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Yet would these arms have chained thee,
And long from heaven detained thee.

Sarah, my last, my youngest love,
The crown of every other,
Though thou art born in heaven above,
I am thine only mother;

Nor will affection let me

Believe thou canst forget me.

Then

thou in heaven and I on earth

May this one hope delight us,
That thou wilt hail my second birth,
When death shall reunite us,
Where worlds no more can sever
Parent and child forever.

SUBMISSION TO GOD IN THE HOUR OF TRIBULATION.

THOMAS A KEMPIS.

POSSESS thy soul in patience, and comfort will arrive in its proper season. Wait for me; and, if I come not, wait; for I will at length come, and "will not tarry." That which afflicts thee is a trial for thy good; and that which terrifies thee is a false and groundless fear. "Let not thy heart be troubled, neither let it

be afraid."

"Believe in me," whose redeeming power

168

SUBMISSION TO GOD IN TRIBULATION.

has "overcome the world," and place all thy confidence in my mercy. I am often nearest thee when thou thinkest me at the greatest distance; and when thou hast given up all as lost in darkness, the light of peace is ready to break upon thee. All is not lost when thy situation happens to be contrary to thy own narrow and selfish judgment. It is injurious to thy peace to determine what will be thy future condition by arguing from present perceptions, and it is sinful to suffer thy spirit to be so overwhelmed by trouble, as if all hope of emerging from it was utterly taken away. Think not thyself condemned to total dereliction when I permit tribulation to come upon thee for a season, or suspend the consolations which thou art always fondly desiring; for this is the narrow way to the kingdom of heaven; and it is more expedient for my servants to be exercised with many sufferings, than to enjoy that perpetual rest and delight which they would choose for themselves. I, who know the hidden thoughts of thy heart, and the depth of the evil that is in it, know that thy salvation depends upon thy being sometimes left in the full perception of thy own impotence and wretchedness; lest, in the undisturbed prosperity of the spiritual life, thou shouldst exalt thyself for what is not thy own, and take complacence in vain conceit of perfection, to which man of himself cannot attain. The good I bestow I can both take away and restore again. When I have bestowed it, it is still mine; and when I resume it, I take not away that which is thine; for there is no good of which I am not the principle and centre. When, therefore, I visit thee with adversity, murmur not, neither let thy heart be troubled; for I can soon

restore thee to light and peace, and change thy heavi ness into joy; but in all my dispensations, acknowledge that I, the Lord, am righteous, and greatly to be praised. If thou wert wise, and didst behold thyself and thy fallen state by that light with which I, who am the truth, enlighten thee, instead of grieving and murmuring at the adversities which befall thee, thou wouldst rejoice and give thanks; nay, thou wouldst "count it all joy thus to endure chastening." I once said to the disciples whom I chose to attend my ministry upon earth, "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you;" and I sent them forth into the world, not to luxury, but to conflict; not to honor, but to contempt; not to amusement, but to labor; not to take repose, but to "bring forth much fruit with patience."

TO AN INFANT IN HEAVEN.

THOMAS WARD.

THOU bright and star-like spirit,
That, in my visions wild,
I see, 'mid heaven's seraphic host,
O, canst thou be my child?

My grief is quenched in wonder,
And pride arrests my sighs;

A branch from this unworthy stock
Now blossoms in the skies.

170

TO AN INFANT IN HEAVEN.

Our hopes of thee were lofty;
But have we cause to grieve?
O, could our fondest, proudest wish
A nobler fate conceive? —

The little weeper tearless,

The sinner snatched from sin,
The babe to more than manhood grown
Ere childhood did begin?

And I, thy earthly teacher,

Would blush thy powers to see ;

Thou art to me a parent now,

And I a child to thee.

What bliss is born of sorrow!
'Tis never sent in vain ;

The heavenly Surgeon maims to save;
He gives no useless pain.

Our God, to call us homeward,

His only Son sent down ;

And now,

still more to tempt our hearts,

Has taken up our own.

GOD THE ONLY SOURCE OF ALL SUPPORT AND CONSOLATION.

DRELINCOURT.

THE only source of all our consolation is God's gracious promise to help us in time of need. Engrave in the bottom of your hearts these divine sayings: When he that hath set his love upon me shall call upon me, I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations. He is rich unto all that call upon him. He is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He fulfils the desires of the humble, he hears their cry. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Call upon me, saith he, in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. The tenderness of God's love accompanies the glory of his majesty. He is the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation. He is that bosom Friend who loveth at all times, as it were a brother who is born for adversity. He is at once the King of kings, and our most cordial Friend. He enters into the house of mourning, and is nigh unto every broken heart and contrite spirit. The lower our estate is, the more he remembereth us. Shall thy God, who loves thee more cordially and with

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