ECCLESIASTICAL SONNETS
XVIII. PASTORAL CHARACTER
ECCLESIASTICAL SONNETS
A GENIAL hearth, a hospitable board, And a refined rusticity, belong To the neat mansion, where, his flock among, The learned Pastor dwells, their watchful Lord. Though meek and patient as a sheathed sword; Though pride’s least lurking thought appear a wrong To human kind; though peace be on his tongue, Gentleness in his heart–can earth afford Such genuine state, pre-eminence so free, As when, arrayed in Christ’s authority, 10 He from the pulpit lifts his awful hand; Conjures, implores, and labours all he can For re-subjecting to divine command The stubborn spirit of rebellious man?