young._

_Friend_ of the _friendless_ and the faint!
Where should I lodge my deep complaint?
Where, but with Thee, whose open door
Invites the helpless and the poor?
Did ever mourner plead with Thee,
And Thou refuse that mourner’s plea?
Does not that word still fixed remain,
That “none shall seek thy face in vain?”
_Cowper._

To bless mankind with tides of flowing wealth,
With power to grace them, or to crown with health,
Our little lot denies; but Heaven decrees
To all, the gift of minist’ring to ease:
The gentle offices of patient love,
Beyond all flattery, and all praise above;
The mild forbearance of another’s fault,
The taunting word suppress’d as soon as thought;
On these Heaven bade the sweets of life depend;
And crush’d ill fortune when she gave a _friend_.
A solitary blessing few can find;
Our joys with those we love are intertwined;
And he whose wakeful tenderness removes
Th’ obstructing thorn which wounds the breast he loves,
Smoothes not another’s rugged path alone,
But scatters roses to adorn his own.
_Hannah More._

There is a _Friend_, more tender, true,
Than brother e’er can be,
Who, when all others bid adieu,
Remains--the last to flee;
Who, be their pathway bright or dim,
Deserts not those who turn to Him.

The heart by Him sustained, though deep
Its anguish, still can bear!
The soul He condescends to keep,
Shall never know despair;
In nature’s weakness, sorrow’s night,
God is its strength, its joy, its light.
_Barton._

_Friend_ after _friend_ departs;
Who hath not lost a _friend_?
There is no union here of hearts
That finds not here an end;
Were this frail world our final rest,
Living or dying none were blest.
_J. Montgomery._

_Friendship_, thou charmer of the mind,
Thou sweet deluding ill,
The brightest minute mortals find,
And sharpest hour we feel.

Fate has divided all our shares
Of pleasure and of pain;
In love the comforts and the cares
Are mixed and joined again.

But whilst in floods our sorrow rolls,
And drops of joy are few,
This dear delight of mingling souls
Serves but to swell our woe.

Oh! why should bliss depart in haste,
And _friendship_ stay to moan?
Why the fond passion cling so fast,
When every joy is gone?

Yet never let our hearts divide,
Nor death dissolve the chain;
For love and joy were once allied,
And must be joined again.
_Watts._

Christ had His _friends_--His eye could trace
In the long train of coming years,
The chosen children of His grace,
The full reward of all His tears.
These are _friends_, and these are thine,
If thou to Him hast bowed the knee;
And where these ransomed millions shine
Shall thy eternal mansion be.
_Anonymous._

In yonder bright clime Christian _friendships_ of earth
Shall live through eternity’s day,
Shall blossom like plants in the land of their birth,
But never to suffer decay.
_W. J. Brock._

GAIN.

What shall it profit a man, if he shall _gain_ the whole world, and lose his own soul.--Mark, viii. 36.

For me to live is Christ, and to die is _gain_.--Philippians, i. 21.

But what things were _gain_ to me, those I counted loss for Christ.--Philippians, iii. 7.

Godliness with contentment is great _gain_.--I. Timothy, vi. 6.

Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get _gain_.

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.--James, iv. 13, 14.

I left the God of truth and light,
I left the God who gave me breath,
To wander in the wilds of night,
And perish in the snares of death.

In riches when I sought for joy,
And placed in sordid _gain_ my trust,
I found that gold was all alloy,
And worldly pleasures fleeting dust.
_J. Montgomery._

The Christian knows each cloud of grief
Bears impress of his God;
That love, he knows, will send relief
Which sends the chastening rod.

He suffers still:--God doth not spare;
But, lo, He soothes his grief!--
The Christian has a cross to bear,--
But has a Christ’s relief!

A crown was purchased by his cross,
A Paradise by pain;
And for His sake, each present loss
Shall yield eternal _gain_.
_Anon._

No more, my God, I boast no more
Of all the duties I have done;
I quit the hopes I held before,
To trust the merits of Thy Son.

Now for the love I bear His name,
What was my _gain_ I count my loss;
My former pride I call my shame,
And nail my glory to His cross.
_Watts._

GARDEN--EDEN--GETHSEMANE.

And the Lord God planted a _garden_ eastward in _Eden_; and there he put the man whom he had formed.--Genesis, ii. 8.

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called _Gethsemane_, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.--Matthew, xxvi. 36.

Jesus went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a _garden_, into the which he entered, and his disciples.--John, xviii. 1.

In the place where he was crucified there was a _garden_; and in the _garden_ a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

There laid they Jesus.--John, xix. 41, 42.

The mighty Lord of heaven and earth,
By Gihon’s pure and placid stream,
That from the new-born hills came forth,
To sparkle in the sun’s young beam--
Upraised, all lovely as a dream
To hearts of holy feeling given,
The _garden_-bowers with joy that teem
For the peculiar wards of heaven:--

For man and woman--blessed pair!
In innocence and beauty made:
With sinless lips to breathe the air,
Whose odorous gales around them played;
With hearts as pure as dew-drops laid
Within the rose’s virgin breast;
With souls that never felt a shade
Of gloom upon their prospects rest.
_Knox._

Bring the thrilling scene
Home to thine inmost soul:--the sufferer’s cry,
“Father, if it be possible, this cup
Take thou away.--Yet not my will but thine:”
The sleeping friends who could not watch one hour,
The torch, the flashing sword, the traitor’s kiss,
The astonished angel, with the tear of Heaven
Upon his cheek, still striving to assuage
Those fearful pangs that bowed the Son of God,
Like a bruised reed. Thou who hast power to look
Thus at _Gethsemane_, be still! be still!
What are thine insect-woes, compared to His
Who agonizeth there? Count thy brief pains
As the dust atom on life’s chariot-wheels,
And in a Saviour’s grief forget them all.
_Mrs. Sigourney._

The palm--the vine--the cedar--each hath power
To bid fair oriental shapes glance by,
And each quick glistening of the laurel bower
Waft Grecian images, o’er fancy’s eye:
But thou, pale olive! in thy branches lie
Far deeper spells than prophet grove of old
Might e’er enshrine:--I could not hear thee sigh
To the wind’s faintest whisper, nor behold
One shiver of thy leaves’ dim silvery green,
Without high thoughts and solemn of that scene
When in the _Garden_ the Redeemer prayed--
When pale stars looked upon His fainting head,
And angels, ministering in silent dread,
Trembled, perchance, within thy trembling shade.
_Hemans._

How vainly men themselves amaze
To win the palm, the oak, or bays;
And their incessant labours see
Crowned from some single herb or tree,
Whose short and narrow-verged shade
Does prudently their toils upbraid;
While all the flowers and trees do close
To weave the garlands of repose.

Fair Quiet, have I found thee here,
And Innocence, thy sister dear?
Mistaken long, I sought you then
In busy companies of men.
Your sacred plants, if here below,
Only among the plants will grow.
Society is all but rude
In this delicious solitude.

Here at the fountain’s sliding foot,
As at some fruit tree’s mossy root,
Casting the body’s vest aside,
My soul into the boughs does glide;
There, like a bird, it sits and sings,
Then whets, and claps its silver wings;
And, till prepared for longer flight,
Waves in its plumes the various light.

How well the skilful _gard’ner_ drew
Of flow’rs and herbs the dial new,
Where from above the milder sun
Does through a fragrant zodiac run:
And, as it works, the industrious bee
Computes the time, as well as we.
How could such sweet and wholesome hours
Be reckoned, but with herbs and flowers.
_Andrew Marvell._

In a _garden_--man was placed,
Meet abode for innocence,
With his Maker’s image graced:
--Sin crept in and drove him thence,
Through the world, a wretch undone,
Seeking rest and finding none.

In a _garden_--on that night
When our Saviour was betrayed,
With what world-redeeming might,
In his agony he prayed!
Till he drank the vengeance up,
And with mercy filled the cup.

In a _garden_--on the cross,
When the spear His heart had riven,
And for earth’s primeval loss
Heaven’s best ransom had been given,
Jesus rested from His woes,
Jesus from the dead arose.

Emblem of the church above!
Where, as in their native clime,
’Midst the _garden_ of His love,
Rescued from the rage of time,
Saints, as trees of life shall stand,
Planted by His own right hand.
_J. Montgomery._

GENTLENESS.

Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy _gentleness_ hath made me great.--II. Samuel, xxii. 36.

Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and _gentleness_ of Christ.--II. Corinthians, x. 1.

But we were _gentle_ among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children.--I. Thessalonians, ii. 7.

The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be _gentle_ unto all men, apt to teach, patient.--II. Timothy, ii. 24.

_Gently_ I took that which _ungently_ came,
And without scorn forgave:--Do thou the same.
A wrong done to thee think a cat’s eye spark,
Thou wouldest not see, were not thine own heart dark.
Thine own keen sense of wrong that thirsts for sin,
Fear that--the spark self-kindled from within,
Which blown upon will blind thee with its glare,
Or smother’d stifle thee with noisome air.
Clap on the extinguisher, pull up the blinds,
And soon the ventilated spirit finds
Its natural daylight. If a foe have kenn’d,
Or worse than foe, an alienated friend,
A rib of dry rot in thy ship’s stout side,
Think it God’s message, and in humble pride
With heart of oak replace it;--thine the gains--
Give him the rotten timber for his pains!
_Coleridge._

I’ve thought of all this pride, and all this pain,
And all the insolent plenitudes of power,
And I declare, by this most quiet hour,
Which holds in different tasks by the fire-light
She, and my friends here, this delightful night,
That power itself has not one half the might
Of _Gentleness_. ’Tis want to all true wealth;
The uneasy madman’s force, to the wise health;
Blind downward beating, to the eyes that see;
Noise to persuasion, doubt to certainty;
The consciousness of strength in enemies,
Who must be strain’d upon or else they rise;
The battle to the moon, who all the while,
High out of hearing, passes with her smile:
The tempest, trampled in his scanty run,
To the whole globe, that basks about the sun;
Or as all shrieks and clangs, with which a sphere,
Undone and fired, could rake the midnight ear,
Compared with that vast dumbness nature keeps
Throughout her starry deeps,
Most old, and mild, and awful, and unbroken,
Which tells a tale of peace beyond whate’er was spoken.
_Leigh Hunt._

Speak _gently_!--It is better far
To rule by love than fear--
Speak _gently_--let no harsh words mar
The good we might do here!

Speak _gently_--love doth whisper low
The vows that true hearts bind;
And _gently_ Friendship’s accents flow,--
Affection’s voice is kind.

Speak _gently_ to the little child!
Its love be sure to gain;
Teach it in accents soft and mild,
It may not long remain.

Speak _gently_ to the young, for they
Will have enough to bear;
Pass through this life as best they may,
’Tis full of anxious care!

Speak _gently_ to the aged one,
Grieve not the careworn heart;
The sands of life are nearly run,
Let such in peace depart.

Speak _gently_, kindly, to the poor--
Let no harsh word be heard;
They have enough they must endure,
Without an unkind word.

Speak _gently_ to the erring--know
They may have toiled in vain;
Perchance unkindness made them so;
Oh! win them back again.
_Anonymous._

GIVING.

Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received _gifts_ for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.--Psalm lxviii. 18.

That every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the _gift_ of God.--Ecclesiastes, iii. 13.

The _gift_ of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.--Romans, vi. 23.

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable _gift_.--II. Corinthians, ix. 15.

The King of light, Father of aged time,
Hath brought about that day, which is the prime
To the slow gliding months, when every eye
Wears symptoms of a sober jollity;
And every hand is ready to present
Some service in a real compliment.
While some in golden letters write their love,
Some speak affection by a ring or glove,
Or pins and points, (for e’en the peasant may,
After his ruder fashion, be as gay
As the brisk courtly Sir,) and thinks that he
Cannot, without a gross absurdity,
Be this day frugal, and not spare his friend
Some _gift_, to show his love finds not an end
With the deceased year.
_Joshua Poole._

Who _gives_, constrained, but his own fear reviles;
Not thanked, but scorned; nor are they _gifts_, but spoils.
_Denham._

Cheap _gifts_ best fit poor _givers_. We are told
Of the lone mite, and cup of water cold,
That, in their way, approved the offerer’s zeal.
True love shows costliest where the means are scant,
And, in her reckoning, they abound who want.
_Charles Lamb._

Largely Thou _givest_, gracious Lord,
Largely Thy _gifts_ should be restored;
Freely Thou _givest_, and thy word
Is “Freely _give_.”
He only who forgets to hoard
Has learned to live.
_Keble._

GLORY.

And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The _glory_ is departed from Israel.--I. Samuel, iv. 21.

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to _glory_.--Psalm lxxiii. 24.

When the Lord shall build up Zion he shall appear in his _glory_.--Psalm cii. 16.

The wise shall inherit _glory_.--Proverbs, iii. 35.