Chapter I: Love Thy Will (3)

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.