Views of Life (part 3)

Here is part three of a three part poem by my great grandfather L.J. Schlattman, from his book of poetry "Gleanings from Life". For part two click here, or to start at the beginning click here.

Views of Life

Scene III. - With God

In my chamber I am sitting,
Darkest hour of silent night,
And the clock is ticking, ticking,
Cinematographic clicking
Films of time and human life.

And I see how nature showers,
Wondrous gifts to mortal man;
Fields and forests, fruits and flowers,
Life and love and mental powers,
To enjoy them as he can.

Ah, I see man climbing upwards,
Shunning vice, deceit and lust,
Climbing higher, growing better,
Breaking sin's abnormal fetter;
Striving to be true and just;

Virtue, honor, truth and justice,
Are attained by mortal man;
Helpful service, righteous living,
Asking naught, but ever giving,
Help and comfort where he can.

Yet I see man sometimes falling,
Pleading sin at mercy's shrine;
Sick and sinful he is calling,
"Help me, Master, I am falling."
And I hear Him gently calling,
"I've redeemed thee, thou are Mine."

Oh, the joy of godly living,
To accept redemption's cost;
Death and sin and fear are shriven,
And to man again is given
Back the Paradise he lost.

All ye peoples, every nation,
"Peace on earth, good will to man,"
Is the slogan of creation;
War, the curse of sin's damnation;
Stop it? Yes, with God we can.

Life is love, is joy, is pleasure,
Life is God's productive mine,
Yielding happiness and treasure,
Pearls and diamonds without measure,
To mankind who lives divine.

Silently again I'm sitting,
Beams of sunshine gleam above;
And the clock is ticking, ticking,
And the cinema is clicking,
"God is mercy, God is love."

Views of Life (part 2)

Here is part two of a three part poem by my great grandfather L.J. Schlattman, from his book of poetry "Gleanings from Life". For part one click here.

Views of Life

Scene II. -God

Humbly and abject I'm kneeling,
On thy footstool, at Thy Knee,
To thy mercy I'm appealing,
Thou showed others; Oh, show me;
And the clouds are gently lifting,
Sinai's terrors cease to be;
See, the scenes are gently shifting,
Naught but glory now I see.

From a shining throne transcendent,
A majestic voice I hear
"Thy creator, thy defendant,
I'm thy Father, do not fear;
Give to me thy heart, in sorrow,
Let My ways thy comfort be,
And thou need'st not fear tomorrow,
If thou wilt put thy trust in Me."

"Not for death or pain or sorrow,
From the earth I fashioned thee;
But for love and joy and service,
Thou wert pre-ordained by Me;
Hast forgot thy loving Maker,
Listened to the lure of sin,
Disobeyed thy fond Creator,
And did'st let the serpent in."

"Now thou sufferest death and terror,
Subject to the serpent's will;
But in spite of all thy error,
I, thy Father, love thee still;
Lo, I offer thee redemption,
From the curse thou mayest go free;
Christ, my Son, has bought exemption
With his death on Calvary."

Views of Life

Here is part one of a three part poem by my great grandfather L.J. Schlattman, from his book of poetry "Gleanings from Life".


Views of Life

Scene I. -Without God

In my chamber, drab and dreary,
Silent hour of darkest night,
I am sitting sad and weary,
Ghostly visions haunt my sight;
In a panoramic picture,
Human life unfolds to me,
And the sham of all its glitter,
All its vanity I see.

Borrowed virtue falls to pieces,
Shows the hypocrite beneath;
Fellowship and friendship ceases,
Snarls and bites with selfish teeth;
Truth and justice are but covers
To deceive our fellow man;
Underneath them ever hovers
Greed, to "bilk then, if you can."

Shattered idols, broken pledges,
Blunt the edge of love and trust;
Deceit with its ragged edges,
Leaves faith grov'ling in the dust;
Unrequited love breeds hatred,
Betrayed trust stabs like a knife;
Mistrust, distrust, unabated,
Makes a hell of human life.

Crime and murder fill the pages
Of our records every day,
And the curse of sin's dread wages,
Haunts my vision all the way;
Urge of lust and rounds of pleasure,
Ergo: Grief, regret and pain;
Days of fun and sport and leisure,
Ergo: Poverty's hard chain.

Fear of death, of pain, disaster,
Haunts our vision every day;
Destiny, the cruel master,
Leads us shivering on the way;
Oh, the weight of life is galling,
Oh, for rest beneath the sod,
Ah, but death is so appalling,
Without hope and without God!

Woe is me, I view with horror,
Wage of sin's chastening rod,
Bringing death, distress and sorrow,
To a world without a God;
All a jumble, all so dreary,
Answer me, whoever can,
For my soul is sad and weary,
Where is God? What is His plan?


(stay tuned for Scene II)

Man of Galilee

Here's another from my great grandfather, L.J. Schlattman's book of poetry, Gleanings from Life.

Man of Galilee

In the hills of Galilee,
I would follow as He walked,
On the shores of Galilee,
I would listen as He talked;
Always healing human ill,
Always teaching love devine:
Pleading, "Whosoever will,
Come, and comfort shall be thine."

Wonderous man of Galilee,
Face so meek and eye so mild;
Teach me how to follow Thee,
I would be thy loving child;
Teach me how to watch and pray,
Give me hope and faith and love;
In thy footsteps all the way,
Lead me till I land above.

Wonderous man of Galilee,
Thou hast balm for all my woe;
All my ills I bring to Thee,
Thou dost ease them, this I know.
Take and fold my troubled heart,
To Thy bosom warm with love;
Help me ne'er from Thee to part,
Lead me to that home above.

The Lord is my Shepherd

Another from my great grandfather, L.J. Schlattman's book of poems "Gleanings from Life".

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall never want,
Green pastures He spreads for my need;
I drink of the font, He supplies every want,
To waters so still He doth lead.
He restoreth my soul, leads me true with his arm,
For His name's sake He keeps me from evil and harm.

Though I walk through the valley, and shadows of death,
Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me;
No evil I fear, Thou ever art near,
No harm can befall me with Thee.
Thou prepareth my table in sight of my foe,
Thou anointeth my head and Thou stillest my woe,

His goodness and mercy, doth ere follow me,
My cup, full of joy, runneth o'er;
All the days of my life, He easeth my strife,
As His name in His house I adore,
The Lord is my shepherd, my stay and my guide,
I am safe in His keeping, with Him I'll abide.

How Strange

Continuing my series of posts taken from my great grandfather, L.J. Schlattman's book of poems "Gleanings from Life", here is one that illustrates how little things have changed since this was copyrighted in 1926. Despite a few of the words being unfamiliar to us, all of creation still cries out to us testifying of the Creator, and yet man, insignificant and arrogant, still rails against Yahweh, denying his handiwork.

HOW STRANGE

Beautiful star, so pure and bright,

Shining above with your silvery light;

Where have you been, and what have you found?

Where did you get your silvery gleam?

" 'Tis the reflex of God," said the star, "I ween."

Wonderful Sun, with radiant face,

Sending your rays through endless space,

Warming the earth, giving life and light;

King of the universe, wondrous sight,

Whence did you come? with amaze I cried.

"I was kindled by God," the sun replied.

Universe wonderful, endless, grand,

Viewing thy magnitude, dumb I stand;

Who was they architect, who holds sway,

Guiding thy destiny, day by day?

Sun, moon and stars as they circled by,

Answered, " 'Tis God, He rules on high."

Wonderful man with master mind,

Scanning the universe, proud, refined,

Delving in science deep and high,

Tell me, who made you? Who rules the sky?

"Oh," said the man with a foolish grin,

"Chaos and monkey and man are kin."


By the way, I looked up the word "ween" so you wouldn't have to. It means: "To think; to imagine; to fancy. The sense is to set, fix or hold in the mind." That definition is from the 1828 Webster dictionary. Just thought you'd want to know.

Faith in God

Here is another selection from my great grandfather, L.J. Schlattman's book of poems "Gleanings from Life".

Faith in God

Have Faith in God, my doubting brother,

Have faith in God, 'twill still your soul;

Pour oil upon the troubled waters,

And lead you safely to the goal.

• 
  

Fear not that faith is superstition,

God's word is but an ancient tale;

'Tis founded on the Rock of Ages,

Eternal truth, and will prevail.

• 
  

Where science halts and critics stumble,

And must admit, "We do not know;"

There Faith in God begins to function,

Illumes the way for us to go.

• 
  

Let science dig with spade and shovel,

With microscope dissect the sod;

Dig deep, dig deep, my seeking brother,

Dig deep enough and you'll find GOD.

• 
  

Hypocrisy and Ism's squabble,

Oft dim the radiance of the Sun;

Have faith, they cannot hide its splendor,

'Twill still shine on when all is done.

• 
  

Let scoffers rail and skeptics mutter,

"Your faith in God is but a tale;"

Fear not, be not dismayed, my brother,

HE reigns supreme and will prevail.

• 
  

When science fails and isms crumble,

When Sun and Moon and Earth shall quake,

When human mind shall cease to function,

And human theories shall break.

• 
  

The God of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob,

The master architect on high,

Will still be ruling all creation,

And faith in Him will scale the sky.

Three Score Years and Ten

A while ago I mentioned my great grandfather, L.J. Schlattman and his political leanings in a post titled From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need . Recently while going through some papers in my desk I ran across a copy of the book of his poetry that he had published. The copyright on it gives the date of 1926. Its is not a large book; and perhaps I should more accurately call it a booklet, still it looms large in my life.

I do believe the poems worthy of being posted here. In fact, they are probably of more worth than my usual ramblings, and I hope that others will enjoy them. The name of the "booklet" is Gleaning from Life. I intend to post more poems from the collection from time to time, but I will start with this one entitled:

Three Score Years and Ten

I stand on the threshold of vanishing life

And stare at the dark, silent grave,

The step I must take, the leap I must make;

There's nought from the abyss can save.

Like a meteor bright, that flashes at night,

Like a dream has my life passed away,

All its errors, its grief, its pleasures so brief

Pass my pondering mem'ry today.

But stop, let me think as I stand on the brink;

Is it I must decay 'neath the sod?

Ah, no, 'tis but clay, my house of a day,

As for me, I'm summoned by God.

This housing of clay, they'll be laying away

Like a garment all tattered and torn,

But my soul it will hie like a bird in the sky

To appear at the great judgement morn.

And a bulletin bright in that realm of pure light,

All the deeds of my life will unfold,

All the good, all the bad, all the joyous or sad,

All my thoughts, all my acts will be told.

But Hope, Faith and Love, bright gifts from above,

In conquering glory will shine;

And I need not despair, for the Christ will be there,

And say, "I've redeemed him, he's mine."

And thus every day, as I wait by the way,

With Hope and with Faith I can sing,

And view with delight, the future so bright:

"O Grave, where's thy vict'ry? O Death, where's thy sting?"

May God grant that each of us can face the future with such an outlook when we reach the age of three score years and ten!