Religion

Simple Trust

by William Cowper 1731–1800

Translated by William Cowper · From Translations

Religion

Still, still, without ceasing,
I feel it increasing,
This fervour of holy desire;
And often exclaim,
Let me die in the flame
Of a Love that can never expire!
Had I words to explain,
What she must sustain,
Who dies to the world and its ways;
How joy and affright,
Distress and delight,
Alternately chequer her days;
Thou, sweetly severe!
I would make thee appear,
In all thou art pleas'd to award,
Not more in the sweet,
Than the bitter I meet,
My tender and merciful Lord.
This Faith, in the dark
Pursuing its mark,
Through many sharp trials of Love,
Is the sorrowful waste,
That is to be pass'd,
In the way to the Canaan above.

✦ ✦ ✦

From the French of Madame Guion.

MLA

Cowper, William. “Simple Trust.” Translated by William Cowper. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/cowper/318/.

Chicago

Cowper, William. “Simple Trust.” Translated by William Cowper. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/cowper/318/.

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