by Wanda Alger
the incredible transformation story of Manchester, Kentucky, has been seen by thousands in THE SENTINEL GROUP'S documentary film, 'AN APPALACHIAN DAWN' the story unfolds about a drug-infested, crime-ridden community steeped in hopelessness and despair due to corrupt governmental control. following months of crying out to the Lord and pleading for heaven's intervention, believers marched through the town to take a stand.
when 63 pastors openly repented for their apathy and lack of leadership in the city park, something broke. the fear of the Lord fell upon the 3500 people gathered and the tangible presence of god moved in. it is an amazing testimony of how the supernatural grace of God enabled the citizens to rise up and take their county back - little by little.
though it would take almost 3 years for all the corruption to be uncovered and crooked officials brought to justice, the community saw tangible results that drew international attention. their responses to the ongoing threats and their fearless actions are proof of God's power to change and transform a community and even a nation.
Doug Abner was a local pastor who helped lead the charge throughout Manchester's transformation. he explains how unbelief and fear had crippled the church prior to the march in 2004. due to the corruption of local officials and the rigged election system, believers felt helpless in making any changes. the lack of unity among churches only strengthened the resolve of corrupt officials to intimidate and threaten anyone who challenged their agenda. even so, Abner shares that the day after the march, these same believers, now emboldened in their faith, came together to do something radical.
instead of launching campaigns against the officials or publicly decrying their unlawful deeds, these believers went to the offices of these city officials with gifts of potted plants and asked if they could pray for them. one of these officials had previously threatened the pastor and his church. to their amazement, he called in his staff and allowed Abner to lead them in prayer. years later, this same official would confess Jesus as Lord.
the fear of the Lord was so prevalent that those involved in illegal activities began to turn on each other. as believers continued to pray, god battled on their behalf. even as the opposition continued, churches in the community began to see a dramatic increase of salvations. the favor of God came upon the local church.
Abner shares that the book of Nehemiah became their blueprint for how to rebuild their community. it started by not being swayed by the criticism of their opponents or giving in to the threats and insults. Neh. 4.7-9 instead, they sought the Lord's strategies and worked together. with permission from the State Attorney General, Abner's church began to televise previously closed -door courtroom proceedings for accountability to the public, in 2006, they championed a 'Promote the Vote" campaign to encourage local citizens to run for office. in 2007, a christian woman was voted in as mayor and the community saw even more dramatic changes. churches began to offer recovery programs for drug addicts and a Teen Challenge Center was established.
it took several years, but the process of transformation for manchester, and possibly for America, is just as the Lord says in Exodus 23.30; 'Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land'. (NIV)
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
3.28.2017 A RISING TIDE OF ANTI-SEMITISM by David Brickner of Jews for Jesus; March, 2017
a reporter for The Forward, a well-known Jewish newspaper based in New York City, asked what Jews for Jesus does to combat anti-Semitism. among other things, we explained our commitment to inform christian friends like you about this scourge wherever it raises its ugly head. after all, evangelical christians remain Israel's best friends in the world. that's why I'm writing to you about two recent incidents of the rising tide of anti-Semitism.
Incident One
the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently ratified a shocking resolution to deny Jewish ties to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
the Temple Mount is known as the holiest site in Jerusalem, in large part because of the two Jewish temples that stood there for almost 9 centuries. the first, built by King Solomon some 3000 years ago, was destroyed by the Babylonians. the second was leveled by the Romans in 70 AD, fulfilling Christ's prophecy in Mark 13.1-2.
the site is mentioned over 400 times in the Bible and figures prominently in centuries of Jewish and christian history. of course, it has since become the location of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and is considered the third holiest site in Sunni Islam. one needn't be a Bible scholar or a historian to recognize that this fact does not erase the prior significance of the Temple Mount. it is extremely significant to the Jewish people. no Jew, no christian, no muslim - nor anyone else - can deny this truth without distorting the documented history of God's people. to do so distorts the truth about God Himself.
and yet, by a shameful 10-2 vote (eight nations abstained), the committee adopted this outrageous resolution. with calculated and clearly political intent, the resolution ignores the undeniable Jewish and Christian connection to the Temple Mount. referring to the location by its Arabic name, Haram al-Sharif, the resolution accuses Israel of endangering this holiest of sites.
nor does the resolution end thee, it actually presumes to order Israel to cease celebrating its Jewish heritage in Jerusalem. Incredible!
make no mistake, whatever motivated people to sign it, the resolution itself is another piece of groundwork for a growing structure of hate that won't be satisfied with anything short of the annihilation of the Jewish people.
Incident Two
in anticipation of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's Reformation, the German Lutheran Church published a resolution that promotes a spiritual form of anti-Semitism: denying the church's right, much less responsibility, to share Jesus with the very people through whom and to whom He first came. if you didn't read about this in last month's newsletter, please find my article titled 'True Love' at j4j.co/truelove. it's critical for christians who care about Jewish people to understand this issue.
if it seems like these developments are not relevant to us here in America, consider this: a study recently released by Brandeis University documents growing anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment on US university campuses. the report found that the high rates of anti-Semitic harassment and hostility' are largely driven by hostility toward Israel.
this comes as no surprise to those of us who are Jewish; we all know students who have encountered anti-Israel and anti-Jewish remarks or graffiti...even on some of our favorite christian campuses.
the more things change, the more they stay the same. this month the Jewish people will celebrate the Feast of Purim, the story of God's deliverance from wicked Haman as told in the Book of Esther.
as we celebrate this victory, I'm reminded that the future of God's chosen nation is already decided. both Old and New Testament Scriptures reveal the crucial role that Jewish people have played, and will continue to play, in God's plans.
even in the face of growing, bald-faced anti-Semitism, such as that demonstrated by the UNESCO vote and the subtler, perhaps even subconscious blow by the German Lutheran Church, we know that God's unstoppable plan is for the salvation for Israel to bless the whole world. Romans 11.12
I believe all christians need to grasp the importance of what's happening, respect God's favor on the jewish people and take action.
it is my duty to call on all brothers and sisters in Christ to stand with the Jewish people for their very right to exist and to hear the life-saving gospel, remembering that:
*salvation for Gentiles is through a 'grafting' into the 'holy root' of Israel. Romans 11.17
*God wants to use Gentile salvation to call Israel back to Him. Romans 11.11
*It's not too late for Jewish people to repent. Romans 11.23
while the developments I described are not unexpected in light of Scripture, it's still shocking to watch them unfold. what a tragedy it would be if, in the name of political correctness - and, yes, maybe even fear - we see christians keep silent when Jewish people are threatened. what a shame it would be to see more and more christians avoid sharing the Jewish messiah with His very own people.
all christians should heed the words of Mordechai to Esther: 'for if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place...yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?' Esther 4.14...
note - taken from the Intercessors for America March 2017 newsletter, The Connecter
Issues for prayer
Outraged Congress Condemns U.N.
with the support of a large number of Democrarts House Republicans voted unanimously to rebuke the United Nations for passing a resolution that condemns Israel for its West Bank settlement construction. the bipatisan vote was 342-80. Paul Ryan, speaker of the House, stated: 'I am still stunned by what happened (in Dec. 2016). this governjment -our government- abandoned our ally israel when she needed us the most. and do not be fooled. this UN security Council resolution was not about settlements and it certainly was not about peace. it was about one thing and one thing only: ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO EXIST AS A JEWISH DEMOCRATIC STATE'. (CBN)
Incident One
the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently ratified a shocking resolution to deny Jewish ties to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
the Temple Mount is known as the holiest site in Jerusalem, in large part because of the two Jewish temples that stood there for almost 9 centuries. the first, built by King Solomon some 3000 years ago, was destroyed by the Babylonians. the second was leveled by the Romans in 70 AD, fulfilling Christ's prophecy in Mark 13.1-2.
the site is mentioned over 400 times in the Bible and figures prominently in centuries of Jewish and christian history. of course, it has since become the location of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and is considered the third holiest site in Sunni Islam. one needn't be a Bible scholar or a historian to recognize that this fact does not erase the prior significance of the Temple Mount. it is extremely significant to the Jewish people. no Jew, no christian, no muslim - nor anyone else - can deny this truth without distorting the documented history of God's people. to do so distorts the truth about God Himself.
and yet, by a shameful 10-2 vote (eight nations abstained), the committee adopted this outrageous resolution. with calculated and clearly political intent, the resolution ignores the undeniable Jewish and Christian connection to the Temple Mount. referring to the location by its Arabic name, Haram al-Sharif, the resolution accuses Israel of endangering this holiest of sites.
nor does the resolution end thee, it actually presumes to order Israel to cease celebrating its Jewish heritage in Jerusalem. Incredible!
make no mistake, whatever motivated people to sign it, the resolution itself is another piece of groundwork for a growing structure of hate that won't be satisfied with anything short of the annihilation of the Jewish people.
Incident Two
in anticipation of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's Reformation, the German Lutheran Church published a resolution that promotes a spiritual form of anti-Semitism: denying the church's right, much less responsibility, to share Jesus with the very people through whom and to whom He first came. if you didn't read about this in last month's newsletter, please find my article titled 'True Love' at j4j.co/truelove. it's critical for christians who care about Jewish people to understand this issue.
if it seems like these developments are not relevant to us here in America, consider this: a study recently released by Brandeis University documents growing anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment on US university campuses. the report found that the high rates of anti-Semitic harassment and hostility' are largely driven by hostility toward Israel.
this comes as no surprise to those of us who are Jewish; we all know students who have encountered anti-Israel and anti-Jewish remarks or graffiti...even on some of our favorite christian campuses.
the more things change, the more they stay the same. this month the Jewish people will celebrate the Feast of Purim, the story of God's deliverance from wicked Haman as told in the Book of Esther.
as we celebrate this victory, I'm reminded that the future of God's chosen nation is already decided. both Old and New Testament Scriptures reveal the crucial role that Jewish people have played, and will continue to play, in God's plans.
even in the face of growing, bald-faced anti-Semitism, such as that demonstrated by the UNESCO vote and the subtler, perhaps even subconscious blow by the German Lutheran Church, we know that God's unstoppable plan is for the salvation for Israel to bless the whole world. Romans 11.12
I believe all christians need to grasp the importance of what's happening, respect God's favor on the jewish people and take action.
it is my duty to call on all brothers and sisters in Christ to stand with the Jewish people for their very right to exist and to hear the life-saving gospel, remembering that:
*salvation for Gentiles is through a 'grafting' into the 'holy root' of Israel. Romans 11.17
*God wants to use Gentile salvation to call Israel back to Him. Romans 11.11
*It's not too late for Jewish people to repent. Romans 11.23
while the developments I described are not unexpected in light of Scripture, it's still shocking to watch them unfold. what a tragedy it would be if, in the name of political correctness - and, yes, maybe even fear - we see christians keep silent when Jewish people are threatened. what a shame it would be to see more and more christians avoid sharing the Jewish messiah with His very own people.
all christians should heed the words of Mordechai to Esther: 'for if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place...yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?' Esther 4.14...
note - taken from the Intercessors for America March 2017 newsletter, The Connecter
Issues for prayer
Outraged Congress Condemns U.N.
with the support of a large number of Democrarts House Republicans voted unanimously to rebuke the United Nations for passing a resolution that condemns Israel for its West Bank settlement construction. the bipatisan vote was 342-80. Paul Ryan, speaker of the House, stated: 'I am still stunned by what happened (in Dec. 2016). this governjment -our government- abandoned our ally israel when she needed us the most. and do not be fooled. this UN security Council resolution was not about settlements and it certainly was not about peace. it was about one thing and one thing only: ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO EXIST AS A JEWISH DEMOCRATIC STATE'. (CBN)
Sunday, March 26, 2017
3.26.2017 TRANSGENDER?
this is from reflections early this morning based on hearing a talk show on the radio yesterday which had a panel of high school girls who were all, basically, coming out in favor of everyone else in society, despite concern, lack of comfort with, etc. welcoming with open arms of acceptance people who viewed themselves as opposite/other than the gender that God created them to be.
i was just about to call the 'call in ' # with some unformed thoughts and fortunately was interrupted by a knock at the back door that diverted attention away.
early this morning the thoughts arose again and below are the results of this reflection.
re: transgender..
Proverbs 14.12 - there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
general beginning statement: 'If I persist in living ' "WHO' I FEEL LIKE', as opposed to 'WHAT GOD SAYS IN HIS WORD', and 'DO WHAT I LIKE' rather than 'DO WHAT GOD COMMANDS' concerning a thing, I am in danger of eternal retribution.
In Deuteronomy 22.5 God says, 'A woman shall not wear man's clothing nor shall a man put on a woman's clothing; for whoever DOES these things IS AN ABOMINATION'(def. latin abominatus : made of ab- which means 'from' and the second part, 'omin' which means 'omen', an omen is occurrence/phenomenon believed to portend (anticipatory sign of a) future event. so WEARING the clothing of the gender opposite of what God created you to be is equivalent in God's sight wearing the SIGN of your coming destruction in hell. WHY SO?!!!! one might ask! Because God requires us to be perfect to get into heaven. in Matthew 5.38 Jesus said, 'BE PERFECT just as your Father in heaven is perfect. So who can be perfect? NO ONE. the Bible says, 'ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God',(romans 3.23) and 'the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life thru Jesus Christ our Lord' (6.23).
Jesus, God in the flesh, became a man so He could pay the penalty for your sin and my sin (we all sin all the time. 'there is not a just man upon earth who doETH good and sinnETH not'. ...(note, in the King James Version ..which I just quoted, -ETH on the end of a word has the idea of continual or repeated action. so here the Bible tells us what we know already in our heart...and that is that we all regularly sin, that is, we all regularly disobey what God says in His word.)
So let's look at a person who privately thinks of themselves as different from the gender which God created them to be. they may do one of two things.
A. they may TOSS OUT Deuteronomy 22.5 and THE part(s) of the BIBLE they don't like. God gives every man and woman He creates freedom to chose for themselves. He loves each one of us but He will not make us choose to seek to obey Him. a second person may have the exact same, or stronger INCLINATION toward what the first person has chosen. the first person may chose to ignore Deuteronomy 22.5, they may chose to go into a more extreme rebellion against God's word and have a (or multiple) sex change operation(s). they may chose to shout out their desires and let the whole world know. God gives them that freedom. but as with any sin (ie. disobedience) against God there is a principle at work and that is PAY DAY SOME DAY. the other person may have made a decision to not only believe what the Bible says, but, seeing themselves as sinners, to also cast themselves upon His mercy and give themselves completely to Him. this is what is spoken of in Romans 10.8-10 -'...the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if you CONFESS with your mouth JESUS AS LORD, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, THOU SHALT BE SAVED. for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.'
or B. they may confess Jesus as Lord (ie. WHATEVER YOU SAY, I WILL DO)so this second person, in all his/her struggles back and forth....for the rest of their life. they may leave God or cling to Him. we are not the judge. God is. safety is in doing, for one example of many, whatever Jesus Commands, as in Luke 13.24 - STRIVE (Greek verb AgonidzO from which our word AGONIZE (def - do to the utmost, agonizing, intense, continual pain) TO ENTER THE NARROW GATE (ie. leading to heaven) FOR MANY WILL SEEK TO ENTER AND WILL NOT BE ABLE.)
SO HOW DO I RESPOND TO A PERSON WHO SELF-IDENTIFIES AS TRANSGENDER/OTHER THAN HOW GOD CREATED ME ?
A. continually ask God to give His deep, welcoming, friend-love for as well as a secret heart-grief for them...the same as we (should) constantly have for ourselves when we are doing-contrary to what God says to do in the Bible.
B. do what love does (I Corinthians 13)
v4 suffereth long (today's word, patience)
is kind (ie. is helpful)
v5 not easily provoked
thinketh no evil (of anyone struggling with or caught in or even, totally given over to, sin)
v6 rejoiceth not in iniquity(whether it one that you struggle with or one that anyone else struggles with)
v7 beareth all things (constant love inspite of what is going on)
believeth all things (for example, that no matter what sin we do God can forgive if we will keep beginning again and again to hate and agonize against doing/being what God forbids in His Word.
v8 never faileth (we never 'give up' on either God (whose love will never change) or any person (no matter how many times they fall and fail to obey God's word and respond to His unchanging love)
C. do not encourage, by word or example, any person do disregards what God says in His Word. another way to say this is be very willing to openly admit what YOU fall short of what God wants.
D. do not adopt terminology that is contrary to what God's Word says. ie. 'trans-' means 'across, beyond, through so as to change'. God made only two genders, male and female. although there are indications that sometimes the line may be blurred emotionally etc. the two body types are made in such a way that other human beings may be conceived and born and live in this world and, in heaven or hell after this life. God says, 'It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment'. Hebrews 9.27
E. relate to them according to their God given gender, looking to God to guide in the path He Himself would follow were He here.
some other Bible...
Judges 17.6 and 21.25 - 'in those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Proverbs 12.15 - the way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
Proverbs 16.25 - there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Proverbs 21.2 - every way of a man is right in his won eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.
...the fool hath said in his heart (there is) no God.
....the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
i was just about to call the 'call in ' # with some unformed thoughts and fortunately was interrupted by a knock at the back door that diverted attention away.
early this morning the thoughts arose again and below are the results of this reflection.
re: transgender..
Proverbs 14.12 - there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
general beginning statement: 'If I persist in living ' "WHO' I FEEL LIKE', as opposed to 'WHAT GOD SAYS IN HIS WORD', and 'DO WHAT I LIKE' rather than 'DO WHAT GOD COMMANDS' concerning a thing, I am in danger of eternal retribution.
In Deuteronomy 22.5 God says, 'A woman shall not wear man's clothing nor shall a man put on a woman's clothing; for whoever DOES these things IS AN ABOMINATION'(def. latin abominatus : made of ab- which means 'from' and the second part, 'omin' which means 'omen', an omen is occurrence/phenomenon believed to portend (anticipatory sign of a) future event. so WEARING the clothing of the gender opposite of what God created you to be is equivalent in God's sight wearing the SIGN of your coming destruction in hell. WHY SO?!!!! one might ask! Because God requires us to be perfect to get into heaven. in Matthew 5.38 Jesus said, 'BE PERFECT just as your Father in heaven is perfect. So who can be perfect? NO ONE. the Bible says, 'ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God',(romans 3.23) and 'the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life thru Jesus Christ our Lord' (6.23).
Jesus, God in the flesh, became a man so He could pay the penalty for your sin and my sin (we all sin all the time. 'there is not a just man upon earth who doETH good and sinnETH not'. ...(note, in the King James Version ..which I just quoted, -ETH on the end of a word has the idea of continual or repeated action. so here the Bible tells us what we know already in our heart...and that is that we all regularly sin, that is, we all regularly disobey what God says in His word.)
So let's look at a person who privately thinks of themselves as different from the gender which God created them to be. they may do one of two things.
A. they may TOSS OUT Deuteronomy 22.5 and THE part(s) of the BIBLE they don't like. God gives every man and woman He creates freedom to chose for themselves. He loves each one of us but He will not make us choose to seek to obey Him. a second person may have the exact same, or stronger INCLINATION toward what the first person has chosen. the first person may chose to ignore Deuteronomy 22.5, they may chose to go into a more extreme rebellion against God's word and have a (or multiple) sex change operation(s). they may chose to shout out their desires and let the whole world know. God gives them that freedom. but as with any sin (ie. disobedience) against God there is a principle at work and that is PAY DAY SOME DAY. the other person may have made a decision to not only believe what the Bible says, but, seeing themselves as sinners, to also cast themselves upon His mercy and give themselves completely to Him. this is what is spoken of in Romans 10.8-10 -'...the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if you CONFESS with your mouth JESUS AS LORD, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, THOU SHALT BE SAVED. for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.'
or B. they may confess Jesus as Lord (ie. WHATEVER YOU SAY, I WILL DO)so this second person, in all his/her struggles back and forth....for the rest of their life. they may leave God or cling to Him. we are not the judge. God is. safety is in doing, for one example of many, whatever Jesus Commands, as in Luke 13.24 - STRIVE (Greek verb AgonidzO from which our word AGONIZE (def - do to the utmost, agonizing, intense, continual pain) TO ENTER THE NARROW GATE (ie. leading to heaven) FOR MANY WILL SEEK TO ENTER AND WILL NOT BE ABLE.)
SO HOW DO I RESPOND TO A PERSON WHO SELF-IDENTIFIES AS TRANSGENDER/OTHER THAN HOW GOD CREATED ME ?
A. continually ask God to give His deep, welcoming, friend-love for as well as a secret heart-grief for them...the same as we (should) constantly have for ourselves when we are doing-contrary to what God says to do in the Bible.
B. do what love does (I Corinthians 13)
v4 suffereth long (today's word, patience)
is kind (ie. is helpful)
v5 not easily provoked
thinketh no evil (of anyone struggling with or caught in or even, totally given over to, sin)
v6 rejoiceth not in iniquity(whether it one that you struggle with or one that anyone else struggles with)
v7 beareth all things (constant love inspite of what is going on)
believeth all things (for example, that no matter what sin we do God can forgive if we will keep beginning again and again to hate and agonize against doing/being what God forbids in His Word.
v8 never faileth (we never 'give up' on either God (whose love will never change) or any person (no matter how many times they fall and fail to obey God's word and respond to His unchanging love)
C. do not encourage, by word or example, any person do disregards what God says in His Word. another way to say this is be very willing to openly admit what YOU fall short of what God wants.
D. do not adopt terminology that is contrary to what God's Word says. ie. 'trans-' means 'across, beyond, through so as to change'. God made only two genders, male and female. although there are indications that sometimes the line may be blurred emotionally etc. the two body types are made in such a way that other human beings may be conceived and born and live in this world and, in heaven or hell after this life. God says, 'It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment'. Hebrews 9.27
E. relate to them according to their God given gender, looking to God to guide in the path He Himself would follow were He here.
some other Bible...
Judges 17.6 and 21.25 - 'in those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Proverbs 12.15 - the way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
Proverbs 16.25 - there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Proverbs 21.2 - every way of a man is right in his won eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.
...the fool hath said in his heart (there is) no God.
....the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
3.21.2017 THE SWISS AND THEIR MOUNTAINS (1963) by Arnold Lunn
Chapter 1 - The Mountain Matrix
Switzerland is today an independent country not because her mountains are a barrier to the invader, for no mountains separate Geneva from France of Basile from germany, but because a passion for independence seems a natural growth in mountain valleys and because it has always been far easier for emperors and other rulers to assert their authority over the dwellers in the lowlands than over the natives of remote mountain valleys. it was therefore no accident that the revolt which laid the foundation of what we now know as SWitzerland should have begun on the shores of a lake ringed round with rugged peaks.
the role of the mountains in the creation of an independent country was not restricted to that spirit of independence which the mountains foster, but also, as we shall see, to the historic accident that the men of Uri controlled the pass of the St Gotthard, and to the fact that the decisive battle of Morgarten was fought in a mountain pass by mountain men.
the Lake of the Four Forest Cantons (Vierwaldstattersee), known to the English as Lake Lucerne, derives its name from the Cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden and Lucerne, the first three being the founders of the SWiss Confederation, and the Canton of Lucerne being the first Canton to join the young Confederation after their successful revolt against the Habsbugs.
the relations between the Holy Roman Empire and the founders of the SW confederation were, as we shall see, of decisive importance, the Empire was something more than a mere system of government. it was 'a fashion of conceiving the world', an assertion of the fact that the unity of Christendom was not only spiritual but political. the Pope was the spiritual, the Emperor the political head of Christendom. Una chiesa in uno stato. the german king only became Holy Roman Emperor
14 after his coronation by the pope. it was only after the reign of MaximilianI of Austria that the Imperial Crown became hereditary and was assumed by the Emperor of Austria on his succession. when Rudolf of Habsburg, who took his name from a castle the ruins of which can be reached in an hour from Lucerne, was elected German king in 1273, the crown was not hereditary but elective, and the chief object of the electors was to prevent the German king and Holy Roman Emperor from acquiring real power. Rudolf of Habsburg was not an obscure member of the minor nobility of Aarou, as historians once believed, for even at that time the Habsburg were already in possession of great estates in Alsace, but the electors probably felt that they would be better able to safeguard their interests if they elected a SW noble rather than a powerful german prince.
as german king, Rudolf of Habsburg was able to invest his son Albrecht with the Duchy of Austria and thereafter the Habsburgs became identified with Austria. Rudolf's son, Albrecht, was elected german king in 1298 and was murdered in 1308 by his nephew, Johannes, Duke of Austria. from 1308 to 1438 no Habsburg again wore the Imperial Crown, a fact which is of decisive importance in the history of SW, for it was by exploiting the rivalry between the Habsburgs and the Emperor that the men of Uri and Schwyz and Unterwalden were able to lay the foundations of their independence.
the first object of the forest cantons was to secure Reichsunmittelbareit, that is to say, to place themselves under the immediate lordship of the Emperor. they preferred the rule of the Emperor to the rule of the Habsburgs for many reasons, of which the most important was that they preferred the remote control of the Emperor to the control of the Habsburgs on the doorstep. the Emperor was a long way off, and far less efficient as a tax collector than the Habsburgs. to be directly subject to the Emperor was a status as near to actual independence as the Forest Cantons could ever hope to achieve.
the Emperor was all the readier to support the Forest Cantons because the men of Uri, who were under the immediate lordship of the Emperor, controlled the northern entrance to the Gotthard Pass. the St Gotthard was not 'opened' in the 12th century, as every SW history that I have read implies. the pass was known in Roman times. but some time between 1180 and 1190
15 the St Gotthard route was shortened by rendering the passage of the Schollenen Gorge practicable, and from that moment the St Gotthard replaced the Lukmanier as the best route from germany into Italy. the new importance of the St Gotthard was reflected in the status of the Forest Cantons . the Habsburgs were determined to control the approach to the St Gotthard; the Hohenstaufen emperors were equally convinced that the relative independence of the Forest Cantons was of primary importance to them, since they could not afford to allow the habsburgs to cut them off from the main approach to Italy. the Forest Cantons, as we shall see , won their independence by playing off the Habsburgs against the Emperor. even when a Habsburg was himself Emperor, the Forest Cantons never allowed the Habsburgs to confuse the rights which they enjoyed qua Emperor with the rights which they enjoyed qua Habsburg.
it is impossible to exaggerate the importance of the St Gotthard in the struggle for independence. the increasing traffic across this pass transformed many of the men of Uri from agriculturalists into traders. many of them made a living by providing mules or acting as guides across the pass. moreover, the traffic across the pass exposed the forest Cantons to the new wind of freedom which was blowing from Italy, where the communes were fighting an unsuccessful war of liberation against the Emperor. the legend, according to which the men of the Forest Cantons had preserved their passion for liberty thanks to their remoteness from the great world, is the exact reverse of the truth. on the contrary, as the SW historian William Martin points out, it was at the moment that this remoteness ceased that the movement for independence began.
this book is not a history of SW but a study of the Swiss in relation to their mountains, and I am therefore only concerned with the struggle for independence, which i have described as greater length in my book THE CRADLE OF SWITZERLAND, because of the decisive influence of the mountains in general and of the two mountain passes in particular, the St Gotthard and Morgarten, on the events which led to the foundation of the Confederation.
the Tell legend, which would seem to have some basis in fact, bears witness to that growing spirit of independence which finally determined the Habsburgs to organize a punitive expedition
16 against the men of the Forrest Cantons. for a quarter of a century these mountain men had befriended all their enemies, had not concealed their enthusiastic support and approval of the assassins of Albrecht, and the time had come to teach them a lesson.
meanwhile, the Forest Cantons were not passively awaiting the Habsburg onslaught. they numbered among their warriors many who had served for years in foreign wars, particularly under the Hohenstaufen. there is no basis whatsoever for the legend which represents them as simple mountain peasants, untutored in the art of war. their preparations had begun as early as 1290, and by the time the punitive expedition left Zug, the land approach through Arth was already sealed off by a fence of palisades which stretched from the Rigi to the Rufiberg. a second line of defence had been constructed near the Enge of Oberarth. the Renggpass and the Brunig had also been fortified. the Habsburgs enjoyed a virtual command of the lake, but the ports of Brunnen and Buochs were fortified, and the Forest Cantons did not confine themselves to passive defence. by a series of spirited sorties on the lake against the Habsburg ports, they maintained an active war of nerves.
in the autumn of 1315, Duke Leopold of austria mobilized his army in Aargau. 'the men of his army, writes a contemporary chronicler, Joannes Vitoduranus, 'cam together with one purpose - utterly to subdue and humiliate those peasants who were surrounded with mountains as with walls.
on November 15, 1315, the Duke and his knights approached the pass of Morgarten which the men of the Forest Cantons had deliberately left undefended, hoping to lure the Habsburgs into a trap.
they climbed slowly, in single file, towards the pass, their line of battle necessarily broken. near the top of the pass the leaders halted and looked anxiously up towards the steep hillsides, down which a few stray rocks and pebbles had just fallen. suddenly an avalanche of huge boulders and tree-trunks crashed down the slopes. the narrow pass of morgarten was turned into a death-trap - a desperate struggling confusion of men and horses. and then came the human avalanche, an irresistible torrent of peasants swinging their deadly halberds. beneath these rude weapons the chivalry of the Empire fell. some died on the
17 spot, others were driven into the lake, while others were killed by falling boulders. Morgarten was perhaps the first battle of the Middle ages in which an army of mounted knight s was beaten by peasants on foot.
on december 9,1315, the Confederates renewed their first league at the village of Brunnen and three years later the Dukes of Austria decided to make peace with them.
the confederation rapidly expanded. Lucerne was naturally the first to join. Zurich, Glarus, Aug and Berne all followed the example of Lucerne in the course of the following year. the growth in strength of the young Confederation was, of course, viewed with alarm by Austria.
the habsburgs made two attempts to revenge Morgarten, only to suffer crushing defeats at Sempach, ten miles from Lucerne, in 1386, and Nafels in the canton of Glarus in 1388.
after various attempts to seduce Zurich from the Confederation, Austria accepted the inevitable and signed a treaty of peace. from this time forward the young Confederation, though still within the Empire, was no longer of it. the germans began to speak of the citizens of this Confederation as SCHWEIZER, after SCHWYZ. the battles of Morgarten, Sempach and Nafels planted the seeds of modern SW. the Cantons which resisted the Habsburgs began as a league of small states within the Empire and emerged a nation. their success was the more surprising because at that very time the liberties so gallantly defended on the shores of the lake of Lucerne were being trampled underfoot in germany. in germany the monarchial principle was in the ascendant and the Leagues of the Swabian cities and of the Rhine cities were being crushed. in SW, on the other hand, the principles of a primitive democracy were established on an enduring foundation. why this contrast? surely because the primitive SW democracy was a natural development in mountain valleys too remote from centres of government to be effectively controlled. the structure of the mountains in which communications between valley and valley are seldom easy is favourable to the development of self-government in the mountain communities. life in these mountain valleys was never easy, an unending battle against nature which compelled the mountain dwellers to co-operate closely in the building of paths, in irrigation and in the construction of barriers to avalanches. it was indeed this inevitable co-operation which created a whole range of communal rights, such as grazing rights on the cattle alps.
in the charter of Aug. 1, 1291, which established the young Confederation, there is no challenge to the rights of the distant Emperor. the Confederates were content to remain members of the Holy Roman Empire but there is a firm repudiation of the rule of the Habsburg Landvogts and a stubborn insistence on the rights of the Confederates to appoint all those responsible for the government of their communities, judges for instance.
Chapter 6 The Genevese
57 De Luc, Bourrit, de Sussure and Rousseau wer Genevese but not swiss, for they died before Geneva joined the Swiss Confederation. the Switzerland of their epoch was a confederation of 13 Cantons - Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Lucrne, Zug, Zurich, Glarus and Berne (together forming the so-called eight old Cantons), and in addition Appenzell, Fribourg, Solothurn, Basel and Schaffhausen....
59....(speaking of one of the mountain climbers..and Swiss hospitality.) ..he made a second ascent in 1772 by a different route. his party spent the night in the valley of Anterne and had some difficulty in finding the chalet where they planned to sleep. at last they found a hut, and the women gathered round a fire immediately made them welcome and offered them milk and cheese, which was all that they had and also the hospitality of their one and only bedroom, which the men shared with these peasant women without causing or feeling embarrassment. on their return next day they were overtaken by storm and darkness and were rescued by their hostesses, who struggled up the mountain to find them and succeeded in spite or the fact that it was only the largest of their torches which was not extinguished by rain and wind. next morning they refused to accept any payment for their services. however, de Luc eventually persuaded the one 'who seemed to be less in the position of a mistress than the other' to accept a crown. 'the idea of accepting payment for a service!'
'it is thus, writes de Luc, that human nature is corrupted; and there are times when I reproach myself, I should reproach myself without ceasing if there were any chance that Anterne would become a frequented place. and this is not merely a passing reflection. I have made it again and again when I have realized THAT IT IS THUS THAT ONE ALTERS THE NATURE OF THE REWARD WHICH GOOD PEOPLE LOOK FOR'.
82 (speaking of an intriguing religious who is 'described in detail by Professor Pieth of Chur in the monumental biography'...Pater (FATHER) PLACIDUS A SPECHA
Chapter 13 - Mountain Fortress
129 Prime Minister to Foreign Secretary 3 Dec., 44
'I put this down for the record. of all neutrals SW has the greatest right to distinction. she has been the sole international force linking the hideously sundered nations and ourselves. what does it matter whether she has been able to give us the commercial advantages we desire or has given too many to the germans, to keep herself alive? she has been a democratic State, standing for freedom in self-defence among her mountains, and in thought, in spite of race, largely on our side.
'I was astonished at U. J.'s (Stalin's) savageness against her, and, much though I respect that great and good man, I was entirely uninfluenced by his attitude. he called them 'swine' and he does not use that sort of language without meaning it. I am sure we ought to stand by SW, and we ought to explain to U.J. why it is we do so. the moment for sending such a message should be carefully chosen...'
'W.S.C.' (note - Winston Churchill)
there was a tense atmosphere in the Olympic stadium just before the ceremonial march past of the teams competing in the 1936 Winter Olympic Games. I had done my best to ensure that the members of our ski team knew the difference between the Olympic salute, arm extended to the side and the nazi salute, arm extended in front. there were rumours that some of the teams would not salute hitler. the competitors who received the most rapturous welcome were those of the Austrians who gave the nazi salute, turning towards hitler to make it clear that it was the nazi and not the olympic salute. my own careful instructions were wanted, for the broadcaster informed the crowd that the 'British greet the Fuhrer with the German salute. the Swiss provided an unpleasant surprise for the crowd. the Swiss competitors in the military race wee in uniform and these saluted. then came the civilian competitors. a momentary hesitation and then suddenly, the Swiss ranks stiffened and the descendants of the men who fought for freedom at Morgarten walked past hitler eyes to the front, arms stiffly to the side.
no cheers from the crowd.
no comments from the broadcaster.
i looked back to the balcony on which hitler was standing. his face was distorted with venomous hatred. 'God help the Swiss, I thought, if ever hitler invades their country'.
i remembered that moment 4 years later, on a day when a german invasion of SW seemed imminent. I had been lecturing for the British Council in Florence and crossed the Swiss frontier some days after germany invaded Holland. on may 14, 1940, I watched the smoke of burning papers rising from the garden of the French Embassy in Berne. that afternoon the French military attache remarked to his british colleague:
'we have lost the war'.
meanwhile the Swiss were expecting to be invaded. the germans had been massing troops along their frontier for some days and circulating rumours to the effect that they were about to invade SW. their intention may have been to deflect French troops, badly needed elsewhere, to the Franco-Swiss frontier or to invade SW if they had failed to break through the extension of the Maginot Line near Sedan. but whatever may have been their intentions, the evidences of plans for an invasion were sufficiently impressive to crowd the roads fro Basel and other frontier towns with the cars of civilians escaping into the interior.
on the night of may 14th, I dined in Berne with the British Minister, Sir David Kelly. his confidence in our ultimate victory, which never wavered during the darkest months of the war, helped, as I later learned, to maintain not only the morale
during the few days which I spent in SW before returning to London, I was greatly encouraged by the sturdy tone of the proclamations in which General Guisan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Swiss Army, warned the population to disregard, in the event of an invasion, any statements alleged to emanate from Swiss broadcasting stations which announced a cease-fire. there would be no surrender.
there are few professional soldiers in the Swiss Army and Henri Guisan, a Vaudois (note, a descendant of the Waldensians) was not one of them. in 1940, Marcel Pilet-Golaz who, like Guisan, was a Vaudois, was the President of the Swiss Confederation. in the fateful year of 1940 he was the head of the Departement politique, and as such responsible for foreign policy. every member of the Bundesrat (the Swiss Cabinet) is responsible for a particular department and becomes President in rotation for one year only.
after the French collapse, Guisan (G) began quietly to work against Pilet-Golaz's policy of appeasement. the tension between these men was aggravated by the fact that they had always disliked each other. both men had their ardent supporters, some of whom were still engaged in re-fighting their old battles. the controversy flared up again in SW after the publication of Spying for Peace in England and its serialization in the Weltwoche (Zurich). the author, Jon Kimche, is a brilliant journalist who left SW at the age of 12, and still retains a Swiss passport, though he has spent almost all his adult life in England. during the war he was the military correspondent of the Evening standard and is now the editor of the Jewish Observer.
132 G's first problem was the control of the thousands of germans living who were, as he knew, organized for subversive activities and who were working in active co-operation with a small group of Swiss Nazis,of whom 15 were executed and many more sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. even more serious than the problem of german espionage was the possibility that Swiss moral might crack after France fell.
in the First World War SW was never in any serious danger of invasion and if the germans had invaded, French and Italian armies would have immediately linked up with the Swiss; but in the Second World War Italy was not an enemy, but an ally of germany for vital supplies.
whereas the sympathies of the german-Swiss were divided in the First World War, in the Second World War, apart from a lunatic fringe of Swiss Nazis, german Switzerland was passionately anti-Nazi. in french SW there was a small but influential minority who were certainly not pro-nazi but who were strong supporters of Petain.
133 Pilet-Golaz(P-G), like Petain, was a defeatist who believed in the inevitability of a Nazi victory. Petain handed back to the germans pilots who had been shot down, many of them by our own Air Force, and P-G allowed german pilots, who had been forced to land in SW, to return to germany, a clear breach of neutrality but less open to censure than Petain's action, for P-G was a neutral whereas France had entered the war as an ally of Great Britain.
P-G's supporters in SW maintain that he was a great patriot who made no more concessions than were necessary to prevent the germans invading SW and to persuade the germans to provide SW with coal and other vital imports. certainly the position of SW, wholly surrounded by Axis Powers, was critical and those who negotiated with the germans on behalf of SW had to concede much that a good Swiss would hate conceding.
P-G's critics contend that unpublished evidence of his relations with the German Ambassador in Berne, evidence which came into the possession of the British when the archives of the german Foreign Office were made available to the victors, prove that he went to extreme lengths in his efforts to appease the germans. it was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that on the very day (June 25,1940) when Petain broadcast from Bordeaux his message of surrender to the French nation, P-G should also have broadcast to the Swiss a message of appeasement, in which certain phrases bore an ominous resemblance to the ideology of Petain as, for instance: 'the time for an inner renewal has come. we must look forward, determined to use our modest but useful strength in the reconstruction of the world in its state of upheaval'.
G was determined that appeasement had to be defeated and the Swiss inspired with a determination never to surrender, however apparently hopeless the immediate situation. he therefore summoned all commanders, down to battalion commanders, to meet him on the historic meadow of the Rutli, by the lake of Lucerne, were the founding fathers of the Swiss Confederation had met on August 1. 1291.
the theme of the General's address was that the existence of
134 SW was at stake and that it was their duty to counteract the propaganda of defeatists and weaklings in their own ranks, and to preach to their troops the duty of uncompromising resistance.
...throughout the years which followed, Guisan had the country with him. there were, of course, a few nazis. 'tow men in my company', an artillery major remarked to me, 'were known to be Nazis. they would have been shot the moment the germans invaded'. there was also a group which was not in the least pro- nazi but which would have liked to muzzle the more aggressively anti-Nazi press. 200 citizens, in fact, signed a petition to the Government on Nov. 15, 1940, urging the dismissal of the more courageous and outspoken editors. to describe, as mr.Kimche does, these signatories as 'prominent Swiss citizens' is an exaggeration. I have the names of the signatories and their occupations in front of me as I write, for the Government released to the press the names of the '200' and these were published in the Neue Zurcher Zeitung of january 22, 1946. there were very few prominent people among the signatories. most of them were small innkeepers, obscure journalists, small farmers, etc.
in the Swiss Army the leading appeaser was Colonel Wille, the son of General Wille who commanded the Swiss Army during the First World War. General Wille had married a Bismarck, and his son was therefore half german. on Nov. 7, 1934, the Social Democrats demanded in the nationalrat that Colonel Wille should be retired because of his close relations with the Nazis...Colonel Wille never enjoyed the confidence of General Guisan. he was never given an active service command, but was relegated to the command of infantry training.
at the end of the war the British Foreign Office brought to the atttention of the Bundesrat certain german documents which had come into their possession, among them a report b y the german minister in Berne, Dr Kocher, on a conversation which he had had with Colonel Wille on Oct. 1, 1940. during their invasion of France the german Army obtained possession of
135 documents relating to conversations between French and Swiss officers for co-operation in the event of a german invasion of SW. Wille, according to Dr Kocher, suggested that he with the Bundesrat and insist on Guisan's dismissal. these documents came to the attention of the Bundesrat in 1952. they consulted the Chef des Justiz und Polizeidepartements, who replied that no action could be taken in view of the Swiss equivalent of the statute of limitations. they sent for Colonel Wille, who flatly denied that he had made any such suggestions and who insisted that Kocher was concerned to emphasize his importance to the germans and thus to prevent his recall. in 1959 Wille died and when the german documents were published early in 1961 the Bundesrat distributed a memorandum in which they maintained that it was impossible to arrive at any certain conclusions, but it was improbable that Kocher had invented the conversation though he may have had a tendency to write in such a way as to improve his own position. what was certainly true was that there existed great differences of opinion between Guisan and Wille, and that Wille was the advocate of demobilization. Wille's relations with the Minister must be condemned even if he believed himself to be acting in the interests of his country. had these facts been disclosed in time, it would have been necessary to open an investigation...
from all I hear, Wille and his small clique had not the slightest influence in the army or in the country.
the creation of the Reduit, the mountain redoubt into which the Swiss Army would have retreated in the event of an invasion, was not completed for at least 18 months after the Rutli speech, but even in 1940 preparations for the 'scorched earth' policy were far advanced, and many of the factories which were producing munitions and precision tools tor the germans would have been destroyed even at that comparatively early stage of the war. even more important was the fact that both the Gotthard and the Simplon tunnels, so essential for the communications between germany and Italy, would have been put out of action the moment the german invasion started. finally, the germans did not underestimate the stubborn courage of the Swiss soldier defending his homeland.
136 a Swiss friend of mine, Herr Werner Grob, who had served under General Guiswan and who was old enough to remember the First World War in which the Swiss Army was commanded by General Wille,drew an interesting comparison between the two generals. "Wille, he said, had married a Bismarck, and his military outlook was influenced by his admiration for the german army. he wasn't popular with the rank and file of our Army. Guisan, on the other hand, though he understood the supreme importance of discipline, was a real father to his men. he inspired not only great respect but great affection. when France fell we were surrounded by germany and Italy and there were not a few who felt that it would be useless to resist an invasion. in that critical hour Guisan was to SW what Churchill was to your country. he mad us all feel that it was far, far better to go down fighting than to surrender'.
Guisan died 15 years later and was buried in Lausanne on April 12, 1960. 'the world outside, writes Mr Kimche, if it had ever heard of General Guisan, had long forgotten him. but in the Swiss homes, without orders or instructions, without designation, over 200,000 former soldiers of the General donned their full dress uniforms, put on their black bands of mourning, and travelled to Lausanne at their own expense to pay a last tribute such as was given to no other war commander anywhere. for these 200,000 Swiss knew what they - and the world - owed to Henri Guisan, their General'.
no attempt to estimate the nature and extent of the influence of the mountains on the Swiss would be complete which omitted all reference to the Second World War, and to the effect of the mountain Reduit on Swiss morale. 'THE FACT THAT WE COULD RETIRE INTO THE REDUIT, a Swiss remarked to me, AND HOLD OUT PERHAPS FOR YEARS, WAS ALL IMPORTANT FOR OUR MORAL'. (note - what a picture in this world of the FACT that God is our constant ROCK, REFUGE, FORTRESS, STRONGHOLD!, truly a SHELTER in the time of storm, a Rock in a weary land!
Chapter 15 - The Mountain Way of Life
SW is today an independent country mainly because the Habsburgs found it far more difficult to bring pressure on their subjects in the Alpine valleys than on their subjects in the plains. the mountains foster among mountain dwellers a spirit of independence. the fathers of the Swiss Confederation were men of the mountains who instinctively resisted the attempt to govern them from the plains. they did not willingly accept any authority other than the authority of those whom they themselves had chosen to administer their own affairs. the story of William Tell enshrines the race memories of a collective rather than of an individual attitude. The Landvogt Gessler, who Tell slew, was hated not because he was an Austrian, for the founders of SW were not nationalists as that term is now understood, but because he had been appointed by the Habsburgs to impose Habsburg government on the stubborn men of the mountains. the spirit which created SW independence still survives in the mountains of SW. in the fourth year of the II World War a local paper in the Grisons reported the indignant protest of a mountain peasant against the necessary controls which the Government could not avoid imposing. 'How can one speak, he exclaimed, of freedom when one can't even fatten a calf with a special permit or sell a little bit of land without permission from the State? what is the use of such regulations. the Landvogt Gessler said, 'I won't allow peasants to build houses without my permission'.
the word 'democracy', which is perverted by the Communists, their so-called 'popular democracies' being neither democracies nor popular, is far from being a precise term even in the free world. a more exact classification of democracies is indeed long overdue. even in a small country such as SW there are not only differences in the democratic governments of the different
150 Cantons which are recognized officially in the words employed to differentiate, for instance, the landes gemeinde from other forms of democratic government, but also differences of attitude as yet undefined in actual terms, the difference, for instance, between what i suggest might be described as personal and impersonal democracies.
the Landesgemeinde, which still function in the mountain Cantons of Glarus, Appenzell and Unterwalden, are assemblies in which every adult citizen meets and approves or rejects laws submitted to the entire adult citizenship of the Canton. this is indeed government of the people by the people for the people, and not government of the people by a political party mainly for the supporters of that party. 'where the entire people' writes Dr Richard Weiss in his fascinating book, Volkskunde der Schweiz, 'stands shoulder to shoulder and almost every man knows every other member of the community, wher the administration is from man to man rather than from office to office, from mouth to mouth and not from paper to paper, as it still is in the Landesgemeinde Cantons of Glarus, appenzell and Unterwalden, there is still a close contact between Home and state. there one still says 'Land' when one means State and Home'.
this mountain democracy of the Berglers, as the mountain men describe themselves, is not a manufactured constitution imposed from above, like the democratic constitutions imposed on India and Nigeria in imitation of the west. it is an organic democracy which has evolved naturally and has its popular roots in local government in the various Gemeinde which are responsible for local affairs, such as the Kirchgemeinde and Schulgemeinde. patriotism begins, as Burke somewhere says, with our feeling for the little platoon' of which we are a member. the contrast between what I have called personal as opposed to impersonal democracy is reflected in the Berglers' attitude to the State. whereas the urban proletariat seek to change the State and transform it from a bourgeois-capitalistic into a Socialist of Marxist State, the peasant dislikes the State as such. the very word State did not exist in the old folk language, to the Bergler the word suggests taxes, , innumerable forms to fill up and the modern successors of the old Bailiffs, the Habsburg Vogte. as a
151 result, there has always been a cleavage between the laws imposed by the State and the customs and ethical codes which have evolved organically in the community. hence the popular saying that Orstbrauch is superior to Landrecht.
Newman's contrast between 'real assent' and 'notional assent' could be illustrated by the contrast between the notional assent which the Bergler gives to what the law enjoins and his real assent to the code of the community. a Bergler gives to what the law enjoins and his real assent to the code of the community. a Bergler who lived in one of the valleys of the Bundner Oberland, whose southern mountains divide SW from Italy, was convicted of smuggling. his righteous indignation was passionate in its sincerity. he explained that he had no other profession and that he had been a smuggler since the age of 16 and had a wife and children to support. he might have committed an offence against Landrecht but he had acted in accordance with Ortsbrouch.
'those who, to quote Burke once again, are so preoccupied with the rights of man that they have totally forgotten his nature' tend to equate democracy with egalitarianism. democracy is only egalitarian in so far as elections are decided by the egalitarian principle of one man one vote, but man is a hierarchical animal and snobbery is the key to evolution, for if our ape-like ancestors had been less anxious to climb the social ladder, we should still be climbing trees.
in SW, as elsewhere, the egalitarianism of the sinner which is inspired by resentment of superiority,'I'm as good as you are, is more common than the egalitarianism of the saint which is based on humility, 'You're as good as I am', and the Berglers have always been quick to condemn any pretentions acquired by those who had iced with the great world. in the 17th century the Grisons held the key to the Valtelline, the strategically important valley coveted both by the French and the Austrians. ambassadors from the Grisons were treated with great honour at the French Court and some of them were painted in their ambassadorial robes, but in the family portraits which were displayed in their homes they were indistinguishable so far as clothes were concerned from their fellow citizens.
there was nothing egalitarian about the republican simplicity which would have made it impossible
for one of the leading citizens of the Grisons, which was then an independent State, to hang on the walls of his own home a portrait of himself in the
152 court dress which he wore at the Court of the French King. nor was the official who posted the results of a ski race in which the Spanish Prince, H.R.H. Prince Alonso de Orleans-Bourbon, had apostle of egalitarianism. a mild comment of mine on 'Bourbon, had competed and who described him as Bourbon, Alf, a doctrinaire apostle of egalitarianism. a mild comment of mine on 'Bourbon, Alf' elicited from another Swiss the retort, 'we Swiss are not interested in titles. 'Why then, I asked, is one of the competitors described on the result list as 'Dr Roth'?..'He earned the title of 'Doctor', but the Prince's title came out of the bed'. 'so did the doctor's title, I retorted. 'Brains are just as much an accident of birth as the title of Prince.' but my friend was unconvinced.
it would, however, be wrong to assume that achievement is all that counts with Berglers and that the Bergler hierarchy ignores all 'aus dem Bett' qualifications. in Grindelwald, those who can trace theri descent from the first settlers who migrated from the Lotschental in the 13th century, feel themselves very much the superiors of those whose forebears emigrated from the shores of lake Brienz and settled in the valley in the 18th century and both groups refer with disdain to recent arrivals as Zuehagaschlingget, which may be rendered, 'those who have slunk in'. in Murren the old Murren families will often foregather and inveigh against the fact that most of the money in Murren goes into the pockets of the Fetzel, a pejorative term applied to those who are not Murrenites by birth but who have acquired hotels or shops in Murren.
in many mountain valleys the Burgers constitute an oligarchy based on birth. every Bergler has the right to vote in elections for the Gemeinde which is responsible for the affairs of the community, but you do not acquire merely by residence any right to join the Burgerschaft, which is often a considerable property owner. in Zermatt, for instance, the Burgerschaft not only owns the grazing rights of the cattle alps but also two hotels, the hotel on the Riffelberg and the Zermatterhof in Zermatt.
Zermatt was created as a tourist centre by Alexander Seiler, who was a Burger of the little village of Blitzingen in the Upper Rhone Valley. his application to become a Burger of Zermatt was refused. though a Valaisian, and though the Burger of a village less than 100 miles from Zermatt, he was still
153 regarded as a quasi-foreigner. he appealed to the Canton of Valais, who fixed a sum which he would be required to pay to become a Burger and insisted that he be admitted. the Burgers appealed to the Nationalrat in Berne (one of the two houses of Parliament) and when they supported the Canton, the Burgerschaft appealed to the Bundesrat (the Cabinet), the Bundesversammlung (both houses of Parliament) and finally to the Federal Court of Appeal in Lausanne, which confirmed the findings of the Bundesrat, Nationalrat and Cantonal government. but it was not until the Swiss Government sent a platoon of soldiers to Zermatt that the Burgers gave in. that was on april 7, 1889, but the main fight did not end with the admission of the Seilers. when the Gornergrat railway was built, the Burgers were delighted that the railway passed conveniently close to the Riffelberg Hotel, which they owned, but was separated from the Riffelalp Hotel, owned by the Seilers, by land which the Burgers owned. the Seilers opened negotiations to buy the necessary land to build a little road from the Riffelalp station to their hotel, but the Burgers refused to sell. the Seilers thereupon asked the Federal Government for a concession to build a RAILWAY from the Riffelalp station to their hotel. this concession was granted. the necessary land for the railway was expropriated by the Federal Government and the little electric tram which transports luggage from the station to the hotel is,in theory, the railway for which the Seilers obtained the concession.
now, as I have said, Alexander Seiler belonged to the same Canton as the Zermatter Burgers, but he might as well have been a foreigner. I remember once reminding the organizer of a race in a famous Oberland centre that according to one of the international rules, for which I was in fact responsible, the referee had to be a foreigner. 'but we did appoint a foreigner', exclaimed my friend. in this case the 'foreigner' came from Berne.
some of the fiercest mountain feuds are not between valley and valley but between parties in the same mountain village. nothing could be more misleading than the widely held conception of the Swiss as rather dull, worthy, law-abiding democrats, the conception which finds expression in the remark of one of the characters in graham Greene's The Third Man, 'the Swiss have had 5 centuries of peace and democracy and what have the produced? the cuckoo clock.' during these 5 centuries
154 of alleged peace, SW has been the scene of 3 civil wars and 7 wars against foreign powers. prior to the 19th century SW was not a democracy but a federation of quasi-sovereign cantons, some of which were democratic, some of which were governed by oligarchies and some of which were subject cantons, Vaud, for instance, which was governed by Berne. finally, though cuckoo clocks are now made in SW, they originated in the Black Forest and the Swiss who are rightly proud of their watch industry much resent being credited with the paternity of the cuckoo clock.
a great charm of SW is its cultural variety. there are, of course, many Swiss who conform to the popular conception of worthy law-abiding democrats, but this particular type was not over-represented among those citizens of Saxon who supply the Swiss market with fruit, and who resented the climatic injustice which enables Italian fruit to ripen earlier and reach the Swiss market before the fruit grown in SW. their protest took the form of burning a freight train full of Italian fruit on its way through Saxon.
there are mountain valleys in which local politics evoke passions and violence reminiscent of city feuds in Renaissance Italy. there is a certain village, which I do not propose to name, in a canton which I prefer not to indicate, the report of whose elections in a local paper circulating through that region ended with the words, 'we are glad to report that nobody was killed during the elections', but this reassuring statement was followed in the Stop Press news column with the statement , 'We regret to report that there was one fatal casualty of which we were unaware when we wrote our report, but only one, which is an improvement on last year'.
the elections are important because of the spoils system. the party in power have a certain amount of patronage to dispose of. there are mountain villages where 40 % of the population belong to one family clan and another 40% to another family clan. each clan has its own candidates for every post and it's own local Wirtschaft. even the cows are sometimes made to feel the results of the collective vendetta.
mountain valleys are, of course, feeling the effects of the wind of change which sweeps up from the towns and plains. in the Inner Oberland, many of the Berglers, including most of those
155 who work on railways, were captured for the socialist Party by two brilliant schoolmasters, but the Bergler socialist is very different from the urban Socialist. the Bergler is never a marxist.
moreover, even in those mountain valleys where the two-clan system still prevais, the multiple-party system is gradually being adopted, even though it is often the target for mockery by those who feel that the traditional two-party feud is ideal. Dr. Weiss quotes in this connection the uninhibited comment on the multi-party system in an open discussion by a pratigauer peasant (note- quote in german? Swiss?) I am no expert on Swiss dialects, but the sense of the above seems to me clear: 'formerly there were only 2 parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives and for that reason it worked well. now there is a whole lot of parties, but Mother Helvetia has not more than 2 breasts. I have finished'.
THE INFLUENCE OF MOUNTAINS IN PRESERVING LOCAL CULTURES.
the Far West Kandahar had just been successfully completed in the Yosemite, and the cup itself, presented by the Kandahar ski Club, had been won by a Swiss, Martin Fopp of Davos. he had spent only a few weeks in America and he was suffering from an acute attack of homesickness.
'In SW, he said, you travel a few hours and the language changes and the customs change....(that has a charm. but here you travel 6000 kilometres from New York to San Francisco and you find the same newspaper and the same good and the same people as when you started'.
if he had know America better he would have appreciated the great difference between New York and San Francisco, but it is undeniable that cultural differences are tending to disappear. in the 19th century the Boston Brahmin, the Kentucky Colonel, the southern aristocrat and the Far West Pioneer were sharply differentiated types, but today radio and television and other means of mass communication are eroding regional differences. the same process is at work in SW, but it meets with more resistance. the great mission of the mountains is to
156 keep people apart, and it is the fierce sense of independence, native to mountain valleys, which preserves cultural differences. every true Swiss can make his own the prayer,...(May God preserve our variety in unity).
there is indeed, as Martin Foop truly said, a great Reiz in all the sharp contrast of this mountain land. you can travel in few hours from Zurich which is industrial, progressive and increasingly secular in its dominant ethos, to mountain valleys in Catholic SW, such as the Maderanertal, in which the middle ages still linger.
we are assured by St Paul that 'evil communications corrupt good manners'. maybe, but good communications corrupt them even more rapidly, every improvement in communication, particularly in the dissemination of ideas, has an erosive effect on regional cultures. compare, for instance, the statues and altars and stained glass prior to the period when the mass distribution of religious prints began, with the pictures and statues of Our Lord and the saints which date from the second half of the 19th century. the older artists were familiar with the work of their predecessors in their native valley or perhaps in some neighbouring town; they were not copyists. even their least accomplished work was not wholly derivative. it had the rude vigour of genuine creative work. but in the 19th and still more in the 20th century, the market was flooded by mass-produced religious pictures, prints and statures, with the deplorable results we all know.
THE FACTUAL ELEMENT IN THE HALLER-ROUSSEAU IDEALIZATION OF THE BERGLER
Haller's idealization, which Rousseau adopted, of the Alpine peasant, uncorrupted by ambition and uninfected by avarice, was not wholly devoid of factual basis. it is, of course, absurd to maintain that the peasant is uninfected by avarice, but of all forms of avarice land hunger is the least ignoble, the land hunger so eloquently described by De Tocqueville.
'the French peasant before the Revolution was, so De Tocqueville declares,...''he is so passionately in love with the earth that he devotes all his savings to buying it and buys it whatever the cost. he buries his heart with the seed. this little corner of the earth which belongs to him in all the vast universe fills him with pride and independence'. L'ancien Regime, Liv. II, Ch, I.
157 an important test of a healthy society is the proper distribution of power between town and country. Stalin's attempt to liquidate the Kulak would have been impossible had not all power in the State been transferred to the urban Marxists. in SW the Bergler has till great influence politically, for the Swiss still agree, in the main, with the author of that mediaeval book, A Christian Admonition, who wrote: 'THE FARMER MUST IN ALL THINGS BE PROTECTED AND ENCOURAGED, FOR ALL DEPEND ON HIS LABOUR from the Emperor to the humblest of mankind, and his handiwork is particularly honourable and well pleasing to God'.
every great culture is born within the economy of the small town, village and farm...
it was because Virgil 'knew the country gods' and because Wordsworth's 'daily teachers had been woods and hills' that Virgil and Wordsworth are of the company of immortals. it was no accident that the greatest poet of classical antiquity should have written the Georgics which is not only noble poetry but also a practical guide to farming.
few would deny that an urban civilization is greater danger to religion than life on the land. Jefferson, perhaps the greatest of the Founding Fathers of America, said that the proportion of its unsound to its healthy parts...I view great cities as pestilential to the morals, the health and the liberties of man'.
Dr Alex Carrel, one of the world's greatest biologists and Nobel prizewinner, in his famous book, Man the Unknown, analyses the evil influence of an industrial civilization on mankind. he was particularly preoccupied with the flight from beauty. here are some quotations from man the Unknown:
'the descendants of the men who conceived and erected the monastery of Mont Saint-Michel no longer understand its splendour. they cheerfully accept the indescribable ugliness of the
158 modern houses in Normandy and Brittany, and especially in the Paris suburbs'.
'during the history of a civilization, the sense of beauty, the moral sense, grows, reaches its optimum, declines and disappears'.
'despite the marvels of scientific civilization, human personality tends to dissolve'.
'the peasant owning his land, the fisherman owning his boat, although obliged to work hard, are nevertheless masters of themselves and their time.' (these above quotes on pp. 130-1;293-4)
the Bergler is a democrat but he is a Tory democrat. he believes in progress but he does not despise tradition. he would agree with Burke that 'a people will not look forward to posterity who never looked back to their ancestors. a disposition to preserve and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman'. now Burke alone among his contemporaries diagnosed the true motive of the Jacobins, which was to transfer the balance of power from the country to the towns, and to use the country as a 'mere sustenance for the towns', a process completed in soviet Russia but firmly checked in SW where the interests of the peasants are still treated with great respect.
the Bergler in touch with nature is realistic in his political outlook, for Virgil's justissima tellus encourages no utopian illusions. the 'most just earth' gives nothing for nothing. the peasnt knows that man must sow before he can reap and that a man must not only vote but also work for 'the more abundant life'.
there was, as I have tried to show in the preceding pages, some factual basis for Haller's idealization of the Bergler religion and the natural virtues have less to contend with in the mountains than in the cities. even today divorce is not fashionable in mountain valleys and marriages tend, in the main, to be stable. I know, of course, that the Bergler is in a state of transition, and that some of my observations are ceasing to be true of the modern Bergler. I remember feeling depressed by the evidence of change in the Lotschental. on the January day in 1909, when we climbed slowly from Kippel to the Lotschenjucke, the Lotschental was a lovely remote valley unconnected either by rail or motor road with the outer world. today the railway
159 station of Goppenstein on the Lotschberg line is at the entrance to the Lotschental, and a motor road penetrates as far as Blatten. in my youth there was not a house in the valley which one could not look at but with pleasure, but today the valley is desecrated by some very ugly modern buildings.
'you ask me, a Swiss friend of mine said, 'whether the influence of the tourist on the Bergler has in the main been good. well, you know the Lotschental. 100 years ago, life was hard but the men and women who lived in this remote valley were in the main happy. they had few wants. there was the Church and the great Feast Days which gave colour to life and still do and the peasants would meet together and drink wine and sing in chorus, but now they have become CONSCIOUS OF A LARGER LIFE WITH MORE PLEASURES AND THEY ARE BECOMING DISSATISFIED. there is now a plan to develop winter sports in the Lotschental and they will run up ski lifts and there will be cocktail bars and perhaps a winter sports variant of La Dolce Vita and where will it end?
yes, the winds of change are blowing through these mountain valleys, bringing with them the seeds of scepticism in ultimate values, the scepticism from which great civilizations have perished in the past, for as Dr. Monk Gibbon in his delightful autobiography, Mount Ida, rightly says, 'THE TRUTH IS THAT A CIVILIZATION COLLAPSES WHEN THE ESSENTIAL REVERENCE FOR ABSOLUTE VALUES WHICH RELIGION GIVES DISAPPEARS. Rome discovered that in the days of her decadence. men live on the accumulated Faith of the past as well as on its accumulated self-discipline. overthrow these and nothing seems missing at first, a few sexual taboos, a little of the prejudices of a Cato, these have gone by the board. but SOMETHING ELSE HAS GONE AS WELL, THE MORTAR WHICH HELD SOCIETY TOGETHER, THE I-N-T-E-G-R-I-T-Y (def. Latin integer (whole) and -ity state of...state of wholeness) - OF THE INDIVIDUAL SOUL; then the rats come out of their holes and begin burrowing under the foundations and there is nothing to withstand them.'
the rats are burrowing under the foundations of the Bergler life, but though these foundations need to be reinforced, they have not yet been irreparably undermined.
Switzerland is today an independent country not because her mountains are a barrier to the invader, for no mountains separate Geneva from France of Basile from germany, but because a passion for independence seems a natural growth in mountain valleys and because it has always been far easier for emperors and other rulers to assert their authority over the dwellers in the lowlands than over the natives of remote mountain valleys. it was therefore no accident that the revolt which laid the foundation of what we now know as SWitzerland should have begun on the shores of a lake ringed round with rugged peaks.
the role of the mountains in the creation of an independent country was not restricted to that spirit of independence which the mountains foster, but also, as we shall see, to the historic accident that the men of Uri controlled the pass of the St Gotthard, and to the fact that the decisive battle of Morgarten was fought in a mountain pass by mountain men.
the Lake of the Four Forest Cantons (Vierwaldstattersee), known to the English as Lake Lucerne, derives its name from the Cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden and Lucerne, the first three being the founders of the SWiss Confederation, and the Canton of Lucerne being the first Canton to join the young Confederation after their successful revolt against the Habsbugs.
the relations between the Holy Roman Empire and the founders of the SW confederation were, as we shall see, of decisive importance, the Empire was something more than a mere system of government. it was 'a fashion of conceiving the world', an assertion of the fact that the unity of Christendom was not only spiritual but political. the Pope was the spiritual, the Emperor the political head of Christendom. Una chiesa in uno stato. the german king only became Holy Roman Emperor
14 after his coronation by the pope. it was only after the reign of MaximilianI of Austria that the Imperial Crown became hereditary and was assumed by the Emperor of Austria on his succession. when Rudolf of Habsburg, who took his name from a castle the ruins of which can be reached in an hour from Lucerne, was elected German king in 1273, the crown was not hereditary but elective, and the chief object of the electors was to prevent the German king and Holy Roman Emperor from acquiring real power. Rudolf of Habsburg was not an obscure member of the minor nobility of Aarou, as historians once believed, for even at that time the Habsburg were already in possession of great estates in Alsace, but the electors probably felt that they would be better able to safeguard their interests if they elected a SW noble rather than a powerful german prince.
as german king, Rudolf of Habsburg was able to invest his son Albrecht with the Duchy of Austria and thereafter the Habsburgs became identified with Austria. Rudolf's son, Albrecht, was elected german king in 1298 and was murdered in 1308 by his nephew, Johannes, Duke of Austria. from 1308 to 1438 no Habsburg again wore the Imperial Crown, a fact which is of decisive importance in the history of SW, for it was by exploiting the rivalry between the Habsburgs and the Emperor that the men of Uri and Schwyz and Unterwalden were able to lay the foundations of their independence.
the first object of the forest cantons was to secure Reichsunmittelbareit, that is to say, to place themselves under the immediate lordship of the Emperor. they preferred the rule of the Emperor to the rule of the Habsburgs for many reasons, of which the most important was that they preferred the remote control of the Emperor to the control of the Habsburgs on the doorstep. the Emperor was a long way off, and far less efficient as a tax collector than the Habsburgs. to be directly subject to the Emperor was a status as near to actual independence as the Forest Cantons could ever hope to achieve.
the Emperor was all the readier to support the Forest Cantons because the men of Uri, who were under the immediate lordship of the Emperor, controlled the northern entrance to the Gotthard Pass. the St Gotthard was not 'opened' in the 12th century, as every SW history that I have read implies. the pass was known in Roman times. but some time between 1180 and 1190
15 the St Gotthard route was shortened by rendering the passage of the Schollenen Gorge practicable, and from that moment the St Gotthard replaced the Lukmanier as the best route from germany into Italy. the new importance of the St Gotthard was reflected in the status of the Forest Cantons . the Habsburgs were determined to control the approach to the St Gotthard; the Hohenstaufen emperors were equally convinced that the relative independence of the Forest Cantons was of primary importance to them, since they could not afford to allow the habsburgs to cut them off from the main approach to Italy. the Forest Cantons, as we shall see , won their independence by playing off the Habsburgs against the Emperor. even when a Habsburg was himself Emperor, the Forest Cantons never allowed the Habsburgs to confuse the rights which they enjoyed qua Emperor with the rights which they enjoyed qua Habsburg.
it is impossible to exaggerate the importance of the St Gotthard in the struggle for independence. the increasing traffic across this pass transformed many of the men of Uri from agriculturalists into traders. many of them made a living by providing mules or acting as guides across the pass. moreover, the traffic across the pass exposed the forest Cantons to the new wind of freedom which was blowing from Italy, where the communes were fighting an unsuccessful war of liberation against the Emperor. the legend, according to which the men of the Forest Cantons had preserved their passion for liberty thanks to their remoteness from the great world, is the exact reverse of the truth. on the contrary, as the SW historian William Martin points out, it was at the moment that this remoteness ceased that the movement for independence began.
this book is not a history of SW but a study of the Swiss in relation to their mountains, and I am therefore only concerned with the struggle for independence, which i have described as greater length in my book THE CRADLE OF SWITZERLAND, because of the decisive influence of the mountains in general and of the two mountain passes in particular, the St Gotthard and Morgarten, on the events which led to the foundation of the Confederation.
the Tell legend, which would seem to have some basis in fact, bears witness to that growing spirit of independence which finally determined the Habsburgs to organize a punitive expedition
16 against the men of the Forrest Cantons. for a quarter of a century these mountain men had befriended all their enemies, had not concealed their enthusiastic support and approval of the assassins of Albrecht, and the time had come to teach them a lesson.
meanwhile, the Forest Cantons were not passively awaiting the Habsburg onslaught. they numbered among their warriors many who had served for years in foreign wars, particularly under the Hohenstaufen. there is no basis whatsoever for the legend which represents them as simple mountain peasants, untutored in the art of war. their preparations had begun as early as 1290, and by the time the punitive expedition left Zug, the land approach through Arth was already sealed off by a fence of palisades which stretched from the Rigi to the Rufiberg. a second line of defence had been constructed near the Enge of Oberarth. the Renggpass and the Brunig had also been fortified. the Habsburgs enjoyed a virtual command of the lake, but the ports of Brunnen and Buochs were fortified, and the Forest Cantons did not confine themselves to passive defence. by a series of spirited sorties on the lake against the Habsburg ports, they maintained an active war of nerves.
in the autumn of 1315, Duke Leopold of austria mobilized his army in Aargau. 'the men of his army, writes a contemporary chronicler, Joannes Vitoduranus, 'cam together with one purpose - utterly to subdue and humiliate those peasants who were surrounded with mountains as with walls.
on November 15, 1315, the Duke and his knights approached the pass of Morgarten which the men of the Forest Cantons had deliberately left undefended, hoping to lure the Habsburgs into a trap.
they climbed slowly, in single file, towards the pass, their line of battle necessarily broken. near the top of the pass the leaders halted and looked anxiously up towards the steep hillsides, down which a few stray rocks and pebbles had just fallen. suddenly an avalanche of huge boulders and tree-trunks crashed down the slopes. the narrow pass of morgarten was turned into a death-trap - a desperate struggling confusion of men and horses. and then came the human avalanche, an irresistible torrent of peasants swinging their deadly halberds. beneath these rude weapons the chivalry of the Empire fell. some died on the
17 spot, others were driven into the lake, while others were killed by falling boulders. Morgarten was perhaps the first battle of the Middle ages in which an army of mounted knight s was beaten by peasants on foot.
on december 9,1315, the Confederates renewed their first league at the village of Brunnen and three years later the Dukes of Austria decided to make peace with them.
the confederation rapidly expanded. Lucerne was naturally the first to join. Zurich, Glarus, Aug and Berne all followed the example of Lucerne in the course of the following year. the growth in strength of the young Confederation was, of course, viewed with alarm by Austria.
the habsburgs made two attempts to revenge Morgarten, only to suffer crushing defeats at Sempach, ten miles from Lucerne, in 1386, and Nafels in the canton of Glarus in 1388.
after various attempts to seduce Zurich from the Confederation, Austria accepted the inevitable and signed a treaty of peace. from this time forward the young Confederation, though still within the Empire, was no longer of it. the germans began to speak of the citizens of this Confederation as SCHWEIZER, after SCHWYZ. the battles of Morgarten, Sempach and Nafels planted the seeds of modern SW. the Cantons which resisted the Habsburgs began as a league of small states within the Empire and emerged a nation. their success was the more surprising because at that very time the liberties so gallantly defended on the shores of the lake of Lucerne were being trampled underfoot in germany. in germany the monarchial principle was in the ascendant and the Leagues of the Swabian cities and of the Rhine cities were being crushed. in SW, on the other hand, the principles of a primitive democracy were established on an enduring foundation. why this contrast? surely because the primitive SW democracy was a natural development in mountain valleys too remote from centres of government to be effectively controlled. the structure of the mountains in which communications between valley and valley are seldom easy is favourable to the development of self-government in the mountain communities. life in these mountain valleys was never easy, an unending battle against nature which compelled the mountain dwellers to co-operate closely in the building of paths, in irrigation and in the construction of barriers to avalanches. it was indeed this inevitable co-operation which created a whole range of communal rights, such as grazing rights on the cattle alps.
in the charter of Aug. 1, 1291, which established the young Confederation, there is no challenge to the rights of the distant Emperor. the Confederates were content to remain members of the Holy Roman Empire but there is a firm repudiation of the rule of the Habsburg Landvogts and a stubborn insistence on the rights of the Confederates to appoint all those responsible for the government of their communities, judges for instance.
Chapter 6 The Genevese
57 De Luc, Bourrit, de Sussure and Rousseau wer Genevese but not swiss, for they died before Geneva joined the Swiss Confederation. the Switzerland of their epoch was a confederation of 13 Cantons - Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Lucrne, Zug, Zurich, Glarus and Berne (together forming the so-called eight old Cantons), and in addition Appenzell, Fribourg, Solothurn, Basel and Schaffhausen....
59....(speaking of one of the mountain climbers..and Swiss hospitality.) ..he made a second ascent in 1772 by a different route. his party spent the night in the valley of Anterne and had some difficulty in finding the chalet where they planned to sleep. at last they found a hut, and the women gathered round a fire immediately made them welcome and offered them milk and cheese, which was all that they had and also the hospitality of their one and only bedroom, which the men shared with these peasant women without causing or feeling embarrassment. on their return next day they were overtaken by storm and darkness and were rescued by their hostesses, who struggled up the mountain to find them and succeeded in spite or the fact that it was only the largest of their torches which was not extinguished by rain and wind. next morning they refused to accept any payment for their services. however, de Luc eventually persuaded the one 'who seemed to be less in the position of a mistress than the other' to accept a crown. 'the idea of accepting payment for a service!'
'it is thus, writes de Luc, that human nature is corrupted; and there are times when I reproach myself, I should reproach myself without ceasing if there were any chance that Anterne would become a frequented place. and this is not merely a passing reflection. I have made it again and again when I have realized THAT IT IS THUS THAT ONE ALTERS THE NATURE OF THE REWARD WHICH GOOD PEOPLE LOOK FOR'.
82 (speaking of an intriguing religious who is 'described in detail by Professor Pieth of Chur in the monumental biography'...Pater (FATHER) PLACIDUS A SPECHA
Chapter 13 - Mountain Fortress
129 Prime Minister to Foreign Secretary 3 Dec., 44
'I put this down for the record. of all neutrals SW has the greatest right to distinction. she has been the sole international force linking the hideously sundered nations and ourselves. what does it matter whether she has been able to give us the commercial advantages we desire or has given too many to the germans, to keep herself alive? she has been a democratic State, standing for freedom in self-defence among her mountains, and in thought, in spite of race, largely on our side.
'I was astonished at U. J.'s (Stalin's) savageness against her, and, much though I respect that great and good man, I was entirely uninfluenced by his attitude. he called them 'swine' and he does not use that sort of language without meaning it. I am sure we ought to stand by SW, and we ought to explain to U.J. why it is we do so. the moment for sending such a message should be carefully chosen...'
'W.S.C.' (note - Winston Churchill)
there was a tense atmosphere in the Olympic stadium just before the ceremonial march past of the teams competing in the 1936 Winter Olympic Games. I had done my best to ensure that the members of our ski team knew the difference between the Olympic salute, arm extended to the side and the nazi salute, arm extended in front. there were rumours that some of the teams would not salute hitler. the competitors who received the most rapturous welcome were those of the Austrians who gave the nazi salute, turning towards hitler to make it clear that it was the nazi and not the olympic salute. my own careful instructions were wanted, for the broadcaster informed the crowd that the 'British greet the Fuhrer with the German salute. the Swiss provided an unpleasant surprise for the crowd. the Swiss competitors in the military race wee in uniform and these saluted. then came the civilian competitors. a momentary hesitation and then suddenly, the Swiss ranks stiffened and the descendants of the men who fought for freedom at Morgarten walked past hitler eyes to the front, arms stiffly to the side.
no cheers from the crowd.
no comments from the broadcaster.
i looked back to the balcony on which hitler was standing. his face was distorted with venomous hatred. 'God help the Swiss, I thought, if ever hitler invades their country'.
i remembered that moment 4 years later, on a day when a german invasion of SW seemed imminent. I had been lecturing for the British Council in Florence and crossed the Swiss frontier some days after germany invaded Holland. on may 14, 1940, I watched the smoke of burning papers rising from the garden of the French Embassy in Berne. that afternoon the French military attache remarked to his british colleague:
'we have lost the war'.
meanwhile the Swiss were expecting to be invaded. the germans had been massing troops along their frontier for some days and circulating rumours to the effect that they were about to invade SW. their intention may have been to deflect French troops, badly needed elsewhere, to the Franco-Swiss frontier or to invade SW if they had failed to break through the extension of the Maginot Line near Sedan. but whatever may have been their intentions, the evidences of plans for an invasion were sufficiently impressive to crowd the roads fro Basel and other frontier towns with the cars of civilians escaping into the interior.
on the night of may 14th, I dined in Berne with the British Minister, Sir David Kelly. his confidence in our ultimate victory, which never wavered during the darkest months of the war, helped, as I later learned, to maintain not only the morale
during the few days which I spent in SW before returning to London, I was greatly encouraged by the sturdy tone of the proclamations in which General Guisan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Swiss Army, warned the population to disregard, in the event of an invasion, any statements alleged to emanate from Swiss broadcasting stations which announced a cease-fire. there would be no surrender.
there are few professional soldiers in the Swiss Army and Henri Guisan, a Vaudois (note, a descendant of the Waldensians) was not one of them. in 1940, Marcel Pilet-Golaz who, like Guisan, was a Vaudois, was the President of the Swiss Confederation. in the fateful year of 1940 he was the head of the Departement politique, and as such responsible for foreign policy. every member of the Bundesrat (the Swiss Cabinet) is responsible for a particular department and becomes President in rotation for one year only.
after the French collapse, Guisan (G) began quietly to work against Pilet-Golaz's policy of appeasement. the tension between these men was aggravated by the fact that they had always disliked each other. both men had their ardent supporters, some of whom were still engaged in re-fighting their old battles. the controversy flared up again in SW after the publication of Spying for Peace in England and its serialization in the Weltwoche (Zurich). the author, Jon Kimche, is a brilliant journalist who left SW at the age of 12, and still retains a Swiss passport, though he has spent almost all his adult life in England. during the war he was the military correspondent of the Evening standard and is now the editor of the Jewish Observer.
132 G's first problem was the control of the thousands of germans living who were, as he knew, organized for subversive activities and who were working in active co-operation with a small group of Swiss Nazis,of whom 15 were executed and many more sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. even more serious than the problem of german espionage was the possibility that Swiss moral might crack after France fell.
in the First World War SW was never in any serious danger of invasion and if the germans had invaded, French and Italian armies would have immediately linked up with the Swiss; but in the Second World War Italy was not an enemy, but an ally of germany for vital supplies.
whereas the sympathies of the german-Swiss were divided in the First World War, in the Second World War, apart from a lunatic fringe of Swiss Nazis, german Switzerland was passionately anti-Nazi. in french SW there was a small but influential minority who were certainly not pro-nazi but who were strong supporters of Petain.
133 Pilet-Golaz(P-G), like Petain, was a defeatist who believed in the inevitability of a Nazi victory. Petain handed back to the germans pilots who had been shot down, many of them by our own Air Force, and P-G allowed german pilots, who had been forced to land in SW, to return to germany, a clear breach of neutrality but less open to censure than Petain's action, for P-G was a neutral whereas France had entered the war as an ally of Great Britain.
P-G's supporters in SW maintain that he was a great patriot who made no more concessions than were necessary to prevent the germans invading SW and to persuade the germans to provide SW with coal and other vital imports. certainly the position of SW, wholly surrounded by Axis Powers, was critical and those who negotiated with the germans on behalf of SW had to concede much that a good Swiss would hate conceding.
P-G's critics contend that unpublished evidence of his relations with the German Ambassador in Berne, evidence which came into the possession of the British when the archives of the german Foreign Office were made available to the victors, prove that he went to extreme lengths in his efforts to appease the germans. it was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that on the very day (June 25,1940) when Petain broadcast from Bordeaux his message of surrender to the French nation, P-G should also have broadcast to the Swiss a message of appeasement, in which certain phrases bore an ominous resemblance to the ideology of Petain as, for instance: 'the time for an inner renewal has come. we must look forward, determined to use our modest but useful strength in the reconstruction of the world in its state of upheaval'.
G was determined that appeasement had to be defeated and the Swiss inspired with a determination never to surrender, however apparently hopeless the immediate situation. he therefore summoned all commanders, down to battalion commanders, to meet him on the historic meadow of the Rutli, by the lake of Lucerne, were the founding fathers of the Swiss Confederation had met on August 1. 1291.
the theme of the General's address was that the existence of
134 SW was at stake and that it was their duty to counteract the propaganda of defeatists and weaklings in their own ranks, and to preach to their troops the duty of uncompromising resistance.
...throughout the years which followed, Guisan had the country with him. there were, of course, a few nazis. 'tow men in my company', an artillery major remarked to me, 'were known to be Nazis. they would have been shot the moment the germans invaded'. there was also a group which was not in the least pro- nazi but which would have liked to muzzle the more aggressively anti-Nazi press. 200 citizens, in fact, signed a petition to the Government on Nov. 15, 1940, urging the dismissal of the more courageous and outspoken editors. to describe, as mr.Kimche does, these signatories as 'prominent Swiss citizens' is an exaggeration. I have the names of the signatories and their occupations in front of me as I write, for the Government released to the press the names of the '200' and these were published in the Neue Zurcher Zeitung of january 22, 1946. there were very few prominent people among the signatories. most of them were small innkeepers, obscure journalists, small farmers, etc.
in the Swiss Army the leading appeaser was Colonel Wille, the son of General Wille who commanded the Swiss Army during the First World War. General Wille had married a Bismarck, and his son was therefore half german. on Nov. 7, 1934, the Social Democrats demanded in the nationalrat that Colonel Wille should be retired because of his close relations with the Nazis...Colonel Wille never enjoyed the confidence of General Guisan. he was never given an active service command, but was relegated to the command of infantry training.
at the end of the war the British Foreign Office brought to the atttention of the Bundesrat certain german documents which had come into their possession, among them a report b y the german minister in Berne, Dr Kocher, on a conversation which he had had with Colonel Wille on Oct. 1, 1940. during their invasion of France the german Army obtained possession of
135 documents relating to conversations between French and Swiss officers for co-operation in the event of a german invasion of SW. Wille, according to Dr Kocher, suggested that he with the Bundesrat and insist on Guisan's dismissal. these documents came to the attention of the Bundesrat in 1952. they consulted the Chef des Justiz und Polizeidepartements, who replied that no action could be taken in view of the Swiss equivalent of the statute of limitations. they sent for Colonel Wille, who flatly denied that he had made any such suggestions and who insisted that Kocher was concerned to emphasize his importance to the germans and thus to prevent his recall. in 1959 Wille died and when the german documents were published early in 1961 the Bundesrat distributed a memorandum in which they maintained that it was impossible to arrive at any certain conclusions, but it was improbable that Kocher had invented the conversation though he may have had a tendency to write in such a way as to improve his own position. what was certainly true was that there existed great differences of opinion between Guisan and Wille, and that Wille was the advocate of demobilization. Wille's relations with the Minister must be condemned even if he believed himself to be acting in the interests of his country. had these facts been disclosed in time, it would have been necessary to open an investigation...
from all I hear, Wille and his small clique had not the slightest influence in the army or in the country.
the creation of the Reduit, the mountain redoubt into which the Swiss Army would have retreated in the event of an invasion, was not completed for at least 18 months after the Rutli speech, but even in 1940 preparations for the 'scorched earth' policy were far advanced, and many of the factories which were producing munitions and precision tools tor the germans would have been destroyed even at that comparatively early stage of the war. even more important was the fact that both the Gotthard and the Simplon tunnels, so essential for the communications between germany and Italy, would have been put out of action the moment the german invasion started. finally, the germans did not underestimate the stubborn courage of the Swiss soldier defending his homeland.
136 a Swiss friend of mine, Herr Werner Grob, who had served under General Guiswan and who was old enough to remember the First World War in which the Swiss Army was commanded by General Wille,drew an interesting comparison between the two generals. "Wille, he said, had married a Bismarck, and his military outlook was influenced by his admiration for the german army. he wasn't popular with the rank and file of our Army. Guisan, on the other hand, though he understood the supreme importance of discipline, was a real father to his men. he inspired not only great respect but great affection. when France fell we were surrounded by germany and Italy and there were not a few who felt that it would be useless to resist an invasion. in that critical hour Guisan was to SW what Churchill was to your country. he mad us all feel that it was far, far better to go down fighting than to surrender'.
Guisan died 15 years later and was buried in Lausanne on April 12, 1960. 'the world outside, writes Mr Kimche, if it had ever heard of General Guisan, had long forgotten him. but in the Swiss homes, without orders or instructions, without designation, over 200,000 former soldiers of the General donned their full dress uniforms, put on their black bands of mourning, and travelled to Lausanne at their own expense to pay a last tribute such as was given to no other war commander anywhere. for these 200,000 Swiss knew what they - and the world - owed to Henri Guisan, their General'.
no attempt to estimate the nature and extent of the influence of the mountains on the Swiss would be complete which omitted all reference to the Second World War, and to the effect of the mountain Reduit on Swiss morale. 'THE FACT THAT WE COULD RETIRE INTO THE REDUIT, a Swiss remarked to me, AND HOLD OUT PERHAPS FOR YEARS, WAS ALL IMPORTANT FOR OUR MORAL'. (note - what a picture in this world of the FACT that God is our constant ROCK, REFUGE, FORTRESS, STRONGHOLD!, truly a SHELTER in the time of storm, a Rock in a weary land!
Chapter 15 - The Mountain Way of Life
SW is today an independent country mainly because the Habsburgs found it far more difficult to bring pressure on their subjects in the Alpine valleys than on their subjects in the plains. the mountains foster among mountain dwellers a spirit of independence. the fathers of the Swiss Confederation were men of the mountains who instinctively resisted the attempt to govern them from the plains. they did not willingly accept any authority other than the authority of those whom they themselves had chosen to administer their own affairs. the story of William Tell enshrines the race memories of a collective rather than of an individual attitude. The Landvogt Gessler, who Tell slew, was hated not because he was an Austrian, for the founders of SW were not nationalists as that term is now understood, but because he had been appointed by the Habsburgs to impose Habsburg government on the stubborn men of the mountains. the spirit which created SW independence still survives in the mountains of SW. in the fourth year of the II World War a local paper in the Grisons reported the indignant protest of a mountain peasant against the necessary controls which the Government could not avoid imposing. 'How can one speak, he exclaimed, of freedom when one can't even fatten a calf with a special permit or sell a little bit of land without permission from the State? what is the use of such regulations. the Landvogt Gessler said, 'I won't allow peasants to build houses without my permission'.
the word 'democracy', which is perverted by the Communists, their so-called 'popular democracies' being neither democracies nor popular, is far from being a precise term even in the free world. a more exact classification of democracies is indeed long overdue. even in a small country such as SW there are not only differences in the democratic governments of the different
150 Cantons which are recognized officially in the words employed to differentiate, for instance, the landes gemeinde from other forms of democratic government, but also differences of attitude as yet undefined in actual terms, the difference, for instance, between what i suggest might be described as personal and impersonal democracies.
the Landesgemeinde, which still function in the mountain Cantons of Glarus, Appenzell and Unterwalden, are assemblies in which every adult citizen meets and approves or rejects laws submitted to the entire adult citizenship of the Canton. this is indeed government of the people by the people for the people, and not government of the people by a political party mainly for the supporters of that party. 'where the entire people' writes Dr Richard Weiss in his fascinating book, Volkskunde der Schweiz, 'stands shoulder to shoulder and almost every man knows every other member of the community, wher the administration is from man to man rather than from office to office, from mouth to mouth and not from paper to paper, as it still is in the Landesgemeinde Cantons of Glarus, appenzell and Unterwalden, there is still a close contact between Home and state. there one still says 'Land' when one means State and Home'.
this mountain democracy of the Berglers, as the mountain men describe themselves, is not a manufactured constitution imposed from above, like the democratic constitutions imposed on India and Nigeria in imitation of the west. it is an organic democracy which has evolved naturally and has its popular roots in local government in the various Gemeinde which are responsible for local affairs, such as the Kirchgemeinde and Schulgemeinde. patriotism begins, as Burke somewhere says, with our feeling for the little platoon' of which we are a member. the contrast between what I have called personal as opposed to impersonal democracy is reflected in the Berglers' attitude to the State. whereas the urban proletariat seek to change the State and transform it from a bourgeois-capitalistic into a Socialist of Marxist State, the peasant dislikes the State as such. the very word State did not exist in the old folk language, to the Bergler the word suggests taxes, , innumerable forms to fill up and the modern successors of the old Bailiffs, the Habsburg Vogte. as a
151 result, there has always been a cleavage between the laws imposed by the State and the customs and ethical codes which have evolved organically in the community. hence the popular saying that Orstbrauch is superior to Landrecht.
Newman's contrast between 'real assent' and 'notional assent' could be illustrated by the contrast between the notional assent which the Bergler gives to what the law enjoins and his real assent to the code of the community. a Bergler gives to what the law enjoins and his real assent to the code of the community. a Bergler who lived in one of the valleys of the Bundner Oberland, whose southern mountains divide SW from Italy, was convicted of smuggling. his righteous indignation was passionate in its sincerity. he explained that he had no other profession and that he had been a smuggler since the age of 16 and had a wife and children to support. he might have committed an offence against Landrecht but he had acted in accordance with Ortsbrouch.
'those who, to quote Burke once again, are so preoccupied with the rights of man that they have totally forgotten his nature' tend to equate democracy with egalitarianism. democracy is only egalitarian in so far as elections are decided by the egalitarian principle of one man one vote, but man is a hierarchical animal and snobbery is the key to evolution, for if our ape-like ancestors had been less anxious to climb the social ladder, we should still be climbing trees.
in SW, as elsewhere, the egalitarianism of the sinner which is inspired by resentment of superiority,'I'm as good as you are, is more common than the egalitarianism of the saint which is based on humility, 'You're as good as I am', and the Berglers have always been quick to condemn any pretentions acquired by those who had iced with the great world. in the 17th century the Grisons held the key to the Valtelline, the strategically important valley coveted both by the French and the Austrians. ambassadors from the Grisons were treated with great honour at the French Court and some of them were painted in their ambassadorial robes, but in the family portraits which were displayed in their homes they were indistinguishable so far as clothes were concerned from their fellow citizens.
there was nothing egalitarian about the republican simplicity which would have made it impossible
for one of the leading citizens of the Grisons, which was then an independent State, to hang on the walls of his own home a portrait of himself in the
152 court dress which he wore at the Court of the French King. nor was the official who posted the results of a ski race in which the Spanish Prince, H.R.H. Prince Alonso de Orleans-Bourbon, had apostle of egalitarianism. a mild comment of mine on 'Bourbon, had competed and who described him as Bourbon, Alf, a doctrinaire apostle of egalitarianism. a mild comment of mine on 'Bourbon, Alf' elicited from another Swiss the retort, 'we Swiss are not interested in titles. 'Why then, I asked, is one of the competitors described on the result list as 'Dr Roth'?..'He earned the title of 'Doctor', but the Prince's title came out of the bed'. 'so did the doctor's title, I retorted. 'Brains are just as much an accident of birth as the title of Prince.' but my friend was unconvinced.
it would, however, be wrong to assume that achievement is all that counts with Berglers and that the Bergler hierarchy ignores all 'aus dem Bett' qualifications. in Grindelwald, those who can trace theri descent from the first settlers who migrated from the Lotschental in the 13th century, feel themselves very much the superiors of those whose forebears emigrated from the shores of lake Brienz and settled in the valley in the 18th century and both groups refer with disdain to recent arrivals as Zuehagaschlingget, which may be rendered, 'those who have slunk in'. in Murren the old Murren families will often foregather and inveigh against the fact that most of the money in Murren goes into the pockets of the Fetzel, a pejorative term applied to those who are not Murrenites by birth but who have acquired hotels or shops in Murren.
in many mountain valleys the Burgers constitute an oligarchy based on birth. every Bergler has the right to vote in elections for the Gemeinde which is responsible for the affairs of the community, but you do not acquire merely by residence any right to join the Burgerschaft, which is often a considerable property owner. in Zermatt, for instance, the Burgerschaft not only owns the grazing rights of the cattle alps but also two hotels, the hotel on the Riffelberg and the Zermatterhof in Zermatt.
Zermatt was created as a tourist centre by Alexander Seiler, who was a Burger of the little village of Blitzingen in the Upper Rhone Valley. his application to become a Burger of Zermatt was refused. though a Valaisian, and though the Burger of a village less than 100 miles from Zermatt, he was still
153 regarded as a quasi-foreigner. he appealed to the Canton of Valais, who fixed a sum which he would be required to pay to become a Burger and insisted that he be admitted. the Burgers appealed to the Nationalrat in Berne (one of the two houses of Parliament) and when they supported the Canton, the Burgerschaft appealed to the Bundesrat (the Cabinet), the Bundesversammlung (both houses of Parliament) and finally to the Federal Court of Appeal in Lausanne, which confirmed the findings of the Bundesrat, Nationalrat and Cantonal government. but it was not until the Swiss Government sent a platoon of soldiers to Zermatt that the Burgers gave in. that was on april 7, 1889, but the main fight did not end with the admission of the Seilers. when the Gornergrat railway was built, the Burgers were delighted that the railway passed conveniently close to the Riffelberg Hotel, which they owned, but was separated from the Riffelalp Hotel, owned by the Seilers, by land which the Burgers owned. the Seilers opened negotiations to buy the necessary land to build a little road from the Riffelalp station to their hotel, but the Burgers refused to sell. the Seilers thereupon asked the Federal Government for a concession to build a RAILWAY from the Riffelalp station to their hotel. this concession was granted. the necessary land for the railway was expropriated by the Federal Government and the little electric tram which transports luggage from the station to the hotel is,in theory, the railway for which the Seilers obtained the concession.
now, as I have said, Alexander Seiler belonged to the same Canton as the Zermatter Burgers, but he might as well have been a foreigner. I remember once reminding the organizer of a race in a famous Oberland centre that according to one of the international rules, for which I was in fact responsible, the referee had to be a foreigner. 'but we did appoint a foreigner', exclaimed my friend. in this case the 'foreigner' came from Berne.
some of the fiercest mountain feuds are not between valley and valley but between parties in the same mountain village. nothing could be more misleading than the widely held conception of the Swiss as rather dull, worthy, law-abiding democrats, the conception which finds expression in the remark of one of the characters in graham Greene's The Third Man, 'the Swiss have had 5 centuries of peace and democracy and what have the produced? the cuckoo clock.' during these 5 centuries
154 of alleged peace, SW has been the scene of 3 civil wars and 7 wars against foreign powers. prior to the 19th century SW was not a democracy but a federation of quasi-sovereign cantons, some of which were democratic, some of which were governed by oligarchies and some of which were subject cantons, Vaud, for instance, which was governed by Berne. finally, though cuckoo clocks are now made in SW, they originated in the Black Forest and the Swiss who are rightly proud of their watch industry much resent being credited with the paternity of the cuckoo clock.
a great charm of SW is its cultural variety. there are, of course, many Swiss who conform to the popular conception of worthy law-abiding democrats, but this particular type was not over-represented among those citizens of Saxon who supply the Swiss market with fruit, and who resented the climatic injustice which enables Italian fruit to ripen earlier and reach the Swiss market before the fruit grown in SW. their protest took the form of burning a freight train full of Italian fruit on its way through Saxon.
there are mountain valleys in which local politics evoke passions and violence reminiscent of city feuds in Renaissance Italy. there is a certain village, which I do not propose to name, in a canton which I prefer not to indicate, the report of whose elections in a local paper circulating through that region ended with the words, 'we are glad to report that nobody was killed during the elections', but this reassuring statement was followed in the Stop Press news column with the statement , 'We regret to report that there was one fatal casualty of which we were unaware when we wrote our report, but only one, which is an improvement on last year'.
the elections are important because of the spoils system. the party in power have a certain amount of patronage to dispose of. there are mountain villages where 40 % of the population belong to one family clan and another 40% to another family clan. each clan has its own candidates for every post and it's own local Wirtschaft. even the cows are sometimes made to feel the results of the collective vendetta.
mountain valleys are, of course, feeling the effects of the wind of change which sweeps up from the towns and plains. in the Inner Oberland, many of the Berglers, including most of those
155 who work on railways, were captured for the socialist Party by two brilliant schoolmasters, but the Bergler socialist is very different from the urban Socialist. the Bergler is never a marxist.
moreover, even in those mountain valleys where the two-clan system still prevais, the multiple-party system is gradually being adopted, even though it is often the target for mockery by those who feel that the traditional two-party feud is ideal. Dr. Weiss quotes in this connection the uninhibited comment on the multi-party system in an open discussion by a pratigauer peasant (note- quote in german? Swiss?) I am no expert on Swiss dialects, but the sense of the above seems to me clear: 'formerly there were only 2 parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives and for that reason it worked well. now there is a whole lot of parties, but Mother Helvetia has not more than 2 breasts. I have finished'.
THE INFLUENCE OF MOUNTAINS IN PRESERVING LOCAL CULTURES.
the Far West Kandahar had just been successfully completed in the Yosemite, and the cup itself, presented by the Kandahar ski Club, had been won by a Swiss, Martin Fopp of Davos. he had spent only a few weeks in America and he was suffering from an acute attack of homesickness.
'In SW, he said, you travel a few hours and the language changes and the customs change....(that has a charm. but here you travel 6000 kilometres from New York to San Francisco and you find the same newspaper and the same good and the same people as when you started'.
if he had know America better he would have appreciated the great difference between New York and San Francisco, but it is undeniable that cultural differences are tending to disappear. in the 19th century the Boston Brahmin, the Kentucky Colonel, the southern aristocrat and the Far West Pioneer were sharply differentiated types, but today radio and television and other means of mass communication are eroding regional differences. the same process is at work in SW, but it meets with more resistance. the great mission of the mountains is to
156 keep people apart, and it is the fierce sense of independence, native to mountain valleys, which preserves cultural differences. every true Swiss can make his own the prayer,...(May God preserve our variety in unity).
there is indeed, as Martin Foop truly said, a great Reiz in all the sharp contrast of this mountain land. you can travel in few hours from Zurich which is industrial, progressive and increasingly secular in its dominant ethos, to mountain valleys in Catholic SW, such as the Maderanertal, in which the middle ages still linger.
we are assured by St Paul that 'evil communications corrupt good manners'. maybe, but good communications corrupt them even more rapidly, every improvement in communication, particularly in the dissemination of ideas, has an erosive effect on regional cultures. compare, for instance, the statues and altars and stained glass prior to the period when the mass distribution of religious prints began, with the pictures and statues of Our Lord and the saints which date from the second half of the 19th century. the older artists were familiar with the work of their predecessors in their native valley or perhaps in some neighbouring town; they were not copyists. even their least accomplished work was not wholly derivative. it had the rude vigour of genuine creative work. but in the 19th and still more in the 20th century, the market was flooded by mass-produced religious pictures, prints and statures, with the deplorable results we all know.
THE FACTUAL ELEMENT IN THE HALLER-ROUSSEAU IDEALIZATION OF THE BERGLER
Haller's idealization, which Rousseau adopted, of the Alpine peasant, uncorrupted by ambition and uninfected by avarice, was not wholly devoid of factual basis. it is, of course, absurd to maintain that the peasant is uninfected by avarice, but of all forms of avarice land hunger is the least ignoble, the land hunger so eloquently described by De Tocqueville.
'the French peasant before the Revolution was, so De Tocqueville declares,...''he is so passionately in love with the earth that he devotes all his savings to buying it and buys it whatever the cost. he buries his heart with the seed. this little corner of the earth which belongs to him in all the vast universe fills him with pride and independence'. L'ancien Regime, Liv. II, Ch, I.
157 an important test of a healthy society is the proper distribution of power between town and country. Stalin's attempt to liquidate the Kulak would have been impossible had not all power in the State been transferred to the urban Marxists. in SW the Bergler has till great influence politically, for the Swiss still agree, in the main, with the author of that mediaeval book, A Christian Admonition, who wrote: 'THE FARMER MUST IN ALL THINGS BE PROTECTED AND ENCOURAGED, FOR ALL DEPEND ON HIS LABOUR from the Emperor to the humblest of mankind, and his handiwork is particularly honourable and well pleasing to God'.
every great culture is born within the economy of the small town, village and farm...
it was because Virgil 'knew the country gods' and because Wordsworth's 'daily teachers had been woods and hills' that Virgil and Wordsworth are of the company of immortals. it was no accident that the greatest poet of classical antiquity should have written the Georgics which is not only noble poetry but also a practical guide to farming.
few would deny that an urban civilization is greater danger to religion than life on the land. Jefferson, perhaps the greatest of the Founding Fathers of America, said that the proportion of its unsound to its healthy parts...I view great cities as pestilential to the morals, the health and the liberties of man'.
Dr Alex Carrel, one of the world's greatest biologists and Nobel prizewinner, in his famous book, Man the Unknown, analyses the evil influence of an industrial civilization on mankind. he was particularly preoccupied with the flight from beauty. here are some quotations from man the Unknown:
'the descendants of the men who conceived and erected the monastery of Mont Saint-Michel no longer understand its splendour. they cheerfully accept the indescribable ugliness of the
158 modern houses in Normandy and Brittany, and especially in the Paris suburbs'.
'during the history of a civilization, the sense of beauty, the moral sense, grows, reaches its optimum, declines and disappears'.
'despite the marvels of scientific civilization, human personality tends to dissolve'.
'the peasant owning his land, the fisherman owning his boat, although obliged to work hard, are nevertheless masters of themselves and their time.' (these above quotes on pp. 130-1;293-4)
the Bergler is a democrat but he is a Tory democrat. he believes in progress but he does not despise tradition. he would agree with Burke that 'a people will not look forward to posterity who never looked back to their ancestors. a disposition to preserve and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman'. now Burke alone among his contemporaries diagnosed the true motive of the Jacobins, which was to transfer the balance of power from the country to the towns, and to use the country as a 'mere sustenance for the towns', a process completed in soviet Russia but firmly checked in SW where the interests of the peasants are still treated with great respect.
the Bergler in touch with nature is realistic in his political outlook, for Virgil's justissima tellus encourages no utopian illusions. the 'most just earth' gives nothing for nothing. the peasnt knows that man must sow before he can reap and that a man must not only vote but also work for 'the more abundant life'.
there was, as I have tried to show in the preceding pages, some factual basis for Haller's idealization of the Bergler religion and the natural virtues have less to contend with in the mountains than in the cities. even today divorce is not fashionable in mountain valleys and marriages tend, in the main, to be stable. I know, of course, that the Bergler is in a state of transition, and that some of my observations are ceasing to be true of the modern Bergler. I remember feeling depressed by the evidence of change in the Lotschental. on the January day in 1909, when we climbed slowly from Kippel to the Lotschenjucke, the Lotschental was a lovely remote valley unconnected either by rail or motor road with the outer world. today the railway
159 station of Goppenstein on the Lotschberg line is at the entrance to the Lotschental, and a motor road penetrates as far as Blatten. in my youth there was not a house in the valley which one could not look at but with pleasure, but today the valley is desecrated by some very ugly modern buildings.
'you ask me, a Swiss friend of mine said, 'whether the influence of the tourist on the Bergler has in the main been good. well, you know the Lotschental. 100 years ago, life was hard but the men and women who lived in this remote valley were in the main happy. they had few wants. there was the Church and the great Feast Days which gave colour to life and still do and the peasants would meet together and drink wine and sing in chorus, but now they have become CONSCIOUS OF A LARGER LIFE WITH MORE PLEASURES AND THEY ARE BECOMING DISSATISFIED. there is now a plan to develop winter sports in the Lotschental and they will run up ski lifts and there will be cocktail bars and perhaps a winter sports variant of La Dolce Vita and where will it end?
yes, the winds of change are blowing through these mountain valleys, bringing with them the seeds of scepticism in ultimate values, the scepticism from which great civilizations have perished in the past, for as Dr. Monk Gibbon in his delightful autobiography, Mount Ida, rightly says, 'THE TRUTH IS THAT A CIVILIZATION COLLAPSES WHEN THE ESSENTIAL REVERENCE FOR ABSOLUTE VALUES WHICH RELIGION GIVES DISAPPEARS. Rome discovered that in the days of her decadence. men live on the accumulated Faith of the past as well as on its accumulated self-discipline. overthrow these and nothing seems missing at first, a few sexual taboos, a little of the prejudices of a Cato, these have gone by the board. but SOMETHING ELSE HAS GONE AS WELL, THE MORTAR WHICH HELD SOCIETY TOGETHER, THE I-N-T-E-G-R-I-T-Y (def. Latin integer (whole) and -ity state of...state of wholeness) - OF THE INDIVIDUAL SOUL; then the rats come out of their holes and begin burrowing under the foundations and there is nothing to withstand them.'
the rats are burrowing under the foundations of the Bergler life, but though these foundations need to be reinforced, they have not yet been irreparably undermined.
Monday, March 13, 2017
3.13.2017 POEMS ON LIFE
373 AIN'T IT FINE TODAY
sure, this world is full of trouble -
I ain't said it ain't.
Lord! I've had enough and double
reason for complaint.
rain an' storm have come to fret me
skies are often gray;
thorns an' brambles have beset me
skies are often gray;
thorns an' bramble have beset me
on the road, but say,
ain't it fine today!
what's the use of always weepin',
makin' trouble last?
what's the use of always keepin'
thinkin' of the past?
each must have his tribulation,
water with his wine.
life ain't no celebration.
Trouble? I've had mine -
but today is fine.
it's today that I am livin',
not a month ago,
havin', losin', takin', givin'
as time will have it so.
yesterday a cloud of sorrow
fell across the way;
it may rain again tomorrow,
it may rain - but, say,
ain't it fine today!
Douglas Malloch
THE LIFE THAT COUNTS
the life that counts must aim to rise
above the earth to sunlit sky;
must fix its gaze on paradise -
that is the life that counts.
the life that counts must helpful be;
that cares and needs of others see;
must seek the slave of sin to free -
that is the life that counts.
Author unknown
IF - Daisy Moore Bynum
if, as I live, I could become
immune to beauty's call
and never be affected
by a lovely rose at all,
if I could watch a sunset
and not become inspired
nor by a burning bush
that autumn flame has fired,
or have a friend to play me false
and never shed a tear,
and to another friend in pain
I'd turn a deafened ear,
i'm sure, then, I'd suffer less
if all of this were so;
but, it it were, i'd just as well
have died long years ago.
374 CHILDREN IN THE MARKET-PLACE
like children, in the market-place
who weary of their play,
we turn from folly's idle race
and come to Thee today.
O Jesus, teller of the tale
that never will grow old,
Thy words of living truth prevail
our listening hearts to hold.
tell us of Father-love that speaks
peace to the wandering child
of valiant shepherd-love that seeks
the lost sheep in the wild;
of deep Redeemer-love that knows
what sins we need forgiven,
and on the Magdalen bestows
the purest joy of Heaven.
tell us of faith that's like a sword ,
and hope that's like a star;
how great the patient soul's reward,
how blest the loyal are.
tell us of courage like a wall
no storm can batter down;
tell us of men who venture all
for Thee and win a crown.
tell us that life is not a game,
but real and brave and true;
a journey with a glorious aim,
a quest to carry through,
tell us that though our wills are weak
and though we children be,
the everlasting good we seek
we can attain through Thee.
Henry Van Dyke
375 STOCK TAKING
I pause, amidst the clamor of the swiftly moving days
and write the ledger of my life, 'neath Thy all-seeing gaze,
I list in either column the profit and the loss,
the victories that were golden, the failure that were dross.
I look upon the credits with glowing heart and eye,
the faith and courage added as day by day went by;
the lessons Thou hast taught me as I journeyed on my way,
the patience Thou has brought me through many a weary day,
the measure of Thy love which to others I have shown,
the wonder of Thy presence made manifest and known.
and then I scan the debits through swiftly falling tears,
the hours of fretful worry, beset by faithless fear.
the deeds, so often selfish and just for men to see,
the motives, oft unworthy, that brought no joy to Thee.
the times when i have failed to show Thy love in word and deed,
to be a channel Thou couldst use to meet another's need;
the blotted entries, smudged and spoiled by sin and bitterness,
and marvel at Thy changeless love and my unworthiness.
an for the stock on hand, two entries there I place,
my ever-present need - Thy never-failing grace.
Great Keeper of the Records, when Thou take stock o me
what dost THOU see? Joan Suisted
CIRCUMSTANCES - Albert Simpson Reitz
circumstance? how we pet them,
how we give them right of way!
but the Master never planned that
we should be beneath their sway.
we who know Him walk the highway
where the victors all have trod.
circumstance cannot conquer
in the presence of our God.
Paul made circumstance serve him,
made them glorify His Lord;
turned each trial into blessing
as he boldly preached the word.
'these things turned to my advantage'
this old warrior used to say;
'for our good they work together',
tho' the darkness shroud the day.
why should christians live beneath them,
and not walk the heights with Him?
circumstance? we're above them,
though they often seem so grim.
'more than victors' - this the promise,
and Christ bids us cast out fear;
for we triumph o'er all testing
with the Master ever near.
Albert Simpson Reitz
376 SO I STAY NEAR THE DOOR
I stay near the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
the door is the most important door in the world -
it is the door through which men walk when they find God.
there' no use my going way inside and staying here,
when so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
crave to know where the door is.
and all that so many ever find
is only the wall where the door ought to be.
they creep along the wall like blind men,
with outstretched, groping hands,
feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
yet they never find it...
so i stay near the door.
the most tremendous thing in the world
is for men to find that door - the door to God.
the most important thing any man can do
i to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
and put it on the latch - the latch that only clicks
and opens to the man's own touch.
men die outside that door, as starving beggars die
on cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter -
die for want of what is within their grasp.
they live, on the other side of it - live because they have found it.
nothing else matters compare to helping them find it.
and open it and walk in and find Him...
so I stay near the door.
Go in, great saints, go all the way in -
go way down into the cavernous cellar,
and way up into the spacious attics -
it is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.
go into the deepest of hidden casements,
of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood,
some must inhabit those inner room,
and know the depths and heights of God,
and call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
sometime i take a deeper look in,
sometime venture in a little farther;
but my place seems closer to the opening...
so i stay near the door.
377 there is another reason why I stay there,
some people get part way in and become afraid
lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
for God is so very great and asks all of us.
and these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia,
and want to get out. 'Let me out! they cry.
and the people way inside only terrify them more.
somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled
for the old life, they have seen too much:
once taste God and nothing but God will do any more.
somebody must be watching for the frightened
who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
to tell them how much better it is inside.
the people too far in do not see how near they are
to leaving - preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
but would like to run away. so for them, too,
i stay near the door.
I admire the people who go way in.
but I wish they would not forget how it was
before they got in. then they would be able to help
the people who have not yet even found the door.
or the people who want to run away from God.
you can go in too deeply and stay in too long,
and forget the people outside the door.
as for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
but not so far from men as not to hear them,
and remember they are here, too.
Where? outside the door -
thousands of them, millions of them.
but - more important for me -
one of them, two of them, ten of them,
whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
so I shall stay by the door and wait
for those who see it.
'I had rather be a door-keeper... (note: this is, I believe from the Psalms..and concludes....'in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness'.)
so I stay near the door.
Samuel M. Shoemaker
378 ALIVE - Nellie Good
if I fail to catch the music in the gently falling rain,
if the splendors of the sunset spread their hues for me in vain,
if my heart sends back no echo to the bird in yonder tree -
though my purse should hold a million, I would still a pauper be.
if the triumphs of my fellows wake no thrill within my breast,
if the task that waits the doing spurs me not to do my best,
if I do not find fresh courage with each day that passes by -
then the beggar at the corner needs his crutches less than I.
379 A LITTLE FELLOW FOLLOWS ME
a careful man I ought to be,
a little fellow follows me,
I do not dare to go astray
for fear he'll go the selfsame way.
not once can i escape his eyes;
whate'er he sees me do he tries.
like me says he's going to be
that little chap who follows me.
he thinks that I am good and fine;
believes in every word of mine.
the base in me he must not see
that little chap who follows me.
I must remember as i go,
thro' summer sun and winter snow,
I'm building fro the years to be
that little chap who follows me.
Author unknown
IN CHRIST WE HAVE - Author Unknown
A love that can never be fathomed;
A life that can never die;
A righteousness that can never be tarnished;
A peace that can never be understood;
A rest that can never be disturbed;
A job that can never be diminished;
A hope that can never be disappointed;
A glory that can never be clouded;
A light that can never be darkened;
a purity that can never be defiled;
a beauty that can never be marred.
APPRECIATION - Clarence Edwin Flynn
despise no spot. there's not a place
from which joy hides its smiling face
or whence a hero may not come,
or greatness may not make its home.
despise no hour. the drabbest time
may be the one to sound the chime
of freedom from the toils and tears,
and sorrows of a thousand years.
despise no task, however small.
life honors each and uses all.
what builds the story of the land?
the patient toil of unknown hands.
despise no road that feet must go.
the roughest, hardest path you know
may be the one whose course is cast
toward the fairest scene at last.
despise no soul. god scorneth none.
His image is on every one.
in shadows where no trumpet swells
this moment many a great heart dwells.
380 FOUR DOGS - Author unknown
there were four dogs one summer day
went out for a morning walk,
and as they trotted along their way
they began to laugh and talk!
said Dog No. 1, 'I really think
my master is very wise;
for he builds houses tall and grand
that reach clear up to the skies!'
Said Dog No. 2, in a scornful tone,
'Ho, ho! that's wonderful - yes!
but listen to me -my master writes books!
He's sold a million, I guess!
the Dog No. 3 tossed his curly head
and gave a sly little wink;
'that's nothing to tell! My master is rich!
he owns half the world, I think!
the fourth little dog had been trotting along,
with a wise, reflective mind;
at last he said, with a happy smile,
'My master - he is kind!
now, if your opinion should be asked,
i wonder what you would say!
which dog paid the sweetest compliment
to his master on that day?
BE WITH ME LORD - John Oxenham
through every minute of this day,
Be with me, Lord!
through every day of all this week,
Be with me, Lord!
through every week of all this year,
Be with me, Lord!
through all the years of all this life,
Be with me, Lord!
381 LOST - Author unknown
What? lost your temper, did you say?
well, dear, I would not mind it.
it is not such a dreadful loss -
Pray do not try to find it.
it chased the dimples all away,
and wrinkled up your forehead.
and changed a pretty, smiling face
to one - well, simply horrid.
it put to flight the cheery words,
the laughter and the singing
and clouds upon the shining sky
it would persist in bring.
and now it's gone. then, do, my dear,
make it your best endeavor
to quickly find a better one,
and lose it never, never.
HOUSE CLEANING
I fling out fear and discontent
and give my doubts the broom,
then bring in cheer and merriment
to fill each empty room.
the windows darkened by distress,
i'll brighten up again
and wash with suds of cheerfulness
to let the sunshine in.
i'll toss out selfishness and hate,
then buy a box of love
so big it barely clears the gate
and ceiling high above.
Oh, yes, this year house-cleaning time
has me on reverent knees,
scrubbing my heart of moral grime
to win great victories.
Nicholas Lloyd Ingraham
MYSELF - Edwin C. Swanson
I live with myself each livelong day:
I know what I think; I hear what I say;
my mind is to me a secret book;
its covers are closed; other eyes may not look;
yet once in a while i pass on a thought
that comes from its pages so secretly wrought.
today i was thinking of thoughts high and low,
when my ship, mental ship, was caught in the flow
of eternity's stream flowing deep, sweeping wide,
and inwardly awed, I silently cried:
'How great are God's thoughts, how solemn, how high,
i cannot attain them, though hard i may try.'
then caught in the vortex of sin and despair,
i remembered His word and uttered this prayer:
'O God of dominion, eternal in power,
remember Thy servant and free him this hour
from thoughts that are low to thoughts that are high,
and lift mine eyes to Thy limitless sky'.
382 GOD SHOWS IN YOUR FACE
You don't have to tell how you live each day,
you don't have to say if you work or you play.
a tried, true barometer serves in the place;
however you live, it will show in your face.
the false, the deceit that you bear in your heart
will not stay inside where it first got a start;
for sinew and blood are a thin veil of lace;
what you wear in your heart, you wear in your face.
if your life is unselfish, if for others you live,
for not what you get, but for who much you can give;
if you live close to god, in his infinite grace,
you don't have to tell it: it shows in your face.
Author unknown
DON'T FIND FAULT - Author unknown
pray don't find fault with the man who limps
or stumbles along the road,
unless you have worn the shoes that he wears,
or struggled beneath his load.
there may be tacks in the shoes that hurt,
though hidden away from view;
or burdens he bears placed on you back
might cause you to stumble too.
don't sneer at the man who's down today
unless you have felt the blow
that caused his fall or felt the same
that only the fallen know.
you may be strong but yet the blow
that was his, if dealt to you
in the selfsame way, or at the selfsame time,
might cause you to stagger, too.
don't be too harsh with the man who sins,
or pelt him with words or stones,
unless you are sure - yea, doubly sure,
that you have not sins of your own.
for you know, perhaps, if the tempter's voice
should whisper as soft to you
as it did to him when he went astray
it would cause you to falter too.
383 A SMILE - Author unknown
a smile costs nothing but gives much -
it takes but a moment, but the memory
of it usually lasts forever.
none are so rich that can get along
without it -
and none are so poor but that can
Be made rich by it.
it enriches those who receive
without making poor those who give -
it creates sunshine in the home,
fosters good will in business
and is a good antidote for trouble -
and yet it cannot be begged, borrowed
or stolen, for it is of no value
unless it is freely given away.
some people are too busy to give
you a smile -
give them one of yours -
for the good Lord knows that no one
needs a smile so badly
as he or she who has no more
smiles left to give.
384 DIAMONDS - Virginia Call
diamonds are only chunks of coal
that stuck to their jobs, you see;
if they'd petered out, as most of us do,
where would the diamonds be?
it isn't the fact of making a start,
it's the sticking that counts. I'll say,
it's the fellow that knows not the meaning of fall,
but hammers and hammers away.
whenever you think you've come to the end,
and you're beaten as bad as can be,
remember that diamonds are chunks of coal,
that stuck to their jobs, you see.
DISAGREEING WITH GOD - Beverly Haglund
we call Him 'Lord' and believe His
Word,
we're careful all along our way.
and yet he says, 'why call me 'Lord'
and do not the things i say?
He tells us to forgive our brother
and we say we do, but, oh,
the lives we live speak out in truth,
'not so, my Lord, not so'.
believe in prayer? of course we do.
his great promises we know.
and yet, attendance at prayer meeting
speaks forth, 'not so, not so.
we know he makes all grace abound,
and gives us all we need.
and still we hold each penny dear,
'not so, my lord, we plead.
we read the words, 'Be anxious for naught'.
and yet we worry so.
we know the verse, believe its truth,
and yet we say, 'Not so'.
my brother, what will he say to you,
when the race of life is done/
'depart from me, I know you not'
or 'well done, my beloved one'?
385 YOU CAN BE ONE! - Edith C. Lilly
when you're looking for a christian
who daily walks with God;
one who has a perfect conscience,
does not chafe beneath the rod;
one who keeps himself peculiar
and unspotted from the world;
while his gaze is fixed on heave
tho' hell's darts at him be hurled -
well - you may not see one,
but you can be one.
Tho' the church be far from perfect,
as the members each you scan;
some hypocrites you find and
others missing Heaven's plan;
some are lazy, some too zealous,
some as stubborn as a mule -
still you search for such a christian
as will measure to your rule -
well - you may not see one,
but you can be one.
in God's people, oh, what patience,
what tenderness you find;
what sincerity and meekness,
what purity of mind;
but so many who are perfect
in motive and in heart,
in performance may seem lacking,
so remember from the start -
tho' you may not see one,
still you can be one.
God has never promised others
you demands would have to face;
but however high your standards,
you can live hem by His grace;
no ideals have yet depleted
what God's grace can do for you;
but when checking for a christian
by the thing YOU have to do -
Tho' you may not see one,
still you can be one.
386 INVENTORY - Ellen McKay Trimmer
Busy? Yes, Lord, in the midst of the conflict,
working and striving thy servant to be,
pleading with sinners, helping the stumbling,
yet with my first love grown cold unto thee.
Where is the thrill that once came with Thy presence?
where, lord, the blessing once found in thy word?
can it be i am so lost in thy service
that by thyself i no longer am stirred?
Lord, let me no more grow dull to Thy presence,
fill my cold heart with the warmth of thy love;
never again need my poor soul go hungry,
satisfied daily with food from above.
IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
an old man stood at eventide
and looked across the bygone years;
for what he was he shed great tears.
a misspent life - O that was it -
his time was gone, his talent lost;
how sad to think and then admit
it was too late to count the cost!
he might have been - O who can guess?
no one indeed but god can know;
he might have been a saint - no less -
to help, to lift, to shine and glow;
or like a mighty ship at sea
that's brought its cargo safe to land,
he might have brought to you and me
some blessings rich from God's great hand.
he studied of the golden days
he lived in sin and wrongly spent;
of how he walked in evil ways,
and maybe others downward sent,
whom he, perhaps, by word and deed,
by prayer and good examples set,
might in their lives have sown the seed
that would have God's approval met.
Too late, alas! the time was spent,
the opportunities were dead;
and though with tears he might repent,
and God would save from fear and dread,
he can't recall the misspent past;
it's gone to stay for evermore;
but who can tell the glories vast
he's missed beyond this earthly shore?
387 SING! Author unknown
there are hearts that are crushed by the cares of the road,
and hurt by the strife of the day;
there are lonely souls who dwell apart,
'Neath skies that are always grey.
spirits that bear no friendly voice,
who are strangers to mirth and cheer;
creatures who dwell in a barren world,
who weep through nights long and drear.
and perhaps, as we travel the highway of life -
if our hearts are open to see,
we may meet these care-laden pilgrims
and ministering spirits be.
for the joy of your heart was given to share -
if imprisoned, it's destined to die;
and a weeping world will respond to your song,
if you sing as the world goes by.
A MINUTE - Author unknown
two or three minutes - two or three hours -
what do they mean in this life of ours/
not very much if but counted as time,
but minutes of god and hours sublime
if we will use them once in a while
to make someone happy, someone smile.
a minute may dry a little lad's tears.
minutes of my time may bring to an end
hopelessness, somewhere, and give me a friend!
389 BUILDING - Gilbert Keith Chesterton
I watched them tearing a building down -
a gang of men in a busy town -
with a yo-heave-ho and a lust yell,
they swung a beam and the side wall fell.
i asked the foreman; 'Are these men skilled -
the kind you would hire if you wanted to build?
he laughed and said: 'why, no indeed,
just common labour is all I need;
they can easily wreck in a day or two
what builders have taken years to do'.
i asked myself, as i went my way,
which of these roles have i tried today?
am I a builder, who works with care,
measuring life by the rule and square,
shaping my deeds by the well-made plan,
patiently doing the best I can?
or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
content with the labour of tearing down?
`
390 HE CANNOT HEAL - Lillian R. Dickson
He cannot heal who has not suffered much,
for only sorrow, sorrow understands;
they will not come for healing at our touch
who have not seen the scars upon our hands.
395 'TWAS A SHEEP...NOT A LAMB
It was sheep - not a lamb, that strayed away
in the parable Jesus told:
a grown-up sheep that had gone astray
from the ninety and nine in the fold.
out in the meadows, out in the cold,
'twas a sheep the Good Shepherd sought:
back to the flock and into the fold,
'Twas a sheep the good Shepherd brought.
and why, for the sheep, should we earnestly long,
and so earnestly hope and pray?
because there is danger, if they go wrong,
they will lead the young lambs astray.
for the lambs follow the sheep, you know,
wherever the sheep may stray:
if the sheep go wrong, it will not be long
till the lams are as wrong as they.
so, with thee sheep we earnestly plead,
for the sake of he lambs today:
if the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost
some sheep may have to pay.
Author unknown
397 THE CROSS - William Cowper
'Tis my happiness below
not to live without the cross;
but the Saviour's power to know,
sanctifying ev'ry loss.
trials must and will befall;
but with humble faith to see
love inscribed upon them all, -
this is happiness to me.
did I meet no trials here,
no chastisement by the way,
might I not with reason fear
i should prove a castaway?
Trials make the promise sweet;
trials give new life to prayer;
bring me to my Saviour's feet,
lay me low and keep me there.
398 - LITTLE THINGS - Unknown author
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?
what will it matter whether hearts
were brave,
and lives were true, that you gave me
the sympathy i caved, as I gave you?
these trifles, can it be
they make or mar a human life?
are souls as lightly waved as rushes
are by storm or strife? Yea! Yea!
a look the failing heart may break,
or make it whole
and just a word said for love's sweet sake
may save a soul.
THE WILL OF GOD - Frederick William Faber
I worship The, 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 see thee bring to nought
the plans of wily men;
when simple hearts outwit the wise,
Oh, Thou art loveliest then.
thee headstrong world it presses hard
upon the church full oft,
and then how easily thou turnst
the hard ways into soft.
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 of
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 men 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.
400 HELP ME LIVE! - Charles Gabriel
If i have wounded any soul today,
If i have caused one foot to go astray,
If I have walked in my own willful way -
Dear lord, forgive!
If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain
lest i myself should suffer through the strain -
Dear Lord, forgive!
If I have been perverse or hard or cold,
If I have longed for shelter in thy fold,
when Thou hast given me some part to hold -
Dear Lord, forgive!
Forgive the wrong i have confessed to thee,
Forgive the wrong, the secret wrongs, I do not see;
that which I know not, master, teach Thou me -
Help me to live!
401 THE LADDER OF SAINT AUGUSTINE
saint Augustine! well hast thou said,
that of our vices we can frame
a ladder, id 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 low desire, the base design,
that makes another's virtues less;
the revel of the ruddy wine,
and all occasions of excess;
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 tho'ts of ill;
whatever hinders or impedes
the action of the nobler will:-
all these must first e 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 mighty pyramids of stone
that wedge-like cleave the desert
airs,
when nearer seen and better known,
are but gigantic flights of stairs.
the distant mountains, that uprear
their solid bastions to the skies,
are crossed by pathways, that appear
as we to higher levels rise.
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
HELP ME TO LIVE! - Charles Gabriel
If I have wounded any soul today,
If I have caused one foot to go astray,
if I have walked in my own willful way -
Dear Lord, forgive!
If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain
lest i myself should suffer through the strain -
Dear Lord, forgive!
If I have been perverse or hard or cold,
if I have longed for shelter in thy fold,
when Thou hast given me some part to hold -
Dear Lord, forgive!
Forgive the wrong i have confessed to Thee,
forgive the wrong, the secret wrongs, i do not see;
that which i know not, Master, teach Thou me -
help me to live!
Charles Gabriel
401 NO REGRETS - Author unknown
for doing good to all.
for speaking evil of none,
for hearing before judging.
for thinking before speaking.
for holding an angry tongue.
for being kind to the distressed.
for asking pardon for all errors.
for being patient toward everybody.
for disbelieving most of the ill reports.
BE SUCH A MAN - Phillips Brooks
Be such a man, and live such a life,
that if every man were such as you,
and every life a life like yours,
this earth would be God's Paradise.
402 TEARS Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Thank God, bless God, all ye who suffer not
more grief than ye can weep for. that is well-
that is light grieving! lighter, none befell,
since Adam forfeited the primal lot.
Tears! what are tears? the babe weeps in its cot,
the mother singing; at her marriage bell
the bride weeps! and before the oracle
of high-faned hills, the poet has forgot
such moisture on his cheeks. thank God for grace,
Ye who weep only! if, as some have done,
ye grope tear-blinded in a desert place,
and touch but tombs, -look up! those tears will run
soon in long rivers down the lifted face,
and leave the vision clear for stars and sun.
OH, MAY I JOIN THE CHOIR INVISIBLE
Oh, 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
of miserable aims that end with self,
in thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars,
and with their mild persistence urge men's minds
to vaster issues.
So to live is heaven:
to make undying music in the world,
breathing a 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 thee large and charitable air.
and all our rarer, better, truer self,
that sobbed religiously in yearning son,
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
shall 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.
Marian Evans Cross
THE LAYMEN - Edgar A. Guest
leave it to the ministers and soon the church will die;
leave it to the women folk and some will pass it by;
for the church is all that lifts us from the coarse and selfish mob,
and the church that is to prosper needs the laymen on the job.
now a layman has his business and a layman has his joys;
but he also has the training of the little girls and boys;
and I wonder how he'd like it if there were no churches here
and he had to raise his children in a godless atmosphere.
it's the church's special function to uphold the finer things,
to teach the way of living from which all the noble springs;
but the minister can't do it single-handed and alone,
for the laymen of the country are the church's corner stone.
when you see a church that's empty, tho' its doors are opened wide,
it is not the church that's dying; it's the laymen who have died;
for it's no by song or sermon that the church's worked is done;
it's the laymen of the country who for God must carry on.
404 HYMN - FOR MY BROTHER'S ORDINATION
Christ to the young man said: 'Yet one thing more:
If thou wouldst perfect be,
sell all thou hast and give it to the poor,
and come and follow Me!
within this temple Christ again, unseen,
those sacred words hath said,
and His invisible hands to-day have been
laid on a young man's head.
and evermore beside him on his way
the unseen Christ shall move,
that he may lean upon His arm and say,
'Dost thou, dear Lord, approve"?
beside Him at the marriage feast shall be
to make the scene more fair;
beside Him in the dark Gethsemane
of pain and midnight prayer.
O holy trust! O endless sense of rest!
like the beloved John
to lay his head upon the Saviour's breast,
and thus to journey on!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
EXAGGERATION - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
we overstate the ills of life, and take
imagination, given us to bring down
the choirs of singing angels overshone
by God's clear glory, - down our earth to rake
the dismal snows instead; flake following flake,
to cover all the corn. we walk upon
the shadow of hills across a level thrown,
and pant like climbers. near the alder-brake
we sigh so loud, the nightingale within
refuses to sing loud, as else she would.
o brothers! let us leave the shame and sin
of taking vainly, in a plaintive mood,
the holy name of GRIEF! - holy herein,
that, by the grief of ONE, came all our good.
406 EXAGGERATION - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
we overstate the ills of life and take
Imagination, given us to bring down
the choirs of singing angels overshone
by god's clear glory, -down our earth to rake
the dismal snows instead; flake following flake,
to cover all the corn, we walk upon
the shadow of hills across a level thrown,
and pant like climbers. near the alder-brake
we sigh so loud, the nightingale within
refuses to sing loud, as else she would.
O brothers
1 let us leave the shame and sin
of taking vainly, in a plaintive mood,
the holy name of GRIEF! - holy herein,
that, by the grief on One, came all our good.
406 THE FINAL STRUGGLE
tarry with me, O my Saviour!
for the day is passing by;
See! the shades of evening gather,
and the night is drawing nigh:
deeper, deeper grow the shadows,
paler now the glowing west,
swift the night of death advances;
shall it be the night of rest.
lonely seems the vale of shadow;
sinks my heart with troubled fear;
give me faith for clearer vision,
speak Thou, Lord! in words of cheer;
let me hear thy voice behind me,
calming all these wild alarms;
let me, underneath my weakness,
feel the everlasting arms.
feeble, trembling, fainting, dying,
Lord! I cast myself on Thee:
tarry with me through the darkness;
while I sleep, still watch by me.
tarry with me, O my Saviour!
lay my head upon thy breast
till the morning; then awake me;-
morning of eternal rest!
Caroline Sprague Smith
GOD'S BEST - Avis B. Christiansen
those things which might be counted
gain
must oft be counted loss
that by God's grace I might attain
the glory of the cross.
the seeming good life doth bestow,
appealing though it be,
I must reject if I would know
My Saviour's best for me.
Lord, may I ne'er be satisfied
with this world's second best,
when Thou hast blessings multiplied
for those who stand the test.
THE LORD'S CHARGE - Charles Wesley
a charge to keep I have,
a God to glorify;
a never-dying soul to save,
and fit it for the sky:
to serve the present age,
my calling to fulfill;
Oh, may it all my powers engage
to do my Master's will.
Arm me with jealous care,
as in Thy sight to live;
and oh, they servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give!
help me to watch and pray,
and on thyself rely!
assured if I my trust betray,
I shall forever die.
Charles Wesley
407 SLOW ME DOWN, LORD - Author unknown
Slow me down, Lord;
ease the pounding of my heart
by the quieting of my mind...
steady my hurried pace
with a vision of eternal reach of time...
give me amidst the confusion of my day,
the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Slow me down, Lord;
teach me the art of taking minute vacations...
of lingering to study an azalea bush,
or to chat with a new neighbor,
or to pat an animal.
Slow me down, Lord
that I may know
the race is not always to
the swift...
and that life consists of more
than an increasing tempo.
let me look into the branches of the towering elms
and learn that they grow tall
because they rise slowly
and ably.
Slow me down, Lord;
that I might send my roots
deep into the soil of life's enduring values
and so reach toward the stars
of an infinite destiny.
Let the still small voice
of Him who gave His Son for us all
speak to me
and through me
of peace and victory that passes all understanding.
then speed me on, Lord.
arm me with a diligence
and longing
to redeem each opportune moment for Thee,
to share with friend and stranger
the One who steadies my gait
as I walk this stony path
toward the boundless reaches of his eternal love.
Author unknown
410 TEMPER - Author unknown
when i have lost my temper
I have lost my reason too.
I'm never proud of anything
which I angrily do.
when I have talked in anger,
and my cheeks were flaming red,
I have always uttered something
which i wish I had not said.
in anger I have never
done a kindly deed or wise,
but many things for which I felt
I should apologize.
in looking back across my life,
and all I've lost or made,
I can't recall a single time
when fury ever paid.
so I struggle to be patient,
for I've reached a wiser age;
I do not want to do a thing
or speak a word in rage.
I have learned by sad experience
that when my temper flies
I never do a worthy deed,
a decent deed or wise.
Author unknown
SMILE - Author unknown
the thing that goes the farthest
towards making life worth while,
which costs the least and counts the
most,
is just a pleasant smile.
the smile that bubbles from a heart
that loves its fellow men,
will drive away the clouds of gloom
and coax the sun again.
it is full of worth and goodness too,
with manly kindness blent;
it is worth a million dollars
and it doesn't cost a cent.
there is no room for sadness
when we see a cheery smile,
it always has the same good looks,
it's never out of style.
it nerves us on to try again
when failure makes us blue,
the dimples of encouragement
are good for me and you.
it pays a higher interest
for it is merely lent;
it is worth a million dollars
and it doesn't cost a cent.
a smile comes very easy,
you can wrinkle up with cheer
a hundred times before you
can squeeze out a soggy tear.
it ripples out moreover
to the heart-strings that will tug,
and always leaves an echo
that is very like a hug;
so smile away , folks understand
what is very like a hug;
so smile away, folks understand
what by a smile is meant;
it is worth a million dollars
and doesn't cost a cent.
ONLY A WORD
a word is such a potent thing;
a careless word may break a heart;
a bitter word may burn and sting;
a word can rip a home apart.
and yet a word can comfort bring.
a word can wound, a word can mend;
can lift the broken; lighten eyes,
a word can heal. a word can send
the soul a touch of paradise.
a gentle word may win a friend.
So; Lord of Words, please grant to me
the speech that spreads tranquility.
Lois Elizabeth Ridenour
412 WHO PROFITS MOST?
who profits most? it's not the man
who, grasping every coin he can,
unscrupulously crushes down
his weaker neighbor with a frown.
he is not worthy of his trust
and, friendless, knows his gold is dust.
he loses what he sought to gain
and finds instead of pleasure, pain.
who profits most? it is not he
of life's great opportunity.
he is not mourned. why should he be
who shirks responsibility,
who hermit-like himself withdraws
to live apart from human flaws.
to scoff at human frailties,
he turns away, no vision sees.
who profits most? it is the man
who gives a boost whee he can,
who's on the square in all that's done
and trusts and helps the others on,
who puts his task above mere self,
who values friends and counts them
wealth.
who profits most? is that your quest?
it is the man who serves the best.
413 MY SAVIOUR - Dora Greenwell
I am not skilled to understand
what God hath willed, what God
hath planned;
I only know at His right hand
stands One who is my Saviour.
and was there then no other way
for God to take? I cannot say;
I only bless Him, day by day,
who saved me through my Saviour.
that He should leave His place on
high
and come for sinful man to die,
you count it strange? - so do not I,
since I have known my Saviour.
and O that He fulfilled may see
the travail of His soul in me,
and with His work contented be,
as I with my dear Saviour!
Yea, living, dying, let me bring
my strength, my solace, from this spring,
that He who lives to be my King
once died to be my Saviour.
414 DON'T TROUBLE TROUBLE
don't 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.
who feareth hath forsaken
the heavenly Father's side;
what He hath undertaken
He surely will provide.
the very birds reprove thee
with 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 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.
THE SIN OF OMISSION
it isn't the thing you do;
it's the thing you leave 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,
are your haunting ghosts at 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,
the gentle and winsome tone,
that you had no time or thought for
with troubles enough of your own.
the little acts of kindness,
so easily out of mind;
those chances to be helpful
which everyone may find -
no, it's not the thing you do,
it's the thing you leave undone,
which gives you the bit of heartache
at the setting of the sun.
415 PARADOX - E. Margaret Clarkson
when Thou hast mastered me,
then shall I be victor;
when Thou hast enslaved me,
then shall I be free.
when Thou hast humbled me,
then shall I be exalted;
when Thou hast prostrated me,
then shall I be lifted up.
when Thou hast impoverished me,
then shall I be wealthy;
when Thou hast emptied me,
then shall I be full.
when Thou hast taken all,
then shall i have all;
My Master, lo, I come to Thee -
fulfill thy paradox in me!
417 JOY - John Newton
joy is a fruit that will not grow
in nature's barren soil;
all we can boast, till Christ we know,
is vanity and toil.
but where the Lord hath planted grace,
and where the Lord hath planted grace,
and made His glories known,
these fruits of heavenly joy and peace
are found, and there alone.
419 LIFE'S LESSONS - Author unknown
I learn, as the years roll onward
and leave the past behind,
that much I had counted sorrow
but proves that God is kind;
that many a flower I had longed for
had hidden a thorn of pain,
and many rugged by path
led to fields of ripened grain.
the clouds that cover the sunshine
they can not banish the sun;
and the earth shines out the brighter
when the weary rain is done.
we must stand in the deepest shadow
to see the clearest light;
and often tho' wrong's own darkness
comes the very strength of light.
the sweetest rest is at even,
after a wearisome day,
when the heavy burden of labor
has born from our hearts away;
and those who have never known sorrow
can not know the infinite peace
that falls on the troubled spirit
when it sees at last release.
we must live thro' the dreary winter
if we would value the spring;
and the woods must be cold and silent
before the robins sing.
the flowers must be buried in darkness
before they can but and bloom,
and the sweetest, warmest sunshine
comes after the storm and gloom.
420 THE CHURCH WITHIN - A. L. Alexander
who builds a church within his heart
and takes it with him everywhere,
is holier far than he whose church
is but a one-day house of prayer.
422 THE SECRET - Joan Suisted
'And Enoch walked with God'
no other mortal ever trod
so bright a path, with such a Friend
to such a radiant, hallowed end,
we are not told the weary years,
the heartbreaks, maybe and the tears,
but just - he walked with God.
and Enoch's path led home,
not aimlessly to drift and roam,
to lose the way in mists of doubt,
or pause to try earth's pleasures out,
but then, as now, one course to take
and every lesser goal forsake
and just walk home with God.
together, day by day,
and step with step, they walked that way;
no feverish rushing to and fro,
or with reluctant feet and slow
to drag behind; - why should it be
so hard to travel patiently
and just keep step with God?
and Enoch's faith pleased God.
thro' all the years the path they trod
was made a fragrant, lovely place
by sweet communion, face to Face;
why have we never time to spend
in fellowship with such a Friend
and just to talk with God?
but we - what fools we are,
we follow slowly from afar,
we stumble blindly thro' the night,
we miss the fellowship, the light,
so slow to learn, as learn we must
that all we need to do is trust,
and just to walk with God.
423 KEEP SWEET
there's a little secret
worth its weight in gold,
easy to remember,
easy to be told;
changing into blessing
every curse we meet,
turning hell to heaven,
this is all - keep Sweet.
make us kind and gentle,
harmless as the dove;
giving good for evil,
meeting hate with love;
what though trials press us,
what though tempests beat,
naught can move or harm us
if we just keep Sweet.
storms may rage around us,
waves may sweep the deck,
but with hatches covered
naught our bark can wreck;
sorrow cannot crush us,
satan must retreat
if within our spirit
All is right and Sweet.
Sweet when things are bitter,
Sweet when hearts are sad;
giving songs for sighing,
making others glad;
in the quiet household,
on the bustling street,
everywhere and always,
Jesus, keep us Sweet.
when our foes assail us,
when our friends betray,
when our brightest prospects
wither and decay,
Christ can fill our sadness
with a joy replete,(def - 'fill' + 'again')
turning grief to gladness,
making sorrow sweet.
Fountain in the desert,
Song amid the night,
beacon in the darkness,
Star of hope and light;
Sunshine mid the tempest,
Shadow from the heat -
lie the Blessed Master,
make us, keep us, Sweet.
A. B. Simpson
424 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 or 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 12,
nearer to me is He;
the life He once lived here on earth
He lives again in me.
ascended now to Go,
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
REGRET - Margaret I. Sangster
If I had known in the morning
how wearily all the day
the words unkind
would trouble my mind
i said when You went away,
I had been more careful, darling,
nor given you needless pain:
but we vex our own
with look and tone
we may never take back again.
for though in the quiet evening
you may give me the kiss of peace,
yet it might be that never for me
the pain of the heart should cease.
how many go forth in the morning
who never come home at night,
and hearts are broken
for harsh words spoken
that sorrow can ne'er set right.
we have careful tho't for the stranger,
and smiles for the sometime guest,
but oft for our own
the bitter tone
though we love our own the best.
Ah! lips with the curve impatient,
Ah! brow with that look of scorn,
'Twere a cruel fate
were the night too late
to undo the work of morn!
425 QUIETNESS - Henry W. Frost
passing one day beside Niagara's stream,
in the glad time of Nature's wakening,
when winter yields to spring and spring doth bring
bright sunshine, fragrant flowers and singing birds,
I paused beside the river where its flow
is most disturbed - the rapids in the gorge -
and watched the waters as they passed me by.
there I beheld, under the cloudless sky,
in sight of flowers, in sound of warbling birds,
the broad, deep torrent, rushing on and on,
tossed to and fro, revolving round and round,
with whirlpools, and with waves which dashed themselves
into whit foam upon the blackened rocks,
till all the river seemed alive and mad,
a very hell of waters, near and far,
abysmal depths of discord and of pain.
and as I looked, I saw just opposite,
right in the waters' midst, upon the wave,
a block of wood, resting all calm and still,
not floating down the stream, nor moving round,
as still and calm as if on crystal sea.
astonished at the sight I looked again.
and then again with steady, fixed gaze,
till all my doubts were gone, for there the wood
remained quiescent as I saw it first.
then studying the strange sight I found its cause; -
the block was held just at the central point
of a great whirlpool's course, where, rushing round,
the waters met and formed a place of calm,
as if there were no whirlpool, nor mad rush
of frenzied waters leaping to the sea.
and there I learned that day a lesson new,
beneath bright heav'n, beside the troubled stream,
how deeply calm one's daily life may be,
in the midst of all the torrent-rush of cares,
the pressing, maddening tides of daily tasks,
which dash and whirl till sense is almost gone,
if only one can learn the lesson blest,
to hide within the all infolding will,
God's will for us, all perfect good and true;
for there, in midst of all, in spite of all,
we may find rest, abiding, deep, complete,
and thus find quietness, for ever more!
428 COMMUNION OF SAINTS
let party names no more
the christian world o'erspread;
Gentile and Jew, and bond and free,
are one in Christ, their Head.
among the saints on earth
let mutual love be found;
heirs of the same inheritance,
with mutual blessings crowned.
let envy, child of hell!
be banished far away;
those should in strictest friendship
dwell,
who the same Lord obey.
thus will the church below
resemble that above;
where streams of endless pleasure flow,
and every heart is love.
Benjamin Beddome
429 HOW MUCH I OWE
when this passing world is done,
when has sunk yon glowing sun,
when we stand with Christ in Glory,
looking o'er life's finished story,
then, Lord, shall I fully know -
not till then - how much I owe.
when I stand before the throne,
dressed in beauty not my own,
when I see Thee as Thou art,
love, Thee with unsinning heart,
then, Lord, shall I fully know -
not till then - how much I owe.
when the praise of Heaven I hear,
loud as thunder to the ear,
loud as many waters' noise,
sweet as harp's melodious voice,
then, Lord, shall I fully know -
not till then - how much I owe.
even on earth, as through a glass
darkly, let Thy glory pass;
make forgiveness feel so sweet;
make Thy Spirit's help so meet;
even on earth, Lord, make me know
something of how much I owe.
Robert Murray McCheyne
THE BUSY MAN - Author unknown
if you want to get a favor done
by some obliging friend,
and want a promise safe and sure
on which you may depend,
don't go to him who always has
much leisure time to plan,
but if you want your favor done,
just ask the busy man.
the man of leisure never has
a moment he can spare;
he's busy 'putting off' until
his friends are in despair;
but he whose every waking hour
is crowded full of work,
forgets the art of wasting time -
he cannot stop to shirk.
so when you want a favor done,
and want it right away,
go to the man who constantly
works 20 hours a day.
he'll find a moment, sure, somewhere
that has not other use,
and fix you while the idle man
is framing an excuse.
PASSING THROUGH - Annie Johnson Flint
'when thou passest thro' the waters,'
deep the waves may be, and cold,
but Jehovah is our refuge
and His promise is our hold;
for the Lord Himself hath said it,
He the faithful god and true:
'when Thou comest to the waters,
Thou shalt NOT GO DOWN, but THRO'.'
seas of sorrow, seas of trial,
bitterest anguish, fiercest pain,
rolling surges of temptation,
sweeping over heart and brain,
they shall never overflow us,
for we know His word is true;
all His waves and all His billows
He will LEAD US SAFELY THROUGH.
threatening breakers of destruction,
doubt's insidious undertow,
shall not sink us,
praise the Lord, whose word is true!
we shall not go down nor under,
He hath said, 'Thou passest THRO' ."
430 WEEPING - Henry W. Frost
weep, sorrowing one, for God would have thee weep,
He did not make thee stone, but very man,
yea, He did form thy soul a fountain deep,
seek not to close it up, weep whilst thou can;
yea, weep and weep, weep tears on tears until
thy weeping heart has ta'en its bitter fill.
ne'er think thy weeping sin, since Christ did weep,
who held His life in such long, strong restraint;
mark there, at lazarus' tomb, how how tears upleap,
hear yonder Garden's mournful, bitter plaint;
grieve not, then, if deep grief thine eyes bedim;
as master, so disciple; - weep with Him.
and yet this learn, weep not amidst the crowd;
weeping is sacred; shut thy closet door;
there, only there, put on thy mourner's shroud
where thou canst speak with Christ and help implore;
then, on the breast of Him who weeps with thee,
pour out thy sorrow's bitterest agony.
and grieve not Christ; weep not as without hope;
despair is trustlessness, and, therefore, sin;
however deep thy darkness, never grope,
lift up thine head and see the Light within;
weep on, beloved, weep till sorrow's end,
but ne'er forget that Christ is thy good Friend.
weep, sorrowing one; but e'er remember this:
weeping will not endure beyond the night;
there is in store for thee a rapturous bliss,
God's joy will greet thee with the morning light;
for God's own hand will wipe each weeping eye!
A CONFESSION - Henry W. Frost
did I not know there is in heaven above
a God of wisdom and of changeless love,
in spite of all one earth which makes life glad,
I should be ever sad.
Life masters me, i cannot master it,
before its problems I e'er helpless sit
like a dullard in a crowded school,
confessed by all a fool.
within my heart are longings infinite,
and yet, like fearful child in darksome night,
I start, I shrink, I grope but cannot find,
a child, indeed and blind.
the more I seek, the more is mystery;
the dark e'er deepens in intensity;
I yearn for wisdom, light, for these I cry,
they stand far off, not nigh.
I grasp at substance, and I find it air;
I place my foot on rock, and naught is there;
I think high thoughts, they turn to foolishness
and add to my distress.
E'en love is e'er imperfect here below;
the fondest hopes are often turned to woe;
at heart of sweetest joy lies secret pain,
and life is loss, not gain.
Yea, I have seen life's ideals pass away,
as passes into night some brightsome day,
till what is left is disappointment keen
for things which might have been.
I will not cease my quest, but this I see
there is no solving here of mystery;
I will pursue life's ideals, but I know
the best is not below.
Life, at its best, is brightness shadowed o'er;
Life, 'spite of life, lies ever on before;
not here, but there in heaven, may hearts abide
forever satisfied.
this, then, I've surely found; with God above
is everlasting life and light and love;
and this - in spite of all that makes life sad -
This keeps me ever glad.
432 WHAT GOD HATH PROMISED
God hath not promised
skies always blue,
flower-strewn pathways
all our lives through;
God hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
peace without pain.
but God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.
HEART-BREAK - Henry W. Frost
I have lost my Love to-day,
lost Him in the crowded way,
while I turned aside to see
life in its festivity;
Oh, to look into His face
and to find His pard'ning grace!
Ah, my heart, how fair this world
when its beauties are unfurled,
how they 'snare the heart and mind!
tell me, and oh, tell me true,
has my Love been seen by you?
I did take my wanton way
with the throngs all thro' the day,
seeking pleasures, sweet and rare,
joyful, without thought or car;
now 'tis night; oh, can you tell
where my grieved Love doth dwell?
days are long and full of light,
pleasures sweet and joyance bright;
but the night, how dark and drear,
and how full of dread and fear!
Oh, that I could find my Love,
then I would no longer rove!
if you see my Love, do you
tell Him that my love is true,
that grief's tears my eyes bedim
as I seek and call for Him;
will you, in sweet charity,
help to find my Love for me?
Ah, I wander all alone;
would I could for sin atone,
I would give my very heart,
with my very life would part,
if in giving, dying, I
might but find my Love was nigh!
hear me, Love; I cry, I moan,
Thee I long for, Thee alone;
if Thou wilt return to me
I will never part from Thee;
hear me all, below, above,
tell my Love, I die from love!
Henry W. Frost
433 DRIFTING - James McConkey
why do I drift on a storm-tossed sea,
with neither compass, nor star, nor chart,
when, as I drift, god's own plan for me
waits at the door of my slow-trusting heart?
down from the heavens it drops like a scroll,
each day a bit will the Master unroll,
each day a mite of the veil will He lift,
why do I falter? why wander and drift?
drifting, while God's at the helm to steer;
groping, when God lays the course so clear;
swerving, though straight into port I might sail;
wrecking, when heaven lies just within hail.
help me, O God, in the plan to believe;
help me my fragment each day to receive.
Oh, that my will may with Thine have no strife!
God-yielded wills find the god-planned life.
434 PEACE - Avis B. Christiansen
I longed for peace and quiet,
but Jesus chose for me
a path through storm and tempest,
a wild and boisterous sea.
but while the raging billows
in fury round me tore
and threatened with destruction
my frail bark o'er and o'er,
I glimpsed amid the darkness
a trail of heavenly light,
and one came walking toward me,
whose voice dispelled my night.
in accents soft and tender,
He bade my fears to cease,
as to the roaring tempest
He whispered words of peace.
Oh hallowed are life's conflicts,
and blest its every storm,
it they but draw me closer
to His encircling arm!
ABUNDANT LIFE - Henry W. Frost
to do God's will from day to day,
to follow Christ and not to stray,
to have the Spirit's power alway,
this is abundant life!
435 WANDERER'S SONG
Jesus, I am far astray
from the straight and narrow way;
bring me back, I humbly pray;
Jesus, hear and save me!
draw me with Thy cords of love,
fix my heart on Thee above,
that I may no longer rove;
Jesus, hear and save me!
save me from life's snare and sin,
make me Thine, without, within,
grant me strength the race to win;
Jesus, hear and save me!
Henry W. Frost
GETHSEMANE
in golden youth when seems the earth
a summer-land of surging mirth,
when souls are glad and hearts are
light,
and not a shadow lurks in sight,
we do not know it, but there lies
somewhere veiled 'neath evening skies
a garden which we all must see -
the garden of Gethsemane.
with joyous steps we go our ways,
love lends a halo to our days;
light sorrows sail like clouds afar,
we laugh and say how strong we are,
we hurry on: and hurrying, go
close to the borderland of woe
that waits for you, and waits for me -
forever waits Gethsemane.
down shadowy lanes, across strange
streams
bridged over by our broken dreams;
behind the misty caps of years,
beyond the great salt fount of tears,
the garden lies. Strive, as you may,
you cannot miss it in your way;
all paths that have been, or shall be
pass somewhere through Gethsemane.
all those who journey, soon or late,
must pass within the garden's gate;
must kneel alone in darkness there,
and battle with some fierce despair,
God pity those who cannot say,l
'Not mine, but Thine,' who only pray,
'Let this cup pass, and cannot seed
the purpose of Gethsemane.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
IN HOC SIGNO
the Kingdoms of the Earth go by
in purple and in gold;
they rise, they triumph, and they die,
and all their tale is told.
one kingdom only is divine,
one banner triumphs still:
Its King a servant and its sign
a gibbet on a hill.
Godfrey Fox Bradby
PEACE - Henry W. Frost
there is a life deep hid in god
where all is clam and still,
where, listening to His holy Word,
one learns to trust, until
all anxious care is put away
and there is peace, profound, alway;
grant us Thy peace, O God!
436 DAY BY DAY - Josiah Conder
day by day manna fell:
O to learn this lesson well.
still by constant mercy fed,
give me, Lord, by daily bread.
'day by day, the promise reads,
daily strength for daily needs:
cast foreboding fears away;
take the manna of today.
Lord! my times are in Thy hand:
all my sanguine hopes have planned,
to Thy wisdom i resign,
and would make Thy purpose mine.
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.
WORDS - Author unknown
words are things of little cost,
quickly spoken, quickly lost;
we forget them, but they stand
witnesses at God's right hand.
grant us, Lord, from day to day,
strength to watch and grace to pray;
may our lips, from sin set free,
love to speak and sing of Thee.
NOT GROWING OLD - Author unknown
they say that I am growing old,
I've heard them tell it times untold
in language plain and bold -
but I'm not growing old.
this frail old shell in which I dwell
is growing old, I know full well,
but I'm not growing old!
what if my hair IS turning gray?
gray hair is honorable, they say.
what IF my eyesight's growing dim?
I still can see to follow Him
who sacrificed His life for me
there on the Cross at Calvary!
what should I care if Time's old plow
has dug its furrows in my brow?
another house, not made with hand,
awaits me in the Glory Land.
My hearing may not be as keen
as in the past it might have been,
still I can hear my Saviour say,
'Come, faltering child, this is the way!'
the outward man, do what i can
to lengthen out this life's short span,
shall perish and return to dust,
as everything in nature must.
But the inward man, the Scriptures
say,
is growing stronger every day!
then how can I be growing old?
I'm safe within my Saviour's fold.
E'er long my soul shall fly away
and leave this tenement of clay!
this robe of flesh I'll drop and rise
to seize the everlasting prize!
I'LL MEET YOU on the streets of gold
and prove that i'm NOT growing old!
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE - Author unknown
to me, O Lord, be thou 'The Way',
to me be thou 'the Truth';
to me, my Saviour, be 'The Life',
Thou Guardian of my youth!
so shall that Way be my delight,
that Truth shall make me free;
that Life shall raise me from the dead,
and then I'll live to Thee.
437 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;p
long ago was I weary of places,
where I met but the human and sin.
and still I pined 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;
I wept as the clouds of the world veiled
even that glimpse from my view.
I toiled on hear-tired of the human,
I moaned mid the mazes of men,
till I knelt, long ago, at an altar,
and heard a Voice call me; since them
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 the 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 y tears are as sweet as the dew drops,
that fall on the roses of 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 forms 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 Balley,
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.
Father Ryan
439 THE LITTLE STAR
a little star shone singly in the night,
and thought 'how very feeble is my light!
there's not a traveler who will see his way,
who will be guided by my tiny ray.
but I will not go out - the more will I
attempt to shine in this vast, darkened sky'.
down in the world there was a weary soul
striving alone to see the clouded goal.
full of despair, she wrestled all the night,
but saw no shine of a guiding light.
she said, 'there is no moon, I am so sad',
and lost the very little hope she had.
But through her narrow window did she see
a point of brightness gleaming fervently.
it was the single star. she cried aloud,
and hoped anew for passing of the cloud.
when morning came, with all its golden light,
she said, 'I found the saviour in the night.
I found Him through a star - it must have been
the Star of Bethlehem that I have seen,
for to the Lord it led - and so I came
and saw the hills of Heaven all aflame,
all shining with the glory of that star,
whose small but steady light had called afar'.
O little star! be not afraid thy light
will be too feeble to be seen at night.
however small, if steady, it will be lighting the roadway to Eternity.
they know in Heaven, where he angels are,
a soul was lighted by a little star.
Vivien Jameson
440 PILLGRIMAGE
a few more miles and a few more tears
and I'll be at home with the blest;
a few more struggles and doubts and fears
and I'll be for ever at rest;
then steady, my soul, till the day is done;
go bravely on till the setting sun
has sunk 'neath the hills in the west.
my way is the way that the master went,
with His feet full weary and sore,
where, for love of me, He was sorely spent
as He bowed 'neath the cross which He bore;
yet He journeyed on though His sun sank red,
till he reached the portal which straightly led
to the rest of the other shore.
then follow on, though the way be rough;
ne'er pause till the journey is done;
for the weary miles there'll be strength enough
'til the heavenly welcome is won;
and if I keep steady, whatever betide,
my soul will be fully satisfied
at the going down of the sun!
Henry W. Frost
THE EMMAUS ROAD
the road was dreary and rough and long
and their hearts were sad and lone;
gone was their once triumphant song
and the joy that they once had known.
their footsteps lagged as they journeyed on,
and their eyes with tears were dim,
but One came and walked beside them there,
and they found new hope in Him.
His words were as balm to their troubled souls,
and his smile dispelled their fears,
and their hearts were warmed as His voice of love
fell like music on their ears.
their world was changed as they talked with Him.
and their way so dark and lone,
as they journey on with their risen King,
in the light of His presence shone.
Avis B Christiansen
THERE IS A STILLNESS - Author unknown
there is a stillness in the Christian's life:
an inner stillness only know to him
who has so gladly laid at Jesus' feet
his all, and now He reigns alone within,
Master of every motion, wish and plan.
in stillness crowned, He rules supreme as King,
and in that inner chamber of the heart
has made a little sanctuary within.
there is a stillness in the christian's life:
the corn of wheat must fall into the ground
and die, then if it die, out of that death
Life, fullest life, will blessedly abound.
it is a mystery no words can tell,
but known to those who in this stillness rest;
something divinely incomprehensible:
that for my nothingness, I get God's best!
442 SPIRITUAL CONFLICT - Henry W. Frost
down, deeper down thou sinful, sensual Self
back to low earth from which thou would'st arise;
thou robber-fiend, keep thine ill-gotten pelf
of my misdeeds, it is thy lawful prize;
but henceforth know thou shalt not rule o'er me
for a sweet Voice calls me to victory.
Up, higher up, thou better, nobler one,
rise up in strength, with face turned toward the skies;
faint not, nor fear, the conflict will be won,
behold, before thee is the victor's prize;
thy God who calleth thee will strength maintain
and turn all earthly loss to heavenly gain.
CHANCE AND CHANGE -Thomas Campion
what if a day, or a month, or a year,
crown thy delights, with a thousand sweet contentings!
cannot a chance of a night, or an hour,
cross thy desires, with as many sad tormentings?
fortune, honour, beauty, youth,
are but blossoms dying!
wanton pleasure, doting love,
are but shadows flying!
all our joys are but toys;
idle thoughts deceiving!
none have power, of an hour,
in their life's bereaving.
Earth's but a point to the world; and a man
is but a point to the world's compared centre!
shall then, a point of a point be so vain
as to triumph in a silly point's adventure!
all is hazard that we have!
there is nothing biding!
days of pleasure are like streams,
through fair meadows gliding!
weal and woe, Time doth go!
Time is never turning!
secret fates guide our states;
both in mirth and mourning!
443 BROTHERLY LOVE - John Fawcett
Blest be the tie that binds
our hearts in christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds
is like to that above.
before our Father's throne
we pour our ardent prayers;
our fears our hopes, our aims are one,
our comforts and our cares.
we share our mutual woes;
our mutual burdens bear;
and often for each other flows
the sympathizing tear.
when we asunder part,
it gives us inward pain;
but we shall still be joined in heart,
and hope to meet again.
this glorious hope revives
our courage by the way;
while each in expectation lives,
and longs to see the day.
from sorrow, toil and pain,
and sin we shall be free;
and perfect love and friendship reign
through all eternity.
SHUT IN - Henry W. Frost
shut in; a prisoner;
within four walls confined;
counting the weary hours
of days and night combined.
shut in; enclosed around;
sick, helpless, and alone;
in pain and suffering,
each sigh almost a moan.
shut in; in idleness;
no duties to fulfil;
served, but not serving now;
my service to lie still.
and is there nought beside
Ah, yes, thrice-blessed word;
shut into Jesus Christ,
'A prisoner in the Lord'.
Shut in where there's no fear
within walls of radiant light;
were days all golden are
and there is never night.
Shut in where music is
and there is deepest peace;
where love fore'er abounds
and joys fore'er increase.
Shut in? yes, all shut in,
whatever ill betide;
Shut into Christ, my Lord;
and oh, so satisfied!
THE BUSINESS OF THE DAY
it's just the way we carry through
the business of the day
that makes and molds the character -
the things we do and say;
the way we act when we are vexed;
the attitude we take;
the sort of pleasures we enjoy;
the kind of friends we make.
it's not the big events alone
that make us what we are;
and not the dizzy moments when
we're swinging on a star.
it's just the things that happen as
along the road we plod.
the little things determine what
we're really worth to God.
Patience Strong
444 TEARS - Author unknown
ashamed of tears? this world of ours
might be as well ashamed of flowers
skies of their stars when night appears
as mortals be ashamed of tears.
for then, if ever, when we weep,
we waken who have been asleep
and let the flood of feeling roll
across the desert of the soul.
we live so much the dull drab days,
we walk so much life's treadmill ways,
with heart so dumb, with mind so
mute
we're little better than the brute.
and then some day there comes a grief
that only tears can give relief.
and then the beauty floods our eyes
that God has put in rain-washed skies!
ashamed of tears, when even He knelt weeping in Gethsemane?
we never see God quite so clear
as through the prism of a tear!
if purity we ever know
it is our tears that made us so;
and only they need blush with shame
to whom emotion never came!
THINGS THAT NEVER DIE - Author unknown
the pure, the bight, the beautiful,
that stirred our hearts in youth,
the impulses to wordless prayer,
the dreams of love and truth;
the longings after something lost,
the spirit's yearning cry,
the strivings after better hopes -
these things can never die.
the timid hand stretched forth to aid
a brother in his need,
a kindly word in grief's dark hour
that proves a friend indeed;
the plea, for mercy softly breathed,
when justice threatens nigh,
the sorrow of a contrite heart -
these things shall never die.
let nothing pass, for every hand
must find some work to do;
lose not a chance to waken love -
be firm and just and true:
so shall a light that cannot fade
beam on thee from on high,
and angel voices say to thee -
these things shall never die.
BE THE BEST - Douglas Malloch
if you can't be a pine
on the top of the hill,
be a scrub in the valley - but be
the best little scrub
by the side of the rill:
be a bush if you can't be a tree.
if you can't be bush,
be a bit of the grass,
doing something for somebody's sake;
if you can't be a muskie,
then just be a bass -
but the liveliest bass in the lake!
we can't all be captains,
some have to be crew,
there's something for all of us here,
there's something for all of us here,
there's big work and little
for people to do,
and the task we must do is the near.
if yo can't be the highway,
then just be a trail,
if you can't be the sun, be a star;
it isn't by size that you win or you fail -
be the best of whatever you are!
Douglas Malloch
446 FOLLOW ME - Author unknown
'Child follow Me,' the Master said,
as he knocked full loud at my chamber door;
but the morn was fair and my heart was gay,
'I'll dally a while on the primrose way,
and I'll come said I, when the morning's o'er.'.
'Child, follow Me', the Master said,
as he lingered patiently at the gate;
gray shadows were falling, the night was near;
'Life's joys are so sweet and my friends so dear,
'I will come said I, when the night is late'.
Child follow Me, the Master cried,
as he walked away through the darkness deep;
and the night had fallen and the birds were still;
'Linger, said I, at the foot of the hill,
and I'll come when the world is hushed in sleep'.
Master, I come, I cried at length,
'Hear weary to serve at thine own dear side,
Thou hast called me long, but I come at last'.
(but his eyes were dim and his strength was past,
and not long could he follow the Crucified.)
447 FOREBEARANCE - Avis B. Christiansen
Lord, grant me the gift of forbearance,
a merciful spirit I pray.
that suffers the wrongs of another
and seeks not the ill to repay.
Lord, help me be kind and forgiving-
I who Thy forgiveness have known
so oft for my many transgressions.
Grant me, Lord, a love like Thine own.
Thou who didst once suffer for sinners
such bitter reproach and disdain,
fill me with that same gentle spirit,
that reviled, still reviles not again.
Lord, grant me the gift of forbearance,
Thy tender, compassionate grace,
that others beholding my visage
the light of Thy likeness may trace.
LIFE AND DEATH FOR THE CHRISTIAN
what is this thing called life -
this short swift span of years
so veiled with mystery,
so filled with toil and tears?
what is this thing called life,
Dear friend, you ask of me?
'Tis but the threshold to
a blest eternity.
a time to love and serve
the Saviour we adore,
a time to trust and pray,
and prove Him o'er and o'er;
a time to glorify
His great and holy name -
the wonders of His grace
to sinners to proclaim.
a time to walk by faith
and trust His pow'r to keep'
a time to watch and wait
while others fain would sleep;
a time to yield to Him
the sacrifice of love,
e'er He shall ope' the gate
to Glory up above.
and what is death you ask?
'Tis but the open door
to yon fair Land of Light,
our Home forevermore,
where we shall gaze on him
with Whom we've walked below,
and sing His endless praise,
while ages come and go.
Avis B. Christiansen
448 KEEP LOOKING UP - Carlton Buck
when life's cares around you gather,
and you can't see through,
Find the Way by looking up;
when disturbed by adverse weather
and you don't know what to do,
Keep Looking Up.
there's an antidote for worry,
discontent and strife,
Find the Way by looking up;
it will help when things are blurry,
it's a principle of life,
Keep Looking Up.
It's the upward look that frees us
from the snares of earth,
Find the Way by looking up;
when we look to God, He sees us,
and in Christ He give New Birth,
Keep Looking Up.
Keep Looking Up -
for the uplook is the soul's way out of
sorrow;
Keep Looking Up -
and God will bring a glory-filled to-
morrow;
Look thou to God,
and brightness will break through
your clouded sky;
Keep Looking Up,
and your faith will find its answer
by and by.
IF THOU DOST NEED - Mary E Kendrew
if thou dost need a hand today
to clasp another hand on life's rough way;
Take mine, dear Lord, Take mine.
If Thou are needing feet to tread
in paths where sin to woe is wed;
Use mine, dear Lord, Use mine.
if Thou art needing lips today
for words that help and heal, to say;
Fill mine, dear Lord, Fill mine.
if Thou art needing eyes to see
when souls begin to stray from Thee;
Fit mine, dear Lord, Fit mine.
but cleanse, dear Lord and purify,
and then each talent sanctify;
of mine, dear Lord, of mine.
THE HAVE BEEN WITH JESUS
yes, they are changed -
how kindly do they speak;
the crippled beggar stands erect
since they have passed,
and surely, yonder blind man
is gazing toward the mountain seeing!
so spoke the ones who scoffed
when those who had left all
to follow Him passed by.
these men had been with Jesus,
had seen His mighty works
and heard His words.
so, too, may we be changed by Him
when earnestly we strive.
'twas not for them alone
He broke the bread of Life,
still storm-tossed wave,
and banished pain and sorrow.
O may it be
that some who scorn, today
are speaking thus of you - and me:
some wonder has been wrought -
where once she was so cold,
she is now kind!
and thankfully we say -
though none but God may hear:
'Rejoice! Rejoice!
for He is guiding me -
I, too,
Have Been With Jesus'
Author unknown
449 THE THREADS YOU USE
of what are you weaving your life today,
of fast-fading pleasures or joys that stay?
do you want it completed in lovely hues?
it will all depend on the threads you use!
take only the best from the maze you find,
the threads that will strengthen your hear and mind;
just threads you are sure of, beyond a doubt,
durable threads that will not wear out.
you will want some colorful, gay and bright,
beautiful, too, but they must be right;
no snags, no knots, no colors that run,
to make you ashamed in the days to come.
some of the threads should be sturdy and plain
the better, we know, to withstand the strain
of the noonday sun and the scalding tears
that are sure to come with the passing years.
to all of your threads you must add some gold,
the wealth of g
God's Love - it will make them hold;
for, in weaving a life of beautiful hues,
it always depends on the threads you use.
Alice Hansche Mortenson
FAITH, HOPE, LOVE - Margaret Matthews
in the lone places of my soul
the far dim depths, where none can
see,
i hear a little singing bird,
for faith has come to live with me.
and o'er the dimness of my way,
the vast, gray reaches of my sea,
there lies a trembling shaft of light,
for hope has drifted in to me.
and in this wintry house of mine,
where grief and gloom at home
would be,
a tender hand has lit a fire,
for love has come to stay with me.
450 MARKED FOR HIS OWN
how lovely are the faces of
the men who talk with god -
Lit with an inner sureness of
the path their feet have trod;
who gentle is the manner of
a man who walks with Him!
no strength can overcome him, and
no cloud his courage dim,
keen are the hands and feet -ah, yes-
of those who wait His will,
and clear as crystal mirrors are
the hearts His love can fill.
some lives are drear from doubt and
fear
while others merely plod;
but lovely faces mark the men
who walk and talk with God.
Pauline Prosser-Thompson
FOUND IN THEE - Author unknown
O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found,
and found in Thee alone,
the peace, the joy I sought so long;
the bliss till now unknown.
i sighed for rest and happiness,
i yearned for them, not Thee;
but while I passed by saviour by,
His love laid hold on me.
I tried the broken cisterns, Lord,
but ah! the waters failed.
E'en as I stooped to drink they'd fled,
and mocked me as i wailed.
now none but Christ can satisfy,
none other name for me;
there's love and life and lasting joy,
Lord Jesus, found in thee!
451 TOMORROW - Author unknown
he was going to be all that a mortal could be -
Tomorrow;
no one should be kinder nor braver than he -
Tomorrow;
a friend who was troubled and weary he knew
Who'd be glad of a lift and who needed it, too;
On him he would call and see what he could do -
Tomorrow.
Each morning he stacked up the letters he'd write -
Tomorrow;
and he thought of the folds he would fill with delight -
Tomorrow;
it was too bad, indeed, he was busy today,
and hadn't a minute to stop on his way;
'More time I'll have to give others, he'd say -
Tomorrow.
the greatest of workers this man would have been -
Tomorrow;
the world would have know him had he ever seen -
Tomorrow;
but the fact is he died, and he faded from view,
and all that he left here when living was through
was a mountain of things he intended to do -
Tomorrow.
MOVE TO THE FORE - Author unknown
Move to the fore!
say not another is fitter than thou.
shame to thy shrinking! Up! Face thy task now.
own thyself equal to all a soul may,
cease thy evading - God needs thee today.
Move to the fore!
God Himself waits and must wait till thou come;
men are God's prophets though ages lie dumb.
Halts the Christ Kingdom with conquest so near?
thou art the cause, thou soul in the rear.
Move to the fore!
452 I BROKE MY TRYST WITH GOD
at such an hour on such a day
I had a tryst with God;
I was to put all things away
and keep the tryst with God.
but a friend of mine just happened in -
to go with him was sure no sin -
so I ran along, a friend to win,
but I broke my tryst with God.
My friends all know my word is good,
yet I broke my tryst with God.
they know I'd keep my word if I could,
yet I broke my tryst with God.
but somehow I felt when that day was done,
and my spirit sank with the setting sun
that I'd lost much more than I had won
by breaking my tryst with God.
O let us keep that meeting place -
the secret tryst with God.
at such a time he shows His face,
O holy tryst with God.
never mind though friends and other s call,
His love impels our best our all;
let us come alone, before Him fall
and keep our tryst with God.
Author unknown
JOY IS BUILT OF LITTLE THINGS
Joy is built of little thigs like this -
a woman's smile and a baby's kiss;
a single rose, a slender vase,
the slant of sunlight on a happy face;
a child's sigh, a father's fond caress,
just simple things, but they bring happiness.
a lilt o song that lingers through the years,
a bit of sunshine and a bit of tears;
a silhouette of pines against the sky,
a silver star, a nightbird's cry;
a good night prayer and faith within your breast,
just simple things, but they make -happiness!
Alice Hansche Mortenson
453 MY CHUM - Author unknown
he stood at the crossroads all alone,
with the sunrise in his face;
he had no fear for the path unknown;
he was set for a manly race.
but the road stretched east and the road stretched west;
there was no one to tell him which way was the best;
so my chum turned wrong and went down, down, down,
till he lost the race and the victor's crown
and fell at last in an ugly snare,
because no one stood at the crossroads there.
since then I have raised a daily prayer
that I be kept faithful standing there.
to warn the runners as they come,
and save my own or another's chum.
454 BE CAREFUL - Author unknown
be careful of the little deeds you do,
for oftentime they echo back to you
Across the years.
the tiny note you sent one sorry day,
the coin that helped a beggar on his way,
Oh! Always take the time to stop and say
The word that cheers!
perhaps some little deed will bring you fame,
perhaps the world will learn to love your name,
Because of tears
You dried for others; and when life is through
perhaps the little deeds you, thoughtless, do
will be a glowing monument to you
For countless years.
455 FINISH THY WORK - Author unknown
finish thy work, the time is short;
the sun is in the west,
the night is coming down; till then
think not of rest.
Rest? finish thy work, then rest;
till then, rest never.
the rest prepared for thee by god
is rest forever.
finish thy work, then sit thee down
on some celestial hill,
and of heaven's everlasting bliss
take thou thy fill.
finish thy work, then sit thee down
on some celestial hill,
and of heaven's everlasting bliss
take thou thy fill.
finish thy work, then go in peace,
Life's battle fought and won;
hear from the throne the Master's
voice,
'Well done! Well done!
finish they work, then take the harp,
give praise to god above;
sing a new song of mighty joy
and endless love!
WE TWO - Author unknown
I cannot do it alne;
the waves run fast and high,
and the fogs close chill around,
and the light goes out in the sky;
but I know that We Two shall win -
in the end:
-Jesus and I.
I cannot row it myself -
the boat on the raging sea -
but beside me sits Another,
who pulls or steers - with me;
and I know that We Two shall come
safe into port,
-His child and He.
coward and wayward and weak,
I change with the changing sky;
today, so eager and brave,
tomorrow, not caring to try:
but He never gives in; so We Two
shall win!
-Jesus and I.
strong and tender and true,
Crucified once for me;
ne'er will He change, I know,
whatever I may be.
but all He says I must do -
ever from sin to keep free;
we shall finish our course and reach
Home at last!
-His child and He.
456 GOOD TIMBER - Douglas Malloch
the tree that never had to fight
for sun and sky and air and light,
that stood out in the open plain
and always got its share of rain,
never became a forest king,
but lived and died a scrubby thing.
the man who never had to toil
to heaven from the common soil,
who never had to win his share
of sun and sky and light and air,
never became a manly man,
but lived and died as he began.
good timber does not grow in ease;
the stronger wind, the tougher trees;
the farther sky, the greater length;
the more the storm, the more the
strength;
by sun and cold, by rain and snows,
in tree or man, good timber grows.
where thickest stands for the forest
growth
we find the patriarchs of both;
and they hold converse with the stars
whose broken branches show the scars
of many winds and of much strife -
this is the common law of life.
THE ROSE LEAF
Oh, beautiful rose, please tell me,
for I would like to know,
why I must crush your petals
that sweet perfume may flow.
Oh, life that is clothed in beauty,
perhaps like that beautiful rose,
you will need to be crushed by suffering
ere you give out your best; who knows?
a life that is crushed by sorrow
can feel for another's grief,
and sent out that sweet perfume of
love
that will bring some heart relief.
Oh, do not repine at your testing,
when called to pass under the rod,
it is that life might the sweeter be.
and comes from the Hand of god.
He knows how much we are needing,
of sorrow or suffering or test,
and only gives to His children
the things that he knoweth
best.
then let us rejoice when He sendeth
some sorrow or hardship that tries,
and be glad to be crushed as the rose
leaf,
that a sweeter perfume may arise.
Flora L. Osgood
457 BE TRUE TO YOURSELF
be true to yourself at the start, young man,
be true to yourself and God;
ere you build your house, mark well the spot,
test all the ground and build you not
on the sand or the shaking sod.
Dig, dig the foundation deep, young man,
plant firmly the outer wall;
let the props be strong and the roof be high,
like an open turret toward the sky.
through which heaven's dews may fall.
let this be the room of the soul, young man -
when shadows shall herald care,
a chamber with never a roof or thatch
to hinder the light - or door or latch
to shut in the spirit's prayer!
build slow and sure; 'tis for life, young man,
a life that outlives the breath;
for who shall gainsay the Holy Word?
'their works do follow them, said the Lord,
therein there is no death.
build deep and high and broad, young man,
as the needful case demands;
let your title-deeds be clear and bright,
till you enter your claim to the Lord of Light,
for the 'house not made with hands'.
Author unknown
UNIQUE - Francis Bent Dillingham
toil-worn I stood and said,
'O Lord, my feet have bled,
my hands are sore,
I weep, my efforts vainly poor.
with fainting heart I pray of Thee,
give some brave other, work designed for me'.
but my Lord answer made,
'O child of Mine,
I have looked through space and searched through time,
there is none can do the work called thine'.
soul-sick I knelt and cried,
'Let me forever hide
My little soul
from sight of Him how made me whole,
my one small spirit in the vast,
vast throngs of like mean myriads, present, past!'
but my Lord answer made,
'O child of Mine,
I have looked through space and searched through time,
but I find no soul is like to thine!'
458 WHERE THE LEPROSY BEGINS
when Nations are to perish in their sins,
'Tis in the Church the leprosy begins:
the priest, whose office is, with zeal sincere
to watch the foundation and preserve it clear,
carelessly nods and sleeps upon the brink,
while others poison what 'the flock'must drink;
or waking at the call of lust alone,
infuses lies and errors of his own:
His unsuspecting sheep believe it pure,
and, tainted by the very means of cure,
catch from each other a contagious spot,
the foul forerunner of a general rot.
then Truth is hush'd that heresy may preach,
and all is trash that reason cannot reach;
then God's own image on the soul impress'd
becomes a mockery and a standing jest;
and Faith, the root whence only can arise
the graces of a life that wins the skies,
loses at once all value and esteem,
pronounced by greybeards a pernicious dream;
then Ceremony leads her bigots forth,
prepared to fight for shadows of no worth;
while Truths, on which Eternal Things depend,
finds not, or hardly finds a single friend:
as soldiers watch the signal of command,
they learn to bow, to kneel, to sit, to stand;
happy to fill Religion's vacant place
with hollow form and gesture and grimace.
William Cowper
459 HE CAME - Author unknown
He came to you, for in His gentle voice
he'd much that He would say.
your ears were turned to earth's discordant sounds,
and so - He went away.
he came; and in His hand He had a task
that He would have you do,
but you were occupied with other things,
and so you missed that too.
He would have touched you; and His touch could thrill,
and give you quickening power;
but earthly things enveloped and you could
not feel Him in that hour.
TAKE A MAN (Mark 8. 23-5)
Take a man!
take any man,
and touch his life
with the redeeming love of Christ,
and something good happens.
he sees more clearly.
he hears more distinctly.
he loves more deeply.
he comes to a self-realization
in proper perspective to others.
his sensitivity to need is sharpened.
vague human shapes
become people;
real people who feel, suffer,
rejoice, love.
suddenly there is kinship
with all of life.
statistics of suffering
begin to breathe.
vision enlarges, interest expands.
the world has meaning,
and he is no longer orphaned
in a cold universe.
Take a man!
take any man;
it is true.
Carlton Buck
SOMEONE'S BIBLE - E.C.Kurtz
thy life is someone's Bible, where
each day adds one new page;
where chapters rise from little deeds
that fill thy youth and age.
the friend who meets thee now and
then
will read a line therein,
and find some cheer to strive anew,
or pretext for his sin.
someday these speeding years -
their work of record done -
may show how often reading thee,
his soul was lost or won.
a godless act may fix his doom;
thy thoughtlessness he heeds;
be careful friend, for where thou art,
someone his Bible reads.
460 LORD I WOULD FOLLOW - Author unknown
Lord, I would follow, but -
First i would see what means that wondrous call
that peals so sweetly through life's rainbow hall,
that thrills my heart with quivering golden chords,
and fills my soul with joys seraphical.
Lord, I would follow, but -
First I would leave things straight before I go -
collect my dues and pay the debts I owe;
lest when I'm gone and none is here to tend,
Time's ruthless hand my garnering o'erthrow.
Lord, I would follow, but -
First I would see the end of this high road
that stretches straight before me fair and broad;
so clear the way I cannot go astray,
it surely leads me equally to God.
who answers Christ's insistent call
must give himself, his life, his all,
without one backward look.
who sets his hand upon the plow,
and glances back with anxious brow,
his calling hath mistook;
Christ claims him wholly for His own;
he must be Christ's and Christ's alone.
461 - WILT THOU FOLLOW ME?
'wilt thou follow Me?
the Saviour asked.
the road looked bight and fair,
and filled with youthful hope and zeal
i answered, 'Anywhere'.
'wilt thou follow me?
again He asked.
the road looked dim ahead;
but I gave one glance at His glowing
face
'To the end, dear Lord, I said.
'Wilt thou follow Me?
I almost blanched,
for the road was rough and new,
but i felt the grip of His steady Hand,
and it thrilled me thro ' and thro'.
'still followest thou?
'Twas a tender tone,
and it thrilled my inmost heart.
I answered not, but He drew me close,
and I knew we would never part.
Author unknown
THIS IS TODAY - Phyllis C. Michael
yesterday ended when the shadows
caught up each faint trace of its light
and God tenderly covered His
children
with the warm cloud soft blanket of
night.
tomorrow is yet in the making;
it may be all gloomy or all bright.
but this is today - the true treasure
God made just for you and for me;
then out of its bright dewey freshness -
let be whatever must be,
God planned it and on past its
boundaries
I'm certain we NEED not see.
no man should ever cross over
the threshold of God's tomorrow
nor yet retrace his own footsteps
through yesterday's portals to borrow
a quart or even a cupful
of human joy or sorrow.
this is today, the true treasure
God made just for you and for me;
out of its bright dewey freshness -
let be whatever must be.
God planned it and on past its
boundaries
I'm certain we NEED not see.
LIFE'S CROSS - Author unknown
I heard a voice so softly calling:
'Take up thy cross and follow Me.'.
a tempest o'er my heart was falling,
a living cross this was to me.
His cross i took, which, cross no longer,
a hundred-fold brings life to me;
my heart is filled with joy o'erflowing,
His love and life are light to me.
MY LIFE - J. Gordon Howard
O God, not like a stagnant pool
with tepid depths, let my life be;
but like a stream, undaunted, cool,
that plunges, surges toward the sea.
O God, not like a sodden log,
now, dead, tho' once a stately tree;
but pushing high above the bog
still upward yearning, let life be!
462 COME - Author unknown
Come ye yourselves apart and rest awhile,
weary, I know it, of the press and throng,
wipe from your brow the sweat and dust of toil,
and in My quiet strength again be strong.
Come ye aside from all the world holds dear,
for converse which the world has never known,
alone with Me, and with My Father here,
with Me and with My Father not alone.
Come, tell Me all that ye have said and done,
your victories and failures, hopes and fears.
I know how hardly souls are wooed and won:
My choicest wreaths are always wet with tears.
Come ye and rest; the journey is too great,
and ye will faint beside the way and sink;
the bread of life is here for you to eat,
and here for you the wine of love to drink.
then fresh from converse with your Lord return,
and work till daylight softens into even:
the brief house are not lost in which ye learn
more of your Master and His rest in Heaven.
OLD AGE - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Ah nothing is too late till the tired heart shall cease to palpitate.
Cato learned Greek at 80; Sophocles wrote his grand oedipus, and simonides
bore off the prize of verse from his compeers
when each had numbered more than fourscore years.
Chaucer, at Woodstock with the nightingales,
at 60 wrote the Canterbury Tales;
Goethe at Weimar, toiling to the last
completed Faust when 80 years were past.
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.
463 HAVE I? - Jessie Cannon Eldridge
I have never seen God's Face -
Or have I? I don't know -
I have seen a rose's grace
and watched it bud and bloom and
grow,
I have seen a violet burst
and capture from the sky,
the glorious beauty of the color
of heaven on high,
I have seen a baby's smile,
I have seen a sea gull's grace,
just simple things, but all the while,
have I not glimpsed, through them,
God's Face?
I have never heard God's Voice -
Or have I? I don't know -
I have heard a singing bird,
and listened to the north wind blow,
I have heard the patter of
spring rain upon awakening grass,
I have heard the silver voice
of friendship, when a friend I pass,
I have heard a baby's cry,
and the word, 'Mother', from my
boys;
just simple things, but all the while,
have I not heard, through them,
God's Voice?
I have never touched God's Hand -
Or have I? I don't know -
I have felt the wondering softness
of the pure, white winter snow.
I have touched a tiny seed
where-in great mysteries dwell,
I have touched a baby's cheek,
softer than mere words can till.
I have touched my sons' sweet faces.
I have felt the rich, brown land;
just simple things, but all the while,
have I not touched, through them,
God's Hand?
LIGHT FOR THE NORTH ROOM
while lying in a north room
where no sun came at all
quit suddenly I saw a light
reflected on the wall;
delightedly I turned to see
whence such a thing had come,
when through the open door I spied
a mirror in the sun.
Oh, what a precious lesson
for christians - you and me;
our lives perhaps are all the light
of Christ that some may see.
Let's keep our mirrors facing Him,
all clear and shining bright;
for someone in the north room
is sure to need our light!
Alice Hansche Mortenson
464 THE ZIGZAG PATH - Author unknown
we climbed the height by the zigzag path
and wondered why - until
we understood it was made zigzag
to break the force of the hill.
a road straight up would prove too steep
for the traveler's feet to tread;
the thought was kind in its wise design
of a zigzag path instead.
it is often so in our daily life;
we fail to understand
that the twisting way our feet must tread
by love alone was planned.
then murmur not at the winding way,
it is our Father's will
to lead us Home by the zigzag path,
to break the force of the hill.
MAKE ME THY MOUNTAINEER
Make me Thy mountaineer; I would not linger
On the lower slope.
Fill me afresh with hope, O God of hope,
that undefeated
I may climb the hill
as seeing Him who is invisible.
Make me to be Thy happy mountaineer,
O God most high;
My climbing soul would welcome the austere;
Lord, crucify
on rock or scree, ice-cliff or field of snow,
the softness that would sink to things below.
Thou art my Guide; where Thy sure feet have trod
shall mine be set;
Thy lightest word my law of life, O God;
let I forget,
and slip and fall, teach me to do Thy will,
Thy mountaineer upon Thy holy hill.
Amy Carmichael
465 IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!
it's a beautiful day! these are the words
i heard at the edge of dawn,
and waking, I tried to fathom out why
this inner glow and this song
enfolding me, lifting me, leaving my cares
like a mantle discarded and torn?
then I remembered! what cause to rejoice!
why I am a sinner reborn!
it's a beautiful day! though clouds may arise,
no christian is ever alone.
though' penniless, poor and rejected of men'.
we're heirs and joint-heirs to a throne!
it's a beautiful day! Christ dwelling within,
let me walk with a conqueror's tread,
just doing His will! it's a beautiful day!
and - Heave is just ahead!
Alice Hansche Mortenson
OF PREACHERS - William Cowper
I venerate the man whose heart is warm,
whose hands are pure, whose doctrine and whose life,
coincident, exhibit lucid proof
that he is honest in the sacred cause,
to such I render more than mere respect,
whose actions say that they respect themselves,
but, loose in morals and in manners vain,
in conversation frivolous, in dress
extreme, at once rapacious and profuse;
frequent in part with lady at his side,
ambling and prattling scandal as he goes;
but rare at home, and never at his books,
or with his pen, save when he scrawls a card;
constant at routs, familiar with a round
of ladyships - a stranger to the poor;
ambitious of preferment for its gold,
and well-prepar'd, by ignorance and sloth,
by infidelity and love of world ,
to make God's work a sinecure; a slave
to his own pleasures and his patron's pride:
from such apostles, oh, ye mitred heads,
Preserve the church! and lay not careless hands
on sculls that cannot teach, and will not learn.
Would I describe a preacher, such as paul,
were he on earth, would hear, approve and own -
Paul should himself direct me. I would trace
His master-strokes and draw from his design.
I would express him simple, grave, sincere;
in doctrine uncorrupt; in language plain,
and plain in manner; decent, solemn, chaste,
and natural in gesture; much impress'd
himself, as conscious of his awful charge,
and anxious mainly that the flock he feeds
may feel it too; affectionate in look,
and tender in address, as well becomes
a messenger of grace to guilty men.
behold the picture! - is it like? - Like whom?
the things that mount the rostrum with a skip,
and then skip down again; pronounce a text;
Cry - hem: and , reading what they never wrote,
just 15 minutes, huddle up their work,
and with a well-bred whisper close the scene!
466 AS I GO DOWN THE SUNSET HILL
As I go down the sunset hill,
I pray, O Lord, that I
will sweeter and more loving grow
until the day I die.
may trouble serve to mellow me,
and weakness make me kind
to slowness in another's step;
and let me not be blind
to beauty in the simple things
that all around me lie -
in people and their loving deeds,
as will as field and sky.
Oh, make me slow to criticize,
and quicker to forgive,
and brush away each fancied slight
as long as I shall live.
let me take time to savor well
the good things as I go
along this (sometimes rugged) path
ablaze with sunset glow.
and may the brightness of Thy love
within my heart erase
all earthiness - preparing me
to look upon Thy face!
Alice Hansche Mortenson
AGE IS A QUALITY OF MIND
age is a quality of mind -
if you have left your dreams behind,
if hope is lost,
if you no longer look ahead,
if your ambitions' fires are dead -
then you are old.
but if from life you take the best
and if in life you keep the jest,
if love you hold -
no matter how the years go by,
no matter how the birthdays fly,
You are not old!
Author unknown
467 THE INWARD LIFE - Author unknown
Oh sacred union with the Perfect Mind,
Transcendent bliss, which Thou alone canst give;
how blest are they this Pearl of Price who find,
and, dead to earth, have learnt in Thee to live.
thus in Thine arms of love, O God, I lie,
lost, and for ever lost to all but Thee.
my happy soul, since it hath learnt to die,
hath found new life in Thine Infinity.
go then and learn this lesson of the cross,
and tread the way the saints and prophets trod:
who, counting life and self and all things loss,
have found in inward death the life of God.
THE CROSS A CROWN - Amos R. Wells
God laid upon my back a grievous load,
a heavy cross to bear along the road.
I staggered on and lo! one weary day,
an angry lion sprang across my way.
I prayed to God, and swift at His command
the cross became a weapon in my hand.
It slew my raging enemy, and then
became a cross upon my back again.
I reached a desert. O'er the burning track
I persevered, the cross upon my back.
no shade was there and in the cruel sun
I sank at last and thought my days were done.
But lo! the Lord works many a blest surprise -
the cross became a tree before my eyes!
I slept; I woke, to feel the strength of ten.
I found the cross upon my back again.
and thus through all my days from then to this,
the cross, my burden, has become my bliss.
nor ever shall I lay the burden down,
for God some day will make the cross a crown!
468 AUTUMN DAYS
Today I saw a slender locust tree
with misty white all sprinkled, as in may;
and giving forth to all who passed that way
its delicate, rare fragrance lavishly.
the maples newly tipped with red might be;
the golden-rod in glowing waves might sway;
but the locust heeded not october's day -
it dressed itself for spring and smiled at me.
Oh grant that when the autumn days of life
shall come to me, my spirit then may bloom
and deck itself in white; recall its spring;
remember battles won, for get the strife;
forget old enemies, remember whom
it loved, be joyful in these thoughts - and sing!
Margaret Knowled Speidel
CROWN OF AGE - M. H.
why speak of those whom age is crowning,
as going slowly down hill,
when on the heights above them shining
stands One who beckons upwards still?
no sad descent to death and darkness
is life when lived with love as guide;
but ever climbing toward the hilltop,
each summit gained brings visions wide.
'Tis always up the Pilgrims travel;
while love rejoices at their side,
to feel the press of faith more strongly,
to know he's near, whate'er betide.
as love the pilgrims forward leadeth,
footsteps may falter, eyes grow dim,
but ev'ry sigh He quickly heareth,
and not a pain is hid from Him.
the steepest crags lie all behind them;
by gentle slopes He guides the way;
then one last step - still up - He bears them,
to find the joy of perfect day.
469 WHEN I GROW OLD - Author unknown
Lord, KEEP ME SWEET when I grow old,
and things in life seem hard to bear;
when I feel sad and all alone,
and people do not seem to care.
O KEEP ME SWEET when time has caused
this body, which was once so strong,
to droop beneath its load of years,
and suffering and pain have come.
and KEEP ME SWEET when I have grown
to worry so, at din and noise;
and help me smile, the while I watch
the noisy play of girls and boys.
help me remember how that I,
when I was younger than today,
and full of life and health and joy,
would romp and shout in happy
play.
help me to train my heart each day,
that it will only sweetness hold;
and as the days and years roll on
may I KEEP SWEET, as I grow old.
Help me to train my heart each day,
that it will only sweetness hold;
and as the days and years roll on
MAY I KEEP SWEET, as I grow old.
yes, KEEP ME SWEET in growing old.
HUMILITY - Author unknown
Lord, let me do the little things,
which may fall to my lot,
those little inconspicuous ones,
by others, oft forgot,
a staff, for others to lean upon,
strong hands to help the weak,
a loving heart with open door,
to all, who solace seek,
to hold my tongue, when hot words
arise,
speak kindly ones instead,
nor harshly judge my fellowmen,
in what they've done, or said,
to share another's heavy load,
by word, or courage given,
to help a fallen brother rise,
and bring him nearer Heaven.
If, like the master, I can give,
myself, for those I love,
rich joy and peace, shall come to me,
sweet rest, in Heaven above.
I know not, when today shall close,
but when life's curfew rings,
I want my Lord to find me then,
still doing little things.
THE PASSING YEARS - James McGinlay
day by day the years are fleeting,
grain by grain the sands still fall.
one by one the hours are passing,
shadows lengthen on the wall.
from their places sound our hearthside,
forms and faces fade away.
like the briefness of a candle
each lives out his little day.
O'er the green mounds on the hillside
sounds against the tolling knell,
life is brief, and time is fleeing,
live it Godly, live it well!
Riches, pleasure, idle pastimes,
all these vanish with the grave
give your heart complete to Jesus,
He alone your soul can save.
Just one life - 'tis all He offers
just one life - 'twill soon be past.
only in His boundless mercy
can we find true peace at last.
one by one we make our exit,
one by one we pass away.
do not risk your soul's destruction
Say 'Yes' to Jesus Christ today!
470 LORD, I LOVE THY MORNING
Lord, I love Thy morning
when the sun breaks through:
wen the birds are glad with singing,
and the grass is wet with dew:
when all the world is full of living,
and all nature seems to pray,
'Thou hast kept us thro' the darkness,
Father, guide us through the day!'
for it always will remind me
it was morning in my soul,
on the day i met my saviour,
when he touched and made me whole.
Barbara E. Cornet
VICTORIA - Henry van Dyke
Thy victory is in the heart,
Thy kingdom is within;
when outward pride and pomp depart,
Thy glory doth begin.
Thine arm, ever in the field,
is led by love and light;
Thy followers fall but never yield,
triumphant in the right.
O King most meek and wonderful,
grant us among Thy host,
to follow Thee, to fight for Thee,
Knights of the Holy Ghost.
LEAN ON ME - Author unknown
'is there no other way, O God,
except thro' sorrow, pain and loss,
to stamp Christ's image on my soul?
no other way except the Cross?
and then a voice stills all my soul,
as stilled the waves on Galilee;
'Canst thou not bear the furnace heat,
if 'mid the flames I walk with thee?
'I bore the Cross, I know its weight,
I drank the cup I hold for thee;
canst thou not follow where I lead?
I'll give the strength - lean thou on Me'.
THAT WAS ALL! - Author unknown
why were the saints, saints?
it is quite simple.
because they were cheerful.
Patient, when it was difficult to be cheerful.
patient.
because they pushed on
when they wanted to stand still.
and kept silent
when they wanted to talk.
and were agreeable when they wanted
to be disagreeable.
That was all!
LIVING - Author unknown
to live with saints in heaven
will be eternal glory;
but to live with them on earth
is quite a different story.
471 THE OLD VIOLIN - Dorothy M. Barter-Snow
I never knew the old, brown violin,
that was so long in some dark corner thrust,
its strings broken or loose, its pegs run down,
could ever be of use again. The dust
of years lay on its shabby case, until
one day a Master took the instrument,
and with caressing fingers touched the wood,
adjusted pegs and strings; his mind intent
on making music as he drew his bow.
then from the violin, long silent, sprang
once more arpeggios, runs, trills. the wood
Quivered, leapt into life and joyous sang.
I now believe that any broken life,
jangling with discords, unadjusted, tossed
in some far corner, wasted, thrown aside,
can yet be of some use; need not be lost
from Heaven's orchestra. A MASTER'S HAND
Scarred with old wounds, can mend the broken thing
if yielded to Him wholly; and CAN MAKE
THE DUMB LIFE SPEAK AGAIN AND JOYOUS SING
in praise of One who gave his life that none
need perish. and this message, gald, most blest,
I now believe; for placing in His Hand
my life, I find my world is now at rest.
THE TOILS OF THE ROAD - Author unknown
my life is a wearisome journey,
I'm sick with the dust and the heat.
the rays of the sun beat upon me,
the briers are wounding my feet;
but the city to which I am going,
will more than ymy trials repay;
for the toils of the road will seem nothing
when I get to the end of the way.
there are so many hills to climb upward,
that i often am longing for rest;
but He who has marked out my pathway
knows just what is needful and best.
I know in His word He's promised
my strength will be as my day
and the toils of the road will seem nothing
when I get to the end of the way.
when the last feeble step has been taken,
and the gates of the city appear,
and the beautiful songs of the angels
float out on my listening ear;
then all that seemed so mysterious
will be clear and plain as the day
and the toils of the road will seem nothing
when we get to the end of the way.
cooling fountains are theree fro the weary;
there are cordials for those who are faint;
there are robes that are whiter
than any that fancy can paint.
then I'll cheerfully press hopefully onward,
knowing now through each wearisome day
that the toils of the road will seem nothng
when we get to the end of the way.
472 IT TAKE SO LITTLE
it takes so little to make us sad:
just a slighting word or a doubting sneer,
just a scornful smil on some lips held dear;
and our footsteps lag, tho'the goal seemed near,
and we lose the courage and hope we had -
so little it takes to make us sad.
it takes so little to make us glad:
just a cheering clasp of a friendly hadn,
just a word from one who can understand;
and we finish the task we long had planned
and we lose the doubt and the fear we had -
so little it takes to make us glad.
Author unknown
sure, this world is full of trouble -
I ain't said it ain't.
Lord! I've had enough and double
reason for complaint.
rain an' storm have come to fret me
skies are often gray;
thorns an' brambles have beset me
skies are often gray;
thorns an' bramble have beset me
on the road, but say,
ain't it fine today!
what's the use of always weepin',
makin' trouble last?
what's the use of always keepin'
thinkin' of the past?
each must have his tribulation,
water with his wine.
life ain't no celebration.
Trouble? I've had mine -
but today is fine.
it's today that I am livin',
not a month ago,
havin', losin', takin', givin'
as time will have it so.
yesterday a cloud of sorrow
fell across the way;
it may rain again tomorrow,
it may rain - but, say,
ain't it fine today!
Douglas Malloch
THE LIFE THAT COUNTS
the life that counts must aim to rise
above the earth to sunlit sky;
must fix its gaze on paradise -
that is the life that counts.
the life that counts must helpful be;
that cares and needs of others see;
must seek the slave of sin to free -
that is the life that counts.
Author unknown
IF - Daisy Moore Bynum
if, as I live, I could become
immune to beauty's call
and never be affected
by a lovely rose at all,
if I could watch a sunset
and not become inspired
nor by a burning bush
that autumn flame has fired,
or have a friend to play me false
and never shed a tear,
and to another friend in pain
I'd turn a deafened ear,
i'm sure, then, I'd suffer less
if all of this were so;
but, it it were, i'd just as well
have died long years ago.
374 CHILDREN IN THE MARKET-PLACE
like children, in the market-place
who weary of their play,
we turn from folly's idle race
and come to Thee today.
O Jesus, teller of the tale
that never will grow old,
Thy words of living truth prevail
our listening hearts to hold.
tell us of Father-love that speaks
peace to the wandering child
of valiant shepherd-love that seeks
the lost sheep in the wild;
of deep Redeemer-love that knows
what sins we need forgiven,
and on the Magdalen bestows
the purest joy of Heaven.
tell us of faith that's like a sword ,
and hope that's like a star;
how great the patient soul's reward,
how blest the loyal are.
tell us of courage like a wall
no storm can batter down;
tell us of men who venture all
for Thee and win a crown.
tell us that life is not a game,
but real and brave and true;
a journey with a glorious aim,
a quest to carry through,
tell us that though our wills are weak
and though we children be,
the everlasting good we seek
we can attain through Thee.
Henry Van Dyke
375 STOCK TAKING
I pause, amidst the clamor of the swiftly moving days
and write the ledger of my life, 'neath Thy all-seeing gaze,
I list in either column the profit and the loss,
the victories that were golden, the failure that were dross.
I look upon the credits with glowing heart and eye,
the faith and courage added as day by day went by;
the lessons Thou hast taught me as I journeyed on my way,
the patience Thou has brought me through many a weary day,
the measure of Thy love which to others I have shown,
the wonder of Thy presence made manifest and known.
and then I scan the debits through swiftly falling tears,
the hours of fretful worry, beset by faithless fear.
the deeds, so often selfish and just for men to see,
the motives, oft unworthy, that brought no joy to Thee.
the times when i have failed to show Thy love in word and deed,
to be a channel Thou couldst use to meet another's need;
the blotted entries, smudged and spoiled by sin and bitterness,
and marvel at Thy changeless love and my unworthiness.
an for the stock on hand, two entries there I place,
my ever-present need - Thy never-failing grace.
Great Keeper of the Records, when Thou take stock o me
what dost THOU see? Joan Suisted
CIRCUMSTANCES - Albert Simpson Reitz
circumstance? how we pet them,
how we give them right of way!
but the Master never planned that
we should be beneath their sway.
we who know Him walk the highway
where the victors all have trod.
circumstance cannot conquer
in the presence of our God.
Paul made circumstance serve him,
made them glorify His Lord;
turned each trial into blessing
as he boldly preached the word.
'these things turned to my advantage'
this old warrior used to say;
'for our good they work together',
tho' the darkness shroud the day.
why should christians live beneath them,
and not walk the heights with Him?
circumstance? we're above them,
though they often seem so grim.
'more than victors' - this the promise,
and Christ bids us cast out fear;
for we triumph o'er all testing
with the Master ever near.
Albert Simpson Reitz
376 SO I STAY NEAR THE DOOR
I stay near the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
the door is the most important door in the world -
it is the door through which men walk when they find God.
there' no use my going way inside and staying here,
when so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
crave to know where the door is.
and all that so many ever find
is only the wall where the door ought to be.
they creep along the wall like blind men,
with outstretched, groping hands,
feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
yet they never find it...
so i stay near the door.
the most tremendous thing in the world
is for men to find that door - the door to God.
the most important thing any man can do
i to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
and put it on the latch - the latch that only clicks
and opens to the man's own touch.
men die outside that door, as starving beggars die
on cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter -
die for want of what is within their grasp.
they live, on the other side of it - live because they have found it.
nothing else matters compare to helping them find it.
and open it and walk in and find Him...
so I stay near the door.
Go in, great saints, go all the way in -
go way down into the cavernous cellar,
and way up into the spacious attics -
it is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.
go into the deepest of hidden casements,
of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood,
some must inhabit those inner room,
and know the depths and heights of God,
and call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
sometime i take a deeper look in,
sometime venture in a little farther;
but my place seems closer to the opening...
so i stay near the door.
377 there is another reason why I stay there,
some people get part way in and become afraid
lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
for God is so very great and asks all of us.
and these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia,
and want to get out. 'Let me out! they cry.
and the people way inside only terrify them more.
somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled
for the old life, they have seen too much:
once taste God and nothing but God will do any more.
somebody must be watching for the frightened
who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
to tell them how much better it is inside.
the people too far in do not see how near they are
to leaving - preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
but would like to run away. so for them, too,
i stay near the door.
I admire the people who go way in.
but I wish they would not forget how it was
before they got in. then they would be able to help
the people who have not yet even found the door.
or the people who want to run away from God.
you can go in too deeply and stay in too long,
and forget the people outside the door.
as for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
but not so far from men as not to hear them,
and remember they are here, too.
Where? outside the door -
thousands of them, millions of them.
but - more important for me -
one of them, two of them, ten of them,
whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
so I shall stay by the door and wait
for those who see it.
'I had rather be a door-keeper... (note: this is, I believe from the Psalms..and concludes....'in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness'.)
so I stay near the door.
Samuel M. Shoemaker
378 ALIVE - Nellie Good
if I fail to catch the music in the gently falling rain,
if the splendors of the sunset spread their hues for me in vain,
if my heart sends back no echo to the bird in yonder tree -
though my purse should hold a million, I would still a pauper be.
if the triumphs of my fellows wake no thrill within my breast,
if the task that waits the doing spurs me not to do my best,
if I do not find fresh courage with each day that passes by -
then the beggar at the corner needs his crutches less than I.
379 A LITTLE FELLOW FOLLOWS ME
a careful man I ought to be,
a little fellow follows me,
I do not dare to go astray
for fear he'll go the selfsame way.
not once can i escape his eyes;
whate'er he sees me do he tries.
like me says he's going to be
that little chap who follows me.
he thinks that I am good and fine;
believes in every word of mine.
the base in me he must not see
that little chap who follows me.
I must remember as i go,
thro' summer sun and winter snow,
I'm building fro the years to be
that little chap who follows me.
Author unknown
IN CHRIST WE HAVE - Author Unknown
A love that can never be fathomed;
A life that can never die;
A righteousness that can never be tarnished;
A peace that can never be understood;
A rest that can never be disturbed;
A job that can never be diminished;
A hope that can never be disappointed;
A glory that can never be clouded;
A light that can never be darkened;
a purity that can never be defiled;
a beauty that can never be marred.
APPRECIATION - Clarence Edwin Flynn
despise no spot. there's not a place
from which joy hides its smiling face
or whence a hero may not come,
or greatness may not make its home.
despise no hour. the drabbest time
may be the one to sound the chime
of freedom from the toils and tears,
and sorrows of a thousand years.
despise no task, however small.
life honors each and uses all.
what builds the story of the land?
the patient toil of unknown hands.
despise no road that feet must go.
the roughest, hardest path you know
may be the one whose course is cast
toward the fairest scene at last.
despise no soul. god scorneth none.
His image is on every one.
in shadows where no trumpet swells
this moment many a great heart dwells.
380 FOUR DOGS - Author unknown
there were four dogs one summer day
went out for a morning walk,
and as they trotted along their way
they began to laugh and talk!
said Dog No. 1, 'I really think
my master is very wise;
for he builds houses tall and grand
that reach clear up to the skies!'
Said Dog No. 2, in a scornful tone,
'Ho, ho! that's wonderful - yes!
but listen to me -my master writes books!
He's sold a million, I guess!
the Dog No. 3 tossed his curly head
and gave a sly little wink;
'that's nothing to tell! My master is rich!
he owns half the world, I think!
the fourth little dog had been trotting along,
with a wise, reflective mind;
at last he said, with a happy smile,
'My master - he is kind!
now, if your opinion should be asked,
i wonder what you would say!
which dog paid the sweetest compliment
to his master on that day?
BE WITH ME LORD - John Oxenham
through every minute of this day,
Be with me, Lord!
through every day of all this week,
Be with me, Lord!
through every week of all this year,
Be with me, Lord!
through all the years of all this life,
Be with me, Lord!
381 LOST - Author unknown
What? lost your temper, did you say?
well, dear, I would not mind it.
it is not such a dreadful loss -
Pray do not try to find it.
it chased the dimples all away,
and wrinkled up your forehead.
and changed a pretty, smiling face
to one - well, simply horrid.
it put to flight the cheery words,
the laughter and the singing
and clouds upon the shining sky
it would persist in bring.
and now it's gone. then, do, my dear,
make it your best endeavor
to quickly find a better one,
and lose it never, never.
HOUSE CLEANING
I fling out fear and discontent
and give my doubts the broom,
then bring in cheer and merriment
to fill each empty room.
the windows darkened by distress,
i'll brighten up again
and wash with suds of cheerfulness
to let the sunshine in.
i'll toss out selfishness and hate,
then buy a box of love
so big it barely clears the gate
and ceiling high above.
Oh, yes, this year house-cleaning time
has me on reverent knees,
scrubbing my heart of moral grime
to win great victories.
Nicholas Lloyd Ingraham
MYSELF - Edwin C. Swanson
I live with myself each livelong day:
I know what I think; I hear what I say;
my mind is to me a secret book;
its covers are closed; other eyes may not look;
yet once in a while i pass on a thought
that comes from its pages so secretly wrought.
today i was thinking of thoughts high and low,
when my ship, mental ship, was caught in the flow
of eternity's stream flowing deep, sweeping wide,
and inwardly awed, I silently cried:
'How great are God's thoughts, how solemn, how high,
i cannot attain them, though hard i may try.'
then caught in the vortex of sin and despair,
i remembered His word and uttered this prayer:
'O God of dominion, eternal in power,
remember Thy servant and free him this hour
from thoughts that are low to thoughts that are high,
and lift mine eyes to Thy limitless sky'.
382 GOD SHOWS IN YOUR FACE
You don't have to tell how you live each day,
you don't have to say if you work or you play.
a tried, true barometer serves in the place;
however you live, it will show in your face.
the false, the deceit that you bear in your heart
will not stay inside where it first got a start;
for sinew and blood are a thin veil of lace;
what you wear in your heart, you wear in your face.
if your life is unselfish, if for others you live,
for not what you get, but for who much you can give;
if you live close to god, in his infinite grace,
you don't have to tell it: it shows in your face.
Author unknown
DON'T FIND FAULT - Author unknown
pray don't find fault with the man who limps
or stumbles along the road,
unless you have worn the shoes that he wears,
or struggled beneath his load.
there may be tacks in the shoes that hurt,
though hidden away from view;
or burdens he bears placed on you back
might cause you to stumble too.
don't sneer at the man who's down today
unless you have felt the blow
that caused his fall or felt the same
that only the fallen know.
you may be strong but yet the blow
that was his, if dealt to you
in the selfsame way, or at the selfsame time,
might cause you to stagger, too.
don't be too harsh with the man who sins,
or pelt him with words or stones,
unless you are sure - yea, doubly sure,
that you have not sins of your own.
for you know, perhaps, if the tempter's voice
should whisper as soft to you
as it did to him when he went astray
it would cause you to falter too.
383 A SMILE - Author unknown
a smile costs nothing but gives much -
it takes but a moment, but the memory
of it usually lasts forever.
none are so rich that can get along
without it -
and none are so poor but that can
Be made rich by it.
it enriches those who receive
without making poor those who give -
it creates sunshine in the home,
fosters good will in business
and is a good antidote for trouble -
and yet it cannot be begged, borrowed
or stolen, for it is of no value
unless it is freely given away.
some people are too busy to give
you a smile -
give them one of yours -
for the good Lord knows that no one
needs a smile so badly
as he or she who has no more
smiles left to give.
384 DIAMONDS - Virginia Call
diamonds are only chunks of coal
that stuck to their jobs, you see;
if they'd petered out, as most of us do,
where would the diamonds be?
it isn't the fact of making a start,
it's the sticking that counts. I'll say,
it's the fellow that knows not the meaning of fall,
but hammers and hammers away.
whenever you think you've come to the end,
and you're beaten as bad as can be,
remember that diamonds are chunks of coal,
that stuck to their jobs, you see.
DISAGREEING WITH GOD - Beverly Haglund
we call Him 'Lord' and believe His
Word,
we're careful all along our way.
and yet he says, 'why call me 'Lord'
and do not the things i say?
He tells us to forgive our brother
and we say we do, but, oh,
the lives we live speak out in truth,
'not so, my Lord, not so'.
believe in prayer? of course we do.
his great promises we know.
and yet, attendance at prayer meeting
speaks forth, 'not so, not so.
we know he makes all grace abound,
and gives us all we need.
and still we hold each penny dear,
'not so, my lord, we plead.
we read the words, 'Be anxious for naught'.
and yet we worry so.
we know the verse, believe its truth,
and yet we say, 'Not so'.
my brother, what will he say to you,
when the race of life is done/
'depart from me, I know you not'
or 'well done, my beloved one'?
385 YOU CAN BE ONE! - Edith C. Lilly
when you're looking for a christian
who daily walks with God;
one who has a perfect conscience,
does not chafe beneath the rod;
one who keeps himself peculiar
and unspotted from the world;
while his gaze is fixed on heave
tho' hell's darts at him be hurled -
well - you may not see one,
but you can be one.
Tho' the church be far from perfect,
as the members each you scan;
some hypocrites you find and
others missing Heaven's plan;
some are lazy, some too zealous,
some as stubborn as a mule -
still you search for such a christian
as will measure to your rule -
well - you may not see one,
but you can be one.
in God's people, oh, what patience,
what tenderness you find;
what sincerity and meekness,
what purity of mind;
but so many who are perfect
in motive and in heart,
in performance may seem lacking,
so remember from the start -
tho' you may not see one,
still you can be one.
God has never promised others
you demands would have to face;
but however high your standards,
you can live hem by His grace;
no ideals have yet depleted
what God's grace can do for you;
but when checking for a christian
by the thing YOU have to do -
Tho' you may not see one,
still you can be one.
386 INVENTORY - Ellen McKay Trimmer
Busy? Yes, Lord, in the midst of the conflict,
working and striving thy servant to be,
pleading with sinners, helping the stumbling,
yet with my first love grown cold unto thee.
Where is the thrill that once came with Thy presence?
where, lord, the blessing once found in thy word?
can it be i am so lost in thy service
that by thyself i no longer am stirred?
Lord, let me no more grow dull to Thy presence,
fill my cold heart with the warmth of thy love;
never again need my poor soul go hungry,
satisfied daily with food from above.
IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
an old man stood at eventide
and looked across the bygone years;
for what he was he shed great tears.
a misspent life - O that was it -
his time was gone, his talent lost;
how sad to think and then admit
it was too late to count the cost!
he might have been - O who can guess?
no one indeed but god can know;
he might have been a saint - no less -
to help, to lift, to shine and glow;
or like a mighty ship at sea
that's brought its cargo safe to land,
he might have brought to you and me
some blessings rich from God's great hand.
he studied of the golden days
he lived in sin and wrongly spent;
of how he walked in evil ways,
and maybe others downward sent,
whom he, perhaps, by word and deed,
by prayer and good examples set,
might in their lives have sown the seed
that would have God's approval met.
Too late, alas! the time was spent,
the opportunities were dead;
and though with tears he might repent,
and God would save from fear and dread,
he can't recall the misspent past;
it's gone to stay for evermore;
but who can tell the glories vast
he's missed beyond this earthly shore?
387 SING! Author unknown
there are hearts that are crushed by the cares of the road,
and hurt by the strife of the day;
there are lonely souls who dwell apart,
'Neath skies that are always grey.
spirits that bear no friendly voice,
who are strangers to mirth and cheer;
creatures who dwell in a barren world,
who weep through nights long and drear.
and perhaps, as we travel the highway of life -
if our hearts are open to see,
we may meet these care-laden pilgrims
and ministering spirits be.
for the joy of your heart was given to share -
if imprisoned, it's destined to die;
and a weeping world will respond to your song,
if you sing as the world goes by.
A MINUTE - Author unknown
two or three minutes - two or three hours -
what do they mean in this life of ours/
not very much if but counted as time,
but minutes of god and hours sublime
if we will use them once in a while
to make someone happy, someone smile.
a minute may dry a little lad's tears.
minutes of my time may bring to an end
hopelessness, somewhere, and give me a friend!
389 BUILDING - Gilbert Keith Chesterton
I watched them tearing a building down -
a gang of men in a busy town -
with a yo-heave-ho and a lust yell,
they swung a beam and the side wall fell.
i asked the foreman; 'Are these men skilled -
the kind you would hire if you wanted to build?
he laughed and said: 'why, no indeed,
just common labour is all I need;
they can easily wreck in a day or two
what builders have taken years to do'.
i asked myself, as i went my way,
which of these roles have i tried today?
am I a builder, who works with care,
measuring life by the rule and square,
shaping my deeds by the well-made plan,
patiently doing the best I can?
or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
content with the labour of tearing down?
`
390 HE CANNOT HEAL - Lillian R. Dickson
He cannot heal who has not suffered much,
for only sorrow, sorrow understands;
they will not come for healing at our touch
who have not seen the scars upon our hands.
395 'TWAS A SHEEP...NOT A LAMB
It was sheep - not a lamb, that strayed away
in the parable Jesus told:
a grown-up sheep that had gone astray
from the ninety and nine in the fold.
out in the meadows, out in the cold,
'twas a sheep the Good Shepherd sought:
back to the flock and into the fold,
'Twas a sheep the good Shepherd brought.
and why, for the sheep, should we earnestly long,
and so earnestly hope and pray?
because there is danger, if they go wrong,
they will lead the young lambs astray.
for the lambs follow the sheep, you know,
wherever the sheep may stray:
if the sheep go wrong, it will not be long
till the lams are as wrong as they.
so, with thee sheep we earnestly plead,
for the sake of he lambs today:
if the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost
some sheep may have to pay.
Author unknown
397 THE CROSS - William Cowper
'Tis my happiness below
not to live without the cross;
but the Saviour's power to know,
sanctifying ev'ry loss.
trials must and will befall;
but with humble faith to see
love inscribed upon them all, -
this is happiness to me.
did I meet no trials here,
no chastisement by the way,
might I not with reason fear
i should prove a castaway?
Trials make the promise sweet;
trials give new life to prayer;
bring me to my Saviour's feet,
lay me low and keep me there.
398 - LITTLE THINGS - Unknown author
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?
what will it matter whether hearts
were brave,
and lives were true, that you gave me
the sympathy i caved, as I gave you?
these trifles, can it be
they make or mar a human life?
are souls as lightly waved as rushes
are by storm or strife? Yea! Yea!
a look the failing heart may break,
or make it whole
and just a word said for love's sweet sake
may save a soul.
THE WILL OF GOD - Frederick William Faber
I worship The, 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 see thee bring to nought
the plans of wily men;
when simple hearts outwit the wise,
Oh, Thou art loveliest then.
thee headstrong world it presses hard
upon the church full oft,
and then how easily thou turnst
the hard ways into soft.
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 of
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 men 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.
400 HELP ME LIVE! - Charles Gabriel
If i have wounded any soul today,
If i have caused one foot to go astray,
If I have walked in my own willful way -
Dear lord, forgive!
If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain
lest i myself should suffer through the strain -
Dear Lord, forgive!
If I have been perverse or hard or cold,
If I have longed for shelter in thy fold,
when Thou hast given me some part to hold -
Dear Lord, forgive!
Forgive the wrong i have confessed to thee,
Forgive the wrong, the secret wrongs, I do not see;
that which I know not, master, teach Thou me -
Help me to live!
401 THE LADDER OF SAINT AUGUSTINE
saint Augustine! well hast thou said,
that of our vices we can frame
a ladder, id 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 low desire, the base design,
that makes another's virtues less;
the revel of the ruddy wine,
and all occasions of excess;
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 tho'ts of ill;
whatever hinders or impedes
the action of the nobler will:-
all these must first e 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 mighty pyramids of stone
that wedge-like cleave the desert
airs,
when nearer seen and better known,
are but gigantic flights of stairs.
the distant mountains, that uprear
their solid bastions to the skies,
are crossed by pathways, that appear
as we to higher levels rise.
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
HELP ME TO LIVE! - Charles Gabriel
If I have wounded any soul today,
If I have caused one foot to go astray,
if I have walked in my own willful way -
Dear Lord, forgive!
If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain
lest i myself should suffer through the strain -
Dear Lord, forgive!
If I have been perverse or hard or cold,
if I have longed for shelter in thy fold,
when Thou hast given me some part to hold -
Dear Lord, forgive!
Forgive the wrong i have confessed to Thee,
forgive the wrong, the secret wrongs, i do not see;
that which i know not, Master, teach Thou me -
help me to live!
Charles Gabriel
401 NO REGRETS - Author unknown
for doing good to all.
for speaking evil of none,
for hearing before judging.
for thinking before speaking.
for holding an angry tongue.
for being kind to the distressed.
for asking pardon for all errors.
for being patient toward everybody.
for disbelieving most of the ill reports.
BE SUCH A MAN - Phillips Brooks
Be such a man, and live such a life,
that if every man were such as you,
and every life a life like yours,
this earth would be God's Paradise.
402 TEARS Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Thank God, bless God, all ye who suffer not
more grief than ye can weep for. that is well-
that is light grieving! lighter, none befell,
since Adam forfeited the primal lot.
Tears! what are tears? the babe weeps in its cot,
the mother singing; at her marriage bell
the bride weeps! and before the oracle
of high-faned hills, the poet has forgot
such moisture on his cheeks. thank God for grace,
Ye who weep only! if, as some have done,
ye grope tear-blinded in a desert place,
and touch but tombs, -look up! those tears will run
soon in long rivers down the lifted face,
and leave the vision clear for stars and sun.
OH, MAY I JOIN THE CHOIR INVISIBLE
Oh, 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
of miserable aims that end with self,
in thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars,
and with their mild persistence urge men's minds
to vaster issues.
So to live is heaven:
to make undying music in the world,
breathing a 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 thee large and charitable air.
and all our rarer, better, truer self,
that sobbed religiously in yearning son,
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
shall 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.
Marian Evans Cross
THE LAYMEN - Edgar A. Guest
leave it to the ministers and soon the church will die;
leave it to the women folk and some will pass it by;
for the church is all that lifts us from the coarse and selfish mob,
and the church that is to prosper needs the laymen on the job.
now a layman has his business and a layman has his joys;
but he also has the training of the little girls and boys;
and I wonder how he'd like it if there were no churches here
and he had to raise his children in a godless atmosphere.
it's the church's special function to uphold the finer things,
to teach the way of living from which all the noble springs;
but the minister can't do it single-handed and alone,
for the laymen of the country are the church's corner stone.
when you see a church that's empty, tho' its doors are opened wide,
it is not the church that's dying; it's the laymen who have died;
for it's no by song or sermon that the church's worked is done;
it's the laymen of the country who for God must carry on.
404 HYMN - FOR MY BROTHER'S ORDINATION
Christ to the young man said: 'Yet one thing more:
If thou wouldst perfect be,
sell all thou hast and give it to the poor,
and come and follow Me!
within this temple Christ again, unseen,
those sacred words hath said,
and His invisible hands to-day have been
laid on a young man's head.
and evermore beside him on his way
the unseen Christ shall move,
that he may lean upon His arm and say,
'Dost thou, dear Lord, approve"?
beside Him at the marriage feast shall be
to make the scene more fair;
beside Him in the dark Gethsemane
of pain and midnight prayer.
O holy trust! O endless sense of rest!
like the beloved John
to lay his head upon the Saviour's breast,
and thus to journey on!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
EXAGGERATION - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
we overstate the ills of life, and take
imagination, given us to bring down
the choirs of singing angels overshone
by God's clear glory, - down our earth to rake
the dismal snows instead; flake following flake,
to cover all the corn. we walk upon
the shadow of hills across a level thrown,
and pant like climbers. near the alder-brake
we sigh so loud, the nightingale within
refuses to sing loud, as else she would.
o brothers! let us leave the shame and sin
of taking vainly, in a plaintive mood,
the holy name of GRIEF! - holy herein,
that, by the grief of ONE, came all our good.
406 EXAGGERATION - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
we overstate the ills of life and take
Imagination, given us to bring down
the choirs of singing angels overshone
by god's clear glory, -down our earth to rake
the dismal snows instead; flake following flake,
to cover all the corn, we walk upon
the shadow of hills across a level thrown,
and pant like climbers. near the alder-brake
we sigh so loud, the nightingale within
refuses to sing loud, as else she would.
O brothers
1 let us leave the shame and sin
of taking vainly, in a plaintive mood,
the holy name of GRIEF! - holy herein,
that, by the grief on One, came all our good.
406 THE FINAL STRUGGLE
tarry with me, O my Saviour!
for the day is passing by;
See! the shades of evening gather,
and the night is drawing nigh:
deeper, deeper grow the shadows,
paler now the glowing west,
swift the night of death advances;
shall it be the night of rest.
lonely seems the vale of shadow;
sinks my heart with troubled fear;
give me faith for clearer vision,
speak Thou, Lord! in words of cheer;
let me hear thy voice behind me,
calming all these wild alarms;
let me, underneath my weakness,
feel the everlasting arms.
feeble, trembling, fainting, dying,
Lord! I cast myself on Thee:
tarry with me through the darkness;
while I sleep, still watch by me.
tarry with me, O my Saviour!
lay my head upon thy breast
till the morning; then awake me;-
morning of eternal rest!
Caroline Sprague Smith
GOD'S BEST - Avis B. Christiansen
those things which might be counted
gain
must oft be counted loss
that by God's grace I might attain
the glory of the cross.
the seeming good life doth bestow,
appealing though it be,
I must reject if I would know
My Saviour's best for me.
Lord, may I ne'er be satisfied
with this world's second best,
when Thou hast blessings multiplied
for those who stand the test.
THE LORD'S CHARGE - Charles Wesley
a charge to keep I have,
a God to glorify;
a never-dying soul to save,
and fit it for the sky:
to serve the present age,
my calling to fulfill;
Oh, may it all my powers engage
to do my Master's will.
Arm me with jealous care,
as in Thy sight to live;
and oh, they servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give!
help me to watch and pray,
and on thyself rely!
assured if I my trust betray,
I shall forever die.
Charles Wesley
407 SLOW ME DOWN, LORD - Author unknown
Slow me down, Lord;
ease the pounding of my heart
by the quieting of my mind...
steady my hurried pace
with a vision of eternal reach of time...
give me amidst the confusion of my day,
the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Slow me down, Lord;
teach me the art of taking minute vacations...
of lingering to study an azalea bush,
or to chat with a new neighbor,
or to pat an animal.
Slow me down, Lord
that I may know
the race is not always to
the swift...
and that life consists of more
than an increasing tempo.
let me look into the branches of the towering elms
and learn that they grow tall
because they rise slowly
and ably.
Slow me down, Lord;
that I might send my roots
deep into the soil of life's enduring values
and so reach toward the stars
of an infinite destiny.
Let the still small voice
of Him who gave His Son for us all
speak to me
and through me
of peace and victory that passes all understanding.
then speed me on, Lord.
arm me with a diligence
and longing
to redeem each opportune moment for Thee,
to share with friend and stranger
the One who steadies my gait
as I walk this stony path
toward the boundless reaches of his eternal love.
Author unknown
410 TEMPER - Author unknown
when i have lost my temper
I have lost my reason too.
I'm never proud of anything
which I angrily do.
when I have talked in anger,
and my cheeks were flaming red,
I have always uttered something
which i wish I had not said.
in anger I have never
done a kindly deed or wise,
but many things for which I felt
I should apologize.
in looking back across my life,
and all I've lost or made,
I can't recall a single time
when fury ever paid.
so I struggle to be patient,
for I've reached a wiser age;
I do not want to do a thing
or speak a word in rage.
I have learned by sad experience
that when my temper flies
I never do a worthy deed,
a decent deed or wise.
Author unknown
SMILE - Author unknown
the thing that goes the farthest
towards making life worth while,
which costs the least and counts the
most,
is just a pleasant smile.
the smile that bubbles from a heart
that loves its fellow men,
will drive away the clouds of gloom
and coax the sun again.
it is full of worth and goodness too,
with manly kindness blent;
it is worth a million dollars
and it doesn't cost a cent.
there is no room for sadness
when we see a cheery smile,
it always has the same good looks,
it's never out of style.
it nerves us on to try again
when failure makes us blue,
the dimples of encouragement
are good for me and you.
it pays a higher interest
for it is merely lent;
it is worth a million dollars
and it doesn't cost a cent.
a smile comes very easy,
you can wrinkle up with cheer
a hundred times before you
can squeeze out a soggy tear.
it ripples out moreover
to the heart-strings that will tug,
and always leaves an echo
that is very like a hug;
so smile away , folks understand
what is very like a hug;
so smile away, folks understand
what by a smile is meant;
it is worth a million dollars
and doesn't cost a cent.
ONLY A WORD
a word is such a potent thing;
a careless word may break a heart;
a bitter word may burn and sting;
a word can rip a home apart.
and yet a word can comfort bring.
a word can wound, a word can mend;
can lift the broken; lighten eyes,
a word can heal. a word can send
the soul a touch of paradise.
a gentle word may win a friend.
So; Lord of Words, please grant to me
the speech that spreads tranquility.
Lois Elizabeth Ridenour
412 WHO PROFITS MOST?
who profits most? it's not the man
who, grasping every coin he can,
unscrupulously crushes down
his weaker neighbor with a frown.
he is not worthy of his trust
and, friendless, knows his gold is dust.
he loses what he sought to gain
and finds instead of pleasure, pain.
who profits most? it is not he
of life's great opportunity.
he is not mourned. why should he be
who shirks responsibility,
who hermit-like himself withdraws
to live apart from human flaws.
to scoff at human frailties,
he turns away, no vision sees.
who profits most? it is the man
who gives a boost whee he can,
who's on the square in all that's done
and trusts and helps the others on,
who puts his task above mere self,
who values friends and counts them
wealth.
who profits most? is that your quest?
it is the man who serves the best.
413 MY SAVIOUR - Dora Greenwell
I am not skilled to understand
what God hath willed, what God
hath planned;
I only know at His right hand
stands One who is my Saviour.
and was there then no other way
for God to take? I cannot say;
I only bless Him, day by day,
who saved me through my Saviour.
that He should leave His place on
high
and come for sinful man to die,
you count it strange? - so do not I,
since I have known my Saviour.
and O that He fulfilled may see
the travail of His soul in me,
and with His work contented be,
as I with my dear Saviour!
Yea, living, dying, let me bring
my strength, my solace, from this spring,
that He who lives to be my King
once died to be my Saviour.
414 DON'T TROUBLE TROUBLE
don't 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.
who feareth hath forsaken
the heavenly Father's side;
what He hath undertaken
He surely will provide.
the very birds reprove thee
with 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 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.
THE SIN OF OMISSION
it isn't the thing you do;
it's the thing you leave 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,
are your haunting ghosts at 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,
the gentle and winsome tone,
that you had no time or thought for
with troubles enough of your own.
the little acts of kindness,
so easily out of mind;
those chances to be helpful
which everyone may find -
no, it's not the thing you do,
it's the thing you leave undone,
which gives you the bit of heartache
at the setting of the sun.
415 PARADOX - E. Margaret Clarkson
when Thou hast mastered me,
then shall I be victor;
when Thou hast enslaved me,
then shall I be free.
when Thou hast humbled me,
then shall I be exalted;
when Thou hast prostrated me,
then shall I be lifted up.
when Thou hast impoverished me,
then shall I be wealthy;
when Thou hast emptied me,
then shall I be full.
when Thou hast taken all,
then shall i have all;
My Master, lo, I come to Thee -
fulfill thy paradox in me!
417 JOY - John Newton
joy is a fruit that will not grow
in nature's barren soil;
all we can boast, till Christ we know,
is vanity and toil.
but where the Lord hath planted grace,
and where the Lord hath planted grace,
and made His glories known,
these fruits of heavenly joy and peace
are found, and there alone.
419 LIFE'S LESSONS - Author unknown
I learn, as the years roll onward
and leave the past behind,
that much I had counted sorrow
but proves that God is kind;
that many a flower I had longed for
had hidden a thorn of pain,
and many rugged by path
led to fields of ripened grain.
the clouds that cover the sunshine
they can not banish the sun;
and the earth shines out the brighter
when the weary rain is done.
we must stand in the deepest shadow
to see the clearest light;
and often tho' wrong's own darkness
comes the very strength of light.
the sweetest rest is at even,
after a wearisome day,
when the heavy burden of labor
has born from our hearts away;
and those who have never known sorrow
can not know the infinite peace
that falls on the troubled spirit
when it sees at last release.
we must live thro' the dreary winter
if we would value the spring;
and the woods must be cold and silent
before the robins sing.
the flowers must be buried in darkness
before they can but and bloom,
and the sweetest, warmest sunshine
comes after the storm and gloom.
420 THE CHURCH WITHIN - A. L. Alexander
who builds a church within his heart
and takes it with him everywhere,
is holier far than he whose church
is but a one-day house of prayer.
422 THE SECRET - Joan Suisted
'And Enoch walked with God'
no other mortal ever trod
so bright a path, with such a Friend
to such a radiant, hallowed end,
we are not told the weary years,
the heartbreaks, maybe and the tears,
but just - he walked with God.
and Enoch's path led home,
not aimlessly to drift and roam,
to lose the way in mists of doubt,
or pause to try earth's pleasures out,
but then, as now, one course to take
and every lesser goal forsake
and just walk home with God.
together, day by day,
and step with step, they walked that way;
no feverish rushing to and fro,
or with reluctant feet and slow
to drag behind; - why should it be
so hard to travel patiently
and just keep step with God?
and Enoch's faith pleased God.
thro' all the years the path they trod
was made a fragrant, lovely place
by sweet communion, face to Face;
why have we never time to spend
in fellowship with such a Friend
and just to talk with God?
but we - what fools we are,
we follow slowly from afar,
we stumble blindly thro' the night,
we miss the fellowship, the light,
so slow to learn, as learn we must
that all we need to do is trust,
and just to walk with God.
423 KEEP SWEET
there's a little secret
worth its weight in gold,
easy to remember,
easy to be told;
changing into blessing
every curse we meet,
turning hell to heaven,
this is all - keep Sweet.
make us kind and gentle,
harmless as the dove;
giving good for evil,
meeting hate with love;
what though trials press us,
what though tempests beat,
naught can move or harm us
if we just keep Sweet.
storms may rage around us,
waves may sweep the deck,
but with hatches covered
naught our bark can wreck;
sorrow cannot crush us,
satan must retreat
if within our spirit
All is right and Sweet.
Sweet when things are bitter,
Sweet when hearts are sad;
giving songs for sighing,
making others glad;
in the quiet household,
on the bustling street,
everywhere and always,
Jesus, keep us Sweet.
when our foes assail us,
when our friends betray,
when our brightest prospects
wither and decay,
Christ can fill our sadness
with a joy replete,(def - 'fill' + 'again')
turning grief to gladness,
making sorrow sweet.
Fountain in the desert,
Song amid the night,
beacon in the darkness,
Star of hope and light;
Sunshine mid the tempest,
Shadow from the heat -
lie the Blessed Master,
make us, keep us, Sweet.
A. B. Simpson
424 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 or 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 12,
nearer to me is He;
the life He once lived here on earth
He lives again in me.
ascended now to Go,
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
REGRET - Margaret I. Sangster
If I had known in the morning
how wearily all the day
the words unkind
would trouble my mind
i said when You went away,
I had been more careful, darling,
nor given you needless pain:
but we vex our own
with look and tone
we may never take back again.
for though in the quiet evening
you may give me the kiss of peace,
yet it might be that never for me
the pain of the heart should cease.
how many go forth in the morning
who never come home at night,
and hearts are broken
for harsh words spoken
that sorrow can ne'er set right.
we have careful tho't for the stranger,
and smiles for the sometime guest,
but oft for our own
the bitter tone
though we love our own the best.
Ah! lips with the curve impatient,
Ah! brow with that look of scorn,
'Twere a cruel fate
were the night too late
to undo the work of morn!
425 QUIETNESS - Henry W. Frost
passing one day beside Niagara's stream,
in the glad time of Nature's wakening,
when winter yields to spring and spring doth bring
bright sunshine, fragrant flowers and singing birds,
I paused beside the river where its flow
is most disturbed - the rapids in the gorge -
and watched the waters as they passed me by.
there I beheld, under the cloudless sky,
in sight of flowers, in sound of warbling birds,
the broad, deep torrent, rushing on and on,
tossed to and fro, revolving round and round,
with whirlpools, and with waves which dashed themselves
into whit foam upon the blackened rocks,
till all the river seemed alive and mad,
a very hell of waters, near and far,
abysmal depths of discord and of pain.
and as I looked, I saw just opposite,
right in the waters' midst, upon the wave,
a block of wood, resting all calm and still,
not floating down the stream, nor moving round,
as still and calm as if on crystal sea.
astonished at the sight I looked again.
and then again with steady, fixed gaze,
till all my doubts were gone, for there the wood
remained quiescent as I saw it first.
then studying the strange sight I found its cause; -
the block was held just at the central point
of a great whirlpool's course, where, rushing round,
the waters met and formed a place of calm,
as if there were no whirlpool, nor mad rush
of frenzied waters leaping to the sea.
and there I learned that day a lesson new,
beneath bright heav'n, beside the troubled stream,
how deeply calm one's daily life may be,
in the midst of all the torrent-rush of cares,
the pressing, maddening tides of daily tasks,
which dash and whirl till sense is almost gone,
if only one can learn the lesson blest,
to hide within the all infolding will,
God's will for us, all perfect good and true;
for there, in midst of all, in spite of all,
we may find rest, abiding, deep, complete,
and thus find quietness, for ever more!
428 COMMUNION OF SAINTS
let party names no more
the christian world o'erspread;
Gentile and Jew, and bond and free,
are one in Christ, their Head.
among the saints on earth
let mutual love be found;
heirs of the same inheritance,
with mutual blessings crowned.
let envy, child of hell!
be banished far away;
those should in strictest friendship
dwell,
who the same Lord obey.
thus will the church below
resemble that above;
where streams of endless pleasure flow,
and every heart is love.
Benjamin Beddome
429 HOW MUCH I OWE
when this passing world is done,
when has sunk yon glowing sun,
when we stand with Christ in Glory,
looking o'er life's finished story,
then, Lord, shall I fully know -
not till then - how much I owe.
when I stand before the throne,
dressed in beauty not my own,
when I see Thee as Thou art,
love, Thee with unsinning heart,
then, Lord, shall I fully know -
not till then - how much I owe.
when the praise of Heaven I hear,
loud as thunder to the ear,
loud as many waters' noise,
sweet as harp's melodious voice,
then, Lord, shall I fully know -
not till then - how much I owe.
even on earth, as through a glass
darkly, let Thy glory pass;
make forgiveness feel so sweet;
make Thy Spirit's help so meet;
even on earth, Lord, make me know
something of how much I owe.
Robert Murray McCheyne
THE BUSY MAN - Author unknown
if you want to get a favor done
by some obliging friend,
and want a promise safe and sure
on which you may depend,
don't go to him who always has
much leisure time to plan,
but if you want your favor done,
just ask the busy man.
the man of leisure never has
a moment he can spare;
he's busy 'putting off' until
his friends are in despair;
but he whose every waking hour
is crowded full of work,
forgets the art of wasting time -
he cannot stop to shirk.
so when you want a favor done,
and want it right away,
go to the man who constantly
works 20 hours a day.
he'll find a moment, sure, somewhere
that has not other use,
and fix you while the idle man
is framing an excuse.
PASSING THROUGH - Annie Johnson Flint
'when thou passest thro' the waters,'
deep the waves may be, and cold,
but Jehovah is our refuge
and His promise is our hold;
for the Lord Himself hath said it,
He the faithful god and true:
'when Thou comest to the waters,
Thou shalt NOT GO DOWN, but THRO'.'
seas of sorrow, seas of trial,
bitterest anguish, fiercest pain,
rolling surges of temptation,
sweeping over heart and brain,
they shall never overflow us,
for we know His word is true;
all His waves and all His billows
He will LEAD US SAFELY THROUGH.
threatening breakers of destruction,
doubt's insidious undertow,
shall not sink us,
praise the Lord, whose word is true!
we shall not go down nor under,
He hath said, 'Thou passest THRO' ."
430 WEEPING - Henry W. Frost
weep, sorrowing one, for God would have thee weep,
He did not make thee stone, but very man,
yea, He did form thy soul a fountain deep,
seek not to close it up, weep whilst thou can;
yea, weep and weep, weep tears on tears until
thy weeping heart has ta'en its bitter fill.
ne'er think thy weeping sin, since Christ did weep,
who held His life in such long, strong restraint;
mark there, at lazarus' tomb, how how tears upleap,
hear yonder Garden's mournful, bitter plaint;
grieve not, then, if deep grief thine eyes bedim;
as master, so disciple; - weep with Him.
and yet this learn, weep not amidst the crowd;
weeping is sacred; shut thy closet door;
there, only there, put on thy mourner's shroud
where thou canst speak with Christ and help implore;
then, on the breast of Him who weeps with thee,
pour out thy sorrow's bitterest agony.
and grieve not Christ; weep not as without hope;
despair is trustlessness, and, therefore, sin;
however deep thy darkness, never grope,
lift up thine head and see the Light within;
weep on, beloved, weep till sorrow's end,
but ne'er forget that Christ is thy good Friend.
weep, sorrowing one; but e'er remember this:
weeping will not endure beyond the night;
there is in store for thee a rapturous bliss,
God's joy will greet thee with the morning light;
for God's own hand will wipe each weeping eye!
A CONFESSION - Henry W. Frost
did I not know there is in heaven above
a God of wisdom and of changeless love,
in spite of all one earth which makes life glad,
I should be ever sad.
Life masters me, i cannot master it,
before its problems I e'er helpless sit
like a dullard in a crowded school,
confessed by all a fool.
within my heart are longings infinite,
and yet, like fearful child in darksome night,
I start, I shrink, I grope but cannot find,
a child, indeed and blind.
the more I seek, the more is mystery;
the dark e'er deepens in intensity;
I yearn for wisdom, light, for these I cry,
they stand far off, not nigh.
I grasp at substance, and I find it air;
I place my foot on rock, and naught is there;
I think high thoughts, they turn to foolishness
and add to my distress.
E'en love is e'er imperfect here below;
the fondest hopes are often turned to woe;
at heart of sweetest joy lies secret pain,
and life is loss, not gain.
Yea, I have seen life's ideals pass away,
as passes into night some brightsome day,
till what is left is disappointment keen
for things which might have been.
I will not cease my quest, but this I see
there is no solving here of mystery;
I will pursue life's ideals, but I know
the best is not below.
Life, at its best, is brightness shadowed o'er;
Life, 'spite of life, lies ever on before;
not here, but there in heaven, may hearts abide
forever satisfied.
this, then, I've surely found; with God above
is everlasting life and light and love;
and this - in spite of all that makes life sad -
This keeps me ever glad.
432 WHAT GOD HATH PROMISED
God hath not promised
skies always blue,
flower-strewn pathways
all our lives through;
God hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
peace without pain.
but God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.
HEART-BREAK - Henry W. Frost
I have lost my Love to-day,
lost Him in the crowded way,
while I turned aside to see
life in its festivity;
Oh, to look into His face
and to find His pard'ning grace!
Ah, my heart, how fair this world
when its beauties are unfurled,
how they 'snare the heart and mind!
tell me, and oh, tell me true,
has my Love been seen by you?
I did take my wanton way
with the throngs all thro' the day,
seeking pleasures, sweet and rare,
joyful, without thought or car;
now 'tis night; oh, can you tell
where my grieved Love doth dwell?
days are long and full of light,
pleasures sweet and joyance bright;
but the night, how dark and drear,
and how full of dread and fear!
Oh, that I could find my Love,
then I would no longer rove!
if you see my Love, do you
tell Him that my love is true,
that grief's tears my eyes bedim
as I seek and call for Him;
will you, in sweet charity,
help to find my Love for me?
Ah, I wander all alone;
would I could for sin atone,
I would give my very heart,
with my very life would part,
if in giving, dying, I
might but find my Love was nigh!
hear me, Love; I cry, I moan,
Thee I long for, Thee alone;
if Thou wilt return to me
I will never part from Thee;
hear me all, below, above,
tell my Love, I die from love!
Henry W. Frost
433 DRIFTING - James McConkey
why do I drift on a storm-tossed sea,
with neither compass, nor star, nor chart,
when, as I drift, god's own plan for me
waits at the door of my slow-trusting heart?
down from the heavens it drops like a scroll,
each day a bit will the Master unroll,
each day a mite of the veil will He lift,
why do I falter? why wander and drift?
drifting, while God's at the helm to steer;
groping, when God lays the course so clear;
swerving, though straight into port I might sail;
wrecking, when heaven lies just within hail.
help me, O God, in the plan to believe;
help me my fragment each day to receive.
Oh, that my will may with Thine have no strife!
God-yielded wills find the god-planned life.
434 PEACE - Avis B. Christiansen
I longed for peace and quiet,
but Jesus chose for me
a path through storm and tempest,
a wild and boisterous sea.
but while the raging billows
in fury round me tore
and threatened with destruction
my frail bark o'er and o'er,
I glimpsed amid the darkness
a trail of heavenly light,
and one came walking toward me,
whose voice dispelled my night.
in accents soft and tender,
He bade my fears to cease,
as to the roaring tempest
He whispered words of peace.
Oh hallowed are life's conflicts,
and blest its every storm,
it they but draw me closer
to His encircling arm!
ABUNDANT LIFE - Henry W. Frost
to do God's will from day to day,
to follow Christ and not to stray,
to have the Spirit's power alway,
this is abundant life!
435 WANDERER'S SONG
Jesus, I am far astray
from the straight and narrow way;
bring me back, I humbly pray;
Jesus, hear and save me!
draw me with Thy cords of love,
fix my heart on Thee above,
that I may no longer rove;
Jesus, hear and save me!
save me from life's snare and sin,
make me Thine, without, within,
grant me strength the race to win;
Jesus, hear and save me!
Henry W. Frost
GETHSEMANE
in golden youth when seems the earth
a summer-land of surging mirth,
when souls are glad and hearts are
light,
and not a shadow lurks in sight,
we do not know it, but there lies
somewhere veiled 'neath evening skies
a garden which we all must see -
the garden of Gethsemane.
with joyous steps we go our ways,
love lends a halo to our days;
light sorrows sail like clouds afar,
we laugh and say how strong we are,
we hurry on: and hurrying, go
close to the borderland of woe
that waits for you, and waits for me -
forever waits Gethsemane.
down shadowy lanes, across strange
streams
bridged over by our broken dreams;
behind the misty caps of years,
beyond the great salt fount of tears,
the garden lies. Strive, as you may,
you cannot miss it in your way;
all paths that have been, or shall be
pass somewhere through Gethsemane.
all those who journey, soon or late,
must pass within the garden's gate;
must kneel alone in darkness there,
and battle with some fierce despair,
God pity those who cannot say,l
'Not mine, but Thine,' who only pray,
'Let this cup pass, and cannot seed
the purpose of Gethsemane.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
IN HOC SIGNO
the Kingdoms of the Earth go by
in purple and in gold;
they rise, they triumph, and they die,
and all their tale is told.
one kingdom only is divine,
one banner triumphs still:
Its King a servant and its sign
a gibbet on a hill.
Godfrey Fox Bradby
PEACE - Henry W. Frost
there is a life deep hid in god
where all is clam and still,
where, listening to His holy Word,
one learns to trust, until
all anxious care is put away
and there is peace, profound, alway;
grant us Thy peace, O God!
436 DAY BY DAY - Josiah Conder
day by day manna fell:
O to learn this lesson well.
still by constant mercy fed,
give me, Lord, by daily bread.
'day by day, the promise reads,
daily strength for daily needs:
cast foreboding fears away;
take the manna of today.
Lord! my times are in Thy hand:
all my sanguine hopes have planned,
to Thy wisdom i resign,
and would make Thy purpose mine.
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.
WORDS - Author unknown
words are things of little cost,
quickly spoken, quickly lost;
we forget them, but they stand
witnesses at God's right hand.
grant us, Lord, from day to day,
strength to watch and grace to pray;
may our lips, from sin set free,
love to speak and sing of Thee.
NOT GROWING OLD - Author unknown
they say that I am growing old,
I've heard them tell it times untold
in language plain and bold -
but I'm not growing old.
this frail old shell in which I dwell
is growing old, I know full well,
but I'm not growing old!
what if my hair IS turning gray?
gray hair is honorable, they say.
what IF my eyesight's growing dim?
I still can see to follow Him
who sacrificed His life for me
there on the Cross at Calvary!
what should I care if Time's old plow
has dug its furrows in my brow?
another house, not made with hand,
awaits me in the Glory Land.
My hearing may not be as keen
as in the past it might have been,
still I can hear my Saviour say,
'Come, faltering child, this is the way!'
the outward man, do what i can
to lengthen out this life's short span,
shall perish and return to dust,
as everything in nature must.
But the inward man, the Scriptures
say,
is growing stronger every day!
then how can I be growing old?
I'm safe within my Saviour's fold.
E'er long my soul shall fly away
and leave this tenement of clay!
this robe of flesh I'll drop and rise
to seize the everlasting prize!
I'LL MEET YOU on the streets of gold
and prove that i'm NOT growing old!
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE - Author unknown
to me, O Lord, be thou 'The Way',
to me be thou 'the Truth';
to me, my Saviour, be 'The Life',
Thou Guardian of my youth!
so shall that Way be my delight,
that Truth shall make me free;
that Life shall raise me from the dead,
and then I'll live to Thee.
437 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;p
long ago was I weary of places,
where I met but the human and sin.
and still I pined 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;
I wept as the clouds of the world veiled
even that glimpse from my view.
I toiled on hear-tired of the human,
I moaned mid the mazes of men,
till I knelt, long ago, at an altar,
and heard a Voice call me; since them
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 the 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 y tears are as sweet as the dew drops,
that fall on the roses of 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 forms 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 Balley,
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.
Father Ryan
439 THE LITTLE STAR
a little star shone singly in the night,
and thought 'how very feeble is my light!
there's not a traveler who will see his way,
who will be guided by my tiny ray.
but I will not go out - the more will I
attempt to shine in this vast, darkened sky'.
down in the world there was a weary soul
striving alone to see the clouded goal.
full of despair, she wrestled all the night,
but saw no shine of a guiding light.
she said, 'there is no moon, I am so sad',
and lost the very little hope she had.
But through her narrow window did she see
a point of brightness gleaming fervently.
it was the single star. she cried aloud,
and hoped anew for passing of the cloud.
when morning came, with all its golden light,
she said, 'I found the saviour in the night.
I found Him through a star - it must have been
the Star of Bethlehem that I have seen,
for to the Lord it led - and so I came
and saw the hills of Heaven all aflame,
all shining with the glory of that star,
whose small but steady light had called afar'.
O little star! be not afraid thy light
will be too feeble to be seen at night.
however small, if steady, it will be lighting the roadway to Eternity.
they know in Heaven, where he angels are,
a soul was lighted by a little star.
Vivien Jameson
440 PILLGRIMAGE
a few more miles and a few more tears
and I'll be at home with the blest;
a few more struggles and doubts and fears
and I'll be for ever at rest;
then steady, my soul, till the day is done;
go bravely on till the setting sun
has sunk 'neath the hills in the west.
my way is the way that the master went,
with His feet full weary and sore,
where, for love of me, He was sorely spent
as He bowed 'neath the cross which He bore;
yet He journeyed on though His sun sank red,
till he reached the portal which straightly led
to the rest of the other shore.
then follow on, though the way be rough;
ne'er pause till the journey is done;
for the weary miles there'll be strength enough
'til the heavenly welcome is won;
and if I keep steady, whatever betide,
my soul will be fully satisfied
at the going down of the sun!
Henry W. Frost
THE EMMAUS ROAD
the road was dreary and rough and long
and their hearts were sad and lone;
gone was their once triumphant song
and the joy that they once had known.
their footsteps lagged as they journeyed on,
and their eyes with tears were dim,
but One came and walked beside them there,
and they found new hope in Him.
His words were as balm to their troubled souls,
and his smile dispelled their fears,
and their hearts were warmed as His voice of love
fell like music on their ears.
their world was changed as they talked with Him.
and their way so dark and lone,
as they journey on with their risen King,
in the light of His presence shone.
Avis B Christiansen
THERE IS A STILLNESS - Author unknown
there is a stillness in the Christian's life:
an inner stillness only know to him
who has so gladly laid at Jesus' feet
his all, and now He reigns alone within,
Master of every motion, wish and plan.
in stillness crowned, He rules supreme as King,
and in that inner chamber of the heart
has made a little sanctuary within.
there is a stillness in the christian's life:
the corn of wheat must fall into the ground
and die, then if it die, out of that death
Life, fullest life, will blessedly abound.
it is a mystery no words can tell,
but known to those who in this stillness rest;
something divinely incomprehensible:
that for my nothingness, I get God's best!
442 SPIRITUAL CONFLICT - Henry W. Frost
down, deeper down thou sinful, sensual Self
back to low earth from which thou would'st arise;
thou robber-fiend, keep thine ill-gotten pelf
of my misdeeds, it is thy lawful prize;
but henceforth know thou shalt not rule o'er me
for a sweet Voice calls me to victory.
Up, higher up, thou better, nobler one,
rise up in strength, with face turned toward the skies;
faint not, nor fear, the conflict will be won,
behold, before thee is the victor's prize;
thy God who calleth thee will strength maintain
and turn all earthly loss to heavenly gain.
CHANCE AND CHANGE -Thomas Campion
what if a day, or a month, or a year,
crown thy delights, with a thousand sweet contentings!
cannot a chance of a night, or an hour,
cross thy desires, with as many sad tormentings?
fortune, honour, beauty, youth,
are but blossoms dying!
wanton pleasure, doting love,
are but shadows flying!
all our joys are but toys;
idle thoughts deceiving!
none have power, of an hour,
in their life's bereaving.
Earth's but a point to the world; and a man
is but a point to the world's compared centre!
shall then, a point of a point be so vain
as to triumph in a silly point's adventure!
all is hazard that we have!
there is nothing biding!
days of pleasure are like streams,
through fair meadows gliding!
weal and woe, Time doth go!
Time is never turning!
secret fates guide our states;
both in mirth and mourning!
443 BROTHERLY LOVE - John Fawcett
Blest be the tie that binds
our hearts in christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds
is like to that above.
before our Father's throne
we pour our ardent prayers;
our fears our hopes, our aims are one,
our comforts and our cares.
we share our mutual woes;
our mutual burdens bear;
and often for each other flows
the sympathizing tear.
when we asunder part,
it gives us inward pain;
but we shall still be joined in heart,
and hope to meet again.
this glorious hope revives
our courage by the way;
while each in expectation lives,
and longs to see the day.
from sorrow, toil and pain,
and sin we shall be free;
and perfect love and friendship reign
through all eternity.
SHUT IN - Henry W. Frost
shut in; a prisoner;
within four walls confined;
counting the weary hours
of days and night combined.
shut in; enclosed around;
sick, helpless, and alone;
in pain and suffering,
each sigh almost a moan.
shut in; in idleness;
no duties to fulfil;
served, but not serving now;
my service to lie still.
and is there nought beside
Ah, yes, thrice-blessed word;
shut into Jesus Christ,
'A prisoner in the Lord'.
Shut in where there's no fear
within walls of radiant light;
were days all golden are
and there is never night.
Shut in where music is
and there is deepest peace;
where love fore'er abounds
and joys fore'er increase.
Shut in? yes, all shut in,
whatever ill betide;
Shut into Christ, my Lord;
and oh, so satisfied!
THE BUSINESS OF THE DAY
it's just the way we carry through
the business of the day
that makes and molds the character -
the things we do and say;
the way we act when we are vexed;
the attitude we take;
the sort of pleasures we enjoy;
the kind of friends we make.
it's not the big events alone
that make us what we are;
and not the dizzy moments when
we're swinging on a star.
it's just the things that happen as
along the road we plod.
the little things determine what
we're really worth to God.
Patience Strong
444 TEARS - Author unknown
ashamed of tears? this world of ours
might be as well ashamed of flowers
skies of their stars when night appears
as mortals be ashamed of tears.
for then, if ever, when we weep,
we waken who have been asleep
and let the flood of feeling roll
across the desert of the soul.
we live so much the dull drab days,
we walk so much life's treadmill ways,
with heart so dumb, with mind so
mute
we're little better than the brute.
and then some day there comes a grief
that only tears can give relief.
and then the beauty floods our eyes
that God has put in rain-washed skies!
ashamed of tears, when even He knelt weeping in Gethsemane?
we never see God quite so clear
as through the prism of a tear!
if purity we ever know
it is our tears that made us so;
and only they need blush with shame
to whom emotion never came!
THINGS THAT NEVER DIE - Author unknown
the pure, the bight, the beautiful,
that stirred our hearts in youth,
the impulses to wordless prayer,
the dreams of love and truth;
the longings after something lost,
the spirit's yearning cry,
the strivings after better hopes -
these things can never die.
the timid hand stretched forth to aid
a brother in his need,
a kindly word in grief's dark hour
that proves a friend indeed;
the plea, for mercy softly breathed,
when justice threatens nigh,
the sorrow of a contrite heart -
these things shall never die.
let nothing pass, for every hand
must find some work to do;
lose not a chance to waken love -
be firm and just and true:
so shall a light that cannot fade
beam on thee from on high,
and angel voices say to thee -
these things shall never die.
BE THE BEST - Douglas Malloch
if you can't be a pine
on the top of the hill,
be a scrub in the valley - but be
the best little scrub
by the side of the rill:
be a bush if you can't be a tree.
if you can't be bush,
be a bit of the grass,
doing something for somebody's sake;
if you can't be a muskie,
then just be a bass -
but the liveliest bass in the lake!
we can't all be captains,
some have to be crew,
there's something for all of us here,
there's something for all of us here,
there's big work and little
for people to do,
and the task we must do is the near.
if yo can't be the highway,
then just be a trail,
if you can't be the sun, be a star;
it isn't by size that you win or you fail -
be the best of whatever you are!
Douglas Malloch
446 FOLLOW ME - Author unknown
'Child follow Me,' the Master said,
as he knocked full loud at my chamber door;
but the morn was fair and my heart was gay,
'I'll dally a while on the primrose way,
and I'll come said I, when the morning's o'er.'.
'Child, follow Me', the Master said,
as he lingered patiently at the gate;
gray shadows were falling, the night was near;
'Life's joys are so sweet and my friends so dear,
'I will come said I, when the night is late'.
Child follow Me, the Master cried,
as he walked away through the darkness deep;
and the night had fallen and the birds were still;
'Linger, said I, at the foot of the hill,
and I'll come when the world is hushed in sleep'.
Master, I come, I cried at length,
'Hear weary to serve at thine own dear side,
Thou hast called me long, but I come at last'.
(but his eyes were dim and his strength was past,
and not long could he follow the Crucified.)
447 FOREBEARANCE - Avis B. Christiansen
Lord, grant me the gift of forbearance,
a merciful spirit I pray.
that suffers the wrongs of another
and seeks not the ill to repay.
Lord, help me be kind and forgiving-
I who Thy forgiveness have known
so oft for my many transgressions.
Grant me, Lord, a love like Thine own.
Thou who didst once suffer for sinners
such bitter reproach and disdain,
fill me with that same gentle spirit,
that reviled, still reviles not again.
Lord, grant me the gift of forbearance,
Thy tender, compassionate grace,
that others beholding my visage
the light of Thy likeness may trace.
LIFE AND DEATH FOR THE CHRISTIAN
what is this thing called life -
this short swift span of years
so veiled with mystery,
so filled with toil and tears?
what is this thing called life,
Dear friend, you ask of me?
'Tis but the threshold to
a blest eternity.
a time to love and serve
the Saviour we adore,
a time to trust and pray,
and prove Him o'er and o'er;
a time to glorify
His great and holy name -
the wonders of His grace
to sinners to proclaim.
a time to walk by faith
and trust His pow'r to keep'
a time to watch and wait
while others fain would sleep;
a time to yield to Him
the sacrifice of love,
e'er He shall ope' the gate
to Glory up above.
and what is death you ask?
'Tis but the open door
to yon fair Land of Light,
our Home forevermore,
where we shall gaze on him
with Whom we've walked below,
and sing His endless praise,
while ages come and go.
Avis B. Christiansen
448 KEEP LOOKING UP - Carlton Buck
when life's cares around you gather,
and you can't see through,
Find the Way by looking up;
when disturbed by adverse weather
and you don't know what to do,
Keep Looking Up.
there's an antidote for worry,
discontent and strife,
Find the Way by looking up;
it will help when things are blurry,
it's a principle of life,
Keep Looking Up.
It's the upward look that frees us
from the snares of earth,
Find the Way by looking up;
when we look to God, He sees us,
and in Christ He give New Birth,
Keep Looking Up.
Keep Looking Up -
for the uplook is the soul's way out of
sorrow;
Keep Looking Up -
and God will bring a glory-filled to-
morrow;
Look thou to God,
and brightness will break through
your clouded sky;
Keep Looking Up,
and your faith will find its answer
by and by.
IF THOU DOST NEED - Mary E Kendrew
if thou dost need a hand today
to clasp another hand on life's rough way;
Take mine, dear Lord, Take mine.
If Thou are needing feet to tread
in paths where sin to woe is wed;
Use mine, dear Lord, Use mine.
if Thou art needing lips today
for words that help and heal, to say;
Fill mine, dear Lord, Fill mine.
if Thou art needing eyes to see
when souls begin to stray from Thee;
Fit mine, dear Lord, Fit mine.
but cleanse, dear Lord and purify,
and then each talent sanctify;
of mine, dear Lord, of mine.
THE HAVE BEEN WITH JESUS
yes, they are changed -
how kindly do they speak;
the crippled beggar stands erect
since they have passed,
and surely, yonder blind man
is gazing toward the mountain seeing!
so spoke the ones who scoffed
when those who had left all
to follow Him passed by.
these men had been with Jesus,
had seen His mighty works
and heard His words.
so, too, may we be changed by Him
when earnestly we strive.
'twas not for them alone
He broke the bread of Life,
still storm-tossed wave,
and banished pain and sorrow.
O may it be
that some who scorn, today
are speaking thus of you - and me:
some wonder has been wrought -
where once she was so cold,
she is now kind!
and thankfully we say -
though none but God may hear:
'Rejoice! Rejoice!
for He is guiding me -
I, too,
Have Been With Jesus'
Author unknown
449 THE THREADS YOU USE
of what are you weaving your life today,
of fast-fading pleasures or joys that stay?
do you want it completed in lovely hues?
it will all depend on the threads you use!
take only the best from the maze you find,
the threads that will strengthen your hear and mind;
just threads you are sure of, beyond a doubt,
durable threads that will not wear out.
you will want some colorful, gay and bright,
beautiful, too, but they must be right;
no snags, no knots, no colors that run,
to make you ashamed in the days to come.
some of the threads should be sturdy and plain
the better, we know, to withstand the strain
of the noonday sun and the scalding tears
that are sure to come with the passing years.
to all of your threads you must add some gold,
the wealth of g
God's Love - it will make them hold;
for, in weaving a life of beautiful hues,
it always depends on the threads you use.
Alice Hansche Mortenson
FAITH, HOPE, LOVE - Margaret Matthews
in the lone places of my soul
the far dim depths, where none can
see,
i hear a little singing bird,
for faith has come to live with me.
and o'er the dimness of my way,
the vast, gray reaches of my sea,
there lies a trembling shaft of light,
for hope has drifted in to me.
and in this wintry house of mine,
where grief and gloom at home
would be,
a tender hand has lit a fire,
for love has come to stay with me.
450 MARKED FOR HIS OWN
how lovely are the faces of
the men who talk with god -
Lit with an inner sureness of
the path their feet have trod;
who gentle is the manner of
a man who walks with Him!
no strength can overcome him, and
no cloud his courage dim,
keen are the hands and feet -ah, yes-
of those who wait His will,
and clear as crystal mirrors are
the hearts His love can fill.
some lives are drear from doubt and
fear
while others merely plod;
but lovely faces mark the men
who walk and talk with God.
Pauline Prosser-Thompson
FOUND IN THEE - Author unknown
O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found,
and found in Thee alone,
the peace, the joy I sought so long;
the bliss till now unknown.
i sighed for rest and happiness,
i yearned for them, not Thee;
but while I passed by saviour by,
His love laid hold on me.
I tried the broken cisterns, Lord,
but ah! the waters failed.
E'en as I stooped to drink they'd fled,
and mocked me as i wailed.
now none but Christ can satisfy,
none other name for me;
there's love and life and lasting joy,
Lord Jesus, found in thee!
451 TOMORROW - Author unknown
he was going to be all that a mortal could be -
Tomorrow;
no one should be kinder nor braver than he -
Tomorrow;
a friend who was troubled and weary he knew
Who'd be glad of a lift and who needed it, too;
On him he would call and see what he could do -
Tomorrow.
Each morning he stacked up the letters he'd write -
Tomorrow;
and he thought of the folds he would fill with delight -
Tomorrow;
it was too bad, indeed, he was busy today,
and hadn't a minute to stop on his way;
'More time I'll have to give others, he'd say -
Tomorrow.
the greatest of workers this man would have been -
Tomorrow;
the world would have know him had he ever seen -
Tomorrow;
but the fact is he died, and he faded from view,
and all that he left here when living was through
was a mountain of things he intended to do -
Tomorrow.
MOVE TO THE FORE - Author unknown
Move to the fore!
say not another is fitter than thou.
shame to thy shrinking! Up! Face thy task now.
own thyself equal to all a soul may,
cease thy evading - God needs thee today.
Move to the fore!
God Himself waits and must wait till thou come;
men are God's prophets though ages lie dumb.
Halts the Christ Kingdom with conquest so near?
thou art the cause, thou soul in the rear.
Move to the fore!
452 I BROKE MY TRYST WITH GOD
at such an hour on such a day
I had a tryst with God;
I was to put all things away
and keep the tryst with God.
but a friend of mine just happened in -
to go with him was sure no sin -
so I ran along, a friend to win,
but I broke my tryst with God.
My friends all know my word is good,
yet I broke my tryst with God.
they know I'd keep my word if I could,
yet I broke my tryst with God.
but somehow I felt when that day was done,
and my spirit sank with the setting sun
that I'd lost much more than I had won
by breaking my tryst with God.
O let us keep that meeting place -
the secret tryst with God.
at such a time he shows His face,
O holy tryst with God.
never mind though friends and other s call,
His love impels our best our all;
let us come alone, before Him fall
and keep our tryst with God.
Author unknown
JOY IS BUILT OF LITTLE THINGS
Joy is built of little thigs like this -
a woman's smile and a baby's kiss;
a single rose, a slender vase,
the slant of sunlight on a happy face;
a child's sigh, a father's fond caress,
just simple things, but they bring happiness.
a lilt o song that lingers through the years,
a bit of sunshine and a bit of tears;
a silhouette of pines against the sky,
a silver star, a nightbird's cry;
a good night prayer and faith within your breast,
just simple things, but they make -happiness!
Alice Hansche Mortenson
453 MY CHUM - Author unknown
he stood at the crossroads all alone,
with the sunrise in his face;
he had no fear for the path unknown;
he was set for a manly race.
but the road stretched east and the road stretched west;
there was no one to tell him which way was the best;
so my chum turned wrong and went down, down, down,
till he lost the race and the victor's crown
and fell at last in an ugly snare,
because no one stood at the crossroads there.
since then I have raised a daily prayer
that I be kept faithful standing there.
to warn the runners as they come,
and save my own or another's chum.
454 BE CAREFUL - Author unknown
be careful of the little deeds you do,
for oftentime they echo back to you
Across the years.
the tiny note you sent one sorry day,
the coin that helped a beggar on his way,
Oh! Always take the time to stop and say
The word that cheers!
perhaps some little deed will bring you fame,
perhaps the world will learn to love your name,
Because of tears
You dried for others; and when life is through
perhaps the little deeds you, thoughtless, do
will be a glowing monument to you
For countless years.
455 FINISH THY WORK - Author unknown
finish thy work, the time is short;
the sun is in the west,
the night is coming down; till then
think not of rest.
Rest? finish thy work, then rest;
till then, rest never.
the rest prepared for thee by god
is rest forever.
finish thy work, then sit thee down
on some celestial hill,
and of heaven's everlasting bliss
take thou thy fill.
finish thy work, then sit thee down
on some celestial hill,
and of heaven's everlasting bliss
take thou thy fill.
finish thy work, then go in peace,
Life's battle fought and won;
hear from the throne the Master's
voice,
'Well done! Well done!
finish they work, then take the harp,
give praise to god above;
sing a new song of mighty joy
and endless love!
WE TWO - Author unknown
I cannot do it alne;
the waves run fast and high,
and the fogs close chill around,
and the light goes out in the sky;
but I know that We Two shall win -
in the end:
-Jesus and I.
I cannot row it myself -
the boat on the raging sea -
but beside me sits Another,
who pulls or steers - with me;
and I know that We Two shall come
safe into port,
-His child and He.
coward and wayward and weak,
I change with the changing sky;
today, so eager and brave,
tomorrow, not caring to try:
but He never gives in; so We Two
shall win!
-Jesus and I.
strong and tender and true,
Crucified once for me;
ne'er will He change, I know,
whatever I may be.
but all He says I must do -
ever from sin to keep free;
we shall finish our course and reach
Home at last!
-His child and He.
456 GOOD TIMBER - Douglas Malloch
the tree that never had to fight
for sun and sky and air and light,
that stood out in the open plain
and always got its share of rain,
never became a forest king,
but lived and died a scrubby thing.
the man who never had to toil
to heaven from the common soil,
who never had to win his share
of sun and sky and light and air,
never became a manly man,
but lived and died as he began.
good timber does not grow in ease;
the stronger wind, the tougher trees;
the farther sky, the greater length;
the more the storm, the more the
strength;
by sun and cold, by rain and snows,
in tree or man, good timber grows.
where thickest stands for the forest
growth
we find the patriarchs of both;
and they hold converse with the stars
whose broken branches show the scars
of many winds and of much strife -
this is the common law of life.
THE ROSE LEAF
Oh, beautiful rose, please tell me,
for I would like to know,
why I must crush your petals
that sweet perfume may flow.
Oh, life that is clothed in beauty,
perhaps like that beautiful rose,
you will need to be crushed by suffering
ere you give out your best; who knows?
a life that is crushed by sorrow
can feel for another's grief,
and sent out that sweet perfume of
love
that will bring some heart relief.
Oh, do not repine at your testing,
when called to pass under the rod,
it is that life might the sweeter be.
and comes from the Hand of god.
He knows how much we are needing,
of sorrow or suffering or test,
and only gives to His children
the things that he knoweth
best.
then let us rejoice when He sendeth
some sorrow or hardship that tries,
and be glad to be crushed as the rose
leaf,
that a sweeter perfume may arise.
Flora L. Osgood
457 BE TRUE TO YOURSELF
be true to yourself at the start, young man,
be true to yourself and God;
ere you build your house, mark well the spot,
test all the ground and build you not
on the sand or the shaking sod.
Dig, dig the foundation deep, young man,
plant firmly the outer wall;
let the props be strong and the roof be high,
like an open turret toward the sky.
through which heaven's dews may fall.
let this be the room of the soul, young man -
when shadows shall herald care,
a chamber with never a roof or thatch
to hinder the light - or door or latch
to shut in the spirit's prayer!
build slow and sure; 'tis for life, young man,
a life that outlives the breath;
for who shall gainsay the Holy Word?
'their works do follow them, said the Lord,
therein there is no death.
build deep and high and broad, young man,
as the needful case demands;
let your title-deeds be clear and bright,
till you enter your claim to the Lord of Light,
for the 'house not made with hands'.
Author unknown
UNIQUE - Francis Bent Dillingham
toil-worn I stood and said,
'O Lord, my feet have bled,
my hands are sore,
I weep, my efforts vainly poor.
with fainting heart I pray of Thee,
give some brave other, work designed for me'.
but my Lord answer made,
'O child of Mine,
I have looked through space and searched through time,
there is none can do the work called thine'.
soul-sick I knelt and cried,
'Let me forever hide
My little soul
from sight of Him how made me whole,
my one small spirit in the vast,
vast throngs of like mean myriads, present, past!'
but my Lord answer made,
'O child of Mine,
I have looked through space and searched through time,
but I find no soul is like to thine!'
458 WHERE THE LEPROSY BEGINS
when Nations are to perish in their sins,
'Tis in the Church the leprosy begins:
the priest, whose office is, with zeal sincere
to watch the foundation and preserve it clear,
carelessly nods and sleeps upon the brink,
while others poison what 'the flock'must drink;
or waking at the call of lust alone,
infuses lies and errors of his own:
His unsuspecting sheep believe it pure,
and, tainted by the very means of cure,
catch from each other a contagious spot,
the foul forerunner of a general rot.
then Truth is hush'd that heresy may preach,
and all is trash that reason cannot reach;
then God's own image on the soul impress'd
becomes a mockery and a standing jest;
and Faith, the root whence only can arise
the graces of a life that wins the skies,
loses at once all value and esteem,
pronounced by greybeards a pernicious dream;
then Ceremony leads her bigots forth,
prepared to fight for shadows of no worth;
while Truths, on which Eternal Things depend,
finds not, or hardly finds a single friend:
as soldiers watch the signal of command,
they learn to bow, to kneel, to sit, to stand;
happy to fill Religion's vacant place
with hollow form and gesture and grimace.
William Cowper
459 HE CAME - Author unknown
He came to you, for in His gentle voice
he'd much that He would say.
your ears were turned to earth's discordant sounds,
and so - He went away.
he came; and in His hand He had a task
that He would have you do,
but you were occupied with other things,
and so you missed that too.
He would have touched you; and His touch could thrill,
and give you quickening power;
but earthly things enveloped and you could
not feel Him in that hour.
TAKE A MAN (Mark 8. 23-5)
Take a man!
take any man,
and touch his life
with the redeeming love of Christ,
and something good happens.
he sees more clearly.
he hears more distinctly.
he loves more deeply.
he comes to a self-realization
in proper perspective to others.
his sensitivity to need is sharpened.
vague human shapes
become people;
real people who feel, suffer,
rejoice, love.
suddenly there is kinship
with all of life.
statistics of suffering
begin to breathe.
vision enlarges, interest expands.
the world has meaning,
and he is no longer orphaned
in a cold universe.
Take a man!
take any man;
it is true.
Carlton Buck
SOMEONE'S BIBLE - E.C.Kurtz
thy life is someone's Bible, where
each day adds one new page;
where chapters rise from little deeds
that fill thy youth and age.
the friend who meets thee now and
then
will read a line therein,
and find some cheer to strive anew,
or pretext for his sin.
someday these speeding years -
their work of record done -
may show how often reading thee,
his soul was lost or won.
a godless act may fix his doom;
thy thoughtlessness he heeds;
be careful friend, for where thou art,
someone his Bible reads.
460 LORD I WOULD FOLLOW - Author unknown
Lord, I would follow, but -
First i would see what means that wondrous call
that peals so sweetly through life's rainbow hall,
that thrills my heart with quivering golden chords,
and fills my soul with joys seraphical.
Lord, I would follow, but -
First I would leave things straight before I go -
collect my dues and pay the debts I owe;
lest when I'm gone and none is here to tend,
Time's ruthless hand my garnering o'erthrow.
Lord, I would follow, but -
First I would see the end of this high road
that stretches straight before me fair and broad;
so clear the way I cannot go astray,
it surely leads me equally to God.
who answers Christ's insistent call
must give himself, his life, his all,
without one backward look.
who sets his hand upon the plow,
and glances back with anxious brow,
his calling hath mistook;
Christ claims him wholly for His own;
he must be Christ's and Christ's alone.
461 - WILT THOU FOLLOW ME?
'wilt thou follow Me?
the Saviour asked.
the road looked bight and fair,
and filled with youthful hope and zeal
i answered, 'Anywhere'.
'wilt thou follow me?
again He asked.
the road looked dim ahead;
but I gave one glance at His glowing
face
'To the end, dear Lord, I said.
'Wilt thou follow Me?
I almost blanched,
for the road was rough and new,
but i felt the grip of His steady Hand,
and it thrilled me thro ' and thro'.
'still followest thou?
'Twas a tender tone,
and it thrilled my inmost heart.
I answered not, but He drew me close,
and I knew we would never part.
Author unknown
THIS IS TODAY - Phyllis C. Michael
yesterday ended when the shadows
caught up each faint trace of its light
and God tenderly covered His
children
with the warm cloud soft blanket of
night.
tomorrow is yet in the making;
it may be all gloomy or all bright.
but this is today - the true treasure
God made just for you and for me;
then out of its bright dewey freshness -
let be whatever must be,
God planned it and on past its
boundaries
I'm certain we NEED not see.
no man should ever cross over
the threshold of God's tomorrow
nor yet retrace his own footsteps
through yesterday's portals to borrow
a quart or even a cupful
of human joy or sorrow.
this is today, the true treasure
God made just for you and for me;
out of its bright dewey freshness -
let be whatever must be.
God planned it and on past its
boundaries
I'm certain we NEED not see.
LIFE'S CROSS - Author unknown
I heard a voice so softly calling:
'Take up thy cross and follow Me.'.
a tempest o'er my heart was falling,
a living cross this was to me.
His cross i took, which, cross no longer,
a hundred-fold brings life to me;
my heart is filled with joy o'erflowing,
His love and life are light to me.
MY LIFE - J. Gordon Howard
O God, not like a stagnant pool
with tepid depths, let my life be;
but like a stream, undaunted, cool,
that plunges, surges toward the sea.
O God, not like a sodden log,
now, dead, tho' once a stately tree;
but pushing high above the bog
still upward yearning, let life be!
462 COME - Author unknown
Come ye yourselves apart and rest awhile,
weary, I know it, of the press and throng,
wipe from your brow the sweat and dust of toil,
and in My quiet strength again be strong.
Come ye aside from all the world holds dear,
for converse which the world has never known,
alone with Me, and with My Father here,
with Me and with My Father not alone.
Come, tell Me all that ye have said and done,
your victories and failures, hopes and fears.
I know how hardly souls are wooed and won:
My choicest wreaths are always wet with tears.
Come ye and rest; the journey is too great,
and ye will faint beside the way and sink;
the bread of life is here for you to eat,
and here for you the wine of love to drink.
then fresh from converse with your Lord return,
and work till daylight softens into even:
the brief house are not lost in which ye learn
more of your Master and His rest in Heaven.
OLD AGE - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Ah nothing is too late till the tired heart shall cease to palpitate.
Cato learned Greek at 80; Sophocles wrote his grand oedipus, and simonides
bore off the prize of verse from his compeers
when each had numbered more than fourscore years.
Chaucer, at Woodstock with the nightingales,
at 60 wrote the Canterbury Tales;
Goethe at Weimar, toiling to the last
completed Faust when 80 years were past.
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.
463 HAVE I? - Jessie Cannon Eldridge
I have never seen God's Face -
Or have I? I don't know -
I have seen a rose's grace
and watched it bud and bloom and
grow,
I have seen a violet burst
and capture from the sky,
the glorious beauty of the color
of heaven on high,
I have seen a baby's smile,
I have seen a sea gull's grace,
just simple things, but all the while,
have I not glimpsed, through them,
God's Face?
I have never heard God's Voice -
Or have I? I don't know -
I have heard a singing bird,
and listened to the north wind blow,
I have heard the patter of
spring rain upon awakening grass,
I have heard the silver voice
of friendship, when a friend I pass,
I have heard a baby's cry,
and the word, 'Mother', from my
boys;
just simple things, but all the while,
have I not heard, through them,
God's Voice?
I have never touched God's Hand -
Or have I? I don't know -
I have felt the wondering softness
of the pure, white winter snow.
I have touched a tiny seed
where-in great mysteries dwell,
I have touched a baby's cheek,
softer than mere words can till.
I have touched my sons' sweet faces.
I have felt the rich, brown land;
just simple things, but all the while,
have I not touched, through them,
God's Hand?
LIGHT FOR THE NORTH ROOM
while lying in a north room
where no sun came at all
quit suddenly I saw a light
reflected on the wall;
delightedly I turned to see
whence such a thing had come,
when through the open door I spied
a mirror in the sun.
Oh, what a precious lesson
for christians - you and me;
our lives perhaps are all the light
of Christ that some may see.
Let's keep our mirrors facing Him,
all clear and shining bright;
for someone in the north room
is sure to need our light!
Alice Hansche Mortenson
464 THE ZIGZAG PATH - Author unknown
we climbed the height by the zigzag path
and wondered why - until
we understood it was made zigzag
to break the force of the hill.
a road straight up would prove too steep
for the traveler's feet to tread;
the thought was kind in its wise design
of a zigzag path instead.
it is often so in our daily life;
we fail to understand
that the twisting way our feet must tread
by love alone was planned.
then murmur not at the winding way,
it is our Father's will
to lead us Home by the zigzag path,
to break the force of the hill.
MAKE ME THY MOUNTAINEER
Make me Thy mountaineer; I would not linger
On the lower slope.
Fill me afresh with hope, O God of hope,
that undefeated
I may climb the hill
as seeing Him who is invisible.
Make me to be Thy happy mountaineer,
O God most high;
My climbing soul would welcome the austere;
Lord, crucify
on rock or scree, ice-cliff or field of snow,
the softness that would sink to things below.
Thou art my Guide; where Thy sure feet have trod
shall mine be set;
Thy lightest word my law of life, O God;
let I forget,
and slip and fall, teach me to do Thy will,
Thy mountaineer upon Thy holy hill.
Amy Carmichael
465 IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!
it's a beautiful day! these are the words
i heard at the edge of dawn,
and waking, I tried to fathom out why
this inner glow and this song
enfolding me, lifting me, leaving my cares
like a mantle discarded and torn?
then I remembered! what cause to rejoice!
why I am a sinner reborn!
it's a beautiful day! though clouds may arise,
no christian is ever alone.
though' penniless, poor and rejected of men'.
we're heirs and joint-heirs to a throne!
it's a beautiful day! Christ dwelling within,
let me walk with a conqueror's tread,
just doing His will! it's a beautiful day!
and - Heave is just ahead!
Alice Hansche Mortenson
OF PREACHERS - William Cowper
I venerate the man whose heart is warm,
whose hands are pure, whose doctrine and whose life,
coincident, exhibit lucid proof
that he is honest in the sacred cause,
to such I render more than mere respect,
whose actions say that they respect themselves,
but, loose in morals and in manners vain,
in conversation frivolous, in dress
extreme, at once rapacious and profuse;
frequent in part with lady at his side,
ambling and prattling scandal as he goes;
but rare at home, and never at his books,
or with his pen, save when he scrawls a card;
constant at routs, familiar with a round
of ladyships - a stranger to the poor;
ambitious of preferment for its gold,
and well-prepar'd, by ignorance and sloth,
by infidelity and love of world ,
to make God's work a sinecure; a slave
to his own pleasures and his patron's pride:
from such apostles, oh, ye mitred heads,
Preserve the church! and lay not careless hands
on sculls that cannot teach, and will not learn.
Would I describe a preacher, such as paul,
were he on earth, would hear, approve and own -
Paul should himself direct me. I would trace
His master-strokes and draw from his design.
I would express him simple, grave, sincere;
in doctrine uncorrupt; in language plain,
and plain in manner; decent, solemn, chaste,
and natural in gesture; much impress'd
himself, as conscious of his awful charge,
and anxious mainly that the flock he feeds
may feel it too; affectionate in look,
and tender in address, as well becomes
a messenger of grace to guilty men.
behold the picture! - is it like? - Like whom?
the things that mount the rostrum with a skip,
and then skip down again; pronounce a text;
Cry - hem: and , reading what they never wrote,
just 15 minutes, huddle up their work,
and with a well-bred whisper close the scene!
466 AS I GO DOWN THE SUNSET HILL
As I go down the sunset hill,
I pray, O Lord, that I
will sweeter and more loving grow
until the day I die.
may trouble serve to mellow me,
and weakness make me kind
to slowness in another's step;
and let me not be blind
to beauty in the simple things
that all around me lie -
in people and their loving deeds,
as will as field and sky.
Oh, make me slow to criticize,
and quicker to forgive,
and brush away each fancied slight
as long as I shall live.
let me take time to savor well
the good things as I go
along this (sometimes rugged) path
ablaze with sunset glow.
and may the brightness of Thy love
within my heart erase
all earthiness - preparing me
to look upon Thy face!
Alice Hansche Mortenson
AGE IS A QUALITY OF MIND
age is a quality of mind -
if you have left your dreams behind,
if hope is lost,
if you no longer look ahead,
if your ambitions' fires are dead -
then you are old.
but if from life you take the best
and if in life you keep the jest,
if love you hold -
no matter how the years go by,
no matter how the birthdays fly,
You are not old!
Author unknown
467 THE INWARD LIFE - Author unknown
Oh sacred union with the Perfect Mind,
Transcendent bliss, which Thou alone canst give;
how blest are they this Pearl of Price who find,
and, dead to earth, have learnt in Thee to live.
thus in Thine arms of love, O God, I lie,
lost, and for ever lost to all but Thee.
my happy soul, since it hath learnt to die,
hath found new life in Thine Infinity.
go then and learn this lesson of the cross,
and tread the way the saints and prophets trod:
who, counting life and self and all things loss,
have found in inward death the life of God.
THE CROSS A CROWN - Amos R. Wells
God laid upon my back a grievous load,
a heavy cross to bear along the road.
I staggered on and lo! one weary day,
an angry lion sprang across my way.
I prayed to God, and swift at His command
the cross became a weapon in my hand.
It slew my raging enemy, and then
became a cross upon my back again.
I reached a desert. O'er the burning track
I persevered, the cross upon my back.
no shade was there and in the cruel sun
I sank at last and thought my days were done.
But lo! the Lord works many a blest surprise -
the cross became a tree before my eyes!
I slept; I woke, to feel the strength of ten.
I found the cross upon my back again.
and thus through all my days from then to this,
the cross, my burden, has become my bliss.
nor ever shall I lay the burden down,
for God some day will make the cross a crown!
468 AUTUMN DAYS
Today I saw a slender locust tree
with misty white all sprinkled, as in may;
and giving forth to all who passed that way
its delicate, rare fragrance lavishly.
the maples newly tipped with red might be;
the golden-rod in glowing waves might sway;
but the locust heeded not october's day -
it dressed itself for spring and smiled at me.
Oh grant that when the autumn days of life
shall come to me, my spirit then may bloom
and deck itself in white; recall its spring;
remember battles won, for get the strife;
forget old enemies, remember whom
it loved, be joyful in these thoughts - and sing!
Margaret Knowled Speidel
CROWN OF AGE - M. H.
why speak of those whom age is crowning,
as going slowly down hill,
when on the heights above them shining
stands One who beckons upwards still?
no sad descent to death and darkness
is life when lived with love as guide;
but ever climbing toward the hilltop,
each summit gained brings visions wide.
'Tis always up the Pilgrims travel;
while love rejoices at their side,
to feel the press of faith more strongly,
to know he's near, whate'er betide.
as love the pilgrims forward leadeth,
footsteps may falter, eyes grow dim,
but ev'ry sigh He quickly heareth,
and not a pain is hid from Him.
the steepest crags lie all behind them;
by gentle slopes He guides the way;
then one last step - still up - He bears them,
to find the joy of perfect day.
469 WHEN I GROW OLD - Author unknown
Lord, KEEP ME SWEET when I grow old,
and things in life seem hard to bear;
when I feel sad and all alone,
and people do not seem to care.
O KEEP ME SWEET when time has caused
this body, which was once so strong,
to droop beneath its load of years,
and suffering and pain have come.
and KEEP ME SWEET when I have grown
to worry so, at din and noise;
and help me smile, the while I watch
the noisy play of girls and boys.
help me remember how that I,
when I was younger than today,
and full of life and health and joy,
would romp and shout in happy
play.
help me to train my heart each day,
that it will only sweetness hold;
and as the days and years roll on
may I KEEP SWEET, as I grow old.
Help me to train my heart each day,
that it will only sweetness hold;
and as the days and years roll on
MAY I KEEP SWEET, as I grow old.
yes, KEEP ME SWEET in growing old.
HUMILITY - Author unknown
Lord, let me do the little things,
which may fall to my lot,
those little inconspicuous ones,
by others, oft forgot,
a staff, for others to lean upon,
strong hands to help the weak,
a loving heart with open door,
to all, who solace seek,
to hold my tongue, when hot words
arise,
speak kindly ones instead,
nor harshly judge my fellowmen,
in what they've done, or said,
to share another's heavy load,
by word, or courage given,
to help a fallen brother rise,
and bring him nearer Heaven.
If, like the master, I can give,
myself, for those I love,
rich joy and peace, shall come to me,
sweet rest, in Heaven above.
I know not, when today shall close,
but when life's curfew rings,
I want my Lord to find me then,
still doing little things.
THE PASSING YEARS - James McGinlay
day by day the years are fleeting,
grain by grain the sands still fall.
one by one the hours are passing,
shadows lengthen on the wall.
from their places sound our hearthside,
forms and faces fade away.
like the briefness of a candle
each lives out his little day.
O'er the green mounds on the hillside
sounds against the tolling knell,
life is brief, and time is fleeing,
live it Godly, live it well!
Riches, pleasure, idle pastimes,
all these vanish with the grave
give your heart complete to Jesus,
He alone your soul can save.
Just one life - 'tis all He offers
just one life - 'twill soon be past.
only in His boundless mercy
can we find true peace at last.
one by one we make our exit,
one by one we pass away.
do not risk your soul's destruction
Say 'Yes' to Jesus Christ today!
470 LORD, I LOVE THY MORNING
Lord, I love Thy morning
when the sun breaks through:
wen the birds are glad with singing,
and the grass is wet with dew:
when all the world is full of living,
and all nature seems to pray,
'Thou hast kept us thro' the darkness,
Father, guide us through the day!'
for it always will remind me
it was morning in my soul,
on the day i met my saviour,
when he touched and made me whole.
Barbara E. Cornet
VICTORIA - Henry van Dyke
Thy victory is in the heart,
Thy kingdom is within;
when outward pride and pomp depart,
Thy glory doth begin.
Thine arm, ever in the field,
is led by love and light;
Thy followers fall but never yield,
triumphant in the right.
O King most meek and wonderful,
grant us among Thy host,
to follow Thee, to fight for Thee,
Knights of the Holy Ghost.
LEAN ON ME - Author unknown
'is there no other way, O God,
except thro' sorrow, pain and loss,
to stamp Christ's image on my soul?
no other way except the Cross?
and then a voice stills all my soul,
as stilled the waves on Galilee;
'Canst thou not bear the furnace heat,
if 'mid the flames I walk with thee?
'I bore the Cross, I know its weight,
I drank the cup I hold for thee;
canst thou not follow where I lead?
I'll give the strength - lean thou on Me'.
THAT WAS ALL! - Author unknown
why were the saints, saints?
it is quite simple.
because they were cheerful.
Patient, when it was difficult to be cheerful.
patient.
because they pushed on
when they wanted to stand still.
and kept silent
when they wanted to talk.
and were agreeable when they wanted
to be disagreeable.
That was all!
LIVING - Author unknown
to live with saints in heaven
will be eternal glory;
but to live with them on earth
is quite a different story.
471 THE OLD VIOLIN - Dorothy M. Barter-Snow
I never knew the old, brown violin,
that was so long in some dark corner thrust,
its strings broken or loose, its pegs run down,
could ever be of use again. The dust
of years lay on its shabby case, until
one day a Master took the instrument,
and with caressing fingers touched the wood,
adjusted pegs and strings; his mind intent
on making music as he drew his bow.
then from the violin, long silent, sprang
once more arpeggios, runs, trills. the wood
Quivered, leapt into life and joyous sang.
I now believe that any broken life,
jangling with discords, unadjusted, tossed
in some far corner, wasted, thrown aside,
can yet be of some use; need not be lost
from Heaven's orchestra. A MASTER'S HAND
Scarred with old wounds, can mend the broken thing
if yielded to Him wholly; and CAN MAKE
THE DUMB LIFE SPEAK AGAIN AND JOYOUS SING
in praise of One who gave his life that none
need perish. and this message, gald, most blest,
I now believe; for placing in His Hand
my life, I find my world is now at rest.
THE TOILS OF THE ROAD - Author unknown
my life is a wearisome journey,
I'm sick with the dust and the heat.
the rays of the sun beat upon me,
the briers are wounding my feet;
but the city to which I am going,
will more than ymy trials repay;
for the toils of the road will seem nothing
when I get to the end of the way.
there are so many hills to climb upward,
that i often am longing for rest;
but He who has marked out my pathway
knows just what is needful and best.
I know in His word He's promised
my strength will be as my day
and the toils of the road will seem nothing
when I get to the end of the way.
when the last feeble step has been taken,
and the gates of the city appear,
and the beautiful songs of the angels
float out on my listening ear;
then all that seemed so mysterious
will be clear and plain as the day
and the toils of the road will seem nothing
when we get to the end of the way.
cooling fountains are theree fro the weary;
there are cordials for those who are faint;
there are robes that are whiter
than any that fancy can paint.
then I'll cheerfully press hopefully onward,
knowing now through each wearisome day
that the toils of the road will seem nothng
when we get to the end of the way.
472 IT TAKE SO LITTLE
it takes so little to make us sad:
just a slighting word or a doubting sneer,
just a scornful smil on some lips held dear;
and our footsteps lag, tho'the goal seemed near,
and we lose the courage and hope we had -
so little it takes to make us sad.
it takes so little to make us glad:
just a cheering clasp of a friendly hadn,
just a word from one who can understand;
and we finish the task we long had planned
and we lose the doubt and the fear we had -
so little it takes to make us glad.
Author unknown
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