Poems by the late John Bethune With a sketch of the author's life, by his brother |
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SACRAMENTAL LINES—1838.
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 | Poems by the late John Bethune |  |
SACRAMENTAL LINES—1838.
O Lord! munificent, benign,
How many mercies have been mine
Since last I met with thee
In that-blest ordinance of thine—
The holy feast of Bread and Wine
Which was enjoyed by me.
How many mercies have been mine
Since last I met with thee
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The holy feast of Bread and Wine
Which was enjoyed by me.
How many days, in goodness sent,
Have been in sickening sadness spent!
How many nights have come
Which promised rest and sweet content,
Yet left behind them when they went
Distress, and grief, and gloom!
Have been in sickening sadness spent!
How many nights have come
Which promised rest and sweet content,
Yet left behind them when they went
Distress, and grief, and gloom!
How many purposes have fail'd!
How many doubts my heart assail'd!
And held my spirit fast:
How many sins have been bewail'd!
How many follies have prevail'd!
Since I confess'd the last.
How many doubts my heart assail'd!
And held my spirit fast:
How many sins have been bewail'd!
How many follies have prevail'd!
Since I confess'd the last.
But still to thee my spirit springs,
And underneath thy shelt'ring wings
A safe asylum seeks;
For this memorial sweetly brings
Remembrance of thy sufferings,
And all thy kindness speaks:
And underneath thy shelt'ring wings
A safe asylum seeks;
For this memorial sweetly brings
Remembrance of thy sufferings,
And all thy kindness speaks:
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And, like a little child, I lay
My spirit at thy feet, and say,
“Lord, take it—it is thine:
Teach it to trust, to fear, to pray—
Feed it with love by night and day,
And let thy will be mine.”
My spirit at thy feet, and say,
“Lord, take it—it is thine:
Teach it to trust, to fear, to pray—
Feed it with love by night and day,
And let thy will be mine.”
The Sacrament here alluded to was administered on the second Sabbath of June; and it may be remarked that it was the last at which the Pastor of the parish, (the Rev. Laurence Millar) officiated, and likewise the last at which the author of these lines took his seat—the former being dead, and the latter too ill to attend before another opportunity occurred. The pieces have been given together, because, with the exception of the last, they are written on the same sheet. One of them at least was composed on the morning of the Sacramental Sabbath; and it is highly probable that the others were the same.
| Poems by the late John Bethune | |