Poems (Hale)/The twelfth of Ecclesiastes
PARAPHRASE OF THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF ECCLESIASTES.
In the pure freshness of thine opening spring,
Ere yet the dark days hang around thy way,
Or the soul turns with loathing from the scenes
Which once were joyous to its ardent gaze,
Q! in thy tender years, "remember God."
Ere yet the dark days hang around thy way,
Or the soul turns with loathing from the scenes
Which once were joyous to its ardent gaze,
Q! in thy tender years, "remember God."
To thee the hour will come-when earth, though robed
Still in its primal blessedness and light,
Shall be a darksome blank to thee; the sun,
Dispensing light, and life, and joy around,
Shall bring no light to thee, no life, no joy.
The stars shall keep their pathway bright on high,
Unchanged, unchangeable, until His word,
Who woke from night their glowing radiance,
Dissolves the elements with fervent heat,
And casts them as a scroll beneath Him. Then,
When they who guard the house shall quit their trust,
And the strong men and brave shall bow themselves,
When the bright eye is dimmed and closed in death,
Earth then can give no pride, no loveliness.
Still in its primal blessedness and light,
Shall be a darksome blank to thee; the sun,
Dispensing light, and life, and joy around,
Shall bring no light to thee, no life, no joy.
The stars shall keep their pathway bright on high,
Unchanged, unchangeable, until His word,
Who woke from night their glowing radiance,
Dissolves the elements with fervent heat,
And casts them as a scroll beneath Him. Then,
When they who guard the house shall quit their trust,
And the strong men and brave shall bow themselves,
When the bright eye is dimmed and closed in death,
Earth then can give no pride, no loveliness.
Music shall fail to touch the springs of joy,
And gloomy fears shall gather thick around.
That which thou once didst pass unnoticed by,
When life's bright path was strewed with living flowers,
Shall be a burden to thy aching frame.
When o'er thy heart shall come no fond desire
For future wealth or fame, no cherished hope,
To guide thee as a beacon star through life;
When life's bright cord is loosened, and the soul
Pants for communion with its God and heaven,
Man shall return to his long, silent home;
The mourner, sorrowing, tread his wonted way.
The dust shall mingle with its kindred dust,
Shall be a tenant of the silent tomb,
Where all shall shortly lay their weary frames.
And gloomy fears shall gather thick around.
That which thou once didst pass unnoticed by,
When life's bright path was strewed with living flowers,
Shall be a burden to thy aching frame.
When o'er thy heart shall come no fond desire
For future wealth or fame, no cherished hope,
To guide thee as a beacon star through life;
When life's bright cord is loosened, and the soul
Pants for communion with its God and heaven,
Man shall return to his long, silent home;
The mourner, sorrowing, tread his wonted way.
The dust shall mingle with its kindred dust,
Shall be a tenant of the silent tomb,
Where all shall shortly lay their weary frames.
But rouse, my soul! what blissful flight is thine?
Say, can the grave retain thee in its gloom?
No, like the eagle's shall thy pathway be,
Where eye hath never reached its piercing gaze,
Where stars shine bright beneath the eye of God:
Not like the orbs which meet our mortal sight,
But crowns of glory for the immortal soul.
Say, can the grave retain thee in its gloom?
No, like the eagle's shall thy pathway be,
Where eye hath never reached its piercing gaze,
Where stars shine bright beneath the eye of God:
Not like the orbs which meet our mortal sight,
But crowns of glory for the immortal soul.
Father of light and life! shall erring man,
Who, though allied to dull mortality,
Bears yet with him a glorious type of Thee,
Shall he arise to meet Thy cheering eye,
To share this glorious destiny of soul?
It is Thy free, Thy gracious gift to man,
This heaven, this blissful immortality.
Let earth be all unheeded by our ears;
But let our grateful souls arise to Thee,
Bend at Thy throne in humble love and praise,
Be circled by the crown of fadeless gems,
Promised by thee but to the "pure in heart."
Who, though allied to dull mortality,
Bears yet with him a glorious type of Thee,
Shall he arise to meet Thy cheering eye,
To share this glorious destiny of soul?
It is Thy free, Thy gracious gift to man,
This heaven, this blissful immortality.
Let earth be all unheeded by our ears;
But let our grateful souls arise to Thee,
Bend at Thy throne in humble love and praise,
Be circled by the crown of fadeless gems,
Promised by thee but to the "pure in heart."