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DIVINE JUSTICE AMIABLE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Thou hast no lightnings, o thou just!
Last Line: Than woe itself would be.
Alternate Author Name(s): Guion, De La Mothe; Guyon, Jeanne Marie Bouvieres De La Mothe; Guyon Du Chesnoy


THOU hast no lightnings, O Thou Just!
Or I their force should know;
And if Thou strike me into dust,
My soul approves the blow.

The heart, that values less its ease
Than it adores Thy ways,
In Thine avenging anger sees
A subject of its praise.

Pleased I could lie, concealed and lost,
In shades of central night;
Not to avoid Thy wrath, Thou knowest,
But lest I grieve Thy sight.

Smite me, O Thou, whom I provoke;
And I will love Thee still;
The well-deserved and righteous stroke
Shall please me, though it kill.

Am I not worthy to sustain
The worst Thou canst devise?
And dare I seek Thy throne again,
And meet Thy sacred eyes?

Far from afflicting, Thou art kind:
And in my saddest hours
An unction of Thy grace I find,
Pervading all my powers.

Alas! Thou sparest me again;
And when Thy wrath should move,
Too gentle to endure my pain,
Thou sooth'st me with Thy love.

I have no punishment to fear;
But, ah! that smile from Thee
Imparts a pang far more severe
Than woe itself would be.





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