Poems (Hale)/Lazarus
LAZARUS.
He sleeps.
Is there no voice to rouse the silent dust,
And bid the springs of life flow gently on?
Will not a sister's pleading break that rest?
No, for the stern, relentless hand of death
Has stamped his impress on the placid brow.
The heart is cold whose warm affection blessed
The helpless ones who lived in him alone,
To whom he was their all.
Is there no voice to rouse the silent dust,
And bid the springs of life flow gently on?
Will not a sister's pleading break that rest?
No, for the stern, relentless hand of death
Has stamped his impress on the placid brow.
The heart is cold whose warm affection blessed
The helpless ones who lived in him alone,
To whom he was their all.
But there is One
Whose glance is mercy, and whose voice is might;
Yea, who can render to the mourner back
The tender object that has shared his love.
He loved that sleeping one; his memory
Was hallowed in his heart by many a deed
Of kindness to himself, and, at the call
Of those who looked to him with a pure faith,
He came to yield him to their love again.
Whose glance is mercy, and whose voice is might;
Yea, who can render to the mourner back
The tender object that has shared his love.
He loved that sleeping one; his memory
Was hallowed in his heart by many a deed
Of kindness to himself, and, at the call
Of those who looked to him with a pure faith,
He came to yield him to their love again.
Martha came forth to meet him; but that one
Who oft had knelt, with warm devotion fired,
And listened to the heaven-inspiring sounds
Which issued from his lips, remained behind,
In the sad solitude of grief and wo.
At her afflicted sister's call she came.
List to their words: "We know if thou but speak,
Life shall once more those pulses animate."
"Where have ye laid him?" said that gentle voice,
Which never spake, except to cheer the heart
With words of blessed import.
Who oft had knelt, with warm devotion fired,
And listened to the heaven-inspiring sounds
Which issued from his lips, remained behind,
In the sad solitude of grief and wo.
At her afflicted sister's call she came.
List to their words: "We know if thou but speak,
Life shall once more those pulses animate."
"Where have ye laid him?" said that gentle voice,
Which never spake, except to cheer the heart
With words of blessed import.
Jesus wept.
But soon before that fast-sealed grave he stood,
And on those weeping sisters turned his eye;—
"Said I not unto you that ye should see
The glory of your God? Believe on me.
I am the Resurrection and the Life.
He who believes on me shall never die."
Then to the throne of light his eye was raised,—
"Father! I thank Thee that my voice is heard."
That pleading voice was heard, and then, in tones.
Which thrilled through every vein of that vast crowd,
He spake the words, "O Lazarus! come forth!"
Scarce were the breathing accents heard, when he,
So lately locked in the embrace of death,
Came forth, exulting in the tide of life
That fed his veins and warmed his conscious heart.
While he who wrought this gracious miracle,
Went forth upon his silent, lonely way,
Not to the regal glories of a throne,
But unto scorn, and treachery, and death.
But soon before that fast-sealed grave he stood,
And on those weeping sisters turned his eye;—
"Said I not unto you that ye should see
The glory of your God? Believe on me.
I am the Resurrection and the Life.
He who believes on me shall never die."
Then to the throne of light his eye was raised,—
"Father! I thank Thee that my voice is heard."
That pleading voice was heard, and then, in tones.
Which thrilled through every vein of that vast crowd,
He spake the words, "O Lazarus! come forth!"
Scarce were the breathing accents heard, when he,
So lately locked in the embrace of death,
Came forth, exulting in the tide of life
That fed his veins and warmed his conscious heart.
While he who wrought this gracious miracle,
Went forth upon his silent, lonely way,
Not to the regal glories of a throne,
But unto scorn, and treachery, and death.
Swell! swell to heaven the anthem's hallowed note,
And bend the soul in fervent gratitude.
Though the damp grave contained his sacred form,
It could not hold him in its chill embrace;
For he, too, broke its chains, and, at the call
Of Him who gave him power to raise the dead,
He spurned the.fetters that would keep him there,
And soared to heaven, and taught his followers too,
That, as he burst the grave, so shall they rise,
And in the realms of everlasting joy,
Live through a vast eternity.
And bend the soul in fervent gratitude.
Though the damp grave contained his sacred form,
It could not hold him in its chill embrace;
For he, too, broke its chains, and, at the call
Of Him who gave him power to raise the dead,
He spurned the.fetters that would keep him there,
And soared to heaven, and taught his followers too,
That, as he burst the grave, so shall they rise,
And in the realms of everlasting joy,
Live through a vast eternity.