Thy bright, swift pinions, Dawn, had I, To distant realms my soul would fly; And view eternal mansions there, Where my lost friends and Saviour are. O were to me that chariot given, Which bore the man of God to heaven: I would this earthly tent resign, And every mortal joy of mine. By day or night I should not tire, Had I pillared cloud and fire: I'd sing the dreary desert through, And joyful enter Jordan too. Or could I Jacob's ladder climb, I'd leave afar the clouds of time; Nor rest until my favoured ears Caught angel-strains above the spheres. My soul, it is thy Peniel here, Repeat good Jacob's earnest prayer: Perchance, before the morning wake, The day divine may o'er thee break. XXXIV. JUBILEE. I am through the lone night waiting, For the dawning of the day, When my prison door is opened, When my fetters fall away. O come quickly, Happy day of Jubilee! Let me still be meekly wakeful, Trusting that to all my woes, By thy mighty hand, Redeemer, Shall be given a speedy close: Keep me watching, For the joyful Jubilee. XXXV. LOOKING BEYOND. I look beyond the distant hills, My risen Lord to see: O come, Beloved, ere the dusk, My sun doth set on me! Methinks that were my feet released From these afflicting chains, I would but sing of Calvary, Nor think of all my pains. I long for thy divine abode, Where sinless myriads dwell, Who ceaseless sing thy boundless love, And all thy glories tell. XXXVI. ONE WITH CHRIST. (TO A CHRISTIAN FRIEND UNDER BEREAVEMENT.) What though the dark cloud for a season doth hover, O'er pleasures and prospects so humble as thine; The joy of the past taken from thee for ever-- And thy faint heart tempted by grief to repine: Thy Loved and thy Lost shall on earth no more greet thee, Farewell hath thine eyes with its weeping made dim; But think, though Creation henceforth may seem empty, Thou canst not be severed a moment from HIM. Oft, oft shall the prayer unto God be ascending, Though far in the wilderness from thee we dwell, That into thine heart He may daily be sending Joys, comforts, and blessings which tongue cannot tell: That long be thy life, and all-fragrant that life be, And if more affliction thy bliss should bedim. His voice of compassion may sweetly remind thee, Thy life, in thy trials, is hidden with HIM.