"There's not the smallest orb that thou beholdest,
But in his motion like an angel sings,
Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubims;
Such harmony is in immortal souls;
But while this muddy vesture of decay
Doth grossly close us in we cannot hear it."
"Bards of Passion and of Mirth
Who have left your souls on earth!
Have ye souls in heaven too,
Double-lived in regions new?
-Yes, and those of heaven commune
With the spheres of sun and moon;
With the noise of fountains wonderous
And the parle of voices thunderous;
With the whisper of heaven's trees
And one another, in soft ease
Underneath large blue-bells tented,
Where the daisies are rose-scented,
And the rose herself has got
Perfume which on earth is not;
Where the nightingale doth sing
Not a senseless, trancéd thing,
But divine melodious truth;
Philosophic numbers smooth;
Tales and golden histories
Of heaven and its mysteries."
To those who seek HIM from their youth,
"GO(O)D is a Spirit," said the CHRIST,
And they who worship HIM in truth
And spirit, find Faith has sufficed
To bring to them in love's pure ruth
The peace of HIM,-THE SACRIFICED! 78
St. Augustine's formula for resignation to the will of Go(o)d.
Thou made us for Thyself, O Lord!
And restless is each mind, until
Thy grace divine Thou dost accord,
To find true peace, no heart is still
Until Thou dost Thine help afford,
Until we yield unto Thy Will.
Faith corrects the defects of Science. Where Science slow and Reason fail,
Where mortal brain no change discernest;
There Faith for all defects avail;
There Faith the lesson quickly learnest;
The love of GO(O)D will still prevail
If but the seeking mind be earnest.
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Vaughn's vision of Heaven.
For here in outer darkness bound,
We view from shades of starlit night, The solar systems circling round "Eternity's great ring of light,"
The Heaven that Vaughn in vision found, "Of endless calm, all pure and bright".
Sanctus bells and the beauty of celestial calm.
No evil minds there ever mar
The beauty of celestial calm;
Pure thoughts of love alone, afar,
Like incense rise and fragrant balm,
With Sanctus bells,-when Heaven ajar
On God's day hears the noontide psalm.
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The Halls of Heaven.
Then, far beyond the stars, the Halls
Of Heaven we see, abodes of rest;
Grand organ tones, glad trumpet calls,
The cohorts summon of the blest,
To hear along the jasper walls,
The joy by faithful souls possest.
Archangels and the Angel Host.
From palaces, whose towers dim,
In lucent glory high, are lost;
From temple, fane,-saint, seraphim,
Archangels and the angel host,
Laud evermore in rising hymn,
GOD-Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
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The raiment robes of color cloud.
The corridors of Heav'n they crowd;
With love their radiant faces glow;
In fleece-like raiment robed of cloud,
In gorgeous colors, to and fro
They go, they fly, they sing aloud,
"Through Good, eternal blessings flow!"
The concord of the Cosmic Octave.
Bright overtones each outer sphere,
Arpeggic, brilliant, harplike, sound:
While inner spheres reëcho clear
The cosmic octave in them found:
Harmonic chords of beauty rear
Concordant anthems, rolling round.
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The tone color of the Heavenly Spheres.
Tone colors, springing near and far,
Prismatic, fill the auroral dark;
Impinging on each distant star,
Sound flashes with a golden spark,
And reaching space's farthest bar, With tints and hues supernal mark. 87
MUSIC-the Language of Heaven.
The Heavenly ramparts thrill with song;
Rare music in divinest strains,
Becomes the universal tongue,
The language of the Heavenly plains: "To GOD, our homage, praise, belong!" Rise evermore the glad refrains.
The Blessed Damozel or Life, Youth and Hope.
No languid sigh, resounding tear,
The product of nepenthic dreams;
No "blessed damozel" we hear;
The "bar her bosom warms," her squeams
Are there unknown; for vision clear
Of youth, life, hope, eternal gleams.
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