OH , woman! what hast thou done, presumptuous Eve!
Stretch’d forth thy daring hand against command,
Command of Him, whose high creative power
Has but now form’d thee. Ah! for that fell deed,
Banish’d art thou for ever from his love!
Cans’t thou behold Him, when in cool of day
He seeks free converse with the things He made?
His frown will wither thee to nothingness!
Impious offender! hide thee midst the trees,
Speed to the shelter of the Tree of Life–
The Tree of Life? ’twill wave thee from its shade!
Thou hast beguil’d thy happy partner too,
That noble creature, whom the God you dar’d,
Form’d upright, till he shar’d thy direful guilt.
Creation’s Lord! why, why did’st thou give way?
Why yield thy firmness to the weaker one?
Was it, that gazing on her beauteous face,
Thou could’st not let her sin and die alone?
Dids’t thou thus love the Mother of the World,
Above the Maker of the Universe?
The Maker of the Universe is nigh,
Seeking thee, guilty one, within the grove.
Hark! His tremendous voice in curses comes
To blast thee with its desolating breath!
Lost man! lost guilty woman! Lo! He comes
In frowns vindictive!
Did He come in frowns?
List to His heavenly accents, while they waft
Soft on thine ears, as His majestic step
Nearer approaches! Oh! He comes to tell
Of sacrifice, of ransom, of return,
Of happiness, of heaven, of endless love!
He comes to tell of one dear spotless Lamb,
His soul’s best treasure, His most holy child;
He comes to say that Holy One shall bleed,
Bleed to restore what insolent revolt
Threw from thee, all the glories of his love!
When will it come to pass?
‘Tis past, ’tis gone!
That bleating Lamb has wander’d thro’ the world
In helplessness, in harmlessness, in grief!
Woman! what hast thou done? The richest gem
Blazing within heaven’s regal diadem
Is not too lustrous to unset for thee!
Fix’d in Redemption’s radiant coronet,
Circling thy guilty brows ‘mid splendours vast,
In heavenly innocence thou stands’t array’d!
What dost thou in return?
All she could do,
Dear suffering saviour, to abate thy woes!
When man, creation’s ruler, sought thy blood,
Tracking his destin’d victim through each town
He sorrowing journey’d, woman follow’d too,
Feeble in tears, all impotent to save!
Yes, weeping woman tracked thy wandering steps,
Repentant woman bath’d thy weary feet,
‘Twas tender woman follow’d to the Cross,
‘Twas feeling woman would embalm thy corpse,
‘Twas trembling woman at the sepulchre
Ventur’d the task alone!
First, first in sin’s
Defiling trespass, often first to turn,
Seeking forgiveness for the black offence
There is a rock within the breast of man,
That yields not to the trickling blood of CHRIST
But oh! its droppings soon dissolve the stone
In woman’s bosom, sooner far she melts
O’er the sad spectacle on Calvary!
Mark the spread table of a murder’d lord,
There hastens woman to remember Him;
View the dark waters of his shadowy grave,
‘Tis timid woman oftener ventures there,
Baptiz’d into his death! yes, dearest Lord,
Woman did follow thee where’er thou went’st!
Follows thee still! Well dost thou recompense
The tenderness of souls so wholly thine.
How many sisters ‘mid the earthly folds
Whom JESUS loveth! Thou didst share thy heart
With woman in the town of Bethany!
To woman thou did’st show thyself alone,
First in the glimmering of the doubtful morn!
Thou own’st no Parent on this cruel earth,
But feeble woman! Saviour of our race,
A lowly maiden gave thee to the world!
(Charlotte Eliza Dixon)
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Based on Topics: Love Poems, Man Poems, God Poems, Life Poems, World Poems, Sadness Poems, Death & Dying Poems, Soul Poems, Nature Poems, Faces Poems, Heaven PoemsBased on Keywords: droppings, tracking, offender, bethany, ventur, vindictive, shar, dids, defiling, unset, baptiz