Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-11-01
HEART SEARCHINGS--IN ANSWER
TO "LOVEST THOU Me-.
BIZ DIR. L. L. LuRrox.


milne eye is upon thee, Christian,
From which nothing is concealed,
In He'll, or Earth. or Heaven;
Nothing so small, or great, or high;
Nothing so far away; all is revealed
And exposed to My all-seeing eye.
Thy outward form and inward self see
Say, Christian lowest thou Me?
l know the truth, yet ask of you.
To search the hidden depths, and see
Into thy own heart, that thou too
Mayest know the truth, then answer me.
Now, heart, unveil thy face to me;
Open wide the locked and bolted door;
Lift up the folds of hanging dEapery,
And hide thy face from me no more.
Father in Heaven, whilst trace
With pen, the solemn work begun:
Look thou upon the pure, sweet face
OF my brother Jesus, Thy beloved Son,
And send me help, the Holy Com forter,
To osOothe my heart, and shed softer light
Than that which flashes from the eternal
eye,
So pure, so intense, so strong, so bright,
1t consumes my guilty soul; twill die,
Unless my Savior stands between thy
piercing eye
And my poor trembling heart.
love this world, my dwelling place,
Prepared by loving hands for me,
So bright, SO beautiful, so fair. trace
Its wisdom and beneficence, dear Lord, to
thee.
1 love the deep blue skies above,
The canopy of twinkling stars,
Trembling with symphonies of love,
Since thou didst place them there.
The morning stars did sing, are singing
now,
A circling diadem of glory around the
eternal brow.
love those winged messengers
That float upon the winds,
Robed in yesture pure and bright,
Or decked in crimson, gold, or purple
sheen;
Or clothed in blackness and in storm,
Trembling with the burthen which they
bear,
All checkered and illumined with fire.
Hove the mountains, hills and wales,
The shady groves and sparkling streams,
The grassy plains and meadowy fields,
The song of birds and whispering leaves,
The opening bud, the flower, the fruit
All this love, my heart is thrilled,
With sweetest melody my soul is filled.
Yes, 1 love the world; this love proclaim
Dear Lord, the impress of Thy hand see
In all Thy wondrous works,
And reverence and adore Thy name.
Is this the love Thou askest me?
love my brother man;
But not as Jesus did;
Nor as love myself
Myself in counterpart the most,
She whom thou gavest me,
Filled up the measure of my love;
In her loved all womankind.
For man no counterpart L find
To represent the good unmixed
With evil, as in her pure life
Was seen, a virgin sister of thy son.
1 love some men, not all;
would not harm the worst,
Nor advantage take of any,
To help myself at their expense.
would do good to all,
In word, and thought and deed;
try to do and yet 1 often fail,
Through want of faith in self, in man,
My poor, trembling heart quallS
With confusion and with shame,
That 1, than they, no better am;
In me no likeness of thy son.
1 love the true, the pure, the brave,
The true in look, in word, in deed,
The pure in heart and motive hid,
Brave for the truth because tits truth,
Brave for the pure because tits pure,
Brave for the right because tits right,
Brave to meet with naked breast,
The shafts of calumny and hate,
That Satan's emissaries hurl
Against all who dare 10 lift
The feeble hand or trembling voice 'gainst
The engrafted errors of the world,
Whether in Church or State.
These do not mingle in the front
OF the world'sgreat battlefield,
With sword, or spear, or glittering shield,
Struggling for honor, wealth, or power;
But patiently endure a thousand ills,
In cares, and trials, and in SORROWS,
Treading with weary feet life'srugged hill
That Thou, Thyself hast trod;
Bravely following Thee in life, in death,
And only estimate their wealth
By the sacrifice of self.
In loving these, dear Lord, may il he
The answer to, "Lovest thou me?"
/ love Thy Church, the family on earth,
OF every name, in every land,
Whose penitent obedience and love
Are tokens of their heavenly birth,
Whose life and creed in siarmOny BLEND
Who wrangle not DER Oriental isms,
Nor in anger burn 'gainst Occidental
Schisms,
Content to follow thee, their footsteps
bend
Where'er Thy life and spirit tend.
Some seasons of prayer I love,
Whenm souls harp is strangely thrilled
BY some inexplicable presence from
above,
Distilling holy joy, and peace and calm
repOse,
Drawing from my soul the hearty will,
Expressed in harmony of prayer and
praise,
Lifting me ont of flesh, and sense, and
Mingling my words ofprayer. and praise,
and tears,
With a still small voice, SO soft, so gentle,
SO sweet,
A voice not heard by outward ears;
But as ifmy spirit were in converse sweet
With some spirit more lovely than my
own.
Is this the voice unutterable? the spirit
of Thy Son,
Searching the secret wants of the soul,
Wants in unison with the Fathers will?
Then, as a mother feeds her helpless babe.
Imparting to my soul its heavenly food
Oh, then, such prayer TO me is sweet, 'tiS
good
To be there: would that it were always so.
l love Thy word its holy counsels guide
My erring heart, my wandering feet
To thee, and tells me there abide,
Until Thy spirit shall complete,
Through faith, and love, and hope,
Thy likeness in my poor life.
Then this tabernacle of flesh I'll drop
Into the grave, the end of care and strife:
My ransomed self, in spirit form,
Upward to thee shall quickly fly,
Nor doubt that the resurrection morn
Will bring me body that shall never
die.
Thus searching my heart by the spirits
aid,