Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold By "F. Harald Williams"[i.e. F. W. O. Ward]. First Edition |
 |
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
|
| IV. |
EMPTIED. |
| V. |
|
|
| I. |
| II. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
 | Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold |  |
EMPTIED.
Breathing peace and joy the Master,
Came unto me in the night
Of my grieving and disaster,
Whispering “Let there be light!”
So the sorrow and its curtain,
Which eclipsed the noon of day,
With its clouds and rays uncertain,
Rolled for evermore away;
For He took on Him my trouble
Till it brightened into bliss,
While He made my gladness double
With a sacramental kiss.
Came unto me in the night
Of my grieving and disaster,
Whispering “Let there be light!”
So the sorrow and its curtain,
Which eclipsed the noon of day,
With its clouds and rays uncertain,
Rolled for evermore away;
For He took on Him my trouble
Till it brightened into bliss,
While He made my gladness double
With a sacramental kiss.
Then He murmured “Not by merit
Of the toils and duties done,
Canst thou hope now to inherit
Pardon and with Me be one;
Not by strife upon high stages
Trodden and great lessons learned,
Falls the blessing for thy wages,
As a right by labour earned;
Thou must be an emptied vessel,
Cleansed of all the self and sin,
And the lusts that with thee wrestle,
Ere I make My home within.”
Of the toils and duties done,
Canst thou hope now to inherit
Pardon and with Me be one;
Not by strife upon high stages
Trodden and great lessons learned,
Falls the blessing for thy wages,
As a right by labour earned;
Thou must be an emptied vessel,
Cleansed of all the self and sin,
And the lusts that with thee wrestle,
Ere I make My home within.”
Therefore I arose in quickness,
Eager to be purged of each
Vanity and fretful sickness,
Woe to life within its reach;
And the passions like a canker
Gnawing at my secret breast,
Which forbade my heart to anchor
On the only Rock of Rest,
I assailed with prayer and sentence
Written in the Holy Book,
And with vigil and repentance
Which of strength Divine partook.
Eager to be purged of each
Vanity and fretful sickness,
Woe to life within its reach;
And the passions like a canker
Gnawing at my secret breast,
Which forbade my heart to anchor
On the only Rock of Rest,
I assailed with prayer and sentence
Written in the Holy Book,
168
Which of strength Divine partook.
Ugly appetites that festered,
Down below and left a scar,
In this grim retreat sequestered,
Fled like baffled fiends afar;
Serpentine and evil errors
Coiled about my very soul,
Strangling with their tricks and terrors
All that malice could control,
Found no more in me the portion
Which they once had pastured on,
In their time of dark distortion,
And before the truth were gone.
Down below and left a scar,
In this grim retreat sequestered,
Fled like baffled fiends afar;
Serpentine and evil errors
Coiled about my very soul,
Strangling with their tricks and terrors
All that malice could control,
Found no more in me the portion
Which they once had pastured on,
In their time of dark distortion,
And before the truth were gone.
Thus by grace I cleansed the vessel
Surely for the Master's use,
Pure from lusts that strove to nestle
Under some devout excuse;
Purged it with His hyssop sweetly
From the follies that would cling,
Formed the whole at last completely
To a palace for the King;
Swept it throughly of the tarnished
Glory which had left it lone,
Till it shone forth fair and garnished,
Not unworthy of His throne.
Surely for the Master's use,
Pure from lusts that strove to nestle
Under some devout excuse;
Purged it with His hyssop sweetly
From the follies that would cling,
Formed the whole at last completely
To a palace for the King;
Swept it throughly of the tarnished
Glory which had left it lone,
Till it shone forth fair and garnished,
Not unworthy of His throne.
Then the Lord who smelled a savour
Fresher than a maiden's thought,
Low descended in His favour
On the dwelling I had wrought;
And He filled me with His fulness
Beautiful and strong and free,
And discrowned the old gray dulness
With a splendour good to see;
And His fragrance glad and glowing
Cannot in my breast be bound,
But with blessèd overflowing
Scatters light and love around.
Fresher than a maiden's thought,
Low descended in His favour
On the dwelling I had wrought;
And He filled me with His fulness
Beautiful and strong and free,
And discrowned the old gray dulness
With a splendour good to see;
And His fragrance glad and glowing
Cannot in my breast be bound,
But with blessèd overflowing
Scatters light and love around.
| Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold | |