The Liberty of the Gospel

"Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. If the Son, therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." — John 8. 34, 36.

If thou, oh God, will make my spirit free,
Then will that darkened soul be free indeed;
I cannot break my bonds, apart from thee,
Without thy help I bow and serve and bleed.
Arise, oh Lord, and in thy matchless strength,
Asunder rend the links my heart that bind,
And liberate and raise and save, at length,
My long enthralled and subjugated mind.
And then with strength and beauty in her wings,
My quickened soul shall take an upward flight,
And in thy blissful presence, King of kings,
Rejoice in liberty and life and light,
In renovated power and conscious truth,
In faith and cheerful hope, in love and endless youth.

— The Religious Offering (1836) Scripture Sonnets I.

The Liberty of the Gospel

Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John viii. 34, 36

If thou, oh God, wilt make my spirit free,
Then will that darkened soul be free indeed;
I cannot break my bonds, apart from thee,
Without thy help I bow and serve and bleed.
Arise, oh Lord, and in thy matchless strength,
Asunder rend the links my heart that bind,
And liberate and raise and save, at length,
My long enthralled and subjugated mind.
And then with strength and beauty in her wings,
My quickened soul shall take an upward flight,
And in thy blissful presence, King of kings,
Rejoice in liberty and life and light,
In renovated power and conscious truth,
In faith and cheerful hope, in love and endless youth!

— American Cottage Life (1850).

Oh, Send One Ray Into My Sightless Ball

Oh, send one ray into my sightless ball,
Transmit one beam into my darkened heart!
On thee, Almighty God, on thee I call,
Incline thy listening ear, thine aid impart!
In vain the natural sun his beams doth yield,
In vain the moon illumes the fields of air;
The eye-sight of my soul is quenched and sealed,
And what is other light if shades are there?
Beyond the sun and moon I lift my gaze,
Where round thy throne a purer light is spread,
Where seraphs fill their urns from that bright blaze,
And angels' souls with holy fires are fed.
Oh, send from that pure fount one quickening ray,
And change these inward shades to bright and glorious day!

— A Treatise on Divine Union (1851) Part 3, Chapter 5.

If Thou, Oh God, Wilt Make My Spirit Free...

If thou, Oh God, wilt make my spirit free,

Then will that darkened soul be free indeed;
I cannot break my bonds apart from thee;
Without thy help I bow and serve and bleed.
Arise, oh Lord, and in thy matchless strength,
Asunder rend the links my heart that bind,
And liberate and raise and save, at length,
My long enthralled and subjugated mind.

— The Interior or Hidden Life (1844), Part 2, Chapter 10.