Zinzendorff and Other Poems/Hymn for a Charitable Association

by Lydia Huntley Sigourney

HYMN FOR A CHARITABLE ASSOCIATION.

Widow! long estranged from gladness,
    In thy cell so lonely made,
Where chill Penury's cloud of sadness
    Adds to grief a sterner shade,
Look! the searching eye hath found thee,
    Pitying hearts confess thy claim,
Bounteous spirits shed around thee
    Blessings in a Saviour's name.

Orphan! in despondence weeping,
    Crush'd by want and misery dire,
Or on lowly pallet sleeping,
    Dreaming of thy buried sire,
Hands like his, combine to rear thee,
    Stranger-arms are round thee cast,
And a Father ever near thee,
    Fits the shorn lamb to the blast.

Brethren! by the precious token
    Which the sons of mercy wear,
By the vows we here have spoken,
    Grav'd in truth, and seal'd with prayer,
Penury's pathway we will brighten,
    Misery with compassion meet,
And the heart of sorrow lighten,
    Till our own shall cease to beat.