Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.
By Poems. III. HumilityJames Drummond Burns (18231864)
O!
The paths of peace are trod;
If thou would’st keep thy garments white and holy,
Walk humbly with thy God.
Is in God’s sight a fool;
But he in heavenly truth most deeply gifted
Sits lowest in Christ’s school.
As His abiding rest;
And angels by some patriarch’s tent have waited,
When kings had no such guest.
Falls in the valley free;
Bright verdure fringes the small desert-fountain,
But barren sand the sea.
Which charms the general wood,
But in the violet low, whose sweetness telleth
Its unseen neighbourhood.
Fumes with a fire abhorred;
But Faith’s two mites, dropped covertly, inherit
A blessing from the Lord.
A sweet unconscious grace;
Which, even in shrinking, evermore discovers
The brightness on its face.
Such guerdon Meekness knows;
His peace within her, and His smile upon her,
Her saintly way she goes.
With sandals on her feet;
And pure-eyed Graces, hand in hand come trooping,
Their sister fair to greet.
And guard her from annoy;
Heaven fills her heart with silent overflowings
Of its perennial joy.
With which He walked on Earth;
And through her child-like glance, and step, and gesture,
He knows her heavenly birth.
On all whom He redeems;
And in His own bright City, crystal-paven,
On every brow it gleams.
Their state all meekly wear;
Their praise wells up from hidden springs of wonder
That grace has brought them there.