The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery Collected and Revised by the Author |
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| 6. | PURE IN HEART.
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 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
PURE IN HEART.
SIXTH BEATITUDE.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see
God.”—Matt. v. 8.
How blessèd are the pure in heart!
And none are blest beside;
For nought of heaven can grace impart
If pureness be denied.
And none are blest beside;
For nought of heaven can grace impart
If pureness be denied.
Can sightless eyeballs see the Sun,
Though Earth lie bathed in beams,
And o'er each hill he shines upon
A ray of rapture gleams?
Though Earth lie bathed in beams,
And o'er each hill he shines upon
A ray of rapture gleams?
No more can tainted spirits gaze
On glories round the Throne:
Mere darkness would become That blaze
Pure hearts can bear alone.
On glories round the Throne:
Mere darkness would become That blaze
Pure hearts can bear alone.
The Moon cannot her image glass
On restless waves which rise,
For when the storm-winds o'er them pass,
Her broken semblance dies;
On restless waves which rise,
For when the storm-winds o'er them pass,
Her broken semblance dies;
And so, where passion's lurid fires
The love of truth erase,
No sight of God the soul inspires,
But all grows blind and base.
The love of truth erase,
No sight of God the soul inspires,
But all grows blind and base.
By heavenly likeness Hearts discern
The secrets most divine;
Just as we live, so much we learn
Of Thee, O God! and Thine.
The secrets most divine;
Just as we live, so much we learn
Of Thee, O God! and Thine.
Those inward eyes of purity
By which the mind beholds
Ideal truths Sin cannot see,
That God Himself unfolds,—
By which the mind beholds
Ideal truths Sin cannot see,
That God Himself unfolds,—
Unless we have them, vain is all
The science stored within;
Our creed the world may holy call,
But such proud wealth is sin.
The science stored within;
Our creed the world may holy call,
But such proud wealth is sin.
And here, behold that peerless Law
Proving the Gospel's worth,
Beyond what sage or poet saw,
When most he soar'd from earth:
Proving the Gospel's worth,
Beyond what sage or poet saw,
When most he soar'd from earth:
That law is purity intense,
A chastity divine,
A sacred glow of innocence,
Which keeps the heart a shrine,—
A chastity divine,
A sacred glow of innocence,
Which keeps the heart a shrine,—
A shrine of holiness and power
Whence praise and prayer ascend,
To seek what soothes the sternest hour
Which can the Christian bend.
Whence praise and prayer ascend,
To seek what soothes the sternest hour
Which can the Christian bend.
Then, weigh thy heart! disciple, keep
That ceaseless pulse of life;
Which even through innocuous sleep
Can throb with sin, and strife.
That ceaseless pulse of life;
Which even through innocuous sleep
Can throb with sin, and strife.
Mysterious, ever-active spring
Of central thought, and will!
To which time, sense, and motion bring
Perpetual good, or ill.
Of central thought, and will!
To which time, sense, and motion bring
Perpetual good, or ill.
By thee we live, and love, and hate,
The inward Man art thou;
Thy nature dooms our final state,
And that is forming now!
The inward Man art thou;
Thy nature dooms our final state,
And that is forming now!
Oh! watch we then, with jealous eyes,
That world where God alone
Searches the secret thoughts which rise
Like shades before His Throne.
That world where God alone
Searches the secret thoughts which rise
Like shades before His Throne.
As local space the body holds,
So God the mind contains;
And who can dare what He enfolds
To mar with sinful stains?
So God the mind contains;
And who can dare what He enfolds
To mar with sinful stains?
He dwells in us, and we in Him,
The Temple of all souls!
And pure as prostrate seraphim
Be all which He controls.
The Temple of all souls!
And pure as prostrate seraphim
Be all which He controls.
For if the ground by Moses trod
With sanctity was fill'd,
When erst the flaming bush of God
An o'erawed patriarch still'd,
With sanctity was fill'd,
When erst the flaming bush of God
An o'erawed patriarch still'd,
Sublimer far than thought can trace
Is He, the all-divine,
Who is in Christ our dwelling-place
And Soul-embracing Shrine.
Is He, the all-divine,
Who is in Christ our dwelling-place
And Soul-embracing Shrine.
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Eternal Spring of purity!
Descend, propitious Dove;
From heart-corruption make us free,
By turning law to love.
Descend, propitious Dove;
From heart-corruption make us free,
By turning law to love.
The blessèd are the pure, indeed,
And wretched, the defiled;
In whose dark bosom dwell and breed
Lone passions, fierce and wild.
And wretched, the defiled;
In whose dark bosom dwell and breed
Lone passions, fierce and wild.
By likeness only, souls can see
The glories Heaven contains;
But minds which nurse impurity
Would feel them worse than pains.
The glories Heaven contains;
But minds which nurse impurity
Would feel them worse than pains.
For purity is heaven below,
And sin the hell of man,
And all eternity will show,
Will be,—what time began.
And sin the hell of man,
And all eternity will show,
Will be,—what time began.
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |