Classic Poem

PARABLE XVIII.

The wealthy Self-deceiver—of taking no Thought of the Body—and of Watching.

A certain wealthy man had ground
Which did with golden crops abound,
And he debated in his breast,
‘How shall I manage for the best,
‘Since I've no room to stow my fruits?’
At length he says, ‘This method suits,
‘I will pull down my barns, and build
‘Much greater, and they shall be fill'd
‘With all this wealth, in which I roll,
‘And I will say unto my soul,
‘Soul, thou hast plenteous goods in store
‘For this and many a season more;
‘Repose thyself, indulge good cheer,
‘Eat, drink, and mirthful spend the year.’
But God within his conscience said,
‘This night, thou fool, thou shalt be dead,
‘And I thy sinful soul demand;
‘Then whose are all these goods and land?’
This is the case of one who thrives,
And for his carnal lust contrives;
Rich to himself, and mammon's leav'n,
But poor to Jesus Christ and heav'n
Therefore the Lord his scholars taught,
‘Take for your mortal lives no thought,
‘What sustenance ye have to-day,
‘Or how ye shall your limbs array
‘The life, far more than meat, above
‘Is God's communicated love;
‘The body there is more than dress'd,
‘With light encompassed and bless'd.
‘Consider how the ravens feed,
‘Nor sow nor reap they for their need,
‘Nor have they barns their store to hive,
‘But God preserves their race alive:
‘How much more worthy of his care
‘Are ye than birds that haunt the air?
‘Can ye by anxious thought devise
‘To add one cubit to your size?
‘If then in that is least ye fail,
‘What can solicitude avail?
‘Observe the lillies how they grow,
‘They toil not, nor the distaff know;
‘And yet believe what I relate,
‘That Solomon in all his state,
‘Deck'd with much gold, and many a gem,
‘Was not array'd like one of them
‘If then your God so clothes the flow'r,
‘Whose being's of the present hour,
‘But on the morrow burnt with fire;
‘How much more shall he you attire?
‘O scant of faith! Then do not seek
‘For drink to draw, nor bread to break,
‘Nor do ye entertain a doubt,
‘For all the race, that be without,
‘Are anxious after things like these,
‘And your Almighty Father sees,
‘And helps your cravings from his throne—
‘Then seek ye Jesus Christ alone,
‘And wait for his eternal meed,
‘And all things meaner shall accede
‘Fear not, my faithful flock, at all,
‘Although your number be but small;
‘For God's benevolence be prais'd,
‘To heav'nly thrones ye shall be rais'd.
‘Sell what ye have, and give away;
‘Provide ye bags which ne'er decay,
‘A heav'nly treasure, not to fail,
‘Where neither moth nor rust assail;
‘For where your treasure is, your heart
‘Will never from that place depart.
‘Your tapers light, your loins adjust,
‘And be ye like to men of trust,
‘And tarry for the Lord at home,
‘'Till from the wedding he shall come,
‘That when he knocks he may not wait,
‘But find the door wide open straight.
‘Those servants of the Lord are blest,
‘Whom he shall find disdaining rest;
‘In truth he shall his loins begird
‘And feed them to himself preferr'd.
‘If at the second watch he speed,
‘Or at the third, then blest indeed
‘Are all those servants, that retard
‘Their peace, and stand upon their guard—
‘And this for certain ye may hold,
‘If the good man had been foretold
‘What time the thief broke thro' the wall,
‘He would have watch'd, and sav'd his all.
‘Be ready, therefore, and take care,
‘The hour, of which you're not aware,
‘May be the Lord's appointed time
‘To crown thy toil, or charge thy crime.’
?Then Peter interrupts him thus—
Speak'st thou this parable to us?
Or is it, Lord, a gen'ral call
And warning, giv'n alike to all?
But, waving him, the Lord replies,
Who is that steward just and wise,
To whom his lord shall give the lead,
And charge him all his house to feed?
He's at his lord's arrival blest,
Detected doing of his best—
His master, ('tis the truth I say)
Shall justly bid him bear the sway.
But, if within himself he says,
My master his return delays,
And then each man and maiden beats,
And drinks to gross excess, and eats.
The day, the hour, he never thought,
He by his master shall be caught,
Who will the wretch in pieces hew,
And rank him with the godless crew.—
And he, that knew his master's will,
Yet was not ready to fulfil,
Shall, heedless of a plain command,
To many stripes a victim stand
But he, without precaution rash,
Altho' he's worthy of the lash,
Shall be corrected with a few:
Where much is giv'n, much is due;
And men, to whom they much commit,
Will not but still for more acquit.