The Dawning
Awake to the Dawning
The poet calls the sorrowful heart to awaken and accept Christ's resurrection, transforming grief into joy.
Wake up, sad heart, always drowned in sorrow; lift your eyes, which feed only on the earth; smooth your forehead, currently gathered in frowns. Your Savior is coming, and with Him comes joy. Wake up, wake up; and with a thankful heart, accept His comforts. But you still lament and pine and cry, and feel his death, but not his victory. Arise, sad heart; if you don't resist, Christ's resurrection may be yours. Don't hang your head and pull free from the hand that, as it rises, raises you. Arise, arise; and with his burial linen dry your eyes. Christ left his grave clothes so that when grief draws tears, or blood, we wouldn't lack a handkerchief.✦
Read the original English
AWake sad heart, whom sorrow ever drowns; Take up thine eyes, which feed on earth; Unfold thy forehead gather’d into frowns: Thy Saviour comes, and with him mirth: Awake, awake; And with a thankfull heart his comforts take. But thou dost still lament, and pine, and crie; And feel his death, but not his victorie.
Arise sad heart; if thou dost not withstand, Christs resurrection thine may be: Do not by hanging down break from the hand, Which as it riseth, raiseth thee: Arise, Arise; And with his buriall-linen drie thine eyes: Christ left his grave-clothes, that we might, when grief Draws tears, or bloud, not want an handkerchief.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.20.5-John.20.7 — And bending down he sees the linen cloths lying there; he did not, however, go in. John.20.6 — So Simon Peter, who had been following him, came also, and went into the tomb, and saw the linen cloths lying there John.20.7 — and the face cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in one place by itself.
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