Yea, saith the Spirit, for they now shall rest From all their labours!' But no dull, dark night That rest o'ershadows: 'tis the day-spring bright Of bliss; the foretaste of a richer feast; A sleep, if sleep it be, of lively zest, Peopled with visions of intense delight. And though the secrets of that resting-place

The soul embodied knows not; yet she knows No sin is there God's likeness to deface,

To stint His love, no purgatorial woes;

Her dross is left behind, nor mixture base
Mars the pure stream of her serene repose.

2985. REST. The Soul's

RETURN, my soul, unto thy rest,

Mant.

From vain pursuits and maddening cares, From lonely woes that wring thy breast,

The world's allurements-Satan's snares. God is thy rest-with heart inclined

To keep His Word, that Word believe; Christ is thy Rest-with lowly mind

His light and easy yoke receive.-Montgomery.

2986. REST. True

SWEET is the pleasure
Itself cannot spoil!

Is not true leisure

One with true toil?

Thou that wouldst taste it,

Still do thy best;
Use it, not waste it-
Else 'tis no rest.

Wouldst behold beauty
Near thee? all round?

Only hath duty

Such a sight found.

Rest is not quitting

The busy career;

Rest is the fitting

Of self to its sphere.

'Tis the brook's motion,
Clear without strife,
Fleeing to ocean
After its life.

Deeper devotion

Nowhere hath knelt ;

Fuller emotion

Heart never felt.

'Tis loving and serving

The highest and best ; 'Tis onwards! unswervingAnd that is true rest.—Dwight.

2987. REST: where it is to be found.

O LITTLE birds, fly east again! O little birds, fly west! Ye have found no happy city in all your wandering quest;

Still shall ye find no spot of rest wherever ye may

stray,

And still, like ye, the weary soul must wing its weary way!

There sleepeth no such city within the wide earth's bound,

Nor hath the dreaming fancy yet its blissful portals found.

We are but children, crying here, upon a mother's

breast,

For life, and peace, and blessedness, and for eternal

rest!

Bless God! I hear a still small voice above life's clamorous din,

Saying, Faint not, O weary one, thou yet may'st enter in !

That city is prepared for those who well do win the fight,

Who tread the wine-press till its blood hath wash'd them pure and white.

Within it is no darkness, nor any baleful flower Shall there oppress thy waking eyes with stupefying

power;

It lieth calm, within the light of God's peace-giving

breast,

Its walls are call'd Salvation,-that city's name is "Rest!"'-From 'Household Words.

Not in this weary world of ours

Can perfect rest be found; Thorns mingle with its fairest flowers, Even on cultured ground;

Earth's pilgrim still his loins must gird To seek a lot more blest;

And this must be his onward wordIn heaven alone is rest!'-Barton.

2988. RESURRECTION. Analogies of the

THE seed, the insentient seed,
Buried beneath the earth,
Starts from its dusty bed,
Responsive to the voice of spring,
And covers mead and mountain,
Fields and forests, with its life.
Myriads of creatures, too, that lay

As dead as dust on every inch of ground,
Touch'd by the vernal ray,

Spring from their little graves, and sport
On beauteous wings in fields of sunnied air.
Shall this be so? shall plants and worms

Come forth to life again? And oh, shall man
Descend into the grave to rise no more?
Shall he, the master of this world,
Image and offspring of the fontal life,
Through endless ages sleep in dust ?—Thomas.

2989. RESURRECTION. Emblem of the HAVE you not seen how, pent in narrow room,

From leaf to leaf the worm-like insect creeps? Have you not seen how undistinguish'd sleeps That insect, girded by its death-like tomb? Till, bursting forth in vernal beauty's bloom,

Quick into life the winged wonder leaps, Sports in the sun, the flower, the brooklet sips, Broider'd with brightest tints from nature's loom? So man, within his being's narrow ring,

Crawls on his kindred earth: so down he lies In wintry slumber wrapt : in life's new spring Again, no more a grovelling worm, to rise; But seraph-like, to soar on radiant wing, And quaff delight 'mid heaven's unclouded skies. Mant.

2990. RESURRECTION: its certainty.

Two thousand years ago, a flower
Bloom'd brightly in a far-off land;
Two thousand years ago, its seed

Was placed within a dead man's hand.

Before the Saviour came to earth,

That man had lived, and toil'd, and died; But even in that far-off time

That flower had shed its perfume wide.
Suns rose and set, years came and went ;
That dead hand kept its treasure well:
Nations were born, and turn'd to dust,

While life was hidden in that shell..
The senseless hand is robb'd at last ;
The seed is buried in the earth;
When lo! the life, long sleeping there,
Into a lovely flower burst forth.
Just such a plant as that which grew
From such a seed when buried low,
Just such a flower in Egypt bloom'd,

And died-two thousand years ago.
And will not He who watch'd the seed,
And kept the life within the shell,
When those He loves are laid to rest,
Watch o'er His buried saints as well?
And will not He, from 'neath the sod,
Cause something glorious to arise?
Ay, though it sleeps two thousand years,
Yet all this slumbering dust shall rise!

Just such a face as greets you now, Just such a form as now you wear, But, oh, more glorious far, shall rise, To meet the Saviour in the air!

Then will I lay me down in peace,

When call'd to leave this vale of tears;
For in my flesh I shall see God,'
E'en though I sleep a thousand years!
Sarah H. Bradford.

2991. RESURRECTION. Recognition in the
AND shall I e'er again thy features trace,
Beloved friend; thy lineaments review?
Yes: though the sunken eyes, and livid hue,
And lips compress'd, have quench'd each lively grace,
Death's triumph; still I recognize the face

Which thine for many a year affection knew: And what forbids, that, clothed with life anew, It still on memory's tablet hold its place? Though then thy cheek with deathless bloom be sheen,

And rays of splendour wreathe thy sun-like brow, That change I deem shall sever not between

Thee and thy former self; nor disallow That love's tried eyes discern thee through the screen Of glory then, as of corruption now.-Mant.

2992. RESURRECTION: the hope of the right

eous.

LET those deplore their doom Whose hope still grovels in this dark sojourn ; But lofty souls can look beyond the tomb,

Can smile at fate, and wonder how they mourn. Shall Spring to these sad scenes no more return? Is yonder wave the sun's eternal bed?

Soon shall the orient with new lustre burn,
And Spring shall soon her vital influence shed,
Again attune the grove, again adorn the mead.
Beattie.

2993. RETIREMENT. Causes of
THUS Some retire to nourish hopeless woe;
Some seeking happiness not found below;
Some to comply with humour, and a mind
To social scenes by nature disinclined;
Some sway'd by fashion, some by deep disgust;
Some self-impoverish'd, and because they must;
But few that court retirement are aware
Of half the toils they must encounter there.
Cowper.

2994. RETIREMENT. Charms of

LET him that will, ascend the tottering seat Of courtly grandeur, and become as great

RETRIBUTION

As are his mounting wishes: as for me,
Let sweet repose and rest my portion be;
Give me some mean obscure recess, a sphere
Out of the road of business, or the fear
Of falling lower; where I sweetly may
Myself and dear retirement still enjoy :
Let not my life or name be known unto
The grandees of the time, tost to and fro
By censures or applause; but let my age
Slide gently by; not overthwart the stage
Of public action; unheard, unseen,

And unconcern'd, as if I ne'er had been ;
And thus, while I shall pass my silent days
In shady privacy, free from the noise
And bustles of the mad world, then shall I
A good old innocent plebeian die.
Death is a mere surprise, a very snare,
To him that makes it his life's greatest care
To be a public pageant; known to all,
But unacquainted with himself, doth fall.

Sir Matthew Hale: Paraphrase from Seneca.

I'd rather, like the violet, grow

Unmark'd i' th' shaded vale,

Than on the hill those terrors know

Are breathed forth by an angry gale:
There is more pomp above, more sweet below.
Habbington.

How miserable a thing is a great man:
Take noisy vexing greatness they that please,
Give me obscure, and safe, and silent ease.

Crown.

How much they err who, to their interest blind, Slight the calm peace which from retirement flows! And while they think their fleeting joys to bind, Banish the tranquil bliss which Heaven for man design'd!-Mrs Tighe.

2995. RETRIBUTION. Fact of

THOUGH the mills of God grind slowly,

Yet they grind exceeding small; Though with patience He stands waiting, With exactness grinds He all.-Longfellow.

2996. REUNION : above.

IF yon bright stars, which gem the night, Be each a blissful dwelling-sphere, Where kindred spirits reunite,

Whom death hath torn asunder here; How sweet it were at once to die,

To leave this blighted orb afar, Mixt soul and soul, to cleave the sky, And soar away from star to star!

But, oh! how dark, how drear and lone,
Would seem the brightest world of bliss,
If, wandering through each radiant one,
We fail'd to find the loved of this!
If there no more the ties shall twine

Which death's cold hand alone can sever,
Ah, then those stars in mockery shine,

More hateful as they shine for ever!

It cannot be !-each hope, each fear,
That lights the eye or clouds the brow,
Proclaims there is a happier sphere

Than this bleak world that holds us now. There is a voice which sorrow hears,

When heaviest weighs life's galling chain, 'Tis Heaven that whispers, 'Dry your tears; The pure in heart shall meet again.'-Leggett

2997. REUNION. Place of

WHERE no shadow shall bewilder,
Where life's vain parade is o'er,
Where the sleep of sin is broken,

And the dreamer dreams no more:
Where the bond is never sever'd;

Partings, claspings, sob and moan, Midnight waking, twilight weeping, Heavy noontide,—all are done : Where the child has found its mother, Where the mother finds the child, Where dear families are gather'd, That were scatter'd on the wild: Brother, we shall meet and rest 'Mid the holy and the blest!

Where the hidden wound is healed,

Where the blighted light re-blooms, Where the smitten heart the freshness Of its buoyant youth resumes: Where the love that here we lavish

On the withering leaves of time, Shall have fadeless flowers to fix on

In an ever spring-bright clime: Where we find the joy of loving,

As we never loved before,
Loving on, unchill'd, unhinder'd,
Loving once and evermore :

Brother, we shall meet and rest,
'Mid the holy and the blest!-Bonar.

2998. REUNION OF FRIENDS IN HEA VEN. Moral certainty of the

OH! mocking life if this be not!
Oh! mocking love, the curse of life!
Be husband, father, mother, wife,
For one brief hour! O cruel lot!

But if thou shalt fail of a treasure in heaven,
All thy wealth to the winds shall be rapidly given.

Go, enter the mart where the merchantmen meet;
Get rich, and retire to some rural retreat :
Ere happiness comes, comes the season to die;
Quickly then will thy riches all vanish and fly.

Go, sit with the mighty in purple and gold;
Thy mansions be stately, thy treasures untold:
But soon shalt thou dwell in the damp house of clay,
While thy riches make wings to themselves, and

away.

WHERE'ER the power of ridicule displays
Her quaint-eyed visage, some incongruous form,
Some stubborn dissonance of things combined,
Strikes on the quick observer : whether pomp,
Or praise, or beauty, mix their partial claim,
Where sordid fashions, where ignoble deeds,
Where foul deformity, are wont to dwell;
Or whether these, with violation loathed,
Invade resplendent pomp's imperious mien,
The charms of beauty, or the boast of praise.

Ask we for what fair end the Almighty Sire
In mortal bosoms wakes this gay contempt,
These grateful stings of laughter, from disgust
Educing pleasure? Wherefore, but to aid
The tardy steps of reason, and at once
By this prompt impulse urge us to depress
The giddy aims of folly ?-Akenside.

3008. RIGHT. Doing

Go boldly on. Do what is right;
Ask not for private ease or good;
Let one bright star direct thy sight,
The polar star of rectitude.

Go boldly on. And though the road

Thy weary, bleeding feet shall rend, Angels shall help thee bear thy load,

And God Himself thy steps attend.

Do right. And thou hast nought to fear;
Right hath a power that makes thee strong:
The night is dark, but light is near;
The grief is short, the joy is long.

THE river Thames that by our door doth pass,
His first beginning is but small and shallow;
Yet, keeping on his course, grows to a sea.
Shakespeare.

Oh could I flow like thee, and make thy stream
My great example, as thou art my theme!
Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull;
Strong, without rage; without o'erflowing, full.
Denham.

And see the rivers, how they run
Through woods and meads, in shade and sun;
Sometimes swift, sometimes slow,

Wave succeeding wave, they go

A various journey to the deep,

Like human life to endless sleep!-Dyer.

3011. ROCK OF AGES.'

'Rock of Ages, cleft for me,'
Thoughtlessly the maiden sung;
Fell the words unconsciously
From her girlish tongue;
Sang as little children sing;

Sang as sings the birds of June; Fell the words like light leaves down

On the current of the tune'Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.'

'Let me hide myself in Thee.'

Felt her soul no need to hide ; Sweet the song as song could be

And she had no thought beside;