Only voices we hear no more,
But the echoes haunt our ears;
Only dreams that are past and o'er
That we mourn through the lonely years
Only to find that the sunny gleam
Of earth's love fades like a passing dream,
Only to wait for that deathless beam
That "beyond the tide" is shining.
Only the clasp of a parting hand
On the silent rivers' shore,
As the dear one sails for the unseen Land
And we see his face no more,—
Only to gaze o'er the waters drear,
Only to wait till the call we hear,
"Come over now, for rest is near
Where the true life light is shining."
Only the burden all must bear,
Only earth's weight of woe;
Only to learn from each dreary care
The patience the pure must know.
Only this:—but what welcomes wait
To hail us home at the pearly gate;
Only to toil until night is late
And awake where the Morn is shining.
FIRST PSALM.
How blessed are they who turn their steps
From paths the wicked choose,
Who stand not in the sinners ways,
And scorners' seats refuse.
Who take their solace and delight
In meditation pure—
The law of God—its depth and height,
Its wisdom, might, and power.
They, like the trees on verdant banks
Whereby sweet rivers flow,
Shall bring forth fruit, and fadeless leaves,
And prosperously grow.
But such is not the sinners' end—
Like the light chaff are they,
Which when the softest winds arise,
Are quickly swept away.
They shall not in the judgment stand,
Nor sinners, scorning grace
Be in the congregation found
Where righteous men find place.
The Lord himself the righteous knows—
He marks them from their birth,
But godless ways of sinful men
Shall perish from the earth.