The Poems of John Byrom Edited by Adolphus William Ward |
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A PENITENTIAL SOLILOQUY. |
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 | The Poems of John Byrom |  |
A PENITENTIAL SOLILOQUY.
I
What tho' no Objects strike upon the Sight,—Thy Sacred Presence is an inward Light.
What tho' no Sounds should penetrate the Ear,—
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Sincere Devotion needs no outward shrine:
The Centre of an humble Soul is Thine.
II
There may I worship, and there may'st Thou placeThy Seat of Mercy and Thy Throne of Grace;
Yea, fix, if Christ my Advocate appear,
The dread Tribunal of Thy Justice there!
Let each vain Thought, let each impure Desire
Meet in Thy Wrath with a consuming Fire!
III
Whilst the kind Rigours of a righteous DoomAll deadly Filth of selfish Pride consume,
Thou, Lord, can'st raise, tho' punishing for Sin,
The Joys of peaceful Penitence within.
Thy Justice and Thy Mercy both are sweet
That make our suff'rings and Salvation meet.
IV
Befall me, then, whatever God shall please!His Wounds are healing, and His Griefs give Ease;
He, like a true Physician of the Soul,
Applies the Med'cine that may make it whole.
I'll do, I'll suffer whatsoe'er He wills:
I see His Aim thro' all these transient Ills.
V
'Tis to infuse a salutary Grief,To fit the Mind for absolute Relief,
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Dead to the World, alive to Things above,
The Soul may rise, as in its first-form'd Youth,
And worship God “in Spirit and in Truth.”
| The Poems of John Byrom | |