Peace Purchased by Suffering.
“But the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”
Matt. 8:20 Birds have their quiet nest,
Foxes their holes, and man his peaceful bed.
All creatures have their rest ;
But Jesus had not where to lay his head. Winds have their hour of calm,
And waves, to slumber on the voiceless deep.
Eve hath its breath of balm,
To hush all senses and all sounds to sleep. The wild deer hath its lair,
The homeward flocks, the shelter of their shed.
All have their rest from care—
But Jesus had not where to lay his head. And yet he came to give
The weary and the heavy-laden rest.
To bid the sinner live,
And soothe our griefs to slumber on his breast. What! then am I, my God,
Permitted thus the paths of peace to tread—
Peace purchased by the blood
Of Him who had not where to lay his head? Oh! why should I have peace?
Why, but for that unchanged, undying love,
Which would not, could not cease,
Until it made me heir of joys above? Yes; but for pardoning grace,
I feel I never should in glory see
The brightness of that face
That once was pale and agonized for me. Let the birds seek their nest,
Foxes their holes, and man his peaceful bed.
Come Saviour! in my breast
Deign to repose thine oft rejected head. Come! give me rest, and take
The only rest on earth thou lovest—within
A heart that, for thy sake,
Lies bleeding, broken, penitent for sin.