435.
Beatitude. 4.
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled.”
1
All men for different objects hunger;
Some, for the shadowy things below,
Which fade and perish with the using;
Nor will they earthly joys forego,
To muse on heaven, to walk with God,
And in his grace and favour grow!
2
Diversified as form and feature,
All men for different objects thirst;
Few, for the things entailing blessings,
But most, for those pronounced accurst!
Desiring not Jehovah's smile,
The Mighty Being, best, and first!
3
Those who are roused from Nature's darkness,
In truth and righteousness delight:
With choice, that none have yet repented,
They seek the country, “out of sight;”
And fix their vision, and their hopes
On God, and goodness infinite.
4
Eternal Father! Source of Blessings!
Give us the wisdom from above!
The spirit, tuned to heaven's high harpings,
The heart endued with sacred love;
Then, in the way, and when thou wilt,
Our ripened souls from earth remove!
5
Death wears no terrors to the faithful;
They saw their Lord depart before,
And, with a fix'd and full assurance,
Shrink not dismay'd from Jordan's shore:
With nobler aims, they idolize
The vanities of time no more.
