Chapter 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 weaned 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.

--Aeschylus, 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.