Poems (Pizey)/Lines written under Affliction

by Susanna Pizey

LINES WRITTEN UNDER AFFLICTION. 

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Indulgent Father! Judge of heaven and earth,
 Teach me to bow submissive to thy will,
And though bereft of all I priz'd as worth,
 Teach me in silence to adore thee still

Teach me to live, and let thy saving hand
 Protect me still, and guide me with thy grace.
Thou Father of the fatherless, and friend,
 Till I shall meet thee in that blissful place

Where "ev'ry tear is wip'd," and ev'ry eye
 Shall thy most glorious majesty behold;
Where hush'd for ever is the struggling sigh,
 And all thy ways unsearchable unfold.

Preserve me, O my God! from ev'ry vice;
 O "keep me as the apple of thine eye!"
Let not temptation urge, or sin entice,
 To forfeit claim to blest eternity.

Although bereaved of my dearest joy,
 Let me not murmur, let me not repine,
For there is still a bliss without alloy,
 And if I strive, that bliss may still be mine.

Shall I, a mortal—sinful, weak, and frail,
 Shall I presume to scan thy ways so just,—
I, the mere helpless creature of thy will,
 Who must again return to native dust?

Forbid it, Heaven! whatever ills may come;
 For, what can harm with thy protection blest?
Submissive will I bow, "thy will be done:"
 Thou art my Father, and on thee I'll rest.

"For some wise end" thy mercy did permit
 This seeming evil, this so bitter woe,
The just might earlier claim reward so fit,
 And thou in mercy suffer such to go.

Father of mercies! look in pity down,
 Teach me the fight of faith which such have fought,—
(Another pearl is added to the crown,
 Such hath a Saviour ransom'd, his blood bought,)—

Hear, Lord, my humble and imperfect pray'r:
 Stain'd as it is, O suffer it to rise;
Make me to serve thee with more zeal and care,
 Guide me to gain a mansion in the skies,