The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery Collected and Revised by the Author |
 |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
|
INGRATITUDE TO ANGELS. |
|
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| 6. |
| 7. |
| 8. |
|
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
|
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
|
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
|
 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
101
INGRATITUDE TO ANGELS.
“He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep
thee in all thy ways.”—Ps. xci. 11.
And must we, now the God-man reigns
In regions where no senses roam,
Refuse to hear angelic strains
Float through the heart, and fill our home?
Have Seraphim quite ceased to walk
Man's world, and with man's spirit talk?
In regions where no senses roam,
Refuse to hear angelic strains
Float through the heart, and fill our home?
Have Seraphim quite ceased to walk
Man's world, and with man's spirit talk?
'Tis true indeed, nor eye nor ear
Their shapes discern, nor know their voice;
But still they haunt a human sphere,
To make elected souls their choice;
And round them may bright Angels be,
Though nothing but blind earth they see.
Their shapes discern, nor know their voice;
But still they haunt a human sphere,
To make elected souls their choice;
And round them may bright Angels be,
Though nothing but blind earth they see.
Oh! never till the clouds of time
Are rent by awful death from man,
And he from yonder heaven sublime
Shall look back where dark life began,
Will gather'd saints in glory know
What blessings men to angels owe.
Are rent by awful death from man,
And he from yonder heaven sublime
Shall look back where dark life began,
Will gather'd saints in glory know
What blessings men to angels owe.
This earth is but a thorny wild,
A tangled maze where griefs abound,
By sorrow vex'd, by sin defiled,
Where foes and fiends our walks surround;
But does not dread Jehovah say,
Angelic guardians line the way?
A tangled maze where griefs abound,
By sorrow vex'd, by sin defiled,
Where foes and fiends our walks surround;
But does not dread Jehovah say,
Angelic guardians line the way?
It is not when gigantic woe,
Or crisis unforeseen assails
Our earthly doom, that most we glow
To feel heroic faith prevails,
When perill'd by the bitter shower
Temptation pours in sorrow's hour.
Or crisis unforeseen assails
Our earthly doom, that most we glow
To feel heroic faith prevails,
When perill'd by the bitter shower
Temptation pours in sorrow's hour.
The precipice men rarely find;
On us no avalanche may fall;
But petty woes distract the mind
And take sweet temper from us all;
As some by thickets are o'erthrown,
Whose feet escaped the crushing stone.
On us no avalanche may fall;
But petty woes distract the mind
And take sweet temper from us all;
As some by thickets are o'erthrown,
Whose feet escaped the crushing stone.
Mean trifles our true dangers make,
Weak'ning the spirit unawares;
And tiny griefs would often break
The heart unbow'd by pond'rous cares,
Did not our guardian angels glide,
And watch, unseen, the naked side.
Weak'ning the spirit unawares;
And tiny griefs would often break
The heart unbow'd by pond'rous cares,
Did not our guardian angels glide,
And watch, unseen, the naked side.
Some pebble in our daily path,
The little stone we scarce behold
A world of secret ruin hath,
O'er which might trip the brave and bold,—
Should not blest angels' saving arms
Upbear the soul from sudden harms.
The little stone we scarce behold
A world of secret ruin hath,
O'er which might trip the brave and bold,—
Should not blest angels' saving arms
Upbear the soul from sudden harms.
And moods are felt no words define,
When earth and heaven appear to meet,
While faith half hears a tone divine
From out yon orbs of Glory greet
Each praying heart, and placid soul
Which echoes to such sweet control.
When earth and heaven appear to meet,
While faith half hears a tone divine
From out yon orbs of Glory greet
Each praying heart, and placid soul
Which echoes to such sweet control.
When gracious beams of holy light
From spheres of radiance seem to play,
And from lone hours of suff'ring night
Melt half their haunted gloom away,—
Our perill'd souls prompt Angels see
And hover by the bended knee.
From spheres of radiance seem to play,
And from lone hours of suff'ring night
Melt half their haunted gloom away,—
Our perill'd souls prompt Angels see
And hover by the bended knee.
Sickness and sorrow, too, may have
Ethereal Hosts whom none perceive,
Whose golden wings around us wave
When all alone men seem to grieve;
And while we sigh, or shed the tear,
Their sympathies may flutter near.
Ethereal Hosts whom none perceive,
Whose golden wings around us wave
When all alone men seem to grieve;
And while we sigh, or shed the tear,
Their sympathies may flutter near.
Or, by some law to man unknown,
Their spells may o'er us act and steal,
And strengthen Faith upon her throne,
When fury-passions make us feel
How Self and Sin would monarchs be,
And give the law to Deity!
Their spells may o'er us act and steal,
And strengthen Faith upon her throne,
When fury-passions make us feel
How Self and Sin would monarchs be,
And give the law to Deity!
Thus, human Life from them may take
Some moral tinge, or mental hue,
Which not till dust the soul forsake
Elected saints will value true:—
Before God's throne, and only then
These guardians will be thank'd by men.
Some moral tinge, or mental hue,
Which not till dust the soul forsake
Elected saints will value true:—
Before God's throne, and only then
These guardians will be thank'd by men.
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |