Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Poem
March 22, 1839
Southern Christian Advocate
Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina
What is this article about?
Prose introduction contrasts worldly fixation on seen things with Christians' focus on unseen eternity, likening the difference to residents vs. travelers. Followed by a poem dismissing earthly pains and pleasures as vain compared to the untried eternity, urging steadfast navigation through life to a triumphant or serene afterlife.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
TIME AND ETERNITY
The great difference between the children of God and all others is found in this, that the former look at things unseen, the latter at things seen. These have their eyes steadily fixed on this world; those are intensely searching for a "better country." The difference between them is that between the resident and the traveller, the proprietor and the visitor.
Take from the man of the world his good things, and he says: "Ye have taken my gods, and what have I left?" Take from a christian all earthly possessions, and he says:
What matter whether pains or pleasures fill
The swelling heart one little moment here?
From both alike how vain is every thrill,
While an untried eternity is near?
Think not of rest, fond man in life's career,
The joys and griefs that meet thee dash aside
Like bubbles, and thy bark right onward steer,
Through calm and tempest, till it cross the tide,
Shoot into port in triumph, or serenely glide.
The great difference between the children of God and all others is found in this, that the former look at things unseen, the latter at things seen. These have their eyes steadily fixed on this world; those are intensely searching for a "better country." The difference between them is that between the resident and the traveller, the proprietor and the visitor.
Take from the man of the world his good things, and he says: "Ye have taken my gods, and what have I left?" Take from a christian all earthly possessions, and he says:
What matter whether pains or pleasures fill
The swelling heart one little moment here?
From both alike how vain is every thrill,
While an untried eternity is near?
Think not of rest, fond man in life's career,
The joys and griefs that meet thee dash aside
Like bubbles, and thy bark right onward steer,
Through calm and tempest, till it cross the tide,
Shoot into port in triumph, or serenely glide.
What sub-type of article is it?
Hymn
Ode
What themes does it cover?
Religious Faith
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Time Eternity
Christian Faith
Worldly Vanities
Eternal Perspective
Moral Reflection
Poem Details
Title
Time And Eternity
Subject
Christian Perspective On Time And Eternity
Form / Style
Rhymed Quatrains
Key Lines
What Matter Whether Pains Or Pleasures Fill
The Swelling Heart One Little Moment Here?
From Both Alike How Vain Is Every Thrill,
While An Untried Eternity Is Near?