Poems (Rice)/After a Sermon by the Pastor of St. Mark's Church

by Maria Theresa Rice

AFTER A SERMON BY THE PASTOR OF SAINT MARK'S CHURCH.

"For it is appointed unto man once to die."

BUT once! this the appointed time
 For fallen man to die;
But once! how solemn, how sublime!
 Think of thy destiny;
Think how thy pastor pleads to-day
That all thy sins be washed away,
 Meet for those realms on high.

Another day, alas, too late!
 How startling, yet how true
The picture of our doom, our fate,
 His loved apostle drew;
How high his mission, and how grand,
This young ambassador, to stand,
 His Master's way pursue;

To mark the course, to paint the way,
 All troubled hearts to show
Their sorrows, where their burdens lay
 While wandering below;
Where those sweet waters may be found,
Where peace, where love, where joy abound,
 From whence those streamlets flow.

To analyze with science, skill,
 With such a holy art,
To bend, to break the stubborn will,
 Then healing balm impart;
And genius' sacred lore combine
With gifts to sanctify divine
 The unregenerate heart.

This, this a glorious work indeed;
 Then wherefore longer wait,
Repeating psalter, psalm, or creed,
 Before Jehovah's gate?
But once to die, with fear I own,
With trembling, Father, now atone
 For sins too heavy, great.

Resist, ah never, such appeal
 Presented with such care,
With pathos and with fervor, zeal,
 Those Bible truths so rare;
A sermon perfect, part and whole,
To search the heart, to reach the soul,
 Its seeds must flourish there.