Skip to content ↓

I Shall Be Satisfied Then

I Shall Be Satisfied Then

I have long appreciated the poems of the 19th century American poet Hannah Flagg Gould. Among them I found this sweet work which reflects on the beauty of breaking free from “this prison of clay” to be with the Lord. I hope it proves an encouragement to you as it has me.

May I in thy likeness, my Saviour, awake,
And rise, a fair image of thee;
Then I shall be satisfied, when I can break
This prison of clay, and be free.

Can I but come forth to eternity’s light,
With thy perfect features to shine,
In raiment unsullied from time’s dreary night,
What honor and joy will be mine!

Yes, I shall be satisfied then to have cast
The shadows of nature all by—
When, darkness and dust from the dull eyelid past,
My soul sees with full-opened eye.

How fain would I know the great morn drawing near,
When earth’s dreamy visions shall fade,
If I in thy semblance indeed may appear,
And stand in thy beauty arrayed!

To see thee in glory, O Lord, as thou art,
From this mortal, perishing clay
My spirit immortal, in peace would depart,
And, joyous, mount up her bright way.

When on thine own image in me thou hast smiled,
In thy holy mansion, and when
Thy fatherly arms have encircled thy child,
O I shall be satisfied then!


  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (January 7)

    A La Carte: Why pray for protection when suffering keeps coming? / Is the sea of faith coming back in? / How the gospel is transforming a prison / Why preaching requires a human touch / Errors to avoid / Kindle and audiobook deals / and more.

  • Your Breath Stinks

    Your Breath Stinks

    Have you ever had one of those experiences when you’re speaking to somebody and begin to notice that their breath is bad? And not just bad, but really bad—so awful that you find yourself discreetly trying to step back to get out of the line of fire. Even as you do your best to remain…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (January 6)

    A La Carte: How I am getting my mind back this year / Be the kind of person the world needs / Never too busy to pray / A deeper faith / Preparing for the storm / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Zealous but Misguided

    In his letter to the church at Rome, the apostle Paul expresses his sorrow about some people who were zealously religious yet tragically misguided. “I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God,” he says, “but not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2).

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (January 4)

    A La Carte: What does the Bible say about remarriage? / Are you your spouse’s biggest cheerleader? / What is a man and what is a woman? / For the most part, we need to stop the claims of government overreach / Find purpose in mundane work / and more.

  • To Be a Woman

    To Be a Woman

    I sometimes wonder what future generations will make of the modern West here in the early decades of the 21st century. I sometimes wonder what they will think of us when they discover that one of the defining questions of our age is also one of the most straightforward: What is a woman? Yet an…