 | Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious |  |
46
COMMUNION WITH THE DEAD.
“How do they rest, the holy dead
Departed in the faith and fear
Of Him, their Saviour, who has led
Their spirits to the heavenly sphere?
Departed in the faith and fear
Of Him, their Saviour, who has led
Their spirits to the heavenly sphere?
“On them no evil may alight;
No thirst, nor hunger, fear, nor pain,
Nor withering heat, nor frosty blight,
Shall ever visit them again.
No thirst, nor hunger, fear, nor pain,
Nor withering heat, nor frosty blight,
Shall ever visit them again.
“But, where they rest in calm Divine,
Does silence take the place of speech?
No interchange of word or sign
Across the gulf of death may reach;
Does silence take the place of speech?
No interchange of word or sign
Across the gulf of death may reach;
“And do they wait in sleep profound
Of agelong rest from earthly strife,
Until they hear the trumpet sound
That wakes anew the dead to life;
Of agelong rest from earthly strife,
Until they hear the trumpet sound
That wakes anew the dead to life;
‘Or do they feel for human woes,
And frown in wrath on human sin,
And watch and bless the strife of those
Who strive a heavenly crown to win?
And frown in wrath on human sin,
And watch and bless the strife of those
Who strive a heavenly crown to win?
47
“We know not. Would to God we knew!
What blessing on our life were shed,
Could we but pierce the shadows through,
And hold communion with the dead!”
What blessing on our life were shed,
Could we but pierce the shadows through,
And hold communion with the dead!”
Thus did I ponder, till I read
Words from beyond the western sea,
Echoing my yearning to the dead,
And giving answer back to me:—
Words from beyond the western sea,
Echoing my yearning to the dead,
And giving answer back to me:—
“We know the dead through Christ alone—
The Lord who vanquished death of old.
With Him, through all the dread unknown,
Our spirits may communion hold;
The Lord who vanquished death of old.
With Him, through all the dread unknown,
Our spirits may communion hold;
“And whether the departed wake
In light, or sleep in shadow dim,
God loves them for the Saviour's sake,
And they are bound to us through Him.
In light, or sleep in shadow dim,
God loves them for the Saviour's sake,
And they are bound to us through Him.
“Through Him from highest Heaven who came,
Whose human tears for Lazarus flowed,
Who bore the cross, endured the shame,
And died, and lay in death's abode;
Whose human tears for Lazarus flowed,
Who bore the cross, endured the shame,
And died, and lay in death's abode;
“Through Him who wields the Almighty's powers,
The Firstborn, and the Church's Head,
Through Him alone, their Lord and ours,
We hold communion with the dead.”
The Firstborn, and the Church's Head,
Through Him alone, their Lord and ours,
We hold communion with the dead.”
| Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious | |