IN MEMORY OF JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY
(International Review, September 1877)
SLEEP, Motley, with the great of ancient days,
Who wrote for all the years that yet shall be.
Sleep with Herodotus, whose name and praise
Have reached the isles of earth's remotest sea.
Sleep, while, defiant of the slow decays
Of Time, thy glorious writings speak for thee
And in the answering heart of millions raise
The generous zeal for Right and Liberty.
And should the days o'ertake us, when, at last,
The silence that-ere yet a human pen
Had traced the slenderest record of the past-
Hushed the primaeval languages of men-
Upon our English tongue its spell shall cast,
Thy memory shall perish only then.
'HIS TENDER MERCIES ARE OVER ALL HIS
FATHER! to Thy kind love we owe
All that is fair and good below;
Bestower of the health that lies
On tearless cheeks and cheerful eyes!
Giver of sunshine and of rain!
Ripener of fruits on hill and plain !
Fountain of light, that rayed afar,
Fills the vast urns of sun and star.
Who send'st Thy storms and frosts to bind
The plagues that rise to waste mankind;
That breathest o'er the naked scene
Spring gales, and life, and tender green.
Yet deem we not that thus alone
Thy mercy and Thy love are shown;
For we have learned, with higher praise,
And holier names, to speak Thy ways.
In woe's dark hour, our kindest stay!
Sole trust when life shall pass away!
Teacher of hopes that light the gloom
Of death, and consecrate the tomb!
Patient with headstrong guilt to bear;
Slow to avenge, and kind to spare;
Listening to prayer, and reconciled
Full quickly to Thy erring child.
THOU WHOSE UNMEASURED TEMPLE STANDS'
Thou, whose unmeasured temple stands
Built over earth and sea,
Accept the walls that human hands
Have raised, O God, to Thee.
And let the Comforter and Friend,
The Holy Spirit, meet
With those who here in worship bend
Before Thy mercy-seat.
May they who err be guided here
To find the better way,
And they who mourn, and they who fear,
Be strengthened as they pray.
May faith grow firm, and love grow warm,
And hallowed wishes rise,
While, round these peaceful walls, the storm
Of earth-born passion dies.
'MIGHTY ONE, BEFORE WHOSE FACE'
MIGHTY ONE, before whose face
Wisdom had her glorious seat,
When the orbs that people space
Sprang to birth beneath Thy feet!
Source of truth, whose rays alone
Light the mighty world of mind!
God of love, who from Thy throne
Watchest over all mankind!
Shed on those who in Thy name
Teach the way of truth and right,
Shed that love's undying flame,
Shed that wisdom's guiding light.
'LOOK FROM THY SPHERE OF ENDLESS DAY'
Look from Thy sphere of endless day,
O God of mercy and of might!
In pity look on those who stray,
Benighted in this land of light.
In peopled vale, in lonely glen,
In crowded mart, by stream or sea,
How many of the sons of men
Hear not the message sent from Thee!
Send forth Thy heralds, Lord, to call
The thoughtless young, the hardened old,
A wandering flock, and bring them all
To the Good Shepherd's peaceful fold.
Send them Thy mighty word to speak,
Till faith shall dawn and doubt depart,
To awe the bold, to stay the weak,
And bind and heal the broken heart.
Then all these wastes, a dreary scene,
On which, with sorrowing eyes, we gaze,
Shall grow with living waters green,
And lift to heaven the voice of praise.
'WHEN THIS SONG OF PRAISE SHALL CEASE ›
WHEN this song of praise shall cease,
Let Thy children, Lord, depart
With the blessing of Thy peace
And Thy love in every heart.
Oh! where'er our path may lie,
Father, let us not forget
That we walk beneath Thine eye,
That Thy care upholds us yet.
Blind are we, and weak, and frail;
Be Thine aid forever near;
May the fear to sin prevail
Over every other fear.
THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM
As shadows cast by cloud and sun
Flit o'er the summer grass,
So in Thy sight, Almighty One!
Earth's generations pass.
And while the years, an endless host,
Come pressing swiftly on,
The brightest names that earth can boast
Just glisten, and are gone.
Yet doth the Star of Bethlehem shed
A lustre pure and sweet;
And still it leads, as once it led,
To the Messiah's feet.
O Father, may that holy Star Grow every year more bright, And send its glorious beams afar To fill the world with light. NEW YORK, 1875.
(New York Tribune, July 5, 1876)
THROUGH calm and storm the years have led
Our nation on from stage to stage
A century's space until we tread
The threshold of another age.
We see there, o'er our pathway swept,
A torrent stream of blood and fire;
And thank the ruling power who kept
Our sacred league of States entire.
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