 | The Christian Seasons |  |
And now 'neath wintry leaves, which linger still,
The buds are hid of the new vernal year;
And thus the Spirit and the Bride repeat,
“The Night is now far spent, the Day at hand,”
On each returning Advent, which anew
Breaks, ere the sun hath closed his annual course,
The year of Grace ere Nature's year hath pass'd.
E'en so the Evangelic morn itself,
That ushers in the kingdom, hath begun
The everlasting cycle of new years,
Ere yet the waning world hath reach'd its end.
Heaven's hallow'd morning hath commenced ere yet
Night muffles up the eye of this world's day,
Beginning ere the end, beginning that
Which knows no end; for the eternal dawn
Is even now purpling the Eastern hills,
While Evening lingers in the vale below;
And on the mountain heights the feet are seen
Shod with the silver tidings of the Morn.
The buds are hid of the new vernal year;
And thus the Spirit and the Bride repeat,
“The Night is now far spent, the Day at hand,”
On each returning Advent, which anew
Breaks, ere the sun hath closed his annual course,
The year of Grace ere Nature's year hath pass'd.
E'en so the Evangelic morn itself,
That ushers in the kingdom, hath begun
The everlasting cycle of new years,
Ere yet the waning world hath reach'd its end.
Heaven's hallow'd morning hath commenced ere yet
Night muffles up the eye of this world's day,
Beginning ere the end, beginning that
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Is even now purpling the Eastern hills,
While Evening lingers in the vale below;
And on the mountain heights the feet are seen
Shod with the silver tidings of the Morn.
Thus, too, before the going down of life,
May the meek Advent of the Son of Man,
The kindlings of His Grace—the morning star—
The preparations of a better life,
Cheer the sad setting of this worldly scene;
On tearful retrospections of the past,
With other hopes which are not of the night,
Lighting the rainbow of a brighter day.
May the meek Advent of the Son of Man,
The kindlings of His Grace—the morning star—
The preparations of a better life,
Cheer the sad setting of this worldly scene;
On tearful retrospections of the past,
With other hopes which are not of the night,
Lighting the rainbow of a brighter day.
| The Christian Seasons | |