LE PASTEUR APOSTOLIQUE.
WITH eyes uplifted, that may well descry
The glories of a world beyond the sky;
With parted locks, which leave that forehead bare,
With lips half open, in the act of prayer,-
Behold a christian portrait ! and exclaim,
Oh that my breast might burn with such a flame!
Oh that the fire, descending from above,
Might waken in my soul the light of love,
That zeal might warm my spirit, and that faith
Might triumph over sin and hell and death!
Thus in the Saint's blest warfare, let me be,
Like him, an heir of immortality!
"To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."-PHIL. i. 21. "God is love."-1 JOHN iv. 8.
MOTHER in Israel! let thy mantle rest
On daughters with thy rich example blest!
Thy mantle dipt in that unsullied spring,
From whence the saints their healing waters bring;
That fount of sovereign virtue,-'tis a flood
Of life and health-the Saviour's precious blood.
Salvation was thy theme, and thou couldst hail
Redemption's work and Truth's mysterious tale.
'Twas thine the spark of heavenly love to fan
And magnify the ways of God to man,
Whilst with a zeal like Mary's, it was meet
That thou should'st wash the dear Redeemer's feet.
Blest handmaid of thy Lord! he loved thee well,
He bade thee in his own pavilion dwell,
And tuned thy heart to praise him—for his love
Did through the well-springs of thy being move;
He waked thy soul to wisdom, and his voice
Bade all thy quickened energies rejoice.
He crowned thee with his blessing-and thy board
Was spread with gifts appointed by thy Lord;
He owned thee for His servant, and thy tread.
Through paths unknown, by His dear hand was led ;
He blest thy daily portion-and thy face
Shone with the beamings of celestial grace :
The dew was round thy dwelling, and thy tent
Was honored as the Master's tenement ;
Whilst blessings of the deep that flows beneath,
Blessings that live in heaven's ethereal breath,
And blessings of the earth, thy Maker gave,
Salvation's cup was thine from Him who came to save.
And thou wast counted with the godly few
Who leave the world, with heaven's bright hopes in view
The world was cast behind thee, for her smile
Is wont the passing traveller to beguile;
And thou had'st tried her favours-whilst to thee
Her gold was dust, her treasures vanity.
Thy way was for the cross, since shining there
In characters indelible and clear,
The impress of thy Saviour's image shone,
And thou wast His-and He was all thine own!
"Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.”— 1 TIM. v. 10.
ONCE, to my vision brought, a mind I viewed,
Cast in a mould of passing magnitude :
Deep thought and reason's high resolve exprest
The mingled energies that clothed his breast;
And acumen, whose searching glance made plain
Conjecture's labyrinth-and her dark domain;
And lively wit was his whose powers I trace,
And humour sparkling in that sunny face.
Decision stamped his lip-and in his eye
Lay depths untold, of human sympathy;
And truth impressed his mind-and in his voice
Were tones that made the sorrowing heart rejoice;
And Wisdom was his friend-and at her nod
He sought the path that leads the soul to God:
Thus may he gain its summit, and behold
The towers of Zion and her streets of gold,—
Then pass like Pilgrim, to Immanuel's land
And, in the presence of his Saviour, stand!
"A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men." -PROV. xviii. 16.
THE PASTOR OF ZURICH.
How may I seek to paint thee, or define,
In measured verse, a portrait such as thine?
Thy lineaments were noble-beaming forth
The essence of a mind too pure for earth.
Exalted and refined, behold thee now,
Wearing a deathless chaplet on thy brow!
The world but ill requites thee, or repays
Thy boon of love, bequeathed to after-days;
The gift of treasured themes and golden hours,
Passed in the Sage's haunt, the Muse's bowers,
The fruit of hallowed thought! when thou didst dwell
Within God's courts-holding high festival!
Or on the mount heldst converse large and high,
Communing in the saints' solemnity,
Behold thee in thy closet! who can say
What visions bore thy soul from earth away!
Thy love was pure and chastened-and thy mind
Flowed out in charities to all mankind;
Zeal for the souls of sinners made thee bold,
And bade thee call the wanderers to the fold.
Thy moments all were governed,-golden sand!
And measured out with no regardless hand;
There shone thy spirit's purpose, for thy Lord,
Commission gave-and thou didst preach His word;
From Him thy charge went forth, and thou didst keep
The Pastor's office" Feed my lambs,-my sheep!"
Yes, thou His lambs didst cherish with an eye
Well used to melt in tenderest sympathy.
We see thee at thy canvass-pictured there,
What portraits glow, in transcript bright and fair!
Thy faithful pencil traced them, for with skill
Those lines were wrought, obedient to thy will:
Those outlined profiles speak! and passion's rage,
And truth and tenderness our minds engage;
Devotion's fire and wit with sportive play,
And thought, transparent as the opening day,
And sordid avarice and hope and fear,
And sympathies to each fond bosom dear:
All these thy pen decipher'd, and 'twere well
That moral truth like thine, its tale should tell.
The human face divine! with practised eye
'Twas thine that hidden mystery to descry;
To probe the depths of feeling, and to trace
Each softened lineament, each manly grace;
To search the inner chambers of the soul,
Where vice and virtue struggle for control;
Where Wisdom lights her candle and makes plain
The shining beauties of her fair domain;
Where Folly flies the day-beam-and where sin
Bars up each portal to the shades within.
Yes! thou wast skilled in ethics, and thy scan
Surveyed that wondrous world, the mind of man!
Hail to thy spirit's empire! I would hail
Abodes of peace, where thoughts like thine prevail ;
Where sense and feeling triumph, and agree
To mingle in the bonds of amity,
Where taste pervades the affections, and where love
Lifts all our hearts to heaven's bright worlds above.
Farewell thou sainted soul! Disciple, rest
For ever, in thy Saviour's sheltering breast!
"His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."--PSALM i. 2, 3.
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