“Religion, then, is Love's Celestial Force
That penetrates thro' all to Its True Source”
St. 7 & 8
Miscellaneous Poems (1773), Divine Love, The Essential Characteristic of True Religion
Context: Religion, then, is Love's Celestial Force
That penetrates thro' all to Its True Source;
Loves all along, but with proportion'd Bent,
As Creatures further the Divine Ascent,
Not to the Skies or Stars, but to the part
That will be always uppermost, — the Heart, There is the Seat, as Holy Writings tell,
Where the Most High Himself delights to dwell;
Whither attracting the desirous Will
To its true Rest, He saves it from all Ill,
Gives it to find in His Abyssal Love
An Heav'n within, — in other Words, Above.
