Poems with Power to Strengthen the Soul Part 35

THE VOICE OF PITY

Couldst thou boast, O child of weakness, O'er the sons of wrong and strife, Were their strong temptations planted In thy path of life?

He alone whose hand is bounding Human power and human will, Looking through each soul's surrounding, Knows its good or ill.

Earnest words must needs be spoken When the warm heart bleeds or burns With its scorn of wrong, or pity For the wronged, by turns.

But, by all thy nature's weakness, Hidden faults and follies known, Be thou, in rebuking evil, Conscious of thine own.

Not the less shall stern-eyed Duty To thy lips her trumpet set, But with harsher blasts shall mingle Wailings of regret.

So when thoughts of evil-doers Waken scorn or hatred move, Shall a mournful fellow-feeling Temper all with love.

--John Greenleaf Whittier.

'Tis the Almighty's gracious plan, That man shall be the joy of man.

--From the Scandinavian, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin.

JUDGE NOT

Judge not; the workings of his brain And of his heart thou canst not see; What looks to thy dim eyes a stain In G.o.d's pure light may only be A scar--brought from some well-won field Where thou wouldst only faint and yield.

The look, the air, that frets thy sight May be a token that, below, The soul has closed in deadly fight With some infernal fiery foe-- Whose glance would scorch thy smiling grace And cast thee shuddering on thy face!

The fall thou darest to despise-- May be the angel's slackened hand Has suffered it, that he may rise And take a firmer, surer stand; Or, trusting less to earthly things, May henceforth learn to use his wings.

And judge none lost; but wait and see With hopeful pity, not disdain, The depth of the abyss may be The measure of the height of pain, And love and glory that may raise This soul to G.o.d in after days.

--Adelaide Anne Procter.

THINK GENTLY OF THE ERRING

Think gently of the erring; Ye know not of the power With which the dark temptation came In some unguarded hour; Ye may not know how earnestly They struggled, or how well, Until the hour of weakness came And sadly thus they fell.

Think gently of the erring; Oh, do not thou forget, However darkly stained by sin, He is thy brother yet; Heir of the self-same heritage, Child of the self-same G.o.d, He has but stumbled in the path Thou hast in weakness trod.

Speak gently to the erring; For is it not enough That innocence and peace have gone, Without thy censure rough?

It sure must be a weary lot, That sin-stained heart to bear, And those who share a happier fate Their chidings well may spare.

Speak gently to the erring; Thou yet mayst lead them back, With holy words and tones of love, From misery's th.o.r.n.y track; Forget not thou hast often sinned, And sinful yet must be; Deal gently with the erring, then, As G.o.d has dealt with thee.

--Julia A. Fletcher.

HARSH JUDGMENTS

O G.o.d! whose thoughts are brightest light, Whose love runs always clear, To whose kind wisdom sinning souls Amidst their sins are dear,

Sweeten my bitter-thoughted heart With charity like thine, Till self shall be the only spot On earth which does not s.h.i.+ne.

I often see in my own thoughts, When they lie nearest Thee, That the worst men I ever knew Were better men than me.

He whom no praise can reach is aye Men's least attempts approving; Whom justice makes all-merciful Omniscience makes all-loving.

How thou canst think so well of us Yet be the G.o.d thou art, Is darkness to my intellect, But suns.h.i.+ne to my heart.

Yet habits linger in the soul; More grace, O Lord! more grace!

More sweetness from thy loving heart!

More suns.h.i.+ne from thy face!

The discord is within, which jars So sadly in life's song; 'Tis we, not they, who are in fault, When others seem so wrong.

'Tis we who weigh upon ourselves; Self is the irksome weight; To those who can see straight themselves, All things look always straight.

My G.o.d, with what surpa.s.sing love Thou lovest all on earth; How good the least good is to thee, How much each soul is worth!

All bitterness is from ourselves; All sweetness is from thee; Sweet G.o.d! for evermore be thou Fountain and fire in me!

--Frederick William Faber.

HOW TO JUDGE

"Judge the people by their actions"--tis a rule you often get-- "Judge the actions by their people" is a wiser maxim yet.

Have I known you, brother, sister? Have I looked into your heart?

Mingled with your thoughts my feelings, taken of your life my part?

Through the warp of your convictions sent the shuttle of my thought Till the web became the Credo, for us both, of Should and Ought?

Seen in thousand ways your nature, in all act and look and speech?

By that large induction only I your law of being reach.

Now I hear of this wrong action--what is that to you and me?

Sin within you may have done it--fruit not nature to the tree.

Foreign graft has come to bearing--mistletoe grown on your bough-- If I ever really knew you, then, my friend, I know you now.

So I say, "He never did it," or, "He did not so intend"; Or, "Some foreign power o'ercame him"--so I judge the action, friend.

Let the mere outside observer note appearance as he can; We, more righteous judgment pa.s.sing, test each action by its man.

--James Freeman Clarke.

"TO KNOW ALL IS TO FORGIVE ALL"

If I knew you and you knew me, If both of us could clearly see, And with an inner sight divine The meaning of your heart and mine, I'm sure that we would differ less, And clasp our hands in friendliness; Our thoughts would pleasantly agree If I knew you and you knew me.

--Nixon Waterman.