Vanity of Life

"As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more." — Ps. 103. 15, 16.

And they are gone, the friends that once I knew;
I look in vain to find them; low and still
They coldly lie, shut out from human view,
And from the joys which erst their breasts could fill.
No more for them the rosy morn shall gleam,
Nor wild bird charm their ear at day's sweet close;
No more shall friendship soothe life's fevered dream,
And love's sweet voice allure them to repose.
But, oh, 'tis vain to murmur or bewail,
Dwells ought on earth, that long on earth shall be?
The columns of the world itself shall fail,
Its gorgeousness shall fade, its pomp shall flee.
'Tis a small thing to die, if we shall rise
In renovated bliss, unchanging in the skies.

— The Religious Offering (1835) Scripture Sonnets XXIII.

The Blessedness of Holy Contemplation

What blessed results would follow, if all men, arrived at the state of holy contemplation, had that faith which deprives God of form, and displaces him from a particular locality, in order that, being without form, he may attach himself to all forms, and that, being without place, he may be found present in all places. Such a faith, if it would not at once carry us up to the New Jerusalem, would do that which amounts to much the same thing, — it would bring the New Jerusalem down to earth, and would expand its golden walls and gates to the limits of the world and of the universe.

"And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God  is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away."

— edited from A Treatise on Divine Union (1851) Part 8, Chapter 10.

No Separation

Oh, can I leave Thee! Can I go

Back  to the world that once was nigh?

And so debase me, as to know

The joys that only bloom to die?

Oh, can I quit celestial good,

The growth of life's immortal tree,

And feed, instead of Angel's food,

On earth's poor dust and vanity?

I sought Thee, that my soul might stay

In  endless unity of mind;

And dare not, cannot rend away

The golden links my heart that bind.

If others blindly choose to roam,

And find the path of tears and gloom;

Be MINE, in God's great heart, the home,

Where peace, and joy, and glory bloom.

— Christ in the Soul (1872) XXXVI.

The Restoration of the Earth

Of the restoration of the earth, Isaiah says:

"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon." [Isa. 35:1, 2.] 

Of the animal creation, he says:

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them." [Isa. 11: 6.] 

It may undoubtedly be said of these, and other similar passages, that they are figurative. But it will be found, in the end, that the truth which they anticipate and predict will exceed the beauty of the picture, as it existed in the imagination of the prophetic poet. When the head of creation resumes his nature of holy love, the untamed and violent passions of the inferior members will become extinct. And the earth herself, as if conscious of the mighty change, will withdraw her thorns and crown herself with roses.

— edited from A Treatise on Divine Union (1851) Part 7, Chapter 3.

Entire Consecration

If men of earth, for earth's renown,

Are willing long to wait or toil,

Nor shrink to lay existence down

Upon the war-field's bloody soil;­

If there is nought they'll not endure,

If there is nought they will not dare,

To make their hopes, their purpose sure,

Their wealth to gain, their wreath to wear;-

Oh, say, shall we, who bear a name

That intimates our heavenly birth,

Behold our efforts put to shame,

When placed beside the zeal of earth?

'Tis Jesus calls. For his dear sake,

If they their all for earth have given,

Oh, let us haste his cross to take,

And give our hearts, our all for heaven.

— American Cottage Life (1850).

Desire for Heaven

My heart is in a land afar,
Unseen by mortal eyes;
A clime, that needs nor moon nor star
A land of cloudless skies.

They tell me, that the earth is bright,
And I have pleasures here;
But still, in that far land of light,
Are pleasures yet more dear.

Oh, that I had an angel's wing,
To bear me hence away;
Where virtue blooms with endless spring,
And love shall ne' er decay.

My heart is in that land afar,
Unseen by mortal eyes;
A clime, that needs nor moon nor star,
A land of cloudless skies.

— American Cottage Life (1850).

A Christian is a Citizen of the World

A Christian is prospectively a citizen of heaven; but actually, and at the present time, he is a citizen of the world. Remember this, and do not think so much of what is to be as to forget what is.  We  have a great work in the present life, and in the precise situation where God has placed us. Angels glorify God in heaven; men must glorify him on the earth.

— Religious Maxims (1846) LXII.

Oneness of Life

If life on earth, and life in heaven,
As ancient seers and prophets say,
Is from the same great radiance given,
And burns with one celestial ray;

If brightness there, and brightness here,
Is in its central nature one;
And, shining in whatever sphere,
Is from the same imperial sun;

Oh, then, come down, and fill my heart,
Great God with Thine own life of love,
So that I may not stand apart
From the bright life, which shines above.

The secret of the heavens reveal,
And make its inward glory known,
Till all of thought and heart and will,
And life itself are made Thine own.

— Christ in the Soul (1872) X.