The Sower
(Matthew, xiii.3)
Ye sons of earth prepare the plough,
Break up your fallow ground;
The sower is gone forth to sow,
And scatter blessings round.
The seed that finds a stony soil
Shoots forth a hasty blade;
But ill repays the sower’s toil,
Soon wither’d, scorch’d, and dead.
The thorny ground is sure to balk
All hopes of harvest there;
We find a tall and sickly stalk,
But not the fruitful ear.
The beaten path and highway side,
Receive the trust in vain;
The watchful birds the spoil divide,
And pick up all the grain.
But where the Lord of grace and power
Has bless’d the happy field,
How plenteous is the golden store
The deep-wrought furrows yield!
Father of mercies, we have need
Of thy preparing grace;
Let the same Hand that give me seed
Provide a fruitful place!
Related poetry:
- Psalm 33 part 2 Creatures vain, and God all-sufficient. Blest is the nation where the Lord Hath fixed his gracious throne, Where he reveals his heav’nly word, And calls their tribes his own. His eye with infinite survey Does the whole world behold; He formed us all of equal clay, And knows our feeble mold. Kings are not rescued […]...
- Winter in Durnover Field Scene. A wide stretch of fallow ground recently sown with wheat, and Frozen to iron hardness. Three large birds walking about thereon, And wistfully eyeing the surface. Wind keen from north-east: sky a Dull grey. (Triolet) Rook. Throughout the field I find no grain; The cruel frost encrusts the cornland! Starling. Aye: patient pecking now […]...
- Psalm 62 v.5-12 L. M. No trust in the creatures; or, Faith in Divine grace and power. My spirit looks to God alone; My rock and refuge is his throne; In all my fears, in all my straits, My soul on his salvation waits. Trust him, ye saints, in all your ways, Pour out your hearts before […]...
- The Sower Sure of the spring that warms them into birth, The golden seeds thou trustest to the earth; And dost thou doubt the eternal spring sublime, For deeds the seeds which wisdom sows in time....
- Psalm XXXIII: Rejoice, Ye Righteous Rejoice, ye righteous, in the Lord, This work belongs to you; Sing of his name, his ways, his word, How holy, just, and true. His mercy and his righteousness Let heav’n and earth proclaim; His works of nature and of grace Reveal his wondrous name. His wisdom and almighty word The heav’nly arches spread, And […]...
- Datur Hora Quieti The sun upon the lake is low, The wild birds hush their song, The hills have evening’s deepest glow, Yet Leonard tarries long. Now all whom varied toil and care From home and love divide, In the calm sunset may repair Each to the loved one’s side. The noble dame, on turret high, Who waits […]...
- Returned To Say When I face north a lost Cree On some new shore puts a moccasin down, Rock in the light and noon for seeing, He in a hurry and I beside him It will be a long trip; he will be a new chief; We have drunk new water from an unnamed stream; Under little dark […]...
- The True Knowledge Thou knowest all; I seek in vain What lands to till or sow with seed – The land is black with briar and weed, Nor cares for falling tears or rain. Thou knowest all; I sit and wait With blinded eyes and hands that fail, Till the last lifting of the veil And the first […]...
- God's-Acre I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls The burial-ground God’s-Acre! It is just; It consecrates each grave within its walls, And breathes a benison o’er the sleeping dust. God’s-Acre! Yes, that blessed name imparts Comfort to those, who in the grave have sown The seed that they had garnered in their hearts, Their bread […]...
- Psalm 119 part 3 Professions of sincerity, repentance, and obedience. Ver. 57,60 Thou art my portion, O my God; Soon as I know thy way, My heart makes haste t’ obey thy word, And suffers no delay. Ver. 30,14 I choose the path of heav’nly truth, And glory in my choice; Not all the riches of the earth Could […]...
- Mrs. Sibley The secret of the stars, gravitation. The secret of the earth, layers of rock. The secret of the soil, to receive seed. The secret of the seed, the germ. The secret of man, the sower. The secret of woman, the soil. My secret: Under a mound that you shall never find....
- Justice Denied In Massachusetts Let us abandon then our gardens and go home And sit in the sitting-room Shall the larkspur blossom or the corn grow under this cloud? Sour to the fruitful seed Is the cold earth under this cloud, Fostering quack and weed, we have marched upon but cannot Conquer; We have bent the blades of our […]...
- Hymn 119 The different success of the gospel. 1 Cor. 1:23,24; 3:6,7; 2 Cor. 2:16. Christ and his cross is all our theme; The myst’ries that we speak Are scandal in the Jew’s esteem, And folly to the Greek. But souls enlightened from above With joy receive the word; They see what wisdom, power, and love Shine […]...
- Hymn 80 An evening hymn. Psa. 4:8; 3:5,6; 148:8. Thus far the Lord has led me on, Thus far his power prolongs my days; And every evening shall make known Some fresh memorial of his grace. Much of my time has run to waste, And I perhaps am near my home; But he forgives my follies past, […]...
- Noon I bend to the ground To catch Something whispered, Urgent, drifting Across the ditches. The heaviness of Flies stuttering In orbit, dirt Ripening, the sweat Of eggs. There are Small streams The width ofa thumb Running in the villages Of sheaves, whole Eras of grain Wakening on The stalks, a roof That breathes over My […]...
- Old Man Old Man, or Lads-Love, – in the name there’s nothing To one that knows not Lads-Love, or Old Man, The hoar green feathery herb, almost a tree, Growing with rosemary and lavender. Even to one that knows it well, the names Half decorate, half perplex, the thing it is: At least, what that is clings […]...
- Hymn 83 Afflictions and death under Providence. Job 5:6-8. Not from the dust affliction grows, Nor troubles rise by chance; Yet we are born to cares and woes; A sad inheritance! As sparks break out from burning coals, And still are upwards borne So grief is rooted in our souls, And man grows up to mourn. Yet […]...
- Hymn 94 Justification by faith, not by works. Rom. 3:19-22. Vain are the hopes the sons of men On their own works have built; Their hearts by nature all unclean, And all their actions guilt. Let Jew and Gentile stop their mouths Without a murm’ring word, And the whole race of Adam stand Guilty before the Lord. […]...
- We Never Said Farewell WE never said farewell, nor even looked Our last upon each other, for no sign Was made when we the linkèd chain unhooked And broke the level line. And here we dwell together, side by side, Our places fixed for life upon the chart. Two islands that the roaring seas divide Are not more far […]...
- Hymn 60 The Virgin Mary’s song. Luke 1:46ff. Our souls shall magnify the Lord, In God the Savior we rejoice: While we repeat the Virgin’s song, May the same Spirit tune our voice! [The Highest saw her low estate, And mighty things his hand hath done: His overshadowing power and grace Makes her the mother of his […]...
- Hymn 161 Christian virtues; or, The difficulty of conversion. Strait is the way, the door is strait, That leads to joys on high; ‘Tis but a few that find the gate, While crowds mistake, and die. Beloved self must be denied, The mind and will renewed Passion suppressed, and patience tried, And vain desires subdued. [Flesh is […]...
- On A Picture Of A Black Centaur By Edmund Dulac Your hooves have stamped at the black margin of the wood, Even where horrible green parrots call and swing. My works are all stamped down into the sultry mud. I knew that horse-play, knew it for a murderous thing. What wholesome sun has ripened is wholesome food to eat, And that alone; yet I, being […]...
- The Swan This laboring through what is still undone, As though, legs bound, we hobbled along the way, Is like the akward walking of the swan. And dying-to let go, no longer feel The solid ground we stand on every day- Is like anxious letting himself fall Into waters, which receive him gently And which, as though […]...
- A Coloured Print by Shokei It winds along the face of a cliff This path which I long to explore, And over it dashes a waterfall, And the air is full of the roar And the thunderous voice of waters which sweep In a silver torrent over some steep. It clears the path with a mighty bound And tumbles below […]...
- Reluctance Out through the fields and the woods And over the walls I have wended; I have climbed the hills of view And looked at the world, and descended; I have come by the highway home, And lo, it is ended. The leaves are all dead on the ground, Save those that the oak is keeping […]...
- Psalm 12 The saint’s safety and hope in evil times. Lord, if thou dost not soon appear, Virtue and truth will fly away; A faithful man amongst us here Will scarce be found, if thou delay. The whole discourse, when neighbors meet, Is filled with trifles loose and vain; Their lips are flattery and deceit, And their […]...
- Sand Dabs, Five What men build, in the name of security, is built of straw. * Does the grain of sand know it is a grain of sand? * My dog Ben a mouth like a tabernacle. * You can have the other words-chance, luck, coincidence, Serendipity. I’ll take grace. I don’t know what it is exactly, but […]...
- The Princess: A Medley: Our Enemies have Fall'n Our enemies have fall’n, have fall’n: the seed, The little seed they laugh’d at in the dark, Has risen and cleft the soil, and grown a bulk Of spanless girth, that lays on every side A thousand arms and rushes to the Sun. Our enemies have fall’n, have fall’n: they came; The leaves were wet […]...
- Psalm 4 v. 1-3,5-7 L. M. Hearing of prayer. O God of grace and righteousness, Hear and attend when I complain; Thou hast enlarged me in distress, Bow down a gracious ear again. Ye sons of men, in vain ye try To turn my glory into shame; How long will scoffers love to lie, And dare reproach […]...
- Hymn 35 part 1 Faith the way to salvation. Rom. 1:16; Eph. 2:8,9. Not by the laws of innocence Can Adam’s sons arrive at heav’n; New works can give us no pretence To have our ancient sins forgiv’n. Not the best deeds that we have done Can make a wounded conscience whole; Faith is the grace, and faith alone, […]...
- To Eva O Fair and stately maid, whose eye Was kindled in the upper sky At the same torch that lighted mine; For so I must interpret still Thy sweet dominion o’er my will, A sympathy divine. Ah! let me blameless gaze upon Features that seem in heart my own, Nor fear those watchful sentinels Which charm […]...
- Hymn To Life The hair falling on your forehead suddenly lifted. Suddenly something stirred on the ground. The trees are whispering in the dark. Your bare arms will be cold. Far off where we can’t see, the moon must be rising. It hasn’t reached us yet, slipping through the leaves to light up your shoulder. But I know […]...
- In Memoriam A. H. H.: 54. Oh, yet we Trust that somehow Goo Oh, yet we trust that somehow good Will be the final end of ill, To pangs of nature, sins of will, Defects of doubt, and taints of blood; That nothing walks with aimless feet; That not one life shall be destroy’d, Or cast as rubbish to the void, When God hath made the pile complete; […]...
- Light Shining out of Darkness God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines Of never-failing skill, He treasures up His bright designs, And works His sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, The clouds ye so much dread Are big with […]...
- Hymn 124 The first and second Adam. Rom. 5:12,etc. Deep in the dust before thy throne Our guilt and our disgrace we own; Great God! we own th’ unhappy name Whence sprang our nature and our shame; Adam the sinner: at his fall, Death like a conqueror seized us A thousand new-born babes are dead By fatal […]...
- 136 Syllables At Rocky Mountain Dharma Center Tail turned to red sunset on a juniper crown a lone magpie cawks. Mad at Oryoki in the shrine-room Thistles blossomed late afternoon. Put on my shirt and took it off in the sun walking the path to lunch. A dandelion seed floats above the marsh grass with the mosquitos. At 4 A. M. the […]...
- The Royal Tombs Of Golconda I MUSE among these silent fanes Whose spacious darkness guards your dust; Around me sleep the hoary plains That hold your ancient wars in trust. I pause, my dreaming spirit hears, Across the wind’s unquiet tides, The glimmering music of your spears, The laughter of your royal brides. In vain, O Kings, doth time aspire […]...
- Sonnet On The Death Of Mr Richard West In vain to me the smiling mornings shine, And redd’ning Phoebus lifts his golden fire: The birds in vain their amorous descant join; Or cheerful fields resume their green attire: These ears, alas! for other notes repine, A different object do these eyes require: My lonely anguish melts no heart but mine; And in my […]...
- Hymn 34 part 1 The gospel the power of God to salvation. Rom. 1:16. What shall the dying sinner do That seeks relief for all his woe? Where shall the guilty conscience find Ease for the torment of the mind? How shall we get our crimes forgiv’n? Or form our natures fit for heav’n? Can souls all o’er defiled […]...
- Psalm 5 For the Lord’s Day Morning. Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear My voice ascending high; To thee will I direct my prayer, To thee lift up mine eye; Up to the hills where Christ is gone To plead for all his saints, Presenting at his Father’s throne Our songs and our complaints. Thou art […]...