Month: February 2006

One Certainty

Vanity of vanities, the Preacher saith,
All things are vanity. The eye and ear
Cannot be filled with what they see and hear.
Like early dew, or like the sudden breath
Of wind, or like the grass that withereth,
Is man, tossed to and fro by hope and fear:
So little joy hath he, so little cheer,
Till all things end in the long dust of death.
Today is still the same as yesterday,
Tomorrow also even as one of them;
And there is nothing new under the sun;
Until the ancient race of Time be run,
The old thorns shall grow out of the old stem,
And morning shall be cold and twilight grey.

Christina Rosetti

Scourge, but Receive Me

Good Lord, today
I scarce find breath to say:
Scourge, but receive me.
For stripes are hard to bear, but worse
Thy intolerable curse;
So do not leave me.

Good Lord, lean down
In pity, tho’ Thou frown;
Smite, but retrieve me:
For so Thou hold me up to stand
And kiss Thy smiting hand,
It less will grieve me.

Christina Rosetti

First Century, 55

The contemplation of Eternity maketh the Soul immortal. Whose glory it
is, that it can see before and after its existence into endless spaces. Its
Sight is its presence. And therefore in the presence of the understanding
endless, because its Sight is so. O what glorious creatures should we be
could we be present in spirit with all Eternity! How wise, would.we esteem
this presence of the understanding, to be more real than that of our bodies!
When my soul is in Eden with our first parents, I myself am. there in a
blessed manner. When I walk with Enoch, and see his translation, I am
transported with him. The present age is too little to contain it. I can
visit Noah in his ark, and swim upon the waters of the deluge. I can see
Moses with his rod, and the children of Israel passing through the sea; I
can enter into Aaron’s Tabernacle, and admire the mysteries of the holy
place. I can travel over the Land of Canaan, and see it overflowing with
milk and honey; I can visit Solomon in his glory, and go into his temple,
and view the sitting of his servants, and admire the magnificence and glory
of his kingdom. No creature but one like unto the Holy Angels can see into
all ages. Sure this power was not given in vain, but for some wonderful
purpose; worthy of itself to enjoy and fathom. Would men consider what God
hath done, they would be ravished in spirit with the glory of His doings.
For Heaven and Earth are full of the majesty of His glory. And how happy
would men be could they see and enjoy it ! But above all these our
Saviour’s cross is the throne of delights. That Centre of Eternity, that
Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God!

The Return

To Infancy, O Lord, again I com,
That I my Manhood may improv;
My early Tutor is the Womb;
I still my Cradle lov.
‘Tis stange that I should Wisest be,
When least I could an Error see.

Till I gain strength against Temptation, I
Preceiv it safest to abide
An Infant still; and therefore fly
(A lowly State may hide
A man from Danger) to the Womb,
That I may yet New-born becom.

My God, thy Bounty then did ravish me!
Before I learned to be poor,
I always did thy Riches see,
And thankfully adore:
They Glory and thy Goodness were
My sweet Companions all the Year.

Thomas Traherne

The Bible

That! That! There I was told
That I the Son of God was made,
His Image. O Divine! And that fine Gold,
With all the Joys that here do fade,
Are but a Toy, compared to the Bliss
Which Hev’nly, God-like, and Eternal is.

That We on earth are Kings;
And, tho we’re cloath’d with mortal Skin,
Are Inward Cherubins; hav Angels Wings;
Affections, Thoughts, and Minds within,
Can soar throu all the Coasts of Hev’n and Earth;
And shall be sated with Celestial Mirth.

Thomas Traherne

The Instruction

1
Spue out they filth, the flesh abjure;
Let not Contingents thee defile.
For Transients only are impure,
And Aery things thy soul beguil.

2
Unfelt, unseen let those things be
Which to thy Spirit were unknown,
When to they Blessed Infancy
The World, thy Self, they God was shewn.

3
All that is Great and Stable stood
Before thy Purer Eys at first:
All that is Visibles is Good
Or pure, or fair, or unaccurst.

4
Whatever els thou now dost see
in Custom, Action, or Desire,
‘Tis but a Part of Miserie
In which all Men on Earth Conspire.

Thomas Traherne