University of Virginia Library

ON THE DEATH OF LADY HOTHAM, JUNE 30, 1756.

PART I.

Father, Thy righteous will be done!
To make Thy righteous will our own,
We patiently resign
The object of our softest care,
The daughter of our faith and prayer,
The dearest gift Divine.

Unworthy of the blessing lent,
Her, from our bleeding bosom rent,
For ours no more we claim;
Whom mortals could not duly prize,
Join'd to her kindred in the skies,
And married to the Lamb.

Her lovely excellence is fled,
And leaves the dead to' entomb the dead,
To' embalm them with our tears:
And, lo, with softest pensive pace,
We measure out our mournful days,
Till Israel's car appears.

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The car that carried up our friend,
The flaming host, shall soon descend,
Our spirits to remove;
There we again our friend shall find,
In love indissolubly join'd
To her who reigns above.

Through Him who call'd her up to reign,
We too the' immortal crown shall gain,
On patient faith bestow'd;
We trust the Lamb shall bring us through,
And hasten to the blissful view
Of a redeeming God.

Till then, disdaining all relief,
And brooding on our sacred grief,
We inwardly endure
The pangs of loss, the lingering smart,
The anguish of a broken heart,
Which only heaven can cure.

Help us, Thou heavenly Man of Woe,
Unwearied in Thy steps to go,
To mix our tears with Thine,
To drink Thine agonizing cup,
To fill Thine after-sufferings up,
And die the death Divine.

We only fear to lose our loss;
The burden of our heaviest cross
Through life we fain would bear;
Would feel the ever-recent wound,
And weeping at Thy feet be found,
And die lamenting there.

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PART II.

Still let us on her virtue gaze,
With sad delight and wonder trace
The favourite of the skies,
The child that lives her hundred years,
An hoary saint to God appears,
And fill'd with glory dies.

Her from the birth the Lord did draw;
His Spirit with meek, obedient awe
Her tender soul endow'd;
He fix'd the principle within,
The love of truth, the dread of sin,
The hunger after God.

While nature's will remain'd alive,
He never ceased to check and strive,
And heavenly power impart;
Her heart from evil He withheld,
Till love Divine the world expell'd
For ever from her heart.

Thenceforth, entirely ruled by grace,
She swiftly ran her heavenly race,
A secret saint unknown;
Stranger to pride and selfish art,
In singleness of eye and heart
She lived to God alone.

Whoe'er beheld, pronounced her bless'd;
Her walk on earth the lamb confess'd,
The wisely simple dove,
The soul composed in Jesu's peace,
That only languish'd to possess
The fulness of His love.

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Unconscious of the love bestow'd,
Whence all her words and actions flow'd,
She made her humble moan;
Hid from herself by grace Divine,
How sweetly did she wail and pine
To find the God unknown!

Known by her God, and well approved,
His servants for His sake she loved,
His messengers received;
From death to life her passage show'd,
By owning all who own'd her God,
And in His Spirit lived.

For them she toil'd with Martha's hands,
Yet listening for her Lord's commands,
Of Mary's part possess'd,
Till Jesus call'd her at His feet,
Spake her glad soul for glory meet,
And caught her to His breast.

PART III.

Go, blessed saint, to Jesus go,
Transported from the vale below,
Thou canst not quite depart;
Thy fair memorial stays behind,
Thy lovely portraiture we find
Engraven on our heart.

The friend by grace and nature dear,
The cordial friend, doth still appear,
Though ravish'd from our sight;
On earth a guardian angel found,
Diffusing bliss to all around,
And ministering delight.

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As born her relatives to please,
Her own delight, and choice, and ease,
She cheerfully denied;
Servant of all, rejoiced to stoop,
Fill'd each domestic duty up,
And every part supplied.

But shining in her properest sphere,
(The sacred, social character,)
The mystery she display'd
Of Jesus by His church adored,
While next to Christ her earthly lord
She loved, revered, obey'd.

She more than shared his woe and weal,
Attentive to his safety still,
Engross'd by his alone,
Her time, her thoughts, her health she gave,
Till, his far dearer life to save,
She sacrificed her own.

'Twas aim'd at him, the deadly dart,
But, glancing, miss'd his fearless heart,
And pierced her faithful side:
Eager her consort to redeem,
She sicken'd and declined for him,
For him she droop'd and died.

Conscious of dissolution near,
Above all pain, regret, and fear,
Her paradise restored
She found with Jesus in her heart,
And calmly languish'd to depart,
And see her heavenly Lord.

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“Ready to fly this moment home,
If Thou, my Saviour, bidd'st me come,
Me if Thou wilt receive,
Poorest of all Thy creatures me;
And surely now Thou say'st with Thee
I shall for ever live.”

She spake, and by her looks express'd
The glorious everlasting rest
To saints triumphant given;
Glided in ecstasies away,
And told us, through her smiling clay,
My soul is fled to heaven!

PART IV.

Then let us look with comfort up,
Not sorrowing as bereft of hope,
But bow'd by God's decree:
Father, Thy love, severely kind,
Calls off our hearts from earth to find
Their bliss complete in Thee.

From her and every creature torn,
Bless'd with the privilege to mourn,
In calm submission kept;
Soften'd, we feel the sacred woe
Which God Himself vouchsafed to know,
And weep as Jesus wept.

His tears relieve our mournful pain,
His word, “Your friend shall rise again,”
Puts every care to flight:
Thou wilt, O God, fulfil His word,
And bring her back, with Christ our Lord,
And all the saints in light.

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Her soul we shall embrace once more,
(How changed from her we knew before,
The Godhead's earthly shrine!)
Distinguish'd by peculiar rays,
The image shining on her face,
The glorious name Divine.

Met in those permanent abodes,
Secure we live the life of gods,
Of bliss without alloy:
No pining want, or soft excess,
No tender tear to damp our peace,
Or death to kill our joy.

Sorrow, and sin, and death are dead,
And sighing is for ever fled,
When life's last gasp is o'er;
When that celestial port we gain,
Sickness, infirmity, and pain,
And parting is no more.

O that we all were landed there!
We only wait till Christ prepare
His dearly purchased bride.
Come, Lord, and change and take us hence,
And give us an inheritance
Among the sanctified.

We know Thou wilt not long delay
To bear our ready souls away;
And when we meet above,
Our full inheritance be Thou;
But bless us with the earnest now,
The seal of perfect love.

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PART V.

O wondrous power of Jesu's grace,
Who sends an angel from His face
With ministerial aid!
By faith in brightest glory seen,
She pours the balm of comfort in,
And heals the wound she made.

The blessed spirit enthroned above
(Whom far beyond ourselves we love,
Soon as her bliss appears)
Scatters the gloom of nature's grief,
Brings irresistible relief,
And dries our selfish tears.

Her bliss no pause nor period knows,
Her bliss our ravish'd heart o'erflows;
The heavenly drop we feel
Is more than thousand worlds can give:
Who then shall all her joy conceive,
Or all her raptures tell?

So wholly form'd for social love,
Her union with the spirits above
What angel can declare?
Her joy, amidst the virgin-choir,
To mark a saint in white attire,
To clasp a sister there!

With her to range the' eternal plains;
To catch the harpers' sweetest strains,
And match them with her own;
Pursue the living water's course,
Or trace the river to its source,
And drink it at the throne.

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There, there the ecstasy is full,
While, wide expanding all her soul,
The Godhead she receives,
Enjoys the' unutterable grace,
Beholds without a veil His face,
Beholds His face and lives.

For this on earth she could not rest,
(With every other blessing bless'd,)
Or in His gifts delight;
Not holiness itself could sate
The spirit constrain'd in bliss to wait,
Without that blissful sight.

But, gaining now whom she requires,
She all her infinite desires
Lets loose on Him alone;
She plunges in the crystal sea,
Lost in the depths of Deity,
With God for ever one!