Devotional Verses Founded on and Illustrative of select Texts of Scripture [by Bernard Barton] |
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TEARS. |
 | Devotional Verses |  |
188
TEARS.
“Jesus wept.”
—John, xi. 35.
Not worthless are the tears,
When pure their fountain-head,
Which human hopes and fears
Compel us oft to shed.
When pure their fountain-head,
Which human hopes and fears
Compel us oft to shed.
In grief or joy they tell
Far more than words can teach;
Their silence hath a spell
Beyond the power of speech.
Far more than words can teach;
Their silence hath a spell
Beyond the power of speech.
In joy, though bright and brief,
Its essence they make known;
And how they soften grief
The mourner's heart will own.
Its essence they make known;
And how they soften grief
The mourner's heart will own.
Yet tears there are which fall,
Claiming a holier birth;
Which come not at the call
Of time's brief woe or mirth.
Claiming a holier birth;
Which come not at the call
Of time's brief woe or mirth.
189
Tears which are shed, alone,
For God's all-pard'ning love;
But to the mourner known,
And Him who dwells above.
For God's all-pard'ning love;
But to the mourner known,
And Him who dwells above.
Can there be drops more pure,
More precious, holy yet;
Whose record shall endure
'Till time's last sun be set?
More precious, holy yet;
Whose record shall endure
'Till time's last sun be set?
Yes! Tears once fill'd His eye,
Beside a mortal's grave,
Who left his throne on high,
The lost to seek and save.
Beside a mortal's grave,
Who left his throne on high,
The lost to seek and save.
And fresh, from age to age,
Their memory shall be kept;
While man shall bless the page
Which tells that Jesus wept!
Their memory shall be kept;
While man shall bless the page
Which tells that Jesus wept!
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