332 THE CITY BEAUTIFUL
sometimes when the day is ended
and its round of duties done,
i watch at the western windows
the gleam of the setting sun.
when my heart has been unquiet
and its longings unbeguiled
bu the day's vexatious trials
and cannot be reconciled,
i look on the slope of the mountains
and o'er the restless sea,
and I think of the beautiful city
that lieth not far from me.
and my spirit is hushed in a moment
as the twilight falls tender and sweet;
and I cross in fancy the river,
and kneel at the master's feet.
and I rest in the shade that there falleth
from the trees that with healing are rife -
that shadow the banks of the river -
the river of water of life.
and some time, when the day is ended,
and the duties He gave me are done,
I shall watch at life's western windows
the gleam of the setting sun.
I shall fall asleep in the twilight
as I never have slept before,
to dream of the beautiful city,
till I waken to sleep no more.
there will fall on my restless spirit
a hush, oh, so wondrously sweet,
and I shall cross over the river
to rest at the master's feet.
Boston Globe
333 'THE LAND OF BEGINNING AGAIN'
(Original version)
I wish that there were some wonderful place
called the 'Land of Beginning Again',
where all our mistakes and all our heartaches,
and all of our poor selfish griefs
could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door,
and never be put on again.
I wish we might come on it all unawares,
like a hunter who finds a lost trail,
and I wish that the one whom our blunders had done
the greatest injustice of all -
could be at the gates, like a friend who still waits
for the comrades he's gladdest to hail.
it wouldn't be possible not to be kind,
in the 'Land of Beginning Again',
and the ones we'd misjudged and the ones we had grudged
their moments of victory there,
would find in the grasp of our loving handclasp
more than penitent lips could explain.
Carl F. Bruhn
337 A LITTLE WHILE - Fanny J. Crosby
A little while to sow in tears and weakness
the precious seed along the vernal plain,
'Til into life the tender blade expanding
fresh promise gives of summer's ripening grain.
a little while of patient, earnest labor,
for His dear sake, our best and truest Friend;
a little while to wait for His Appearing,
and then the joy that nevermore shall end.
a little while to bear the cross for Jesus
and meet the foe that once He overcame;
to stand unmoved, the Sword of Truth uplifting,
and through its power to conquer in His Name,
a little while around His throne to gather
for one sweet hour within the house of prayer;
a little while when, heart with heart communing,
we know by faith that He Himself is there.
a little while to weep for those we cherish
as one by one they near the river's brink,
a little while to catch their sweet assurance
that we in Heaven shall find each broken link.
a little while to catch their sweet assurance
that we in heave shall find each broken link.
a little while! and then the glorious dawning
of that fair morn beyond the swelling tide,
when we shall wake and in our Saviour's likeness,
perfect and pure, we shall be satisfied.
346 TWO MOTHERS - Author unknown
long, long ago, so I have been told,
two saints once met on the streets paved with gold.
'by the stars in your crown, said the one to the other,
'I see that on earth, you too were a mother;
and by the blue-tinted halo you wear,
you too have known sorrow and deepest despair'.
'Ah yes, came the answer,'I once had a son,
a sweet little lad, full of laughter and fun.
'but till of your child - 'Oh, I knew I was blest
from the moment I first held him close to my breast;
and y heart almost burst with the joy of that day.
'Ah yes, sighed the other, 'I felt the same way.
the former continued, 'the first steps he took -
'so eager and breathless; the sweet, startled look
which came over his face - he trusted me so-
'yet, sighed the other, 'how well do I know!
'but soon he had grown to a tall handsome boy,
so stalwart and kind and it gave me such joy
to have him just walk down the street my my side.
'Ah yes, said the other, 'I felt the same pride.
how often i shielded and spared him from pain;
and when he, for others, was cruelly slain,
when they crucified him and they spat in his face,
how gladly would i have hung there in His place!
a moment of silence -'Oh, then you are SHE,
the mother of Christ and she fell on one knee.
but Mary raised her up, drawing her near,
and kissed form the cheek of the woman, a tear.
'tell me the name of your son you loved so,
that I may share with you your grief and your woe.
she lifted her eyes, looking straight at the other,
'He was Judas Iscariot! I am his mother!,
Author unknown
352 THE HIGHLANDS - Henry W. Frost
Oh, my heart is in the Highlan's
O' the far and fair countree,
where the Kings is waitin', waitin'
for His ain and e'en for me;
there He reigns in a' His gloryh,
I shall see Him ane sweet day,
when He ca's me to the Highlan's
Wi' Himself for aye to stay
Ah, my hearet was in the Lowlan's
in the aulden, aulden time,
Midst the vapors and the shadows
O' the lower, baser clime;
but the heavenly Man He sought me
An' He deed for me straightwa'
then He ga'ed back to the Highlan's,
an' He bore my heart awa'
Oh, I love the bonnie Highlan's,
wi' its pure an' caller air,
we' its green fields an' its flowers
an' its fragrance everywhere;
Ay, there's no place like the Highlan's
for the soul frae sin set free;
'tis a lan' o' wondrous beuty,
'tis the winsome lan' to me.
there's a palace in the Highlan's
an' it glistens wi' the licht,
for the sun is ever shinin'
an' there's music in the palace
sweeter far than a' the soun'
that e'er greets the list'nin' dwellers
on the lower, Lowlan' groun'.
An' enthroned within the palace
is the King sae pure and fair,
wi' His garments a' aglist'nin'
an wi' shinin', snawy hair,
wi' His face sae bricht, resplendent -
'bnune the brichtness o' His croun -
that before Him a' the angels
an' archangels fa' adoun.
Oh, my heart is in the Highlan's,
sae then dinna bid me stay,
for I canna but be hamesick
for its gowden, blythesome day;
Ay, I'm wearyin' for its beauty,
an' its licht that ne'er grows dim,
for the Ane wha's a its glory
an' a lastin' sicht o' Him!
353 THE MYSTERY - Ralph Hodgson
He came and took me by the hand
up to a red rose tee,
He kept His meaning to imself
but gave a rose to me.
I did not pray Him to lay bare
the mystery to me;
enough the rose was Heaven to smell,
and His own face to see.
356 LORD JESUS THINK ON ME
Lord Jesus, think on me,
and purge away my sin;
from earthborn passions set me free,
and make me pure within.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
amid the battle's strife;
in all my pain and misery
Be Thou my helth and life
Lord Jesus, thinkon me,
nor let me go astray;
through darkness and perplexity
point Thou the heavenly way.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
that, when this life is past,
I may the' eternal brightness see,
and share Thy joy at last.
Bishop Synesius of Cyrene
STEPPING ASHORE
Oh! think to step ashore,
and find i Heaven;
to clasp a hand outstretched,
and find it God's hand!
to breath new air,
and that celestial air;
to feel refrehed,
and find it immortality;
Ah, think to step from storm and stres
to one unbroken calm:
to awake and find it Home.
Robert E. Selle
.
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