The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery Collected and Revised by the Author |
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 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
A PERFECT WILL.
“Then cometh Jesus ------ to be baptized ------ Thus
it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.”—
Matt. iii. 13, 15.
Thou, who didst rend the heavens to be
The Man, in whom God's eye should see
A human Archetype of all
His wisdom could perfection call,
From Thy sad manger to the tomb
Through shades of grief, and storms of gloom,
Implicitly Thy passive will
Each dictate of the law did lovingly fulfil.
The Man, in whom God's eye should see
A human Archetype of all
His wisdom could perfection call,
From Thy sad manger to the tomb
Through shades of grief, and storms of gloom,
Implicitly Thy passive will
Each dictate of the law did lovingly fulfil.
When Peter's rude and reinless zeal
Would fain have bade Thee scorn to feel
The pangs a felon's death must bear,
What did the Prince of Peace declare?—
“Get thee behind me, Satan! thou
Of man, not God, dost savour now;
Disciple if thou dar'st to be,
Martyr thy human will, and meekly follow me!”
Would fain have bade Thee scorn to feel
The pangs a felon's death must bear,
What did the Prince of Peace declare?—
“Get thee behind me, Satan! thou
Of man, not God, dost savour now;
Disciple if thou dar'st to be,
Martyr thy human will, and meekly follow me!”
The dauntless Eremite who saw
His Lord obey baptismal law,
And meekly as a lamb descend
Beneath a sacrament to bend,
And in God's mystic waters lave
A Form which came the world to save,—
At once recoil'd with holy dread,
And, gazing on the Lord, aloud in wonder said:
His Lord obey baptismal law,
And meekly as a lamb descend
Beneath a sacrament to bend,
And in God's mystic waters lave
A Form which came the world to save,—
At once recoil'd with holy dread,
And, gazing on the Lord, aloud in wonder said:
“Wilt Thou, by God and angels prized,
Prince of all peace! be thus baptized
By one like me, whose atom worth
Is but a speck of sinful earth?
Rather baptize me with that fire
Of holiness Thou dost respire;
Too abject am I here to stand,
Or on Thy sandall'd feet to lay my soilèd hand.”
Prince of all peace! be thus baptized
By one like me, whose atom worth
Is but a speck of sinful earth?
Rather baptize me with that fire
Of holiness Thou dost respire;
Too abject am I here to stand,
Or on Thy sandall'd feet to lay my soilèd hand.”
So spake th' Elijah of the wild;
But He, of woman born, and mild
As moon-lit water, when a breeze
Tones the soft accent of the seas,
Bent o'er the Baptist His meek brow,
And answer'd, “It becomes us now;”
And lo! at once the laving stream
Shed o'er His awful face its sacramental gleam.
But He, of woman born, and mild
As moon-lit water, when a breeze
Tones the soft accent of the seas,
94
And answer'd, “It becomes us now;”
And lo! at once the laving stream
Shed o'er His awful face its sacramental gleam.
And as He rose from that green bank,
Yon heavens the scene of wonder drank
Into their depths, which saw their King
To God such ritual glory bring!
Obedience then received a crown
Surpassing all sublime renown,
The Law obtains from perfect will
Bodied by angels forth, who all His work fulfil.
Yon heavens the scene of wonder drank
Into their depths, which saw their King
To God such ritual glory bring!
Obedience then received a crown
Surpassing all sublime renown,
The Law obtains from perfect will
Bodied by angels forth, who all His work fulfil.
But while by yon enraptured Heaven
Peals of divine applause are given,
And downward on His wings of love
Descends the everlasting Dove,
And ere that thunder-voice hath ceased
Proclaiming how The Father's “pleased,”
Let the saved Church a truth discern,
And man's o'er-reas'ning heart a lofty science learn.
Peals of divine applause are given,
And downward on His wings of love
Descends the everlasting Dove,
And ere that thunder-voice hath ceased
Proclaiming how The Father's “pleased,”
Let the saved Church a truth discern,
And man's o'er-reas'ning heart a lofty science learn.
Subjection is our love divine;
Believer! let its law be thine:
“All righteousness,” however small
Cold reason may its canons call,
Compliant Faith will yearn to do,
Finding in Christ her model true;
Nor dare to dream men suffer loss
When duty points the way, and God provides the Cross.
Believer! let its law be thine:
“All righteousness,” however small
Cold reason may its canons call,
Compliant Faith will yearn to do,
Finding in Christ her model true;
Nor dare to dream men suffer loss
When duty points the way, and God provides the Cross.
And, wouldst thou like thy Master be?
Go, find him near that ancient sea,
Where the awed Baptist on His head
The sacramental water spread;
There, as thou wander'st, seek a will
Which can all rectitude fulfil,
And consecrate thine inmost soul
To that unfathom'd Law no reason can control.
Go, find him near that ancient sea,
Where the awed Baptist on His head
The sacramental water spread;
There, as thou wander'st, seek a will
Which can all rectitude fulfil,
And consecrate thine inmost soul
To that unfathom'd Law no reason can control.
And then may He, whose glory came
On mystic plumes of dovelike flame,
That Spirit, who on Christ did pour
The sevenfold grace His priesthood bore,—
Some drops of saving unction give
By which believing martyrs live;
Till thou, in all thy works and ways,
Shall unto God devote the priesthood of thy days.
On mystic plumes of dovelike flame,
That Spirit, who on Christ did pour
The sevenfold grace His priesthood bore,—
Some drops of saving unction give
By which believing martyrs live;
Till thou, in all thy works and ways,
Shall unto God devote the priesthood of thy days.
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |