[Page f.47r]
I
The worship of this sabbath morn,
How sweetly it begins!
With the full choral hymn of birds
Mingles no sad lament for sins5
The air is clear, the sunshine bright,
The dew-drops glitter on the trees;
My eye beholds a perfect Rest,
I hear not even a stirring breeze.
A robe of quiet overspreads10
The living lake, and the verdant field;
The very earth seems sanctified,
Protected by a holy shield.
The steed, now vagrant on that hill,
Rejoices on this holy sacred day,15
Forgetful of the plough – the goad –
And, though subdued, is happy as the as the gay.
A chastened voice of bleating lambs
Drops steadily from that lofty Steep;
– I could believe this sabbath peace20
Was felt even by the mother sheep.
Conscious [deleted illegible words] that they are safe from man
On this glad day of [letters hidden by wax] [pu]nctual rest,
By God himself – work being done –
Pronounced the holiest and the best25
’Tis but a fancy, a fond thought
To which a waking dream gave birth
Yet heavenly, in this brilliant Calm,
–Yea heavenly, is the spirit of earth
Nature attunes the pious heart30
To gratitude and fervent love
By visible stillness [words hidden by wax] & the gladsome chearful voice
Of living things [words hidden by wax]fields & in the air above
[Strip pasted over bottom of page]
Conscious that they are safe from man
On this glad day of punctual rest,
By God himself – his work being done –
Pronounced the holiest and the best
‘Tis but a fancy, a fond thought5
To which a waking dream gave birth
Yet heavenly, in this brilliant Calm,
–Yea heavenly, is the spirit of earth
Nature attunes the pious heart
To gratitude and fervent love10
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[Page 47v]
⟨Fit⟩ Sweet prelude are these lingering hours
To man’s appointed, holy task
Of prayer and social gratitude:
They prompt our hearts in faith to ask,
Ask humbly for the precious dower5
Of pious hope and fixed content, ⟨fixed⟩
And pardon sought through trust in him
Who died to save the Penitent.
And now the Chapel Bell invites
The Old, the Middle-Aged and Young10
To meet beneath those sacred walls,
And give to pious thought a Tongue.
That simple bell, of jingling tone,
To careless ears unmusical
Speaks to the Serious with a powerx in a strain15
That might their wisest hours recal.
Alas! my feet no more may join
The chearful sabbath train!
But if I inwardly lament
Soon may a Will subdued all grief restrain! ⟨x with voice⟩20
No prisoner am I on this couch
My mind is free to roam
And leisure, peace, and loving Friends
Are the best treasures of an earthly home
Such gifts are mine: then why deplore25
The body’s gentle slow decay,
A warning mercifully sent
To fix my hopes upon a surer stay?
And may I learn those precious gifts
Rightly to prize, and by their soothing power30
All fickle murmuring thoughts repress
And fit my faltering heart for the last solemn hour.
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[Page insert 4a, recto, pasted to 47v]
these lingering hours
To man’s appointed holy task
Of prayer and social gratitude:
They prompt our hearts in faith to ask,
Ask5
[Page insert 4b, verso, pasted to 47v]
the One
Of living things in budding trees, & in the air above
Fit prelude are these lingering hours
To man’s appointed, holy task
Of prayer and social gratitude:5
They prompt our hearts in faith to ask,
Ask humbly for the precious boon
Of pious hope and fixed content
And pardon, sought through trust in Him
Who died to save the Penitent.10
And now the chapel bell invites
The Old, the Middle-Aged, and Young
To meet beneath those sacred walls,
And give to pious thought a tongue
That simple bell of jingling tone15
To careless ears unmusical,
Speaks to the Serious in a strain with a voice
That might their wisest hours recal
Q Alas! my feet no more may join
The chearful sabbath train;20
But if I inwardly lament
Soon may a will subdued all grief restrain!
