University of Virginia Library


504

The Perfect Love that Casts out Fear

There is a state that all may know,
No fear, no shame we feel;
For God doth all his mercy show,
And all his love reveal.
His goodness manifested is,
And all his ways are clear;
The Spirit seals our souls as his,
For we to him are dear.
A Father's love, in our past years,
By us is clearly known;
For he has wiped away our tears,
And as his sons doth own.
And he has called us by his Son
To know a higher life,
With them forever to be one,
No more with sin at strife.
The darkness of the world has fled,
That dimmed our mortal sight;
We dwell no more in bondage, fear,
But walk in heavenly light.
Poem No. 615; c. 31 March 1877