 | Dartmoor, and other poems |  |
Not o'er a sea, unruffled, calm, and clear,
Must you your venturous bark expect to steer;
The sun sometimes may sooth, your fears subside,
And soft and sweet the tide of feeling glide;
When, like the alternate changes of the deep,
Tempests and storms, the low'ring skies may sweep;
Expect, nor be deceived. Alike prepare
Hardships or ease to meet, the soldier's fare.
If friends protect, on God the praise bestow;
If foes assail, with meekness bear the blow;
Nor hope to root out errors, save with toil,
Like theirs, who ere they reap must plough the soil.
Hell, roused from slumber, in his dread array,
Erelong, in rage, may rise to meet the fray;
Call up foul spirits, to himself allied,
And yield with mortal throe, his empire wide;
But he who leads you forth, for your defence,
Will screen you with his own Omnipotence.
Must you your venturous bark expect to steer;
The sun sometimes may sooth, your fears subside,
And soft and sweet the tide of feeling glide;
When, like the alternate changes of the deep,
Tempests and storms, the low'ring skies may sweep;
Expect, nor be deceived. Alike prepare
Hardships or ease to meet, the soldier's fare.
If friends protect, on God the praise bestow;
If foes assail, with meekness bear the blow;
Nor hope to root out errors, save with toil,
Like theirs, who ere they reap must plough the soil.
Hell, roused from slumber, in his dread array,
Erelong, in rage, may rise to meet the fray;
Call up foul spirits, to himself allied,
And yield with mortal throe, his empire wide;
65
Will screen you with his own Omnipotence.
| Dartmoor, and other poems | |