Devotional Verses Founded on and Illustrative of select Texts of Scripture [by Bernard Barton] |
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THE BELIEVER'S REFUGE. |
 | Devotional Verses |  |
THE BELIEVER'S REFUGE.
“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.”
—Psalm, ix. 9.
How cheerless, Lord! would be the lot
Of those whom man regardeth not,
If, in affliction's darkest hour,
Thy name were not their fortress-tower.
Of those whom man regardeth not,
If, in affliction's darkest hour,
Thy name were not their fortress-tower.
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The world can proffer no relief,
E'en to the worldling—in his grief;
Its emptiness is then made known,
It loves—but cannot save its own.
E'en to the worldling—in his grief;
Its emptiness is then made known,
It loves—but cannot save its own.
Beasts have their dens—wherein they creep,
Leviathan—the billowy deep;
Birds to their nests for shelter flee;—
Souls troubled and oppress'd—to thee!
Leviathan—the billowy deep;
Birds to their nests for shelter flee;—
Souls troubled and oppress'd—to thee!
Thou art their refuge:—in the day
Of trouble, thou art still their stay;
Thy name, in which is power sublime,
A shelter in the needful time.
Of trouble, thou art still their stay;
Thy name, in which is power sublime,
A shelter in the needful time.
But if we hope thine outstretch'd arm
In darker hours when ills would harm,
O! teach our lips, in brighter days,
To bless thy name, to speak thy praise.
In darker hours when ills would harm,
O! teach our lips, in brighter days,
To bless thy name, to speak thy praise.
For, though thy love may condescend
To be the mourner's surest friend,
Nay, e'en to cheer their adverse lot
Who in past sunshine sought thee not,—
To be the mourner's surest friend,
Nay, e'en to cheer their adverse lot
Who in past sunshine sought thee not,—
Yet justly may thy praise employ,
The liberal gratitude of joy,
And selfish, sure, their thoughts must be
Who turn but in their grief to thee.
The liberal gratitude of joy,
And selfish, sure, their thoughts must be
Who turn but in their grief to thee.
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NOTE. After the composition of the preceding Verses, the further progress of this little volume had been, for some time, suspended; indeed its author had for a while felt little ability or inclination to proceed in it, its completion appearing to him almost a hopeless contingency. A candid statement of this circumstance may perhaps explain, if not justify the insertion of the following.
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