Poems (Sewell)/Invocation to the Deity
INVOCATIONTO THE DEITY.
Oh Thou! whose pay Glory dims our sight!Bright Origin of pure Immortal Light!All-wise and Good, and gracious as Thou art—Oh penetrate this cold, unfeeling heart!Its feeble hopes, its grov'ling cares refine,And kindle all its pow'rs with Love Divine!Its ardent zeal from earthly objects free,And teach that virtue which aspires to Thee!Oh! lead me to the spot, where Faith secure,To Heaven's bright region lifts its eye so pure;Where holy Hope, in heav'nly charms array'd,Beholds, unmov'd, these earthly glories fade, And Charity herself, of matchless mien,Casts her soft eye, benignant, o'er the scene,Oh Charity! thou dear, Immortal Guest!Whose charms shall glow when Truth absorbs the rest,Oh Thou! whose matchless zeal supplied our loss,Whose sacred Image bled upon the Cross!For Sinners, there, the dying gasp sustain'd,Which Love alone—Almighty Love ordain'dOh Thou! supremely felt in Heaven alone,And feebly here conceiv'd, and faintly known!One gracious spark—than life, than light more dear!Oh! lend soft Charity! my soul to chear!Teach me that Good, which all things can subdue;The world's vain pride, the spells of darkness too;Which nobly trusts—which feels not—thinks notBut gilds all objects from the light within; From Thee alone, shall blasted joy revive,And e'en-the child of woe his griefs survive.Oh! guide my thoughts! supply my heartfelt cares,And bless the offering of my feeble prayers;Vain is their incense, till thy precious balm,The ruthless passions of the soul shall calm:Stung with revenge, with fierce and cruel hate,Or envy torn, it feels its wretched state!The tortur'd soul, not Heaven itself cou'd share,But pois'nous guilt wou'd mar the blessing there.Oh Thou! whose mercy can alone releaseThe wretched slave, and give his sorrows peace!Oh 'Thou! whose piercing eye no slumber knows,Who thought shall never reach, nor tongue disclose!Oh! penetrate my Soul! its pow'rs renew!Egyptian Night conceals Thee from my view;Raise it from earth exalt its trembling wing;In vain, alas! to nobler Realms 'twould spring By earth enslav'd, it feels its falling chain,And soars to brighter Realms, but soars in vain!Yet do I know, tho' error clouds my sight,My blest Redeemer lives in Realms of Light!Almighty Grace shall aid our humble pray'rs,And those His love redeem'd—that mercy spares!And oh! when Death its empire shall resign,Whose darkness ushers in a morn Divine,Th' astonish'd soul from bondage shall be free'd,And find its Saviour's Gift was life indeed.
Oh! lead me to that pure Immortal Scene!Tho' pain, though death, tho' sorrows intervene;Still may I clasp them to my tim'rous breast,Those faithful guides to Everlasting Rest;And view the transient scene with equal eyes,To gain my only Treasure in the Skies.