He Standeth at the Door

"My head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night." Cant. v. 9.

The stars are shining from their depths of blue,
And one is standing at the door and knocks;
He  knocks to enter in. His raven locks
Are heavy with the midnight's glittering dew.
He is our FRIEND; and great his griefs have been,
The thorns, the cross, the garden's deep distress,
Which he hath suff'ered for our happiness;
And shall we not arise, and let him in?
All hail, thou chosen one, thou source of bliss!
Come with thy bleeding feet, thy wounded side;
Alas, for us Thou hast endured all this;
Enter our doors, and at our hearth abide!
Chill are the midnight dews, the midnight air;
Come to our hearts and homes, and make thy dwelling there.

— American Cottage Life (1850).

Right Disposition

God not only has the disposition to do what is right, but he always does it. Men may have the disposition, and yet fail through physical infirmity, in the realization of the thing; that is to say, in the outward act. But the disposition is accepted.

— Religious Maxims (1846) CXXIII.

Holiness in the World

The rays of the sun shine upon the dust and mud, but they are not soiled by them. So a holy soul, while it remains holy, may mingle with the vileness of the world, and yet be pure in itself.

— Religious Maxims (1846) CXXII.

Prayer and Action

No person can be considered as praying in sincerity for a specified object, who does not employ all the appropriate natural means which he can, to secure the object.

— Religious Maxims (1846) CXXI.

Crucified Even To Our Virtues

When Satan cannot prevent our good deeds, he will sometimes effect his evil objects by inducing  us to take an undue and selfish satisfaction in them. So that it is necessary, if we would not convert them into destructive poisons, to be crucified and dead even to our virtues.

— Religious Maxims (1846) CXX.

The Sovereign Will

"Thou hast  a mighty arm;  strong is  thy hand, and high is  thy  right  hand." Psalm lxxxix.  13.

There is one ruling power, one sovereign will,
One  sum and center of efficiency.
'Tis like the mystic wheel within the wheel
The prophet saw at Chebar. Its decree
Goes from the center to the utmost bounds
Of universal nature. Its embrace
And penetrating touch pervades, surrounds
Whate'er has life or form or time or place.
It  garnishes the heavens, and it gives
A terror and a voice to ocean's wave.
In all the pure and gilded heights it lives,
Nor less in earth's obscurest, deepest cave.
Around, above, below, its might is known,
Encircling great and small, the footstool and the throne.

— American Cottage Life (1850).

The Millennial Day

"They  shall  not hurt nor destroy in  all  my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full  of the knowledge of the Lord,  as  the waters cover the sea."  Isa.  xi. 9.

Upon God's Holy Mountain all is peace.
Of  clanging arms and cries and wail, no sound
Goes up to mingle with the gentle breeze,
That bears its perfumed whispers all around.
Beneath its trees that spread their blooming light,
The spotted leopard walks; the ox is there;
The yellow lion stands in conscious might,
Beneath the dewy and illumined air.
A little child doth take him by the mane,
And leads him forth, and plays beneath his breast.
Nought breaks the quiet of that blest domain,
Nought mars its harmony and heavenly rest:
Picture divine and emblem of that day,
When peace on earth and truth shall hold unbroken sway.

— American Cottage Life (1850).