University of Virginia Library

On hearing the Funeral Bell, After frequent deaths in the neighbourhood.

Again, the solemn warning strikes my ear!
The solemn warning that so oft of late
Hath bid my soul be ready! shall the call,
Loud, frequent, pressing, awful, sound in vain?
Around me, death selects his fated prey;
On silent wing, commission'd, fly his shafts,
Nor ever miss their mark, a victim here
By age enfeebled, faintly struggling, falls
An easy conquest! there in manhood's prime,
Transfix'd, and raging with the venom'd dart,
Another groans, strength ministering to pain,
Contending long, unequal to the fight,
At length, in agonizing pangs expires!
Another here, and there another falls
In early bloom, the ruthless stroke at once
Cuts off the parent's hope, and leaves a wound,
Which lenient time, slow healing, hardly cures!
Where, next, will light his arrows? vain demand!
That awful power, who points them, only knows.
Perhaps some lov'd, perhaps some honour'd life,
Dear as my own, invites his present aim:
How will my bleeding heart outlive the stroke,
When ev'n the apprehension wounds so deep?
Yet, this anticipated woe, a care
Still nearer, more important, supersedes!
O let me ask my conscious, trembling heart,
While yet the solemn question may avail,
Canst thou, undaunted, meet the King of terrors?
In his commission, for this night, this hour,
My name may be contain'd—suppose it spread
Before thy view—rouze, instant rouze thy powers
To meet, with fortitude, the potent foe!
Alas! how weak, how helpless! soon I fall,
The insulting victor triumphs—no, behold
An arm superior, stretch'd for my support!
O death where is thy sting? the Lord of life,
In whom I trust, can disappoint thy power;
Can bid my soul defy thy keenest dart,
And triumph o'er thy terrors! he bestows
(O gift immense!) a life beyond thy reach,
Eternal life! reveal'd by truth divine
The glorious promise stands, confirm'd by oath,
The awful sanction of omnipotence!
Here, then, my soul, let thy enquiry fix,
Deliberate, serious, ardent! on this point,
This interesting point, depends thy all!
Is death disarm'd for thee? is life begun?
For all who live for ever, must, new born
Begin to breathe that life divine on earth.
O thou, whose potent word, from nothing rais'd
Unnumber'd worlds, whose all-inspiring breath
Gives life to nature in her countless forms!
Great source of life divine! whose quickning power
Recalls from death's domain, the heirs of bliss,
Once, heirs of woe, a new created race,
Form'd for thy praise, to life immortal form'd;
Assist my search! thy piercing eye surveys
The close recesses of my inmost heart,
And marks its every motion, do I breathe
Warm'd by thy vital ray? are these desires,
Which nought below thy favour can suffice,
A proof of that immortal life begun,
Which nought below omnipotence can give?
Is not the rising hope which cheers my soul,
Sweet beaming through the gloomy fears of death,
The dawn of life? O teach my trembling heart
To trace it to its source, the Saviour's cross!
That wondrous cross, where death resign'd his arms,
And own'd the conqueror God! where life divine
Breath'd in the great Redeemer's dying groans,
And pour'd its influence from his bleeding veins
To quicken, cleanse, illuminate, and raise
To immortality, the blind, polluted,
The helpless, hopeless, wretched prey of death!
Stupendous work of love, almighty love!
Yes, dearest Lord, from thee my soul derives
Her only hope, from thee these faint desires
Which thou canst raise, invigorate, and fill.
O teach my faith on stronger wing to rise
To those bright regions, where eternal life
In full perfection glows, and bid my hope
With firmer confidence on thee recline,
My guardian, my defence! by thee sustain'd,
My heart shall meet, serene, this dreaded foe,
And smile to see his harmless arrows fly.
Secure of conquest in my Saviour's might
Secure of life beyond this narrow span!
A life unbounded as the glorious hope
Thy love inspires, and fill'd with all the joy
Thy blissful presence gives, commensurate
The life, the joy, with vast eternity.