University of Virginia Library

MISCELLANEOUS PIECES,

CONSISTING OF THOUGHTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, FRAGMENTS, EPIGRAMS, &c.

The Ways of God.

With peaceful Mind thy Race of Duty run;
God Nothing does, or suffers to be done,
But what thou would'st Thyself, if thou could'st see
Through all Events of Things as well as He.

Natural Knowledge and Heavenly Wisdom.

Natural Knowledge is a Moonshine Light,
And dreaming Sages still keep sleeping by't;
But Heav'nly Wisdom like the rising Sun
Awakens Nature,—and good Works are done.

Repentance.

Let thy Repentance be without Delay!—
If thou defer it to another Day,
Thou must repent for a Day more of Sin,
While a Day less remains to do it in.

The Cost of being Religious.

To be religious, something it will cost,—
Some Riches, Honours, Pleasures will be lost;
But if thou countest the Sum total o'er,
Not to be so will cost a great deal more.

Works without Love.

He that does Good with an unwilling Mind,
Does that to which he is not well inclin'd.
'Twill be Reward sufficient for the Fact,
If God shall pardon his obedient Act.

Disappointments.

If outward Comforts without real Thought
Of any inward Holiness are sought,
God disappoints us oft,—and kindly too;
To make us holy is His Constant View.

Desire.

Think, and be careful what thou art within;
For there is Sin in the Desire of Sin.
Think, and be thankful, in a diff'rent Case;
For there is Grace in the Desire of Grace.

Prayer.

Pray'r does not ask, or want, the Skill and Art
Of forming Words, but a devoted Heart.
If thou art really in a Mind to pray,
God knows thy Heart and all that it would say.

Content.

Content is better, all the Wise will grant,
Than any earthly Good that thou canst want;
And Discontent, with which the Foolish fill
Their Minds, is worse than any earthly Ill.

The Rewards of the Contented.

Two Heav'ns a right contented Man surround,—
One here, and one hereafter, to be found:
One in his own meek Bosom here on Earth,
And one in Abraham's at his future Birth.

Faith and Charity.

No Faith towards God can e'er subsist with Wrath
Tow'rds Man, nor Charity with want of Faith.
From the same Root hath each of them it's Growth;
You have not either, if you have not both.

Faith, Hope and Love.

Faith is the burning Ardour of Desire;
Hope is the Light arising from its Fire;
Love is the Spirit That, proceeding thence,
Completes all Virtue in a Christian Sense.

Faith and Works.

Nor Steel nor Flint alone produces Fire;
No Spark arises till they both conspire.
Nor Faith alone, nor Work without, is right;
Salvation rises, when they both unite.

Zeal and Meekness.

Zeal without Meekness like a Ship at Sea
To rising Storms may soon become a Prey;
And Meekness without Zeal is like the same,
When a dead Calm stops every sailing Aim.

Procrastination.

If Gold be offer'd thee, thou dost not say,
“To-morrow I will take it, not To-day.”
Salvation offer'd, why art thou so cool,
To let thyself become To-morrow's Fool?

True and False Inspiration.

“An heated Fancy or Imagination
May be mistaken for an Inspiration.”—
True; but is this Conclusion fair to make,
That Inspiration must be all Mistake?
“A Pebble-stone is not a Diamond.”—True;
But must a Diamond be a Pebble too?

Hypocricy.

Hypocrites in Religion form a Plan
That makes them hateful both to God and Man:
By seeming Zeal they lose the World's Esteem,—
And God's, because they are not what they seem.

Abasement.

An humble Man, tho' all the World assault
To pull him down, yet God will still exalt;
Nor can a proud by all the World's Renown
Be lifted up,—for God will pull him down.

The Recompense of Charity.

He is no Fool, who charitably gives
What he can only look at whilst he lives,—
Sure as he is to find, when hence he goes,
A Recompense which he can never lose.

Interest upon Charity.

If giving to poor People be to lend
Thy Money to the Lord, who is their Friend,
The highest Int'rest upon Int'rest sure
Is to let out thy Money to the Poor.

The Season for Watching.

When Grief or Joy shall press upon thee hard,
Be then especially upon thy Guard!
Then is most Danger of not acting right;
A calmer State will give a surer Light.

Worldliness.

If we mind nothing but the Body's Pride,
We lose the Body and the Soul beside;
If we have nothing but the Earth in View,
We lose the Earth and Heav'nly Riches too.

Sinners.

“He is a Sinner,” you are pleas'd to say.
Then love him for the Sake of Christ, I pray.
If on his gracious Words you place your Trust,—
“I came to call the Sinners, not the Just,”—
Second his Call; which if you will not do,
You'll be the greater Sinner of the two.

The Spirit of Prayer and Thanksgiving.

Pray'r and Thanksgiving is the vital Breath
That keeps the Spirit of a Man from Death;
For Pray'r attracts into the living Soul
The Life That fills the universal Whole;
And giving Thanks is breathing forth again
The Praise of Him Who is the Life of Men.

A Deaf and Dumb God.

To own a God who does not speak to Men,
Is first to own and then disown again;
Of all Idolatry the total Sum
Is having Gods that are both deaf and dumb.

The Love and the Fear of God.

Love does the Good which God commands to do;
Fear shuns the Ill which He prohibits too.
They both describe, tho' by a diff'rent Name,
A Disposition of the Mind the same.

The Mote and the Beam.

On the Epicurean, Stoic and Christian Philosophy.

An Epigram, On the Blessedness of Divine Love.

Faith, Hope and Love were question'd what they thought
Of future Glory which Religion taught.—
Now, Faith believ'd it firmly to be true,
And Hope expected so to find it too;
Love answer'd, smiling with a conscious Glow:
“Believe? Expect? I know it to be so.”