Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1846-03-26
For the Port Tobacco Times.
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Oh, hearing the Reu. JOHN N. MAFFIT preach on tn
Divinity of Christ and the Mystery Of Redemption
They told me thou vert one that only skimm'd
Upon the surface-gath'ri here and there
A gem, pearl from out the of words,
And strewing them in rich profusion round
glitring nothing, pleasant to the ear
An airy bubble that the dazzled eye
Gould scarcely catch and note its splendid hues
And mark its progress, ere it burst in air:
Yet hearts were spell-bound meath thy magic pow
And sober sense and judgment fell asleep.
Time pass'd: sat within the house of Cod
And thou vert there, and on my listning ear
Thy soft, low tones, like unto music fell:
Thou vert discoursing sacred theme,
The attributes of Him-the great 81 AM
Who fills all space-omniscient, uncreate,
Just, merciful, yet terrible in wrath
A living God-an alI-consuning fire!
So vast the distance between Him and earth,
That fallen man need scarcely dare to hope
His aspiration reach'd the sacred throne,
Where cherubim and seraphim do stand
With faces veiPd beneath their glit'rng wings.
Alas, for finite sense, for mortal ken!
If angels may not raise the dropping eye
Beneath tn o'erpow ring gaze of Deity,
The light of hope seems lost in deep despair.
solemn pause: the dense dark cloud is pierc'd
BY rays of glory; accents from on high
Reverberate thro' space till earth take up
The shouts seraphic: Hank! the joyful sound
Glory to Colon earth good will to man!
The sin attoning Lamb, the Prince Of Peace,
In humble guise within manger laid!
He comes to feel that He may sympathise-
He comes to suffer that may enjoy
He comes to die that may ever live:
Justice demands sacrafce, and Love,
Redeeming Love, bleeding victim finds.
The hallow'd cross thy graphic pencil sketch'd
So wildly that, unto fancy's eye,
The scene was present. There on Calv'ry's mount
Justice still wav'd her glit'ring blade on high,
Till from those dying lips the cry arose,
IT'S fnish'd; earth to her centre shook
The dead came forth; the sun withdrew its light;
''The sword, in fragments shiverd at his feet,
Then aloft resplendently to form
A glorious halo DER that sacred head,
On which traced in characters of light,
81 balm u, Gitead-a physician there"
Thus with pathos deep didst thou portray
The Christians hope. Beneath thy master-hand
AIImystery seem'd mystery no more
Plain, lucid, clear, that cen child might grasp,
And learn fthee Redemption's simple plan.
Many, like Felix, trembled at thy word
That came with pow'r to the vanquish'd heart;
And as the woman of Samaria cried aloud,
Haze mercy Lord! Thou SON Of David help!
heard in silence, but the powr of Faith
Descended like the dews on Hermon's mount,
Sweet and refreshing to the thirsty soul,
Till heart and sense cried out with him of old,
81 know that my Redeemer lives"
Go on, disciple of the incarnate God,
Triumph shall greet thee to the closing scene;
Detraction harm not; prejudice must die;
For 10 thy seals of ministry attest
Thy holy mission; and if ev'ry soul
Turn'd from the error of their ways by thee
Shall be a star upon thy radiant crown,
How brilliant will thy constellation be;
How welcome, too, the accents of thy Lord
We'll done, good and faithful, enter here!