The poetical works of James Montgomery collected by himself |
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“OCCUPY TILL I COME.”
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 | The poetical works of James Montgomery |  |
354
“OCCUPY TILL I COME.”
ON THE DEATH OF THE LATE JOSEPH BUTTERWORTH, ESQ.
AN EXEMPLARY CHRISTIAN, PATRIOT, AND PHILANTHROPIST.
“He was a burning and a shining light:”
—And is he now eclipsed in hopeless night?
No; faith beholds him near the sapphire throne,
Shining more bright than e'er on earth he shone;
While, where created splendour all looks dim,
Heaven's host are glorifying God in him.
—And is he now eclipsed in hopeless night?
No; faith beholds him near the sapphire throne,
Shining more bright than e'er on earth he shone;
While, where created splendour all looks dim,
Heaven's host are glorifying God in him.
If faith's enraptured vision now be true,
And things invisible stand forth to view,
Though eye to eye the' embodied soul can see,
Self-lost amidst unclouded Deity,
He chooses, rather than a seraph's seat,
The lowest place at his Redeemer's feet;
And, with the' eternal weight of glory prest,
Turns, even in paradise, to Christ for rest.
And things invisible stand forth to view,
Though eye to eye the' embodied soul can see,
Self-lost amidst unclouded Deity,
He chooses, rather than a seraph's seat,
The lowest place at his Redeemer's feet;
And, with the' eternal weight of glory prest,
Turns, even in paradise, to Christ for rest.
Come we who once beheld his noontide blaze,
And hid before him our diminish'd rays;
Since his translation to a higher sphere,
We may, we must, by our own light appear:
When sun and moon their greater beams resign,
The stars come out; they cannot choose but shine:
With force like his all eyes we cannot strike,
We may not equal him, but may be like:
Nor let the meanest think his lamp too dim,
In a dark world the Lord hath need of him;
By feeble instruments in providence,
God is well pleased his bounties to dispense:
In his economy of grace the same,—
The weakest are almighty in his name.
And hid before him our diminish'd rays;
Since his translation to a higher sphere,
We may, we must, by our own light appear:
When sun and moon their greater beams resign,
The stars come out; they cannot choose but shine:
With force like his all eyes we cannot strike,
We may not equal him, but may be like:
Nor let the meanest think his lamp too dim,
In a dark world the Lord hath need of him;
By feeble instruments in providence,
God is well pleased his bounties to dispense:
In his economy of grace the same,—
The weakest are almighty in his name.
What though the great, the good, the glorious fall,
He reigns whose kingdom ruleth over all.
—Talk not of talents;—what hast thou to do?
Thy duty, be thy portion five or two;
Talk not of talents;—is thy duty done?
Thou hadst sufficient, were they ten or one.
Lord, what my talents are I cannot tell,
Till thou shalt give me grace to use them well:
That grace impart, the bliss will then be mine,
But all the power and all the glory Thine.
He reigns whose kingdom ruleth over all.
—Talk not of talents;—what hast thou to do?
Thy duty, be thy portion five or two;
Talk not of talents;—is thy duty done?
Thou hadst sufficient, were they ten or one.
Lord, what my talents are I cannot tell,
Till thou shalt give me grace to use them well:
That grace impart, the bliss will then be mine,
But all the power and all the glory Thine.
| The poetical works of James Montgomery | |