Poems Published in "Studies in the Scriptures" Series

[Moise Racette]

@Witness Don't come back with a retort like, we don't calculate anything using the pyramids. Grow up!! 🤨

[Moise Racette]

Now if confused people that do not understand the bible student lingo, the pyramid calculations for 1914 wasn't to establish an earthly governance from heaven as @Witness misinterprets.

At the very least Pastor Russells ideology in many ways swayed different from others in the SAME association.

How are we going to get ready for the Kingdom? We must be faithful. Now you know we say sometimes, "Oh, the Lord knows that I want to he faithful." Well, that isn't very much. There isn't much in that. It is a long, far cry between wanting to be faithful and being faithful. "Fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer." "Which thou shalt suffer." Did you get 'let' "Well," you say, "I expect to get it." When? How? When do you expect to get it? You are looking for 1914. When do you expect to get it? "Fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer." You see, it is right at hand. If our calculations are anywhere near right, it is right at hand. If it should be five, ten or twenty years, it is near enough, isn't it, to get ready for it now? Let us get ready. Let us get ready. You can't come into the Kingdom unless you are ready. No better time than now to get ready. You have got all the instructions here. The Lord's Word gives us all the instructions; had to give them to us, because if He didn't we would have a good excuse. We will never have an excuse before God, you know. Must get ready.

Does that mean, twenty years was the cutoff time for the heavenly kingdom to come on earth? NO!! It's just a figurative illustration. The point was to "be ready" when the kingdom does come on earth, true Christians will be well-prepared to receive its glory.

[Guest]

Poems found in "Studies in the Scriptures" Series III, "Thy Kingdom Come"  [350,000 Edition, WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, Allegheny, PA., U.S.A. 1907]

 

page 60 

 

"AWAKE FROM THY SADNESS!"

 

"Daughter of Zion, awake from thy sadness!

     Awake! for thy foes shall oppress thee no more.

Bright o'er the hills dawns the day-star of gladness:

     Arise! for the night of thy sorrow is o'er.

 

"Strong were thy foes, but the arm that subdued them,

     And scattered their legions, was mightier far:

They fled like the chaff from the scourge that pursued them;

     Vain were their steeds and their chariots of war.

 

"Daughter of Zion, the power that hath saved thee,

     Extolled with the harp and the timbrel should be

Shout! for the foe is destroyed that enslaved thee,

     Th' oppressor is vanquished and Zion is free."

 

page 134

 

"Joy to the world! the Lord is come!

     Let earth receive her King!

Let every heart prepare him room,

     And heaven and nature sing.

 

"He'll rule the world with truth and grace,

     And make the nations prove

The strictness of his righteousness,

     And wonders of his love."

 

page 188

 

"Ne'er think the victory won,

     Nor once at ease sit down:

Thine arduous work will not be done

     Till thou hast gained the crown.

 

"A cloud of witnesses around

     Hold thee in full survey.

Forget the steps already trod,

     And onward urge the way."

 

page 205

 

"...Happy and fearless, in this testing, will be all who from the heart can say: -

 

"My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

     On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

     All other ground is sinking sand."

 

"And such can exultantly sing: -

 

"The Prince of my peace in now present,

     The light from his face is on me.

O listen! beloved, he speaketh:

     'My peace I now give unto thee.'

The cross well covers my sins;

     The past is under the blood;

I'm trusting in Jesus for all;

     My will is the will of God."

 

page 226

 

"LET US GO FORTH."

"- Heb. 13:13. -"

 

"Silent, like men in solemn haste,

Girded wayfarers of the waste,

We pass out at the world's wide gate,

Turning our back on all its state;

We press along the narrow road

That leads to life, to bliss, to God.

 

"We cannot and we would not stay;

We dread the snares that throng the way;

We fling aside the weight and sin,

Resolved the victory to win;

We know the peril, but our eyes

Rest on the splendor of the prize.

 

"No idling now, no wasteful sleep,

From Christian toil our limbs to keep;

No shrinking from the desperate fight;

No thought of yielding or of flight

No love of present gain or ease;

No seeking man or self to please.

 

"No sorrow for the loss of fame;

No dread of scandal on our name;

No terror for the world's sharp scorn;

No wish that taunting to return.

No hatred can to hatred move,

And enmity but kindles love.

 

"No sigh for laughter left behind,

Or pleasures scattered to the wind;

No looking back on Sodom's plains;

No listening still to Babel's strains;

No tears for Egypt's songs and smile;

No thirsting for its flowing Nile.

 

"What though with weariness oppressed?

'Tis but a little and we rest.

This throbbing heart and burning brain

Will soon be calm and cool again;

Night is far spent and morn is near -

Morn of the cloudless and the clear.

 

"'Tis but a little and we come

To our reward, our crown, our home!

Another year, or more, or less,

And we have crossed the wilderness;

Finished the toil, the rest begun,

The battle fought, the triumph won!"

" - H. Bonar."

 

page 242

 

"A LITTLE WHILE."

 

"A little while, our fightings will be over;

     A little while, our tears be wiped away;

A little while, the power of Jehovah

     Will turn our darkness into heaven's bright day.

 

"A little while, the fears that oft surround us

     Will to the memories of the past belong;

A little while, the love that sought and found us

     Will change our weeping into heaven's glad song.

 

"A little while! 'Tis ever drawing nearer -

     The brighter dawning of that glorious day.

Blest Savior, make our spirits' vision clearer,

     And guide, Oh! guide us in the shining way.

 

"A little while, O blessed expectation!

     For strength to run with patience, Lord, we cry.

Our hearts up leap in fond anticipation:

     Our union with the Bridegroom draweth nigh."

 

page 385

 

"THE CENTURY PLANT."

 

"Steeped in sunshine, bathed in dew,

Year by year the strange plant grew,

But no grace of flower knew.

 

"Seeing it a zealot said,

Hotly shaking his young head,

'Without works, one is as dead!'

 

"Did she start impatient then?

Strive to burst her bands of green

With the life that throbbed between?

 

"Nay! she seemed but as before,

Though her heart may more and more

Life's sweet pain have pondered o'er.

 

"  *     *     *     *     *     *    

 

"Half a century had passed,

And the plant, still bloomless, cast

Broader shadows. But at last

Some one looked, and, with a cry,

Called the people, far and nigh.

For from out the circling green

There uprose a wondrous sheen;

Bud and bloom did overlean

The broad leaves, and climb so high

All their beauty none could spy,

Save the tender, smiling sky.

"''Tis a tree of soft, pale flame,

Greenly whorled,' said one who came,

Trying vainly thus to name

Such unwonted loveliness.

In their prodigal excess

Bud and bloom seemed numberless.

 

"Now the zealot humbly said,

Bowing low his hoary head,

'Lo! she teaches in my stead!

 

"'Now I know that soul is great

Which, aware of its estate,

Nobly is content to wait.

 

"'As for me, O foolish man!

I have learned that no man can

Sit in judgment on God's plan.

 

"'When 'tis time for deed or flower,

He alone can strike the hour

From the height of His Watch Tower!'"

[Guest]

Poems found in "Studies in the Scriptures" Series I, "The Divine Plan of the Ages"  [2,283,500 Edition, WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY, Allegheny, PA., U.S.A. 1908] Copyright 1886.

 

pages 18-20

 

"Not only have the continued misery and darkness of the world, and the slow progress of truth, been a mystery to the Church, but the world itself had known and felt its condition. Like that which enveloped Egypt, it has been a darkness that could be felt. In evidence of this, note the spirit of the following lines, clipped from a Philadelphia journal. The doubt and gloom, intensified by the clashing creeds of the various schools, had not yet been dispelled from the writer's mind by the rays of divine truth direct from the Word of God: -

 

"Life! great mystery! Who shall say

What need hath God of this poor clay?

Formed by his hand with potent skill -

Mind, matter, soul and stubborn will;

Born but to die: sure destiny - death.

Then where, oh! where this fleeting breath?

Not one of all the countless throng,

Who lived and died and suffered long,

Returns to tell the great design -

That future, which is yours and mine.

We plead, O God! for some new ray

Of light for guidance on our way;

Based not on faith, but clearer sight,

Dispelling these dark clouds of night;

This doubt, this dread, this trembling fear;

This thought that mars our blessings here.

This restless mind, with bolder sway,

Rejects the dogmas of the day

Taught by jarring sects and schools,

To fetter reason with their rules.

We seek to know Thee as thou art -

Our place with Thee - and then the part

We play in this stupendous plan,

Creator Infinite, and man.

Lift up this veil obscuring sight;

Command again: 'Let there be light!'

Reveal this secret of Thy throne;

We search in darkness the unknown."

 

"To this we reply: - "

 

"Life's unsealed mystery soon shall say

What joy hath God in this poor clay,

Formed by his hand with potent skill,

Stamped with his image - mind and will;

Born not to die - no, a second birth

Succeeds the sentence - "earth to earth."

For One of all the mighty host,

Who lived and died and suffered most,

Arose, and proved God's great design -

That future, therefore, yours and mine.

His Word discloses this new ray

Of light, for guidance on our way;

Based now on faith, but sure as sight,

Dispelling these dark clouds of night:

The doubt, the dread, the trembling fear,

The thoughts that marred our blessings here.

Now, Lord, these minds, whose bolder sway

Rejects the dogmas of to-day,

Taught by jarring sects and schools,

Fettering reason with their rules,

May seek, and know Thee as Thou art,

Our place with Thee, and then the part

We play in this stupendous plan,

Creator Infinite, and man.

Uplifts the veil, revealing quite

To those who walk in heaven's light

The glorious mystery of his throne

Hidden from ages, now made known."

 

page 28

 

"And still new beauties shall we see,

And still increasing light."

 

page 35

 

"Ye curious minds, who roam abroad,

     And trace creation's wonders o'er,

Confess the footsteps of your God,

     And bow before him, and adore.

 

"The heavens declare thy glory, Lord;

     In every star thy wisdom shines;

But when our eyes behold thy Word,

     We read thy name in fairer lines."

 

page 36

 

"SUNSHINE OVER ALL."

 

""What folly, then," the faithless critic cries,

With sneering lip and wise, world-knowing eyes,

"While fort to fort and post to post repeat

The ceaseless challenge of the war-drum's beat,

And round the green earth, to the church-bell's chime,

The morning drum-roll of the camp keeps time,

To dream of peace amidst a world in arms;

Of swords to plowshares changed by Scriptural charms;

Of nations, drunken with the wine of blood,

Staggering to take the pledge of brotherhood,

Like tipplers answering Father Mathew's call.

 

"     *     *     *     *     *     *     "

 

"Check Bau or Kaiser with a barricade

Of 'Olive leaves' and resolutions made;

Spike guns with pointed Scripture texts, and hope

To capsize navies with a windy trope;

Still shall the glory and the pomp of war

Along their train the shouting millions draw;

Still dusky labor to the parting brave

His cap shall doff and beauty's kerchief wave;

Still shall the bard to valor tune his song;

Still hero-worship kneel before the strong;

Rosy and sleek, the sable-gowned divine,

O'er his third bottle of suggestive wine,

To plumed and sworded auditors shall prove

Their trade accordant with the law of love;

And Church for State, and State for Church shall fight,

And both agree that might alone is right."

 

"Despite the sneers like these, O faithful few, 

Who dare to hold God's Word and witness true,

Whose clear-eyed faith transcends our evil time,

And o'er the present wilderness of crime

Sees the calm future with its robes of green,

Its fleece-flecked mountains, and soft streams between,

Still keep the track which duty bids ye tread,

Though worldly wisdom shake the cautious head.

No truth from heaven descends upon our sphere

Without the greeting of the skeptic's sneer:

Denied, and mocked at, till its blessings fall

Common as dew and sunshine over all."

" - Whittier."

 

page 64

 

"TRUTH MOST PRECIOUS."

 

"Great truths are dearly bought. The common truth,

     Such as men give and take from day to day,

Comes in the common walk of easy life,

     Blown by the careless wind across our way.

 

"Great truths are dearly won; not found by chance,

     Nor wafted on the breath of summer dream;

But grasped in the great struggle of the soul,

     Hard buffeting with adverse wind and stream.

 

"Sometimes, 'mid conflict, turmoil, fear and grief,

     When the strong hand of God, put forth in might,

Ploughs up the subsoil of the stagnant heart,

     It brings some buried truth-seeds to the light.

 

"Not in the general mart, 'mid corn and wine;

     Not in the merchandise of gold and gems;

Not in the world's gay hall of midnight mirth,

     Nor 'mid the blaze of regal diadems;

 

"Not in the general clash of human creeds,

     Nor in the merchandise 'twixt church and world,

Is truth's fair treasure found, 'mongst tares and weeds;

     Nor her fair banner in their midst unfurled.

 

"Truth springs like harvest from the well-ploughed fields,

     Rewarding patient toil, and faith and zeal.

To those thus seeking her, she ever yields

     Her richest treasures for their lasting weal."

 

pages 75-76

 

"By the light now due to the household of faith, we discern that system and order which mark the stately steppings of our God through the ages past, and we are forcibly reminded of the beautiful lines of Cowper, inspired by a living faith, which trusted where it could not trace the Almighty Jehovah: - "

 

"God moves in a mysterious way,

     His wonders to perform:

He plants his footsteps in the sea,

     And rides upon the storm.

 

"Deep in unfathomable mines

     Of never-failing skill,

He treasures up his bright designs,

     And works his sovereign will.

 

"Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;

     The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

     In blessings on your head.

 

"Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

     But trust him for his grace.

Behind a frowning providence

     He hides a smiling face.

 

"His purposes will ripen fast,

     Unfolding every hour.

The bud may have a bitter taste,

     But sweet will be the flower.

 

"Blind unbelief is sure to err,

     And scan his work in vain.

God is his own interpreter,

     And he will make in plain."

 

"  *  "

 

"I know not the way that's before me,

     The joys or the griefs it may bring;

What clouds are o'erhanging the future,

     What flowers by the wayside may spring.

But there's One who will journey beside me,

     Nor in weal nor in woe will forsake;

And this is my solace and comfort,

     'He knoweth the way that I take.'"

 

page 88

 

"A LORD'S DAY OFFERING."

 

"I offer Thee:

Every heart's throb, they are Thine;

Every human tie of mine;

Every joy and every pain;

Every act of mind or brain -

     My blessed God!

Every hope and every fear;

Every smile and every tear;

Every song and hymn,

     'Laudamus Te.'

 

"Take them all, my blessed Lord,

Bind them with thy secret cord;

Glorify thyself in me,

     Adored One!

Multiply them by thy Word;

Strengthen, bless, increase, my Lord

Of perfect love!

     Thou First and Last!"

 

page 136

 

"THE DAY IS AT HAND."

 

"Poor, fainting pilgrim, still hold on thy way - the dawn is near!

True, thou art weary now; but yon bright ray becomes more clear.

          Bear up a little longer; wait for rest;

          Yield not to slumber, though with toil oppressed.

 

"The night of life is mournful, but look on - the dawn is near!

Soon will earth's shadowed scenes and forms be gone; yield not to fear!

          The mountain's summit will, ere long, be gained,

          And the bright world of joy and peace attained.

 

"'Joyful through hope' thy motto still must be - the dawn is near!

What glories will that dawn unfold to thee! be of good cheer!

          Gird up thy loins; bind sandals on thy feet:

          The way is dark and long; the end is sweet."

 

page 148

 

"AFTERWARD."

 

"God's ways are equal: storm or calm,

     Seasons of peril and of rest,

The hurting dart, the healing balm,

     Are all apportioned as is best.

In judgments oft misunderstood,

     In ways mysterious and obscure,

He brings from evil lasting good,

     And makes the final gladness sure.

While Justice takes its course with strength,

     Love bids our faith and hope increase

He'll give the chastened world at length

     His afterward of peace.

 

"When the dread forces of the gale

     His sterner purposes perform,

And human skill can naught avail

     Against the fury of the storm,

Let loving hearts trust in him still,

     Through all the dark and devious way;

For who would thwart his blessed will,

     Which leads through night to joyous day?

Be still beneath his tender care;

     For he will make the tempest cease,

And bring from out the anguish here

     An afterward of peace.

 

"Look up, O Earth; no storm can last

     Beyond the limits God hath set.

When its appointed work is past,

     In joy thou shalt thy grief forget.

Where sorrow's plowshare hath swept through,

     Thy fairest flowers of life shall spring,

For God shall grant thee life anew,

     And all thy wastes shall laugh and sing.

Hope thou in him; his plan for thee

     Shall end in triumph and release.

Fear not, for thou shalt surely see

     His afterward of peace."

 

page 172

 

"Still o'er earth's sky the clouds of anger roll,

And God's revenge hangs heavy on her soul;

Yet shall she rise - though first by God chastised -

In glory and in beauty then baptized.

 

"Yes, Earth, thou shalt arise; thy Father's aid

Shall heal the wound his chastening hand hath made;

Shall judge the proud oppressor's ruthless sway,

And burst his bonds, and cast his cords away.

 

"Then on your soil shall deathless verdure spring;

Break forth, ye mountains, and ye valleys sing!

No more your thirsty rocks shall frown forlorn,

The unbeliever's jest, the heathen's scorn.

 

"The sultry sands shall tenfold harvests yield,

And a new Eden deck the thorny field.

E'en now we see, wide-waving o'er the land,

The mighty angel lifts his golden wand,

 

"Courts the bright vision of descending power,

Tells every gate and measures every tower;

And chides the tardy seals that yet detain

Thy Lion, Judah, from his destined reign."

 

page 204

 

"THE CHURCH OF GOD."

 

"Zion, arise, break forth in songs

     Of everlasting joy;

To God eternal praise belongs,

     Who doth thy foes destroy.

Thou Church of God, awake! awake!

     For light beams from on high;

From earth and dust thy garments shake,

     Thy glory's drawing nigh.

 

"To raise thee high above the earth,

     God will his power employ;

He'll turn thy mourning into mirth,

     Thy sorrow into joy.

In shining robes thyself array,

     Put on thy garments pure;

Thy King shall lead thee in the way

     That's holy, safe and sure."

 

page 244

 

"THE BLESSED HOPE."

 

"A little while, earth's fightings will be over;

     A little while, her tears be wiped away;

A little while, the power of Jehovah

     Shall turn this darkness to Millennial Day.

 

"A little while, the ills that now o'erwhelm men

     Shall to the memories of the past belong;

A little while, the love that once redeemed them

     Shall change their weeping into grateful song.

 

"A little while! 'Tis ever drawing nearer -

     The brighter dawning of that glorious day.

Praise God, the light is hourly growing clearer,

     Shining more and more unto the perfect day."

 

page 272

 

"THE KINGDOM NEAR."

 

"Watchman, tell us of the night -

     What its signs of promise are.

Traveler, o'er yon mountain's height,

     See that glory-beaming star!

Watchman, does its beauteous ray

     Aught of hope or joy foretell?

Traveler, yes, it brings the day -

     Promised day of Israel.

 

"Watchman, tell us of the night -

     Higher yet that star ascends.

Traveler, blessedness and light,

     Peace and truth its course portends.

Watchman, will its beams alone

     Gild the spot that gave them birth?

Traveler, ages are its own;

     See, its glory fills the earth.

 

"Watchman, tell us, does the morning

     Of fair Zion's glory dawn?

Have the signs that mark its coming

     Yet upon thy pathway shone?

Traveler, yes: arise! look round thee!

     Light is breaking in the skies!

Gird thy bridal robes around thee!

     Morning dawns! arise! arise!"

 

page 340

 

"Content, whatever lot I see,

Since 'tis God's hand that leadeth me."

 

page 350

 

"THE DIVINE WEAVING."

 

"See the mystic Weaver sitting

High in heaven - His loom below.

Up and down the treadles go.

Takes, for web, the world's dark ages,

Takes, for woof, the kings and sages.

Takes the nobles and their pages,

Takes all stations and all stages.

Thrones are bobbins in His shuttle.

Armies make them scud and scuttle -

Web into the woof must flow:

Up and down the nations go!

At the Weaver's will they go!

 

"Calmly see the mystic Weaver

Throw His shuttle to and fro;

'Mid the noise and wild confusion,

Well the Weaver seems to know

What each motion, and commotion,

What each fusion, and confusion,

In the grand result will show!

 

"Glorious wonder! What a weaving!

To the dull, beyond believing.

Such no fabled ages know.

Only faith can see the mystery,

How, along the aisles of history,

Where the feet of sages go,

Loveliest to the fairest eyes,

Grand the mystic tapet lies!

Soft and smooth, and ever spreading,

As if made for angels' treading -

Tufted circles touching ever:

Every figure has its plaidings,

Brighter forms and softer shadings,

Each illumined - what a riddle! -

From a cross that gems the middle.

 

"'Tis a saying - some reject it -

That its light is all reflected;

That the tapet's lines are given

By a Sun that shines in heaven!

'Tis believed - by all believing -

That great God, Himself, is weaving,

Bringing out the world's dark mystery,

In the light of faith and history;

And, as web and woof diminish,

Comes the grand and glorious finish,

When begins the Golden Ages,

Long foretold by seers and sages."

[Guest]

Poems found in "Studies in the Scriptures" Series 2, "The Time is at Hand"  [2,123,000 Edition, INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION, Brooklyn, London, Melbourne, Cape Town, Berne, Magdeburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Cluj, Warsaw. 1927] Copyright 1889.

 

page 30

 

"...But blessed is he

 

"Who bears unmoved the world's dark frown,

     Nor heeds its scornful smile;

Whom seas of trouble cannot drown,

     Nor Satan's arts beguile."

 

page 62

 

"Lift up your heads, desponding pilgrims;

     Give to the winds your needless fears;

He who has died on Calvary's mountain

     Soon is to reign a thousand years.

 

"A thousand years! earth's coming glory -

     'Tis the glad day so long foretold:

'Tis the bright morn of Zion's glory,

     Prophets foresaw in times of old.

 

"Tell the whole world these blessed tidings;

     Speak of the time of rest that nears;

Tell the oppressed of every nation,

     Jubilee lasts a thousand years.

 

"What if the clouds do for a moment

     Hide the blue sky where morn appears?

Soon the glad sun of promise given

     Rises to shine a thousand years."

                                            " - Bonar."

 

page 102

 

"We are living, we are dwelling,

     In a grand and awful time.

In an age on ages telling,

     To be living is sublime.

Hark! the rumbling in the nations,

     Iron crumbling with the clay:

Hark! what soundeth? 'Tis creation

     Groaning for a better day.

 

"Scoffers scorning, Heaven beholding,

     Thou hast but an hour to fight.

See prophetic truth unfolding!

     Watch! and keep thy garments white.

Oh, let all the soul within you

     For the truth's sake go abroad!

Strike! let every nerve and sinew

     Tell on ages - tell for God!"

 

page 172

 

"Mine eyes can see the glory of the coming of the Lord;

He is trampling out the winepress where His grapes of wrath are stored;

I see the flaming tempest of His swift-descending sword.

          Our King is marching on.

 

"I can see His coming judgments, as they circle all the earth,

The signs and groanings promised, to precede a second birth;

I read His righteous sentence in the crumbling thrones of earth.

          Our King is marching on.

 

"The 'Gentile Times' are closing; for their kings have had their day;

And with them sin and sorrow will forever pass away;

For the tribe of Judah's 'Lion' now comes to hold the sway.

          Our King is marching on.

 

"The seventh trump is sounding, and our King knows no defeat:

He will sift out the hearts of men before His Judgment Seat.

Oh, be swift, my soul, to welcome Him, be jubilant, my feet.

          Our King is marching on."

 

page 200

 

"THE SEVENTH TRUMPET."

 

"Blow ye the Trumpet, blow

     The gladly solemn sound;

Let all the nations know,

     To earth's remotest bound,

The Jubilee of Earth is come,

Returning ransomed sinners home.

 

"Jesus, our great High-Priest,

     Hath full atonement made.

Ye weary spirits, rest;

     Ye mournful souls, be glad.

The Jubilee of Earth is come,

Returning ransomed sinners home.

 

"Ye who were sold for naught,

     Whose heritage was lost,

May have all back unbought,

     A gift at Jesus' cost.

The Jubilee of Earth is come,

Returning ransomed sinners home.

 

"The Seventh Trumpet hear,

     The news of heavenly grace;

Salvation now is near;

     Seek ye the Savior's face.

The Jubilee of Earth is come,

Returning ransomed sinners home."

 

page 362

 

"FAITHFUL UNTIL DEATH."

 

"Am I a soldier of the cross,

     A follower of the Lamb?

And shall I fear to own his cause,

     Or blush to speak his name?

 

"Must I be borne to Paradise

     On flowery beds of ease,

While others fought to win the prize,

     And sailed through bloody seas?

 

"Are there no foes for me to face?

     Must I not stem the flood?

Is this vain world a friend to grace,

     To help me on to God?

 

"Sure I must fight if I would reign.

     Increase my courage, Lord.

I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,

     Supported by thy Word.

 

"Thy saints in all this glorious war

     Shall conquer, though they die.

They see the triumph from afar,

     By faith they bring it nigh.

 

"When thine illustrious day shall rise,

     And all thy saints shall shine,

And shouts of vict'ry rend the skies,

     The glory, Lord, be thine."

 

page 366

 

"MILLENNIAL DAWN."

 

"All things are onward moving! - Let the blessed time begin!

The Old is swiftly passing, and the New is coming in!

The golden bells are ringing, and the pageant sweeps along

Like an army that is speeding to the measure of a song.

 

"Dark theories now are waning: they are weak to build upon;

The light is on the hill-tops, and Truth is marching on: - 

Many landmarks are but shadows, which now fade and flee away

Before the mighty forces that are coming in to-day.

 

"O brother, why this waiting? And sister, why so mute?

Up with the early sunshine! Watch for the golden fruit!

O poet, why this sorrow? O minstrel, why this hush?

And painter, why so long delay the heavenly tint and blush?

 

"Up with the larks of morning! Up with the rising sun!

Waiting not for noon-day, nor halting when begun!

For everything is moving; let the blessed time begin!

The Old is swiftly passing, and the New is coming in!

 

"The heavenly light is spreading, - spreading at the King's command!

It is spreading in its glory, speeding onward through the land.

Human creeds are downward tending; let them droop and fade away.

Following in the dawning sunlight, we can see a better way.

 

"Oh, let us all be ready for the work we have to do, -

Toiling late and early, for the laborers are few!

Reaping, as instructed, in the morning light;

Reaping in the harvest field, - toiling for the RIGHT!

 

"All things are onward moving! Let earth's Jubilee begin!

The Old is swiftly passing, and the New is coming in!

It is coming! Oh 'tis coming! My raptured eyes behold!

The light is on the hill-tops, the Shepherd with his Fold."

[Guest]

Poems found in "Studies in the Scriptures" Series IV, "The Battle of Armageddon"  [543,000 Edition, INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION, Pittsburgh, London, Melbourne, Capetown, Copenhagen, Orebro, Zurich, Geneva. 1919] Copyright 1897.

 

page xvi

 

"I can see His coming judgments, as they circle all the earth,

The signs and groanings promised, to precede a second birth;

I read His righteous sentence, in the crumbling thrones of earth;

     Our King is marching on.

 

"The seventh trump is sounding, and our King knows no defeat,

He will sift out the hearts of men before His judgment seat.

O! be swift, my soul, to welcome Him; be jubilant, my feet;

     Our King is marching on."

 

page 46

 

"THE GATHERING STORMS OF DOUBT."

 

"Our Father, while our hearts unlearn

     The creeds that wrong thy name,

Still let our hallowed altars burn

     With faith's undying flame.

 

"Help us to read our Master's will

     Through every darkening stain

That clouds his sacred image still,

     And see him once again.

 

"The brother man, the pitying friend,

     Who weeps for human woes,

Whose pleading words of pardon blend

     With cries of raging foes.

 

"If 'mid the gathering storms of doubt

     Our hearts grow faint and cold,

The strength we cannot live without

     Thy love will not withold.

 

"Our prayers accept; our sins forgive;

     Our youthful zeal renew;

Shape for us holier lives to live,

     And nobler work to do."

 

"The above original verses were read by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes before the Young Men's Christian Union, Boston, June 1, '93. They indicate that he realized somewhat the darkness overhanging Babylon."

 

page 74

 

"THE COMING STORM."

 

"Oh! sad is my heart for the storm that is coming;

     Like eagles the scud sweepeth in from the sea;

The gull seeketh shelter, the pine trees are sighing,

     And all giveth note of the tempest to be.

 

"A spell hath been whispered from cave or from ocean,

     The shepherds are sleeping, the sentinels dumb,

The flocks are all scattered on moorland and mountain,

     And no one believes that the Master is come.

 

"He has come, but whom doth he find their watch keeping?

     Oh! where - in his presence - is faith the world o'er?

The rich, every sense in soft luxury steeping;

     The poor scarce repelling the wolf from the door.

 

"O man, and O maiden, drop trifling and pleasure!

     O hark! while I tell of the sorrows to be

 

"     *     *     *     "

 

"As well might I plead in the path of yon glacier,

     Or cry out a warning to wave of the sea!"

 

page 156

 

"This great international proclamation of peace, bearing on its very face the stamp of insincerity, is a forcible reminder of the words of the poet John G. Whittier which so graphically describe the present peace conditions: - 

 

"'Great peace in Europe! Order reigns

From Tiber's hills to Danube's plains!'

So say her kings and priests; so say

The lying prophets of our day.

 

"Go lay to earth a list'ning ear;

The tramp of measured marches hear,

The rolling of the cannon's wheel,

The shotted musket's murd'rous peal,

The night alarm, the sentry's call,

The quick-eared spy in hut and hall,

From polar sea and tropic fen

The dying groans of exiled men,

The bolted cell, the galley's chains

The scaffold smoking with its stains!

Order, - the hush of brooding slaves!

Peace, - in the dungeon vaults and graves!

Speak, Prince and Kaiser, Priest and Czar!

If this be peace, pray, what is war?

 

"Stern herald of Thy better day,

Before Thee to prepare the way

The Baptist shade of Liberty, - 

Gray, scarred and hairy-robed must press

With bleeding feet the wilderness!

O that its voice might pierce the ear

Of priests and princes while they hear

A cry as of the Hebrew seer:

Repent! God's Kingdom draweth near."

 

page 268

 

"The time of trouble nears, 'It hasteth greatly;'

     E'en now its ripples span the world-wide sea;

O when its waves are swollen to mountains stately,

     Will the resistless billows sweep o'er me?

 

"Or, terror-stricken, will I then discover

     A wondrous presence standing in glory by,

Treading the waters! - Immanuel - Life-giver,

     With words of cheer, - 'Be not afraid, - 'tis I.'

 

"Yes, a hand, strong, yet tender as a mother's,

     Will from the surging billows lift me out.

With soft rebuke, more loving than a brother's:

     'Of little faith! O, wherefore didst thou doubt?'"

 

page 384

 

"THE MORNING COMETH."

 

"A better day is coming, a morning promised long,

When truth and right, with holy might, shall over throw the wrong;

When Christ the Lord will listen to every plaintive sigh,

And stretch his hand o'er sea and land, with justice, by and by.

 

"The boast of haughty tyrants no more shall fill the air,

But aged and youth shall love the truth and speed it everywhere.

No more from want and sorrow shall come the hopeless cry,

But war shall cease, and perfect peace will flourish by and by.

 

"The tidal wave is coming, the year of jubilee;

With shout and song it sweeps along, like billows of the sea.

The jubilee of nations shall ring through earth and sky.

The dawn of grace draws on apace - 'tis coming by and by.

 

"O! for that glorious dawning we watch and wait and pray,

Till o'er the height the morning light shall drive the gloom away;

And when the heavenly glory shall flood the earth and sky,

We'll bless the Lord for all his works and praise him by and by."

 

page 412

 

"THE RULE OF EQUITY."

 

"Hail to the Lord's Anointed,

     Jehovah's blessed Son!

Hail, in the time appointed,

     His reign on earth begun!

He comes to break oppression,

     To set the captives free,

To take away transgression,

     And rule in equity.

 

"He comes with succor speedy

     To those who suffer wrong;

To help the poor and needs,

     And bid the weak be strong;

To give them songs for sighing,

     Their darkness turn to light,

Whose souls, condemned and dying,

     Were precious in his sight.

 

"To him let praise unceasing

     And daily vows ascend;

His kingdom, still increasing,

     Shall be without an end:

The tide of time shall never

     His covenant remove;

No, it shall stand forever,

     A pledge that God is love."

 

page 526

 

"Wait for the morning - it will come indeed,

As surely as the night has given need;

The yearning eyes at last will strain their sight,

No more unanswered by the morning light:

No longer will they vainly strive through tears

To pierce the darkness of thy doubts and fears,

But, bathed in balmy dews and rays of dawn,

Will smile with rapture o'er the darkness gone.

 

"Wait for morning, O thou smitten child,

Scorned, scourged, persecuted and reviled,

Athirst and famishing, none pitying thee,

Crowned with twisted thorns of agony -

No faintest gleam of sunlight through the dense

Infinity of gloom to lead thee thence -

Wait thou for morning - it will come indeed,

As surely as the night hath given need."

 

" - James Whitcomb Riley."

 

page 547

 

"...But Shakespeare truly wrote: -

 

"There is a divinity that shapes our ends,

     Rough hew them how we will."

 

page 562

 

"THE WRATH OF GOD."

 

"The wrath of God is Love's severity

     In curing sin - the zeal of righteousness

In overcoming wrong - the remedy

     Of Justice for the world's redress.

 

"The wrath of God is punishment for sin,

     In measure unto all transgression due,

Discriminating well and just between

     Presumptuous sins and sins of lighter hue.

 

"The wrath of God inflicts no needless pain

     Merely vindictive, or himself to please;

But aims the ends of mercy to attain,

     Uproot the evil and the good increase.

 

"The wrath of God is a consuming fire,

     That burns while there is evil to destroy

Or good to purify; nor can expire

     Till all things are relieved from sin's alloy.

 

"The wrath of God is Love's parental rod,

     The disobedient to chastise, subdue,

And bend submissive to the will of God,

     That Love may reign when all things are made new.

 

"The wrath of God shall never strike in vain,

     Nor cease to strike till sin shall be no more;

Till God his gracious purpose shall attain,

     And earth to righteousness and peace restore."

 

page 656

 

""AS TRULY AS I LIVE, THE WHOLE EARTH SHALL BE FILLED WITH THE GLORY OF JEHOVAH." - Num. 14:21; Isa. 11:9; Habak. 2:14.

 

"No place shall be in that new earth

     For all that blights this universe;

No evil taint the second birth - 

     There shall be no more curse.

Ye broken-hearted, cease your moan;

     The day of promise dawns for you;

For he who sits upon the throne

     Says, 'I will make all things new.'

 

"We mourn the dead, but they shall wake!

     The lost, but they shall be restored!

O! well our human hearts might break

     Without that sacred word!

Dim eyes, look up! sad hearts, rejoice!

     Seeing God's bow of promise through,

At sound of that prophetic voice:

     'I will make all things new.'"

[Guest]

(EDIT: There were two lines missing from one of the poems in Volume 5; Here is the poem with the two lines restored, the lines that were missing are marked with asterisks.)

 

page 24 (from the questions section at the end of the book)

 

"THAT I MAY KNOW HIM"

  

"Lord, let me talk with Thee of all I do,

All that I care for, all I wish for, too.

Lord, let me prove Thy sympathy, Thy Power,

Thy loving oversight from hour to hour!

When I need counsel, let me ask of Thee:

Whatever my perplexity may be,

It cannot be too trivial to bring,

To one who marks the sparrow's drooping wing.

Nor too terrestrial since Thou has said

The very hairs are numbered on our head.

'Tis through such loop-holes that the foe takes aim,

And sparks unheeded burst into a flame.

Do money troubles press? Thou canst resolve

The doubts and dangers such concerns involve.

Are those I love the cause of anxious care?

Thou canst unbind the burdens they may bear.

Before the mysteries of Thy Word or will,

Thy voice can gently bid my heart be still.

Since all that now is hard to understand

Shall be unraveled in yon heavenly land.

Or do I mourn the oft-besetting sin,

The tempter's wiles that mar the peace within?

Present Thyself, Lord, as the absolving Priest,

To whom confessing, I go forth released.

Do weakness, weariness, disease invade

This earthly house, which Thou, Thyself, hast made?

Thou, only, Lord, canst touch the hidden spring

Of mischief, and attune the jarring string.

Would I be taught what Thou wouldst have me give,

The needs of those less favored to relieve?

Thou canst so guide my hand that I shall be

A liberal, 'cheerful giver,' Lord, like Thee.

Of my life's mission do I stand in doubt?

Thou knowest and canst clearly point it out.

Whither I go, do Thou Thyself decide                       ****

And choose the friends and servants at my side.

The books I read, I would submit to Thee,

Let them refresh, instruct and solace me.

I would converse with Thee from day to day

With heart intent on what Thou hast to say;

And through my pilgrim walk, what e'er befall,          ****

Consult with Thee, O Lord, about it all.

Since Thou art willing thus to condescend

To be my intimate, familiar Friend,

O, let me to the great occasion rise,

And count Thy friendship life's most glorious prize!"