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diff --git a/28591-8.txt b/28591-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..47ff5f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/28591-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,36584 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Poems with Power to Strengthen the Soul, by +Various, Edited by James Mudge + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Poems with Power to Strengthen the Soul + + +Author: Various + +Editor: James Mudge + +Release Date: April 22, 2009 [eBook #28591] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POEMS WITH POWER TO STRENGTHEN THE +SOUL*** + + +E-text prepared by Suzanne Lybarger, Brian Janes, Pilar Somoza Fernandez, +and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team +(http://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Transcriber's note: + + Spelling mistakes have been left in the text to match the original, + except for obvious typographical errors, which have been corrected. + + + + + +POEMS WITH POWER TO STRENGTHEN THE SOUL + +Compiled and Edited by + +JAMES MUDGE + +Revised and Enlarged Edition + + + + + + + +The Abingdon Press +New York Cincinnati Chicago + +Copyright, 1907, 1909, by +Eaton & Mains + +Printed in the United States of America + +First Edition Printed November, 1907 +Second Printing, March, 1909 +Third Printing, October, 1911 +Fourth Printing, July, 1915 +Fifth Printing, May, 1919 +Sixth Printing, January, 1922 +Seventh Printing, April, 1925 +Eighth Printing, March, 1928 +Ninth Printing, October, 1930 +Tenth Printing, September, 1934 + + + + + TO ALL + WHO ARE AT THE SAME TIME + LOVERS OF GOOD POETRY AND LOVERS OF GOOD CHARACTER, + DEVOTED TO GOD AND THEIR FELLOW-MEN, AS WELL AS TO + LITERATURE, THE COMPILER, WHO CLAIMS A LITTLE + PLACE IN THIS LARGE COMPANY, + DEDICATES THE RESULT OF HIS PLEASANT LABORS + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE +PREFACE vii + +SUBJECTS: + +HEROISM--CHIVALRY, NOBILITY, HONOR, TRUTH 1 + +COURAGE--CONSTANCY, CONFIDENCE, STRENGTH, VALOR 14 + +INDEPENDENCE--MANHOOD, FIRMNESS, EARNESTNESS, RESOLUTION 22 + +GREATNESS--FAME, SUCCESS, PROGRESS, VICTORY 28 + +DUTY--LOYALTY, FAITHFULNESS, CONSCIENCE, ZEAL 41 + +SERVICE--USEFULNESS, BENEVOLENCE, LABOR 50 + +BROTHERHOOD--CHARITY, SYMPATHY, EXAMPLE, INFLUENCE 66 + +CONSECRATION--SUBMISSION, DEVOTION, PURITY 79 + +PEACE--REST, CALM, STILLNESS 88 + +HUMILITY--MEEKNESS, WEAKNESS, SELFLESSNESS 95 + +CONTENTMENT--RESIGNATION, PATIENCE, COMPENSATION 103 + +ASPIRATION--DESIRE, SUPPLICATION, GROWTH 115 + +PRAYER--WORSHIP, COMMUNION, DEVOTION 123 + +JOY--PRAISE, CHEERFULNESS, HAPPINESS 138 + +AFFLICTION--CONSOLATION, TRIAL, ENDURANCE 149 + +LOVE--DIVINE GOODNESS, UNSELFISHNESS 163 + +HOPE--PROGRESS, OPTIMISM, ENTHUSIASM 170 + +FAITH--ASSURANCE, DOUBT, UNBELIEF 177 + +TRUST--GUIDANCE, SAFETY, GLADNESS 187 + +GOD'S CARE--PROVIDENCE, GOD'S KNOWLEDGE AND BENEFICENCE 199 + +GOD'S WILL--OBEDIENCE, DIVINE UNION 209 + +GOD'S PRESENCE--POSSESSION, SATISFACTION, REFLECTION 221 + +JESUS--HIS PRECIOUSNESS, AND BEAUTY, AND LOVE 233 + +LIFE--TIME, OPPORTUNITY, EXPERIENCE, CHARACTER 250 + +AGE AND DEATH--MATURITY, VICTORY, HEAVEN 267 + +APPENDIX--MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS 278 + +INDEX TO AUTHORS 288 + +INDEX TO TITLES 292 + +INDEX TO FIRST LINES 298 + + + + +PREFACE + + +This is not like other collections of religious verse; still less is it +a hymnal. The present volume is directed to a very specific and wholly +practical end, the production of high personal character; and only those +poems which have an immediate bearing in this direction have been +admitted. We know of no other book published which has followed this +special line. There are fine hymnals, deservedly dear to the Church, but +they are necessarily devoted in large measure to institutional and +theological subjects, are adapted to the wants of the general +congregation and to purposes of song; while many poetical productions +that touch the heart the closest are for that very reason unsuited to +the hymnal. There are many anthologies and plentiful volumes of +religious poetry, but not one coming within our ken has been made up as +this has been. We have sought far and wide, through many libraries, +carefully conning hundreds of books and glancing through hundreds more, +to find just those lines which would have the most tonic and stimulating +effect in the direction of holier, nobler living. We have coveted verses +whose influence would be directly on daily life and would help to form +the very best habits of thought and conduct, which would have intrinsic +spiritual value and elevating power; those whose immediate tendency +would be to make people better, toughening their moral fibre and helping +them heavenward; those which they could hardly read attentively without +feeling an impulse toward the things which are pure and true and +honorable and lovely and of good report, things virtuous and +praiseworthy. + +It is surprising to one who has not made the search how very many poets +there are whose voluminous and popular works yield nothing, or scarcely +anything, of this sort. We have looked carefully through many scores of +volumes of poetry without finding a line that could be of the slightest +use in this collection. They were taken up altogether with other topics. +They contained many pretty conceits, pleasant descriptions, lovely or +lively narrations--these in abundance, but words that would send the +spirit heavenward, or even earthward with any added love for humanity, +not one. On the other hand, in papers and periodicals, even in books, +are great multitudes of verses, unexceptionable in sentiment and helpful +in influence, which bear so little of the true poetic afflatus, are so +careless in construction or so faulty in diction, so imperfect in rhyme +or rhythm, so much mingled with colloquialisms or so hopelessly +commonplace in thought, as to be unworthy of a permanent place in a book +like this. They would not bear reading many times. They would offend a +properly educated taste. They would not so capture the ear as to linger +on the memory with compelling persistence, nor strike the intellect as +an exceptional presentation of important truth. The combination of fine +form and deep or inspiring thought is by no means common, but, when +found, very precious. We will not claim that this has been secured in +all the poems here presented. Not all will approve our choice in all +respects. There is nothing in which tastes more differ than in matters +of this kind. And we will admit that in some cases we have let +in--because of the important truth which they so well voiced--stanzas +not fully up to the mark in point of poetic merit. Where it has not been +possible to get the two desirable things together, as it has not always, +we have been more solicitous for the sentiment that would benefit than +for mere prettiness or perfection of form. Helpfulness has been the test +oftener than a high literary standard. The labored workmanship of the +vessel has not weighed so much with us as its perfect fitness to convey +the water of life wherewith the thirsty soul of man has been or may be +refreshed. If poets are properly judged, as has been alleged, by the +frame of mind they induce, then some who have not gained great literary +fame may still hold up their heads and claim a worthy crown. + +Some poems fully within the scope of the book--like Longfellow's "Psalm +of Life"--have been omitted because of their exceeding commonness and +their accessibility. Many hymns of very high value--like "Jesus, Lover +of my soul," "My faith looks up to thee," "Nearer, my God, to thee," +"When all thy mercies, O my God," "How firm a foundation"--have also +been omitted because they are found in all the hymnals, and to include +them would unduly swell the size of the book. A few others, although +similarly familiar, like "Jesus, I my cross have taken," and "God moves +in a mysterious way," have been inserted from a feeling that even yet +their depth and richness are not properly appreciated and that they can +never be sufficiently pondered. A few poems we have been unable to +procure permission to use; but in nearly all cases we have met with most +generous treatment from both authors and publishers owning copyrights, +and we take this occasion to express our hearty thanks for the kindness +afforded in the following instances: + + Houghton, Mifflin & Company, for the use of the poems and stanzas + here found from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, + John Greenleaf Whittier, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell + Holmes, Edward Rowland Sill, Celia Thaxter, Caroline Atherton + Mason, Edna Dean Proctor, Edmund Clarence Stedman, John Burroughs, + John Hay, William Dean Howells, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lucy Larcom, + Margaret E. Sangster, Francis Bret Harte, James Freeman Clarke, + Samuel Longfellow, Samuel Johnson, Christopher Pearse Cranch, + Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and John Vance + Cheney. + + Little, Brown & Company, for poems by Helen Hunt Jackson, Louise + Chandler Moulton, William Rounseville Alger, "Susan Coolidge" + [Sarah Chauncey Woolsey], and John White Chadwick. + + Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company, for poems by Sam Walter Foss. + + D. Appleton & Company, for poems by William Cullen Bryant. + + T. Y. Crowell & Company, for poems by Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + Charles Scribner's Sons, for poems by Josiah Gilbert Holland. + + The Century Company, for poems by Richard Watson Gilder. + + The Bobbs-Merrill Company, for poems by James Whitcomb Riley. + + Harper & Brothers, for poems by Edward Sandford Martin. + + Small, Maynard & Co., for poems by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. + + The Rev. D. C. Knowles, for poems by Frederic Lawrence Knowles, + especially from "Love Triumphant," published by Dana, Estes & + Company. + + The Rev. Frederic Rowland Marvin, for poems from his "Flowers of + Song from Many Lands." + + Professor Amos R. Wells, for poems from his "Just to Help." + + Mr. Nixon Waterman, for poems from "In Merry Mood," published by + Forbes & Co., of Chicago. + +The selections from the above American authors are used by special +arrangements with the firms mentioned, who are the only authorized +publishers of their works. Many other poems used have been found in +papers or other places which gave no indication of the original source. +In spite of much effort to trace these things it is quite likely we have +failed in some cases to give due credit or obtain the usual permission; +and we hope that if such omissions, due to ignorance or inadvertence, +are noticed they will be pardoned. Many unknown writers have left behind +them some things of value, but their names have become detached from +them or perhaps never were appended. Many volumes consulted have been +long out of print. + +We are glad to record our large indebtedness to the custodians of the +Boston, Cambridge, Malden, Natick, Brookline, Jamaica Plain, Somerville, +and Newton Public Libraries, the Boston Athenæum, the Congregational +Library, the General Theological Library, and the Library of Harvard +College, for free access to their treasures. + +By far the greater part of the contents are from British and other +foreign authors, such as William Wordsworth, Alfred Tennyson, Robert +Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, Mrs. +S. F. Adams, Anna Letitia Barbauld, Mrs. Charles, Frances Ridley +Havergal, Anna Letitia Waring, Jean Ingelow, Adelaide Anne Procter, Mme. +Guyon, Theodore Monod, Matthew Arnold, Edwin Arnold, William +Shakespeare, John Milton, George Gordon Byron, Robert Burns, William +Cowper, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, Francis Quarles, Frederick W. +Faber, John Keble, Charles Kingsley, Alexander Pope, Joseph Addison, +John Gay, Edward Young, Thomas Moore, John Newton, John Bunyan, H. Kirke +White, Horatius Bonar, James Montgomery, Charles Wesley, Richard Baxter, +Norman Macleod, George Heber, Richard Chenevix Trench, Henry Alford, +Charles Mackay, Gerald Massey, Alfred Austin, Robert Louis Stevenson, +Arthur Hugh Clough, Henry Burton, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Hartley +Coleridge, Joseph Anstice, George Macdonald, Robert Leighton, John Henry +Newman, John Sterling, Edward H. Bickersteth, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, +and many others. Of German authors there are not a few, including Johann +W. von Goethe, Johann C. F. Schiller, George A. Neumarck, Paul Gerhardt, +Benjamin Schmolke, S. C. Schoener, Scheffler, Karl Rudolf Hagenbach, S. +Rodigast, Novalis, Wolfgang C. Dessler, L. Gedicke, Martin Luther, and +Johann G. von Herder. + +The number of American poets drawn upon is small compared with this +list. It is the case in all such collections. According to an analysis +of the hymns contained in the most widely used American hymnals down to +1880 the average number of hymns of purely American origin was not quite +one in seven; the proportion would be a little larger now. And the +number of Methodist poets is almost nil, in spite of the fact that the +compiler is a Methodist and the volume is issued from the official +Methodist Publishing House. But if we thought that this would be any +barrier to its wide circulation in Methodist homes we should be deeply +ashamed for our church. We are confident it will not be. For mere +denominational tenets do not at all enter into these great matters of +the soul's life. A book like this speaks loudly for the real oneness, +not only of all branches of the Christian Church, but of all religions, +in some respects. Not only do we find the various Protestant +denominations amply represented here; not only have we most inspiring +words from Roman Catholic writers like Francis Xavier, Madame Guyon, +Alexander Pope, John Henry Newman, Frederick W. Faber, and Adelaide Anne +Procter; but from Mohammedan sources, from Sufi saints of Persia, and +the Moslem devotees of Arabia, and even from Hinduism, there are +utterances of noblest truth which we cannot read without a kindling +heart. These are all brought together from the ends of the earth into a +delightful "upper chamber," where the warring discords of opinion cease +and an exceedingly precious peace prevails. + +It should be said, though it is perhaps hardly necessary, that this is +by no means a book to be read at a sitting. It furnishes very +concentrated nourishment. It can be taken with largest profit only a +little at a time, according as the mood demands and circumstances +appoint. There should be very much meditation mingled with the perusal, +an attempt to penetrate the deep meaning of the lines and have them +enter into the soul for practical benefit. Some of these hymns have +great histories: they are the war cries of combatants on hard-fought +battle fields; they are living words of deep experience pressed out of +the heart by strong feeling; they are the embodiment of visions caught +on some Pisgah's glowing top. Here will be found and furnished hope for +the faint-hearted, rest for the weary, courage for the trembling, cheer +for the despondent, power for the weak, comfort for the afflicted, +guidance in times of difficulty, wise counsel for moments of perplexity, +a stimulant to faithfulness, a cure for the blues, exhilaration, +jubilation. Everything of a depressing nature has been scrupulously +ruled out. The keynote, persistently followed through all the pages, is +optimistic, bright, buoyant. Trumpet calls and bugle notes are furnished +in abundance, but no dirges or elegies. Large space, it will be seen, is +given to such topics as Heroism, True Greatness, the Care and Presence +of God, the blessings of Brotherliness, the privilege of Service, the +path of Peace, the secret of Contentment, the mission of Prayer, the joy +of Jesus, the meaning of Life, the glory of Love, the promise of Faith, +the happy aspect of old Age and Death; for these subjects come very +close home to the heart, and are illustrated in daily experience. Anyone +who feels a special need in any of these directions is confidently +recommended to turn to the proper sections and read the selections. + +Very much that is here may easily and suitably be committed to memory, +that thus it may the more permanently penetrate into the inmost depth of +being. It may be used with most telling effect in sermons to give point +and pungency to the thought of the preacher. Alike in popular discourse +and public testimony or in private meditation these gems of sentiment +and thought will come into play with great advantage. The benefit which +may be derived from them can scarcely be overestimated. President Eliot, +of Harvard University, has said: "There are bits of poetry in my mind +learned in infancy that have stood by me in keeping me true to my ideas +of duty and life. Rather than lose these I would have missed all the +sermons I have ever heard." Many another can say substantially the same, +can trace his best deeds very largely to the influence of some little +stanza or couplet early stored away in his memory and coming ever +freshly to mind in after years as the embodiment of truest wisdom. + +We cannot guarantee in all cases the absolute correctness of the forms +of the poems given, though much pains have been taken to ensure +accuracy; but authors themselves make changes in their productions at +different times in different editions. Nor have we always been able to +trace the poem to its source. Slips and errors of various kinds can +hardly be avoided in such matters. Even so competent an editor as John +G. Whittier, in his "Songs of Three Centuries," ascribes "Love divine, +all love excelling" to that bitter Calvinist, Augustus M. Toplady, +giving it as the sole specimen of his verse; when it was really written +by the ardent Arminian, Charles Wesley, with whom Toplady was on +anything but friendly terms. If Whittier could make a blunder of this +magnitude we may be pardoned if possibly a keen-eyed critic spies +something in our book almost as grossly incorrect. In some cases we have +been obliged to change the titles of poems so as to avoid reduplication +in our index, or to adapt them the better to the small extract taken +from the much longer form in the original. In a few cases we have made +(indicated) alterations in poems to fit them more fully to the purpose +of the book. + +The volume will be found not only a readable one, we think, but also an +uncommonly useful one for presentation by those who would do good and +give gratification to their serious-minded friends with a taste for +religious poetry and a love for wandering in the "holy land of song." He +who would put before another the essential elements of religion would do +better to give him such a book as this than a treatise on theology. He +who would himself get a clear idea of what the religious life really is +will do better to pore over these pages than to dip into some +philosophical discussion. Here the best life is expressed rather than +analyzed, exhibited rather than explained. Mrs. Browning has well said, +"Plant a poet's word deep enough in any man's breast, looking presently +for offshoots, and you have done more for the man than if you dressed +him in a broadcloth coat and warmed his Sunday pottage at your fire." We +who, by preparing or circulating such volumes, aid the poets in finding +a larger circle to whom to give their message, may claim a part of the +blessing which comes to those who in any way aid humanity. George +Herbert has said, + + "A verse may find him who a sermon flies, + And turn delight into a sacrifice." + +He himself most excellently illustrated the sentiment by bequeathing to +the world many beautiful verses that are sermons of the most picturesque +sort. + +One definition of poetry is "a record of the best thoughts and best +moments of the best and happiest minds." This in itself would almost be +sufficient to establish the connection between poetry and religion. It +is certain that the two have very close and vital relations. Dr. +Washington Gladden has admirably remarked, "Poetry is indebted to +religion for its largest and loftiest inspirations, and religion is +indebted to poetry for its subtlest and most luminous interpretations." +No doubt a man may be truly, deeply religious who has little or no +development on the æsthetic side, to whom poetry makes no special +appeal. But it is certain that he whose soul is deaf to the "concord of +sweet sounds" misses a mighty aid in the spiritual life. For a hymn is a +wing by which the spirit soars above earthly cares and trials into a +purer air and a clearer sunshine. Nothing can better scatter the devils +of melancholy and gloom or doubt and fear. When praise and prayer, trust +and love, faith and hope, and similar sentiments, have passed into and +through some poet's passionate soul, until he has become so charged with +them that he has been able to fix them in a form of expression where +beauty is united to strength, where concentration and ornamentation are +alike secured, then the deepest needs of great numbers are fully met. +What was vague and dim is brought into light. What was only half +conceived, and so but half felt, is made to grip the soul with power. +Poetry is of the very highest value for the inspiration and guidance of +life, for calling out the emotions and opening up spiritual visions. It +carries truths not only into the understanding, but into the heart, +where they are likely to have the most direct effect on conduct. + +In the language of Robert Southey, I commit these pages to the Christian +public, with a sincere belief that much benefit will result to all who +shall read them: + + "Go forth, little book, from this my solitude; + I cast thee on the waters,--go thy ways; + And if, as I believe, thy vein be good, + The world will find thee after many days. + Be it with thee according to thy worth; + Go, little book! in faith I send thee forth." + + JAMES MUDGE. + Malden, Mass. + + + + +HEROISM + +CHIVALRY, NOBILITY, HONOR, TRUTH + + +THE INEVITABLE + + I like the man who faces what he must, + With step triumphant and a heart of cheer; + Who fights the daily battle without fear; + Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust + That God is God; that somehow, true and just, + His plans work out for mortals; not a tear + Is shed when fortune, which the world holds dear, + Falls from his grasp: better, with love, a crust + Than living in dishonor: envies not, + Nor loses faith in man; but does his best, + Nor ever murmurs at his humbler lot, + But, with a smile and words of hope, gives zest + To every toiler: he alone is great + Who by a life heroic conquers fate. + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + +DEFEATED YET TRIUMPHANT + + They never fail who die + In a great cause. The block may soak their gore; + Their heads may sodden in the sun; their limbs + Be strung to city gates and castle walls; + But still their spirit walks abroad. + Though years + Elapse and others share as dark a doom, + They but augment the deep and sweeping thoughts + Which overpower all others and conduct + The world, at last, to freedom. + + --George Gordon Byron. + + +A HERO GONE + + He has done the work of a true man-- + Crown him, honor him, love him; + Weep over him, tears of woman, + Stoop, manliest brows, above him! + + For the warmest of hearts is frozen; + The freest of hands is still; + And the gap in our picked and chosen + The long years may not fill. + + No duty could overtask him, + No need his will outrun: + Or ever our lips could ask him, + His hands the work had done. + + He forgot his own life for others, + Himself to his neighbor lending. + Found the Lord in his suffering brothers, + And not in the clouds descending. + + And he saw, ere his eye was darkened, + The sheaves of the harvest-bringing; + And knew, while his ear yet hearkened, + The voice of the reapers singing. + + Never rode to the wrong's redressing + A worthier paladin. + He has heard the Master's blessing, + "Good and faithful, enter in!" + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +THE CHARGE + + They outtalked thee, hissed thee, tore thee? + Better men fared thus before thee; + Fired their ringing shot and pass'd, + Hotly charged--and sank at last. + Charge once more, then, and be dumb! + Let the victors, when they come, + When the forts of folly fall, + Find thy body by the wall! + + --Matthew Arnold. + + +THE REFORMER + + Before the monstrous wrong he sets him down-- + One man against a stone-walled city of sin. + For centuries those walls have been abuilding; + Smooth porphyry, they slope and coldly glass + The flying storm and wheeling sun. No chink, + No crevice, lets the thinnest arrow in. + He fights alone, and from the cloudy ramparts + A thousand evil faces gibe and jeer him. + Let him lie down and die: what is the right, + And where is justice, in a world like this? + But by and by earth shakes herself, impatient; + And down, in one great roar of ruin, crash + Watch-tower and citadel and battlements. + When the red dust has cleared, the lonely soldier + Stands with strange thoughts beneath the friendly stars. + + --Edward Rowland Sill. + + +LIFE AND DEATH + + So he died for his faith. That is fine-- + More than most of us do. + But, say, can you add to that line + That he lived for it, too? + In his death he bore witness at last + As a martyr to truth. + Did his life do the same in the past + From the days of his youth? + It is easy to die. Men have died + For a wish or a whim-- + From bravado or passion or pride. + Was it harder for him? + But to live--every day to live out + All the truth that he dreamt, + While his friends met his conduct with doubt + And the world with contempt. + Was it thus that he plodded ahead, + Never turning aside? + Then we'll talk of the life that he lived. + Never mind how he died. + + --Ernest Crosby. + + +THE RED PLANET MARS + + The star of the unconquered will, + He rises in my breast, + Serene, and resolute, and still, + And calm, and self-possessed. + + And thou, too, whosoe'er thou art, + That readest this brief psalm, + As one by one thy hopes depart, + Be resolute and calm. + + Oh, fear not in a world like this, + And thou shalt know erelong,-- + Know how sublime a thing it is + To suffer and be strong. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + +THE NOBLE ARMY OF MARTYRS PRAISE THEE + + Not they alone who from the bitter strife + Came forth victorious, yielding willingly + That which they deem most precious, even life, + Content to suffer all things, Christ, for Thee; + Not they alone whose feet so firmly trod + The pathway ending in rack, sword and flame, + Foreseeing death, yet faithful to their Lord, + Enduring for His sake the pain and shame; + Not they alone have won the martyr's palm, + Not only from their life proceeds the eternal psalm. + + For earth hath martyrs now, a saintly throng; + Each day unnoticed do we pass them by; + 'Mid busy crowds they calmly move along, + Bearing a hidden cross, how patiently! + Not theirs the sudden anguish, swift and keen, + Their hearts are worn and wasted with small cares, + With daily griefs and thrusts from foes unseen; + Troubles and trials that take them unawares; + Theirs is a lingering, silent martyrdom; + They weep through weary years, and long for rest to come. + + They weep, but murmur not; it is God's will, + And they have learned to bend their own to his; + Simply enduring, knowing that each ill + Is but the herald of some future bliss; + Striving and suffering, yet so silently + They know it least who seem to know them best. + Faithful and true through long adversity + They work and wait until God gives them rest; + These surely share with those of bygone days + The palm-branch and the crown, and swell their song of praise. + + +THE HAPPY WARRIOR + + 'Tis, finally, the man, who, lifted high, + Conspicuous object in a nation's eye, + Or left unthought of in obscurity, + Who, with a toward or untoward lot, + Prosperous or adverse, to his wish or not,-- + Plays, in the many games of life, that one + Where what he most doth value must be won; + Whom neither shape of danger can dismay, + Nor thought of tender happiness betray; + Who, not content that former work stand fast, + Looks forward, persevering to the last, + From well to better, daily self-surpast; + Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth + Forever, and to noble deeds give birth, + Or he must fall, to sleep without his fame, + And leave a dead, unprofitable name-- + Finds comfort in himself and in his cause, + And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws + His breath in confidence of Heaven's applause: + This is the happy warrior; this is he + That every man in arms should wish to be. + + --William Wordsworth. + + + Aground the man who seeks a noble end + Not angels but divinities attend. + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + +ROBERT BROWNING'S MESSAGE + + Grow old along with me! + The best is yet to be, + The last of life, for which the first was made; + Our times are in His hand + Who saith, "A whole I planned, + Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!" + + Poor vaunt of life indeed, + Were man but formed to feed + On joy, to solely seek and find and feast; + Such feasting ended, then + As sure an end to men: + Irks care the crop-full bird? Frets doubt the maw-crammed beast? + + Then welcome each rebuff + That turns earth's smoothness rough, + Each sting that bids nor sit nor stand, but go! + Be our joys three parts pain! + Strive, and hold cheap the strain; + Learn, nor account the pang; dare, never grudge the throe! + + For thence--a paradox + Which comforts while it mocks-- + Shall life succeed in that it seems to fail: + What I aspired to be, + And was not, comforts me: + A brute I might have been, but would not sink i' the scale. + + * * * * * + + Not on the vulgar mass + Called "work" must sentence pass, + Things done, that took the eye and had the price; + O'er which, from level stand, + The low world laid its hand, + Found straightway to its mind, could value in a trice: + + But all, the world's coarse thumb + And finger failed to plumb, + So passed in making up the main account; + All instincts immature, + All purposes unsure, + That weighed not as his work, yet swelled the man's amount: + + Thoughts hardly to be packed + Into a narrow act, + Fancies that broke through language and escaped; + All I could never be, + All, men ignored in me, + This I was worth to God, whose wheel the pitcher shaped. + + * * * * * + + Fool! All that is, at all, + Lasts ever, past recall; + Earth changes, but thy soul and God stand sure: + What entered into thee + _That_ was, is, and shall be: + Time's wheel runs back or stops; Potter and clay endure. + + --From "Rabbi Ben Ezra." + + +TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD + + Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, + In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side; + Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight, + Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right, + And the choice goes by forever 'twixt that darkness and that light. + + Careless seems the great Avenger; history's pages but record + One death-grapple in the darkness 'twixt old systems and the Word; + Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne-- + Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown, + Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch, above his own. + + Then to side with Truth is noble when we share her wretched crust, + Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and 'tis prosperous to be just; + Then it is the brave man chooses, while the coward stands aside, + Doubting in his abject spirit, till his Lord is crucified, + And the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied. + + Count me o'er earth's chosen heroes--they were souls that stood alone + While the men they agonized for hurled the contumelious stone; + Stood serene, and down the future saw the golden beam incline + To the side of perfect justice, mastered by their faith divine, + By one man's plain truth to manhood and to God's supreme design. + + By the light of burning heretics Christ's bleeding feet I track, + Toiling up new Calvaries ever with the cross that turns not back, + And these mounts of anguish number how each generation learned + One new word of that grand _Credo_ which in prophet-hearts hath burned + Since the first man stood God-conquered with his face to heaven + upturned. + + For Humanity sweeps onward: where to-day the martyr stands, + On the morrow crouches Judas with the silver in his hands; + Far in front the cross stands ready and the crackling fagots burn, + While the hooting mob of yesterday in silent awe return + To glean up the scattered ashes into History's golden urn. + + 'Tis as easy to be heroes as to sit the idle slaves + Of a legendary virtue carved upon our fathers' graves; + Worshipers of light ancestral make the present light a crime;-- + Was the Mayflower launched by cowards, steered by men behind their + time? + Turn those tracks toward Past or Future that make Plymouth Rock + sublime? + + They have rights who dare maintain them; we are traitors to our sires, + Smothering in their holy ashes Freedom's new-lit altar-fires; + Shall we make their creed our jailer? shall we in our haste to slay, + From the tombs of the old prophets steal the funeral lamps away + To light up the martyr-fagots round the prophets of to-day? + + New occasions teach new duties; Time makes ancient good uncouth; + They must upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast of Truth; + Lo, before us gleam her camp-fires! we ourselves must Pilgrims be, + Launch our Mayflower, and steer boldly through the desperate winter + sea, + Nor attempt the Future's portal with the Past's blood-rusted key. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +COLUMBUS + + Behind him lay the gray Azores, + Behind the Gates of Hercules; + Before him not the ghost of shores, + Before him only shoreless seas. + The good mate said: "Now, we must pray, + For lo! the very stars are _gone_, + Speak, Admiral, what shall I say?" + "Why say, 'Sail on! sail on! and on!'" + + "My men grow mutinous day by day; + My men grow ghastly wan and weak." + The stout mate thought of home; a spray + Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. + "What shall I say, brave Admiral, say, + If we sight naught but seas at dawn?" + "Why, you shall say at break of day, + 'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'" + + They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow, + Until at last the blanched mate said: + "Why, now not even God would know + Should I and all my men fall dead. + These very winds forget their way, + For God from these dread seas is gone. + Now speak, brave Admiral, speak and say--" + He said, "Sail on! sail on! and on!" + + They sailed. They sailed. Then spoke the mate: + "This mad sea shows its teeth to-night. + He curls his lip, he lies in wait, + With lifted teeth, as if to bite! + Brave Admiral, say but one good word. + What shall we do when hope is gone?" + The words leapt as a leaping sword, + "Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!" + + Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck, + And peered through darkness. Ah, that night + Of all dark nights! And then a speck-- + A light! A light! A light! + It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! + It grew to be Time's burst of dawn: + He gained a world; he gave that world + Its grandest lesson: "On, and on!" + + --Joaquin Miller. + + +THE CHOSEN FEW + + The Son of God goes forth to war, + A kingly crown to gain; + His blood-red banner streams afar; + Who follows in his train. + + Who best can drink His cup of woe, + And triumph over pain, + Who patient bears His cross below-- + He follows in His train. + + A glorious band, the chosen few, + On whom the Spirit came; + Twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew, + And mocked the cross and flame. + + They climbed the dizzy steep to heaven + Through peril, toil and pain; + O God! to us may grace be given + To follow in their train! + + --Reginald Heber. + + +HOW DID YOU DIE? + + Did you tackle that trouble that came your way + With a resolute heart and cheerful, + Or hide your face from the light of day + With a craven soul and fearful? + O, a trouble is a ton, or a trouble is an ounce, + Or a trouble is what you make it, + And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts, + But only--how did you take it? + + You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what's that? + Come up with a smiling face. + It's nothing against you to fall down flat, + But to lie there--that's disgrace. + The harder you're thrown, why, the higher you bounce; + Be proud of your blackened eye! + It isn't the fact that you're licked that counts; + It's how did you fight--and why? + + And though you be done to the death, what then? + If you battled the best you could. + If you played your part in the world of men, + Why, the Critic will call it good. + Death comes with a crawl or comes with a pounce, + And whether he's slow or spry, + It isn't the fact that you're dead that counts, + But only--how did you die? + + --Edmund Vance Cooke. + + +LUTHER + + That which he knew he uttered, + Conviction made him strong; + And with undaunted courage + He faced and fought the wrong. + No power on earth could silence him + Whom love and faith made brave; + And though four hundred years have gone + Men strew with flowers his grave. + + A frail child born to poverty, + A German miner's son; + A poor monk searching in his cell, + What honors he has won! + The nations crown him faithful, + A man whom truth made free; + God give us for these easier times + More men as real as he! + + --Marianne Farningham. + + +THE MARTYRS + + Flung to the heedless winds, + Or on the waters cast, + The martyrs' ashes, watched, + Shall gathered be at last; + And from that scattered dust, + Around us and abroad, + Shall spring a plenteous seed + Of witnesses for God. + + The Father hath received + Their latest living breath; + And vain is Satan's boast + Of victory in their death; + Still, still, though dead, they speak, + And, trumpet-tongued, proclaim + To many a wakening land, + The one availing name. + + --Martin Luther, tr. by John A. Messenger. + + + Stainless soldier on the walls, + Knowing this--and knows no more-- + Whoever fights, whoever falls, + Justice conquers evermore, + Justice after as before; + And he who battles on her side, + God, though he were ten times slain, + Crowns him victor glorified, + Victor over death and pain. + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + +ETERNAL JUSTICE + + The man is thought a knave, or fool, + Or bigot, plotting crime, + Who, for the advancement of his kind, + Is wiser than his time. + For him the hemlock shall distil; + For him the axe be bared; + For him the gibbet shall be built; + For him the stake prepared. + Him shall the scorn and wrath of men + Pursue with deadly aim; + And malice, envy, spite, and lies, + Shall desecrate his name. + But Truth shall conquer at the last, + For round and round we run; + And ever the Right comes uppermost, + And ever is Justice done. + + Pace through thy cell, old Socrates, + Cheerily to and fro; + Trust to the impulse of thy soul, + And let the poison flow. + They may shatter to earth the lamp of clay + That holds a light divine, + But they cannot quench the fire of thought + By any such deadly wine. + They cannot blot thy spoken words + From the memory of man + By all the poison ever was brewed + Since time its course began. + To-day abhorred, to-morrow adored, + For round and round we run, + And ever the Truth comes uppermost, + And ever is Justice done. + + Plod in thy cave, gray anchorite; + Be wiser than thy peers; + Augment the range of human power, + And trust to coming years. + They may call thee wizard, and monk accursed, + And load thee with dispraise; + Thou wert born five hundred years too soon + For the comfort of thy days; + But not too soon for human kind. + Time hath reward in store; + And the demons of our sires become + The saints that we adore. + The blind can see, the slave is lord, + So round and round we run; + And ever the Wrong is proved to be wrong + And ever is Justice done. + + Keep, Galileo, to thy thought, + And nerve thy soul to bear; + They may gloat o'er the senseless words they wring + From the pangs of thy despair; + They may veil their eyes, but they cannot hide + The sun's meridian glow; + The heel of a priest may tread thee down + And a tyrant work thee woe; + But never a truth has been destroyed; + They may curse it and call it crime; + Pervert and betray, or slander and slay + Its teachers for a time. + But the sunshine aye shall light the sky, + As round and round we run; + And the Truth shall ever come uppermost, + And Justice shall be done. + + And live there now such men as these-- + With thoughts like the great of old? + Many have died in their misery, + And left their thought untold; + And many live, and are ranked as mad, + And are placed in the cold world's ban, + For sending their bright, far-seeing souls + Three centuries in the van. + They toil in penury and grief, + Unknown, if not maligned; + Forlorn, forlorn, bearing the scorn + Of the meanest of mankind! + But yet the world goes round and round, + And the genial seasons run; + And ever the Truth comes uppermost, + And ever is Justice done. + + --Charles Mackay. + + + We cannot kindle when we will + The fire which in the heart resides. + The spirit bloweth and is still; + In mystery our soul abides: + But tasks in hours of insight willed + Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled. + + With aching hands and bleeding feet + We dig and heap, lay stone on stone; + We bear the burden and the heat + Of the long day, and wish 'twere done. + Not till the hours of light return, + All we have built do we discern. + + --Matthew Arnold. + + +WHAT MAKES A HERO? + + What makes a hero?--not success, not fame, + Inebriate merchants, and the loud acclaim + Of glutted avarice--caps tossed up in air, + Or pen of journalist with flourish fair; + Bells pealed, stars, ribbons, and a titular name-- + These, though his rightful tribute, he can spare; + His rightful tribute, not his end or aim, + Or true reward; for never yet did these + Refresh the soul, or set the heart at ease. + What makes a hero?--An heroic mind, + Expressed in action, in endurance proved. + And if there be preëminence of right, + Derived through pain well suffered, to the height + Of rank heroic, 'tis to bear unmoved + Not toil, not risk, not rage of sea or wind, + Not the brute fury of barbarians blind, + But worse--ingratitude and poisonous darts, + Launched by the country he had served and loved. + This, with a free, unclouded spirit pure, + This, in the strength of silence to endure, + A dignity to noble deeds imparts + Beyond the gauds and trappings of renown; + This is the hero's complement and crown; + This missed, one struggle had been wanting still-- + One glorious triumph of the heroic will, + One self-approval in his heart of hearts. + + --Henry Taylor. + + + As the bird trims her to the gale + I trim myself to the storm of time; + I man the rudder, reef the sail, + Obey the voice at eve obeyed at prime; + "Lowly faithful banish fear, + Right onward drive unharmed; + The port, well worth the cruise, is near, + And every wave is charmed." + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + +DEMAND FOR MEN + + The world wants men--large-hearted, manly men; + Men who shall join its chorus and prolong + The psalm of labor, and the psalm of love. + The times want scholars--scholars who shall shape + The doubtful destinies of dubious years, + And land the ark that bears our country's good + Safe on some peaceful Ararat at last. + The age wants heroes--heroes who shall dare + To struggle in the solid ranks of truth; + To clutch the monster error by the throat; + To bear opinion to a loftier seat; + To blot the era of oppression out, + And lead a universal freedom on. + And heaven wants souls--fresh and capacious souls; + To taste its raptures, and expand, like flowers, + Beneath the glory of its central sun. + It wants fresh souls--not lean and shrivelled ones; + It wants fresh souls, my brother, give it thine. + If thou indeed wilt be what scholars should; + If thou wilt be a hero, and wilt strive + To help thy fellow and exalt thyself, + Thy feet at last shall stand on jasper floors; + Thy heart, at last, shall seem a thousand hearts-- + Each single heart with myriad raptures filled-- + While thou shalt sit with princes and with kings, + Rich in the jewel of a ransomed soul. + + + Blessed are they who die for God, + And earn the martyr's crown of light; + Yet he who lives for God may be + A greater conqueror in his sight. + + + Better to stem with heart and hand + The roaring tide of life than lie, + Unmindful, on its flowery strand, + Of God's occasions drifting by! + + +TRUTH + + Truth will prevail, though men abhor + The glory of its light; + And wage exterminating war + And put all foes to flight. + + Though trodden under foot of men, + Truth from the dust will spring, + And from the press--the lip--the pen-- + In tones of thunder ring. + + Beware--beware, ye who resist + The light that beams around, + Lest, ere you look through error's mist, + Truth strike you to the ground. + + --D. C. Colesworthy. + + +TO A REFORMER + + Nay, now, if these things that you yearn to teach + Bear wisdom, in your judgment, rich and strong, + Give voice to them though no man heed your speech, + Since right is right though all the world _go_ wrong. + + The proof that you believe what you declare + Is that you still stand firm though throngs pass by; + Rather cry truth a lifetime to void air + Than flatter listening millions with one lie! + + --Edgar Fawcett. + + +TEACH ME THE TRUTH + + Teach me the truth, Lord, though it put to flight + My cherished dreams and fondest fancy's play; + Give me to know the darkness from the light, + The night from day. + + Teach me the truth, Lord, though my heart may break + In casting out the falsehood for the true; + Help me to take my shattered life and make + Its actions new. + + Teach me the truth, Lord, though my feet may fear + The rocky path that opens out to me; + Rough it may be, but let the way be clear + That leads to thee. + + Teach me the truth, Lord. When false creeds decay, + When man-made dogmas vanish with the night, + Then, Lord, on thee my darkened soul shall stay, + Thou living Light. + + --Frances Lockwood Green. + + +HEROISM + + It takes great strength to train + To modern service your ancestral brain; + To lift the weight of the unnumbered years + Of dead men's habits, methods, and ideas; + To hold that back with one hand, and support + With the other the weak steps of the new thought. + + It takes great strength to bring your life up square + With your accepted thought and hold it there; + Resisting the inertia that drags back + From new attempts to the old habit's track. + It is so easy to drift back, to sink; + So hard to live abreast of what you think. + + It takes great strength to live where you belong + When other people think that you are wrong; + People you love, and who love you, and whose + Approval is a pleasure you would choose. + To bear this pressure and succeed at length + In living your belief--well, it takes strength, + + And courage, too. But what does courage mean + Save strength to help you face a pain foreseen? + Courage to undertake this lifelong strain + Of setting yours against your grand-sire's brain; + Dangerous risk of walking lone and free + Out of the easy paths that used to be, + And the fierce pain of hurting those we love + When love meets truth, and truth must ride above. + + But the best courage man has ever shown + Is daring to cut loose and think alone. + Dark are the unlit chambers of clear space + Where light shines back from no reflecting face. + Our sun's wide glare, our heaven's shining blue, + We owe to fog and dust they fumble through; + And our rich wisdom that we treasure so + Shines from the thousand things that we don't know. + But to think new--it takes a courage grim + As led Columbus over the world's rim. + To think it cost some courage. And to go-- + Try it. It takes every power you know. + + It takes great love to stir the human heart + To live beyond the others and apart. + A love that is not shallow, is not small, + Is not for one or two, but for them all. + Love that can wound love for its higher need; + Love that can leave love, though the heart may bleed; + Love that can lose love, family and friend, + Yet steadfastly live, loving, to the end. + A love that asks no answer, that can live + Moved by one burning, deathless force--to give. + Love, strength, and courage; courage, strength, and love. + The heroes of all time are built thereof. + + --Charlotte Perkins Stetson. + + +TO TRUTH + + O star of truth down shining + Through clouds of doubt and fear, + I ask but 'neath your guidance + My pathway may appear. + However long the journey + How hard soe'er it be, + Though I be lone and weary, + Lead on, I'll follow thee. + + I know thy blessed radiance + Can never lead astray, + However ancient custom + May trend some other way. + E'en if through untried deserts, + Or over trackless sea, + Though I be lone and weary, + Lead on, I'll follow thee. + + The bleeding feet of martyrs + Thy toilsome road have trod. + But fires of human passion + May light the way to God. + Then, though my feet should falter, + While I thy beams can see, + Though I be lone and weary, + Lead on, I'll follow thee. + + Though loving friends forsake me, + Or plead with me in tears-- + Though angry foes may threaten + To shake my soul with fears-- + Still to my high allegiance + I must not faithless be. + Through life or death, forever, + Lead on, I'll follow thee. + + --Minot J. Savage. + + +NOBLESSE OBLIGE + + Not ours nobility of this world's giving + Granted by monarchs of some earthly throne; + Not this life only which is worth the living, + Nor honor here worth striving for alone. + + Princes are we, and of a line right royal; + Heirs are we of a glorious realm above; + Yet bound to service humble, true, and loyal, + For thus constraineth us our Monarch's love. + + And looking to the joy that lies before us, + The crown held out to our once fallen race; + Led by the light that ever shineth o'er us, + Man is restored to nature's noblest place. + + _Noblesse oblige_--(our very watchword be it!) + To raise the fallen from this low estate, + To boldly combat wrong whene'er we see it, + To render good for evil, love for hate. + + _Noblesse oblige_--to deeds of valiant daring + In alien lands which other lords obey, + And into farthest climes our standard bearing, + To lead them captive 'neath our Master's sway. + + _Noblesse oblige_--that, grudging not our treasure, + Nor seeking any portion to withhold, + We freely give it, without stint or measure, + Whate'er it be--our talents, time, or gold. + + _Noblesse oblige_--that, looking upward ever, + We serve our King with courage, faith, and love, + Till, through that grace which can from death deliver, + We claim our noble heritage above! + + +OUR HEROES + + The winds that once the Argo bore + Have died by Neptune's ruined shrines, + And her hull is the drift of the deep sea floor, + Though shaped of Pelion's tallest pines. + You may seek her crew in every isle, + Fair in the foam of Ægean seas, + But out of their sleep no charm can wile + Jason and Orpheus and Hercules. + + And Priam's voice is heard no more + By windy Illium's sea-built walls; + From the washing wave and the lonely shore + No wail goes up as Hector falls. + On Ida's mount is the shining snow, + But Jove has gone from its brow away, + And red on the plain the poppies grow + Where Greek and Trojan fought that day. + + Mother Earth! Are thy heroes dead? + Do they thrill the soul of the years no more? + Are the gleaming snows and the poppies red + All that is left of the brave of yore? + Are there none to fight as Theseus fought, + Far in the young world's misty dawn? + Or teach as the gray-haired Nestor taught? + Mother Earth! Are thy heroes gone? + + Gone?--in a nobler form they rise; + Dead?--we may clasp their hands in ours, + And catch the light of their glorious eyes, + And wreathe their brows with immortal flowers. + Whenever a noble deed is done, + There are the souls of our heroes stirred; + Whenever a field for truth is won, + There are our heroes' voices heard. + + Their armor rings in a fairer field + Than Greek or Trojan ever trod, + For Freedom's sword is the blade they wield, + And the light above them the smile of God! + So, in his Isle of calm delight, + Jason may dream the years away, + But the heroes live, and the skies are bright, + And the world is a braver world to-day. + + --Edna Dean Proctor. + + + The hero is not fed on sweets, + Daily his own heart he eats; + Chambers of the great are jails, + And head winds right for royal sails. + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + +TRIUMPH OF THE MARTYRS + + They seemed to die on battle-field, + To die with justice, truth, and law; + The bloody corpse, the broken shield, + Were all that senseless folly saw. + But, like Antæus from the turf, + They sprung refreshed, to strive again, + Where'er the savage and the serf + Rise to the rank of men. + + They seemed to die by sword and fire, + Their voices hushed in endless sleep; + Well might the noblest cause expire + Beneath that mangled, smouldering heap; + Yet that wan band, unarmed, defied + The legions of their pagan foes; + And in the truths they testified, + From out the ashes rose. + + +WORTH WHILE + + I pray thee, Lord, that when it comes to me + To say if I will follow truth and Thee, + Or choose instead to win, as better worth + My pains, some cloying recompense of earth-- + + Grant me, great Father, from a hard-fought field, + Forspent and bruised, upon a battered shield, + Home to obscure endurance to be borne + Rather than live my own mean gains to scorn. + + --Edward Sandford Martin. + + +WILL + + O, well for him whose will is strong! + He suffers, but he will not suffer long; + He suffers, but he cannot suffer wrong. + For him nor moves the loud world's random mock, + Nor all Calamity's hugest waves confound, + Who seems a promontory of rock, + That, compassed round with turbulent sound, + In middle ocean meets the surging shock, + Tempest-buffeted, citadel-crowned. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +NOBLE DEEDS + + Whene'er a noble deed is wrought, + Whene'er is spoken a noble thought, + Our hearts in glad surprise, + To higher levels rise. + + The tidal wave of deeper souls + Into our inmost being rolls, + And lifts us unawares + Out of all meaner cares. + + Honor to those whose words or deeds + Thus help us in our daily needs, + And by their overflow + Raise us from what is low! + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + +GOD'S HEROES + + Not on the gory field of fame + Their noble deeds were done; + Not in the sound of earth's acclaim + Their fadeless crowns were won. + Not from the palaces of kings, + Nor fortune's sunny clime, + Came the great souls, whose life-work flings + Luster o'er earth and time. + + For truth with tireless zeal they sought; + In joyless paths they trod-- + Heedless of praise or blame they wrought, + And left the rest to God. + The lowliest sphere was not disdained; + Where love could soothe or save, + They went, by fearless faith sustained, + Nor knew their deeds were brave. + + The foes with which they waged their strife + Were passion, self, and sin; + The victories that laureled life + Were fought and won within. + Not names in gold emblazoned here, + And great and good confessed, + In Heaven's immortal scroll appear + As noblest and as best. + + No sculptured stone in stately temple + Proclaims their rugged lot; + Like Him who was their great example, + This vain world knew them not. + But though their names no poet wove + In deathless song or story, + Their record is inscribed above; + Their wreaths are crowns of glory. + + --Edward Hartley Dewart. + + +WORLDLY PLACE + + "Even in a palace, life may be led well!" + So spoke the imperial sage, purest of men, + Marcus Aurelius. But the stifling den + Of common life, where, crowded up pell-mell, + Our freedom for a little bread we sell, + And drudge under some foolish master's ken, + Who rates us if we peer outside our pen-- + Matched with a palace, is not this a hell? + "Even in a palace!" On his truth sincere, + Who spoke these words no shadow ever came; + And when my ill-schooled spirit is aflame + Some nobler, ampler stage of life to win, + I'll stop and say: "There were no succor here! + The aids to noble life are all within." + + --Matthew Arnold. + + +THE VICTORY + + To do the tasks of life, and be not lost; + To mingle, yet dwell apart; + To be by roughest seas how rudely tossed, + Yet bate no jot of heart; + + To hold thy course among the heavenly stars, + Yet dwell upon the earth; + To stand behind Fate's firm-laid prison bars, + Yet win all Freedom's worth. + + --Sydney Henry Morse. + + + 'Twere sweet indeed to close our eyes + with those we cherish near, + And wafted upward by their sighs soar + to some calmer sphere; + But whether on the scaffold high or + in the battle's van + The fittest place where man can die + is where he dies for man. + + --Michael Joseph Barry. + + +A TRUE HERO + +(James Braidwood of the London Fire Brigade; died June, 1861.) + + Not at the battle front, writ of in story, + Not in the blazing wreck, steering to glory; + + Not while in martyr-pangs soul and flesh sever, + Died he--this Hero now; hero forever. + + No pomp poetic crowned, no forms enchained him; + No friends applauding watched, no foes arraigned him; + + Death found him there, without grandeur or beauty. + Only an honest man doing his duty; + + Just a God-fearing man, simple and lowly, + Constant at kirk and hearth, kindly as holy; + + Death found--and touched him with finger in flying-- + Lo! he rose up complete--hero undying. + + Now all men mourn for him, lovingly raise him, + Up from his life obscure, chronicle, praise him; + + Tell his last act; done 'midst peril appalling, + And the last word of cheer from his lips falling; + + Follow in multitudes to his grave's portal; + Leave him there, buried in honor immortal. + + So many a Hero walks unseen beside us, + Till comes the supreme stroke sent to divide us. + + Then the Lord calls his own--like this man, even, + Carried, Elijah-like, fire-winged, to heaven. + + --Dinah Maria Mulock Craik. + + + Unless above himself he can + Erect himself, how poor a thing is man. + + --Samuel Daniel. + + +BATTLES + + Nay, not for place, but for the right, + To make this fair world fairer still-- + Or lowly lily of the night, + Or sun topped tower of a hill, + Or high or low, or near or far, + Or dull or keen, or bright or dim, + Or blade of grass, or brightest star-- + All, all are but the same to him. + + O pity of the strife for place! + O pity of the strife for power! + How scarred, how marred a mountain's face! + How fair the face of a flower! + The blade of grass beneath your feet + The bravest sword--aye, braver far + To do and die in mute defeat + Than bravest conqueror of war! + + When I am dead, say this, but this: + "He grasped at no man's blade or shield. + Or banner bore, but helmetless, + Alone, unknown, he held the field; + He held the field, with sabre drawn, + Where God had set him in the fight; + He held the field, fought on and on, + And so fell, fighting for the right!" + + --Joaquin Miller. + + + While thus to love he gave his days + In loyal worship, scorning praise, + How spread their lures for him in vain, + Thieving Ambition and paltering Gain! + He thought it happier to be dead, + To die for Beauty than live for bread. + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + + Whether we climb, whether we plod, + Space for one task the scant years lend, + To choose some path that leads to God, + And keep it to the end. + + --Lizette Woodworth Reese. + + + Bravely to do whate'er the time demands, + Whether with pen or sword, and not to flinch, + This is the task that fits heroic hands; + So are Truth's boundaries widened, inch by inch. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + + +COURAGE + +CONSTANCY, CONFIDENCE, STRENGTH, VALOR + + +THE BATTLEFIELD + + Once this soft turf, this rivulet's sands, + Were trampled by a hurrying crowd, + And fiery hearts and armed hands + Encountered in the battle cloud. + + Ah! never shall the land forget + How gushed the life-blood of her brave-- + Gushed, warm with life and courage yet, + Upon the soil they fought to save. + + Now all is calm and fresh and still, + Alone the chirp of flitting bird, + And talks of children on the hill, + And bell of wandering kine are heard. + + No solemn host goes trailing by + The black-mouthed gun and staggering wain; + Men start not at the battle-cry; + Oh, be it never heard again! + + Soon rested those who fought; but thou + Who minglest in the harder strife + For truths which men receive not now, + Thy warfare only ends with life. + + A friendless warfare! lingering long + Through weary day and weary year; + A wild and many-weaponed throng + Hang on thy front, and flank, and rear. + + Yet nerve thy spirit to the proof. + And blench not at thy chosen lot; + The timid good may stand aloof, + The sage may frown--yet faint thou not. + + Nor heed the shaft too surely cast, + The foul and hissing bolt of scorn; + For with thy side shall dwell at last + The victory of endurance born. + + Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again; + The eternal years of God are hers; + But Error, wounded, writhes in pain, + And dies among his worshipers. + + Yea, though thou lie upon the dust, + When they who helped thee flee in fear, + Die full of hope and manly trust, + Like those who fell in battle here. + + Another hand thy sword shall wield, + Another hand the standard wave, + Till from the trumpet's mouth is pealed, + The blast of triumph o'er thy grave. + + --William Cullen Bryant. + + +DARE YOU? + + Doubting Thomas and loving John, + Behind the others walking on: + + "Tell me now, John, dare you be + One of the minority? + To be lonely in your thought, + Never visited nor sought, + Shunned with secret shrug, to go + Through the world esteemed its foe; + To be singled out and hissed, + Pointed at as one unblessed, + Warned against in whispers faint, + Lest the children catch a taint; + To bear off your titles well,-- + Heretic and infidel? + If you dare, come now with me, + Fearless, confident and free." + + "Thomas, do you dare to be + Of the great majority? + To be only, as the rest, + With Heaven's common comforts blessed; + To accept, in humble part, + Truth that shines on every heart; + Never to be set on high, + Where the envious curses fly; + Never name or fame to find, + Still outstripped in soul and mind; + To be hid, unless to God, + As one grass-blade in the sod; + Underfoot with millions trod? + If you dare, come with us, be + Lost in love's great unity." + + --Edward Rowland Sill. + + +SENSITIVENESS + + Time was I shrank from what was right, + From fear of what was wrong; + I would not brave the sacred fight + Because the foe was strong. + + But now I cast that finer sense + And sorer shame aside; + Such dread of sin was indolence, + Such aim at heaven was pride. + + So when my Saviour calls I rise, + And calmly do my best; + Leaving to Him, with silent eyes + Of hope and fear, the rest. + + I step, I mount, where He has led; + Men count my haltings o'er; + I know them; yet, though self I dread, + I love His precept more. + + --John Henry Newman. + + +COURAGE + + Because I hold it sinful to despond, + And will not let the bitterness of life + Blind me with burning tears, but look beyond + Its tumult and its strife; + + Because I lift my head above the mist, + Where the sun shines and the broad breezes blow, + By every ray and every raindrop kissed + That God's love doth bestow; + + Think you I find no bitterness at all? + No burden to be borne, like Christian's pack? + Think you there are no ready tears to fall + Because I keep them back? + + Why should I hug life's ills with cold reserve, + To curse myself and all who love me? Nay! + A thousand times more good than I deserve + God gives me every day. + + And in each one of these rebellious tears + Kept bravely back He makes a rainbow shine; + Gratefully I take His slightest gift, no fears + Nor any doubts are mine. + + Dark skies must clear, and when the clouds are past + One golden day redeems a weary year; + Patient I listen, sure that sweet at last + Will sound his voice of cheer. + + Then vex me not with chiding. Let me be. + I must be glad and grateful to the end. + I grudge you not your cold and darkness,--me + The powers of light befriend. + + --Celia Thaxter. + + +DO AND BE BLEST + + Dare to think, though others frown; + Dare in words your thoughts express; + Dare to rise, though oft cast down; + Dare the wronged and scorned to bless. + + Dare from custom to depart; + Dare the priceless pearl possess; + Dare to wear it next your heart; + Dare, when others curse, to bless. + + Dare forsake what you deem wrong; + Dare to walk in wisdom's way, + Dare to give where gifts belong, + Dare God's precepts to obey. + + Do what conscience says is right, + Do what reason says is best, + Do with all your mind and might; + Do your duty and be blest. + + +A PLACE WITH HIM + + O tired worker, faltering on life's rugged way, + With faithful hands so full they may not rest, + Forget not that the weak of earth have one sure stay, + And humblest ones by God himself are blest, + Who work for Him! + + Then courage take, faint heart! and though the path be long + God's simple rule thy steps will safely guide:-- + "Love Him, thy neighbor as thyself, and do no wrong"; + In calm content they all shall surely bide + Who walk with Him! + + So banish every fear, each daily task take up, + God's grace thy failing strength shall build anew; + His mercy, in thy sorrows, stay the flowing cup: + And His great love keep for thy spirit true + A place with him! + + --J. D. Seabury. + + +GOD A FORTRESS + + A mighty fortress is our God, + A bulwark never failing: + Our Helper, he, amid the flood + Of mortal ills prevailing. + For still our ancient foe + Doth seek to work us woe; + His craft and power are great, + And, armed with cruel hate, + On earth is not his equal. + + Did we in our own strength confide, + Our striving would be losing; + Were not the right man on our side, + The man of God's own choosing. + Dost ask who that may be? + Christ Jesus, it is he; + Lord Sabaoth is his name, + From age to age the same, + And he must win the battle. + + And though this world, with devils filled, + Should threaten to undo us; + We will not fear, for God hath willed + His truth to triumph through us. + The Prince of darkness grim-- + We tremble not for him; + His rage we can endure, + For lo! his doom is sure, + One little word shall fell him. + + That word above all earthly powers-- + No thanks to them--abideth; + The Spirit and the gifts are ours + Through him who with us sideth. + Let goods and kindred go, + This mortal life also; + The body they may kill: + God's truth abideth still, + His kingdom is forever. + + --Martin Luther, tr. by Frederick H. Hedge. + + +STRENGTH + + Be strong to hope, O heart! + Though day is bright, + The stars can only shine + In the dark night. + Be strong, O heart of mine, + Look toward the light. + + Be strong to bear, O heart! + Nothing is vain: + Strive not, for life is care, + And God sends pain. + Heaven is above, and there + Rest will remain. + + Be strong to love, O heart! + Love knows not wrong; + Didst thou love creatures even, + Life were not long; + Didst thou love God in heaven + Thou wouldst be strong. + + + Why comes temptation but for man to meet + And master and make crouch beneath his foot, + And so be pedestaled in triumph? Pray, + "Lead us into no such temptation, Lord!" + Yea, but, O thou whose servants are the bold, + Lead such temptations by the head and hair, + Reluctant dragons, up to who dares fight, + That so he may do battle and have praise. + + --Robert Browning. + + +BE JUST AND FEAR NOT + + Speak thou the truth. Let others fence, + And trim their words for pay: + In pleasant sunshine of pretense + Let others bask their day. + + Guard thou the fact; though clouds of night + Down on thy watch tower stoop: + Though thou shouldst see thine heart's delight + Borne from thee by their swoop. + + Face thou the wind. Though safer seem + In shelter to abide: + We were not made to sit and dream: + The safe must first be tried. + + Where God hath set His thorns about, + Cry not, "The way is plain": + His path within for those without + Is paved with toil and pain. + + One fragment of His blessed Word, + Into thy spirit burned, + Is better than the whole half-heard + And by thine interest turned. + + Show thou thy light. If conscience gleam, + Set not thy bushel down; + The smallest spark may send his beam + O'er hamlet, tower, and town. + + Woe, woe to him, on safety bent, + Who creeps to age from youth, + Failing to grasp his life's intent + Because he fears the truth. + + Be true to every inmost thought, + And as thy thought, thy speech: + What thou hast not by suffering bought, + Presume thou not to teach. + + Hold on, hold on--thou hast the rock, + The foes are on the sand: + The first world tempest's ruthless shock + Scatters their drifting strand: + + While each wild gust the mist shall clear + We now see darkly through, + And justified at last appear + The true, in Him that's True. + + --Henry Alford. + + +COURAGE DEFINED + + The brave man is not he who feels no fear, + For that were stupid and irrational; + But he whose noble soul its fear subdues, + And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from. + As for your youth whom blood and blows delight, + Away with them! there is not in their crew + One valiant spirit. + + --Joanna Baillie. + + +DEMAND FOR COURAGE + + Thy life's a warfare, thou a soldier art; + Satan's thy foeman, and a faithful heart + Thy two-edged weapon; patience is thy shield, + Heaven is thy chieftain, and the world thy field. + To be afraid to die, or wish for death, + Are words and passions of despairing breath. + Who doth the first the day doth faintly yield; + And who the second basely flies the field. + + --Francis Quarles. + + + When falls the hour of evil chance-- + And hours of evil chance will fall-- + Strike, though with but a broken lance! + Strike, though you have no lance at all! + + Shrink not, however great the odds; + Shrink not, however dark the hour-- + The barest possibility of good + Demands your utmost power. + + + They are slaves who fear to speak + For the fallen and the weak; + They are slaves who will not choose + Hatred, scoffing and abuse, + Rather than in silence shrink + From the truth they needs must think; + They are slaves who dare not be + In the right with two or three. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +TRUST IN GOD AND DO THE RIGHT + + Courage, brother, do not stumble, + Though thy path be dark as night; + There's a star to guide the humble-- + Trust in God and do the right. + Though the road be long and dreary, + And the end be out of sight; + Foot it bravely, strong or weary-- + Trust in God and do the right. + + Perish "policy" and cunning, + Perish all that fears the light; + Whether losing, whether winning, + Trust in God and do the right. + Shun all forms of guilty passion, + Fiends can look like angels bright; + Heed no custom, school, or fashion-- + Trust in God and do the right. + + Some will hate thee, some will love thee, + Some will flatter, some will slight; + Cease from man and look above thee, + Trust in God and do the right. + Simple rule and safest guiding-- + Inward peace and shining light-- + Star upon our path abiding-- + TRUST IN GOD AND DO THE RIGHT. + + --Norman Macleod. + + +THE PRESENT CRISIS + + We are living, we are dwelling, in a grand and awful time. + In an age on ages telling to be living is sublime. + Hark! the waking up of nations; Gog and Magog to the fray. + Hark! what soundeth? 'Tis creation groaning for its latter day. + + Will ye play, then, will ye dally, with your music and your wine? + Up! it is Jehovah's rally; God's own arm hath need of thine; + Hark! the onset! will ye fold your faith-clad arms in lazy lock? + Up! O up, thou drowsy soldier! Worlds are charging to the shock. + + Worlds are charging--heaven beholding; thou hast but an hour to fight; + Now the blazoned cross unfolding, on, right onward for the right! + On! let all the soul within you for the truth's sake go abroad! + Strike! let every nerve and sinew tell on ages; tell for God! + + --Arthur Cleveland Coxe. + + +BRAVERY + + We will speak on; we will be heard; + Though all earth's systems crack, + We will not bate a single word, + Nor take a letter back. + + We speak the truth; and what care we + For hissing and for scorn + While some faint gleaming we can see + Of Freedom's coming morn! + + Let liars fear; let cowards shrink; + Let traitors turn away; + Whatever we have dared to think, + That dare we also say. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +NO ENEMIES + + He has no enemies, you say? + My friend, your boast is poor; + He who hath mingled in the fray + Of duty, that the brave endure, + Must have made foes. If he has none + Small is the work that he has done. + He has hit no traitor on the hip; + He has cast no cup from tempted lip; + He has never turned the wrong to right; + He has been a coward in the fight. + + + One deed may mar a life, + And one can make it. + Hold firm thy will for strife, + Lest a quick blow break it! + Even now from far, on viewless wing, + Hither speeds the nameless thing + Shall put thy spirit to the test. + Haply or e'er yon sinking sun + Shall drop behind the purple West + All shall be lost--or won! + + --Richard Watson Gilder. + + + In spite of sorrow, loss, and pain, + Our course be onward still; + We sow on Burmah's barren plain, + We reap on Zion's hill. + + --Adoniram Judson. + + + I find no foeman in the road but Fear. + To doubt is failure and to dare success. + + --Frederic Lawrence Knowles. + + +DARE TO DO RIGHT + + Dare to do right! dare to be true! + You have a work that no other can do, + Do it so bravely, so kindly, so well, + Angels will hasten the story to tell. + + Dare to do right! dare to be true! + Other men's failures can never save you; + Stand by your conscience, your honor, your faith; + Stand like a hero, and battle till death. + + Dare to do right! dare to be true! + God, who created you, cares for you too; + Treasures the tears that his striving ones shed, + Counts and protects every hair of your head. + + Dare to do right! dare to be true! + Keep the great judgment-seat always in view; + Look at your work as you'll look at it then-- + Scanned by Jehovah, and angels, and men. + + Dare to do right! dare to be true! + Cannot Omnipotence carry you through? + City, and mansion, and throne all in sight-- + Can you not dare to be true and do right? + + Dare to do right! dare to be true! + Prayerfully, lovingly, firmly pursue + The path by apostles and martyrs once trod, + The path of the just to the city of God. + + --George Lansing Taylor. + + +PLUCK WINS + + Pluck wins! It always wins! though days be slow, + And nights be dark 'twixt days that come and go, + Still pluck will win; its average is sure, + He gains the prize who will the most endure; + Who faces issues; he who never shirks; + Who waits and watches, and who always works. + + +BE NEVER DISCOURAGED + + Be never discouraged! + Look up and look on; + When the prospect is darkest + The cloud is withdrawn. + The shadows that blacken + The earth and the sky, + Speak to the strong-hearted, + Salvation is nigh. + + Be never discouraged! + If you would secure + The earth's richest blessings, + And make heaven sure, + Yield not in the battle, + Nor quail in the blast; + The brave and unyielding + Win nobly at last. + + Be never discouraged! + By day and by night + Have glory in prospect + And wisdom in sight; + Undaunted and faithful, + You never will fail, + Though kingdoms oppose you + And devils assail. + + --D. C. Colesworthy. + + +NEVER SAY FAIL + + Keep pushing--'tis wiser than sitting aside + And dreaming and sighing and waiting the tide. + In life's earnest battle they only prevail + Who daily march onward, and never say fail. + + With an eye ever open, a tongue that's not dumb, + And a heart that will never to sorrow succumb, + You'll battle--and conquer, though thousands assail; + How strong and how mighty, who never say fail. + + In life's rosy morning, in manhood's firm pride, + Let this be the motto your footsteps to guide: + In storm and in sunshine, whatever assail, + We'll onward and conquer, and never say fail. + + +ONLY ONE WAY + + However the battle is ended, + Though proudly the victor comes, + With fluttering flags and prancing nags + And echoing roll of drums, + Still truth proclaims this motto, + In letters of living light: + No question is ever settled + Until it is settled right. + + Though the heel of the strong oppressor + May grind the weak in the dust, + And the voices of fame with one acclaim + May call him great and just, + Let those who applaud take warning, + And keep this motto in sight: + No question is ever settled + Until it is settled right. + + Let those who have failed take courage; + Though the enemy seemed to have won, + Though his ranks are strong, if in the wrong + The battle is not yet done. + For, sure as the morning follows + The darkest hour of the night, + No question is ever settled + Until it is settled right. + + +FORTITUDE AMID TRIALS + + O, never from thy tempted heart + Let thine integrity depart! + When Disappointment fills thy cup, + Undaunted, nobly drink it up; + Truth will prevail and Justice show + Her tardy honors, sure, though slow. + Bear on--bear bravely on! + + Bear on! Our life is not a dream, + Though often such its mazes seem; + We were not born for lives of ease, + Ourselves alone to aid and please. + To each a daily task is given, + A labor which shall fit for Heaven; + When Duty calls, let Love grow warm; + Amid the sunshine and the storm, + With Faith life's trials boldly breast, + And come a conqueror to thy rest. + Bear on--bear bravely on! + + + He that feeds men serveth few; + He serves all who dares be true. + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + +PLUCK + + Be firm. One constant element in luck + Is genuine, solid, old Teutonic pluck. + See yon tall shaft? It felt the earthquake's thrill, + Clung to its base, and greets the sunlight still. + + Stick to your aim; the mongrel's hold will slip, + But only crow-bars loose the bulldog's grip; + Small as he looks, the jaw that never yields + Drags down the bellowing monarch of the fields. + + Yet, in opinions look not always back; + Your wake is nothing,--mind the coming track; + Leave what you've done for what you have to do, + Don't be "consistent," but be simply true. + + --Oliver Wendell Holmes. + + + Do thy little; do it well; + Do what right and reason tell; + Do what wrong and sorrow claim: + Conquer sin and cover shame. + Do thy little, though it be + Dreariness and drudgery; + They whom Christ apostles made + Gathered fragments when he bade. + + + Is the work difficult? + Jesus directs thee. + Is the path dangerous? + Jesus protects thee. + + Fear not and falter not; + Let the word cheer thee: + All through the coming year + He will be near thee. + + + Well to suffer is divine. + Pass the watchword down the line + Pass the countersign, Endure! + Not to him who rashly dares, + But to him who nobly bears, + Is the victor's garland sure. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + If thou canst plan a noble deed + And never flag till thou succeed, + Though in the strife thy heart shall bleed, + Whatever obstacles control, + Thine hour will come; go on, true soul! + Thou'lt win the prize; thou'lt reach the goal. + + + I honor the man who is willing to sink + Half his present repute for freedom to think; + And when he has that, be his cause strong or weak, + Will risk t'other half for freedom to speak. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + The word is great, and no deed is greater + When both are of God, to follow or lead; + But alas! for the truth when the word comes later, + With questioned steps, to sustain the deed. + + --John Boyle O'Reilly. + + + Stand upright, speak thy thought, declare + The truth thou hast that all may share; + Be bold, proclaim it everywhere; + They only live who dare. + + --Lewis Morris. + + + There is no duty patent in the world + Like daring try be good and true myself, + Leaving the shows of things to the Lord of show + And Prince o' the power of the air. + + --Robert Browning. + + + Tender-handed stroke a nettle, + And it stings you for your pains; + Grasp it like a man of mettle, + And it soft as silk remains. + + --Aaron Hill (1685-1750). + + + On the red rampart's slippery swell, + With heart that beat a charge, he fell + Foeward, as fits a man; + But the high soul burns on to light men's feet + Where death for noble ends makes dying sweet. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + I do not ask that Thou shalt front the fray. + And drive the warring foeman from my sight: + I only ask, O Lord, by night, by day, + Strength for the fight! + + + No coward soul is mine, + No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere; + I see Heaven's glories shine, + And faith shines equal, arming me from fear. + + --Emily Brontë. + + + You will find that luck + Is only pluck + To try things over and over; + Patience and skill, + Courage and will, + Are the four leaves of luck's clover. + + + The chivalry + That dares the right and disregards alike + The yea and nay o' the world. + + --Robert Browning. + + + God has his best things for the few + Who dare to stand the test; + He has his second choice for those + Who will not have his best. + + + Dare to be true; nothing can need a lie; + A fault which needs it most grows two thereby. + + --George Herbert. + + + + +INDEPENDENCE + +MANHOOD, FIRMNESS, EARNESTNESS, RESOLUTION + + +WANTED + + God give us men! A time like this demands + Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands; + Men whom the lust of office does not kill; + Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; + Men who possess opinions and a will; + Men who have honor--men who will not lie. + Men who can stand before a demagogue + And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking; + Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog + In public duty and in private thinking; + For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, + Their large professions and their little deeds, + Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps, + Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps. + + --Josiah Gilbert Holland. + + +TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE + + By thine own soul's law learn to live, + And if men thwart thee take no heed; + And if men hate thee have no care; + Sing thou thy song, and do thy deed; + Hope thou thy hope, and pray thy prayer, + And claim no crown they will not give, + Nor bays they grudge thee for thy hair. + + Keep thou thy soul-won, steadfast oath, + And to thy heart be true thy heart; + What thy soul teaches learn to know, + And play out thine appointed part, + And thou shalt reap as thou shalt sow, + Nor helped nor hardened in thy growth, + To thy full stature thou shalt grow. + + Fix on the future's goal thy face, + And let thy feet be lured to stray + Nowhither, but be swift to run, + And nowhere tarry by the way, + Until at last the end is won, + And thou mayst look back from thy place + And see thy long day's journey done. + + --Pakenham Beatty. + + +LORD OF HIMSELF + + How happy is he born and taught + That serveth not another's will; + Whose armor is his honest thought, + And simple truth his utmost skill. + + Whose passions not his masters are, + Whose soul is still prepared for death; + Not tied unto the world with care + Of public fame or private breath. + + Who envies none that chance doth raise, + Or vice; who never understood + How deepest wounds are given by praise, + Nor rules of state but rules of good. + + Who hath his life from rumors freed, + Whose conscience is his strong retreat; + Whose state can neither flatterers feed, + Nor ruin make accusers great. + + Who God doth late and early pray + More of his grace than gifts to lend; + And entertains the harmless day + With a well-chosen book or friend. + + This man is freed from servile bands, + Of hope to rise or fear to fall; + Lord of himself, though not of lands, + And having nothing, yet hath all. + + --Henry Wotton. + + + High above hate I dwell; + O storms, farewell! + + +UNCONQUERED + + Out of the night that covers me, + Black as the pit from pole to pole, + I thank whatever gods may be + For my unconquerable soul. + + Beyond this place of wrath and tears + Looms but the horror of the shade, + And yet the menace of the years + Finds and shall find me unafraid. + + In the fell clutch of circumstance + I have not winced nor cried aloud; + Under the bludgeonings of chance + My head is bloody, but unbowed. + + It matters not how strait the gate, + How charged with punishments the scroll; + I am the master of my fate, + I am the captain of my soul. + + --William Ernest Henley. + + +RELIGION AND DOCTRINE + + He stood before the Sanhedrim: + The scowling rabbis gazed at him. + He recked not of their praise or blame; + There was no fear, there was no shame, + For one upon whose dazzled eyes + The whole world poured its vast surprise. + The open heaven was far too near + His first day's light too sweet and clear, + To let him waste his new-gained ken + On the hate-clouded face of men. + + But still they questioned, Who art thou? + What hast thou been? What art thou now? + Thou art not he who yesterday + Sat here and begged beside the way, + For he was blind. + "_And I am he; + For I was blind, but now I see._" + + He told the story o'er and o'er; + It was his full heart's only lore; + A prophet on the Sabbath day + Had touched his sightless eyes with clay, + And made him see who had been blind, + Their words passed by him like the wind + Which raves and howls, but cannot shock + The hundred-fathom-rooted rock. + + Their threats and fury all went wide; + They could not touch his Hebrew pride. + Their sneers at Jesus and his band, + Nameless and homeless in the land, + Their boasts of Moses and his Lord, + All could not change him by one word. + + "_I know not what this man may be, + Sinner or saint; but as for me + One thing I know: that I am he + Who once was blind, and now I see._" + + They were all doctors of renown, + The great men of a famous town + With deep brows, wrinkled, broad, and wise + Beneath their wide phylacteries; + The wisdom of the East was theirs, + And honor crowned their silvery hairs. + The man they jeered, and laughed to scorn + Was unlearned, poor, and humbly born; + But he knew better far than they + What came to him that Sabbath day; + And what the Christ had done for him + He knew, and not the Sanhedrim. + + --John Hay. + + +THE OLD STOIC + + Riches I hold in light esteem, + And Love I laugh to scorn; + And lust of fame was but a dream, + That vanished with the morn. + + And, if I pray, the only prayer + That moves my lips for me + Is, "Leave the heart that now I bear, + And give me liberty!" + + Yes, as my swift days near their goal, + 'Tis all that I implore, + In life and death a chainless soul + And courage to endure. + + --Emily Brontë. + + + Keep to the right, within and without, + With stranger and pilgrim and friend; + Keep to the right and you need have no doubt + That all will be well in the end. + Keep to the right in whatever you do, + Nor claim but your own on the way; + Keep to the right, and hold on to the true, + From the morn to the close of life's day! + + +FOR A' THAT + + Is there for honest poverty + That hangs his head, and a' that? + The coward slave, we pass him by, + We dare be poor for a' that; + For a' that and a' that; + Our toils obscure and a' that; + The rank is but the guinea-stamp, + The man's the gowd for a' that. + + What though on hamely fare we dine, + Wear hodden gray, and a' that: + Gie fools their silks and knaves their wine, + A man's a man for a' that; + For a' that and a' that, + Their tinsel show, and a' that, + The honest man, though e'er sae poor, + Is king o' men, for a' that. + + You see yon birkie ca'd a lord, + Wha struts and stares, and a' that: + Though hundreds worship at his word + He's but a coof for a' that. + For a' that and a' that, + His riband, star, and a' that, + The man of independent mind, + He looks and laughs at a' that. + + A prince can mak a belted knight, + A marquis, duke, and a' that; + But an honest man's aboon his might, + Guid faith, he mauna fa' that, + For a' that and a' that, + Their dignities, and a' that, + The pith of sense and pride o' worth, + Are higher ranks than a' that. + + Then let us pray that come it may, + As come it will, for a' that, + That sense and worth o'er a' the earth, + May bear the gree and a' that; + For a' that and a' that, + It's comin' yet for a' that, + That man to man, the warld o'er, + Shall brothers be, for a' that. + + --Robert Burns. + + + Stone walls do not a prison make, + Nor iron bars a cage; + Minds innocent and quiet take + That for a hermitage; + If I have freedom in my love, + And in my soul am free, + Angels alone, that soar above, + Enjoy such liberty. + + --Richard Lovelace. + + +"A MAN'S A MAN FOR A' THAT" + +(A new song to an old tune.) + + "A man's a man," says Robert Burns, + "For a' that and a' that"; + But though the song be clear and strong + It lacks a note for a' that. + The lout who'd shirk his daily work, + Yet claim his wage and a' that, + Or beg when he might earn his bread, + Is _not_ a man for a' that. + + If all who "dine on homely fare" + Were true and brave and a' that, + And none whose garb is "hodden gray" + Was fool or knave and a' that, + The vice and crime that shame our time + Would disappear and a' that, + And plowmen be as great as kings, + And churls as earls for a' that. + + But 'tis not so; yon brawny fool, + Who swaggers, swears, and a' that, + And thinks because his strong right arm + Might fell an ox, and a' that, + That he's as noble, man for man, + As duke or lord, and a' that, + Is but an animal at best + But _not_ a man for a' that. + + A man may own a large estate, + Have palace, park, and a' that, + And not for birth, but honest worth, + Be thrice a man for a' that. + And Sawnie, herding on the moor, + Who beats his wife and a' that, + Is nothing but a brutal boor, + Nor half a man for a' that. + + It comes to this, dear Robert Burns, + The truth is old, and a' that, + The rank _is_ but the guinea's stamp, + The man's the gowd for a' that. + And though you'd put the self-same mark + On copper, brass, and a' that, + The lie is gross, the cheat is plain, + And will not pass for a' that. + + "For a' that and a' that" + 'Tis soul and heart and a' that + That makes a king a gentleman, + And not his crown for a' that. + And whether he be rich or poor + The best is he, for a' that, + Who stands erect in self-respect, + And acts the man for a' that. + + --Charles Mackay. + + +ESSE QUAM VIDERI + + The knightly legend on thy shield betrays + The moral of thy life; a forecast wise, + And that large honor that deceit defies, + Inspired thy fathers in the elder days, + Who decked thy scutcheon with that sturdy phrase, + _To be, rather than seem._ As eve's red skies + Surpass the morning's rosy prophecies, + Thy life to that proud boast its answer pays, + Scorning thy faith and purpose to defend. + The ever-mutable multitude at last + Will hail the power they did not comprehend-- + Thy fame will broaden through the centuries; + As, storm and billowy tumult overpast, + The moon rules calmly o'er the conquered seas. + + --John Hay. + + +THE HIGHER LAW + + Man was not made for forms, but forms for man, + And there are times when law itself must bend + To that clear spirit always in the van, + Outspeeding human justice. In the end + Potentates, not humanity, must fall. + Water will find its level, fire will burn, + The winds must blow around the earthly ball, + The earthly ball by day and night must turn; + Freedom is typed in every element, + Man must be free, if not through law, why then + Above the law, until its force be spent + And justice brings a better. But, O, when, + Father of Light, when shall the reckoning come + To lift the weak, and strike the oppressor dumb. + + --Christopher Pearse Cranch. + + + What I am, what I am not, in the eye + Of the world, is what I never cared for much. + + --Robert Browning. + + +I RESOLVE + + To keep my health; + To do my work; + To live; + To see to it that I grow and gain and give; + Never to look behind me for an hour; + To wait in meekness, and to walk in power; + But always fronting onward, to the light, + Always and always facing toward the right. + Robbed, starved, defeated, fallen, wide-astray-- + On, with what strength I have-- + Back to the way. + + --Charlotte Perkins Stetson. + + +IN MYSELF + + I do not ask for any crown + But that which all may win; + Nor try to conquer any world + Except the one within. + Be thou my guide until I find + Led by a tender hand, + The happy kingdom in myself + And dare to take command. + + --Louisa May Alcott. + + +HIDE NOT THY HEART + + This is my creed, + This is my deed: + "Hide not thy heart!" + Soon we depart; + Mortals are all; + A breath, then the pall; + A flash on the dark-- + All's done--stiff and stark. + No time for a lie; + The truth, and then die. + Hide not thy heart! + + Forth with thy thought! + Soon 'twill be naught, + And thou in thy tomb. + Now is air, now is room. + Down with false shame; + Reck not of fame; + Dread not man's spite; + Quench not thy light. + This be thy creed, + This be thy deed: + "Hide not thy heart!" + + If God is, he made + Sunshine and shade, + Heaven and hell; + This we know well. + Dost thou believe? + Do not deceive; + Scorn not thy faith-- + If 'tis a wraith + Soon it will fly. + Thou who must die, + Hide not thy heart! + + This is my creed, + This be my deed: + Faith, or a doubt, + I shall speak out-- + And hide not my heart. + + --Richard Watson Gilder. + + +A GENTLEMAN + +(Psa. XV.) + + 'Tis he whose every thought and deed + By rule of virtue moves; + Whose generous tongue disdains to speak + The thing his heart disproves. + + Who never did a slander forge + His neighbor's fame to wound; + Nor hearken to a false report + By malice whispered round. + + Who vice in all its pomp and power + Can treat with just neglect; + And piety, though clothed in rags, + Religiously respect. + + Who to his plighted word of truth + Has ever firmly stood; + And, though he promised to his loss, + Still makes his promise good. + + Whose soul in usury disdains + His treasure to employ; + Whom no reward can ever bribe + The guiltless to destroy. + + + I hold it as a changeless law, + From which no soul can sway or swerve, + We have that in us which will draw + Whate'er we need or most deserve. + + +BE TRUE THYSELF + + Thou must be true thyself + If thou the truth wouldst teach; + Thy soul must overflow if thou + Another's soul wouldst reach. + It needs the overflow of heart + To give the lips full speech. + + Think truly, and thy thoughts + Shall the world's famine feed; + Speak truly, and each word of thine + Shall be a fruitful seed; + Live truly, and thy life shall be + A great and noble creed. + + --Horatius Bonar. + + + Keep pure thy soul! + Then shalt thou take the whole + Of delight; + Then, without a pang, + Thine shall be all of beauty whereof the poet sang-- + The perfume and the pageant, the melody, the mirth, + Of the golden day and the starry night; + Of heaven and of earth. + Oh, keep pure thy soul! + + --Richard Watson Gilder. + + + Somebody did a golden deed; + Somebody proved a friend in need; + Somebody sang a beautiful song; + Somebody smiled the whole daylong; + Somebody thought, "'Tis sweet to live." + Somebody said, "I'm glad to give"; + Somebody fought a valiant fight; + Somebody lived to shield the right; + Was it you? + + + Then draw we nearer, day by day, + Each to his brethren, all to God; + Let the world take us as she may, + We must not change our road; + Not wondering, though in grief, to find + The martyr's foe still keep her mind; + But fixed to hold Love's banner fast, + And by submission win at last. + + --John Keble. + + + Knowing, what all experience serves to show, + No mud can soil us but the mud we throw. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + Be no imitator; freshly act thy part; + Through this world be thou an independent ranger; + Better is the faith that springeth from thy heart + Than a better faith belonging to a stranger. + + --From the Persian. + + + None but one can harm you, + None but yourself who are your greatest foe, + He that respects himself is safe from others, + He wears a coat of mail that none can pierce. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + And some innative weakness there must be + In him that condescends to victory + Such as the _present_ gives, and cannot wait-- + Safe in himself as in a fate. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + To be the thing we seem, + To do the thing we deem + Enjoined by duty; + To walk in faith, nor dream + Of questioning God's scheme + Of truth and beauty. + + + To live by law, acting the law we live by without fear, + And, because right is right, to follow right, + Were wisdom, in the scorn of consequence. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + Though love repine, and reason chafe, + There came a voice without reply: + "'Tis man's perdition to be safe, + When for the truth he ought to die." + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + + Whatever you are--be that; + Whatever you say--be true; + Straightforwardly act-- + Be honest--in fact + Be nobody else but you. + + + If thou _hast_ something, bring thy goods; + A fair exchange be thine! + If thou _art_ something, bring thy soul, + And interchange with mine. + + --Schiller, tr. by Edward Bulwer Lytton. + + + However others act toward thee, + Act thou toward them as seemeth right; + And whatsoever others be, + Be thou the child of love and light. + + + This above all: to thine own self be true, + And it must follow, as the night the day, + Thou canst not then be false to any man. + + --William Shakespeare. + + + My time is short enough at best, + I push right onward while I may; + I open to the winds my breast, + And walk the way. + + --John Vance Cheney. + + + Not in the clamor of the crowded street, + Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, + But in ourselves are triumph and defeat. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + It becomes no man to nurse despair, + But in the teeth of clenched antagonisms + To follow up the worthiest till he die. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + + +GREATNESS + +FAME, SUCCESS, PROGRESS, VICTORY + + +A GREAT MAN + + That man is great, and he alone, + Who serves a greatness not his own, + For neither praise nor pelf; + Content to know and be unknown: + Whole in himself. + + Strong is that man, he only strong, + To whose well-ordered will belong, + For service and delight, + All powers that, in the face of Wrong, + Establish Right. + + And free is he, and only he, + Who, from his tyrant passions free, + By Fortune undismayed, + Hath power upon himself, to be + By himself obeyed. + + If such a man there be, where'er + Beneath the sun and moon he fare, + He cannot fare amiss; + Great Nature hath him in her care, + Her cause is his; + + Who holds by everlasting law + Which neither chance nor change can flaw, + Whose steadfast course is one + With whatsoever forces draw + The ages on; + + Who hath not bowed his honest head + To base Occasion; nor, in dread + Of Duty, shunned her eye; + Nor truckled to loud times; nor wed + His heart to a lie; + + Nor feared to follow, in the offense + Of false opinion, his own sense + Of justice unsubdued; + Nor shrunk from any consequence + Of doing good; + + He looks his Angel in the face + Without a blush; nor heeds disgrace + Whom naught disgraceful done + Disgraces. Who knows nothing base + Fears nothing known. + + Not morseled out from day to day + In feverish wishes, nor the prey + Of hours that have no plan, + His life is whole, to give away + To God and man. + + For though he live aloof from ken, + The world's unwitnessed denizen, + The love within him stirs + Abroad, and with the hearts of men + His own confers. + + The judge upon the justice-seat; + The brown-backed beggar in the street; + The spinner in the sun; + The reapers reaping in the wheat; + The wan-cheeked nun + + In cloisters cold; the prisoner lean + In lightless den, the robèd queen; + Even the youth who waits, + Hiding the knife, to glide unseen + Between the gates-- + + He nothing human alien deems + Unto himself, nor disesteems + Man's meanest claim upon him. + And where he walks the mere sunbeams + Drop blessings on him. + + Because they know him Nature's friend, + One whom she doth delight to tend + With loving kindness ever: + Helping and heartening to the end + His high endeavor. + + --Edward Bulwer Lytton. + + +FAME AND DUTY + + What shall I do lest life in silence pass? + "And if it do, + And never prompt the bray of noisy brass, + What need'st thou rue? + Remember, aye the ocean-deeps are mute-- + The shallows roar; + Worth is the ocean--fame is but the bruit + Along the shore." + + What shall I do to be forever known? + "Thy duty ever!" + This did full many who yet slept unknown. + "O never, never! + Think'st thou perchance that they remain unknown + Whom thou know'st not? + By angel trumps in heaven their praise is blown-- + Divine their lot." + + What shall I do, an heir of endless life? + "Discharge aright + The simple dues with which each day is rife, + Yea, with thy might. + Ere perfect scheme of action thou devise + Will life be fled, + While he who ever acts as conscience cries, + Shall live, though dead." + + --Johann C. F. Schiller. + + +NOBLE LIVES + + There are hearts which never falter + In the battle for the right; + There are ranks which never alter + Watching through the darkest night; + And the agony of sharing + In the fiercest of the strife + Only gives a nobler daring, + Only makes a grander life. + + There are those who never weary + Bearing suffering and wrong; + Though the way is long and dreary + It is vocal with their song, + While their spirits in God's furnace, + Bending to His gracious will, + Are fashioned in a purer mold + By His loving, matchless skill. + + There are those whose loving mission + 'Tis to bind the bleeding heart; + And to teach a calm submission + When the pain and sorrow smart. + They are angels, bearing to us + Love's rich ministry of peace, + While the night is nearing to us + When life's bitter trials cease. + + There are those who battle slander, + Envy, jealousy and hate; + Who would rather die than pander + To the passions of earth's great; + No earthly power can ever crush them, + They dread not the tyrant's frown; + Fear or favor cannot hush them, + Nothing bind their spirits down. + + These, these alone are truly great; + These are the conquerors of fate; + These truly live, they never die; + But, clothed with immortality, + When they lay their armor down + Shall enter and receive the crown. + + +THE HIGHER LIFE + + To play through life a perfect part, + Unnoticed and unknown; + To seek no rest in any heart + Save only God alone; + In little things to own no will. + To have no share in great; + To find the labor ready still + And for the crown to wait. + + Upon the brow to bear no trace + Of more than common care; + To write no secret in the face + For men to read it there; + The daily cross to clasp and bless + With such familiar zeal + As hides from all that not the less + The daily weight you feel; + + In toils that praise will never pay, + To see your life go past; + To meet in every coming day + Twin sister of the last; + To hear of high heroic things, + And yield them reverence due, + But feel life's daily sufferings + Are far more fit for you; + + To own no secret, soft disguise + To which self-love is prone, + Unnoticed by all other eyes, + Unworthy in your own; + To yield with such a happy art, + That no one thinks you care, + And say to your poor bleeding heart, + "How little you can bear!" + + O 'tis a pathway hard to choose, + A struggle hard to share; + For human pride would still refuse + The nameless trials there. + But since we know the gate is low + That leads to heavenly bliss, + What higher grace could God bestow + Than such a life as this? + + --Adelaide Anne Procter. + + +NOBILITY OF GOODNESS + + My fairest child, I have no song to give you; + No lark could pipe to skies so dull and gray; + Yet, ere we part, one lesson I can leave you, + For every day. + Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever; + Do noble things, not dream them all day long; + And so make life, death, and that vast forever, + One grand, sweet song! + + --Charles Kingsley. + + +THE GLORY OF FAILURE + + We who have lost the battle + To you who have fought and won: + Give ye good cheer and greeting! + Stoutly and bravely done! + + Reach us a hand in passing, + Comrades--and own the name! + Yours is the thrill and the laurel: + Ours is the smart and shame. + + Though we were nothing skillful, + Pity us not nor scorn! + Send us a hail as hearty-- + "Stoutly and bravely borne!" + + Others may scorn or pity; + You who are soldiers know. + Where was the joy of your battle + Save in the grip with the foe? + + Did we not stand to the conflict? + Did we not fairly fall? + Is it your crowns ye care for? + Nay, to have fought is all. + + Humbled and sore we watch you, + Cheerful and bruised and lamed. + Take the applause of the conquered-- + Conquered and unashamed! + + --Alice Van Vliet. + + + He is brave whose tongue is silent + Of the trophies of his word. + He is great whose quiet bearing + Marks his greatness well assured. + + --Edwin Arnold. + + +THE LOSING SIDE + + Helmet and plume and saber, banner and lance and shield, + Scattered in sad confusion over the trampled field; + And the band of broken soldiers, with a weary, hopeless air, + With heads in silence drooping, and eyes of grim despair. + Like foam-flakes left on the drifting sand + In the track of a falling tide, + On the ground where their cause has failed they stand, + The last of the losing side. + + Wisdom of age is vanquished, and generous hopes of youth, + Passion of faith and honor, fire of love and truth; + And the plans that seemed the fairest in the fight have not prevailed, + The keenest blades are broken, and the strongest arms have failed. + But souls that know not the breath of shame, + And tongues that have never lied, + And the truest hearts, and the fairest fame, + Are here--on the losing side. + + The conqueror's crown of glory is set with many a gem, + But I join not in their triumph--there are plenty to shout for _them;_ + The cause is the most applauded whose warriors gain the day, + And the world's best smiles are given to the victors in the fray. + But dearer to me is the darkened plain, + Where the noblest dreams have died, + Where hopes have been shattered and heroes slain + In the ranks of the losing side. + + --Arthur E. J. Legge. + + +IO VICTIS + + I sing the hymn of the conquered, who fell in the battle of life, + The hymn of the wounded and beaten, who died overwhelmed in the strife; + Not the jubilant song of the victors, for whom the resounding acclaim + Of nations was lifted in chorus, whose brows wore the chaplet of fame, + But the hymn of the low and the humble, the weary and broken in heart, + Who strove and who failed, acting bravely a silent and desperate part; + Whose youth bore no flower on its branches, whose hopes burned in ashes + away, + From whose hands slipped the prize they had grasped at, who stood at + the dying of day + With the wreck of their life all around them, unpitied, unheeded, + alone, + With death swooping down o'er their failure, and all but their faith + overthrown. + + While the voice of the world shouts its chorus--its pean for those who + have won; + While the trumpet is sounding triumphant, and high to the breeze and + the sun + Glad banners are waving, hands clapping, and hurrying feet + Thronging after the laurel-crowned victors, I stand on the field of + defeat, + In the shadow, with those who are fallen, and wounded, and dying, and + there + Chant a requiem low, place my hand on their pain-knotted brows, breathe + a prayer, + Hold the hand that is helpless, and whisper, "They only the victory + win, + Who have fought the good fight and have vanquished the demon that + tempts us within; + Who have held to their faith unseduced by the prize that the world + holds on high; + Who have dared for a high cause to suffer, resist, fight--if need be, + to die." + + Speak, History! who are Life's victors? Unroll thy long annals and say, + Are they those whom the world called the victors? who won the success + of a day? + The martyrs, or Nero? The Spartans who fell at Thermopylæ's tryst, + Or the Persians and Xerxes? His judges, or Socrates? Pilate, or Christ? + + --William M. Story. + + + He makes no friend who never made a foe. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +THE TRUE KING + + 'Tis not wealth that makes a king, + Nor the purple coloring; + Nor the brow that's bound with gold, + Nor gate on mighty hinges rolled. + + The king is he who, void of fear, + Looks abroad with bosom clear; + Who can tread ambition down, + Nor be swayed by smile or frown, + Nor for all the treasure cares, + That mine conceals or harvest wears, + Or that golden sands deliver + Bosomed in the glassy river. + + What shall move his placid might? + Not the headlong thunder's light, + Nor all the shapes of slaughter's trade, + With onward lance or fiery blade. + Safe, with wisdom for his crown, + He looks on all things calmly down, + He welcomes Fate when Fate is near, + Nor taints his dying breath with fear. + + No; to fear not earthly thing, + That it is that makes the king; + And all of us, whoe'er we be, + May carve us out that royalty. + + --Seneca, tr. by Leigh Hunt. + + + With comrade Duty, in the dark or day, + To follow Truth--wherever it may lead; + To hate all meanness, cowardice or greed; + To look for Beauty under common clay; + Our brothers' burden sharing, when they weep, + But, if we fall, to bear defeat alone; + To live in hearts that loved us, when we're gone + Beyond the twilight (till the morning break!)--to sleep-- + That is Success! + + --Ernest Neal Lyon. + + + The common problem, yours, mine, every one's, + Is, not to fancy what were fair in life + Provided it could be, but, finding first + What may be, then find out how to make it fair + Up to our means; a very different thing. + + --Robert Browning. + + +BETTER THAN GOLD + + Better than grandeur, better than gold, + Than rank and titles a thousandfold, + Is a healthy body, a mind at ease, + And simple pleasures that always please; + A heart that can feel for another's woe, + That has learned with love's deep fires to glow, + With sympathy large enough to enfold + All men as brothers, is better than gold. + + Better than gold is a conscience clear, + Though toiling for bread in a humble sphere; + Doubly blest is content and health + Untried by the lusts and the cares of wealth. + Lowly living and lofty thought + Adorn and ennoble the poor man's cot; + For mind and morals in nature's plan + Are the genuine tests of the gentleman. + + Better than gold is the sweet repose + Of the sons of toil when labors close; + Better than gold is the poor man's sleep + And the balm that drops on his slumbers deep. + Bring sleeping draughts to the downy bed, + Where luxury pillows its aching head; + The toiler a simple opiate deems + A shorter route to the land of dreams. + + Better than gold is a thinking mind + That in the realm of books can find + A treasure surpassing Australian ore, + And live with the great and good of yore; + The sage's lore and the poet's lay; + The glories of empires passed away; + The world's great dream will thus unfold + And yield a pleasure better than gold. + + Better than gold is a peaceful home, + Where all the fireside characters come, + The shrine of love, the heaven of life, + Hallowed by mother or by wife. + However humble the home may be, + Or tried with sorrow by heaven's decree, + The blessings that never were bought or sold + And center there, are better than gold. + + --Abram J. Ryan. + + + When success exalts thy lot + God for thy virtue lays a plot. + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + +MAXIMUS + + I hold him great who, for Love's sake, + Can give with generous, earnest will; + Yet he who takes for Love's sweet sake + I think I hold more generous still. + + I bow before the noble mind + That freely some great wrong forgives; + Yet nobler is the one forgiven, + Who bears that burden well and lives. + + It may be hard to gain, and still + To keep a lowly, steadfast heart; + Yet he who loses has to fill + A harder and a truer part. + + Glorious it is to wear the crown + Of a deserved and pure success; + He who knows how to fail has won + A crown whose luster is not less. + + Great may he be who can command + And rule with just and tender sway; + Yet is Diviner wisdom taught + Better by him who can obey. + + Blessed are those who die for God, + And earn the martyr's crown of light; + Yet he who lives for God may be + A greater conqueror in his sight. + + --Adelaide Anne Procter. + + + 'Tis phrase absurd to call a villain great: + Who wickedly is wise, or madly brave, + Is but the more a fool, the more a knave. + Who noble ends by noble means obtains, + Or, failing, smiles in exile or in chains; + Like good Aurelius, let him reign, or bleed + Like Socrates--that man is great indeed. + One self-approving hour whole years outweighs + Of stupid starers and of loud huzzas; + And more true joy Marcellus exiled feels, + Than Cæsar with a senate at his heels. + + --Alexander Pope. + + + Though world on world in myriad myriads roll + Round us, each with different powers, + And other forms of life than ours, + What know we greater than the soul? + On God and Godlike men we build our trust. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +THE GOOD, GREAT MAN + + How seldom, friend, a good, great man inherits + Honor and wealth, with all his worth and pains! + It seems a story from the world of spirits + When any man obtains that which he merits, + Or any merits that which he obtains. + + For shame, my friend; renounce this idle strain! + What would'st thou have a good, great man obtain? + Wealth, title, dignity, a golden chain, + Or heap of corses which his sword hath slain? + Goodness and greatness are not means, but ends. + Hath he not always treasurer, always friends, + The great, good man? Three treasures--love, and light, + And calm thoughts, equable as infants' breath; + And three fast friends, more sure than day or night-- + Himself, his Maker, and the angel Death. + + --Samuel Taylor Coleridge. + + +THE POEM OF THE UNIVERSE + + The poem of the universe + Nor rhythm has nor rhyme; + For God recites the wondrous song + A stanza at a time. + + Great deeds is he foredoomed to do-- + With Freedom's flag unfurled-- + Who hears the echo of that song + As it goes down the world. + + Great words he is compelled to speak + Who understands the song; + He rises up like fifty men, + Fifty good men and strong. + + A stanza for each century: + Now heed it all who can! + Who hears it, he, and only he, + Is the elected man. + + --Charles Weldon. + + + When faith is lost, when honor dies, + The man is dead! + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +FAILURE AND SUCCESS + + He fails who climbs to power and place + Up the pathway of disgrace. + He fails not who makes truth his cause, + Nor bends to win the crowd's applause. + He fails not, he who stakes his all + Upon the right, and dares to fall; + What though the living bless or blame, + For him the long success of fame. + + --Richard Watson Gilder. + + +WHAT DOES IT MATTER? + + It matters little where I was born, + Or if my parents were rich or poor; + Whether they shrunk at the cold world's scorn, + Or walked in the pride of wealth secure. + But whether I live an honest man + And hold my integrity firm in my clutch + I tell you, brother, as plain as I can, + It matters much. + + It matters little how long I stay + In a world of sorrow, sin, and care; + Whether in youth I am called away + Or live till my bones and pate are bare. + But whether I do the best I can + To soften the weight of Adversity's touch + On the faded cheek of my fellow man, + It matters much. + + It matters little where be my grave-- + Or on the land or in the sea, + By purling brook or 'neath stormy wave, + It matters little or naught to me; + But whether the Angel Death comes down, + And marks my brow with his loving touch, + As one that shall wear the victor's crown, + It matters much. + + --Noah Barker. + + + For I am 'ware it is the seed of act + God holds appraising in his hollow palm, + Not act grown great thence in the world below; + Leafage and branchage vulgar eyes admire. + + --Robert Browning. + + +OBSCURE MARTYRS + +"The world knows nothing of its greatest men." + + They have no place in storied page; + No rest in marble shrine; + They are past and gone with a perished age, + They died and "made no sign." + But work that shall find its wages yet, + And deeds that their God did not forget, + Done for their love divine-- + These were their mourners, and these shall be + The crowns of their immortality. + + O, seek them not where sleep the dead, + Ye shall not find their trace; + No graven stone is at their head, + No green grass hides their face; + But sad and unseen is their silent grave; + It may be the sand or the deep sea wave, + Or a lonely desert place; + For they needed no prayers and no mourning-bell-- + They were tombed in true hearts that knew them well. + + They healed sick hearts till theirs were broken, + And dried sad eyes till theirs lost light; + We shall know at last by a certain token + How they fought and fell in the fight. + Salt tears of sorrow unbeheld, + Passionate cries unchronicled, + And silent strifes for the right-- + Angels shall count them, and earth shall sigh + That she left her best children to battle and die. + + --Edwin Arnold. + + +THY BEST + + Before God's footstool to confess + A poor soul knelt and bowed his head. + "I failed," he wailed. The Master said, + "Thou did'st thy best--that is success." + + --Henry Coyle. + + + Aspire, break bounds, I say; + Endeavor to be good and better still, + And best! Success is naught, endeavor's all. + + --Robert Browning. + + +FAILURE + + He cast his net at morn where fishers toiled, + At eve he drew it empty to the shore; + He took the diver's plunge into the sea, + But thence within his hand no pearl he bore. + + He ran a race, but never reached his goal; + He sped an arrow, but he missed his aim; + And slept at last beneath a simple stone, + With no achievements carved about his name. + + Men called it failure; but for my own part + I dare not use that word, for what if Heaven + Shall question, ere its judgment shall be read, + Not, "Hast thou won?" but only, "Hast thou striven?" + + --Kate Tucker Goode. + + +THE BEGGAR'S REVENGE + + The king's proud favorite at a beggar threw a stone. + He picked it up as if it had for alms been thrown. + + He bore it in his bosom long with bitter ache, + And sought his time revenge with that same stone to take. + + One day he heard a street mob's hoarse, commingled cry: + The favorite comes!--but draws no more the admiring eye. + + He rides an ass, from all his haughty state disgraced; + And by the rabble's mocking gibes his way is traced. + + The stone from out his bosom swift the beggar draws, + And flinging it away, exclaims: "A fool I was! + + 'Tis madness to attack, when in his power, your foe, + And meanness then to strike when he has fallen low." + + --From the Persian. + + +A THOUGHT + + Hearts that are great beat never loud; + They muffle their music, when they come; + They hurry away from the thronging crowd + With bended brows and lips half dumb. + + And the world looks on and mutters--"Proud." + But when great hearts have passed away, + Men gather in awe and kiss their shroud, + And in love they kneel around their clay. + + Hearts that are great are always lone; + They never will manifest their best; + Their greatest greatness is unknown, + Earth knows a little--God the rest. + + --Abram J. Ryan. + + +HIS MONUMENT + + He built a house, time laid it in the dust; + He wrote a book, its title now forgot; + He ruled a city, but his name is not + On any tablet graven, or where rust + Can gather from disuse, or marble bust. + + He took a child from out a wretched cot; + Who on the State dishonor might have brought; + And reared him in the Christian's hope and trust. + The boy, to manhood grown, became a light + To many souls and preached to human need + The wondrous love of the Omnipotent. + The work has multiplied like stars at night + When darkness deepens; every noble deed + Lasts longer than a granite monument. + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + + It is not the wall of stone without + That makes a building small or great, + But the soul's light shining round about, + And the faith that overcometh doubt, + And the love that stronger is than hate. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + +THE NOBLY BORN + + Who counts himself as nobly born + Is noble in despite of place; + And honors are but brands to one + Who wears them not with nature's grace. + + The prince may sit with clown or churl + Nor feel himself disgraced thereby; + But he who has but small esteem + Husbands that little carefully. + + Then, be thou peasant, be thou peer, + Count it still more thou art thine own. + Stand on a larger heraldry + Than that of nation or of zone. + + Art thou not bid to knightly halls? + Those halls have missed a courtly guest: + That mansion is not privileged + Which is not open to the best. + + Give honor due when custom asks, + Nor wrangle for this lesser claim; + It is not to be destitute + To have the thing without the name. + + Then, dost thou come of gentle blood, + Disgrace not thy good company; + If lowly born, so bear thyself + That gentle blood may come of thee. + + Strive not with pain to scale the height + Of some fair garden's petty wall; + But climb the open mountain side + Whose summit rises over all. + + + And, for success, I ask no more than this: + To bear unflinching witness to the truth. + All true whole men succeed; for what is worth + Success's name unless it be the thought, + The inward surety, to have carried out + A noble purpose to a noble end, + Although it be the gallows or the block? + 'Tis only Falsehood that doth ever need + These outward shows of gain to bolster her. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + Greatly begin! though thou have time + But for a line, be that sublime-- + Not failure, but low aim is crime. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +THE BURIAL OF MOSES + + By Nebo's lonely mountain, + On this side Jordan's wave, + In a vale in the land of Moab, + There lies a lonely grave. + But no man dug that sepulchre, + And no man saw it e'er; + For the angels of God upturned the sod, + And laid the dead man there. + + That was the grandest funeral + That ever passed on earth; + But no man heard the trampling, + Or saw the train go forth. + Noiselessly as the daylight + Comes when the night is done, + And the crimson streak on ocean's cheek + Grows into the great sun-- + + Noiselessly as the springtime + Her crest of verdure weaves, + And all the trees on all the hills + Open their thousand leaves-- + So, without sound of music, + Or voice of them that wept, + Silently down from the mountain crown + The great procession swept. + + Perchance some bald old eagle + On gray Beth-peor's height, + Out of his rocky eyrie + Looked on the wondrous sight. + Perchance some lion, stalking, + Still shuns the hallowed spot, + For beast and bird have seen and heard + That which man knoweth not. + + But when the warrior dieth + His comrades in the war, + With arms reversed and muffled drums + Follow the funeral car; + They show the banners taken, + They tell his battles won, + And after him lead his matchless steed + While peals the minute gun. + + Amid the noblest of the land + They lay the sage to rest; + And give the bard an honored place, + With costly marble drest, + In the great minster's transept height, + Where lights like glory fall, + While the sweet choir sings and the organ rings + Along the emblazoned wall. + + This was the bravest warrior + That ever buckled sword; + This the most gifted poet + That ever breathed a word; + And never earth's philosopher + Traced, with his golden pen, + On the deathless page, truths half so sage + As he wrote down for men. + + And had he not high honor? + The hillside for his pall; + To lie in state while angels wait + With stars for tapers tall; + And the dark rock pines, like tossing plumes, + Over his bier to wave; + And God's own hand, in that lonely land, + To lay him in his grave; + + In that deep grave without a name, + Whence his uncoffined clay + Shall break again--most wondrous thought!-- + Before the judgment day, + And stand, with glory wrapt around, + On the hills he never trod, + And speak of the strife that won our life + Through Christ, the incarnate God. + + O lonely tomb in Moab's land, + O dark Beth-peor's hill, + Speak to these curious hearts of ours, + And teach them to be still. + God hath his mysteries of grace-- + Ways that we cannot tell; + He hides them deep, like the secret sleep + Of him he loved so well. + + --Cecil Frances Alexander. + + + O, blessed is that man of whom some soul can say, + "He was an inspiration along life's toilsome way, + A well of sparkling water, a fountain flowing free, + Forever like his Master, in tenderest sympathy." + + + Truths would you teach, or save a sinking land? + All fear, none aid you, and few understand. + Painful pre-eminence!--yourself to view + Above life's weakness, and its comforts too. + + --Alexander Pope. + + +EMIR HASSAN + + Emir Hassan, of the prophet's race, + Asked with folded hands the Almighty's grace, + Then within the banquet-hall he sat, + At his meal, upon the embroidered mat. + + There a slave before him placed the food, + Spilling from the charger, as he stood, + Awkwardly upon the Emir's breast + Drops that foully stained the silken vest. + + To the floor, in great remorse and dread, + Fell the slave, and thus, beseeching, said: + "Master, they who hasten to restrain + Rising wrath, in paradise shall reign." + + Gentle was the answer Hassan gave: + "I am not angry." "Yet," pursued the slave, + "Yet doth higher recompense belong + To the injured who forgives a wrong." + + "I forgive," said Hassan. "Yet we read," + So the prostrate slave went on to plead, + "That a higher seat in glory still + Waits the man who renders good for ill." + + "Slave, receive thy freedom; and, behold, + In thy hand I lay a purse of gold. + Let me never fail to heed, in aught, + What the prophet of our God hath taught." + + +TRUE GREATNESS + + Who is as the Christian great? + Bought and washed with sacred blood, + Crowns he sees beneath his feet. + Soars aloft and walks with God. + + Lo, his clothing is the sun, + The bright sun of righteousness; + He hath put salvation on, + Jesus is his beauteous dress. + + Angels are his servants here; + Spread for him their golden wings; + To his throne of glory bear, + Seat him by the King of kings. + + --Charles Wesley. + + + The glory is not in the task, but in + The doing it for Him. + + --Jean Ingelow. + + +MENCIUS + + Three centuries before the Christian age + China's great teacher, Mencius, was born; + Her teeming millions did not know that morn + Had broken on her darkness; that a sage, + Reared by a noble mother, would her page + Of history forevermore adorn. + For twenty years, from court to court, forlorn + He journeyed, poverty his heritage, + And preached of virtue, but none cared to hear. + Life seemed a failure, like a barren rill; + He wrote his books, and lay beneath the sod: + When, lo! his work began; and far and near + Adown the ages Mencius preaches still: + Do thy whole duty, trusting all to God. + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + + He stood, the youth they called the Beautiful, + At morning, on his untried battle-field, + And laughed with joy to see his stainless shield, + When, with a tender smile, but doubting sigh, + His lord rode by. + + When evening fell, they brought him, wounded sore, + His battered shield with sword-thrusts gashed and rent, + And laid him where the king stood by his tent. + "Now art thou Beautiful," the master said, + And bared his head. + + --Annie M. L. Hawes. + + + Great men grow greater by the lapse of time; + We know those least whom we have seen the latest; + And they, 'mongst those whose names have grown sublime, + Who worked for human liberty are greatest. + + --John Boyle O'Reilly. + + + It is enough-- + Enough--just to be good; + To lift our hearts where they are understood; + To let the thirst for worldly power and place + Go unappeased; to smile back in God's face + With the glad lips our mothers used to kiss. + Ah! though we miss + All else but this, + To be good is enough! + + --James Whitcomb Riley. + + + He who ascends to mountain tops shall find + Their loftiest peaks most wrapped in clouds and snow; + He who surpasses or subdues mankind + Must look down on the hate of those below. + Though high above the sun of glory glow, + And far beneath the earth and ocean spread, + Round him are icy rocks, and loudly blow + Contending tempests on his naked head. + + --George Gordon Byron. + + + Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, + Is the immediate jewel of their souls: + Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; + Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; + But he that filches from me my good name + Robs me of that which not enriches him, + And makes me poor indeed. + + --William Shakespeare. + + + That man may last, but never lives, + Who much receives but nothing gives; + Whom none can love, whom none can thank; + Creation's blot; creation's blank! + + But he who marks, from day to day, + In generous acts his radiant way + Treads the same path his Saviour trod: + The path to glory and to God. + + + The eye with seeing is not filled, + The ear with hearing not at rest; + Desire with having is not stilled, + With human praise no heart is blest. + + Vanity, then, of vanities, + All things for which men grasp and grope! + The precious things in heavenly eyes + Are love, and truth, and trust, and hope. + + + A gem which falls within the mire will still a gem remain; + Men's eyes turn downward to the earth and search for it with pain. + But _dust_, though whirled aloft to heaven, continues dust alway, + More base and noxious in the air than when on earth it lay. + + --Saadi, tr. by James Freeman Clarke. + + + It was not anything she said; + It was not anything she did; + It was the movement of her head, + The lifting of her lid. + And as she trod her path aright + Power from her very garments stole; + For such is the mysterious might + God grants a noble soul. + + + True worth is in being, not seeming; + In doing, each day that goes by, + Some little good, not in dreaming, + Of great things to do by and by. + For whatever men say in their blindness, + And spite of the fancies of youth, + There's nothing so kingly as kindness, + And nothing so royal as truth. + + --Alice Cary. + + + The wisest man could ask no more of Fate + Than to be simple, modest, manly, true, + Safe from the Many, honored by the Few; + To count as naught in world of church or state + But inwardly in secret to be great. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + And only the Master shall praise us, and only the Master shall blame; + And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame; + But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star, + Shall draw the Thing as he sees it, for the God of Things as they are. + + --Rudyard Kipling. + + + In life's small things be resolute and great + To keep thy muscle trained; knowest thou when Fate + Thy measure takes? or when she'll say to thee, + "I find thee worthy; do this deed for me"? + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + 'Tis a lifelong toil till our lump be leaven. + The better! What's come to perfection perishes. + Things learned on earth we shall practice in heaven. + Work done least rapidly Art most cherishes. + + --Robert Browning. + + + Let come what will, I mean to bear it out, + And either live with glorious victory + Or die with fame, renowned in chivalry. + He is not worthy of the honey-comb + That shuns the hive because the bees have stings. + + --William Shakespeare. + + + One by one thy duties wait thee, + Let thy whole strength go to each. + Let no future dreams elate thee, + Learn thou first what these can teach. + + --Adelaide Anne Procter. + + + Give me heart-touch with all that live + And strength to speak my word; + But if that is denied me, give + The strength to live unheard. + + --Edwin Markham. + + + Honor and shame from no condition rise; + Act well your part, there all the honor lies + + --Alexander Pope. + + + How wretched is the man with honors crowned, + Who, having not the one thing needful found, + Dies, known to all, but to himself unknown. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + He fought a thousand glorious wars, + And more than half the world was his, + And somewhere, now, in yonder stars, + Can tell, mayhap, what greatness is. + + --William Makepeace Thackeray. + + + Howe'er it be, it seems to me + 'Tis only noble to be good; + Kind hearts are more than coronets, + And simple faith than Norman blood. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + I've learned to prize the quiet, lightning deed, + Not the applauding thunder at its heels + Which men call fame. + + --Alexander Smith. + + + It is worth while to live! + Be of good cheer; + Love casts out fear; + Rise up, achieve. + + --Christina G. Rossetti. + + + No endeavor is in vain; + Its reward is in the doing, + And the rapture of pursuing + Is the prize the vanquished gain. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + Far better in its place the lowliest bird + Should sing aright to Him the lowliest song, + Than that a seraph strayed should take the word + And sing His glory wrong. + + --Jean Ingelow. + + + Often ornateness + Goes with greatness. + Oftener felicity + Comes of simplicity. + + --William Watson. + + + A jewel is a jewel still, though lying in the dust, + And sand is sand, though up to heaven by the tempest thrust. + + --From the Persian. + + + Vulgar souls surpass a rare one in the headlong rush; + As the hard and worthless stones a precious pearl will crush. + + --From the Persian. + + + Be noble! and the nobleness that lies + In other men, sleeping, but never dead, + Will rise in majesty to meet thine own. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + The mean of soul are sure their faults to gloss, + And find a secret gain in others' loss. + + --John Boyle O'Reilly. + + + Ah, a man's reach should exceed his grasp, + Or what's heaven for? + + --Robert Browning. + + + Though thy name be spread abroad, + Like winged seed, from shore to shore, + What thou art before thy God, + That thou art and nothing more. + + + My business is not to remake myself, + But make the absolute best of what God made. + + --Robert Browning. + + + For never land long lease of empire won + Whose sons sat silent when base deeds were done. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + He that would free from malice pass his days + Must live obscure and never merit praise. + + --John Gay. + + + Wearing the white flower of a blameless life, + Before a thousand peering littlenesses. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + The aim, if reached or not, makes great the life, + Try to be Shakespeare--leave the rest to fate. + + --Robert Browning. + + + Unblemished let me live, or die unknown; + O, grant an honest fame, or grant me none. + + --Alexander Pope. + + + With fame in just proportion envy grows; + The man that makes a character makes foes. + + --Edward Young. + + + 'Tis not what man does which exalts him, + But what man would do. + + --Robert Browning. + + + Better have failed in the high aim, as I, + Than vulgarly in the low aim succeed. + + --Robert Browning. + + + The simple, silent, selfless man + Is worth a world of tonguesters. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + + +DUTY + +LOYALTY, FAITHFULNESS, CONSCIENCE, ZEAL + + +ODE TO DUTY + + Stern daughter of the voice of God! + O Duty! if that name thou love + Who art a light to guide, a rod + To check the erring and reprove; + Thou who art victory and law + When empty terrors overawe; + From vain temptation dost set free; + And calm'st the weary strife of frail humanity! + + There are who ask not if thine eye + Be on them; who, in love and truth, + Where no misgiving is, rely + Upon the genial sense of youth; + Glad hearts, without reproach or blot, + Who do thy work and know it not: + Oh! if through confidence misplaced + They fail, thy saving arms, dread Power, around them cast. + + Serene will be our days, and bright + And happy will our nature be, + When love is an unerring light, + And joy its own security; + And they a blissful course may hold + Even now, who, not unwisely bold, + Live in the spirit of this creed; + Yet seek thy firm support according to their need. + + I, loving freedom, and untried, + No sport of every random gust, + Yet being to myself a guide, + Too blindly have reposed my trust; + And oft, when in my heart was heard + Thy timely mandate, I deferred + The task, in smoother walks to stray; + But thee I now would serve more strictly, if I may. + + Through no disturbance of my soul, + Or strong compunction in me wrought, + I supplicate for thy control, + But in the quietness of thought. + Me this unchartered freedom tires; + I feel the weight of chance desires: + My hopes no more must change their name, + I long for a repose that ever is the same. + + Stern Lawgiver! Yet thou dost wear + The Godhead's most benignant grace; + Nor know we anything so fair + As is the smile upon thy face: + Flowers laugh before thee on their beds + And fragrance in thy footing treads; + Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong; + And the most ancient heavens, through Thee, are fresh and strong. + + To humbler functions, awful Power! + I call thee; I myself commend + Unto thy guidance from this hour; + Oh, let my weakness have an end! + Give unto me, made lowly wise, + The spirit of self-sacrifice; + The confidence of reason give; + And in the light of truth thy bondman let me live. + + --William Wordsworth. + + +THE LADDER OF SAINT AUGUSTINE + + Saint Augustine! well hast thou said, + That of our vices we can frame + A ladder, if we will but tread + Beneath our feet each deed of shame! + + All common things, each day's events, + That with the hour begin and end, + Our pleasures and our discontents, + Are rounds by which we may ascend. + + The longing for ignoble things; + The strife for triumph more than truth; + The hardening of the heart, that brings + Irreverence for the dreams of youth; + + All thoughts of ill, all evil deeds + That have their root in thoughts of ill; + Whatever hinders or impedes + The action of the nobler will;-- + + All these must first be trampled down + Beneath our feet, if we would gain + In the bright fields of fair renown + The right of eminent domain. + + We have not wings, we cannot soar; + But we have feet to scale and climb + By slow degrees, by more and more, + The cloudy summits of our time. + + The heights by great men reached and kept + Were not attained by sudden flight, + But they while their companions slept + Were toiling upward in the night. + + Standing on what too long we bore + With shoulders bent and downcast eyes, + We may discern--unseen before-- + A path to higher destinies, + + Nor deem the irrevocable Past + As wholly wasted, wholly vain, + If, rising on its wrecks, at last + To something nobler we attain. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + +REWARD OF FAITHFULNESS + + The deeds which selfish hearts approve + And fame's loud trumpet sings + Secure no praise where truth and love + Are counted noblest things; + And work which godless folly deems + Worthless, obscure, and lowly, + To Heaven's ennobling vision seems + Most godlike, grand, and holy. + + Then murmur not if toils obscure + And thorny paths be thine; + To God be true--they shall secure + The joy of life divine + Who in the darkest, sternest sphere + For Him their powers employ; + The toils contemned and slighted here + Shall yield the purest joy. + + When endless day dispels the strife + Which blinds and darkens now, + Perchance the brightest crown of life + Shall deck some lowly brow. + Then learn, despite thy boding fears, + From seed with sorrow sown, + In love, obscurity and tears + The richest sheaves are grown. + + --Edward Hartley Dewart. + + +"DOE THE NEXTE THYNGE" + + From an old English parsonage + Down by the sea, + There came in the twilight + A message to me; + Its quaint Saxon legend + Deeply engraven, + Hath as it seems to me + Teaching for heaven; + And on through the hours + The quiet words ring, + Like a low inspiration, + "Doe the nexte thynge." + + Many a questioning, + Many a fear, + Many a doubt, + Hath guiding here. + Moment by moment + Let down from heaven, + Time, opportunity, + Guidance are given. + Fear not to-morrow, + Child of the King; + Trust it with Jesus, + "Doe the nexte thynge." + + O He would have thee + Daily more free, + Knowing the might + Of thy royal degree; + Ever in waiting, + Glad for his call, + Tranquil in chastening, + Trusting through all. + Comings and goings + No turmoil need bring: + His all thy future-- + "Doe the nexte thynge." + + Do it immediately, + Do it with prayer, + Do it reliantly, + Casting all care: + Do it with reverence, + Tracing His hand + Who hath placed it before thee + With earnest command. + Stayed on Omnipotence, + Safe, 'neath his wing, + Leave all resultings, + "Doe the nexte thynge." + + Looking to Jesus, + Ever serener, + Working or suffering, + Be thy demeanor! + In the shade of his presence, + The rest of his calm, + The light of his countenance, + Live out thy psalm: + Strong in his faithfulness. + Praise him and sing, + Then as he beckons thee, + "Doe the nexte thynge." + + +ZEAL IN LABOR + + Go, labor on; spend and be spent, + Thy joy to do the Father's will; + It is the way the Master went; + Should not the servant tread it still? + + Go, labor on; 'tis not for naught; + Thine earthly loss is heavenly gain; + Men heed thee, love thee, praise thee not; + The Master praises--what are men? + + Go, labor on; your hands are weak; + Your knees are faint, your soul cast down; + Yet falter not; the prize you seek + Is near--a kingdom and a crown! + + Toil on, faint not; keep watch, and pray! + Be wise the erring soul to win; + Go forth into the world's highway; + Compel the wanderer to come in. + + Toil on, and in thy toil rejoice: + For toil comes rest, for exile home; + Soon shalt thou hear the Bridegroom's voice, + The midnight peal, "Behold, I come!" + + --Horatius Bonar. + + +THE EVANGELIST + + Walking with Peter, Christ his footsteps set + On the lake shore, hard by Gennesaret, + At the hour when noontide's burning rays down pour. + When they beheld at a mean cabin's door, + A fisher's widow in her mourning clad, + Who, on the threshold seated, silent, sad, + The tear that wet them kept her lids within, + Her child to cradle and her flax to spin; + Near by, behind the fig-trees' leafy screen, + The Master and His friend could see, unseen. + + An old man ready for his earthly bed, + A beggar with a jar upon his head, + Came by, and to the mourning spinner there + Said, "Woman, I this vase of milk should bear + Unto a dweller in the hamlet near; + But I am weak and bent with many a year; + More than a thousand paces yet to go + Remain, and, without help, I surely know + I cannot end my task and earn its fee." + + The woman rose, and not a word said she, + Without a pause her distaff laid aside, + And left the cradle where the orphan cried, + Took up the jar, and with the beggar went. + + "Master, 'tis well to be benevolent," + Said Peter, "but small sense that woman showed, + In leaving thus her child and her abode + For the chance-comer that first sought her out; + The beggar some one would have found, no doubt, + To ease him of his load upon the way." + + The Lord made answer unto Peter, "Nay, + Thy Father, when the poor assists the poorer, + Will keep her cot, and her reward assure her. + She went at once, and wisely did in that." + + And Jesus, having finished speaking, sat + Down on a bench was in the humble place, + And with His blest hands for a moment's space, + He touched the distaff, rocked the little one. + Rose, signed to Peter, and they gat them gone. + + When she to whom the Lord had given this proof + Of good-will came back to her humble roof, + She found, nor knew what Friend the deed had done, + The baby sleeping and the flax all spun! + + --Francois Coppee. + + +THE BEST THAT I CAN + + "I cannot do much," said a little star, + "To make the dark world bright; + My silver beams cannot struggle far + Through the folding gloom of night: + But I am a part of God's great plan, + And I'll cheerfully do the best that I can." + + "What is the use," said a fleecy cloud, + "Of these dew-drops that I hold? + They will hardly bend the lily proud, + Though caught in her cup of gold; + Yet I am a part of God's great plan, + My treasures I'll give as well as I can." + + A child went merrily forth to play, + But a thought, like a silver thread, + Kept winding in and out all day + Through the happy, busy head, + "Mother said, 'Darling, do all you can, + For you are a part of God's great plan.'" + + So she helped a younger child along, + When the road was rough to the feet; + And she sang from her heart a little song, + A song that was passing sweet; + And her father, a weary, toil-worn man, + Said, "I too will do the best that I can." + + +WORK LOYALLY + + Just where you stand in the conflict, + There is your place! + Just where you think you are useless + Hide not your face! + God placed you there for a purpose, + Whate'er it be; + Think He has chosen you for it-- + Work loyally. + + Gird on your armor! Be faithful + At toil or rest, + Whiche'er it be, never doubting + God's way is best. + Out in the fight, or on picket, + Stand firm and true; + This is the work which your Master + Gives you to do. + + + Who does the best his circumstance allows, + Does well, acts nobly; angels could no more. + + --Edward Young. + + +LOYALTY + + When courage fails and faith burns low, + And men are timid grown, + Hold fast thy loyalty and know + That Truth still moveth on. + + For unseen messengers she hath, + To work her will and ways, + And even human scorn and wrath + God turneth to her praise. + + She can both meek and lordly be, + In heavenly might secure; + With her is pledge of victory, + And patience to endure. + + The race is not unto the swift, + The battle to the strong, + When dawn her judgment-days that sift + The claims of right and wrong. + + And more than thou canst do for Truth + Can she on thee confer, + If thou, O heart, but give thy youth + And manhood unto her. + + For she can make thee inly bright, + Thy self-love purge away, + And lead thee in the path whose light + Shines to the perfect day. + + Who follow her, though men deride, + In her strength shall be strong; + Shall see their shame become their pride, + And share her triumph song! + + --Frederick Lucian Hosmer. + + +LIBERTY + + I am Liberty--God's daughter! + My symbols--a law and a torch; + Not a sword to threaten slaughter, + Nor a flame to dazzle or scorch; + But a light that the world may see, + And a truth that shall make men free. + + I am the sister of Duty, + And I am the sister of Faith; + To-day adored for my beauty, + To-morrow led forth for death. + I am she whom ages prayed for; + Heroes suffered undismayed for; + Whom the martyrs were betrayed for. + + --John Boyle O'Reilly. + + +THE NEAREST DUTY + + My soul was stirred; I prayed, "Let me + Do some great work, so purely, + To right life's wrongs, that I shall know + That I have loved Thee surely." + My lips sent forth their eager cry, + The while my heart beat faster, + "For some great deed to prove my love + Send me; send me, my Master!" + + From out the silence came a voice, + Saying: "If God thou fearest, + Rise up and do, thy whole life through, + The duty that lies nearest. + The friendly word, the kindly deed, + Though small the act in seeming, + Shall in the end unto thy soul + Prove mightier than thy dreaming. + + The cup of water to the faint, + Or rest unto the weary, + The light thou giv'st another's life, + Shall make thine own less dreary. + And boundless realms of faith and love + Will wait for thy possessing; + Not creeds, but deeds, if thou wouldst win + Unto thy soul a blessing." + + And so I wait with peaceful heart, + Content to do His pleasure; + Not caring if the world shall mock + At smallness of the measure + Of thoughts or deeds or daily life. + He knows the true endeavor-- + To do His will, to seek His face-- + And He will fail me never. + + --Sarah A. Gibbs. + + +THE ONE TALENT + + Hide not thy talent in the earth; + However small it be, + Its faithful use, its utmost worth, + God will require of thee. + + The humblest service rendered here + He will as truly own + As Paul's in his exalted sphere, + Or Gabriel's near the throne. + + The cup of water kindly given, + The widow's cheerful mites, + Are worthier in the eye of heaven + Than pride's most costly rites. + + His own, which He hath lent on trust, + He asks of thee again; + Little or much, the claim is just, + And thine excuses vain. + + Go, then, and strive to do thy part-- + Though humble it may be; + The ready hand, the willing heart, + Are all heaven asks of thee. + + --William Cutler. + + +ONE TALENT + +(Matt. XXV. 18) + + In a napkin smooth and white, + Hidden from all mortal sight, + My one talent lies to-night. + + Mine to hoard, or mine to use; + Mine to keep, or mine to lose; + May I not do what I choose? + + Ah! the gift was only lent + With the Giver's known intent + That it should be wisely spent. + + And I know he will demand + Every farthing at my hand, + When I in his presence stand. + + What will be my grief and shame + When I hear my humble name + And cannot repay his claim! + + One poor talent--nothing more! + All the years that have gone o'er + Have not added to the store. + + Some will double what they hold, + Others add to it tenfold + And pay back the shining gold. + + Would that I had toiled like them! + All my sloth I now condemn; + Guilty fears my soul o'erwhelm. + + Lord, oh teach me what to do. + Make me faithful, make me true, + And the sacred trust renew. + + Help me, ere too late it be, + Something yet to do for Thee, + Thou who hast done all for me. + + + Art thou little? Do thy little well; + And for thy comfort know + Great men can do their greatest work + No better than just so. + + --Johann W. von Goethe. + + +RESPONSIBILITY FOR TALENTS + + Thou that in life's crowded city art arrived, thou knowest not how-- + By what path or on what errand--list and learn thine errand now. + + From the palace to the city on the business of thy King + Thou wert sent at early morning, to return at evening. + + Dreamer, waken; loiterer, hasten; what thy task is understand: + Thou art here to purchase substance, and the price is in thine hand. + + Has the tumult of the market all thy sense confused and drowned? + Do its glittering wares entice thee, or its shouts and cries confound? + + Oh, beware lest thy Lord's business be forgotten, while thy gaze + Is on every show and pageant which the giddy square displays. + + Barter not his gold for pebbles; do not trade in vanities; + Pearls there are of price and jewels for the purchase of the wise. + + And know this--at thy returning thou wilt surely find the King + With an open book before Him, waiting to make reckoning. + + Thus large honors will the faithful, earnest service of one day + Reap of Him; but one day's folly largest penalties will pay. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + + Not once or twice in our fair island-story + The path of duty was the way to glory. + He, that ever following her commands, + On with toil of heart and knees and hands, + Thro' the long gorge to the far light has won + His path upward, and prevailed, + Shall find the toppling crags of Duty scaled + Are close upon the shining table-lands + To which our God himself is moon and sun. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +GO RIGHT ON WORKING + + Ah, yes! the task is hard, 'tis true, + But what's the use of sighing? + They're soonest with their duties through + Who bravely keep on trying. + There's no advantage to be found + In sorrowing or shirking; + They with success are soonest crowned + Who just go right on working. + + Strive patiently and with a will + That shall not be defeated; + Keep singing at your task until + You see it stand completed. + Nor let the clouds of doubt draw near, + Your sky's glad sunshine murking; + Be brave, and fill your heart with cheer, + And just go right on working. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + +JUSTICE ONLY + + Be not too proud of good deeds wrought! + When thou art come from prayer, speak truly! + Even if he wrongeth thee in aught, + Respect thy Guru. Give alms duly. + + But let none wist! Live, day by day, + With little and with little swelling + Thy tale of duty done--the way + The wise ant-people build their dwelling; + + Not harming any living thing; + That thou may'st have--at time of dying-- + A Hand to hold thee, and to bring + Thy footsteps safe; and, so relying, + + Pass to the farther world. For none + Save Justice leads there! Father, mother, + Will not be nigh; nor wife, nor son, + Nor friends, nor kin; nor any other + + Save only Justice! All alone + Each entereth here, and each one leaveth + This life alone; and every one + The fruit of all his deeds receiveth + + Alone--alone; bad deeds and good! + That day when kinsmen, sadly turning, + Forsake thee, like the clay or wood, + A thing committed to the burning. + + But Justice shall not quit thee then, + If thou hast served her, therefore never + Cease serving; that shall hold thee when + The darkness falls which falls forever, + + Which hath no star, nor way and guide. + But Justice knows the road; and midnight + Is noon to her. Man at her side + Goes, through the gloom, safe to the hid light. + + And he who loved her more than all, + Who purged by sorrow his offenses, + Shall shine, in realms celestial, + With glory, quit of sins and senses. + + --Edwin Arnold, from the Sanskrit. + + +GOD'S VENGEANCE + + Saith the Lord, "Vengeance is mine;" + "I will repay," saith the Lord; + Ours be the anger divine, + Lit by the flash of his word. + + How shall his vengeance be done? + How, when his purpose is clear? + Must he come down from the throne? + Hath he no instruments here? + + Sleep not in imbecile trust, + Waiting for God to begin; + While, growing strong in the dust, + Rests the bruised serpent of sin. + + Right and Wrong--both cannot live + Death-grappled. Which shall we see? + Strike! Only Justice can give + Safety to all that shall be. + + Shame! to stand faltering thus, + Tricked by the balancing odds; + Strike! God is waiting for us! + Strike! for the vengeance is God's! + + --John Hay. + + + Bear a lily in thy hand; + Gates of brass cannot withstand + One touch of that magic wand. + + Bear through sorrow, wrong, and ruth, + In thy heart the dew of youth, + On thy lips the smile of truth. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + +A SINGLE STITCH + + One stitch dropped as the weaver drove + His nimble shuttle to and fro, + In and out, beneath, above, + Till the pattern seemed to bud and grow + As if the fairies had helping been; + One small stitch which could scarce be seen, + But the one stitch dropped pulled the next stitch out, + And a weak place grew in the fabric stout; + And the perfect pattern was marred for aye + By the one small stitch that was dropped that day. + + One small life in God's great plan, + How futile it seems as the ages roll, + Do what it may or strive how it can + To alter the sweep of the infinite whole! + A single stitch in an endless web, + A drop in the ocean's flood and ebb! + But the pattern is rent where the stitch is lost, + Or marred where the tangled threads have crossed; + And each life that fails of its true intent + Mars the perfect plan that its Master meant. + + --Susan Coolidge. + + +THE BLESSINGS + + An angel came from the courts of gold, + With gifts and tidings manifold; + With blessings many to crown the one + Whose work of life was the noblest done. + + He came to a rich man's gilded door; + Where a beautiful lady stood before + His vision, fair as the saints are fair, + With smile as sweet as the seraphs wear. + + He needed not to be told her life-- + The pure young mother, the tender wife; + He needed not to be told that she, + In home of sorrow and poverty, + + Was giving wealth with a lavish hand; + He thought her worthy in heaven to stand. + "No! no!" a voice to the angel heart + Spoke low: "Seek on in the busy mart." + + He found a door that was worn and old; + The night was damp and the wind was cold. + A pale-faced girl at her sewing bent; + The midnight lamp to her features lent + + A paler look as she toiled the while, + But yet the mouth had a restful smile. + Doing her duty with honest pride; + Breasting temptation on every side. + + "For her the blessings," the angel said, + And touched with pity the girlish head. + "No time nor money for alms has she, + But duty is higher than charity." + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + +DUTIES + + I reach a duty, yet I do it not, + And therefore see no higher; but, if done, + My view is brightened and another spot + Seen on my moral sun. + + For, be the duty high as angels' flight, + Fulfill it, and a higher will arise + E'en from its ashes. Duty is infinite-- + Receding as the skies. + + And thus it is the purest most deplore + Their want of purity. As fold by fold, + In duties done, falls from their eyes, the more + Of duty they behold. + + Were it not wisdom, then, to close our eyes + On duties crowding only to appal? + No; duty is our ladder to the skies, + And, climbing not, we fall. + + --Robert Leighton (1611-1684). + + +WHAT SHE COULD + + "And do the hours step fast or slow? + And are ye sad or gay? + And is your heart with your liege lord, lady, + Or is it far away?" + + The lady raised her calm, proud head, + Though her tears fell, one by one: + "Life counts not hours by joy or pangs, + But just by duties done. + + "And when I lie in the green kirkyard, + With the mould upon my breast, + Say not that 'She did well--or ill,' + Only, 'She did her best.'" + + --Dinah Maria Mulock Craik. + + +UNWASTED DAYS + + The longer on this earth we live + And weigh the various qualities of men, + Seeing how most are fugitive + Or fitful gifts at best, of now and then-- + Wind-favored corpse-lights, daughters of the fen-- + The more we feel the high, stern-featured beauty + Of plain devotedness to duty, + Steadfast and still, nor paid with mortal praise, + But finding amplest recompense + For life's ungarlanded expense + In work done squarely and unwasted days. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +TRIFLES THAT MAKE SAINTS + + A tone of pride or petulance repressed + A selfish inclination firmly fought, + A shadow of annoyance set at naught, + A measure of disquietude suppressed; + A peace in importunity possessed, + A reconcilement generously sought, + A purpose put aside, a banished thought, + A word of self-explaining unexpressed: + Trifles they seem, these petty soul-restraints, + Yet he who proves them so must needs possess + A constancy and courage grand and bold; + They are the trifles that have made the saints. + Give me to practice them in humbleness + And nobler power than mine doth no man hold. + + + The world is full of beauty, + As other worlds above; + And if we did our duty + It might be full of love. + + --Gerald Massey. + + + What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted? + Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just; + And he but naked, though locked up in steel, + Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted. + + --William Shakespeare. + + + I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty; + I woke, and found that life was Duty. + Was thy dream then, a shadowy lie? + Toil on, sad heart, courageously, + And thou shalt find that dream to be + A noonday light and truth to thee. + + --Ellen Sturgis Hooper. + + + Do thy duty; that is best; + Leave unto thy Lord the rest. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + While I sought Happiness she fled + Before me constantly. + Weary, I turned to Duty's path, + And Happiness sought me, + Saying, "I walk this road to-day, + I'll bear thee company." + + + So nigh is grandeur to our dust, + So near is God to man, + When Duty whispers low, "Thou must," + The youth replies, "I can." + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + + Faithfully faithful to every trust, + Honestly honest in every deed, + Righteously righteous and justly just; + This is the whole of the good man's creed. + + + Find out what God would have you do, + And do that little well; + For what is great and what is small + 'Tis only he can tell. + + + + +SERVICE + +USEFULNESS, BENEVOLENCE, LABOR + + +WAKING + + I have done at length with dreaming; + Henceforth, O thou soul of mine! + Thou must take up sword and buckler, + Waging warfare most divine. + + Life is struggle, combat, victory! + Wherefore have I slumbered on + With my forces all unmarshaled, + With my weapons all undrawn? + + O how many a glorious record + Had the angels of me kept + Had I done instead of doubted, + Had I warred instead of wept! + + But begone, regret, bewailing! + Ye had weakened at the best; + I have tried the trusty weapons + Resting erst within my breast. + + I have wakened to my duty, + To a knowledge strong and deep, + That I recked not of aforetime, + In my long inglorious sleep. + + For the end of life is service, + And I felt it not before, + And I dreamed not how stupendous + Was the meaning that it bore. + + In this subtle sense of being, + Newly stirred in every vein, + I can feel a throb electric-- + Pleasure half allied with pain. + + 'Tis so sweet, and yet so awful, + So bewildering, yet brave, + To be king in every conflict + Where before I crouched a slave! + + 'Tis so glorious to be conscious + Of a growing power within + Stronger than the rallying forces + Of a charged and marshaled sin! + + Never in those old romances + Felt I half the thrill of life + That I feel within me stirring, + Standing in this place of strife. + + O those olden days of dalliance, + When I wantoned with my fate; + When I trifled with the knowledge + That had well-nigh come too late. + + Yet, my soul, look not behind thee; + Thou hast work to do at last; + Let the brave toil of the present + Overarch the crumbling past. + + Build thy great acts high and higher; + Build them on the conquered sod + Where thy weakness first fell bleeding, + And thy first prayer rose to God. + + --Caroline Atherton Mason. + + +SMALL BEGINNINGS + + A traveler through a dusty road strewed acorns on the lea; + And one took root and sprouted up, and grew into a tree. + Love sought its shade, at evening time, to breathe its early vows; + And age was pleased, in heat of noon, to bask beneath its boughs; + The dormouse loved its dangling twigs the birds sweet music bore; + It stood a glory in its place, a blessing evermore. + + A little spring had lost its way amid the grass and fern, + A passing stranger scooped a well where weary men might turn; + He walled it in, and hung with care a ladle at the brink; + He thought not of the deed he did, but judged that toil might drink. + He passed again, and lo! the well, by summers never dried, + Had cooled ten thousand parching tongues, and saved a life beside. + + A dreamer dropped a random thought; 'twas old, and yet 'twas new; + A simple fancy of the brain, but strong in being true. + It shone upon a genial mind, and lo! its light became + A lamp of life, a beacon ray, a monitory flame. + The thought was small; its issue great; a watchfire on the hill, + It shed its radiance far adown, and cheers the valley still! + + A nameless man, amid the crowd that thronged the daily mart, + Let fall a word of Hope and Love, unstudied, from the heart; + A whisper on the tumult thrown--a transitory breath-- + It raised a brother from the dust; it saved a soul from death. + O germ! O fount! O word of love! O thought at random cast! + Ye were but little at the first, but mighty at the last! + + --Charles Mackay. + + +THE CHOIR INVISIBLE + + O may I join the choir invisible + Of those immortal dead who live again + In minds made better by their presence; live + In pulses stirred to generosity, + In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn + For miserable aims that end with self, + In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars, + And with their mild persistence urge man's search + To vaster issues. + So to live is heaven: + To make undying music in the world, + Breathing as beauteous order that controls + With growing sway the growing life of man. + So we inherit that sweet purity + For which we struggled, failed and agonized, + With widening retrospect that bred despair. + Rebellious flesh that would not be subdued, + A vicious parent shaming still its child + Poor, anxious penitence, is quick dissolved; + Its discords, quenched by meeting harmonies, + Die in the large and charitable air. + And all our rarer, better, truer, self, + That sobbed religiously in yearning song, + That watched to ease the burden of the world, + Laboriously tracing what must be, + And what may yet be better--saw within + A worthier image for the sanctuary, + And shaped it forth before the multitude + Divinely human, raising worship so + To higher reverence more mixed with love-- + That better self shall live till human Time + Shall fold its eyelids, and the human sky + Be gathered like a scroll within the tomb, + Unread forever. + This is life to come, + Which martyred men have made more glorious + For us who strive to follow. May I reach + That purest heaven, be to other souls + The cup of strength in some great agony, + Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, + Beget the smiles that have no cruelty-- + Be the sweet presence of a good diffused, + And in diffusion ever more intense. + So shall I join the choir invisible + Whose music is the gladness of the world. + + --George Eliot. + + +MY TASK + + To love some one more dearly ev'ry day, + To help a wandering child to find his way, + To ponder o'er a noble thought, and pray, + And smile when evening falls. + + To follow truth as blind men long for light, + To do my best from dawn of day till night, + To keep my heart fit for His holy sight, + And answer when He calls. + + --Maude Louise Ray. + + +"IT IS MORE BLESSED" + + Give! as the morning that flows out of heaven; + Give! as the waves when their channel is riven; + Give! as the free air and sunshine are given; + Lavishly, utterly, joyfully give! + Not the waste drops of thy cup overflowing; + Not the faint sparks of thy hearth ever glowing; + Not a pale bud from the June roses blowing: + Give as He gave thee who gave thee to live. + + Pour out thy love like the rush of a river, + Wasting its waters, forever and ever, + Through the burnt sands that reward not the giver: + Silent or songful, thou nearest the sea. + Scatter thy life as the summer's shower pouring; + What if no bird through the pearl rain is soaring? + What if no blossom looks upward adoring? + Look to the life that was lavished for thee! + + So the wild wind strews its perfumed caresses: + Evil and thankless the desert it blesses; + Bitter the wave that its soft pinion presses; + Never it ceaseth to whisper and sing. + What if the hard heart give thorns for thy roses? + What if on rocks thy tired bosom reposes? + Sweeter is music with minor-keyed closes, + Fairest the vines that on ruin will cling. + + Almost the day of thy giving is over; + Ere from the grass dies the bee-haunted clover + Thou wilt have vanished from friend and from lover: + What shall thy longing avail in the grave? + Give as the heart gives whose fetters are breaking-- + Life, love, and hope, all thy dreams and thy waking; + Soon, heaven's river thy soul-fever slaking, + Thou shalt know God and the gift that he gave. + + --Rose Terry Cooke. + + +ALONG THE WAY + + There are so many helpful things to do + Along life's way + (Helps to the helper, if we did but know), + From day to day. + So many troubled hearts to soothe, + So many pathways rough to smooth, + So many comforting words to say, + To the hearts that falter along the way. + + Here is a lamp of hope gone out + Along the way. + Some one stumbled and fell, no doubt-- + But, brother, stay! + Out of thy store of oil refill; + Kindle the courage that smoulders still; + Think what Jesus would do to-day + For one who had fallen beside the way. + + How many lifted hands still plead + Along life's way! + The old, sad story of human need + Reads on for aye. + But let us follow the Saviour's plan-- + Love unstinted to every man; + Content if, at most, the world should say: + "He helped his brother along the way!" + + +SAVED TO SERVE + + Is thy cruse of comfort failing? + Rise and share it with another, + And through all the years of famine + It shall serve thee and thy brother. + + Love divine will fill thy storehouse + Or thy handful still renew; + Scanty fare for one will often + Make a royal feast for two. + + For the heart grows rich in giving-- + All its wealth is living gain; + Seeds which mildew in the garner + Scattered fill with gold the plain. + + Is thy burden hard and heavy? + Do thy steps drag wearily? + Help to bear thy brother's burden; + God will bear both it and thee. + + Numb and weary on the mountains, + Wouldst thou sleep amidst the snow? + Chafe that frozen form beside thee, + And together both shall glow. + + Art thou stricken in life's battle? + Many wounded round thee moan: + Lavish on their wounds thy balsam, + And that balm shall heal thine own. + + Is thy heart a well left empty? + None but God the void can fill. + Nothing but the ceaseless Fountain + Can its ceaseless longings still. + + Is the heart a living power? + Self-entwined its strength sinks low. + It can only live in loving, + And by serving love will grow. + + +BY DOING GOOD WE LIVE + + A certain wise man, deeply versed + In all the learning of the East, + Grew tired in spirit, and athirst + From life to be released. + + So to Eliab, holy man + Of God he came: "Ah, give me, friend, + The herb of death, that now the span + Of my vain life may end." + + Eliab gently answered: "Ere + The soul may free itself indeed, + This herb of healing thou must bear + To seven men in need; + + "When thou hast lightened each man's grief, + And brought him hope and joy again, + Return; nor shalt thou seek relief + At Allah's hands in vain." + + The wise man sighed, and humbly said: + "As Allah willeth, so is best." + And with the healing herb he sped + Away upon his quest. + + And as he journeyed on, intent + To serve the sorrowing in the land + On deeds of love and mercy bent, + The herb bloomed in his hand, + + And through his pulses shot a fire + Of strength and hope and happiness; + His heart leaped with a glad desire + To live and serve and bless. + + Lord of all earthly woe and need, + Be this, life's flower, mine! + To love, to comfort, and to heal-- + Therein is life divine! + + --Josephine Troup. + + +FOR STRENGTH WE ASK + + For strength we ask + For the ten thousand times repeated task, + The endless smallnesses of every day. + + No, not to lay + My life down in the cause I cherish most, + That were too easy. But, whate'er it cost, + + To fail no more + In gentleness toward the ungentle, nor + In love toward the unlovely, and to give, + + Each day I live, + To every hour with outstretched hand, its meed + Of not-to-be-regretted thought and deed. + + --Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald. + + +MARTHA OR MARY? + + I cannot choose; I should have liked so much + To sit at Jesus' feet--to feel the touch + Of his kind gentle hand upon my head + While drinking in the gracious words he said. + + And yet to serve Him!--Oh, divine employ-- + To minister and give the Master joy; + To bathe in coolest springs his weary feet, + And wait upon Him while He sat at meat! + + Worship or service--which? Ah, that is best + To which he calls us, be it toil or rest; + To labor for Him in life's busy stir, + Or seek His feet, a silent worshiper. + + --Caroline Atherton Mason. + + + This is the gospel of labor--ring it, ye bells of the kirk-- + The Lord of Love came down from above to live with the men who work. + This is the rose that he planted, here in the thorn-cursed soil; + Heaven is blest with perfect rest, but the blessing of earth is toil. + + --Henry van Dyke. + + +MARTHA + + Yes, Lord, Yet some must serve! + Not all with tranquil heart, + Even at Thy dear feet, + Wrapped in devotion sweet, + May sit apart! + + Yes, Lord! Yet some must bear + The burden of the day, + Its labor and its heat, + While others at Thy feet + May muse and pray. + + Yes, Lord! Yet some must do + Life's daily task-work; some + Who fain would sing must toil + Amid earth's dust and moil, + While lips are dumb! + + Yes, Lord! Yet man must earn + And woman bake the bread; + And some must watch and wake + Early for others' sake, + Who pray instead! + + Yes, Lord! Yet even thou + Hast need of earthly care; + I bring the bread and wine + To Thee a Guest divine-- + Be this my prayer! + + --Julia Caroline Ripley Dorr. + + + If we sit down at set of sun + And count the things that we have done, + And counting, find + One self-denying act, one word + That eased the heart of him who heard, + One glance most kind, + That fell like sunshine where it went, + Then we may count the day well spent. + + But if through all the livelong day + We've eased no heart by yea or nay; + If through it all + We've nothing done that we can trace + That brought the sunshine to a face, + No act most small + That helped some soul, and nothing cost, + Then count that day as worse than lost. + + + This for the day of life I ask: + Some all-absorbing, useful task; + And when 'tis wholly, truly done, + A tranquil rest at set of sun. + + +SERVICE + + Ah! grand is the world's work, and noble, forsooth, + The doing one's part, be it ever so small! + You, reaping with Boaz, I, gleaning with Ruth, + Are honored by serving, yet servants of all. + + No drudge in his corner but speeds the world's wheels; + No serf in the field but is sowing God's seed-- + More noble, I think, in the dust though he kneels, + Than the pauper of wealth, who makes scorn of the deed. + + Is toil but a treadmill? Think not of the grind, + But think of the grist, what is done and to do, + The world growing better, more like to God's mind, + By long, faithful labor of helpers like you. + + The broom or the spade or the shuttle, that plies + Its own honest task in its own honest way, + Serves heaven not less than a star in the skies-- + What more could the Pleiades do than obey? + + --James Buckham. + + +SUMMER AND WINTER + + If no kindly thought or word + We can give, some soul to bless, + If our hands, from hour to hour, + Do no deeds of gentleness; + If to lone and weary ones + We no comfort will impart-- + Tho' 'tis summer in the sky, + Yet 'tis winter in the heart! + + If we strive to lift the gloom + From a dark and burdened life; + If we seek to lull the storm + Of our fallen brother's strife; + If we bid all hate and scorn + From the spirit to depart-- + Tho' 'tis winter in the sky, + Yet 'tis summer in the heart! + + +THE ELEVENTH-HOUR LABORER + + Idlers all day about the market-place + They name us, and our dumb lips answer not, + Bearing the bitter while our sloth's disgrace, + And our dark tasking whereof none may wot. + + Oh, the fair slopes where the grape-gatherers go!-- + Not they the day's fierce heat and burden bear, + But we who on the market-stones drop slow + Our barren tears, while all the bright hours wear. + + Lord of the vineyard, whose dear word declares + Our one hour's labor as the day's shall be, + What coin divine can make our wage as theirs + Who had the morning joy of work for Thee? + + --L. Gray Noble. + + +"THY LABOR IS NOT IN VAIN" + + "I have labored in vain," a preacher said, + And his brow was marked with care; + "I have labored in vain." He bowed down his head, + And bitter and sad were the tears he shed + In that moment of dark despair. + + "I am weary and worn, and my hands are weak, + And my courage is well-nigh gone; + For none give heed to the words I speak, + And in vain for a promise of fruit I seek + Where the seed of the Word is sown." + + And again with a sorrowful heart he wept, + For his spirit with grief was stirred, + Till the night grew dark, and at last he slept, + And a silent calm o'er his spirit crept, + And a whisper of "peace" was heard. + + And he thought in his dream that his soul took flight + To a blessed and bright abode; + He saw a throne of dazzling light, + And harps were ringing, and robes were white-- + Made white in a Saviour's blood. + + And he saw such a countless throng around + As he never had seen before, + Their brows with jewels of light were crowned, + And sorrow and sighing no place had found-- + The troubles of time were o'er. + + Then a white-robed maiden came forth and said, + "Joy! Joy! for the trials are passed! + I am one that thy gentle words have led + In the narrow pathway of life to tread-- + I welcome thee home at last!" + + And the preacher gazed on the maiden's face-- + He had seen that face on earth, + Where, with anxious heart, in his wonted place + He had told his charge of a Saviour's grace, + And their need of a second birth. + + Then the preacher smiled, and the angel said, + "Go forth to thy work again; + It is not in vain that the seed is shed-- + If only ONE soul to the cross is led, + Thy labor is not in vain." + + And at last he woke, and his knee he bent + In grateful, childlike prayer, + And he prayed till an answer of peace was sent, + And Faith and Hope as a rainbow bent + O'er the clouds of his earthly care. + + And he rose in joy, and his eye was bright. + His sorrow and grief had fled, + And his soul was calm and his heart was light, + For his hands were strong in his Saviour's might + As forth to his work he sped. + + + Whatever dies, or is forgot-- + Work done for God, it dieth not. + + +FOLLOWING THE MASTER + + I asked the Lord that I might worthier be, + Might grow in faith and hope and charity; + And straight, "Go feed my lambs!" he answered me. + + "Nay, Lord!" I cried. "Can outward deeds avail + To cleanse my spirit? Heart and courage fail + And sins prevent, and foes and fears assail." + + And still, "Go, feed my lambs!" was all I heard. + But should I rest upon that simple word? + Was that, indeed, my message from my Lord? + + Behold, I thought that he his hand would lay + On my sick soul, and words of healing say, + And charm the plague-spot from my heart away. + + Half wroth, I turned to go; but oh! the look + He on me cast--a gaze I could not brook; + With deep relentings all my spirit shook. + + "O dearest Lord," I cried, "I will obey, + Say what thou wilt! only lead thou the way; + For, following thee, my footsteps shall not stray." + + He took me at my word. He went before; + He led me to the dwellings of the poor, + Where wolf-eyed Want keeps watch beside the door. + + He beckoned me, and I essayed to go + Where Sin and Crime, more sad than Want and Woe, + Hold carnival, and Vice walks to and fro. + + And when I faltered at the sight, He said, + "Behold, I died for such! These hands have bled, + This side for such has pierced been," he said. + + "Is the disciple greater than his Lord? + The servant than his Master?" Oh, that word! + It smote me like a sharp, two-edged sword! + + And since that hour, if any work of mine + Has been accepted by my Lord as sign + That I was following in his steps divine; + + If, serving others (though imperfectly), + My own poor life has worthier come to be, + And I have grown in faith and charity, + + Dear Lord, be thine the glory! Thou hast wrought, + All unaware, the blessing that I sought. + O that these lips might praise thee as they ought! + + +BE ALWAYS GIVING + + The sun gives ever; so the earth-- + What it can give so much 'tis worth; + The ocean gives in many ways-- + Gives baths, gives fishes, rivers, bays; + So, too, the air, it gives us breath. + When it stops giving, comes in death. + Give, give, be always giving; + Who gives not is not living; + The more you give + The more you live. + + God's love hath in us wealth unheaped + Only by giving it is reaped; + The body withers, and the mind + Is pent up by a selfish rind. + Give strength, give thought, give deeds, give pelf, + Give love, give tears, and give thyself. + Give, give, be always giving, + Who gives not is not living; + The more we give + The more we live. + + + Slightest actions often meet the sorest needs, + For the world wants daily little kindly deeds; + O, what care and sorrow you may help remove + With your song and courage, sympathy and love. + + +NOT LOST + + The look of sympathy; the gentle word + Spoken so low that only angels heard; + The secret act of pure self-sacrifice, + Unseen by men, but marked by angels' eyes; + These are not lost. + + The silent tears that fall at dead of night + Over soiled robes that once were pure and white; + The prayers that rise like incense from the soul, + Longing for Christ to make it clean and whole; + These are not lost. + + The happy dreams that gladdened all our youth, + When dreams had less of self and more of truth; + The childhood's faith, so tranquil and so sweet, + Which sat like Mary at the Master's feet; + These are not lost. + + The kindly plans devised for others' good, + So seldom guessed, so little understood; + The quiet, steadfast love that strove to win + Some wanderer from the ways of sin; + These are not lost. + + Not lost, O Lord! for in Thy city bright + Our eyes shall see the past by clearer light, + And things long hidden from our gaze below + Thou wilt reveal, and we shall surely know + They were not lost. + + + There's never a rose in all the world + But makes some green spray sweeter; + There's never a wind in all the sky + But makes some bird wing fleeter; + There's never a star but brings to heaven + Some silver radiance tender; + And never a rosy cloud but helps + To crown the sunset splendor; + No robin but may thrill some heart, + His dawn like gladness voicing; + God gives us all some small sweet way + To set the world rejoicing. + + +A BROADER FIELD + + O thou who sighest for a broader field + Wherein to sow the seeds of truth and right-- + Who fain a fuller, nobler power would wield + O'er human souls that languish for the light-- + + Search well the realm that even now is thine! + Canst not thou in some far-off corner find + A heart sin-bound, like tree with sapping vine, + Waiting for help its burdens to unbind? + + Some human plant, perchance beneath thine eyes, + Pierced through with hidden thorns of idle fears; + Or drooping low for need of light from skies + Obscured by doubt-clouds raining poison tears? + + Some bruisèd soul the balm of love would heal; + Some timid spirit faith would courage give; + Or maimèd brother, who, though brave and leal, + Still needeth thee, to rightly walk and live? + + O while one soul thou findest which hath not known + The fullest help thy soul hath power to give, + Sigh not for fields still broader than thine own, + But, steadfast in thine own, more broadly live. + + --Julia Anna Wolcott. + + + Be it health or be it leisure, + Be it skill we have to give, + Still in spending it for others + Christians only really live. + + Not in having or receiving, + But in giving, there is bliss; + He who has no other pleasure + Ever may rejoice in this. + + +WHAT CHRIST SAID + + I said, "Let me walk in the fields." + He said, "No, walk in the town." + I said, "There are no flowers there." + He said, "No flowers, but a crown." + + I said, "But the skies are black; + There is nothing but noise and din." + And He wept as he sent me back; + "There is more," He said; "there is sin." + + I said, "But the air is thick, + And fogs are veiling the sun." + He answered, "Yet souls are sick, + And souls in the dark undone." + + I said, "I shall miss the light, + And friends will miss me, they say." + He answered, "Choose to-night + If _I_ am to miss you, or they." + + I pleaded for time to be given. + He said, "Is it hard to decide? + It will not seem hard in heaven + To have followed the steps of your Guide." + + I cast one look at the fields, + Then set my face to the town; + He said, "My child, do you yield? + Will you leave the flowers for the crown?" + + Then into His hand went mine, + And into my heart came He; + And I walk in a light divine + The path I had feared to see. + + --George Macdonald. + + +MY SERVICE + + I asked the Lord to let me do + Some mighty work for Him; + To fight amid His battle hosts, + Then sing the victor's hymn. + I longed my ardent love to show, + But Jesus would not have it so. + + He placed me in a quiet home, + Whose life was calm and still, + And gave me little things to do, + My daily round to fill; + I could not think it good to be + Just put aside so silently. + + Small duties gathered round my way, + They seemed of earth alone; + I, who had longed for conquests bright + To lay before His throne, + Had common things to do and bear, + To watch and strive with daily care. + + So then I thought my prayer unheard, + And asked the Lord once more + That He would give me work for Him + And open wide the door; + Forgetting that my Master knew + Just what was best for me to do. + + Then quietly the answer came, + "My child, I hear thy cry; + Think not that mighty deeds alone + Will bring the victory. + The battle has been planned by Me, + Let daily life thy conquests see." + + +PASS IT ON + + Have you had a kindness shown? + Pass it on. + It was not given to you alone, + Pass it on. + Let it travel through the years; + Let it wipe another's tears; + Till in heaven the deed appears, + Pass it on. + + Have you found the heavenly light? + Pass it on. + Souls are groping in the night, + Daylight gone. + Lift your lighted lamp on high, + Be a star in some one's sky, + He may live who else would die. + Pass it on. + + +GIVING AND TAKING + + Who gives, and hides the giving hand, + Nor counts on favor, fame, or praise, + Shall find his smallest gift outweighs + The burden of the sea and land. + + Who gives to whom hath naught been given, + His gift in need, though small indeed + As is the grass-blade's wind-blown seed, + Is large as earth and rich as heaven. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier, from Tinnevaluna of India. + + +ONE PATH TO LIGHT + + What is the world? A wandering maze, + Where sin hath tracked a thousand ways + Her victims to ensnare. + All broad and winding and aslope, + All tempting with perfidious hope, + All ending in despair. + Millions of pilgrims throng those roads, + Bearing their baubles or their loads + Down to eternal night. + One only path that never bends, + Narrow and rough and steep, ascends + Through darkness into light. + Is there no guide to show that path? + The Bible. He alone that hath + The Bible need not stray. + But he who hath and will not give + That light of life to all that live, + Himself shall lose the way. + + +IF WE COULD ONLY SEE + + It were not hard, we think, to serve Him + If we could only see! + If he would stand with that gaze intense + Burning into our bodily sense, + If we might look on that face most tender, + The brows where the scars are turned to splendor, + Might catch the light of his smile so sweet, + And view the marks on his hands and feet, + How loyal we should be! + It were not hard, we think, to serve him, + If we could only see! + + It were not hard, he says, to see him, + If we would only serve; + "He that doeth the will of Heaven, + To him shall knowledge and sight be given." + While for his presence we sit repining, + Never we see his countenance shining; + They who toil where his reapers be + The glow of his smile may always see, + And their faith can never swerve. + It were not hard, he says, to see him, + If we would only serve. + + + Think not in sleep to fold thy hands, + Forgetful of thy Lord's commands, + From Duty's claims no life is free, + Behold! To-day has need of thee. + + +WHEN YOU DO AN ACT + + You can never tell when you do an act + Just what the result will be; + But with every deed you are sowing a seed, + Though its harvest you may not see. + Each kindly act is an acorn dropped + In God's productive soil; + Though you may not know, yet the tree shall grow + And shelter the brows that toil. + + +YOUR MISSION + + If you cannot on the ocean + Sail among the swiftest fleet, + Rocking on the highest billows, + Laughing at the storms you meet; + You can stand among the sailors + Anchored yet within the bay; + You can lend a hand to help them + As they launch their boat away. + + If you are too weak to journey + Up the mountain steep and high, + You can stand within the valley + While the multitudes go by; + You can chant in happy measure + As they slowly pass along; + Though they may forget the singer + They will not forget the song. + + If you have not gold and silver + Ever ready to command; + If you cannot toward the needy, + Reach an ever-open hand; + You can visit the afflicted, + O'er the erring you can weep; + You can be a true disciple + Sitting at the Saviour's feet. + + If you cannot in the harvest + Garner up the richest sheaves, + Many a grain both ripe and golden + Will the careless reapers leave; + Go and glean among the briers + Growing rank against the wall, + For it may be that their shadow + Hides the heaviest wheat of all. + + If you cannot in the conflict + Prove yourself a soldier true, + If where fire and smoke are thickest + There's no work for you to do; + When the battle-field is silent + You can go with careful tread: + You can bear away the wounded, + You can cover up the dead. + + If you cannot be the watchman, + Standing high on Zion's wall, + Pointing out the path to heaven, + Offering life and peace to all; + With your prayers and with your bounties + You can do what Heaven demands, + You can be like faithful Aaron, + Holding up the prophet's hands. + + Do not, then, stand idly waiting + For some greater work to do; + Fortune is a lazy goddess-- + She will never come to you. + Go and toil in any vineyard, + Do not fear to do or dare; + If you want a field of labor + You can find it anywhere. + + --G. M. Grannis. + + +THE FAITHFUL MONK + + Golden gleams of noonday fell + On the pavement of the cell, + And the monk still lingered there + In the ecstasy of prayer; + Fuller floods of glory streamed + Through the window, and it seemed + Like an answering glow of love + From the countenance above. + + On the silence of the cell + Break the faint tones of a bell. + 'Tis the hour when at the gate + Crowds of poor and hungry wait, + Wan and wistful, to be fed + With the friar of mercy's bread. + + Hark! that chime of heaven's far bells! + On the monk's rapt ear it swells, + No! fond, flattering dream, away! + Mercy calls; no longer stay! + Whom thou yearnest here to find + In the musings of thy mind, + God and Jesus, lo, they wait + Knocking at thy convent gate! + + From his knees the monk arose; + With full heart and hand he goes, + At his gate the poor relieves, + Gains a blessing and receives; + To his cell returned, and there + Found the angel of his prayer, + Who with radiant features said, + "Hadst thou stayed I must have fled." + + --Charles Timothy Brooks. + + +THE HEAVENLY PRESENCE + + Somewhere I have read of an aged monk + Who, kneeling one day in his cell, + Beheld in a glorious vision the form + Of the dear Lord Christ; and there fell + + Upon him a rapture, wondrously sweet, + And his lips could frame no word, + As he gazed on the form and noted the love + That beamed from the face of his Lord. + + There came to his ears the sound of a bell + Which called him early and late + To carry loaves to the wretched poor + Who lingered about the gate. + + Could he leave his cell now glorified + By the presence of the Christ, + The Blessed Son, the Holy One, + His Saviour, the Sacrificed? + + He went to his act of mercy, and when + He returned to his cell, the dim + Gay light was dispelled as the loving Christ + Re-entered to welcome him. + + And the Blessed One remained, more fair, + More glorious than before, + And the heart of the aged monk was glad, + And his cell was dim no more. + + "Draw nigh and abide with me, O Christ, + All through this day," is the prayer + Which sounds from my heart, and my lips repeat + Each morning, and Christ, the Fair, + + Seems very near as his words I hear, + Though his form I do not see; + "When you care for the least of these, dear child, + You have done it unto me. + + "With loving service fill all this day, + Do good in the name of your Lord, + And I will be near, your heart to cheer, + According to my word." + + --William Norris Burr. + + +ONLY + + It was _only_ a blossom, + Just the merest bit of bloom, + But it brought a glimpse of summer + To the little darkened room. + + It was _only_ a glad "good morning," + As she passed along the way; + But it spread the morning's glory + Over the livelong day. + + _Only_ a song; but the music, + Though simply pure and sweet, + Brought back to better pathways + The reckless roving feet. + + "_Only_," in our blind wisdom, + How dare we say at all? + Since the ages alone can tell us + Which is the great or small. + + +SOMETHING YOU CAN DO + + Hark! the voice of Jesus calling, + "Who will go and work to-day? + Fields are white and harvests waiting, + Who will bear the sheaves away?" + Loud and long the Master calleth, + Rich reward he offers free; + Who will answer, gladly saying, + "Here am I, send me, send me." + + If you cannot cross the ocean + And the heathen lands explore, + You can find the heathen nearer, + You can help them at your door; + If you cannot give your thousands + You can give the widow's mite; + And the least you give for Jesus + Will be precious in his sight. + + If you cannot speak like angels, + If you cannot preach like Paul, + You can tell the love of Jesus, + You can say he died for all. + If you cannot rouse the wicked + With the Judgment's dread alarms, + You can lead the little children + To the Saviour's waiting arms. + + Let none hear you idly saying + "There is nothing I can do," + While the sons of men are dying, + And the Master calls for you. + Take the task he gives you gladly, + Let his work your pleasure be; + Answer quickly, when he calleth, + "Here am I, send me, send me." + + --Daniel March. + + +SEEDTIME + + Sow thou thy seed! + Glad is the light of Spring--the sun is glowing. + Do thou thy deed: + Who knows when flower or deed shall cease its growing? + + Thy seed may be + Bearer of thousands scattered far and near; + Eternity + May feel the impress of the deed done here. + + --Arthur L. Salmon. + + +TOIL A BLESSING + + The toil of brain, or heart, or hand, + Is man's appointed lot; + He who God's call can understand + Will work and murmur not. + Toil is no thorny crown of pain, + Bound round man's brow for sin; + True souls, from it, all strength may gain, + High manliness may win. + + O God! who workest hitherto, + Working in all we see, + Fain would we be, and bear, and do, + As best it pleaseth thee. + Where'er thou sendest we will go, + Nor any questions ask, + And that thou biddest we will do, + Whatever be the task. + + Our skill of hand, and strength of limb, + Are not our own, but thine; + We link them to the work of Him + Who made all life divine. + Our brother-friend, thy holy Son, + Shared all our lot and strife; + And nobly will our work be done + If molded by his life. + + --Thomas W. Freckelton. + + + No service in itself is small; + None great, though earth it fill; + But that is small that seeks its own, + And great that seeks God's will. + + Then hold my hand, most gracious God, + Guide all my goings still; + And let it be my life's one aim, + To know and do thy will. + + +EASILY GIVEN + + It was only a sunny smile, + And little it cost in the giving; + But it scattered the night + Like morning light, + And made the day worth living. + Through life's dull warp a woof it wove, + In shining colors of light and love, + And the angels smiled as they watched above, + Yet little it cost in giving. + + It was only a kindly word, + And a word that was lightly spoken; + Yet not in vain, + For it stilled the pain + Of a heart that was nearly broken. + It strengthened a fate beset by fears + And groping blindly through mists of tears + For light to brighten the coming years, + Although it was lightly spoken. + + It was only a helping hand, + And it seemed of little availing; + But its clasps were warm, + And it saved from harm + A brother whose strength was failing. + Its touch was tender as angels' wings, + But it rolled the stone from the hidden springs, + And pointed the way to higher things, + Though it seemed of little availing. + + A smile, a word, a touch, + And each is easily given; + Yet one may win + A soul from sin + Or smooth the way to heaven. + A smile may lighten a falling heart, + A word may soften pain's keenest smart, + A touch may lead us from sin apart-- + How easily each is given! + + +WORKING WITH CHRIST + + O matchless honor, all unsought, + High privilege, surpassing thought + That thou shouldst call us, Lord, to be + Linked in work-fellowship with thee! + To carry out _thy_ wondrous plan, + To bear _thy_ messages to man; + "In trust," with Christ's own word of grace + To every soul of human race. + + +THE "NEW LOGION" + + "Jesus saith," and His deep Saying who shall rightly understand, + Rescued from the grasp of ages, risen from its grave of sand? + Who shall read its mystic meaning, who explain its import high: + "Raise the stone and thou shalt find Me, cleave the wood and there + am I"? + + Does it mean the stone-built altar, and the cleft-wood for its fire, + That with sacrificial offering shall the soul to God aspire, + Purged and pure from sin's defilement, lifting holy hands on high, + "Raise the stone and thou shalt find Me, cleave the wood and there + am I"? + + Does it mean that toil and action are the price that man shall pay, + Striving the strait gait to enter, pressing on the narrow way, + Clearing it from shade and hindrance, with strong arm and purpose high, + "Raise the stone and thou shalt find Me, cleave the wood and there + am I"? + + Does it mean that he who seeketh may Thy presence always see + In the common things around him, in the stone and in the tree, + Underlying, all-pervading, Soul of Nature, ever nigh, + "Raise the stone and thou shalt find Me, cleave the wood and there + am I"? + + Yea, in all our work and worship, in our quiet, in our strife, + In the daily, busy handwork, in the soul's most ardent life, + Each may read his own true meaning of the Saying deep and high, + "Raise the stone and thou shalt find Me, cleave the wood and there + am I." + + --Mrs. Henry B. Smith. + + + He's true to God, who's true to man; wherever wrong is done, + To the humblest and the weakest, 'neath the all-beholding sun, + That wrong is also done to us; and they are slaves most base + Whose love of right is for themselves, and not for all their race. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +HER CREED + + She stood before a chosen few, + With modest air and eyes of blue; + A gentle creature, in whose face + Were mingled tenderness and grace. + + "You wish to join our fold," they said; + "Do you believe in all that's read + From ritual and written creed, + Essential to our human need?" + + A troubled look was in her eyes; + She answered, as in vague surprise, + As though the sense to her were dim. + "I only strive to follow Him." + + They knew her life, how oft she stood, + Pure in her guileless maidenhood, + By dying bed, in hovel lone, + Whose sorrow she had made her own. + + Oft had her voice in prayer been heard, + Sweet as the note of any bird; + Her hand been open in distress; + Her joy to brighten and to bless. + + Yet still she answered, when they sought + To know her inmost, earnest thought, + With look as of the seraphim + "I only strive to follow Him." + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + +WAKING THOUGHTS + + Another day God gives me, pure and white. + How can I make it holy in his sight? + Small means have I and but a narrow sphere, + Yet work is round me, for he placed me here. + How can I serve thee, Lord? Open mine eyes; + Show me the duty that around me lies. + + "The house is small, but human hearts are there, + And for this day at least beneath thy care. + Someone is sad--then speak a word of cheer; + Someone is lonely--make him welcome here; + Someone has failed--protect him from despair; + Someone is poor--there's something you can spare! + + "Thine own heart's sorrow mention but in prayer, + And carry sunshine with thee everywhere. + The little duties do with all thine heart + And from things sordid keep a mind apart; + Then sleep, my child, and take a well-earned rest, + In blessing others thou thyself art blest!" + + +LONELY SERVICE + + Methought that in a solemn church I stood; + Its marble acres, worn with knees and feet, + Lay spread from door to door, from street to street. + Midway the form hung high upon the rood + Of Him who gave his life to be our good. + Beyond, priests flitted, bowed, and murmured meet + Among the candles, shining still and sweet. + Men came and went, and worshipped as they could-- + And still their dust a woman with her broom, + Bowed to her work, kept sweeping to the door. + Then saw I, slow through all the pillared gloom, + Across the church a silent figure come; + "Daughter," it said, "thou sweepest well my floor." + "It is the Lord!" I cried, and saw no more. + + --George Macdonald. + + +SHARE YOUR BLESSINGS + + Dig channels for the streams of love, + Where they may broadly run, + And love has overflowing streams + To fill them every one. + But if at any time thou cease + Such channels to provide, + The very founts of love to thee + Will soon be parched and dried. + For thou must share if thou wouldst keep + That good thing from above; + Ceasing to share you cease to have; + Such is the law of love. + + +ONLY A LITTLE + + Only a seed--but it chanced to fall + In a little cleft of a city wall, + And taking root, grew bravely up + Till a tiny blossom crowned its top. + + Only a thought--but the work it wrought + Could never by tongue or pen be taught; + For it ran through a life like a thread of gold, + And the life bore fruit--a hundred fold. + + Only a word--but 'twas spoken in love, + With a whispered prayer to the Lord above; + And the angels in heaven rejoiced once more, + For a new-born soul "entered in by the door." + + +PAUL AT MELITA + + Secure in his prophetic strength, + The water peril o'er, + The many-gifted man at length + Stepped on the promised shore. + + He trod the shore; but not to rest, + Nor wait till angels came; + Lo! humblest pains the saint attest, + The firebrands and the flame. + + But when he felt the viper's smart, + Then instant aid was given. + Christian, hence learn to do thy part, + And leave the rest to Heaven. + + --John Henry Newman. + + + All service ranks the same with God; + If now, as formerly He trod + Paradise, His presence fills + Our earth, each only as God wills + Can work--God's puppets, best and worst, + Are we; there is no last nor first. + + Say not "a small event!" Why "small"? + Costs it more pain that this, ye call + A "great event," should come to pass + Than that? Untwine me, from the mass + Of deeds which make up life, one deed + Power shall fall short in, or exceed. + + --Robert Browning. + + + What will it matter in a little while + That for a day + We met and gave a word, a touch, a smile, + Upon the way? + These trifles! Can they make or mar + Human life? + Are souls as lightly swayed as rushes are + By love or strife? + Yea, yea, a look the fainting heart may break, + Or make it whole, + And just one word, if said for love's sweet sake, + May save a soul. + + + Get leave to work + In this world--'tis the best you get at all; + For God in cursing gives us better gifts + Than men in benediction. God says, "Sweat + For foreheads;" men say "crowns;" and so we are crowned-- + Ay, gashed by some tormenting circle of steel + Which snaps with a secret spring. Get work; get work; + Be sure 'tis better than what you work to get. + + --Elizabeth Barrett Browning. + + + Be useful where thou livest, that they may + Both want and wish thy pleasing presence still; + Kindness, good parts, great places, are the way + To compass this. Find out men's wants and will, + And meet them there. All worldly joys go less + To the one joy of doing kindnesses. + + --George Herbert. + + + When He who, sad and weary, longing sore + For love's sweet service sought the sisters' door, + One saw the heavenly, one the human guest; + But who shall say which loved the Master best? + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + Oft, when the Word is on me to deliver, + Opens the heaven, and the Lord is there. + . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + Then with a rush the intolerable craving + Shivers throughout me like a trumpet call-- + Oh to save these! to perish for their saving, + Die for their life, be offered for them all! + + + No man is born into the world whose work + Is not born with him; there is always work, + And tools to work withal, for those who will; + And blessed are the horny hands of toil! + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + The Holy Supper is kept, indeed, + In whatso we share with another's need; + Not what we give, but what we share, + For the gift without the giver is bare; + Who gives himself with his alms feeds three: + Himself, his hungering neighbor, and Me. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + Look not beyond the stars for heaven, + Nor 'neath the sea for hell; + Know thou, who leads a useful life + In Paradise doth dwell. + + --Hafiz, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + + Small service is true service while it lasts: + Of humblest friends, bright creature, scorn not one; + The daisy, by the shadow that it casts, + Protects the lingering dewdrop from the sun. + + --William Wordsworth. + + + Mechanic soul, thou must not only do + With Martha, but with Mary ponder too; + Happy's the home where these fair sisters vary; + But most, when Martha's reconciled to Mary. + + --Francis Quarles. + + + If thou hast the gift of strength, then know + Thy part is to uplift the trodden low; + Else, in the giant's grasp, until the end + A hopeless wrestler shall thy soul contend. + + --George Meredith. + + + The best men doing their best + Know, peradventure, least of what they do. + Men usefullest i' the world are simply used. + + --Elizabeth Barrett Browning. + + + New words to speak, new thoughts to hear, + New love to give and take; + Perchance new burdens I may bear + To-day for love's sweet sake. + + + He doth good work whose heart can find + The spirit 'neath the letter; + Who makes his kind of happier mind, + Leaves wiser men and better. + + + Work for some good, be it ever so slowly, + Cherish some flower, be it ever so lowly, + Labor--all labor is noble and holy. + + --Frances Sargent Osgood. + + + In silence mend what ills deform the mind; + But all thy good impart to all thy kind. + + --John Sterling. + + + God gave me something very sweet to be mine own this day: + A precious opportunity a word for Christ to say. + + + That best portion of a good man's life-- + His little, nameless, unremembered acts + Of kindness and of love. + + --William Wordsworth. + + + Wouldst thou go forth to bless, be sure of thine own ground, + Fix well thy center first, then draw thy circle round. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + + + +BROTHERHOOD + +CHARITY, SYMPATHY, EXAMPLE, INFLUENCE + + +THE HOUSE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD + + There are hermit souls that live withdrawn + In the peace of their self-content; + There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart + In a fellowless firmament; + There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths + Where highways never ran-- + But let me live by the side of the road + And be a friend to man. + + Let me live in a house by the side of the road, + Where the race of men go by-- + The men who are good and the men who are bad, + As good and as bad as I. + I would not sit in the scorner's seat, + Or hurl the cynic's ban-- + Let me live in a house by the side of the road, + And be a friend to man. + + I see from my house by the side of the road, + By the side of the highway of life, + The men who press with the ardor of hope + The men who are faint with the strife. + But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears-- + Both parts of an infinite plan-- + Let me live in a house by the side of the road + And be a friend to man. + + I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead + And mountains of wearisome height; + And the road passes on through the long afternoon + And stretches away to the night. + But still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice, + And weep with the strangers that moan, + Nor live in my house by the side of the road + Like a man who dwells alone. + + Let me live in my house by the side of the road + Where the race of men go by-- + They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong, + Wise, foolish--so am I. + Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat + Or hurl the cynic's ban? + Let me live in my house by the side of the road + And be a friend to man. + + --Sam Walter Foss. + + +IS YOUR LAMP BURNING? + + Say, is your lamp burning, my brother? + I pray you look quickly and see; + For if it were burning, then surely + Some beams would fall brightly on me. + + Straight, straight is the road, but I falter. + And oft I fall out by the way; + Then lift your lamp higher, my brother, + Lest I should make fatal delay. + + There are many and many around you + Who follow wherever you go; + If you thought that they walked in the shadow + Your lamp would burn brighter, I know. + + Upon the dark mountains they stumble, + They are bruised on the rocks, and they lie + With their white pleading faces turned upward + To the clouds and the pitiful sky. + + There is many a lamp that is lighted, + We behold them anear and afar, + But not many among them, my brother, + Shine steadily on, like a star. + + I think, were they trimmed night and morning, + They would never burn down or go out, + Though from the four quarters of heaven + The winds were all blowing about. + + If once all the lamps that are lighted + Should steadily blaze in a line, + Wide over the land and the ocean, + What a girdle of glory would shine! + + How all the dark places would brighten! + How the mists would roll up and away! + How the earth would laugh out in her gladness + To hail the millennial day! + + Say, is your lamp burning, my brother? + I pray you look quickly and see; + For if it were burning, then surely + Some beams would fall brightly on me. + + +IF I SHOULD DIE TO-NIGHT + + If I should die to-night, + My friends would look upon my quiet face + Before they laid it in its resting-place, + And deem that death had left it almost fair, + And laying snow-white flowers upon my hair, + Would smooth it down with tearful tenderness, + And fold my hands with lingering caress-- + Poor hands, so empty and so cold to-night! + + If I should die to-night, + My friends would call to mind, with loving thought, + Some kindly deed the icy hand had wrought, + Some gentle word the frozen lips had said-- + Errands on which the willing feet had sped; + The memory of my selfishness and pride, + My hasty words, would all be put aside, + And so I should be loved and mourned to-night. + + If I should die to-night, + Even hearts estranged would turn once more to me, + Recalling other days remorsefully. + The eyes that chill me with averted glance + Would look upon me as of yore, perchance, + And soften in the old familiar way; + For who would war with dumb, unconscious clay? + So I might rest, forgiven of all to-night. + + O friends, I pray to-night, + Keep not your kisses for my dead cold brow. + The way is lonely; let me feel them now. + Think gently of me; I am travel-worn, + My faltering feet are pierced with many a thorn. + Forgive! O hearts estranged, forgive, I plead! + When ceaseless bliss is mine I shall not need + The tenderness for which I long to-night. + + --Belle Eugenia Smith. + + +FRUITION + + We scatter seeds with careless hand + And dream we ne'er shall see them more, + But for a thousand years + Their fruit appears + In weeds that mar the land + Or helpful store. + + The deeds we do, the words we say-- + Into still air they seem to fleet; + We count them ever past; + But they shall last-- + In the dread judgment they + And we shall meet. + + I charge thee by the years gone by, + For the love's sake of brethren dear, + Keep thou the one true way, + In work and play, + Lest in that world their cry + Of woe thou hear. + + --John Keble. + + + Still shines the light of holy lives + Like star beams over doubt; + Each sainted memory, Christlike, drives + Some dark possession out. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +HAVE CHARITY + + Then gently scan your brother man, + Still gentler sister woman; + Though they may gang a kennin' wrang + To step aside is human: + One point must still be greatly dark, + The moving _why_ they do it: + And just as lamely can ye mark + How far, perhaps, they rue it. + + Who made the heart, 'tis He alone + Decidedly can try us; + He knows each chord--its various tone, + Each spring--its various bias; + Then at the balance let's be mute, + We never can adjust it; + What's done we partly may compute, + But know not what's resisted. + + --Robert Burns. + + +THE VOICE OF PITY + + Couldst thou boast, O child of weakness, + O'er the sons of wrong and strife, + Were their strong temptations planted + In thy path of life? + + He alone whose hand is bounding + Human power and human will, + Looking through each soul's surrounding, + Knows its good or ill. + + Earnest words must needs be spoken + When the warm heart bleeds or burns + With its scorn of wrong, or pity + For the wronged, by turns. + + But, by all thy nature's weakness, + Hidden faults and follies known, + Be thou, in rebuking evil, + Conscious of thine own. + + Not the less shall stern-eyed Duty + To thy lips her trumpet set, + But with harsher blasts shall mingle + Wailings of regret. + + So when thoughts of evil-doers + Waken scorn or hatred move, + Shall a mournful fellow-feeling + Temper all with love. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + 'Tis the Almighty's gracious plan, + That man shall be the joy of man. + + --From the Scandinavian, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + +JUDGE NOT + + Judge not; the workings of his brain + And of his heart thou canst not see; + What looks to thy dim eyes a stain + In God's pure light may only be + A scar--brought from some well-won field + Where thou wouldst only faint and yield. + + The look, the air, that frets thy sight + May be a token that, below, + The soul has closed in deadly fight + With some infernal fiery foe-- + Whose glance would scorch thy smiling grace + And cast thee shuddering on thy face! + + The fall thou darest to despise-- + May be the angel's slackened hand + Has suffered it, that he may rise + And take a firmer, surer stand; + Or, trusting less to earthly things, + May henceforth learn to use his wings. + + And judge none lost; but wait and see + With hopeful pity, not disdain, + The depth of the abyss may be + The measure of the height of pain, + And love and glory that may raise + This soul to God in after days. + + --Adelaide Anne Procter. + + +THINK GENTLY OF THE ERRING + + Think gently of the erring; + Ye know not of the power + With which the dark temptation came + In some unguarded hour; + Ye may not know how earnestly + They struggled, or how well, + Until the hour of weakness came + And sadly thus they fell. + + Think gently of the erring; + Oh, do not thou forget, + However darkly stained by sin, + He is thy brother yet; + Heir of the self-same heritage, + Child of the self-same God, + He has but stumbled in the path + Thou hast in weakness trod. + + Speak gently to the erring; + For is it not enough + That innocence and peace have gone, + Without thy censure rough? + It sure must be a weary lot, + That sin-stained heart to bear, + And those who share a happier fate + Their chidings well may spare. + + Speak gently to the erring; + Thou yet mayst lead them back, + With holy words and tones of love, + From misery's thorny track; + Forget not thou hast often sinned, + And sinful yet must be; + Deal gently with the erring, then, + As God has dealt with thee. + + --Julia A. Fletcher. + + +HARSH JUDGMENTS + + O God! whose thoughts are brightest light, + Whose love runs always clear, + To whose kind wisdom sinning souls + Amidst their sins are dear, + + Sweeten my bitter-thoughted heart + With charity like thine, + Till self shall be the only spot + On earth which does not shine. + + I often see in my own thoughts, + When they lie nearest Thee, + That the worst men I ever knew + Were better men than me. + + He whom no praise can reach is aye + Men's least attempts approving; + Whom justice makes all-merciful + Omniscience makes all-loving. + + How thou canst think so well of us + Yet be the God thou art, + Is darkness to my intellect, + But sunshine to my heart. + + Yet habits linger in the soul; + More grace, O Lord! more grace! + More sweetness from thy loving heart! + More sunshine from thy face! + + The discord is within, which jars + So sadly in life's song; + 'Tis we, not they, who are in fault, + When others seem so wrong. + + 'Tis we who weigh upon ourselves; + Self is the irksome weight; + To those who can see straight themselves, + All things look always straight. + + My God, with what surpassing love + Thou lovest all on earth; + How good the least good is to thee, + How much each soul is worth! + + All bitterness is from ourselves; + All sweetness is from thee; + Sweet God! for evermore be thou + Fountain and fire in me! + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +HOW TO JUDGE + + "Judge the people by their actions"--tis a rule you often get-- + "Judge the actions by their people" is a wiser maxim yet. + Have I known you, brother, sister? Have I looked into your heart? + Mingled with your thoughts my feelings, taken of your life my part? + Through the warp of your convictions sent the shuttle of my thought + Till the web became the Credo, for us both, of Should and Ought? + Seen in thousand ways your nature, in all act and look and speech? + By that large induction only I your law of being reach. + Now I hear of this wrong action--what is that to you and me? + Sin within you may have done it--fruit not nature to the tree. + Foreign graft has come to bearing--mistletoe grown on your bough-- + If I ever really knew you, then, my friend, I know you now. + So I say, "He never did it," or, "He did not so intend"; + Or, "Some foreign power o'ercame him"--so I judge the action, friend. + Let the mere outside observer note appearance as he can; + We, more righteous judgment passing, test each action by its man. + + --James Freeman Clarke. + + +"TO KNOW ALL IS TO FORGIVE ALL" + + If I knew you and you knew me, + If both of us could clearly see, + And with an inner sight divine + The meaning of your heart and mine, + I'm sure that we would differ less, + And clasp our hands in friendliness; + Our thoughts would pleasantly agree + If I knew you and you knew me. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + +KINDNESS + + A little word in kindness spoken, + A motion, or a tear, + Has often healed the heart that's broken + And made a friend sincere. + + A word, a look, has crushed to earth + Full many a budding flower, + Which, had a smile but owned its birth, + Would bless life's darkest hour. + + Then deem it not an idle thing + A pleasant word to speak; + The face you wear, the thought you bring, + A heart may heal or break. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +IF WE KNEW + + If we knew the cares and sorrows + Crowded round our neighbor's way, + If we knew the little losses, + Sorely grievous, day by day, + Would we then so often chide him + For the lack of thrift and gain, + Leaving on his heart a shadow + Leaving on our hearts a stain? + + If we knew the clouds above us, + Held by gentle blessings there, + Would we turn away, all trembling, + In our blind and weak despair? + Would we shrink from little shadows + Lying on the dewy grass + While 'tis only birds of Eden + Just in mercy flying past? + + Let us reach within our bosoms + For the key to other lives, + And with love to erring natures + Cherish good that still survives; + So that when our disrobed spirits + Soar to realms of light again, + We may say, "Dear Father, judge us + As we judged our fellow men." + + + Time to me this truth hath taught, + 'Tis a truth that's worth revealing: + More offend from want of thought + Than from want of feeling. + If advice we would convey, + There's a time we should convey it; + If we've but a word to say, + There's a time in which to say it. + + +HONOR ALL MEN + + Great Master! teach us how to hope in man: + We lift our eyes upon his works and ways, + And disappointment chills us as we gaze, + Our dream of him so far the truth outran, + So far his deeds are ever falling short. + And then we fold our graceful hands and say, + "The world is vulgar." Didst thou turn away, + O Sacred Spirit, delicately wrought, + Because the humble souls of Galilee + Were tuned not to the music of thine own + And chimed not to the pulsing undertone + Which swelled Thy loving bosom like the sea? + Shame thou our coldness, most benignant Friend, + When we so daintily do condescend. + + --Martha Perry Howe. + + +BROTHERHOOD + + That plenty but reproaches me + Which leaves my neighbor bare. + Not wholly glad my heart can be + While his is bowed with care. + + If I go free, and sound, and stout, + While his poor fetters clank, + Unsated still, I'll still cry out, + And plead with Whom I thank. + + Almighty, thou who Father be + Of him, of me, of all, + Draw us together, him and me, + That, whichsoever fall, + + The other's hand may fail him not-- + The other's strength decline + No task of succor that his lot + May claim from son of thine. + + I would be fed. I would be clad. + I would be housed and dry. + But if so be my heart is sad-- + What benefit have I? + + Best he whose shoulders best endure + The load that brings relief; + And best shall be his joy secure + Who shares that joy with grief. + + --Edward Sandford Martin. + + +THE LIFE I SEEK + + Not in some cloistered cell + Dost thou, Lord, bid me dwell + My love to show, + But 'mid the busy marts, + Where men with burdened hearts + Do come and go. + + Some tempted soul to cheer + When breath of ill is near + And foes annoy; + The sinning to restrain, + To ease the throb of pain-- + Be such my joy. + + Lord, make me quick to see + Each task awaiting me, + And quick to do; + Oh, grant me strength, I pray, + With lowly love each day, + And purpose true, + + To go as Jesus went, + Spending and being spent, + Myself forgot; + Supplying human needs + By loving words and deeds-- + Oh, happy lot! + + --Robert M. Offord. + + +THY BROTHER + + When thy heart with joy o'erflowing + Sings a thankful prayer, + In thy joy, O let thy brother + With thee share. + + When the harvest sheaves ingathered + Fill thy barns with store, + To thy God and to thy brother + Give the more. + + If thy soul with power uplifted + Yearns for glorious deed, + Give thy strength to serve thy brother + In his need. + + Hast thou borne a secret sorrow + In thy lonely breast? + Take to thee thy sorrowing brother + For a guest. + + Share with him thy bread of blessing, + Sorrow's burden share; + When thy heart enfolds a brother, + God is there. + + --Theodore Chickering Williams. + + +ALL'S WELL + + Sweet-voiced Hope, thy fine discourse + Foretold not half life's good to me: + Thy painter, Fancy, hath not force + To show how sweet it is to be! + Thy witching dream + And pictured scheme + To match the fact still want the power: + Thy promise brave-- + From birth to grave-- + Life's boon may beggar in an hour. + + "Ask and receive," 'tis sweetly said; + Yet what to plead for know I not; + For wish is wasted, hope o'ersped, + And aye to thanks returns my thought. + If I would pray, + I've naught to say + But this, that God may be God still; + For him to live + Is still to give, + And sweeter than my wish, his will. + + O wealth of life beyond all bound! + Eternity each moment given! + What plummet may the Present sound + Who promises a future heaven? + Or glad or grieved, + Oppressed, relieved, + In blackest night or brightest day, + Still pours the flood + Of golden good, + And more than heartful fills me aye. + + My wealth is common; I possess + No petty province, but the whole. + What's mine alone is mine far less + Than treasure shared by every soul, + Talk not of store, + Millions or more-- + Of values which the purse may hold-- + But this divine! + I own the mine + Whose grains outweigh a planet's gold. + + I have a stake in every star, + In every beam that fills the day; + All hearts of men my coffers are, + My ores arterial tides convey; + The fields and skies + And sweet replies + Of thought to thought are my gold-dust, + The oaks and brooks + And speaking looks + Of lovers' faith and friendship's trust. + + Life's youngest tides joy-brimming flow + For him who lives above all years; + Who all-immortal makes the Now, + And is not ta'en in Time's arrears; + His life's a hymn + The seraphim + Might stop to hear or help to sing, + And to his soul + The boundless whole + Its bounty all doth daily bring. + + "All mine is thine," the sky-soul saith; + "The wealth I am must then become + Richer and richer, breath by breath-- + Immortal gain, immortal room!" + And since all his + Mine also is, + Life's gift outruns my fancies far, + And drowns the dream + In larger stream, + As morning drinks the morning star. + + --David Atwood Wasson. + + +HOW DOTH DEATH SPEAK OF OUR BELOVED? + + How doth death speak of our beloved + When it has laid them low, + When it has set its hallowing touch + On speechless lip and brow? + + It clothes their every gift and grace + With radiance from the holiest place, + With light as from an angel's face, + + Recalling with resistless force + And tracing to their hidden source + Deeds scarcely noticed in their course-- + + This little loving fond device, + That daily act of sacrifice, + Of which too late we learned the price. + + Opening our weeping eyes to trace + Simple unnoticed kindnesses, + Forgotten tones of tenderness, + + Which evermore to us must be + Sacred as hymns in infancy + Learnt listening at a mother's knee. + + Thus doth death speak of our beloved + When it has laid them low. + Then let love antedate the work of death, + And speak thus now. + + * * * * * + + How does death speak of our beloved + When it has laid them low, + When it has set its hallowing touch + On speechless lip and brow? + + It sweeps their faults with heavy hand + As sweeps the sea the trampled sand, + Till scarce the faintest print is scanned. + + It shows how much the vexing deed + Was but a generous nature's weed + Or some choice virtue run to seed; + + How that small fretting fretfulness + Was but love's overanxiousness, + Which had not been had love been less; + + This failing at which we repined + But the dim shade of day declined + Which should have made us doubly kind. + + It takes each failing on our part + And brands it in upon the heart + With caustic power and cruel art. + + The small neglect that may have pained + A giant stature will have gained + When it can never be explained; + + The little service which had proved + How tenderly we watched and loved, + And those mute lips to smiles had moved; + + The little gift from out our store + Which might have cheered some cheerless hour + When they with earth's poor needs were poor. + + It shows our faults like fires at night; + It sweeps their failings out of sight; + It clothes their good in heavenly light. + + O Christ, our life, foredate the work of death + And do this now; + Thou, who art love, thus hallow our beloved; + Not death, but Thou! + + --Elizabeth Rundle Charles. + + + God gives each man one life, like a lamp, then gives + That lamp due measure of oil: Lamp lighted--hold high, wave wide, + Its comfort for others to share! + + --Muleykeh. + + +THE NEW ERA + + It is coming! it is coming! The day is just a-dawning + When man shall be to fellow-man a helper and a brother; + When the mansion, with its gilded hall, its tower and arch and awning, + Shall be to hovel desolate a kind and foster-mother. + + When the men who work for wages shall not toil from morn till even, + With no vision of the sunlight, nor flowers, nor birds a-singing; + When the men who hire the workers, blest with all the gifts of heaven, + Shall the golden rule remember, its glad millennium bringing. + + The time is coming when the man who cares not for another + Shall be accounted as a stain upon a fair creation; + Who lives to fill his coffers full, his better self to smother, + As blight and mildew on the fame and glory of a nation. + + The hours are growing shorter for the millions who are toiling, + And the homes are growing better for the millions yet to be; + And the poor shall learn the lesson, how that waste and sin are + spoiling + The fairest and the finest of a grand humanity. + + It is coming! it is coming! and men's thoughts are growing deeper; + They are giving of their millions as they never gave before; + They are learning the new gospel, man must be his brother's keeper, + And right, not might, shall triumph, and the selfish rule no more. + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + + To a darning-needle once exclaimed the kitchen sieve, + "You've a hole right through your body, and I wonder how you live." + But the needle (who was sharp) replied, "I too have wondered + That you notice my _one_ hole, when in you there are a hundred!" + + --Saadi, tr. by James Freeman Clarke. + + +LOOKING FOR PEARLS + + The Master came one evening to the gate + Of a fair city; it was growing late, + And sending his disciples to buy food, + He wandered forth intent on doing good, + As was his wont. And in the market-place + He saw a crowd, close gathered in one space, + Gazing with eager eyes upon the ground, + Jesus drew nearer, and thereon he found + A noisome creature, a bedraggled wreck-- + A dead dog with a halter round his neck, + And those who stood by mocked the object there, + And one said, scoffing, "It pollutes the air!" + Another, jeering, asked, "How long to-night + Shall such a miscreant cur offend our sight?" + "Look at his torn hide," sneered a Jewish wit, + "You could not cut even a shoe from it," + And turned away. "Behold his ears that bleed," + A fourth chimed in, "an unclean wretch indeed!" + "He hath been hanged for thieving," they all cried. + And spurned the loathsome beast from side to side. + Then Jesus, standing by them in the street, + Looked on the poor, spent creature at his feet, + And, bending o'er him, spake unto the men, + "_Pearls are not whiter than his teeth._" And then + The people at each other gazed, asking, + "Who is this stranger pitying this vile thing?" + Then one exclaimed, with awe-abated breath, + "This surely is the Man of Nazareth; + This must be Jesus, for none else but he + Something to praise in a dead dog could see!" + And, being ashamed, each scoffer bowed his head, + And from the sight of Jesus turned and fled. + + + Vice is a monster of so frightful mien + As, to be hated, needs but to be seen; + Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, + We first endure, then pity, then embrace. + + --Alexander Pope. + + +WHAT MIGHT BE DONE + + What might be done if men were wise-- + What glorious deeds, my suffering brother, + Would they unite + In love and right, + And cease their scorn of one another! + + Oppression's heart might be imbued + With kindling drops of loving-kindness, + And knowledge pour + From shore to shore + Light on the eyes of mental blindness. + + All slavery, warfare, lies, and wrongs, + All vice and crime, might die together; + And wine and corn + To each man born + Be free as warmth in summer weather. + + The meanest wretch that ever trod, + The deepest sunk in guilt and sorrow, + Might stand erect + In self-respect, + And share the teeming world to-morrow. + + What might be done? This might be done. + And more than this, my suffering brother; + More than the tongue + E'er said or sung + If men were wise and loved each other. + + --Charles Mackay. + + + If I could see + A brother languishing in sore distress, + And I should turn and leave him comfortless, + When I might be + A messenger of hope and happiness-- + How could I ask to have that I denied + In my own hour of bitterness supplied? + + If I might share + A brother's load along the dusty way, + And I should turn and walk alone that day, + How could I dare-- + When in the evening watch I kneel to pray-- + To ask for help to bear my pain and loss, + If I had heeded not my brother's cross? + + +SHARED + + I said it in the meadow path, + I say it on the mountain-stairs: + The best things any mortal hath + Are those which every mortal shares. + + The air we breathe--the sky--the breeze-- + The light without us and within-- + Life with its unlocked treasuries-- + God's riches, are for all to win. + + The grass is softer to my tread + For rest it yields unnumbered feet; + Sweeter to me the wild-rose red + Because she makes the whole world sweet. + + Into your heavenly loneliness + Ye welcomed me, O solemn peaks! + And me in every guest you bless + Who reverently your mystery seeks. + + And up the radiant peopled way + That opens into worlds unknown + It will be life's delight to say, + "Heaven is not heaven for me alone." + + Rich through my brethren's poverty! + Such wealth were hideous! I am blest + Only in what they share with me, + In what I share with all the rest. + + --Lucy Larcom. + + +UNCHARITABLENESS NOT CHRISTIAN + + I know not if 'twas wise or well + To give all heathens up to hell-- + Hadrian--Aurelius--Socrates-- + And others wise and good as these; + I know not if it is forbid, + But this I know--Christ never did. + + + May every soul that touches mine-- + Be it the slightest contact--get therefrom some good, + Some little grace, one kindly thought, + One inspiration yet unfelt, one bit of courage + For the darkening sky, one gleam of faith + To brave the thickening ills of life, + One glimpse of brighter skies beyond the gathering mists, + To make this life worth while, + And heaven a surer heritage. + + +SOCIAL CHRISTIANITY + + O for a closer walk with man! + Sweet fellowship of soul, + Where each is to the other bound, + Parts of one living whole. + + Our Father, God, help us to see + That all in thee are one; + O warm our hearts with thy pure love, + Strong as your glorious sun. + + Pride, envy, selfishness will melt + Beneath that kindling fire; + Our brother's faults we scarce shall see, + But good in all admire. + + No bitter cry of misery + Shall ever pass unheard; + But gentle sympathy spring forth + In smile and strengthening word. + + And when our brother's voice shall call + From lands beyond the sea, + Our hearts in glad response will say, + "Here, Lord, am I, send me." + + O Jesus Christ, thou who wast man, + Grant us thy face to see; + In thy light shall we understand + What human life may be. + + Then daily with thy Spirit filled, + According to thy word, + New power shall flow through us to all, + And draw men near our Lord. + + Thus will the deep desire be met + With which our prayer began; + A closer walk with Thee will mean + A closer walk with man. + + + If any little word of mine may make a life the brighter, + If any little song of mine may make a heart the lighter, + God help me speak the little word, and take my bit of singing, + And drop it in some lonely vale to set the echoes ringing. + If any little love of mine may make a life the sweeter, + If any little care of mine make other life completer, + If any lift of mine may ease the burden of another, + God give me love and care and strength to help my toiling brother. + + +CHARITY NOT JUSTICE + + Outwearied with the littleness and spite, + The falsehood and the treachery of men, + I cried, "Give me but justice!" thinking then + I meekly craved a common boon which might + Most easily be granted; soon the light + Of deeper truth grew on my wondering ken, + (Escaping baneful damps of stagnant fen), + And then I saw that in my pride bedight + I claimed from erring man the gift of Heaven-- + God's own great vested right; and I grew calm, + With folded hands, like stone, to patience given, + And pitying, of pure love distilling balm; + And now I wait in quiet trust to be + All known to God--and ask of men sweet charity. + + --Elizabeth Oakes Smith. + + +GOD SAVE THE PEOPLE + + When wilt thou save the people, + O God of mercy, when? + Not kings alone, but nations? + Not thrones and crowns, but men? + Flowers of thy heart, O God, are they: + Let them not pass, like weeds, away-- + Their heritage a sunless day. + God save the people! + + Shall crime bring crime forever, + Strength aiding still the strong? + Is it thy will, O Father, + That man shall toil for wrong? + "No," say thy mountains, "No," thy skies; + Man's clouded sun shall brightly rise, + And songs ascend instead of sighs. + God save the people! + + When wilt thou save the people? + O God of mercy, when? + The people, Lord, the people, + Not thrones and crowns, but men? + God save the people; thine they are, + Thy children, as thine angels fair; + From vice, oppression, and despair, + God save the people! + + --Ebenezer Elliott. + + +HYMN OF THE CITY + + Not in the solitude + Alone may man commune with Heaven, or see + Only in savage wood + And sunny vale the present Deity; + Or only hear his voice + Where the winds whisper and the waves rejoice. + + Even here do I behold + Thy steps, Almighty!--here, amidst the crowd + Through the great city rolled + With everlasting murmurs deep and loud-- + Choking the ways that wind + 'Mongst the proud piles, the work of human kind. + + The golden sunshine comes + From the round heaven, and on their dwellings lies + And lights their inner homes; + For them thou fill'st with air the unbounded skies + And givest them the stores + Of ocean, and the harvest of its shores. + + Thy spirit is around, + Quickening the restless mass that sweeps along; + And this eternal sound-- + Voices and footfalls of the numberless throng-- + Like the resounding sea, + Or like the rainy tempest, speaks of Thee. + + And when the hour of rest + Comes like a calm upon the mid-sea brine, + Hushing its billowy breast-- + The quiet of that moment too is Thine + It breathes of Him who keeps + The vast and helpless city while it sleeps. + + --William Cullen Bryant. + + + No one is so accursed by fate, + No one so utterly desolate, + But some heart, though unknown, + Responds unto his own. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + Believe not each accusing tongue, + As most weak people do; + But still believe that story wrong + Which ought not to be true. + + --Richard Brinsley Sheridan. + + +CHRIST IN THE CITY + + Where cross the crowded ways of life + Where sound the cries of race and clan, + Above the noise of selfish strife, + We hear thy voice, O Son of man. + + In haunts of wretchedness and need, + On shadowed thresholds dark with fears, + From paths where hide the lures of greed + We catch the vision of thy tears. + + From tender childhood's helplessness, + From woman's grief, man's burdened toil, + From famished souls, from sorrow's stress, + Thy heart has never known recoil. + + The cup of water given for Thee + Still holds the freshness of thy grace; + Yet long these multitudes to see + The sweet compassion of thy face. + + O Master, from the mountain side + Make haste to heal these hearts of pain, + Among these restless throngs abide, + O tread the city's streets again, + + Till sons of men shall learn thy love + And follow where thy feet have trod; + Till glorious from thy heaven above + Shall come the city of our God. + + --Frank Mason North. + + + Who seeks for heaven alone to save his soul + May keep the path, but will not reach the goal; + While he who walks in love may wander far, + But God will bring him where the blessed are. + + --Henry van Dyke. + + + Persuasion, friend, comes not by toil or art, + Hard study never made the matter clearer; + 'Tis the live fountain in the preacher's heart + Sends forth the streams that melt the ravished hearer. + + --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. + + +SPEAK OUT + + If you have a friend worth loving, + Love him. Yes, and let him know + That you love him, ere life's evening + Tinge his brow with sunset glow. + Why should good words ne'er be said + Of a friend--till he is dead? + + If you hear a song that thrills you, + Sung by any child of song, + Praise it. Do not let the singer + Wait deserved praises long. + Why should one who thrills your heart + Lack the joy you may impart? + + If you hear a prayer that moves you + By its humble, pleading tone, + Join it. Do not let the seeker + Bow before his God alone. + Why should not thy brother share + The strength of "two or three" in prayer? + + If your work is made more easy + By a friendly, helping hand, + Say so. Speak out brave and truly, + Ere the darkness veil the land. + Should a brother workman dear + Falter for a word of cheer? + + Scatter thus your seeds of kindness + All enriching as you go-- + Leave them. Trust the Harvest-Giver; + He will make each seed to grow. + So, until the happy end, + Your life shall never lack a friend. + + +INFLUENCE + + The smallest bark on life's tumultuous ocean + Will leave a track behind forevermore; + The lightest wave of influence, once in motion, + Extends and widens to the eternal shore. + We should be wary, then, who go before + A myriad yet to be, and we should take + Our bearings carefully where breakers roar + And fearful tempests gather: one mistake + May wreck unnumbered barks that follow in our wake. + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + +TELL HIM SO + + If you have a word of cheer + That may light the pathway drear, + Of a brother pilgrim here, + Let him know. + Show him you appreciate + What he does, and do not wait + Till the heavy hand of fate + Lays him low. + If your heart contains a thought + That will brighter make his lot, + Then, in mercy, hide it not; + Tell him so. + + Bide not till the end of all + Carries him beyond recall + When beside his sable pall, + To avow + Your affection and acclaim + To do honor to his name + And to place the wreath of fame + On his brow. + Rather speak to him to-day; + For the things you have to say + May assist him on his way: + Tell him now. + + Life is hard enough, at best: + But the love that is expressed + Makes it seem a pathway blest + To our feet; + And the troubles that we share + Seem the easier to bear, + Smile upon your neighbor's care, + As you greet. + Rough and stony are our ways, + Dark and dreary are our days; + But another's love and praise + Make them sweet. + + Wait not till your friend is dead + Ere your compliments are said; + For the spirit that has fled, + If it know, + Does not need to speed it on + Our poor praise; where it has gone + Love's eternal, golden dawn + Is aglow. + But unto our brother here + That poor praise is very dear; + If you've any word of cheer + Tell him so. + + --J. A. Egerton. + + + So when a great man dies, + For years beyond our ken + The light he leaves behind him lies + Upon the paths of men. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + +THE MAN WITH A GRUDGE + + There once was a man who bore a grudge. + Stoutly he bore it many a year. + "Beware!" said the parson. He answered, "Fudge! + Well it becomes me, never fear. + + "Men for this world, and saints for heaven; + Too much of meekness shows a fool; + My loaf shall rise with a livelier leaven; + 'Give as you get,' is a good old rule." + + The longer he bore it, the more it grew, + Grew his grudge, as he trudged along; + Till in sight of a pearly gate he drew, + And he heard within it a wondrous song. + + The shining porter said, "Walk in." + He sought to do so; the gate was strait: + Hard he struggled his way to win, + The way was narrow, the grudge was great. + + He turned in haste to lay it down; + He strove to tear it away--to cut-- + But it had fast to his heart strings grown, + "O wait," he cried; but the door was shut. + + Through windows bright and clear he saw + The blessed going with their Lord to sup. + But Satan clapped on his grudge a claw; + Hell opened her mouth and swallowed him up. + + --Sara Hammond Palfrey. + + + Man judges from a partial view, + None ever yet his brother knew; + The Eternal Eye that sees the whole + May better read the darkened soul, + And find, to outward sense denied, + The flower upon its inward side. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + O brothers! are ye asking how + The hills of happiness to find? + Then know they lie beyond the vow-- + "God helping me, I will be kind." + + --Nixon Waterman. + + +A BLESSING + + Not to the man of dollars, + Not to the man of deeds, + Not unto craft and cunning, + Not unto human creeds; + Not to the one whose passion + Is for the world's renown, + Not in the form of fashion + Cometh a blessing down. + + But to the one whose spirit + Yearns for the great and good; + Unto the one whose storehouse + Yieldeth the hungry food; + Unto the one who labors + Fearless of foe or frown; + Unto the kindly-hearted, + Cometh a blessing down. + + --Mary Frances Tucker. + + +WEAPONS + + Both swords and guns are strong, no doubt, + And so are tongue and pen, + And so are sheaves of good bank notes, + To sway the souls of men. + But guns and swords and piles of gold, + Though mighty in their sphere, + Are sometimes feebler than a smile, + And poorer than a tear. + + --Charles Mackay. + + + Enough to know that, through the winter's frost + And summer's heat, no seed of truth is lost, + And every duty pays at last its cost. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + A kindly act is a kernel sown + That will grow to a goodly tree, + Shedding its fruit when time is flown + Down the gulf of Eternity. + + --John Boyle O'Reilly. + + + The kindly word unspoken is a sin-- + A sin that wraps itself in purest guise, + And tells the heart that, doubting, looks within, + That, not in speech, but thought, the virtue lies. + + --John Boyle O'Reilly. + + + + +CONSECRATION + +SUBMISSION, DEVOTION, PURITY + + +THE CHARIOTEER + + O God, take the reins of my life! + I have driven it blindly, to left and to right, + In mock of the rock, in the chasm's despite, + Where the brambles were rife, + In the blaze of the sun and the deadliest black of the night. + O God, take the reins of my life! + + For I am so weary and weak. + My hands are a-quiver and so is my heart, + And my eyes are too tired for the tear-drops to start, + And the worn horses reek + With the anguishing pull and the hot, heavy harness's smart, + While I am all weary and weak. + + But Thou wilt be peace, wilt be power. + Thy hand on the reins and thine eye on the way + Shall be wisdom to guide and controlling to stay, + And my life in that hour + Shall be led into leading, and rest when it comes to obey; + For thou wilt be peace and all power. + + Now, Lord, without tarrying, now! + While eyes can look up and while reason remains, + And my hand yet has strength to surrender the reins, + Ere death stamp my brow + And pour coldness and stillness through all the mad course of my + veins-- + Come, Lord, without tarrying, now! + + I yield Thee my place, which is thine. + Appoint me to lie on the chariot floor; + Yea, appoint me to lie at thy feet, and no more, + While the glad axles shine, + And the happy wheels run on their course to the heavenly door,-- + Now thou hast my place, which is thine. + + --Amos R. Wells. + + +WHOLLY THE LORD'S + + My whole though broken heart, O Lord, + From henceforth shall be thine; + And here I do my vow record-- + This hand, these words are mine: + All that I have, without reserve, + I offer here to thee: + Thy will and honor all shall serve + That thou bestow'st on me. + + All that exceptions save I lose; + All that I lose I save; + The treasures of thy love I choose, + And Thou art all I crave. + My God, thou hast my heart and hand; + I all to thee resign; + I'll ever to this covenant stand, + Though flesh hereat repine. + + I know that Thou wast willing first, + And then drew my consent; + Having thus loved me at the worst + Thou wilt not now repent. + Now I have quit all self-pretense, + Take charge of what's thine own: + My life, my health, and my defense, + Now lie on thee alone. + + --Richard Baxter. + + +THE LAST WISH + + To do or not to do; to have + Or not to have, I leave to thee; + To be or not to be I leave; + Thy only will be done in me. + All my requests are lost in one: + Father, thy only will be done. + + Suffice that, for the season past, + Myself in things divine I sought, + For comforts cried with eager haste, + And murmured that I found them not. + I leave it now to Thee alone: + Father, thy only will be done. + + Thy gifts I clamor for no more, + Or selfishly thy grace require + An evil heart to varnish o'er; + Jesus, the Giver, I desire, + After the flesh no longer known: + Father, thy only will be done. + + Welcome alike the crown or cross; + Trouble I cannot ask, nor peace, + Nor toil, nor rest, nor gain, nor loss, + Nor joy, nor grief, nor pain, nor ease, + Nor life, nor death, but ever groan, + Father, thy only will be done. + + --Charles Wesley. + + +MORNING HYMN + + O God! I thank thee for each sight + Of beauty that thy hand doth give; + For sunny skies and air and light; + O God, I thank thee that I live! + + That life I consecrate to Thee; + And ever as the day is born, + On wings of joy my soul would flee + And thank thee for another morn; + + Another day in which to cast + Some silent deed of love abroad, + That, greatening as it journeys past, + May do some earnest work for God; + + Another day to do and dare; + To tax anew my growing strength; + To arm my soul with faith and prayer, + And so reach heaven and Thee at length. + + --Caroline Atherton Mason. + + +"INTO THY HANDS" + + Into Thy guiding hands; + Along a way thy love and care forefend + Gladly I fare, or rough or smooth may bend + The longest road that leads at life's far end + Into thy hands. + + Into thy chastening hands: + If e'er I yield to weakness or to sin, + Blind to the guerdon Thou dost bid me win, + Bring Thou me back, by Love's sweet discipline, + Into thy hands. + + Into Thy healing hands; + No hurt of soul or body long enthralls, + The bruiséd heart that for thy succor calls + When, far from doubting as from fear, it falls + Into thy hands. + + Into thy saving hands: + Despite assoil, infirmity, mistake, + My life a perfect whole thy power can make, + If Thou my shards of broken purpose take + Into thy hands. + + Into Thy keeping hands; + As safe as Heaven kept the guarded Grail-- + So safe, so pure, so compassed as with mail-- + The soul committed, e'en through Death's dark vale, + Into thy hands. + + Into thy loving hands; + Who made my heart to love made Thee my guest; + Who made the world to tire made thee my rest; + My joyful heart I give, at thy behest, + Into thy hands. + + --Louise Manning Hodgkins. + + +HERE AM I + + My will would like a life of ease, + And power to do, and time to rest, + And health and strength my will would please, + But, Lord, I know thy will is best. + + If I have strength to do thy will + That should be power enough for me, + Whether to work or to sit still + The appointment of the day may be. + + And if by sickness I may grow + More patient, holy and resigned, + Strong health I need not wish to know, + And greater ease I cannot find. + + And rest--I need not seek it here; + For perfect rest remaineth still; + When in thy presence we appear + Rest shall be given by thy will. + + Lord I have given my life to thee, + And every day and hour is thine; + What thou appointest let them be: + Thy will is better, Lord, than mine. + + --Anna B. Warner. + + +THE SACRIFICE OF THE WILL + + Laid on thine altar, O my Lord Divine, + Accept my will this day, for Jesus' sake; + I have no jewels to adorn thy shrine-- + Nor any world-proud sacrifice to make; + But here I bring within my trembling hand, + This will of mine--a thing that seemeth small, + And Thou alone, O God, canst understand + How, when I yield Thee this, I yield mine all. + Hidden therein, thy searching gaze can see + Struggles of passion--visions of delight-- + All that I love, and am, and fain would be, + Deep loves, fond hopes, and longings infinite. + It hath been wet with tears and dimmed with sighs, + Clinched in my grasp, till beauty hath it none-- + Now, from thy footstool where it vanquished lies, + The prayer ascendeth, "May thy will be done." + Take it, O Father, ere my courage fail, + And merge it so in thine own Will, that e'en + If, in some desperate hour, my cries prevail, + And thou give back my will, it may have been + So changed, so purified, so fair have grown, + So one with thee, so filled with peace divine, + I may not see nor know it as my own, + But, gaining back my will, may find it thine. + + + Manlike is it to fall into sin, + Fiendlike is it to dwell therein, + Christlike is it for sin to grieve, + Godlike is it all sin to leave. + + --Friedrich von Logau. + + +O GOD OF TRUTH + + O God of Truth, whose living word + Upholds whate'er hath breath, + Look down on thy creation, Lord, + Enslaved by sin and death. + + Set up thy standard, Lord, that they + Who claim a heavenly birth + May march with thee to smite the lies + That vex thy ransomed earth. + + Ah! would we join that blest array, + And follow in the might + Of Him, the Faithful and the True, + In raiment clean and white. + + _We_ fight for truth, _we_ fight for God-- + Poor slaves of lies and sin! + He who would fight for thee on earth + Must first be true within. + + Thou God of Truth for whom we long-- + Thou who wilt hear our prayer-- + Do thine own battle in our hearts; + And slay the falsehood there. + + Still smite! still burn! till naught is left + But God's own truth and love; + Then, Lord, as morning dew come down, + Rest on us from above. + + Yea, come! then, tried as in the fire, + From every lie set free, + Thy perfect truth shall dwell in us, + And we shall live in Thee. + + --Thomas Hughes. + + +GOD ONLY + + Lord, in the strength of grace, + With a glad heart and free, + Myself, my residue of days, + I consecrate to Thee. + + Thy ransomed servant, I + Restore to thee thine own; + And from this moment live or die + To serve my God alone. + + --Charles Wesley. + + + In full and glad surrender we give ourselves to thee, + Thine utterly and only and evermore to be! + O Son of God, who lovest us, we will be thine alone, + And all we are and all we have shall henceforth be thine own. + + --Frances Ridley Havergal. + + +GOD IS EVERYWHERE + + A little bird I am, + Shut from the fields of air; + And in my cage I sit and sing + To him who placed me there; + Well pleased a prisoner to be, + Because, my God, it pleaseth thee. + + Naught have I else to do; + I sing the whole day long; + And He whom most I love to please + Doth listen to my song; + He caught and bound my wandering wing, + But still he bends to hear me sing. + + My cage confines me round, + Abroad I cannot fly; + But though my wings are closely bound + My heart's at liberty. + My prison walls cannot control + The flight, the freedom of my soul. + + Oh, it is grand to soar + These bolts and bars above + To Him whose purpose I adore, + Whose providence I love! + And in thy mighty will to find + The joy, the freedom of the mind. + + --Madame Guyon. + + +A CONSECRATED LIFE + + Take my life and let it be + Consecrated, Lord, to thee. + Take my moments and my days; + Let them flow in ceaseless praise. + + Take my hands, and let them move + At the impulse of thy love. + Take my feet and let them be + Swift and "beautiful" for Thee. + + Take my voice, and let me sing + Always, only, for my King. + Take my lips, and let them be + Filled with messages from Thee. + + Take my silver and my gold; + Not a mite would I withhold. + Take my intellect, and use + Every power as Thou shalt choose. + + Take my will and make it Thine; + It shall be no longer mine. + Take my heart; it _is_ thine own; + It shall be thy royal throne. + + Take my love; my Lord, I pour + At thy feet its treasure-store. + Take myself, and I will be + Ever, _only_, ALL for Thee. + + --Frances Ridley Havergal. + + +UNION WITH GOD + + Strong are the walls around me, + That hold me all the day; + But they who thus have bound me + Cannot keep God away: + My very dungeon walls are dear, + Because the God I love is here. + + They know, who thus oppress me, + 'Tis hard to be alone; + But know not One can bless me + Who comes through bars and stone. + He makes my dungeon's darkness bright + And fills my bosom with delight. + + Thy love, O God! restores me + From sighs and tears to praise; + And deep my soul adores thee + Nor thinks of time or place: + I ask no more, in good or ill, + But union with thy holy will. + + 'Tis that which makes my treasure, + 'Tis that which brings my gain; + Converting woe to pleasure. + And reaping joy from pain. + Oh, 'tis enough, whate'er befall, + To know that God is All in All. + + --Madame Guyon. + + +DEDICATED + + O Lord, thy heavenly grace impart, + And fix my frail, inconstant heart; + Henceforth my chief desire shall be + To dedicate myself to thee. + + Whate'er pursuits my time employ, + One thought shall fill my soul with joy: + That silent, secret thought shall be + That all my hopes are fixed on thee. + + Thy glorious eye pervadeth space; + Thy presence, Lord, fills every place; + And wheresoe'er my lot may be + Still shall my spirit cleave to thee. + + Renouncing every worldly thing, + And safe beneath thy spreading wing, + My sweetest thought henceforth shall be + That all I want I find in thee. + + --Jean F. Oberlin. + + +LEAVING ALL + + Jesus, I my cross have taken, + All to leave and follow thee; + Naked, poor, despised, forsaken, + Thou, from hence, my all shalt be: + Perish every fond ambition, + All I've sought, and hoped, and known; + Yet how rich is my condition, + God and heaven are still my own! + + Let the world despise and leave me, + They have left my Saviour too; + Human hearts and looks deceive me; + Thou art not, like man, untrue; + And while thou shalt smile upon me, + God of wisdom, love, and might, + Foes may hate, and friends may shun me; + Show thy face, and all is bright. + + Go, then, earthly fame and treasure! + Come, disaster, scorn, and pain! + In Thy service, pain is pleasure; + With thy favor, loss is gain. + I have called thee, "Abba, Father"; + I have stayed my heart on thee: + Storms may howl, and clouds may gather, + All must work for good to me. + + Man may trouble and distress me, + 'Twill but drive me to Thy breast; + Life with trials hard may press me, + Heaven will bring me sweeter rest. + O 'tis not in grief to harm me, + While thy love is left to me; + O 'twere not in joy to charm me, + Were that joy unmixed with thee. + + Know, my soul, thy full salvation; + Rise o'er sin, and fear, and care; + Joy to find in every station + Something still to do or bear. + Think what Spirit dwells within thee; + What a Father's smile is thine; + What a Saviour died to win thee: + Child of heaven, shouldst thou repine? + + Haste thee on from grace to glory, + Armed by faith, and winged by prayer; + Heaven's eternal day's before thee, + God's own hand shall guide thee there. + Soon shall close thy earthly mission, + Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days, + Hope shall change to glad fruition, + Faith to sight, and prayer to praise. + + --Henry F. Lyte. + + +CHOOSE THOU + + Thy way, not mine, O Lord! + However dark it be; + Lead me by Thine own hand, + Choose out the path for me. + + Smooth let it be, or rough, + It will be still the best; + Winding or straight it matters not, + It leads me to Thy rest. + + I dare not choose my lot, + I would not if I might; + Choose Thou for me, O God! + So shall I walk aright. + + The kingdom that I seek + Is Thine; so let the way + That leads to it be thine + Else I must surely stray. + + Take Thou my cup, and it + With joy or sorrow fill; + As best to Thee may seem; + Choose Thou my good or ill. + + Choose Thou for me my friends + My sickness or my health; + Choose thou my cares for me, + My poverty or wealth. + + Not mine, not mine the choice + In things or great or small; + Be Thou my guide, my strength, + My wisdom and my all. + + --Horatius Bonar. + + +ONLY TO-DAY + + Only to-day is mine, + And that I owe to Thee; + Help me to make it thine; + As pure as it may be; + Let it see something done, + Let it see something won, + Then at the setting sun + I'll give it back to thee. + + What if I cannot tell + The cares the day may bring? + I know that I shall dwell + Beneath Thy sheltering wing; + And there the load is light; + And there the dark is bright, + And weakness turns to might, + And so I trust and sing. + + What shall I ask to-day? + Naught but Thine own sweet will; + The windings of the way + Lead to thy holy hill; + And whether here or there + Why should I fear or care? + Thy heavens are everywhere, + And they are o'er me still. + + Give me Thyself to-day, + I dare not walk alone; + Speak to me by the way, + And "all things are my own"; + The treasures of thy grace, + The secret hiding place, + The vision of thy face, + The shadow of thy throne! + + --Henry Burton. + + +THE OFFERING + + No more my own, Lord Jesus, + Bought with thy precious blood, + I give thee but thine own, Lord, + That long thy love withstood. + + I give the life thou gavest, + My present, future, past; + My joys, my fears, my sorrows, + My first hope and my last. + + I give thee up my weakness + That oft distrust hath bred, + That thy indwelling power + May thus be perfected. + + I give the love the sweetest + Thy goodness grants to me; + Take it, and make it meet, Lord, + For offering to thee. + + Smile, and the very shadows + In thy blest light shall shine; + Take thou my heart, Lord Jesus, + For thou hast made it thine. + + Thou knowest my soul's ambition, + For thou hast changed its aim + (The world's reproach I fear not) + To share a Saviour's shame. + + Outside the camp to suffer; + Within the veil to meet, + And hear Thy softest whisper + From out the mercy-seat. + + Thou bear'st me in thy bosom, + Amidst thy jewels worn, + Upon thy hands deep graven + By arms of love upborne. + + Rescued from sin's destruction, + Ransomed from death and hell; + Complete in Thee, Lord Jesus: + Thou hast done all things well. + + Oh, deathless love that bought me! + Oh, price beyond my ken! + Oh, Life that hides my own life + E'en from my fellow-men! + + Now fashion, form and fill me + With light and love divine; + So, one with Thee, Lord Jesus, + I'm thine--forever thine! + + +I IN THEE AND THOU IN ME + + I am but clay in thy hands, but Thou art the all-loving artist; + Passive I lie in thy sight, yet in my self-hood I strive + So to embody the life and the love thou ever impartest, + That in my sphere of the finite I may be truly alive. + + Knowing Thou needest this form, as I thy divine inspiration, + Knowing thou shapest the clay with a vision and purpose divine, + So would I answer each touch of thy hand in its loving creation, + That in my conscious life thy power and beauty may shine. + + Reflecting the noble intent Thou hast in forming thy creatures; + Waking from sense into life of the soul, and the image of thee; + Working with thee in thy work to model humanity's features + Into the likeness of God, myself from myself I would free. + + One with all human existence, no one above or below me; + Lit by Thy wisdom and love, as roses are steeped in the morn; + Growing from clay to a statue, from statue to flesh, till thou know me + Wrought into manhood celestial, and in thine image reborn. + + So in thy love will I trust, bringing me sooner or later + Past the dark screen that divides these shows of the finite from + Thee. + Thine, thine only, this warm dear life, O loving Creator! + Thine the invisible future, born of the present, must be. + + --Christopher Pearse Cranch. + + +ON THEE MY HEART IS RESTING + + On Thee my heart is resting: + Ah! this is rest indeed! + What else, Almighty Saviour, + Can a poor sinner need? + Thy light is all my wisdom, + Thy love is all my stay; + Our Father's home in glory + Draws nearer every day. + + Great is my guilt, but greater + The mercy Thou dost give; + Thyself, a spotless offering, + Hast died that I should live. + With Thee my soul unfettered + Has risen from the dust; + Thy blood is all my treasure; + Thy word is all my trust. + + Through me, thou gentle Master, + Thy purposes fulfill: + I yield myself forever + To thy most holy will. + What though I be but weakness + My strength is not in me; + The poorest of thy people + Has all things, having Thee. + + When clouds are darkest round me, + Thou, Lord, art then most near, + My drooping faith to quicken, + My weary soul to cheer. + Safe nestling in thy bosom, + I gaze upon thy face. + In vain my foes would drive me + From Thee, my hiding-place. + + 'Tis Thou hast made me happy; + 'Tis thou hast set me free. + To whom shall I give glory + Forever but to Thee! + Of earthly love and blessing + Should every stream run dry, + Thy grace shall still be with me-- + Thy grace to live and die! + + --Theodore Monod. + + +WHOM HAVE I IN HEAVEN BUT THEE? + + I love, and have some cause to love, the earth; + She is my Maker's creature, therefore good; + She is my mother, for she gave me birth; + She is my tender nurse, she gives me food; + But what's a creature, Lord, compared with Thee? + Or what's my mother or my nurse to me? + + The highest honors that the world can boast + Are subjects far too low for my desire; + The brightest beams of glory are, at most, + But dying sparkles of thy living fire; + The proudest flames that earth can kindle be + But nightly glowworms if compared to Thee. + + Without thy presence, wealth are bags of cares; + Wisdom, but folly; joy, disquiet, sadness; + Friendship is treason, and delights are snares; + Pleasure's but pain, and mirth but pleasing madness: + Without Thee, Lord, things be not what they be, + Nor have their being when compared with Thee. + + In having all things, and not Thee, what have I? + Not having Thee, what have my labors got? + Let me enjoy but Thee, what further crave I? + And having Thee alone, what have I not? + I wish nor sea nor land; nor would I be + Possess'd of heaven, heaven unpossess'd of thee. + + --Francis Quarles. + + + Only for Jesus! Lord, keep it ever + Sealed on the heart, and engraved on the life; + Pulse of all gladness, and nerve of endeavor, + Secret of rest and the strength of our strife. + + --Frances Ridley Havergal. + + +SINCE FIRST THY WORD AWAKED MY HEART + + Since first thy word awaked my heart, + Like new life dawning o'er me, + Where'er I turn my eyes, Thou art + All light and love before me. + Nought else I feel or hear or see, + All bonds of earth I sever, + Thee, O God, and only thee, + I live for now and ever. + + Like him whose fetters dropped away + When light shone o'er his prison, + My spirit, touched by mercy's ray, + Hath from her chains arisen. + And shall a soul Thou bid'st be free + Return to bondage? Never! + Thee, O God, and only thee, + I live for now and ever. + + --Thomas Moore. + + +WE GIVE ALL + + And now we only ask to serve, + We do not ask to rest; + We would give all without reserve, + Our life, our love, our best. + + We only ask to see His face, + It is enough for us; + We only ask the lowest place, + So he may smile on us. + + --Mary E. Townsend. + + +THE TWO WORLDS + + Unveil, O Lord, and on us shine + In glory and in grace; + The gaudy world grows pale before + The beauty of thy face. + + Till Thou art seen, it seems to be + A sort of fairy ground, + Where suns unsetting light the sky, + And flowers and fruits abound, + + But when Thy keener, purer beam + Is poured upon our sight, + It loses all its power to charm, + And what was day is night. + + Its noblest toils are then the scourge + Which made Thy blood to flow; + Its joys are but the treacherous thorns + Which circled round thy brow. + + And thus, when we renounce for Thee + Its restless aims and fears, + The tender memories of the past, + The hopes of coming years, + + Poor is our sacrifice, whose eyes + Are lighted from above; + We offer what we cannot keep, + What we have ceased to love. + + --John Henry Newman. + + +SELF-SURRENDER + + Saviour, who died for me, + I give myself to thee; + Thy love, so full, so free, + Claims all my powers. + Be this my purpose high, + To serve Thee till I die, + Whether my path shall lie + 'Mid thorns or flowers. + + But, Lord, the flesh is weak; + Thy gracious aid I seek, + For thou the word must speak + That makes me strong. + Then let me hear thy voice, + Thou art my only choice; + O bid my heart rejoice; + Be thou my song. + + May it be joy to me + To follow only Thee; + Thy faithful servant be, + Thine to the end. + For Thee I'll do and dare, + For thee the cross I'll bear, + To thee direct my prayer, + On thee depend. + + Saviour, with me abide; + Be ever near my side; + Support, defend, and guide. + I look to thee. + I lay my hand in thine, + And fleeting joys resign, + If I may call thee mine + Eternally. + + --Mary J. Mason. + + + For all the sins that cling to thee + Let wide the gates of pardon be; + But hope not thou shalt smuggle through + The little sin thou clingest to. + + --F. Langbridge. + + +GOD ALONE LOVED + + Do I not love thee, Lord most high, + In answer to thy love for me! + I seek no other liberty + But that of being bound to Thee. + + May memory no thought suggest + But shall to thy pure glory tend; + May understanding find no rest + Except in Thee, its only end. + + My God, I here protest to Thee + No other will I have than thine; + Whatever thou hast given me + I here again to Thee resign. + + All mine is thine, say but the word; + Whate'er Thou willest--be it done; + I know thy love, all-gracious Lord-- + I know it seeks my good alone. + + Apart from Thee all things are naught; + Then grant, O my supremest bliss! + Grant me to love Thee as I ought; + Thou givest all in giving this. + + --Ignatius Loyola, tr. by Edward Caswall. + + +THE ACQUIESCENCE OF PURE LOVE + + To me 'tis equal whether love ordain + My life or death, appoint me pain or ease + My soul perceives no real ill in pain, + In ease or health no real good she sees. + + One good she covets, and that good alone, + To choose thy will, from selfish bias free; + And to prefer a cottage to a throne, + And grief to comfort, if it pleases Thee. + + That we should bear the cross is Thy command, + Die to the world and live to self no more; + Suffer unmoved beneath the rudest hand + When shipwrecked pleased as when upon the shore. + + --Madame Guyon, tr. by William Cowper. + + + I preached as never sure to preach again, + And as a dying man to dying men. + + --Richard Baxter. + + +PRESSING TOWARD THE MARK + + Thee will I love, my strength and tower, + Thee will I love, my joy and crown, + Thee will I love with all my power, + In all my works, and Thee alone. + Thee will I love, till that pure fire + Fills my whole soul with strong desire. + + Give to mine eyes refreshing tears; + Give to my heart chaste, hallowed fires; + Give to my soul, with filial fears + The love that all heaven's host inspires; + That all my powers, with all their might, + In thy sole glory may unite. + + Thee will I love, my joy, my crown, + Thee will I love, my Lord, my God; + Thee will I love beneath thy frown + Or smile, thy scepter or thy rod; + What though my head and flesh decay? + Thee shall I love in endless day. + + --Johann A. Scheffler, tr. by John Wesley. + + +DWELL DEEP + + Dwell deep! The little things that chafe and fret, + O waste not golden hours to give them heed! + The slight, the thoughtless wrong, do thou forget, + Be self-forgot in serving others' need. + Thou faith in God through love for man shalt keep. + Dwell deep, my soul, dwell deep. + + Dwell deep! Forego the pleasure if it bring + Neglect of duty; consecrate each thought; + Believe thou in the good of everything, + And trust that all unto the wisest end is wrought. + Bring thou this comfort unto all who weep: + Dwell deep, my soul, dwell deep. + + --James Buckham. + + + Out from thyself, thyself depart; + God then shall fill thine empty heart; + Cast from thy soul life's selfish dream-- + In flows the Godhead's living stream. + + --Scheffler, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + + + +PEACE + +REST, CALM, STILLNESS + + +THE PEACE OF GOD + + When winds are raging o'er the upper ocean, + And billows wild contend with angry roar, + 'Tis said, far down beneath the wild commotion, + That peaceful stillness reigneth evermore. + + Far, far beneath the noise of tempest dieth, + And silver waves chime ever peacefully; + And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er he flieth, + Disturbs the Sabbath of that deeper sea. + + So to the soul that knows thy love, O Purest, + There is a temple peaceful evermore. + And all the babble of life's angry voices + Dies hushed in stillness at its sacred door. + + Far, far away the noise of passion dieth, + And loving thoughts rise ever peacefully; + And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er he flieth, + Disturbs that deeper rest, O Lord, in thee. + + O rest of rest! O peace serene, eternal! + Thou ever livest, and thou changest never; + And in the secret of thy presence dwelleth + Fullness of joy, forever and forever. + + --Harriet Beecher Stowe. + + + Life's burdens fall, its discords cease, + I lapse into the glad release + Of Nature's own exceeding peace. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +BE STILL + + Let nothing make thee sad or fretful, + Or too regretful; + Be still. + What God hath ordered must be right; + Then find in it thy own delight, + My will! + + Why shouldst thou fill to-day with sorrow + About to-morrow, + My heart? + God watcheth all with care most true; + Doubt not that he will give thee too + Thy part. + + --Paul Fleming. + + +SIT STILL + +(Ruth 3. 18.) + + Sit still, my child. 'Tis no great thing I ask, + No glorious deed, no mighty task; + But just to sit and patiently abide. + Wait in my presence, in my word confide, + + "But oh! dear Lord, I long the sword to wield, + Forward to go, and in the battle field + To fight for thee, thine enemies o'erthrow, + And in thy strength to vanquish every foe. + + "The harvest-fields spread out before me lie, + The reapers toward me look, and vainly cry-- + 'The field is white, the laborers are few; + Our Lord's command is also sent to you,'" + + My child, it is a sweet and blessed thing + To rest beneath the shadow of my wing; + To feel thy doings and thy words are naught, + To trust to me each restless, longing thought. + + "Dear Lord, help me this lesson sweet to learn, + To sit at thy pierced feet and only yearn + To love thee better, Lord, and feel that still + Waiting is working, if it be thy will." + + +THE QUIET MIND + + I have a treasure which I prize; + The like I cannot find; + There's nothing like it in the earth: + It is a quiet mind. + + But 'tis not that I'm stupefied, + Or senseless, dull, or blind: + 'Tis God's own peace within my soul + Which forms my quiet mind. + + I found this treasure at the Cross. + 'Tis there to every kind + Of heavy-laden, weary souls + Christ gives a quiet mind. + + My Saviour's death and risen life + To give this were designed; + And that's the root and that's the branch, + Of this my quiet mind. + + The love of God within my heart + My heart to his doth bind; + This is the mind of heaven on earth; + This is my quiet mind. + + I've many a cross to take up now, + And many left behind; + But present trials move me not, + Nor shake my quiet mind. + + And what may be to-morrow's cross + I never seek to find; + My Saviour says, Leave that to Me, + And keep a quiet mind. + + And well I know the Lord hath said, + To make my heart resigned, + That mercy still shall follow such + As have this quiet mind. + + I meet with pride of wit and wealth, + And scorn and looks unkind, + It matters naught: I envy not, + For I've a quiet mind. + + I'm waiting now to see the Lord, + Who's been to me so kind: + I want to thank him face to face + For this my quiet mind. + + +MY HEART IS RESTING + + My heart is resting, O my God; + I will give thanks and sing: + My heart is at the secret source + Of every precious thing. + + Now the frail vessel Thou hast made + No hand but thine shall fill-- + The waters of the earth have failed, + And I am thirsty still. + + I thirst for springs of heavenly life, + And here all day they rise; + I seek the treasure of Thy love, + And close at hand it lies. + + And a "new song" is in my mouth, + To long-loved music set-- + Glory to Thee for all the grace + I have not tasted yet. + + I have a heritage of joy + That yet I must not see; + The hand that bled to make it mine + Is keeping it for me. + + There is a certainty of love + That sets my heart at rest; + A calm assurance for to-day + That to be poor is best! + + A prayer reposing on His truth, + Who hath made all things mine; + That draws my captive will to him, + And makes it one with thine. + + --Anna Letitia Waring. + + +KEPT IN PERFECT PEACE + + Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin? + The voice of Jesus whispers Peace within. + + Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed? + To do the will of Jesus, this is rest. + + Peace, perfect peace, with sorrow surging round? + On Jesus' bosom naught but rest is found. + + Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away? + In Jesus' keeping we are safe, and they. + + Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown? + Jesus we know, and he is on the throne. + + Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours? + Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers. + + It is enough: earth's struggles now do cease, + And Jesus calls us to heaven's perfect peace. + + --Edward Henry Bickersteth. + + +PERFECT PEACE + + Like a river glorious is God's perfect peace; + Over all victorious in its bright increase; + Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day, + Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way. + + Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand, + Never foe can follow, never traitor stand; + Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care, + Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there. + + Every joy or trial falleth from above, + Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love, + We may trust him fully, all for us to do; + They who trust him wholly find him wholly true. + + --Frances Ridley Havergal. + + +ABIDING + + In heavenly love abiding, + No change my heart shall fear + And safe is such confiding, + For nothing changes here. + The storm may roar without me, + My heart may low be laid, + But God is round about me, + And can I be dismayed? + + Whenever he may guide me, + No want shall turn me back; + My Shepherd is beside me, + And nothing can I lack. + His wisdom ever waketh, + His sight is never dim, + He knows the way he taketh, + And I will walk with him. + + Green pastures are before me, + Which yet I have not seen; + Bright skies will soon be o'er me + Where darkest clouds have been. + My hope I cannot measure, + My path to life is free, + My Saviour has my treasure, + And he will walk with me. + + --Anna Letitia Waring. + + +CALM + + I stand upon the Mount of God + With sunlight in my soul; + I hear the storms in vales beneath, + I hear the thunders roll. + + But I am calm with thee, my God, + Beneath these glorious skies; + And to the height on which I stand, + No storms, nor clouds, can rise. + + O, THIS is life! O, this is joy! + My God, to find thee so; + Thy face to see, thy voice to hear, + And all thy love to know. + + --Horatius Bonar. + + +DIVINE PEACE + + Peace upon peace, like wave upon wave, + This the portion that I crave; + The peace of God which passeth thought, + The peace of Christ which changeth not. + + Peace like the river's gentle flow, + Peace like the morning's silent glow, + From day to day, in love supplied, + An endless and unebbing tide. + + Peace flowing on without decrease, + From him who is our joy and peace, + Who, by his reconciling blood, + Hath made the sinner's peace with God. + + Peace through the night and through the day, + Peace through the windings of our way; + In pain, and toil, and weariness, + A deep and everlasting peace. + + O King of peace, this peace bestow + Upon a stranger here below; + O God of peace, thy peace impart, + To every sad and troubled heart. + + Peace from the Father and the Son, + Peace from the Spirit, all his own; + Peace that shall never more be lost, + Of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. + + --Horatius Bonar. + + +A QUIET HEART + + Quiet, Lord, my froward heart: + Make me teachable and mild; + Upright, simple, free from art; + Make me as a weanèd child, + From distrust and envy free, + Pleased with all that pleaseth thee. + + What thou shalt to-day provide + Let me as a child receive; + What to-morrow may betide + Calmly to thy wisdom leave. + 'Tis enough that thou wilt care: + Why should I the burthen bear? + + As a little child relies + On a care beyond his own; + Knows he's neither strong nor wise, + Fears to stir a step alone; + Let me thus with thee abide, + As my Father, Guard and Guide. + + --John Newton. + + +REST WHERE YOU ARE + + When, spurred by tasks unceasing or undone, + You would seek rest afar, + And can not, though repose be rightly won-- + Rest where you are. + + Neglect the needless; sanctify the rest; + Move without stress or jar; + With quiet of a spirit self-possessed + Rest where you are. + + Not in event, restriction, or release, + Not in scenes near or far, + But in ourselves are restlessness or peace, + Rest where you are. + + Where lives the soul lives God; his day, his world, + No phantom mists need mar; + His starry nights are tents of peace unfurled: + Rest where you are. + + +BE ALL AT REST + + Be all at rest, my soul toward God; from him comes my salvation. + Psa. 62. 1. + + "Be all at rest, my soul." Oh! blessed secret + Of the true life that glorifies thy Lord: + Not always doth the busiest soul best serve him, + But he who resteth on his faithful word. + + "Be all at rest."--"let not your heart be rippled," + For tiny wavelets mar the image fair + Which the still pool reflects of heaven's glory-- + And thus the Image he would have you bear. + + "Be all at rest,"--for rest is highest service; + To the still heart God doth his secrets tell: + Thus shall thou learn to wait, and watch, and labor, + Strengthened to bear, since Christ in thee doth dwell. + + For what is service but the life of Jesus + Lived through a vessel of earth's fragile clay; + Loving and giving; poured forth for others; + "A living sacrifice" from day to day? + + And what shall meet the deep unrest around thee + But the calm peace of God that filled his breast? + For still a living voice must call the weary + To him who said, "Come unto me and rest." + + Therefore "be all at rest, my soul," toward him, + If thou a revelation of the Lord would'st be; + For in the quiet confidence that never doubts him, + Others his truth and faithfulness shall see. + + "Be all at rest," for rest alone becometh + The soul that casts on him its every care; + "Be all at rest"--so shall thy life proclaim him + A God who worketh and who heareth prayer. + + "Be all at rest"--so shalt thou be an answer + To those who question, "Who is God, and where?" + For God is rest, and where he dwells is stillness, + And they who dwell in him that rest shall share. + + --Freda Hanbury Allen. + + +REST + + Sweet is the pleasure + Itself cannot spoil! + Is not true leisure + One with true toil? + + Thou that wouldst taste it, + Still do thy best; + Use it, not waste it, + Else 'tis no rest. + + Wouldst behold beauty + Near thee all round? + Only hath duty + Such a sight found. + + Rest is not quitting + The busy career; + Rest is the fitting + Of self to its sphere. + + 'Tis the brook's motion, + Clear without strife, + Fleeing to ocean + After its life. + + Deeper devotion + Nowhere hath knelt; + Fuller emotion + Heart never felt. + + 'Tis loving and serving + The Highest and Best! + 'Tis onwards, unswerving, + And that is true rest. + + --John Sullivan Dwight. + + + There is peace in power; the men who speak + With the loudest tongues do least; + And the surest sign of a mind that is weak + Is its want of the power to rest. + + --John Boyle O'Reilly. + + +EQUANIMITY + + Tost on a sea of troubles, Soul, my Soul, + Thyself do thou control; + And to the weapons of advancing foes + A stubborn breast oppose: + Undaunted 'mid the hostile might + Of squadrons burning for the fight + Thine be no boasting when the victor's crown + Wins thee deserved renown; + Thine no dejected sorrow, when defeat + Would urge a base retreat; + Rejoice in joyous things--nor overmuch + Let grief thy bosom touch + 'Midst evil, and still bear in mind + How changeful are the ways of humankind. + + --Archilochos, tr. by William Hay. + + +GOD'S PEACE + + Grant us Thy peace, down from thy presence falling, + As on the thirsty earth cool night-dews sweet; + Grant us thy peace, to thy pure paths recalling, + From devious ways, our worn and wandering feet. + + Grant us Thy peace, through winning and through losing, + Through gloom and gladness of our pilgrim way; + Grant us thy peace, safe in thy love's enclosing, + Thou who all things in heaven and earth dost sway. + + Give us Thy peace, not as the world has given, + In momentary rays that fitful gleamed, + But calm, deep, sure, the peace of spirits shriven, + Of hearts surrendered and of souls redeemed. + + Grant us thy peace, that like a deepening river + Swells ever outward to the sea of praise. + O thou of peace the only Lord and Giver, + Grant us thy peace, O Saviour, all our days. + + --Eliza Scudder. + + +THE INNER CALM + + Calm me, my God, and keep me calm, + While these hot breezes blow; + Be like the night-dew's cooling balm + Upon earth's fevered brow. + + Calm me, my God, and keep me calm, + Soft resting on thy breast; + Soothe me with holy hymn and psalm + And bid my spirit rest. + + Yes, keep me calm, though loud and rude + The sounds my ear that greet; + Calm in the closet's solitude, + Calm in the bustling street; + + Calm in the hour of buoyant health, + Calm in my hour of pain, + Calm in my poverty or wealth, + Calm in my loss or gain; + + Calm when the great world's news with power + My listening spirit stir; + Let not the tidings of the hour + E'er find too fond an ear; + + Calm as the ray of sun or star + Which storms assail in vain; + Moving unruffled through earth's war, + The eternal calm to gain. + + --Horatius Bonar. + + + Father, take not away + The burden of the day, + But help me that I bear it + As Christ his burden bore + When cross and thorn he wore + And none with him could share it; + In his name help I pray! + + I only ask for grace + To see that patient face + And my impatient one; + Ask that mine grow like His-- + Sign of an inward peace + From trust in thee alone, + Unchanged by time or place. + + + And they who do their souls no wrong, + But keep at eve the faith of morn, + Shall daily hear the angel-song, + To-day the Prince of Peace is born. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + Drop thy still dews of quietness, + Till all our strivings cease; + Take from our souls the strain and stress, + And let our ordered lives confess + The beauty of thy peace. + + Breathe through the heats of our desire + Thy coolness and thy balm; + Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire; + Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire, + O still, small voice of calm! + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + As flows the river calm and deep. + In silence toward the sea, + So floweth ever, and ceaseth never, + The love of God to me. + + What peace He bringeth to my heart, + Deep as the soundless sea; + How sweetly singeth the soul that clingeth, + My loving Lord, to thee. + + + He fails never. + If He cannot work by us He will work through us. + Let our souls be calm. + We should be ashamed to sit beneath those stars, + Impatient that we're nothing. + Get work, get work; be sure 'tis better + Than what you work to get. + + --Elizabeth Barrett Browning. + + + Calm Soul of all things, make it mine + To feel amid the city's jar, + That there abides a peace of thine + Man did not make and cannot mar. + The will to neither strive nor cry, + The power to feel with others give; + Calm, calm me more, nor let me die + Before I have begun to live. + + --Matthew Arnold. + + + What secret trouble stirs thy heart? + Why all this fret and flurry? + Dost thou not know that what is best + In this too restless world is rest + From over-work and hurry? + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + We bless thee for thy peace, O God, + Deep as the boundless sea, + It falls like sunshine on the road, + Of those who trust in thee; + That peace which suffers and is strong, + Trusts where it cannot see: + Deems not the trial way too long, + But leaves the end with thee. + + + Be calm in arguing: for fierceness makes + Error a fault, and truth discourtesy. + Why should I feel another man's mistakes + More than his sicknesses or poverty? + In love I should; but anger is not love, + Nor wisdom, neither; therefore gently move. + + --George Herbert. + + + Why fret thee, soul, + For things beyond thy small control? + But do thy part, and thou shalt see + Heaven will have charge of them and thee. + Sow then thy seed, and wait in peace + The Lord's increase. + + + What is the use of worrying + And flurrying and scurrying + And breaking up one's rest; + When all the world is teaching us + And praying and beseeching us + That quiet ways are best. + + + I feel within me + A peace above all earthly dignities + A still and quiet conscience. + + --William Shakespeare. + + + The stormy blast is strong, but mightier still + The calm that binds the storm beneath its peaceful will. + + --John Sterling. + + + As running water cleanseth bodies dropped therein + So heavenly truth doth cleanse the secret heart from sin. + + --From the Sanskrit, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + + From our ill-ordered hearts we oft are fain to roam, + As men go forth who find unquietness at home. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + + A mind from every evil thought set free + I count the noblest gift of Deity. + + --Æschylus, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + + A stone makes not great rivers turbid grow; + When saints are vexed their shallowness they show. + + --Saadi. + + + Yes, Lord, one great eternal yes + To all my Lord shall say; + To what I know, or yet shall know, + In all the untried way. + + + Good striving + Brings thriving. + Better a dog who works + Than a lion who shirks. + + --From the Persian. + + + + +HUMILITY + +MEEKNESS, WEAKNESS, SELFLESSNESS + + +A LAST PRAYER + + Father, I scarcely dare to pray, + So clear I see, now it is done, + That I have wasted half my day + And left my work but just begun. + + So clear I see that things I thought + Were right, or harmless, were a sin; + So clear I see that I have sought + Unconscious, selfish aims to win; + + So clear I see that I have hurt + The souls I might have helped to save; + That I have slothful been, inert, + Deaf to the calls Thy leaders gave. + + In outskirts of thy kingdom vast, + Father, the humblest spot give me; + Set me the lowliest task thou hast; + Let me, repentant, work for thee. + + --Helen Hunt Jackson. + + +A LOWLY HEART + + Thy home is with the humble, Lord! + The simplest are the best, + Thy lodging is in childlike hearts: + Thou makest there thy rest. + + Dear Comforter! Eternal Love! + If thou wilt stay with me, + Of lowly thoughts and simple ways + I'll build a house for thee. + + Who made this beating heart of mine + But Thou, my heavenly guest? + Let no one have it, then, but thee, + And let it be thy rest. + + --Lyra Catholica. + + + Before the eyes of men let duly shine thy light, + But ever let thy life's best part be out of sight. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + +KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM + +I. + + The Man who Loved the Names of Things + Went forth beneath the skies + And named all things that he beheld, + And people called him wise. + An unseen presence walked with him + Forever by his side, + The wedded mistress of his soul-- + For Knowledge was his bride; + She named the flowers, the weeds, the trees, + And all the growths of all the seas. + + She told him all the rocks by name, + The winds and whence they blew; + She told him how the seas were formed, + And how the mountains grew. + She numbered all the stars for him; + And all the rounded skies + Were mapped and charted for the gaze + Of his devouring eyes. + Thus, taught by her, he taught the crowd; + They praised--and he was very proud. + +II. + + The Man who Loved the Soul of Things + Went forth serene and glad, + And mused upon the mighty world, + And people called him mad. + An unseen presence walked with him + Forever by his side, + The wedded mistress of his soul-- + For Wisdom was his bride. + She showed him all this mighty frame, + And bade him feel--but named no name. + + She stood with him upon the hills + Ringed by the azure sky, + And shamed his lowly thought with stars + And bade it climb as high. + And all the birds he could not name, + The nameless stars that roll, + The unnamed blossoms at his feet + Talked with him soul to soul; + He heard the Nameless Glory speak + In silence--and was very meek. + + --Sam Walter Foss. + + +THE INQUIRY + + I wonder if ever a song was sung but the singer's heart sang sweeter! + I wonder if ever a rhyme was rung but the thought surpassed the meter! + I wonder if ever a sculptor wrought till the cold stone echoed his + ardent thought! + Or if ever the painter with light and shade the dream of his inmost + heart portrayed! + + I wonder if ever a rose was found and there might not be a fairer! + Or if ever a glittering gem was ground and we dreamed not of a rarer! + Ah! never on earth do we find the best; but it waits for us in the land + of rest, + And a perfect thing we shall never behold till we pass the portals of + shining gold. + + +A SONG OF LOW DEGREE + + He that is down need fear no fall; + He that is low, no pride; + He that is humble ever shall + Have God to be his guide. + + I am content with what I have, + Little be it, or much; + And, Lord, contentment still I crave, + Because thou savest such. + + Fullness to such a burden is + That go on pilgrimage; + Here little, and hereafter bliss, + Is best from age to age. + + --John Bunyan. + + +NOT YET PREPARED + + O thou unpolished shaft, why leave the quiver? + O thou blunt axe, what forests canst thou hew? + Untempered sword, canst thou the oppressed deliver? + Go back to thine own maker's forge anew. + + Submit thyself to God for preparation, + Seek not to teach thy Master and thy Lord; + Call it not zeal; it is a base temptation. + Satan is pleased when man dictates to God. + + Down with thy pride! with holy vengeance trample + On each self-flattering fancy that appears; + Did not the Lord himself, for our example, + Lie hid in Nazareth for thirty years? + + +RECESSIONAL + + God of our fathers, known of old-- + Lord of our far-flung battle-line-- + Beneath whose awful hand we hold + Dominion over palm and pine-- + Lord God of hosts, be with us yet, + Lest we forget--lest we forget. + + The tumult and the shouting dies-- + The Captains and the Kings depart-- + Still stands thine ancient sacrifice, + An humble and a contrite heart. + Lord God of hosts, be with us yet, + Lest we forget--lest we forget. + + Far-called our navies melt away-- + On dune and headland sinks the fire-- + Lo, all our pomp of yesterday + Is one with Nineveh and Tyre. + Judge of the nations, spare us yet, + Lest we forget--lest we forget. + + If, drunk with sight of power, we loose + Wild tongues that have not thee in awe-- + Such boastings as the Gentiles use, + Or lesser breeds without the Law-- + Lord God of hosts, be with us yet, + Lest we forget--lest we forget. + + For heathen heart that puts her trust + In reeking tube and iron shard-- + All valiant dust that builds on dust, + And guarding calls not Thee to guard. + For frantic boast and foolish word, + Thy mercy on thy people, Lord. + + --Rudyard Kipling. + + + In humbleness, O Lord, I ask + That thou bestow on me + The will and strength to do some task + For growth of love for thee; + Some task, not of my chosen will-- + For wisdom is not mine-- + But let my frailsome life fulfill + Some perfect thought of thine. + + +I WILL NOT SEEK + + I cannot think but God must know + About the thing I long for so; + I know he is so good, so kind, + I cannot think but he will find + Some way to help, some way to show + Me to the thing I long for so. + + I stretch my hand; it lies so near, + It looks so sweet, it looks so dear, + "Dear Lord," I pray, "O let me know + If it is wrong to want it so!" + He only smiles, he does not speak; + My heart grows weaker and more weak + With looking at the thing so dear, + Which lies so far, and yet so near. + + Now, Lord, I leave at thy loved feet + This thing which looks so near, so sweet; + I will not seek, I will not long; + I almost fear I have been wrong; + I'll go, and work the harder, Lord, + And wait, till by some loud, clear word + Thou callest me to thy loved feet + To take this thing so dear, so sweet. + + --Saxe Holm. + + +TRIUMPHING IN OTHERS + + Others shall sing the song, + Others shall right the wrong, + Finish what I begin, + And all I fail of win. + + What matter, I or they, + Mine or another's day, + So the right word be said, + And life the sweeter made? + + Ring, bells in unreared steeples, + The joy of unborn peoples! + Sound, trumpets far-off blown, + Your triumph is my own. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + Pitch thy behaviour low, thy projects high; + So shalt thou humble and magnanimous be; + Sink not in spirit; who aimeth at the sky + Shoots higher much than he that means a tree. + A grain of glory mixed with humbleness + Cures both a fever and lethargickness. + + --George Herbert. + + +FOR DIVINE STRENGTH + + Father, in thy mysterious presence kneeling, + Fain would our souls feel all thy kindling love; + For we are weak and need some deep revealing + Of trust, and strength, and calmness from above. + + Lord, we have wandered far through doubt and sorrow, + And thou hast made each step an onward one; + And we will ever trust each unknown morrow-- + Thou wilt sustain us till its work is done. + + In the heart's depths a peace serene and holy + Abides; and when pain seems to have its will, + Or we despair, O may that peace rise slowly + Stronger than agony, and we be still! + + Now, Father, now, in thy dear presence kneeling, + Our spirits yearn to feel thy kindling love; + Now make us strong, we need thy deep revealing, + Of trust, and strength, and calmness from above. + + --Samuel Johnson. + + +WHEN I AM WEAK THEN AM I STRONG + + Half feeling our own weakness, + We place our hands in Thine-- + Knowing but half our darkness + We ask for light divine. + Then, when Thy strong arm holds us, + Our weakness most we feel, + And thy love and light around us + Our darkness must reveal. + + Too oft, when faithless doubtings + Around our spirits press, + We cry, "Can hands so feeble + Grasp such almightiness?" + While thus we doubt and tremble + Our hold still looser grows; + While on our darkness gazing + Vainly thy radiance glows. + + Oh, cheer us with Thy brightness, + And guide us by thy hand, + In thy light teach us light to see, + In thy strength strong to stand. + Then though our hands be feeble, + If they but touch thine arm, + Thy light and power shall lead us, + And keep us strong and calm. + + +A HUMBLE HEART + + I would not ask Thee that my days + Should flow quite smoothly on and on, + Lest I should learn to love the world + Too well, ere all my time was done. + + I would not ask Thee that my work + Should never bring me pain nor fear; + Lest I should learn to work alone, + And never wish thy presence near. + + I would not ask Thee that my friends + Should always kind and constant be; + Lest I should learn to lay my faith + In them alone, and not in thee. + + But I would ask a humble heart, + A changeless will to work and wake, + A firm faith in Thy providence, + The rest--'tis thine to give or take. + + --Alfred Norris. + + + Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, + Have ofttimes no connection. Knowledge dwells + In heads replete with thoughts of other men; + Wisdom in minds attentive to their own. + Knowledge, a rude, unprofitable mass, + The mere material with which Wisdom builds, + Till smoothed, and squared, and fitted to its place, + Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich. + Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much, + Wisdom is humble that he knows no more. + + --William Cowper. + + + Humble we must be if to heaven we go; + High is the roof there; but the gate is low. + + --Robert Herrick. + + +NOT MINE + + It is not mine to run, with eager feet, + Along life's crowded ways, my Lord to meet. + + It is not mine to pour the oil and wine + Or bring the purple robe and linen fine. + + It is not mine to break at his dear feet + The alabaster box of ointment sweet. + + It is not mine to bear his heavy cross, + Or suffer, for his sake, all pain and loss. + + It is not mine to walk through valleys dim, + Or climb far mountain heights alone with him. + + He hath no need of me in grand affairs, + Where fields are lost or crowns won unawares. + + Yet, Master, if I may make one pale flower + Bloom brighter, for thy sake, though one short hour; + + If I in harvest fields where strong ones reap, + May bind one golden sheaf for love to keep; + + May speak one quiet word when all is still, + Helping some fainting heart to bear thy will; + + Or sing some high, clear song on which may soar + Some glad soul heavenward, I ask no more. + + --Julia Caroline Ripley Dorr. + + + Christ wants the best. He in the far-off ages + Once claimed the firstling of the flock, the finest of the wheat; + And still he asks his own with gentlest pleading + To lay their highest hopes and brightest talents at his feet. + He'll not forget the feeblest service, humblest love; + He only asks that of our stores we give to him the best we have. + + +PRAISE DEPRECATED + + My sins and follies, Lord, by thee + From others hidden are, + That such good words are spoke of me + As now and then I hear; + For sure if others know me such, + Such as myself I know, + I should have been dispraised as much + As I am praisèd now. + + The praise, therefore, which I have heard, + Delights not so my mind, + As those things make my heart afeard + Which in myself I find; + And I had rather to be blamed, + So I were blameless made, + Than for much virtue to be famed + When I no virtues had. + + Though slanders to an innocent + Sometimes do bitter grow, + Their bitterness procures content, + If clear himself he know. + And when a virtuous man hath erred + If praised himself he hear, + It makes him grieve and more afeard + Than if he slandered were. + + Lord, therefore make my heart upright, + Whate'er my deeds do seem; + And righteous rather in thy sight, + Than in the world's esteem. + And if aught good appears to be + In any act of mine, + Let thankfulness be found in me, + And all the praise be thine. + + --George Wither (1588-1667). + + + One part, one little part, we dimly scan, + Through the dark medium of life's feverish dream; + Yet dare arraign the whole stupendous plan, + If but that little part incongruous seem. + Nor is that part, perhaps, what mortals deem, + Oft from apparent ill our blessings rise. + O then renounce that impious self-esteem + That aims to trace the secrets of the skies; + For thou art but of dust, be humble and be wise. + + --James Beattie. + + +HUMILITY + + O humble me! I cannot bide the joy + That in my Saviour's presence ever flows; + May I be lowly, lest it may destroy + The peace his childlike spirit ever knows. + I would not speak thy word, but by thee stand + While thou dost to thine erring children speak; + O help me but to keep his own command, + And in my strength to feel me ever weak; + Then in thy presence shall I humbly stay, + Nor lose the life of love he came to give; + And find at last the life, the truth, the way + To where with him thy blessed servants live; + And walk forever in the path of truth-- + A servant, yet a son; a sire and yet a youth. + + --Jones Very. + + +TURN FROM SELF + + This is the highest learning, + The hardest and the best-- + From self to keep still turning, + And honor all the rest. + + If one should break the letter, + Yea, spirit of command, + Think not that thou art better; + Thou may'st not always stand! + + We all are weak--but weaker + Hold no one than thou art; + Then, as thou growest meeker, + Higher will go thy heart. + + --George Macdonald. + + + In proud humility a pious man went through the field; + The ears of corn were bowing in the wind, as if they kneeled; + He struck them on the head, and modestly began to say, + "Unto the Lord, not unto me, such honors should you pay." + + --From the Persian. + + +MEEKNESS OF MOSES + + Moses, the patriot fierce, became + The meekest man on earth, + To show us how love's quickening flame + Can give our souls new birth. + + Moses, the man of meekest heart, + Lost Canaan by self-will, + To show, where grace has done its part, + How sin defiles us still. + + Thou who hast taught me in thy fear, + Yet seest me frail at best, + Oh, grant me loss with Moses here, + To gain his future rest. + + --John Henry Newman. + + +LAUS DEO + + Let praise devote thy work, and skill employ + Thy whole mind, and thy heart be lost in joy. + Well-doing bringeth pride; this constant thought + Humility, that thy best done is naught. + Man doeth nothing well, be it great or small, + Save to praise God; but that hath savèd all. + For God requires no more than thou hast done, + And takes thy work to bless it for his own. + + --Robert Bridges. + + + "A commonplace life," we say, and we sigh; + But why should we sigh as we say? + The commonplace sun in the commonplace sky + Makes up the commonplace day. + The moon and the stars are commonplace things, + And the flower that blooms and the bird that sings, + But dark were the world and sad our lot + If the flowers failed and the sun shone not; + And God, who studies each separate soul + Out of commonplace lives makes his beautiful whole. + + + Humility, that low, sweet root + From which all heavenly virtues shoot. + + --Thomas Moore. + + +THE EVERLASTING MEMORIAL + + Up and away, like the dew of the morning + That soars from the earth to its home in the sun, + So let me steal away, gently and lovingly, + Only remembered by what I have done. + + My name, and my place, and my tomb all forgotten, + The brief race of time well and patiently run, + So let me pass away, peacefully, silently, + Only remembered by what I have done. + + Gladly away from this toil would I hasten, + Up to the crown that for me has been won; + Unthought of by man in rewards or in praises; + Only remembered by what I have done. + + Up and away, like the odors of sunset, + That sweeten the twilight as evening comes on, + So be my life--a thing felt but not noticed,-- + And I but remembered by what I have done. + + Yes, like the fragrance that wanders in freshness + When the flowers that it came from are closed up and gone. + So would I be to this world's weary dwellers + Only remembered by what I have done. + + I need not be missed, if my life has been bearing + (As its summer and autumn move silently on) + The bloom, and the fruit, and the seed of its season; + I shall still be remembered by what I have done. + + Needs there the praise of the love-written record, + The name and the epitaph graved on the stone? + The things we have lived for--let them be our story-- + We ourselves but remembered by what we have done. + + I need not be missed if another succeed me, + To reap down the fields which in spring I have sown; + He who plowed and who sowed is not missed by the reaper, + He is only remembered by what he has done. + + Not myself, but the truth that in life I have spoken, + Not myself, but the seed that in life I have sown, + Shall pass on to ages--all about me forgotten, + Save the truth I have spoken, the things I have done. + + So let my living be, so be my dying; + So let my name lie, unblazoned, unknown; + Unpraised and unmissed, I shall still be remembered; + Yes, but remembered for what I have done. + + --Horatius Bonar. + + +SELF + + O I could go through all life's troubles singing, + Turning earth's night to day, + If self were not so fast around me clinging, + To all I do or say. + + O Lord! that I could waste my life for others, + With no ends of my own, + That I could pour myself into my brothers + And live for them alone! + + Such was the life thou livedst; self-abjuring, + Thine own pains never easing, + Our burdens bearing, our just doom enduring; + A life without self-pleasing. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +BRINGING OUR SHEAVES WITH US + + The time for toil is past, and night has come-- + The last and saddest of the harvest eves; + Worn out with labor, long and wearisome, + Drooping and faint, the reapers hasten home, + Each laden with his sheaves. + + Last of the laborers, thy feet I gain, + Lord of the harvest! and my spirit grieves + That I am burdened not so much with grain + As with a heaviness of heart and brain; + Master, behold my sheaves. + + Few, light, and worthless--yet their trifling weight + Through all my frame a weary aching leaves; + For long I struggled with my hapless fate, + And stayed and toiled till it was dark and late-- + Yet these are all my sheaves. + + Full well I know I have more tares than wheat, + Brambles and flowers, dry stalks and withered leaves; + Wherefore I blush and weep as at thy feet + I kneel down reverently and repeat, + "Master, behold my sheaves!" + + I know these blossoms clustering heavily, + With evening dew upon their folded leaves, + Can claim no value or utility-- + Therefore shall fragrancy and beauty be + The glory of my sheaves. + + So do I gather strength and hope anew; + For well I know thy patient love perceives + Not what I did, but what I strove to do, + And though the full ripe ears be sadly few + Thou wilt accept my sheaves. + + --Elizabeth Akers. + + + I pray not that + Men tremble at + My power of place, + And lordly sway; + I only pray for simple grace + To look my neighbor in the face + Full honestly from day to day. + + --James Whitcomb Riley. + + + If thou art blest, + Then let the sunshine of thy gladness rest + On the dark edges of each cloud that lies + Black in thy brother's skies. + If thou art sad, + Still be in thy brother's gladness glad. + + --Hamilton. + + + Flower in the crannied wall, + I pluck you out of the crannies, + I hold you here, root and all, in my hand, + Little flower--but if I could understand + What you are, root and all, and all in all, + I should know what God and man is. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + Praise not thy work, but let thy work praise thee; + For deeds, not words, make each man's memory stable. + If what thou dost is good, its good all men will see; + Musk by its smell is known, not by its label. + + + When thou art fain to trace a map of thine own heart, + An undiscovered land set down the largest part. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + + Patient, resigned and humble wills + Impregnably resist all ills. + + --Thomas Ken. + + + He is one to whom + Long patience hath such mild composure given, + That patience now doth seem a thing of which + He hath no need. + + --William Wordsworth. + + + Be not too ready to condemn + The wrong thy brothers may have done: + Ere ye too harshly censure them + For human faults, ask, "Have I none?" + + --Eliza Cook. + + + Search thine own heart. What paineth thee + In others in thyself may be; + All dust is frail, all flesh is weak; + Be thou the true man thou dost seek. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + Through wish, resolve, and act, our will + Is moved by undreamed forces still; + And no man measures in advance + His strength with untried circumstance. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + Labor with what zeal we will, + Something still remains undone. + Something uncompleted still + Waits the rising of the sun. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + In the deed that no man knoweth, + Where no praiseful trumpet bloweth, + Where he may not reap who soweth, + There, Lord, let my heart serve thee. + + + O wad some power the giftie gie us + To see oursels as ithers see us! + It wad frae mony a blunder free us, + An' foolish notion. + + --Robert Burns. + + + + +CONTENTMENT + +RESIGNATION, PATIENCE, COMPENSATION + + +CONTENTMENT + + Father, I know that all my life + Is portioned out for me, + And the changes that are sure to come + I do not fear to see; + I ask Thee for a patient mind, + Intent on pleasing thee. + + I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, + Through constant watching wise, + To meet the glad with joyful smiles, + And wipe the weeping eyes, + And a heart, at leisure from itself, + To soothe and sympathize. + + I would not have the restless will + That hurries to and fro, + Seeking for some great thing to do, + Or secret thing to know; + I would be treated as a child, + And _guided_ where I go. + + Wherever in this world I am, + In whatsoe'er estate, + I have a fellowship with hearts + To keep and cultivate, + And a work of lowly love to do + For the Lord on whom I wait. + + So I ask Thee for the daily strength-- + To none that ask denied-- + And a mind to blend with outward life, + While keeping at thy side, + Content to fill a _little_ space, + If thou be glorified. + + And if some things I do not ask + In my cup of blessing be, + I would have my spirit filled the more + With grateful love to thee; + More careful not to serve thee much, + But to please thee perfectly. + + There are briers besetting every path, + Which call for constant care; + There is a cross in every lot, + And an earnest need for prayer; + But a lowly heart, that leans on Thee, + Is happy everywhere. + + In a service which Thy love appoints + There are no bonds for me, + For my secret heart has learned the truth + Which makes thy children free, + And a life of self-renouncing love + Is a life of liberty. + + --Anna Letitia Waring. + + +TWO PICTURES + + An old farm house with meadows wide, + And sweet with clover on each side; + A bright-eyed boy, who looks from out + The door with woodbine wreathed about, + And wishes his one thought all day: + "O if I could but fly away! + From this dull spot the world to see, + How happy, happy, happy, + How happy I should be!" + + Amid the city's constant din, + A man who round the world has been, + Who, 'mid the tumult and the throng, + Is thinking, thinking all day long: + "O could I only tread once more + The field-path to the farm-house door, + The old green meadow could I see, + How happy, happy, happy, + How happy I should be!" + + --Annie Douglas Robinson. + + + Happy the man, of mortals happiest he, + Whose quiet mind from vain desires is free; + Whom neither hopes deceive nor fears torment, + But lives in peace, within himself content; + In thought, or act, accountable to none + But to himself, and unto God alone. + + --Henry P. F. Lansdowne. + + +CONTENT I LIVE + + My mind to me a kingdom is; + Such perfect joy therein I find + As far exceeds all earthly bliss + That God or nature hath assigned: + Though much I want that most would have, + Yet still my mind forbids to crave. + + Content I live; this is my stay-- + I seek no more than may suffice. + I press to bear no haughty sway; + Look, what I lack my mind supplies. + Lo, thus I triumph like a king, + Content with what my mind doth bring. + + I laugh not at another's loss, + I grudge not at another's gain; + No worldly wave my mind can toss; + I brook that as another's bane. + I fear no foe, nor fawn on friend. + I loathe not life, nor dread mine end. + + My wealth is health and perfect ease; + My conscience clear my chief defense; + I never seek by bribes to please + Nor by desert to give offense. + Thus do I live, thus will I die; + Would all did so, as well as I. + + --Edward Dyer. Alt. by William Byrd (1540-1625). + + +JUST AS GOD LEADS + + Just as God leads me I would go; + I would not ask to choose my way; + Content with what he will bestow, + Assured he will not let me stray. + So, as he leads, my path I make, + And step by step I gladly take-- + A child, in him confiding. + + Just as God leads I am content; + I rest me calmly in his hands; + That which he has decreed and sent-- + That which his will for me commands-- + I would that he should all fulfill, + That I should do his gracious will + In living or in dying. + + Just as God leads, I all resign; + I trust me to my Father's will; + When reason's rays deceptive shine, + His counsel would I yet fulfill; + That which his love ordained as right + Before he brought me to the right + My all to him resigning. + + Just as God leads me, I abide + In faith, in hope, in suffering true; + His strength is ever by my side-- + Can aught my hold on him undo? + I hold me firm in patience, knowing + That God my life is still bestowing-- + The best in kindness sending. + + Just as God leads I onward go, + Out amid thorns and briers keen; + God does not yet his guidance show-- + But in the end it shall be seen. + How, by a loving Father's will, + Faithful and true, he leads me still. + And so my heart is resting. + + --From the German. + + +SWEET CONTENT + + O Thou, by long experience tried, + Near whom no grief can long abide; + My Lord, how full of sweet content + I pass my years of banishment! + + All scenes alike engaging prove + To souls impressed with sacred love! + Where'er they dwell they dwell in Thee + In heaven, in earth, or on the sea. + + To me remains nor place nor time, + My country is in every clime; + I can be calm and free from care + On any shore, since God is there. + + While place we seek, or place we shun, + The soul finds happiness in none; + But with a God to guide our way + 'Tis equal joy to go or stay. + + Could I be cast where Thou art not, + That were indeed a dreadful lot; + But regions none remote I call, + Secure of finding God in all. + + --Madame Guyon. + + +CONTENT AND RICH + + My conscience is my crown, + Contented thoughts my rest; + My heart is happy in itself, + My bliss is in my breast. + + Enough I reckon wealth; + A mean, the surest lot; + That lies too high for base contempt, + Too low for envy's shot. + + My wishes are but few, + All easy to fulfill; + I make the limits of my power + The bounds unto my will. + + I feel no care of coin; + Well doing is my wealth; + My mind to me an empire is, + While grace affordeth health. + + I clip high-climbing thoughts, + The wings of swelling pride; + Their fall is worst that from the height + Of greatest honor slide. + + Since sails of largest size + The storm doth soonest tear, + I bear so low and small a sail + As freeth me from fear. + + I wrestle not with rage + While fury's flame doth burn; + It is in vain to stop the stream + Until the tide doth turn. + + But when the flame is out, + And ebbing wrath doth end, + I turn a late enragèd foe + Into a quiet friend. + + And, taught with often proof, + A tempered calm I find + To be most solace to itself, + Best cure for angry mind. + + No change of fortune's calms + Can cast my comforts down; + When Fortune smiles I smile to think + How quickly she will frown. + + And when in froward mood + She proves an angry foe, + Small gain I found to let her come, + Less loss to let her go. + + --Robert Southwell, 1561-95. (One of the Jesuit Fathers who were + cruelly executed by Queen Elizabeth.) + + + Don't lose Courage! Spirit brave + Carry with you to the grave. + + Don't lose Time in vain distress! + Work, not worry, brings success. + + Don't lose Hope! who lets her stray + Goes forlornly all the way. + + Don't lose Patience, come what will! + Patience ofttimes outruns skill. + + Don't lose Gladness! every hour + Blooms for you some happy flower. + + Though be foiled your dearest plan, + Don't lose Faith in God and man! + + +A CONTRAST + + Two men toiled side by side from sun to sun, + And both were poor; + Both sat with children, when the day was done, + About their door. + One saw the beautiful in crimson cloud + And shining moon; + The other, with his head in sadness bowed, + Made night of noon. + One loved each tree and flower and singing bird, + On mount or plain; + No music in the soul of one was stirred + By leaf or rain. + One saw the good in every fellow-man + And hoped the best; + The other marvelled at his Master's plan, + And doubt confessed. + One, having heaven above and heaven below, + Was satisfied; + The other, discontented, lived in woe, + And hopeless died. + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + +WHO BIDES HIS TIME + + Who bides his time, and day by day + Faces defeat full patiently, + And lifts a mirthful roundelay + However poor his fortunes be-- + He will not fail in any qualm + Of poverty; the paltry dime-- + It will grow golden in his palm + Who bides his time. + + Who bides his time--he tastes the sweet + Of honey in the saltest tear; + And though he fares with slowest feet + Joy runs to meet him drawing near; + The birds are heralds of his cause, + And like a never-ending rhyme + The roadsides bloom in his applause + Who bides his time. + + Who bides his time, and fevers not + In a hot race that none achieves, + Shall wear cool wreathen laurel, wrought + With crimson berries in the leaves; + And he shall reign a goodly king + And sway his hand o'er every clime, + With peace writ on his signet ring, + Who bides his time. + + --James Whitcomb Riley. + + +CARELESS CONTENT + + I am content; I do not care; + Wag as it will the world for me; + When Fuss and Fret was all my fare + It got no ground, as I could see. + So when away my caring went + I counted cost and was content. + + With more of thanks and less of thought + I strive to make my matters meet; + To seek, what ancient sages sought, + Physic and food in sour and sweet. + To take what passes in good part, + And keep the hiccups from the heart. + + With good and gentle-humored hearts + I choose to chat, whene'er I come, + Whate'er the subject be that starts; + But if I get among the glum + I hold my tongue, to tell the truth, + And keep my breath to cool my broth. + + For chance or change of peace or pain; + For fortune's favor or her frown; + For luck or glut, for loss or gain, + I never dodge, nor up nor down: + But swing what way the ship shall swim, + Or tack about with equal trim. + + I suit not where I shall not speed, + Nor trace the turn of every tide; + If simple sense will not succeed, + I make no bustling, but abide; + For shining wealth, or scoring woe, + I force no friend, I fear no foe. + + I love my neighbor as myself; + Myself like him too, by his leave; + Nor to his pleasure, power, or pelf + Came I to crouch, as I conceive; + Dame Nature doubtless has designed + A man the monarch of his mind. + + Now taste and try this temper, sirs; + Mood it and brood it in your breast; + Or if ye ween, for worldly stirs, + That man does right to mar his rest, + Let me be left, and debonair; + I am content; I do not care. + + --John Byrom (1692-1763). + + + Some of your hurts you have cured, + And the sharpest you still have survived, + But what torments of grief you endured + From the evils which never arrived. + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + +HAPPY ANY WAY + + Lord, it belongs not to my care + Whether I die or live; + To love and serve thee is my share, + And this thy grace must give. + + If life be long, I will be glad + That I may long obey; + If short, yet why should I be sad + To soar to endless day? + + Christ leads me through no darker rooms + Than he went through before; + He that into God's kingdom comes + Must enter by his door. + + Come, Lord, when grace hath made me meet + Thy blessèd face to see; + For, if thy work on earth be sweet, + What will thy glory be? + + Then I shall end my sad complaints, + And weary, sinful days, + And join with the triumphant saints + Who sing Jehovah's praise. + + My knowledge of that life is small; + The eye of faith is dim; + But 'tis enough that Christ knows all, + And I shall be with him. + + --Richard Baxter. + + +THE THINGS I MISS + + An easy thing, O Power Divine, + To thank thee for these gifts of thine! + For summer's sunshine, winter's snow, + For hearts that kindle, thoughts that glow; + But when shall I attain to this: + To thank thee for the things I miss? + + For all young fancy's early gleams, + The dreamed-of joys that still are dreams. + Hopes unfulfilled, and pleasures known + Through others' fortunes, not my own, + And blessings seen that are not given, + And ne'er will be, this side of heaven. + + Had I, too, shared the joys I see, + Would there have been a heaven for me? + Could I have felt thy presence near + Had I possessed what I held dear? + My deepest fortune, highest bliss, + Have grown, perchance, from things I miss. + + Sometimes there comes an hour of calm; + Grief turns to blessing, pain to balm; + A Power that works above my will + Still leads me onward, upward still; + And then my heart attains to this: + To thank thee for the things I miss. + + --Thomas Wentworth Higginson. + + +THE HERITAGE + + The rich man's son inherits lands, + And piles of brick and stone and gold, + And he inherits soft, white hands, + And tender flesh that fears the cold, + Nor dares to wear a garment old; + A heritage, it seems to me, + One scarce would wish to hold in fee. + + The rich man's son inherits cares; + The bank may break, the factory burn, + A breath may burst his bubble shares, + And soft white hands could hardly earn + A living that would serve his turn; + A heritage, it seems to me, + One scarce would wish to hold in fee. + + The rich man's son inherits wants, + His stomach craves for dainty fare; + With sated heart he hears the pants + Of toiling hinds with brown arms bare, + And wearies in his easy-chair; + A heritage, it seems to me, + One scarce would wish to hold in fee. + + What doth the poor man's son inherit? + Stout muscles and a sinewy heart; + A hardy frame, a hardier spirit, + King of two hands, he does his part + In every useful toil and art; + A heritage, it seems to me, + A king might wish to hold in fee. + + What doth the poor man's son inherit? + Wishes o'erjoyed with humble things, + A rank adjudged by toil-won merit, + Content that from employment springs, + A heart that in his labor sings; + A heritage, it seems to me, + A king might wish to hold in fee. + + What doth the poor man's son inherit? + A patience learned of being poor, + Courage, if sorrow come, to bear it, + A fellow-feeling that is sure + To make the outcast bless his door; + A heritage, it seems to me, + A king might wish to hold in fee. + + O rich man's son! there is a toil + That with all others level stands; + Large charity doth never soil, + But only whiten soft, white hands; + This is the best crop from thy lands, + A heritage, it seems to me, + Worth being rich to hold in fee. + + O poor man's son! scorn not thy state; + There is worse weariness than thine + In merely being rich and great; + Toil only gives the soul to shine, + And makes rest fragrant and benign; + A heritage, it seems to me, + Worth being poor to hold in fee. + + Both, heirs to some six feet of sod, + Are equal in the earth at last; + Both, children of the same dear God, + Prove title to your heirship vast + By record of a well-filled past; + A heritage, it seems to me, + Well worth a life to hold in fee. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +I AM CONTENT + + I am content. In trumpet tones + My song let people know; + And many a mighty man with thrones + And scepter is not so. + And if he is I joyful cry, + Why, then he's just the same as I. + + My motto is--Content with this; + Gold--place--I prize not such. + That which I have my measure is: + Wise men desire not much. + Men wish and wish, and have their will, + And wish again as hungry still. + + And gold and honor are besides + A very brittle glass; + And time, in his unresting tides + Makes all things change and pass: + Turns riches to a beggar's dole; + Sets glory's race an infant's goal. + + Be noble--that is more than wealth; + Do right--that's more than place; + Then in the spirit there is health + And gladness in the face: + Then thou art with thyself at one + And, no man hating, fearest none. + + --George Macdonald. + + +MADAME LOFTY + + Mrs. Lofty keeps a carriage, + So do I; + She has dappled grays to draw it, + None have I. + She's no prouder of her coachman + Than am I + With my blue-eyed laughing baby + Trundling by. + I hide his face, lest she should see + The cherub boy and envy me. + + Her fine husband has white fingers, + Mine has not; + He can give his bride a palace, + Mine a cot. + Hers comes home beneath the starlight, + Ne'er cares she; + Mine comes in the purple twilight, + Kisses me, + And prays that He who turns life's sands + Will hold his loved ones in his hands. + + Mrs. Lofty has her jewels, + So have I; + She wears hers upon her bosom, + Inside I. + She will leave hers at Death's portals, + By and by; + I shall bear the treasures with me + When I die-- + For I have love, and she has gold; + She counts her wealth, mine can't be told. + + She has those who love her station, + None have I, + But I've one true heart beside me; + Glad am I; + I'd not change it for a kingdom, + No, not I; + God will weigh it in a balance, + By and by; + And then the difference he'll define + 'Twixt Mrs. Lofty's wealth and mine. + + + So long as life's hope-sparkle glows, 'tis good; + When death delivers from life's woes, 'tis good. + Oh praise the Lord who makes all good, and will; + Whether he life or death bestows, 'tis good. + + +THE WIND THAT BLOWS, THAT WIND IS BEST + + Whichever way the wind doth blow, + Some heart is glad to have it so; + Then blow it east or blow it west, + The wind that blows, that wind is best. + + My little craft sails not alone; + A thousand fleet from every zone + Are out upon a thousand seas; + And what for me were favoring breeze + Might dash another with the shock + Of doom upon some hidden rock. + And so I do not dare to pray + For winds to waft me on my way; + But leave it to a Higher Will + To stay or speed me, trusting still + That ill is well, and sure that He + Who launched my bark will sail with me + Through storm and calm, and will not fail, + Whatever breezes may prevail, + To land me, every peril past, + Within his sheltering heaven at last. + + Then, whatsoever wind doth blow, + My heart is glad to have it so; + And, blow it east or blow it west, + The wind that blows, that wind is best. + + --Caroline Atherton Mason. + + +THE DIFFERENCE + + Some murmur, when their sky is clear + And wholly bright to view, + If one small speck of dark appear + In their great heaven of blue. + And some with thankful love are filled + If but one streak of light, + One ray of God's good mercy, gild + The darkness of their night. + + In palaces are hearts that ask, + In discontent and pride, + Why life is such a dreary task + And all things good denied. + Yet hearts in poorest huts admire + How love has in their aid + (Love that not ever seems to tire) + Such rich provision made. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + + Give what Thou canst; without thee we are poor; + And with thee rich, take what thou wilt away. + + --William Cowper. + + +RICHES AND POWER + + Cleon has a million acres, + Ne'er a one have I; + Cleon dwelleth in a palace, + In a cottage I. + Cleon hath a dozen fortunes, + Not a penny I; + Yet the poorer of the twain is + Cleon, and not I. + + Cleon, true, possesseth acres, + But the landscape I; + Half the charms to me it yieldeth, + Money cannot buy. + Cleon harbors sloth and dullness, + Freshening vigor I; + He in velvet, I in fustian, + Richer man am I. + + Cleon is a slave to grandeur, + Free as thought am I; + Cleon fees a score of doctors, + Need of none have I. + Wealth-surrounded, care-environed, + Cleon fears to die. + Death may come, he'll find me ready. + Happier man am I. + + Cleon sees no charm in nature, + In a daisy I; + Cleon hears no anthem ringing + In the sea and sky; + Nature sings to me forever, + Earnest listener I! + State for state, with all attendants, + Who would change? Not I. + + --Charles Mackay. + + +ENOUGH + + I am so weak, dear Lord, I cannot stand + One moment without thee; + But oh, the tenderness of thine enfolding, + And oh, the faithfulness of thine upholding, + And oh, the strength of thy right hand! + _That strength_ is enough for me. + + I am so needy, Lord, and yet I know + All fullness dwells in thee; + And hour by hour that never-failing treasure + Supplies and fills in overflowing measure, + My last, my greatest need. And so + _Thy grace_ is enough for me. + + It is so sweet to trust THY WORD alone! + I do not ask to see + The unveiling of thy purpose, or the shining + Of future light or mysteries untwining; + The promise-roll is all my own, + _Thy word_ is enough for me. + + The human heart asks love. But now I know + That my heart hath from Thee + All real, and full, and marvelous affection + So near, so human! yet Divine perfection + Thrills gloriously the mighty glow! + _Thy love_ is enough for me. + + There were strange soul depths, restless, vast and broad + Unfathomed as the sea. + An infinite craving for some infinite stilling; + But now Thy perfect love is perfect filling! + Lord Jesus Christ, my Lord, my God, + Thou, thou art enough for me! + + --Frances Ridley Havergal. + + +FULLY CONTENT + + I know not, and I would not know, + Content, I leave it all with Thee; + 'Tis ever best it should be so; + As thou wilt have it let it be. + + But this I know: that every day + And every step for me is planned; + I surely cannot lose the Way + While He is holding fast my hand. + + And surely, whatsoe'er betide, + I never shall be left alone: + Thou standest ever by my side; + To thee my future all is known. + + And wheresoe'er my lot may fall + The way before is marked by Thee; + The windings of my life are all + Unfoldings of thy Love to me. + + + What matter will it be, O mortal man, when thou art dying, + Whether upon a throne or on the bare earth thou art lying? + + --From the Persian. + + +CONTENT WITH ALL + + Content that God's decree + Should order all for thee. + Content with sickness or with health-- + Content with poverty or wealth-- + Content to walk in humble guise, + And as He wills it sink or rise. + + Content to live alone + And call no place thine own. + No sweet reunions day by day. + Thy kindred spirits far away. + And, since God wills to have it so, + Thou wouldst not change for weal or woe. + + Content that others rise + Before thy very eyes. + How bright their lot and portion here! + Wealth fills their coffers--friends are near. + Behold their mansions tall and fair! + The timbrel and the dance are there. + + Content to toil or rest-- + God's peace within thy breast-- + To feel thy times are in His hand + Who holds all worlds in his command-- + Thy time to laugh--thy time to sigh-- + Thy time to live--thy time to die. + + And is it so indeed + Thou art with God agreed? + Content 'mid all the ills of life? + Farewell, then, sorrow, pain and strife! + Such high content is heaven begun. + The battle's fought, the victory won! + + --Mary Ann W. Cook. + + +A BLESSED LESSON + + Have I learned, in whatsoever + State to be content? + Have I learned this blessed lesson + By my Master sent-- + And with joyous acquiescence + Do I greet His will + Even when my own is thwarted + And my hands lie still? + + Surely it is best and sweetest + Thus to have Him choose, + Even though some work I've taken + By this choice I lose. + Folded hands need not be idle-- + Fold them but in prayer; + Other souls may toil far better + For God's answer there. + + They that "reap" receive their "wages," + Those who "work" their "crown," + Those who pray throughout the ages + Bring blest answers down; + In "whatever state" abiding + Till the Master call, + They at eventide will find Him + Glorified in all. + + What though I can do so little + For my Lord and King, + At His feet I sit and listen, + At His feet I sing. + And, whatever my condition, + All in love is meant; + Sing, my soul, thy recognition, + Sing, and be content! + + +IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN + + Led by kindlier hand than ours, + We journey through this earthly scene, + And should not, in our weary hours, + Turn to regret what might have been. + + And yet these hearts, when torn by pain, + Or wrung by disappointment keen, + Will seek relief from present cares + In thoughts of joys that might have been. + + But let us still these wishes vain; + We know not that of which we dream. + Our lives might have been sadder yet + God only knows what might have been. + + Forgive us, Lord, our little faith; + And help us all, from morn to e'en, + Still to believe that lot were best + Which is--not that which might have been. + + And grant we may so pass the days + The cradle and the grave between, + That death's dark hour not darker be + For thoughts of what life might have been. + + --George Z. Gray. + + + Hushing every muttered murmur, + Let your fortitude the firmer + Gird your soul with strength. + While, no treason near her lurking, + Patience in her perfect working, + Shall be Queen at length. + + +BE CONTENT + + Be thou content; be still before + His face at whose right hand doth reign + Fullness of joy for evermore, + Without whom all thy toil is vain; + He is thy living spring, thy sun, whose rays + Make glad with life and light thy dreary days. + Be thou content. + + In him is comfort, light, and grace, + And changeless love beyond our thought; + The sorest pang, the worst disgrace, + If he is there, shall harm thee not. + He can lift off thy cross and loose thy bands, + And calm thy fears; nay, death is in His hands. + Be thou content. + + Or art thou friendless and alone-- + Hast none in whom thou canst confide? + God careth for thee, lonely one-- + Comfort and help he will provide. + He sees thy sorrows, and thy hidden grief, + He knoweth when to send thee quick relief; + Be thou content. + + Thy heart's unspoken pain he knows, + Thy secret sighs he hears full well; + What to none else thou darest disclose + To him thou mayest with boldness tell. + He is not far away, but ever nigh, + And answereth willingly the poor man's cry: + Be thou content. + + +MANNA + + 'Twas in the night the manna fell + That fed the hosts of Israel. + + Enough for each day's fullest store + And largest need; enough, no more. + + For willful waste, for prideful show, + God sent not angels' food below. + + Still in our nights of deep distress + The manna falls our heart to bless. + + And, famished, as we cry for bread, + With heavenly food our lives are fed, + + And each day's need finds each day's store + Enough. Dear Lord, what want we more! + + --Margaret Elizabeth Sangster. + + +BLESSINGS NEAR AT HAND + + We look too far for blessings; + We seek too far for joys; + We ought to be like children + Who find their chiefest toys + + Ofttimes in nearest attic, + Or in some dingy lane-- + Their aprons full of weeds or flowers + Gathered in sun or rain. + + Within the plainest cottage + Unselfish love may grow; + The sweetest, the divinest gift, + Which mortals ever know. + + We ought to count our joys, not woes; + Meet care with winsome grace; + For discontent plows furrows + Upon the loveliest face. + + Hope, freedom, sunlight, knowledge, + Come not to wealth alone; + He who looks far for blessings + Will overlook his own. + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + +I WOULDN'T + + A sprig of mint by the wayward brook, + A nibble of birch in the wood, + A summer day, and love, and a book, + And I wouldn't be a king if I could. + + --John Vance Cheney. + + + The way to make thy son rich is to fill + His mind with rest before his trunk with riches: + For wealth without contentment climbs a hill + To feel those tempests which fly over ditches. + + --George Herbert. + + +THE JEWEL + + There is a jewel which no Indian mine can buy, + No chemic art can counterfeit; + It makes men rich in greatest poverty, + Makes water wine, turns wooden cups to gold, + The homely whistle to sweet music's strain; + Seldom it comes, to few from heaven sent, + That much in little, all in naught--Content. + + +FINDING CONTENT + + I could not find the little maid Content, + So out I rushed, and sought her far and wide; + But not where Pleasure each new fancy tried, + Heading the maze of rioting merriment, + Nor where, with restless eyes and bow half bent, + Love in the brake of sweetbriar smiled and sighed, + Nor yet where Fame towered, crowned and glorified, + Found I her face, nor wheresoe'er I went. + So homeward back I crawled, like wounded bird, + When lo! Content sate spinning at my door; + And when I asked her where she was before-- + "Here all the time," she said; "I never stirred; + Too eager in thy search, you passed me o'er, + And, though I called you, neither saw nor heard." + + --Alfred Austin. + + +DAILY STRENGTH + + Day by day the manna fell; + O to learn this lesson well; + Still by constant mercy fed, + Give me, Lord, my daily bread. + + "Day by day," the promise reads; + Daily strength for daily needs; + Cast foreboding fears away; + Take the manna of to-day. + + Lord, my times are in thy hand. + All my sanguine hopes have planned + To thy wisdom I resign, + And would make thy purpose thine. + + Thou my daily task shalt give; + Day by day to Thee I live; + So shall added years fulfill + Not my own--my Father's will. + + Fond ambition, whisper not; + Happy is my humble lot; + Anxious, busy cares away; + I'm provided for to-day. + + O to live exempt from care + By the energy of prayer; + Strong in faith, with mind subdued, + Yet elate with gratitude. + + --Josiah Conder. + + +GOD IS ENOUGH + + God is enough! thou, who in hope and fear + Toilest through desert sands of life, sore tried, + Climb, trustful, over death's black ridge, for near + The bright wells shine; thou wilt be satisfied. + + God doth suffice! O thou, the patient one, + Who puttest faith in him, and none beside, + Bear yet thy load; under the setting sun + The glad tents gleam; thou wilt be satisfied + + By God's gold Afternoon! peace ye shall have; + Man is in loss except he live aright, + And help his fellow to be firm and brave, + Faithful and patient; then the restful night. + + --Edwin Arnold, from the Arabian. + + +THE TRULY RICH + + They're richer who diminish their desires, + Though their possessions be not amplified, + Than monarchs, who in owning large empires, + Have minds that never will be satisfied. + For he is poor who wants what he would have, + And rich who, having naught, doth nothing crave. + + --T. Urchard. + + +THY ALLOTMENT + + Thou cam'st not to thy place by accident, + It is the very place God meant for thee; + And shouldst thou there small scope for action see + Do not for this give room to discontent, + Nor let the time thou owest God be spent + In idle dreaming how thou mightest be, + In what concerns thy spiritual life, more free + From outward hindrance or impediment. + For presently this hindrance thou shalt find + That without which all goodness were a task + So slight that virtue never could grow strong; + And wouldst thou do one duty to His mind-- + The Imposer's--over-burdened thou shalt ask, + And own thy need of, grace to help ere long. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + +THE HAPPIEST HEART + + Who drives the horses of the sun + Shall lord it but a day; + Better the lowly deed were done, + And kept the humble way. + + The rust will find the sword of fame, + The dust will hide the crown; + Aye, none shall nail so high his name + Time will not tear it down. + + The happiest heart that ever beat + Was in some quiet breast + That found the common daylight sweet, + And left to Heaven the rest. + + --John Vance Cheney. + + +WELCOME THE SHADOWS + + Welcome the shadows; where they blackest are + Burns through the bright supernal hour; + From blindness of wide dark looks out the star, + From all death's night the April flower. + + For beauty and for gladness of the days + Bring but the meed of trust; + The April grass looks up from barren ways, + The daisy from the dust. + + When of this flurry thou shalt have thy fill, + The thing thou seekest, it will seek thee then: + The heavens repeat themselves in waters still + And in the faces of contented men. + + --John Vance Cheney. + + +THE DAILY COURSE + + New every morning is the love + Our wakening and uprising prove; + Through sleep and darkness safely brought, + Restored to life, and power, and thought. + + New mercies each returning day + Hover around us while we pray; + New perils past, new sins forgiven, + New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven. + + If on our daily course our mind + Be set to hallow all we find, + New treasures still, of countless price, + God will provide for sacrifice. + + Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be + As more of heaven in each we see; + Some softening gleam of love and prayer + Shall dawn on every cross and care. + + We need not bid, for cloistered cell, + Our neighbor and our work farewell, + Nor strive to wind ourselves too high + For sinful man beneath the sky. + + The trivial round, the common task, + Will furnish all we ought to ask: + Room to deny ourselves a road + To bring us daily nearer God. + + Seek we no more; content with these, + Let present rapture, comfort, ease, + As Heaven shall bid them, come and go; + The secret, this, of rest below. + + Only, O Lord, in thy dear love + Fit us for perfect rest above; + And help us this and every day, + To live more nearly as we pray. + + --John Keble. + + +GOD ENOUGH + + Let nothing disturb thee, + Nothing affright thee; + All things are passing; + God never changeth; + Patient endurance + Attaineth to all things; + Who God possesseth + In nothing is wanting; + Alone God sufficeth. + + --St. Teresa, tr. by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + +THE GOLDEN MEAN + + He that holds fast the golden mean + And lives contentedly between + The little and the great, + Feels not the wants that pinch the poor, + Nor plagues that haunt the rich man's door, + Embittering all his state. + + +WITHOUT AND WITHIN + + If every man's internal care + Were written on his brow, + How many would our pity share + Who raise our envy now? + + The fatal secret, when revealed, + Of every aching breast, + Would prove that only while concealed + Their lot appeared the best. + + --Pietro Metastasio. + + + Let us be content in work + To do the thing we can, and not presume + To fret because it's little. + + --Elizabeth Barrett Browning. + + + If none were sick and none were sad, + What service could we render? + I think if _we_ were always glad, + We scarcely could be tender. + If sorrow never claimed our heart, + And every wish were granted, + Patience would die and hope depart-- + Life would be disenchanted. + + + A pilgrim, bound to Mecca, quite away his sandals wore, + And on the desert's blistering sand his feet grew very sore. + "To let me suffer thus, great Allah, is not kind nor just, + While in thine service I confront the painful heat and dust." + He murmured in complaining tone; and in this temper came + To where, around the Kaaba, pilgrims knelt of every name; + And there he saw, while pity and remorse his bosom beat, + A pilgrim who not only wanted shoes, but _feet_. + + --From the Persian, tr. by William Rounseville Alger. + + + Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; + Behind the clouds is the sun still shining; + Thy fate is the common fate of all, + Into each life some rain must fall, + Some days must be dark and dreary. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + Strength for to-day is all that we need, + As there never will be a to-morrow; + For to-morrow will prove but another to-day + With its measure of joy or of sorrow. + + + Don't think your lot the worst because + Some griefs your joy assail; + There aren't so very many saws + That never strike a nail. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + + When it drizzles and drizzles, + If we cheerfully smile, + We can make the weather, + By working together, + As fair as we choose in a little while. + For who will notice that clouds are drear + If pleasant faces are always near, + And who will remember that skies are gray + If he carries a happy heart all day? + + + + +ASPIRATION + +DESIRE, SUPPLICATION, GROWTH + + +GRADATIM + + Heaven is not reached by a single bound; + But we build the ladder by which we rise + From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, + And we mount to its summit round by round. + + I count this thing to be grandly true: + That the noble deed is a step toward God, + Lifting the soul from the common clod + To a purer air and a broader view. + + We rise by the things that are under feet; + By what we have mastered of good and gain, + By the pride deposed and the passion slain, + And the vanquished ills that we hourly meet. + + We hope, we aspire, we resolve, we trust, + When the morning calls us to life and light; + But our hearts grow weary, and ere the night + Our lives are treading the sordid dust. + + We hope, we resolve, we aspire, we pray, + And we think that we mount the air on wings, + Beyond the recall of sensual things, + While our feet still cling to the heavy clay. + + Wings for the angels, but feet for men! + We may borrow the wings to find the way; + We may hope, and resolve, and aspire, and pray; + But our feet must rise, or we fall again. + + Only in dreams is a ladder thrown + From the weary earth to the sapphire walls, + But the dreams depart, and the vision falls, + And the sleeper wakes on his pillow of stone. + + Heaven is not reached at a single bound; + But we build the ladder by which we rise + From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, + And we mount to its summit round by round. + + --Josiah Gilbert Holland. + + +MORE AND MORE + + Purer yet and purer + I would be in mind, + Dearer yet and dearer + Every duty find; + Hoping still and trusting + God without a fear, + Patiently believing + He will make it clear. + + Calmer yet and calmer + Trials bear and pain, + Surer yet and surer + Peace at last to gain; + Suffering still and doing, + To his will resigned, + And to God subduing + Heart and will and mind. + + Higher yet and higher + Out of clouds and night, + Nearer yet and nearer + Rising to the light-- + Light serene and holy-- + Where my soul may rest, + Purified and lowly, + Sanctified and blest. + + --Johann W. von Goethe. + + +THE CHAMBERED NAUTILUS + + This is the ship of pearl which, poets feign, + Sails the unshadowed main,-- + The venturous bark that flings + On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings + In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings + And coral reefs lie bare, + Where the cold sea maids rise to sun their streaming hair. + + Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl; + Wrecked is the ship of pearl! + And every chambered cell, + Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell, + As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell, + Before thee lies revealed-- + Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed. + + Year after year beheld the silent toil + That spread his lustrous coil; + Still, as the spiral grew, + He left the last year's dwelling for the new, + Stole with soft step its shining archway through, + Built up its idle door, + Stretched in its last-found home, and knew the old no more. + + Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee, + Child of the wandering sea, + Cast from her lap, forlorn! + From thy dead lips a clearer note is born + Than ever Triton blew from wreathed horn; + While on my ear it rings, + Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings: + + Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul! + As the swift seasons roll! + Leave thy low-vaulted past! + Let each new temple, nobler than the last, + Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast + Till thou at length art free, + Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea! + + --Oliver Wendell Holmes. + + +WALKING WITH JESUS + + My Saviour, on the Word of Truth + In earnest hope I live, + I ask for all the precious things + Thy boundless love can give. + I look for many a lesser light + About my path to shine; + But chiefly long to walk with thee, + And only trust in thine. + + Thou knowest that I am not blest + As Thou would'st have me be + Till all the peace and joy of faith + Possess my soul in thee; + And still I seek 'mid many fears, + With yearnings unexpressed, + The comfort of thy strengthening love, + Thy soothing, settling rest. + + It is not as Thou wilt with me + Till, humbled in the dust, + I know no place in all my heart + Wherein to put my trust: + Until I find, O Lord! in thee-- + The lowly and the meek-- + That fullness which thy own redeemed + Go nowhere else to seek. + + Then, O my Saviour! on my soul, + Cast down but not dismayed, + Still be thy chastening healing hand + In tender mercy laid: + And while I wait for all thy joys + My yearning heart to fill, + Teach me to walk and work with thee, + And at thy feet sit still. + + --Anna Letitia Waring. + + +A PRAYER TO THE GOD OF NATURE + + God of the roadside weed, + Grant I may humbly serve the humblest need. + + God of the scarlet rose, + Give me the beauty that Thy love bestows. + + God of the hairy bee, + Help me to suck deep joys from all I see. + + God of the spider's lace, + Let me, from mine own heart, unwind such grace. + + God of the lily's cup, + Fill me! I hold this empty chalice up. + + God of the sea-gull's wing, + Bear me above each dark and turbulent thing. + + God of the watchful owl, + Help me to see at midnight, like this fowl. + + God of the antelope, + Teach me to scale the highest crags of Hope. + + God of the eagle's nest, + Oh, let me make my eyrie near thy breast! + + God of the burrowing mole, + Let cold earth have no terrors for my soul. + + God of the chrysalis, + Grant that my grave may be a cell of bliss. + + God of the butterfly, + Help me to vanquish Death, although I die. + + --Frederic Lawrence Knowles. + + +O JESUS CHRIST, GROW THOU IN ME + + O Jesus Christ, grow thou in me, + And all things else recede! + My heart be daily nearer thee, + From sin be daily freed. + + Each day let Thy supporting might + My weakness still embrace; + My darkness vanish in thy light, + Thy life my death efface. + + In thy bright beams which on me fall + Fade every evil thought; + That I am nothing, Thou art all, + I would be daily taught. + + More of thy glory let me see, + Thou holy, wise and true, + I would thy living image be, + In joy and sorrow too. + + Fill me with gladness from above, + Hold me by strength divine; + Lord, let the glow of thy great love + Through my whole being shine. + + Make this poor self grow less and less; + Be Thou my life and aim; + Oh, make me daily through thy grace + More meet to bear thy name! + + Let faith in Thee and in thy might + My every motive move; + Be thou alone my soul's delight, + My passion and my love. + + --Henry B. Smith. + + +DAY BY DAY + + Looking upward every day, + Sunshine on our faces, + Pressing onward every day + Toward the heavenly places; + Growing every day in awe, + For thy name is holy; + Learning every day to love + With a love more lowly. + + Walking every day more close + To our Elder Brother; + Growing every day more true + Unto one another; + Every day more gratefully + Kindnesses receiving, + Every day more readily + Injuries forgiving. + + Leaving every day behind + Something which might hinder; + Running swifter every day, + Growing purer, kinder-- + Lord, so pray we every day; + Hear us in thy pity, + That we enter in at last + To the holy city. + + --Mary Butler. + + + Better to have the poet's heart than brain, + Feeling than song; but, better far than both, + To be a song, a music of God's making. + Or but a table on which God's finger of flame, + In words harmonious of triumphant verse, + That mingles joy and sorrow, sets down clear + That out of darkness he hath called the light. + It may be voice to such is after given + To tell the mighty tale to other worlds. + + --George Macdonald. + + +FREE FROM SIN + + The bird let loose in eastern skies, + When hastening fondly home, + Ne'er stoops to earth her wing, nor flies + Where idle warblers roam; + But high she shoots through air and light + Above all low delay, + Where nothing earthly bounds her flight, + Nor shadow dims her way. + + So grant me, God, from every care + And stain of passion free, + Aloft, through Virtue's purer air, + To hold my course to thee! + No sin to cloud, no lure to stay + My soul, as home she springs; + Thy sunshine on her joyful way, + Thy freedom in her wings! + + --Thomas Moore. + + +A PRAYER + + O that mine eyes might closèd be + To what concerns me not to see; + That deafness might possess mine ear + To what concerns me not to hear; + That truth my tongue might always tie + From ever speaking foolishly; + That no vain thought might ever rest + Or be conceived within my breast; + That by each deed and word and thought + Glory may to my God be brought. + But what are wishes! Lord, mine eye + On Thee is fixed; to Thee I cry! + Wash, Lord, and purify my heart, + And make it clean in every part; + And when 'tis clean, Lord, keep it, too, + For that is more than I can do. + + --Thomas Elwood, A. D. 1639. + + +THE ALTERED MOTTO + + O the bitter shame and sorrow, + That a time could ever be + When I let the Saviour's pity + Plead in vain, and proudly answered, + "All of self, and none of Thee!" + + Yet He found me; I beheld him + Bleeding on the accursèd tree, + Heard him pray, "Forgive them, Father!" + And my wistful heart said faintly, + "Some of self and some of Thee." + + Day by day his tender mercy, + Healing, helping, full and free, + Sweet and strong, and, ah! so patient, + Brought me lower, while I whispered, + "Less of self, and more of Thee." + + Higher than the highest heaven, + Deeper than the deepest sea, + Lord, thy love at last hath conquered; + Grant me now my supplication-- + "None of self, and all of Thee." + + --Theodore Monod. + + +INDWELLING + + O dwell in me, my Lord, + That I in thee may dwell; + Fulfill thy tender word, + That thy evangels tell; + In me Thou, I in thee, + By thy sweet courtesy. + + But wilt thou my guest be, + In this poor heart of mine? + Thy guest? Is this for me + In that pure heart of thine? + In me thou, I in thee, + By thy sweet courtesy. + + My chamber, Lord, prepare + Whither thou deignest come; + I may not seek to share + The making of thy home; + In me thou, I in thee, + By thy sweet courtesy. + + Thy gracious gifts bestow, + Humility and love; + O cause my heart to glow + By fire sent from above. + In me thou, I in thee, + By thy sweet courtesy. + + --Alexander B. Grosart. + + + Thy name to me, thy nature grant; + This, only this be given; + Nothing besides my God I want, + Nothing in earth or heaven. + + Come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost + And seal me thine abode; + Let all I am in thee be lost, + Let all I am be God. + + --Charles Wesley. + + +PERFECTION + + O how the thought of God attracts, + And draws the heart from earth, + And sickens it of passing shows + And dissipating mirth! + + 'Tis not enough to save our souls, + To shun the eternal fires; + The thought of God will rouse the heart + To more sublime desires. + + God only is the creature's home, + Though rough and strait the road; + Yet nothing less can satisfy + The love that longs for God. + + Oh, utter but the name of God + Down in your heart of hearts, + And see how from the world at once + All tempting light departs. + + A trusting heart, a yearning eye + Can win their way above; + If mountains can be moved by faith + Is there less power in love? + + How little of that road, my soul, + How little hast thou gone! + Take heart, and let the thought of God + Allure thee further on. + + Dole not thy duties out to God, + But let thy hand be free; + Look long at Jesus; his sweet blood-- + How was it dealt to thee? + + The perfect way is hard to flesh; + It is not hard to love; + If thou wert sick for want of God + How swiftly wouldst thou move. + + Be docile to thine unseen Guide; + Love him as he loves thee; + Time and obedience are enough, + And thou a saint shalt be. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + + Thou broadenest out with every year + Each breadth of life to meet; + I scarce can think thou art the same, + Thou art so much more sweet. + With gentle swiftness lead me on, + Dear God, to see thy face; + And meanwhile in my narrow heart + O make thyself more space! + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +LONGING + + Of all the myriad moods of mind + That through the soul come thronging, + Which one was e'er so dear, so kind, + So beautiful, as Longing? + The thing we long for, _that_ we are + For one transcendent moment, + Before the Present poor and bare + Can make its sneering comment. + + Still, through our paltry stir and strife, + Glows down the wished ideal, + And longing molds in clay what life + Carves on the marble real; + To let the new life in, we know, + Desire must ope the portal; + Perhaps the longing to be so + Helps make the soul immortal. + + Longing is God's fresh heavenward will + With our poor earthward striving; + We quench it that we may be still + Content with merely living; + But, would we learn that heart's full scope + Which we are hourly wronging, + Our lives must climb from hope to hope, + And realize our longing. + + Ah! let us hope that to our praise + Good God not only reckons + The moments when we tread his ways, + But when the spirit beckons; + That some slight good is also wrought, + Beyond self-satisfaction, + When we are simply good in thought + Howe'er we fail in action. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +MORE HOLINESS + + More holiness give me; + More strivings within. + More patience in suffering, + More sorrow for sin. + More faith in my Saviour, + More sense of his care, + More joy in his service, + More purpose in prayer. + + More gratitude give me, + More trust in the Lord, + More pride in his glory, + More hope in his word. + More tears for his sorrows, + More pain at his grief, + More meekness in trial, + More praise for relief. + + More purity give me, + More strength to o'ercome, + More freedom from earth-stains, + More longings for home; + More fit for the kingdom, + More used I would be, + More blessed and holy-- + More, Saviour, like thee. + + --Philip Paul Bliss. + + +"MY SOUL DOTH MAGNIFY THE LORD" + + My soul shall be a telescope, + Searching the distant bounds of time and space, + That somehow I may image, as I grope, + Jehovah's power and grace. + + My soul a microscope shall be, + In all minutest providences keen + Jehovah's patient thoughtfulness to see, + And read his love between. + + My soul shall be a burning-glass + That diligence to worship may succeed, + That I may catch God's glories as they pass, + And focus to a deed. + + So, even so, + A mote in his creation, even I + Seeking alone to do, to feel, to know, + The Lord must magnify. + + --Amos R. Wells. + + + Lord, let me not be too content + With life in trifling service spent-- + Make me aspire! + When days with petty cares are filled + Let me with fleeting thoughts be thrilled + Of something higher! + + Help me to long for mental grace + To struggle with the commonplace + I daily find. + May little deeds not bring to fruit + A crop of little thought to suit + A shriveled mind. + + + I know this earth is not my sphere, + For I cannot so narrow me but that + I still exceed it. + + --Robert Browning. + + +A SHRINKING PRAYER + + Give me, O Lord, a heart of grace, + A voice of joy, a smiling face, + That I may show, where'er I turn, + Thy love within my soul doth burn! + + Then life be sweet, and joy be dear, + Be in my mind a quiet fear; + A patient love of pain and care, + An enmity to dark despair. + + A tenderness for all that stray, + With strength to help them on their way; + A cheerfulness, a heavenly mirth, + Brightening my steps along the earth. + + I ask and shrink, yet shrink and ask; + I know thou wilt not set a task + Too hard for hands that thou hast made, + Too hard for hands that thou canst aid. + + So let me dwell all peacefully, + Content to live, content to die; + Rejoicing now, rejoicing then, + Rejoicing evermore. Amen. + + --Rosa Mulholland. + + +THAT I MAY SOAR + + Great God, I ask thee for no meaner pelf + Than that I may not disappoint myself; + That in my action I may soar as high + As I can now discern with this clear eye. + + And next in value which thy kindness lends, + That I may greatly disappoint my friends, + Howe'er they think or hope that it may be, + They may not dream how thou'st distinguished me. + + That my weak hand may equal my firm faith, + And my life practise more than my tongue saith; + That my low conduct may not show, + Nor my relenting lines, + That I thy purpose did not know, + Or overrated thy designs. + + --Henry David Thoreau. + + +A CRY OF THE SOUL + + O God of truth, for whom alone I sigh, + Knit thou my heart by strong, sweet cords to thee. + I tire of hearing; books my patience try; + Untired to thee I cry; + Thyself my all shalt be. + + Lord, be thou near and cheer my lonely way; + With thy sweet peace my aching bosom fill; + Scatter my cares and fears; my griefs allay; + And be it mine each day + To love and please thee still. + + My God! Thou hearest me; but clouds obscure + Even yet thy perfect radiance, truth divine! + O for the stainless skies, the splendors pure, + The joys that aye endure + When thine own glories shine! + + --Pierre Corneille. + + +A PURPOSE TRUE + + Lord, make me quick to see + Each task awaiting me, + And quick to do; + Oh, grant me strength, I pray, + With lowly love each day + And purpose true. + + To go as Jesus went, + Spending and being spent, + Myself forgot; + Supplying human needs + By loving words and deeds, + Oh, happy lot! + + --Robert M. Offord. + + + There are deep things of God. Push out from shore; + Hast thou found much? Give thanks, and look for more. + Dost fear the generous Giver to offend? + Then know his store of bounty hath no end. + He doth not need to be implored or teased; + The more we take the better he is pleased. + + --Charles Gordon Ames. + + +BREATHE ON ME + + Breathe on me, Breath of God, + Fill me with life anew, + That I may love what thou dost love, + And do what thou wouldst do. + + Breathe on me, Breath of God, + Until my heart is pure, + Until with thee I will one will, + To do or to endure. + + Breathe on me, Breath of God, + Till I am wholly thine; + Till all this earthly part of me + Glows with thy fire divine. + + Breathe on me, Breath of God, + So shall I never die, + But live with thee the perfect life + Of thine eternity. + + --Edwin Hatch. + + +THE COMPARATIVE DEGREE + + What weight of woe we owe to thee, + Accurst comparative degree! + Thy paltry step can never give + Access to the superlative; + For he who would the wisest be, + Strives to make others wise as he, + And never yet was man judged best + Who would be better than the rest; + So does comparison unkind + Dwarf and debase the haughty mind. + + Make not a man your measuring-rod + If you would span the way to God; + Heed not our petty "worse" or "less," + But fix your eyes on perfectness. + Make for the loftiest point in view, + And draw your friends along with you. + + --Amos R. Wells. + + + Thy nature be my law, + Thy spotless sanctity, + And sweetly every moment draw + My happy soul to thee. + + Soul of my soul remain; + Who didst for me fulfill, + In me, O Lord, fulfill again + Thy heavenly Father's will. + + --Charles Wesley. + + +LEAD ON, O LORD + + Jesus still lead on + Till our rest be won; + And although the way be cheerless, + We will follow, calm and fearless; + Guide us by thy hand + To our Fatherland. + + If the way be drear, + If the foe be near, + Let not faithless fears o'ertake us, + Let not faith and hope forsake us; + For, through many a foe + To our home we go. + + When we seek relief + From a long-felt grief: + When oppressed by new temptations, + Lord, increase and perfect patience; + Show us that bright shore + Where we weep no more. + + Jesus, still lead on + Till our rest be won; + Heavenly Leader, still direct us, + Still support, control, protect us, + Till we safely stand + In our Fatherland. + + --Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf. + + + Give me this day + A little work to occupy my mind; + A little suffering to sanctify + My spirit; and, dear Lord, if thou canst find + Some little good that I may do for thee, + I shall be glad, for that will comfort me. + Mind, spirit, hand--I lift them all to thee. + + + O make me patient, Lord, + Patient in daily cares; + Keep me from thoughtless words, + That slip out unawares. + And help me, Lord, I pray, + Still nearer thee to live, + And as I journey on, + More of thy presence give. + + + O square thyself for use. A stone that may + Fit in the wall is not left in the way. + + --From the Persian. + + + Think, and be careful what thou art within, + For there is sin in the desire of sin: + Think and be thankful in a different case; + For there is grace in the desire of grace. + + --George Gordon Byron. + + + A man's higher being is knowing and seeing; + Not having or toiling for more; + In the senses and soul is the joy of control, + Not in pride and luxurious store. + + --John Boyle O'Reilly. + + + Be with me, Lord, where'er my path may lead; + Fulfill thy word, supply my every need; + Help me to live each day more close to thee. + And O, dear Lord, I pray abide with me. + + + In all I think or speak or do, + Whatever way my steps are bent, + God shape and keep me strong and true, + Courageous, cheerful, and content. + + --W. D. Russell. + + + Make my mortal dreams come true + With the work I fain would do: + Clothe with life the weak intent, + Let me be the thing I meant. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + This be my prayer, from dawn to eve, + Working between the suns; + Lord, make my arm as firm as a knight's + My soul as white as a nun's. + + + Every hour that fleets so slowly has its task to do or bear; + Luminous the crown and holy, if we set each gem with care. + + + O for a man to rise in me, + That the man that I am + May cease to be. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + + +PRAYER + +WORSHIP, COMMUNION, DEVOTION + + +THE UNIVERSAL PRAYER + + Father of all! in every age, + In ev'ry clime adored, + By saint, by savage, and by sage, + Jehovah, Jove, or Lord! + + Thou great First Cause, least understood, + Who all my sense confined + To know but this, that thou art good, + And that myself am blind: + + Yet gave me, in this dark estate, + To see the good from ill; + And binding nature fast in fate, + Left free the human will. + + What conscience dictates to be done, + Or warns me not to do, + This, teach me more than hell to shun, + That, more than heaven pursue. + + What blessings thy free bounty gives + Let me not cast away; + For God is paid when man receives-- + T' enjoy is to obey. + + Yet not to earth's contracted span + Thy goodness let me bound; + Or think thee Lord alone of man + When thousand worlds are round; + + Let not this weak, unknowing hand + Presume thy bolts to throw, + And deal damnation round the land + On each I judge thy foe. + + If I am right, thy grace impart + Still in the right to stay; + If I am wrong, O teach my heart + To find that better way. + + Save me alike from foolish pride + Or impious discontent, + At aught thy wisdom has denied + Or aught thy wisdom lent. + + Teach me to feel another's woe; + To hide the fault I see; + That mercy I to others show, + That mercy show to me. + + Mean though I am, not wholly so + Since quicken'd by thy breath; + O lead me wheresoe'er I go, + Through this day's life or death. + + This day be bread and peace my lot: + All else beneath the sun + Thou know'st if best bestowed or not; + And let thy will be done. + + To Thee, whose temple is all space, + Whose altar earth, sea, skies! + One chorus let all Being raise, + All Nature's incense rise! + + --Alexander Pope. + + +THE HOUR OF PRAYER + + My God, is any hour so sweet, + From blush of morn to evening star, + As that which calls me to thy feet: + The hour of prayer? + + Blest is that tranquil hour of morn, + And blest that solemn hour of eve, + When, on the wings of prayer upborne, + The world I leave. + + Then is my strength by thee renewed; + Then are my sins by thee forgiven; + Then dost thou cheer my solitude + With hopes of heaven. + + No words can tell what sweet relief + Here for my every want I find; + What strength for warfare, balm for grief, + What peace of mind. + + Hushed is each doubt, gone every fear; + My spirit seems in heaven to stay; + And e'en the penitential tear + Is wiped away. + + Lord, till I reach that blissful shore, + No privilege so dear shall be + As thus my inmost soul to pour + In prayer to thee. + + --Charlotte Elliott. + + +PETITION + + Be not afraid to pray--to pray is right. + Pray, if thou canst, with hope; but ever pray, + Though hope be weak or sick with long delay; + Pray in the darkness if there be no light. + + Far is the time, remote from human sight, + When war and discord on the earth shall cease; + Yet every prayer for universal peace + Avails the blessed time to expedite. + + Whate'er is good to wish, ask that of heaven, + Though it be what thou canst not hope to see. + Pray to be perfect, though material leaven + Forbid the spirit so on earth to be; + But if for any wish thou darest not pray, + Then pray to God to cast that wish away. + + --Hartley Coleridge. + + +SOMETIME, SOMEWHERE + + Unanswered yet the prayer your lips have pleaded + In agony of heart these many years? + Does faith begin to fail? Is hope departing? + And think you all in vain those falling tears? + Say not the Father hath not heard your prayer; + You shall have your desire sometime, somewhere. + + Unanswered yet?--though when you first presented + This one petition at the Father's throne + It seemed you could not wait the time of asking, + So urgent was your heart to make it known! + Though years have passed since then, do not despair; + The Lord will answer you sometime, somewhere. + + Unanswered yet? Nay, do not say ungranted; + Perhaps your work is not yet wholly done. + The work began when first your prayer was uttered, + And God will finish what he has begun. + If you will keep the incense burning there + His glory you shall see sometime, somewhere. + + Unanswered yet? Faith cannot be unanswered, + Her feet were firmly planted on the Rock; + Amid the wildest storms she stands undaunted, + Nor quails before the loudest thunder shock. + She knows Omnipotence has heard her prayer, + And cries, "It shall be done"--sometime, somewhere. + + --Miss Ophelia G. Browning. + + +SECRET PRAYER + + Lord, I have shut my door-- + Shut out life's busy cares and fretting noise, + Here in this silence they intrude no more. + Speak thou, and heavenly joys + Shall fill my heart with music sweet and calm-- + A holy psalm. + + Yes, I have shut my door, + Even on all the beauty of thine earth-- + To its blue ceiling, from its emerald floor, + Filled with spring's bloom and mirth; + From these, thy works, I turn; thyself I seek; + To thee I speak. + + And I have shut my door + On earthly passion--all its yearning love, + Its tender friendships, all the priceless store + Of human ties. Above + All these my heart aspires, O Heart divine! + Stoop thou to mine. + + Lord, I have shut my door! + Come thou and visit me: I am alone! + Come as when doors were shut thou cam'st of yore + And visited thine own. + My Lord, I kneel with reverence, love, and fear, + For thou art here. + + --Mary Ellen Atkinson. + + +WHAT MAN IS THERE OF YOU? + + The homely words--how often read! + How seldom fully known: + "Which father of you, asked for bread, + Would give his son a stone?" + + How oft has bitter tear been shed, + And heaved how many a groan, + Because thou wouldst not give for bread + The thing that was a stone! + + How oft the child thou wouldst have fed + Thy gift away has thrown; + He prayed, thou heardst, and gavest bread-- + He cried, "It is a stone!" + + Lord, if I ask in doubt and dread, + Lest I be left to moan, + Am I not he, who, asked for bread, + Would give his son a stone? + + --George Macdonald. + + +DENIAL + + I want so many, many things, + My wishes on my prayers take wings, + And heavenward fly to sue for grace + Before the loving Father's face. + + But He, well knowing all my need, + Kindly rebukes my foolish greed, + And, granting not the gift I ask, + Sets me instead to do some task-- + + Some lowly task--for love of him, + So lowly, and in light so dim, + My sorrowing soul must cease to sing, + And only sigh, "'Tis for the King." + + And scarcely can my faith repeat + Her sad petition at his feet: + "These daily tasks Thou giv'st to me, + Help, Lord, to do as unto thee!" + + Yet while his bidding thus I do-- + I know not how, or why, 'tis true-- + My thoughts to sweet contentment glide, + And I forget the wish denied. + + And so my prayers he hears and heeds, + Mindful of all my daily needs; + Gracious, most gracious, too, in this-- + Denying, when I ask amiss. + + --Luella Clark. + + +A BLESSING IN PRAYER + + If when I kneel to pray, + With eager lips I say: + "Lord, give me all the things that I desire-- + Health, wealth, fame, friends, brave heart, religious fire, + The power to sway my fellow men at will, + And strength for mighty works to banish ill"-- + In such a prayer as this + The blessing I must miss. + + Or if I only dare + To raise this fainting prayer: + "Thou seest, Lord, that I am poor and weak, + And cannot tell what things I ought to seek; + I therefore do not ask at all, but still + I trust thy bounty all my wants to fill"-- + My lips shall thus grow dumb, + The blessing shall not come. + + But if I lowly fall, + And thus in faith I call: + "Through Christ, O Lord, I pray thee give to me + Not what I would, but what seems best to thee + Of life, of health, of service, and of strength, + Until to thy full joy I come at length"-- + My prayer shall then avail; + The blessing shall not fail. + + --Charles F. Richardson. + + + Teach me, dear Lord, what thou wouldst have me know; + Guide me, dear Lord, where thou wouldst have me go; + Help me, dear Lord, the precious seed to sow; + Bless thou the seed that it may surely grow. + + +THE TIME FOR PRAYER + + When is the time for prayer? + With the first beams that light the morning sky, + Ere for the toils of day thou dost prepare, + Lift up thy thoughts on high; + Commend thy loved ones to his watchful care: + Morn is the time for prayer! + + And in the noontide hour, + If worn by toil or by sad care oppressed, + Then unto God thy spirit's sorrows pour, + And he will give thee rest: + Thy voice shall reach him through the fields of air: + Noon is the time for prayer! + + When the bright sun hath set, + Whilst yet eve's glowing colors deck the skies, + When with the loved, at home, again thou'st met, + Then let thy prayers arise + For those who in thy joys and sorrows share: + Eve is the time for prayer! + + And when the stars come forth-- + When to the trusting heart sweet hopes are given + And the deep stillness of the hour gives birth + To pure bright dreams of heaven-- + Kneel to thy God; ask strength life's ills to bear: + Night is the time for prayer. + + When is the time for prayer? + In every hour, while life is spared to thee-- + In crowds or solitude--in joy or care-- + Thy thoughts should heavenward flee. + At home--at morn and eve--with loved ones there, + Bend thou the knee in prayer! + + +NOT A SOUND INVADES THE STILLNESS + + Not a sound invades the stillness, + Not a form invades the scene, + Save the voice of my Belovèd, + And the person of my King. + + And within those heavenly places, + Calmly hushed in sweet repose, + There I drink, with joy absorbing, + All the love thou wouldst disclose. + + Wrapt in deep adoring silence, + Jesus, Lord, I dare not move, + Lest I lose the smallest saying + Meant to catch the ear of love. + + Rest, then, O my soul, contented: + Thou hast reached thy happy place + In the bosom of thy Saviour, + Gazing up in his dear face. + + +FORMAL PRAYER + + I often say my prayers, + But do I ever pray; + And do the wishes of my heart + Go with the words I say? + + I may as well kneel down + And worship gods of stone, + As offer to the living God + A prayer of words alone. + + For words without the heart + The Lord will never hear: + Nor will he to those lips attend + Whose prayers are not sincere. + + --John Burton. + + +BLESSINGS OF PRAYER + + What various hindrances we meet + In coming to a mercy-seat! + Yet who that knows the worth of prayer + But wishes to be often there! + + Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw; + Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw; + Gives exercise to faith and love; + Brings every blessing from above. + + Restraining prayer, we cease to fight; + Prayer keeps the Christian's armor bright; + And Satan trembles when he sees + The weakest saint upon his knees. + + Were half the breath that's vainly spent + To heaven in supplication sent, + Our cheerful song would oftener be + "Hear what the Lord has done for me." + + --William Cowper. + + +WHAT IS PRAYER? + + Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, + Uttered or unexpressed; + The motion of a hidden fire + That trembles in the breast. + + Prayer is the burden of a sigh, + The falling of a tear, + The upward glancing of an eye, + When none but God is near. + + Prayer is the simplest form of speech + That infant lips can try; + Prayer the sublimest strains that reach + The Majesty on high. + + Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice, + Returning from his ways; + While angels in their songs rejoice + And cry, "Behold, he prays!" + + Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, + The Christian's native air, + His watchword at the gates of death; + He enters heaven with prayer. + + O Thou, by whom we come to God, + The Life, the Truth, the Way; + The path of prayer thyself hast trod: + Lord, teach us how to pray! + + --James Montgomery. + + +SPIRITUAL DEVOTION + + The woman singeth at her spinning wheel + A pleasant chant, ballad, or baracolle; + She thinketh of her song, upon the whole, + Far more than of her flax; and yet the reel + Is full, and artfully her fingers feel, + With quick adjustment, provident control, + The lines, too subtly twisted to unroll, + Out to a perfect thread. I hence appeal + To the dear Christian Church, that we may do + Our Father's business in these temples mirk + Thus, swift and steadfast; thus, intent and strong; + While, thus, apart from toil, our souls pursue + Some high, calm, spheric tune and prove our work + The better for the sweetness of our song. + + --Elizabeth Barrett Browning. + + +PRAYER OF DEEDS + + The deed ye do is the prayer ye pray; + "Lead us into temptation, Lord; + Withhold the bread from our babes this day; + To evil we turn us, give evil's reward!" + + Over to-day the to-morrow bends + With an answer for each acted prayer; + And woe to him who makes not friends + With the pale hereafter hovering there. + + --George S. Burleigh. + + +SUNDAY + + Not a dread cavern, hoar with damp and mould, + Where I must creep and in the dark and cold + Offer some awful incense at a shrine + That hath no more divine + Than that 'tis far from life, and stern, and old; + + But a bright hilltop, in the breezy air + Full of the morning freshness, high and clear, + Where I may climb and drink the pure new day + And see where winds away + The path that God would send me, shining fair. + + --Edward Rowland Sill. + + +PRAYER + + When prayer delights thee least, then learn to say, + Soul, now is greatest need that thou should'st pray: + + Crooked and warped I am, and I would fain + Straighten myself by thy right line again. + + Oh, come, warm sun, and ripen my late fruits; + Pierce, genial showers, down to my parchèd roots. + + My well is bitter, cast therein the tree, + That sweet henceforth its brackish waves may be. + + Say, what is prayer, when it is prayer indeed? + The mighty utterance of a mighty need. + + The man is praying who doth press with might + Out of his darkness into God's own light. + + White heat the iron in the furnace won, + Withdrawn from thence 'twas cold and hard anon. + + Flowers, from their stalk divided, presently + Droop, fall, and wither in the gazer's eye. + + The greenest leaf, divided from its stem, + To speedy withering doth itself condemn. + + The largest river, from its fountain-head + Cut off, leaves soon a parched and dusty bed. + + All things that live from God their sustenance wait, + And sun and moon are beggars at his gate. + + All skirts extended of thy mantle hold + When angel hands from heaven are scattering gold. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + +MEANING OF PRAYER + + One thing, alone, dear Lord, I dread-- + To have a secret spot + That separates my soul from thee, + And yet to know it not. + + Prayer was not meant for luxury, + Or selfish pastime sweet; + It is the prostrate creature's place + At his Creator's feet. + + But if this waiting long hath come + A present from on high, + Teach me to find the hidden wealth + That in its depths may lie. + + So in the darkness I can learn + To tremble and adore; + To sound my own vile nothingness, + And thus to love thee more. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +TALKING WITH GOD + + To stretch my hand and touch Him + Though he be far away; + To raise my eyes and see him + Through darkness as through day; + To lift my voice and call him-- + This is to pray! + + To feel a hand extended + By One who standeth near; + To view the love that shineth + In eyes serene and clear; + To know that he is calling-- + This is to hear! + + --Samuel W. Duffield. + + +MY PRAYER + + Being perplexed, I say, + "Lord, make it right! + Night is as day to thee, + Darkness is light. + I am afraid to touch + Things that involve so much; + My trembling hand may shake-- + My skillful hand may break; + Thine can make no mistake." + + Being in doubt, I say, + "Lord, make it plain! + Which is the true, safe way? + Which would be vain? + I am not wise to know, + Nor sure of foot to go; + My blind eyes cannot see + What is so clear to thee. + Lord, make it clear to me." + + +THE SOURCE OF POWER + + There is an eye that never sleeps + Beneath the wing of night; + There is an ear that never shuts + When sink the beams of light. + + There is an arm that never tires + When human strength gives way; + There is a love that never fails + When earthly loves decay. + + That eye is fixed on seraph throngs; + That arm upholds the sky; + That ear is filled with angel songs, + That love is throned on high. + + But there's a power which man can wield + When mortal aid is vain, + That eye, that arm, that love to reach, + That listening ear to gain. + + That power is prayer, which soars on high, + Through Jesus, to the throne, + And moves the hand which moves the world, + To bring salvation down. + + --James Cowden Wallace. + + +DIFFERENT PRAYERS + + Three doors there are in the temple + Where men go up to pray, + And they that wait at the outer gate + May enter by either way. + + There are some that pray by asking; + They lie on the Master's breast, + And, shunning the strife of the lower life, + They utter their cry for rest. + + There are some that pray by seeking; + They doubt where their reason fails; + But their mind's despair is the ancient prayer + To touch the print of the nails. + + There are some that pray by knocking; + They put their strength to the wheel + For they have not time for thoughts sublime; + They can only act what they feel. + + Father, give each his answer, + Each in his kindred way; + Adapt thy light to his form of night + And grant him his needed day. + + --William Watson. + + +TRUE PRAYER + +I. + + It is not prayer, + This clamor of our eager wants + That fills the air + With wearying, selfish plaints. + + It is not faith + To boldly count all gifts as ours-- + The pride that saith, + "For me his wealth he ever showers." + + It is not praise + To call to mind our happier lot, + And boast bright days, + God-favored, with all else forgot. + +II. + + It is true prayer + To seek the giver more than gift + God's life to share + And love--for this our cry to lift. + + It is true faith + To simply trust his loving will, + Whiche'er he saith-- + "Thy lot be glad" or "ill." + + It is true praise + To bless alike the bright and dark; + To sing, all days + Alike, with nightingale and lark. + + --James W. White. + + +THE POWER OF PRAYER + + Lord, what a change within us one short hour + Spent in thy presence will prevail to make; + What heavy burdens from our bosoms take; + What parchèd grounds refresh as with a shower! + We kneel--and all about us seems to lower; + We rise--and all, the distant and the near, + Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear. + We kneel, how weak! we rise, how full of power! + Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong, + Or others, that we are not always strong; + That we are ever overborne with care, + Anxious and troubled, when with us is prayer, + And joy and strength and courage are with thee? + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + + Asked and unasked, thy heavenly gifts unfold, + And evil, though we ask it, Lord, withhold. + + --Homer, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + +MARY OF BETHANY + + Her eyes are homes of silent prayer, + Nor other thought her mind admits + But, he was dead, and there he sits. + And he that brought him back is there. + + Then one deep love doth supersede + All other, when her ardent gaze + Roves from the living brother's face + And rests upon the Life indeed. + + All subtle thought, all curious fears. + Borne down by gladness so complete, + She bows, she bathes the Saviour's feet + With costly spikenard and with tears. + + Thrice blest whose lives are faithful prayers, + Whose loves in higher love endure; + What souls possess themselves so pure, + Or is there blessedness like theirs? + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +PRAYER ITS OWN ANSWER + + "Allah, Allah!" cried the sick man, racked with pain the long night + through; + Till with prayer his heart was tender, till his lips like honey grew. + + But at morning came the Tempter; said, "Call louder, child of pain! + See if Allah ever hear, or answer 'Here am I' again." + + Like a stab the cruel cavil through his brain and pulses went; + To his heart an icy coldness, to his brain a darkness, sent. + + Then before him stands Elias; says "My child! why thus dismayed? + Dost repent thy former fervor? Is thy soul of prayer afraid?" + + "Ah!" he cried, "I've called so often; never heard the 'Here am I'; + And I thought, God will not pity, will not turn on me his eye." + + Then the grave Elias answered, "God said, 'Rise, Elias, go, + Speak to him, the sorely tempted; lift him from his gulf of woe. + + "'Tell him that his very longing is itself an answering cry; + That his prayer, "Come, gracious Allah," is my answer, "Here am I"'. + + "Every inmost aspiration is God's angel undefiled; + And in every 'O my Father!' slumbers deep a 'Here, my child!'" + + --Jelal-ed-Deen, tr. by James Freeman Clarke. + + +THE CONTENTS OF PIETY + + "Allah!" was all night long the cry of one oppressed with care, + Till softened was his heart, and sweet became his lips with prayer. + Then near the subtle tempter stole, and spake: + "Fond babbler, cease! + For not one 'Here am I' has God e'er sent to give thee peace." + With sorrow sank the suppliant's soul and all his senses fled. + But lo! at midnight, the good angel, Chiser, came, and said: + "What ails thee now, my child, and why art thou afraid to pray? + And why thy former love dost thou repent? declare and say." + "Ah!" cries he, "never once spake God to me, 'Here am I, son.' + Cast off methinks I am, and warned far from his gracious throne." + To whom the angel answered, "Hear the word from God I bear: + 'Go tell,' he said, 'yon mourner, sunk in sorrow and despair, + Each "Lord, appear!" thy lips pronounce contains my "Here am I"; + A special messenger I send beneath thine every sigh; + Thy love is but a guerdon of the love I bear to thee. + And sleeping in thy "Come, O Lord!" there lies "Here, son!" from me.'" + + --Oriental, tr. by William Rounseville Alger. + + + He prayeth well who loveth well + Both man and bird and beast. + He prayeth best who loveth best + All things, both great and small; + For the dear God who loveth us + He made and loveth all. + + --Samuel Taylor Coleridge. + + +ADORATION + + I love my God, but with no love of mine, + For I have none to give; + I love thee, Lord, but all the love is thine + For by thy love I live. + I am as nothing, and rejoice to be + Emptied and lost and swallowed up in thee. + + Thou, Lord, alone art all thy children need, + And there is none beside; + From thee the streams of blessedness proceed, + In thee the blest abide-- + Fountain of life and all-abounding grace, + Our source, our center, and our dwelling place. + + --Madame Guyon. + + +WALKING WITH GOD + + O Master, let me walk with thee + In lowly paths of service free; + Tell me thy secret; help me bear + The strain of toil, the fret of care. + + Help me the slow of heart to move + By some clear, winning word of love; + Teach me the wayward feet to stay, + And guide them in the homeward way. + + Teach me thy patience! still with Thee + In closer, dearer company: + In work that keeps faith sweet and strong, + In trust that triumphs over wrong. + + In hope that sends a shining ray + Far down the future's broadening way; + In peace that only thou canst give, + With thee, O Master, let me live. + + --Washington Gladden. + + + There was a man who prayed + For wisdom that he might + Sway men from sinful ways + And lead them into light. + Each night he knelt and asked the Lord + To let him guide the sinful horde. + And every day he rose again, + To idly drift along, + One of the many common men + Who form the common throng. + + +GRANTED OR DENIED + + To long with all our longing powers, + And have the wish denied; + To urge and strain our force in vain + Against the unresting tide + Of fate and circumstance, which still + Baffles and beats and thwarts our will; + + To reach the goal toward which we strove + All the long way and hard; + To win the prize which, to our eyes, + Seemed life's one best reward-- + Love's rose, Fame's laurel, olived Peace, + The gold-fruit of Hesperides-- + + And then to find the prize all vain, + The joys all empty made-- + To taste the sting in each sweet thing, + To watch Love's roses fade, + The fruit to ashes turn, the gold + To worthless dross within our hold! + + Now which has most of grief and pain, + Which is the worse to bear: + The joy we crave and never have, + Or the curse of the granted prayer? + The baffled wish or the bitter rue-- + Could our hearts choose between the two? + + O will of God, thou blessèd will! + Which, like a balmèd air, + The breath of souls about us rolls, + Touching us everywhere, + Imparting, like a soft caress, + Healing, and help, and tenderness, + + O will of God, be thou our will! + Then, come or joy or pain, + Made one with thee it cannot be + That we shall wish in vain, + And, whether granted or denied, + Our hearts shall be all satisfied. + + --Susan Coolidge. + + +OUT OF TOUCH + + Only a smile, yes, only a smile + That a woman o'erburdened with grief + Expected from you; 'twould have given relief, + For her heart ached sore the while; + But weary and cheerless she went away, + Because, as it happened, that very day + You were "out of touch" with your Lord. + + Only a word, yes, only a word, + That the Spirit's small voice whispered "Speak"; + But the worker passed onward unblessed and weak + Whom you were meant to have stirred + To courage, devotion, and love anew, + Because when the message came to you + You were "out of touch" with your Lord. + + Only a note, yes, only a note + To a friend in a distant land. + The Spirit said "Write," but then you had planned + Some different work, and you thought + It mattered little. You did not know + 'Twould have saved a soul from sin and woe; + You were "out of touch" with your Lord. + + Only a song, yes, only a song + That the Spirit said "Sing to-night; + Thy voice is thy Master's by purchased right"; + But you thought, "'Mid this motley throng + I care not to sing of the city of gold"-- + And the heart that your words might have reached grew cold; + You were "out of touch" with your Lord. + + Only a day, yes, only a day! + But oh, can you guess, my friend, + Where the influence reaches, and where it will end + Of the hours that you frittered away? + The Master's command is "Abide in me" + And fruitless and vain will your service be + If "out of touch" with your Lord. + + --Jean H. Watson. + + + Prayer is Innocence's friend; and willingly flieth incessant + 'Twixt the earth and the sky, the carrier-pigeon of heaven. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + We may question with wand of science, + Explain, decide, and discuss; + But only in meditation + The Mystery speaks to us. + + --John Boyle O'Reilly. + + +THE VALLEY OF SILENCE + + I walk down the Valley of Silence, + Down the dim, voiceless valley alone! + And I hear not the fall of a footstep + Around me--save God's and my own! + And the hush of my heart is as holy + As hovers where angels have flown. + + Long ago was I weary of voices + Whose music my heart could not win; + Long ago was I weary of noises + That fretted my soul with their din; + Long ago was I weary of places + Where I met but the human and sin. + + And still did I pine for the perfect, + And still found the false with the true; + I sought 'mid the human for heaven, + But caught a mere glimpse of the blue; + And I wept when the clouds of the world veiled + Even _that_ glimpse from my view. + + And I toiled on, heart-tired of the human, + And I moaned 'mid the mazes of men, + Till I knelt, long ago, at an altar, + And heard a Voice call me. Since then + I walk down the Valley of Silence + That lies far beyond mortal ken. + + Do you ask what I found in the Valley? + 'Tis my trysting place with the Divine. + When I fell at the feet of the Holy, + And about me a voice said, "Be mine," + There arose from the depths of my spirit + An echo: "My heart shall be thine." + + Do you ask how I live in the Valley? + I weep, and I dream, and I pray; + But my tears are as sweet as the dew-drops + That fall on the roses in May; + And my prayer, like a perfume from censer, + Ascendeth to God night and day. + + In the hush of the Valley of Silence, + I dream all the songs that I sing; + And the music floats down the dim valley + Till each finds a word for a wing, + That to men, like the doves of the deluge + The message of peace they may bring. + + But far out on the deep there are billows + That never shall break on the beach; + And I have heard songs in the silence + That never shall float into speech; + And I have had dreams in the valley + Too lofty for language to reach. + + And I have seen thoughts in the valley-- + Ah, me! how my spirit was stirred! + And they wear holy veils on their faces-- + Their footsteps can scarcely be heard; + They pass through the valley like virgins + Too pure for the touch of a word. + + Do you ask me the place of the Valley, + Ye hearts that are harrowed by care? + It lieth afar, between mountains, + And God and his angels are there; + And one is the dark Mount of Sorrow, + The other, the bright Mount of Prayer. + + --Abram Joseph Ryan. + + +HELP THOU MY UNBELIEF + + Because I seek thee not O seek thou me! + Because my lips are dumb O hear the cry + I do not utter as thou passest by, + And from my lifelong bondage set me free! + Because, content, I perish far from thee, + O seize me, snatch me from my fate and try + My soul in thy consuming fire! Draw nigh + And let me, blinded, thy salvation see. + + If I were pouring at thy feet my tears, + If I were clamoring to see thy face, + I should not need thee, Lord, as now I need, + Whose dumb, dead soul knows neither hopes nor fears, + Nor dreads the outer darkness of this place. + _Because_ I seek not, pray not, give thou heed. + + +PHARISEE AND PUBLICAN + + Two went to pray? O, rather say + One went to brag, the other to pray; + One stands up close and treads on high, + Where the other dares not lend his eye; + One nearer to God's altar trod, + The other to the altar's God. + + --Richard Crashaw. + + +A MOMENT IN THE MORNING + + A moment in the morning, ere the cares of the day begin, + Ere the heart's wide door is open for the world to enter in, + Ah, then, alone with Jesus, in the silence of the morn, + In heavenly sweet communion, let your duty-day be born. + In the quietude that blesses with a prelude of repose + Let your soul be smoothed and softened, as the dew revives the rose. + + A moment in the morning take your Bible in your hand, + And catch a glimpse of glory from the peaceful promised land: + It will linger still before you when you seek the busy mart, + And like flowers of hope will blossom into beauty in your heart. + The precious words, like jewels, will glisten all the day + With a rare effulgent glory that will brighten all the way; + When comes a sore temptation, and your feet are near a snare, + You may count them like a rosary and make each one a prayer. + + A moment in the morning--a moment, if no more-- + Is better than an hour when the trying day is o'er. + 'Tis the gentle dew from heaven, the manna for the day; + If you fail to gather early--alas! it melts away. + So, in the blush of morning, take the offered hand of love, + And walk in heaven's pathway and the peacefulness thereof. + + --Arthur Lewis Tubbs. + + +AN INVITATION TO PRAYER + + Come to the morning prayer, + Come, let us kneel and pray; + Prayer is the Christian pilgrim's staff + To walk with God all day. + + At noon, beneath the Rock + Of Ages rest and pray; + Sweet is the shadow from the heat + When the sun smites by day. + + At eve, shut to the door, + Round the home altar pray; + And finding there "the house of God" + At "heaven's gate" close the day. + + When midnight seals our eyes, + Let each in spirit say, + "I sleep, but my heart waketh, Lord, + With thee to watch and pray." + + --James Montgomery. + + +SELFISH PRAYER + + How we, poor players on life's little stage, + Thrust blindly at each other in our rage, + Quarrel and fret, yet rashly dare to pray + To God to keep us on our selfish way. + + We think to move him with our prayer and praise + To serve our needs, as in the old Greek days + Their gods came down and mingled in the fight + With mightier arms the flying foe to smite. + + The laughter of those gods pealed down to man; + For heaven was but earth's upper story then, + Where goddesses about an apple strove + And the high gods fell humanly in love. + + _We_ own a God whose presence fills the sky; + Whose sleepless eyes behold the worlds roll by; + Whose faithful memory numbers, one by one, + The sons of man, and calls them each his son. + + --Louise Chandler Moulton. + + + To make rough places plain, and crooked straight; + To help the weak; to envy not the strong; + To make the earth a sweeter dwelling place, + In little ways, or if we may, in great, + And in the world to help the heavenly song, + We pray, Lord Jesus, grant to us thy grace! + + +THE TWO RELIGIONS + + A woman sat by a hearthside place + Reading a book, with a pleasant face, + Till a child came up, with a childish frown, + And pushed the book, saying, "Put it down." + Then the mother, slapping his curly head, + Said, "Troublesome child, go off to bed; + A great deal of Christ's life I must know + To train you up as a child should go." + And the child went off to bed to cry, + And denounce religion--by and by. + + Another woman bent over a book + With a smile of joy and an intent look, + Till a child came up and jogged her knee, + And said of the book, "Put it down--take me." + Then the mother sighed as she stroked his head, + Saying softly, "I never shall get it read: + But I'll try by loving to learn His will, + And his love into my child instill." + That child went to bed without a sigh, + And will love religion--by and by. + + +A LIFE HID WITH CHRIST + + I have a life with Christ to live; + But ere I live it must I wait + Till learning can clear answer give + Of this or that book's date? + + I have a life in Christ to live, + I have a death in Christ to die; + And must I wait till science give + All doubts a full reply? + + Nay, rather, while the sea of doubt + Is raging wildly round about, + Questioning of life and death and sin, + Let me but creep within + Thy fold, O Christ, and at thy feet + Take but the lowest seat, + And hear thine awful voice repeat + In gentlest accents, heavenly sweet, + "Come unto me and rest; + Believe me, and be blest." + + --John Campbell Shairp. + + + Still raise for good the supplicating voice, + But leave to Heaven the measure and the choice. + + --Dr. Samuel Johnson. + + +PRAY ALWAYS + + Go when the morning shineth, + Go when the noon is bright, + Go when the eve declineth, + Go in the hush of night; + Go with pure mind and feeling, + Fling earthly thoughts away, + And, in thy chamber kneeling, + Do thou in secret pray. + + Remember all who love thee, + All who are loved by thee; + Pray, too, for those who hate thee, + If any such there be. + Then for thyself in meekness + A blessing humbly claim, + And link with thy petition + The great Redeemer's name. + + Or, if 'tis e'er denied thee + In solitude to pray, + Should holy thoughts come o'er thee + When friends are round thy way, + E'en then the silent breathing + Of thy spirit, raised above, + May reach His throne of glory + Who is mercy, truth and love. + + Oh! not a joy or blessing + With this can we compare: + The power that he hath given us + To pour our hearts in prayer. + Whene'er thou pin'st in sadness + Before His footstool fall, + And remember in thy gladness + His grace who gave thee all. + + --Jane C. Simpson. + + + More things are wrought by prayer + Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice + Rise like a fountain for me night and day. + For what are men better than sheep or goats, + That nourish a blind life within the brain, + If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer, + Both for themselves and those who call them friend. + For so the whole round earth is every way + Bound by gold chains about the feet of God. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +ENOCH + + He walked with God, by faith, in solitude, + At early dawn or tranquil eventide; + In some lone leafy place he would abide + Till his whole being was with God imbued. + He walked with God amid the multitude; + No threats or smiles could his firm soul divide + From that beloved presence at his side + Whose still small voice silenced earth's noises rude. + Boldly abroad to men he testified + How "the Lord cometh" and the judgment brings; + Gently at home he trained his "sons and daughters"; + Till, praying, a bright chariot he espied + Sent to translate him, as on angels' wings, + To walk with God beside heaven's "living waters." + + --R. Wilton. + + +A WORKER'S PRAYER + + Lord, speak to me, that I may speak + In living echoes of thy tone; + As thou hast sought, so let me seek + Thy erring children, lost and lone. + + Oh, teach me, Lord, that I may teach + The precious things thou dost impart; + And wing my words that they may reach + The hidden depths of many a heart. + + Oh, give thine own sweet rest to me, + That I may speak with soothing power + A word in season, as from thee, + To weary ones in needful hour. + + Oh, use me, Lord, use even me, + Just as thou wilt, and when and where; + Until thy blessed face I see, + Thy rest, thy joy, thy glory share. + + + God answers prayer-- + Answers always, everywhere, + I may cast my anxious care, + Burdens I could never bear, + On the God who heareth prayer. + + +SUBMISSION AND REST + + The camel, at the close of day + Kneels down upon the sandy plain + To have his burden lifted off + And rest again. + + My soul, thou too should to thy knees + When daylight draweth to a close, + And let thy Master lift the load + And grant repose. + + Else how couldst thou to-morrow meet, + With all to-morrow's work to do, + If thou thy burden all the night + Dost carry through? + + The camel kneels at break of day + To have his guide replace his load; + Then rises up anew to take + The desert road. + + So thou shouldst kneel at morning's dawn + That God may give thee daily care; + Assured that he no load too great + Will make thee bear. + + +TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY + + Take time to be holy; + Speak oft with thy Lord; + Abide in him always, + And feed on his word; + Make friends of God's children, + Help those who are weak, + Forgetting in nothing + His blessing to seek. + + Take time to be holy; + The world rushes on; + Spend much time in secret + With Jesus alone; + By looking at Jesus + Like him thou shalt be; + Thy friends in thy conduct + His likeness shall see. + + Take time to be holy; + Let him be thy Guide, + And run not before him + Whatever betide; + In joy or in sorrow + Still follow thy Lord, + And, looking to Jesus, + Still trust in his word. + + Take time to be holy; + Be calm in thy soul; + Each thought and each motive + Beneath his control; + Thus led by his Spirit + To fountains of love, + Thou soon shalt be fitted + For service above. + + --W. D. Longstaff. + + +PRAYER FOR STRENGTH + + Father, before thy footstool kneeling, + Once more my heart goes up to thee, + For aid, for strength, to thee appealing, + Thou who alone canst succor me. + + Hear me! for heart and flesh are failing, + My spirit yielding in the strife; + And anguish wild as unavailing + Sweeps in a flood across my life. + + Help me to stem the tide of sorrow; + Help me to bear thy chastening rod; + Give me endurance; let me borrow + Strength from thy promise, O my God! + + Not mine the grief which words may lighten; + Not mine the tears of common woes; + The pang with which my heart-strings tighten + Only the All-seeing One may know. + + And I am weak, my feeble spirit + Shrinks from life's task in wild dismay; + Yet not that thou that task wouldst spare it, + My Father, do I dare to pray. + + Into my soul thy might infusing, + Strengthening my spirit by thine own; + Help me, all other aid refusing, + To cling to thee, and thee alone. + + And O in my exceeding weakness + Make thy strength perfect; thou art strong: + Aid me to do thy will with meekness, + Thou to whom all my powers belong. + + O let me feel that thou art near me; + Close to thy side, I shall not fear; + Hear me, O Strength of Israel, hear me, + Sustain and aid! in mercy hear. + + +LIGHT + + Lord, send thy light, + Not only in the darkest night, + But in the shadowy, dim twilight, + Wherein my strained and aching sight + Can scarce distinguish wrong from right, + Then send thy light. + + Teach me to pray. + Not only in the morning gray, + Or when the moonbeam's silver ray + Falls on me, but at high noonday, + When pleasure beckons me away, + Teach me to pray. + + --Constance Milman. + + +OUR BURDEN BEARER + + The little sharp vexations + And the briars that cut the feet, + Why not take all to the Helper + Who has never failed us yet? + Tell him about the heartache, + And tell him the longings too, + Tell him the baffled purpose + When we scarce know what to do. + Then, leaving all our weakness + With the One divinely strong, + Forget that we bore the burden + And carry away the song. + + --Phillips Brooks. + + + My proud foe at my hands to take no boon will choose. + Thy prayers are that one gift which he cannot refuse. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + +ANSWER TO PRAYER + + Man's plea to man is, that he nevermore + Will beg, and that he never begged before; + Man's plea to God is, that he did obtain + A former suit, and therefore sues again. + How good a God we serve, that, when we sue, + Makes his old gifts examples of his new. + + --Francis Quarles. + + +TALHAIRN'S PRAYER + + Grant me, O God, thy merciful protection; + And, in protection, give me strength, I pray; + And, in my strength, O grant me wise discretion; + And, in discretion, make me ever just; + And, with my justice, may I mingle love, + And, with my love, O God, the love of thee; + And, with the love of thee, the love of all. + + --From the Welsh. + + + O sad estate + Of human wretchedness! so weak is man, + So ignorant and blind, that did not God + Sometimes withhold in mercy what we ask, + We should be ruined at our own request. + + --Hannah More. + + + Why win we not at once what we in prayer require? + That we may learn great things as greatly to desire. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + + + +JOY + +PRAISE, CHEERFULNESS, HAPPINESS + + +THE SECRET OF A HAPPY DAY + + Just to let thy Father do + What he will; + Just to know that he is true + And be still. + Just to follow hour by hour + As He leadeth; + Just to draw the moment's power + As it needeth. + Just to trust Him, this is all! + Then the day will surely be + Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall, + Bright and blessèd, calm and free. + + Just to let Him speak to thee + Through his word, + Watching that his voice may be + Clearly heard. + Just to tell Him every thing + As it rises, + And at once to him to bring + All surprises. + Just to listen, and to stay + Where you cannot miss His voice, + This is all! and thus to-day, + Communing, you shall rejoice. + + Just to ask Him what to do + All the day, + And to make you quick and true + To obey. + Just to know the needed grace + He bestoweth, + Every bar of time and place + Overfloweth. + Just to take thy orders straight + From the Master's own command. + Blessèd day! when thus we wait + Always at our Sovereign's hand. + + Just to recollect his love, + Always true; + Always shining from above, + Always new. + Just to recognize its light, + All-enfolding; + Just to claim its present might, + All-upholding. + Just to know it as thine own, + That no power can take away; + Is not this enough alone + For the gladness of the day? + + Just to trust, and yet to ask + Guidance still; + Take the training or the task + As He will. + Just to take the joy or pain + As He lends it; + Just to take the loss or gain + As he sends it + He who formed thee for his praise + Will not miss the gracious aim; + So to-day, and all thy days, + Shall be molded for the same. + + Just to leave in His dear hand + _Little_ things; + All we cannot understand, + All that stings. + Just to let Him take the care + Sorely pressing, + Finding all we let him bear + Changed to blessing. + This is all! and yet the way + Marked by Him who loves thee best; + Secret of a happy day, + Secret of his promised rest. + + --Frances Ridley Havergal. + + +GOD MEANS US TO BE HAPPY + + God means us to be happy; + He fills the short-lived years + With loving, tender mercies-- + With smiles as well as tears. + Flowers blossom by the pathway, + Or, withering, they shed + Their sweetest fragrance over + The bosoms of our dead. + + God filled the earth with beauty; + He touched the hills with light; + He crowned the waving forest + With living verdure bright; + He taught the bird its carol, + He gave the wind its voice, + And to the smallest insect + Its moment to rejoice. + + What life hath not its blessing? + Who hath not songs to sing, + Or grateful words to utter, + Or wealth of love to bring? + Tried in affliction's furnace + The gold becomes more pure-- + So strong doth sorrow make us, + So patient to endure. + + No way is dark and dreary + If God be with us there; + No danger can befall us + When sheltered by his care. + Why should our eyes be blinded + To all earth's glorious bloom? + Why sit we in the shadow + That falls upon the tomb? + + Look up and catch the sunbeams! + See how the day doth dawn! + Gather the scented roses + That grow beside the thorn! + God's pitying love doth seek us; + He leads us to his rest; + And from a thousand pathways + He chooses what is best. + + +THE PICTURE OF A HAPPY MAN + + How blest is he, though ever crossed, + That can all crosses blessings make; + That finds himself ere he be lost, + And lose that found for virtue's sake. + + Yea, blest is he, in life and death, + That fears not death nor loves this life; + That sets his will his wit beneath; + And hath continual peace in strife. + + That naught observes but what preserves + His mind and body from offense; + That neither courts nor seasons serves, + And learns without experience. + + That loves his body for his soul, + Soul for his mind, his mind for God, + God for himself, and doth control + Content, if it with him be odd. + + That rests in action, acting naught + But what is good in deed and show; + That seeks but God within his thought, + And thinks but God to love and know. + + That lives too low for envy's looks, + And yet too high for loathed contempt; + That makes his friends good men and books + And naught without them doth attempt. + + That ever lives a light to all, + Though oft obscurèd like the sun; + And, though his fortunes be but small, + Yet Fortune doth not seek nor shun. + + That never looks but grace to find, + Nor seeks for knowledge to be known; + That makes a kingdom of his mind, + Wherein, with God, he reigns alone. + + This man is great with little state, + Lord of the world epitomized, + Who with staid front outfaceth Fate + And, being empty, is sufficed-- + Or is sufficed with little, since (at least) + He makes his conscience a continual feast. + + --John Davies, of Hereford. + + +THANKS FOR PAIN + + My God, I thank thee who hast made + The earth so bright; + So full of splendor and of joy, + Beauty and light; + So many glorious things are here, + Noble and right. + + I thank thee, too, that thou hast made + Joy to abound; + So many gentle thoughts and deeds + Circling us round; + That in the darkest spot of earth + Some love is found. + + I thank thee more that all our joy + Is touched with pain; + That shadows fall on brightest hours; + That thorns remain; + So that earth's bliss may be our guide + And not our chain. + + I thank thee, Lord, that thou hast kept + The best in store; + We have enough, yet not too much, + To long for more; + A yearning for a deeper peace + Not known before. + + I thank thee, Lord, that here our souls + Though amply blest, + Can never find, although they seek, + A perfect rest; + Nor ever shall until they lean + On Jesus' breast. + + --Adelaide Anne Procter. + + +THE RIDICULOUS OPTIMIST + + There was once a man who smiled + Because the day was bright, + Because he slept at night, + Because God gave him sight + To gaze upon his child; + Because his little one, + Could leap and laugh and run; + Because the distant sun + Smiled on the earth he smiled. + + He smiled because the sky + Was high above his head, + Because the rose was red, + Because the past was dead! + He never wondered why + The Lord had blundered so + That all things have to go + The wrong way, here below + The overarching sky. + + He toiled, and still was glad + Because the air was free, + Because he loved, and she + That claimed his love and he + Shared all the joys they had! + Because the grasses grew, + Because the sweet winds blew, + Because that he could hew + And hammer, he was glad. + + Because he lived he smiled, + And did not look ahead + With bitterness or dread, + But nightly sought his bed + As calmly as a child. + And people called him mad + For being always glad + With such things as he had, + And shook their heads and smiled. + + --Samuel Ellsworth Kiser. + + + The soul contains a window where + It may receive the sun and air, + But some with self the window cloy, + And shut out all the light and joy. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + +PRAISE + + O Thou, whose bounty fills my cup + With every blessing meet! + I give thee thanks for every drop-- + The bitter and the sweet. + + I praise Thee for the desert road, + And for the riverside; + For all thy goodness hath bestowed, + And all thy grace denied. + + I thank Thee for both smile and frown, + And for the gain and loss; + I praise thee for the future crown + And for the present cross. + + I thank Thee for the wing of love + Which stirred my worldly nest; + And for the stormy clouds which drove + Me, trembling, to thy breast. + + I bless Thee for the glad increase, + And for the waning joy; + And for this strange, this settled peace, + Which nothing can destroy. + + --Jane Crewdson. + + +THANKSGIVING + + Lord, for the erring thought + Not into evil wrought, + Lord, for the wicked will, + Betrayed and baffled still, + For the heart from itself kept, + Our thanksgiving accept. + + For the ignorant hopes that were + Broken to our blind prayer; + For pain, death, sorrow, sent + Unto our chastisement; + For all loss of seeming good, + Quicken our gratitude. + + --William Dean Howells. + + +RING, HAPPY BELLS + + Ring out the grief that saps the mind, + For those that here we see no more; + Ring out the feud of rich and poor, + Ring in redress to all mankind. + + Ring out a slowly-dying cause, + And ancient forms of party strife; + Ring in the nobler modes of life, + With sweeter manners, purer laws. + + Ring out the want, the care, the sin, + The faithless coldness of the times; + Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, + But ring the fuller minstrel in. + + Ring out false pride in place and blood, + The civic slander and the spite; + Ring in the love of truth and right + Ring in the common love of good. + + Ring out old shapes of foul disease; + Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; + Ring out the thousand wars of old, + Ring in the thousand years of peace. + + Ring in the valiant man and free, + The larger heart, the kindlier hand; + Ring out the darkness of the land, + Ring in the Christ that is to be. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +THE CLEAR VISION + + Break forth, my lips, in praise, and own + The wiser love severely kind; + Since, richer for its chastening grown, + I see, whereas I once was blind. + The world, O Father, hath not wronged + With loss the life by thee prolonged; + But still, with every added year, + More beautiful thy works appear. + + As thou hast made thy world without, + Make thou more fair my world within; + Shine through its lingering clouds of doubt; + Rebuke its haunting shapes of sin; + Fill, brief or long, my granted span + Of life with love to thee and man; + Strike when thou wilt the hour of rest. + But let my last days be my best. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + Then let us smile when skies are gray, + And laugh at stormy weather! + And sing life's lonesome times away; + So--worry and the dreariest day + Will find an end together! + + + Paul and Silas in their prison + Sang of Christ the Lord arisen; + And an earthquake's arm of might + Broke their dungeon gates at night. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + +SCATTER SUNSHINE + + In a world where sorrow ever will be known, + Where are found the needy, and the sad and lone; + How much joy and comfort we can all bestow + If we scatter sunshine everywhere we go. + + Slightest actions often meet the sorest needs, + For the world wants daily little kindly deeds; + Oh, what care and sorrow we may help remove, + With our songs and courage, sympathy and love. + + When the days are gloomy, sing some happy song, + Meet the world's repining with a courage strong; + Go, with faith undaunted, through the ills of life, + Scatter smiles and sunshine o'er its toil and strife. + + --Lanta Wilson Smith. + + +SOWING JOY + + I met a child, and kissed it; who shall say + I stole a joy in which I had no part? + The happy creature from that very day + Hath felt the more his little human heart. + Now when I pass he runs away and smiles, + And tries to seem afraid with pretty wiles. + I am a happier and a richer man, + Since I have sown this new joy in the earth; + 'Tis no small thing for us to reap stray mirth + In every sunny wayside where we can. + It is a joy to me to be a joy + Which may in the most lowly heart take root; + And it is gladness to that little boy + To look out for me at the mountain foot. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + + Sow thou sorrow and thou shalt reap it; + Sow thou joy and thou shalt keep it. + + --Richard Watson Gilder. + + +A LANCASHIRE DOXOLOGY + +(Written in May, 1863, when cotton came to Lancashire, enabling the +mills to open after being long closed. The suffering, grateful women +sang the Doxology.) + + "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." + Praise Him who sendeth joy and woe. + The Lord who takes--the Lord who gives-- + O praise him, all that dies, and lives. + + He opens and he shuts his hand, + But why, we cannot understand. + Pours and dries up his mercies' flood, + And yet is still All-perfect Good. + + We fathom not the mighty plan, + The mystery of God and man; + We women, when afflictions come, + We only suffer and are dumb. + + And when, the tempest passing by, + He gleams out, sun-like, through our sky, + We look up and, through black clouds riven, + We recognize the smile of Heaven. + + Ours is no wisdom of the wise. + We have no deep philosophies; + Childlike we take both kiss and rod, + For he who loveth knoweth God. + + --Dinah Maria Mulock Craik. + + +VIA CRUCIS, VIA LUCIS + + Through night to light! And though to mortal eyes + Creation's face a pall of horror wear, + Good cheer! good cheer! the gloom of midnight flies; + Then shall a sunrise follow, mild and fair. + + Through storm to calm! And though his thunder car + The rumbling tempest drive through earth and sky, + Good cheer! good cheer! The elemental war + Tells that the blessèd healing hour is nigh. + + Through frost to spring! And though the biting blast + Of Eurus stiffen nature's juicy veins, + Good cheer! good cheer! When winter's wrath is past, + Soft-murmuring spring breathes sweetly o'er the plains. + + Through strife to peace! And though with bristling front + A thousand frightful deaths encompass thee, + Good cheer! good cheer! brave thou the battle's brunt, + For the peace-march and song of victory. + + Through toil to sleep! And though the sultry noon + With heavy drooping wing oppress thee now, + Good cheer! good cheer! the cool of evening soon + Shall lull to sweet repose thy weary brow. + + Through cross to crown! And though thy spirit's life + Trials untold assail with giant strength, + Good cheer! good cheer! soon ends the bitter strife, + And thou shalt reign in peace with Christ at length. + + Through woe to joy! And though at morn thou weep, + And though the midnight find thee weeping still, + Good cheer! good cheer! the Shepherd loves his sheep; + Resign thee to the watchful Father's will. + + --Rosegarten, tr. by Charles Timothy Brooks. + + + Talk Happiness. The world is sad enough + Without your woes. No path is wholly rough; + Look for the places that are smooth and clear, + And speak of those to rest the weary ear + Of earth, so hurt by one continuous strain + Of human discontent and grief and pain. + + +SERVE GOD AND BE CHEERFUL + + Serve God and be cheerful. Make brighter + The brightness that falls to thy lot; + The rare, or the daily sent, blessing + Profane not with gloom or with doubt. + + Serve God and be cheerful. Each sorrow + Is--with thy will in God's--for the best. + O'er the cloud hangs the rainbow. To-morrow + Will see the blue sky in the west. + + Serve God and be cheerful. Look upward! + God's countenance scatters the gloom; + And the soft summer light of his heaven + Shines over the cross and the tomb. + + Serve God and be cheerful. The wrinkles + Of age we may take with a smile; + But the wrinkles of faithless foreboding + Are the crow's-feet of Beelzebub's guile. + + Serve God and be cheerful. The winter + Rolls round to the beautiful spring. + And o'er the green grave of the snowdrift + The nest-building robins will sing. + + Serve God and be cheerful. Live nobly, + Do right, and do good. Make the best + Of the gifts and the work put before you, + And to God without fear leave the rest. + + --William Newell. + + +BRING EVERY BURDEN + + Be trustful, be steadfast, whatever betide thee, + Only one thing do thou ask of the Lord-- + Grace to go forward wherever he guide thee, + Simply believing the truth of his word. + + Earthliness, coldness, unthankful behavior-- + Ah! thou mayst sorrow, but do not despair. + Even this grief thou mayst bring to thy Saviour, + Cast upon him this burden of care! + + Bring all thy hardness--His power can subdue it, + How full is the promise! The blessing how free: + "Whatsoever ye ask in my name, I will do it; + Abide in my love and be joyful in me." + + +THY LOVING KINDNESS + + Not always the path is easy; + There are thickets hung with gloom, + There are rough and stony places + Where never the roses bloom. + But oft, when the way is hardest, + I am conscious of One at my side + Whose hands and whose feet are wounded, + And I'm happy and safe with my Guide. + + Better than friends and kindred, + Better than love and rest, + Dearer than hope and triumph, + Is the name I wear on my breast. + I feel my way through the shadows + With a confident heart and brave; + I shall live in the light beyond them; + I shall conquer death and the grave. + + Often when tried and tempted, + Often, ashamed of sin-- + That, strong as an armed invader, + Has made wreck of the peace within-- + That wonderful loving-kindness, + Patient and full and free, + Has stooped for my consolation; + Has brought a blessing to me. + + Therefore my lips shall praise thee, + Therefore, let come what may, + To the height of a solemn gladness + My song shall arise to-day. + Not on the drooping willow + Shall I hang my harp in the land, + When the Lord himself has cheered me + By the touch of his pierced hand. + + --Margaret Elizabeth Sangster. + + + To try each day his will to know; + To tread the way his will may show; + To live for him who gave me life; + To strive for him who suffered strife + And sacrifice through death for me-- + Let this my joy, my portion be. + + +THANKS + + I thank thee, Lord, for mine unanswered prayers, + Unanswered save thy quiet, kindly "Nay"; + Yet it seemed hard among my heavy cares-- + That bitter day. + + I wanted joy; but Thou didst know for me + That sorrow was the gift I needed most, + And in its mystic depths I learned to see + The Holy Ghost. + + I wanted health; but thou didst bid me sound + The secret treasuries of pain, + And in the moans and groans my heart oft found + Thy Christ again. + + I wanted wealth; 'twas not the better part; + There is a wealth with poverty oft given. + And thou didst teach me of the gold of heart-- + Best gift of heaven. + + I thank thee, Lord, for these unanswered prayers, + And for thy word, the quiet, kindly "Nay." + 'Twas thy withholding lightened all my cares + That blessed day. + + --Oliver Huckel. + + +THE GLORIOUS MORN + + Open the shutters free and wide. + And "glorify the room"; + That no dark shadows here may bide-- + That there be naught of gloom. + + What joy to breathe the morning air, + And see the sun again; + With living things God's love to share, + In recompense for pain. + + --Henry Coyle. + + + For all the evils under the sun + There is some remedy or none; + If there is one be sure to find it; + If there is none, why, never mind it. + + +EVENING PRAISE + + Again, O God, the night shuts down, + Again I kneel to praise! + Thy wisdom, love, and truth and power + Have long made glad my days. + And, now, with added gratitude, + An evening hymn I raise. + + I take the attitude of prayer, + But not for gifts to plead; + Thy bounty, far beyond desert, + Has more than met my need; + So, well content, I worship Thee + In thought and word and deed. + + Thou bidst me ask, if I'd receive, + And seek, if I would find; + But surely Thou wilt not condemn + A heart to trust inclined. + Give what is best; Thou knowest all. + How blest the quiet mind! + + I praise thee that in all the hours + And moments, as they glide, + Thy providence enfoldeth close; + Thy blessings rich abide; + And Thou dost keep in perfect peace + Those who in thee confide. + + I praise thee for what seemeth good, + And for what seemeth ill. + Appearances are vain deceits; + Above them stands thy will; + By faith, not sight, thy children walk, + In hottest fire hold still. + + Accept the off'ring that I lay + In gladness at thy feet; + My heart o'erflows with keenest joy, + With ecstacy complete. + Because, in all vicissitudes, + Thy constancy I greet. + + Thou wilt not cease to love me well, + Nor fail to hold me fast; + Though pain may come, it cannot harm; + My care on thee is cast, + For future good he'll surely send + Who sent so sweet a past. + + Praise waits in Zion, Lord, for thee, + Praise runs the world around; + And so this little heart of mine + Shall ne'er in gloom be found, + Rejoicing that all days and nights + May with thy praise resound. + + --James Mudge. + + +GO TELL JESUS + + Bury thy sorrow, + The world has its share; + Bury it deeply, + Hide it with care. + + Think of it calmly + When curtained by night; + Tell it to Jesus, + And all will be right. + + Tell it to Jesus, + He knoweth thy grief; + Tell it to Jesus, + He'll send thee relief. + + Gather the sunlight + Aglow on thy way; + Gather the moonbeams, + Each soft silver ray. + + Hearts grown aweary + With heavier woe, + Droop 'mid the darkness-- + Go comfort them, go! + + Bury thy sorrow, + Let others be blest; + Give them the sunshine, + Tell Jesus the rest. + + +WE WILL PRAISE THEE + + Great Jehovah! we will praise thee, + Earth and heaven thy will obey; + Suns and systems move obedient + To thy universal sway. + + Deep and awful are thy counsels; + High and glorious is thy throne; + Reigning o'er thy vast dominion, + Thou art God and thou alone. + + In thy wondrous condescension + Thou hast stooped to raise our race; + Thou hast given to us a Saviour, + Full of goodness and of grace. + + By his blood we are forgiven, + By his intercession free, + By his love we rise to glory + There to reign eternally. + + God of Power--we bow before thee; + God of Wisdom--thee we praise; + God of Love--so kind and tender, + We would praise thee all our days. + + Praise to thee--our loving Father; + Praise to thee--redeeming Son; + Praise to thee--Almighty Spirit; + Praise to thee--Thou Holy One. + + --John White. + + +AFTER ALL + + We take our share of fretting, + Of grieving and forgetting; + The paths are often rough and steep, and heedless feet may fall; + But yet the days are cheery, + And night brings rest when weary + And somehow this old planet is a good world after all. + + Though sharp may be our trouble, + The joys are more than double, + The brave surpass the cowards and the leal are like a wall + To guard their dearest ever, + To fail the feeblest never; + And somehow this old earth remains a bright world after all. + + There's always love that's caring, + And shielding and forbearing, + Dear woman's love to hold us close and keep our hearts in thrall. + There's home to share together + In calm or stormy weather, + And while the hearth-flame burns it is a good world after all. + + The lisp of children's voices, + The chance of happy choices, + The bugle sounds of hope and faith, through fogs and mists that call; + The heaven that stretches o'er us, + The better days before us, + They all combine to make this earth a good world after all. + + --Margaret Elizabeth Sangster. + + + Sound an anthem in your sorrows, + Build a fortress of your fears; + Throw a halo round your trials, + Weave a rainbow of your tears. + + Never mind if shadows darken, + Never fear though foes be strong; + Lift your heads and shout hosannah! + Praise the Lord, it won't be long. + + +BE OF GOOD CHEER + + God is near thee, Christian; cheer thee, + Rest in him, sad soul; + He will keep thee when around thee + Billows roll. + + Calm thy sadness, look in gladness + To thy Friend on high; + Faint and weary pilgrim, cheer thee; + Help is nigh. + + Mark the sea-bird wildly wheeling + Through the stormy skies; + God defends him, God attends him + When he cries. + + Fare thee onward through the sunshine + Or through wintry blast; + Fear forsake thee; God will take thee + Home at last. + + +PESSIMIST AND OPTIMIST + + This one sits shivering in Fortune's smile, + Taking his joy with bated, doubtful breath. + This one, gnawed by hunger, all the while + Laughs in the teeth of death. + + --Thomas Bailey Aldrich. + + +PRAISE WAITETH FOR THEE + + They stand, the regal mountains, with crowns of spotless snow, + Forever changeless, grand, sublime, while ages come and go! + Each day the morning cometh in through the eastern gate, + With trailing robes of pink and gold; yet still they watch and wait + For that more glorious morning, till that glad message sounds-- + "Lift up your heads, ye gates of God! the King of glory comes!" + + And so they stand o'erlooking earth's trouble, pain and sin, + And wait the call to lift their gates and let the King come in. + O calm, majestic mountains! O everlasting hills! + Beside your patient watch how small seem all life's joys and ills! + + Beyond, the restless ocean, mysterious, vast, and dim, + Whose changeful waves forever chant their grand triumphal hymn. + Now tempest-lashed and raging, with deep and hungry roar, + The foam-capped billows dash themselves in anger on the shore, + + Now wavelets ripple gently along the quiet strand, + While summer's sunshine broodeth soft o'er all the sea and land. + O mighty waves! as chainless, as free, as birds that skim! + There's One who rules the stormy sea--thy song is all of him. + + And so in the shadowy forest the birds sing loud and sweet + From swaying boughs where breezes rock their little broods to sleep. + The golden cups of the cowslip spring from the mossy sod, + And the sweet blue violet blooms alone--just for itself and God. + + It is aye the same old lesson, from mountain, wood, and sea, + The old, old story, ever new, and wondrous grand to me-- + Of One who holds the waters in the hollow of his hand; + Whose presence shone from mountain top in that far eastern land. + + "The groves are God's own temples"; the wild birds sing his praise; + And every flower in the forest dim its humble tribute pays; + For God loves all his creatures, however weak and small; + His grandest works give praise to him, for he is Lord of all. + + + We cannot make bargains for blisses, + Nor catch them like fishes in nets; + And sometimes the thing our life misses + Helps more than the thing which it gets. + For good lieth not in pursuing, + Nor gaining of great nor of small, + But just in the doing, and doing + As we would be done by is all. + + --Alice Cary. + + +DON'T TAKE IT TO HEART + + There's many a trouble + Would break like a bubble, + And into the waters of Lethe depart, + Did we not rehearse it, + And tenderly nurse it, + And give it a permanent place in the heart. + + There's many a sorrow + Would vanish to-morrow + Were we but willing to furnish the wings; + So sadly intruding, + And quietly brooding, + It hatches out all sorts of horrible things. + + How welcome the seeming + Of looks that are beaming + Whether one's wealthy or whether one's poor; + Eyes bright as a berry, + Cheeks red as a cherry, + The groan and the curse and the heartache can cure. + + Resolve to be merry, + All worry to ferry + Across the famed waters which bid us forget, + And no longer fearful, + But happy and cheerful, + We feel life has much that's worth living for yet. + + +ALTHOUGH--YET + + Away! my unbelieving fear! + Fear shall in me no more have place; + My Saviour doth not yet appear, + He hides the brightness of his face, + But shall I therefore let him go, + And basely to the tempter yield? + No, in the strength of Jesus, no; + I never will give up my shield. + + Although the vine its fruit deny, + Although the olive yield no oil, + The withering fig-trees droop and die, + The fields elude the tiller's toil. + The empty stall no herd afford, + And perish all the bleating race, + Yet will I triumph in the Lord-- + The God of my salvation praise. + + --Charles Wesley. + + + 'Tis impious in a good man to be sad. + + --Edward Young. + + +AS A BIRD IN MEADOWS FAIR + + As a bird in meadows fair + Or in lovely forest sings, + Till it fills the summer air + And the green wood sweetly rings, + So my heart to thee would raise, + O my God, its song of praise + That the gloom of night is o'er + And I see the sun once more. + + If thou, Sun of love, arise, + All my heart with joy is stirred, + And to greet thee upward flies, + Gladsome as yon tiny bird. + Shine thou in me, clear and bright, + Till I learn to praise thee right; + Guide me in the narrow way, + Let me ne'er in darkness stray. + + Bless to-day whate'er I do; + Bless whate'er I have and love; + From the paths of virtue true + Let me never, never rove; + By thy spirit strengthen me + In the faith that leads to Thee, + Then, an heir of life on high, + Fearless I may live and die. + + +"HE DOETH ALL THINGS WELL!" + + Pleased in the sunshine, pleased in the blast, + Pleased when the heavens are all overcast, + Pleased when I can or cannot see + God's loving hand is dealing with me. + + Pleased, for Christ's promises never can fail; + Pleased in the calm and also the gale; + Knowing Omniscience at midnight can see, + Since he was Pilot on dark Galilee. + + Pleased when in health or when I am ill, + Pleased, since I know I'm in the Lord's will, + Pleased with whatever my lot may be + Knowing Omnipotence careth for me. + + + Beneath the tiger's jaw I heard a victim cry, + "Thanks, God, that, though in pain, yet not in guilt I die." + + --From the Persian. + + +THE ROBIN'S SONG + + I'll sing you a lay ere I wing on my way, + Cheer up! Cheer up! Cheer up! + Whenever you're blue find something to do + For somebody else who is sadder than you. + Cheer up! Cheer up! Cheer up! + + + He growled at morning, noon, and night, + And trouble sought to borrow; + Although to-day the sky were bright + He knew 'twould storm to-morrow; + A thought of joy he could not stand, + And struggled to resist it; + Though sunshine dappled all the land + This sorry pessi_mist_ it. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + + Oh, be in God's clear world no dark and troubled sprite! + To Christ, thy Master mild, do no such foul despite; + But show in look, word, mien, that thou belongst to him, + Who says, "My yoke is easy, and my burden light." + + --Friedrich Rückert. + + + Let us gather up the sunbeams + Lying all around our path; + Let us keep the wheat and roses, + Casting out the thorns and chaff; + Let us find our sweetest comfort + In the blessings of to-day, + With a patient hand removing + All the briars from our way. + + + O give me the joy of living + And some glorious work to do! + A spirit of thanksgiving, + With loyal heart and true; + Some pathway to make brighter, + Where tired feet now stray; + Some burden to make lighter, + While 'tis day. + + + True happiness (if understood) + Consists alone in doing good. + + + Talk happiness each chance you get--and talk it good and strong! + Look for it in the byways as you grimly pass along; + Perhaps it is a stranger now whose visit never comes, + But talk it! Soon you'll find that you and happiness are chums. + + + 'Tis Being and Doing and Having that make + All the pleasures and pains of which mortals partake. + To Be what God pleases, to Do a man's best, + And to Have a good heart, is the way to be blest. + + + If the weather is cold don't scold, + If the weather is wet don't fret, + If the weather is warm don't storm, + If the weather is dry don't cry; + But be cheerful together, whatever the weather. + + + The inner side of every cloud + Is bright and shining; + Therefore I turn my clouds about, + And always wear them inside out, + To show the lining. + + --Ellen Thornycroft Fowler Felkin. + + + Let him that loves his ease, his ease, + Keep close and house him fair; + He'll still be a stranger to the merry thrill of danger + And the joy of the open air. + + --Richard Hovey. + + + There is no human being + With so wholly dark a lot, + But the heart, by turning the picture, + May find some sunny spot. + + + Let us cry, All good things + Are ours, nor soul helps flesh more now + Than flesh helps soul. + + --Robert Browning. + + + + +AFFLICTION + +CONSOLATION, TRIAL, ENDURANCE + + +RESIGNATION + + There is no flock, however watched and tended, + But one dead lamb is there! + There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended, + But has one vacant chair. + + The air is full of farewells to the dying + And mourning for the dead; + The heart of Rachel, for her children crying, + Will not be comforted! + + Let us be patient! These severe afflictions + Not from the ground arise, + But oftentimes celestial benedictions + Assume this dark disguise. + + We see but dimly through the mists and vapors; + Amid these earthly damps + What seem to us but sad, funereal tapers + May be heaven's distant lamps. + + There is no Death! What seems so is transition; + This life of mortal breath + Is but a suburb of the life elysian, + Whose portal we call death. + + She is not dead--the child of our affection-- + But gone unto that school + Where she no longer needs our poor protection, + And Christ himself doth rule. + + In that great cloister's stillness and seclusion, + By guardian angels led, + Safe from temptation, safe from sin's pollution, + She lives, whom we call dead. + + Day after day we think what she is doing + In those bright realms of air; + Year after year, her tender steps pursuing, + Behold her grown more fair. + + Thus do we walk with her and keep unbroken + The bond which nature gives, + Thinking that our remembrance, though unspoken, + May reach her where she lives. + + * * * * * + + We will be patient, and assuage the feeling + We may not wholly stay; + By silence sanctifying, not concealing, + The grief that must have way. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + +MADE PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING + + I bless thee, Lord, for sorrows sent + To break my dream of human power; + For now, my shallow cistern spent, + I find thy founts, and thirst no more. + + I take Thy hand, and fears grow still; + Behold thy face, and doubts remove; + Who would not yield his wavering will + To perfect Truth and boundless Love? + + That Love this restless soul doth teach + The strength of thine eternal calm; + And tune its sad but broken speech + To join on earth the angel's psalm. + + Oh, be it patient in thy hands, + And drawn, through each mysterious hour, + To service of thy pure commands, + The narrow way of Love and Power. + + --Samuel Johnson. + + +GO NOT FAR FROM ME + + Go not far from me, O my strength, + Whom all my times obey: + Take from me any thing Thou wilt, + But go not thou away-- + And let the storm that does thy work + Deal with me as it may. + + On thy compassion I repose, + In weakness and distress; + I will not ask for greater ease, + Lest I should love Thee less. + Oh 'tis a blessed thing for me + To need thy tenderness. + + While many sympathizing hearts + For my deliverance care, + Thou, in thy wiser, stronger love, + Art teaching me to bear-- + By the sweet voice of thankful song, + And calm, confiding prayer. + + Thy love has many a lighted path, + No outward eye can trace, + And my heart sees thee in the deep, + With darkness on its face. + And communes with thee, 'mid the storm, + As in a secret place. + + O Comforter of God's redeemed, + Whom the world does not see, + What hand should pluck me from the flood + That casts my soul on thee? + Who would not suffer pain like mine + To be consoled like me? + + When I am feeble as a child, + And flesh and heart give way, + Then on thy everlasting strength + With passive trust I stay. + And the rough wind becomes a song, + The darkness shines like day. + + O blessed are the eyes that see-- + Though silent anguish show-- + The love that in their hours of sleep + Unthanked may come and go. + And blessed are the ears that hear, + Though kept awake by woe. + + Happy are they that learn, in thee-- + Though patient suffering teach-- + The secret of enduring strength + And praise too deep for speech: + Peace that no pressure from without, + No strife within, can reach. + + There is no death for me to fear, + For Christ, my Lord, hath died; + There is no curse in this my pain, + For he was crucified. + And it is fellowship with him + That keeps me near his side. + + My heart is fixed--O God, my strength-- + My heart is strong to bear; + I will be joyful in thy love, + And peaceful in thy care. + Deal with me, for my Saviour's sake, + According to his prayer. + + No suffering while it lasts is joy, + How blest soe'er it be, + Yet may the chastened child be glad + His Father's face to see; + And oh, it is not hard to bear + What must be borne in thee. + + It is not hard to bear by faith, + In thine own bosom laid, + The trial of a soul redeemed, + For thy rejoicing made. + Well may the heart in patience rest + That none can make afraid. + + Safe in thy sanctifying grace-- + Almighty to restore-- + Borne onward, sin and death behind, + And love and life before, + O let my soul abound in hope, + And praise thee more and more. + + Deep unto deep may call, but I + With peaceful heart will say-- + Thy loving-kindness hath a charge + No waves can take away; + And let the storm that speeds me home + Deal with me as it may. + + --Anna Letitia Waring. + + + Walking along the shore one morn, + A holy man by chance I found + Who by a tiger had been torn + And had no salve to heal his wound. + Long time he suffered grievous pain, + But not the less to the Most High + He offered thanks. They asked him, + Why? + For answer he thanked God again; + And then to them: "That I am in + No greater peril than you see: + That what has overtaken me + Is but misfortune--and not sin." + + --Richard Henry Stoddard. + + +THE CELESTIAL SURGEON + + If I have faltered more or less + In my great task of happiness; + If I have moved among my race + And shown no glorious morning face; + If beams from happy human eyes + Have moved me not; if morning skies, + Books, and my food, and summer rain + Knocked on my sullen heart in vain; + Lord, thy most pointed pleasure take + And stab my spirit broad awake; + Or, Lord, if too obdurate I, + Choose thou, before that spirit die, + A piercing pain, a killing sin, + And to my dead heart run them in. + + --Robert Louis Stevenson. + + +I ASKED THE LORD THAT I MIGHT GROW + + I asked the Lord that I might grow + In faith and love and every grace; + Might more of his salvation know, + And seek more earnestly his face. + + 'Twas He who taught me thus to pray, + And he, I trust, has answer'd prayer; + But it has been in such a way + As almost drove me to despair. + + I hop'd that in some favor'd hour + At once he'd answer my request, + And by his love's constraining power + Subdue my sins and give me rest. + + Instead of this he made me feel + The hidden evils of my heart, + And let the angry powers of hell + Assault my soul in ev'ry part. + + Yes, more: with his own hand he seem'd + Intent to aggravate my woe, + Cross'd all the fair designs I schemed, + Blasted my gourds and laid them low. + + "Lord, why is this?" I trembling cried; + "Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death?" + "'Tis in this way," the Lord replied, + "I answer prayer for grace and faith. + + "These inward trials I employ + From self and pride to set thee free, + And break thy schemes of earthly joy + That thou mayest set thine all in me!" + + --John Newton. + + +"THOU MAINTAINEST MY LOT" + + Source of my life's refreshing springs, + Whose presence in my heart sustains me, + Thy love appoints me pleasant things, + Thy mercy orders all that pains me. + + If loving hearts were never lonely, + If all they wished might always be, + Accepting what they look for only, + They might be glad--but not in thee. + + Well may thy own beloved, who see + In all their lot their Father's pleasure, + Bear loss of all they love save thee, + Their living, everlasting treasure. + + Well may thy happy children cease + From restless wishes, prone to sin, + And, in thine own exceeding peace, + Yield to thy daily discipline. + + We need as much the cross we bear + As air we breathe, as light we see! + It draws us to thy side in prayer, + It binds us to our strength in thee. + + --Anna Letitia Waring. + + +THE MASTER'S TOUCH + + In the still air the music lies unheard; + In the rough marble beauty hides unseen; + To make the music and the beauty needs + The master's touch, the sculptor's chisel keen. + + Great Master, touch us with thy skillful hand; + Let not the music that is in us die. + Great Sculptor, hew and polish us; nor let + Hidden and lost thy form within us lie! + + Spare not the stroke! Do with us as thou wilt! + Let there be naught unfinished, broken, marred; + Complete thy purpose that we may become + Thy perfect image, thou our God and Lord! + + --Horatius Bonar. + + + The childish smile is fair, but lovelier far + The smiles which tell of griefs that now no longer are. + + --John Sterling. + + +A BLESSING IN TEARS + + Home they brought her warrior dead; + She nor swoon'd nor uttered cry. + All her maidens, watching, said, + "She must weep or she will die." + + Then they praised him, soft and low, + Call'd him worthy to be loved, + Truest friend, and noblest foe; + Yet she neither spoke nor moved. + + Stole a maiden from her place, + Lightly to the warrior stept, + Took the face-cloth from the face; + Yet she neither moved nor wept. + + Rose a nurse of ninety years, + Set his child upon her knee; + Like summer tempest came her tears: + "Sweet my child, I live for thee." + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +EVERY DAY + + O trifling task so often done, + Yet ever to be done anew! + O cares which come with every sun, + Morn after morn, the long years through! + We sink beneath their paltry sway-- + The irksome calls of every day. + + The restless sense of wasted power, + The tiresome round of little things, + Are hard to bear, as hour by hour + Its tedious iteration brings; + Who shall evade or who delay + The small demands of every day? + + The bowlder, in the torrent's course + By tide and tempest lashed in vain, + Obeys the wave-whirled pebble's force + And yields its substance grain by grain; + So crumble strongest lives away + Beneath the wear of every day. + + Who finds the lion in his lair, + Who tracks the tiger for his life + May wound them ere they are aware, + Or conquer them in desperate strife, + Yet powerless he to scathe or slay + The vexing gnats of every day. + + The steady strain that never stops + Is mightier than the fiercest shock; + The constant fall of water drops + Will groove the adamantine rock; + We feel our noblest powers decay + In feeble wars with every day. + + We rise to meet a heavy blow-- + Our souls a sudden bravery fills-- + But we endure not always so + The drop by drop of little ills; + We still deplore, and still obey, + The hard behests of every day. + + The heart which boldly faces death + Upon the battle-field, and dares + Cannon and bayonet, faints beneath + The needle-points of frets and cares; + The stoutest spirits they dismay-- + The tiny stings of every day. + + And even saints of holy fame, + Whose souls by faith have overcome, + Who won amid the cruel flame + The molten crown of martyrdom, + Bore not without complaint alway + The petty pains of every day. + + Ah, more than martyr's aureole, + And more than hero's heart of fire, + We need the humble strength of soul + Which daily toils and ills require; + Sweet Patience! grant us, if you may, + An added grace for every day. + + +PEACEABLE FRUIT + +(Heb. 12. 11.) + + What shall thine "afterward" be, O Lord, + For this dark and suffering night? + Father, _what_ shall thine "afterward" be? + Hast thou a morning of joy for me, + And a new and joyous light? + + What shall thine "afterward" be, O Lord, + For the moan that I cannot stay? + Shall it issue in some new song of praise, + Sweeter than sorrowless heart could raise, + When the night hath passed away? + + What shall thine "afterward" be, O Lord, + For this helplessness of pain? + A clearer view of my home above, + Of my Father's strength and my Father's love-- + Shall _this_ be my lasting gain? + + What shall thine "afterward" be, O Lord? + How long must thy child endure? + Thou knowest! 'Tis well that I know it not! + Thine "afterward" cometh--I cannot tell what, + But I know that thy word is sure. + + What shall thine "afterward" be, O Lord, + I wonder--and wait to see + (While to thy chastening hand I bow) + What "peaceable fruit" may be ripening now-- + Ripening fast for me! + + --Frances Ridley Havergal. + + +HOW WE LEARN + + Great truths are dearly bought. The common truth, + Such as men give and take from day to day, + Comes in the common walk of easy life, + Blown by the careless wind across our way. + + Great truths are greatly won, not found by chance, + Nor wafted on the breath of summer dream; + But grasped in the great struggle of the soul + Hard buffeting with adverse wind and stream. + + But in the day of conflict, fear and grief, + When the strong hand of God, put forth in might, + Plows up the subsoil of the stagnant heart + And brings the imprisoned truth-seed to the light, + + Wrung from the troubled spirit in hard hours + Of weakness, solitude, perchance of pain, + Truth springs like harvest from the well-plowed field. + And the soul feels it has not wept in vain. + + --Horatius Bonar. + + + Though trouble-tossed and torture-torn + The kingliest kings are crowned with thorn. + + --Gerald Massey. + + +HEAVIER THE CROSS + + Heavier the cross the stronger faith: + The loaded palm strikes deeper root; + The vine-juice sweetly issueth + When men have pressed the clustered fruit; + And courage grows where dangers come + Like pearls beneath the salt sea foam. + + Heavier the cross the heartier prayer; + The bruisèd herbs most fragrant are; + If sky and wind were always fair + The sailor would not watch the star; + And David's psalms had ne'er been sung + If grief his heart had never wrung. + + Heavier the cross the more aspiring; + From vales we climb to mountain's crest; + The pilgrim, of the desert tiring, + Longs for the Canaan of his rest. + The dove has here no rest in sight, + And to the ark she wings her flight. + + Heavier the cross the easier dying; + Death is a friendlier face to see; + To life's decay one bids defying, + From life's distress one then is free; + The cross sublimely lifts our faith + To him who triumphed over death. + + Thou Crucified! the cross I carry-- + The longer may it dearer be; + And, lest I faint while here I tarry, + Implant thou such a heart in me + That faith, hope, love, may flourish there + Till for the cross my crown I wear. + + --Benjamin Schmolke. + + +LA ROCHELLE + + A worthy man of Paris town + Came to the bishop there: + His face, o'erclouded with dismay, + Betrayed a fixed despair. + + "Father," said he, "a sinner vile + Am I, against my will: + Each hour I humbly pray for faith, + But am a doubter still. + + "Sure were I not despised of God, + He would not leave me so + To struggle thus in constant strife + Against the deadly foe." + + The bishop to his sorrowing son + Thus spoke a kind relief: + "The King of France has castles twain; + To each he sends a chief. + + "There's Montelhéry, far inland, + That stands in place secure; + While La Rochelle, upon the coast, + Doth sieges oft endure. + + "Now for these castles--both preserved-- + First in his prince's love + Shall Montelhéry's chief be placed, + Or La Rochelle's above?" + + "Oh! doubtless, sire," the sinner said, + "That king will love the most + The man whose task was hard to keep + His castle on the coast!" + + "Son," said the bishop, "thou art right; + Apply this reasoning well: + My heart is Montelhéry fort, + And thine is La Rochelle!" + + +IF THOU COULD'ST KNOW + + I think, if thou could'st know, + O soul, that will complain, + What lies concealed below + Our burden and our pain-- + How just our anguish brings + Nearer those longed-for things + We seek for now in vain-- + I think thou would'st rejoice and not complain. + + I think, if thou could'st see, + With thy dim mortal sight, + How meanings, dark to thee, + Are shadows hiding light; + Truth's efforts crossed and vexed, + Life's purpose all perplexed-- + If thou could'st see them right, + I think that they would seem all clear, and wise, and bright. + + And yet thou can'st not know; + And yet thou can'st not see; + Wisdom and sight are slow + In poor humanity. + If thou could'st _trust_, poor soul, + In him who rules the whole, + Thou would'st find peace and rest: + Wisdom and sight are well, but trust is best. + + +MY CROSS + + "O Lord, my God!" I oft have said, + "Had I some other cross instead + Of this I bear from day to day, + 'Twere easier to go on my way. + + "I do not murmur at its weight; + That Thou hast made proportionate + To my scant strength; but oh! full sore + It presses where it pressed before. + + "Change for a space, however brief, + The wonted burden, that relief + May o'er my aching shoulders steal, + And the deep bruise have room to heal!" + + While thus I sadly sighed to-day + I heard my gracious Father say, + "Can'st thou not trust my love, my child, + And to thy cross be reconciled? + + "I fashioned it thy needs to meet; + Nor were thy discipline complete + Without that very pain and bruise + Which thy weak heart would fain refuse." + + Ashamed, I answered, "As Thou wilt! + I own my faithlessness and guilt; + Welcome the weary pain shall be, + Since only that is best for me." + + +GOD KNOWETH BEST + + He took them from me, one by one, + The things I set my heart upon; + They looked so harmless, fair, and blest; + Would they have hurt me? God knows best. + He loves me so, he would not wrest + Them from me if it were not best. + + He took them from me, one by one, + The friends I set my heart upon. + O did they come, they and their love, + Between me and my Lord above? + Were they as idols in my breast? + It may be. God in heaven knows best. + + I will not say I did not weep, + As doth a child that wants to keep + The pleasant things in hurtful play + His wiser parent takes away; + But in this comfort I will rest: + He who hath taken knoweth best. + + +THE ONLY SOLACE + + O Thou who driest the mourner's tear, + How dark this world would be + If, when deceived and wounded here, + We could not fly to thee! + + The friends who in our sunshine live + When winter comes are flown; + And he who has but tears to give + Must weep those tears alone. + + But Thou wilt heal that broken heart + Which, like the plants that throw + Their fragrance from the wounded part, + Breathes sweetness out of woe. + + O who could bear life's stormy doom + Did not Thy wing of love + Come brightly wafting through the gloom + Our peace-branch from above! + + Then sorrow, touched by Thee, grows bright + With more than rapture's ray; + As darkness shows us worlds of light + We never saw by day. + + --Thomas Moore. + + +CONSOLATION + + If none were sick and none were sad + What service could we render? + I think if we were always glad + We scarcely could be tender. + Did our beloved never need + Our patient ministration + Earth would grow cold, and miss indeed + Its sweetest consolation. + If sorrow never claimed our heart, + And every wish were granted, + Patience would die and hope depart-- + Life would be disenchanted. + + + Banish far from me all I love, + The smiles of friends, the old fireside, + And drive me to that home of homes, + The heart of Jesus crucified. + + Take all the light away from earth, + Take all that men can love from me; + Let all I lean upon give way, + That I may lean on naught but Thee. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING + + God never would send you the darkness + If he felt you could bear the light; + But you would not cling to his guiding hand + If the way were always bright; + And you would not care to walk by faith + Could you always walk by sight. + + 'Tis true he has many an anguish + For your sorrowful heart to bear, + And many a cruel thorn-crown + For your tired head to wear: + He knows how few would reach heaven at all + If pain did not guide them there. + + So he sends you the blinding darkness, + And the furnace of seven-fold heat. + 'Tis the only way, believe me, + To keep you close to his feet, + For 'tis always so easy to wander + When our lives are glad and sweet. + + Then nestle your hand in your Father's + And sing, if you can, as you go; + Your song may cheer some one behind you + Whose courage is sinking low. + And--well--if your lips do quiver-- + God will love you better so. + + +A LITTLE PARABLE + + I made the cross myself whose weight + Was later laid on me. + This thought is torture as I toil + Up life's steep Calvary. + + To think mine own hands drove the nails! + I sang a merry song, + And chose the heaviest wood I had + To build it firm and strong. + + If I had guessed--if I had dreamed-- + Its weight was meant for me, + I should have made a lighter cross + To bear up Calvary. + + --Anne Reeve Aldrich. + + + The unpolished pearl can never shine-- + 'Tis sorrow makes the soul divine. + + --From the Japanese, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + +THE SOWER + +I + + A Sower went forth to sow; + His eyes were dark with woe; + He crushed the flowers beneath his feet, + Nor smelt the perfume, warm and sweet, + That prayed for pity everywhere. + He came to a field that was harried + By iron, and to heaven laid bare; + He shook the seed that he carried + O'er that brown and bladeless place. + He shook it, as God shakes hail + Over a doomèd land. + When lightnings interlace + The sky and the earth, and his wand + Of love is a thunder-flail. + Thus did that Sower sow; + His seed was human blood, + And tears of women and men. + And I, who near him stood, + Said: When the crop comes, then + There will be sobbing and sighing, + Weeping and wailing and crying, + Flame, and ashes, and woe. + +II + + It was an autumn day + When next I went that way. + And what, think you, did I say, + What was it that I heard, + What music was in the air? + The song of a sweet-voiced bird? + Nay--but the songs of many + Thrilled through with praise and prayer. + Of all those voices not any + Were sad of memory; + But a sea of sunlight flowed, + A golden harvest glowed, + And I said, Thou only art wise, + God of the earth and skies! + And I praise thee, again and again, + For the Sower whose name is Pain. + + --Richard Watson Gilder. + + + Not disabled in the combat, + No, nor absent from your post; + You are doing gallant service + Where the Master needs you most. + + It was noble to give battle + While the world stood cheering on; + It is nobler to lie patient, + Leaving half one's work undone. + + And the King counts up his heroes + Where the desperate charge was led, + But he writes, "My Best Belovèd," + Over many a sick man's bed. + + +I DO NOT ASK, O LORD + + I do not ask, O Lord, that life may be + A pleasant road; + I do not ask that thou wouldst take from me + Aught of its load. + + I do not ask that flowers should always spring + Beneath my feet; + I know too well the poison and the sting + Of things too sweet. + + For one thing only, Lord, dear Lord, I plead: + Lead me aright. + Though strength should falter and though heart should bleed, + Through peace to light. + + I do not ask, O Lord, that thou shouldst shed + Full radiance here; + Give but a ray of peace, that I may tread + Without a fear. + + I do not ask my cross to understand, + My way to see; + Better in darkness just to feel thy hand, + And follow Thee. + + Joy is like restless day; but peace divine + Like quiet night. + Lead me, O Lord, till perfect day shall shine + Through peace to light. + + --Adelaide Anne Procter. + + +ANGELS OF GRIEF + + With silence only as their benediction + God's angels come, + Where, in the shadow of a great affliction, + The soul sits dumb. + + Yet would we say, what every heart approveth, + Our Father's will, + Calling to him the dear ones whom he loveth, + Is mercy still. + + Not upon us or ours the solemn angel + Hath evil wrought; + The funeral anthem is a glad evangel-- + The good die not! + + God calls our loved ones, but we lose not wholly + What he has given; + They live on earth in thought and deed as truly + As in his heaven. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +FURNACE AND HAMMER + + Pain's furnace-heat within me quivers, + God's breath upon the flame doth blow; + And all my heart in anguish shivers + And trembles at the fiery glow; + And yet I whisper--"_As God will!_" + And in his hottest fire stand still. + + He comes, and lays my heart, all heated, + On the hard anvil, minded so + Into his own fair shape to beat it + With his great hammer, blow on blow; + And yet I whisper--"_As God will!_" + And at his heaviest blows hold still. + + He takes my softened heart and beats it; + The sparks fly off at every blow; + He turns it o'er and o'er and heats it, + And lets it cool, and makes it glow; + And yet I whisper--"_As God will!_" + And in his mighty hand hold still. + + Why should I murmur? for the sorrow + Thus only longer-lived would be; + Its end may come, and will to-morrow, + When God has done his work in me; + So I say trusting--"_As God will!_" + And, trusting to the end, hold still. + + --Julius Sturm. + + +WITH SELF DISSATISFIED + + Not when with self dissatisfied, + O Lord, I lowly lie, + So much I need thy grace to guide, + And thy reproving eye, + + As when the sound of human praise + Grows pleasant to my ear, + And in its light my broken ways + Fair and complete appear. + + By failure and defeat made wise, + We come to know, at length, + What strength within our weakness lies, + What weakness in our strength; + + What inward peace is born of strife + What power of being spent; + What wings unto our upward life + Is noble discontent. + + O Lord, we need thy shaming look + That burns all low desire; + The discipline of thy rebuke + Shall be refining fire! + + --Frederick Lucian Hosmer. + + +TOO MUCH SELF + + Some evil upon Rabia fell; + And one who loved and knew her well + Murmured that God with pain undue + Should strike a child so fond and true. + But she replied, "Believe and trust + That all I suffer is most just. + I had, in contemplation, striven + To realize the joys of heaven; + I had extended fancy's flights + Through all that region of delights, + Had counted, till the numbers failed, + The pleasures on the blest entailed. + Had sounded the ecstatic rest + I should enjoy on Allah's breast-- + And for these thoughts I now atone; + They were of something of my own, + And were not thoughts of him alone." + + --From the Arabian. + + +THE GAIN OF LOSS + + O thou so weary of thy self-denials, + And so impatient of thy little cross, + Is it so hard to bear thy daily trials, + And count all earthly things a gainful loss? + + Canst thou forget thy Christian superscription, + "Behold, we count them happy which endure"? + What treasure wouldst thou, in the land Egyptian, + Repass the stormy water to secure? + + And wilt thou yield thy sure and glorious promise + For the poor, fleeting joys earth can afford? + No hand can take away the treasure from us + That rests within the keeping of the Lord. + + +A STRANGE BOON + + Oft when of God we ask + For fuller, happier life, + He sets us some new task + Involving care and strife; + Is this the boon for which we sought? + Has prayer new trouble on us brought? + + This is indeed the boon, + Though strange to us it seems; + We pierce the rock, and soon + The blessing on us streams; + For when we are the most athirst, + Then the clear waters on us burst. + + We toil as in the field + Wherein, to us unknown, + A treasure lies concealed + Which may be all our own. + And shall we of the toil complain + That speedily will bring such gain? + + We dig the wells of life, + And God the waters gives; + We win our way by strife, + Then he within us lives; + And only war could make us meet + For peace so sacred and so sweet. + + --Thomas Toke Lynch. + + +STILL HOPE! STILL ACT! + + Still hope! still act! Be sure that life + The source and strength of every good, + Wastes down in feeling's empty strife, + And dies in dreaming's sickly mood. + + To toil in tasks however mean + For all we know of right and true-- + In this alone our worth is seen, + 'Tis this we were ordained to do. + + So shalt thou find, in work and thought: + The peace that sorrow cannot give; + Though grief's worst pangs to thee be taught, + By thee let others nobler live. + + Oh, wait not in the darksome forest, + Where thou must needs be left alone, + But e'en when memory is sorest, + Seek out a path and journey on! + + Thou wilt have angels near above + By whom invisible aid is given; + They journey still on tasks of love, + And never rest except in heaven. + + --John Sterling. + + +THEY SHALL NOT OVERFLOW + + In the floods of tribulation, + While the billows o'er me roll, + Jesus whispers consolation + And supports my fainting soul; + Sweet affliction + That brings Jesus to my soul. + + Thus the lion yields me honey, + From the eater food is given; + Strengthened thus I still press forward, + Singing on my way to heaven. + Sweet affliction, + Helping speed me on to heaven. + + So in darkest dispensations + Doth my faithful Lord appear, + With his richest consolations + To reanimate and cheer; + Sweet affliction, + Thus to bring my Saviour near. + + Floods of tribulation heighten, + Billows still around me roar; + Those who know not Christ they frighten; + But my soul defies their power: + Sweet affliction, + Thus to bring my Saviour near. + + In the sacred page recorded, + Thus His word securely stands; + "Fear not; I'm, in trouble, near thee, + Naught shall pluck thee from my hands." + Sweet affliction, + Every word my love demands. + + All I meet, I find, assists me + In my path to heavenly joy, + Where, though trials now attend me, + Trials never more annoy. + Sweet affliction, + Every promise gives me joy. + + Wearing there a weight of glory, + Still the path I'll ne'er forget, + But, exulting, cry it led me + To my blessed Saviour's seat; + Sweet affliction, + Which hath brought me to his feet. + + --Pearce. + + + Glory to God--to God! he saith, + Knowledge by suffering entereth, + And life is perfected by death. + + --Elizabeth Barrett Browning. + + +HIS WAYS + + I asked for grace to lift me high, + Above the world's depressing cares. + God sent me sorrows,--with a sigh + I said, He has not heard my prayers. + + I asked for light, that I might see + My path along life's thorny road; + But clouds and darkness shadowed me + When I expected light from God. + + I asked for peace, that I might rest + To think my sacred duties o'er, + When lo! such horrors filled my breast + As I had never felt before. + + And O, I cried, can this be prayer + Whose plaints the steadfast mountains move? + Can this be heaven's prevailing care? + And, O my God, is this thy love? + + But soon I found that sorrow, worn + As duty's garment, strength supplies, + And out of darkness meekly borne + Unto the righteous light doth rise. + + And soon I found that fears which stirred + My startled soul God's will to do, + On me more real peace conferred + Than in life's calm I ever knew. + + Then, Lord, in thy mysterious ways + Lead my dependent spirit on, + And whensoe'er it kneels and prays, + Teach it to say, "Thy will be done!" + + Let its one thought, one hope, one prayer, + Thine image seek, thy glory see; + Let every other wish and care + Be left confidingly to thee. + + --John Samuel Bewley Monsell. + + +COMPENSATION + + Not in each shell the diver brings to air + Is found the priceless pearl, but only where + Mangled, and torn, and bruised well-nigh to death, + The wounded oyster draws its laboring breath. + O tired and suffering soul! gauge here your gain; + The pearl of patience is the fruit of pain. + + --Caroline Atherton Mason. + + +THE DARK ANGEL + + Count each affliction, whether light or grave, + God's messenger sent down to thee. Do thou + With courtesy receive him, rise and bow, + And, ere his shadow pass thy threshold, crave + Permission first his heavenly feet to lave, + Then lay before him all thou hast. Allow + No cloud of passion to usurp thy brow + Or mar thy hospitality; no wave + Of mortal tumult to obliterate + Thy soul's marmoreal calmness. Grief should be, + Like joy, majestic, equable, sedate; + Confirming, cleansing, raising, making free; + Strong to consume small troubles, to commend + Great thoughts, grave thoughts, thoughts lasting to the end. + + --Aubrey Thomas De Vere. + + +SONG--SERMON + + Lord, what is man, + That thou art mindful of him? + Though in creation's van, + Lord, what is man? + He wills less than he can, + Lets his ideal scoff him! + Lord, what is man, + That thou art mindful of him? + + --George Macdonald. + + + Lord, shall we grumble when thy flames do scourge us? + Our sins breathe fire; thy fire returns to purge us. + Lord, what an alchemist art thou, whose skill + Transmutes to perfect good from perfect ill! + + --Francis Quarles. + + + The path of sorrow, and that path alone, + Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown; + No traveler e'er reached that blest abode + Who found not thorns and briers in his road. + + --William Cowper. + + +TAKE AWAY PAIN + + The cry of man's anguish went up unto God: + "Lord, take away pain-- + The shadow that darkens the world thou hast made, + The close-coiling chain + That strangles the heart, the burden that weighs + On the wings that would soar-- + Lord, take away pain from the world thou hast made, + That it love thee the more!" + + Then answered the Lord to the cry of his world: + "Shall I take away pain + And with it the power of the soul to endure, + Made strong by the strain? + Shall I take away pity, that knits heart to heart, + And sacrifice high? + Will ye lose all your heroes that lift from the fire + White brows to the sky? + Shall I take away love, that redeems with a price + And smiles at its loss? + Can ye spare from your lives, that would climb unto mine, + The Christ on his cross?" + + + 'Tis not alone in the sunshine + Our lives grow pure and true; + There is growth as well in the shadow, + And pain has a work to do. + + So it comes to me more and more + As I enter upon each new day: + The love of the Father eternal + Is over us all the way. + + + "In pastures green"? Not always; sometimes he + Who knoweth best in kindness leadeth me + In weary ways where heavy shadows be. + + But where He leads me I can safely go, + And in the blest hereafter I shall know + Why in his wisdom he hath led me so. + + +A SONG OF SOLACE + + Thou sweet hand of God, that so woundest my heart, + Thou makest me smile while thou mak'st me to smart; + It seems as if God were at ball-play; and I, + The harder he strikes me the higher I fly. + + I own it, he bruises, he pierces me sore; + But the hammer and chisel afflict me no more. + Shall I tell you the reason? It is that I see + The Sculptor will carve out an angel for me. + + I shrink from no suffering, how painful soe'er, + When once I can feel that my God's hand is there; + For soft on the anvil the iron shall glow + When the Smith with his hammer deals blow upon blow. + + God presses me hard, but he gives patience, too! + And I say to myself, "'Tis no more than my due," + And no tone from the organ can swell on the breeze + Till the organist's fingers press down on the keys. + + So come, then, and welcome the blow and the pain! + Without them no mortal to heaven can attain; + For what can the sheaves on the barn floor avail + Till the thresher shall beat out the chaff with his flail? + + 'Tis only a moment God chastens with pain; + Joy follows on sorrow like sunshine on rain. + Then bear thou what God on thy spirit shall lay; + Be dumb; but, when tempted to murmur, then pray. + + --From the German. + + + When thou hast thanked thy God for every blessing sent, + What time will then remain for murmurs or lament? + + + We must live through the weary winter + If we would value the spring; + And the woods must be cold and silent + Before the robins sing. + The flowers must lie buried in darkness + Before they can bud and bloom; + And the sweetest and warmest sunshine + Comes after the storm and gloom. + + --Agnes L. Pratt. + + + We look along the shining ways, + To see the angel faces; + They come to us in darkest days + And in the blackest places. + The strongest hearts have strongest need, + To them the fiery trial; + Who walks a saint in word and deed + Is saint by self-denial. + + + Is it true, O Christ in heaven, + That the strongest suffer most, + That the wisest wander farthest, + And most hopelessly are lost? + That the mark of rank in nature + Is capacity for pain, + That the anguish of the singer + Makes the sweetness of the strain? + + + O, block by block, with sore and sharp endeavor, + Lifelong we build these human natures up + Into a temple fit for freedom's shrine. + And trial ever consecrates the cup + Wherefrom we pour her sacrificial wine. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + But all God's angels come to us disguised; + Sorrow and sickness, poverty and death, + One after other lift their frowning masks, + And we behold the seraph's face beneath + All radiant with the glory and the calm + Of having looked upon the front of God. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + The man whom God delights to bless + He never curses with success. + Thrice happy loss which makes me see + My happiness is all in thee. + + --Charles Wesley. + + + Who ne'er has suffered, he has lived but half. + Who never failed, he never strove or sought. + Who never wept is stranger to a laugh + And he who never doubted never thought. + + --J. B. Goode. + + + I thank thee, Lord, that all my joy + Is touched with pain; + That shadows fall on brightest hours; + That thorns remain; + So that earth's bliss may be my guide, + And not my chain. + + + Would'st thou from sorrow find a sweet relief? + Or is thy heart oppressed with woes untold? + Balm would'st thou gather for corroding grief? + Pour blessings round thee like a shower of gold. + + + Art thou weary, tender heart? + Be glad of pain; + In sorrow sweetest things will grow + As flowers in rain. + God watches; and thou wilt have sun + When clouds their perfect work have done. + + --Lucy Larcom. + + + 'Tis sorrow builds the shining ladder up, + Whose golden rounds are our calamities + Whereon our firm feet planting nearer God + The spirit climbs, and hath its eyes unsealed. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + In the pleasant orchard closes, + "God bless all our gains," say we; + But "May God bless all our losses," + Better suits with our degree. + + --Elizabeth Barrett Browning. + + + Our toil is sweet with thankfulness, + Our burden is our boon; + The curse of earth's gray morning is + The blessing of its noon. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + I hold it true, whate'er befall, + I feel it, when I sorrow most; + 'Tis better to have loved and lost + Than never to have loved at all. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + The fountain of joy is fed by tears, + And love is lit by the breath of sighs; + The deepest griefs and the wildest fears + Have holiest ministries. + + --Josiah Gilbert Holland. + + + I held it truth, with him who sings + To one clear harp in divers tones + That men may rise on stepping stones + Of their dead selves to higher things. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + When God afflicts thee, think he hews a rugged stone, + Which must be shaped or else aside as useless thrown. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + + My sorrows have not been so light + Thy chastening hand I could not trace, + Nor have my blessings been so great + That they have hid my Father's face. + + + Put pain from out the world, what room were left + For thanks to God, for love to man? + + --Robert Browning. + + + Heaven is not always angry when he strikes, + But most chastises those whom most he likes. + + --John Pomfret. + + + The good are better made by ill, + As odors crushed are sweeter still. + + --Samuel Rogers. + + + Only those are crowned and sainted + Who with grief have been acquainted. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + + +LOVE + +DIVINE GOODNESS, UNSELFISHNESS + + +LOVE'S FULFILLING + + O Love is weak + Which counts the answers and the gains, + Weighs all the losses and the pains, + And eagerly each fond word drains + A joy to seek. + + When Love is strong + It never tarries to take heed, + Or know if its return exceed + Its gifts; in its sweet haste no greed, + No strifes belong. + + It hardly asks + If it be loved at all; to take + So barren seems, when it can make + Such bliss, for the belovèd's sake, + Of bitter tasks. + + Its ecstacy + Could find hard death so beauteous, + It sees through tears how Christ loved us, + And speaks, in saying "I love thus," + No blasphemy. + + So much we miss + If love is weak, so much we gain + If love is strong, God thinks no pain + Too sharp or lasting to ordain + To teach us this. + + --Helen Hunt Jackson. + + +LOVE + + If suddenly upon the street + My gracious Saviour I should meet, + And he should say, "As I love thee, + What love hast thou to offer me?" + Then what could this poor heart of mine + Dare offer to that heart divine? + + His eye would pierce my outward show, + His thought my inmost thought would know; + And if I said, "I love thee, Lord," + He would not heed my spoken word, + Because my daily life would tell + If verily I loved him well. + + If on the day or in the place + Wherein he met me face to face + My life could show some kindness done, + Some purpose formed, some work begun, + For his dear sake, then, it were meet + Love's gift to lay at Jesus' feet. + + --Charles Francis Richardson. + + +THE COMMON OFFERING + + It is not the deed we do-- + Tho' the deed be never so fair-- + But the _love_ that the dear Lord looketh for + Hidden with holy care + In the heart of the deed so fair. + + The love is the priceless thing, + The treasure our treasure must hold + Or ever our Lord will take the gift, + Or tell the worth of the gold + By the love that cannot be told. + + Behold us--the rich and the poor-- + Dear Lord, in thy service draw near; + One consecrateth a precious coin, + One droppeth only a tear; + Look, Master, the love is here! + + --Harriet McEwen Kimball. + + + True love shall trust, but selfish love must die, + For trust is peace, and self is full of pain; + Arise and heal thy brother's grief; his tears + Shall wash thy love, and it will live again. + + --John Boyle O'Reilly. + + +EXPECTING AND KNOWING + + Faith, Hope and Love were questioned what they thought + Of future glory which religion taught; + Now Faith _believed_ it to be firmly true, + And Hope _expected_ so to find it too; + Love answered, smiling with unconscious glow, + "Believe? expect? I _know_ it to be so." + + --John Wesley. + + +THE LOVE OF GOD + + Could we with ink the ocean fill, + Were the whole world of parchment made, + Were every single stick a quill, + Were every man a scribe by trade; + To write the love of God alone + Would drain the ocean dry; + Nor could the scroll contain the whole + Though stretched from sky to sky. + + +THE KINGDOM OF GOD + + I say to thee--do thou repeat + To the first man thou mayest meet + In lane, highway, or open street-- + + That he, and we, and all men move + Under a canopy of love + As broad as the blue sky above; + + That doubt and trouble, fear and pain + And anguish, all are shadows vain; + That death itself shall not remain; + + That weary deserts we may tread, + A dreary labyrinth may thread, + Through dark ways under ground be led, + + Yet, if we will our Guide obey, + The dreariest path, the darkest way, + Shall issue out in heavenly day, + + And we, on divers shores now cast, + Shall meet, our perilous voyage past, + All in our Father's house at last. + + And, ere thou leave him, say thou this + Yet one word more: They only miss + The winning of that final bliss + + Who will not count it true that love, + Blessing, not cursing, rules above, + And that in it we live and move. + + And one thing further make him know: + That to believe these things are so, + This firm faith never to forego, + + Despite of all that seems at strife + With blessing, all with curses rife, + That _this_ is blessing, _this_ is life. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + +GOD'S ALL-EMBRACING LOVE + + Thou grace divine, encircling all, + A soundless, shoreless sea + Wherein at last our souls shall fall; + O love of God most free, + + When over dizzy steeps we go + One soft hand blinds our eyes, + The other leads us, safe and slow, + O love of God, most wise! + + And though we turn us from thy face, + And wander wide and long, + Thou hold'st us still in thine embrace, + O love of God most strong! + + The saddened heart, the restless soul, + The toil-worn frame and mind, + Alike confess thy sweet control, + O love of God most kind! + + But not alone thy care we claim + Our wayward steps to win; + We know thee by a dearer name, + O love of God, within! + + And filled and quickened by thy breath + Our souls are strong and free + To rise o'er sin, and fear, and death, + O love of God, to thee! + + --Eliza Scudder. + + + Ah, how skillful grows the hand + That obeyeth Love's command! + It is the heart, and not the brain, + That to the highest doth attain, + And he who followeth Love's behest + Far excelleth all the rest. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + If I truly love the One + All the loves are mine; + Alien to my heart is none + And life grows divine. + + +GOD'S MERCY + + There's a wideness in God's mercy + Like the wideness of the sea; + There's a kindness in his justice + Which is more than liberty. + There is welcome for the sinner, + And more graces for the good; + There is mercy with the Saviour; + There is healing in his blood. + + There is no place where earth's sorrows + Are more felt than up in heaven; + There is no place where earth's failings + Have such kindly judgment given. + There is plentiful redemption + In the blood that has been shed; + There is joy for all the members + In the sorrows of the Head. + + For the love of God is broader + Than the measure of man's mind, + And the heart of the Eternal + Is most wonderfully kind. + If our love were but more simple, + We should take him at his word, + And our lives would be all sunshine + In the sweetness of our Lord. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE + + Not what I am, O Lord, but what thou art, + That, that alone, can be my soul's true rest; + Thy love, not mine, bids fear and doubt depart, + And stills the tempest of my tossing breast. + + It is thy perfect love that casts out fear; + I know the voice that speaks the "It is I." + And in these well-known words of heavenly cheer + I hear the joy that bids each sorrow fly. + + Thy name is Love! I hear it from the Cross; + Thy name is Love! I read it in yon tomb; + All meaner love is perishable dross, + But this shall light me through time's thickest gloom. + + It blesses now, and shall forever bless; + It saves me now, and shall forever save; + It holds me up in days of helplessness, + It bears me safely o'er each swelling wave. + + Girt with the love of God on every side, + Breathing that love as heaven's own healing air, + I work or wait, still following my Guide, + Braving each foe, escaping every snare. + + 'Tis what I know of thee my Lord and God, + That fills my soul with peace, my lips with song; + Thou art my health, my joy, my staff, my rod, + Leaning on thee, in weakness I am strong. + + I am all want and hunger; this faint heart + Pines for a fullness which it finds not here, + Dear ones are leaving, and as they depart, + Make room within for something yet more dear. + + More of thyself, oh, show me hour by hour + More of thy glory, O my God and Lord! + More of thyself in all thy grace and power + More of thy love and truth, Incarnate Word. + + + Love that asketh love again + Finds the barter naught but pain; + Love that giveth in full store, + Aye receives as much, and more. + + Love, exacting nothing back, + Never knoweth any lack; + Love, compelling love to pay, + Sees him bankrupt every day. + + --Dinah Maria Mulock Craik. + + + Such power there is in clear-eyed self-restraint + And purpose clean as light from every selfish taint. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +HIS BANNER OVER ME + + Surrounded by unnumbered foes, + Against my soul the battle goes! + Yet, though I weary, sore distrest, + I know that I shall reach my rest. + I lift my tearful eyes above; + His banner over me is love. + + Its sword my spirit will not yield, + Though flesh may faint upon the field; + He waves before my fading sight + The branch of palm--the crown of light; + I lift my brightening eyes above, + His banner over me is love. + + My cloud of battle-dust may dim, + His veil of splendor curtain him, + And in the midnight of my fear + I may not feel him standing near; + But, as I lift mine eyes above, + His banner over me is love. + + --Gerald Massey. + + +THE SPILT PEARLS + + His courtiers of the caliph crave: + "O say how this may be, + That of thy slaves this Ethiop slave + Is best beloved by thee? + + "For he is hideous as the night: + Yet when has ever chose + A nightingale for its delight + A hueless, scentless rose?" + + The caliph then: "No features fair, + No comely mien are his; + Love is the beauty he doth wear; + And love his glory is. + + "Once when a camel of my train + There fell, in narrow street, + From broken casket rolled amain + Rich pearls before my feet. + + "I nodding to my slaves that I + Would freely give them these, + At once upon the spoil they fly + The costly boon to seize. + + "One only at my side remained-- + Beside this Ethiop none; + He, moveless as the steed he reined, + Behind me sat alone. + + "'What will thy gain, good fellow, be, + Thus lingering at my side?' + 'My king, that I shall faithfully + Have guarded thee,' he cried. + + "True servant's title he may wear, + He only, who has not, + For his lord's gifts, how rich soe'er, + His lord himself forgot!" + + So thou alone dost walk before + Thy God with perfect aim, + From him desiring nothing more + Beside himself to claim. + + For if thou not to him aspire, + But to his gifts alone, + Not love, but covetous desire, + Has brought thee to his throne. + + While such thy prayer; it climbs above + In vain--the golden key + Of God's rich treasure-house of love + Thine own will never be. + + --Saadi, tr. by Richard Chenevix Trench. + + +THE HIGHER PRIVILEGE + + For some the narrow lane of "must," + Be mine the big, broad "may"; + Better to love--be happy--trust, + Than simply to obey. + + O troubled over many things, + Choose thou the better part; + Service unconscious of itself, + And childlikeness of heart. + + Why cast your burden on the Lord + And strive to drag it, too? + Call work an opportunity + Till it grows joy to you. + + "Ought" is a servant's work, not mine; + I sign no grudging pledge; + I am a child and son; my toil + Is only privilege. + + Who'd be a thrall to vain debates + Of "were this right or wrong," + When he might toss these cares to God + And catch instead a song! + + Why breathe earth's heavy atmosphere, + Forgetful we can fly, + When the high zenith, "God is Love," + Allures us to the sky? + + The virtues hide their vanquished fires + Within that whiter flame, + Till conscience grows irrelevant, + And duty but a name! + + --Frederic Lawrence Knowles. + + +THE WIDOW'S OIL + +2 Kings 4. 1-6 + + Pour forth the oil, pour boldly forth, + It will not fail until + Thou failest vessels to provide + Which it may freely fill. + + But then, when such are found no more, + Though flowing broad and free + Till then, and nourished from on high, + It straightway stanched will be. + + Dig channels for the streams of love, + Where they may broadly run; + And love has overflowing streams + To fill them every one. + + But if at any time thou cease + Such channels to provide, + The very founts of love for thee + Will soon be parched and dried. + + For we must share, if we would keep, + That good thing from above; + Ceasing to give, we cease to have; + Such is the law of love. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + +ONLY LOVE + + Lord and Father, great and holy! + Fearing naught, we come to thee; + Fearing naught, though weak and lowly, + For thy love has made us free. + By the blue sky bending o'er us, + By the green earth's flowery zone, + Teach us, Lord, the angel chorus, + "Thou art Love, and Love alone!" + + Though the worlds in flame should perish, + Suns and stars in ruin fall, + Trust in thee our hearts should cherish, + Thou to us be all in all. + And though heavens thy name are praising, + Seraphs hymn no sweeter tone + Than the strains our hearts are raising, + "Thou art Love, and Love alone!" + + --Frederic William Farrar. + + + That love for one from which there doth not spring + Wide love for all is but a worthless thing. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +JOHN AND JESUS + + A voice by Jordan's shore! + A summons stern and clear: + Reform! be just! and sin no more! + God's judgment draweth near! + + A voice by Galilee, + A holier voice I hear; + Love God! thy neighbor love! for, see, + God's mercy draweth near! + + O voice of Duty, still + Speak forth; I hear with awe. + In thee I own the sovereign will, + Obey the sovereign law. + + Thou higher voice of Love! + Yet speak thy word in me; + Through Duty let me upward move + To thy pure liberty! + + --Samuel Longfellow. + + +WHAT REDRESS? + + I pray you, do not use this thing + For vengeance; but if questioning + What wound, when dealt your humankind, + Goes deepest--surely he shall find + Who wrongs you, loving _him_ no less-- + There's nothing hurts like tenderness. + + --James Whitcomb Riley. + + +FORGIVENESS + + When on the fragrant sandal-tree + The woodman's axe descends, + And she who bloomed so beauteously + Beneath the keen stroke bends, + E'en on the edge that wrought her death + Dying she breathed her sweetest breath, + As if to token, in her fall, + Peace to her foes, and love to all. + + How hardly man this lesson learns, + To smile, and bless the hand that spurns; + To see the blow, to feel the pain, + But render only love again! + This spirit not to earth is given-- + ONE had it, but he came from heaven. + Reviled, rejected, and betrayed, + No curse he breathed, no plaint he made, + But when in death's deep pang he sighed + Prayed for his murderers, and died. + + +LOVE COUNTETH NOT THE COST + + There is an ancient story, simply told, + As ever were the holy things of old, + Of one who served through many a toiling year + To earn at last the joy he held most dear; + A weary term, to others strangely lost. + What mattered it? Love counteth not the cost. + + Yet not alone beneath far Eastern skies + The faithful life hath, patient, won its prize; + Whenever hearts beat high and brave hopes swell + The soul, some Rachel waits beside the well; + For her the load is borne, the desert crossed. + What matters it? Love counteth not the cost. + + This then of man--and what, dear Lord, of thee, + Bowed in the midnight of Gethsemane-- + Come from those regions infinite with peace, + To buy with such a price the world's release? + Thy voice descends, through ages tempest-tossed, + "What matters it? Love counteth not the cost." + + O Christ, Redeemer, Master! I who stand + Beneath the pressure of thy gracious hand-- + What is the service thou wouldst have from me? + What is the burden to be borne for thee? + I, too, would say, though care and fear exhaust, + "What matters it? Love counteth not the cost." + + +LOVE OF HOME + + Thy voice is heard through rolling drums + That beat to battle where he stands; + Thy face across his fancy comes, + And gives the battle to his hands. + A moment, while the trumpets blow, + He sees his brood about thy knee; + The next, like fire he meets the foe, + And strikes him dead for thine and thee. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +BE KIND TO THYSELF + + Comes a message from above-- + "As thyself thy neighbor love." + With myself so vexed I grow-- + Of my weakness weary so; + Easier may I tolerate + My neighbor than myself not hate. + + Take not part of thee for whole; + Thou art neighbor to thy soul; + The ray from heaven that gilds the clod + Love thou, for it comes from God. + Bear thou with thy human clay, + Lest thou miss the heaven-sent ray. + + --Edward Sandford Martin. + + +LOVE AND LIGHT + + Through love to light! oh wonderful the way + That leads from darkness to the perfect day! + From darkness and from sorrow of the night + To morning that comes singing o'er the sea, + Through love to light! Through light, O God, to thee, + Who art the love of love, the eternal light of light. + + --Richard Watson Gilder. + + +SYMPATHETIC LOVE + + O Love divine, that stooped to share + Our sharpest pang, our bitterest tear! + On thee we cast each earthborn care; + We smile at pain while thou art near. + + Though long the weary way we tread, + And sorrow crown each lingering year, + No path we shun, no darkness dread, + Our hearts still whispering, "Thou art near!" + + When drooping pleasure turns to grief + And trembling faith is changed to fear, + The murmuring wind, the quivering leaf, + Shall softly tell us, "Thou art near!" + + On thee we fling our burdening woe, + O Love divine, forever dear; + Content to suffer while we know, + Living and dying, thou art near! + + --Oliver Wendell Holmes. + + + Love took up the glass of Time, and turned it in his glowing hands; + Every moment, lightly shaken, ran itself in golden sands. + Love took up the harp of Life, and smote on all the chords with might; + Smote the chord of Self, that, trembling, passed in music out of sight. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + For, lo! in hidden deep accord + The servant may be like his Lord. + And thy love, our love shining through, + May tell the world that thou art true, + Till those who see us see thee too. + + --Anna Letitia Waring. + + + Who loves, no law can ever bind; + He'd cleave to God as well + Were there no golden heaven's reward, + And no dark cave of hell. + + --Scheffler, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + + To halls of heavenly truth admission wouldst thou win? + Oft knowledge stands without, while Love may enter in. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + + For others' sake to make life sweet + Though thorns may pierce your weary feet; + For others' sake to walk each day + As if joy helped you all the way, + While in the heart may be a grave + That makes it hard to be so brave. + Herein, I think, is love. + + + Talk not of wasted affection, affection never was wasted; + If it enrich not the heart of another, its waters, returning + Back to their springs, like the rain, shall fill them full of + refreshment. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + Ah, yes! I would a phoenix be, + And burn my heart in Deity! + Then I should dwell by his dear side, + And in the self of God abide. + + --Scheffler, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + + The man is happy, Lord, who love like this doth owe: + Loves thee, his friend in thee, and, for thy sake, his foe. + + --Richard Chenevix Trench. + + + + +HOPE + +PROGRESS, OPTIMISM, ENTHUSIASM + + +THE PROMISED LAND--TO-MORROW + + High hopes that burned like stars sublime + Go down the heavens of freedom, + And true hearts perish in the time + We bitterliest need them; + But never sit we down and say, + There's nothing left but sorrow-- + We walk the wilderness to-day, + The Promised Land to-morrow. + + Our birds of song are silent now, + There are no flowers blooming, + But life beats in the frozen bough + And freedom's spring is coming. + And freedom's tide comes up alway + Though we may stand in sorrow; + And our good bark, aground to-day, + Shall float again to-morrow. + + Though hearts brood o'er the past, our eyes + With shining futures glisten; + Lo! now the dawn bursts up the skies: + Lean out your souls and listen! + The earth rolls freedom's radiant way, + And ripens with her sorrow; + And 'tis the martyrdom to-day + Brings victory to-morrow. + + Through all the long night of the years + The people's cry ascended; + The earth was wet with blood and tears + Ere their meek sufferings ended. + The few shall not forever sway, + The many toil in sorrow, + The bars of hell are strong to-day + But Christ shall rise to-morrow. + + 'Tis weary watching wave on wave, + But still the tide heaves onward; + We climb like corals, grave on grave, + But build a pathway sunward; + We're beaten back in many a fray, + But strength divine will borrow-- + And where our vanguard rests to-day + Our rear shall march to-morrow. + + Then, Youth! flame-earnest, still aspire; + With energies immortal, + To many a haven of desire + Your yearning opes a portal. + And though age wearies by the way, + And hearts break in the furrow, + We sow the golden grain to-day-- + The harvest comes to-morrow. + + --Gerald Massey. + + +THE RIGHT MUST WIN + + O it is hard to work for God, + To rise and take his part + Upon this battle-field of earth, + And not sometimes lose heart! + + He hides himself so wondrously, + As though there were no God; + He is least seen when all the powers + Of ill are most abroad. + + Or He deserts us at the hour + The fight is all but lost; + And seems to leave us to ourselves + Just when we need him most. + + Yes, there is less to try our faith, + In our mysterious creed, + Than in the godless look of earth + In these our hours of need. + + Ill masters good, good seems to change + To ill with greatest ease; + And, worst of all, the good with good + Is at cross purposes. + + It is not so, but so it looks, + And we lose courage then; + And doubts will come if God hath kept + His promises to men. + + Ah! God is other than we think; + His ways are far above; + Far beyond reason's height, and reached + Only by childlike love. + + The look, the fashion, of God's ways + Love's lifelong study are; + She can be bold, and guess, and act + When reason would not dare. + + She has a prudence of her own; + Her step is firm and free. + Yet there is cautious science, too + In her simplicity. + + Workman of God! oh, lose not heart, + But learn what God is like, + And in the darkest battle-field, + Thou shalt know where to strike. + + Thrice blest is he to whom is given + The instinct that can tell + That God is on the field when he + Is most invisible. + + Blest, too, is he who can divine + Where real right doth lie, + And dares to take the side that seems + Wrong to man's blindfold eye. + + Then learn to scorn the praise of men + And learn to lose with God; + For Jesus won the world through shame + And beckons thee his road. + + God's glory is a wondrous thing, + Most strange in all its ways, + And, of all things on earth, least like + What men agree to praise. + + God's justice is a bed where we + Our anxious hearts may lay, + And, weary with ourselves, may sleep + Our discontent away. + + For right is right, since God is God, + And right the day must win; + To doubt would be disloyalty, + To falter would be sin. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + + Let us believe + That there is hope for all the hearts that grieve; + That somewhere night + Drifts to a morning beautiful with light, + And that the wrong + Though now it triumphs, wields no scepter long. + But right will reign + Throned where the waves of error beat in vain. + + --Frank L. Stanton. + + + To change and change is life; to move and never rest; + Not what we are, but what we hope, is best. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +HAVE HOPE + + Have Hope! it is the brightest star + That lights life's pathway down: + A richer, purer gem than decks + An Eastern monarch's crown. + The Midas that may turn to joy + The grief-fount of the soul; + That paints the prize and bids thee press + With fervor to the goal. + + Have Hope! as the tossed mariner + Upon the wild sea driven + With rapture hails the polar star-- + His guiding light to haven-- + So Hope shall gladden thee, and guide + Along life's stormy road, + And as a sacred beacon stand + To point thee to thy God. + + --B. A. G. Fuller. + + +WAITING + + Serene, I fold my hands and wait, + Nor care for wind or tide or sea; + I rave no more 'gainst time or fate, + For, lo! my own shall come to me. + + I stay my haste, I make delays, + For what avails this eager pace? + I stand amid the eternal ways, + And what is mine shall know my face. + + Asleep, awake, by night or day, + The friends I seek are seeking me; + No wind can drive my bark astray, + Nor change the tide of destiny. + + What matter if I stand alone? + I wait with joy the coming years; + My heart shall reap where it has sown + And garner up its fruit of tears. + + The waters know their own, and draw + The brook that springs in yonder height; + So flows the good, with equal law, + Unto the soul of pure delight. + + The stars come nightly to the sky; + The tidal wave unto the sea; + Nor time nor space, nor deep nor high, + Can keep my own away from me. + + --John Burroughs. + + +THE LARGER HOPE + + O, yet we trust that somehow good + Will be the final goal of ill, + To pangs of nature, sins of will, + Defects of doubt and taints of blood; + + That nothing walks with aimless feet; + That not one life shall be destroyed, + Or cast as rubbish to the void + When God hath made the pile complete; + + That not a worm is cloven in vain; + That not a moth with vain desire + Is shriveled in a fruitless fire, + Or but subserves another's gain. + + Behold, we know not anything; + I can but trust that good shall fall + At last--far off--at last, to all, + And every winter change to spring. + + So runs my dream; but what am I? + An infant crying in the night; + An infant crying for the light, + And with no language but a cry. + + . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + + I falter where I firmly trod, + And falling with my weight of cares + Upon the great world's altar-stairs + That slope through darkness up to God. + + I stretch lame hands of faith and grope, + And gather dust and chaff, and call + To what I feel is Lord of all, + And faintly trust the larger hope. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +DESPONDENCY REBUKED + + Say not, the struggle naught availeth; + The labor and the wounds are vain; + The enemy faints not, nor faileth; + And as things have been they remain. + + If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars; + It may be--in yon smoke concealed-- + Your comrades chase e'en now the fliers, + And, but for you, possess the field. + + For while the tired waves, vainly breaking, + Seem here no painful inch to gain, + Far back, through creeks and inlets making, + Comes, silent, flooding in, the main. + + And not by eastern windows only, + When daylight comes, comes in the light; + In front the sun climbs slow--how slowly! + But westward, look, the land is bright! + + --Arthur Hugh Clough. + + +COMMIT THY WAY + + Commit thy way to God, + The weight which makes thee faint; + Worlds are to him no load, + To him breathe thy complaint. + He who for winds and clouds + Maketh a pathway free, + Through wastes or hostile crowds, + Can make a way for thee. + + Thou must in him be blest + Ere bliss can be secure; + On his works must thou rest + If thy work shall endure. + To anxious, prying thought, + And weary, fretting care, + The highest yieldeth naught: + He giveth all to prayer. + + Father, thy faithful love, + Thy mercy, wise and mild, + Sees what will blessing prove, + Or what will hurt thy child; + And what thy wise foreseeing + Doth for thy children choose + Thou bringest into being, + Nor sufferest them to lose. + + Hope, then, though woes be doubled; + Hope and be undismayed; + Let not thy heart be troubled, + Nor let it be afraid. + This prison where thou art-- + Thy God will break it soon, + And flood with light thy heart + In his own blessed noon. + + Up! up! the day is breaking; + Say to thy cares, Good night! + Thy troubles from thee shaking + Like dreams in day's fresh light. + Thou wearest not the crown, + Nor the best course can tell; + God sitteth on the throne + And guideth all things well. + + --Paul Gerhardt, tr. by Elizabeth Rundle Charles. + + +THE SILVER LINING + + There's never a day so sunny + But a little cloud appears, + There's never a life so happy + But has its time of tears; + Yet the sun shines out the brighter + Whenever the tempest clears. + + There's never a garden growing + With roses in every plot; + There's never a heart so hardened + But has one tender spot; + We have only to prune the border + To find the forget-me-not. + + There's never a sun that rises + But we know 'twill set at night; + The tints that gleam in the morning + At evening are just as bright; + And the hour that is the sweetest + Is between the dark and light. + + There is never a cup so pleasant + But has bitter with the sweet; + There is never a path so rugged, + Bearing not the print of feet, + But we have a helper furnished + For the trials we may meet. + + There is never a way so narrow + But the entrance is made straight, + There is always a guide to point us + To the "little wicket gate." + And the angels will be nearest + To a soul that's desolate. + + There is never a heart so haughty + But will some day bow and kneel; + There is never a heart so wounded + That the Saviour cannot heal; + There is many a lowly forehead + Bearing now the hidden seal. + + There's never a dream so happy + But the waking makes us sad; + There's never a dream of sorrow + But the waking makes us glad; + We shall look some day with wonder + At the troubles we have had. + + + Yet sometimes glimmers on my sight, + Through present wrong, the eternal right; + And, step by step, since time began, + I see the steady gain of man. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +FARTHER ON + + I hear it singing, singing sweetly, + Softly in an undertone, + Singing as if God had taught it, + "It is better farther on!" + + Night and day it sings the song, + Sings it while I sit alone, + Sings so that the heart may hear it, + "It is better farther on!" + + Sits upon the grave and sings it, + Sings it when the heart would groan, + Sings it when the shadows darken, + "It is better farther on!" + + Farther on? How much farther? + Count the milestones one by one? + No! no counting--only trusting, + "It is better farther on!" + + +NEW EVERY MORNING + + Every day is a fresh beginning, + Every morn is the world made new; + You who are weary of sorrow and sinning, + Here is a beautiful hope for you-- + A hope for me and a hope for you. + + All the past things are past and over, + The tasks are done and the tears are shed; + Yesterday's errors let yesterday cover; + Yesterday's wounds, which smarted and bled, + Are healed with the healing which night has shed. + + Yesterday is a part of forever, + Bound up in a sheaf which God holds tight; + With glad days, and sad days, and bad days, which never + Shall visit us more with their bloom and their blight, + Their fullness of sunshine or sorrowful night. + + Let them go, since we cannot relieve them; + Cannot undo, and cannot atone; + God in his mercy, receive, forgive them! + Only the new days are our own. + To-day is ours, and to-day alone. + + Here are the skies all burnished brightly, + Here is the spent earth all reborn; + Here are the tired limbs springing lightly + To face the sun, and to share with the morn + In the chrism of dew and the cool of dawn. + + Every day is a fresh beginning; + Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain, + And, spite of all sorrow and old sinning, + And puzzle forecasted, and possible pain, + Take heart with the day, and begin again. + + --Susan Coolidge. + + +CHEER UP + + Never go gloomily, man with a mind; + Hope is a better companion than fear; + Providence, ever benignant and kind, + Gives with a smile what you take with a tear. + All will be right; look to the light; + Morning is ever the daughter of night; + All that was black will be all that is bright; + Cheerily, cheerily, then, cheer up. + + Many a foe is a friend in disguise, + Many a sorrow a blessing most true, + Helping the heart to be happy and wise, + Bringing true love and joys ever new. + Stand in the van; strive like a man; + This is the bravest and cleverest plan-- + Trusting in God while you do what you can, + Cheerily, cheerily, then, cheer up. + + +PROGRESS + + Idly as thou, in that old day + Thou mournest, did thy sire repine; + So, in his time, thy child grown gray + Shall sigh for thine. + + But life shall on and upward go; + Th' eternal step of Progress beats + To that great anthem, calm and slow, + Which God repeats. + + Take heart! The Waster builds again; + A charmèd life old Goodness hath; + The tares may perish, but the grain + Is not for death. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +THE VEILED FUTURE + + Veiled the future comes, refusing, + To be seen, like Isaac's bride + Whom the lonely man met musing + In the fields at eventide. + + Round him o'er the darkening waste + Deeper shades of evening fall, + And behind him in the past + Mother Sarah's funeral. + + Mother Sarah being dead, + There comes his veilèd destiny; + The veiled Rebecca he must wed + Whatsoe'er her features be. + + On he walks in silent prayer, + Bids the veiled Rebecca hail, + Doubting not she will prove fair + When at length she drops the veil. + + When the veil is dropped aside, + Dropped in Mother Sarah's tent, + Oh! she is right fair, this bride + Whom his loving God has sent. + + To those walking 'twixt the two-- + 'Twixt the past with pleasures dead + And the future veiled from view-- + The veiled future thou must wed; + + Walk like Isaac, praying God; + Walk by faith and not by sight; + And though darker grows the road + Doubt not all will yet come right. + + Things behind forgetting, hail + Every future from above. + Doubt not when it drops the veil + 'Twill be such as thou wouldst love. + + Till at death-eve, when the past + Rings dear Mother Earth's own knells, + Bridal heaven unveils at last + With a peal of marriage bells. + + --William Robertson. + + + The night is mother of the day, + The winter of the spring; + And ever upon old decay + The greenest mosses cling. + Behind the cloud the starlight lurks, + Through showers the sunbeams fall; + For God, who loveth all his works, + Has left his hope with all. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +IMAGINARY EVILS + + Let to-morrow take care of to-morrow; + Leave things of the future to fate; + What's the use to anticipate sorrow? + Life's troubles come never too late! + If to hope overmuch be an error, + 'Tis one that the wise have preferred; + And how often have hearts been in terror + Of evils that never occurred. + + Have faith, and thy faith shall sustain thee; + Permit not suspicion and care + With invisible bonds to acclaim thee, + But bear what God gives thee to bear. + By his spirit supported and gladdened, + Be ne'er by forebodings deterred; + But think how oft hearts have been saddened + By fear of what never occurred. + + Let to-morrow take care of to-morrow; + Short and dark as our life may appear + We may make it still darker by sorrow, + Still shorter by folly and fear! + Half our troubles are half our invention, + And often from blessings conferred + Have we shrunk, in the wild apprehension + Of evils that never occurred. + + --Charles Swain. + + +THE MORNING STAR + + There is a morning star, my soul! + There is a morning star; + 'Twill soon be near and bright, my soul, + Though now it seem so dim and far. + And when time's stars have come and gone, + And every mist of earth has flown, + That better star shall rise + On this world's clouded skies + To shine forever! + + The night is well-nigh spent, my soul! + The night is well-nigh spent; + And soon above our heads shall rise + A glorious firmament. + A sky all clear and glad and bright, + The Lamb once slain its perfect light, + A star without a cloud, + Whose light no mists enshroud, + Descending never! + + +THREE LESSONS + + There are three lessons I would write-- + Three words as with a burning pen, + In tracings of eternal light, + Upon the hearts of men. + + Have Hope. Though clouds environ now, + And gladness hides her face in scorn, + Put thou the shadow from thy brow-- + No night but hath its morn. + + Have Faith. Where'er thy bark is driven-- + The calm's disport, the tempest's mirth-- + Know this: God rules the host of heaven, + The inhabitants of earth. + + Have Love. Not love alone for one, + But man as man thy brother call; + And scatter like the circling sun + Thy charities on all. + + Thus grave these lessons on thy soul-- + Faith, Hope, and Love--and thou shalt find + Strength when life's surges rudest roll, + Light when thou else wert blind. + + --Johann Christopher Friedrich von Schiller. + + + Knowing this, that never yet + Share of truth was vainly set + In the world's wide fallow; + After hands shall sow the seed, + After hands from hill and mead + Reap the harvests yellow. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + Yet I argue not + Against Thy hand or will, nor bate a jot + Of heart or hope, but still bear up and steer + Right onward. + + --John Milton. + + + The world is growing better, + No matter what they say; + The light is shining brighter + In one refulgent ray; + And though deceivers murmur, + And turn another way, + Yet still the world grows better + And better every day. + + + Never give up! it is wiser and better + Always to hope than once to despair; + Fling off the load of Doubt's cankering fetter, + And break the dark spell of tyrannical care; + Never give up, or the burden may sink you-- + Providence kindly has mingled the cup; + And in all trials and troubles bethink you + The watchword of life must be--Never give up. + + + It's wiser being good than bad; + It's safer being meek than fierce; + It's fitter being sane than mad. + My own hope is a sun will pierce + The thickest cloud earth ever stretched; + That, after Last, returns the First, + Though a wide compass round be fetched; + That what began best, can't end worst, + Nor what God blest once, prove accurst. + + --Robert Browning. + + + Hope, Christian soul! in every stage + Of this thine earthly pilgrimage, + Let heavenly joy thy thoughts engage; + Abound in hope. + Hope through the watches of the night; + Hope till the morrow brings the light; + Hope till thy faith be lost in sight; + Abound in hope. + + + God works in all things; all obey + His first propulsion from the night; + Wake thou and watch! the world is gray + With morning light. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + When the sun of joy is hidden, + And the sky is overcast, + Just remember--light is coming, + And the storm won't always last. + + + The mist denies the mountains; + The wind forbids the sea; + But, mist or wind, I go to find + The day that calls to me. + + For there are mornings yonder + And noons that call and call; + And there's a day with arms outheld, + That waits beyond them all. + + --Josephine Preston Peabody. + + + Open the door of your hearts, my lads, + To the angel of Love and Truth + When the world is full of unnumbered joys, + In the beautiful dawn of youth. + Casting aside all things that mar, + Saying to wrong, Depart! + To the voices of hope that are calling you + Open the door of your heart. + + --Edward Everett Hale. + + + A little bit of hope + Makes a rainy day look gay; + A little bit of charity + Makes glad a weary way! + + + Hope, child, to-morrow, and to-morrow still, + And every morrow hope; trust while you live. + Hope! each time the dawn doth heaven fill, + Be there to ask as God is there to give. + + --Victor Hugo. + + + + +FAITH + +ASSURANCE, DOUBT, UNBELIEF + + +THE ETERNAL GOODNESS + + I bow my forehead to the dust, + I veil mine eyes for shame, + And urge, in trembling self-distrust, + A prayer without a claim. + No offering of mine own I have, + Nor works my faith to prove; + I can but give the gifts he gave, + And plead his love for love. + + I dimly guess, from blessings known, + Of greater out of sight; + And, with the chastened psalmist, own + His judgments too are right. + And if my heart and flesh are weak + To bear an untried pain, + The bruisèd reed he will not break, + But strengthen and sustain. + + I know not what the future hath + Of marvel or surprise, + Assured alone that life and death + His mercy underlies. + And so beside the silent sea + I wait the muffled oar; + No harm from him can come to me + On ocean or on shore. + + I know not where his islands lift + Their fronded palms in air; + I only know I cannot drift + Beyond his love and care. + And thou, O Lord, by whom are seen + Thy creatures as they be, + Forgive me if too close I lean + My human heart on thee. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + Forgive us, Lord, our little faith; + And help us all, from morn till e'en, + Still to believe that lot the best + Which is, not that which might have been. + + And grant we may so pass the days + The cradle and the grave between, + That death's dark hour not darker be + For thoughts of what life might have been. + + +THE ONE THING NEEDFUL + + My prayer to the promise shall cling-- + I will not give heed to a doubt; + For I ask for the one needful thing + Which I cannot be happy without: + + A spirit of lowly repose + In the love of the Lamb that was slain; + A heart to be touched with his woes, + And a care not to grieve him again; + + The peace that my Saviour has bought, + The cheerfulness nothing can dim, + The love that can bring every thought + Into perfect obedience to him; + + The wisdom his mercy to own + In the way he directs me to take-- + To glory in Jesus alone, + And to love and do good for his sake. + + All this thou hast offered to me + In the promise whereon I will rest; + For faith, O my Saviour! in thee, + Is the substance of all my request. + + Thy word has commanded my prayer, + Thy Spirit has taught me to pray; + And all my unholy despair + Is ready to vanish away. + + Thou wilt not be weary of me; + Thy promise my faith shall sustain; + And soon, very soon, shall I see + I have not been asking in vain. + + --Anna Letitia Waring. + + + Ah, God! I have not had thee day and night + In thought, nor magnified thy name aright, + Nor lauded thee, nor glorified, nor laid + Upon thine altars one poor kusa-blade! + Yet now, when I seek refuge, Lord! with thee, + I ask, and thou wilt give, all good to me. + + --Edwin Arnold, from the Sanskrit. + + +ABOVE ALL, THE SHIELD + + Faith fails; + Then in the dust + Lie failing rest and light and trust. + So doth the troubled soul itself distress, + And choke the fountain in the wilderness. + I care not what your peace assails! + The deep root is, faith fails. + + Faith fails + When in the breast + The Lord's sweet presence doth not rest; + For who believes, clouds cannot make afraid; + He knows the sun doth shine behind the shade; + He rides at anchor through the gales. + Do you not so? Faith fails. + + Faith fails; + Its foes alarm, + And persecution's threats disarm; + False friends can scarcely wish it a good day, + Before it taketh fright and shrinks away. + When God doth guard, what foe prevails? + Why then the fear? Faith fails. + + Faith fails; + Else cares would die, + And we should on God's care rely. + Man for the coming day doth grieve and fret, + And all past days doth sinfully forget. + For every beast God's care avails; + Why not for us? Faith fails. + + Faith fails; + Then cometh fear, + If sickness comes, if death is near. + O man, why is it, when the times are bad + And the days evil, that thy face is sad? + How is it that thy courage quails? + It must be this: Faith fails. + + My God! + Let my faith be + Living, and working actively + With hope and joy, that death may not surprise. + So let them sweetly close my eyes; + The Christian's life to death may yield-- + Hope stands; faith has the field. + + --S. C. Schoener. + + +LOOKING UNTO GOD + + I look to Thee in every need, + And never look in vain; + I feel thy strong and tender love, + And all is well again: + The thought of thee is mightier far + Than sin and pain and sorrow are. + + Discouraged in the work of life, + Disheartened by its load, + Shamed by its failures or its fears, + I sink beside the road; + But let me only think of Thee, + And then new heart springs up in me. + + Thy calmness bends serene above + My restlessness to still; + Around me flows thy quickening life, + To nerve my faltering will; + Thy presence fills my solitude; + Thy providence turns all to good. + + Embosomed deep in Thy dear love, + Held in thy law, I stand; + Thy hand in all things I behold, + And all things in thy hand; + Thou leadest me by unsought ways, + And turn'st my mourning into praise. + + --Samuel Longfellow. + + +FAITH + + If I could feel my hand, dear Lord, in thine, + And surely know + That I was walking in the light divine + Through weal or woe; + + If I could hear thy voice in accents sweet + But plainly say, + To guide my groping, wandering feet, + "This is the way;" + + I would so gladly walk therein; but now + I cannot see. + Oh, give me, Lord, the faith to humbly bow + And trust in thee! + + There is no _faith_ in seeing. Were we led + Like children here, + And lifted over rock and river-bed, + No care, no fear, + + We should be useless in the busy throng; + Life's work undone; + Lord, make us brave and earnest, true and strong, + Till heaven is won. + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + +DOUBTING NOTHING + +Acts 10. 9-20. + + Not to thy saints of old alone dost Thou + In heavenly trance make known thy perfect will, + But to each hungry soul thy love would fill-- + Descending out of heaven, we wist not how-- + Comes by thy grace the holy vision now; + While we whose hearts should with the message thrill + Cry "Common and unholy!" to thee still, + And, uninspired, in grief before thee bow. + + O Thou, whose Own the way we fare hath trod, + Give to thy children quick, discerning eyes + To see in life upspringing from the sod + All the divineness that within it lies, + Till humble service lift us to the skies + Who, "doubting nothing," seek thy will, O God! + + --Louise Manning Hodgkins. + + +THE EYE OF FAITH + + I do not ask for earthly store + Beyond a day's supply; + I only covet more and more + The clear and single eye. + To see my duty face to face + And trust the Lord for daily grace. + + I care not for the empty show + That thoughtless worldlings see; + I crave to do the best I know, + And leave the rest with thee; + Well satisfied that sweet reward + Is sure to those who trust the Lord. + + Whate'er the crosses mine shall be, + I will not dare to shun; + I only ask to live for thee, + And that thy will be done; + Thy will, O Lord, be mine each day, + While passing on my homeward way. + + And when at last, my labor o'er, + I cross the narrow sea, + Grant, Lord, that on the other shore + My soul may dwell with thee, + And learn what here I cannot know: + Why thou hast ever loved me so. + + --J. J. Maxfield. + + +HAVE FAITH IN GOD + + Have faith in God! for he who reigns on high + Hath borne thy grief and hears the suppliant's sigh, + Still to his arms, thine only refuge, fly. + Have faith in God! + + Fear not to call on him, O soul distressed! + Thy sorrow's whisper wooes thee to his breast; + He who is oftenest there is oftenest blest. + Have faith in God! + + Lean not on Egypt's reeds; slake not thy thirst + At earthly cisterns. Seek the kingdom first. + Though man and Satan fight thee with their worst, + Have faith in God! + + Go tell him all! The sigh thy bosom heaves + Is heard in heaven. Strength and grace he gives + Who gave himself for thee. Our Jesus lives; + Have faith in God! + + +FAITH IN GOD + + Though time may dig the grave of creeds, + And dogmas wither in the sod, + My soul will keep the thought it needs-- + Its swerveless faith in God. + + No matter how the world began, + Nor where the march of science goes, + My trust in something more than man + Shall help me bear life's woes. + + Let progress take the props away, + And moldering superstitions fall; + Still God retains his regal sway-- + The Maker of us all. + + Why cavil over that or this? + One thought is vast enough for me-- + The great Creator was, and is, + And evermore will be. + + +A STRONGER FAITH + + Perplext in faith, but pure in deeds, + At last he beat his music out. + There lives more faith in honest doubt, + Believe me, than in half the creeds. + + He fought his doubts and gathered strength, + He would not make his judgment blind, + He faced the specters of the mind + And laid them; thus he came at length + + To find a stronger faith his own, + And Power was with him in the night, + Which makes the darkness and the light, + And dwells not in the light alone. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +A PERFECT FAITH + + O for a faith that will not shrink + Though pressed by every foe, + That will not tremble on the brink + Of any earthly woe! + + That will not murmur nor complain + Beneath the chastening rod, + But in the hour of grief or pain + Will lean upon its God; + + A faith that shines more bright and clear + When tempests rage without; + That when in danger knows no fear. + In darkness feels no doubt; + + That bears, unmoved, the world's dread frown, + Nor heeds its scornful smile; + That seas of trouble cannot drown, + Nor Satan's arts beguile. + + Lord, give us such a faith as this, + And then, whate'er may come, + We'll taste, e'en here, the hallowed bliss + Of an eternal home. + + --William H. Bathurst. + + + Who liveth best? Not he whose sail, + Swept on by favoring tide and gale, + Swift wins the haven fair; + But he whose spirit strong doth still + A victory wrest from every ill; + Whose faith sublime + On every cloud a rainbow paints-- + 'Tis he redeems the time. + + +BELIEVE GOOD THINGS OF GOD + + When in the storm it seems to thee + That he who rules the raging sea + Is sleeping--still, with bended knee, + Believe good things of God. + + When thou hast sought in vain to find + The silver thread of love entwined + With life's oft-tangled web--resigned, + Believe good things of God. + + And should he smite thee till thy heart + Is crushed beneath the bruising smart, + Still, while the bitter tear-drops start, + Believe good things of God. + + 'Tis true, thou canst not understand + The dealings of thy Father's hand; + But, trusting what his love has planned, + Believe good things of God. + + He loves thee! In that love confide-- + Unchanging, faithful, true, and tried; + And let or joy or grief betide, + Believe good things of God. + + Thou canst not raise thy thoughts too high; + As spreads above the earth the sky, + So do his thoughts thy thoughts outvie: + Believe good things of God. + + In spite of what thine eyes behold; + In spite of what thy fears have told; + Still to his gracious promise hold-- + Believe good things of God. + + For know that what thou canst believe + Thou shalt in his good time receive; + Thou canst not half his love conceive-- + Believe good things of God. + + --William Luff. + + +BE NOT WEARY + + Then, fainting soul, arise and sing; + Mount, but be sober on the wing; + Mount up, for heaven is won by prayer, + Be sober, for thou art not there. + Till death the weary spirit free, + Thy God hath said 'tis good for thee + To walk by faith, and not by sight, + Take it on trust a little while; + Soon thou shalt read the mystery right + In the full sunshine of his smile. + + --John Keble. + + +ALL'S FOR THE BEST + + All's for the best; be sanguine and cheerful; + Trouble and sorrow are friends in disguise; + Nothing but folly goes faithless and fearful, + Courage forever is happy and wise. + + All's for the best, if a man would but know it; + Providence wishes us all to be blest; + This is no dream of the pundit or poet, + Heaven is gracious and all's for the best. + + All's for the best; then fling away terrors; + Meet all your fears and your foes in the van; + And in the midst of your dangers or errors, + Trust like a child, while you strive like a man. + + All's for the best; unbiased, unbounded, + Providence reigns from the east to the west; + And, by both wisdom and mercy surrounded, + Hope, and be happy, that all's for the best. + + --Martin Farquhar Tupper. + + +BLEST IS THE FAITH DIVINE AND STRONG + + Blest is the faith divine and strong, + Of thanks and praise an endless fountain, + Whose life is one perpetual song + High up the Saviour's holy mountain. + + Blest is the hope that holds to God, + In doubt and darkness still unshaken; + And sings along the heavenly road, + Sweetest when most it seems forsaken. + + Blest is the love that cannot love + Aught that earth gives of best and brightest; + Whose raptures thrill, like saints above, + Most when its earthly gifts are lightest. + + Blest is the time that in the eye + Of God its hopeful watch is keeping, + And grows into eternity + Like noiseless trees when men are sleeping. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +GOD'S VOICE + + Around my path life's mysteries + Their deepening shadows throw; + And as I gaze and ponder, + They dark and darker grow; + Yet still amid the darkness + I feel the light is near, + And in the awful stillness + God's voice I seem to hear. + + Thy voice I hear above me, + Which says, "Wait, trust, and pray, + The night will soon be over, + And light will come with day." + Amen! the light and darkness + Are both alike to thee; + Then to thy waiting servant + Alike they both shall be. + + That great unending future, + I cannot pierce its shroud, + But nothing doubt nor tremble, + God's bow is on the cloud; + To him I yield my spirit, + On him I lay my load; + Fear ends with death; beyond it + I nothing see but God. + + --Samuel Greg. + + +FLOWERS WITHOUT FRUIT + + Prune thou thy words; the thoughts control + That o'er thee swell and throng;-- + They will condense within thy soul, + And change to purpose strong. + + But he who lets his feelings run + In soft luxurious flow + Shrinks when hard service must be done, + And faints at every woe. + + Faith's meanest deed more favor bears, + Where hearts and wills are weighed, + Than brightest transports, choicest prayers, + Which bloom this hour, and fade. + + --John Henry Newman. + + + Fair is the soul, rare is the soul + Who has kept, after youth is past, + All the art of the child, all the heart of the child, + Holding his faith at last. + + --Frank Gelett Burgess. + + +GOD KNOWS + + God knows--not I--the devious way + Wherein my faltering feet may tread, + Before into the light of day, + My steps from out this gloom are led, + And, since my Lord the path doth see, + What matter if 'tis hid from me? + + God knows--not I--how sweet accord + Shall grow at length from out this clash + Of earthly discords which have jarred + On soul and sense; I hear the crash, + Yet feel and know that on his ear + Breaks harmony--full, deep, and clear. + + God knows--not I--why, when I'd fain + Have walked in pastures green and fair, + The path he pointed me hath lain + Through rocky deserts, bleak and bare. + I blindly trust--since 'tis his will-- + This way lies safety, that way ill. + + He knoweth, too, despite my will + I'm weak when I should be most strong. + And after earnest wrestling still + I see the right yet do the wrong. + Is it that I may learn at length + Not mine, but his, the saving strength? + + His perfect plan I may not grasp, + Yet I can trust Love Infinite, + And with my feeble fingers clasp + The hand which leads me into light. + My soul upon his errands goes, + The end I know not--but God knows. + + +THE LORD'S LEADING + + Thus far the Lord hath led us, in darkness and in day, + Through all the varied stages of the narrow homeward way; + Long since he took that journey--he trod that path alone; + Its trials and its dangers full well himself hath known. + + Thus far the Lord hath led us; the promise hath not failed. + The enemy, encountered oft, has never quite prevailed: + The shield of faith has turned aside, or quenched each fiery dart, + The Spirit's sword in weakest hands has forced him to depart. + + Thus far the Lord hath led us; the waters have been high, + But yet in passing through them we felt that he was nigh. + A very present helper in trouble we have found, + His comforts most abounded when our sorrows did abound. + + Thus far the Lord hath led us; our need hath been supplied, + And mercy hath encompassed us about on every side; + Still falls the daily manna; the pure rock-fountains flow; + And many flowers of love and hope along the wayside grow. + + Thus far the Lord hath led us; and will he now forsake + The feeble ones whom for his own it pleases him to take? + Oh, never, never! earthly friends may cold and faithless prove, + But his is changeless pity and everlasting love. + + Calmly we look behind us, our joys and sorrows past, + We know that all is mercy now, and shall be well at last; + Calmly we look before us; we fear no future ill, + Enough for safety and for peace, if _Thou_ art with us still. + + Yes, they that know thy name, Lord, shall put their trust in thee, + While nothing in themselves but sin and helplessness they see. + The race thou hast appointed us with patience we can run, + Thou wilt perform unto the end the work thou hast begun. + + + Have you found your life distasteful? + My life did and does smack sweet. + Was your youth of pleasure wasteful? + Mine I saved, and hold complete. + Do your joys with age diminish? + When mine fail me I'll complain. + Must in death your daylight finish? + My sun sets to rise again. + I find earth not gray, but rosy; + Heaven not grim, but fair of hue. + Do I stoop? I pluck a posy; + Do I stand and stare? All's blue. + + --Robert Browning. + + +WE SHALL KNOW + + In wise proportion does a fond hand mingle + The sweet and bitter in our life-cup here; + Each drop of either is by love eternal + Poured forth in wisdom for his children dear. + + The loving Father, as a wise physician, + Knows what the wants of all those children are; + Knows which is needed most--the joy or sorrow, + The peace of comfort, or affliction's war. + + Then, should the bitter be our daily portion, + So that we cannot any sweet discern, + Let us, in childlike faith, receive with meekness + The needed tonic, and its lessons learn. + + And if we cannot even that decipher, + Let us be still, nay, thank him for his care, + Contented that we soon shall know--hereafter-- + When we the fullness of his presence share. + + --Charlotte Murray. + + +THE STEPS OF FAITH + + Know well, my soul, God's hand controls + Whate'er thou fearest; + Round him in calmest music rolls + Whate'er thou hearest. + + Nothing before, nothing behind; + The steps of faith + Fall on the seeming void, and find + The rock beneath. + + The Present, the Present is all thou hast + For thy sure possessing; + Like the patriarch's angel, hold it fast + Till it gives its blessing. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + I am of sinfulness and sorrows full! + Thou art the Mighty, Great, and Merciful! + How should we not be friends, or thou not save + Me who bring naught to thee who all things gave? + + --Edwin Arnold, from the Sanskrit. + + +MY GUIDE + + I know not the way I am going, + But well do I know my Guide! + With a childlike trust do I give my hand + To the mighty Friend by my side; + And the only thing that I say to him, + As he takes it, is, "Hold it fast! + Suffer me not to lose the way, + And lead me home at last." + + As when some helpless wanderer + Alone in some unknown land, + Tells the guide his destined place of rest, + And leaves all else in his hand; + 'Tis home--'tis home that I wish to reach, + He who guides me may choose the way; + And little I care what path I take + When nearer home each day. + + +THE LORD'S PROVISION + + In some way or other the Lord will provide; + It may not be _my_ way, it may not be _thy_ way; + And yet in his _own_ way, "The Lord will provide." + + At some time or other the Lord will provide; + It may not be _my_ time, it may not be _thy_ time; + And yet in his _own_ time, "The Lord will provide." + + Despond, then, no longer, the Lord will provide. + And this be the token--no word he hath spoken + Was ever yet broken: "The Lord will provide." + + March on, then, right boldly; the sea shall divide; + The pathway made glorious, with shoutings victorious + We'll join in the chorus, "The Lord will provide." + + --Mary Ann W. Cook. + + + It is faith, + The feeling that there's God. He reigns and rules + Out of this low world. + + --Robert Browning. + + +FAITH IS THE VICTORY + + Encamped along the hills of light, + Ye Christian soldiers, rise, + And press the battle ere the night + Shall veil the glowing skies; + Against the foe in vales below + Let all our strength be hurled; + Faith is the victory, we know, + That overcomes the world. + + His banner over us is love, + Our sword the word of God; + We tread the road the saints above + With shouts of triumph trod; + By faith they, like a whirlwind's breath, + Swept on o'er every field; + The faith by which they conquered death + Is still our shining shield. + + On every hand the foe we find + Drawn up in dread array; + Let tents of ease be left behind, + And--onward to the fray; + Salvation's helmet on each head, + With truth all girt about, + The earth shall tremble 'neath our tread, + And echo with our shout. + + To him that overcomes the foe + White raiment shall be given; + Before the angels he shall know + His name confessed in heaven; + Then onward from the hills of light, + Our hearts with love aflame, + We'll vanquish all the hosts of night + In Jesus' conquering name. + + --John H. Yates. + + +RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES + + Yes, we do differ when we most agree, + For words are not the same to you and me, + And it may be our several spiritual needs + Are best supplied by seeming different creeds. + And, differing, we agree in one + Inseparable communion, + If the true life be in our hearts; the faith + Which not to want is death; + To want is penance; to desire + Is purgatorial fire; + To hope is paradise; and to believe + Is all of heaven that earth can e'er receive. + + --Hartley Coleridge. + + +THE LORD WILL PROVIDE + + Though troubles assail, and dangers affright, + Though friends should all fail, and foes all unite, + Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide, + The promise assures us, "The Lord will provide." + + The birds, without barn or storehouse, are fed; + From them let us learn to trust for our bread: + His saints what is fitting shall ne'er be denied, + So long as 'tis written, "The Lord will provide." + + When Satan appears to stop up our path, + And fills us with fears, we triumph by faith; + He can not take from us, though oft he has tried, + The heart-cheering promise, "The Lord will provide." + + He tells us we're weak, our hope is in vain; + The good that we seek we ne'er shall obtain: + But when such suggestions our graces have tried, + This answers all questions, "The Lord will provide." + + No strength of our own nor goodness we claim; + Our trust is all thrown on Jesus's name: + In this our strong tower for safety we hide: + The Lord is our power, "The Lord will provide." + + When life sinks apace, and death is in view, + The word of his grace shall comfort us through; + Not fearing or doubting, with Christ on our side, + We hope to die shouting, "The Lord will provide." + + --John Newton. + + + Art thou afraid his power will fail + When comes thy evil day? + And can an all-creating arm + Grow weary, or decay! + + +IF WE BELIEVED + + If we believed we should arise and sing, + Dropping our burdens at his piercèd feet. + Sorrow would flee and weariness take wing, + Hard things grow fair, and bitter waters sweet. + + If we believed, what room for fear or care + Within his arms, safe sheltered on his breast? + Peace for our pain, and hope for our despair, + Is what he meant who said, "I give thee rest." + + Why linger, turn away, or idly grieve? + Where else is rest--the soul's supremest need? + Grandly he offers; meanly we receive. + Yet love that gives us rest is love indeed. + + The love that rests--say, shall it not do more? + Make haste, sad soul, thy heritage to claim. + It calms; it heals; it bears what erst ye bore, + And marks thy burdens with his own dear name. + + Carried in him and for him, can they harm + Or press thee sore, or prove a weary weight? + Nay, nay; into thy life his blessed calm + Shall drop, and thou no more be desolate. + + +TO FAITH + + Beside thy gracious hearth content I stay, + Or with thee fate's appointed journey go; + I lean upon thee when my step is slow, + I wrap me with thee in the naked day. + + With thee no loneliness, no pathless way; + The wind is heaven's, to take as it shall blow; + More than thy voice, thy hand, I need not know; + I may not murmur, for I shall not stray. + + +WAIT ON GOD + + Not so in haste, my heart! + Have faith in God, and wait; + Although he seems to linger long + He never comes too late. + + He never comes too late; + He knoweth what is best; + Vex not thyself, it is in vain; + Until he cometh, rest. + + Until he cometh, rest; + Nor grudge the hours that roll; + The feet that wait for God, 'tis they + Are soonest at the goal. + + Are soonest at the goal + That is not gained by speed; + Then hold thee still, O restless heart, + For I shall wait his lead. + + --Bradford Torrey. + + +BEGONE, UNBELIEF + + Begone, unbelief, my Saviour is near, + And for my relief will surely appear. + His love in time past forbids me to think + He'll leave me at last in trouble to sink. + + Since all that I meet shall work for my good, + The bitter is sweet, the medicine food; + Though painful at present, 'twill cease before long, + And then, oh, how pleasant the conqueror's song! + + --John Newton. + + + As yonder tower outstretches to the earth + The dark triangle of its shade alone + When the clear day is shining on its top, + So, darkness in the pathway of man's life + Is but the shadow of God's providence, + By the great Sun of Wisdom cast therein; + And what is dark below is light in Heaven. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + Faith is a grasping of Almighty power; + The hand of man laid on the arm of God; + The grand and blessèd hour + In which the things impossible to me + Become the possible, O Lord, through thee. + + --Anna E. Hamilton. + + + There is no faith in seeing. Were we led + Like children here, + And lifted over rock and river bed, + No care, no fear, + We should be useless in the busy throng, + Life's work undone; + Lord, make us brave and earnest, in faith strong, + Till heaven is won. + + + The cross on Golgotha can never save + Thy soul from deepest hell; + Unless with loving faith thou setts't it up + Within thy heart as well. + + --Scheffler, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + + In vain they smite me. Men but do + What God permits with different view. + To outward sight they hold the rod, + But faith proclaims it all of God. + + --Madame Guyon. + + + Talk Faith. The world is better off without + Your uttered ignorance and morbid doubt. + If you have faith in God, or man, or self, + Say so; if not, push back upon the shelf + Of silence lower thoughts till faith shall come. + + + The body sins not, 'tis the will + That makes the action good or ill. + + --Robert Herrick. + + + Who never doubted, never half believed; + Where doubt, there truth is--'tis her shadow. + + --Philip James Bailey. + + + 'Tis not the grapes of Canaan that repay, + But the high faith that failed not by the way. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + No more with downcast eyes go faltering on, + Alone and sick at heart, and closely pressed. + Thy chains shall break, thy heavy heart is gone, + For he who calls thee, he will "give thee rest." + + --Mary Lowe Dickinson. + + + My God, I would not live + Save that I think this gross hard-seeming world + Is our misshaping vision of the Powers + Behind the world that make our griefs our gains. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + And all is well, though faith and form + Be sundered in the night of fear. + Well roars the storm to those that hear + A deeper voice across the storm. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + The crowd of cares, the weightiest cross, + Seem trifles less than light; + Earth looks so little and so low, + When faith shines full and bright. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + + A faith that shines by night and day + Will lighten every earthly load. + + + Grant us, O God, in love to thee-- + Clear eyes to measure things below, + Faith the invisible to see, + And wisdom thee in all to know. + + + Our doubts are traitors, + And make us lose the good we oft might win, + By fearing to attempt. + + --William Shakespeare. + + + + +TRUST + +GUIDANCE, SAFETY, GLADNESS + + +RESTING IN GOD + + Since thy Father's arm sustains thee, + Peaceful be; + When a chastening hand restrains thee, + It is he. + Know his love in full completeness + Fills the measure of thy weakness; + If He wound the spirit sore, + Trust him more. + + Without murmur, uncomplaining, + In His hand. + Lay whatever things thou canst not + Understand. + Though the world thy folly spurneth, + From thy faith in pity turneth, + Peace thy inmost soul shall fill, + Lying still. + + Like an infant, if thou thinkest + Thou canst stand, + Childlike, proudly pushing back + The offered hand, + Courage soon is changed to fear, + Strength doth feebleness appear; + In his love if thou abide, + He will guide. + + Fearest sometimes that thy Father + Hath forgot? + When the clouds around thee gather, + Doubt him not. + Always hath the daylight broken; + Always hath He comfort spoken; + Better hath he been for years + Than thy fears. + + Therefore, whatsoe'er betideth, + Night or day, + Know His love for thee provideth + Good alway. + Crown of sorrow gladly take; + Grateful wear it for His sake; + Sweetly bending to his will, + Lying still. + + To his own thy Saviour giveth + Daily strength. + To each troubled soul that liveth, + Peace at length. + Weakest lambs have largest share + Of the tender Shepherd's care; + Ask him not the "When," or "How"; + Only bow. + + --Charles Rudolf Hagenbach. + + +I WILL TRUST + + I am glad to think + I am not bound to make the world go right, + But only to discover and to do + With cheerful heart the work that God appoints. + + I will trust in him + That he can hold his own; and I will take + His will, above the work he sendeth me, + To be my chiefest good. + + --Jean Ingelow. + + +I KNOW NOT IF THE DARK OR BRIGHT + + I know not if the dark or bright + Shall be my lot; + If that wherein my hopes delight + Be best or not. + + It may be mine to drag for years + Toil's heavy chain; + Or day and night my meat be tears, + On bed of pain. + + Dear faces may surround my hearth + With smiles and glee; + Or I may dwell alone, and mirth + Be strange to me. + + My bark is wafted to the strand + By breath divine; + And on the helm there rests a hand + Other than mine. + + One who has known in storms to sail + I have on board; + Above the raging of the gale + I hear my Lord. + + He holds me when the billows smite; + I shall not fall; + If sharp, 'tis short; if long, 'tis light, + He tempers all. + + Safe to the land, safe to the land! + The end is this: + And then with him go, hand in hand, + Far into bliss. + + --Dean Alford. + + +I CAN TRUST + + I cannot see, with my small human sight, + Why God should lead this way or that for me; + I only know he saith, "Child, follow me." + But I can trust. + + I know not why my path should be at times + So straitly hedged, so strongly barred before; + I only know God could keep wide the door; + But I can trust. + + I find no answer, often, when beset + With questions fierce and subtle on my way, + And often have but strength to faintly pray; + But I can trust. + + I often wonder, as with trembling hand + I cast the seed along the furrowed ground, + If ripened fruit will in my life be found; + But I can trust. + + I cannot know why suddenly the storm + Should rage so fiercely round me in its wrath; + But this I know--God watches all my path, + And I can trust. + + I may not draw aside the mystic veil + That hides the unknown future from my sight; + Nor know if for me waits the dark or light; + But I can trust. + + I have no power to look across the tide, + To see, while here, the land beyond the river; + But this I know, I shall be God's forever; + So I can trust. + + + The world is wide + In time and tide, + And God is guide; + Then do not hurry. + That man is blest + Who does his best + And leaves the rest; + Then do not worry. + + --Charles F. Deems. + + +WISDOM OF DISCIPLINE + + Whate'er my God ordains is right; + His will is ever just; + Howe'er he orders now my cause + I will be still, and trust. + He is my God, + Though dark my road, + He holds me that I shall not fall, + Wherefore to him I leave it all. + + Whate'er my God ordains is right; + He never will deceive; + He leads me by the proper path, + And so to him I cleave, + And take, content, + What he hath sent; + His hand can turn my grief away, + And patiently I wait his day. + + Whate'er my God ordains is right; + He taketh thought for me; + The cup that my Physician gives + No poisoned draught can be, + But medicine due; + For God is true; + And on that changeless truth I build + And all my heart with hope is filled. + + Whate'er my God ordains is right; + Though I the cup must drink + That bitter seems to my faint heart, + I will not fear nor shrink; + Tears pass away + With dawn of day; + Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart, + And pain and sorrow all depart. + + Whate'er my God ordains is right; + My Light, my Life, is he, + Who cannot will me aught but good; + I trust him utterly; + For well I know, + In joy or woe, + We soon shall see, as sunlight clear, + How faithful was our Guardian here. + + Whate'er my God ordains is right; + Here will I take my stand; + Though sorrow, need, or death, make earth + For me a desert land. + My Father's care + Is round me there; + He holds me that I shall not fall, + And so to him I leave it all. + + --S. Rodigast. + + +MY TIMES ARE IN THY HAND + + "My times are in thy hand"; + My God, I wish them there; + My life, my friends, my soul, I leave + Entirely to thy care. + + "My times are in thy hand," + Whatever they may be; + Pleasing or painful, dark or bright, + As best may seem to thee. + + "My times are in thy hand"; + Why should I doubt or fear? + My Father's hand will never cause + His child a needless tear. + + "My times are in thy hand," + Jesus, the crucified! + The hand my cruel sins had pierced + Is now my guard and guide. + + "My times are in thy hand"; + I'll always trust in thee; + And, after death, at thy right hand + I shall forever be. + + --William F. Lloyd. + + +ALL FOR THE BEST + + Away, my needless fears, + And doubts no longer mine; + A ray of heavenly light appears, + A messenger divine. + + Thrice comfortable hope, + That calms my troubled breast; + My Father's hand prepares the cup + And what he wills is best. + + If what I wish is good, + And suits the will divine, + By earth and hell in vain withstood, + I know it shall be mine. + + Still let them counsel take + To frustrate his decree; + They cannot keep a blessing back, + By heaven designed for me. + + Here, then, I doubt no more; + But in his pleasure rest + Whose wisdom, love, and truth, and power, + Engage to make me blest. + + --Charles Wesley. + + +GOD NEVER FORSAKES + + Leave God to order all thy ways, + And hope in him, whate'er betide, + Thou'lt find in him, in evil days, + Thy all-sufficient strength and guide. + Who trusts in God's unchanging love + Builds on the rock that naught can move. + + What can these anxious cares avail, + The never-ceasing moans and sighs? + What can it help us to bewail + Each painful moment as it flies? + Our cross and trials do but press + The heavier for our bitterness. + + Only thy restless heart keep still, + And wait in cheerful hope, content + To take whate'er his gracious will, + His all-discerning love, hath sent. + Nor doubt our inmost wants are known + To him who chose us for his own. + + He knows when joyful hours are best; + He sends them as he sees it meet; + When thou hast borne the fiery test, + And now art freed from all deceit, + He comes to thee all unaware + And makes thee own his loving care. + + Nor in the heat of pain and strife + Think God has cast thee off unheard, + And that the man whose prosperous life + Thou enviest is of him preferred. + Time passes, and much change doth bring + And sets a bound to everything. + + All are alike before his face; + 'Tis easy to our God most high + To make the rich man poor and base, + To give the poor man wealth and joy; + True wonders still by him are wrought + Who setteth up and brings to naught. + + Sing, pray, and swerve not from his ways, + But do thine own part faithfully; + Trust his rich promises of grace, + So shall they be fulfilled in thee. + God never yet forsook at need + The soul that trusted him indeed. + + --George Neumarck. + + + Bear up, bear on, the end shall tell + The dear Lord ordereth all things well. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +THE SECRET PLACE + + There is a safe and secret place, + Beneath the wings divine, + Reserved for all the heirs of grace: + O be that refuge mine! + + The least and feeblest there may bide, + Uninjured and unawed; + While thousands fall on every side, + He rests secure in God. + + He feeds in pastures large and fair + Of love and trust divine; + O child of God, O glory's heir, + How rich a lot is thine! + + A hand almighty to defend, + An ear for every call, + An honored life, a peaceful end, + And heaven to crown it all! + + --Henry F. Lyte. + + +GOD KNOWS + + Our Father! through the coming year + We know not what shall be; + But we would leave without a fear + Its ordering all to thee. + + It may be we shall toil in vain + For what the world holds fair; + And all the good we thought to gain + Deceive, and prove but care. + + It may be it shall darkly blend + Our love with anxious fears, + And snatch away the valued friend, + The tried of many years. + + It may be it shall bring us days + And nights of lingering pain; + And bid us take a farewell gaze + Of these loved haunts of men. + + But calmly, Lord, on thee we rest; + No fears our trust shall move; + Thou knowest what for each is best, + And thou art Perfect Love. + + --Eliza Cleghorn Gaskell. + + + Forever in their Lord abiding + Who can their gladness tell; + Within his love forever hiding, + They feel that all is well. + + +NO FEAR + + I know no life divided, + O Lord of life, from thee; + In thee is life provided + For all mankind and me: + I know no death, O Jesus, + Because I live in thee; + Thy death it is which frees us + From death eternally. + + I fear no tribulation, + Since, whatsoe'er it be, + It makes no separation + Between my Lord and me. + If thou, my God and Teacher, + Vouchsafe to be my own, + Though poor, I shall be richer + Than monarch on his throne. + + If while on earth I wander + My heart is light and blest, + Ah, what shall I be yonder, + In perfect peace and rest? + O blessed thought! in dying + We go to meet the Lord, + Where there shall be no sighing, + A kingdom our reward. + + --Carl J. P. Spitta. + + +THE LORD'S APPOINTMENT + + I say it over and over, and yet again to-day, + It rests my heart as surely as it did yesterday: + It is the Lord's appointment; + Whatever my work may be, + I am sure in my heart of hearts + He has offered it to me. + + I must say it over and over, and again to-day + For my work is different from that of yesterday: + It is the Lord's appointment; + It quiets my restless will + Like the voice of a tender mother, + And my heart and will are still. + + I will say it over and over, this and every day, + Whatsoever the Master orders, come what may: + It is the Lord's appointment; + For only his love can see + What is wisest, best and right-- + What is truly good for me. + + +TRUST + + I know not what the future holds, + Of good or ill for me and mine; + I only know that God enfolds + Me in his loving arms divine. + + So I shall walk the earth in trust + That He who notes the sparrow's fall + Will help me bear whate'er I must + And lend an ear whene'er I call. + + It matters not if dreams dissolve + Like mists beneath the morning sun, + For swiftly as the worlds revolve + So swiftly will life's race be run. + + It matters not if hopes depart, + Or life be pressed with toil and care. + If love divine shall fill my heart + And all be sanctified with prayer. + + Then let me learn submission sweet + In every thought, in each desire, + And humbly lay at his dear feet + A heart aglow with heavenly fire. + + +"SOMETIME" + + Sometime, when all life's lessons have been learned, + And sun and stars forevermore have set, + The things which our weak judgment here had spurned, + The things o'er which we grieve with lashes wet, + Will flash before us out of life's dark night, + As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue, + And we shall see how all God's plans were right, + And how what seemed reproof was love most true. + + And we shall see how, while we frown and sigh, + God's plans go on as best for you and me; + How when we called he heeded not our cry, + Because his wisdom to the end could see; + And even as prudent parents disallow + Too much of sweet to crooning baby's hest, + So God perhaps is keeping from us now + Life's sweetest things because it seemeth best. + + And if sometimes commingled with life's wine + We find the wormwood, and rebel and shrink, + Be sure a wiser hand than yours or mine + Poured out the potion for our lips to drink; + And if some one we love is lying low, + Where human kisses can not reach the face, + O do not blame the loving Father so, + But wear your sorrow with obedient grace, + + And you will shortly know that lengthened breath + Is not the sweetest gift God gives his friend; + And that sometimes the sable pall of death + Conceals the fairest boon his love can send. + If we could push ajar the gates of life, + And stand within, and all God's workings see, + We could interpret all this doubt and strife, + And for each mystery could find a key. + + But not to-day. Then be content, poor heart, + God's plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold; + We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart, + Time will reveal the calyxes of gold. + And if through patient toil we reach the land + Where tired feet with sandals loosed may rest, + When we shall clearly know and understand, + I think that we will say: "God knew the best." + + --May Louise Riley Smith. + + + O why and whither? God knows all; + I only know that he is good, + And that whatever may befall, + Or here or there, must be the best that could. + For He is merciful as just; + And so, by faith correcting sight, + I bow before his will, and trust + Howe'er they seem he doeth all things right. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +NOT KNOWING + + I know not what shall befall me; + God hangs a mist o'er my eyes, + And thus each step of my onward path + He makes new scenes to rise, + And every joy he sends me comes + As a sweet and glad surprise. + + I see not a step before me + As I tread on another year; + But the past is in God's keeping, + The future his mercy shall clear, + And what looks dark in the distance + May brighten as I draw near. + + For perhaps the dreaded future + Is less bitter than I think; + The Lord may sweeten the waters + Before I stoop to drink, + Or, if Marah must be Marah, + He will stand beside its brink. + + It may be he keeps waiting + Till the coming of my feet + Some gift of such rare blessedness, + Some joy so strangely sweet, + That my lips shall only tremble + With the thanks they cannot speak. + + O restful, blissful ignorance! + 'Tis blessed not to know, + It stills me in those mighty arms + Which will not let me go, + And hushes my soul to rest + On the bosom which loves me so! + + So I go on not knowing; + I would not if I might; + I would rather walk in the dark with God + Than go alone in the light; + I would rather walk with him by faith, + Than walk alone by sight. + + My heart shrinks back from trials + Which the future may disclose, + Yet I never had a sorrow + But what the dear Lord chose; + So I send the coming tears back + With the whispered word, "He knows." + + --Mary Gardner Brainard. + + + "Trust is truer than our fears," + Runs the legend through the moss; + "Gain is not in added years, + Nor in death is loss." + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +CONFIDO ET CONQUIESCO + + Fret not, poor soul; while doubt and fear + Disturb thy breast, + The pitying angels, who can see + How vain thy wild regret must be, + Say, "Trust and Rest." + + Plan not, nor scheme, but calmly wait; + His choice is best; + While blind and erring is thy sight + His wisdom sees and judges right; + So Trust and Rest. + + Strive not, nor struggle; thy poor might + Can never wrest + The meanest thing to serve thy will; + All power is his alone. Be still, + And Trust and Rest. + + Desire thou not; self-love is strong + Within thy breast, + And yet he loves thee better still: + So let him do his loving will, + And Trust and Rest. + + What dost thou fear? His wisdom reigns + Supreme confessed; + His power is infinite; his love + Thy deepest, fondest dreams above! + So Trust and Rest. + + --Adelaide Anne Procter. + + +BE CAREFUL FOR NOTHING + + My spirit on thy care, + Blest Saviour, I recline; + Thou wilt not leave me to despair, + For thou art Love divine. + + In Thee I place my trust, + On thee I calmly rest; + I know thee good, I know thee just, + And count thy choice the best. + + Whate'er events betide, + Thy will they all perform; + Safe in thy breast my head I hide, + Nor fear the coming storm. + + Let good or ill befall, + It must be good for me; + Secure of having thee in all, + Of having all in thee. + + --Henry F. Lyte. + + +IN HIM CONFIDING + + Sometimes a light surprises + The Christian while he sings; + It is the Lord who rises + With healing on his wings. + When comforts are declining + He grants the soul again + A season of clear shining, + To cheer it after rain. + + In holy contemplation + We sweetly then pursue + The theme of God's salvation, + And find it ever new. + Set free from present sorrow, + We cheerfully can say, + Let the unknown to-morrow + Bring with it what it may. + + It can bring with it nothing + But He will bear us through; + Who gives the lilies clothing, + Will clothe his people too. + Beneath the spreading heavens + No creature but is fed; + And He who feeds the ravens + Will give his children bread. + + Though vine nor fig tree neither + Their wonted fruit should bear, + Though all the fields should wither, + Nor flocks nor herds be there; + Yet God the same abiding, + His praise shall tune my voice; + For while in him confiding, + I cannot but rejoice. + + --William Cowper. + + +TRUSTING GOD + + Whoever plants a leaf beneath the sod, + And waits to see it push away the clod, + He trusts in God. + + Whoever says, when clouds are in the sky, + "Be patient, heart; light breaketh by and by," + He trusts in God. + + Whoever sees 'neath winter's field of snow + The silent harvest of the future grow, + God's power must know. + + Whoever lies down on his couch to sleep, + Content to lock each sense in slumber deep, + Knows God will keep. + + +TRUST IN GOD + + The child leans on its parent's breast, + Leaves there its cares and is at rest; + The bird sits singing by his nest, + And tells aloud + His trust in God, and so is blest + 'Neath every cloud. + + He has no store, he sows no seed; + Yet sings aloud, and doth not heed; + By flowing stream or grassy mead, + He sings to shame + Men, who forget, in fear of need, + A Father's name. + + The heart that trusts for ever sings, + And feels as light as it had wings; + A well of peace within it springs; + Come good or ill. + Whate'er to-day, to-morrow, brings, + It is his will. + + --Isaac Williams. + + +NO FEARS + + Give to the winds thy fears; + Hope, and be undismayed; + God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears; + God shall lift up thy head. + + Through waves, and clouds, and storms, + He gently clears thy way; + Wait thou his time, so shall this night + Soon end in joyous day. + + Still heavy is thy heart? + Still sink thy spirits down? + Cast off the weight, let fear depart, + And every care be gone. + + What though thou rulest not? + Yet heaven, and earth, and hell + Proclaim, "God sitteth on the throne, + And ruleth all things well." + + Leave to his sovereign sway + To choose and to command: + So shalt thou, wondering, own his way, + How wise, how strong his hand! + + Far, far above thy thought, + His counsel shall appear, + When fully he the work hath wrought + That caused thy needless fear. + + --Paul Gerhardt. + + +SIMPLE TRUST + + I do not know why sin abounds + Within this world so fair, + Why numerous discordant sounds + Destroy the heavenly air-- + I can't explain this thing, I must + Rely on God in simple trust. + + I do not know why pain and loss + Oft fall unto my lot. + Why I must bear the heavy cross + When I desire it not-- + I do not know, unless 'tis just + To teach my soul in God to trust. + + I know not why the evil seems + Supreme on every hand: + Why suffering flows in endless streams + I do not understand-- + Solution comes not to adjust + These mysteries. I can but trust. + + I do not know why grief's dark cloud + Bedims my sunny sky, + The tear of bitterness allowed + To swell within my eye-- + But, sorrow-stricken to the dust, + I will look up to God and trust. + + --R. F. Mayer. + + +ALL IS YOURS + + O foolish heart, be still! + And vex thyself no more! + Wait thou for God, until + He open pleasure's door. + Thou knowest not what is good for thee, + But God doth know-- + Let him thy strong reliance be, + And rest thee so. + + He counted all my days, + And every joy and tear, + Ere I knew how to praise, + Or even had learned to fear. + Before I him my Father knew + He called me child; + His help has guarded me all through + This weary wild. + + The least of all my cares + Is not to him unknown-- + He sees and he prepares + The pathway for his own; + And what his hand assigns to me, + That serves my peace; + The greatest burden it might be, + Yet joys increase. + + I live no more for earth; + Nor seek my full joy here; + The world seems little worth + When heaven is shining clear. + Yet joyfully I go my way + So free, so blest! + Sweetening my toil from day to day + With thoughts of rest. + + Give me, my Lord, whate'er + Will bind my heart to thee; + For that I make my prayer, + And know thou hearest me! + But all that might keep back my soul-- + Make thee forgot-- + Though of earth-good it were the whole, + O give it not! + + When sickness, pains, distress, + And want doth follow fear, + And men their hate express, + My sky shall still be clear. + Then wait I, Lord, and wait for thee; + And I am still, + Though mine should unaccomplished be, + Do thou thy will! + + Thou art the strength and stay + Of every weary soul; + Thy wisdom rules the way + Thy pity does control. + What ill can happen unto me + When thou art near? + Thou wilt, O God, my keeper be; + I will not fear. + + --Christian F. Gellert (1715-1769). + + +I SHALL NOT WANT + + I shall not want: in desert wilds + Thou spreadst thy table for thy child; + While grace in streams, for thirsting souls, + Through earth and heaven forever rolls. + + I shall not want: my darkest night + Thy lovely smile shall fill with light; + While promises around me bloom, + And cheer me with divine perfume. + + I shall not want: thy righteousness + My soul shall clothe with glorious dress; + My blood-washed robe shall be more fair + Than garments kings or angels wear. + + I shall not want: whate'er is good + Of daily bread or angels' food + Shall to my Father's child be sure, + So long as earth and heaven endure. + + --Charles F. Deems. + + +NO CARES + + O Lord! how happy should we be + If we could leave our cares to thee; + If we from self could rest, + And feel at heart that One above, + In perfect wisdom, perfect love, + Is working for the best. + + For when we kneel and cast our care + Upon our God, in humble prayer, + With strengthened souls we rise; + Sure that our Father, who is nigh + To hear the ravens when they cry, + Will hear his children's cries. + + How far from this our daily life; + How oft disturbed by anxious strife, + By sudden wild alarm! + O could we but relinquish all + Our earthly props and simply fall + On thine Almighty arms! + + We cannot trust him as we should, + So chafes weak nature's restless mood + To cast its peace away; + But birds and flowers around us preach + All, all, the present evil teach, + Sufficient for the day. + + O may these anxious hearts of ours + The lesson learn from birds and flowers, + And learn from self to cease, + Leave all things to our Father's will, + And, in his mercy trusting, still + Find in each trial peace. + + --Joseph Anstice. + + +CARE CAST ON GOD + + Lord, I delight in thee, + And on thy care depend; + To thee in every trouble flee, + My best, my only Friend. + + When nature's streams are dried + Thy fullness is the same; + With this will I be satisfied, + And glory in thy name. + + Who made my heaven secure + Will here all good provide; + While Christ is rich can I be poor? + What can I want beside? + + I cast my care on thee; + I triumph and adore; + Henceforth my great concern shall be + To love and please thee more. + + --John Ryland. + + +GOD KNOWS ALL + + Nay, all by Thee is ordered, chosen, planned; + Each drop that fills my daily cup; thy hand + Prescribes for ills none else can understand. + All, all is known to thee. + + Be trustful, be steadfast, whatever betide thee, + Only one thing do thou ask of the Lord-- + Grace to go forward wherever he guide thee, + Simply believing the truth of his word. + + Whatsoe'er our lot may be, + Calmly in this thought we'll rest + Could we see as thou dost see + We should choose it as the best. + + --Eliza Cleghorn Gaskell. + + +O FOR A PERFECT TRUST + + O for the peace of a perfect trust, + My loving God, in thee; + Unwavering faith, that never doubts, + Thou choosest best for me. + + Best, though my plans be all upset; + Best, though the way be rough; + Best, though my earthly store be scant; + In thee I have enough. + + Best, though my health and strength be gone, + Though weary days be mine, + Shut out from much that others have; + Not my will, Lord, but thine! + + And even though disappointments come, + They, too, are best for me-- + To wean me from this changing world + And lead me nearer thee. + + O for the peace of a perfect trust + That looks away from all; + That sees thy hand in everything, + In great events or small; + + That hears thy voice--a Father's voice-- + Directing for the best; + O for the peace of a perfect trust, + A heart with thee at rest! + + +A SONG OF TRUST + + I cannot always see the way that leads + To heights above; + I sometimes quite forget that he leads on + With hands of love; + But yet I know the path must lead me to + Immanuel's land, + And when I reach life's summit I shall know + And understand. + + I cannot always trace the onward course + My ship must take, + But, looking backward, I behold afar + Its shining wake + Illumined with God's light of love; and so + I onward go, + In perfect trust that he who holds the helm + The course must know. + + I cannot always see the plan on which + He builds my life; + For oft the sound of hammers, blow on blow, + The noise of strife, + Confuse me till I quite forget he knows + And oversees, + And that in all details with his good plan + My life agrees. + + I cannot always know and understand + The Master's rule; + I cannot always do the tasks he gives + In life's hard school; + But I am learning, with his help, to solve + Them one by one, + And, when I cannot understand, to say, + "Thy will be done." + + --Gertrude Benedict Custis. + + +ALL IS WELL + + The clouds which rise with thunder slake + Our thirsty souls with rain; + The blow most dreaded falls to break + From off our limbs a chain; + And wrongs of man to man but make + The love of God more plain. + As through the shadowy lens of even + The eye looks farthest into heaven-- + On gleams of star and depths of blue + The glaring sunshine never knew. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +CHOOSE FOR US, GOD + + Still will we trust, though earth seem dark and dreary, + And the heart faint beneath his chastening rod; + Though rough and steep our pathway, worn and weary, + Still will we trust in God. + + Our eyes see dimly till by faith anointed, + And our blind choosing brings us grief and pain; + Through him alone who hath our way appointed, + We find our peace again. + + Choose for us, God! nor let our weak preferring + Cheat our poor souls of good thou hast designed; + Choose for us, God! thy wisdom is unerring, + And we are fools and blind. + + Let us press on in patient self-denial, + Accept the hardship, shrink not from the loss; + Our portion lies beyond the hour of trial, + Our crown beyond the cross. + + --William H. Burleigh. + + +ALL THINGS WORK GOOD + + With strength of righteous purpose in the heart + What cause to fear for consequence of deed? + God guideth then, not we; nor do we need + To care for aught but that we play our part. + Most simple trust is often highest art. + The issue we would fly may be a seed + Ordained by God to bear our souls a meed + Of peace that no self-judging could impart. + "All things work good for him who trusteth God!" + Doth God not love us with a longing love + To make us happy, and hath he not sight + From end to end of our short earthly road? + This, Lord, I hold--aye, _know_ that thou wouldst move + The world to lead one trusting soul aright. + + --Edward Harding. + + +RELIGIOUS INFIDELS + + How many chatterers of a creed + Think doubt the gravest sin, + Unmindful of her double birth-- + For worry is her twin. + + Ah! Christian atheism seems + The most insulting kind, + For, though the tongue says, God is love, + The heart is deaf and blind. + + How he who marks the sparrow's fall + Must be aggrieved to see + These loud lip-champions manifest + Such infidelity! + + Each fretful line upon their brow, + Dug by the plow of care, + Is treason to their pledge of faith + And satire on their prayer. + + O just to hold, without one fear, + The strong, warm Hand above, + With orthodoxy of the heart-- + The childlike creed of love! + + None such can be a heretic; + Nay, only he forsooth + Who lives the falsity of doubt, + But prates the cant of truth. + + --Frederic Lawrence Knowles. + + + Worry and Fret were two little men + That knocked at my door again and again. + "O pray let us in, but to tarry a night, + And we will be off with the dawning of light." + At last, moved to pity, I opened the door + To shelter these travelers, hungry and poor; + But when on the morrow I bade them "Adieu," + They said, quite unmoved, "We'll tarry with you." + And, deaf to entreaty and callous to threat, + These troublesome guests abide with me yet. + + + Yet, in the maddening maze of things, + And tossed by storm and flood, + To one fixed trust my spirit clings: + I know that God is good! + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +MAKE THY WAY MINE + + Father, hold thou my hand; + The way is steep; + I cannot see the path my feet must keep, + I cannot tell, so dark the tangled way, + Where next to step. O stay; + Come close; take both my hands in thine; + Make thy way mine! + + Lead me. I may not stay; + I must move on; but oh, the way! + I must be brave and go, + Step forward in the dark, nor know + If I shall reach the goal at all-- + If I shall fall. + Take thou my hand. + Take it! Thou knowest best + How I should go, and all the rest + I cannot, cannot see: + Lead me: I hold my hands to thee; + I own no will but thine; + Make thy way mine! + + +MY PSALM + + All as God wills, who wisely heeds + To give or to withhold; + And knoweth more of all my needs + Than all my prayers have told! + + Enough that blessings undeserved + Have marked my erring track; + That wheresoe'er my feet have swerved + His chastening turned me back; + + That more and more a Providence + Of love is understood, + Making the springs of time and sense + Sweet with eternal good; + + That death seems but a covered way + Which opens into light, + Wherein no blinded child can stray + Beyond the Father's sight. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + What most you wish and long for + Might only bring you pain; + You cannot see the future, + God's purpose to explain. + + So trust, faint heart, thy Master! + He doeth all things well, + He loveth more than heart can guess, + And more than tongue can tell. + + +BETTER TRUST + + Better trust all and be deceived, + And weep that trust and that deceiving, + Than doubt one heart that, if believed, + Had blest one's life with true believing. + + Oh, in this mocking world too fast + The doubting fiend o'ertakes our youth; + Better be cheated to the last + Than lose the blessed hope of truth. + + --Frances Anne Kemble. + + + Be patient; keep thy life-work + Well in hand; + Be trustful where thou canst not + Understand; + Thy lot, whate'er it be, is + Wisely planned; + Whate'er its mysteries, God holds the key; + Thou well canst trust him, and bide patiently. + + + There is never a day so dreary + But God can make it bright; + And unto the soul that trusts him + He giveth songs in the night. + There is never a path so hidden + But God will show the way, + If we seek the Spirit's guidance + And patiently watch and pray. + + + Build a little fence of trust + Around to-day; + Fill the space with loving deeds, + And therein stay. + Look not through the sheltering bars + Upon to-morrow; + God will help thee bear what comes + Of joy or sorrow. + + --Mary Frances Butts. + + + On God for all events depend; + You cannot want when God's your friend. + Weigh well your part and do your best; + Leave to your Maker all the rest. + + --Cotton. + + +OUR STRONG STAY + + Then, O my soul, be ne'er afraid; + On him who thee and all things made + With calm reliance rest; + Whate'er may come, where'er we go, + Our Father in the heavens must know + In all things what is best. + + --Paul Fleming. + + + If the wren can cling + To a spray a-swing + In the mad May wind, and sing and sing + As if she'd burst for joy-- + + Why cannot I + Contented lie + In his quiet arms, beneath his sky, + Unmoved by life's annoy. + + --Robert Haven Schauffler. + + + Be like the bird that, halting in her flight + Awhile on boughs too slight, + Feels them give way beneath her and yet sings-- + Knowing that she hath wings. + + --Victor Hugo. + + + Let not your heart be troubled, Jesus said; + Let not your heart be troubled or afraid. + My peace into your hands I freely give; + Trust in your God, and in his precepts live. + + + Thunder, lightning, fire and rain, + Poverty, sorrow, loss and gain, + Death and heaven, and earth and hell, + For us must work together well. + + + With patient course thy path of duty run + God nothing does, or suffers to be done, + But thou wouldst do the same if thou couldst see + The end of all events as well as he. + + + I welcome all thy sovereign will, + For all that will is love; + And when I know not what thou dost, + I wait the light above. + + + + +GOD'S CARE + +PROVIDENCE, GOD'S KNOWLEDGE AND BENEFICENCE + + +CONSIDER THE RAVENS + + Lord, according to thy words, + I have considered thy birds; + And I find their life good, + And better, the better understood; + Sowing neither corn nor wheat + They have all that they can eat; + Reaping no more than they sow + They have more than they could stow; + Having neither barn nor store, + Hungry again they eat more. + + Considering, I see too that they + Have a busy life, but plenty of play; + In the earth they dig their bills deep, + And work well, though they do not heap; + Then to play in the way they are not loth, + And their nests between are better than both. + + But this is when there blow no storms, + When berries are plenty in winter, and worms, + When feathers are rife, with oil enough + To keep the cold out and send the rain off; + If there come, indeed, a long, hard frost, + Then it looks as though thy birds were lost. + + But I consider further and find + A hungry bird has a free mind; + He is hungry to-day, but not to-morrow, + Steals no comfort, no grief doth borrow; + This moment is his, thy will hath said it, + The next is nothing till Thou hast made it. + + The bird has pain, but has no fear-- + Which is the worst of any gear; + When cold and hunger and harm betide him, + He does not take them and stuff inside him; + Content with the day's ill he has got, + He waits just, nor haggles with his lot; + Neither jumbles God's will + With driblets from his own still. + + But next I see, in my endeavor, + The birds here do not live forever; + That cold or hunger, sickness or age, + Finishes their earthly stage; + The rooks drop in cold nights, + Leaving all their wrongs and rights; + Birds lie here and birds lie there + With their feathers all astare; + And in thine own sermon, thou + That the sparrow falls dost allow. + + It shall not cause me any alarm, + For neither so comes the bird to harm, + Seeing our Father, thou hast said, + Is by the sparrow's dying bed; + Therefore it is a blessèd place, + And a sharer in high grace. + + It cometh therefore to this, Lord: + I have considered thy word; + And henceforth will be thy bird. + + --George Macdonald. + + +GOD KEEPS HIS OWN + + I do not know whether my future lies + Through calm or storm; + Whether the way is strewn with broken ties, + Or friendships warm. + + This much I know: Whate'er the pathway trod, + All else unknown, + I shall be guided safely on, for God + Will keep his own. + + Clouds may obscure the sky, and drenching rain + Wear channels deep; + And haggard want, with all her bitter train, + Make angels weep. + + And those I love the best, beneath the sod + May sleep alone; + But through it all I shall be led, for God + Will keep his own. + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + +CARE THOU FOR ME + + Care Thou for me! Let me not care! + Too weak am I, dear Lord, to bear + The heavy burdens of the day; + And oft I walk with craven feet + Upon life's rough and toilsome way; + How sweet to feel, how passing sweet, + Thy watchful presence everywhere! + Care Thou for me! Let me not care! + + Care Thou for me! Why should I care, + And looks of gloomy sadness wear, + And fret because I cannot see + (Thy wisdom doth ordain it so) + The path thou hast marked out for me? + My Father's plan is best, I know, + It will be light, sometime--somewhere-- + Care thou for me! Why should I care? + + Care Thou for me! Let me not care! + This, each new day, shall be my prayer; + Thou, who canst read my inmost heart, + Dost know I am exceeding frail; + Both just and merciful thou art, + Whose loving kindness ne'er shall fail; + My human nature thou wilt spare; + Care Thou for me! I will not care! + + +THE SPARROW + + I am only a little sparrow, + A bird of low degree; + My life is of little value, + But the dear Lord cares for me. + + He gave me a coat of feathers; + It is very plain, I know, + With never a speck of crimson, + For it was not made for show, + + But it keeps me warm in winter, + And it shields me from the rain; + Were it bordered with gold or purple + Perhaps it would make me vain. + + I have no barn or storehouse, + I neither sow nor reap; + God gives me a sparrow's portion, + But never a seed to keep. + + If my meal is sometimes scanty, + Close picking makes it sweet; + I have always enough to feed me, + And "life is more than meat." + + I know there are many sparrows, + All over the world we are found; + But our heavenly Father knoweth + When one of us falls to the ground. + + Though small, we are not forgotten; + Though weak we are never afraid; + For we know that the dear Lord keepeth + The life of the creatures he made. + + +HE KNOWETH ALL + + The twilight falls, the night is near, + I fold my work away + And kneel to One who bends to hear + The story of the day. + + The old, old story, yet I kneel + To tell it at thy call; + And cares grow lighter as I feel + That Jesus knows them all. + + Yes, all! The morning and the night, + The joy, the grief, the loss, + The roughened path, the sunbeam bright, + The hourly thorn and cross-- + + Thou knowest all; I lean my head, + My weary eyelids close, + Content and glad awhile to tread + This path, since Jesus knows! + + And he has loved me! All my heart + With answering love is stirred, + And every anguished pain and smart + Finds healing in the Word. + + So here I lay me down to rest, + As nightly shadows fall, + And lean, confiding, on his breast, + Who knows and pities all! + + + If to Jesus for relief + My soul has fled by prayer, + Why should I give way to grief + Or heart-consuming care? + While I know his providence + Disposes each event + Shall I judge by feeble sense, + And yield to discontent? + Sparrows if he kindly feed, + And verdure clothe in rich array. + Can he see a child in need, + And turn his eyes away? + + +HE NEVER FORGETS + + Nay, nay, do not tell me that God will not hear me. + I know he is high over all, + Yet I know just as well that he always is near me + And never forgets me at all. + + He shows not his face, for its glory would blind me, + Yet I walk on my way unafraid; + Though lost in the desert He surely would find me + His angels would come to my aid. + + He sits on his throne in the wonderful city, + And I--I am ashes and dust! + Yet I am at rest in His wonderful pity, + And I in his promises trust. + + He lighteth the stars, and they shine in their places; + He maketh his sun like a flame; + But better and brighter to Him are the faces + Of mortals that call on his name. + + Nay, nay! do not tell me that, wrapped in his glory. + He hears not my voice when I cry; + He made me! He loves me! He knows all my story! + I shall look on his face by and by! + + +THE SURE REFUGE + + O I know the Hand that is guiding me + Through the shadow to the light; + And I know that all betiding me + Is meted out aright. + I know that the thorny path I tread + Is ruled with a golden line; + And I know that the darker life's tangled thread + The brighter the rich design. + + When faints and fails each wilderness hope, + And the lamp of faith burns dim, + O! I know where to find the honey drop + On the bitter chalice brim. + For I see, though veiled from my mortal sight, + God's plan is all complete; + Though the darkness at present be not light, + And the bitter be not sweet. + + I can wait till the dayspring shall overflow + The night of pain and care; + For I know there's a blessing for every woe, + A promise for every prayer. + Yes, I feel that the Hand which is holding me + Will ever hold me fast; + And the strength of the arms that are folding me + Will keep me to the last. + + +FOLLOWING + + As God leads me will I go, + Nor choose my way. + Let him choose the joy or woe + Of every day; + They cannot hurt my soul, + Because in his control; + I leave to him the whole-- + His children may. + + As God leads me I am still + Within his hand; + Though his purpose my self-will + Doth oft withstand; + Yet I wish that none + But his will be done + Till the end be won + That he hath planned. + + As God leads I am content; + He will take care! + All things by his will are sent + That I must bear; + To him I take my fear, + My wishes, while I'm here; + The way will all seem clear, + When I am there! + + As God leads me it is mine + To follow him; + Soon all shall wonderfully shine + Which now seems dim. + Fulfilled be his decree! + What he shall choose for me + That shall my portion be, + Up to the brim! + + As God leads me so my heart + In faith shall rest. + No grief nor fear my soul shall part + From Jesus' breast. + In sweet belief I know + What way my life doth go-- + Since God permitteth so-- + That must be best. + + --L. Gedicke. + + +"YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWETH" + + There are two words of light divine + That fall upon this heart of mine, + That thrill me in the hour of gain, + That still me in the hour of pain: + Two words endued with magic power, + Sufficient unto any hour-- + He knows. + + As summer breezes, cool and sweet, + Bring rest, relief from toil and heat; + As showers, needed as they fall, + Renew, refresh and comfort all; + So to my feverish heart is given + This loving message, fresh from heaven: + He knows. + + My fainting heart finds strength in this, + My hungry heart here seeks its bliss; + Here angry billows never surge, + Here death can never sing its dirge; + My rising fears, with murmuring fraught, + Find sudden calm beneath this thought: + He knows. + + O lullaby for children grown! + O nectar sweet for lips that moan! + O balm to stricken hearts oppressed! + O pillow where worn heads may rest! + All joy, all comfort in thee meet, + O blessed words, surpassing sweet, + He knows. + + +FEAR NOT + + Don't you trouble trouble + Till trouble troubles you. + Don't you look for trouble; + Let trouble look for you. + + Don't you borrow sorrow; + You'll surely have your share. + He who dreams of sorrow + Will find that sorrow's there. + + Don't you hurry worry + By worrying lest it come. + To flurry is to worry, + 'Twill miss you if you're mum. + + If care you've got to carry + Wait till 'tis at the door; + For he who runs to meet it + Takes up the load before. + + If minding will not mend it, + Then better not to mind; + The best thing is to end it-- + Just leave it all behind. + + Who feareth hath forsaken + The Heavenly Father's side; + What he hath undertaken + He surely will provide. + + The very birds reprove thee + With all their happy song; + The very flowers teach thee + That fretting is a wrong. + + "Cheer up," the sparrow chirpeth, + "Thy Father feedeth me; + Think how much more he careth, + O lonely child, for thee!" + + "Fear not," the flowers whisper; + "Since thus he hath arrayed + The buttercup and daisy, + How canst thou be afraid?" + + Then don't you trouble trouble, + Till trouble troubles you; + You'll only double trouble, + And trouble others too. + + +HE LEADS US ON + + He leads us on + By paths we did not know; + Upward he leads us, though our steps be slow, + Though oft we faint and falter on the way, + Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day, + Yet when the clouds are gone + We know he leads us on. + + He leads us on. + Through all the unquiet years; + Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts, and fears, + He guides our steps. Through all the tangled maze + Of sin, of sorrow, and o'erclouded days + We know his will is done; + And still he leads us on. + + And he, at last, + After the weary strife-- + After the restless fever we call life-- + After the dreariness, the aching pain, + The wayward struggles which have proved in vain, + After our toils are past, + Will give us rest at last. + + +THE DEVIL IS A FOOL + + Saint Dominic, the glory of the schools, + Writing, one day, "The Inquisition's" rules, + Stopt, when the evening came, for want of light. + The devils, who below from morn till night, + Well pleased, had seen his work, exclaimed with sorrow, + "Something he will forget before to-morrow!" + One zealous imp flew upward from the place, + And stood before him, with an angel face. + "I come," said he, "sent from God's Realm of Peace, + To light you, lest your holy labors cease." + Well pleased, the saint wrote on with careful pen. + The candle was consumed; the devil then + Lighted his _thumb_; the saint, quite undisturbed, + Finished his treatise to the final word. + Then he looked up, and started with affright; + For lo! the thumb blazed with a lurid light. + "Your thumb is burned!" said he. The child of sin + Changed to his proper form, and with a grin + Said, "I will quench it in the martyrs' blood + Your book will cause to flow--a crimson flood!" + + Triumphantly the fiend returned to hell + And told his story. Satan said, "'Tis well! + Your aim was good, but foolish was the deed; + For blood of martyrs is the Church's seed." + + --Herder, tr. by James Freeman Clarke. + + +PROVIDENCE + + We all acknowledge both thy power and love + To be exact, transcendent, and divine; + Who dost so strongly and so sweetly move, + While all things have their will, yet none but thine, + + For either thy _command_ or thy _permission_ + Lay hands on all: they are thy right and left: + The first puts on with speed and expedition; + The other curbs sin's stealing pace and theft. + + Nothing escapes them both; all must appear + And be disposed and dressed and tuned by thee, + Who sweetly temperest all. If we could hear + Thy skill and art what music would it be! + + Thou art in small things great, nor small in any; + Thy even praise can neither rise nor fall. + Thou art in all things one, in each thing many; + For thou art infinite in one and all. + + --George Herbert. + + +THE MYSTERIOUS WAY + + God moves in a mysterious way + His wonders to perform; + He plants his footsteps in the sea + And rides upon the storm. + + Deep in unfathomable mines + Of never-failing skill, + He treasures up his bright designs + And works his sovereign will. + + Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take: + The clouds ye so much dread + Are big with mercy, and shall break + In blessings on your head. + + Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, + But trust him for his grace; + Behind a frowning providence + He hides a smiling face. + + His purposes will ripen fast, + Unfolding every hour; + The bud may have a bitter taste, + But sweet will be the flower. + + Blind unbelief is sure to err, + And scan his work in vain; + God is his own interpreter, + And he will make it plain. + + --William Cowper. + + +DISAPPOINTMENT + + Our yet unfinished story + Is tending all to this: + To God the greatest glory, + To us the greatest bliss. + + If all things work together + For ends so grand and blest, + What need to wonder whether + Each in itself is best! + + If some things were omitted, + Or altered as we would, + The whole might be unfitted + To work for perfect good. + + Our plans may be disjointed, + But we may calmly rest; + What God has once appointed, + Is better than our best. + + We cannot see before us, + But our all-seeing Friend + Is always watching o'er us, + And knows the very end. + + What though we seem to stumble? + He will not let us fall; + And learning to be humble + Is not lost time at all. + + What though we fondly reckoned + A smoother way to go + Than where his hand hath beckoned? + It will be better so. + + What only seemed a barrier + A stepping-stone shall be; + Our God is no long tarrier, + A present help is he. + + And when amid our blindness + His disappointments fall, + We trust his loving-kindness + Whose wisdom sends them all; + + The discord that involveth + Some startling change of key, + The Master's hand revolveth + In richest harmony. + + Then tremble not, and shrink not, + When disappointment nears; + Be trustful still, and think not + To realize all fears. + + While we are meekly kneeling + We shall behold her rise, + Our Father's love revealing, + An angel in disguise. + + --Frances Ridley Havergal. + + +GOD'S CARE + + Not a brooklet floweth + Onward to the sea, + Not a sunbeam gloweth + On its bosom free, + Not a seed unfoldeth + To the glorious air, + But our Father holdeth + It within his care. + + Not a floweret fadeth, + Not a star grows dim, + Not a cloud o'ershadeth, + But 'tis marked by him. + Dream not that thy gladness + God doth fail to see; + Think not in thy sadness + He forgetteth thee. + + Not a tie is broken, + Not a hope laid low, + Not a farewell spoken, + But our God doth know. + Every hair is numbered, + Every tear is weighed + In the changeless balance + Wisest Love has made. + + Power eternal resteth + In his changeless hand; + Love immortal hasteth + Swift at his command, + Faith can firmly trust him + In the darkest hour, + For the keys she holdeth + To his love and power. + + +"I WILL ABIDE IN THINE HOUSE" + + Among so many can he care? + Can special love be everywhere? + A myriad homes--a myriad ways-- + And God's eye over every place? + + _Over_; but _in_? The world is full; + A grand omnipotence must rule; + But is there life that doth abide + With mine own, loving, side by side? + + So many, and so wide abroad; + Can any heart have all of God? + From the great spaces vague and dim, + May one small household gather him? + + I asked; my soul bethought of this: + In just that very place of his + Where he hath put and keepeth you, + God hath no other thing to do. + + --Adeline Dutton Train Whitney. + + +CONSTANT CARE + + How gentle God's commands! + How kind his precepts are! + Come, cast your burdens on the Lord, + And trust his constant care. + + Beneath his watchful eye + His saints securely dwell; + That hand which bears all nature up + Shall guard his children well. + + Why should this anxious load + Press down your weary mind? + Haste to your heavenly Father's throne + And sweet refreshment find. + + His goodness stands approved, + Unchanged from day to day; + I'll drop my burden at his feet, + And bear a song away. + + --Philip Doddridge. + + +THOU KNOWEST + + Thou knowest, Lord, the weariness and sorrow + Of the sad heart that comes to thee for rest. + Cares of to-day and burdens for to-morrow, + Blessings implored, and sins to be confest, + I come before thee, at thy gracious word, + And lay them at thy feet. _Thou knowest, Lord!_ + + Thou knowest all the past--how long and blindly + On the dark mountains the lost wanderer strayed, + How the good Shepherd followed, and how kindly + He bore it home upon his shoulders laid, + And healed the bleeding wounds, and soothed the pain, + And brought back life, and hope, and strength again. + + Thou knowest all the present--each temptation, + Each toilsome duty, each foreboding fear; + All to myself assigned of tribulation, + Or to belovèd ones than self more dear! + All pensive memories, as I journey on, + Longings for sunshine and for music gone! + + Thou knowest all the future--gleams of gladness + By stormy clouds too quickly overcast-- + Hours of sweet fellowship and parting sadness, + And the dark river to be crossed at last: + Oh, what could confidence and hope afford + To tread this path, but this--_Thou knowest, Lord!_ + + Thou knowest not alone as God--all-knowing-- + As _man_ our mortal weakness thou hast proved + On earth; with purest sympathies o'erflowing, + O Saviour, thou hast wept, and thou hast loved. + And love and sorrow still to thee may come + And find a hiding-place, a rest, a home. + + Therefore I come, thy gentle call obeying, + And lay my sins and sorrows at thy feet; + On everlasting strength my weakness staying, + Clothed in thy robe of righteousness complete. + Then rising, and refreshed, I leave thy throne, + And follow on to know as I am known! + + +A GREAT DIFFERENCE + + Men lose their ships, the eager things + To try their luck at sea, + But none can tell, by note or count, + How many there may be. + + One turneth east, another south-- + They never come again, + And then we know they must have sunk, + But neither how nor when. + + God sends his happy birds abroad-- + "They're less than ships," say we; + No moment passes but he knows + How many there should be. + + One buildeth high, another low, + With just a bird's light care-- + If only one, perchance, doth fall, + God knoweth when and where. + + + HE CARETH FOR YOU + + If I could only surely know + That all these things that tire me so + Were noticed by my Lord. + The pang that cuts me like a knife, + The lesser pains of daily life, + The noise, the weariness, the strife, + What peace it would afford! + + I wonder if he really shares + In all my little human cares, + This mighty King of kings. + If he who guides each blazing star + Through realms of boundless space afar + Without confusion, sound or jar, + Stoops to these petty things. + + It seems to me, if sure of this, + Blent with each ill would come such bliss + That I might covet pain, + And deem whatever brought to me + The loving thought of Deity, + And sense of Christ's sweet sympathy, + No loss, but richest gain. + + Dear Lord, my heart hath not a doubt + That thou dost compass me about + With sympathy divine. + The love for me once crucified + Is not a love to leave my side, + But waiteth ever to divide + Each smallest care of mine. + + +MOMENT BY MOMENT + + Never a trial that He is not there; + Never a burden that He doth not bear; + Never a sorrow that He doth not share. + Moment by moment I'm under his care. + + Never a heartache, and never a groan, + Never a tear-drop, and never a moan, + Never a danger but there, on the throne, + Moment by moment, He thinks of his own. + + Never a weakness that He doth not feel; + Never a sickness that He cannot heal. + Moment by moment, in woe or in weal, + Jesus, my Saviour, abides with me still. + + --Daniel W. Whittle. + + + There's a divinity that shapes our ends + Rough-hew them how we will. + + --William Shakespeare. + + +EVENING HYMN + + It is the evening hour, + And thankfully, + Father, thy weary child + Has come to thee. + + I lean my aching head + Upon thy breast, + And there, and only there, + I am at rest. + + Thou knowest all my life, + Each petty sin, + Nothing is hid from thee + Without, within. + + All that I have or am + Is wholly thine, + So is my soul at peace, + For thou art mine. + + To-morrow's dawn may find + Me here, or there; + It matters little, since thy love + Is everywhere! + + +THE BELIEVER'S HERITAGE + + No care can come where God doth guard; + No ill befall whom he doth keep; + In safety hid, of trouble rid, + I lay me down in peace and sleep. + + I wholly love thy holy name; + I hail with glee thy glorious will; + Where'er I go, 'tis joy to know + That thou, my King, art near me still. + + Thy power immense, consummate, grand, + Thy wisdom, known to thee alone, + Thy perfect love, all thought above, + Make me a sharer in thy throne. + + With thee abiding none can fear, + Nor lack, of every good possessed; + Thy grace avails, whate'er assails, + And I in thee am fully blest. + + Then leap, my heart, exultant, strong, + Cast every doubt and weight away; + Give thanks and praise to God always, + For he will guide to perfect day! + + --James Mudge. + + +"HE CARETH FOR THEE" + + What can it mean? Is it aught to him + That the nights are long and the days are dim? + Can he be touched by griefs I bear + Which sadden the heart and whiten the hair? + Around his throne are eternal calms, + And strong, glad music of happy psalms, + And bliss unruffled by any strife. + How can he care for my poor life? + + And yet I want him to care for me + While I live in this world where the sorrows be; + When the lights die down on the path I take, + When strength is feeble, and friends forsake, + When love and music, that once did bless, + Have left me to silence and loneliness, + And life's song changes to sobbing prayers-- + Then my heart cries out for God who cares. + + When shadows hang o'er me the whole day long, + And my spirit is bowed with shame and wrong; + When I am not good, and the deeper shade + Of conscious sin makes my heart afraid; + And the busy world has too much to do + To stay in its course to help me through, + And I long for a Saviour--can it be + That the God of the Universe cares for me? + + Oh, wonderful story of deathless love! + Each child is dear to that heart above; + He fights for me when I cannot fight; + He comforts me in the gloom of night; + He lifts the burden, for he is strong; + He stills the sigh and awakes the song; + The sorrow that bowed me down he bears, + And loves and pardons because he cares. + + Let all who are sad take heart again; + We are not alone in hours of pain; + Our Father stoops from his throne above + To soothe and quiet us with his love. + He leaves us not when the storm is high, + And we have safety, for he is nigh. + Can it be trouble which he doth share? + O rest in peace, for the Lord does care. + + +CAST THY BURDEN ON THE LORD + + Thou who art touched with feeling of our woes, + Let me on thee my heavy burden cast! + My aching, anguished heart on thee repose. + Leaving with thee the sad mysterious past; + Let me submissive bow and kiss the rod; + Let me "be still, and know that thou art God." + + Why should my harassed agitated mind + Go round and round this terrible event? + Striving in vain some brighter side to find, + Some cause why all this anguish has been sent? + Do I indeed that sacred truth believe-- + Thou dost not willingly afflict and grieve? + + My lovely gourd is withered in an hour! + I droop, I faint beneath the scorching sun; + My Shepherd, lead me to some sheltering bower; + There where thy little flock "lie down at noon"; + Though of my dearest earthly joy bereft + Thou art my portion still; thou, thou, my God, art left. + + --Charlotte Elliott. + + + Says God: "Who comes towards me an inch through doubtings dim, + In blazing light I do approach a yard towards him." + + --Oriental, tr. by William Rounseville Alger. + + + The light of love is round His feet, + His paths are never dim; + And He comes nigh to us, when we + Dare not come nigh to Him. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + + Not in our waking hours alone + His constancy and care are known, + But locked in slumber fast and deep + He giveth to us while we sleep. + + --Frederick Lucian Hosmer. + + +HIS CARE + + God holds the key of all unknown, + And I am glad. + If other hands should hold the key, + Or if he trusted it to me, + I might be sad. + + What if to-morrow's cares were here + Without its rest? + I'd rather he unlock the day, + And as the hours swing open say, + "Thy will be best." + + The very dimness of my sight + Makes me secure; + For groping in my misty way, + I feel his hand; I hear him say, + "My help is sure." + + I cannot read his future plan, + But this I know: + I have the smiling of his face, + And all the refuge of his grace, + While here below. + + Enough; this covers all my want, + And so I rest; + For what I cannot he can see, + And in his care I sure shall be + Forever blest. + + --John Parker. + + + Forever, from the hand that takes + One blessing from us, others fall; + And soon or late our Father makes + His perfect recompense to all. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + Nothing pays but God, + Served--in work obscure done honestly, + Or vote for truth unpopular, or faith maintained + To ruinous convictions. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + He did God's will, to him all one, + If on the earth or in the sun. + + --Robert Browning. + + + I am + Part of that Power, not understood, + Which always wills the bad + And always works the good. + (Mephistopheles, in Faust.) + + --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. + + + I have no answer, for myself or thee, + Save that I learned beside my mother's knee: + "All is of God that is, and is to be; + And God is good." Let this suffice us still, + Resting in childlike trust upon his will + Who moves to his great ends unthwarted by the ill. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + He knows, he loves, he cares, + Nothing his truth can dim; + He gives his very best to those + Who leave the choice to him. + + + No help! nay, it is not so! + Though human help be far, thy God is nigh. + Who feeds the ravens hears his children's cry; + He's near thee wheresoe'er thy footsteps roam, + And he will guide thee, light thee, help thee home. + + + God sees me though I see him not; + I know I shall not be forgot; + For though I be the smallest dot, + It is his mercy shapes my lot. + + --From the Scandinavian, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + + Teach me to answer still, + Whate'er my lot may be, + To all thou sendest me, of good or ill, + "All goeth as God will." + + + Dance, O my soul! 'tis God doth play; + His will makes music all the day; + That song which rings the world around + This heart of mine shall ever sound. + + --James Mudge. + + + Let one more attest: + I have seen God's hand through a life time, + And all was for best. + + --Robert Browning. + + + + +GOD'S WILL + +OBEDIENCE, DIVINE UNION + + +THE WILL OF GOD + + I worship thee, sweet will of God! + And all thy ways adore. + And every day I live I seem + To love thee more and more. + + Thou wert the end, the blessed rule + Of our Saviour's toils and tears; + Thou wert the passion of his heart + Those three and thirty years. + + And he hath breathed into my soul + A special love of thee, + A love to lose my will in his, + And by that loss be free. + + I love to kiss each print where thou + Hast set thine unseen feet; + I cannot fear thee, blessed will! + Thine empire is so sweet. + + When obstacles and trials seem + Like prison walls to be, + I do the little I can do, + And leave the rest to thee. + + I know not what it is to doubt; + My heart is ever gay; + I run no risk, for come what will + Thou always hast thy way. + + I have no cares, O blessed will! + For all my cares are thine; + I live in triumph, Lord, for thou + Hast made thy triumphs mine. + + And when it seems no chance or change + From grief can set me free, + Hope finds its strength in helplessness, + And gayly waits on thee. + + Man's weakness waiting upon God + Its end can never miss, + For man on earth no work can do + More angel-like than this. + + Ride on, ride on triumphantly, + Thou glorious Will! ride on; + Faith's pilgrim sons behind thee take + The road that thou hast gone. + + He always wins who sides with God, + To him no chance is lost; + God's will is sweetest to him when + It triumphs at his cost. + + Ill that he blesses is our good, + And unblest good is ill; + And all is right that seems most wrong + If it be his sweet will! + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +THE WILL DIVINE + + Thy will, O God, is joy to me, + A gladsome thing; + For in it naught but love I see, + Whate'er it bring. + + No bed of pain, no rack of woe-- + Thy will is good; + A glory wheresoe'er I go, + My daily food. + + Within the circle of thy will + All things abide; + So I, exulting, find no ill + Where thou dost guide. + + In that resplendent will of thine + I calmly rest; + Triumphantly I make it mine, + And count it best. + + To doubt and gloom and care and fear + I yield no jot; + Thy choice I choose, with soul sincere, + Thrice happy lot! + + In all the small events that fall + From day to day + I mark thy hand, I hear thy call, + And swift obey. + + I walk by faith, not sense or sight; + Calm faith in thee; + My peace endures, my way is bright, + My heart is free. + + Unfaltering trust, complete content, + The days ensphere, + Each meal becomes a sacrament, + And heaven is here. + + --James Mudge. + + +THE TREE GOD PLANTS + + The wind that blows can never kill + The tree God plants; + It bloweth east, it bloweth west, + The tender leaves have little rest, + But any wind that blows is best; + The tree God plants + Strikes deeper root, grows higher still, + Spreads wider boughs, for God's good will + Meets all its wants. + + There is no frost hath power to blight + The tree God shields; + The roots are warm beneath soft snows, + And when Spring comes it surely knows, + And every bud to blossom grows. + The tree God shields + Grows on apace by day and night, + Till sweet to taste and fair to sight + Its fruit it yields. + + There is no storm hath power to blast + The tree God knows; + No thunderbolt, nor beating rain, + Nor lightning flash, nor hurricane-- + When they are spent it doth remain. + The tree God knows + Through every tempest standeth fast, + And from its first day to its last + Still fairer grows. + + If in the soul's still garden-place + A seed God sows-- + A little seed--it soon will grow, + And far and near all men will know + For heavenly lands he bids it blow. + A seed God sows, + And up it springs by day and night; + Through life, through death, it groweth right; + Forever grows. + + --Lillian E. Barr. + + +GOD'S WILL + + Take thine own way with me, dear Lord, + Thou canst not otherwise than bless. + I launch me forth upon a sea + Of boundless love and tenderness. + + I could not choose a larger bliss + Than to be wholly thine; and mine + A will whose highest joy is this, + To ceaselessly unclasp in thine. + + I will not fear thee, O my God! + The days to come can only bring + Their perfect sequences of love, + Thy larger, deeper comforting. + + Within the shadow of this love, + Loss doth transmute itself to gain; + Faith veils earth's sorrow in its light, + And straightway lives above her pain. + + We are not losers thus; we share + The perfect gladness of the Son, + Not conquered--for, behold, we reign; + Conquered and Conqueror are one. + + Thy wonderful, grand will, my God, + Triumphantly I make it mine; + And faith shall breathe her glad "Amen" + To every dear command of thine. + + Beneath the splendor of thy choice, + Thy perfect choice for me, I rest; + Outside it now I dare not live, + Within it I must needs be blest. + + Meanwhile my spirit anchors calm + In grander regions still than this; + The fair, far-shining latitudes + Of that yet unexplorèd bliss. + + Then may thy perfect glorious will + Be evermore fulfilled in me, + And make my life an answering chord + Of glad, responsive harmony. + + Oh! it is life indeed to live + Within this kingdom strangely sweet; + And yet we fear to enter in, + And linger with unwilling feet. + + We fear this wondrous will of thine + Because we have not reached thy heart. + Not venturing our all on thee + We may not know how good thou art. + + --Jean Sophia Pigott. + + + Deep at the heart of all our pain, + In loss as surely as in gain, + His love abideth still. + Let come what will my heart shall stand + On this firm rock at his right hand, + "Father, it is thy will." + + --John White Chadwick. + + +THE CARPENTER + + O Lord! at Joseph's humble bench + Thy hands did handle saw and plane, + Thy hammer nails did drive and clench, + Avoiding knot, and humoring grain. + + That thou didst seem thou _wast_ indeed, + In sport thy tools thou didst not use, + Nor, helping hind's or fisher's need, + The laborer's _hire_ too nice refuse. + + Lord! might I be but as a saw, + A plane, a chisel in thy hand! + No, Lord! I take it back in awe, + Such prayer for me is far too grand. + + I pray, O Master! let me lie, + As on thy bench the favored wood; + Thy saw, thy plane, thy chisel ply, + And work me into something good. + + No! no! Ambition holy, high, + Urges for more than both to pray; + Come in, O gracious force, I cry, + O Workman! share my shed of clay. + + Then I at bench, or desk, or oar, + With last, or needle, net, or pen, + As thou in Nazareth of yore, + Shall do the Father's will again. + + --George Macdonald. + + +THE DIVINE MAJESTY + + The Lord our God is clothed with might, + The winds obey his will; + He speaks, and in his heavenly height + The rolling sun stands still. + + Rebel, ye waves, and o'er the land + With threatening aspect roar; + The Lord uplifts his awful hand, + And chains you to the shore. + + Ye winds of night, your force combine; + Without his high behest, + Ye shall not, in the mountain pine, + Disturb the sparrow's nest. + + His voice sublime is heard afar; + In distant peals it dies; + He yokes the whirlwind to his car + And sweeps the howling skies. + + Ye sons of earth, in reverence bend; + Ye nations, wait his nod; + And bid the choral song ascend + To celebrate our God. + + --H. Kirke White. + + +THOU SWEET, BELOVED WILL OF GOD + + Thou sweet, beloved will of God, + My anchor ground, my fortress hill, + My spirit's silent, fair abode, + In thee I hide me and am still. + + O Will, that willest good alone, + Lead thou the way, thou guidest best; + A little child, I follow on, + And, trusting, lean upon thy breast. + + Thy beautiful sweet will, my God, + Holds fast in its sublime embrace + My captive will, a gladsome bird, + Prisoned in such a realm of grace. + + Within this place of certain good + Love evermore expands her wings, + Or, nestling in thy perfect choice, + Abides content with what it brings. + + Oh lightest burden, sweetest yoke! + It lifts, it bears my happy soul, + It giveth wings to this poor heart; + My freedom is thy grand control. + + Upon God's will I lay me down, + As child upon its mother's breast; + No silken couch, nor softest bed, + Could ever give me such deep rest. + + Thy wonderful grand will, my God, + With triumph now I make it mine; + And faith shall cry a joyous Yes! + To every dear command of thine. + + +AS IT WAS TO BE + + The sky is clouded, the rocks are bare! + The spray of the tempest is white in air; + The winds are out with the waves at play, + And I shall not tempt the sea to-day. + + The trail is narrow, the wood is dim, + The panther clings to the arching limb; + And the lion's whelps are abroad at play, + And I shall not join in the chase to-day. + + But the ship sailed safely over the sea, + And the hunters came from the chase in glee; + And the town that was builded upon a rock + Was swallowed up in the earthquake's shock. + + --Francis Bret Harte. + + +USEFUL ACCORDING TO GOD'S WILL + + Let me not die before I've done for thee + My earthly work, whatever it may be; + Call me not hence with mission unfulfilled; + Let me not leave my space of ground untilled; + Impress this truth upon me, that not one + Can do my portion that I leave undone. + + Then give me strength all faithfully to toil, + Converting barren earth to fruitful soil. + I long to be an instrument of thine + For gathering worshipers into thy shrine: + To be the means one human soul to save + From the dark terrors of a hopeless grave. + + Yet most I want a spirit of content + To work where'er thou'lt wish my labor spent, + Whether at home or in a stranger's clime, + In days of joy or sorrow's sterner time; + I want a spirit passive to be still, + And by thy power to do thy holy will. + + And when the prayer unto my lips doth rise, + "Before a new home doth my soul surprise, + Let me accomplish _some great work_ for thee," + Subdue it, Lord; let my petition be, + "O make me useful in this world of thine, + In ways according to thy will, not mine." + + +AS THOU WILT + + My Jesus, as thou wilt: + O may thy will be mine; + Into thy hand of love + I would my all resign. + Through sorrow or through joy + Conduct me as thine own, + And help me still to say, + "My Lord, thy will be done." + + My Jesus, as thou wilt: + If needy here, and poor, + Give me thy people's bread, + Their portion rich and sure. + The manna of thy word + Let my soul feed upon; + And if all else should fail-- + My Lord, thy will be done. + + My Jesus, as thou wilt: + If among thorns I go, + Still sometimes here and there + Let a few roses blow. + But thou on earth along + The thorny path hast gone; + Then lead me after thee. + My Lord, thy will be done! + + My Jesus, as thou wilt: + Though seen through many a tear, + Let not my star of hope + Grow dim or disappear. + Since thou on earth hast wept + And sorrowed oft alone, + If I must weep with thee, + My Lord, thy will be done. + + My Jesus, as thou wilt: + If loved ones must depart + Suffer not sorrow's flood + To overwhelm my heart. + For they are blest with thee, + Their race and conflict won; + Let me but follow them. + My Lord, thy will be done! + + My Jesus, as thou wilt: + When death itself draws nigh, + To thy dear wounded side + I would for refuge fly. + Leaning on thee, to go + Where thou before hast gone; + The rest as thou shalt please. + My Lord, thy will be done! + + My Jesus, as thou wilt: + All shall be well for me; + Each changing future scene + I gladly trust with thee. + Straight to my home above, + I travel calmly on, + And sing in life or death, + "My Lord, thy will be done." + + --Benjamin Schmolke, tr. by J. Borthwick. + + +GREAT AND SMALL + + There is no great nor small in Nature's plan, + Bulk is but fancy in the mind of man; + A raindrop is as wondrous as a star, + Near is not nearest, farthest is not far; + And suns and planets in the vast serene + Are lost as midges in the summer sheen, + Born in their season; and we live and die + Creatures of Time, lost in Eternity. + + --Charles Mackay. + + +GOD'S WILL BE DONE + + My God, my Father, while I stray + Far from my home, on life's rough way, + O teach me from my heart to say, + "Thy will be done!" + + Though dark my path, and sad my lot, + Let me "be still," and murmur not; + O breathe the prayer divinely taught, + "Thy will be done!" + + What though in lonely grief I sigh + For friends beloved, no longer nigh, + Submissive still would I reply + "Thy will be done!" + + Though thou hast called me to resign + What most I prized, it ne'er was mine; + I have but yielded what was thine; + "Thy will be done!" + + Should grief or sickness waste away + My life in premature decay; + My Father! still I strive to say, + "Thy will be done!" + + Let but my fainting heart be blest + With thy sweet Spirit for its guest; + My God! to thee I leave the rest: + "Thy will be done!" + + Renew my will from day to day! + Blend it with thine; and take away + All that now makes it hard to say, + "Thy will be done!" + + Then, when on earth I breathe no more + The prayer oft mixed with tears before, + I'll sing upon a happier shore: + "Thy will be done!" + + --Charlotte Elliott. + + +THE TWO ANGELS + + All is of God! If he but wave his hand, + The mists collect, the rain falls thick and loud, + Till, with a smile of light on sea and land, + Lo! he looks back from the departing cloud. + + Angels of Life and Death alike are his; + Without his leave they pass no threshold o'er; + Who, then, would wish or dare, believing this, + Against his messengers to shut the door? + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + +AMEN! + + I cannot say, + Beneath the pressure of life's cares to-day, + I joy in these; + But I can say + That I had rather walk this rugged way, + If _Him_ it please. + + I cannot feel + That all is well when darkening clouds conceal + The shining sun; + But then I know + God lives and loves, and say, since it is so, + _Thy will be done_. + + I cannot speak + In happy tones; the tear-drops on my cheek + Show I am sad: + But I can speak + Of _grace_ to suffer with submission meek + Until made glad. + + I do not see + Why God should e'en permit some things to be, + When _He is love_; + But I can see, + Though often dimly, through the mystery + His hand above! + + I do not know + Where falls the seed that I have tried to sow + With greatest care; + But I _shall know_ + The meaning of each waiting hour below + _Sometime, somewhere_! + + I do not look + Upon the present, nor in Nature's book, + To read my fate; + But I _do look_ + For _promised blessings_ in God's holy Book; + And _I can wait_. + + I may not try + To keep the hot tears back--but hush that sigh, + "It might have been"; + And try to still + Each rising murmur, and to _God's sweet will_ + Respond "_Amen!_" + + --Miss Ophelia G. Browning. + + +AS HE WILLS + + He sendeth sun, he sendeth shower, + Alike they're needful for the flower; + And joys and tears alike are sent + To give the soul fit nourishment. + As comes to me or cloud or sun, + Father! thy will, not mine, be done. + + Can loving children e'er reprove, + With murmurs, whom they trust and love? + Creator! I would ever be + A trusting, loving child to thee: + As comes to me or cloud or sun, + Father! thy will, not mine, be done. + + O ne'er will I at life repine-- + Enough that thou hast made it mine; + When falls the shadow cold of death + I yet will sing with parting breath, + As comes to me or cloud or sun, + Father! thy will, not mine, be done. + + --Sarah Flower Adams. + + +ACCORDING TO THY WILL + + If I were told that I must die to-morrow, + That the next sun + Which sinks should bear me past all fear and sorrow + For any one, + All the fight fought, all the short journey through, + What should I do? + + I do not think that I should shrink or falter, + But just go on + Doing my work, nor change nor seek to alter + Aught that is gone; + But rise, and move, and love, and smile, and pray + For one more day. + + And lying down at night, for a last sleeping, + Say in that ear + Which harkens ever, "Lord, within thy keeping, + How should I fear? + And when to-morrow brings thee nearer still, + Do thou thy will." + + I might not sleep for awe; but peaceful, tender, + My soul would lie + All night long; and when the morning splendor + Flashed o'er the sky, + I think that I could smile--could calmly say, + "It is his day." + + But if a wondrous hand from the blue yonder + Held out a scroll + On which my life was writ, and I with wonder + Beheld unroll + To a long century's end its mystic clew-- + What should I do? + + What could I do, O blessed Guide and Master! + Other than this, + Still to go on as now, not slower, faster, + Nor fear to miss + The road, although so very long it be, + While led by thee? + + Step by step, feeling thee close beside me, + Although unseen; + Through thorns, through flowers, whether the tempest hide thee + Or heavens serene, + Assured thy faithfulness cannot betray, + Thy love decay. + + I may not know, my God; no hand revealeth + Thy counsels wise; + Along the path no deepening shadow stealeth; + No voice replies + To all my questioning thought the time to tell, + And it is well. + + Let me keep on, abiding and unfearing + Thy will always; + Through a long century's ripe fruition + Or a short day's; + Thou canst not come too soon; and I can wait + If thou come late! + + --Susan Coolidge. + + + God's in his heaven, + All's right with the world. + + --Robert Browning. + + +WHAT PLEASETH GOD + + What pleaseth God with joy receive; + Though storm-winds rage and billows heave + And earth's foundations all be rent, + Be comforted; to thee is sent + What pleaseth God. + + God's will is best; to this resigned, + How sweetly rests the weary mind! + Seek, then, this blessed conformity, + Desiring but to do and be + What pleaseth God. + + God's thoughts are wisest; human schemes + Are vain delusions, idle dreams; + Our purposes are frail and weak; + With earthly mind we seldom seek + What pleaseth God. + + God is the holiest; and his ways + Are full of kindness, truth, and grace; + His blessing crowns our earnest prayer, + While worldlings scorn, and little care + What pleaseth God. + + God's is the truest heart; his love + Nor time, nor life, nor death, can move; + To those his mercies daily flow, + Whose chief concern it is to know + What pleaseth God. + + Omnipotent he reigns on high + And watcheth o'er thy destiny; + While sea, and earth, and air produce + For daily pleasure, daily use, + What pleaseth God. + + He loves his sheep, and when they stray + He leads them back to wisdom's way; + Their faithless, wandering hearts to turn, + Gently chastising, till they learn + What pleaseth God. + + He knows our every need, and grants + A rich supply to all our wants; + No good withholds from those whose mind + Is bent with earnest zeal to find + What pleaseth God. + + Then let the world, with stubborn will, + Its earthborn pleasures follow still; + Be this, my soul, thy constant aim, + Thy riches, honor, glory, fame, + What pleaseth God. + + Should care and grief thy portion be, + To thy strong refuge ever flee; + For all his creatures but perform, + In peace and tumult, calm and storm, + What pleaseth God. + + Faith lays her hand on God's rich grace, + And hope gives patience for the race; + These virtues in thy heart enshrined, + Thy portion thou wilt surely find, + What pleaseth God. + + In heaven thy glorious portion is; + There is thy throne, thy crown, thy bliss; + There shalt thou taste, and hear, and see, + There shalt thou ever do and be, + What pleaseth God. + + --Paul Gerhardt. + + +"THE SPLENDOR OF GOD'S WILL" + + O words of golden music + Caught from the harps on high, + Which find a glorious anthem + Where we have found a sigh, + And peal their grandest praises + Just where ours faint and die. + + O words of holy radiance + Shining on every tear + Till it becomes a rainbow, + Reflecting, bright and clear, + Our Father's love and glory + So wonderful, so dear! + + O words of sparkling power, + Of insight full and deep! + Shall they not enter other hearts + In a grand and gladsome sweep, + And lift the lives to songs of joy + That only droop and weep? + + And O, it is a splendor, + A glow of majesty, + A mystery of beauty, + If we will only see; + A very cloud of glory + Enfolding you and me. + + A splendor that is lighted + At one transcendent flame, + The wondrous love, the perfect love, + Our Father's sweetest name; + For his very name and essence + And his will are all the same. + + --Frances Ridley Havergal. + + +NOT BY CHANCE + + No chance has brought this ill to me; + 'Tis God's sweet will, so let it be; + He seeth what I cannot see. + + There is a need-be for each pain, + And he will make it one day plain + That earthly loss is heavenly gain. + + Like as a piece of tapestry, + Viewed from the back, appears to be + Naught but threads tangled hopelessly, + + But in the front a picture fair + Rewards the worker for his care, + Proving his skill and patience rare. + + Thou art the workman, I the frame; + Lord, for the glory of thy name, + Perfect thine image on the same! + + +SUBMISSION TO GOD + + Whate'er God wills let that be done; + His will is ever wisest; + His grace will all thy hope outrun + Who to that faith arisest. + The gracious Lord + Will help afford; + He chastens with forbearing; + Who God believes, + And to him cleaves, + Shall not be left despairing. + + My God is my sure confidence, + My light, and my existence; + His counsel is beyond my sense, + But stirs no weak resistance; + His word declares + The very hairs + Upon my head are numbered; + His mercy large + Holds me in charge + With care that never slumbered. + + There comes a day when at his will + The pulse of nature ceases. + I think upon it, and am still, + Let come whate'er he pleases. + To him I trust + My soul, my dust, + When flesh and spirit sever; + The Christ we sing + Has plucked the sting + Away from death forever. + + --Albert of Brandenburg, 1586. + + +THY WILL BE DONE + + We see not, know not; all our way + Is night; with thee alone is day. + From out the torrent's troubled drift, + Above the storm our prayers we lift: + Thy will be done! + + The flesh may fail, the heart may faint. + But who are we to make complaint + Or dare to plead, in times like these, + The weakness of our love of ease? + Thy will be done! + + We take, with solemn thankfulness, + Our burden up, nor ask it less, + And count it joy that even we + May suffer, serve, or wait for thee, + Whose will be done! + + Though dim as yet in tint and line, + We trace thy picture's wise design, + And thank thee that our age supplies + Its dark relief of sacrifice. + Thy will be done! + + And if, in our unworthiness, + Thy sacrificial wine we press; + If from thy ordeal's heated bars + Our feet are seamed with crimson scars, + Thy will be done! + + If, for the age to come, this hour + Of trial hath vicarious power, + And, blest by thee, our present pain + Be liberty's eternal gain, + Thy will be done. + + Strike, thou the Master, we thy keys, + The anthem of the destinies! + The minor of thy loftier strain, + Our hearts shall breathe the old refrain, + Thy will be done! + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + There is no sense, as I can see, + In mortals such as you and me + A-faulting nature's wise intents + And locking horns with Providence. + + + It is no use to grumble and complain; + It's just as cheap and easy to rejoice; + When God sorts out the weather and sends rain-- + Why, rain's my choice. + + --James Whitcomb Riley. + + +THY WILL + + Not in dumb resignation + We lift our hands on high; + Not like the nerveless fatalist, + Content to do and die. + Our faith springs like the eagle + Who soars to meet the sun, + And cries, exulting, unto thee, + "O Lord, thy will be done!" + + Thy will! It bids the weak be strong; + It bids the strong be just; + No lip to fawn, no hand to beg, + No brow to seek the dust. + Wherever man oppresses man, + Beneath the liberal sun, + O Lord, be there! Thine arm make bare! + Thy righteous will be done! + + --John Hay. + + +AS GOD WILL + + All goeth but God's will! + The fairest garden flower + Fades after its brief hour + Of brightness. Still, + This is but God's good will. + + All goeth but God's will! + The brightest, dearest day + Doth swiftly pass away, + And darkest night + Succeeds the vision bright. + + But still strong-hearted be, + Yea, though the night be drear; + How sad and long soe'er + Its gloom may be, + This darkness, too, shall flee. + + Weep not yon grave beside! + Dear friend, he is not gone; + God's angel soon this stone + Shall roll aside. + Yea, death shall not abide! + + Earth's anguish, too, shall go, + O then be strong, my soul! + When sorrows o'er thee roll + Be still, and know + 'Tis God's will worketh so. + + Dear Lord and God, incline + Thine ear unto my call! + O grant me that in all, + This will of mine + May still be one with thine! + + Teach me to answer still, + Whate'er my lot may be, + To all thou sendest me, + Of good or ill; + "All goeth as God will." + + --Alice Williams. + + +THE SHADOW OF THE GREAT ROCK + + Sweet is the solace of thy love, + My heavenly Friend, to me, + While through the hidden way of faith + I journey home with thee, + Learning by quiet thankfulness + As a dear child to be. + + Though from the shadow of thy peace + My feet would often stray, + Thy mercy follows all my steps, + And will not turn away; + Yea, thou wilt comfort me at last + As none beneath thee may. + + No other comforter I need + If thou, O Lord, be mine; + Thy rod will bring my spirit low, + Thy fire my heart refine, + And cause me pain that none may feel + By other love than thine. + + Then in the secret of my soul, + Though hosts my peace invade, + Though through a waste and weary land + My lonely way be made, + Thou, even thou, wilt comfort me; + I need not be afraid. + + O there is nothing in the world + To weigh against thy will; + Even the dark times I dread the most + Thy covenant fulfill; + And when the pleasant morning dawns + I find thee with me still. + + Still in the solitary place + I would awhile abide. + Till with the solace of thy love + My soul is satisfied, + And all my hopes of happiness + Stay calmly at thy side. + + On thy compassion I repose + In weakness and distress; + I will not ask for greater ease + Lest I should love thee less, + It is a blessed thing for me + To need thy tenderness. + + --Anna Letitia Waring. + + +RABIA + + There was of old a Moslem saint + Named Rabia. On her bed she lay + Pale, sick, but uttered no complaint. + "Send for the holy men to pray." + And two were sent. The first drew near: + "The prayers of no man are sincere + Who does not bow beneath the rod, + And bear the chastening strokes of God." + Whereto the second, more severe: + "The prayers of no man are sincere + Who does not in the rod rejoice + And make the strokes he bears his choice." + Then she, who felt that in such pain + The love of self did still remain, + Answered, "No prayers can be sincere + When they from whose wrung hearts they fall + Are not as I am, lying here, + Who long since have forgotten all. + Dear Lord of love! There is no pain." + So Rabia, and was well again. + + --Edmund Clarence Stedman. + + +THREE STAGES OF PIETY + + Rabia, sick upon her bed, + By two saints was visited: + + Holy Malik, Hassan wise, + Men of mark in Moslem eyes. + + Hassan said: "Whose prayer is pure + Will God's chastisement _endure_." + + Malik, from a deeper sense, + Uttered his experience: + + "He who loves his Master's choice + Will in chastisement _rejoice_." + + Rabia saw some selfish will + In their maxims lingering still, + + And replied: "O men of grace! + He who sees his Master's face + + "Will not in his prayer recall + That he is chastised at all." + + --Arabian, tr. by James Freeman Clarke, from the German of Tholuck. + +(Rabia was a very holy Arabian woman who lived in the second century of +the Hegira, or the eighth century of our era.) + + +PRAYER'S GRACE + + Round holy Rabia's suffering bed + The wise men gathered, gazing gravely. + "Daughter of God!" the youngest said, + "Endure thy Father's chastening bravely; + They who have steeped their souls in prayer + Can any anguish calmly bear." + + She answered not, and turned aside, + Though not reproachfully nor sadly. + "Daughter of God!" the eldest cried, + "Sustain thy Father's chastening gladly; + They who have learned to pray aright + From pain's dark well draw up delight." + + Then spake she out: "Your words are fair; + But, oh, the truth lies deeper still. + I know not, when absorbed in prayer, + Pleasure or pain, or good or ill. + They who God's face can understand + Feel not the workings of his hand." + + --Monckton Milnes. + + +I LOVE THY WILL + + I love thy will, O God! + Thy blessèd, perfect will, + In which this once rebellious heart + Lies satisfied and still. + + I love thy will, O God! + It is my joy, my rest; + It glorifies my common task, + It makes each trial blest. + + I love thy will, O God! + The sunshine or the rain; + Some days are bright with praise, and some + Sweet with accepted pain. + + I love thy will, O God! + O hear my earnest plea, + That as thy will is done in heaven + It may be done in me! + + --Bessie Pegg MacLaughlin. + + + Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; + Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all. + + --Tr. by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + +DAILY BREAD + + I pray, with meek hands on my breast, + "Thy will be done, thy kingdom come," + But shouldst thou call my dear ones home + Should I still say, "'Tis best; + Thy will be done"? + + I cannot tell. I probe my heart + With sharpest instruments of pain, + And listen if the sweet refrain + Still wells up through the smart-- + "Thy will be done!" + + I cannot tell. I yield the quest, + Content if only day by day + My God shall give me grace to say, + "Father, thou knowest best; + Thy will be done!" + + He gives no strength for coming ill, + Until its advent. Then he rolls + His love in on his waiting souls, + Sure of their sweet "Thy will, + Thy will be done!" + + "Give us this day our daily bread"-- + So prayed the Christ, and so will I; + Father, my daily bread supply, + Or, if I go unfed, + "Thy will be done!" + + --Caroline Atherton Mason. + + +APPROACHES + + When thou turnest away from ill + Christ is this side of thy hill. + + When thou turnest towards good + Christ is walking in thy wood. + + When thy heart says, "Father, pardon!" + Then the Lord is in thy garden. + + When stern duty wakes to watch + Then his hand is on the latch. + + But when hope thy song doth rouse + Then the Lord is in the house. + + When to love is all thy wit + Christ doth at thy table sit. + + When God's will is thy heart's pole + Then is Christ thy very soul. + + --George Macdonald. + + +SUBMISSION + + But that thou art my wisdom, Lord, + And both mine eyes are thine. + My mind would be extremely stirred + For missing my design. + + Were it not better to bestow + Some place and power on me? + Then should thy praises with me grow, + And share in my degree. + + But when I thus dispute and grieve + I do resume my sight; + And, pilfering what I once did give, + Disseize thee of thy right. + + How know I, if thou shouldst me raise. + That I should then raise thee? + Perhaps great places and thy praise + Do not so well agree. + + Wherefore unto my gift I stand; + I will no more advise; + Only do thou lend me a hand, + Since thou hast both mine eyes. + + --George Herbert. + + +YOUTH'S WARNING + + Beware, exulting youth, beware, + When life's young pleasures woo, + That ere you yield yon shrine your heart, + And keep your conscience true! + For sake of silver spent to-day + Why pledge to-morrow's gold? + Or in hot blood implant remorse, + To grow when blood is cold? + If wrong you do, if false you play, + In summer among the flowers, + You must atone, you must repay, + In winter among the showers. + + To turn the balances of heaven + Surpasses mortal power; + For every white there is a black, + For every sweet a sour. + For every up there is a down, + For every folly shame, + And retribution follows guilt + As burning follows flame. + If wrong you do, if false you play, + In summer among the flowers, + You must atone, you must repay + In winter among the showers. + + --George Macdonald. + + +THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS + + I love thy skies, thy sunny mists, + Thy fields, thy mountains hoar, + Thy wind that bloweth where it lists; + Thy will, I love it more. + + I love thy hidden truth to seek + All round, in sea, on shore; + The arts whereby like gods we speak; + Thy will to me is more. + + I love thy men and women, Lord, + The children round thy door, + Calm thoughts that inward strength afford; + Thy will, O Lord, is more. + + But when thy will my life shall hold, + Thine to the very core, + The world which that same will did mold + I shall love ten times more. + + --George Macdonald. + + + No child of man may perish ere his time arrives; + A thousand arrows pierce him and he still survives; + But when the moment fixed in heaven's eternal will + Comes round, a single blade of yielding grass may kill. + + --From the Mahabharata, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + + God gives to man the power to strike or miss you; + It is not thy foe who did the thing. + The arrow from the bow may seem to issue, + But we know an archer drew the string. + + --Saadi, tr. by James Freeman Clarke. + + + On two days it steads not to run from thy grave: + The appointed and the unappointed day; + On the first neither balm nor physician can save, + Nor thee on the second the universe slay. + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + +ROUNDEL + + I do not know thy final will, + It is too good for me to know. + Thou willest that I mercy show, + That I take heed and do no ill, + That I the needy warm and fill, + Nor stones at any sinner throw; + But I know not thy final will, + It is too good for me to know. + + I know thy love unspeakable-- + For love's sake able to send woe! + To find thine own thou lost didst go, + And wouldst for men thy blood yet spill! + How should I know thy final will, + Godwise too good for me to know! + + --George Macdonald. + + + One prayer I have--all prayers in one-- + When I am wholly thine: + Thy will, my God, thy will be done, + And let that will be mine; + All-wise, almighty, and all-good, + In thee I firmly trust, + Thy ways, unknown or understood, + Are merciful and just. + + + Fear him, ye saints, and you will then + Have nothing else to fear; + Make you his service your delight, + He'll make your wants his care. + + + The best will is our Father's will, + And we may rest there calm and still; + O make it hour by hour thine own, + And wish for naught but that alone + Which pleases God. + + --Paul Gerhardt. + + + It is Lucifer, + The son of mystery; + And since God suffers him to be + He, too, is God's minister, + And labors for some good + By us not understood! + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + Rabbi Jehosha had the skill + To know that heaven is in God's will. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + + + +GOD'S PRESENCE + +POSSESSION, SATISFACTION, REFLECTION + + +THE SECRET OF HIS PRESENCE + + In the secret of his presence + I am kept from strife of tongues; + His pavilion is around me, + And within are ceaseless songs! + Stormy winds, his word fulfilling, + Beat without, but cannot harm, + For the Master's voice is stilling + Storm and tempest to a calm. + + In the secret of his presence + All the darkness disappears; + For a sun that knows no setting, + Throws a rainbow on my tears. + So the day grows ever lighter, + Broadening to the perfect noon; + So the day grows ever brighter, + Heaven is coming, near and soon. + + In the secret of his presence + Never more can foes alarm; + In the shadow of the Highest, + I can meet them with a psalm; + For the strong pavilion hides me, + Turns their fiery darts aside, + And I know, whate'er betides me, + I shall live because he died! + + In the secret of his presence + Is a sweet, unbroken rest; + Pleasures, joys, in glorious fullness, + Making earth like Eden blest; + So my peace grows deep and deeper, + Widening as it nears the sea, + For my Saviour is my keeper, + Keeping mine and keeping me! + + --Henry Burton. + + +EYESERVICE + + Eyeservice let me give + The while I live; + In shadow or in light, + By day or night, + With all my heart and skill-- + Eyeservice still! + + Yes, for the eyes I'll serve-- + Nor faint nor swerve-- + Are not the eyes of man, + That lightly scan, + But God's, that pierce and see + The whole of me! + + Beneath the farthest skies, + Where morning flies, + In heaven or in hell, + If I should dwell, + In dark or daylight fair, + The Eyes are there! + + No trembling fugitive, + Boldly I live + If, as in that pure sight, + I live aright, + Yielding with hand and will + Eyeservice still! + + --Amos R. Wells. + + +OMNIPRESENCE + + Lord of all being, throned afar, + Thy glory flames from sun and star; + Center and soul of every sphere, + Yet to each loving heart how near! + + Sun of our life, thy quickening ray + Sheds on our path the glow of day; + Star of our hope, thy softened light + Cheers the long watches of the night. + + Our midnight is thy smile withdrawn; + Our noontide is thy gracious dawn; + Our rainbow arch thy mercy's sign; + All, save the clouds of sin, are thine! + + Lord of all life, below, above, + Whose light is truth, whose warmth is love, + Before thy ever-blazing throne + We ask no luster of our own. + + Grant us thy truth to make us free, + And kindling hearts that burn for thee, + Till all thy living altars claim + One holy light, one heavenly flame. + + --Oliver Wendell Holmes. + + +THE CHERUBIC PILGRIM + + God's spirit falls on me as dew drops on a rose, + If I but like a rose my heart to him unclose. + + The soul wherein God dwells--what Church can holier be? + Becomes a walking tent of heavenly majesty. + + Lo! in the silent night a child to God is born, + And all is brought again that ere was lost or lorn. + + Could but thy soul, O man, become a silent night + God would be born in thee and set all things aright. + + Ye know God but as Lord, hence Lord his name with ye, + I feel him but as love, and Love his name with me. + + Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, + If he's not born in thee thy soul is all forlorn. + + The cross on Golgotha will never save thy soul, + The cross in thine own heart alone can make thee whole. + + Christ rose not from the dead, Christ still is in the grave + If thou for whom he died art still of sin the slave. + + In all eternity no tone can be so sweet + As where man's heart with God in unison doth beat. + + Whate'er thou lovest, man, that, too, become thou must; + God, if thou lovest God, dust, if thou lovest dust. + + Ah, would thy heart but be a manger for the birth, + God would once more become a child on earth. + + Immeasurable is the highest; who but knows it? + And yet a human heart can perfectly enclose it. + + --Johannes Scheffler. + + +THE LARGER VIEW + + In buds upon some Aaron's rod + The childlike ancient saw his God; + Less credulous, more believing, we + Read in the grass--Divinity. + + From Horeb's bush the Presence spoke + To earlier faiths and simpler folk; + But now each bush that sweeps our fence + Flames with the Awful Immanence! + + To old Zacchæus in his tree + What mattered leaves and botany? + His sycamore was but a seat + Whence he could watch that hallowed street. + + But now to us each elm and pine + Is vibrant with the Voice divine, + Not only from but in the bough + Our larger creed beholds him now. + + To the true faith, bark, sap, and stem + Are wonderful as Bethlehem; + No hill nor brook nor field nor herd + But mangers the Incarnate Word! + + Far be it from our lips to cast + Contempt upon the holy past-- + Whate'er the Finger writes we scan + In manger, prophecy, or man. + + Again we touch the healing hem + In Nazareth or Jerusalem; + We trace again those faultless years; + The cross commands our wondering tears. + + Yet if to us the Spirit writes + On Morning's manuscript and Night's, + In gospels of the growing grain, + Epistles of the pond and plain, + + In stars, in atoms, as they roll, + Each tireless round its occult pole, + In wing and worm and fin and fleece, + In the wise soil's surpassing peace-- + + Thrice ingrate he whose only look + Is backward focussed on the Book, + Neglectful what the Presence saith, + Though he be near as blood and breath! + + The only atheist is one + Who hears no Voice in wind or sun, + Believer in some primal curse, + Deaf in God's loving universe! + + --Frederic Lawrence Knowles. + + +STILL WITH THEE + + Still, still with thee, when purple morning breaketh, + When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee; + Fairer than morning, lovelier than daylight, + Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with thee. + + Alone with thee amid the mystic shadows, + The solemn hush of nature newly born; + Alone with thee in breathless adoration, + In the calm dew and freshness of the morn. + + As in the dawning o'er the waveless ocean + The image of the morning-star doth rest, + So in this stillness thou beholdest only + Thine image in the waters of my breast. + + Still, still with thee! as to each new born morning + A fresh and solemn splendor still is given, + So does this blessèd consciousness awaking + Breathe each day nearness unto thee and heaven. + + When sinks the soul, subdued by toil, to slumber, + Its closing eyes look up to thee in prayer; + Sweet the repose beneath thy wings o'ershading, + But sweeter still, to wake and find thee there. + + So shall it be at last, in that bright morning, + When the soul waketh, and life's shadows flee; + O in that hour, fairer than daylight dawning, + Shall rise the glorious thought--I am with thee. + + --Harriet Beecher Stowe. + + + There lives and works a soul in all things, + And that soul is God. + + --William Cowper. + + +THE ELIXIR + + Teach me, my God and King, + In all things thee to see, + And what I do, in anything, + To do it as for thee. + + A man that looks on glass + On it may stay his eye, + Or, if he pleaseth, through it pass + And then to heaven espy. + + All may of thee partake. + Nothing can be so mean + Which with this tincture (_for thy sake_) + Will not grow bright and clean. + + A servant with this clause + Makes drudgery divine. + Who sweeps a room as for thy laws + Makes that and th' action fine. + + This is the famous stone + That turneth all to gold; + For that which God doth touch and own + Cannot for less be told. + + --George Herbert. + + +GOD'S PRESENCE + + But God is never so far off + As even to be near. + He is within; our spirit is + The home he holds most dear. + + To think of him as by our side + Is almost as untrue + As to remove his throne beyond + Those skies of starry blue. + + So all the while I thought myself + Homeless, forlorn, and weary, + Missing my joy, I walked the earth, + Myself God's sanctuary. + + I come to thee once more, my God! + No longer will I roam; + For I have sought the wide world through + And never found a home. + + Though bright and many are the spots + Where I have built a nest-- + Yet in the brightest still I pined + For more abiding rest. + + For thou hast made this wondrous soul + All for thyself alone; + Ah! send thy sweet transforming grace + To make it more thine own. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +GOD IS MINE + + If God is mine then present things + And things to come are mine; + Yea, Christ, his word, and Spirit, too, + And glory all divine. + + If he is mine then from his love + He every trouble sends; + All things are working for my good, + And bliss his rod attends. + + If he is mine I need not fear + The rage of earth and hell; + He will support my feeble power, + Their utmost force repel. + + If he is mine let friends forsake, + Let wealth and honor flee; + Sure he who giveth me himself + Is more than these to me. + + If he is mine I'll boldly pass + Through death's tremendous vale; + He is a solid comfort when + All other comforts fail. + + Oh! tell me, Lord, that thou art mine; + What can I wish beside? + My soul shall at the fountain live, + When all the streams are dried. + + +A PRESENT SAVIOUR + + I have thee every hour, + Most gracious Lord, + That tender voice of thine + Doth peace afford. + + I have thee every hour, + Thou stay'st near by; + Temptations lose their power + Since thou art nigh. + + I have thee every hour, + In joy and pain; + With me thou dost abide, + And life is gain. + + I have thee every hour, + Teach me thy will; + All thy rich promises + Thou dost fulfill. + + I have thee every hour, + Most Holy One, + And I am thine indeed, + Thou blessed Son. + + --Annie S. Hawks, altered by J. M. + + +THE THOUGHT OF GOD + + The thought of God, the thought of thee, + Who liest near my heart, + And yet beyond imagined space + Outstretched and present art-- + + The thought of thee, above, below, + Around me and within, + Is more to me than health and wealth, + Or love of kith and kin. + + The thought of God is like the tree + Beneath whose shade I lie + And watch the fleet of snowy clouds + Sail o'er the silent sky. + + 'Tis like that soft invading light + Which in all darkness shines, + The thread that through life's somber web + In golden pattern twines. + + It is a thought which ever makes + Life's sweetest smiles from tears, + It is a daybreak to our hopes, + A sunset to our fears. + + Within a thought so great, our souls + Little and modest grow, + And, by its vastness awed, we learn + The art of walking slow. + + The wild flower on the grassy mound + Scarce bends its pliant form + When overhead the autumnal wood + Is thundering like a storm. + + So is it with our humbled souls, + Down in the thought of God, + Scarce conscious in their sober peace + Of the wild storms abroad. + + To think of thee is almost prayer, + And is outspoken praise; + And pain can even passive thoughts + To actual worship raise. + + All murmurs lie inside thy will + Which are to thee addressed; + To suffer for thee is our work, + To think of thee, our rest. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + + Let thy sweet presence light my way, + And hallow every cross I bear; + Transmuting duty, conflict, care, + Into love's service day by day. + + +OUR HEAVENLY FATHER + + My God, how wonderful thou art, + Thy majesty how bright, + How beautiful thy mercy seat + In depths of burning light! + + How dread are thine eternal years, + O everlasting Lord, + By prostrate spirits, day and night, + Incessantly adored. + + How beautiful, how beautiful + The sight of thee must be, + Thine endless wisdom, boundless power, + And awful purity! + + O how I fear thee, living God! + With deepest, tenderest fears, + And worship thee with trembling hope + And penitential tears. + + Yet I may love thee too, O Lord! + Almighty as thou art, + For thou hast stooped to ask of me + The love of this poor heart. + + Oh, then, this worse than worthless heart + In pity deign to take, + And make it love thee for thyself, + And for thy glory's sake. + + No earthly father loves like thee, + No mother half so mild + Bears and forbears, as thou hast done + With me, thy sinful child. + + Only to sit and think of God, + O what a joy it is! + To think the thought, to breathe the name-- + Earth has no higher bliss. + + Father of Jesus, love's Reward! + What rapture will it be, + Prostrate before thy throne to lie + And gaze, and gaze on thee! + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +RULES FOR DAILY LIFE + + Begin the day with God: + Kneel down to him in prayer; + Lift up thy heart to his abode + And seek his love to share. + + Open the Book of God, + And read a portion there; + That it may hallow all thy thoughts + And sweeten all thy care. + + Go through the day with God, + Whate'er thy work may be; + Where'er thou art--at home, abroad, + He still is near to thee. + + Converse in mind with God; + Thy spirit heavenward raise; + Acknowledge every good bestowed, + And offer grateful praise. + + Conclude the day with God: + Thy sins to him confess; + Trust in the Lord's atoning blood, + And plead his righteousness. + + Lie down at night with God, + Who gives his servants sleep; + And when thou tread'st the vale of death + He will thee guard and keep. + + +HE FILLS ALL + + All are but parts of one stupendous whole; + Whose body nature is, and God the soul; + That, changed through all, and yet in all the same; + Great in the earth as in th' ethereal frame; + Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, + Glows in the stars and blossoms in the trees; + Lives through all life, extends through all extent, + Spreads undivided, operates unspent; + Breathes in our souls, informs our mortal part, + As full, as perfect, in a hair as heart; + As full, as perfect, in vile man that mourns, + As the rapt seraph that adores and burns. + To him no high, no low, no great, no small, + He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all. + + * * * * * + + All nature is but art, unknown to thee; + All chance, direction which thou canst not see; + All discord, harmony not understood; + All partial evil, universal good; + And, spite of pride, in erring reason's spite, + One truth is clear--whatever is, is right. + + --Alexander Pope. + + +THE PRESENCE + + I sit within my room and joy to find + That thou who always lov'st art with me here; + That I am never left by thee behind, + But by thyself thou keep'st me ever near. + The fire burns brighter when with thee I look, + And seems a kindlier servant sent to me; + With gladder heart I read thy holy book, + Because thou art the eyes with which I see; + This aged chair, that table, watch, and door + Around in ready service ever wait; + Nor can I ask of thee a menial more + To fill the measure of my large estate; + For thou thyself, with all a Father's care, + Where'er I turn art ever with me there. + + --Jones Very. + + +BLESSED THOUGHT OF GOD + + One thought I have--my ample creed, + So deep it is and broad, + And equal to my every need-- + It is the thought of God. + + Each morn unfolds some fresh surprise, + I feast at life's full board; + And rising in my inner skies, + Shines forth the thought of God. + + At night my gladness is my prayer; + I drop my daily load, + And every care is pillowed there + Upon the thought of God. + + I ask not far before to see, + But take in trust my road; + Life, death, and immortality, + Are in my thought of God. + + To this their secret strength they owed + The martyr's path who trod; + The fountains of their patience flowed + From out their thought of God. + + Be still the light upon my way, + My pilgrim staff and rod, + My rest by night, my strength by day, + O blessed thought of God. + + --Frederick Lucian Hosmer. + + +EVENTIDE + + At cool of day with God I walk + My garden's grateful shade; + I hear his voice among the trees, + And I am not afraid. + + I see his presence in the night-- + And though my heart is awed + I do not quail before the sight + Or nearness of my God. + + He speaks to me in every wind, + He smiles from every star; + He is not deaf to me, nor blind, + Nor absent, nor afar. + + His hand, that shuts the flowers to sleep, + Each in its dewy fold, + Is strong my feeble life to keep, + And competent to hold. + + I cannot walk in darkness long, + My light is by my side; + I cannot stumble or go wrong + While following such a guide. + + He is my stay and my defense; + How shall I fail or fall? + My helper is Omnipotence! + My ruler ruleth all! + + The powers below and powers above + Are subject to his care; + I cannot wander from his love + Who loves me everywhere. + + Thus dowered, and guarded thus, with him + I walk this peaceful shade, + I hear his voice among the trees, + And I am not afraid. + + --Caroline Atherton Mason. + + + From cellar unto attic all is clean: + Nothing there is that need evade the eye; + All the dark places, by the world unseen, + Are as well ordered as what open lie. + + Ah! souls are houses; and to keep them well, + Nor, spring and autumn, mourn their wretched plight, + To daily toil must vigilance compel, + Right underneath God's scrutinizing light. + + +SAINTSHIP + + To heaven approached a Sufi saint, + From groping in the darkness late, + And, tapping timidly and faint, + Besought admission at God's gate. + + Said God, "Who seeks to enter here?" + "'Tis I, dear Friend," the saint replied, + And trembling much with hope and fear. + "If it be _thou_, without abide." + + Sadly to earth the poor saint turned, + To bear the scourging of life's rods; + But aye his heart within him yearned + To mix and lose its love in God's. + + He roamed alone through weary years, + By cruel men still scorned and mocked, + Until from faith's pure fires and tears + Again he rose, and modest knocked. + + Asked God: "Who now is at the door?" + "It is thyself, beloved Lord," + Answered the saint, in doubt no more, + But clasped and rapt in his reward. + + --From the Persian, tr. by William Rounseville Alger. + + +OPEN THOU OUR EYES + +(Luke 24. 15) + + And he drew near and talked with them, + But they perceived him not, + And mourned, unconscious of that light, + The gloom, the darkness, and the night + That wrapt his burial spot. + + Wearied with doubt, perplexed and sad, + They knew nor help nor guide; + While he who bore the secret key + To open every mystery, + Unknown was by their side. + + Thus often when we feel alone, + Nor help nor comfort near, + 'Tis only that our eyes are dim, + Doubting and sad we see not him + Who waiteth still to hear. + + "The darkness gathers overhead, + The morn will never come." + Did we but raise our downcast eyes, + In the white-flushing eastern skies + Appears the glowing sun. + + In all our daily joys and griefs + In daily work and rest, + To those who seek him Christ is near, + Our bliss to calm, to soothe our care, + In leaning on his breast. + + Open our eyes, O Lord, we pray, + To see our way, our Guide; + That by the path that here we tread, + We, following on, may still be led + In thy light to abide. + + +MAN + + My God, I heard this day + That none doth build a stately habitation + But he that means to dwell therein. + What house more stately hath there been, + Or can be, than is man? to whose creation + All things are in decay. + + More servants wait on man + Than he'll take notice of: in every path + He treads down that which doth befriend him, + When sickness makes him pale and wan. + O mighty love! man is one world, and hath + Another to attend him. + + For us the winds do blow, + The earth doth rest, heaven move, and fountains flow; + Nothing we see but means our good, + As our delight or as our treasure; + The whole is either cupboard of our food, + Or cabinet of pleasure. + + The stars have us to bed; + Night draws the curtain, which the sun withdraws; + Music and light attend our head; + All things unto our flesh are kind + In their descent and being; to our mind, + In their ascent and cause. + + Since then, my God, thou hast + So brave a palace built, O dwell in it + That it may dwell with thee at last. + Till then, afford us so much wit + That, as the world serves us, we may serve thee, + And both thy servants be. + + --George Herbert. + + +EVER WITH THEE + + I am with thee, my God-- + Where I desire to be: + By day, by night, at home, abroad, + I always am with thee. + + With thee when dawn comes on + And calls me back to care, + Each day returning to begin + With thee, my God, in prayer. + + With thee amid the crowd + That throngs the busy mart; + I hear thy voice, when time's is loud, + Speak softly to my heart. + + With thee when day is done + And evening calms the mind; + The setting as the rising sun + With thee my heart shall find. + + With thee when darkness brings + The signal of repose; + Calm in the shadow of thy wings + Mine eyelids gently close. + + With thee, in thee, by faith + Abiding I shall be; + By day, by night, in life, in death, + I always am with thee. + + --James D. Burns, altered by J. M. + + +SELF-EXAMINATION + + By all means use sometime to be alone. + Salute thyself: see what thy soul doth wear. + Dare to look in thy chest; for 'tis thine own; + And tumble up and down what thou findst there. + Who cannot rest till he good fellows find, + He breaks up homes, turns out of doors his mind. + + Sum up by night what thou hast done by day; + And in the morning, what thou hast to do. + Dress and undress thy soul; mark the decay + And growth of it; if, with thy watch, that too + Be down, then wind up both; since we shall be + Most surely judged, make thy accounts agree. + + --George Herbert. + + +"SHOW ME THY FACE" + + Show me thy face-- + One transient gleam + Of loveliness divine + And I shall never think or dream + Of other love save thine. + All lesser light will darken quite, + All lower glories wane; + The beautiful of earth will scarce + Seem beautiful again! + + Show me thy face-- + My faith and love + Shall henceforth fixèd be, + And nothing here have power to move + My soul's serenity. + My life shall seem a trance, a dream, + And all I feel and see + Illusive, visionary--thou + The one reality. + + Show me thy face-- + I shall forget + The weary days of yore; + The fretting ghosts of vain regret + Shall haunt my soul no more; + All doubts and fears for future years + In quiet rest subside, + And naught but blest content and calm + Within my breast reside. + + Show me thy face-- + The heaviest cross + Will then seem light to bear; + There will be gain in every loss, + And peace with every care. + With such light feet + The years will fleet, + Life seem as brief as blest, + Till I have laid my burden down + And entered into rest. + + Show me thy face-- + And I shall be + In heart and mind renewed; + With wisdom, grace, and energy + To work thy work endued. + Shine clear, though pale, + Behind the veil + Until, the veil removed, + In perfect glory I behold + The Face that I have loved! + + + I stand in the great Forever, + All things to me are divine; + I eat of the heavenly manna, + I drink of the heavenly wine. + + +LISTENING FOR GOD + + I hear it often in the dark, + I hear it in the light: + Where _is_ the voice that calls to me + With such a quiet might? + It seems but echo to my thought, + And yet beyond the stars; + It seems a heart-beat in a hush, + And yet the planet jars. + + O may it be that, far within + My inmost soul, there lies + A spirit-sky that opens with + Those voices of surprise? + And can it be, by night and day, + That firmament serene + Is just the heaven where God himself, + The Father, dwells unseen? + + O God within, so close to me + That every thought is plain, + Be judge, be friend, be Father still, + And in thy heaven reign! + Thy heaven is mine, my very soul! + Thy words are sweet and strong; + They fill my inward silences + With music and with song. + + They send me challenges to right, + And loud rebuke my ill; + They ring my bells of victory, + They breathe my "Peace, be still!" + They even seem to say: "My child, + Why seek me so all day? + Now journey inward to thyself, + And listen by the way." + + --William C. Gannett. + + +ALLAH'S HOUSE + + Nanac the faithful, pausing once to pray, + From holy Mecca turned his face away; + A Moslem priest who chanced to see him there, + Forgetful of the attitude in prayer, + Cried "Infidel, how durst thou turn thy feet + Toward Allah's house--the sacred temple seat?" + To whom the pious Nanac thus replied: + "Knowest thou God's house is, as the world is, wide? + Then, turn thee, if thou canst, toward any spot + Where mighty Allah's awful house is not." + + --Frank Dempster Sherman. + + +IF THE LORD SHOULD COME + + If the Lord should come in the morning, + As I went about my work-- + The little things and the quiet things + That a servant cannot shirk, + Though nobody ever sees them, + And only the dear Lord cares + That they always are done in the light of the sun-- + Would he take me unawares? + + If my Lord should come at noonday-- + The time of the dust and heat, + When the glare is white and the air is still + And the hoof-beats sound in the street; + If my dear Lord came at noonday, + And smiled in my tired eyes, + Would it not be sweet his look to meet? + Would he take me by surprise? + + If my Lord came hither at evening, + In the fragrant dew and dusk, + When the world drops off its mantle + Of daylight, like a husk, + And flowers, in wonderful beauty, + And we fold our hands in rest, + Would his touch of my hand, his low command, + Bring me unhoped-for zest? + + Why do I ask and question? + He is ever coming to me, + Morning and noon and evening, + If I have but eyes to see. + And the daily load grows lighter, + The daily cares grow sweet, + For the Master is near, the Master is here, + I have only to sit at his feet. + + --Margaret Elizabeth Sangster. + + + The day is long and the day is hard; + We are tired of the march and of keeping guard; + Tired of the sense of a fight to be won, + Of days to live through, and of work to be done; + Tired of ourselves and of being alone. + + And all the while, did we only see, + We walk in the Lord's own company; + We fight, but 'tis he who nerves our arm; + He turns the arrows which else might harm, + And out of the storm he brings a calm. + + --Susan Coolidge. + + +COME TO ME + + Come to me, come to me, O my God; + Come to me everywhere. + Let the trees mean thee, and the grassy sod, + And the water and the air. + + For thou art so far that I often doubt, + As on every side I stare, + Searching within and looking without, + If thou canst be anywhere. + + How did men find thee in days of old? + How did they grow so sure? + They fought in thy name, they were glad and bold, + They suffered and kept themselves pure. + + But now they say--neither above the sphere + Nor down in the heart of man, + But only in fancy, ambition, and fear, + The thought of thee began. + + If only that perfect tale were true + Which ages have not made old, + Of the endless many makes one anew, + And simplicity manifold! + + But he taught that they who did his word, + The truth of it sure would know; + I will try to do it--if he be Lord + Again the old faith will glow. + + Again the old spirit-wind will blow + That he promised to their prayer; + And obeying the Son, I too shall know + His Father everywhere. + + --George Macdonald. + + + Out of the hardness of heart and of will + Out of the longings which nothing could fill; + Out of the bitterness, madness, and strife, + Out of myself and all I called life, + Into the having of all things with Him! + Into an ecstacy full to the brim! + Wonderful loveliness, draining my cup! + Wonderful purpose that ne'er gave me up! + Wonderful patience, enduring and strong! + Wonderful glory to which I belong! + + +IF I HIM BUT HAVE + + If I Him but have, + If he be but mine-- + If my heart, hence to the grave, + Ne'er forgets his love divine-- + Know I naught of sadness, + Feel I naught but worship, love, and gladness. + + If I Him but have, + Glad with all I part; + Follow on my pilgrim staff, + My Lord, only, with true heart; + Leave them, nothing saying, + On broad, bright, and crowded highways straying. + + If I Him but have, + Glad I fall asleep; + Aye the flood that his heart gave + Strength within my heart shall keep; + And with soft compelling + Make it tender, through and through it swelling. + + If I Him but have, + Mine the world I hail! + Glad as cherub smiling, grave, + Holding back the Virgin's veil. + Sunk and lost in seeing, + Earthly cares have died from all my being. + + Where I have but Him + Is my Fatherland, + And all gifts and graces come + Heritage into my hand; + Brothers long deplored + I in his disciples find restored. + + --George Macdonald. + + + Quiet from God! How beautiful to keep + This treasure the All-merciful hath given; + To feel, when we awake or when we sleep, + Its incense round us like a breath from heaven. + + To sojourn in the world, and yet apart; + To dwell with God, and still with man to feel; + To bear about forever in the heart + The gladness which his spirit doth reveal. + + --Sarah J. Williams. + + +HIS CHOSEN ONES + + Some souls there are, beloved of God, + Who, following where the saints have trod, + Learn such surrender of the will + They seem insensible of ill. + + Yet, finely strung and sensitive, + They live far more than others live, + And grief's and pain's experience + Must be to them far more intense. + + O mystery--that such can know + A life impregnable to woe! + O paradox that God alone + In secret proveth to his own! + + It must be that supremest grace + So nerves them for the heavenly race + Their litanies are turned to psalms, + Their crosses, even here, to palms. + + --Harriet McEwen Kimball. + + + When, courting slumber, + The hours I number, + And sad cares cumber + My weary mind, + This thought shall cheer me: + That thou art near me, + Whose ear to hear me + Is still inclined. + + My soul thou keepest, + Who never sleepest; + 'Mid gloom the deepest + There's light above; + Thine eyes behold me, + Thine arms enfold me; + Thy word has told me + That God is love. + + + We are not angels, but we may + Down in earth's corners kneel, + And multiply sweet acts of love, + And murmur what we feel. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + + Through thee, meseems, the very rose is red, + From thee the violet steals its breath in May, + From thee draw life all things that grow not gray, + And by thy force the happy stars are sped. + + --James Russell Lowell. + + +COME TO US, LORD + + Come to us, Lord, as the daylight comes + When the darkling night has gone, + And the quickened East is tremulous + With the thrill of the wakened dawn. + + Come to us, Lord, as the tide comes on + With the waves from the distant sea; + Come, till our desert places smile, + And our souls are filled with thee. + + + There are in this loud, stunning tide + Of human care and crime, + With whom the melodies abide + Of th' everlasting chime! + Who carry music in their heart + Through dusky lane and wrangling mart, + Plying their daily task with busier feet + Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat. + + --John Keble. + + + Earth's crammed with heaven, + And every common bush afire with God; + But only he who sees takes off his shoes. + The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries, + And daub their natural faces unaware + More and more from the first similitude. + + --Elizabeth Barrett Browning. + + + O Name all other names above, + What art thou not to me, + Now I have learned to trust thy love + And cast my care on thee! + The thought of thee all sorrow calms; + Our anxious burdens fall; + His crosses turn to triumph palms + Who finds in God his all. + + --Frederick Lucian Hosmer. + + + Far off thou art, but ever nigh, + I have thee still, and I rejoice, + I prosper circled with thy voice; + I shall not lose thee though I die. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + Let the Loved One but smile on this poor heart of mine, + I will sell the two worlds for one drop of his wine. + + --From the Persian. + + +CONFIDENCE + + Thy presence, Lord, the place doth fill, + My heart is now thy throne, + Thy holy, just and perfect will + Now in my flesh is done. + + My steadfast soul, from falling free, + Doth now no longer rove, + For Christ is all the world to me + And all my heart is love. + + --Charles Wesley, altered by J. M. + + + Two worlds are ours; 'tis only sin + Forbids us to descry + The mystic heaven and earth within + Plain as the sea and sky. + + Thou who hast given me eyes to see + And love this sight so fair, + Give me a heart to find out thee, + And read thee everywhere. + + --John Keble. + + + Speak to him, thou, for he hears, + And spirit with spirit can meet; + Closer is he than breathing, + And nearer than hands and feet. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + Heaven above is softer blue, + Earth around is sweeter green, + Something lives in every hue + Christless eyes have never seen. + + Birds with gladder songs o'erflow, + Flowers with deeper beauties shine; + Since I knew, as now I know, + I am his and he is mine. + + + Unheard, because our ears are dull, + Unseen, because our eyes are dim, + He walks the earth, the Wonderful, + And all good deeds are done to him. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + Where'er I look one Face alone I see, + With every attribute of beauty in it blent; + Still, still the Godhead's face entrances me, + Yielding transcendency of all that can be spent. + + --From the Persian. + + +IMMANENCE + + Not only in the cataract and the thunder + Or in the deeps of man's uncharted soul, + But in the dew-star dwells alike the wonder + And in the whirling dust-mite the control. + + --Charles G. D. Roberts. + + + 'Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours + And ask them what report they bore to heaven. + + --Edward Young. + + + A governed heart, thinking no thought but good, + Makes crowded houses holy solitude. + + --Edwin Arnold. + + + But where will God be absent; in his face + Is light, and in his shadow healing, too. + + --Robert Browning. + + + And good may ever conquer ill, + Health walk where pain has trod; + "As a man thinketh, so is he"; + Rise, then, and think with God. + + + God is law, say the wise; O Soul, and let us rejoice, + For, if He thunder by law, the thunder is yet his voice. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + Whatever road I take, it joins the street + Which leadeth all who walk it thee to meet. + + + O work thy works in God. + He can rejoice in naught + Save only in himself + And what himself hath wrought. + + + To live, to live, is life's great joy; to feel + The living God within--to look abroad, + And, in the beauty that all things reveal, + Still meet the living God. + + --Robert Leighton. + + + + +JESUS + +HIS PRECIOUSNESS, AND BEAUTY, AND LOVE + + +OUR MASTER + + Immortal Love, forever full, + Forever flowing free, + Forever shared, forever whole, + A never-ebbing sea! + + No fable old, nor mythic lore, + Nor dream of bards and seers, + No dead fact stranded on the shore + Of the oblivious years;-- + + But warm, sweet, tender, even yet + A present help is he; + And faith has still its Olivet, + And love its Galilee. + + The healing of his seamless dress + Is by our beds of pain; + We touch him in life's throng and press, + And we are whole again. + + Through him the first fond prayers are said + Our lips of childhood frame, + The last low whispers of our dead + Are burdened with his name. + + O Lord and Master of us all! + Whate'er our name or sign, + We own thy sway, we hear thy call, + We test our lives by thine. + + We faintly hear, we dimly see, + In differing phrase we pray; + But, dim or clear, we own in thee + The Light, the Truth, the Way! + + To do thy will is more than praise, + As words are less than deeds, + And simple trust can find thy ways + We miss with chart of creeds. + + No pride of self thy service hath, + No place for me and mine; + Our human strength is weakness, death, + Our life, apart from thine. + + Apart from thee all gain is loss, + All labor vainly done; + The solemn shadow of thy cross + Is better than the sun. + + Alone, O Love, ineffable! + Thy saving name is given: + To turn aside from thee is hell, + To walk with thee is heaven. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +MY HEART IS FIXED + + I'll not leave Jesus,--never, never! + Ah, what can more precious be? + Rest and joy and light are ever + In his hand to give to me. + All things that can satisfy, + Having Jesus, those have I. + + Love has bound me fast unto him, + I am his and he is mine; + Daily I for pardon sue him, + Answers he with peace divine. + On that Rock my trust is laid, + And I rest beneath its shade. + + Without Jesus earth would weary, + Seem almost like hell to be; + But if Jesus I see near me + Earth is almost heaven to me. + Am I hungry, he doth give + Bread on which my soul can live. + + Spent with him, one little hour + Giveth a year's worth of gain; + Grace and peace put forth their power + Joy doth wholly banish pain; + One faith-glance that findeth him + Maketh earthly crowns look dim. + + O how light upon my shoulder + Lies my cross, now grown so small! + For the Lord is my upholder, + Fits it to me, softens all; + Neither shall it always stay, + Patience, it will pass away. + + Those who faithfully go forward + In his changeless care shall go, + Nothing's doubtful or untoward, + To the flock who Jesus know. + Jesus always is the same; + True and faithful is his name. + + +CHRIST'S SYMPATHY + + If Jesus came to earth again, + And walked and talked in field and street, + Who would not lay his human pain + Low at those heavenly feet? + + And leave the loom, and leave the lute, + And leave the volume on the shelf, + To follow him, unquestioning, mute, + If 'twere the Lord himself? + + How many a brow with care o'erworn, + How many a heart with grief o'er-laden, + How many a man with woe forlorn, + How many a mourning maiden, + + Would leave the baffling earthly prize, + Which fails the earthly weak endeavor, + To gaze into those holy eyes + And drink content forever! + + His sheep along the cool, the shade, + By the still watercourse he leads; + His lambs upon his breast are laid; + His hungry ones he feeds. + + And I where'er he went would go, + Nor question where the paths might lead; + Enough to know that here below + I walked with God indeed! + + If it be thus, O Lord of mine, + In absence is thy love forgot? + And must I, when I walk, repine + Because I see thee not? + + If this be thus, if this be thus, + Since our poor prayers yet reach thee, Lord, + Since we are weak, once more to us + Reveal the living Word! + + O nearer to me, in the dark, + Of life's low house, one moment stand; + And give me keener eyes to mark + The moving of thy hand. + + --Edward Bulwer Lytton. + + + There's not a craving in the mind + Thou dost not meet and still; + There's not a wish the heart can have + Which thou dost not fulfill. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +FINDING ALL IN JESUS + + O Love that wilt not let me go, + I rest my weary soul on thee; + I give thee back the life I owe, + That in thine ocean depth its flow + May richer, fuller be. + + O Light that followest all my way, + I yield my flickering torch to thee; + My heart restores its borrowed ray, + That in thy sunshine's blaze its day + May brighter, fairer be. + + O Joy that seekest me through pain, + I cannot close my heart to thee; + I trace the rainbow through the rain, + And feel the promise is not vain, + That morn shall tearless be. + + O Cross that liftest up my head, + I dare not ask to fly from thee; + I lay in dust life's glory dead, + And from the ground there blossoms red + Life that shall endless be. + + --George Matheson. + + +EAST LONDON + + 'Twas August, and the fierce sun overhead + Smote on the squalid streets of Bethnal Green, + And the pale weaver, through his windows seen + In Spitalfields, look'd thrice dispirited. + + I met a preacher there I knew, and said: + "Ill and o'erworked, how fare you in this scene?" + "Bravely!" said he; "for I of late have been + Much cheered with thoughts of Christ, _the living bread_." + + O human soul! as long as thou canst so + Set up a mark of everlasting light + Above the howling senses' ebb and flow + To cheer thee, and to right thee if thou roam-- + Not with lost toil thou laborest thro' the night! + Thou mak'st the heaven thou hop'st indeed thy home. + + --Matthew Arnold. + + +PRECIOUSNESS OF CHRIST + + Jesus, the very thought of thee + With sweetness fills the breast; + But sweeter far thy face to see, + And in thy presence rest. + + No voice can sing, no heart can frame, + Nor can the memory find, + A sweeter sound than thy blest name, + O Saviour of mankind! + + O hope of every contrite heart! + O joy of all the meek! + To those who ask how kind thou art, + How good to those who seek! + + But what to those who find? Ah, this + Nor tongue nor pen can show; + The love of Jesus, what it is, + None but his loved ones know. + + Jesus, our only joy be thou, + As thou our prize wilt be; + In thee be all our glory now, + And through eternity. + + --Bernard of Clairvaux, tr. by Edward Caswall. + + +A LITTLE TALK WITH JESUS + + A little talk with Jesus, + How it smooths the rugged road! + How it seems to help me onward, + When I faint beneath my load; + When my heart is crushed with sorrow, + And my eyes with tears are dim, + There is naught can yield me comfort + Like a little talk with him. + + Ah, this is what I'm wanting-- + His lovely face to see; + And, I'm not afraid to say it, + I know he's wanting me. + He gave his life my ransom, + To make me all his own, + And he'll ne'er forget his promise + To me his purchased one. + + I cannot live without him, + Nor would I if I could; + He is my daily portion, + My medicine and food. + He's altogether lovely, + None can with him compare; + Chiefest among ten thousand, + And fairest of the fair. + + So I'll wait a little longer, + Till his appointed time, + And along the upward pathway + My pilgrim feet shall climb. + There in my Father's dwelling, + Where many mansions be, + I shall sweetly talk with Jesus, + And he will talk with me. + + +NOTHING TO WISH OR TO FEAR + + His name yields the richest perfume, + And sweeter than music his voice; + His presence disperses my gloom, + And makes all within me rejoice; + I should, were he always thus nigh, + Have nothing to wish or to fear; + No mortal so happy as I, + My summer would last all the year. + + Content with beholding his face, + My all to his pleasure resigned, + No changes of season or place + Would make any change in my mind; + While blest with a sense of his love + A palace a toy would appear; + And prisons would palaces prove + If Jesus would dwell with me there. + + --John Newton. + + +THE HEART OF GOD + + There is no love like the love of Jesus, + Never to fade or fall + Till into the fold of the peace of God + He has gathered us all. + + There is no heart like the heart of Jesus, + Filled with a tender lore; + Not a throb or throe our hearts can know + But he suffered before. + + There is no voice like the voice of Jesus; + Ah! how sweet its chime, + Like the musical ring of some rushing spring + In the summer-time! + + O might we listen that voice of Jesus! + O might we never roam + Till our souls should rest, in peace, on his breast, + In the heavenly home! + + --W. E. Littlewood. + + +THE TOUCH + + "He touched her hand, and the fever left her." + He touched her hand as he only can, + With the wondrous skill of the Great Physician, + With the tender touch of the Son of man, + And the fever-pain in the throbbing temples + Died out with the flush on brow and cheek, + And the lips that had been so parched and burning + Trembled with thanks that she could not speak, + And the eyes where the fever light had faded + Looked up, by her grateful tears made dim, + And she rose and ministered in her household; + She rose and ministered unto him. + + "He touched her hand, and the fever left her." + O blessed touch of the Man divine! + So beautiful to arise and serve him + When the fever is gone from your life and mine. + It may be the fever of restless serving + With heart all thirsty for love and praise, + And eyes all aching and strained with yearning + Toward self-set goals in the future days. + Or it may be fever of spirit anguish, + Some tempest of sorrow that does not down, + Till the cross at last is in meekness lifted + And the head stoops low for the thorny crown. + Or it may be a fever of pain and anger, + When the wounded spirit is hard to bear, + And only the Lord can draw forth the arrows + Left carelessly, cruelly rankling there. + + Whatever the fever, his touch can heal it; + Whatever the tempest, his voice can still. + There is only a rest as we seek his pleasure, + There is only a rest as we choose his will. + And some day, after life's fitful fever, + I think we shall say, in the home on high, + "If the hands that he touched but did his bidding, + How little it matters what else went by!" + Ah, Lord, Thou knowest us altogether, + Each heart's sore sickness, whatever it be; + Touch thou our hands! Let the fever leave us, + And so shall we minister unto thee! + + +JESUS OUR JOY + + Jesus, thou Joy of loving hearts! + Thou Fount of life! thou Light of men! + From the best bliss that earth imparts + We turn, unfilled, to thee again. + + Thy truth unchanged hath ever stood; + Thou savest those that on thee call; + To them that seek thee thou art good, + To them that find thee, all in all. + + We taste thee, O thou Living Bread, + And long to feast upon thee still; + We drink of thee, the Fountain Head, + And thirst our souls from thee to fill! + + Our restless spirits yearn for thee + Where'er our changeful lot is cast; + Glad, when thy gracious smile we see, + Blest, when our faith can hold thee fast. + + O Jesus, ever with us stay; + Make all our moments calm and bright; + Chase the dark night of sin away; + Shed o'er the world thy holy light. + + --Bernard of Clairvaux, tr. by Ray Palmer. + + +FRIEND OF SOULS + + O Friend of souls! how blest the time + When in thy love I rest! + When from my weariness I climb + E'en to thy tender breast! + The night of sorrow endeth there, + Thy rays outshine the sun; + And in thy pardon and thy care + The heaven of heavens is won. + + The world may call itself my foe, + Or flatter and allure, + I care not for the world--I go + To this tried friend and sure. + And when life's fiercest storms are sent + Upon life's wildest sea, + My little bark is confident + Because it holdeth thee. + + When the law threatens endless death + Upon the awful hill, + Straightway from her consuming breath + My soul goes higher still-- + Goeth to Jesus, wounded, slain, + And maketh him her home, + Whence she will not go out again, + And where death cannnot come. + + I do not fear the wilderness-- + Where thou hast been before; + Nay, rather will I daily press + After thee, near thee, more. + Thou art my food, on thee I lean; + Thou makest my heart sing; + And to thy heavenly pastures green + All thy dear flock dost bring. + + And if the gate that opens there + Be dark to other men, + It is not dark to those who share + The heart of Jesus then. + That is not losing much of life + Which is not losing thee, + Who art as present in the strife + As in the victory. + + To others death seems dark and grim, + But not, O Lord, to me; + I know thou ne'er forsakest him + Who puts his trust in thee. + Nay, rather with a joyful heart + I welcome the release + From this dark desert, and depart + To thy eternal peace. + + --Wolfgang C. Dessler. + + +MY LORD AND I + + I have a Friend so precious, + So very dear to me, + He loves me with such tender love, + He loves so faithfully, + I could not live apart from him, + I love to feel him nigh; + And so we dwell together, + My Lord and I. + + Sometimes I'm faint and weary; + He knows that I am weak, + And as he bids me lean on him + His help I gladly seek; + He leads me in the paths of light + Beneath a sunny sky, + And so we walk together, + My Lord and I. + + He knows how much I love him, + He knows I love him well, + But with what love he loveth me + My tongue can never tell. + It is an everlasting love + In ever rich supply, + And so we love each other, + My Lord and I. + + I tell him all my sorrows, + I tell him all my joys, + I tell him all that pleases me, + I tell him what annoys. + He tells me what I ought to do, + He tells me how to try, + And so we talk together, + My Lord and I. + + He knows how I am longing + Some weary soul to win, + And so he bids me go and speak + The loving word for him. + He bids me tell his wondrous love, + And why he came to die, + And so we work together, + My Lord and I. + + I have his yoke upon me, + And easy 'tis to bear; + In the burden which he carries + I gladly take a share; + For then it is my happiness + To have him always nigh; + We bear the yoke together, + My Lord and I. + + --L. Shorey. + + + Ever, when tempted, make me see, + Beneath the olive's moon-pierced shade, + My God alone, outstretched and bruised, + And bleeding on the earth he made; + And make me feel it was my sin, + As though no other sin there were, + That was to him who bears the world + A load that he could scarcely bear. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +JESUS ALL-SUFFICIENT + + If only he is mine-- + If but this poor heart + Never more, in grief or joy, + May from him depart, + Then farewell to sadness; + All I feel is love, and hope, and gladness. + + If only he is mine, + Then from all below, + Leaning on my pilgrim staff, + Gladly forth I go + From the crowd who follow, + In the broad, bright road, their pleasures false and hollow. + + If only he is mine, + Then all else is given; + Every blessing lifts my eyes + And my heart to heaven. + Filled with heavenly love, + Earthly hopes and fears no longer tempt to move. + + There, when he is mine, + Is my Fatherland, + And my heritage of bliss + Cometh from his hand. + Now I find again, + In his people, love long lost, and mourned in vain. + + --Novalis. + + +JESUS SUPREME + + Be thou supreme, Lord Jesus Christ, + Live o'er again in me, + That, filled with love, I may become + A Christ in my degree. + + Be thou supreme, Lord Jesus Christ, + My inmost being fill; + So shall I think as thou dost think, + And will as thou dost will. + + Be thou supreme, Lord Jesus Christ, + Thy life transfigure mine; + And through this veil of mortal flesh + Here may thy glory shine. + + Be thou supreme, Lord Jesus Christ, + Thy love's constraint I feel, + Thy cross I see, and mind and heart + Obey its mute appeal. + + Be thou supreme, Lord Jesus Christ, + And when this life is o'er + May I be with thee where thou art, + Like thee, forever more. + + +ALL FOR JESUS + + What shall I sing for thee, + My Lord and Light? + What shall I bring to thee, + Master, to-night? + O for the strong desire! + O for the touch of fire! + Then shall my tuneful lyre + Praise thee aright. + + Thou hast given all for me, + Saviour divine! + I would give all to thee, + Evermore thine! + Let my heart cling to thee, + Let my lips sing for thee, + Let me just bring to thee + All that is mine! + + Didst thou not die for me, + Ransom for sin? + Ascending on high for me, + Pleading within? + All shall be dross for thee, + All shall be loss for thee, + Welcome the cross for thee + I, too, shall win! + + What can I do for thee, + Glorious Friend? + Let me be true to thee + Right to the end! + Close to thy bleeding side, + Washed in the crimson tide, + On till the waves divide, + Till I ascend! + + Then a still sweeter song, + Jesus, I'll bring; + Up 'mid the ransomed throng + Thee will I sing! + Never to leave thee now, + Never to grieve thee now, + Low at thy feet to bow, + Wonderful King! + + --Henry Burton. + + +CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE + + O who like thee, so calm, so bright, + Lord Jesus Christ, thou Light of light; + O who like thee did ever go + So patient through a world of woe? + O who like thee so humbly bore + The scorn, the scoffs of men, before; + So meek, so lowly, yet so high, + So glorious in humility? + + Through all thy lifelong weary years, + A Man of sorrows and of tears, + The cross, where all our sins were laid, + Upon thy bending shoulders weighed; + And death, that sets the prisoner free, + Was pang and scoff and scorn to thee; + Yet love through all thy torture glowed, + And mercy with thy life-blood flowed. + + O wondrous Lord, our souls would be + Still more and more conformed to thee! + Would lose the pride, the taint of sin, + That burns these fevered veins within? + And learn of thee, the lowly One, + And, like thee, all our journey run, + Above the world, and all its mirth, + Yet weeping still with weeping earth. + + Be with us as we onward go; + Illumine all our way of woe; + And grant us ever on the road + To trace the footsteps of our God; + That when thou shalt appear, arrayed + In light, to judge the quick and dead, + We may to life immortal soar + Through thee, who livest evermore. + + --Arthur Cleveland Coxe. + + +IT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE + + It passeth knowledge, that dear love of thine, + My Jesus! Saviour! Yet this soul of mine + Would of that love in all its depth and length, + Its height and breadth and everlasting strength, + Know more and more. + + It passeth telling, that dear love of thine, + My Jesus! Saviour! yet these lips of mine + Would fain proclaim to sinners far and near + A love which can remove all guilty fear, + And love beget. + + It passeth praises, that dear love of thine, + My Jesus! Saviour! yet this heart of mine + Would sing a love so rich, so full, so free, + Which brought an undone sinner, such as me, + Right home to God. + + But ah! I cannot tell, or sing, or know, + The fulness of that love whilst here below, + Yet my poor vessel I may freely bring; + O thou who art of love the living spring, + My vessel fill. + + I _am_ an empty vessel! scarce one thought + Or look of love to thee I've ever brought; + Yet, I may come and come again to thee + With this--the contrite sinner's truthful plea-- + "_Thou lovest me!_" + + Oh! _fill_ me, Jesus! Saviour! with thy love! + My woes but drive me to the fount above: + Thither may I in childlike faith draw nigh, + And never to another fountain fly + But unto thee! + + And when, my Jesus, thy dear face I see, + When at that lofty throne I bend the knee, + Then of thy love--in all its breadth and length, + Its height and depth, and everlasting strength-- + My soul shall sing. + + --Mary Shekelnot. + + +SEEING JESUS + + I would see Jesus. As I muse, and, thinking, + Grow amazed--bewildered with a strange delight, + My faith is roused, my spirit seemeth drinking + A foretaste of that ever-longed-for sight. + + I know that I _shall_ see him; in that hour + When he from fleshly bonds release doth give, + Earth's mists dispersing at his word of power, + Then shall I look upon my God and live! + + O blessed hope! O glorious aspiration! + A little while and I the Christ shall see! + A patient waiting for the full salvation-- + Then shall I know my Lord as he knows me. + + + I have seen the face of Jesus: + Tell me not of aught beside. + I have heard the voice of Jesus: + All my soul is satisfied. + + +SHE BROUGHT HER BOX OF ALABASTER + + She brought her box of alabaster; + The precious spikenard filled the room + With honor worthy of the Master, + A costly, rare, and rich perfume. + + Her tears for sin fell hot and thickly + On his dear feet, outstretched and bare; + Unconscious how, she wiped them quickly + With the long ringlets of her hair. + + And richly fall those raven tresses + Adown her cheek, like willow leaves, + As stooping still, with fond caresses, + She plies her task of love, and grieves. + + Oh may we thus, like loving Mary, + Ever our choicest offerings bring, + Nor grudging of our toil, nor chary + Of costly service to our King. + + Methinks I hear from Christian lowly + Some hallowed voice at evening rise, + Or quiet morn, or in the holy + Unclouded calm of Sabbath skies; + + I bring my box of alabaster, + Of earthly loves I break the shrine, + And pour affections, purer, vaster, + On that dear head, those feet of thine. + + The joys I prized, the hopes I cherished, + The fairest flowers my fancy wove, + Behold my fondest idols perished, + Receive the incense of my love! + + What though the scornful world, deriding, + Such waste of love, of service, fears? + Still let me pour, through taunt and chiding, + The rich libation of my tears. + + I bring my box of alabaster; + Accepted let the offering rise! + So grateful tears shall flow the faster, + In founts of gladness from mine eyes! + + --C. L. Ford. + + + Not I but Christ be honored, loved, exalted, + Not I but Christ be seen, be known, be heard, + Not I but Christ in every look and action, + Not I but Christ in every thought and word. + + +JESUS, I LOVE THEE + + Jesus, I love thee, not because + I hope for heaven thereby, + Nor yet because, if I love not, + I must forever die. + + I love thee, Saviour dear, and still + I ever will love thee, + Solely because my God, thou art, + Who first hast lovèd me. + + For me to lowest depth of woe + Thou didst thyself abase; + For me didst bear the cross and shame, + And manifold disgrace; + + For me didst suffer pain unknown, + Blood-sweat and agony-- + Yea, death itself--all, all for me, + Who was thine enemy. + + Then why, O blessed Saviour mine. + Should I not love thee well? + Not for the sake of winning heaven + Nor of escaping hell. + + Not with the hope of gaining aught, + Nor seeking a reward; + But freely, fully, as thyself + Hast lovèd me, O Lord! + + Even so I love thee, and will love, + And in thy praise will sing, + Solely because thou art my God + And my eternal king. + + --Francis Xavier. + + +I'VE FOUND A JOY IN SORROW + + I've found a joy in sorrow, + A secret balm for pain, + A beautiful to-morrow + Of sunshine after rain; + I've found a branch of healing + Near every bitter spring, + A whispered promise stealing + O'er every broken string. + + I've found a glad hosanna + For every woe and wail, + A handful of sweet manna + When grapes of Eschol fail; + I've found a Rock of Ages + When desert wells were dry; + And, after weary stages, + I've found an Elim nigh-- + + An Elim with its coolness, + Its fountains, and its shade; + A blessing in its fullness + When buds of promise fade; + O'er tears of soft contrition + I've seen a rainbow light; + A glory and fruition + So near!--yet out of sight. + + My Saviour, thee possessing, + I have the joy, the balm. + The healing and the blessing. + The sunshine and the psalm; + The promise for the fearful, + The Elim for the faint, + The rainbow for the tearful, + The glory for the saint! + + +PATIENCE OF JESUS + + What grace, O Lord, and beauty shone + Around thy steps below! + What patient love was seen in all + Thy life and death of woe! + + For ever on thy burdened heart + A weight of sorrow hung; + Yet no ungentle, murmuring word + Escaped thy silent tongue. + + Thy foes might hate, despise, revile, + Thy friends unfaithful prove; + Unwearied in forgiveness still, + Thy heart could only love. + + O give us hearts to love like thee, + Like thee, O Lord, to grieve + Far more for others' sins than all + The wrongs that we receive. + + One with thyself, may every eye + In us, thy brethren, see + That gentleness and grace that spring + From union, Lord, with thee. + + --Edward Denny. + + + True wisdom is in leaning + On Jesus Christ, our Lord; + True wisdom is in trusting + His own life-giving word; + True wisdom is in living + Near Jesus every day; + True wisdom is in walking + Where he shall lead the way. + + +TELL ME ABOUT THE MASTER + + Tell me about the Master! + I am weary and worn to-night, + The day lies behind me in shadow, + And only the evening is light; + Light with a radiant glory + That lingers about the west; + My poor heart is aweary, aweary, + And longs, like a child, for rest. + + Tell me about the Master! + Of the hills he in loneliness trod, + When the tears and the blood of his anguish + Dropped down on Judea's sod. + For to me life's numerous milestones + But a sorrowful journey mark; + Rough lies the hill country before me, + The mountains behind me are dark. + + Tell me about the Master! + Of the wrong he freely forgave: + Of his love and tender compassion, + Of his love that is mighty to save; + For my heart is aweary, aweary + Of the woes and temptations of life, + Of the error that stalks in the noonday, + Of falsehood and malice and strife. + + Yet I know that, whatever of sorrow + Or pain or temptation befall, + The infinite Master has suffered, + And knoweth and pitieth all. + So tell me the sweet old story, + That falls on each wound like a balm, + And my heart that was bruised and broken + Shall grow patient and strong and calm. + + +JESU + + Jesu is in my heart, his sacred name + Is deeply carved there; but the other week + A great affliction broke the little frame, + E'en all to pieces; which I went to seek; + And first I found the corner where was J, + After where ES, and next where U was graved. + When I had got these parcels, instantly + I sat me down to spell them, and perceived + That to my broken heart he was I EASE YOU, + And to my whole is JESU. + + --George Herbert. + + +SEALED + + I am thine own, O Christ-- + Henceforth entirely thine; + And life from this glad hour, + New life, is mine! + + No earthly joy shall lure + My quiet soul from thee; + This deep delight, so pure, + Is heaven to me. + + My little song of praise + In sweet content I sing; + To thee the note I raise, + My King, my King! + + I cannot tell the art + By which such bliss is given; + I know thou hast my heart, + And I--have heaven! + + O peace! O holy rest! + O balmy breath of love! + O heart divinest, best, + Thy depth I prove. + + I ask this gift of thee-- + A life all lily fair, + And fragrant as the gardens be + Where seraphs are. + + --Helen Bradley. + + +JESUS, MY GOD AND MY ALL + + O Jesus! Jesus! dearest Lord! + Forgive me if I say + For very love thy sacred name + A thousand times a day. + + I love thee so, I know not how + My transports to control; + Thy love is like a burning fire + Within my very soul. + + O wonderful! that thou shouldst let + So vile a heart as mine + Love thee with such a love as this, + And make so free with thine. + + The craft of this wise world of ours + Poor wisdom seems to me; + Ah! dearest Jesus! I have grown + Childish with love of thee! + + For thou to me art all in all, + My honor and my wealth, + My heart's desire, my body's strength, + My soul's eternal health. + + Burn, burn, O Love! within my heart + Burn fiercely night and day, + 'Till all the dross of earthly loves + Is burned, and burned away. + + O light in darkness, joy in grief, + O heaven begun on earth! + Jesus! my love! my treasure! who + Can tell what thou art worth? + + O Jesus! Jesus! sweetest Lord! + What art thou not to me? + Each hour brings joys before unknown, + Each day new liberty! + + What limit is there to thee, love? + Thy flight where wilt thou stay? + On! on! our Lord is sweeter far + To-day than yesterday. + + O love of Jesus! blessed love! + So will it ever be; + Time cannot hold thy wondrous growth, + No, nor eternity. + + --Frederick William Faber. + + +LOVE--JOY + + As on a window late I cast mine eye, + I saw a vine drop grapes with J and C + Anneal'd on every bunch. One standing by + Ask'd what it meant. I (who am never loth + To spend my judgment) said it seem'd to me + To be the body and the letters both + Of Joy and Charity. Sir, you have not miss'd, + The man replied; it figures JESUS CHRIST. + + --George Herbert. + + +WHY NOT? + + Why not leave them all with Jesus-- + All thy cares, + All the things that fret thee daily, + Earth's affairs? + Pour out all thy sin and longing; + He has felt + Need of human love as thou hast, + And has knelt + At his Father's feet, imploring, + For the day, + Strength to guard against temptation + By the way. + + Why not leave them all with Jesus-- + On his breast + Find a balm for all earth-suffering, + Peace and rest? + Ah! he knows that thou hast striven + To walk right; + Longs to make the thorny pathway + Clear and bright. + See, he bathes thy feet, all bleeding, + With his tears! + Give to him thyself, thy burden, + And thy fears. + + +JESUS ON THE SEA + + When the storm of the mountains on Galilee fell + And lifted its waters on high-- + And the faithless disciples were bound in the spell + Of mysterious alarm--their terrors to quell + Jesus whispered, "Fear not: it is I." + + The storm could not bury that word in the wave, + For 'twas taught through the tempest to fly; + It shall reach his disciples in every clime, + And his voice shall be near, in each troublous time, + Saying, "Be not afraid: it is I." + + When the spirit is broken with sickness or sorrow, + And comfort is ready to die; + The darkness shall pass and, in gladness to-morrow, + The wounded complete consolation shall borrow + From his life-giving word, "It is I." + + When death is at hand, and the cottage of clay + Is left with a tremulous sigh, + The gracious forerunner is smoothing the way + For its tenant to pass to unchangeable day, + Saying, "Be not afraid: it is I." + + When the waters are passed, and the glories unknown + Burst forth on the wondering eye, + The compassionate "Lamb in the midst of the throne" + Shall welcome, encourage, and comfort his own, + And say, "Be not afraid: it is I." + + +LET US SEE JESUS + + We would see Jesus--for the shadows lengthen + Across the little landscape of our life; + We would see Jesus--our weak faith to strengthen + For the last weariness, the mortal strife. + + We would see Jesus--for life's hand hath rested + With its dark touch on weary heart and brow; + And though our souls have many billows breasted + Others are rising in the distance now. + + We would see Jesus--other lights are paling + Which for long years we have rejoiced to see; + The blessings of our pilgrimage are failing-- + We would not mourn them, for we come to thee. + + We would see Jesus--yet the spirit lingers + Round the dear object it has loved so long, + And earth from earth will scarce unclose its fingers, + Our love for thee makes not this love less strong. + + We would see Jesus--the strong Rock-foundation + Whereon our feet are set by sovereign grace; + Not life or death, with all their agitation, + Can thence remove us if we seek his face. + + We would see Jesus--sense is all too blinding, + And heaven appears too dim and far away; + We would see Jesus--to gain the sweet reminding + That thou hast promised our great debt to pay. + + We would see Jesus--that is all we're needing, + Strength, joy, and willingness come with the sight; + We would see Jesus--dying, risen, pleading-- + Then welcome day, and farewell mortal night! + + --Anna B. Warner. + + +A SONG OF LOVE + + To thee, O dear, dear Saviour! + My spirit turns for rest; + My peace is in thy favor, + My pillow on thy breast; + Though all the world deceive me, + I know that I am thine, + And thou wilt never leave me, + O blessed Saviour mine! + + In thee my trust abideth, + On thee my hope relies, + O thou whose love provideth + For all beneath the skies! + O thou whose mercy found me, + From bondage set me free, + And then forever bound me + With threefold cords to thee! + + My grief is in the dullness + With which this sluggish heart + Doth open to the fullness + Of all thou wouldst impart; + My joy is in thy beauty + Of holiness divine, + My comfort in the duty + That binds my life to thine. + + Alas! that I should ever + Have fail'd in love to thee, + The only One who never + Forgot or slighted me. + O for a heart to love thee + More truly as I ought, + And nothing place above thee + In deed, or word, or thought. + + O for that choicest blessing + Of living in thy love, + And thus on earth possessing + The peace of heaven above! + O for the bliss that by it + The soul securely knows, + The holy calm and quiet + Of faith's serene repose! + + --John Samuel Bewley Monsell. + + +THE UNFAILING FRIEND + + O Jesus! Friend unfailing, + How dear art thou to me! + Are cares and fears assailing? + I find my strength in thee! + Why should my feet grow weary + Of this my pilgrim way? + Rough though the path, and dreary, + It ends in perfect day. + + Naught, naught I count as treasure; + Compared, O Christ, with thee! + Thy sorrow without measure + Earned peace and joy for me. + I love to own, Lord Jesus, + Thy claims o'er me and mine; + Bought with thy blood most precious, + Whose can I be but thine? + + What fills my soul with gladness? + 'Tis thine abounding grace! + Where can I look in sadness, + But, Jesus, in thy face? + My all is thy providing; + Thy love can ne'er grow cold; + In thee, my refuge, hiding, + No good wilt thou withhold. + + Why should I droop in sorrow? + Thou'rt ever by my side: + Why, trembling, dread the morrow? + What ill can e'er betide? + If I my cross have taken, + 'Tis but to follow thee; + If scorned, despised, forsaken, + Naught severs me from thee! + + Oh, worldly pomp and glory! + Your charms are spread in vain! + I've heard a sweeter story, + I've found a truer gain! + Where Christ a place prepareth, + There is my loved abode; + There shall I gaze on Jesus, + There shall I dwell with God! + + For every tribulation, + For every sore distress, + In Christ I've full salvation, + Sure help, and quiet rest. + No fear of foes prevailing! + I triumph, Lord, in thee! + O Jesus! Friend unfailing! + How dear art thou to me! + + +THE SONG OF A HEATHEN + +(Sojourning in Galilee, A. D. 32) + + If Jesus Christ is a man-- + And only a man--I say + That of all mankind I cleave to him, + And to him will I cleave alway. + + If Jesus Christ is a God-- + And the only God--I swear + I will follow him through heaven and hell, + The earth, the sea, the air. + + --Richard Watson Gilder. + + +"IT IS TOWARD EVENING" + + Abide with me, O Christ; thou must not go + For life's brief day is now far down the west; + In dark'ning clouds my sun is sinking low; + Lord, stay and soothe thy fretted child to rest. + + Abide with me; ere I can fall on sleep + My throbbing head must on thy breast recline, + That I may hear anew thy voice, and feel + The thrill of thy pierced hands in touch with mine. + + Abide with me; so then shall I have peace + The world can never give nor take from me; + Nor life nor death can that calm peace disturb, + Since life and death alike are gain through thee. + + If life, 'tis well; for though in paths of pain, + In desert place afar, I'm led aside, + Yet here 'tis joy my Master's cup to share; + And so I pray, O Christ, with me abide. + + 'Tis gain if death; for in that far-off land-- + No longer far--no veil of flesh will dim + For me the wondrous beauty of my King, + As he abides with me and I with him. + + Abide with me; I have toiled gladly on, + A little while, in stir of care and strife; + The task is laid aside at thy command, + Make thou it perfect with thy perfect life. + + +THE BLESSED FACE + + Jesus, these eyes have never seen + That radiant form of thine; + The veil of sense hangs dark between + Thy blessed face and mine. + + I see thee not, I hear thee not, + Yet art thou oft with me; + And earth hath ne'er so dear a spot + As where I meet with thee. + + Like some bright dream that comes unsought + When slumbers o'er me roll, + Thine image ever fills my thought + And charms my ravished soul. + + Yet though I have not seen, and still + Must rest in faith alone, + I love thee, dearest Lord, and will, + Unseen but not unknown. + + When death these mortal eyes shall seal, + And still this throbbing heart, + The rending veil shall thee reveal, + All-glorious as thou art. + + --Ray Palmer. + + +TO THEE + + I bring my sins to thee + The sins I cannot count, + That all may cleansed be + In thy once-opened fount. + I bring them, Saviour, all to thee; + The burden is too great for me. + + My heart to thee I bring, + The heart I cannot read; + A faithless, wandering thing, + An evil heart indeed. + I bring it, Saviour, now to thee, + That fixed and faithful it may be + + To thee I bring my care, + The care I cannot flee; + Thou wilt not only share, + But take it all for me. + O loving Saviour, now to thee, + I bring the load that wearies me. + + I bring my grief to thee, + The grief I cannot tell; + No words shall needed be, + Thou knowest all so well. + I bring the sorrow laid on me, + O suffering Saviour! all to thee. + + My joys to thee I bring, + The joys thy love has given, + That each may be a wing + To lift me nearer heaven. + I bring them, Saviour, all to thee, + Who hast procured them all for me. + + My life I bring to thee, + I would not be my own; + O Saviour! let me be + Thine ever, thine alone! + My heart, my life, my all, I bring + To thee, my Saviour and my King. + + +WE LONG TO SEE JESUS + + We would see Jesus! we have longed to see him + Since first the story of his love was told; + We would that he might sojourn now among us, + As once he sojourned with the Jews of old. + + We would see Jesus! see the infant sleeping, + As on our mother's knees we, too, have slept; + We would see Jesus! see him gently weeping, + As we, in infancy, ourselves have wept. + + We would behold him, as he wandered lowly-- + No room for him, too often, in the inn-- + Behold that life, the beautiful, the holy, + The only sinless in this world of sin. + + We would see Jesus! we would have him with us, + A guest beloved and honored at our board; + How blessed were our bread if it were broken + Before the sacred presence of the Lord! + + We would see Jesus! we would have him with us, + Friend of our households and our children dear, + Who still, should death and sorrow come among us, + Would hasten to us, and would touch the bier. + + We would see Jesus! not alone in sorrow, + But we would have him with us in our mirth; + He, at whose right hand are joys forever, + Doth not disdain to bless the joys of earth. + + We would see Jesus! but the wish is faithless; + Thou still art with us, who hast loved us well; + Thy blessed promise, "I am with you always," + Is ever faithful, O Immanuel! + + --Anna E. Hamilton. + + +"TELL JESUS" + + When thou wakest in the morning, + Ere thou tread the untried way + Of the lot that lies before thee, + Through the coming busy day, + Whether sunbeams promise brightness, + Whether dim forebodings fall, + Be thy dawning glad or gloomy, + Go to Jesus--tell him all! + + In the calm of sweet communion + Let thy daily work be done; + In the peace of soul outpouring, + Care be banished, patience won; + And if earth, with its enchantments, + Seek the spirit to enthrall, + Ere thou listen, ere thou answer, + Turn to Jesus--tell him all. + + Then, as hour by hour glides by thee, + Thou wilt blessed guidance know; + Thine own burdens being lightened, + Thou canst bear another's woe; + Thou canst help the weak ones onward, + Thou canst raise up those that fall; + But remember, while thou servest, + Still tell Jesus--tell him all! + + And if weariness creep o'er thee + As the day wears to its close, + Or if sudden fierce temptation + Brings thee face to face with foes, + In thy weakness, in thy peril, + Raise to heaven a trustful call; + Strength and calm for every crisis + Come--in telling Jesus all. + + +ANYWHERE WITH JESUS + + Anywhere with Jesus, + Says the Christian heart; + Let him take me where he will, + So we do not part. + Always sitting at his feet + There's no cause for fears; + Anywhere with Jesus, + In this vale of tears. + + Anywhere with Jesus, + Though he leadeth me + Where the path is rough and long. + Where the dangers be; + Though he taketh from my heart + All I love below, + Anywhere with Jesus + Will I gladly go. + + Anywhere with Jesus-- + Though he please to bring + Into floods or fiercest flames, + Into suffering; + Though he bid me work or wait, + Only bear for him-- + Anywhere with Jesus, + This shall be my hymn. + + Anywhere with Jesus; + For it cannot be + Dreary, dark, or desolate + When he is with me; + He will love me to the end, + Every need supply; + Anywhere with Jesus, + Should I live or die. + + +OUR ROCK + + If life's pleasures cheer thee, + Give them not thy heart, + Lest the gifts ensnare thee + From thy God to part; + His praises speak, his favor seek, + Fix there thy hope's foundation, + Love him, and he shall ever be + The Rock of thy salvation. + + If sorrow e'er befall thee, + Painful though it be, + Let not fear appall thee: + To thy Saviour flee; + He, ever near, thy prayer will hear, + And calm thy perturbation; + The waves of woe shall ne'er o'erflow + The Rock of thy salvation. + + Death shall never harm thee, + Shrink not from his blow, + For thy God shall arm thee + And victory bestow; + For death shall bring to thee no sting, + The grave no desolation; + 'Tis gain to die with Jesus nigh-- + The Rock of thy salvation. + + --Francis Scott Key. + + + The dearest thing on earth to me + Is Jesus' will; + Whate'er I do, where'er I be, + To do his will. + Worldly pleasures cannot charm me, + Powers of evil cannot harm me, + Death itself cannot alarm me, + For 'tis his will. + + +SWEET PROMISES + + O Jesus, I have promised, + To serve thee to the end; + Be thou forever near me, + My Master and my Friend. + I shall not fear the battle + If thou art by my side, + Nor wander from the pathway + If thou wilt be my guide. + + O let me feel thee near me; + The world is ever near; + I see the sights that dazzle, + The tempting sounds I hear; + My foes are ever near me, + Around me and within; + But, Jesus, draw thou nearer, + And shield my soul from sin. + + O Jesus, thou hast promised + To all who follow thee, + That where thou art in glory + There shall thy servant be; + And, Jesus, I have promised + To serve thee to the end; + O give me grace to follow + My Master and my Friend. + + --John E. Bode. + + +THE KING OF LOVE + + The King of love my Shepherd is, + Whose goodness faileth never; + I nothing lack if I am his, + And he is mine forever. + + Where streams of living water flow + My ransomed soul he leadeth, + And where the verdant pastures grow + With food celestial feedeth. + + Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, + But yet in love he sought me, + And on his shoulder gently laid, + And home rejoicing brought me. + + In death's dark vale I fear no ill, + With thee, dear Lord, beside me; + Thy rod and staff my comfort still, + Thy cross before to guide me. + + And so, through all the length of day, + Thy goodness faileth never; + Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise + Within thy house forever. + + --Henry W. Baker. + + +WE WOULD SEE JESUS + + We would see Jesus when our hopes are brightest + And all that earth can grant is at its best; + When not a drift of shadow, even the lightest, + Blurs our clear atmosphere of perfect rest. + + We would see Jesus when the joy of living + Holds all our senses in a realm of bliss, + That we may know he hath the power of giving + Enduring rapture more supreme than this. + + We would see Jesus when our pathway darkens, + Beneath the dread of some impending ill; + When the discouraged soul no longer harkens + To hope, who beckons in the distance still. + + We would see Jesus when the stress of sorrow + Strains to their utmost tension heart and brain; + That he may teach us how despair may borrow + From faith the one sure antidote of pain. + + We would see Jesus when our best are taken, + And we must meet, unshared, all shocks of woe; + Because he bore for us, alone, forsaken, + Burdens whose weight no human heart could know. + + We would see Jesus when our fading vision, + Lost to the consciousness of earth and sky, + Has only insight for the far elysian; + We would see Jesus when we come to die! + + --Margaret J. Preston. + + +ALL THINGS IN JESUS + + Jesus, the calm that fills my breast, + No other heart than thine can give; + This peace unstirred, this joy of rest, + None but thy loved ones can receive. + + My weary soul has found a charm + That turns to blessedness my woe; + Within the shelter of thine arm + I rest secure from storm and foe. + + In desert wastes I feel no dread, + Fearless I walk the trackless sea; + I care not where my way is led, + Since all my life is life with thee. + + O Christ, through changeful years my Guide, + My Comforter in sorrow's night, + My Friend, when friendless--still abide, + My Lord, my Counsellor, my Light. + + My time, my powers, I give to thee; + My inmost soul 'tis thine to move; + I wait for thy eternity, + I wait in peace, in praise, in love. + + --Frank Mason North. + + +EVERYWHERE WITH JESUS + + Everywhere with Jesus; + O how sweet the thought! + Filling all my soul with joy, + Deep with comfort fraught. + Never absent far from him, + Always at his side; + Everywhere with Jesus, + Trusting him to guide. + + Everywhere with Jesus; + For no place can be + Where I may not find him near, + Very near to me; + Closer than the flesh I wear-- + In my inmost heart-- + Everywhere with Jesus; + We shall never part. + + Everywhere with Jesus; + Do whate'er I may, + Work, or talk, or walk abroad, + Study, preach, or pray, + Still I find him, full of love, + Ready ere I call. + Everywhere with Jesus; + He's my all in all. + + Everywhere with Jesus; + Let the world assail, + Naught can shake my sure repose. + He will never fail. + I am weak, but he is strong, + Mighty to defend; + Everywhere with Jesus, + Safe with such a friend. + + Everywhere with Jesus; + Careful should I be + Lest some secret thought of guile + His pure eye may see. + Holy, harmless, undefiled, + He no sin can know; + Everywhere with Jesus + Spotless I may go. + + Everywhere with Jesus + Would that all might say; + Happy then beyond compare, + Glad by night and day, + All would taste of joy sublime, + Perfect peace and rest: + Everywhere with Jesus, + Nothing could molest. + + --James Mudge. + + +THE DEAREST FRIEND + + Do not I love thee, O my Lord? + Then let me nothing love; + Dead be my heart to every joy, + When Jesus cannot move. + + Is not thy name melodious still + To mine attentive ear? + Doth not each pulse with pleasure bound + My Saviour's voice to hear? + + Hast thou a lamb in all thy flock + I would disdain to feed? + Hast thou a foe before whose face + I fear thy cause to plead? + + Would not mine ardent spirit vie + With angels round the throne + To execute thy sacred will, + And make thy glory known? + + Thou know'st I love thee, dearest Lord, + But O I long to soar + Far from the sphere of mortal joys, + And learn to love thee more. + + --Philip Doddridge. + + + As by the light of opening day + The stars are all concealed, + So earthly pleasures fade away + When Jesus is revealed. + + Creatures no more divide my choice; + I bid them all depart: + His name, his love, his gracious voice, + Have fixed my roving heart. + + --John Newton. + + +FAIREST LORD JESUS + + Fairest Lord Jesus! + Ruler of all nature! + O thou of God and man the Son! + Thee will I cherish, + Thee will I honor, + Thee, my soul's glory, joy, and crown. + + Fair are the meadows, + Fairer still the woodlands, + Robed in the blooming garb of spring; + Jesus is fairer, + Jesus is purer, + Who makes the woeful heart to sing. + + Fair is the sunshine, + Fairer still the moonlight, + And all the twinkling starry host; + Jesus shines brighter, + Jesus shines purer + Than all the angels heaven can boast. + + --From the German. + + +THE CALL OF JESUS + + Jesus calls us; o'er the tumult + Of our life's wild, restless sea, + Day by day his sweet voice soundeth, + Saying, Christian, follow me! + + Jesus calls us from the worship + Of the vain world's golden store; + From each idol that would keep us; + Saying, Christian, love me more! + + In our joys and in our sorrows, + Days of toil and hours of ease, + Still he calls, in cares and pleasures, + Christian, love me more than these! + + Jesus calls us! by thy mercies, + Saviour, may we hear thy call; + Give our hearts to thy obedience, + Serve and love thee best of all. + + --Cecil Frances Alexander. + + + If washed in Jesus' blood, + Then bear his likeness too, + And as you onward press + Ask, What would Jesus do? + Be brave to do the right, + And scorn to be untrue; + When fear would whisper, Yield, + Ask, What would Jesus do? + + + + +LIFE + +TIME, OPPORTUNITY, EXPERIENCE, CHARACTER + + +WITHOUT HASTE AND WITHOUT REST + + Without haste and without rest; + Bind the motto to thy breast. + Bear it with thee as a spell, + Storm or sunshine, guard it well! + Heed not flowers that round thee bloom; + Bear it onward to the tomb! + + Haste not--let no thoughtless deed + Mar the spirit's steady speed; + Ponder well, and know the right, + Onward, then, with all thy might; + Haste not--years can ne'er atone + For one reckless action done! + + Rest not--life is sweeping by. + Do and dare before you die; + Something worthy and sublime + Leave behind to conquer time; + Glorious 'tis to live for aye, + When these forms have passed away. + + Haste not--rest not. Calm in strife + Meekly bear the storms of life; + Duty be thy polar guide; + Do the right, whate'er betide; + Haste not--rest not. Conflicts past, + God shall crown thy work at last! + + --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. + + +WHY DO I LIVE? + + I live for those who love me; + For those I know are true; + For the heaven that smiles above me + And awaits my spirit too; + For all human ties that bind me, + For the task my God assigned me, + For the bright hope left behind me, + And the good that I can do. + + I live to learn their story + Who suffered for my sake, + To emulate their glory + And follow in their wake; + Bards, martyrs, patriots, sages, + The nobles of all ages. + Whose deeds crown History's pages + And time's great volume make. + + I live to hail the season-- + By gifted minds foretold-- + When man shall live by reason, + And not alone for gold; + When man to man united, + And every wrong thing righted, + The whole world shall be lighted + As Eden was of old. + + I live to hold communion + With all that is divine, + To feel that there is union + 'Twixt nature's heart and mine; + To profit by affliction, + Reap truth from fields of fiction, + Grow wiser from conviction, + Fulfilling God's design. + + I live for those who love me, + For those who know me true, + For the heaven that smiles above me + And awaits my spirit too; + For the wrongs that need resistance, + For the cause that needs assistance, + For the future in the distance, + And the good that I can do. + + --George Linnæus Banks. + + +BEAUTIFUL THINGS + + Beautiful faces are those that wear-- + It matters little if dark or fair-- + Whole-souled honesty printed there. + + Beautiful eyes are those that show + Like crystal panes where hearth fires glow, + Beautiful thoughts that burn below. + + Beautiful lips are those whose words + Leap from the heart like songs of birds, + Yet whose utterances prudence girds. + + Beautiful hands are those that do + Work that is earnest, and brave, and true, + Moment by moment the long day through. + + Beautiful feet are those that go + On kindly ministries to and fro-- + Down lowliest ways, if God wills it so. + + Beautiful shoulders are those that bear + Ceaseless burdens of homely care + With patient grace and daily prayer. + + Beautiful lives are those that bless-- + Silent rivers of happiness + Whose hidden fountain but few may guess. + + Beautiful twilight, at set of sun; + Beautiful goal, with race well won; + Beautiful rest, with work well done. + + Beautiful graves, where grasses creep, + Where brown leaves fall, where drifts lie deep + Over worn-out hands--O, beautiful sleep. + + +AT SUNSET + + It isn't the thing you do, dear, + It's the thing you've left undone + Which gives you a bit of heartache + At the setting of the sun. + The tender word forgotten, + The letter you did not write, + The flower you might have sent, dear, + Are your haunting ghosts to-night. + + The stone you might have lifted + Out of a brother's way, + The bit of heartsome counsel + You were hurried too much to say, + The loving touch of the hand, dear, + The gentle and winsome tone + That you had no time or thought for, + With troubles enough of your own. + + The little act of kindness, + So easily out of mind; + Those chances to be angels, + Which every mortal finds-- + They come in night and silence-- + Each chill, reproachful wraith-- + When hope is faint and flagging, + And a blight has dropped on faith. + + For life is all too short, dear, + And sorrow is all too great, + To suffer our slow compassion + That tarries until too late; + And it's not the thing you do, dear, + It's the thing you leave undone, + Which gives you the bit of heartache + At the setting of the sun. + + --Margaret E. Sangster. + + +THE BUILDERS + + All are architects of Fate, + Working in these walls of Time; + Some with massive deeds and great, + Some with ornaments of rhyme. + + Nothing useless is, or low; + Each thing in its place is best; + And what seems but idle show + Strengthens and supports the rest. + + For the structure that we raise + Time is with material filled; + Our to-days and yesterdays + Are the blocks with which we build. + + Truly shape and fashion these; + Leave no yawning gaps between; + Think not, because no man sees, + Such things will remain unseen. + + In the elder days of Art + Builders wrought with greatest care + Each minute and unseen part; + For the gods see everywhere. + + Let us do our work as well, + Both the unseen and the seen; + Make the house where gods may dwell + Beautiful, entire, and clean; + + Else our lives are incomplete, + Standing in these walls of Time, + Broken stairways, where the feet + Stumble as they seek to climb. + + Build to-day, then, strong and sure, + With a firm and ample base; + And ascending and secure + Shall to-morrow find its place. + + Thus alone can we attain + To those turrets where the eye + Sees the world as one vast plain + And one boundless reach of sky. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + The stars shall fade away, the sun himself + Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years, + But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, + Unhurt amid the war of elements, + The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds. + + --Joseph Addison. + + +RETROSPECTION + + He was better to me than all my hopes, + He was better than all my fears; + He made a road of my broken works + And a rainbow of my tears. + The billows that guarded my sea girt path + But carried my Lord on their crest; + When I dwell on the days of my wilderness march + I can lean on his love for the rest. + + He emptied my hands of my treasured store + And his covenant love revealed; + There was not a wound in my aching heart + But the balm of his breath hath healed. + Oh! tender and true was the chastening sore, + In wisdom, that taught and tried, + Till the soul that he sought was trusting in him + And in nothing on earth beside. + + He guided by paths that I could not see, + By ways that I have not known, + The crooked was straight and the rough made plain, + As I followed the Lord alone. + I praise him still for the pleasant palms + And the water springs by the way; + For the glowing pillars of flame by night + And the sheltering clouds by day. + + There is light for me on the trackless wild + As the wonders of old I trace, + When the God of the whole earth went before + To search me a resting place. + Has he changed for me? Nay! He changes not. + He will bring me by some new way, + Through fire and flood and each crafty foe, + As safely as yesterday. + + And if to warfare he calls me forth, + He buckles my armor on; + He greets me with smiles and a word of cheer + For battles his sword hath won; + He wipes my brows as I droop and faint, + He blesses my hand to toil; + Faithful is he as he washes my feet, + From the trace of each earthly soil. + + Never a watch on the dreariest halt + But some promise of love endears; + I read from the past that my future shall be + Far better than all my fears. + Like the golden pot of the wilderness bread, + Laid up with the blossoming rod, + All safe in the ark, with the law of the Lord, + Is the covenant care of my God. + + --Anna Shipton. + + +ONE DAY'S SERVICE + + O to serve God for a day! + From jubilant morn to the peace and the calm of the night + To tread no path but his happy and blossoming way, + To seek no delight + But the joy that is one with the joy at heaven's heart; + Only to go where thou art, + O God of all blessing and beauty! to love, to obey + With obedience sweetened by love and love made strong by the right; + Not once, not once to be drunken with self, + Or to play the hypocrite's poisoned part, + Or to bend the knee of my soul to the passion for pelf, + Or the glittering gods of the mart; + Through each glad hour to lay on the wings of its flight + Some flower for the angels' sight; + Some fragrant fashion of service, scarlet and white-- + White for the pure intent, and red where the pulses start. + O, if thus I could serve him, could perfectly serve him one day, + I think I could perfectly serve him forever--forever and aye! + + --Amos R. Wells. + + + Life is a burden; bear it. + Life is a duty; dare it. + Life is a thorn crown; wear it. + Though it break your heart in twain, + Though the burden crush you down, + Close your lips and hide the pain; + First the cross and then the crown. + + +BETTER THINGS + + Better to smell the violet cool than sip the glowing wine; + Better to hark a hidden brook than watch a diamond shine. + + Better the love of gentle heart than beauty's favors proud, + Better the rose's living seed than roses in a crowd. + + Better to love in loneliness than bask in love all day; + Better the fountain in the heart than the fountain by the way. + + Better be fed by a mother's hand than eat alone at will; + Better to trust in God than say, My goods my storehouse fill. + + Better to be a little wise than in knowledge to abound; + Better to teach a child than toil to fill perfection's round. + + Better sit at a master's feet than thrill a listening state; + Better suspect that thou art proud than be sure that thou art great. + + Better to walk in the realm unseen than watch the hour's event; + Better the _well done_ at the last than the air with shoutings rent. + + Better to have a quiet grief than a hurrying delight; + Better the twilight of the dawn than the noonday burning bright. + + Better to sit at the water's birth than a sea of waves to win; + To live in the love that floweth forth than the love that cometh in. + + Better a death when work is done than earth's most favored birth; + Better a child in God's great house than the king of all the earth. + + --George Macdonald. + + + Time is indeed a precious boon, + But with the boon a task is given: + The heart must learn its duty well + To man on earth and God in heaven. + + --Eliza Cook. + + +THE LENGTH OF LIFE + + Are your sorrows hard to bear? + Life is short! + Do you drag the chain of care? + Life is short! + Soon will come the glad release + Into rest and joy and peace; + Soon the weary thread be spun, + And the final labor done. + Keep your courage! Hold the fort! + Life is short! + + Are you faint with hope delayed? + Life is long! + Tarries that for which you prayed? + Life is long! + What delights may not abide-- + What ambitions satisfied-- + What possessions may not be + In God's great eternity? + Lift the heart! Be glad and strong! + Life is long! + + --Amos R. Wells. + + +IS LIFE WORTH LIVING? + + Is life worth living? Yes, so long + As there is wrong to right, + Wail of the weak against the strong, + Or tyranny to fight; + Long as there lingers gloom to chase, + Or streaming tear to dry, + One kindred woe, one sorrowing face, + That smiles as we draw nigh; + Long as a tale of anguish swells + The heart and lids grow wet, + And at the sound of Christmas bells + We pardon and forget; + So long as Faith with Freedom reigns + And loyal Hope survives, + And gracious Charity remains + To leaven lowly lives; + While there is one untrodden tract + For Intellect or Will, + And men are free to think and act, + Life is worth living still. + + --Alfred Austin. + + + The Moving Finger writes, and having writ + Moves on; nor all thy piety nor wit + Shall lure it back to cancel half a line, + Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it. + + --Omar Khayyam. + + +LENGTH OF DAYS + + He liveth long who liveth well; + All other life is short and vain; + He liveth longest who can tell + Of living most for heavenly gain. + + He liveth long who liveth well; + All else is being flung away; + He liveth longest who can tell + Of true things truly done each day. + + Waste not thy being; back to him + Who freely gave it, freely give; + Else is that being but a dream; + 'Tis but to _be_, and not to _live_. + + Be wise, and use thy wisdom well; + Who wisdom _speaks_ must _live_ it too; + He is the wisest who can tell + How first he lived, then spoke the true. + + Be what thou seemest! live thy creed! + Hold up to earth the torch divine; + Be what thou prayest to be made; + Let the great Master's steps be thine. + + Fill up each hour with what will last; + Buy up the moments as they go; + The life above, when this is past, + Is the ripe fruit of life below. + + Sow truth if thou the true wouldst reap; + Who sows the false shall reap the vain; + Erect and sound thy conscience keep; + From hollow words and deeds refrain. + + Sow love, and taste its fruitage pure; + Sow peace and reap its harvest bright; + Sow sunbeams on the rock and moor, + And find a harvest-home of light. + + --Horatius Bonar. + + +REDEEMING THE TIME + + We would fill the hours with the sweetest things + If we had but a day; + We should drink alone at the purest springs + In our upward way; + We should love with a lifetime's love in an hour + If the hours were few; + We should rest not for dreams, but for fresher power + To be and to do. + + We should guide our wayward or wearied wills + By the clearest light; + We should keep our eyes on the heavenly hills + If they lay in sight; + We should trample the pride and the discontent + Beneath our feet; + We should take whatever a good God sent, + With a trust complete. + + We should waste no moments in weak regret + If the day were but one; + If what we remember and what we forget + Went out with the sun; + We should be from our clamorous selves set free + To work and to pray, + And to be what the Father would have us to be, + If we had but a day. + + --Mary Lowe Dickinson. + + +MORAL COSMETICS + + Ye who would have your features florid, + Lithe limbs, bright eyes, unwrinkled forehead, + From age's devastation horrid, + Adopt this plan-- + 'Twill make, in climate cold or torrid, + A hale old man: + + Avoid in youth luxurious diet; + Restrain the passion's lawless riot; + Devoted to domestic quiet, + Be wisely gay; + So shall ye, spite of age's fiat, + Resist decay. + + Seek not in Mammon's worship pleasure, + But find your richest, dearest treasure + In God, his word, his work; not leisure. + The mind, not sense, + Is the sole scale by which to measure + Your opulence. + + This is the solace, this the science, + Life's purest, sweetest, best appliance, + That disappoints not man's reliance, + Whate'er his state; + But challenges, with calm defiance, + Time, fortune, fate. + + --Horace Smith. + + +STRENGTH FOR TO-DAY + + Strength for to-day is all that we need, + As there never will be a to-morrow; + For to-morrow will prove but another to-day, + With its measure of joy and sorrow. + + Then why forecast the trials of life + With such sad and grave persistence, + And watch and wait for a crowd of ills + That as yet have no existence? + + Strength for to-day--what a precious boon + For the earnest souls who labor, + For the willing hands that minister + To the needy friend and neighbor. + + Strength for to-day--that the weary hearts + In the battle for right may quail not, + And the eyes bedimmed with bitter tears + In their search for light may fail not. + + Strength for to-day, on the down-hill track, + For the travelers near the valley, + That up, far up, the other side + Ere long they may safely rally. + + Strength for to-day--that our precious youth + May happily shun temptation, + And build, from the rise to the set of the sun, + On a strong and sure foundation. + + Strength for to-day, in house and home, + To practice forbearance sweetly; + To scatter kind deeds and loving words + Still trusting in God completely. + + +FAITHFUL + + Like the star + That shines afar + Without haste + And without rest, + Let each man wheel with steady sway + Round the task that rules the day, + And do his best! + + --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. + + + Who learns and learns, and acts not what he knows, + Is one who plows and plows, but never sows. + + +MORNING + + Lo here hath been dawning + Another blue day; + Think; wilt thou let it + Slip useless away? + Out of eternity + This new day is born; + Into eternity + At night will return. + Behold it aforetime + No eye ever did; + So soon it forever + From all eyes is hid. + Here hath been dawning + Another blue day; + Think; wilt thou let it + Slip useless away? + + --Thomas Carlyle. + + +JUST FOR TO-DAY + + Lord, for to-morrow and its needs + I do not pray; + Keep me, my God, from stain of sin + Just for to-day. + Help me to labor earnestly, + And duly pray; + Let me be kind in word and deed, + Father, to-day. + + Let me no wrong or idle word + Unthinking say; + Set thou a seal upon my lips + Through all to-day. + Let me in season, Lord, be grave, + In season gay; + Let me be faithful to thy grace, + Dear Lord, to-day. + + And if, to-day, this life of mine + Should ebb away, + Give me thy sacrament divine, + Father, to-day. + So for to-morrow and its needs + I do not pray; + Still keep me, guide me, love me, Lord, + Through each to-day. + + --Ernest R. Wilberforce. + + + That life is long which answers life's great end; + The time that bears no fruit deserves no name; + The man of wisdom is the man of years. + + --Edward Young. + + +JUST ONE DAY + + If I could live to God for just one day, + One blessed day, from rosy dawn of light + Till purple twilight deepened into night, + A day of faith unfaltering, trust complete, + Of love unfeigned and perfect charity, + Of hope undimmed, of courage past dismay, + Of heavenly peace, patient humility-- + No hint of duty to constrain my feet, + No dream of ease to lull to listlessness, + Within my heart no root of bitterness, + No yielding to temptation's subtle sway, + Methinks, in that one day would so expand + My soul to meet such holy, high demand + That never, never more could hold me bound + This shriveling husk of self that wraps me round. + So might I henceforth live to God alway. + + --Susan E. Gammons. + + +NOW + + Forget the past and live the present hour; + Now is the time to work, the time to fill + The soul with noblest thoughts, the time to will + Heroic deeds, to use whatever dower + Heaven has bestowed, to test our utmost power. + Now is the time to live, and, better still, + To serve our loved ones; over passing ill + To rise triumphant; thus the perfect flower + Of life shall come to fruitage; wealth amass + For grandest giving ere the time be gone. + Be glad to-day--to-morrow may bring tears; + Be brave to-day; the darkest night will pass + And golden days will usher in the dawn; + Who conquers now shall rule the coming years. + + --Sarah Knowles Bolton. + + +THE HOURS + + The hours are viewless angels, + That still go gliding by, + And bear each minute's record up + To him who sits on high; + And we who walk among them, + As one by one departs, + See not that they are hovering + Forever round our hearts. + + Like summer bees that hover + Around the idle flowers, + They gather every act and thought, + Those viewless angel-hours; + The poison or the nectar + The heart's deep flower cups yield, + A sample still they gather swift, + And leave us in the field. + + And some flit by on pinions + Of joyous gold and blue, + And some flag on with drooping wing + Of sorrow's darker hue; + But still they steal the record + And bear it far away; + Their mission-flight, by day and night, + No magic power can stay. + + And as we spend each minute + That God to us has given, + The deeds are known before his throne, + The tale is told in heaven. + Those bee-like hours we see not, + Nor hear their noiseless wings; + We often feel--too oft--when flown + That they have left their stings. + + So teach me, heavenly Father, + To meet each flying hour, + That as they go they may not show + My heart a poison flower! + So, when death brings its shadows, + The hours that linger last + Shall bear my hopes on angels' wings, + Unfettered by the past. + + --Christopher Pearse Cranch. + + +TO-DAY + + The hours of rest are over, + The hours of toil begin; + The stars above have faded, + The moon has ceased to shine. + The earth puts on her beauty + Beneath the sun's red ray; + And I must rise to labor. + What is my work to-day? + + To search for truth and wisdom, + To live for Christ alone, + To run my race unburdened, + The goal my Father's throne; + To view by faith the promise, + While earthly hopes decay; + To serve the Lord with gladness-- + This is my work to-day. + + To shun the world's allurements, + To bear my cross therein, + To turn from all temptation, + To conquer every sin; + To linger, calm and patient, + Where duty bids me stay, + To go where God may lead me-- + This is my work to-day. + + To keep my troth unshaken, + Though others may deceive; + To give with willing pleasure, + Or still with joy receive; + To bring the mourner comfort, + To wipe sad tears away; + To help the timid doubter-- + This is my work to-day. + + To bear another's weakness, + To soothe another's pain; + To cheer the heart repentant, + And to forgive again; + To commune with the thoughtful, + To guide the young and gay; + To profit all in season-- + This is my work to-day. + + I think not of to-morrow, + Its trial or its task; + But still, with childlike spirit, + For present mercies ask. + With each returning morning + I cast old things away; + Life's journey lies before me; + My prayer is for TO-DAY. + + +LIFE'S MIRROR + + There are loyal hearts, there are spirits brave, + There are souls that are pure and true; + Then give to the world the best you have. + And the best will come back to you. + + Give love, and love to your life will flow, + And strength in your inmost needs; + Have faith, and a score of hearts will show + Their faith in your work and deeds. + + Give truth, and your gifts will be paid in kind, + And song a song will meet; + And the smile which is sweet will surely find + A smile that is just as sweet. + + Give pity and sorrow to those who mourn; + You will gather in flowers again + The scattered seeds from your thought outborne, + Though the sowing seemed in vain. + + For life is the mirror of king and slave, + 'Tis just what we are and do; + Then give to the world the best you have + And the best will come back to you. + + --Madeline S. Bridges. + + +WHEN I HAVE TIME + + When I have time so many things I'll do + To make life happier and more fair + For those whose lives are crowded now with care; + I'll help to lift them from their low despair + When I have time. + + When I have time the friend I love so well + Shall know no more these weary, toiling days; + I'll lead her feet in pleasant paths always + And cheer her heart with words of sweetest praise, + When I have time. + + When you have time! The friend you hold so dear + May be beyond the reach of all your sweet intent; + May never know that you so kindly meant + To fill her life with sweet content + When you had time. + + Now is the time! Ah, friend, no longer wait + To scatter loving smiles and words of cheer + To those around whose lives are now so drear; + They may not need you in the coming year-- + Now is the time! + + +SOME RULES OF LIFE + +_Have Faith in God_ + + What though the dark close round, the storm increase, + Though friends depart, all earthly comforts cease; + Hath He not said, I give my children peace? + Believe his word. + +_Complain of Naught_ + + To murmur, fret, repine, lament, bemoan-- + How sinful, stupid, wrong! God's on the throne, + Does all in wisdom, ne'er forgets his own. + Be filled with praise. + +_Watch Unto Prayer_ + + Think much of God, 'twill save thy soul from sin; + Without his presence let no act begin; + Look up, keep vigil, fear not; thou shalt win. + See him in all. + +_Go Armed with Christ_ + + He said, "I come, O God, to do thy will." + Shall we not, likewise, all his word fulfill, + And find a weapon firm 'gainst every ill? + Put on the Lord. + +_Be True, Be Sweet_ + + Let not the conflict make thee sour or sad; + Swerve not from battle: faithful, loyal, glad-- + The likeness of our Saviour may be had. + Aim high, press on! + + --James Mudge. + + + Forenoon and afternoon and night,--Forenoon, + And afternoon, and night,--Forenoon, and--what? + The empty song repeats itself. No more? + Yea, that is Life: make this forenoon sublime, + This afternoon a psalm, this night a prayer, + And Time is conquered, and thy crown is won. + + --Edward Rowland Sill. + + +I PACK MY TRUNK + + What shall I pack up to carry + From the old year to the new? + I'll leave out the frets that harry, + Thoughts unjust and doubts untrue. + + Angry words--ah, how I rue them! + Selfish deeds and choices blind; + Any one is welcome to them! + I shall leave them all behind. + + Plans? the trunk would need be double. + Hopes? they'd burst the stoutest lid. + Sharp ambitions? last year's stubble! + Take them, old year! Keep them hid! + + All my fears shall be forsaken, + All my failures manifold; + Nothing gloomy shall be taken + To the new year from the old. + + But I'll pack the sweet remembrance + Of dear Friendship's least delight; + All my jokes--I'll carry _them_ hence; + All my store of fancies bright; + + My contentment--would 'twere greater! + All the courage I possess; + All my trust--there's not much weight there! + All my faith, or more, or less; + + All my tasks; I'll not abandon + One of these--nay pride, my health; + Every trivial or grand one + Is a noble mine of wealth. + + And I'll pack my choicest treasures: + Smiles I've seen and praises heard, + Memories of unselfish pleasures, + Cheery looks, the kindly word. + + Ah, my riches silence cavil! + To my rags I bid adieu! + Like a Croesus I shall travel + From the old year to the new! + + --Amos R. Wells. + + + The stars shine over the earth, + The stars shine over the sea; + The stars look up to the mighty God, + The stars look down on me. + The stars have lived for a million years + A million years and a day; + But God and I shall love and live + When the stars have passed away. + + +OPPORTUNITY RENEWED + + They do me wrong who say I come no more + When once I knock and fail to find you in; + For every day I stand outside your door + And bid you wake and ride to fight and win. + Wail not for precious chances passed away, + Weep not for golden ages on the wane! + Each night I burn the records of the day; + At sunrise every soul is born again. + Laugh like a boy at splendors that have sped, + To vanished joys be blind and deaf and dumb; + My judgments seal the dead past with its dead + But never bind a moment yet to come. + Though deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep; + I lend my arm to all who say "I can!" + No shamefaced outcast ever sank so deep + But yet might rise and be again a man. + Dost thou behold thy lost youth all aghast? + Dost reel from righteous retribution's blow? + Then turn from blotted archives of the past + And find the future's pages white as snow. + Art thou a mourner? Rouse thee from thy spell! + Art thou a sinner? Sins may be forgiven! + Each morning gives thee wings to flee from hell, + Each night a star to guide thy feet to heaven. + + --Walter Malone. + + + Though life is made up of mere bubbles + 'Tis better than many aver, + For while we've a whole lot of troubles + The most of them never occur. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + + A happy lot must sure be his-- + The lord, not slave, of things-- + Who values life by what it is + And not by what it brings. + + --John Sterling. + + +A BUILDER'S LESSON + + "How shall I a habit break?" + As you did that habit make. + As you gathered you must lose; + As you yielded, now refuse. + + Thread by thread the strands we twist + Till they bind us neck and wrist; + Thread by thread the patient hand + Must untwine ere free we stand. + As we builded, stone by stone, + We must toil--unhelped, alone-- + Till the wall is overthrown. + + But remember: as we try, + Lighter every test goes by; + Wading in, the stream grows deep + Toward the center's downward sweep; + Backward turn--each step ashore + Shallower is than that before. + + Ah, the precious years we waste + Leveling what we raised in haste; + Doing what must be undone + Ere content or love be won! + First across the gulf we cast + Kite-borne threads, till lives are passed, + And habit builds the bridge at last! + + +BUILDING + + We are building every day + In a good or evil way, + And the structure, as it grows, + Will our inmost self disclose, + + Till in every arch and line + All our faults and failings shine; + It may grow a castle grand, + Or a wreck upon the sand. + + Do you ask what building this + That can show both pain and bliss, + That can be both dark and fair? + Lo, its name is character! + + Build it well, whate'er you do; + Build it straight and strong and true; + Build it clear and high and broad; + Build it for the eye of God. + + --I. E. Dickenga. + + + Nor love thy life, nor hate; but what thou livest + Live well, how long or short permit to heaven. + + --John Milton. + + +HOLY HABITS + + Slowly fashioned, link by link, + Slowly waxing strong, + Till the spirit never shrink, + Save from touch of wrong. + + Holy habits are thy wealth, + Golden, pleasant chains; + Passing earth's prime blessing--health, + Endless, priceless gains. + + Holy habits give thee place + With the noblest, best, + All most godlike of thy race, + And with seraphs blest. + + Holy habits are thy joy, + Wisdom's pleasant ways, + Yielding good without alloy, + Lengthening, too, thy days. + + Seek them, Christian, night and morn; + Seek them noon and even; + Seek them till thy soul be born + Without stains--in heaven. + + --Thomas Davis. + + +MAKE HASTE, O MAN! TO LIVE + + Make haste, O man! to live, + For thou so soon must die; + Time hurries past thee like the breeze; + How swift its moments fly. + Make haste, O man! to live. + + Make haste, O man! to do + Whatever must be done, + Thou hast no time to lose in sloth, + Thy day will soon be gone. + Make haste, O man! to live. + + To breathe, and wake, and sleep, + To smile, to sigh, to grieve, + To move in idleness through earth, + This, this is not to live. + Make haste, O man! to live. + + The useful, not the great; + The thing that never dies, + The silent toil that is not lost, + Set these before thine eyes. + Make haste, O man! to live. + + Make haste, O man! to live. + Thy time is almost o'er; + Oh! sleep not, dream not, but arise, + The Judge is at the door. + Make haste, O man! to live. + + --Horatius Bonar. + + +TEACH ME TO LIVE + + Teach me to live! 'Tis easier far to die-- + Gently and silently pass away-- + On earth's long night to close the heavy eye + And waken in the glorious realms of day. + + Teach me that harder lesson--how to live; + To serve thee in the darkest paths of life; + Arm me for conflict now, fresh vigor give, + And make me more than conqueror in the strife. + + Teach me to live thy purpose to fulfill; + Bright for thy glory let my taper shine; + Each day renew, remold this stubborn will; + Closer round thee my heart's affections twine. + + Teach me to live for self and sin no more; + But use the time remaining to me yet; + Not mine own pleasure seeking as before, + Wasting no precious hours in vain regret. + + Teach me to live; no idler let me be, + But in thy service hand and heart employ. + Prepared to do thy bidding cheerfully-- + Be this my highest and my holiest joy. + + Teach me to live--my daily cross to bear, + Nor murmur though I bend beneath its load. + Only be with me, let me feel thee near, + Thy smile sheds gladness on the darkest road. + + Teach me to live and find my life in thee, + Looking from earth and earthly things away. + Let me not falter, but untiringly + Press on, and gain new strength and power each day. + + Teach me to live with kindly words for all, + Wearing no cold repulsive brow of gloom, + Waiting with cheerful patience till thy call + Summons my spirit to her heavenly home. + + +OPPORTUNITY + + Master of human destinies am I, + Fame, love, and fortune on my footsteps wait, + Cities and fields I walk; I penetrate + Deserts and seas remote, and, passing by + Hovel and mart and palace, soon or late + I knock, unbidden, once at every gate! + If sleeping, wake--if feasting, rise--before + I turn away. It is the hour of fate, + And they who follow me reach every state + Mortals desire, and conquer every foe + Save death; but those who doubt, or hesitate, + Condemned to failure, penury, and woe, + Seek me in vain and uselessly implore; + I answer not, and I return no more. + + --John James Ingalls. + + +THREE DAYS + + So much to do; so little done! + Ah! yesternight I saw the sun + Sink beamless down the vaulted gray-- + The ghastly ghost of yesterday. + + So little done; so much to do! + Each morning breaks on conflicts new; + But eager, brave, I'll join the fray, + And fight the battle of to-day. + + So much to do; so little done! + But when it's o'er--the victory won-- + O then, my soul, this strife and sorrow + Will end in that great, glad to-morrow! + + --James Roberts Gilmore. + + +JUSTICE + + Three men went out one summer night; + No care had they or aim. + They dined and drank. Ere we go home + We'll have, they said, a game. + + Three girls began that summer night + A life of endless shame, + And went through drink, disease, and death + As swift as racing flame. + + Lawless, homeless, foul, they died; + Rich, loved, and praised, the men. + But when they all shall meet with God, + And Justice speaks, what then? + + --Stopford Augustus Brooke. + + +OPPORTUNITY IMPROVED + + This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream: + There spread a cloud of dust along a plain; + And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged + A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords + Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince's banner + Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes. + A craven hung along the battle's edge, + And thought, "Had I a sword of keener steel-- + That blue blade that the king's son bears--but this + Blunt thing----!" he snapt and flung it from his hand, + And lowering crept away and left the field. + Then came the king's son, wounded, sore bestead, + And weaponless, and saw the broken sword, + Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand, + And ran and snatched it and, with battle-shout + Lifted afresh, he hewed his enemy down, + And saved a great cause that heroic day. + + --Edward Rowland Sill. + + +DUM VIVIMUS VIVAMUS + + Live while you live, the epicure would say, + And seize the pleasures of the passing day! + Live while you live, the sacred preacher cries, + And give to God each moment as it flies! + Lord, in my views let both united be; + I live in pleasure when I live to thee. + + --Philip Doddridge. + + + It is bad to have an empty purse, + But an empty head is a whole lot worse. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + + Shut your mouth, and open your eyes, + And you're sure to learn something to make you wise. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + +THE COMMON LOT + + Once, in the flight of ages past, + There lived a man, and who was he? + Mortal! howe'er thy lot be cast, + That man resembled thee. + + Unknown the region of his birth; + The land in which he died unknown; + His name has perished from the earth; + This truth survives alone: + + That joy and grief and hope and fear, + Alternate triumphed in his breast; + His bliss and woe--a smile, a tear! + Oblivion hides the rest. + + He suffered--but his pangs are o'er; + Enjoyed--but his delights are fled; + Had friends--his friends are now no more; + And foes--his foes are dead. + + He saw whatever thou hast seen; + Encountered all that troubles thee; + He was--whatever thou hast been; + He is--what thou shalt be. + + The rolling seasons, day and night, + Sun, moon, and stars, the earth and man, + Erewhile his portion, life, and light, + To him exist in vain. + + The clouds and sunbeams, o'er his eye + That once their shades and glory threw, + Have left in yonder silent sky + No vestige where they flew. + + The annals of the human race, + Their ruins, since the world began, + Of him afford no other trace + Than this--there lived a man. + + --James Montgomery. + + + Happy the man, and happy he alone, + He who can call to-day his own; + He who, secure within, can say, + "To-morrow, do thy worst; for I have lived to-day. + Be fair or foul, or rain or shine, + The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine. + Not heaven itself upon the past has power, + But what has been has been, and I have had my hour." + + --Horace, tr. by John Dryden. + + +PROEM + + If this little world to-night + Suddenly should fall through space + In a hissing, headlong flight, + Shriveling from off its face, + As it falls into the sun, + In an instant every trace + Of the little crawling things-- + Ants, philosophers, and lice, + Cattle, cockroaches, and kings, + Beggars, millionaires, and mice, + Men and maggots--all as one + As it falls into the sun-- + Who can say but at the same + Instant, from some planet far, + A child may watch us and exclaim, + "See the pretty shooting star!" + + --Oliver Herford. + + +DOING AND BEING + + Think not alone to _do_ right, and fulfill + Life's due perfection by the simple worth + Of lawful actions called by justice forth, + And thus condone a world confused with ill! + But fix the high condition of thy will + To _be_ right, that its good's spontaneous birth + May spread like flowers springing from the earth + On which the natural dews of heaven distill; + For these require no honors, take no care + For gratitude from men--but more are blessed + In the sweet ignorance that they are fair; + And through their proper functions live and rest, + Breathing their fragrance out with joyous air, + Content with praise of bettering what is best. + + --William Davies. + + + And, since we needs must hunger, better for man's love + Than God's truth! better for companions sweet + Than great convictions! let us bear our weights + Preferring dreary hearths to desert souls. + + --Elizabeth Barrett Browning. + + +RICHES + + Since all the riches of this world + May be gifts from the devil and earthly kings, + I should suspect that I worshiped the devil + If I thanked my God for worldly things. + + --William Blake. + + + Trust to the Lord to hide thee, + Wait on the Lord to guide thee, + So shall no ill betide thee + Day by day. + Rise with his fear before thee, + Tell of the love he bore thee, + Sleep with his shadow o'er thee, + Day by day. + + + Four things a man must learn to do + If he would make his record true: + To think without confusion clearly; + To love his fellow-men sincerely; + To act from honest motives purely; + To trust in God and heaven securely. + + --Henry van Dyke. + + + Each moment holy is, for out from God + Each moment flashes forth a human soul. + Holy each moment is, for back to him + Some wandering soul each moment home returns. + + --Richard Watson Gilder. + + + At thirty man suspects himself a fool; + Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan; + At fifty chides his infamous delay, + Pushes his prudent purpose to resolve; + In all the magnanimity of thought + Resolves, and re-resolves; then dies the same. + + --Edward Young. + + + Abundance is the blessing of the wise; + The use of riches in discretion lies; + Learn this, ye men of wealth: a heavy purse + In a fool's pocket is a heavy curse. + + --From the Greek. + + +FRIEND AND FOE + + Dear is my friend, but my foe too + Is friendly to my good; + My friend the thing shows I _can_ do, + My foe the thing I should. + + --Johann C. F. von Schiller. + + + How does the soul grow? Not all in a minute; + Now it may lose ground, and now it may win it; + Now it resolves, and again the will faileth; + Now it rejoiceth, and now it bewaileth; + Now its hopes fructify, then they are blighted; + Now it walks sunnily, now gropes benighted; + Fed by discouragements, taught by disaster, + So it goes forward, now slower, now faster; + Till, all the pain past and failure made whole, + It is full grown, and the Lord rules the soul. + + --Susan Coolidge. + + + Life is too short to waste + In critic peep or cynic bark, + Quarrel, or reprimand. + 'Twill soon be dark; + Up! mind thine own aim, and + God speed the mark! + + --Ralph Waldo Emerson. + + + Pleasures are like poppies spread, + You seize the flower, its bloom is shed; + Or like the snow-fall in the river, + A moment white--then melts forever; + Or like the borealis race, + That flit ere you can point their place; + Or like the rainbow's lovely form, + Evanishing amid the storm. + + --Robert Burns. + + + I saw a farmer plow his land who never came to sow; + I saw a student filled with truth to practice never go; + In land or mind I never saw the ripened harvest grow. + + --Saadi, tr. by James Freeman Clarke. + + +CARES AND DAYS + + To those who prattle of despair + Some friend, methinks, might wisely say: + Each day, no question, has its care, + But also every care its day. + + --John Sterling. + + + What imports + Fasting or feasting? Do thy day's work; dare + Refuse no help thereto; since help refused + Is hindrance sought and found. + + --Robert Browning. + + + I go to prove my soul! + I see my way as birds their trackless way. + I shall arrive! What time, what circuit first, + I ask not; but unless God send his hail + Or blinding fireballs, sleet or stifling snow, + In some time, his good time, I shall arrive: + He guides me and the bird. In his good time. + + --Robert Browning. + + + Art thou in misery, brother? Then, I pray, + Be comforted; thy grief shall pass away. + + Art thou elated? Ah! be not too gay; + Temper thy joy; this, too, shall pass away. + + Whate'er thou art, where'er thy footsteps stray, + Heed the wise words: "This, too, shall pass away." + + + We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths, + In feelings, not in figures on a dial. + We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives + Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. + Life's but a means unto an end; that end + Beginning, mean, and end to all things--God. + + --Philip James Bailey. + + +WE DEFER THINGS + + We say, and we say, and we say, + We promise, engage, and declare, + Till a year from to-morrow is yesterday + And yesterday is--where? + + --James Whitcomb Riley. + + + To be sincere. To look life in the eyes + With calm, undrooping gaze. Always to mean + The high and truthful thing. Never to screen + Behind the unmeant word the sharp surprise + Of cunning; never tell the little lies + Of look or thought. Always to choose between + The true and small, the true and large, serene + And high above Life's cheap dishonesties. + + The soul that steers by this unfading star + Needs never other compass. All the far, + Wide waste shall blaze with guiding light, though rocks + And sirens meet and mock its straining gaze. + Secure from storms and all Life's battle-shocks + It shall not veer from any righteous ways. + + --Maurice Smiley. + + + The lily's lips are pure and white without a touch of fire; + The rose's heart is warm and red and sweetened with desire. + In earth's broad fields of deathless bloom the gladdest lives are those + Whose thoughts are as the lily and whose love is like the rose. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + + We shape ourselves the joy or fear + Of which the coming life is made, + And fill our future's atmosphere + With sunshine or with shade. + + The tissue of the life to be + We weave with colors all our own, + And in the field of destiny + We reap as we have sown. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +THE ROUND OF THE WHEEL + + The miller feeds the mill, and the mill the miller; + So death feeds life, and life, too, feeds its killer. + + --John Sterling. + + + If I were dead I think that you would come + And look upon me, cold and white, and say, + "Poor child! I'm sorry you have gone away." + + But just because my body has to live + Through hopeless years, you do not come and say, + "Dear child, I'm glad that you are here to-day." + + + Who heeds not experience, trust him not; tell him + The scope of our mind can but trifles achieve; + The weakest who draws from the mine will excel him-- + The wealth of mankind is the wisdom they leave. + + --John Boyle O'Reilly. + + + A pious friend one day of Rabia asked + How she had learned the truth of Allah wholly; + By what instructions was her memory tasked? + How was her heart estranged from the world's folly? + + She answered, "Thou who knowest God in parts + Thy spirit's moods and processes canst tell: + I only know that in my heart of hearts + I have despised myself and loved him well." + + + There is a tide in the affairs of men + Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; + Omitted, all the voyage of their life + Is bound in shallows and in miseries. + + --William Shakespeare. + + +THE DESERT'S USE + + Why wakes not life the desert bare and lone? + To show what all would be if she were gone. + + --John Sterling. + + + So live that, when thy summons comes to join + The innumerable caravan which moves + To that mysterious realm where each shall take + His chamber in the silent halls of death, + Thou go not like the quarry slave at night + Scourged to his dungeon; but, sustained and soothed + By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave + Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch + About him and lies down to pleasant dreams. + + --William Cullen Bryant. + + + The time is short. + If thou wouldst work for God it must be now. + If thou wouldst win the garlands for thy brow, + Redeem the time. + + I sometimes feel the thread of life is slender; + And soon with me the labor will be wrought; + Then grows my heart to other hearts more tender; + The time is short. + + + The man who idly sits and thinks + May sow a nobler crop than corn; + For thoughts are seeds of future deeds, + And when God thought, the world was born. + + --George John Romanes. + + + Thought is deeper than all speech, + Feeling deeper than all thought; + Souls to souls can never teach + What unto themselves was taught. + + --Christopher Pearse Cranch. + + + That thou mayst injure no man dovelike be, + And serpentlike that none may injure thee. + + + The poem hangs on the berry bush + When comes the poet's eye. + The street begins to masquerade + When Shakespeare passes by. + + --William C. Gannett. + + + Be thou a poor man and a just + And thou mayest live without alarm; + For leave the good man Satan must, + The poor the Sultan will not harm. + + --From the Persian. + + + Diving, and finding no pearls in the sea, + Blame not the ocean; the fault is in thee! + + --From the Persian. + + + All habits gather by unseen degrees; + As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas. + + --John Dryden. + + + Habits are soon assumed, but when we strive + To strip them off 'tis being flayed alive. + + --William Cowper. + + + So live that when the mighty caravan, + Which halts one night-time in the Vale of Death, + Shall strike its white tents for the morning march, + Thou shalt mount onward to the Eternal Hills, + Thy foot unwearied, and thy strength renewed + Like the strong eagle's for the upward flight. + + + And see all sights from pole to pole, + And glance and nod and bustle by, + And never once possess our soul + Before we die. + + --Matthew Arnold. + + + Catch, then, O catch the transient hour; + Improve each moment as it flies; + Life's a short summer--man a flower. + + --Dr. Samuel Johnson. + + + This world's no blot for us + Nor blank; it means intensely, and means good: + To find its meaning is my meat and drink. + + --Robert Browning. + + + What is life? + 'Tis not to stalk about, and draw fresh air, + Or gaze upon the sun. 'Tis to be free. + + --Joseph Addison. + + + I see the right, and I approve it too, + Condemn the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue. + + --Ovid. + + + God asks not "To what sect did he belong?" + But, "Did he do the right, or love the wrong?" + + --From the Persian. + + + Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, + Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; + So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another, + Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + One wept all night beside a sick man's bed: + At dawn the sick was well, the mourner dead. + + --From the Persian. + + + 'Tis life whereof our nerves are scant, + O life, not death, for which we pant; + More life and fuller that I want. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + + + +AGE AND DEATH + +MATURITY, VICTORY, HEAVEN + + +A DEFIANCE TO OLD AGE + + Thou shalt not rob me, thievish Time, + Of all my blessings or my joy; + I have some jewels in my heart + Which thou art powerless to destroy. + + Thou mayest denude mine arm of strength, + And leave my temples seamed and bare; + Deprive mine eyes of passion's light, + And scatter silver o'er my hair. + + But never, while a book remains, + And breathes a woman or a child, + Shalt thou deprive me whilst I live + Of feelings fresh and undefiled. + + No, never while the earth is fair, + And Reason keeps its dial bright, + Whate'er thy robberies, O Time, + Shall I be bankrupt of delight. + + Whate'er thy victories o'er my frame, + Thou canst not cheat me of this truth: + That, though the limbs may faint and fail, + The spirit can renew its youth. + + So, thievish Time, I fear thee not; + Thou'rt powerless on this heart of mine; + My precious jewels are my own, + 'Tis but the settings that are thine. + + --Charles Mackay. + + +SIMPLE FAITH + + You say, "Where goest thou?" I cannot tell + And still go on. If but the way be straight + I cannot go amiss! Before me lies + Dawn and the Day! the Night behind me; that + Suffices me; I break the bounds; I see, + And nothing more; believe, and nothing less. + My future is not one of my concerns. + + +A MORNING THOUGHT + + What if some morning, when the stars were paling, + And the dawn whitened, and the East was clear, + Strange peace and rest fell on me from the presence + Of a benignant Spirit standing near, + + And I should tell him, as he stood beside me, + "This is our Earth--most friendly Earth, and fair; + Daily its sea and shore through sun and shadow + Faithful it turns, robed in its azure air; + + "There is blest living here, loving and serving, + And quest of truth, and serene friendships dear; + But stay not, Spirit! Earth has one destroyer-- + His name is Death; flee, lest he find thee here!" + + And what if then, while the still morning brightened, + And freshened in the elm the summer's breath, + Should gravely smile on me the gentle angel, + And take my hand and say, "My name is Death." + + --Edward Rowland Sill. + + + On parent knees, a naked, new-born child, + Weeping thou sat'st while all around thee smiled: + So live that, sinking in thy last long sleep, + Calm thou may'st smile while all around thee weep. + + --From the Persian. + + +EMMAUS + + Abide with us, O wondrous guest! + A stranger still, though long possessed; + Our hearts thy love unknown desire, + And marvel how the sacred fire + Should burn within us while we stray + From that sad spot where Jesus lay. + + So when our youth, through bitter loss + Or hopes deferred, draws near the cross, + We lose the Lord our childhood knew + And God's own word may seem untrue; + Yet Christ himself shall soothe the way + Towards the evening of our day. + + And though we travel towards the west + 'Tis still for toil, and not for rest; + No fate except that life is done; + At Emmaus is our work begun; + Then let us watch lest tears should hide + The Lord who journeys by our side. + + +NOT NOW BUT THEN + + Take the joys and bear the sorrows--neither with extreme concern! + Living here means nescience simply; 'tis next life that helps to learn. + Shut those eyes next life will open--stop those ears next life will + teach + Hearing's office; close those lips next life will give the power of + speech! + Or, if action more amuse thee than the passive attitude, + Bravely bustle through thy being, busy thee for ill or good, + Reap this life's success or failure! Soon shall things be unperplexed, + And the right or wrong, now tangled, lie unraveled in the next. + + --Robert Browning. + + +CHEERFUL OLD AGE + + Ah! don't be sorrowful, darling, + And don't be sorrowful, pray; + For taking the year together, my dear, + There isn't more night than day. + + 'Tis rainy weather, my darling; + Time's waves they heavily run; + But taking the year together, my dear, + There isn't more cloud than sun. + + We are old folks now, my darling, + Our heads are growing gray; + And taking the year together, my dear, + You will always find the May. + + We have had our May, my darling, + And our roses long ago; + And the time of year is coming, my dear, + For the silent night and snow. + + And God is God, my darling, + Of night as well as day, + And we feel and know that we can go + Wherever he leads the way. + + Ay, God of night, my darling; + Of the night of death so grim; + The gate that leads out of life, good wife, + Is the gate that leads to him. + + + For age is opportunity no less + Than youth itself, though in another dress, + And as the evening twilight fades away + The sky is filled with stars invisible by day. + + + At sixty-two life has begun; + At seventy-three begin once more; + Fly swifter as thou near'st the sun, + And brighter shine at eighty-four. + At ninety-five + Shouldst thou arrive, + Still wait on God, and work and thrive. + + --Oliver Wendell Holmes. + + + For what is age but youth's full bloom, + A riper, more transcendent youth? + A weight of gold is never old. + + + Thy thoughts and feelings shall not die, + Nor leave thee, when gray hairs are nigh, + A melancholy slave; + But an old age serene and bright, + And lovely as a Lapland night, + Shall lead thee to thy grave. + + --William Wordsworth. + + + Fill, brief or long, my granted years + Of life with love to thee and man; + Strike when thou wilt, the hour of rest, + But let my last days be my best. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + + An age so blest that, by its side, + Youth seems the waste instead. + + --Robert Browning. + + +ON THE EVE OF DEPARTURE + + At the midnight, in the silence of the sleep-time, + When you set your fancies free, + Will they pass to where--by death, fools think, imprisoned-- + Low he lies who once so loved you, whom you love so, + --Pity me? + + O to love so, be so loved, yet so mistaken! + What had I on earth to do + With the slothful, with the mawkish, the unmanly? + Like the aimless, helpless, hopeless, did I drivel + --Being--who? + + One who never turned his back, but marched breast forward, + Never doubted clouds would break, + Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph, + Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, + Sleep to wake. + + No, at noonday, in the bustle of man's work-time, + Greet the unseen with a cheer! + Bid him forward, breast and back as either should be, + "Strive and thrive!" cry, "Speed,--fight on, fare ever + There as here!" + + --Robert Browning. + + + Let no one till his death + Be called unhappy. Measure not the work + Until the day's out and the labor done; + Then bring your gauges. + + --Elizabeth Barrett Browning. + + +I WOULD LIVE LONGER + +Phil. i. 23. + + O I would live longer, I gladly would stay, + Though "storm after storm rises dark o'er the way"; + Temptations and trials beset me, 'tis true, + Yet gladly I'd stay where there's so much to do. + + O I would live longer--not "away from my Lord"-- + For ever he's with me, fulfilling his word; + In sorrow I lean on his arm, for he's near, + In darkness he speaks, and my spirit doth cheer. + + Yes, I would live longer some trophy to win, + Some soul to lead back from the dark paths of sin; + Some weak one to strengthen, some faint one to cheer, + And heaven will be sweeter for laboring here. + + But--would I live longer? How can I decide, + With Jesus in glory, still here to abide? + O Lord, leave not the decision to me, + Where best I can serve thee, Lord, there let me be. + + --L. Kinney. + + +THERE IS NO DEATH + + There is no death! the stars go down + To rise upon some fairer shore, + And bright in heaven's jeweled crown + They shine forever more. + + There is no death! the dust we tread + Shall change, beneath the summer showers, + To golden grain, or mellow fruit, + Or rainbow-tinted flowers. + + There is no death! the leaves may fall, + The flowers may fade and pass away-- + They only wait, through wintry hours, + The warm sweet breath of May. + + There is no death! the choicest gifts + That Heaven hath kindly lent to earth + Are ever first to seek again + The country of their birth; + + And all things that, for grief or joy, + Are worthy of thy love and care, + Whose loss has left us desolate, + Are safely garnered there. + + * * * * * + + They are not dead! they have but passed + Beyond the mists that blind us here, + Into the new and larger life + Of that serener sphere. + + They have but dropped their robe of clay + To put their shining raiment on; + They have not wandered far away-- + They are not "lost" or "gone." + + Though disenthralled and glorified, + They still are here and love us yet; + The dear ones they have left behind + They never can forget. + + --J. C. McCreery. + + +PROSPICE (LOOK FORWARD) + + Fear death?--to feel the fog in my throat, + The mist in my face; + When the snows begin, and the blasts denote + I am nearing the place, + The power of the night, the press of the storm, + The post of the foe; + Where he stands, the Arch Fear in a visible form? + Yet the strong man must go; + For the journey is done and the summit attained, + And the barriers fall-- + Though a battle's to fight ere the guerdon be gained, + The reward of it all. + I was ever a fighter, so--one fight more, + The best and the last! + I would hate that death bandaged my eyes, and forbore, + And bade me creep past. + No! let me taste the whole of it, fare like my peers, + The heroes of old, + Bear the brunt, in a minute pay glad life's arrears + Of pain, darkness, and cold. + For sudden the worst turns the best to the brave, + The black minute's at end, + And the elements' rage, the fiend voices that rave, + Shall dwindle, shall blend, + Shall change: shall become first a peace out of pain, + Then a light, then thy breast, + O thou soul of my soul! I shall clasp thee again, + And with God be the rest! + + --Robert Browning. + + +OUR HOME ABOVE + + We thank thee, gracious Father, + For many a pleasant day, + For bird and flower, and joyous hour, + For friends, and work, and play. + Of blessing and of mercy + Our life has had its share; + This world is not a wilderness, + Thou hast made all things fair. + + But fairer still, and sweeter, + The things that are above; + We look and long to join the song + In the land of light and love. + We trust the Word which tells us + Of that divine abode; + By faith we bring its glories nigh, + While hope illumes the road. + + So death has lost its terrors; + How can we fear it now? + Its face, once grim, now leads to him + At whose command we bow. + His presence makes us happy, + His service is delight, + The many mansions gleam and glow, + The saints our souls invite. + + We welcome that departure + Which brings us to our Lord; + We hail with joy the blest employ + Those wondrous realms afford. + We call it home up yonder; + Down here we toil and strain + As in some mine's dark, danksome depths; + There sunshine bright we gain. + + To God, then, sound the timbrel! + There's naught can do us harm; + Our greatest foe has been laid low; + What else can cause alarm? + For freedom and for victory + Our hearts give loud acclaim; + Whate'er befall, on him we call; + North, South, East, West, in him we rest; + All glory to his name! + + --James Mudge. + + +AT LAST + + When on my day of life the night is falling, + And, in the winds from unsunned spaces blown, + I hear far voices out of darkness calling + My feet to paths unknown; + + Thou who hast made my home of life so pleasant, + Leave not its tenant when its walls decay; + O Love Divine, O Helper ever present, + Be thou my strength and stay! + + Be near me when all else is from me drifting: + Earth, sky, home's pictures, days of shade and shine, + And kindly faces to my own uplifting + The love which answers mine. + + I have but Thee, my Father! let thy spirit + Be with me then to comfort and uphold; + No gate of pearl, no branch of palm I merit, + Nor street of shining gold. + + Suffice it if--my good and ill unreckoned, + And both forgiven through thy abounding grace-- + I find myself by hands familiar beckoned + Unto my fitting place. + + Some humble door among thy many mansions, + Some sheltering shade where sin and striving cease, + And flows forever through heaven's green expansions + The river of thy peace. + + There, from the music round about me stealing, + I fain would learn the new and holy song, + And find at last, beneath thy trees of healing, + The life for which I long. + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +READY + + I would be ready, Lord, + My house in order set, + None of the work thou gavest me + To do unfinished yet. + + I would be watching, Lord, + With lamp well trimmed and clear, + Quick to throw open wide the door, + What time thou drawest near. + + I would be waiting, Lord, + Because I cannot know + If in the night or morning watch + I may be called to go. + + I would be waking, Lord, + Each day, each hour for thee; + Assured that thus I wait thee well, + Whene'er thy coming be. + + I would be living, Lord, + As ever in thine eye; + For whoso lives the nearest thee + The fittest is to die. + + --Margaret J. Preston. + + +THALASSA! THALASSA! + + I stand upon the summit of my life, + Behind, the camp, the court, the field, the grove, + The battle and the burden; vast, afar + Beyond these weary ways, behold the Sea! + The sea, o'erswept by clouds and winds and waves; + By thoughts and wishes manifold; whose breath + Is freshness and whose mighty pulse is peace. + + Palter no question of the horizon dim-- + Cut loose the bark! Such voyage, it is rest; + Majestic motion, unimpeded scope, + A widening heaven, a current without care, + Eternity! Deliverance, promise, course, + Time-tired souls salute thee from the shore. + + --Brownlee Brown. + + +AT END + + At end of love, at end of life, + At end of hope, at end of strife, + At end of all we cling to so, + The sun is setting--must we go? + + At dawn of love, at dawn of life, + At dawn of peace that follows strife, + At dawn of all we long for so, + The sun is rising--let us go! + + --Louise Chandler Moulton. + + +WHAT IS DEATH + + It is not death to die-- + To leave this weary road, + And, 'mid the brotherhood on high, + To be at home with God. + + It is not death to close + The eye long dimmed by tears, + And wake in glorious repose + To spend eternal years. + + It is not death to bear + The wrench that sets us free + From dungeon chain, to breathe the air + Of boundless liberty. + + It is not death to fling + Aside this sinful dust, + And rise on strong exulting wing + To live among the just. + + Jesus, thou Prince of life, + Thy chosen cannot die! + Like thee they conquer in the strife + To reign with thee on high. + + --Abraham H. C. Malan, tr. by George Washington Bethune. + + +UPHILL + + Does the road wind uphill all the way? + _Yes, to the very end._ + Will the day's journey take the whole long day? + _From morn to night, my friend._ + + But is there for the night a resting-place? + _A roof for when the slow dark hours begin._ + May not the darkness hide it from my face? + _You cannot miss the inn._ + + Shall I meet other wayfarers at night? + _Those who have gone before._ + Then must I knock or call when just in sight? + _They will not keep you standing at the door._ + + Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak? + _Of labor you shall find the sum._ + Will there be beds for me and all who seek? + _Yes, beds for all who come._ + + --Christina G. Rossetti. + + +ON SECOND THOUGHT + + The end's so near, + It is all one + What track I steer, + What work's begun, + It is all one + If _nothing's_ done, + The end's so near! + + The end's so near, + It is all one + _What_ track thou steer, + _What_ work's begun-- + _Some_ deed, _some_ plan, + As thou'rt a man! + The end's so near! + + --Edward Rowland Sill. + + +THE VOICE CALLING + + In the hush of April weather, + With the bees in budding heather, + And the white clouds floating, floating, + and the sunshine falling broad; + While my children down the hill + Run and leap, and I sit still, + Through the silence, through the silence + art thou calling, O my God? + + Through my husband's voice that prayeth, + Though he knows not what he sayeth, + Is it thou who, in thy holy word, hast + solemn words for me? + And when he clasps me fast, + And smiles fondly o'er the past, + And talks hopeful of the future, Lord, + do I hear only thee? + + Not in terror nor in thunder + Comes thy voice, although it sunder + Flesh from spirit, soul from body, + human bliss from human pain; + All the work that was to do, + All the joys so sweet and new, + Which thou shew'dst me in a vision, + Moses-like, and hid'st again. + + From this Pisgah, lying humbled, + The long desert where I stumbled + And the fair plains I shall never reach + seem equal, clear, and far: + On this mountain-top of ease + Thou wilt bury me in peace; + While my tribes march onward, onward + unto Canaan and to war. + + + In my boy's loud laughter ringing, + In the sigh, more soft than singing, + Of my baby girl that nestles up unto this mortal breast, + After every voice most dear, + Comes a whisper, "Rest not here." + And the rest thou art preparing, is it best, Lord, is it best? + + Lord, a little, little longer! + Sobs the earth love, growing stronger; + He will miss me, and go mourning through his solitary days, + And heaven were scarcely heaven + If these lambs that thou hast given + Were to slip out of our keeping and be lost in the world's ways. + + Lord, it is not fear of dying, + Nor an impious denying + Of thy will--which evermore on earth, in heaven, be done; + But a love that, desperate, clings + Unto these, my precious things, + In the beauty of the daylight, and glory of the sun. + + Ah! thou still art calling, calling, + With a soft voice unappalling; + And it vibrates in far circles through the everlasting years; + When thou knockest, even so! + I will arise and go: + What, my little ones, more violets? nay, be patient; mother hears! + + --Dinah Maria Mulock Craik. + + +THE "SILVER CORD IS LOOSED" + + In the June twilight, in the soft, gray twilight, + The yellow sun-glow trembling through the rainy eve, + As my love lay quiet, came the solemn fiat, + "All these things for ever, for ever thou must leave." + + My love she sank down quivering like a pine in tempest shivering, + "I have had so little happiness as yet beneath the sun; + I have called the shadow sunshine, and the merest frosty moonshine + I have, weeping, blessed the Lord for as if daylight had begun. + + "Till he sent a sudden angel, with a glorious sweet evangel, + Who turned all my tears to pearl-gems, and crowned _me_--so little + worth; + _Me!_ and through the rainy even changed my poor earth into heaven + Or, by wondrous revelation, brought the heavens down to earth. + + "O the strangeness of the feeling!--O the infinite revealing,-- + To think how God must love me to have made me so content! + Though I would have served him humbly, and patiently, and dumbly, + Without any angel standing in the pathway that I went." + + In the June twilight, in the lessening twilight, + My love cried from my bosom an exceeding bitter cry: + "Lord, wait a little longer, until my soul is stronger! + O wait till thou hast taught me to be content to die!" + + Then the tender face, all woman, took a glory superhuman, + And she seemed to watch for something, or see some I could not see: + From my arms she rose full-statured, all transfigured, + queenly-featured,-- + "As thy will is done in heaven, so on earth still let it be!" + + I go lonely, I go lonely, and I feel that earth is only + The vestibule of places whose courts we never win; + Yet I see my palace shining, where my love sits amaranths twining, + And I know the gates stand open, and I shall enter in! + + --Dinah Maria Mulock Craik. + + +CROSSING THE BAR + + Sunset and evening star, + And one clear call for me! + And may there be no moaning of the bar + When I put out to sea, + + But such a tide as, moving, seems asleep, + Too full for sound and foam, + When that which drew from out the boundless deep + Turns again home. + + Twilight and evening bell, + And after that the dark! + And may there be no sadness of farewell + When I embark; + + For though from out our bourne of Time and Place + The flood may bear me far, + I hope to see my Pilot face to face + When I have crossed the bar. + + --Alfred Tennyson. + + +LAUS MORTIS + + Nay, why should I fear Death, + Who gives us life, and in exchange takes breath? + + He is like cordial spring, + That lifts above the soil each buried thing; + + Like autumn, kind and brief, + The frost that chills the branches frees the leaf; + + Like winter's stormy hours, + That spread their fleece of snow to save the flowers; + + The lordliest of all things!-- + Life lends us only feet, Death gives us wings. + + Fearing no covert thrust, + Let me walk onward, armed in valiant trust; + + Dreading no unseen knife, + Across Death's threshold step from life to life! + + O all ye frightened folk, + Whether ye wear a crown or bear a yoke, + + Laid in one equal bed, + When once your coverlet of grass is spread, + + What daybreak need you fear? + The Love will rule you there that guides you here. + + Where Life, the sower, stands, + Scattering the ages from his swinging hands, + + Thou waitest, reaper lone, + Until the multitudinous grain hath grown. + + Scythe-bearer, when thy blade + Harvests my flesh, let me be unafraid. + + God's husbandman thou art, + In his unwithering sheaves, O, bind my heart! + + --Frederic Lawrence Knowles. + + +IMMANUEL'S LAND + + The sands of time are sinking, + The dawn of heaven breaks, + The summer morn I've sighed for-- + The fair, sweet morn awakes. + Dark, dark hath been the midnight, + But dayspring is at hand, + And glory, glory dwelleth + In Immanuel's land. + + I've wrestled on toward heaven + 'Gainst storm, and wind, and tide, + Now, like a weary traveler + That leaneth on his guide, + Amid the shades of evening, + While sinks life's lingering sand, + I hail the glory dawning + From Immanuel's land. + + Deep waters crossed life's pathway; + The hedge of thorns was sharp; + Now these lie all behind me. + O for a well-tuned harp! + O to join the Hallelujah + With yon triumphant band + Who sing where glory dwelleth-- + In Immanuel's land! + + With mercy and with judgment + My web of time he wove, + And aye the dews of sorrow + Were lustered with his love; + I'll bless the hand that guided, + I'll bless the heart that planned, + When throned where glory dwelleth-- + In Immanuel's land. + + --Annie R. Cousin. + + + The grave itself is but a covered bridge + Leading from light to light through a brief darkness. + + --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. + + + I hold that, since by death alone + God bids my soul go free, + In death a richer blessing is + Than all the world to me. + + --Scheffler, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + +DEATH + + Fearest the shadow? Keep thy trust; + Still the star-worlds roll. + Fearest death? sayest, "Dust to dust"? + No; say "Soul to Soul!" + + --John Vance Cheney. + + +THE TENANT + + This body is my house--it is not I; + Herein I sojourn till, in some far sky, + I lease a fairer dwelling, built to last + Till all the carpentry of time is past. + When from my high place viewing this lone star, + What shall I care where these poor timbers are? + What though the crumbling walls turn dust and loam-- + I shall have left them for a larger home. + What though the rafters break, the stanchions rot, + When earth has dwindled to a glimmering spot! + When thou, clay cottage, fallest, I'll immerse + My long-cramp'd spirit in the universe. + Through uncomputed silences of space + I shall yearn upward to the leaning Face. + The ancient heavens will roll aside for me, + As Moses monarch'd the dividing sea. + This body is my house--it is not I. + Triumphant in this faith I live, and die. + + --Frederic Lawrence Knowles. + + +TO OUR BELOVED + + It singeth low in every heart, + We hear it, each and all-- + A song of those who answer not, + However we may call; + They throng the silence of the breast, + We see them as of yore-- + The kind, the brave, the true, the sweet, + Who walk with us no more. + + 'Tis hard to take the burden up + When these have laid it down; + They brightened all the joy of life, + They softened every frown; + But, O, 'tis good to think of them + When we are troubled sore! + Thanks be to God that such have been, + Though they are here no more. + + More homelike seems the vast unknown + Since they have entered there; + To follow them were not so hard, + Wherever they may fare; + They cannot be where God is not, + On any sea or shore; + Whate'er betides, thy love abides, + Our God, for evermore. + + --John White Chadwick. + + +A DEATH BED + + As I lay sick upon my bed + I heard them say "in danger"; + The word seemed very strange to me + Could any word seem stranger? + + "In danger"--of escape from sin + For ever and for ever! + Of entering that most holy place + Where evil entereth never! + + "In danger"--of beholding him + Who is my soul's salvation! + Whose promises sustain my soul + In blest anticipation! + + "In danger"--of soon shaking off + Earth's last remaining fetter! + And of departing hence to be + "With Christ," which is far better! + + It _is_ a solemn thing to die, + To face the king Immortal, + And each forgiven sinner should + Tread softly o'er the portal. + + But when we have confessed our sins + To him who can discern them, + And God has given pardon, peace, + Tho' we could ne'er deserve them, + + Then, dying is no dangerous thing; + Safe in the Saviour's keeping, + The ransomed soul is gently led + Beyond the reach of weeping. + + So tell me with unfaltering voice + When Hope is really dawning; + I should not like to sleep away + My few hours till the morning. + + + Yet Love will dream and Faith will trust, + (Since he who knows our need is just,) + That somehow, somewhere meet we must. + Alas for him who never sees + The stars shine through his cypress trees! + Who hopeless lays his dead away, + Nor looks to see the breaking day + Across the mournful marbles play; + Who hath not learned in hours of faith + This truth to flesh and sense unknown; + That Life is ever lord of death, + And Love can never lose its own! + + --John Greenleaf Whittier. + + +AFTERWARD + + There _is_ no vacant chair. The loving meet-- + A group unbroken--smitten, who knows how? + One sitteth silent only, in his usual seat; + We gave him once that freedom. Why not now? + + Perhaps he is too weary, and needs rest; + He needed it too often, nor could we + Bestow. God gave it, knowing how to do it best. + Which of us would disturb him? Let him be. + + There is no vacant chair. If he will take + The mood to listen mutely, be it done. + By his least mood we crossed, for which the heart must ache, + Plead not nor question! Let him have this one. + + Death is a mood of life. It is no whim + By which life's Giver wrecks a broken heart. + Death is life's reticence. Still audible to him, + The hushed voice, happy, speaketh on, apart. + + There is no vacant chair. To love is still + To have. Nearer to memory than to eye, + And dearer yet to anguish than to comfort, will + We hold him by our love, that shall not die, + + For while it doth not, thus he cannot. Try! + Who can put out the motion or the smile? + The old ways of being noble all with him laid by? + Because we love he is. Then trust awhile. + + --Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward. + + +OUR TWO GIFTS + + Two gifts God giveth, and he saith + One shall be forfeit in the strife-- + The one no longer needed: life, + No hand shall take the other, death. + + --John Vance Cheney. + + +ATHANASIA + + The ship may sink, + And I may drink + A hasty death in the bitter sea; + But all that I leave + In the ocean grave + Can be slipped and spared, and no loss to me. + + What care I + Though falls the sky + And the shriveling earth to a cinder turn; + No fires of doom + Can ever consume + What never was made nor meant to burn! + + Let go the breath! + There is no death + To a living soul, nor loss, nor harm. + Not of the clod + Is the life of God-- + Let it mount, as it will, from form to form. + + --Charles Gordon Ames. + + +LIFE + + Life! I know not what thou art, + But know that thou and I must part; + And when, or how, or where we met + I own to me's a secret yet. + + But this I know--when thou art fled, + Where'er they lay these limbs, this head, + No clod so valueless shall be + As all that there remains of me. + O whither, whither dost thou fly? + Where bend unseen thy trackless course? + And in this strange divorce, + Ah, tell where I must seek this compound, I? + + Life! we've been long together, + Through pleasant and through cloudy weather; + 'Tis hard to part when friends are dear. + Perhaps 'twill cost a sigh, a tear; + Then steal away, give little warning, + Choose thine own time; + Say not "Good Night," but in some brighter clime + Bid me "Good Morning." + + --Anna Letitia Barbauld. + + +THE STRUGGLE + + "Body, I pray you, let me go!" + (It is a soul that struggles so.) + "Body, I see on yonder height + Dim reflex of a solemn light; + A flame that shineth from the place + Where Beauty walks with naked face; + It is a flame you cannot see-- + Lie down, you clod, and set me free. + + "Body, I pray you, let me go!" + (It is a soul that striveth so.) + "Body, I hear dim sounds afar + Dripping from some diviner star; + Dim sounds of joyous harmony, + It is my mates that sing, and I + Must drink that song or break my heart-- + Body, I pray you, let us part. + + "Comrade, your frame is worn and frail, + Your vital powers begin to fail; + I long for life, but you for rest; + Then, Body, let us both be blest. + When you are lying 'neath the dew + I'll come sometimes, and sing to you; + But you will feel no pain nor woe-- + Body, I pray you, let me go." + + Thus strove a Being. Beauty fain, + He broke his bonds and fled amain. + He fled: the Body lay bereft, + But on its lips a smile was left, + As if that spirit, looking back, + Shouted upon his upward track, + With joyous tone and hurried breath, + Some message that could comfort Death. + + --Danske Dandridge. + + +THE THREE FRIENDS + + Man in his life hath three good friends-- + Wealth, family, and noble deeds; + These serve him in his days of joy + And minister unto his needs. + + But when the lonely hour of death + With sad and silent foot draws nigh, + Wealth, then, and family take their wings, + And from the dying pillow fly. + + But noble deeds in love respond, + "Ere came to thee the fatal day, + We went before, O gentle friend, + And smoothed the steep and thorny way." + + --From the Hebrew, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin. + + +AN OLD LATIN HYMN + + How far from here to heaven? + Not very far, my friend; + A single hearty step + Will all thy journey end. + + Hold, there! where runnest thou? + Know heaven is _in_ thee! + Seek'st thou for God elsewhere? + His face thou'lt never see. + + Go out, God will go in; + Die thou, and let him live; + Be not, and he will be; + Wait, and he'll all things give. + + I don't believe in death. + If hour by hour I die, + 'Tis hour by hour to gain + A better life thereby. + + --Angelus Silesius, A. D. 1620. + + + The chamber where the good man meets his fate + Is privileged beyond the common walk + Of virtuous life, quite in the verge of heaven. + + --Edward Young. + + + Life-embarked, out at sea, 'mid the wave-tumbling roar, + The poor ship of my body went down to the floor; + But I broke, at the bottom of death, through a door, + And, from sinking, began for ever to soar. + + --From the Persian. + + + Truths that wake to perish never; + Which neither listlessness, nor mad endeavor, + Nor man, nor boy, + Nor all that is at enmity with joy + Can utterly abolish or destroy! + Hence in a season of calm weather, + Though inland far we be, + Our souls have sight of that immortal sea + Which brought us hither; + Can in a moment travel thither + And see the children sport upon the shore, + And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore. + + --William Wordsworth. + + + + +APPENDIX + +MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS + + +BE STRONG![1] + + Be strong! + We are not here to play, to dream, to drift, + We have hard work to do, and loads to lift. + Shun not the struggle, face it, 'tis God's gift. + + Be strong! + Say not the days are evil--who's to blame? + And fold the hands and acquiesce--O shame! + Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God's name. + + Be strong! + It matters not how deep intrenched the wrong, + How hard the battle goes, the day, how long; + Faint not, fight on! To-morrow comes the song. + + --Maltbie D. Babcock. + + +NOT TO BE MINISTERED UNTO + + O Lord, I pray + That for this day + I may not swerve + By foot or hand + From thy command, + Not to be served, but to serve. + + This, too, I pray, + That for this day + No love of ease + Nor pride prevent + My good intent, + Not to be pleased, but to please. + + And if I may + I'd have this day + Strength from above + To set my heart + In heavenly art, + Not to be loved, but to love. + + --Maltbie D. Babcock. + + +COMPANIONSHIP + + No distant Lord have I, + Loving afar to be; + Made flesh for me, he cannot rest + Unless he rests in me. + + Brother in joy and pain, + Bone of my bone was he, + Now--intimacy closer still, + He dwells himself in me. + + I need not journey far + This dearest Friend to see; + Companionship is always mine, + He makes his home with me. + + I envy not the twelve, + Nearer to me is he; + The life he once lived here on earth + He lives again in me. + + Ascended now to God, + My witness there to be, + His witness here am I, because + His Spirit dwells in me. + + O glorious Son of God, + Incarnate Deity, + I shall forever be with thee + Because thou art with me. + + --Maltbie D. Babcock. + + +"WHAT SHALL IT PROFIT?" + + If I lay waste and wither up with doubt + The blessed fields of heaven where once my faith + Possessed itself serenely safe from death; + If I deny the things past finding out; + Or if I orphan my own soul of One + That seemed a Father, and make void the place + Within me where He dwelt in power and grace, + What do I gain that am myself undone? + + --William Dean Howells. + + +[Footnote 1: The poems by the Rev. Maltbie D. Babcock on this and the +following page are reprinted, by special permission, from "Thoughts for +Every Day Living," copyright, 1901, by Charles Scribner's Sons.] + + +EMANCIPATION + + Why be afraid of Death as though your life were breath! + Death but anoints your eyes with clay. O glad surprise! + + Why should you be forlorn? Death only husks the corn. + Why should you fear to meet the thresher of the wheat? + + Is sleep a thing to dread? Yet sleeping, you are dead + Till you awake and rise, here, or beyond the skies. + + Why should it be a wrench to leave your wooden bench, + Why not with happy shout run home when school is out? + + The dear ones left behind! O foolish one and blind. + A day--and you will meet,--a night--and you will greet! + + This is the death of Death, to breathe away a breath + And know the end of strife, and taste the deathless life, + + And joy without a fear, and smile without a tear, + And work, nor care nor rest, and find the last the best. + + --Maltbie D. Babcock. + + +SCHOOL DAYS + + Lord, let me make this rule: + To think of life as school, + And try my best + To stand each test, + And do my work + And nothing shirk. + + Should some one else outshine + This dullard head of mine, + Should I be sad? + I will be glad. + To do my best + Is thy behest. + + If weary with my book + I cast a wistful look + Where posies grow, + Oh, let me know + That flowers within + Are best to win. + + Dost take my book away + Anon to let me play, + And let me out + To run about? + I grateful bless + Thee for recess. + + Then recess past, alack, + I turn me slowly back, + On my hard bench, + My hands to clench, + And set my heart + To learn my part. + + These lessons thou dost give + To teach me how to live, + To do, to bear, + To get and share, + To work and pray + And trust alway. + + What though I may not ask + To choose my daily task, + Thou hast decreed + To meet my need. + What pleases thee + That shall please me. + + Some day the bell will sound, + Some day my heart will bound, + As with a shout, + That school is out, + And, lessons done, + I homeward run. + + --Maltbie D. Babcock. + + +CATHOLIC LOVE + + Weary of all this wordy strife, + These notions, forms, and modes, and names, + To Thee, the Way, the Truth, the Life, + Whose love my simple heart inflames, + Divinely taught, at last I fly, + With Thee, and Thine, to live and die. + + Redeemed by Thine almighty grace, + I taste my glorious liberty, + With open arms the world embrace, + But cleave to those who cleave to Thee; + But only in thy saints delight, + Who walk with God in purest white. + + My brethren, friends, and kinsmen these, + Who do my heavenly Father's will; + Who aim at perfect holiness, + And all Thy counsels to fulfill, + Athirst to be whate'er Thou art + And love their God with all their heart. + + --Charles Wesley. + + +WHAT MATTER + + What matter, friend, though you and I + May sow and others gather? + We build and others occupy, + Each laboring for the other? + What though we toil from sun to sun, + And men forget to flatter + The noblest work our hands have done-- + If God approves, what matter? + + What matter, though we sow in tears, + And crops fail at the reaping? + What though the fruit of patient years + Fast perish in our keeping? + Upon our hoarded treasures, floods + Arise, and tempests scatter-- + If faith beholds, beyond the clouds, + A clearer sky, what matter? + + What matter, though our castles fall, + And disappear while building; + Though "strange handwritings on the wall" + Flame out amid the gilding? + Though every idol of the heart + The hand of death may shatter, + Though hopes decay and friends depart, + If heaven be ours, what matter? + + --H. W. Teller. + + +JOHN WESLEY + + In those clear, piercing, piteous eyes behold + The very soul that over England flamed! + Deep, pure, intense; consuming shame and ill; + Convicting men of sin; making faith live; + And,--this the mightiest miracle of all,-- + Creating God again in human hearts. + + What courage of the flesh and of the spirit! + How grim of wit, when wit alone might serve! + What wisdom his to know the boundless might + Of banded effort in a world like ours! + How meek, how self-forgetful, courteous, calm! + A silent figure when men idly raged + In murderous anger; calm, too, in the storm,-- + Storm of the spirit, strangely imminent, + When spiritual lightnings struck men down + And brought, by violence, the sense of sin, + And violently oped the gates of peace. + + O hear that voice, which rang from dawn to night, + In church and abbey whose most ancient walls + Not for a thousand years such accents knew! + On windy hilltops; by the roaring sea; + 'Mid tombs, in market-places, prisons, fields; + 'Mid clamor, vile attack,--or deep-awed hush, + Wherein celestial visitants drew near + And secret ministered to troubled souls! + + Hear ye, O hear! that ceaseless-pleading voice, + Which storm, nor suffering, nor age could still-- + Chief prophet voice through nigh a century's span! + Now silvery as Zion's dove that mourns, + Now quelling as the Archangel's judgment trump, + And ever with a sound like that of old + Which, in the desert, shook the wandering tribes, + Or, round about storied Jerusalem, + Or by Gennesaret, or Jordan, spake + The words of life. + + Let not that image fade + Ever, O God! from out the minds of men, + Of him thy messenger and stainless priest, + In a brute, sodden, and unfaithful time, + Early and late, o'er land and sea, on-driven; + In youth, in eager manhood, age extreme,-- + Driven on forever, back and forth the world, + By that divine, omnipotent desire-- + The hunger and the passion for men's souls! + + --Richard Watson Gilder. + + +"WITH WHOM IS NO VARIABLENESS" + + It fortifies my soul to know + That, though I perish, Truth is so: + That, howsoe'er I stray and range, + Whate'er I do, Thou dost not change. + I steadier step when I recall + That, if I slip, Thou dost not fall. + + --Arthur Hugh Clough. + + +HER GLADNESS + + My darling went + Unto the seaside long ago. Content + I stayed at home, for O, I was so glad + Of all the little outings that she had! + I knew she needed rest. I loved to stay + At home a while that she might go away. + "How beautiful the sea! How she enjoys + The music of the waves! No care annoys + Her pleasures," thought I; "O, it is so good + That she can rest a while. I wish she could + Stay till the autumn leaves are turning red." + "Stay longer, sister," all my letters said. + "If you are growing stronger every day, + I am so very glad to have you stay." + + My darling went + To heaven long ago. Am I content + To stay at home? Why can I not be glad + Of all the glories that she there has had? + She needed change. Why am I loath to stay + And do her work and let her go away? + The land is lovely where her feet have been; + Why do I not rejoice that she has seen + Its beauties first? That she will show to me + The City Beautiful? Is it so hard to be + Happy that she is happy? Hard to know + She learns so much each day that helps her so? + Why can I not each night and morning say, + "I am so glad that she is glad to-day?" + + +"OUT OF REACH" + + You think them "out of reach," your dead? + Nay, by my own dead, I deny + Your "out of reach."--Be comforted; + 'Tis not so far to die. + + O by their dear remembered smiles, + And outheld hands and welcoming speech, + They wait for us, thousands of miles + This side of "out of reach." + + --James Whitcomb Riley. + + +SORROWFUL, YET REJOICING + + I lift my head and walk my ways + Before the world without a tear, + And bravely unto those I meet + I smile a message of good cheer; + I give my lips to laugh and song, + And somehow get me through each day; + But, oh, the tremble in my heart + Since she has gone away! + + Her feet had known the stinging thorns, + Her eyes the blistering tears; + Bent were her shoulders with the weight + And sorrow of the years; + The lines were deep upon her brow, + Her hair was thin and gray; + And, oh, the tremble in my heart + Since she has gone away! + + I am not sorry; I am glad; + I would not have her here again; + God gave her strength life's bitter cup + Unto the bitterest dreg to drain; + I will not have less strength than she, + I proudly tread my stony way; + But, oh, the tremble in my heart + Since she has gone away! + + +IN THE HOSPITAL + + I lay me down to sleep + With little thought or care + Whether my waking find + Me here or there. + + A bowing, burdened head, + That only asks to rest, + Unquestioning, upon + A loving breast. + + My good right hand forgets + Its cunning now; + To march the weary march + I know not how. + + I am not eager, bold, + Nor strong--all that is past; + I'm ready not to do + At last, at last. + + My half-day's work is done, + And this is all my part; + I give a patient God + My patient heart, + + And grasp his banner still, + Though all its blue be dim; + These stripes, no less than stars, + Lead after Him. + + --M. W. Howland. + + +FATHER OF MERCIES + + Father of mercies, thy children have wandered + Far from thy bosom, their home; + Most of their portion of goods they have squandered; + Farther and farther they roam. + + We are thy children, and we have departed + To the lone country afar, + We would arise, we come back broken-hearted; + Take us back just as we are. + + Not for the ring or the robe we entreat thee, + Nor for high place at the feast; + Only to see thee, to touch thee, to greet thee, + Ranked with the last and the least. + + But for thy mercy we dare not accost thee, + But for thy Son who has come + Seeking his brothers who left thee and lost thee, + Seeking to gather them home. + + Father of mercies, thy holiness awes us; + Yet thou dost wait to receive! + Jesus, the light of thy countenance charms us, + Father of him, we believe. + + Back in the home of thy heart, may we labor + Others to bring from the wild, + Counting each creature that needs us our neighbor, + Claiming each soul as thy child. + + --Robert F. Horton. + + +ANGELS + + How shall we tell an angel + From another guest? + How, from common worldly herd, + One of the blest? + + Hint of suppressed halo, + Rustle of hidden wings, + Wafture of heavenly frankincense-- + Which of these things? + + The old Sphinx smiles so subtly: + "I give no golden rule-- + Yet would I warn thee, World: treat well + Whom thou call'st fool." + + --Gertrude Hall. + + +HIS PILGRIMAGE + + Give me my scallop-shell of quiet, + My staff of faith to walk upon, + My scrip of joy, immortal diet, + My bottle of salvation, + My gown of glory, hope's true gage; + And thus I'll take my pilgrimage. + + Blood must be my body's balmer; + No other balm will there be given; + Whilst my soul, like quiet palmer, + Traveleth toward the land of heaven; + Over the silver mountains, + Where spring the nectar fountains, + There will I kiss + The bowl of bliss, + And drink mine everlasting fill + Upon every milken hill. + My soul will be a-dry before; + But after, it will thirst no more. + + Then by that happy, blissful day, + More peaceful pilgrims I shall see, + That have cast off their rags of clay, + And walk appareled fresh like me. + I'll take them first + To quench their thirst + And taste of nectar suckets, + At those clear wells + Where sweetness dwells, + Drawn up by saints in crystal buckets. + + --Sir Walter Raleigh. + + +OUR WORDS + + O Sentinel at the loose-swung door of my impetuous lips, + Guard close to-day! Make sure no word unjust or cruel slips + In anger forth, by folly spurred or armed with envy's whips; + Keep clear the way to-day. + + And Watchman on the cliff-scarred heights that lead from heart to mind, + When wolf-thoughts clothed in guile's soft fleece creep up, O be not + blind! + But may they pass whose foreheads bear the glowing seal-word, "kind"; + Bid them Godspeed, I pray. + + And Warden of my soul's stained house, where love and hate are born, + O make it clean, if swept must be with pain's rough broom of thorn! + And quiet impose, so straining ears with world-din racked and torn, + May catch what God doth say. + + +A GOOD MAN + + A good man never dies-- + In worthy deed and prayer, + And helpful hands, and honest eyes, + If smiles or tears be there; + Who lives for you and me-- + Lives for the world he tries + To help--he lives eternally. + A good man never dies. + + Who lives to bravely take + His share of toil and stress, + And, for his weaker fellows' sake + Makes every burden less-- + He may, at last, seem worn-- + Lie fallen--hands and eyes + Folded--yet, though we mourn and mourn, + A good man never dies. + + --James Whitcomb Riley. + + +THE IMMANENT GOD + +EACH IN HIS OWN TONGUE + + A fire-mist and a planet, + A crystal and a cell, + A jellyfish and a saurian, + And caves where the cavemen dwell; + Then a sense of law and beauty, + And a face turned from the clod-- + Some call it Evolution + And others call it God. + + A haze on the far horizon, + The infinite, tender sky, + The ripe, rich tint of the cornfields, + And the wild geese sailing high-- + And all over upland and lowland + The charm of the golden rod-- + Some of us call it Autumn, + And others call it God. + + Like tides on a crescent sea beach, + When the moon is new and thin, + Into our hearts high yearnings + Come welling and surging in-- + Come from the mystic ocean, + Whose rim no foot has trod-- + Some of us call it Longing, + And others call it God. + + A picket frozen on duty-- + A mother starved for her brood-- + Socrates drinking the hemlock, + And Jesus on the rood; + And millions who, humble and nameless, + The straight, hard pathway trod-- + Some call it Consecration, + And others call it God. + + --William Herbert Carruth. + + +THE HIGHER FELLOWSHIP + + Do you go to my school? + Yes, you go to my school, + And we've learned the big lesson--Be strong! + And to front the loud noise + With a spirit of poise, + And drown down the noise with a song. + We have spelled the first line in the Primer of Fate; + We have spelled it, and dare not to shirk-- + For its first and its greatest commandment to men + Is "Work, and rejoice in your work." + Who is learned in this Primer will not be a fool-- + You are one of my classmates. You go to my school. + + You belong to my club? + Yes, you're one of my club, + And this is our program and plan: + To each do his part + To look into the heart + And get at the good that's in man. + Detectives of virtue and spies of the good + And sleuth-hounds of righteousness we. + Look out there, my brother! we're hot on your trail, + We'll find out how good you can be. + We would drive from our hearts the snake, tiger, and cub; + We're the Lodge of the Lovers. You're one of my club. + + You belong to my church? + Yes, you go to my church-- + Our names on the same old church roll-- + The tide-waves of God + We believe are abroad + And flow into the creeks of each soul. + And the vessel we sail on is strong as the sea + That buffets and blows it about; + For the sea is God's sea as the ship is God's ship, + So we know not the meaning of doubt; + And we know howsoever the vessel may lurch + We've a Pilot to trust in. You go to my church. + + --Sam Walter Foss. + + + Never elated while one man's oppressed; + Never dejected while another's blessed. + + --Alexander Pope. + + +THE OTHER FELLOW'S JOB + + There's a craze among us mortals that is cruel hard to name; + Wheresoe'er you find a human you will find the case the same; + You may seek among the worst of men or seek among the best, + And you'll find that every person is precisely like the rest: + Each believes his real calling is along some other line + Than the one at which he's working--take, for instance, yours and mine. + From the meanest "me-too" creature to the leader of the mob, + There's a universal craving for "the other fellow's job." + + There are millions of positions in the busy world to-day, + Each a drudge to him who holds it, but to him who doesn't, play; + Every farmer's broken-hearted that in youth he missed his call, + While that same unhappy farmer is the envy of us all. + Any task you care to mention seems a vastly better lot + Than the one especial something which you happen to have got. + There's but one sure way to smother Envy's heartache and her sob: + Keep too busy at your own to want "the other fellow's job." + + --Strickland W. Gilliland. + + +THE SCORN OF JOB + + "If I have eaten my morsel alone," + The patriarch spoke in scorn. + What would he think of the Church were he shown + Heathendom--huge, forlorn, + Godless, Christless, with soul unfed, + While the Church's ailment is fullness of bread, + Eating her morsel alone? + + "Freely as ye have received, so give," + He bade who hath given us all. + How shall the soul in us longer live + Deaf to their starving call, + For whom the blood of the Lord was shed, + And his body broken to give them bread, + If we eat our morsel alone? + + --Archbishop Alexander. + + +GREATNESS + + What makes a man great? Is it houses and lands? + Is it argosies dropping their wealth at his feet? + Is it multitudes shouting his name in the street? + Is it power of brain? Is it skill of hand? + Is it writing a book? Is it guiding the State? + Nay, nay, none of these can make a man great. + + The crystal burns cold with its beautiful fire, + And is what it is; it can never be more; + The acorn, with something wrapped warm at the core, + In quietness says, "To the oak I aspire." + That something in seed and in tree is the same-- + What makes a man great is his greatness of aim. + + What is greatness of aim? Your purpose to trim + For bringing the world to obey your behest? + O no, it is seeking God's perfect and best, + Making something the same both in you and in him. + Love what he loves, and, child of the sod, + Already you share in the greatness of God. + + --Samuel V. Cole. + + +A SAFE FIRM + + When the other firms show dizziness + Here's a house that does not share it. + Wouldn't you like to join the business? + Join the firm of Grin and Barrett? + Give your strength that does not murmur, + And your nerve that does not falter, + And you've joined a house that's firmer + Than the old rock of Gibraltar. + They have won a good prosperity; + Why not join the firm and share it? + Step, young fellow, with celerity; + Join the firm of Grin and Barrett. + Grin and Barrett, + Who can scare it? + Scare the firm of Grin and Barrett? + + --Sam Walter Foss. + + +JOHN MILTON + + Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour: + England hath need of thee: she is a fen + Of stagnant waters: altars, sword, and pen, + Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower, + Have forfeited their ancient English dower + Of inward happiness. We are selfish men. + O! raise us up, return to us again; + And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power. + Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart: + Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea: + Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free, + So didst thou travel on life's common way, + In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart + The lowliest duties on herself did lay. + + --William Wordsworth. + + +SUMMUM BONUM + + For radiant health I praise not when I pray, + Nor for routine of toil well-pleasing every way, + Though these gifts, Lord, more priceless grow each day. + + Not for congenial comrades, garnered store + Of worldly wealth, nor vision that sees o'er + Such sordid mass, mind's plumèd eagles soar. + + Not even, Lord, for love that eases stress + Of storm, contention, hope's unconquerableness, + Nor faith's abiding peace, nor works that bless. + + But this, dear Lord, stir inner depths divine, + That day by day, though slowly! line on line + My will begins--begins--to merge in thine. + + --Charles L. Story. + + +THE AIM + + O Thou who lovest not alone + The swift success, the instant goal, + But hast a lenient eye to mark + The failures of the inconstant soul, + + Consider not my little worth-- + The mean achievement, scamped in act-- + The high resolve and low result, + The dream that durst not face the fact. + + But count the reach of my desire-- + Let this be something in thy sight; + I have not, in the slothful dark, + Forgot the vision and the height. + + Neither my body nor my soul + To earth's low ease will yield consent. + I praise thee for the will to strive; + I bless thy goad and discontent. + + --Charles G. D. Roberts. + + +SAY SOMETHING GOOD + + When over the fair fame of friend or foe + The shadow of disgrace shall fall, instead + Of words of blame or proof of thus and so, + Let something good be said! + + Forget not that no fellow-being yet + May fall so low but love may lift his head; + Even the cheek of shame with tears is wet, + If something good be said. + + No generous heart may vainly turn aside + In ways of sympathy; no soul so dead + But may awaken, strong and glorified, + If something good be said. + + And so I charge ye, by the thorny crown, + And by the cross on which the Saviour bled, + And by your own soul's hope of fair renown, + Let something good be said! + + --James Whitcomb Riley. + + +WHEN TO BE HAPPY + + Why do we cling to the skirts of sorrow? + Why do we cloud with care the brow? + Why do we wait for a glad to-morrow-- + Why not gladden the precious Now? + Eden is yours! Would you dwell within it? + Change men's grief to a gracious smile, + And thus have heaven here this minute + And not far-off in the afterwhile. + + Life, at most, is a fleeting bubble, + Gone with the puff of an angel's breath. + Why should the dim hereafter trouble + Souls this side of the gates of death? + The crown is yours! Would you care to win it? + Plant a song in the hearts that sigh, + And thus have heaven here this minute + And not far-off in the by-and-by. + + Find the soul's high place of beauty, + Not in a man-made book of creeds, + But where desire ennobles duty + And life is full of your kindly deeds. + The bliss is yours! Would you fain begin it? + Pave with love each golden mile, + And thus have heaven here this minute + And not far-off in the afterwhile. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + + Love thyself last: cherish those hearts that hate thee; + Corruption wins not more than honesty. + Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, + To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not: + Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, + Thy God's, and truth's. + + --William Shakespeare. + + + Sweet are the uses of adversity; + Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, + Wears yet a precious jewel in his head; + And this our life, exempt from public haunt, + Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, + Sermons in stones, and good in everything. + + --William Shakespeare. + + +WORSHIP + + But let my due feet never fail + To walk the studious cloister's pale, + And love the high embowèd roof + With antique pillars massy proof, + And storied windows richly dight, + Casting a dim religious light. + There let the pealing organ blow, + To the full-voiced choir below, + In service high, and anthems clear, + As may with sweetness, through mine ear, + Dissolve me into ecstasies, + And bring all Heaven before mine eyes. + + --John Milton. + + + Give us men! + Strong and stalwart ones: + Men whom highest hope inspires, + Men whom purest honor fires, + Men who trample Self beneath them, + Men who make their country wreathe them + As her noble sons, + Worthy of their sires, + Men who never shame their mothers, + Men who never fail their brothers; + True, however false are others: + Give us Men--I say again, + Give us Men! + + --Bishop of Exeter. + + + I will not doubt though all my ships at sea + Come drifting home with broken masts and sails, + I will believe the Hand which never fails, + From seeming evil worketh good for me; + And though I weep because those sails are tattered, + Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered, + "I trust in Thee." + + + The wounds I might have healed, + The human sorrow and smart! + And yet it never was in my soul + To play so ill a part. + But evil is wrought by want of thought + As well as want of heart. + + --Thomas Hood. + + +DON'T FEAR--GOD'S NEAR! + + Feel glum? Keep mum. + Don't grumble. Be humble. + Trials cling? Just sing. + Can't sing? Just cling. + Don't fear--God's near! + Money goes--He knows. + Honor left--Not bereft. + Don't rust--Work! Trust! + + --Ernest Bourner Allen. + + + A rose to the living is more + Than sumptuous wreaths to the dead; + In filling love's infinite store, + A rose to the living is more, + If graciously given before + The hungering spirit is fled-- + A rose to the living is more + Than sumptuous wreaths to the dead. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + + Canst thou see no beauty nigh? + Cure thy dull, distempered eye. + Canst thou no sweet music hear? + Tune thy sad, discordant ear. + Earth has beauty everywhere + If the eye that sees is fair. + Earth has music to delight + If the ear is tuned aright. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + + Anew we pledge ourselves to Thee, + To follow where thy Truth shall lead; + Afloat upon its boundless sea, + Who sails with God is safe indeed. + + + O, though oft depressed and lonely + All my fears are laid aside, + If I but remember only + Such as these have lived and died. + + + It was only a glad "Good morning," + As she passed along the way; + But it spread the morning's glory + Over the livelong day. + + + For the right against the wrong, + For the weak against the strong, + For the poor who've waited long, + For the brighter age to be. + + +RECOMPENSE + + The gifts that to our breasts we fold + Are brightened by our losses. + The sweetest joys a heart can hold + Grow up between its crosses. + And on life's pathway many a mile + Is made more glad and cheery, + Because, for just a little while, + The way seemed dark and dreary. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + + Wherever now a sorrow stands, + 'Tis mine to heal His nail-torn hands. + In every lonely lane and street, + 'Tis mine to wash His wounded feet-- + 'Tis mine to roll away the stone + And warm His heart against my own. + Here, here on earth I find it all-- + The young archangels, white and tall, + The Golden City and the doors, + And all the shining of the floors! + + + I sent my soul through the Invisible, + Some letter of that After-life to spell; + And by and by my soul returned to me, + And answered, "I myself am Heaven and Hell." + + --Omar Khayyam. + + + Count that day really worse than lost + You might have made divine, + Through which you scattered lots of frost + And ne'er a speck of shine. + + --Nixon Waterman. + + + O, the little birds sang east, and the little birds sang west, + And I smiled to think God's greatness flowed around our incompleteness, + Round our restlessness, His rest. + + --Elizabeth Barrett Browning. + + + If by one word I help another, + A struggling and despairing brother, + Or ease one bed of pain; + If I but aid some sad one weeping, + Or comfort one, lone vigil keeping, + I have not lived in vain. + + + + +INDEX TO AUTHORS + + +Adams, Sarah F., 214. + +Addison, Joseph, 251, 266. + +Æschylus, 94. + +Akers, Elizabeth, 101. + +Albert of Brandenburg, 216. + +Alcott, L. M., 25. + +Aldrich, Anne R., 155. + +Aldrich, Thomas B., 146. + +Alexander, Archbishop, 284. + +Alexander, Cecil Frances, 36, 249. + +Alford, Henry, 17, 187. + +Alger, William R., 114, 130, 207, 227. + +Allen, Ernest B., 287. + +Allen, Freda H., 92. + +Ames, Charles G., 121, 276. + +Anstice, Joseph, 195. + +Arabic, from the, 112, 130, 157, 218, 218. + +Archilochos, 92. + +Arnold, Edwin, 30, 34, 47, 112, 177, 183, 232, 266. + +Arnold, Matthew, 1, 7, 12, 93, 234, 266. + +Atkinson, Mary E., 125. + +Austin, Alfred, 112, 253. + + +Babcock, Maltbie D., 278, 278, 278, 279, 279. + +Bailey, Philip J., 186, 264. + +Baillie, Joanna, 17. + +Baker, Henry W., 247. + +Banks, George L., 250. + +Barbauld, Anna L., 276. + +Barker, Noah, 33. + +Barr, Lillian E., 210. + +Barry, Michael J., 12. + +Bathurst, William H., 180. + +Baxter, Richard, 79, 87, 106. + +Beattie, James, 99. + +Beatty, Pakenham, 22. + +Bernard of Clairvaux, 235, 236. + +Bethune, George W., 272. + +Bickersteth, Edward H., 90. + +Blake, William, 263. + +Bliss, Philip Paul, 120. + +Bode, John E., 247. + +Bolton, Sarah K., 1, 35, 37, 48, 63, 73, 77, 105, 111, 178, 199, 256. + +Bonar, Horatius, 26, 43, 83, 90, 91, 93, 101, 151, 153, 254, 260. + +Borthwick, J., 212. + +Bradley, Helen, 242. + +Brainard, Mary G., 192. + +Bridges, Madeline S., 257. + +Bridges, Robert, 100. + +Brontë, Emily, 21, 23. + +Brooke, Stopford A., 261. + +Brooks, Charles T., 60, 142. + +Brooks, Phillips, 137. + +Brown, Brownlee, 271. + +Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 64, 65, 93, 114, 127, 158, 161, 231, 262, +269, 287. + +Browning, Ophelia G., 124, 213. + +Browning, Robert, 3, 16, 21, 21, 25, 31, 33, 34, 39, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, +64, 120, 148, 162, 176, 182, 183, 208, 208, 214, 232, 264, 264, 266, +268, 268, 269, 270. + +Bryant, William C., 14, 76, 265. + +Buckham, James, 54, 87. + +Bunyan, John, 96. + +Burgess, Frank G., 181. + +Burleigh, George S., 127. + +Burleigh, William H., 196. + +Burns, James D., 228. + +Burns, Robert, 24, 68, 102, 263. + +Burr, William N., 60. + +Burroughs, John, 171. + +Burton, Henry, 84, 171, 221, 238. + +Burton, John, 126. + +Butler, Mary, 117. + +Butts, Mary F., 198. + +Byrd, William, 104. + +Byrom, John, 106. + +Byron, George Gordon, 1, 38, 122. + + +Carlyle, Thomas, 255. + +Carruth, William H., 283. + +Cary, Alice, 38, 146. + +Caswall, Edward, 87, 235. + +Chadwick, John W., 210, 275. + +Charles, Elizabeth R., 72, 172. + +Cheney, John Vance, 27, 111, 113, 113, 274, 276. + +Clark, Luella, 125. + +Clarke, James Freeman, 38, 69, 73, 130, 203, 218, 220, 263. + +Clough, Arthur Hugh, 172, 280. + +Cole, Samuel V., 284. + +Coleridge, Hartley, 124, 184. + +Coleridge, Samuel T., 33, 130. + +Colesworthy, D. C., 8, 19. + +Conder, Josiah, 112. + +Cook, Eliza, 102, 253. + +Cook, Mary Ann W., 110, 183. + +Cooke, Edmund Vance, 5. + +Cooke, Rose Terry, 52. + +Coolidge, Susan, 47, 131, 174, 214, 229, 263. + +Coppee, Francois, 43. + +Corneille, Pierre, 121. + +Cotton, 198. + +Cousin, Annie R., 274. + +Cowper, William, 98, 108, 126, 159, 193, 203, 223, 266. + +Coxe, Arthur Cleveland, 18, 239. + +Coyle, Henry, 34, 144. + +Craik, Dinah M. M., 13, 48, 142, 165, 273, 273. + +Cranch, Christopher P., 25, 85, 256, 265. + +Crashaw, Richard, 133. + +Crewdson, Jane, 140. + +Crosby, Ernest, 2. + +Custis, Gertrude B., 196. + +Cutler, William, 45. + + +Dandridge, Danske, 277. + +Daniel, Samuel, 13. + +Davies, John, 139. + +Davies, William, 262. + +Davis, Thomas, 260. + +Deems, Charles F., 188, 194. + +Denny, Edward, 241. + +Dessler, Wolfgang C., 237. + +De Vere, Aubrey T., 159. + +Dewart, Edward H., 12, 42. + +Dickenga, I. E., 259. + +Dickinson, Mary Lowe, 186, 254. + +Doddridge, Philip, 205, 249, 261. + +Dorr, Julia C. R., 54, 98. + +Duffield, Samuel W., 128. + +Dryden, John, 262, 266. + +Dwight, John S., 92. + +Dyer, Edward, 104. + + +Egerton, J. A., 77. + +Eliot, George, 51. + +Elliott, Charlotte, 124, 207, 213. + +Elliott, Ebenezer, 75. + +Elwood, Thomas, 118. + +Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 3, 6, 7, 11, 13, 20, 27, 32, 49, 106, 220, 263. + +Exeter, Bishop of, 286. + + +Faber, F. W., 69, 101, 119, 119, 128, 141, 155, 165, 171, 181, 186, 207, +209, 223, 224, 225, 231, 234, 237, 242. + +Farningham, Marianne, 6. + +Farrar, F. W., 167. + +Fawcett, Edgar, 8. + +Felkin, Ellen T. F., 148. + +Fleming, Paul, 88, 198. + +Fletcher, Julia A., 69. + +Ford, C. L., 240. + +Foss, Sam Walter, 66, 95, 283, 284. + +Freckleton, Thomas W., 61. + +Fuller, B. A. G., 171. + + +Gammons, Susan E., 256. + +Gannett, William C., 229, 266. + +Gaskell, Eliza C., 190, 195. + +Gay, John, 40. + +Gedicke, L., 201. + +Gellert, Christian F., 194. + +Gerhardt, Paul, 172, 193, 215, 220. + +German, from the, 104, 160, 218, 249. + +Gibbs, Sarah A., 45. + +Gilder, R. W., 18, 26, 26, 33, 141, 156, 168, 244, 263, 280. + +Gilliland, Strickland W., 284. + +Gilmore, James Roberts, 261. + +Gladden, Washington, 131. + +Goethe, Johann W. von, 45, 76, 115, 208, 250, 255. + +Goode, J. B., 161. + +Goode, Kate T., 34. + +Grannis, G. M., 60. + +Gray, George Z., 110. + +Greek, from the, 92, 94, 129, 263. + +Green, Frances L., 9. + +Greg, Samuel, 181. + +Grosart, Alexander B., 118. + +Guyon, Madame, 82, 82, 87, 104, 131, 186. + + +Hafiz, 65. + +Hagenbach, Charles R., 187. + +Hale, E. E., 176. + +Hall, Gertrude, 282. + +Hamilton, 102. + +Hamilton, Anna E., 185, 246. + +Harding, Edward, 196. + +Harte, Francis Bret, 211. + +Hatch, Edwin, 121. + +Havergal, Frances R., 81, 82, 85, 90, 109, 138, 153, 204, 215. + +Hawes, Annie M. L., 37. + +Hawks, Annie S., 224. + +Hay, John, 23, 25, 47, 217. + +Hay, William, 92. + +Heber, Reginald, 5. + +Hebrew, from the, 277. + +Hedge, Frederick H., 16. + +Henley, William Ernest, 23. + +Herbert, George, 21, 64, 94, 97, 111, 203, 219, 223, 227, 228, 241, 242. + +Herder, Johann G. von, 203. + +Herford, Oliver, 262. + +Herrick, Robert, 98, 186. + +Higginson, Thomas W., 107. + +Hill, Aaron, 21. + +Hodgkins, Louise M., 80, 179. + +Holland, J. G., 22, 115, 162. + +Holm, Saxe, 97. + +Holmes, Oliver W., 20, 116, 168, 221, 268. + +Homer, 129. + +Hood, Thomas, 286. + +Hooper, Ellen S., 49. + +Horace, 262. + +Horton, Robert F., 282. + +Hosmer, Frederick L., 44, 157, 207, 226, 231. + +Hovey, Richard, 148. + +Howe, Martha P., 70. + +Howells, W. D., 140, 278. + +Howland, M. W., 281. + +Huckel, Oliver, 144. + +Hughes, Thomas, 81. + +Hugo, Victor, 176, 198. + + +Ingalls, John J., 261. + +Ingelow, Jean, 37, 39, 187. + + +Jackson, Helen Hunt, 95, 163. + +Japanese, from the, 155. + +Johnson, Dr. Samuel, 134, 266. + +Johnson, Samuel, 97, 149. + +Judson, Adoniram, 18. + + +Keble, John, 26, 67, 113, 180, 231, 232. + +Kemble, Frances Anne, 198. + +Ken, Thomas, 102. + +Key, Francis Scott, 247. + +Khayyam, Omar, 253, 287. + +Kimball, Harriet McEwen, 163, 231. + +Kingsley, Charles, 30. + +Kinney, L., 269. + +Kipling, Rudyard, 39, 96. + +Kiser, Samuel E., 140. + +Knowles, Frederic Lawrence, 18, 117, 166, 197, 222, 274, 275. + + +Langbridge, F., 86. + +Lansdowne, Henry P. F., 103. + +Larcom, Lucy, 74, 161. + +Latin, from the, 262, 266. + +Legge, Arthur E. J., 30. + +Leighton, Robert, 48, 232. + +Littlewood, W. E., 235. + +Lloyd, William F., 189. + +Logau, Friedrich von, 81. + +Longfellow, Henry W., 2, 12, 27, 27, 35, 39, 39, 42, 47, 76, 77, 93, +102, 114, 114, 132, 141, 149, 162, 164, 169, 213, 218, 220, 251, 266, +274. + +Longfellow, Samuel, 167, 178. + +Longstaff, W. D., 136. + +Lovelace, Richard, 24. + +Lowell, James R., 4, 13, 17, 18, 21, 21, 26, 27, 35, 35, 38, 39, 40, 40, +48, 49, 62, 65, 65, 93, 107, 119, 161, 161, 161, 165, 167, 171, 186, +208, 220, 231. + +Loyola, Ignatius, 87. + +Luff, William, 180. + +Luther, Martin, 6, 16. + +Lynch, Thomas T., 158. + +Lyon, Ernest N., 31. + +Lyra Catholica, 95. + +Lyte, Henry F., 83, 190, 192. + +Lytton, Edward Bulwer, 27, 28, 234. + + +Macdonald, George, 58, 63, 99, 107, 117, 125, 159, 199, 211, 219, 219, +220, 220, 230, 230, 253. + +Mackay, Charles, 7, 24, 51, 74, 78, 109, 212, 267. + +MacLaughlin, Bessie Pegg, 218. + +Macleod, Norman, 18. + +Malan, A. H. C., 272. + +Malone, Walter, 259. + +March, Daniel, 61. + +Markham, Edwin, 39. + +Martin, Edward S., 11, 70, 168. + +Marvin, Frederic Rowland, 65, 68, 87, 94, 94, 129, 155, 169, 169, 186, +208, 220, 274, 277, 279. + +Mason, Caroline Atherton, 50, 53, 80, 108, 159, 219, 226. + +Mason, Mary J., 86. + +Massey, Gerald, 48, 153, 166, 170. + +Matheson, George, 234. + +Maxfield, J. J., 179. + +Mayer, R. F., 194. + +McCreery, J. C., 270. + +Meredith, George, 65. + +Messenger, John A., 6. + +Metastasio, Pietro, 114. + +Miller, Joaquin, 5, 13. + +Milman, Constance, 137. + +Milnes, Moncton, 218. + +Milton, John, 175, 259, 286. + +Monod, Theodore, 85, 118. + +Monsell, John S. B., 159, 244. + +Montgomery, James, 127, 134, 262. + +Moore, Thomas, 86, 100, 118, 155. + +More, Hannah, 137. + +Morris, Lewis, 21. + +Morse, Sydney H., 12. + +Moulton, Louise C., 134, 271. + +Mudge, James, 144, 206, 208, 209, 224, 228, 232, 249, 258, 270. + +Muleykeh, 72. + +Mulholland, Rosa, 120. + +Murray, Charlotte, 183. + + +Neumarck, George, 189. + +Newell, William, 143. + +Newman, John H., 15, 64, 86, 100, 181. + +Newton, John, 91, 151, 184, 185, 235, 249. + +Noble, L. Gray, 55. + +Norris, Alfred, 98. + +North, Frank Mason, 76, 248. + +Novalis, 238. + + +Oberlin, Jean F., 82. + +Offord, Robert M., 71, 121. + +O'Reilly, John Boyle, 21, 37, 40, 44, 78, 78, 92, 122, 132, 163, 265. + +Osgood, Frances S., 65. + +Ovid, 266. + + +Palfrey, Sara H., 78. + +Palmer, Ray, 236, 245. + +Parker, John, 208. + +Peabody, Josephine P., 176. + +Pearce, 158. + +Persian, from the, 27, 34, 38, 40, 40, 65, 72, 73, 94, 94, 99, 109, 114, +122, 130, 142, 147, 166, 207, 220, 227, 231, 232, 253, 263, 266, 266, +266, 266, 267, 277. + +Pigott, Jean Sophia, 210. + +Pomfret, John, 162. + +Pope, Alexander, 32, 36, 39, 40, 73, 123, 225, 283. + +Pratt, Agnes L., 161. + +Preston, Margaret J., 248, 271. + +Procter, Adelaide Anne, 29, 32, 39, 68, 140, 156, 192. + +Proctor, Edna Dean, 11. + + +Quarles, Francis, 17, 65, 85, 137, 159. + + +Raleigh, Sir Walter, 282. + +Ray, Maude L., 51. + +Reese, Lizette W., 13. + +Richardson, Charles F., 125, 163. + +Riley, James W., 38, 102, 105, 167, 216, 264, 281, 283, 285. + +Roberts, Charles G. D., 232, 285. + +Robertson, William, 174. + +Robinson, Annie D., 103. + +Rodigast, S., 188. + +Rogers, Samuel, 162. + +Romanes, George J., 265. + +Rossetti, Christina G., 39, 272. + +Rückert, Friedrich, 148. + +Russell, W. D., 122. + +Ryan, Abram J., 32, 35, 133. + +Ryland, John, 195. + + +Saadi, 73, 94, 220. + +Salmon, Arthur L., 61. + +Sangster, Margaret E., 111, 143, 145, 229, 251. + +Sanskrit, from the, 47, 94, 177, 183. + +Savage, Minot J., 10. + +Scandinavian, from the, 68, 208. + +Schauffler, Robert H., 198. + +Scheffler, Johann A., 87, 87, 169, 169, 186, 222, 274. + +Schiller, Johann C. F., 27, 29, 175, 263. + +Schmolke, Benjamin, 153, 212. + +Schoener, S. C., 178. + +Scudder, Eliza, 92, 164. + +Seabury, J. D., 16. + +Shairp, John C., 134. + +Shakespeare, William, 27, 38, 39, 49, 94, 186, 206, 265, 286, 286. + +Shekelnot, Mary, 239. + +Sheridan, Richard B., 76. + +Sherman, Frank D., 229. + +Shipton, Anna, 252. + +Shorey, L., 237. + +Silesius, Angelus, 277. + +Sill, Edward R., 2, 15, 127, 258, 261, 267, 272. + +Simpson, Jane C., 135. + +Smiley, Maurice, 264. + +Smith, Alexander, 39. + +Smith, Belle Eugenia, 67. + +Smith, Elizabeth Oakes, 75. + +Smith, Henry B., 117. + +Smith, Mrs. Henry B., 62. + +Smith, Horace, 254. + +Smith, Lanta Wilson, 141. + +Smith, May Louise Riley, 191. + +Southwell, Robert, 105. + +Spanish, from the, 114. + +Spitta, Carl J. P., 190. + +Stanton, Frank L., 171. + +Stedman, Edmund C., 218. + +Sterling, John, 65, 94, 151, 158, 259, 264, 265, 265. + +Stetson, Charlotte Perkins, 9, 25. + +Stevenson, Robert Louis, 151. + +Stoddard, Richard H., 150. + +Story, Charles L., 285. + +Story, William M., 31. + +Stowe, Harriet B., 88, 223. + +Sturm, Julius, 157. + +Swain, Charles, 175. + + +Taylor, George L., 19. + +Taylor, Henry, 7. + +Teller, H. W., 280. + +Tennyson, Alfred, 11, 27, 27, 31, 32, 39, 40, 40, 46, 102, 122, 130, +135, 141, 152, 162, 162, 168, 169, 172, 180, 186, 186, 231, 232, 232, +266, 274. + +Teresa, St., 114. + +Thackeray, William M., 39. + +Thaxter, Celia, 15. + +Tholuck, Friedrich A. G., 218. + +Thoreau, Henry D., 120. + +Torrey, Bradford, 185. + +Townsend, Mary E., 86. + +Trench, Richard C., 46, 65, 94, 95, 102, 108, 113, 128, 129, 137, 137, +162, 164, 166, 167, 169, 169. + +Troup, Josephine, 53. + +Tubbs, Arthur L., 133. + +Tucker, Mary F., 78. + +Tupper, Martin F., 181. + + +Urchard, T., 112. + + +Van Dyke, Henry, 53, 76, 263. + +Van Vliet, Alice, 30. + +Very, Jones, 99, 226. + + +Wallace, James C., 129. + +Ward, Elizabeth S. P., 276. + +Waring, Anna L., 89, 90, 103, 116, 150, 151, 169, 177, 217. + +Warner, Anna B., 81, 243. + +Wasson, David A., 72. + +Waterman, Nixon, 46, 69, 78, 114, 140, 148, 259, 261, 261, 264, 286, +287, 287, 287, 287. + +Watson, Jean H., 132. + +Watson, William, 39, 129. + +Weldon, Charles, 33. + +Wells, Amos R., 79, 120, 121, 221, 252, 253, 258. + +Welsh, from the, 137. + +Wesley, Charles, 37, 80, 81, 118, 121, 147, 161, 189, 232, 279. + +Wesley, John, 87, 164. + +Wetherald, Agnes E., 53. + +White, H. Kirke, 211. + +White, James W., 129. + +White, John, 145. + +Whitney, A. D. T., 204. + +Whittier, John G., 1, 20, 33, 58, 64, 67, 68, 70, 78, 78, 88, 93, 97, +102, 102, 122, 141, 157, 161, 173, 174, 174, 175, 176, 177, 183, 185, +189, 191, 192, 196, 197, 197, 208, 208, 216, 232, 233, 264, 268, 271, +275. + +Whittle, D. W., 206. + +Wilberforce, Ernest R., 255. + +Williams, Alice, 217. + +Williams, Isaac, 193. + +Williams, Sarah J., 230. + +Williams, Theodore C., 71. + +Wilton, R., 135. + +Wither, George, 99. + +Wolcott, Julia A., 57. + +Wordsworth, William, 3, 41, 65, 65, 102, 268, 277, 285. + +Wotton, Henry, 22. + + +Xavier, Francis, 240. + + +Yates, John H., 184. + +Young, Edward, 40, 44, 147, 232, 255, 263. + + +Zinzendorf, Nicolaus L., 122. + + + + +INDEX TO TITLES + + +Abiding, 90. + +Above All, The Shield, 178. + +According to Thy Will, 214. + +Acquiescence of Pure Love, The, 87. + +Adoration, 131. + +After All, 145. + +Afterward, 276. + +Allah's House, 229. + +All for Jesus, 238. + +All for the Best, 189. + +All is Well, 196. + +All is Yours, 194. + +All Things in Jesus, 248. + +All Things Work Good, 196. + +All's for the Best, 181. + +All's Well, 71. + +Along the Way, 52. + +Altered Motto, The, 118. + +Although--Yet, 147. + +Amen, 213. + +Angels of Grief, 156. + +Answer to Prayer, 137. + +Anywhere with Jesus, 246. + +Approaches, 219. + +As a Bird in Meadows, 147. + +As God Will, 217. + +As He Wills, 214. + +As it Was to Be, 211. + +As Thou Wilt, 212. + +At End, 271. + +Athanasia, 276. + +At Last, 270. + +At Sunset, 251. + + +Battlefield, The, 14. + +Battles, 13. + +Be All at Rest, 91. + +Be Always Giving, 56. + +Be Careful for Nothing, 192. + +Be Content, 111. + +Be Just and Fear Not, 17. + +Be Kind to Thyself, 168. + +Be Never Discouraged, 19. + +Be Not Weary, 180. + +Be of Good Cheer, 146. + +Be Still, 88. + +Be True Thyself, 26. + +Beautiful Things, 250. + +Beauty of Holiness, The, 220. + +Beggar's Revenge, The, 34. + +Begone, Unbelief, 185. + +Believe Good Things of God, 180. + +Believer's Heritage, The, 206. + +Best that I Can, The, 44. + +Better than Gold, 32. + +Better Things, 253. + +Better Trust, 198. + +Blessed Face, The, 245. + +Blessed Lesson, A, 110. + +Blessed Thought of God, 226. + +Blessing, A, 78. + +Blessing in Prayer, A, 125. + +Blessing in Tears, A, 152. + +Blessings Near at Hand, 111. + +Blessings of Prayer, 126. + +Blessings, The, 47. + +Blest is the Faith Divine and Strong, 181. + +Bravery, 18. + +Breathe on Me, 121. + +Bring Every Burden, 143. + +Bringing Our Sheaves with Us, 101. + +Broader Field, A, 57. + +Brotherhood, 70. + +Builder's Lesson, A, 259. + +Builders, The, 251. + +Building, 259. + +Burial of Moses, The, 36. + +By Doing Good We Live, 53. + + +Call of Jesus, The, 249. + +Calm, 90. + +Care Cast on God, 195. + +Care Thou for Me, 200. + +Cares and Days, 264. + +Careless Content, 106. + +Carpenter, The, 211. + +Cast Thy Burden on the Lord, 207. + +Celestial Surgeon, The, 151. + +Chambered Nautilus, The, 116. + +Charge, The, 1. + +Charioteers, The, 79. + +Charity Not Justice, 75. + +Cheerful Old Age, 268. + +Cheer Up, 174. + +Cherubic Pilgrim, The, 222. + +Choir Invisible, The, 51. + +Choose for Us, God, 196. + +Choose Thou, 83. + +Chosen Few, The, 5. + +Christ in the City, 76. + +Christ Our Example, 238. + +Christ's Sympathy, 234. + +Clear Vision, The, 141. + +Columbus, 5. + +Come to Me, 230. + +Come to Us, Lord, 231. + +Commit Thy Way, 172. + +Common Lot, The, 262. + +Common Offering, The, 163. + +Comparative Degree, The, 121. + +Compensation, 159. + +Confidence, 232. + +Confido et Conquiesco, 192. + +Consecrated Life, A, 82. + +Consider the Ravens, 199. + +Consolation, 155. + +Constant Care, 205. + +Content and Rich, 104. + +Content I Live, 104. + +Content with All, 110. + +Contents of Piety, The, 130. + +Contentment, 103. + +Contrast, A, 105. + +Courage, 15. + +Courage Defined, 17. + +Crossing the Bar, 273. + +Cry of the Soul, A, 121. + + +Daily Bread, 219. + +Daily Course, The, 113. + +Daily Strength, 112. + +Dare to Do Right, 19. + +Dare You? 14. + +Dark Angel, The, 159. + +Day by Day, 117. + +Dearest Friend, The, 249. + +Death, 274. + +Death Bed, A, 275. + +Dedicated, 82. + +Defeated Yet Triumphant, 1. + +Defiance to Old Age, A, 267. + +Demand for Courage, 17. + +Demand for Men, 8. + +Denial, 125. + +Desert's Use, The, 265. + +Despondency Rebuked, 172. + +Devil is a Fool, The, 203. + +Difference, The, 108. + +Different Prayers, 129. + +Disappointment, 204. + +Divine Majesty, The, 211. + +Divine Peace, 90. + +Do and be Blest, 15. + +"Doe the Nexte Thynge," 42. + +Doing and Being, 262. + +Don't Take it to Heart, 147. + +Doubting Nothing, 179. + +Dum Vivimus Vivamus, 261. + +Duties, 48. + +Dwell Deep, 87. + + +Easily Given, 62. + +East London, 234. + +Eleventh-Hour Laborers, The, 55. + +Elixir, The, 223. + +Emir Hassan, 37. + +Emmaus, 268. + +Enoch, 135. + +Enough, 109. + +Equanimity, 25. + +Esse Quam Videre, 25. + +Eternal Goodness, The, 177. + +Eternal Justice, 6. + +Evangelist, The, 43. + +Evening Hymn, 206. + +Evening Praise, 144. + +Eventide, 226. + +Everlasting Memorial, The, 100. + +Ever with Thee, 228. + +Every Day, 152. + +Everywhere with Jesus, 248. + +Expecting and Knowing, 164. + +Eye of Faith, The, 179. + +Eyeservice, 221. + + +Failure, 34. + +Failure and Success, 33. + +Fairest Lord Jesus, 249. + +Faith, 178. + +Faith in God, 179. + +Faith is the Victory, 184. + +Faithful, 255. + +Faithful Monk, The, 60. + +Fame and Duty, 28. + +Farther On, 173. + +Fear Not, 202. + +Finding All in Jesus, 234. + +Finding Content, 112. + +Flowers without Fruit, 181. + +Following, 201. + +Following the Master, 56. + +For A' That, 24. + +For Divine Strength, 97. + +Forgiveness, 167. + +Formal Prayer, 126. + +For Strength We Ask, 53. + +Fortitude and Trial, 20. + +Free from Sin, 118. + +Friend and Foe, 263. + +Friend of Souls, 236. + +Fruition, 67. + +Fully Content, 109. + +Furnace and Hammer, 157. + + +Gain of Loss, The, 157. + +Gentleman, A, 26. + +Giving and Taking, 58. + +Glorious Morn, The, 144. + +Glory of Failure, The, 30. + +Go Not Far from Me, 150. + +Go Right On Working, 46. + +Go Tell Jesus, 145. + +God a Fortress, 16. + +God Alone Loved, 87. + +God Enough, 114. + +God is Enough, 112. + +God is Everywhere, 82. + +God is Mine, 224. + +God Keeps His Own, 199. + +God Knoweth Best, 154. + +God Knows, 182, 190. + +God Knows All, 195. + +God Means Us to be Happy, 138. + +God Never Forsakes, 189. + +God Only, 81. + +God Save the People, 75. + +God's All-Embracing Love, 164. + +God's Care, 204. + +God's Heroes, 12. + +God's Mercy, 165. + +God's Peace, 92. + +God's Presence, 223. + +God's Vengeance, 47. + +God's Voice, 181. + +God's Will, 210. + +God's Will be Done, 213. + +Golden Mean, The, 114. + +Good Great Man, The, 33. + +Gradatim, 115. + +Granted or Denied, 131. + +Great and Small, 212. + +Great Difference, A, 205. + +Great Man, A, 28. + + +Happiest Heart, The, 113. + +Happy Any Way, 106. + +Happy Warrior, The, 3. + +Harsh Judgments, 69. + +Have Charity, 68. + +Have Faith in God, 179. + +Have Hope, 171. + +"He Careth for Thee," 207. + +He Careth for You, 206. + +"He Doeth All Things Well," 147. + +He Fills All, 225. + +He Knoweth All, 200. + +He Leads Us On, 202. + +He Never Forgets, 201. + +Heart of God, The, 235. + +Heavenly Presence, The, 60. + +Heavier the Cross, 153. + +Help Thou My Unbelief, 133. + +Her Creed, 63. + +Here Am I, 80. + +Heritage, The, 107. + +Hero Gone, A, 1. + +Heroism, 9. + +Hide Not Thy Heart, 25. + +Higher Law, The, 25. + +Higher Life, The, 29. + +Higher Privilege, The, 166. + +His Banner Over Me, 166. + +His Care, 208. + +His Chosen Ones, 231. + +His Monument, 35. + +His Ways, 159. + +Holy Habits, 260. + +Honor All Men, 70. + +Hour of Prayer, The, 123. + +Hours, The, 256. + +House by the Side of the Road, The, 66. + +How Did You Die? 5. + +How Doth Death Speak of Our Beloved? 72 + +How to Judge, 69. + +How We Learn, 153. + +Humble Heart, A, 98. + +Humility, 99. + +Hymn of the City, 76. + + +I Am Content, 107. + +I Asked the Lord that I Might Grow, 151. + +I Can Trust, 188. + +I Do Not Ask, O Lord, 156. + +If I Him but Have, 230. + +If I Should Die To-night, 67. + +If the Lord Should Come, 229. + +If Thou Could'st Know, 154. + +If We Believed, 185. + +If We Could Only See, 59. + +If We Knew, 70. + +I in Thee and Thou in Me, 84. + +I Know Not if the Dark or Bright, 187. + +I Love Thy Will, 218. + +Imaginary Evils, 175. + +Immanence, 232. + +Immanuel's Land, 274. + +Indwelling, 118. + +Inevitable, The, 1. + +Influence, 77. + +In Him Confiding, 193. + +In Myself, 25. + +Inner Calm, The, 93. + +Inquiry, The, 96. + +"Into Thy Hands," 80. + +Invitation to Prayer, An, 133. + +Io Victis, 30. + +I Pack My Trunk, 258. + +I Resolve, 25. + +I Shall Not Want, 194. + +Is Life Worth Living? 253. + +Is Your Lamp Burning? 66. + +"It is More Blessed," 52. + +"It is Toward Evening," 245. + +It Might Have Been, 110. + +It Passeth Knowledge, 239. + +I've Found a Joy in Sorrow, 240. + +"I Will Abide in Thine House," 204 + +I Will Not Seek, 97. + +I Will Trust, 187. + +I Would Live Longer, 269. + +I Wouldn't, 111. + + +Jesu, 241. + +Jesus All-Sufficient, 238. + +Jesus, I Love Thee, 240. + +Jesus My God and My All, 242. + +Jesus on the Sea, 243. + +Jesus Our Joy, 236. + +Jesus Supreme, 238. + +Jewel, The, 112. + +John and Jesus, 167. + +Judge Not, 68. + +Just as God Leads, 104. + +Just for To-day, 255. + +Just One Day, 256. + +Justice, 261. + +Justice Only, 46. + + +Kept in Perfect Peace, 89. + +Kindness, 70. + +King of Love, The, 247. + +Kingdom of God, The, 164. + +Knowledge and Wisdom, 95. + + +Ladder of St. Augustine, The, 41. + +Lancashire Doxology, A, 142. + +La Rochelle, 153. + +Larger Hope, The, 172. + +Larger View, The, 222. + +Last Prayer, A, 95. + +Last Wish, The, 79. + +Laus Deo, 100. + +Laus Mortis, 274. + +Lead On, O Lord, 122. + +Leaving All, 83. + +Length of Days, 254. + +Length of Life, The, 253. + +Let Us See Jesus, 243. + +Liberty, 44. + +Life, 276. + +Life and Death, 2. + +Life Hid with Christ, A, 134. + +Life I Seek, The, 71. + +Life's Mirror, 257. + +Light, 137. + +Listening for God, 229. + +Little Parable, A, 155. + +Little Talk with Jesus, A, 235. + +Lonely Service, 63. + +Longing, 119. + +Looking for Pearls, 73. + +Looking unto God, 178. + +Lord of Himself, 22. + +Lord will Provide, The, 184. + +Lord's Appointment, The, 190. + +Lord's Leading, The, 182. + +Lord's Provision, The, 183. + +Losing Side, The, 30. + +Love, 163. + +Love and Light, 168. + +Love Counteth Not the Cost, 168. + +Love--Joy, 242. + +Love of God, The, 164. + +Love of Home, 168. + +Love that Passeth Knowledge, The, 165. + +Love's Fulfilling, 163. + +Lowly Heart, A, 95. + +Loyalty, 44. + +Luther, 6. + + +Madame Lofty, 108. + +Made Perfect Through Suffering, 149. + +Make Haste, O Man! to Live, 260. + +Make Thy Way Mine, 197. + +Man, 227. + +Manna, 111. + +Man's a Man for A' That, A, 24. + +Man with a Grudge, The, 78. + +Martha, 54. + +Martha or Mary, 53. + +Martyrs, The, 6. + +Mary of Bethany, 130. + +Master's Touch, The, 151. + +Maxims, 32. + +Meaning of Prayer, 128. + +Meekness of Moses, 100. + +Mencius, 37. + +Moment by Moment, 206. + +Moment in the Morning, A, 133. + +Moral Cosmetics, 254. + +More and More, 115. + +More Holiness, 119. + +Morning, 255. + +Morning Hymn, 80. + +Morning Star, The, 175. + +Morning Thought, A, 267. + +My Cross, 154. + +My Guide, 183. + +My Heart is Fixed, 233. + +My Heart is Resting, 89. + +My Lord and I, 237. + +My Prayer, 128. + +My Psalm, 197. + +My Service, 58. + +"My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord," 120. + +My Task, 51. + +My Times are in Thy Hand, 189. + +Mysterious Way, The, 203. + + +Nearest Duty, The, 45. + +Never Say Fail, 19. + +New Era, The, 73. + +New Every Morning, 173. + +"New Logion," The, 62. + +No Cares, 195. + +No Enemies, 18. + +No Fear, 190. + +No Fears, 193. + +Nobility of Goodness, The, 30. + +Noble Army of Martyrs Praise Thee, 2. + +Noble Deeds, 12. + +Noble Lives, 29. + +Noblesse Oblige, 10. + +Nobly Born, The, 35. + +Not a Sound Invades the Stillness, 126. + +Not by Chance, 216. + +Not Knowing, 192. + +Not Lost, 57. + +Not Mine, 98. + +Not Now, but Then, 268. + +Not Yet Prepared, 96. + +Nothing to Wish or to Fear, 235. + +Now, 256. + + +O for a Perfect Trust, 195. + +O God of Truth, 81. + +O Jesus Christ, Grow Thou in Me, 117. + +Obscure Martyrs, 34. + +Ode to Duty, 41. + +Offering, The, 84. + +Old Latin Hymn, A, 277. + +Old Stoic, The, 23. + +Omnipresence, 221. + +On Second Thought, 272. + +On the Eve of Departure, 269. + +On Thee My Heart is Resting, 85. + +One Day's Service, 252. + +One Path to Light, 59. + +One Talent, 45. + +One Talent, The, 45. + +One Thing Needful, The, 177. + +Only, 61. + +Only a Little, 64. + +Only Love, 167. + +Only One Way, 20. + +Only Solace, The, 155. + +Only To-day, 83. + +Open Thou Our Eyes, 227. + +Opportunity, 261. + +Opportunity Improved, 261. + +Opportunity Renewed, 259. + +Our Burden-Bearer, 137. + +Our Heavenly Father, 225. + +Our Heroes, 10. + +Our Home Above, 270. + +Our Master, 233. + +Our Rock, 247. + +Our Two Gifts, 276. + +Out of Touch, 131. + + +Pass it On, 58. + +Patience of Jesus, 241. + +Paul at Melita, 64. + +Peace of God, The, 88. + +Peaceable Fruit, 152. + +Perfect Faith, A, 180. + +Perfect Peace, 90. + +Perfect Through Suffering, 155. + +Pessimist and Optimist, 146. + +Petition, 124. + +Pharisee and Publican, 133. + +Picture of a Happy Man, The, 139. + +Place with Him, A, 16. + +Pluck, 20. + +Pluck Wins, 19. + +Poem of the Universe, The, 33. + +Power of Prayer, The, 129. + +Praise, 140. + +Praise Deprecated, 99. + +Praise Waiteth for Thee, 146. + +Pray Always, 135. + +Prayer, 127. + +Prayer, A, 118. + +Prayer for Strength, A, 136. + +Prayer its Own Answer, 130. + +Prayer of Deeds, 127. + +Prayer to the God of Nature, A, 116. + +Prayer's Grace, 218. + +Preciousness of Christ, 235. + +Presence, The, 226. + +Present Crisis, The, 18. + +Present Saviour, A, 224. + +Pressing toward the Mark, 87. + +Proem, 262. + +Progress, 174. + +Promised Land--To-morrow, 170. + +Prospice (Look Forward), 270. + +Providence, 203. + +Purpose True, A, 121. + + +Quiet Heart, A, 91. + +Quiet Mind, The, 89. + + +Rabia, 218. + +Ready, 271. + +Recessional, 96. + +Redeeming the Time, 254. + +Red Planet Mars, 2. + +Reformer, The, 2. + +Religion and Doctrine, 23. + +Religious Differences, 184. + +Religious Infidels, 197. + +Resignation, 149. + +Responsibility for Talents, 46. + +Rest, 92. + +Resting in God, 187. + +Rest Where You Are, 91. + +Retrospection, 252. + +Reward of Faithfulness, 42. + +Riches, 263. + +Riches and Power, 109. + +Ridiculous Optimist, The, 140. + +Right Must Win, The, 170. + +Ring, Happy Bells, 140. + +Robert Browning's Message, 3. + +Robin's Song, The, 148. + +Roundel, 220. + +Round of the Wheel, The, 265. + +Rules for Daily Life, 225. + + +Sacrifice of the Will, The, 81. + +Saintship, 227. + +Saved to Serve, 52. + +Scatter Sunshine, 141. + +Sealed, 242. + +Secret of a Happy Day, The, 138. + +Secret of His Presence, The, 221. + +Secret Place, The, 190. + +Secret Prayer, 124. + +Seedtime, 61. + +Seeing Jesus, 239. + +Self, 101. + +Self-examination, 228. + +Selfish Prayer, 134. + +Self-surrender, 86. + +Sensitiveness, 15. + +Serve God and Be Cheerful, 143. + +Service, 54. + +Shadow of the Great Rock, The, 217. + +Shared, 74. + +Share Your Blessings, 63. + +She Brought her Box of Alabaster, 240. + +"Show Me Thy Face," 228. + +Shrinking Prayer, A, 120. + +"Silver Cord is Loosed," The, 273. + +Silver Lining, The, 173. + +Simple Faith, 267. + +Simple Trust, 194. + +Since First Thy Word Awaked My Heart, 86. + +Single Stitch, A, 47. + +Sit Still, 88. + +Small Beginnings, 50. + +Social Christianity, 75. + +Some Rules of Life, 258. + +Something You Can Do, 61. + +"Sometime," 191. + +Sometime, Somewhere, 124. + +Song of a Heathen, The, 244. + +Song of Love, A, 244. + +Song of Low Degree, A, 96. + +Song of Solace, A, 160. + +Song of Trust, A, 196. + +Song--Sermon, 159. + +Source of Power, The, 128. + +Sower, The, 156. + +Sowing Joy, 141. + +Sparrow, The, 200. + +Speak Out, 77. + +Spiritual Devotion, 127. + +"Splendor of God's Will, The," 215. + +Split Pearls, The, 166. + +Steps of Faith, The, 183. + +Still Hope! Still Act, 158. + +Strange Boon, A, 158. + +Strength, 16. + +Strength for To-day, 255. + +Stronger Faith, A, 180. + +Struggle, The, 277. + +Submission, 219. + +Submission and Rest, 136. + +Submission to God, 216. + +Summer and Winter, 54. + +Sunday, 127. + +Sure Refuge, The, 201. + +Sweet Content, 104. + +Sweet Promises, 247. + +Sympathetic Love, 168. + + +Take Away Pain, 160. + +Take Time to be Holy, 136. + +Talhairn's Prayer, 137. + +Talking with God, 128. + +Teach Me the Truth, 8. + +Teach Me to Live, 260. + +Tell Him So, 77. + +"Tell Jesus," 246. + +Tell Me About the Master, 241. + +Tenant, The, 275. + +Thalassa! Thalassa! 271. + +Thanks, 144. + +Thanks for Pain, 139. + +Thanksgiving, 140. + +That I May Soar, 120. + +There is No Death, 269. + +They Shall Not Overflow, 158. + +Things I Miss, The, 106. + +Think Gently of the Erring, 68. + +Thou Knowest, 205. + +"Thou Maintainest My Lot," 151. + +Thou Sweet, Beloved Will of God, 211. + +Thought, A, 35. + +Thought of God, The, 224. + +Three Days, 261. + +Three Friends, The, 277. + +Three Lessons, 175. + +Three Stages of Piety, 218. + +Thy Allotment, 113. + +Thy Best, 34. + +Thy Brother, 71. + +"Thy Labor is Not in Vain," 55. + +Thy Loving Kindness, 143. + +Thy Will, 217. + +Thy Will Be Done, 216. + +Time for Prayer, The, 126. + +To a Reformer, 8. + +To-day, 256. + +To Faith, 185. + +Toil a Blessing, 61. + +"To Know All is to Forgive All," 69. + +Too Much Self, 157. + +To Our Beloved, 275. + +To Thee, 245. + +To Thine Own Self Be True, 22. + +To Truth, 10. + +Touch, The, 236. + +Tree God Plants, The, 210. + +Trifles That Make Saints, 48. + +Triumph of the Martyrs, 11. + +Triumphing in Others, 97. + +True Greatness, 37. + +True Hero, A, 13. + +True King, The, 31. + +True Prayer, 129. + +Truly Rich, The, 112. + +Trust, 191. + +Trust in God, 193. + +Trust in God and Do the Right, 18. + +Trusting God, 193. + +Truth, 8. + +Truth and Falsehood, 4. + +Turn from Self, 99. + +Two Angels, The, 213. + +Two Pictures, 103. + +Two Religions, The, 134. + +Two Worlds, The, 86. + + +Uncharitableness Not Christian, 74. + +Unconquered, 23. + +Unfailing Friend, The, 244. + +Union with God, 82. + +Universal Prayer, The, 123. + +Unwasted Days, 48. + +Uphill, 272. + +Useful According to God's Will, 212. + + +Valley of Silence, The, 132. + +Veiled Future, The, 174. + +Via Crucis, Via Lucis, 142. + +Victory, The, 12. + +Voice Calling, The, 272. + +Voice of Piety, The, 68. + + +Wait on God, 185. + +Waiting, 171. + +Waking, 50. + +Waking Thoughts, 63. + +Walking with God, 131. + +Walking with Jesus, 116. + +Wanted, 22. + +Weapons, 78. + +We Defer Things, 264. + +We Give All, 86. + +Welcome the Shadows, 113. + +We Long to See Jesus, 246. + +We Shall Know, 183. + +We Will Praise Thee, 145. + +We Would See Jesus, 248. + +What Christ Said, 58. + +What Does it Matter? 33. + +What is Death? 272. + +What is Prayer? 127. + +What Makes a Hero? 7. + +What Man is There of You? 125. + +What Might be Done, 74. + +What Pleaseth God, 215. + +What Redress, 167. + +What She Could, 48. + +When I Am Weak then Am I Strong, 97. + +When I Have Time, 257. + +When You Do an Act, 59. + +Who Bides His Time, 105. + +Wholly the Lord's, 79. + +Whom Have I in Heaven but Thee? 85. + +Why Do I Live? 250. + +Why Not? 242. + +Widow's Oil, The, 167. + +Will, 11. + +Will Divine, The, 209. + +Will of God, The, 209. + +Wind that Blows, that Wind is Best, The, 108. + +Wisdom of Discipline, 188. + +Without and Within, 114. + +Without Haste and Without Rest, 250. + +With Self Dissatisfied, 157. + +Worker's Prayer, A, 135. + +Working with Christ, 62. + +Work Loyally, 44. + +Worldly Place, 12. + +Worth While, 11. + + +"Your Heavenly Father Knoweth," 202. + +Your Mission, 59. + +Youth's Warning, 219. + + +Zeal in Labor, 43. + + + + +INDEX TO FIRST LINES + + +A certain wise man deeply versed, 53. + +"A commonplace life," we say, 100. + +A faith that shines by night and day, 186. + +A gem which falls within the mire, 38. + +A governed heart, thinking, 232. + +A happy lot must sure be his, 259. + +A jewel is a jewel still, 40. + +A kindly act is a kernel sown, 78. + +A little bird I am, 82. + +A little bit of hope, 176. + +A little talk with Jesus, 235. + +A little word in kindness spoken, 70. + +"A man's a man," says Robert Burns, 24. + +A man's higher being is knowing, 122. + +A mind from every evil thought, 94. + +A mighty fortress is our God, 66. + +A moment in the morning, ere the cares, 133. + +A pilgrim, bound to Mecca, 114. + +A pious friend of Rabia one day, 265. + +A Sower went forth to sow, 156. + +A sprig of mint by the wayward brook, 111. + +A stone makes not great rivers turbid grow, 94. + +A tone of pride or petulance repressed, 48. + +A traveler through a dusty road, 50. + +A voice by Jordan's shore, 167. + +A woman sat by a hearthside place, 134. + +A worthy man of Paris town, 153. + +Abide with me, O Christ, 245. + +Abide with us, O wondrous Lord, 268. + +Abundance is the blessing of the wise, 263. + +Again, O God, the night shuts down, 144. + +Ah, a man's reach should exceed, 40. + +Ah! don't be sorrowful, 268. + +Ah, God! I have not had thee, 177. + +Ah! grand is the world's work, 54. + +Ah, how skillful grows the hand, 164. + +Ah, yes! I would a phoenix be, 169. + +Ah, yes! the task is hard, 46. + +"Allah, Allah!" cried the sick man, 130. + +"Allah!" was all night long, 130. + +All are architects of Fate, 251. + +All are but parts of one stupendous, 225. + +All as God wills, who, 197. + +All goeth but God's will, 217. + +All habits gather by unseen degrees, 266. + +All is of God! If he but wave, 213. + +All service ranks the same with God, 64. + +All's for the best; be sanguine, 181. + +Among so many can He care, 204. + +An age so blest that, by its side, 268. + +An angel came from the courts of gold, 47. + +An easy thing, O Power divine, 106. + +An old farm house with meadows wide, 103. + +And all is well, though faith and form, 186. + +"And do the hours step fast or slow, 48. + +And, for success, I ask no more, 35. + +And good may ever conquer ill, 232. + +And he drew near and talked with them, 227. + +And now we only ask to serve, 86. + +And only the Master shall praise us, 39. + +And see all sights from pole to pole, 266. + +And, since we needs must hunger, 262. + +And some innative weakness, 27. + +And they who do their souls no wrong, 93. + +Another day God gives me, 63. + +Anywhere with Jesus, 246. + +Are your sorrows hard to bear, 253. + +Around my path life's mysteries, 181. + +Around the man who seeks a noble end, 3. + +Art thou afraid his power shall fail, 184. + +Art thou in misery, brother? 264. + +Art thou little? Do thy little well, 45. + +Art thou weary, tender heart, 161. + +As a bird in meadows fair, 147. + +As by the light of opening day, 249. + +As flows the river calm and deep, 93. + +As God leads me will I go, 201. + +As I lay sick upon my bed, 275. + +As on a window late I cast mine eyes, 242. + +As running water cleanseth bodies, 94. + +As the bird trims her to the gale, 7. + +As yonder tower outstretches to the earth, 185. + +Asked and unasked, thy heavenly gifts, 129. + +Aspire, break bounds, I say, 34. + +At cool of day with God I walk, 226. + +At end of love, at end of life, 271. + +At sixty-two life has begun, 268. + +At the midnight, in the silence, 269. + +At thirty man suspects himself, 263. + +Away, my needless fears, 189. + +Away! my unbelieving fear, 147. + + +Banish far from me all I love, 155. + +"Be all at rest, my soul," 91. + +Be calm in arguing; for, 94. + +Be firm. One constant element in luck, 20. + +Be it health or be it leisure, 57. + +Be like the bird that, halting in her flight, 198. + +Be never discouraged, 19. + +Be no imitator; freshly act thy part, 27. + +Be noble! and the nobleness, 40. + +Be not afraid to pray, 124. + +Be not too proud of good deeds, 46. + +Be not too ready to condemn, 102. + +Be patient; keep thy life work, 198. + +Be still, sad heart! and cease repining, 114. + +Be strong to hope, O heart, 16. + +Be thou a poor man and a just, 266. + +Be thou content; be still before, 111. + +Be thou supreme, Lord Jesus, 238. + +Be trustful, be steadfast, 143. + +Be useful where thou livest, 64. + +Be with me, Lord, where'er, 122. + +Bear a lily in thy hand, 47. + +Bear up, bear on, the end shall tell, 189. + +Beautiful faces are those that wear, 250. + +Because I hold it sinful to despond, 15. + +Because I seek thee not O seek thou me, 133. + +Before God's footstool, 34. + +Before the eyes of men let duty shine, 95. + +Before the monstrous wrong he sets him down, 2. + +Begin the day with God, 225. + +Begone, unbelief, my Saviour is near, 185. + +Behind him lay the gray Azores, 5. + +Being perplexed, I say, 128. + +Believe not each accusing tongue, 76. + +Beneath the tiger's jaw I heard, 147. + +Beside thy gracious hearth, 185. + +Better have failed in the high aim, 40. + +Better than grandeur, better than gold, 32. + +Better to have the poet's heart, 117. + +Better to smell the violet cool, 253. + +Better to stem with heart and hand, 8. + +Better trust all and be deceived, 198. + +Beware, exulting youth, 219. + +Blessed are they who die for God, 8. + +Blest is the faith divine and strong, 181. + +"Body, I pray you, let me go," 277. + +Both swords and guns are strong, 78. + +Bravely to do whate'er the time demands, 13. + +Break forth, my lips, in praise, 141. + +Breathe on me, Breath of, 121. + +Build a little fence of trust, 198. + +Bury thy sorrow, 145. + +But all God's angels come to us, 161. + +But God is never so far off, 223. + +But that thou art my wisdom, 219. + +But where will God be absent, 232. + +By all means use some time, 228. + +By Nebo's lonely mountain, 36. + +By thine own soul's law learn to live, 22. + + +Calm me, my God, and keep me calm, 93. + +Calm Soul of all things, 93. + +Care Thou for me! Let me not care, 200. + +Catch, then, O catch the transient hour, 266. + +Christ wants the best, 98. + +Cleon has a million acres, 109. + +Come to me, Come to me, 230. + +Come to the morning prayer, 133. + +Come to us, Lord, as the day light comes, 231. + +Comes a message from above, 168. + +Commit thy way to God, 172. + +Content that God's decree, 110. + +Could we with ink the ocean fill, 164. + +Couldst thou boast, O child, of weakness, 68. + +Count each affliction, whether light or grave, 159. + +Courage, brother, do not slumber, 18. + + +Dance, O my soul! 'tis God doth play, 208. + +Dare to be true; nothing can need a lie, 21. + +Dare to do right! Dare to be true, 19. + +Dare to think, though others frown, 15. + +Day by day the manna fell, 112. + +Dear is my friend, but my foe too, 263. + +Deep at the heart of all our pain, 210. + +Did you tackle that trouble, 5. + +Dig channels for the streams of love, 63. + +Diving, and finding no pearls, 266. + +Do I not love thee, Lord most high, 87. + +Do not I love thee, O my Lord, 249. + +Do thy duty; that is best, 49. + +Do thy little; do it well, 20. + +Does the road wind uphill, 272. + +Don't lose Courage! Spirit brave, 105. + +Don't think your lot the worst, 114. + +Don't you trouble trouble till, 202. + +Doubting Thomas and loving John, 14. + +Drop thy still dews of quietness, 93. + +Dwell deep! The little things, 87. + + +Each moment holy is, for, 263. + +Earth's crammed with heaven, 231. + +Emir Hassan, of the prophet's race, 37. + +Encamped along the hills of light, 184. + +Enough to know that through the winter's frost, 78. + +"Even in a palace, life may be led well," 12. + +Ever, when tempted, make me see, 237. + +Every day is a fresh beginning, 173. + +Every hour that fleets so, 122. + +Everywhere with Jesus, 248. + +Eyeservice let me give, 221. + + +Fair is the soul, rare is the soul, 181. + +Fairest Lord Jesus! 249. + +Faith fails; Then in the, 178. + +Faith, Hope and Love were questioned, 164. + +Faith is a grasping of Almighty power, 185. + +Faithfully faithful to every trust, 49. + +Far better in its place the lowliest bird, 39. + +Far off thou art, but ever nigh, 231. + +Father, before thy footstool kneeling, 136. + +Father, hold Thou my hand, 197. + +Father, I know that all my, 103. + +Father, I scarcely dare to pray, 95. + +Father, in thy mysterious presence, 97. + +Father of all! in every age, 123. + +Father, take not away the burden, 93. + +Fear death?--to feel the fog in my throat, 270. + +Fear him, ye saints, 220. + +Fearest the shadow? Keep thy trust, 274. + +Fill, brief or long, my granted years, 268. + +Find out what God would have you do, 49. + +Flower in the crannied wall, 102. + +Flung to the heedless winds, 6. + +For age is opportunity no less, 268. + +For all the evils under the sun, 144. + +For all the sins that cling to thee, 86. + +For I am 'ware it is the seed of act, 33. + +For, lo! in hidden deep accord, 169. + +For never land long lease of empire won, 40. + +For others' sake to make life sweet, 169. + +For some the narrow lane of must, 166. + +For strength we ask, 53. + +For what is age but youth's, 268. + +Forenoon and afternoon and, 258. + +Forever, from the hand that takes, 208. + +Forever in their Lord abiding, 190. + +Forget the past and live the present hour, 256. + +Forgive us, Lord, our little faith, 177. + +Four things a man must learn to do, 263. + +Fret not, poor soul; while doubt and fear, 192. + +From an old English parsonage, 42. + +From cellar unto attic all is clear, 226. + +From our ill-ordered hearts, 94. + + +Get leave to work in this world, 64. + +Give! as the morning that flows out of heaven, 52. + +Give me heart touch with all that live, 39. + +Give me, O Lord, a heart of grace, 120. + +Give me this day a little work, 122. + +Give to the winds thy fears, 193. + +Give what thou canst, 108. + +Glory to God--to God! he saith, 158. + +God answers prayer, 135. + +God asks not, To what, 266. + +God gave me something very sweet, 65. + +God give us men! A time, 22. + +God gives each man one life, 72. + +God gives to man the power, 220. + +God has his best things for the few, 21. + +God holds the key of all unknown, 208. + +God is enough! thou, who in hope and fear, 112. + +God is law, say the wise; O Soul, and let us rejoice, 232. + +God is near thee, Christian; cheer thee, 146. + +God knows--not I--the devious way, 182. + +God means us to be happy, 138. + +God moves in a mysterious, 203. + +God never would send you the darkness, 155. + +God sees me though I see him not, 208. + +God of our fathers, known, 96. + +God of the roadside weed, 116. + +God works in all things, 176. + +God's in his heaven, 214. + +God's spirit falls on me as dew, 222. + +Go, labor on; spend and be spent, 43. + +Go not far from me, O my Strength, 150. + +Go when the morning shineth, 135. + +Golden gleams of noonday fell, 60. + +Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, 38. + +Good striving Brings thriving, 94. + +Grant me, O Lord, thy merciful protection, 137. + +Grant us, O God, in love to thee, 186. + +Grant us thy peace down from thy presence falling, 92. + +Great God, I ask thee for no meaner pelf, 120. + +Great Jehovah! we will praise, 145. + +Great Master! teach us how to hope, 70. + +Great men grow greater, 37. + +Great truths are dearly bought, 153. + +Greatly begin! though thou have time, 35. + +Grow old along with me, 3. + + +Habits are soon assumed, 266. + +Half feeling our own weakness, 97. + +Happy the man, and happy he alone, 262. + +Happy the man, of mortals happiest he, 103. + +Hark! the voice of Jesus calling, 61. + +Have faith in God! for he who reigns, 179. + +Have Hope! it is the brightest star, 171. + +Have I learned, in whatsoever, 110. + +Have you found your life distasteful, 182. + +Have you had a kindness shown, 58. + +He built a house, time laid it in the dust, 35. + +He cast his net at morn, 34. + +He did God's will, to him all one, 208. + +He doth good work whose heart can find, 65. + +He fails never, 93. + +He fails who climbs to power and place, 33. + +He fought a thousand glorious wars, 39. + +He growled at morning, noon, and night, 148. + +He has done the work of a true man, 1. + +He has no enemies, you say? 18. + +He is brave whose tongue is silent, 30. + +He is one to whom Long patience, 102. + +He knows, he loves, he cares, 208. + +He leads us on by paths we did not know, 202. + +He liveth long who liveth well, 254. + +He makes no friend who never made a foe, 31. + +He prayeth well who loveth well, 130. + +He sendeth sun, he sendeth shower, 214. + +He stood before the Sanhedrim, 23. + +He stood, the youth they called the Beautiful, 37. + +He that feeds men serveth few, 20. + +He that holds fast the golden mean, 114. + +He that is down need fear no fall, 96. + +He that would free from malice, 40. + +He took them from me, one by one, 154. + +"He touched her hand, and the fever left her," 236. + +He walked with God, by faith, in solitude, 135. + +He was better to me than all my fears, 252. + +He who ascends to mountain tops, 38. + +He's true to God, who's true, 62. + +Hearts that are great beat never loud, 35. + +Heaven above is softer blue, 232. + +Heaven is not always angry, 162. + +Heaven is not reached by a single bound, 115. + +Heavier the cross the stronger faith, 153. + +Helmet and plume and saber, 30. + +Her eyes are homes of silent prayer, 130. + +Hide not thy talent in the earth, 45. + +High above fate I dwell, 22. + +High hopes that burned like stars, 170. + +His courtiers of the caliph crave, 166. + +His name yields the richest perfume, 235. + +Home they brought her warrior dead, 152. + +Honor and shame from no condition rise, 39. + +Hope, child, to-morrow and to-morrow still, 176. + +Hope, Christian soul! in every stage, 176. + +How blest is he, though ever crossed, 139. + +How does the soul grow? 263. + +How doth death speak of our beloved, 72. + +How far from here to heaven, 277. + +How gentle God's commands, 205. + +How happy is he born and taught, 22. + +How many chatterers of a creed, 197. + +How seldom, friends, a good great man, 33. + +"How shall I a habit break," 259. + +How we, poor players on life's stage, 134. + +How wretched is the man with honors crowned, 39. + +Howe'er it be, it seems to me, 39. + +However others act towards thee, 27. + +However the battle is ended, 20. + +Humble we must be if to heaven we go, 98. + +Humility, that low, sweet root, 100. + +Hushing every muttered murmur, 110. + + +I am but clay in thy hands, 84. + +I am content; I do not care, 106. + +I am content. In trumpet, 107. + +I am glad to think I am not bound, 187. + +I am Liberty--God's daughter, 44. + +I am of sinfulness and sorrows full, 183. + +I am only a little sparrow, 200. + +I am part of that Power, 208. + +I am so weak, dear Lord, 109. + +I am thine own, O Christ, 242. + +I am with thee, my God, 228. + +I asked for grace to lift me high, 159. + +I asked the Lord that I might grow, 151. + +I asked the Lord that I might worthier be, 56. + +I asked the Lord to let me do, 58. + +I bless thee, Lord, for sorrows sent, 149. + +I bow my forehead to the dust, 177. + +I bring my sins to thee, 245. + +I cannot always see the way, 196. + +I cannot choose; I should have liked so much, 53. + +"I cannot do much," said a little star, 44. + +I cannot say, Beneath the pressure of life's cares, 213. + +I cannot see, with my small human sight, 188. + +I cannot think but God must know, 97. + +I could not find the little maid, 112. + +I do not ask for any crown, 25. + +I do not ask for earthly store, 179. + +I do not ask, O Lord, that life, 156. + +I do not ask that Thou shalt front the fray, 21. + +I do not know thy final will, 220. + +I do not know whether my future lies, 199. + +I do not know why sin abounds, 194. + +I feel within me A peace, 94. + +I find no foeman in the road but fear, 18. + +I go to prove my soul, 264. + +I have a Friend so precious, 237. + +I have a life with Christ to live, 134. + +I have a treasure which I prize, 89. + +I have done at length with dreaming, 50. + +"I have labored in vain," a preacher said, 55. + +I have no answer, for myself or thee, 208. + +I have seen the face of Jesus, 239. + +I have thee every hour, 224. + +I hear it often in the dark, 229. + +I hear it singing, singing sweetly, 173. + +I hold him great who, for love's sake, 32. + +I hold it as a changeless law, 26. + +I hold it true, whate'er befall, 162. + +I hold it truth with him who sings, 162. + +I hold that, since by death alone, 274. + +I honor the man who is willing to sink, 21. + +I know no life divided, 190. + +I know not, and I would not know, 109. + +I know not if the dark or bright, 187. + +I know not if 'twas wise or well, 74 + +I know not the way I am going, 183. + +I know not what shall befall me, 197. + +I know not what the future holds, 191. + +I know the Hand that is guiding me, 201. + +I know this earth is not my sphere, 120. + +I like the man who faces what he must, 1. + +I live for those who love me, 250. + +I'll not leave Jesus, 233. + +I'll sing you a lay ere I wing on my way, 148. + +I look to Thee in every need, 178. + +I love, and have some cause, 85. + +I love my God, but with no love of mine, 131. + +I love thy skies, thy sunny mists, 220. + +I love thy will, O God, 218. + +I made the cross myself whose weight, 155. + +I met a child, and kissed it, 141. + +I often say my prayers, 126. + +I pray not that Men tremble, 102. + +I pray thee, Lord, that when it comes to me, 11. + +I pray you, do not use this thing, 167. + +I pray, with meek hands, 219. + +I preached as never sure to preach again, 87. + +I reach a duty yet I do it not, 48. + +I said it in the meadow path, 74. + +I said, "Let me walk in the fields," 58. + +I saw a farmer plow his land, 263. + +I say it over and over, 190. + +I say to thee--do thou repeat, 164. + +I see the right and I approve, 266. + +I shall not want; in desert wilds, 194. + +I sing the hymn of the conquered, 30. + +I sit within my room and joy to find, 226. + +I slept, and dreamed that life was beauty, 49. + +I stand in the great Forever, 228. + +I stand upon the Mount, 90. + +I stand upon the summit of my life, 271. + +I thank thee, Lord, for mine unanswered prayers, 144. + +I thank thee, Lord, that all my joy, 161. + +I think, if thou couldst know, 154. + +I've found a joy in sorrow, 240. + +I've learned to prize the, 39. + +I walk down the Valley of Silence, 132. + +I want so many, many, 125. + +I welcome all Thy sovereign will, 198. + +I wonder if ever a song was, 96. + +I worship thee, sweet will of God, 209. + +I would be ready, Lord, 271. + +I would not ask thee that my days, 98. + +I would see Jesus. As I muse, 239. + +Idlers all day about the market place, 55. + +Idly as thou, in that old day, 174. + +If any little word of mine, 75. + +If every man's internal care, 114. + +If God is mine then present things, 224. + +If I could feel my hand, dear Lord, in thine 178. + +If I could live to God for just one day, 256. + +If I could only surely know, 206. + +If I could see a brother, 74. + +If I have faltered more or less, 151. + +If I Him but have, 230. + +If I knew you and you knew me, 69. + +If I should die to-night, 67. + +If I truly love the One, 164. + +If I were dead I think that you, 265. + +If I were told that I must die to-morrow, 214. + +If Jesus came to earth again, 234. + +If Jesus Christ is a man, 244. + +If life's pleasures cheer thee, 247. + +If no kindly thought or word, 54. + +If none were sick and none were sad, 114. + +If only he is mine, 238. + +If suddenly upon the street, 163. + +If the Lord should come in the morning, 229. + +If the weather is cold don't scold, 148. + +If the wren can cling to a spray, 198. + +If this little world to-night, 262. + +If thou art blest, Then let the sunshine, 102. + +If thou canst plan a noble deed, 21. + +If thou _hast_ something bring thy goods, 27. + +If thou hast the gift of strength, 65. + +If to Jesus for relief, 200. + +If we believed we should, 185. + +If we knew the cares and sorrows, 70. + +If we sit down at set of sun, 54. + +If washed in Jesus' blood, 249. + +If when I kneel to pray, 125. + +If you cannot on the ocean, 59. + +If you have a friend worth having, 77. + +If you have a word of cheer, 77. + +Immortal Love, forever full, 233. + +In a napkin smooth and white, 45. + +In a world where sorrow, 141. + +In all I think or speak or do, 122. + +In buds upon some Aaron's rod, 222. + +In full and glad surrender, 81. + +In heavenly love abiding, 90. + +In humbleness, O Lord, I ask, 96. + +In life's small things be resolute, 39. + +"In pastures green?" Not always, 160. + +In proud humility a pious man, 99. + +In silence mend what ills deform, 65. + +In some way or other, 183. + +In spite of sorrow, loss, and pain, 18. + +In the deed that no man knoweth, 102. + +In the floods of tribulation, 158. + +In the hush of April weather, 272. + +In the June twilight, 273. + +In the pleasant orchard closes, 161. + +In the secret of his presence, 221. + +In the still air the music, 151. + +In vain they smite me, 186. + +In wise proportion does a fond hand mingle, 183. + +Into thy guiding hands, 80. + +Is it true, O Christ in, 161. + +Is life worth living? 253. + +Is the work difficult? 20. + +Is there for honest poverty, 24. + +Is thy cruse of comfort failing, 52. + +It becomes no man to nurse despair, 27. + +It is bad to have an empty purse, 261. + +It is coming! it is coming, 73. + +It is enough--Enough just to be good, 38. + +It is faith, The feeling, 183. + +It is Lucifer, The son, 220. + +It is no use to grumble and, 216. + +It is not death to die, 272. + +It is not mine to run, 98. + +It is not prayer, This clamor, 129. + +It is not the deed we do, 163. + +It is not the wall of stone without, 35. + +It isn't the thing you do, 251. + +It is the evening hour, 206. + +It is worth while to live, 39. + +It matters little where I was born, 33. + +It passeth knowledge, that dear love of thine, 239. + +It singeth low in every heart, 275. + +It's wiser being good than bad, 176. + +It takes great strength to train, 9. + +It was not anything she said, 38. + +It was only a blossom, 61. + +It was only a sunny smile, 62. + +It were not hard, we think, 59. + + +Jesu is in my heart, 241. + +Jesus calls us; o'er the tumult, 249. + +Jesus, I love thee, not because, 240. + +Jesus, I my cross have taken, 83. + +"Jesus saith," and His deep, 62. + +Jesus, still lead on, 122. + +Jesus, the calm that fills my breast, 248. + +Jesus, the very thought, 235. + +Jesus, these eyes have never seen, 245. + +Jesus, thou Joy of loving, 236. + +Judge not; the workings of, 68. + +"Judge the people by their actions," 69. + +Just as God leads me I would go, 104. + +Just to let thy Father do, 138. + +Just where you stand in the conflict, 44. + + +Keep pure thy soul, 26. + +Keep pushing--'tis wiser than sitting aside, 19. + +Keep to the right, within and without, 23. + +Know well, my soul, God's hand controls, 183. + +Knowing this, that never yet, 175. + +Knowing, what all experience serves to show, 26. + +Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, 98. + + +Labor with what zeal we will, 102. + +Laid on thine altar, O my Lord divine, 81. + +Leave God to order all thy ways, 189. + +Led by kindlier hand than ours, 110. + +Let come what will, I mean to bear, 39. + +Let him that loves his ease, 148. + +Let me not die before I've done for thee, 212. + +Let no one till his death Be called unhappy, 269. + +Let not your heart be troubled, 198. + +Let nothing disturb thee, 114. + +Let nothing make thee sad, 88. + +Let one more attest, 208. + +Let praise devote thy work, 100. + +Let the Loved One but smile, 231. + +Let thy sweet presence light my way, 224. + +Let to-morrow take care of to-morrow, 175. + +Let us be content in work, 114. + +Let us believe That there, 171. + +Let us cry, All good things, 148. + +Let us gather up the sunbeams, 148. + +Life-embarked, out at sea, 277. + +Life! I know not what, 276. + +Life is a burden; bear it, 252. + +Life is too short to waste, 263. + +Life's burdens fall, its discords cease, 88. + +Like a river glorious is God's perfect peace, 90. + +Like the star That shines afar, 255. + +Live while you live, the epicure would say, 261. + +Lo here hath been dawning, 255. + +Look not beyond the stars for heaven, 65. + +Looking upward every, 117. + +Lord, according to thy word, 199. + +Lord and Father, great and holy, 167. + +Lord, for the erring thought, 140. + +Lord, for to-morrow and its, 255. + +Lord, I delight in Thee, 195. + +Lord, I have shut my door, 124. + +Lord, in the strength of grace, 81. + +Lord, let me not be too content, 120. + +Lord, it belongs not to my care, 106. + +Lord, make me quick to see, 121. + +Lord of all being, throned afar, 221. + +Lord, send thy light, 137. + +Lord, shall we grumble when thy flame, 159. + +Lord, speak to me, that I may speak, 135. + +Lord, what a change within us, 129. + +Lord, what is man, That thou, 159. + +Love that asketh love again, 165. + +Love took up the glass of time, 169. + + +Make haste, O man! to live, 260. + +Make my mortal dreams, 122. + +Man in his life hath three good friends, 277. + +Man judges from a partial view, 78. + +Man's plea to man is that he nevermore, 137. + +Man was not made for forms, 25. + +Manlike is it to fall into sin, 81. + +Master of human destinies am I, 261. + +May every soul that touches mine, 74. + +Mechanic soul, thou must not only do, 65. + +Men lose their ships, the, eager things, 205. + +Methought that in a solemn church, 63. + +More holiness give me, 119. + +More things are wrought by prayer, 135. + +Moses, the patriot fierce, became, 100. + +Mrs. Lofty keeps a carriage, 108. + +My business is not to remake myself, 40. + +My conscience is my crown, 104. + +My fairest child, I have no song to give you, 30. + +My God, how wonderful thou art, 225. + +My God, I heard this day, 227. + +My God, I thank thee who hast, 139. + +My God, I would not live, 186. + +My God, is any hour so sweet, 123. + +My God, my Father, while I stray, 213. + +My heart is resting, O my, 89. + +My Jesus, as thou wilt, 212. + +My mind to me a kingdom, 104. + +My prayer to the promise shall cling, 177. + +My proud foe at my hands, 137. + +My Saviour, on the word of truth, 116. + +My sins and follies, Lord, 99. + +My sorrows have not been so light, 162. + +My soul shall be a telescope, 120. + +My soul was stirred; I prayed, 45. + +My spirit on thy care, 192. + +My time is short enough at best, 27. + +"My times are in thy hand," 189. + +My whole though broken heart, 79. + +My will would like a life of ease, 80. + + +Nanac the faithful, pausing once to pray, 229. + +Nay, all by Thee is ordered, 195. + +Nay, nay, do not tell me, 201. + +Nay, not for place, but for the right, 13. + +Nay, now if these things that you long to teach, 8. + +Nay, why should I fear Death, 274. + +Never a trial that He is not there, 206. + +Never give up! it is wiser and better, 176. + +Never go gloomily, man with a mind, 174. + +New every morning is the love, 113. + +New words to speak, new thoughts to hear, 65. + +No care can come where God doth guard, 206. + +No chance has brought this ill, 216. + +No child of man may perish, 220. + +No coward soul is mine, 21. + +No endeavor is in vain, 39. + +No help! nay, it is not so, 208. + +No man is born into the world, 65. + +No more my own, Lord Jesus, 84. + +No more with downcast eyes go faltering on, 186. + +No one is so accursed by fate, 76. + +No service in itself is small, 61. + +None but one can harm you, 27. + +Nor love thy life, nor hate, 259. + +Not a brooklet floweth, 204. + +Not a dread cavern hoar, 127. + +Not a sound invades the, 126. + +Not always the path is, 143. + +Not at the battle front, 13. + +Not disabled in the combat, 156. + +Not I but Christ be honored, 240. + +Not in dumb resignation, 217. + +Not in each shell the diver brings, 159. + +Not in some cloistered cell, 71. + +Not in the clamor of the crowded street, 27. + +Not in the solitude Alone may man, 76. + +Not in our waking hours alone, 207. + +Not on the gory field of fame, 12. + +Not once or twice in our fair island story, 46. + +Not only in the cataract and the thunder, 232. + +Not ours nobility of this world's giving, 10. + +Not so in haste, my heart, 185. + +Not to the man of dollars, 78. + +Not they alone who from the bitter strife, 2. + +Not to thy saints of old alone dost Thou, 179. + +Not what I am, O Lord, 165. + +Not when with self dissatisfied, 157. + +Nothing pays but God, 208. + + +O be in God's clear world, 148. + +O, blessed is that man of whom, 36. + +O, block by block, with sore and sharp endeavor, 161. + +O brothers! are ye asking, 78. + +O dwell in me, my Lord, 118. + +O foolish heart, be still! 194. + +O for a closer walk with man, 75. + +O for a faith that will not shrink, 180. + +O for a man to rise in me, 122. + +O for the peace of a perfect trust, 195. + +O Friend of souls! how blest the time, 236. + +O give me the joy of living, 148. + +O God! I thank thee for each sight, 80. + +O God of truth, for whom alone, 121. + +O God of truth, whose living word, 81. + +O God, take the reins of my life, 79. + +O God! whose thoughts are brightest light, 69. + +O humble me! I cannot hide the joy, 99. + +O how the thought of God attracts, 119. + +O it is hard to work for God, 170. + +O, I could go through all life's troubles, 101. + +O I would live longer, I gladly would stay, 269. + +O Jesus Christ, grow thou in me, 117. + +O Jesus! Friend unfailing, 244. + +O Jesus, I have promised, 247. + +O Jesus! Jesus! dearest Lord, 242. + +O Lord! at Joseph's humble, 211. + +O Lord, how happy should we be, 195. + +"O Lord, my God," I oft have said, 154. + +O Lord, thy heavenly grace impart, 82. + +O Love divine, that stooped to share, 168. + +O Love is weak, 163. + +O Love that wilt not let me go, 234. + +O make me patient, Lord, 122. + +O Master, let me walk, 131. + +O matchless honor, all unsought, 62. + +O may I join the choir invisible, 51. + +O Name all other names above, 231. + +O, never from thy tempted heart, 20. + +O sad estate Of human wretchedness, 137. + +O square thyself for use, 122. + +O star of truth down shining, 10. + +O that mine eyes might closed be, 118. + +O the bitter shame and sorrow, 118. + +O Thou by long experience tried, 104. + +O thou so weary of thy self-denials, 157. + +O thou unpolished shaft, 96. + +O Thou who driest the mourner's tear, 155. + +O thou who sighest for a broader field, 57. + +O Thou, whose bounty fills, 140. + +O tired worker, faltering on, 16. + +O to serve God for a day, 252. + +O trifling task so often done, 152. + +O wad some power the giftie gie us, 102. + +O, well for him whose will is strong, 11. + +O who like thee, so calm, so bright, 238. + +O why and whither? 191. + +O words of golden music, 215. + +O work thy works in God, 232. + +O, yet we trust that somehow good, 172. + +Oh, be in God's clear world, 148. + +Of all the myriad moods, 119. + +Oft when of God we ask, 158. + +Oft, when the Word is on me, 65. + +Often ornateness goes with greatness, 39. + +On God for all events depend, 198. + +On parent knees, a naked new-born child, 267. + +On the red ramparts, 21. + +On thee my heart is resting, 85. + +On two days it steads not, 220. + +Once, in the flight of ages past, 262. + +Once this soft turf, this rivulet's sands, 14. + +Once to every man and nation, 4. + +One by one thy duties wait thee, 39. + +One deed may mar a life, 18. + +One part, one little part, 99. + +One prayer I have--all prayers in one, 220. + +One stitch dropped as we weave, 47. + +One thing alone, dear Lord, 128. + +One thought I have--my ample creed, 226. + +One wept all night beside a sick man's bed, 266. + +Only a seed--but it chanced, 64. + +Only a smile. Yes, only a smile, 131. + +Only for Jesus! Lord, keep it ever, 85. + +Only those are crowned and sainted, 62. + +Only to-day is mine, 83. + +Open the door of your hearts, my lads, 176. + +Open the shutters free and wide, 144. + +Others shall sing the song, 97. + +Our doubts are traitors, 186. + +Our Father, through the coming year, 190. + +Our toil is sweet with thankfulness, 161. + +Our yet unfinished story, 204. + +Out from thyself, thyself depart, 87. + +Out of the hardness of heart and will, 230. + +Out of the night that covers me, 23. + +Outwearied with the littleness and spite, 75. + + +Pain's furnace heat within me quivers, 157. + +Patient, resigned and humble wills, 102. + +Paul and Silas in their prison, 141. + +Peace, perfect peace in this dark world of sin, 89. + +Peace upon peace, like wave upon wave, 90. + +Perplext in faith, but pure in deeds, 180. + +Persuasion, friend, comes not by toil, 76. + +Pitch thy behaviour low, 97. + +Pleased in the sunshine, 147. + +Pleasures are like poppies spread, 263. + +Pluck wins! It always wins, 19. + +Pour forth the oil, pour boldly forth, 167. + +"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow," 142. + +Praise not thy work, but let thy work praise thee, 102. + +Prayer is Innocence's friend, 132. + +Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, 127. + +Prune thou thy words, 181. + +Purer yet and purer, 115. + +Put pain from out the world, 162. + + +Quiet from God! How beautiful, 230. + +Quiet, Lord, my froward heart, 91. + + +Rabbi Jehosha had the skill, 220. + +Rabia, sick upon her bed, 218. + +Riches I hold in light esteem, 23. + +Ring out the grief that saps the mind, 140. + +Round holy Rabia's suffering, 218. + + +Saint Augustine! well hast thou said, 41. + +Saint Dominic, the glory of the schools, 203. + +Saith the Lord, Vengeance is mine, 47. + +Saviour, who died for me, 86. + +Say, is your lamp burning, my brother, 66. + +Say not, the struggle naught availeth, 172. + +Says God: Who comes towards me, 207. + +Search thine own heart, 102. + +Secure in his prophetic strength, 64. + +Serene I fold my hands and wait, 171. + +Serve God and be cheerful, 143. + +She brought her box of, 240. + +She stood before a chosen few, 63. + +Ships that pass in the night, 266. + +Show me thy face, 228. + +Shut your mouth, and open your eyes, 261. + +Since all the riches of this world, 263. + +Since first thy word awaked my heart, 86. + +Since thy Father's arm sustains thee, 187. + +Sit still, my child, 88. + +Slightest actions often meet, 56. + +Slowly fashioned, link by link, 260. + +Small service is true service while it lasts, 65. + +So he died for his faith, 2. + +So live that when the mighty caravan, 266. + +So live that, when thy summons comes, 265. + +So long as life's hope-sparkle glows, 108. + +So much to do; so little done, 261. + +So nigh is grandeur to our dust, 49. + +So, when a great man dies, 77. + +Some evil upon Rabia fell, 157. + +Some murmur, when their sky is clear, 108. + +Some of your hurts you have cured, 106. + +Some souls there are beloved of God, 231. + +Somebody did a golden deed, 26. + +Sometimes a light surprises, 193. + +Sometime, when all life's lessons have been learned, 191. + +Somewhere I have read of an aged monk, 60. + +Sound an anthem in your sorrows, 145. + +Source of my life's refreshing springs, 151. + +Sow thou sorrow and thou shalt reap it, 141. + +Sow thou thy seed, 61. + +Speak thou the truth. Let others fence, 17. + +Speak to him, thou, for he hears, 232. + +Stainless soldier on the walls, 6. + +Stand upright, speak thy thought, 21. + +Stern daughter of the voice of God, 41. + +Still hope! still act! 158. + +Still raise for good the supplicating voice, 134. + +Still shines the light of holy lives, 67. + +Still, still with thee, 223. + +Still will we trust, 196. + +Stone walls do not a prison make, 24. + +Strength for to-day is all that we need, 114, 255. + +Strong are the walls around me, 82. + +Such power there is in clear-eyed self-restraint, 165. + +Sunset and evening star, 273. + +Surrounded by unnumbered foes, 166. + +Sweet is the pleasure, 92. + +Sweet is the solace of thy love, 217. + +Sweet-voiced Hope, thy fine discourse, 71. + + +Take the joys and bear the, 268. + +Take thine own way with me, 210. + +Take time to be holy, 136. + +Take my life and let it be, 82. + +Talk Faith. The world is better off, 186. + +Talk happiness each chance you get, 148. + +Talk happiness. The world is sad enough, 142. + +Talk not of wasted affection, 169. + +Teach me, dear Lord, what thou wouldst have me know, 125. + +Teach me, my God and King, 223. + +Teach me the truth, Lord, 8. + +Teach me to answer still, 208. + +Teach me to live! 'Tis easier far, 260. + +Tell me about the Master, 241. + +Tender-handed stroke a nettle, 21. + +That best portion of a good man's life, 65. + +That life is long which answers life's great end, 255. + +That love for one from which there doth not spring, 167. + +That man is great, and he alone, 28. + +That man may last, but never lives, 38. + +That plenty but reproaches me, 70. + +That thou mayst injure no man, 266. + +That which he knew he uttered, 6. + +The aim, if reached or not, 40. + +The best men doing their best, 65. + +The best will is our Father's will, 220. + +The bird let loose in Eastern skies, 118. + +The body sins not, 'tis the will, 186. + +The brave man is not he who feels no fear, 17. + +The camel at the close of day, 136. + +The chamber where the good man meets his fate, 277. + +The child leans on its parent's breast, 193. + +The childish smile is fair, 151. + +The chivalry that dares the right, 21. + +The clouds which rise with thunder, 196. + +The common problem, yours, mine, everyone's, 31. + +The cross on Golgotha can never save, 186. + +The crowd of cares, the weightiest cross, 186. + +The cry of man's anguish went up, 160. + +The day is long and the day is hard, 229. + +The dearest thing on earth to me, 247. + +The deed ye do is the prayer ye pray, 127. + +The deeds which selfish hearts approve, 42. + +The end's so near, 272. + +The eye with seeing is not filled, 38. + +The fountain of joy is fed by tears, 162. + +The glory is not in the task, 37. + +The good are better made by ill, 162. + +The grave itself is but a covered bridge, 274. + +The hero is not fed on sweets, 11. + +The Holy Supper is kept indeed, 65. + +The homely words--how often read, 125. + +The hours are viewless angels, 256. + +The hours of rest are over, 256. + +The inner side of every cloud, 148. + +The kindly word unspoken, 78. + +The King of love my Shepherd is, 247. + +The king's proud favorite, 34. + +The knightly legend on thy shield, 25. + +The light of love is round his feet, 207. + +The lily's lips are pure and white, 264. + +The little sharp vexations, 137. + +The longer on this earth we live, 48. + +The look of sympathy, the gentle word, 57. + +The Lord our God is clothed, 211. + +The man is happy, Lord, 169. + +The man is thought a knave or fool, 6. + +The man who idly sits and thinks, 265. + +The Man who Loved the Names of Things, 95. + +The man whom God delights to bless, 161. + +The Master came one evening to the gate, 73. + +The mean of soul are sure, 40. + +The miller feeds the mill, 265. + +The mist denies the mountains, 176. + +The Moving Finger writes, 253. + +The night is mother of the day, 174. + +The path of sorrow, and that path alone, 159. + +The poem hangs on the berry bush, 266. + +The poem of the universe, 33. + +The rich man's son inherits lands, 107. + +The sands of time are sinking, 274. + +The ship may sink, 276. + +The simple, silent, selfless man, 40. + +The sky is clouded, the rocks are bare, 211. + +The smallest bark on life's, 77. + +The Son of God goes forth to war, 5. + +The soul contains a window, 140. + +The star of the unconquered will, 2. + +The stars shall fade away, 251. + +The stars shine over the earth, 258. + +The stormy blast is strong, 94. + +The sun gives ever; so the earth, 56. + +The thought of God, the thought of thee, 224. + +The time for toil is past, 101. + +The time is short, 265. + +The toil of brain, or heart, or hand, 61. + +The twilight falls, the night is near, 200. + +The unpolished pearl can never shine, 155. + +The way to make thy son rich, 111. + +The wind that flows can, 210. + +The winds that once the Argo bore, 10. + +The wisest man could ask no more, 38. + +The woman singeth at her spinning wheel, 127. + +The word is great, and no deed is greater, 21. + +The world is full of beauty, 48. + +The world is growing better, 175. + +The world is wide in time and tide, 188. + +The world wants men, 8. + +Thee will I love, my strength, 87. + +Then draw we nearer day by day, 26. + +Then, fainting soul, arise and sing, 180. + +Then gently scan your brother man, 68. + +Then let us smile when skies are gray, 141. + +Then O my soul, be ne'er afraid, 198. + +There are deep things of God, 121. + +There are hearts which never falter, 29. + +There are hermit souls that live, withdrawn, 66. + +There are in this loud, stunning tide, 231. + +There are loyal hearts, there are spirits brave, 257. + +There are so many helpful things to do, 52. + +There are three lessons, 175. + +There are two words of light divine, 202. + +There is a jewel which no Indian mine, 112. + +There is a morning star, my soul, 175. + +There is a safe and secret place, 190. + +There is a tide in the affairs of men, 265. + +There is an ancient story told, 168. + +There is an eye that never sleeps, 128. + +There is never a day so dreary, 198. + +There is no death! the stars go down, 269. + +There is no duty patent, 21. + +There is no faith in seeing, 186. + +There is no flock, however watched and tended, 149. + +There is no great nor small, 212. + +There is no human being, 148. + +There is no love like the love of Jesus, 235. + +There is no sense, as I can see, 216. + +There _is_ no vacant chair, 276. + +There is peace in power; the men who speak, 92. + +There lives and works a soul in all, 223. + +There once was a man who bore a grudge, 78. + +There was of old a Moslem saint, 218. + +There was once a man who smiled, 140. + +There was a man who prayed, 131. + +There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 206. + +There's a wideness in God's mercy, 165. + +There's many a trouble, 147. + +There's never a day so sunny, 173. + +There's never a rose in all the world, 57. + +There's not a craving in the mind, 234. + +They are slaves who fear to speak, 17. + +They do me wrong who say I come no more, 259. + +They have no place in storied page, 34. + +They never fail who die in a great cause, 1. + +They outtalked thee, hissed thee, tore thee, 1. + +They're richer who diminish their desires, 112. + +They seemed to die on battle-field, 11. + +They stand, the regal mountains, 146. + +Think, and be careful, what thou art within, 122. + +Think gently of the erring, 68. + +Think not alone to do right, 262. + +This above all: to thine own self be true, 27. + +This be my prayer, from, 122. + +This body is my house--it is not I, 275. + +This for the day of life, 54. + +This I beheld, or dreamed it, 261. + +This is my creed, 25. + +This is the gospel of labor, 53. + +This is the highest learning, 99. + +This is the ship of pearl, 116. + +This one sits shivering in Fortune's smile, 146. + +This world's no blot for us, 266. + +Thou broadenest out with every year, 119. + +Thou cam'st not to thy place, 113. + +Thou grace divine, encircling all, 164. + +Thou knowest, Lord, the, 205. + +Thou must be true thyself, 26. + +Thou shalt not rob me, thievish time, 267. + +Thou sweet, beloved will of God, 211. + +Thou sweet hand of God, 160. + +Thou that in life's crowded city, 46. + +Thou who art touched with, 207. + +Though life is made up of, 259. + +Though love repine, and reason chafe, 27. + +Though the mills of God grind slowly, 218. + +Though thy name be spread abroad, 40. + +Though time may dig the grave of creeds, 179. + +Though troubles assail and dangers affright, 184. + +Though trouble-tossed and torture-torn, 153. + +Though world on world in myriad myriads roll, 32. + +Thought is deeper than all, 265. + +Three centuries before the Christian age, 37. + +Three doors there are in, 129. + +Three men went out one summer night, 261. + +Through love to light, 168. + +Through night to light, 142. + +Through thee, meseems, the very rose, 231. + +Through wish, resolve, and act, 102. + +Thunder, lightning, fire, and rain, 198. + +Thus far the Lord hath led us, 182. + +Thy home is with the humble, Lord, 95. + +Thy life's a warfare, thou a soldier, 17. + +Thy name to me, thy nature grant, 118. + +Thy nature be my law, 121. + +Thy presence, Lord, the place doth fill, 232. + +Thy thoughts and feelings shall not die, 268. + +Thy voice is heard through rolling drum, 168. + +Thy way, not mine, O Lord, 83. + +Thy will, O God, is joy to me, 209. + +Time is indeed a precious boon, 253. + +Time to me this truth hath taught, 70. + +Time was I shrank from what was right, 15. + +'Tis a lifelong toil till our lump be leaven, 39. + +'Tis Being, and Doing, and Having, 148. + +'Tis finally, the man who, lifted high, 3. + +'Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours, 232. + +'Tis he whose every thought, 26. + +'Tis impious in a good man to be sad, 147. + +'Tis life whereof our nerves are scant, 266. + +'Tis not alone in the sunshine, 160. + +'Tis not the grapes of Canaan that repay, 186. + +'Tis not the wealth that makes a king, 31. + +'Tis not what man does, 40. + +'Tis phrase absurd to call a villain great, 32. + +'Tis sorrow builds the shining ladder up, 161. + +'Tis the Almighty's gracious plan, 68. + +To a darning-needle once, 73. + +To be sincere. To look, 264. + +To be the thing we seem, 27. + +To change and change is life, 171. + +To do or not to do; to have, 79. + +To do the tasks of life, 12. + +To halls of heavenly truth, 169. + +To heaven approached a Sufi saint, 227. + +To keep my health, 25. + +To live by law, acting the law, 27. + +To live, to live, is life's great joy, 232. + +To long with all our longing powers, 131. + +To love some one more dearly, 51. + +To make rough places plain, 134. + +To me 'tis equal whether love ordain, 87. + +To play through life a perfect part, 29. + +To stretch my hand and touch him, 128. + +To thee, O dear, dear Saviour, 244. + +To those who prattle of despair, 264. + +To try each day his will to know, 143. + +Tost on a sea of troubles, 92. + +True happiness (if understood), 148. + +True love shall trust, but selfish love must die, 163. + +True wisdom is in leaning, 241. + +True worth is in being, not seeming, 38. + +"Trust is truer than our fears," 192. + +Trust to the Lord to hide thee, 263. + +Truth will prevail, 8. + +Truths that wake to perish never, 277. + +Truths would you teach, 36. + +'Twas August, and the fierce sun, 234. + +'Twas in the night the manna fell, 111. + +'Twere sweet indeed to close our eyes, 12. + +Two gifts God giveth, and he saith, 276. + +Two men toiled side by side, 105. + +Two went to pray? O, rather, 133. + +Two worlds are ours; 'tis only, 232. + + +Unanswered yet the prayer your lips have pleaded, 124. + +Unblemished let me live, 40. + +Unheard, because our ears are dull, 232. + +Unless above himself he can, 13. + +Unveil, O Lord, and on us shine, 86. + +Up and away, like the dew of the morning, 100. + + +Veiled the future comes, 174. + +Vice is a monster of so hateful mien, 73. + +Vulgar souls surpass a rare one, 40. + + +Walking along the shore one morn, 150. + +Walking with Peter, Christ, 43. + +We all acknowledge both thy power and love, 203. + +We are building every day, 259. + +We are living, we are dwelling, 18. + +We are not angels, but we may, 231. + +We bless thee for thy peace, 94. + +We cannot kindle when we will, 7. + +We cannot make bargains for blisses, 146. + +We live in deeds, not years, 264. + +We look along the shining ways, 161. + +We look too far for blessings, 111. + +We may question with wand of science, 132. + +We must live through the weary winter, 161. + +We say, and we say, and we say, 264. + +We scatter seeds with careless hand, 67. + +We see not, know not; all our way, 216. + +We shape ourselves the joy or fear, 264. + +We take our share of fretting, 145. + +We thank thee, gracious Father, 270. + +We who have lost the battle, 30. + +We will speak on, 18. + +We would fill the hours with the sweetest things, 254. + +We would see Jesus--for the shadows lengthen, 243. + +We would see Jesus! we have longed to see him, 246. + +We would see Jesus when our hopes are brightest, 248. + +Wearing the white flower of a blameless life, 40. + +Welcome the shadows; where they blackest are, 113. + +Well to suffer is divine, 20. + +What can it mean? Is it aught to him, 207. + +What grace, O Lord, and beauty shone, 241. + +What I am, what I am not, 25. + +What if some morning, when the stars are paling, 267. + +What imports Fasting or feasting, 264. + +What is life? 'Tis not to, 266. + +What is the use of worrying, 94. + +What is the world? A wandering maze, 59. + +What makes a hero? not success, not fame, 7. + +What matter will it be, O mortal man, 109. + +What might be done if men were wise, 74. + +What most you wish and long for, 197. + +What pleaseth God with joy receive, 215. + +What secret trouble stirs, 93. + +What shall I do lest life in silence pass, 28. + +What shall I pack up to carry, 258. + +What shall I sing for thee, 238. + +What shall thine "afterward" be, 152. + +What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted, 49. + +What though the dark close round, 258. + +What various hindrances we meet, 126. + +What weight of woe we owe to thee, 121. + +What will it matter in a little while, 64. + +Whate'er God wills, let, 216. + +Whate'er my God ordains is right, 188. + +Whatever dies, or is forgot, 55. + +Whatever road I take, it joins the street, 232. + +Whatever you are--be that, 27. + +When courage fails and, 44. + +When courting slumber, 231. + +When falls the hour of evil chance, 17. + +When God afflicts thee, think he hews a rugged stone, 162. + +When He who, sad and weary, 64. + +When I have time so many things I'll do, 257. + +When in the storm it seems to thee, 180. + +When is the time for prayer, 126. + +When it drizzles and drizzles, 114. + +When on my day of life the night is falling, 270. + +When on the fragrant sandal tree, 167. + +When prayer delights thee least 127. + +When, spurred by tasks unceasing or undone, 91. + +When success exalts thy lot, 32. + +When the storm of the mountains, 243. + +When the sun of joy is hidden, 176. + +When thou art fain to trace, 102. + +When thou hast thanked thy God, 160. + +When thou turnest away from all, 219. + +When thou wakest in the morning, 246. + +When thy heart with joy o'erflowing, 71. + +When wilt thou save the people, 75. + +When winds are raging o'er the upper ocean, 88. + +Whene'er a noble deed is wrought, 12. + +Where cross the crowded ways of life, 76. + +Where'er I look one Face alone I see, 232. + +Whether we climb, whether we plod, 13. + +Whichever way the wind doth blow, 108. + +While I sought happiness she fled, 49. + +While thus to love he gave his days, 13. + +Who bides his time, and day by day, 105. + +Who counts himself as nobly born, 35. + +Who does the best his circumstance allows, 44. + +Who drives the horses of the sun, 113. + +Who gives, and hides the giving hand, 58. + +Who heeds not experience, 265. + +Who is as the Christian great, 37. + +Who learns and learns, and acts not, 255. + +Who liveth best? Not he whose sail, 180. + +Who loves, no law can ever bind, 169. + +Who ne'er has suffered, he has lived but half, 161. + +Who never doubted never half believed, 186. + +Who seeks for heaven alone, 76. + +Whoever plants a leaf beneath the sod, 193. + +Why comes temptation but for men to meet, 16. + +Why fret thee, soul, 94. + +Why not leave them all with Jesus, 242. + +Why wakes not life the desert bare and lone, 265. + +Why win we not at once what we in prayer require, 137. + +With comrade Duty, in the dark, 31. + +With fame in just proportion envy grows, 40. + +With patient course thy path of duty run, 198. + +With silence only as their benediction, 156. + +With strength of righteous purpose, 196. + +Without haste and without rest, 250. + +Work for some good, be it ever so slowly, 65. + +Worry and Fret were two little men, 197. + +Wouldst thou from sorrow find a sweet relief, 161. + +Wouldst thou go forth to bless, 65. + + +Yes, Lord, one great eternal yes, 194. + +Yes, Lord. Yet some must, 54. + +Yes, we do differ when we most agree, 184. + +Yet I argue not Against thy hand, 175. + +Yet, in the maddening maze of things, 197. + +Yet Love will dream and Faith will trust, 275. + +Yet sometimes glimmers on my sight, 173. + +Ye who would have your features florid, 254. + +You can never tell when you do an act, 59. + +You say, "Where goest thou?" 267. + +You will find that luck, 21. + + + + +INDEX TO FIRST LINES IN APPENDIX + + +A fire-mist and a planet, 283. + +A good man never dies, 283. + +A rose to the living is more, 287. + +Anew we pledge ourselves to Thee, 287. + + +Be strong! We are not here to play, 278. + +But let my due feet never fail, 286. + + +Canst thou see no beauty nigh? 287. + +Count that day really worse than lost, 287. + + +Do you go to my school? 283. + + +Father of mercies, thy children, 282. + +Feel glum? Keep mum, 287. + +For radiant health I praise not, 285. + +For the right against the wrong, 287. + + +Give me my scallop-shell of quiet, 282. + +Give us men! strong and stalwart, 286. + + +How shall we tell an angel, 282. + + +I lay me down to sleep, 281. + +I lift my head and walk my ways, 281. + +I sent my soul through the Invisible, 287. + +I will not doubt though, 286. + +If by one word I help another, 287. + +"If I have eaten my morsel alone," 284. + +If I lay waste and wither up, 278. + +In those clear, piercing, piteous eyes, 280. + +It fortifies my soul to know, 280. + +It was only a glad "Good morning," 287. + + +Lord, let me make this rule, 279. + +Love thyself last: cherish those hearts, 286. + + +Milton! thou shouldst be living, 285. + +My darling went unto the seaside, 281. + + +Never elated while one man's oppressed, 283. + +No distant Lord have I, 278. + + +O Lord, I pray that for this day, 278. + +O Sentinel at the loose-swung door, 282. + +O, the little birds sang east, 287. + +O Thou who lovest not alone, 285. + +O, though oft depressed and lonely, 287. + + +Sweet are the uses of adversity, 286. + + +The gifts that to our breasts we fold, 287. + +The wounds I might have healed, 286. + +There's a craze among us mortals, 284. + + +Weary of all this wordy strife, 279. + +What makes a man great? 284. + +What matter, friend, though you and I, 280 + +When over the fair fame of friend, 285. + +When the other firms show dizziness, 284. + +Wherever now a sorrow stands, 287. + +Why be afraid of Death, 279. + +Why do we cling to the skirts of sorrow? 286. + + +You think them "out of reach," 281. + + + * * * * * * + + +BOOKS BY JAMES MUDGE + +POEMS WITH POWER TO STRENGTHEN THE SOUL + +HEART RELIGION, AS DESCRIBED BY JOHN WESLEY + +RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE: EXEMPLIFIED IN THE LIVES +OF ILLUSTRIOUS CHRISTIANS + +FENELON: THE MYSTIC + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POEMS WITH POWER TO STRENGTHEN THE +SOUL*** + + +******* This file should be named 28591-8.txt or 28591-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/8/5/9/28591 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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