Anon the great globe itself (so the holy writings tell,) With the rolling firmament, where the starry armies dwell, Shall melt with fervent heat--they all shall pass away, Except the _Love_ of God, which shall live and last for aye. _W. C. Bryant._ God is _Love_, saith the Evangel; And our world of woe and sin Is made light and happy only, When a _love_ is shining in. _J. G. Whittier._ Oh, _loving_ and forgiving-- Ye angel words of earth Years were not worth the living If ye too had not birth! Oh, _loving_ and forbearing-- How sweet your mission here; The grief that ye are sharing Hath blessings in its tear. Oh, stern and unforgiving-- Ye evil words of life, That mock the means of living With never-ending strife. Oh, harsh and unrepenting How would ye meet the grave, If Heaven, as unrelenting, Forbore not, nor forgave? Oh, _loving_ and forgiving-- Sweet sisters of the soul, In whose celestial living The passions find control! Still breathe your influence o’er us Whene’er by passion crost, And, angel-like, restore us The paradise we lost. _Charles Swain._ ’Tis the angel _Love_, He, who for ever strives with Death, and yet Doth live! I see a form erect and motionless, Veiled with a cloud of darkness, that no eye Can pierce; that spectre form is Death, and there I see _Love_ crushed and bleeding ’neath his feet: But still undying--still a conqueror--still A thing that Death may wound but cannot quell. In his warm blood a spirit still survives; In his bright eye a soul is living yet; In his undying heart, eternal life Throbs fixedly. Oh strife most beautiful! Thou crowned martyr! thou enduring _Love_! How beautiful thou art! _Constantia L. Riddell._ Why should I a stranger be In my Father’s dwelling, While hill and river, rock and tree, Of his _love_ are telling? Always heard their simple voice, Bidding child-like hearts rejoice, Whispers us this _love_ is near; What we seek in yonder sphere, _Love_ can find it now--and here. _Joseph Gostick._