De La Salle Fifth Reader Part 34

_54_

crags break tongue thoughts ha' ven sail' or state' ly

BREAK, BREAK, BREAK!

Break, break, break, On thy cold gray stones, O sea!

And I would that my tongue could utter The thoughts that arise in me.

O well for the fisherman's boy, That he shouts with his sister at play!

O well for the sailor lad, That he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately s.h.i.+ps go on To the haven under the hill; But O for the touch of a vanished hand, And the sound of a voice that is still!

Break, break, break, At the foot of thy crags, O sea!

But the tender grace of a day that is dead Will never come back to me.

_Tennyson_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tennyson]

_55_

barns deaf en ing i dol' a trous pon' der ca lum' ni ate Be at' i tudes

G.o.d IS OUR FATHER.

The Old Law, the Law given to the Jews on Mount Sinai, tended to inspire the fear of G.o.d, which is the beginning of wisdom. It was given amidst fire and smoke, thunders and lightnings, and whatever else could fill the minds of the Jews with fear and wonder. Compelled, as it were, by the idolatrous acts of His chosen people, by their repeated rebellions, and their endless murmurings, G.o.d showed Himself to them as the almighty Sovereign, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, whose holiness, power, majesty, and severity in punis.h.i.+ng sin, filled their minds with awe and dread.

It was not thus that the New Law, the Law of grace and love, was given to the world. No dark cloud covered the mount of the Beat.i.tudes from which our Lord preached; no deafening thunders were heard; no angry flashes of lightning were visible. There was nothing forbidding in the voice, words, or appearance of the Divine Lawgiver. In the whole exterior of our Savior there was a something so sweet, so humble, so meek and captivating, that the people were filled with admiration and love.

One of the most remarkable features of this first sermon that Christ preached is the fact that He constantly called G.o.d our Father. How beautifully His teachings reveal the spirit of the Law of love! Listen to Him attentively, and ponder upon His words:

"Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your FATHER WHO is in heaven.... But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth; that thy alms may be in secret, and thy FATHER WHO seeth in secret will repay thee.... Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you; and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you; that you may be the children of your FATHER WHO is in heaven, Who maketh His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust.

"Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly FATHER feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they?... If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your FATHER WHO is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him.... For if you will forgive men their offenses, your heavenly FATHER will forgive you also your offenses. But if you will not forgive men, neither will your FATHER forgive you your offenses.... Thus therefore shall you pray: OUR FATHER Who art in heaven."

From these and many other similar expressions found in the very first sermon which Jesus Christ ever preached, we learn that it is the expressed will of G.o.d that we should look upon Him as our loving Father; and that, however unworthy we may be, we should look upon ourselves as His beloved children. There cannot be a possible doubt of this, since it is taught so positively by His only begotten Son, Who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Henry le Jeune._]

Sinai (s[=i]' n[=a]), a mountain in Arabia.

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HAPPY OLD AGE.

"You are old, Father William," the young man cried; "The few locks that are left you are gray; You are hale, Father William, a hearty old man; Now, tell me the reason, I pray."

"In the days of my youth," Father William replied, "I remembered that youth would fly fast, And abused not my health and my vigor at first, That I never might need them at last."

"You are old, Father William," the young man cried, "And life must be hastening away; You are cheerful, and love to converse upon death!

Now, tell me the reason, I pray."

"I am cheerful, young man," Father William replied; "Let the cause thy attention engage; In the days of my youth I remembered my G.o.d!

And He hath not forgotten my age."

_Robert Southey._

Tell the story of the poem in your own words. What are some of the important lessons it teaches?