 | Poems of home and country |  |
53
A GOLDEN WEDDING SONG.
REV. AND MRS. W. C. RICHARDS, 1841.
Blest are these years of wedded love,—
Gifts which attest God's loving hand,
Bright years in all their varied course,
Like streams that glide o'er golden sand.
Gifts which attest God's loving hand,
Bright years in all their varied course,
Like streams that glide o'er golden sand.
These fifty years,—so long, so short,
Ten thousand blessings in their train,
Fraught with unnumbered passing joys,—
Well might we live them o'er again!
Ten thousand blessings in their train,
Fraught with unnumbered passing joys,—
Well might we live them o'er again!
The wedding song of love we sung,—
To-day revives the sweet refrain;
Love is undying in its source;
Bridegroom and bride, we live again.
To-day revives the sweet refrain;
Love is undying in its source;
Bridegroom and bride, we live again.
And who are these in stalwart frame;
And these arrayed in sunny curls?
“Our children, and their children fair,—
Pledges of love, our boys and girls.”
And these arrayed in sunny curls?
“Our children, and their children fair,—
Pledges of love, our boys and girls.”
How blest the way thy feet have trod,
Brother, to whom the trust was given;
To feed the happy flock of God,
And guide the wanderer's steps to heaven.
Brother, to whom the trust was given;
To feed the happy flock of God,
And guide the wanderer's steps to heaven.
Nor this alone; the world to thee,
Has opened all its secret heart,
And taught her wonders to explore,—
A miracle in every part.
Has opened all its secret heart,
And taught her wonders to explore,—
A miracle in every part.
54
Happy the pair whose gracious lives
In long enduring love combine;
His, the firm trellis for support,
And hers, the sweet and clustering vine.
In long enduring love combine;
His, the firm trellis for support,
And hers, the sweet and clustering vine.
The fire by night, the cloud by day,
Guided and kept the loving twain;
And storms that swept the desert path
Fell round their tent like gentle rain.
Guided and kept the loving twain;
And storms that swept the desert path
Fell round their tent like gentle rain.
Long may the bow abide in strength!
Oh, linger long thy peaceful days;
Let life be one long wedding feast,
And its whole course, a psalm of praise!
Oh, linger long thy peaceful days;
Let life be one long wedding feast,
And its whole course, a psalm of praise!
Sing on, sweet singer, while the years
Add to thy honors and thy fame;
Till heaven, on some far distant day,
Bids to the wedding of the Lamb.
Add to thy honors and thy fame;
Till heaven, on some far distant day,
Bids to the wedding of the Lamb.
| Poems of home and country | |