Poems

Christina Rossetti

Thy Servant will go and fight with this Phillistine
Sorrow of saints is sorrow of a day,
Gladness of saints is gladness evermore:
Send on thy hope, send on thy will before
To chant God’s praise along the narrow way.
Stir up His praises if the flesh would sway,
Exalt His praises if the world press sore,
Peal out His praises if black Satan roar
A hundred thousand lies to say them nay.
Devil and Death and Hades, threefold cord
Not quickly broken, front thee to thy face;
Front thou them with a face of tenfold flint:
Shout for the battle, David! never stint.
Body or breath or blood, but, proof in grace,
Die for thy Lord, as once for thee thy Lord.

The Poetical Works-I will lift mine eyes up to the hills

"When sick of life and all the world—
How sick of all desire but Thee!—
I lift mine eyes up to the hills,
Eyes of my heart that see,
I see beyond all death and ills
Refreshing green for heart and eyes,
The golden streets and gateways pearled,
The trees of Paradise.

"There is a time for all things," saith
The Word of Truth, Thyself the Word:
And many things Thou reasonest of:
A time of hope deferred,
But time is now for grief and fears;
A time for life, but now is death;
Oh when shall be the time of love
When Thou shalt wipe our tears?

Then the new Heavens and Earth shall be
Where righteousness shall dwell indeed;
There shall be no more blight, nor need,
Nor barrier of the sea;
No sun and moon alternating,
For God shall be the Light thereof;
No sorrow more, no death, no sting,
For God Who reigns is Love."

Confederate Soldier

I Asked God

"I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed."

C.T. Studd

"Only one life, twill soon be past.

Only what's done for Christ will last."

Edmund Spenser

And is there care in heaven? and is there love
In heavenly spirits to these creatures base,
That may compassion of their evils move?
There is: else much more wretched were the case
Of men, then beasts. But o the exceeding grace
Of highest God, that loves his creatures so,
And all his works with mercy doth embrace,
That blessed Angels, he sends to and fro,
To serve to wicked man, to serve his wicked foe.
How oft do they, their silver bowers leave,
To come to succour vs, that succour want?
How oft do they with golden pinions, cleave
The flitting skys, like flying Pursuant,
Against foul fiends to aide vs militant?
They for vs fight, they watch and duly ward,
And their bright Squadrons round about vs plant,
And all for love, and nothing for reward:
O why should heavenly God to man have such regard?

H. Ware

"Oppression shall not always reign:

There comes a brighter day,

When freedom, burst from every chain,

Shall have triumphant way:

Then right shall over might prevail,

And truth, like hero armed in mail,

Shall hold eternal sway."

Henry Vaughan

Peace
My Soul, there is a country
Afar beyond the stars,
Where stands a winged Sentry
All skillful in the wars.
There, above noise and danger,
Sweet Peace sits, crown’d with smiles,
And One born in a manger
Commands the beauteous files.
He is thy gracious friend
And (O my Soul awake!)
Did in pure love descend,
To die here for thy sake.
If thou canst get but thither,
There grows the flow’r of peace,
The rose that cannot wither,
Thy fortress, and thy ease.
Leave then thy foolish ranges;
For none can thee secure,
But One, who never changes,
Thy God, thy life, thy cure.

George Herbert

"Oh, who will give me tears? Come, all ye springs,
Ye clouds and rain dwell in my eyes,
My grief hath need of all the wat'ry things
That nature hath produc'd. Let ev'ry vein
Suck up a river to supply mine eyes,
My weary weeping eyes; too dry for me,
Unless they set new conduits, new supplies
To bear them out, and with my state agree."

Gray

"But knowledge to their eyes her ample page,

Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll;

Chill penury repressed their noble rage,

And froze the genial current of the soul."

J.M.

God That Forgives
"Though it's hell without,
Yet it's heaven within.
To be at peace with God,
Is to be at war with sin.
In the midst of our trials,
Though the devil condemns,
It's by grace we make haste,
For He's a God that forgives."

Path of Thorns

"Though allured with pedals of roses,
And guided by innocent lips.
The path of thorns always bites in the end,
Although in course it seems bliss."

Shores of God's Rivers
"Don't be afraid when they say bye,
Neither be bitter.
Just look to the grave,
And know who's the victor.
On the shores of God's River,
This side the pearly gates,
Where eternal life reigns,
And death has no quiver."

Vanities

"Desperation isn't always a face card,
as memory doesn't always come to mind.
With vanities uplifting souls,
And courage not being might,
The Fool stays blind to truth,
And the upright to hindsight.
Yet further on down the road,
Faults find the light."

John Milton

Paradise Regained

True Image of the Father, whether throned
In the bosom of bliss, and light of light
Conceiving, or remote from Heaven, enshrined
In fleshly Tabernacle, and human form,
Wandering the Wilderness, whatever place,
Habit, or state, or motion, still expressing
The Son of God, with Godlike force endued
Against the Attempter of thy Fathers Throne,
And Thief of Paradise; him long of old
Thou didst debel, and down from Heaven cast
With all his Army, now thou hast avenged
Supplanted Adam, and by vanquishing
Temptation, hast regained lost Paradise,
And frustrated the conquest fraudulent:
He never more henceforth will dare set foot
In Paradise to tempt; his snares are broke:
For though that seat of earthly bliss be fail'd,
A fairer Paradise is founded now
For Adam and his chosen Sons, whom thou
A Saviour art come down to re-install.
Where they shall dwell secure, when time shall be
Of Tempter and Temptation without fear.
But thou, Infernal Serpent, shalt not long
Rule in the Clouds; like an Autumnal Star
Or Lightning thou shalt fall from Heav'n trod down
Under his feet: for proof, e're this thou feelest
Thy wound, yet not thy last and deadliest wound
By this repulse received, and holdest in Hell
No triumph; in all her gates Abaddon rues
Thy bold attempt; hereafter learn with awe
To dread the Son of God: he all unarm'd
Shall chase thee with the terror of his voice
From thy Demoniac holds, possession foul,
Thee and thy Legions; yelling they shall flye,
And beg to hide them in a herd of Swine,
Lest he command them down into the deep,
Bound, and to torment sent before thir time.
Hail Son of the most High, heir of both worlds,
Queller of Satan, on thy glorious work
Now enter, and begin to save mankind.
Thus they the Son of God our Saviour meek
Sung Victor, and, from Heavenly Feast refreshed
Brought on his way with joy; he unobserved
Home to his Mothers house private returned.

John Wilson

“Oh for a book and a shady nook,
Either indoors or out;
With the green leaves whispering overhead
Or the street cries all about;
Where I may read at all my ease,
Both of the new and old;
For a jolly good book whereon to look
Is better to me than gold.”

Robert Browning

A Woman's Last Word
I. Let's contend no more, Love,
Strive nor weep:
All be as before, Love,
—Only sleep!

II. What so wild as words are?
I and thou
In debate, as birds are,
Hawk on bough!

III. See the creature stalking
While we speak!
Hush and hide the talking,
Cheek on cheek!

IV. What so false as truth is,
False to thee?
Where the serpent's tooth is
Shun the tree—

V. Where the apple reddens
Never pry—-
Lest we lose our Edens,
Eve and I.

VI. Be a god and hold me
With a charm!
Be a man and fold me
With thine arm!

VII. Teach me, only teach, Love!
As I ought
I will speak thy speech, Love,
Think thy thought—

VIII. Meet, if thou require it,
Both demands,
Laying flesh and spirit
In thy hands.

IX. That shall be to-morrow
Not to-night:
I must bury sorrow
Out of sight.

X. —Must a little weep, Love,
(Foolish me!)
And so fall asleep, Love,
Loved by thee.

Samuel Smiles

"Sow a thought, reap an act,
Sow an act, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character,
Sow a character, reap a destiny."

Whittier

"Freedom, hand in hand with labor,
Walketh strong and brave;
On the forehead of his neighbor
No man writeth 'Slave.' "

William Hone

"The proudest heart that ever beat
Hath been subdued in me;
The wildest will that ever rose
To scorn Thy cause and aid Thy foes
Is quell'd my Lord, by Thee.
Thy will, and not my will be done,
My heart be ever Thine;
Confessing Thee the mighty Word,
My Saviour Christ, my God, my Lord,
Thy cross shall be my sign."

William Wordsworth

The Excursion IX

"To every Form of being is assigned"
Thus calmly spake the venerable Sage,
An active Principle: however removed
From sense and observation it subsists
In all things, in all natures; in the stars
Of azure heaven, the unenduring clouds,
In flower and tree, in every pebbly stone
That paves the brooks, the stationary rocks,
The moving waters, and the invisible air.
Whate'er exists hath properties that spread
Beyond itself, communicating good
A simple blessing, or with evil mixed;
Spirit that knows no insulated spot,
No chasm, no solitude; from link to link
It circulates, the Soul of all the worlds.
This is the freedom of the universe;
Unfolded still the more, more visible,
The more we know; and yet is reverenced least,
And least respected in the human Mind,
Its most apparent home.

Charles Spurgeon

These poems were in his sermons or book, I'm not sure if all are his or not.

"His thoughts are high, his love is wise,
His wounds a cure intend;
And though he does not always smile,
He loves unto the end."

"Oh, gift of gifts! Oh, grace of faith!
My God, how can it be
That thou, who has discerning love,
Shouldst give that gift to me!
How many hearts thou mightst have had
More innocent than mine!
How many souls more worthy far
Of that pure touch of thine!
Ah, Grace! into unlikeliest hearts
It is thy boast to come;
The glory of thy light to find
In darkest spots a home."

"Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone;
Dare to have a purpose true,
Dare to make it known."

"Jesus, I my cross have taken,
Abraham's Prompt Obedience to the Call of God
All to leave and follow thee,
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou, from hence, my all shalt be."

"He everywhere hath sway,
And all things serve his might;
His every act pure blessing is,
His path unsullied light."

"Father, I long, I faint to see
The place of thine abode;
I'd leave thine earthly courts and flee
Up to thy house, my God,"

"Other refuge have I none,
Hangs my helpless soul on thee.
Job says that the poor man clings to the rock for shelter, and that poor man is blessed who remains in that position, evermore clinging to that Rock of his salvation.
For ever here my rest shall be,
Close to thy wounded side;
This all my trust and all my plea,
For me the Saviour died."

"O Jesus! sweet the tears I shed,
While at Thy feet I kneel,
Gaze on Thy wounded, fainting head,
And all Thy sorrows feel.
My heart dissolves to see Thee bleed,
This heart so hard before;
I hear Thee for the guilty plead,
And grief o'erflows the more.
'Twas for the sinful Thou didst die,
And I a sinner stand:
Convinc'd by Thine expiring eye,
Slain by Thy pierced hand."

"Oh that I could believe,
Then all would easy be;
I would, but cannot; Lord, relieve,
My help must come from thee."

"While I view Thee, wounded, grieving,
Breathless on the cursed tree,
Lord, I feel my heart believing
That Thou suffer'dst thus for me."

"The more thy glories strike my eyes,
The humbler I shall lie."

"Philosophers have measured mountains,
Fathomed the depths of seas, of states, and kings,
Walked with a staff to Heaven, and traced fountains:
But there are two vast spacious things,
The which to measure it doth more behove:
Yet few there are that sound them: Grace and Love."

"Why art thou afraid to come,
And tell him all thy ease?
He will not pronounce thy doom,
Nor frown thee from his face.
Wilt thou fear Immanuel?
Or dread the Lamb of (God,
Who, to save thy soul from hell,
Has shed his precious blood?"

"The moment a sinner believes,
And trusts in his crucified God,
His pardon at once he receives,
Redemption in full through his blood."

"No outward forms can make me clean,
The leprosy lies deep within."

"Great God, the treasures of thy love
Are everlasting mines,
Deep as our helpless miseries are,
And boundless as our sins."

"Thou, O Christ, art all I want,
More than all in thee I find."

"Down from the shining seats above,
With joyful haste he fled,
Entered the grave in mortal flesh,
And dwelt among the dead."

"See from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?"

"Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
All in All in thee I find:
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,

Heal the sick, and lead the blind."

"See how the patient Jesus stands,
Insulted in his lowest case!
Sinners have bound the Almighty hands,
And spit in their Creator's face."

"My Jesus! say what wretch has dared
Thy sacred hands to bind?
And who has dared to buffet so
Thy face so meek and kind?
"My Jesus I whose the hands that wove
That cruel thorny crown?
Who made that hard and heavy cross
That weighs thy shoulders down?"

"My Jesus! who with spittle vile
Profaned thy sacred brow?
Or whose unpitying scourge has made
Thy precious blood to flow?"

"'Tis I have thus ungrateful been,
Yet, Jesus, pity take!
Oh, spare and pardon me, my Lord,
For thy sweet mercy's sake!"

"He bore that we might never bear
His Father's righteous ire."

"The Lord shall come! but not the same
As once in lowliness he came;
A silent lamb before his foes,
A weary man, and full of woes.
"The Lord shall come! a dreadful form,
With rainbow wreath and robes of storm;
On cherub wings, and wings of wind,
Appointed Judge of all mankind."

"Ye sinners, seek his grace,
Whose wrath ye cannot bear;
Fly to the shelter of his cross,
And find salvation there;"

"Where is the blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord?"

"True belief and true repentance,
Every grace which brings us nigh;
Without money
Come to Jesus Christ and buy."

"Repentance is to leave
The sins we loved before,
And show that we in earnest grieve,
By doing so no more."

"Repentance is to leave
The sin we loved before,
And show that we in earnest grieve
By doing so no more."

"If aught is felt, 'tis only pain,
To find I cannot feel."

All that remains for me
Is but to love and sing,
And wait until the angels come
To bear me to the King."

"Though our inbred sins require
Our flesh to see the dust;
Yet as the Lord our Saviour rose,
So all his followers must."

"My soul looks back to see
The burdens thou didst bear,
When hanging on the cursed tree,
And hopes her guilt was there."

"Repentance is to leave
The things we loved before,
And show that we in earnest grieve
By doing so no more."

"Ye who spurn his righteous sway,
Yet, oh yet, he spares your breath;
Yet his hand, averse to slay,
Balances the bolt of death.
Ere that dreadful bolt descends,
Haste before his feet to fall,
Kiss the scepter he extends,
And adore him, 'Lord of all.'"

"Sometimes a light surprises
The Christian while he sings:
It is the Lord who rises
With healing in his wings.
When comforts are declining,
He grants the soul again,
A season of clear shining
To cheer it, after rain."

"Lord, let me weep, for nought but sin,
And after none but thee.
And then I would oh that I might
A constant weeper be."

"My sins, my sins, my Savior!
How sad on thee they fall,
Seen through thy gentle patience
I tenfold feel them all.
I know they are forgiven;
But still their pain to me
Is all the grief and anguish
They laid, my Lord, on thee."

“Blest Savior, at Thy feet I lie,
Here to receive a cure or die;
But grace forbids that painful fear
Almighty grace, which triumphs here.”

“All that remains for me
Is but to love and sing,
And wait until the angels come
To bear me to their King.”

“I’ll go to Jesus, though my sin
Hath like a mountain rose;
I know His courts, I’ll enter in,
Whatever may oppose.”

“Come hither, you that walk along the way;
See how the pilgrims fare that go astray?
They catched are in an entangling net,
Cause they good counsel lightly did forget:
Tis true, they rescued were, but yet you see
They’re scourged to boot. Let this your caution be,”

“Rise where eternal beauties bloom,
And pleasure all divine;
Where wealth that never can consume,
And endless glories shine!”

“Lord, I desire to live as one
Who bears a blood-bought name;
As one who fears but grieving Thee,
And knows no other shame.”

“Thus far did come loaden with my sin,
Nor could aught ease the grief that I was in,
Till I came hither: what a place is this!
Must here be the beginning of my bliss?
Must here the burden fall from off my back?
Must here the strings that bound it to me crack?
Blest Cross! blest sepulcher, blest rather be
The Man that there was put to shame for me!”

“All that remains for me
Is but to love and sing,
And wait until the angels come
To bear me to their King.”

"I'm a poor sinner and nothing at all
But Jesus Christ is my all in all"

"For should the earth's old pillar's shake,
And all the walls of nature break,
Our steadfast souls need fear no more
Than solid rocks when billows roar."

"What Adam had, and forfeited for all,
That Jesus is, who cannot fail or fall."

"The feeblest saint shall win the day,
Though death and hell obstruct the way,"

"Sons we are through God's election,
Who in Jesus Christ believe;
By eternal destination
Sovereign grace we here receive.
We know it is personal election."

"Free grace alone from the first to the last,
Hath won my affection and held my soul fast."

"O make this heart rejoice or ache!
Decide this doubt for me;
And if it be not broken, break,
And heal it, if it be."

"O sovereign grace, my heart subdue;
I would be led in triumph too;
A willing captive to my Lord,
To sing the triumphs of his word."

"Tis done, the great transaction's done,
I am my Lord's, and he is mine;
He drew me, and I followed on,
Glad to obey the voice divine."

"High in the bright and happy throng,
Satan, a tall archangel sat;
Amongst the morning stars he sung,
Till sin destroy'd his heavenly state.
"'Twas sin that hurled him from his throne.
Grovelling in fire the rebel lies:
'How art thou sunk in darkness down,
Son of the morning, from the skies!'"

"Kept alive with death so near,
I to God the glory give."

"From heaven the sinning angels fell,
And wrath and darkness chained them down;
But man, vile man, forsook his bliss,
And mercy lifts him to a crown.
"Amazing work of sovereign grace
That could distinguish rebels so!
Our guilty treasons called aloud
For everlasting fetters too."

"For more love than seraphs know
We will like seraphs burn."