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531
Spiritual Intercourse
They cannot come to us though we
May long for them to come;
And leave, with us on earth to be,
Their blest, eternal home;
The parents we have loved so well,
The children that we mourn,
They cannot come, with us to dwell,
From that mysterious bourn.
May long for them to come;
And leave, with us on earth to be,
Their blest, eternal home;
The parents we have loved so well,
The children that we mourn,
They cannot come, with us to dwell,
From that mysterious bourn.
They cannot come to dwell on earth,
And leave their heavenly sphere;
A life there is of higher birth,
As earthly life is here;
A life of holy service, love,
Which here we but begin,
Employs them in that home above,
Which they have entered in!
And leave their heavenly sphere;
A life there is of higher birth,
As earthly life is here;
A life of holy service, love,
Which here we but begin,
Employs them in that home above,
Which they have entered in!
Yet in the brightness of the day,
And in the shades of night,
We are with them, with us are they
Though not revealed to sight;
For memory's bright unbroken chain
Doth bind us heart to heart,
Hope whispers we shall meet again,
Meet nevermore to part.
And in the shades of night,
We are with them, with us are they
Though not revealed to sight;
For memory's bright unbroken chain
Doth bind us heart to heart,
Hope whispers we shall meet again,
Meet nevermore to part.
Ah, who would have them here again,
To suffer and to die;
To leave, for the abodes of men,
Their happy homes on high?
Better that we should patience learn,
And strive like them to be;
Than vainly sigh for their return,
That we our friends may see.
To suffer and to die;
To leave, for the abodes of men,
Their happy homes on high?
Better that we should patience learn,
And strive like them to be;
Than vainly sigh for their return,
That we our friends may see.
Cold winter's blasts they feel no more,
Nor summer's burning rage,
Disease, and pain, and death are o'er,
The want and ills of age;
And, in that peaceful, happy clime,
War cannot hurt, nor kill;
For past the fleeting years of time,
Their mingled good and ill.
Nor summer's burning rage,
Disease, and pain, and death are o'er,
The want and ills of age;
532
War cannot hurt, nor kill;
For past the fleeting years of time,
Their mingled good and ill.
No more with doubts they struggle on,
Nor walk in Error's night;
Their doubts and errors all are gone
In heaven's unclouded light;
For God their light and glory is,
His truth their minds doth fill;
And Christ doth own them now as his,
Who did his Father's will.
Nor walk in Error's night;
Their doubts and errors all are gone
In heaven's unclouded light;
For God their light and glory is,
His truth their minds doth fill;
And Christ doth own them now as his,
Who did his Father's will.
They come not; but to them we go,
That higher life to share;
The life begun by them below
Midst earthly toil, and care;
Whate'er of good, or ill we've sown,
We then with them shall reap;
We then shall know as we are known,
No soul its secret keep.
That higher life to share;
The life begun by them below
Midst earthly toil, and care;
Whate'er of good, or ill we've sown,
We then with them shall reap;
We then shall know as we are known,
No soul its secret keep.
And, in our Heavenly Father's time,
We shall united be;
To share that intercourse sublime
Of joy and purity;
Oh, let us then for this prepare,
While yet the light is given;
That we the life and bliss may share
Of those we love in heaven.
We shall united be;
To share that intercourse sublime
Of joy and purity;
Oh, let us then for this prepare,
While yet the light is given;
That we the life and bliss may share
Of those we love in heaven.
Poem No. 638; c. 3 February 1880
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