 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
A BELIEVER'S WISH.
“To depart and to be with Christ—is far better.”
Phil. i. 23.
I wish I lived where Jesu reigns
In yonder sinless world above,
Where not a pang the bosom pains
And all is light, for all is love.
In yonder sinless world above,
Where not a pang the bosom pains
And all is light, for all is love.
There, with rapt Seraphims, how sweet
Anthems of choral bliss to blend,
And thus with white-robed myriads greet,
In Glory's form, the sinner's Friend.
Anthems of choral bliss to blend,
And thus with white-robed myriads greet,
In Glory's form, the sinner's Friend.
No self will there the soul defile,
No shadows o'er remembrance steal,
But conscience, purged from guilt and guile,
Shall all the heaven of virtue feel.
No shadows o'er remembrance steal,
But conscience, purged from guilt and guile,
Shall all the heaven of virtue feel.
Those fever-dreams of sense and time
Which now profane our purest bliss,
Shall not infest that hallow'd Clime
With stains which mar a world like this.
Which now profane our purest bliss,
Shall not infest that hallow'd Clime
With stains which mar a world like this.
Oh! bright excess, beyond all thought,
When saints have reach'd that radiant goal
Where Man, to full perfection brought,
In God shall ark his wearied soul!
When saints have reach'd that radiant goal
Where Man, to full perfection brought,
In God shall ark his wearied soul!
For, what can sense-born pleasure give
When most the world itself imparts,
But bribes to let base passions live
Like serpents in our selfish hearts?
When most the world itself imparts,
But bribes to let base passions live
Like serpents in our selfish hearts?
The chastest scene, the calmest home
By poet hymn'd, or reason blest,—
Who has not felt his fancy roam,
And image forth a finer rest?
By poet hymn'd, or reason blest,—
Who has not felt his fancy roam,
And image forth a finer rest?
Our dream for some diviner world
Can never pause in realms of time,
When hope's fair wings, by faith unfurl'd,
Would waft us to that pangless clime.
Can never pause in realms of time,
When hope's fair wings, by faith unfurl'd,
Would waft us to that pangless clime.
Safe in the shadow of Thy throne,
Reveal'd Almighty! let us dwell,
And in yon circling rainbow own
The hues which our redemption tell.
Reveal'd Almighty! let us dwell,
And in yon circling rainbow own
The hues which our redemption tell.
Thou art, O Christ! the sinner's heaven;
Without Thee, man is death and gloom,
And only with that word, “forgiven,”
Can hearts approach the dismal tomb.
Without Thee, man is death and gloom,
And only with that word, “forgiven,”
Can hearts approach the dismal tomb.
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Be Thou the vital sun and shield
To light our path, and guide our souls;
Nor let our tempted bosoms yield
Except to what Thy will controls.
To light our path, and guide our souls;
Nor let our tempted bosoms yield
Except to what Thy will controls.
Life of our life! be all our bliss;
Torn from Thy truth, since none are blest;
Without Thee, men and angels miss
That centre where the creatures rest.
Torn from Thy truth, since none are blest;
Without Thee, men and angels miss
That centre where the creatures rest.
And can we doubt, if Godhead find
Complacency in Christ the Lord,
That He excels whate'er the mind
Creates in thought, or calls by word?
Complacency in Christ the Lord,
That He excels whate'er the mind
Creates in thought, or calls by word?
Ye heavens! though bright your splendour be,
Emanuel forms your living fount,
And none can rise to Deity
Who do not through His merit mount.
Emanuel forms your living fount,
And none can rise to Deity
Who do not through His merit mount.
Then, hail the hour! that summons Man
Beyond our sullied earth to soar
To Him, Whose finite heaven began
When first for sin the cross he bore.
Beyond our sullied earth to soar
To Him, Whose finite heaven began
When first for sin the cross he bore.
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |