Ballads for the Times (Now first collected,) Geraldine, A Modern Pyramid, Bartenus, A Thousand Lines, and other poems. By Martin F. Tupper. A new Edition, enlarged and revised |
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Charity!
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 | Ballads for the Times |  |
99
Charity!
A Word to the Rich.
For Charity's sake! to the poor of the land
Your generous blessing extend,—
While Need and Affliction with suppliant hand
Solicit your help as a friend;
Remember, the Master of these, as of us,
On earth was a brother in need,
And all that ye give to the desolate thus,
To Him do ye give it indeed!
Your generous blessing extend,—
While Need and Affliction with suppliant hand
Solicit your help as a friend;
Remember, the Master of these, as of us,
On earth was a brother in need,
And all that ye give to the desolate thus,
To Him do ye give it indeed!
To Him!—in his Judgment, a fiery sword
Hath smitten, and scatter'd, and slain:
To Him!—in His Mercy, the sword of the Lord
Returns to its scabbard again:
To Him! for the God who was pleased to be Man,
In reason expects of His kin
To strive against evil, and do what we can
To chase away sorrow and sin.
Hath smitten, and scatter'd, and slain:
To Him!—in His Mercy, the sword of the Lord
Returns to its scabbard again:
To Him! for the God who was pleased to be Man,
In reason expects of His kin
To strive against evil, and do what we can
To chase away sorrow and sin.
O Britain! dear home of the good and the great,
The kind, and the fair, and the free,—
The nations applaud thee for strength and for state,
And marvel thy glory to see:
Because—through the length and the breadth of thy land
True Charity scatters her seed;
And Heaven still strengthens the heart and the hand
That blesses a brother in need!
The kind, and the fair, and the free,—
The nations applaud thee for strength and for state,
And marvel thy glory to see:
Because—through the length and the breadth of thy land
True Charity scatters her seed;
And Heaven still strengthens the heart and the hand
That blesses a brother in need!
100
Aye, Britain! the destitute's refuge and rest,
O'ershadow'd with olives and palms,
In war thou art prosper'd, in peace thou art blest,
Because of thy prayers and thine alms:
The soft rain of heaven makes fertile thy fields,
And so in sweet incense again
It rises like dew o'er the harvest it yields,
To solace the children of pain.
O'ershadow'd with olives and palms,
In war thou art prosper'd, in peace thou art blest,
Because of thy prayers and thine alms:
The soft rain of heaven makes fertile thy fields,
And so in sweet incense again
It rises like dew o'er the harvest it yields,
To solace the children of pain.
Then hasten, ye wealthy! to bless and be blest,
By giving to God of His own:
He asks you to help the diseased and distrest,
He pleads in the pang and the moan!
In vain?—can it be?—shall the Saviour in vain
Petition His pensioners thus?
Oh no! with all gladness we give Him again
What He giveth gladly to us!
By giving to God of His own:
He asks you to help the diseased and distrest,
He pleads in the pang and the moan!
In vain?—can it be?—shall the Saviour in vain
Petition His pensioners thus?
Oh no! with all gladness we give Him again
What He giveth gladly to us!
| Ballads for the Times | |