Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A PENITENTIAL SOLILOQUY, by JOHN BYROM



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A PENITENTIAL SOLILOQUY, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: What! Tho' no objects strike upon the sight
Last Line: And worship god in spirit and in truth.
Subject(s): Repentance; Penitence


WHAT! tho' no objects strike upon the sight,
Thy sacred presence is an inward light!
What! tho' no sounds should penetrate the ear,
To list'ning thought the voice of truth is clear;
Sincere devotion needs no outward shrine;
The centre of a humble soul is thine!

There may I worship! And there mayst thou place
Thy seat of mercy, and thy throne of grace!
Yea, fix, if Christ my Advocate appear,
The dread tribunal of thy justice there:
Let each vain thought, let each impure desire
Meet, in thy wrath, with a consuming fire.

Whilst the kind rigours of a righteous doom
All deadly filth of selfish pride consume,
Thou, Lord! canst raise, tho' punishing for sin,
The joys of peaceful penitence within:
Thy justice and thy mercy both are sweet,
That make our suff'rings and salvation meet.

Befall me, then, whatever God shall please!
His wounds are healing, and his griefs give ease:
He, like a true Physician of the soul,
Applies the med'cine that may make it whole.
I'll do, I'll suffer whatsoe'er He wills;
I see his aim thro' all these transient ills.

'Tis to infuse a salutary grief,
To fit the mind for absolute relief;
That, purg'd from ev'ry false and finite love,
Dead to the world, alive to things above,
The soul may rise, as in its first-form'd youth,
And worship God in Spirit and in Truth.





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