 | Sermons and songs of the Christian life |  |
216
NOT LOST BUT RISEN.
M. L. P.
“We would not call thee back”—so let them say,—
What the lips speak the bleeding heart denies;
My voice, dear friend, should call thee back to-day,
Could it but reach thy dwelling in the skies.
What the lips speak the bleeding heart denies;
My voice, dear friend, should call thee back to-day,
Could it but reach thy dwelling in the skies.
For we have need of thee: thy radiant smile
Lay like a sunbeam on this scene of care,
And weary burdens at thy touch erewhile
Were changed to burdens light as summer air.
Lay like a sunbeam on this scene of care,
And weary burdens at thy touch erewhile
Were changed to burdens light as summer air.
Thy pupils need thee: for thy careful hand
Removed the thorns and scattered fragrant flowers,
And their young minds beneath thy clear command
Woke into conscious life their noblest powers.
Removed the thorns and scattered fragrant flowers,
And their young minds beneath thy clear command
Woke into conscious life their noblest powers.
Thou needest us, dear friend: through pathways bright
Far, far away from us thy feet have roved;
But thy new friends among the sons of Light
Can never love thee more than we have loved.
Far, far away from us thy feet have roved;
But thy new friends among the sons of Light
Can never love thee more than we have loved.
Soul to its place, dust to its kindred dust!
Such is the law and we will not complain,
But ever clear of Time's corroding rust,
Thy love we cherish till we meet again.
Such is the law and we will not complain,
But ever clear of Time's corroding rust,
Thy love we cherish till we meet again.
For through the parting veil we see thee now,
In thy fair clime, with faith's unclouded eye,
See thee with every “charm of mind and brow
Baptized anew in immortality.”
In thy fair clime, with faith's unclouded eye,
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Baptized anew in immortality.”
And thou art risen, another, yet the same,
Nor have we lost thee in thy heavenly birth;
The woman there who takes an angel's name
Is still the friend that we have loved on earth.
Nor have we lost thee in thy heavenly birth;
The woman there who takes an angel's name
Is still the friend that we have loved on earth.
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