Arise, thou bright and morning star,
And send thy silvery beams afar;
Dispel the shades of dreary night,
And let me hail the dawning light.
Blinded by sin I went astray,
And, wand'ring, left the heavenly way;
Dart forth thy soul-reviving rays,
And guide me all my future days.
With growing strength may I pursue
The course which heavenly wisdom drew,
Till I shall reach the blissful shore,
Where pilgrims rest, and stray no more.
Beddome.
Deathless principle arise!
Soar thou native of the skies!
Pearl of price by Jesus bought,
To his glorious likeness wrought;
Go, to shine before his throne,
Deck his mediatorial crown,
Go, his triumphs to adorn,
Made for God, to God return.
See the haven full in view,
Love divine shall bear thee through;
Trust to that propitious gale,
Weigh thy anchor, spread the sail,
Saints in glory perfect made,
Wait thy passage through the shade.
Ardent for thy coming o'er,
See they throng the distant shore!
Mount, their transports to improve,
Join the longing choirs above,
Swiftly to their wish be given,
Kindle higher joys in heaven!
-Such the prospects that arise
To the dying christian's eyes!
Such the glorious vista, faith
Opens through the shades of death.
STAND in awe and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.--Psalm iv. 4.
Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.--Psalm cxix. 161.
How reverend is the place of this tall pile,
Whose ancient pillars rear their marble heads,
To bear aloft the arched and pond'rous roof,
By its own weight made steadfast and immoveable!
Looking tranquility; it strikes an awe
And terror to my aching sight. The tombs
And monumental caves of death look cold,
And shoot a chillness to my trembling heart.
So in the faces of all these there grew,
As by one impulse, a dark, freezing awe,
Which, with a fearful fascination, drew
All eyes towards the altar; damp and raw
The air grew suddenly, and no man knew
Whether perchance his silent neighbour saw
The dreadful thing, which all were sure would rise
To scare the strained lids wider from their
The incense trembled as it upward sent
Its slow, uncertain thread of wandering blue,
As 't were the only living element
In all the church, so deeply the stillness grew;
It seemed one might have heard it, as it went,
Give out an audible rustle, curling through
The midnight silence of the awe-struck air,
More hushed than death, though no such life was there.
When on Sinai's top I see
God descend in majesty,
To proclaim His holy law,
All my spirit sinks with awe.
With sacred awe pronounce His name,
Whom words nor thoughts can reach.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.--Matthew, xxviii. 19.
One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism.--Ephesians, iv. 5.
Buried with Him in Baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him, through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.--Colossians, ii. 12.
The like figure whereunto, even Baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God.--L. Peter, iii. 21.
THEN who shall believe
Baptizing in the profluent stream, the sign
Of washing them from guilt of sin, to life
Pure, and in mind prepared, if so befal,
For death like that which the Redeemer died.
Since Lord to Thee
A narrow way and little gate
Is all the passage; on my infancy
Thou didst lay hold, and antedate
My faith in me.
Write Thee, great God, and me, a child:
Let me be soft and supple to Thy will,
Small to myself, to others mild,
Baptized as for the dead, He rose
With prayer from Jordan's hallowed flood: Ere long by persecuting foes,
To be baptized in His own blood: The Father's voice proclaimed the Son, The Spirit witnessed;-these are one.
Thus, made partakers of Thy love,
The Baptism of the Spirit ours,
Our grateful hearts shall rise above,
Renewed in purposes and powers;
And songs of joy again shall ring
Triumphant through the arch of heaven;—
The glorious song which angels sing,
Exulting over souls forgiven!
The heir of Heaven, henceforth I dread not Death:
In Christ I live, in Christ I draw the breath
Of the true life. Let Sea, and Earth, and Sky,
Wage war against me: on my front I show
The mighty Master's seal! In vain they try
To end my life, who can but end its woe.
Ere Christ ascended to his throne,
He issued forth his great command-
Go preach the gospel to the world,
And spread my name to every land.
To men declare their sinful state,
The methods of my grace explain;
He that believes, and is baptized,
Shall everlasting life obtain.
Dear Saviour, we thy will
obey,
Not of constraint, but with delight;
Hither thy servants come to day,
To honour thine appointed rite,
Descend again, celestial Dove,
On these dear followers of the Lord;
Exalted head of all the Church,
Thy promised aid to them afford.
Let faith, assisted now by signs,
The mysteries of thy love explore;
And washed, in thy redeeming blood,
Let them depart, and sin no more.-Beddome.
The cross of Christ! The cross of Christ!
While yet my days were few,
'Twas traced upon my infant brow,
Fresh with life's morning dew;
In token that in after years,
Strong in its power and might,
I should beside Christ's followers stand,
Under His banners fight.
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea.--Matthew, iii. 1.
And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the Heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him:
And there came a voice from Heaven, saying, Thou art My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.--Mark, i. 9, 10, 11.
I say unto you, among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.--Luke, vii. 28.
Now had the great Proclaimer, with a voice
More awful than the sound of trumpet, cried
Repentance, and Heaven's kingdom nigh at hand
To all baptized: to his great baptism flocked
With awe, the regions round, and with them came
From Nazareth, the Son of Joseph deemed,
To the flood Jordan, came as then obscure,
Unmarked, unknown: but Him the Baptist soon
Descried, divinely warned; and witness bore
As to his worthier, and would have resigned
To Him this heavenly office, nor was long
His witness unconfirmed; on Him baptized
Heaven opened, and in likeness of a dove
The Spirit descended, while the Father's voice
From heaven pronounced Him His Beloved Son.
Milton.
Well mayest thou tremble, Baptist; well thy cheek,
Now flushed, now pale, thy labouring soul bespeak!
Tis He, the Christ, by every bard foretold!
Hear Him, ye nations, and ye Heavens behold!
The Virgin-born, to bruise the Serpent's head,
The Paschal Lamb, to patient slaughter led,
The King of kings, to crush the gates of Hell,
Messiah, Shiloh, Jah, Emmanuel!
See, o'er His head, soft sinking from above,
With hovering radiance hangs the mystic Dove:
Dread from the cloud Jehovah's voice is known,
"This is my Son, my own, my well-loved Son!"
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