Classic Poem

PARABLE LIX.

The Easiness of Christ's Yoke.

Christ Jesus thus his thanks address'd
To God, ‘O Father, be thou bless'd,
‘Thou Lord of heav'n and earth below,
‘Because these things thou would'st not show
‘To carnal men or worldly wise,
‘But taught to babes thy mysteries:
‘Ev'n so, my God, for that is right
‘Whate'er is seemly in thy sight.’
My father leaves to me, his Son,
All things. Nor is there any one
Can know me, saving him alone:
Nor is the Father truly known
To any man, but Christ, and those
To whom I shall his will disclose
Come all, o'er-laden and opprest,
Come here, and I will give you rest;
Unto my yoke your necks submit,
And taught of me yourselves acquit.
My heart is lowly and resign'd,
Hence for your souls ye rest shall find:
For easy is my yoke to wear,
And light the burden ye shall bear.
?Not any wretch in want and woe
Bears half what Christ must undergo
In pain and anguish for his soul:
So all our suff'rings, on the whole,
Are light, and easy, if compar'd
With what the Lord himself has shar'd;
Or glory, which shall be reveal'd
To such as God, through Christ, has seal'd
Observe too—that the Lord gives praise,
That truth her intellectual rays,
Beam'd on the simple, were deny'd
To wit and philosophic pride
The more unlikely are the means,
Whene'er God's prowess intervenes,
To bless and strengthen human race,
The more the marvel and the grace.