The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery Collected and Revised by the Author |
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VANITY OF ALL CREATED GOOD. |
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 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
VANITY OF ALL CREATED GOOD.
“Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of
vanities, all is vanity.”—Eccles. i. 2.
“The creature was made subject to vanity.”—Rom. viii. 20.
“Arise and depart, for this is not your rest.”
—Micah ii. 10.
There is no rest for man below,
Soil'd earth is not our home;
The sigh must heave, the tear must flow,
Howe'er for bliss we roam.
Soil'd earth is not our home;
The sigh must heave, the tear must flow,
Howe'er for bliss we roam.
The hollowness of human things,
The wear of fev'rish thought,
Each to the heart a shadow brings
From tombs of mem'ry brought.
The wear of fev'rish thought,
Each to the heart a shadow brings
From tombs of mem'ry brought.
A broken cistern ev'rywhere
Proves nature's purest joy;
Though fresh the draught imagined there,
How soon we taste alloy!
Proves nature's purest joy;
Though fresh the draught imagined there,
How soon we taste alloy!
Yet still, prophetic youth believes
Bright Edens must abound;
And fairy Hope fond visions weaves,
As o'er enchanted ground.
Bright Edens must abound;
And fairy Hope fond visions weaves,
As o'er enchanted ground.
But soon dark years instruction bring,
And teach the lesson grave,
That over earth's most radiant thing
The cypress-banners wave.
And teach the lesson grave,
That over earth's most radiant thing
The cypress-banners wave.
The burden and the mystery
Of Life will soon be felt,
As truths beyond cold Sense to see,
Will through our being melt:
Of Life will soon be felt,
As truths beyond cold Sense to see,
Will through our being melt:
Upon thee, like an inward weight
Eternity will lie,
And conscience bow beneath the freight
Of thoughts which never die.
Eternity will lie,
And conscience bow beneath the freight
Of thoughts which never die.
The poet's wreath, the warrior's plume,
And hero's envied bays,—
They cannot hide the haunting tomb,
Nor lengthen out thy days.
And hero's envied bays,—
They cannot hide the haunting tomb,
Nor lengthen out thy days.
The cankerworm of coming death
Begnaws the core of all
Blithe youth, with its impassion'd breath,
Would fain perfection call.
Begnaws the core of all
Blithe youth, with its impassion'd breath,
Would fain perfection call.
And yet 'tis hard, when vernal health
Glows brightly on the cheek,
When Learning, Beauty, Wit, and Wealth
Their wonted homage seek;
Glows brightly on the cheek,
When Learning, Beauty, Wit, and Wealth
Their wonted homage seek;
When life a lovely Poem seems,
Whose ev'ry line appears
Descriptive of those sunny dreams
That dazzle future years,
Whose ev'ry line appears
Descriptive of those sunny dreams
That dazzle future years,
'Tis hard to think of grave and gloom,
In such glad hour as this,
And pile, in thought, the distant tomb
That shall contain our bliss!
In such glad hour as this,
And pile, in thought, the distant tomb
That shall contain our bliss!
But oh, believer young and bright,
With heart and hope awake,
Come hither! and with soul aright
Truth's sober lesson take.
With heart and hope awake,
Come hither! and with soul aright
Truth's sober lesson take.
Were this vast world, with all its joy,
Its glories, crowns, and charms,
Secured from change and sad alloy,
At once within thine arms,
Its glories, crowns, and charms,
Secured from change and sad alloy,
At once within thine arms,
E'en then, thy heart would hunger still,
And oft in secret pine;
The universe would fail to fill
A spirit vast as thine!
And oft in secret pine;
The universe would fail to fill
A spirit vast as thine!
45
Christ, or despair! — behold thy fate
To that sole choice is bound;
And blest are they, who not too late
Their heaven in God have found.
To that sole choice is bound;
And blest are they, who not too late
Their heaven in God have found.
For, such will learn to look on all
Bewilder'd passions love,
As Sin and Satan's blinding thrall
To keep us from above.
Bewilder'd passions love,
As Sin and Satan's blinding thrall
To keep us from above.
And yet, that Book which thus reveals
Life's baseless dream below,
And on the heaven false worldlings feel,
Writes words of death and woe,
Life's baseless dream below,
And on the heaven false worldlings feel,
Writes words of death and woe,
Say, is it not the page profound
Which opens realms divine,
And, where no pangs nor pains abound,
Cries, “Christian! they are thine?”
Which opens realms divine,
And, where no pangs nor pains abound,
Cries, “Christian! they are thine?”
Then, bids thee, eagle-like, to soar
Right upward for the sun,
And not this gilded world deplore
Where peace is never won?
Right upward for the sun,
And not this gilded world deplore
Where peace is never won?
Thy home is yonder pangless clime
Where saints and martyrs meet,
And with this choral-burst sublime
Anthem the mercy-seat,
Where saints and martyrs meet,
And with this choral-burst sublime
Anthem the mercy-seat,
“Worthy the Lamb! for sinners slain,
Who once the wine-press trod,
Eternity shall be His reign,
Who ransom'd men for God!”
Who once the wine-press trod,
Eternity shall be His reign,
Who ransom'd men for God!”
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |