Chapter V

This soaring, sacred thirst,
Ambassador of bliss, approached first,
Making a place in me
That made me apt to prize, and taste, and see.
For not the objects but the sense
Of things doth bliss to souls dispense,
And make it, Lord, like thee,
Sense, feeling, taste, complacency, and sight,
These are the true and real joys,
The living, flowing, inward, melting, bright,
And heavenly pleasures; all the rest are toys:
All which are founded in Desire,
As light in flame and heat in fire.

THOUGHTS.--IV

In Thy presence there is fullness of Joy, and at Thy right hand
there are pleasures for evermore.

Thoughts are the wings on which the soul doth fly,
The messengers which soar above the sky,
Elijah's fiery chariot, that conveys
The soul, even here, to those eternal joys.
Thoughts are the privileged posts that soar
Unto His throne, and there appear before
Ourselves approach. These may at any time
Above the clouds, above the stars may climb.
The soul is present by a thought; and sees
The New Jerusalem, the palaces,
The thrones, and feasts, the regions of the sky,
The joys and treasures of the Deity.
His wisdom makes all things so bright and pure,
That they are worthy ever to endure.
His glorious works, His laws and counsels are,
When seen, all like Himself, beyond compare.
All ages with His love and glory shine,
As they are His all Kingdoms are Divine.
Whole hosts of Angels at His throne attend,
And joyful praises from His saints ascend.
Thousands of thousands kneel before His face
And all His benefits with joy embrace.
His goodness makes all creatures for His pleasure,
And makes itself His creatures' chiefest treasure.
Almighty power doth itself employ
In all its works to make itself the joy
Of all His hosts, and to complete the bliss
Which omnipresent and eternal is.
His omnipresence is an Endless Sphere,
Wherein all worlds as his delights appear:
His bounty is the spring of all delight;
Our blessedness, like His, is infinite.
His glory endless is and doth surround
And fill all worlds without or end or bound.
What hinders then but we in Heaven may be
Even here on Earth did we but rightly see?
As mountains, chariots, horsemen all on fire,
To guard Elisha did of old conspire,
Which yet his servant could not see, being blind,
Ourselves environ'd with His joys we find.
Eternity itself is that true light
That doth enclose us being infinite.
The very seas do overflow and swim
With precious nectars as they flow from Him.
The stable Earth which we beneath behold,
Is far more precious than if made of gold.
Fowls, fishes, beasts, trees, herbs, and precious flowers,
Seeds, spices, gums, and aromatic bowers,
Wherewith we are enclos'd and serv'd each day
By His appointment do their tributes pay,
And offer up themselves as gifts of love,
Bestowed on Saints, proceeding from above.
Could we but justly, wisely, truly prize
These blessings, we should be above the skies,
And praises sing with pleasant heart and voice,
Adoring with the Angels should rejoice.
The fertile clouds give rain, the purer air,
Is warm and wholesome, soft and bright and fair.
The stars are wonders which His wisdom names,
The glorious sun the knowing soul enflames.
The very Heavens in their sacred worth,
At once serve us and set His glory forth.
Their influences touch the grateful sense,
They please the eye with their magnificence;
While in His temple all His saints do sing,
And for His bounty praise their Heavenly King.
All these are in His omnipresence, still
As living waters from His throne they trill;
As tokens of His love they all flow down
Their beauty, use, and worth the soul do crown.
Men are like Cherubims on either hand
Whose flaming love by His divine command
Is made a sacrifice to ours; which streams
Throughout all worlds, and fills them all with beams.
We drink our fill, and take their beauty in,
While Jesus' blood refines the soul from sin.
His grievous Cross is a supreme delight,
And of all Heavenly ones the greatest sight.
His Throne is near, 'tis just before our face,
And all Eternity His dwelling-place,
His dwelling-place is full of joys and pleasures,
His throne a fountain of Eternal treasures.
His omnipresence is all sight and love,
Which whoso sees he ever dwells above.
With soft embraces it doth clasp the soul,
And watchfully all enemies control.
It enters in and doth a temple find,
Or make a living one within the mind,
That, while God's omnipresence in us lies,
His treasures might be all before our eyes:
For minds and souls intent upon them here,
Do with the Seraphim's above appear:
And are like spheres of bliss, by love and sight,
By joy, thanksgiving, praise, made infinite.
O give me grace to see Thy face, and be
A constant Mirror of Eternity.
Let my pure soul, transformed to a thought
Attend upon Thy Throne, and, as it ought,
Spend all its time in feeding on Thy love,
And never from Thy sacred presence move.
So shall my conversation ever be
In Heaven, and I, O Lord my God, with Thee!

GOODNESS

I

The bliss of other men is my delight,
(When once my principles are right:)
And every soul which mine doth see
A treasury.
The face of God is goodness unto all,
And while He thousands to His throne doth call,
While millions bathe in pleasures,
And do behold His treasures,
The joys of all
On mine do fall,
And even my infinity doth seem
A drop without them of a mean esteem.

II

The light which on ten thousand faces shines,
The beams which crown ten thousand vines
With glory, and delight, appear
As if they were
Reflected only from them all for me,
That I a greater beauty there might see.
Thus stars do beautify
The azure canopy:
Gilded with rays,
Ten thousand ways
They serve me, while the sun that on them shines
Adorns those stars and crowns those bleeding vines.

III

Where goodness is within, the soul doth reign.
Goodness the only Sovereign!
Goodness delights alone to see
Felicity.
And while the Image of His goodness lives
In me, whatever He to any gives
Is my delight and ends
In me, in all my friends:
For goodness is
The spring of bliss,
And 'tis the end of all it gives away
And all it gives it ever doth enjoy.

IV

His goodness! Lord, it is His highest glory!
The very grace of all His story!
What other thing can me delight
But the blest sight
Of His eternal goodness? While His love,
His burning love the bliss of all doth prove,
While it beyond the ends
Of Heaven and Earth extends,
And multiplies
Above the skies,
His glory, love, and goodness in my sight
Is for my pleasure made more infinite.

V

The soft and swelling grapes that on their vines
Receive the lively warmth that shines
Upon them, ripen there for me:
Or drink they be,
Or meat. The stars salute my pleased sense
With a derived and borrowed influence:
But better vines do grow,
Far better wines do flow
Above, and while
The Sun doth smile
Upon the lilies there, and all things warm,
Their pleasant odours do my spirit charm.