William Baxter Be Holy (1850)

FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

SERIES III.

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VOL. VII.] BETHANY, VA. JUNE, 1850. [NO. VI.
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B E   H O L Y.
BY WILLIAM BAXTER.
BE HOLY! let thy life proclaim
Thy Master's character divine;
Let all thy words and actions prove,
The virtues which he taught are thine;
Be holy! humble all thy pride,
And choose the Saviour for thy guide.

Be holy! let each thought to him,
In sweet subjection gently bow;
Let passion bend at his command,
And all thy life his praises show;
Show that to man, on earth, is given,
An earnest of the joys of heaven.

Be holy! 'tis the passport through
The radiant portals of the sky;
'Tis thus the soul must be prepared
For purer, holier joys on high;
Be holy! without holiness,
The smile of God would fail to bless.

Be holy! let the soul assume
The perfect likeness of its sire,
Cast off its dross, and join the songs
Which flow from the celestial choir;
Be holy! and exultant spring
To heaven, on hope's untiring wing.

Be holy! and the dying strife
Will lose its terror, and the eye
Of faith, will gaze undazzled on
Thy great reward above the sky.
Be holy! be forever blest,
Thus seek--thus find--eternal rest.

[The Millennial Harbinger (June 1850): 360.]

ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC EDITION

      William Baxter's "Be Holy" was first published in The Ladies' Repository, Vol. 2, No. 9, September 1842, p. 277. It was reprinted in The Millennial Harbinger, Third Series, Vol. 7, No. 6, June 1850. The electronic version of the poem has been produced from the College Press reprint (1976) of The Millennial Harbinger, ed. Alexander Campbell (Bethany, VA: A. Campbell, 1850), p. 360.

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 20 June 1
Updated 28 June 2003.

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