A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations / Consisting of Choice Passages from the Sacred Poetry of All Ages and Countries, Classified and Arranged, for Facility of Reference, Under Subject Headings; Illustrated by Striking Passages from Scripture, and Forming Altogether a Complete Book of Devotional Poetry.

by Unknown

BROTHERHOOD.

Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart.—Leviticus, xix. 17.

If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.—Leviticus, xxv. 25.

If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates, in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thy hand from thy poor brother: but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.—Deuteronomy, xv. 7, 8.

If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.—Matthew, v. 23, 24.

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.—Matthew, xviii. 21, 22.

Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth nor his brother.—I. John, iii. 10.

Come, Christian brethren, ere we part,

Join every voice and every heart,

Our solemn hymn to God we raise

Our final song of grateful praise.

Christians we here may meet no more,

But there is yet a happier shore;

And there, released from toil and pain,

Brethren, we all shall meet again.

H. Kirke White.

Even now a radiant angel goeth forth,

A spirit that hath healing in its wings—

And flyeth east and west, and south and north,

To do the bidding of the King of Kings;

Stirring men’s hearts to compass better things,

And teaching Brotherhood as that sweet source,

Which holdeth in itself all blessed springs;

And showeth how to guide its silver course,

When it shall flood the world with deep exulting force.

Mrs. Norton.

A brother’s grave oft leads the soul

Up to a brother’s joys;

Joys which ne’er yield to time’s controul,

Beyond the jewelled skies.

W. J. Brock.

Oh, if the thought be beautiful, if it be wise and kind,

To weave the bond of brotherhood, the whole wide world to bind;

And if to sheathe the murderous sword be called a holy deed,

Let all the praise be given to Thee, from whom all such proceed!

Hail, manifested Saviour King! Brother of every man!

Of the poor negro in his chains, the roving mountain clan;

Redeemer of the forest child, and of the fettered slave;

Lover of every human soul, in city, waste, or wave.

Emma Tatham.

Give me thy hand, brother—give me thy hand,

But not as our fathers did, dropping with gore;

Dash down the gauntlet, and shiver the brand,

But not in the fashion they did so of yore;

Throw away war’s array,—come let us prove

Which has the heart that is strongest in love.

Dost thou come from Columbia, afar o’er the deep,

Where the forest its requiem sings in the storm;

Where the bison and elk o’er the broad prairie sweep,

And the hero of labour has conquered a farm?

Ah, then come away, as a brother should come,

For our fathers had birth in the same island home.

J. B. Syme.

Oh! never let us lightly fling

The barb of woe to wound another;

Oh! let us never haste to bring

The cup of sorrow to a brother.

Each has the power to wound, but he

Who wounds that he may witness pain,

Has learnt no law of charity,

Which ne’er inflicts a pang in vain.

’Tis godlike to awaken joy,

Or sorrow’s influence to subdue:

But not to wound, nor to annoy,

Is part of virtue’s lesson too;—

Peace, winged in fairer worlds above,

Shall lend her dawn and brighten this,

When all man’s labour shall be love,

And all his thoughts a brother’s bliss.

J. Bowring.

In all around we see

Links of the chain that binds the soul of man

Unto his brother man. No human eye

Can gaze undazzled where those links begin,

Nor trace them to their end. Alone to Faith,

With her far eagle-gaze, ’tis given to see

That the all-loving heart of Nature’s God,

And man’s Redeemer, is the burning clasp

That joins in one that all-embracing zone,

Round as the circle of eternity.

*****

This truth, more beautiful than all beside,

That He, whose name is Love, and from whose heart,

As from a living and immortal root,

The whole fair universe hath budded forth,

Hath granted him the high and holy right

To call him “Father”—So all things speak

God’s Fatherhood, and Brotherhood of man.

H. M. P.

Not with the flashing steel,

Not with the cannon’s peal,

Nor stir of drum;

But in the bonds of love,

Our white flag floats above;

Its emblem is the dove,—

Thus we come.

Oh, then! in God’s great name,

Let each pure spirit’s flame

Burn bright and clear;

Stand firmly in your lot,

Cry ye aloud, doubt not,

Be every fear forgot,

Christ leads us here.

So shall earth’s distant lands,

In happy, holy bands,

One brotherhood,

Together rise and sing,

Gifts to one altar bring,

And heaven’s eternal King

Pronounce it good.

Elnathan Davis.

In these romantic regions man grows wild:

Here dwells the Negro, nature’s outcast child;

Scorned by his brethren; but his mother’s eye,

That gazes on him from her warmest sky,

Sees in his flexile limbs untutored grace,

Power on his forehead, beauty in his face;

Sees in his breast, where lawless passions rove,

The heart of friendship, and the home of love;

Sees in his mind, where desolation reigns,

Fierce as his clime, uncultured as his plains,

A soil where virtue’s fairest flowers might shoot,

And trees of science bend with glorious fruit;

Sees in his soul, involved in thickest night,

An emanation of eternal light,

Ordained,’midst sinking worlds, his dust to fire,

And shine for ever when the stars expire.

Is he not man, though Knowledge never shed

Her quickening beams on his neglected head?

Is he not man, though sweet Religion’s voice

Ne’er made the mourner in his God rejoice?

Is he not man, by sin and suffering tried?

Is he not man, for whom the Saviour died?

Belie the Negro’s powers:—in headlong will,

Christian! thy brother thou shalt prove him still:

Belie his virtues; since his wrongs began,

His follies and his crimes have stamped him man.

J. Montgomery.

For God, who made this teeming earth so full,

And made the proud dependent on the dull—

The strong upon the weak, thereby would show

One common bond should link us all below.

Mrs. Norton.

If I were a voice, a convincing voice,

I’d travel with the wind,

And wherever I saw the nations torn

By warfare, jealousy, or scorn,

Or hatred of their kind,

I’d fly, I’d fly, on the thunder crash,

And into their blinded bosoms flash;

And all their evil thoughts subdued,

I’d teach them Christian Brotherhood.

C. Mackay.