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* Thy bounteous hand with worldly blis * Hath made my cup run o'er ; And in a kind and faithful friend , Hath doubl'd all my store . Ten thousand thousand precious gifts My daily thauks employ ; Nor is the least a cheerful heart , Which tastes those gifts with joy .
When worn by sickness , oft hast thou With health renew'd my face ; And , when in sins and sorrows sunk , Reviv'd my soul with grace . Through every period of my life Thy goodness I'll pursue : And after death , in unknown worlds , The glorious theme renew .
Through all eternity to thee A joyful song I'll raise—But oh ! eternity's too short To utter all thy praise . The devotional pieces of Cowper are not unlike those of Addison ; with equal felicity of expression they occasionally combine more poetical imagery ;
but the fears and anxieties of Cowper ' s amiable , though gloomy , piety too often imparted the colour and character of religious melancholy to his verses . He seems to have struck the sacred harp with a trembling hand , as if the awe inspired by the subject damped the ardour of his devotion , and restrained the wings of his imagination . Occasionally , however , faith in the Divine goodness triumphed over his fears , and he then poured forth his soul in strains full of pious confidence and holy joy . The following is a delightful specimen of his happier effusions :
from the world , O Lord ! I flee , From strife and tumult far ; From scenes where sin is waging still Irs most successful war . The calm retreat , the silent shade , With pray ' r and praise agree ; And seem by thy sweet bounty made For those who follow thee .
There , if thy spirit touch the soul , And grace her mean abode 3 () with what peace , and joy , and love , She communes with her God ! There , like the nightingale , she pours Her solitary lays 5 Nor asks a witness of her song , Nor thirsts for human praise .
Author and guardian of my life , Sweet source of light divine ; And all harmonious names in one , My Father—thon art mine 1 What thanks I owe thee ! and what love , A vast and boundless store , Shall echo thro the realms above , When time shall be no more !
In Addison ' s hymns there is more cheerfulness , if not more inspiration : he addresses the Deity as the Father of his creatures , and the language of his verse irf , therefore , that of fervent gratitude and confiding- hope . It is truly delightful to listen to the sweet and soothing strains of his devotion : now celebrating the power of that " Almighty hand * ' which spread out " the spacious firmament" with all those glowing- worlds of light , which declare , in a language
Untitled Article
On Devotional Poetry . 255
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1826, page 255, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2548/page/3/
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