1 -Getting Things from God
1 'are not five sparrows sold for two farthings and not one of them is forgotten before God?...fear not therefore: yea are of more value than many sparrows'...
the pages of this little book deal almost wholly with just one phase of prayer - petition. the record is almost entirely a personal testimony of what petition to my Heavenly Father has mean in meeting the everyday crises of my life.
...God is my Father, I am His child. as truly as I delight to be sought for by my child when he is cold or hungry, ill or in need of protection, so is it with my Heavenly Father.
prayer has been hedged about with too many man-made rules. I am convinced that God has intended prayer to be as simple and natural and as constant a part of our spiritual life, as the intercourse between a child and his parent in the home. and as a large part of that intercourse between child and parent is simply asking and receiving, just so is it with us and our Heavenly Parent.
2 perhaps, however, the most blessed element in this asking and getting from God lies in the strengthening of faith which comes when a definite request has been granted. what more helpful and inspiration than a ringing testimony of WHAT GOD HAS DONE?
as I have recalled the past in writing these incidents, one of the most precious memories is that of an evening when a number of friends had gathered in our home. the conversation turned on answered prayer. for more than 2 hours we vied with one another in recounting personal incidents of God's wonderful work; and the inspiration of that evening still abides.
a christian minister once said to me: 'is it possible that the great God of the universe, the Maker and Ruler of mankind, could or would, as you would make out, take interest in such a trifle as the trimming of a hat! to me it is preposterous!'
yet did not our Lord Jesus Christ say, 'the very hairs of your head are all numbered' ; and 'not one sparrow is forgotten before God'; and again, 'Your heavenly
3 Father knoweth what ye have need of BEFORE ye ask Him'?
it is true that 'there is nothing too great for God's power' ; and it is just as true that 'there is nothing too small for His love!'
if we believe God's Word we must believe, as Kan Crawford has tersely and beautifully expressed, it that 'the God of the infinite is the God of the infintesimal'. yes, he
'who clears the grounding berg
and guides the grinding floe,
He hears the cry of the little kit fox
and the lemming of the snow!'
no more wonderful testimony, perhaps, has ever been given to God's willingness to help in every emergency of life, than that which Mary Slessor gave, when asked to tell what prayer had meant to her. 'My life, she wrote, is one long daily, hourly record of answered prayer. for physical health, for mental overstrain, for guidance, given marvelously, for errors and dangers averted, for enmity to the Gospel subdued, for food provided at the exact hour needed, for everything that goes to make up life and my poor service. I can testify, with a full and often wonder-stricken awe, that I believe God answers prayer. I KNOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYER!'
I have been asked the question: 'Has God
4 ALWAYS given you just what you have asked for.
Oh, no! for him to have done so would have been great unkindness. for instance: when I was a young woman I prayed for 3 years that God would grant me a certain petition. sometimes I pleaded for this as for life itself, so intensely did I want it. then God showed me very clearly that I was praying against His will. I resigned my will to His in the matter and a few months later god gave what was infinitely better. I have often praised Him for denying my prayer; for had He granted it I could never have come to China.
then, too, we must remember that many of our prayers, though always heard, are not granted because of some sin harbored in the life or because of unbelief, or of failure to meet some other Bible-recorded condition governing prevailing prayer. (see Bible study on pgs 129-30)
the following incidents of answered prayer are by no means a complete record. how could they be, when no record of prayer has been kept all these 50 years? had there been, I doubt not that volumes could have been written to the glory of God's grace and power in answering prayer. but even from what is recorded here I, too, can say from a full hear, I KNOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYER....
2 - Early lessons in the Life of Faith
6 'I love the Lord, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications. -Psalm 116.1
when a very little child, so young i can remember nothing earlier, a severe thunderstorm passed over our home. terrified, I ran to my mother, who placed my hands together and pointing upward repeated over and over again the one word 'Jesus'.
more than 50 years have passed since that day, but the impression left upon my child-mind, of a being invisible but able to hear and help, has never been effaced.
the most precious recollections of early childhood are associated with stories told us by our mother, many of which illustrated the power of prayer.
one that made a specially deep impression upon me was about our grandfather, who as a little boy went to visiting cousins in the south of England, their home being situated close
7 to a dense forest. one day the children, lured by the beautiful wild flowers, became hopelessly lost in the woods. after trying in vain to find a way out, the eldest, a young girl, called the frightened, crying little ones around her and said; 'when mother died she told us to always tell Jesus if we were in any trouble. let us kneel down and ask him to take us home'.
they knelt and as she prayed one of the little ones opened his eyes, to find a bird was close to his hand that he reached out for it. the bird hopped away, but kept so close to the child as to lead him on. soon all were joining in the chase after the bird, which flew or hopped in front or just above and sometimes on the ground almost within reach. then suddenly it flew into the air and away. the children looked up to find themselves on the edge of the woods and in sight of home.
with such influences bearing upon one at an impressionable age, it is not surprising that I came even as a very little child to just 'tell Jesus' when in trouble.
through the mists of memory one incident comes out clearly, which occurred when I was 6 or 7 years of age. while playing one day in the garden, I was seized with
8 what we then called 'jumping' tooth ache. I ran to my mother for comfort, but nothing she could do seemed to ease the pain.
the nerve must have become exposed, for the pain was acute. suddenly I thought, 'Jesus can help me', and just as I was, with my face pressed against my mother's breast, I said in my heart:
'Lord Jesus, if You will take away this toothache right now, NOW,K I will be your little girl for 3 years'.
before the prayer was well uttered the pain was entirely gone, i believed that Jesus had taken it away; and the result was that for years, when tempted to be naughty, I was afraid to do what I knew was wrong lest, if i broke my side of what I felt to be a compact, the toothache would return, this little incident had a real influence over my early life, gave me a constant sense of the reality of a divine presence, and so helped to prepare me for the public confession of Christ as my Saviour a few years later, at the age of 11.
about a year after my confession of Christ an incident occurred which greatly strengthened my faith and led me to look to God as a Father in a new way.
when Easter Sunday morning came it was
9 so warm only spring clothes could be worn. my sister and i decided at breakfast that we would not go to church, as we had only our old winter dresses. going to my room, I turned to my Bible to study it, when it opened at the 6th chapter of matthew and my eye rested on these words: 'why take ye thought for raiment...seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.'
it was as if God spoke the words directly to me. I determined to go to church, even if I had to humiliate myself by going in my old winter dress. the Lord was true to His praise; i can still feel the power the resurrection messages had upon my heart that day so long ago. and further, on the following day a box came from a distant aunt, containing not only new dresses but much else that might well be included in the 'all these things'.
an unforgetable proof of God's loving care came to us as a family about this time, when my parents were face to face with a serious financial crisis. Isaiah 65.24 was literally fulfilled: 'before they call, i will answer and while they are yet speaking, I will hear'.
at that time, it is necessary to state, we
10 depended on a quarterly income, which came through my mother's lawyer in England. unusual circumstances had so drained our resources that we found ourselves, in the middle of the quarter, with barely sufficient to meet a week's needs. my dear mother assured us that the Lord would provide; that He would not forsake those who put their trust in Him. that very day a letter came from the lawyer in England, enclosing a draft for a sum ample to meet our needs till the regular remittance should arrive. this unexpected and timely draft proved to be a bonus, which did not occur again.
some years later, having moved to a strange city, a great longing came to do some definite service for my Master. one day there came to the Bible class I attended a call for teachers, to aid in a Sunday-school near by. when i presented myself before the superintendent of this sunday-school the following Sunday and offered my services, it is not much wonder i received a rebuff, for I was young and quite unknown. I was told that if i wished a class, it would be well for me to find my own scholars. i can remember how a lump seemed choking me all the way home that day.
at last, determining not to be baffled, I
11 prayed the Lord to help me get some scholars. I went forth praying every step of the way, the following Saturday afternoon; and canvassing just one short street near our home. I received the promise of 19 children for Sunday-school. the next day a rather victorious young woman walked up to the Sunday-school superintendent with 17 children following. needless to say i was given a class.
in the autumn of 1885 the Toronto Mission Union, a faith mission, decided to establish a branch mission in the East End slums of that city three others with myself were deputed to open this work. everything connected with it was entirely new to me; but most helpful and inspiring I found it. for in face of tremendous difficulties, that seemed to my inexperienced eyes insurmountable, I learned that prayer was the secret which overcame every obstacle, the key that unlocked every closed door.
I felt like a child learning a new and wonderful lesson - as I saw benches, tables, chairs, stove, fuel, lamps, oil, even an organ, coming in answer to definite prayer for these things. but best sight of all was when men and women, deep in sin, were converted and changed into workers for God, in answer to prayer. praise God for the lessons then
12 learned, which were invaluable later when facing the heathen.
the time came when two diverse paths lay before me - one to England, as an artist; one to China, as a missionary. circumstances made a definite decision most difficult. I thought I had tried every means to find out Cor's will for me. and no light had come.
but in a day of great trouble, when my precious mother's very life seemed to hand in the balance, I shut myself up with God's Word, praying definitely for Him to guide me to some passage by which I might know His will for my life. my Bible opening at the 15th chapter of John's Gospel, the sixteenth verse seemed to come as a message to me:
'Ye have not chose Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit'. going to my dear mother and telling her of the message God had given me, she said: 'I dare not fight against God'.
from that time the last hindrance from going to China was removed. surely the wonderful way God has kept His child for more than 30 years in China is proof that this 'call' was not a mistaken one. 'in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will make plan thy paths' (prov. 3.6).
13 during the summer of 1887 a book written by Dr. Hudson Taylor came into my hands.
in 'China's Spiritual Needs and Claims' the writer told many instances of God's gracious provision in answer to prayer. the incidents related impressed me deeply. a little later, a few weeks before my marriage, when I found i was short 50 dollars of what I would need to be married free of debt, I resolved not to let others know of my need, but to just trust God to send it to me. the thought came - if you cannot trust God for this, when Hudson Taylor could trust for so much more, are you worthy to be a missionary?
it was my first experience of trusting quite alone for money. I was sorely tempted to give others just a hint of my need. but I was kept back from doing so; and though I had a week or more of severed testing, peace of mind and the assurance that God would supply my need, came at length. the answer, however, did not come till the very last night before the wedding.
that evening a number of my fellow-workers from the East End Mission called, and presented me with a beautifully illuminated address and a purse. after these friends had left I returned to my home circle assembled in the back parlor and showed them the address and purse unopened! not for a moment did I think there was anything in the purse till my brother said: 'you foolish girl, why don't you open it? I opened the purse and found it contained a check for 50 dollars!
this incident has ever remained peculiarly precious; for it seemed to us a seal of god upon the new life opening before us.
3 Go Forward On Your Knees (1887-1894)
'I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass and cut in sunder the bars of iron. Isaiah 45.2
in attempting to record what prayer meant in our early pioneer days, other than purely personal testimonies must be given; for we were, as a little band of missionaries, bound together in our common needs and dangers by a very close bond.
in October, 1887, my husband was appointed by the Canadian Presbyterian Church to open a new field, in the northern section of the Province of Honan (H), China. we left Canada the foll wing January, reaching china in march, 1888. not till then did we realize the tremendous difficulties of the task before us.
Dr. Hudson Taylor, of the China Inland Mission, writing to us at this time, said: 'We understand North H is to be your field; we, as a mission, have tried for 10 years to enter that province from the south, and have only just succeeded. it is one of the most anti-foreign provinces in china...Brother, if you would enter that province, YOU MUST GO FORWARD ON YOUR KNEES'.
these words gave the key-note to our early pioneer years. would that a faithful record had been dept of God's faithfulness in answering prayer! our strength as a mission and as individuals, during those years so fraught with dangers and difficulties, lay in the fact that we did realize the hopelessness of our task apart from divine aid.
the following incident occurred while we were still outside H, studying the language at a sister mission. it illustrates the importance of prayer from the home base for those on the field.
my husband was finding great difficulty in acquiring the language; he studied faithfully many hours daily, but made painfully slow progress. he and his colleague went regularly together to the street chapel, to practise preaching in Chinese to the people; but, though Mr. Goforth had come to China CH) almost a year before the other missionary, the people would ask the latter to speak instead of Mr. G, saying they understood him better.
one day, just before starting as usual for the chapel, my husband said: 'if the Lord does not give me very special help in this language I fear I shall be a failure as a missionary'.
some hours later he returned, his face beaming with joy. he told me that he realized most unusual help when his turn came to speak; sentences came to his mind as never before; and not only had he made himself understood, by some had appeared much moved, coming up afterward to have further conversation with him. so delighted and encouraged was he with this experience that he mad a careful note of it in his diary.
some 2 months and a half later a letter came from a student in Knox College, saying that on a certain evening a number of students had met specially to pray for Mr. G. the power of prayer was such and the presence of God so manifestly felt, that they decided to write and ask Mr. G if any special help had come to him at that time. looking in his diary, he found that the time of their meeting corresponded with that time of special help in the language.
'I cannot tell why there should come to me
a thought of some one miles and years away,
in swift insistence of the memory,
unless there is a need that I should pray.
18 we are too busy to spare thought
for days together of some friends away;
perhaps God does it for us - and we ought
to read his signal as a sign to pray.
perhaps God does it for us - and we ought
to read His signal as a sign to pray.
perhaps just then my friend has fiercer fight,
a more appalling weakness, a decay
of courage, darkness, some lost sense of right;
and so, in case he needs my prayers - I pray'.
at last the joyful news reached us women, waiting outside of H, that our brethren had secured property in 2 centers. it would be difficult for those in the homeland to understand what the years of waiting had meant to some of us. the danger to those dear to us, touring in H was very great. for years they never left us to go on a tour without our being filled with dread lest they should never return; yet the Lord, in His mercy, heart our prayers for them; and though often in grave danger, none received serious injury. this is not a history of the mission, but I cannot forbear giving here one incident illustrating how they were kept during those early days.
2 of our brethren, after renting property at a town just within the boundary of H and near the Wei River, moved in, intending to spend the winter there; but a sudden and bitter persecution arose, just as they had become settled. the mission premises
were attacked by a mob and everything was looted. the two men were roughly handled, one being dragged about the courtyard. they found themselves at last left alone, their lives spared, but everything gone.
their position was serious in the extreme - several days' journey away from friends, with no money, no bedding and no clothes by those upon them and the cold winter begun.
in their extremity, they knelt down and committed themselves to the lord. and according to His promise he delivered them out of their distresses; for even while they prayed a brother missionary from a distant station was at hand. he arrived unexpectedly, without knowing what had occurred, a few hours after the looting had taken place. his coming at such an opportune moment filled the hearts of their heathen enemies with fear. money and goods were returned and from that time the violent opposition of the people ceased.
a few months after the above incident several families moved into H and a permanent occupation was effected; but the hearts of the people seemed as adamant against us. they hated and distrusted us as if we were their worst enemies. the dis-
20 trict in which we settled was known for its turbulent and anti-foreign spirit, and as a band of missionaries we were frequently in the gravest danger.
many times we realized that we, as well as our fellow workers at the other stations, were kept from serious harm only by the over-ruling, protecting power of God in answer to the many prayers which were going up for us all at this critical juncture in the history of our mission. the following are concrete examples of how God heard our prayers at this time.
we had for our station doctor a man of splendid gifts. he was a gold medalist, with years of special training and hospital experience and was looked upon as one of the rising physicians in the city from which he came. imagine his disappointment, therefore, when month after month passed and scarcely a good case came to the hospital. the people did not know what he could do, and moreover they were afraid to trust themselves into his hands. we, as a little band of missionaries, began to pray definitely that the Lord would send cases to the hospital which would open the hearts of the people toward us and our message.
it was not long before we saw this prayer answered beyond all expectation. several
21 very important cases came almost together, one so serious that the doctor hesitated for days before operating. when at last the operation did take place the doctor's hands were strengthened by our prayers, the patient came through safely and a few days later was going around a living wonder to the people.
very much depended upon the outcome of this and other serious operations. had the patients died under the doctor's hands, it would have been quite sufficient to have caused the destruction of the mission premises and the life of every missionary. 3 years later the hospital records showed that there had been 28,000 treatments in one year.
again, we kept praying that the Lord would give us converts from the very beginning. we had heard of missionaries in India, CH and elsewhere , who had worked for many years without gaining converts; but we did not believe that it was His pleasure and purpose to save men and women through His human channels, and why not from the beginning? so we kept praying and working and expecting converts and God gave them to us. the experience of 30 years has confirmed this belief.
space permits the mention of but 2 of these earliest converts.
the first was Wand Feng ao, who came with us into H as mr. G's personal teacher. he was a man of high degree, equal to the Western M. A., and was one of the proudest and most overbearing of Confucian scholars. he despised the missionaries and their teaching and so great was his opposition that he would beat his wife every time she came to see us or listen to our message. but Mr. G kept praying for this man and using all his influence to win him for Christ.
before many months passed a great change had come over mr. Wang; his proud, overbearing manner had changed and he became a humble, devout follower of the lowly Nazarene . God used a dream to awaken this man's conscience - as is not uncommon in CH. one night he dreamed he was struggling in a deep, miry pit; but try as he would he could find no way of escape. when about to give up in despair, he looked up and saw mr. G and another missionary on the bank above him, with their hands stretched out to save him. again he sought for some other way of escape; but finding none, he allowed them to draw him up.
this man, later on, became mr. G's
23 most valued evangelist. for many years his splendid gifts were used to the glory of his Master in the work among the scholar class in the Changtefu district. he has long since passed to his reward, dying as he had lived, trusting only in the merit of Jesus Christ for salvation.
another of the bright glints, in the darkness of those earliest days in H, was the remarkable conversion of Wang Fu-Lin. for many years his business had been that of a public story-teller; but when mr. G came across him he was reduced to an utter wreck through opium smoking. he accepted the Gospel, but for a long time seemed too weak to break off the opium habit, again and again he tried to do so, but failed hopelessly each time.
the poor fellow seemed almost past hope, when one day mr. G brought him to the mission in his cart. the 10 days that followed can never be forgotten by those who watch Wand Fu-Lin struggle for physical and spiritual life. I verily believe nothing by prayer could have brought him through. at the end of the 10 days the power of opium was broken and Wang Fu-Lin came out of the struggle a new man in Christ Jesus.
24 I shall have occasion to speak of this man again.
in all the cases of divine healing cited in this record it will be noted that God healed in answer to prayer either when the doctors had done all in their power and hope had been abandoned, or when we were out of reach of medical aid.
soon after coming to CH the Rev. Hinter Corbett, one of the most devoted and saintly of god's missionaries, gave a testimony which later was used of God to save the writer from giving up service in CH and returning home to Canada.
Dr. C said that for 15 years he had been laid aside every year with that terrible scourge of the East - dysentery; and the doctors at last gave a definite decision that he must return at once to the homeland and forsake CH. but, said the grand old man;
'I knew God had called me to CH and I also knew that God did not change. so what could I do/ I dared not go back on my call; so I determined that if I could not live in CH I could die there; and from that time the disease lost its hold on me.
this testimony was given over 25 years ago, when he had been almost 30 years in CH! in jan. 1920, when
25 well-nigh 90 years of age, this beloved and honored saint of God passed to higher service.
for several years I had been affected just as Dr. C had been and each year the terrible disease seemed to be getting a firmer hold upon me. at last, one day my husband brought me the decision of the doctors, that I should return home. and as I lay there ill and weak, the temptation came to yield. but, as I remembered Dr. C's testimony and my own clear call, I felt that to go back would be to go against my own conscience. I therefore determined to do an Dr. C had done - leave myself in the Lord's hands - whether for life or for death. this happened more than 20 years ago and since then I have had very little trouble from that dread disease.
yes, the deeper the need and the more bitter the extremity, the greater the opportunity for god to show forth His mighty power in our lives, if we but give Him a chance by unswerving obedience at any cost. 'in the day when I cried Thou answeredst me and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul'. Psalm 138.3
during our 4th year in CH , when we were spending the hot season at the coast, our
26 little son, 18 months old, was taken very ill with dysentery. after several days' fight for the child's life came the realization, one evening, that the angel of death was at hand.
my whole soul rebelled; I actually seemed to hate God; I could see nothing but cruel injustice in it al; and the child seemed to be fast going. my husband and I knelt down beside the little one's bedside and he pleaded earnestly with me to yield my will and my child to God. after a long and bitter struggle God gained the victory and i told my husband i would give my child to the Lord. then my husband prayed, committing the precious soul into the Lord's keeping.
while he was praying I noticed that the rapid, hard breathing of the child had ceased. thinking my darling was gone, I hastened for a light, for it was dark; but on examining the child's face i found that he had sunk into a deep, sound, natural sleep, which lasted most of the night. the following day he was practically well of the dysentery.
to me it has always seemed that the lord tested me to almost the last moment; then, when I yielded my dearest treasure to Him and put my Lord first, He gave back the child.
while writing the above I came across an
27 extract from the Christian of march 12, 1914, in which the editor said:
'speaking at the annual meeting of the Huntingdon County Hospital, Lord Sandwich referred to the power of spiritual healing and premising that the finite mid cannot measure the power of the infinite, said he 'looked forward to the day when the spiritual doctrine of healing and the physical discoveries of science will blend in harmonious combination, to the glory of God and the benefit of humanity.'.
4 - A God-Given Field (1894-1900)
'Lord, there is none beside Thee to help, between the might and him that hath no strength; help us, O Lord our God; for we rely on Thee, and in Thy name are come against this multitude'. II Chronicles 14.11
the story of the opening of Changte (Ch) is so connected by a chain of prayer that to give isolated instances of prayer would be to break the chain.
a few months after our arrival in CH an old, experienced missionary kindly volunteered to conduct Mr. G and his colleague, who had just arrived, through North G, that they might see the field for themselves.
traveling southward by cart, they crossed the border into H early one morning. as my husband walked beside the cars, that morning, he felt led to pray that the Lord would give that section of H to him as his field. the assurance came that his prayer was granted. opening his daily textbook, he found the passage for that morning was from isaiah 55.8-13. like a precious
29 promise of future blessing for that field came the words: 'As the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall My word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void'.
for 6 years, however, our faith was sorely tested.
of all places, Ch seemed most determined to keep out the missionary. and thee were other difficulties in the way. a presbytery had been formed as others joined us and all matters had to be decided by that body. 2 stations that had been opened, where a foothold could first be gained, required all, and more than all, the force we then had. so for 6 years the door to Ch remained fast closed. but during all those years Mr. G and his colleage visited the city, they were mobbed and threatened, the people showing the utmost hostility. but the day came, at last, when the long-prayed -for permission from the presbytery to open Ch was granted. the very next morning found Mr G EN ROUTE for Ch, to secure
30 property for a mission site. often has he told how, all the way over that day to Ch, he prayed the Lord to open the hearts of the people and make them willing to give him the property most suitable for the work. within 3 days of his reaching Ch he had 35 offers of property and was able to secure the very piece of land he had earlier chosen as most ideal for the mission.
thus the Lord did break in pieces the gates of brass which had dept us so long from our promised land.
a year later I joined m husband there, with our 3 little children. it was arranged that our colleage should take charge of the outside evangelism, while we opened work a t the main station.
to understand what it meant for us to have our need supplied, there should be some knowledge of what that need was.
we decided, from the first, that no one should be turned from our doors. Mr. G received the men in the front guestroom while the women and children came to our private quarters. during those first weeks and moths hundreds, nay thousands, crowded to see us. day by day we were literally besieged. even at meal-time our windows were baked with faces.
31 the questions ever before us those days were - how to make the most of this wonderful opportunity, which would never come again after the period of curiosity was past; how to win the friendship of this people, who showed in a hundred ways their hatred and distrust of us; how to reach their hearts with our wonderful message of a Saviour's love?
all that was in our power was to do, day by day, what we could with the strength that was given us. from early morning till dark, sometimes 9 or 10 hours a day, the strain of receiving and preaching to these crowds was kept up. my husband had numbers of workmen to oversee, material for building to purchase, and to see to all the hundred and one things so necessary in building up a new station. besides all this he had to receive, and preach to, the crowds that came. he had no evangelist, Mr. Wang being then loaned to Mr. MacG. I had my 3 little children, and no nurse or Bible-woman. when too exhausted to speak longer to the courtyard of women, I would send for my husband, who though tired out would speak in my stead. then we would rest ourselves, and entertain the crowd, by singing a hymn.
so the days passed. but we soon realized that help must come, or we would both break down.
36 one day mr. G came to me with his Bible open at the promise, 'My God shall supply all your need', and asked: 'do we believe this? if we do, then God can and will supply us with some one to help preach to these crowds, if we ask in faith.
he prayed very definitely for a man to preach. with my doubt-blinded heart, I thought it was as if he were asking for rain from a clear sky. yet, even while he prayed, God was moving one to come to us. a day or 2 later there appeared at the mission the converted opium fiend, Wang Fu-Lin, whose conversion has been already recorded.
no one could have looked less like the answer to our prayers than he did. fearfully emaciated from long years of excessive opium smoking, racked with a cough which 3 years later ended his life, dressed in such filthy rags as only a beggar would wear, he presented a pitiable sight. yet the Lord seeth not as man seeth.
after consulting together Mr. G decided to try him for a few days, believing that he could at least testify to the power of God to save a man from his opium. soon he was reclothed in some of my husband's Chinese garments; and within an hour or 2 of his entering the mission gate, practically a beggar, he was seated in charge of the men's
33 chapel, so changed one could scarcely have recognized him.
from the first day of his ministry at Ch there was no doubt in the minds of any who heard him that he had indeed been sent to us by our gracious God, for he had in a remarkable degree the unction and power of the Holy Ghost. his gifts as a speaker were all consecrated to one object - the winning of souls to Jesus Christ. he seemed conscious that his days were few, and always spoke as a dying man to dying men. little wonder is it, therefore, that from the very beginning of his ministry in our chapel men were won to Christ. God spared him to us for the foundation laying of the church at Ch, then called him higher.
Mr. G's need was relieved by the coming of Wang Fu-Lin, but not mine. the remarkable way God had sent him, however, gave me courage and faith to trust god to give me a Bible-woman. those who know anything of mission work in CH will agree with me that it is far more difficult to find women that men who are able to preach the Gospel; or if able, who are free for the work. but I was beginning to learn that God is limited only from the human side; and that He is always is willing to gibe beyond our asking.
34 if the human conditions He has so plainly laid down in His Word are fulfilled.
a short time after I had begun to ask my Heavenly Father definitely for a Bible-woman, Mr. mac G came in from a tour and his first words were:
'will, Mrs. G, I believe we have a ready-made Bible -woman for you!
then he told me how he had come across a widow and her son i a mountain village, who had heard the Gospel from a recent convert out of one of the other stations. this man had been a member of the same religious sect as the widow and her son. when he found Christ he at once thought of his friends and went over the mountain to tell them. Mrs. Chang received the Gospel gladly. she had been a preacher in that heathen sect and had gained the fluency in speaking and power in holding audiences, so necessary in the preaching of the Gospel.
the way was soon opened for her to come to me and she became my constant companion and valuable assistant in the women's work during those early years. she witnessed a good confession in 1900 - being strung up by her thumbs when refusing to deny her Lord. faithfully she served the lord as a Bible-woman, until the time of her death in 1903.
35 During the first two or three years at Chang Te Fu we lived in unhealthy Chines houses, which were low and damp. it was therefore thought best that we should have a good semi-foreign house built for us. the work at this time was so encouraging - converts being added weekly and sometimes almost daily - that we feared lest the new house a means of reaching the people - a blessing , and not a hindrance. the answer to this prayer, as is often the case, depended largely upon ourselves. we had to be made willing to pay the price that the answer demanded.
in other words, we came to see that in order that our prayer could be answered we would have to keep open house every day and all day, which was by no mean as easy. some assured us it was wrong, because it would make us cheap in the eyes of the Chinese ; others said it was wrong because of the danger of infection to the children. but time proved these objections to be unfounded. the very highest as well as the lowest were received, and their friendship won by this means..and, so far as I can remember, our children never met any contagion because of
this way of receiving the people into our house.
the climax in numbers was reached in the spring of 1899, when 1835 men and several hundred women were received by us in one day. these were first preached to in large bands, and then led through the house. we have seen evidences of the good of this plan in all parts of our field. it opened the hearts of the people toward us and helped us to live down suspicion and distrust as nothing else could have done.
in May of 1898 we started down to Tientsin by houseboat, with our children, for a much-needed rest and change. cold, wet weather soon set in. 12 days later, as we came in sight of Tientsin, with a bitter north wind blowing, our eldest child went on deck without his overcoat, in disobedience to my orders. shortly after the child came in with a violent chill. that afternoon when we arrived in Tientsin, the doctors pronounced the verdict - pneumonia.
the following day, shortly after noon, a second doctor, who had been called in consultation, met a friend on his way from our boy's bedside and told her he did not think the child could live till morning. I had
37 taken his temperature and found it to be 106.
he was extremely restless, tossing in the burning fever. sitting down beside him, with a cry to the Lord to help me, I said distinctly: 'P , you disobeyed me and have thus brought this illness upon yourself. I forgive you; ask Jesus to forgive you and give yourself to him'.
the child looked at me for a moment steadily, then closed his eyes. I saw his lips move for a moment; then quietly he sank into a sound sleep. when he awoke , about dusk, I took his temperature, and found it 101. by the time the doctor returned it was norma., and did not rise again. althogh he had been having hemorrhage from the longs, this ceased.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Friday, February 24, 2017
2.24.2017 POEMS ABOUT GOD
308 OH GOD, I NEED THEE!
O God, i need Thee!
when morning crowds the night away
and the tasks of waking seize my mind,
I need Thy Poise,
O God, i need Thee!
when clashes come with those
who walk the way with me,
I need Thy smile
O God, i need Thee!
when the path to take before me lies,
i see it - courage flees -
i need Thy Faith.
O God, i need Thee!
when the day's worked is done,
tired, discouraged, wasted;
I need Thy Rest.
Author unknown
COME NOW!
come, now, you most careful layers of T - squares,
you tedious extractors of square roots and cube roots,
you stooping squinters through microscopes,
you merciless probers and meticulous dissectors,
you would-be plotters of the curves of life,
mathematically sure or else unbelieving;
you scorners of all but what mechanics
can drearily prove: i challenge you,
even in your pride, even in your own citadel,
using those very instruments in which alone
you have such almighty faith,
draw for me now the design, the plan
of the universe; tell me how this earth, a star, is hung,
diurnally turning for the refreshment of darkness and dew;
with your unfailing knowledge instruct me now
who sensitively fringed the retiring gentian's beauty;
or with your calipers, infallibly certain, bound for me
the mystic wild parabola of love,
Archibald Rutledge
GOD IS NEAR
'Mid the darkest scenes of life
God is near!
in the turmoil and the strife
God is near!
when the angry waves roll high
and the clouds obscure the sky,
through the storm there comes a cry:
God is near!
though the dearest friend depart
God is near!
He can heal the broken heart,
God is near!
He can heal the broken heart,
God is near!
do the tears fall thick and fast
as you ponder o'er the past?
there is One whose love will last,
God is near!
In the midst of deepest grief
God is near!
He alone can bring relief,
God is near!
when the hand of death so cold
snatches loved ones from the fold,
and you suffer grief untold,
God is near!
God and tell it far and wide
God is near! take it to the darkest soul,
let the message onward roll'
Hark! the bells of Heaven toll!
God is near!
Oswald J. Smith
THE WORLD CAN NEITHER GIVE NOR TAKE
the world can neither give nor take,
nor can it comprehend,
that peace of God, which Christ hath bought,
that peace which knows no end.
the burning bush was not consumed
whilst God remained there;
the three, when Jesus made the fourth,
found fire as soft as air.
God's furnace doth in Zion stand;
but Zion's God sits by
as the refiner views his gold
with an observant eye.
His thoughts are high, His love is wise,
His wounds a cure intend;
and, tho' He doth not always smile,
He loves unto the end.
His love is constant as the sun,
though clouds come oft between;
and, could my faith but pierce these clouds,
it might be always seen.
yet i shall ever, ever sing,
and Thou forever shine;
I have Thine own dear pledge for this;
Lord, Thou art ever mine.
Selina, Countess of Huntingdon
HYMN OF THE WALDENSES
hear, Father, hear Thy faint afflicted flock
cry to Thee, from the desert and the rock;
while those, who seek to slay Thy children hold
blasphemous worship under roofs of gold;
and the broad goodly lands, with pleasant airs
that nurse the grape and wave the grain are theirs.
yet better were this mountain wilderness,
and this wild life of danger and distress, -
watching by night and perilous flight by day,
and meeting in the depths of earth to pray,
better, far better, than to kneel with them
and pay the impious rite Thy laws condemn .
Thou, Lord, dost hold the thunder; the firm land
tosses in billows when it feels Thy hand;
Thou dashest nation against nation, then
stillest the angry world to peace again.
Oh, touch their stony hearts who hunt Thy sons, -
the murderers of our wives and little ones.
Yet, mighty God, yet shall Thy frown look forth
unveiled and terribly shall shake the earth.
then the fool power of priestly sin and all
its long upheld idolatries shall fall.
Thou shalt raise up the trampled and oppressed,
and Thy delivered saints shall dwell in rest.
William Cullen Bryant
HE GIVETH MORE - Annie Johnson Flint
He giveth more grace when the burden grows greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
to added affliction He addeth mercy,
to multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
when our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
when we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
for out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
316 I SAW GOD WASH THE WORLD
I saw God wash the world last night
with His sweet showers on high,
and then, when morning came, I saw
Him hang it out to dry.
He washed each tiny blade of grass
and every trembling tree;
He flung His showers against the hill,
and swept the billowing sea.
the white rose is a cleaner white,
the red rose is more red,
since God washed every fragrant face
and put them all to bed.
there's not a bird, there's not a bee
that wings along the way
but is a cleaner bird and bee.
than it was yesterday.
I saw God wash the world last night.
Ah, would He had washed me
as clean of all my dust and dirt
as that old white birch tree.
-William L. Stidger
317 from THE ETERNAL GOODNESS
I see the wrong that round me lies.
I feel the guilt within;
I hear, with groan and travail-cries,
the world confess its sin.
Yet, in the maddening maze of things,
and tossed by storm and flood,
to one fixed trust my spirit clings:
I know that God is good!
-John Greenleaf Whittier
I FOUND GOD - Mary Afton Thacker
sophisticated, worldly-wise,
I searched for God and found Him not,
until one day, the world forgot,
I found Him in my baby's eyes.
THE ANCIENT THOUGHT
the round moon hangs like a yellow
lantern in the trees
that lie like lace against the sky,
Oh, still the night! Oh, hushed the
breeze -
Surely God is nigh.
Watson Kerr
318 GOD'S GRANDEUR
the world is charged with the grandeur of God.
it will flame out, like shining from shook foil'
it gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crusted. Why do men then now not wreck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
and all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil'
and wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
and for all this, nature is never spent;
there lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
and though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs -
because the Holy ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with Ah! bright wings.
Author unknown
THE WORLD - Henry Vaughan
I saw Eternity the other night,
like a great ring of pure and endless light,
all calm as it was bright;
all round beneath it, Time in hours, days, years,
driven by the spheres
like a vast shadow moved; in which the world
and all her train were hurled.
the doting lover in his quaintest strain
did there complain;
near him, his lute, his fancy and his flights,
wit's sour delights,
with gloves and knots, the silly snares of pleasure,
yet his dear treasure,
all scattered lay, while he his eyes did pour
upon a flower.
the darksome statesman, hung with weights and woe
like a thick midnight-fog, moved there so slow,
He did not stay, nor go'
condemning thoughts - like sad eclipses -scowl
upon his soul.
and clouds of crying witnesses without
pursu'd him with one shout.
319 yet digg'd the mole and lest his ways be found,
worked under ground,
where he did clutch his prey; (but one did see
That policy);
churches and altars fed him; perjuries
were gnats and flies;
it rained about him blood and tears; but he
drank them as free.
the fearful miser on a heap of rust
sat pining all his life there, did scarce trust
his own hands with the dust,
yet would not place one piece above, but lives
in fear of thieves.
thousands there were as frantic as himself
and hugged each one his pelf.
the downright epicure placed heaven in sense
and scorn'd pretence,
while others, slipp'd into a wide excess,
said little less;
the weaker sort, slight trivial wares enslave,
who think them brave;
the poor, despised Truth sat counting by
their victory.
yet some, who all this while did weep and sing.
and sing and weep, soared up into the Ring;
but most would use no wing.
O fools (said I ) thus to prefer dark night before true light!
to live in grots and caves and hate the day
because it shows the way,
the way, which from this dead and dark abode
leads up to God,
a way, which from this dead and dark abode
Leads up to God.
a way where you might tread the sun and be
more bright than he.
but as i did their madness so discuss,
one whisper'd thus,
'This Ring the Bridegroom did for none provide,
but for His bride.
320 LIGHT SHINING OUT OF DARKNESS
God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
and rides upon the storm.
deep in unfathomable mines
of never failing skill,
he treasures up His bright designs,
and works His sovereign will.
ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
the clouds ye so much dread
and big with mercy and shall break
in blessings on your head.
judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
but trust Him for His grace;
behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour:
the bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
and scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
and He will make it plain.
William Cowper
THE MANUSCRIPTS OF GOD
and nature, the old nurse, took
the child upon her knee,
saying, 'here is a story book
my father hath writ for thee.
come, wander with me, she said,
'in regions yet untrod
and read what is still unread
in the manuscripts of God.'
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
MAN'S HAND - AND GOD'S
once I heard a prima donna sing,
and marveled at such art;
but today an oriole's fluted note
lights a candle in my heart.
one day i walked thro' a lovely place
where wonderful paintings hung,
but i climbed this ridge just now and looked
at the hills God's hand has flung.
i stood last year where I could see
a city, magnificent - grand;
but I glance just now where the sunset clouds
are by an Artist's hand.
today I might have viewed a work
of engineering skill;
but I caught the heavenly scent of plums
blooming upon this hill. Mae Traller
321 O LITTLE SELF - John Masefield
O little self, within whose smallness lies
all that man was and is and will become,
atom unseen that comprehends the skies
and tells the tracks by which the planets roam;
that, without moving, knows the joys of wings,
the tiger's strength, the eagle's secrecy,
and in the hovel can consort with kings,
or clothe a God with His own mystery.
O with what darkness do we cloak Thy light,
what dusty folly gather Thee for food,
thou who alone art knowledge and delight,
the heavenly bread, the beautiful, the good.
O living self, O God, O morning star,
Give us Thy light, forgive us what we are.
322 SOMETIME - May Riley Smith
sometime, when all life's lessons have been learned,
and sun and stars forevermore have set,
the things o'er which we grieved with lashes whet,
will flash before us out of life's dark night,
as stars shine most in deeper tints of blue;
and we shall see how all God's plans were right,
and how what seemed reproof was love most true.
and we shall see how, while we frown and sigh,
god's plans go on as best for you and me;
how, when we called, He heeded not our cry,
because His wisdom to the end could see,
and even prudent parents disallow
too much of sweet to craving babyhood,
so god, perhaps, is keeping from us now
Life's sweetest things, because it seemeth good.
and if, sometimes, commingled with life's wine,
we find the wormwood and rebel and shrink,
be sure a wiser had than yours or mine
pours out this portion for our lips to drink.
and if some friend we love is lying low,
where human kisses cannot reach his face.,
Oh, do not blame the loving Father so.
but wear your sorrow with obedient grace.
and you shall shortly know that lengthened breath
is not the sweetest gift God sends His friend,
and that, sometimes, the sable pall of death
conceals the fairest boon His love can send.
if we could push ajar the gates of life,
and stand within, and all god's working see,
we could interpret all this doubt and strife,
and for each mystery could find a key!
but not to-day. then be content, poor heart!
God's plans, like lilies, pure and white, unfold;
we must not tear the close-shut leaves apart,
time will reveal the calyxes if gold,
and if, though patient toil, we reach the land
where tired feet, with sandals loose, may rest,
when we shall clearly know and understand -
I think that we will say, 'God knew the best!'
324 LUTHER'S HYMN - Martin Luther (translated by Frederic Henry Hedge)
a might fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper He amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
for still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and, armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
did we in our won strength confide,
our striving would be losing, -
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God's own choosing.
dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus , it is He,
Lord Sabaoth His name,
from age to age the same,
and He must win the battle.
and tho' this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us.
the Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for Him,
his rage we can endure
for lo! his doom is sure,
one little word shall fell him.
the word above all earthly powers,
no thanks to them, abideth;
the spirit and the gifts are ours
through Him who with us sideth.
let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also:
the body they may kill,
God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
'GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
back of the loaf is the snowy flour,
and back of the flour the mill,
and back of the mill is the wheat and the shower,
and the sun and the Father's will.
Maltbie D. Babcock
325 JEHOVAH TSIDKENU - The Lord Our Righteousness
I once was a stranger to grace and to God,
I knew not my danger and felt not my load;
though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree,
Jehovah Tsidkenu was nothing to me.
I oft read with pleasure, to soothe or engage,
isaiah's wild measure and John's simple page;
but e'en when they pictured the blood-sprinkled tree,
Jehovah Tsidkenu seemed nothing to me.
like tears from the daughters of Zion that roll,
I wept when the waters went over his soul;
yet thought not that my sins had nailed to the tree
Jehovah Tsidkenu - 'twas nothing to me.
when free grace awoke me, by light from on high,
then legal fears shook me, I trembled to die;
no refuge, no safety in self could I see-
Jehovah Tsidkenu my Saviour must be.
my terrors all vanished before the sweet name;
my guilty fears banished, with boldness I came
to drink at the fountain, life-giving and free -
Jehovah Tsidkenu is all things to me.
Jehova Tsidkenu! my treasure and boast,
jehovah Tsidkenu I ne'er can be lost;
in Thee I shall conquer by flood and by field -
My cable, my anchor, my breastplate and shield!
even treading the valley, the shadow of death,
this watchword shall rally my faltering breath;
for while from life's fever my God sets me free,
Jehovah Tsidkenu my death-song shall be.
Robert Murray McCheyne
326 RIGHT IS RIGHT
for right is right, since God is God,
and right the day must win;
to doubt would be disloyalty,
to falter would be sin.
Frederick William Faber
327 OH GOD, OUR HELP IN AGES PAST
O God, our help in ages past,
our hope in years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home -
under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is Thine arm alone,
and our defense is sure.
before the hills in order stood,
or earth received her frame,
from everlasting Thou art God,
to endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night
before the rising sun.
Time, lie an ever-rolling stream
bears all its sons away;
they fly, forgotten, as a dream
dies at the opening day.
Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope in years to come,
be Thou our guard while troubles last,
and our eternal home.
isaac Watts
328 THE MAJESTY AND MERCY OF GOD
Oh, worship the King all glorious above;
Oh, gratefully sing His power and His love;
our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days
pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.
Oh, tell of His might, Oh, sing of His grace,
whose robe is the light, whose canopy space;
His chariots of wrath the deep thunder clouds form,
and dark is his path on the wings of the storm.
the earth, with its store of wonders untold,
almighty, Thy power hath founded of old,
hath stablished it fast by a changeless decree,
and round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.
Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite?
it breathes in the air, it shines in the light,
it streams form the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.
frail children of dust and feeble as frail
in Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail.
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend.
WEARY, LONELY, RESTLESS, HOMELESS - Father Ryan
Weary hearts! weary hearts! by cares of life oppressed,
ye are wandering in the shadows, ye are sighing for the rest;
there is darkness in the heavens, and the earth is bleak below,
and the joys we taste today may tomorrow turn to woe.
weary hearts! God is rest.
Lonely hearts! lonely hearts! 'tis but a land of grief;
ye are pining for repose, ye are longing for relief;
what the world hath never given, kneel and ask of God above.
and your grief shall turn to gladness if you lean upon His love.
Lonely hearts! God is love.
Restless hearts! restless hearts! ye are toiling night and say,
and the flowers of life, all withered, leave but thorns along your way;
ye are waiting, ye are waiting till your toilings here shall cease,
and your ever-restless throbbing is a sad, sad prayer for peace.
Restless hearts! God is peace.
Broken hearts! broken hearts! ye are desolate and lone,
and low voices from the past o'er your present ruins moan;
in the sweetest of your pleasures there was bitterest alloy,
and a starless night hath followed on the sunset of your joy,
Broken hearts! God is joy.
Homeless hearts! homeless hearts ! through the dreary, dreary years,
Ye are lonely, lonely wanderers, and your way is wet with tears;
in bright or blighted places, wheresoever ye may roam,
ye look away from earthland and ye murmur, 'where is Home?'
Homeless hearts! God is home.
329 NEARER TO THEE
nearer, my God, to Thee,
nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross
that raiseth me;
still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
though like the wanderer,
the sun gone down,
darkness be over me
my rest a stone;
yet in my dreams I'd be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
there let the way appear
steps unto heaven;
all that Thou send'st to me
in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
then, with my waking thoughts
Bright with Thy praise,
out of my stony griefs
Bethel I'll raise;
so by my woes to be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
or if on joyful wing
cleaving the sky,
sun, moon and stars forgot,
upward I fly,
still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
Sarah Flower Adams
AFTER ST. AUGUSTINE
sunshine let it be or frost,
storm or calm, as Thou shalt choose;
though Tine every gift were lost,
Thee Thyself we could not lose.
Mary Elizabeth Coleridge
GOD AND THE STRONG ONES
'We have made them fools and weak? said the Strong Ones:
'We have bound them, they are dumb and deaf and blind;
We have crushed them in our hands like a heap of crumbling sands,
We have left them naught to seek or find;
they are quiet at our feet! said the Strong Ones;
'We have made them one with wood and stone and clod;
serf and laborer and woman, they are less than wise or human! -
'I shall raise the weak! saith God.
'They are stirring in the dark! said the Strong Ones,
'They are struggling, who were moveless like the dead.
we can hear them cry and strain hand and foot against the chain,
we can hear their heavy upward tread...
what if they are restless? said the Strong Ones;
'What if they have stirred beneath the rod?
Fools and weak and blinded men, we can tread them down again -
'Shall ye conquer Me? saith God.
'they will trample us and bind! said the Strong Ones;
'We are crushed beneath the blackened feet and hands;
all the strong and fair and great they will crush from out the state;
they will whelm it with the weight of pressing sands -
they are maddened and are blind! said the Strong Ones;
'black decay has come where they have trod;
they will break the world in twain if their hands are on the rein -
'What is that to Me? saith God.
'Ye have made them in their strength, who were Strong Ones,
Ye have only taught the blackness ye have known:
these are evil men and blind? Ay, but molded to your mind!
how shall ye cry out against your own?
Ye have held the light and beauty I have given
far above the muddied ways where they must plod:
ye have builded this your lord with the lash and with the sword-
reap what ye have sown! saith God.
Margaret Widdemer
331 A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD
O for a closer walk with God,
a clam and heavenly frame;
a light to shine upon the road
that leads me to the Lamb!
where is the blessedness I knew
when first I saw the Lord?
where is the soul-refreshing view
of Jesus and His Word!
what peaceful hours I then enjoyed,
How sweet their memory still!
but they have left an aching void
the world can never fill.
Return, O Holy Dove, return,
sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn,
and drove Thee from my breast!
the dearest idol I have known
whate'er that idol be;
help me to tear it from Thy throne,
and worship only Thee.
WilliamCowper
O God, i need Thee!
when morning crowds the night away
and the tasks of waking seize my mind,
I need Thy Poise,
O God, i need Thee!
when clashes come with those
who walk the way with me,
I need Thy smile
O God, i need Thee!
when the path to take before me lies,
i see it - courage flees -
i need Thy Faith.
O God, i need Thee!
when the day's worked is done,
tired, discouraged, wasted;
I need Thy Rest.
Author unknown
COME NOW!
come, now, you most careful layers of T - squares,
you tedious extractors of square roots and cube roots,
you stooping squinters through microscopes,
you merciless probers and meticulous dissectors,
you would-be plotters of the curves of life,
mathematically sure or else unbelieving;
you scorners of all but what mechanics
can drearily prove: i challenge you,
even in your pride, even in your own citadel,
using those very instruments in which alone
you have such almighty faith,
draw for me now the design, the plan
of the universe; tell me how this earth, a star, is hung,
diurnally turning for the refreshment of darkness and dew;
with your unfailing knowledge instruct me now
who sensitively fringed the retiring gentian's beauty;
or with your calipers, infallibly certain, bound for me
the mystic wild parabola of love,
Archibald Rutledge
GOD IS NEAR
'Mid the darkest scenes of life
God is near!
in the turmoil and the strife
God is near!
when the angry waves roll high
and the clouds obscure the sky,
through the storm there comes a cry:
God is near!
though the dearest friend depart
God is near!
He can heal the broken heart,
God is near!
He can heal the broken heart,
God is near!
do the tears fall thick and fast
as you ponder o'er the past?
there is One whose love will last,
God is near!
In the midst of deepest grief
God is near!
He alone can bring relief,
God is near!
when the hand of death so cold
snatches loved ones from the fold,
and you suffer grief untold,
God is near!
God and tell it far and wide
God is near! take it to the darkest soul,
let the message onward roll'
Hark! the bells of Heaven toll!
God is near!
Oswald J. Smith
THE WORLD CAN NEITHER GIVE NOR TAKE
the world can neither give nor take,
nor can it comprehend,
that peace of God, which Christ hath bought,
that peace which knows no end.
the burning bush was not consumed
whilst God remained there;
the three, when Jesus made the fourth,
found fire as soft as air.
God's furnace doth in Zion stand;
but Zion's God sits by
as the refiner views his gold
with an observant eye.
His thoughts are high, His love is wise,
His wounds a cure intend;
and, tho' He doth not always smile,
He loves unto the end.
His love is constant as the sun,
though clouds come oft between;
and, could my faith but pierce these clouds,
it might be always seen.
yet i shall ever, ever sing,
and Thou forever shine;
I have Thine own dear pledge for this;
Lord, Thou art ever mine.
Selina, Countess of Huntingdon
HYMN OF THE WALDENSES
hear, Father, hear Thy faint afflicted flock
cry to Thee, from the desert and the rock;
while those, who seek to slay Thy children hold
blasphemous worship under roofs of gold;
and the broad goodly lands, with pleasant airs
that nurse the grape and wave the grain are theirs.
yet better were this mountain wilderness,
and this wild life of danger and distress, -
watching by night and perilous flight by day,
and meeting in the depths of earth to pray,
better, far better, than to kneel with them
and pay the impious rite Thy laws condemn .
Thou, Lord, dost hold the thunder; the firm land
tosses in billows when it feels Thy hand;
Thou dashest nation against nation, then
stillest the angry world to peace again.
Oh, touch their stony hearts who hunt Thy sons, -
the murderers of our wives and little ones.
Yet, mighty God, yet shall Thy frown look forth
unveiled and terribly shall shake the earth.
then the fool power of priestly sin and all
its long upheld idolatries shall fall.
Thou shalt raise up the trampled and oppressed,
and Thy delivered saints shall dwell in rest.
William Cullen Bryant
HE GIVETH MORE - Annie Johnson Flint
He giveth more grace when the burden grows greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
to added affliction He addeth mercy,
to multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
when our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
when we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
for out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
316 I SAW GOD WASH THE WORLD
I saw God wash the world last night
with His sweet showers on high,
and then, when morning came, I saw
Him hang it out to dry.
He washed each tiny blade of grass
and every trembling tree;
He flung His showers against the hill,
and swept the billowing sea.
the white rose is a cleaner white,
the red rose is more red,
since God washed every fragrant face
and put them all to bed.
there's not a bird, there's not a bee
that wings along the way
but is a cleaner bird and bee.
than it was yesterday.
I saw God wash the world last night.
Ah, would He had washed me
as clean of all my dust and dirt
as that old white birch tree.
-William L. Stidger
317 from THE ETERNAL GOODNESS
I see the wrong that round me lies.
I feel the guilt within;
I hear, with groan and travail-cries,
the world confess its sin.
Yet, in the maddening maze of things,
and tossed by storm and flood,
to one fixed trust my spirit clings:
I know that God is good!
-John Greenleaf Whittier
I FOUND GOD - Mary Afton Thacker
sophisticated, worldly-wise,
I searched for God and found Him not,
until one day, the world forgot,
I found Him in my baby's eyes.
THE ANCIENT THOUGHT
the round moon hangs like a yellow
lantern in the trees
that lie like lace against the sky,
Oh, still the night! Oh, hushed the
breeze -
Surely God is nigh.
Watson Kerr
318 GOD'S GRANDEUR
the world is charged with the grandeur of God.
it will flame out, like shining from shook foil'
it gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crusted. Why do men then now not wreck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
and all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil'
and wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
and for all this, nature is never spent;
there lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
and though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs -
because the Holy ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with Ah! bright wings.
Author unknown
THE WORLD - Henry Vaughan
I saw Eternity the other night,
like a great ring of pure and endless light,
all calm as it was bright;
all round beneath it, Time in hours, days, years,
driven by the spheres
like a vast shadow moved; in which the world
and all her train were hurled.
the doting lover in his quaintest strain
did there complain;
near him, his lute, his fancy and his flights,
wit's sour delights,
with gloves and knots, the silly snares of pleasure,
yet his dear treasure,
all scattered lay, while he his eyes did pour
upon a flower.
the darksome statesman, hung with weights and woe
like a thick midnight-fog, moved there so slow,
He did not stay, nor go'
condemning thoughts - like sad eclipses -scowl
upon his soul.
and clouds of crying witnesses without
pursu'd him with one shout.
319 yet digg'd the mole and lest his ways be found,
worked under ground,
where he did clutch his prey; (but one did see
That policy);
churches and altars fed him; perjuries
were gnats and flies;
it rained about him blood and tears; but he
drank them as free.
the fearful miser on a heap of rust
sat pining all his life there, did scarce trust
his own hands with the dust,
yet would not place one piece above, but lives
in fear of thieves.
thousands there were as frantic as himself
and hugged each one his pelf.
the downright epicure placed heaven in sense
and scorn'd pretence,
while others, slipp'd into a wide excess,
said little less;
the weaker sort, slight trivial wares enslave,
who think them brave;
the poor, despised Truth sat counting by
their victory.
yet some, who all this while did weep and sing.
and sing and weep, soared up into the Ring;
but most would use no wing.
O fools (said I ) thus to prefer dark night before true light!
to live in grots and caves and hate the day
because it shows the way,
the way, which from this dead and dark abode
leads up to God,
a way, which from this dead and dark abode
Leads up to God.
a way where you might tread the sun and be
more bright than he.
but as i did their madness so discuss,
one whisper'd thus,
'This Ring the Bridegroom did for none provide,
but for His bride.
320 LIGHT SHINING OUT OF DARKNESS
God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
and rides upon the storm.
deep in unfathomable mines
of never failing skill,
he treasures up His bright designs,
and works His sovereign will.
ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
the clouds ye so much dread
and big with mercy and shall break
in blessings on your head.
judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
but trust Him for His grace;
behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour:
the bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
and scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
and He will make it plain.
William Cowper
THE MANUSCRIPTS OF GOD
and nature, the old nurse, took
the child upon her knee,
saying, 'here is a story book
my father hath writ for thee.
come, wander with me, she said,
'in regions yet untrod
and read what is still unread
in the manuscripts of God.'
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
MAN'S HAND - AND GOD'S
once I heard a prima donna sing,
and marveled at such art;
but today an oriole's fluted note
lights a candle in my heart.
one day i walked thro' a lovely place
where wonderful paintings hung,
but i climbed this ridge just now and looked
at the hills God's hand has flung.
i stood last year where I could see
a city, magnificent - grand;
but I glance just now where the sunset clouds
are by an Artist's hand.
today I might have viewed a work
of engineering skill;
but I caught the heavenly scent of plums
blooming upon this hill. Mae Traller
321 O LITTLE SELF - John Masefield
O little self, within whose smallness lies
all that man was and is and will become,
atom unseen that comprehends the skies
and tells the tracks by which the planets roam;
that, without moving, knows the joys of wings,
the tiger's strength, the eagle's secrecy,
and in the hovel can consort with kings,
or clothe a God with His own mystery.
O with what darkness do we cloak Thy light,
what dusty folly gather Thee for food,
thou who alone art knowledge and delight,
the heavenly bread, the beautiful, the good.
O living self, O God, O morning star,
Give us Thy light, forgive us what we are.
322 SOMETIME - May Riley Smith
sometime, when all life's lessons have been learned,
and sun and stars forevermore have set,
the things o'er which we grieved with lashes whet,
will flash before us out of life's dark night,
as stars shine most in deeper tints of blue;
and we shall see how all God's plans were right,
and how what seemed reproof was love most true.
and we shall see how, while we frown and sigh,
god's plans go on as best for you and me;
how, when we called, He heeded not our cry,
because His wisdom to the end could see,
and even prudent parents disallow
too much of sweet to craving babyhood,
so god, perhaps, is keeping from us now
Life's sweetest things, because it seemeth good.
and if, sometimes, commingled with life's wine,
we find the wormwood and rebel and shrink,
be sure a wiser had than yours or mine
pours out this portion for our lips to drink.
and if some friend we love is lying low,
where human kisses cannot reach his face.,
Oh, do not blame the loving Father so.
but wear your sorrow with obedient grace.
and you shall shortly know that lengthened breath
is not the sweetest gift God sends His friend,
and that, sometimes, the sable pall of death
conceals the fairest boon His love can send.
if we could push ajar the gates of life,
and stand within, and all god's working see,
we could interpret all this doubt and strife,
and for each mystery could find a key!
but not to-day. then be content, poor heart!
God's plans, like lilies, pure and white, unfold;
we must not tear the close-shut leaves apart,
time will reveal the calyxes if gold,
and if, though patient toil, we reach the land
where tired feet, with sandals loose, may rest,
when we shall clearly know and understand -
I think that we will say, 'God knew the best!'
324 LUTHER'S HYMN - Martin Luther (translated by Frederic Henry Hedge)
a might fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper He amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
for still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and, armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
did we in our won strength confide,
our striving would be losing, -
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God's own choosing.
dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus , it is He,
Lord Sabaoth His name,
from age to age the same,
and He must win the battle.
and tho' this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us.
the Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for Him,
his rage we can endure
for lo! his doom is sure,
one little word shall fell him.
the word above all earthly powers,
no thanks to them, abideth;
the spirit and the gifts are ours
through Him who with us sideth.
let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also:
the body they may kill,
God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
'GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
back of the loaf is the snowy flour,
and back of the flour the mill,
and back of the mill is the wheat and the shower,
and the sun and the Father's will.
Maltbie D. Babcock
325 JEHOVAH TSIDKENU - The Lord Our Righteousness
I once was a stranger to grace and to God,
I knew not my danger and felt not my load;
though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree,
Jehovah Tsidkenu was nothing to me.
I oft read with pleasure, to soothe or engage,
isaiah's wild measure and John's simple page;
but e'en when they pictured the blood-sprinkled tree,
Jehovah Tsidkenu seemed nothing to me.
like tears from the daughters of Zion that roll,
I wept when the waters went over his soul;
yet thought not that my sins had nailed to the tree
Jehovah Tsidkenu - 'twas nothing to me.
when free grace awoke me, by light from on high,
then legal fears shook me, I trembled to die;
no refuge, no safety in self could I see-
Jehovah Tsidkenu my Saviour must be.
my terrors all vanished before the sweet name;
my guilty fears banished, with boldness I came
to drink at the fountain, life-giving and free -
Jehovah Tsidkenu is all things to me.
Jehova Tsidkenu! my treasure and boast,
jehovah Tsidkenu I ne'er can be lost;
in Thee I shall conquer by flood and by field -
My cable, my anchor, my breastplate and shield!
even treading the valley, the shadow of death,
this watchword shall rally my faltering breath;
for while from life's fever my God sets me free,
Jehovah Tsidkenu my death-song shall be.
Robert Murray McCheyne
326 RIGHT IS RIGHT
for right is right, since God is God,
and right the day must win;
to doubt would be disloyalty,
to falter would be sin.
Frederick William Faber
327 OH GOD, OUR HELP IN AGES PAST
O God, our help in ages past,
our hope in years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home -
under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is Thine arm alone,
and our defense is sure.
before the hills in order stood,
or earth received her frame,
from everlasting Thou art God,
to endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night
before the rising sun.
Time, lie an ever-rolling stream
bears all its sons away;
they fly, forgotten, as a dream
dies at the opening day.
Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope in years to come,
be Thou our guard while troubles last,
and our eternal home.
isaac Watts
328 THE MAJESTY AND MERCY OF GOD
Oh, worship the King all glorious above;
Oh, gratefully sing His power and His love;
our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days
pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.
Oh, tell of His might, Oh, sing of His grace,
whose robe is the light, whose canopy space;
His chariots of wrath the deep thunder clouds form,
and dark is his path on the wings of the storm.
the earth, with its store of wonders untold,
almighty, Thy power hath founded of old,
hath stablished it fast by a changeless decree,
and round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.
Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite?
it breathes in the air, it shines in the light,
it streams form the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.
frail children of dust and feeble as frail
in Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail.
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend.
WEARY, LONELY, RESTLESS, HOMELESS - Father Ryan
Weary hearts! weary hearts! by cares of life oppressed,
ye are wandering in the shadows, ye are sighing for the rest;
there is darkness in the heavens, and the earth is bleak below,
and the joys we taste today may tomorrow turn to woe.
weary hearts! God is rest.
Lonely hearts! lonely hearts! 'tis but a land of grief;
ye are pining for repose, ye are longing for relief;
what the world hath never given, kneel and ask of God above.
and your grief shall turn to gladness if you lean upon His love.
Lonely hearts! God is love.
Restless hearts! restless hearts! ye are toiling night and say,
and the flowers of life, all withered, leave but thorns along your way;
ye are waiting, ye are waiting till your toilings here shall cease,
and your ever-restless throbbing is a sad, sad prayer for peace.
Restless hearts! God is peace.
Broken hearts! broken hearts! ye are desolate and lone,
and low voices from the past o'er your present ruins moan;
in the sweetest of your pleasures there was bitterest alloy,
and a starless night hath followed on the sunset of your joy,
Broken hearts! God is joy.
Homeless hearts! homeless hearts ! through the dreary, dreary years,
Ye are lonely, lonely wanderers, and your way is wet with tears;
in bright or blighted places, wheresoever ye may roam,
ye look away from earthland and ye murmur, 'where is Home?'
Homeless hearts! God is home.
329 NEARER TO THEE
nearer, my God, to Thee,
nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross
that raiseth me;
still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
though like the wanderer,
the sun gone down,
darkness be over me
my rest a stone;
yet in my dreams I'd be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
there let the way appear
steps unto heaven;
all that Thou send'st to me
in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
then, with my waking thoughts
Bright with Thy praise,
out of my stony griefs
Bethel I'll raise;
so by my woes to be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
or if on joyful wing
cleaving the sky,
sun, moon and stars forgot,
upward I fly,
still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
Sarah Flower Adams
AFTER ST. AUGUSTINE
sunshine let it be or frost,
storm or calm, as Thou shalt choose;
though Tine every gift were lost,
Thee Thyself we could not lose.
Mary Elizabeth Coleridge
GOD AND THE STRONG ONES
'We have made them fools and weak? said the Strong Ones:
'We have bound them, they are dumb and deaf and blind;
We have crushed them in our hands like a heap of crumbling sands,
We have left them naught to seek or find;
they are quiet at our feet! said the Strong Ones;
'We have made them one with wood and stone and clod;
serf and laborer and woman, they are less than wise or human! -
'I shall raise the weak! saith God.
'They are stirring in the dark! said the Strong Ones,
'They are struggling, who were moveless like the dead.
we can hear them cry and strain hand and foot against the chain,
we can hear their heavy upward tread...
what if they are restless? said the Strong Ones;
'What if they have stirred beneath the rod?
Fools and weak and blinded men, we can tread them down again -
'Shall ye conquer Me? saith God.
'they will trample us and bind! said the Strong Ones;
'We are crushed beneath the blackened feet and hands;
all the strong and fair and great they will crush from out the state;
they will whelm it with the weight of pressing sands -
they are maddened and are blind! said the Strong Ones;
'black decay has come where they have trod;
they will break the world in twain if their hands are on the rein -
'What is that to Me? saith God.
'Ye have made them in their strength, who were Strong Ones,
Ye have only taught the blackness ye have known:
these are evil men and blind? Ay, but molded to your mind!
how shall ye cry out against your own?
Ye have held the light and beauty I have given
far above the muddied ways where they must plod:
ye have builded this your lord with the lash and with the sword-
reap what ye have sown! saith God.
Margaret Widdemer
331 A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD
O for a closer walk with God,
a clam and heavenly frame;
a light to shine upon the road
that leads me to the Lamb!
where is the blessedness I knew
when first I saw the Lord?
where is the soul-refreshing view
of Jesus and His Word!
what peaceful hours I then enjoyed,
How sweet their memory still!
but they have left an aching void
the world can never fill.
Return, O Holy Dove, return,
sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn,
and drove Thee from my breast!
the dearest idol I have known
whate'er that idol be;
help me to tear it from Thy throne,
and worship only Thee.
WilliamCowper
2.24.2017 POEMS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP
303 MY FRIEND - Author unknown
the Christian, like his Lord of old,
must look for foes and trials here;
yet may the weakest saint be bold,
with such a friend as Jesus near.
the lion's roar need not alarm,
O Lord, the feeblest of Thy sheep;
nor can the fiercest monster harm,
while Thou art nigh to watch and keep.
therefore I will Thy foes defy,
and own Thee as my God, my friend;
no fear shall make me e'er deny
the God on whom my hopes depend.
TO KNOW ALL IS TO FORGIVE ALL
if i knew you and you knew me -
if both of us could clearly see,
and with an inner sight divine
the meaning of your heart and mine,
i'm sure that we would differ less'and clasp our hands in friendliness;
our thoughts would pleasantly agree
if I knew you and you knew me.
if i knew you and you knew me,
as each one knows his own self, we
could look each other in the face
and see therein a truer grace.
life has so many hidden woes,
so many thorns for every rose;
the 'why of things our hearts would see,
if I knew you, and you knew me.
Nixon Waterman
PASS IT ON - Author unknown
Love demands the loving deed,
Pass it on!
Look upon your brother's need - Pass it on!
Live for self, you live in vain;
Live for Christ, with Him you reign -
Pass it one!
304 THE HOUSE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
there are hermit souls that live withdrawn
in the peace of their self-content;
there are souls, like stars, that dwell apart
in a fellowless firmament;
there are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
where highways never ran -
but let me live by the side of the road
and be a friend to man.
let me lie in a house by the side of the road,
where the race of men go by -
the men who are good and the men who are bad,
as good and as bad as i.
i would not sit in the scorner's seat,
or hurl the cynic's ban -
let me live in a house by the side of the road,
and be a friend to man.
I see from my house by the side of the road,
by the side of the highway of life,
the men who press with the ardor of hope
the men who are faint with the strife,
but i turn not away from their smiles nor their tears -
both parts of an infinite plan -
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
and be a friend to man.
I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead
and mountains of wearisome height;
and the road passes on through the long afternoon
and stretches away to the night.
but i still rejoice when the travelers rejoice,
and weep with the strangers that moan,
nor live in my house by the side of the road
like a man who dwells alone.
let me live in my house by the side of the road
where the race of men go by -
they are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
wise, foolish - so am i.
then why should i sit in the scorner's seat
or hurl the cynic's ban?
let me live in my house by the side of the road
and be a friend to man.
Sam Walter Foss
305 MY NEIGHBOR
my NEIGHBOR, who is he?
who lives next door to me -
the man i daily meet,
out on the crowded street?
the man to whom i talk,
with whom i daily walk;
who smiles across the fence
nor lacks good common sense?
the man afar from me,
in his great need of me,
may be the nearest me,
and so my neighbor be.
my neighbor, who is he?
mayhap who most needs me,
whose want lays hold of me,
he must my neighbor be.
e.a.repass
306 FRIENDSHIP - Henry W. Frost
to have a friend who follows all my thought
as it may vagrant roam from earth to heaven,
who there will hold it fast until its leave
be purged away, by purer word in-wrought;
to have him understand when words have failed
to make my better, nobler meaning plain;
who, when I'm silent, will his words restrain
and show by look that silence hath availed;
to know that he, if others adulate,
will dare to warn of pride's presumptuous sin;
that he will speak of love, when others hate,
that he, to his strong self, my soul may win;
such friendship do i crave, till life shall end;
and such i have - in Jesus Christ, my friend!
LITTLE BLACK DOG - Author unknown
i wonder if Christ had a little black dog
all curly and woolly like mine;
with two silky ears and a nose round and wet
and eyes brown and tender that shine.
i am sure, if He had, that the little black friend
knew right from the first He was God;
that he needed no proofs that Christ was divine,
but just worshiped the ground that He trod.
I'm afraid that He hadn't because I have read
how He prayed in the garden, alone!
for all of His friends and disciples had fled -
even peter, the one called 'a stone'.
and, oh, i am sure that the little black dog
with a heart so tender and warm
would never have left Him to suffer alone,
but creeping right under His arm.
would have licked those dear fingers in agony clasped
and counting all favors by loss;
when they took Him away, would have trotted behind,
and followed Him clear to the Cross!
the Christian, like his Lord of old,
must look for foes and trials here;
yet may the weakest saint be bold,
with such a friend as Jesus near.
the lion's roar need not alarm,
O Lord, the feeblest of Thy sheep;
nor can the fiercest monster harm,
while Thou art nigh to watch and keep.
therefore I will Thy foes defy,
and own Thee as my God, my friend;
no fear shall make me e'er deny
the God on whom my hopes depend.
TO KNOW ALL IS TO FORGIVE ALL
if i knew you and you knew me -
if both of us could clearly see,
and with an inner sight divine
the meaning of your heart and mine,
i'm sure that we would differ less'and clasp our hands in friendliness;
our thoughts would pleasantly agree
if I knew you and you knew me.
if i knew you and you knew me,
as each one knows his own self, we
could look each other in the face
and see therein a truer grace.
life has so many hidden woes,
so many thorns for every rose;
the 'why of things our hearts would see,
if I knew you, and you knew me.
Nixon Waterman
PASS IT ON - Author unknown
Love demands the loving deed,
Pass it on!
Look upon your brother's need - Pass it on!
Live for self, you live in vain;
Live for Christ, with Him you reign -
Pass it one!
304 THE HOUSE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
there are hermit souls that live withdrawn
in the peace of their self-content;
there are souls, like stars, that dwell apart
in a fellowless firmament;
there are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
where highways never ran -
but let me live by the side of the road
and be a friend to man.
let me lie in a house by the side of the road,
where the race of men go by -
the men who are good and the men who are bad,
as good and as bad as i.
i would not sit in the scorner's seat,
or hurl the cynic's ban -
let me live in a house by the side of the road,
and be a friend to man.
I see from my house by the side of the road,
by the side of the highway of life,
the men who press with the ardor of hope
the men who are faint with the strife,
but i turn not away from their smiles nor their tears -
both parts of an infinite plan -
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
and be a friend to man.
I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead
and mountains of wearisome height;
and the road passes on through the long afternoon
and stretches away to the night.
but i still rejoice when the travelers rejoice,
and weep with the strangers that moan,
nor live in my house by the side of the road
like a man who dwells alone.
let me live in my house by the side of the road
where the race of men go by -
they are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
wise, foolish - so am i.
then why should i sit in the scorner's seat
or hurl the cynic's ban?
let me live in my house by the side of the road
and be a friend to man.
Sam Walter Foss
305 MY NEIGHBOR
my NEIGHBOR, who is he?
who lives next door to me -
the man i daily meet,
out on the crowded street?
the man to whom i talk,
with whom i daily walk;
who smiles across the fence
nor lacks good common sense?
the man afar from me,
in his great need of me,
may be the nearest me,
and so my neighbor be.
my neighbor, who is he?
mayhap who most needs me,
whose want lays hold of me,
he must my neighbor be.
e.a.repass
306 FRIENDSHIP - Henry W. Frost
to have a friend who follows all my thought
as it may vagrant roam from earth to heaven,
who there will hold it fast until its leave
be purged away, by purer word in-wrought;
to have him understand when words have failed
to make my better, nobler meaning plain;
who, when I'm silent, will his words restrain
and show by look that silence hath availed;
to know that he, if others adulate,
will dare to warn of pride's presumptuous sin;
that he will speak of love, when others hate,
that he, to his strong self, my soul may win;
such friendship do i crave, till life shall end;
and such i have - in Jesus Christ, my friend!
LITTLE BLACK DOG - Author unknown
i wonder if Christ had a little black dog
all curly and woolly like mine;
with two silky ears and a nose round and wet
and eyes brown and tender that shine.
i am sure, if He had, that the little black friend
knew right from the first He was God;
that he needed no proofs that Christ was divine,
but just worshiped the ground that He trod.
I'm afraid that He hadn't because I have read
how He prayed in the garden, alone!
for all of His friends and disciples had fled -
even peter, the one called 'a stone'.
and, oh, i am sure that the little black dog
with a heart so tender and warm
would never have left Him to suffer alone,
but creeping right under His arm.
would have licked those dear fingers in agony clasped
and counting all favors by loss;
when they took Him away, would have trotted behind,
and followed Him clear to the Cross!
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
2.21.2017 POEMS ABOUT FAITH
284 I came to God in prayer, I asked for health,
for the joy of walking with a free and easy stride.
the answer, when it came, was, 'Nay, child, I must break your pride.
only through affliction can your soul be purified'.
now i come to God in prayer and ask for strength to bear my cross,
and for faith to see the hidden blessing in my loss.
and while my lips do tremble and the tears do flow,
I ask for faith to know and grace to see
that 'twas Thy kindly wisdom took this joy from me.
and in my weakness I tremblingly ask, 'Why, why, dear God, is it so?'
and in the stillness of the morning I hear a whisper,
'Trust, trust, Child, and some day thou shalt know'. Philora Hintz
AT REST - Henry W. Frost
the day is past and all the light has fled;
where shall I lay at rest my weary head?
upon my soul falls down the dreadful night,
and in the dark I see no welcoming light.
fearful I stand, not daring to go on;
strengthless I wait, my hope and courage gone;
I reach forth trembling hands, with pleading cry:-
'O God, show mercy, or I fall and die!'
but not a voice is heard through midnight gloom,
no form draws near to save from threatening doom;
at last, I sink in dark, despair, alone,
the earth my bed, my pillow flinty stone;
but in the dark my heart is strangely blest;
yea, in the gloom my soul obtains its rest;
for, spite of night, I find that God on high
is near the anguished soul, where'er it lie!
285 FAITH - Maud Frazer Jackson
what if i say,
'the Bible is God's Holy Word,
Complete, inspired, without a flaw',
but let its pages stay
unread from day to day,
and fail to learn there from god's law;
what if I go not there to seek
the truth of which I glibly speak,
for guidance on this earthly way;
does it matter what I say?
what if i say
that Jesus Christ is Lord divine;
yet fellow-pilgrims can behold
naught of the master's love in me,
no grace of kindly sympathy?
if I am of the Shepherd's fold,
then shall I know the Shepherd's voice
and gladly make His way my choice.
we are saved by faith, yet faith is one
with life, like daylight and the sun.
unless they flower in our deeds,
dead, empty husks are all the creeds.
to call Christ, Lord, but strive not to obey,
belies the homage that with words I pay.
OVERNIGHT, A ROSE - Caroline Giltinan
that overnight a rose could come
i one time did believe,
for when the fairies live with one,
they wilfully deceive.
but now I know this perfect thing
under the frozen sod
in cold and storm grew patiently
Obedient to God.
my wonder grows since knowledge came
old fancies to dismiss:
and courage comes. was not the rose
a winter doing this?
nor did it know, the weary while,
what color and perfume
with this completed loveliness
lay in that earthy tomb.
so maybe I, who cannot see
what God wills not to show,
may, some day, bear a rose for Him
it took my life to grow.
A NAME IN THE SAND
alone i walked the ocean strand,
a pearly shell was in my hand;
i stooped and wrote upon the sand
my name, the year, the day,
as onward from the spot I passed,
one lingering look behind I cast, -
a wave came rolling high and fast,
and washed my lines away.
and so, methought, 'twill shortly be
with every mark on earth from me;
a wave of dark oblivion's sea
will sweep across the place
where i have trod the sandy shore
of time, and been, to be no more;
of me, my frame, the name I bore,
to leave no track nor trace;
and yet, with Him who counts the sands,
and holds the waters in his hands,
I know a lasting record stands
inscribed against my name,
of all this mortal part has wrought,
of all this thinking soul has thought,
and from these fleeting moments caught
for glory or for shame!
Hannah Flagg Gould
286 A LITTLE BIRD I AM
a little bird I am,
shut in from fields of air,
and in my cage I sit and sing,
to Him who placed me there;
well pleased a prisoner to be,
because, my God, it pleases Thee!
naught have I else to do,
I sing the whole day long;
and He whom I most love to please
doth listen to my song;
He caught and bound my wandering wing,
and still He bends to hear me sing.
Thou hast an ear to hear,
a heart to love and bless;
and tho' my notes were e'er so rude,
Thou wouldst not hear the less;
because Thou knowest as they fall,
that love, sweet love, inspires them all.
my cage confines me round,
abroad I cannot fly;
but though my wing is closely bound,
my heart's at liberty;
my prison walls cannot control
the flight, the freedom of the soul.
Oh, it is good to soar,
these bolts and bars above,
to Him whose purpose I adore,
whose providence I love;
and in Thy mighty will to find
the joy, the freedom of the mind.
Madam Guyon
THE CRY OF FAITH
ten leprous men, condemned to die
thro' endless nights and lonely days,
'unclean, unclean', forlornly cry
to warn unwary passers by
along the desert ways.
but laws gave way to faith's decree
when Jesus chanced to pass that way.
ten men, as one, on bended knee
for mercy made an earnest plea
and health was theirs that day.
O weary world, so sick within,
then will you learn in faith to pray?
their leprosy but types your sin,
and if new life you would begin,
seek Christ without delay.
who knows his sin and heeds not holy will,
who trusts in men for life, is dying still!
most blessed is he whose spirit thrills
with such a faith as cures a thousand ills!
M. Allen Gibson
FAITH - Author unknown
Faith looks across the storm -
it does not doubt
or stop to look at clouds
and things without.
Faith does not question why
when all his ways
are hard to understand,
but trusts and prays.
it seeks the greatest gift
and asks not sight;
it does not need to see -
He is its light.
it fears no cloud, or wind
that it can bring;
Faith looks across the storm
and still can sing.
287 HE MUST DO IT
When I do it, faith is lacking,
and ambition takes me through;
I promote it for my glory,k
by myself His work I do.
if He does it, I am nothing,
just a channel, nothing more,
He the Worker, I the agent,
this I covet and implore.
He must do it, oh, to let Him!
If I'm yielded to His will
whether then success or failure.
all is well and naught is ill.
Oswald J. Smith
IT COULDN'T BE DONE - Edgar A. Guest
somebody said that it couldn't be done,
but he with a chuckle replied
that 'Maybe it couldn't', but he would be one
who wouldn't say so till he tried.
so he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
on his face, if he worried he hid it.
he started to sing as he tackled the thing
that couldn't be done and he did it.
somebody scoffed: 'Oh, you'll never do that;
at least no one ever has done it';
but he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
and the first thing we knew he'd begun it,
with a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
without any doubting or quiddit,
he started to sing as he tackled the thing
that couldn't be done and he did it.
there are thousands to tell you it can't be done.
there are thousands to prophesy failure;
there are thousands to point out to you one by one,
the dangers that wait to assail you.
but just buckle in, with a bit of a grin,
just take off your coat and go to it;
just start to sing as you tackle the thing
that 'cannot be done', and you'll do it.
288 GOD'S BANK AIN'T BUSTED YET! - Alice P. Moss
the bank had closed; my earthly store had vanished from my hand;
I felt that there was no sadder one than I in all the land.
my washerwoman, too, had lost her little mite with mine,
and she was singing as she hung the clothes upon the line.
'How can you be so gay? I asked; 'Your loss don't you regret?
'Yes, ma'am, but what's the use to fret? God's bank ain't busted yet!'
I felt my burden lighter grow; her faith I seemed to share;
in prayer I went to God's great throne and laid my troubles there.
the sun burst from behind the clouds, in golden splendor set;
I thank God for her simple words: 'God's bank ain't busted yet!'
and now I draw rich dividends, more than my hands can hold
of faith and love and hope and trust and peace of mind untold.
i thank the Giver of it all, but still I can't forget
my washerwoman's simple words: 'God's bank ain't busted yet!
Oh, weary ones upon life's road, when everything seems drear,
and losses loom on every hand and skies seem not to clear;
throw back your shoulders, lift your head, and cease to chafe and fret.
Your dividend will be declared: 'God's bank ain't busted yet!'
FAITH
Faith is not in understanding;
Faith is yielding to God's will,
Resting on His Word of Promise
in assurance calm and still.
Faith is waiting for the answer
though no hopeful ray is giv'n,
knowing that the final outcome
now is clearly seen in Heav'n.
Faith is looking through the shadows
to the dawn of endless day,
Singing thro' the gath'ring darkness,
"Christ will lead me all the way!'
Faith is looking unto Jesus,
trusting where it cannot see.
Faith is resting on His Promise -
Faith is glorious victory!
Avis B. Christiansen
289 FAITH'S EXPULSIVE POWER
Faith came singing into my room,
and other quests took flight;
Fear and Anxiety, Grief and Gloom
Sped out into the night;
I wondered that such peace could be,
but Faith said gently, 'Don't you see?
they really cannot live with me.
Elizabeth Cheney
THE EYE OF FAITH - J. H. Maxfield
I do not ask for earthly store
beyond a day's supply;
I only covet more and more
the clear and single eye.
to see my duty face to face,
and trust the Lord for daily grace.
whate'er the crosses mine shall be,
I will not dare to shun;
I only ask to live for Thee,
and that Thy will be done.
Thy will, O Lord, be mine each day,
while passing on my homeward way.
and when at last my labor o'er,
I cross the narrow sea,
Grant, Lord, that on the other shore
My soul may dwell with Thee.
and learn what here I cannot know:
why Thou hast ever loved me so.
FAITH
the sea was breaking at my feet,
and looking out across the tide,
where placid waves and heaven meet,
I thought me of the Other Side.
for on the beach on which I stood
were wastes of sand and wash and roar,
low clouds and gloom and solitude,
and wrecks and ruins --nothing more.
'O tell me if beyond the sea
a heavenly port there is! I cried,
and back the echoes laughingly
'there is there is! replied.
James Whitcomb Riley
SONG OF FAITH - William Croswell
the lilied fields behold;
what king in his array
of purple pall and cloth of gold
shines gorgeously as they?
their pomp, however gay,
is brief, alas! as bright;
it lives but for a summer's day,
and withers in a night.
if God so clothe the soil,
and glorify the dust,
why should the slave of daily toil
His providence distrust?
will He whose love has nursed
the sparrow's brood, do less
for those who seek His kingdom first,
and with it righteousness:
the birds fly forth at will;
they neither plough nor sow;
yet theirs the sheaves that crown the hill,
or glad the vale below.
while through the realms of air
He guides their trackless way,
will man, in faithlessness, despair?
is he worth less than they?
290 LEAVE IT WITH HIM - Author unknown
yes, leave it with Him; the lilies all do,
and they grow;
they grow in the rain and they grow in the dew -
yes, they grow;
they grow in the darkness, all hid in the night,
they grow in the sunshine, revealed by the light -
Still they grow.
they ask not your planting, they need not your care
as they grow.
dropped down in the valley, the field - anywhere -
yet, they grow.
they grow in their beauty, arrayed in pure white;
they grow, clothed in glory, by heaven's own light -
sweetly they grow.
the grasses are clothed and the raven are fed
from His store;
but you who are loved and guarded and led,
How much more
Will He clothe you and feed you and give you His care!
then, leave it with Him; H has, everywhere,
Ample store.
Yes, leave it with Him; 'tis more dear to His heart,
You will know,
than the lilies that bloom or the flowers that start
'Neath the snow.
whatever you need, if you ask it in prayer,
you can leave it with Him for you are His care -
You, you know.
MY CREED - Howard Arnold Walter
I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
i would be brave, for there is much to dare.
i would be friend of all, - the foe, the friendless;
i would be giving, and forget the gift;
I would be humble, for I know my weakness;
I would look up - and laugh - and love- and lift.
291 BLIND
'show me your God! the doubter cries.
I point him out the smiling skies;
I show him all the woodland greens;
I show him peaceful sylvan scenes;
I show him winter snows and frost;
I show him waters tempest-tossed;
I show him hills rock-ribbed and strong;
I bid him hear the thrush's song;
I show him flowers in the close -
the lily, violet and rose;
I show him rivers, babbling streams;
I show him youthful hopes and dreams;
I show him stars, the moon, the sun;
I show him deeds of kindness done;
I show him joy, I show him care.
and still he holds his doubting air,
and faithless goes his way, for he
is blind of soul and cannot see!
John Kendrick Bangs
ST. AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO
what though the shades of night
gather in darkness round thy closing eye:
Thy Lord will give thee light
No more to die
the voice of Monica
Calls thee from Paradise - 'Augustine, come;
Lo! at the gates of day
Thy destined home'.
what though the tempest roar
in fury round thy Church's tottering wall!
From the eternal shore
He voice doth call.
the master Architect
will shield against the advancing gates of hell
The Church of His elect
He loves so well.
He died to lay that stone
Elect and precious, bathed in his lifeblood,
that it may stand alone
against the flood.
in waves the quicksands swim;
fear not the Syrtes' shift, the tempest shock:
Thy faith is build on him
Who is the Rock.
Gerard Moultrie
POSSESSION
heaven above is softer blue
earth beneath is sweeter green.
something lives in every hue,
Christless eyes have never seen.
birds with gladder songs o'erflow,
flowers with deeper beauty shine
since I know as now I know
I am His and He is mine.
FAITH
God knows, not, I, the reason why
His winds of storm drive through my door;
I am content to live or die
just knowing this, nor knowing more.
My Father's hand appointing me
My days and sways, so I am free.
Margaret E. Sangster
292 HE CAN
canst thou take the barren soil
and with all thy pains and toil
Make lilies blow
thou canst not. O helpless man,
have faith in God - He can.
canst thou paint the clouds at eve?
and all the sunset colors weave
into the sky?
Thou canst not. O powerless man,
Have faith in God - He can.
Unknown author
THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
came a merchantman of yore,
seeking goodly pearls to store;
one he found and straightway sold
all he had, that one to hold.
but another merchant came,
seeking pearls He knew by name, -
seeking, gave His all for me;
bought His treasure on the tree.
seek I many pearls to own,
these for crown and those for throne?
all I have I sell, to buy
one I find so fair to eye.
this the pearl all price above,
and I know who calls it love:
Faith and hope, bright gems they shine,
but the pearl is love divine.
I, too, now for Jesus Christ,
look within for pearls unpriced'
hid in heart and stored in mind,
but the merchantman must find.
down beneath strong passion's tide,
down where weeds of sin-growth hide;
scarce discerned from what is base,
yet how sweet the hidden grace.
seeking many, finding one,
find all, thus lacking none,
hold I each possession vain,
if I only this may gain.
toiling on in life's swift whirl,
if I find this goodly pearl,
till time's merchant own at last,
hear, not hand, must hold it fast.
William Chatterton Dix
BUT GOD
I know not, but God knows;
Oh, blessed rest from fear!
all my unfolding days
to Him are plain and clear.
each anxious, puzzled -why'?
from doubt or dread that grows,
finds answer in this thought:
I know not, but He knows.
I cannot, but God can;
oh, balm for all my care!
the burden that I drop
His hand will lift and bear.
though eagle pinions tire,
I walk where once i ran,
this is my strength to know
I cannot, but He can.
I see not, but God sees;
Oh, all sufficient light!
my dark and hidden way
to Him is always bright.
my strained and peering eyes
may close in restful ease,
and I in peace may sleep;
I see not, but He sees.
Annie Johnson Flint
293 FAITH
I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea
come drifting home with broken masts and sails;
I shall believe the Hand which never fails,
from seeming evil worketh good to me;
and, though I weep because those sails are battered,
still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered,
'I will trust in Thee'.
I will not doubt though all my prayers return
unanswered from the still, white realm above;
i shall believe it is an all-wise Love
which has refused those things for which I yearn:
and though, at times, I can not keep from grieving,
yet the pure ardor of my fixed believing
undimmed shall burn.
I will not doubt, though sorrows fall like rain,
and troubles swarm like bees about a hive;
I shall believer the heights for which I strive
are only reached by anguish and by pain;
and, though, I groan and tremble with my crosses,
I yet shall see, through my severest losses,
the greater gain.
I will not doubt; well anchored in the faith,
like some stanch ship, my soul braves every gale,
so strong its courage that it will not fail
to breast the mighty, unknown sea of death.
Oh, may I cry when body parts with spirit,
'I do not doubt,' so listening worlds may hear it
with my last breath. Ella Wheeler Wilcox
A PARABLE FROM LIEBIG - Charles Kingsley
the church bells were ringing, the Devil sat singing
on the stump of a rotting old tree;
'Oh, faith, it grows cold and the creeds they grow old,
and the world is nigh ready for me'.
the bells went on ringing, a spirit came singing,
and smiled as he crumbled the tree;
'Yon wood does but perish new seedlings to cherish,
and the wold is too live yet for thee.
THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
I believe the will of God prevails;
without Him all human reliance is vain;
without the assistance of that Divine Being I cannot succeed;
with that assistance i cannot fail.
I believe I am a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father;
I desire that all my works and acts be according to His will;
and that it may be so I give thanks to the almighty and seek His aid.
Abraham Lincoln (formulated by Carl Sandburg from Lincoln's own
words; from The War Years)
WHY DIDST THOU DOUBT?
when all the haunting shadows of the night
come thronging round me with a sudden sweep,
whispering and echoing the fears I keep
by faith and hope and prayer, hidden from sight;
when white-lipped doubt suggests that my delight
is a delusion and my faith a leap
into the dark and that the years will reap
in pain and trouble what has seemed so right:
and when the floods encompass me about,
and the sweet vision of my Lord doth fade
in the blind darkness and the words He said
seem lost; I feel once more His hand stretched out;
once more He speaks, ' 'Tis I, be not afraid;
O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?
Lucy Guiness Kumm
FAITH Avis B. Christiansen
only believe! how sweet that tender message
while roundabout the night grows dark and drear.
only believe! it is the voice of Jesus
that gently calls in accents soft and clear.
only believe! fear not the tempest's raging.
only believe! the darkness fadeth fast.
only believe! Oh grip the Rock of Ages!
Only believe! the day will dawn at last.
295 FAITH
faith is a living power from heaven
that grasps the promise God hath given,
a trust that cannot be o'erthrown,
fixed heartily on Christ alone.
faith finds in Christ whate'er we need
to save or strengthen us indeed;
receive the grace He sends us down,
and makes us share His cross and crown.
faith in the conscience worketh peace
and bids the mourner's weeping cease;
by faith the children's place we claim,
and give all honor to one Name.
faith feels the Spirit's kindling breath
in love and hope that conquer death;
faith worketh hourly joy in god,
and trusts and blesses e'en the rod.
we thank Thee, then, O God of heaven,
that Thou to us this faith hast given
in Jesus Christ Thy Son, who is
our only fount and source of bliss.
Petrus Herbert
ESSENCE OF TOMORROW
I feel the far-off cry of spring
borne on the air today,
though winds of February's sting
hint not the least of May.
there's something deep within me lies,
a steadfast faith that knows
a thing of beauty never dies,
and there beneath the snows
of winter's icy hand there's life
-
and so the unborn flowers
lend sweetness to my heart today,
and spring to winter hours.
and so it is when chilling blast
of sorrows pierce the soul,
and anguished heart cries out 'Alas!
I'll never more be whole',
that faith within, though challenged now,
will rise to meet the test,
and as we walk with God, somehow
there'll still be hope and zest
to live for Him and work for Him;
for now - by faith - we feel
an essence of the ecstasy
that Heaven will reveal!
Alice Hansche Mortenson
GOD KNOWS
we ask and are answered not,
and so we say, God has forgot,
or else, there is no God.
the years
roll back and thro' a mist of tears,
I see a child turn from her play,
and seek with eager feet, the way
that led her to her father's knee.
'If God is wise and kind, said she,
'why did He let my roses die?
a moment's pause, a smile, a sigh,
and then, 'I do not know, my dear,
some questions are not answered here.
'but is it wrong to ask? 'Not so,
my child; that we should seek to know
proves right to know, beyond a doubt;
and some day we shall yet find out
why roses die'.
and then I wait,
sure of my answer, soon or lat;
secure that love doth hold for me
the key to life's great mystery;
and oh, so glad to leave it there,
though my dead roses were so fair.
Author unknown
296 TRY THE UPLOOK
when the outlook is dark, try the uplook.
these words hold a message of cheer;
be glad while repeating them over,
and smile when the shadows appear.
above and beyond stands the Master;
He sees what we do for His sake.
He never will fail nor forsake us;
He knoweth the way that we take.
when the outlook is dark, try the uplook.
the uplook of faith and good cheer;
the love of the Father surrounds us,
he knows when the shadows are near.
be brave, then, and keep the eyes lifted,
and smile on the dreariest day.
His smile will glow in the darkness;
His light will illumine the way.
Author unknown
WOMAN
not she with traitorous kiss her savior stung,
not she denied him with unholy tongue;
she, while apostles shrank, could dangers brave,
last at the cross and earliest at the grave.
E. S. Barret
LORD GIVE ME FAITH - J.O.
Lord, give me faith! - to live from day to day,
with tranquil heart to do my simple part,
and, with my hand in Thine, just go Thy way.
Lord, give me faith - to trust, if not to know;
with quiet mind in all things Thee to find,
and child-like, go where Thou wouldst have me go.
Lord, give me faith! - to leave it all to Thee,
the future is Thy gift, I would not lift
the veil Thy love has hung 'twixt it and me. 297
297 ' MORE THAN THEY ALL'
'two mites' - a simple little farthing,
it was so small!
and yet - she might e'en then have halved it.
it was her all.
one mite for God and one she needed,
of wealth so small?
no; trusting to the God of widows,
she gave her all.
and so, in sight of Him who 'saw' it,
it was not small,
for He who watched 'how' it was given - said,
'More than they all.'.
L. M. Warner
PERSEVERANCE
Say, the man's not a man
who can quit when he can;
who will cast down the load
in the heat of the road
and not share in the sweat of the fray.
No! - the man is a man
Who will stay!
there are cowards who fight
when the going is right;
but the cause is forgot
when the battle is hot -
and the foe takes the spoils of the day.
but the man is a man
Who will stay!
many soldiers have fought
where their efforts found naught
but the smile of the brave
O'er the sod of their grave:
all their trophies were taken away -
Yet the man is a man
Who will stay!
many soldiers have fought
where their efforts found naught
but the smile of the brave
O'er the sod of their grave:
all their trophies were taken away -
yet the man is a man
who will stay!
so let others disdain
all the torture and pain
that must come with the fight
against forces of night;
all our loss He will richly repay!
He loves men - stubborn men -
Who will stay!
and when God meets His men
at the roll call in Heav'n
and the crown and the throne
shall belong to his own,
then with glory and grace he will say,
'You are Mine! You are men
Who will stay!
Author unknown
OVERHEARD IN AN ORCHARD
said the Robin to the Sparrow:
'I should really like to know
why these anxious human beings
rush about and worry so'.
Said the Sparrow to the Robin;
'Friend, I think that it must be
that they have no heavenly Father
such as cares for you and me'.
Elizabeth Cheney
O FOR A FAITH THAT WILL NOT SHRINK
O for a faith that will not shrink,
though pressed by every foe,
that will not tremble on the brink
of any earthy woe!
that will not murmur nor complain
beneath the chastening rod,
but, in the hour of grief or pain,
will lean upon its God;
a faith that shines more bright and clear
when tempests rage without;
that when in danger knows no fear,
in the darkness feels no doubt.
William H. Bathurst
298 THE RIFT - Ruth Margaret Gibbs
there was a rift tonight;
i saw a grey cloud break and let the light
shine through - a ray of hope to all the earth;
long had i waited here; i found it hard to say,
'the clouds will drift apart, the darkness melt away
before the radiance of the night's new birth'.
that promised glow to guide a wayward one;at last, after long hours of doubt and fear,
came light again and life and sweet security,
as though a hidden ray from God's eternity
peeped out, that I might look and see it there.
so, if I can but wait,
I know that God will send it, soon or late -
this break within my life's grey cloud; His gift
to me, one star of perfect love to shine and show
that they who walk by faith are told the way to go,
and after storm will come the blessed rift.
Ruth Margaret Gibbs
THE ONE WHO PLANS
often darkness fills the pathway of the pilgrim's onward track,
and we shrink from going forward -trembling, feel like going back:
but the Lord, who plans so wisely, leads us on both day and night,
till at last, in silent wonder, we rejoice in wisdom's light.
though the tunnel may be tedious thro' the narrow, darkened way,
yet it amply serves its purpose - soon it brings the light of day;
and the way so greatly dreaded, as we backward take a glance,
shows the skill of careful planning: never the result of chance!
is your present path a tunnel, does the darkness bring you fear?
to the upright, oh, remember, He doth cause a light to cheer.
press on bravely, resting calmly, though a way you dimly see,
till, at length, so safely guided, you emerge triumphantly.
trust the Engineer Eternal, surely all His works are right,
though we cannot always trace them, faith will turn at last to sight:
then no more the deepening shadows of the dark and dismal way,
there for ever in clear sunlight, we'll enjoy 'the perfect day'.
Author unknown
299 BY FAITH
by faith and not by sight,
Saviour, I walk with Thee;
lead Thou my feet aright;
Choose thou the path for me.
Choose Thou the path for me;
i would not if I could;
for only Thou canst see
my highest, heavenly good.
by Love upon His Throne
my life is planned aright;
secure in Christ alone
i walk by faith, not sight.
E. Margaret Clarkson
FEET OF CLAY
feet of clay! feet of clay!
man has but feet of clay -
a heart of gold and love untold
but hands and feet of clay.
i took my eyes from God one day
and looked to man alone -
a certain man, a christian man
like one you may have known.
this man was faithful, kind and good
as good as he could be;
but as i looked i saw he, too,
had feet like you and me.
feet of clay! feet of clay!
man has but feet of clay -
a hear of gold and love untold
but hands and feet of clay.
for only God has perfect love,
the same both night and day -
a heart divine, not gold like mine,
nor hands and feel of clay.
Phyllis C. Michael
WE MAY NOT UNDERSTAND
we may not understand nor know
just how the giant oak trees throw
their spreading branches wide,
nor how upon the mountain-side
the dainty wild-flowers grow.
we may not understand nor see
into the depth and mystery
of suffering and tears;
yet, thro' the stress of patient years
the flowers of sympathy
spring up and scatter everywhere
their perfume on the fragrant air:
but lo! the seed must die,
if it would bloom and multiply
and ripened fruitage bear.
Thomas Kimber
300 HITHERTO
we have come very safely - hitherto;
and sometimes seas were calm and skies were blue;
sometimes the wild waves rose - the tempests roared;
but never barque went down with Christ on board.
and so it shall be to the very end -
through ebb or flow, the one unchanging Friend,
ruling the waves which sink at His command,
holding them in the hollow of His hand.
a lonely track perchance, a darkened sky,
a mist of tears and only God knows why -
is he not worth our trust the voyage through,
He who has never failed us - hitherto?
here all things pass, but Heaven keeps them fair;
the partings here - the joyous meetings there -
god's waves and winds drive onward to that rest;
tossed home, as children to a Father's breast.
there comes an hour, when, every tempest o'er,
the harbour lights are reached, the golden shore:
never, o never more to fret or fear -
Christ, give us faith to praise Thee even here.
Mary Gorges
MY CREED - Henry W. Frost
that God doth live, enthroned in heaven above,
existing in three persons and yet One,
the everlasting Father, Spirit, Son,
whom i may worship and forever love;
that Jesus died for me on Calvary's tree,
and then ascended to His Father's throne,
thenceforth for e'er to intercede for me
until He comes to gather home His own:
that God hath sent the Holy Spirit down,
to keep, to guide, to sanctify, to bless,
so i may wear, at last, a victor's crown
and reign with Christ, who will my name confess:
this -'spite of sin and failure's shadowing grief -
this I believe; Lord, help mine unbelief!
301 CAN GOD?
'Can God? the subtle Tempter breathes within,
when all seems lost, excepting sure defeat,
'Can God roll back the raging seas of sin?
'Can God? the fainting heart doth quick repeat.
'God can! in trumpet tones rings faith's glad cry,
and, david-like, it fears no giant foe,
for faith dwells on the Mount; serene, and high,
while unbelief's dark clouds roll far below.
'God can! His Saints of old did ever give
their fullest confirmation o'er and o'er,
and He Who made the long-dead bones to live,
e'en now can bring the dead to life once more.
'God can! then let us fear not, but arise!
our motto be this word that He doth give,
if we have faith, before our wondering eyes
A MIGHTY ARMY SHALL ARISE AND LIVE!
J.A.R.
GOD KNOWETH
i know not what awaits me,
God kindly veils mine eyes,
and o'er each step of my onward way
He makes new scenes to rise;
and every joy He sends me, comes
a sweet and glad surprise.
where He may lead I'll follow,
my trust in Him repose;
and every hour in perfect peace
I'll sing , He knows, He knows.
one step i see before me,
'Tis all i need to see,
the light of heaven more brightly shines,
when earth's illusions flee;
and sweetly through the silence,
came His loving 'Follow Me'.
O blissful lack of wisdom,
'Tis blessed not to know;
He holds me with His own right hand,
and will not let me go,
and lulls my troubled soul to rest
in Him who loves me so.
so on i go not knowing,
i would not if i might;
I'd rather walk in the dark with God
than go alone in the light;
I'd rather walk by faith with Him
than go alone by sight.
Mary G. Brainard and P.P.Bliss
302 BLESSED - Freda Hanbury Allen
Blessed is he whose faith is not offended,
when all around his way
the power of God is working out deliverance
for others day by day;
though in some prison drear his own soul languish,
till life itself be spent,
yet still can trust his Rather's love and purpose,
and rest therein content.
Blessed is he who, through long years of suffering,
cut off from active toil,
still shares by prayer and praise the work of others,
and thus 'divides the spoil'
Blessed art thou, O child of God, who sufferest,
and canst not understand
the reason for thy pain, yet gladly leavest
thy life in His blest Hand.
Yea, blessed art thou whose faith is 'not offended'
by trials unexplained,
by mysteries unsolved, past understanding,
until the goal is gained.
GOD MAKES A PATH - Roger Williams
God makes a path, provides a guide,
and feeds a wilderness;
His glorious name, while breath remains,
O that i may confess.
lost many a time, i have had no guide,
no house but a hollow tree!
in stormy winter night no fire,
no food, no company;
in Him i found a house, a bed,
a table, company;
no cup so bitter but's made sweet,
where God shall sweetening be.
FEELING, FAITH AND FACT
three men were walking on a wall,
Feeling, Faith and Fact,
when Feeling got an awful fall,
and Faith was taken back.
so close was Faith to Feeling,
he stumbled and fell too,
but Fact remained,
and pulled Faith back
and Faith brought Feeling too.
Author unknown
for the joy of walking with a free and easy stride.
the answer, when it came, was, 'Nay, child, I must break your pride.
only through affliction can your soul be purified'.
now i come to God in prayer and ask for strength to bear my cross,
and for faith to see the hidden blessing in my loss.
and while my lips do tremble and the tears do flow,
I ask for faith to know and grace to see
that 'twas Thy kindly wisdom took this joy from me.
and in my weakness I tremblingly ask, 'Why, why, dear God, is it so?'
and in the stillness of the morning I hear a whisper,
'Trust, trust, Child, and some day thou shalt know'. Philora Hintz
AT REST - Henry W. Frost
the day is past and all the light has fled;
where shall I lay at rest my weary head?
upon my soul falls down the dreadful night,
and in the dark I see no welcoming light.
fearful I stand, not daring to go on;
strengthless I wait, my hope and courage gone;
I reach forth trembling hands, with pleading cry:-
'O God, show mercy, or I fall and die!'
but not a voice is heard through midnight gloom,
no form draws near to save from threatening doom;
at last, I sink in dark, despair, alone,
the earth my bed, my pillow flinty stone;
but in the dark my heart is strangely blest;
yea, in the gloom my soul obtains its rest;
for, spite of night, I find that God on high
is near the anguished soul, where'er it lie!
285 FAITH - Maud Frazer Jackson
what if i say,
'the Bible is God's Holy Word,
Complete, inspired, without a flaw',
but let its pages stay
unread from day to day,
and fail to learn there from god's law;
what if I go not there to seek
the truth of which I glibly speak,
for guidance on this earthly way;
does it matter what I say?
what if i say
that Jesus Christ is Lord divine;
yet fellow-pilgrims can behold
naught of the master's love in me,
no grace of kindly sympathy?
if I am of the Shepherd's fold,
then shall I know the Shepherd's voice
and gladly make His way my choice.
we are saved by faith, yet faith is one
with life, like daylight and the sun.
unless they flower in our deeds,
dead, empty husks are all the creeds.
to call Christ, Lord, but strive not to obey,
belies the homage that with words I pay.
OVERNIGHT, A ROSE - Caroline Giltinan
that overnight a rose could come
i one time did believe,
for when the fairies live with one,
they wilfully deceive.
but now I know this perfect thing
under the frozen sod
in cold and storm grew patiently
Obedient to God.
my wonder grows since knowledge came
old fancies to dismiss:
and courage comes. was not the rose
a winter doing this?
nor did it know, the weary while,
what color and perfume
with this completed loveliness
lay in that earthy tomb.
so maybe I, who cannot see
what God wills not to show,
may, some day, bear a rose for Him
it took my life to grow.
A NAME IN THE SAND
alone i walked the ocean strand,
a pearly shell was in my hand;
i stooped and wrote upon the sand
my name, the year, the day,
as onward from the spot I passed,
one lingering look behind I cast, -
a wave came rolling high and fast,
and washed my lines away.
and so, methought, 'twill shortly be
with every mark on earth from me;
a wave of dark oblivion's sea
will sweep across the place
where i have trod the sandy shore
of time, and been, to be no more;
of me, my frame, the name I bore,
to leave no track nor trace;
and yet, with Him who counts the sands,
and holds the waters in his hands,
I know a lasting record stands
inscribed against my name,
of all this mortal part has wrought,
of all this thinking soul has thought,
and from these fleeting moments caught
for glory or for shame!
Hannah Flagg Gould
286 A LITTLE BIRD I AM
a little bird I am,
shut in from fields of air,
and in my cage I sit and sing,
to Him who placed me there;
well pleased a prisoner to be,
because, my God, it pleases Thee!
naught have I else to do,
I sing the whole day long;
and He whom I most love to please
doth listen to my song;
He caught and bound my wandering wing,
and still He bends to hear me sing.
Thou hast an ear to hear,
a heart to love and bless;
and tho' my notes were e'er so rude,
Thou wouldst not hear the less;
because Thou knowest as they fall,
that love, sweet love, inspires them all.
my cage confines me round,
abroad I cannot fly;
but though my wing is closely bound,
my heart's at liberty;
my prison walls cannot control
the flight, the freedom of the soul.
Oh, it is good to soar,
these bolts and bars above,
to Him whose purpose I adore,
whose providence I love;
and in Thy mighty will to find
the joy, the freedom of the mind.
Madam Guyon
THE CRY OF FAITH
ten leprous men, condemned to die
thro' endless nights and lonely days,
'unclean, unclean', forlornly cry
to warn unwary passers by
along the desert ways.
but laws gave way to faith's decree
when Jesus chanced to pass that way.
ten men, as one, on bended knee
for mercy made an earnest plea
and health was theirs that day.
O weary world, so sick within,
then will you learn in faith to pray?
their leprosy but types your sin,
and if new life you would begin,
seek Christ without delay.
who knows his sin and heeds not holy will,
who trusts in men for life, is dying still!
most blessed is he whose spirit thrills
with such a faith as cures a thousand ills!
M. Allen Gibson
FAITH - Author unknown
Faith looks across the storm -
it does not doubt
or stop to look at clouds
and things without.
Faith does not question why
when all his ways
are hard to understand,
but trusts and prays.
it seeks the greatest gift
and asks not sight;
it does not need to see -
He is its light.
it fears no cloud, or wind
that it can bring;
Faith looks across the storm
and still can sing.
287 HE MUST DO IT
When I do it, faith is lacking,
and ambition takes me through;
I promote it for my glory,k
by myself His work I do.
if He does it, I am nothing,
just a channel, nothing more,
He the Worker, I the agent,
this I covet and implore.
He must do it, oh, to let Him!
If I'm yielded to His will
whether then success or failure.
all is well and naught is ill.
Oswald J. Smith
IT COULDN'T BE DONE - Edgar A. Guest
somebody said that it couldn't be done,
but he with a chuckle replied
that 'Maybe it couldn't', but he would be one
who wouldn't say so till he tried.
so he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
on his face, if he worried he hid it.
he started to sing as he tackled the thing
that couldn't be done and he did it.
somebody scoffed: 'Oh, you'll never do that;
at least no one ever has done it';
but he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
and the first thing we knew he'd begun it,
with a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
without any doubting or quiddit,
he started to sing as he tackled the thing
that couldn't be done and he did it.
there are thousands to tell you it can't be done.
there are thousands to prophesy failure;
there are thousands to point out to you one by one,
the dangers that wait to assail you.
but just buckle in, with a bit of a grin,
just take off your coat and go to it;
just start to sing as you tackle the thing
that 'cannot be done', and you'll do it.
288 GOD'S BANK AIN'T BUSTED YET! - Alice P. Moss
the bank had closed; my earthly store had vanished from my hand;
I felt that there was no sadder one than I in all the land.
my washerwoman, too, had lost her little mite with mine,
and she was singing as she hung the clothes upon the line.
'How can you be so gay? I asked; 'Your loss don't you regret?
'Yes, ma'am, but what's the use to fret? God's bank ain't busted yet!'
I felt my burden lighter grow; her faith I seemed to share;
in prayer I went to God's great throne and laid my troubles there.
the sun burst from behind the clouds, in golden splendor set;
I thank God for her simple words: 'God's bank ain't busted yet!'
and now I draw rich dividends, more than my hands can hold
of faith and love and hope and trust and peace of mind untold.
i thank the Giver of it all, but still I can't forget
my washerwoman's simple words: 'God's bank ain't busted yet!
Oh, weary ones upon life's road, when everything seems drear,
and losses loom on every hand and skies seem not to clear;
throw back your shoulders, lift your head, and cease to chafe and fret.
Your dividend will be declared: 'God's bank ain't busted yet!'
FAITH
Faith is not in understanding;
Faith is yielding to God's will,
Resting on His Word of Promise
in assurance calm and still.
Faith is waiting for the answer
though no hopeful ray is giv'n,
knowing that the final outcome
now is clearly seen in Heav'n.
Faith is looking through the shadows
to the dawn of endless day,
Singing thro' the gath'ring darkness,
"Christ will lead me all the way!'
Faith is looking unto Jesus,
trusting where it cannot see.
Faith is resting on His Promise -
Faith is glorious victory!
Avis B. Christiansen
289 FAITH'S EXPULSIVE POWER
Faith came singing into my room,
and other quests took flight;
Fear and Anxiety, Grief and Gloom
Sped out into the night;
I wondered that such peace could be,
but Faith said gently, 'Don't you see?
they really cannot live with me.
Elizabeth Cheney
THE EYE OF FAITH - J. H. Maxfield
I do not ask for earthly store
beyond a day's supply;
I only covet more and more
the clear and single eye.
to see my duty face to face,
and trust the Lord for daily grace.
whate'er the crosses mine shall be,
I will not dare to shun;
I only ask to live for Thee,
and that Thy will be done.
Thy will, O Lord, be mine each day,
while passing on my homeward way.
and when at last my labor o'er,
I cross the narrow sea,
Grant, Lord, that on the other shore
My soul may dwell with Thee.
and learn what here I cannot know:
why Thou hast ever loved me so.
FAITH
the sea was breaking at my feet,
and looking out across the tide,
where placid waves and heaven meet,
I thought me of the Other Side.
for on the beach on which I stood
were wastes of sand and wash and roar,
low clouds and gloom and solitude,
and wrecks and ruins --nothing more.
'O tell me if beyond the sea
a heavenly port there is! I cried,
and back the echoes laughingly
'there is there is! replied.
James Whitcomb Riley
SONG OF FAITH - William Croswell
the lilied fields behold;
what king in his array
of purple pall and cloth of gold
shines gorgeously as they?
their pomp, however gay,
is brief, alas! as bright;
it lives but for a summer's day,
and withers in a night.
if God so clothe the soil,
and glorify the dust,
why should the slave of daily toil
His providence distrust?
will He whose love has nursed
the sparrow's brood, do less
for those who seek His kingdom first,
and with it righteousness:
the birds fly forth at will;
they neither plough nor sow;
yet theirs the sheaves that crown the hill,
or glad the vale below.
while through the realms of air
He guides their trackless way,
will man, in faithlessness, despair?
is he worth less than they?
290 LEAVE IT WITH HIM - Author unknown
yes, leave it with Him; the lilies all do,
and they grow;
they grow in the rain and they grow in the dew -
yes, they grow;
they grow in the darkness, all hid in the night,
they grow in the sunshine, revealed by the light -
Still they grow.
they ask not your planting, they need not your care
as they grow.
dropped down in the valley, the field - anywhere -
yet, they grow.
they grow in their beauty, arrayed in pure white;
they grow, clothed in glory, by heaven's own light -
sweetly they grow.
the grasses are clothed and the raven are fed
from His store;
but you who are loved and guarded and led,
How much more
Will He clothe you and feed you and give you His care!
then, leave it with Him; H has, everywhere,
Ample store.
Yes, leave it with Him; 'tis more dear to His heart,
You will know,
than the lilies that bloom or the flowers that start
'Neath the snow.
whatever you need, if you ask it in prayer,
you can leave it with Him for you are His care -
You, you know.
MY CREED - Howard Arnold Walter
I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
i would be brave, for there is much to dare.
i would be friend of all, - the foe, the friendless;
i would be giving, and forget the gift;
I would be humble, for I know my weakness;
I would look up - and laugh - and love- and lift.
291 BLIND
'show me your God! the doubter cries.
I point him out the smiling skies;
I show him all the woodland greens;
I show him peaceful sylvan scenes;
I show him winter snows and frost;
I show him waters tempest-tossed;
I show him hills rock-ribbed and strong;
I bid him hear the thrush's song;
I show him flowers in the close -
the lily, violet and rose;
I show him rivers, babbling streams;
I show him youthful hopes and dreams;
I show him stars, the moon, the sun;
I show him deeds of kindness done;
I show him joy, I show him care.
and still he holds his doubting air,
and faithless goes his way, for he
is blind of soul and cannot see!
John Kendrick Bangs
ST. AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO
what though the shades of night
gather in darkness round thy closing eye:
Thy Lord will give thee light
No more to die
the voice of Monica
Calls thee from Paradise - 'Augustine, come;
Lo! at the gates of day
Thy destined home'.
what though the tempest roar
in fury round thy Church's tottering wall!
From the eternal shore
He voice doth call.
the master Architect
will shield against the advancing gates of hell
The Church of His elect
He loves so well.
He died to lay that stone
Elect and precious, bathed in his lifeblood,
that it may stand alone
against the flood.
in waves the quicksands swim;
fear not the Syrtes' shift, the tempest shock:
Thy faith is build on him
Who is the Rock.
Gerard Moultrie
POSSESSION
heaven above is softer blue
earth beneath is sweeter green.
something lives in every hue,
Christless eyes have never seen.
birds with gladder songs o'erflow,
flowers with deeper beauty shine
since I know as now I know
I am His and He is mine.
FAITH
God knows, not, I, the reason why
His winds of storm drive through my door;
I am content to live or die
just knowing this, nor knowing more.
My Father's hand appointing me
My days and sways, so I am free.
Margaret E. Sangster
292 HE CAN
canst thou take the barren soil
and with all thy pains and toil
Make lilies blow
thou canst not. O helpless man,
have faith in God - He can.
canst thou paint the clouds at eve?
and all the sunset colors weave
into the sky?
Thou canst not. O powerless man,
Have faith in God - He can.
Unknown author
THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
came a merchantman of yore,
seeking goodly pearls to store;
one he found and straightway sold
all he had, that one to hold.
but another merchant came,
seeking pearls He knew by name, -
seeking, gave His all for me;
bought His treasure on the tree.
seek I many pearls to own,
these for crown and those for throne?
all I have I sell, to buy
one I find so fair to eye.
this the pearl all price above,
and I know who calls it love:
Faith and hope, bright gems they shine,
but the pearl is love divine.
I, too, now for Jesus Christ,
look within for pearls unpriced'
hid in heart and stored in mind,
but the merchantman must find.
down beneath strong passion's tide,
down where weeds of sin-growth hide;
scarce discerned from what is base,
yet how sweet the hidden grace.
seeking many, finding one,
find all, thus lacking none,
hold I each possession vain,
if I only this may gain.
toiling on in life's swift whirl,
if I find this goodly pearl,
till time's merchant own at last,
hear, not hand, must hold it fast.
William Chatterton Dix
BUT GOD
I know not, but God knows;
Oh, blessed rest from fear!
all my unfolding days
to Him are plain and clear.
each anxious, puzzled -why'?
from doubt or dread that grows,
finds answer in this thought:
I know not, but He knows.
I cannot, but God can;
oh, balm for all my care!
the burden that I drop
His hand will lift and bear.
though eagle pinions tire,
I walk where once i ran,
this is my strength to know
I cannot, but He can.
I see not, but God sees;
Oh, all sufficient light!
my dark and hidden way
to Him is always bright.
my strained and peering eyes
may close in restful ease,
and I in peace may sleep;
I see not, but He sees.
Annie Johnson Flint
293 FAITH
I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea
come drifting home with broken masts and sails;
I shall believe the Hand which never fails,
from seeming evil worketh good to me;
and, though I weep because those sails are battered,
still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered,
'I will trust in Thee'.
I will not doubt though all my prayers return
unanswered from the still, white realm above;
i shall believe it is an all-wise Love
which has refused those things for which I yearn:
and though, at times, I can not keep from grieving,
yet the pure ardor of my fixed believing
undimmed shall burn.
I will not doubt, though sorrows fall like rain,
and troubles swarm like bees about a hive;
I shall believer the heights for which I strive
are only reached by anguish and by pain;
and, though, I groan and tremble with my crosses,
I yet shall see, through my severest losses,
the greater gain.
I will not doubt; well anchored in the faith,
like some stanch ship, my soul braves every gale,
so strong its courage that it will not fail
to breast the mighty, unknown sea of death.
Oh, may I cry when body parts with spirit,
'I do not doubt,' so listening worlds may hear it
with my last breath. Ella Wheeler Wilcox
A PARABLE FROM LIEBIG - Charles Kingsley
the church bells were ringing, the Devil sat singing
on the stump of a rotting old tree;
'Oh, faith, it grows cold and the creeds they grow old,
and the world is nigh ready for me'.
the bells went on ringing, a spirit came singing,
and smiled as he crumbled the tree;
'Yon wood does but perish new seedlings to cherish,
and the wold is too live yet for thee.
THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
I believe the will of God prevails;
without Him all human reliance is vain;
without the assistance of that Divine Being I cannot succeed;
with that assistance i cannot fail.
I believe I am a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father;
I desire that all my works and acts be according to His will;
and that it may be so I give thanks to the almighty and seek His aid.
Abraham Lincoln (formulated by Carl Sandburg from Lincoln's own
words; from The War Years)
WHY DIDST THOU DOUBT?
when all the haunting shadows of the night
come thronging round me with a sudden sweep,
whispering and echoing the fears I keep
by faith and hope and prayer, hidden from sight;
when white-lipped doubt suggests that my delight
is a delusion and my faith a leap
into the dark and that the years will reap
in pain and trouble what has seemed so right:
and when the floods encompass me about,
and the sweet vision of my Lord doth fade
in the blind darkness and the words He said
seem lost; I feel once more His hand stretched out;
once more He speaks, ' 'Tis I, be not afraid;
O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?
Lucy Guiness Kumm
FAITH Avis B. Christiansen
only believe! how sweet that tender message
while roundabout the night grows dark and drear.
only believe! it is the voice of Jesus
that gently calls in accents soft and clear.
only believe! fear not the tempest's raging.
only believe! the darkness fadeth fast.
only believe! Oh grip the Rock of Ages!
Only believe! the day will dawn at last.
295 FAITH
faith is a living power from heaven
that grasps the promise God hath given,
a trust that cannot be o'erthrown,
fixed heartily on Christ alone.
faith finds in Christ whate'er we need
to save or strengthen us indeed;
receive the grace He sends us down,
and makes us share His cross and crown.
faith in the conscience worketh peace
and bids the mourner's weeping cease;
by faith the children's place we claim,
and give all honor to one Name.
faith feels the Spirit's kindling breath
in love and hope that conquer death;
faith worketh hourly joy in god,
and trusts and blesses e'en the rod.
we thank Thee, then, O God of heaven,
that Thou to us this faith hast given
in Jesus Christ Thy Son, who is
our only fount and source of bliss.
Petrus Herbert
ESSENCE OF TOMORROW
I feel the far-off cry of spring
borne on the air today,
though winds of February's sting
hint not the least of May.
there's something deep within me lies,
a steadfast faith that knows
a thing of beauty never dies,
and there beneath the snows
of winter's icy hand there's life
-
and so the unborn flowers
lend sweetness to my heart today,
and spring to winter hours.
and so it is when chilling blast
of sorrows pierce the soul,
and anguished heart cries out 'Alas!
I'll never more be whole',
that faith within, though challenged now,
will rise to meet the test,
and as we walk with God, somehow
there'll still be hope and zest
to live for Him and work for Him;
for now - by faith - we feel
an essence of the ecstasy
that Heaven will reveal!
Alice Hansche Mortenson
GOD KNOWS
we ask and are answered not,
and so we say, God has forgot,
or else, there is no God.
the years
roll back and thro' a mist of tears,
I see a child turn from her play,
and seek with eager feet, the way
that led her to her father's knee.
'If God is wise and kind, said she,
'why did He let my roses die?
a moment's pause, a smile, a sigh,
and then, 'I do not know, my dear,
some questions are not answered here.
'but is it wrong to ask? 'Not so,
my child; that we should seek to know
proves right to know, beyond a doubt;
and some day we shall yet find out
why roses die'.
and then I wait,
sure of my answer, soon or lat;
secure that love doth hold for me
the key to life's great mystery;
and oh, so glad to leave it there,
though my dead roses were so fair.
Author unknown
296 TRY THE UPLOOK
when the outlook is dark, try the uplook.
these words hold a message of cheer;
be glad while repeating them over,
and smile when the shadows appear.
above and beyond stands the Master;
He sees what we do for His sake.
He never will fail nor forsake us;
He knoweth the way that we take.
when the outlook is dark, try the uplook.
the uplook of faith and good cheer;
the love of the Father surrounds us,
he knows when the shadows are near.
be brave, then, and keep the eyes lifted,
and smile on the dreariest day.
His smile will glow in the darkness;
His light will illumine the way.
Author unknown
WOMAN
not she with traitorous kiss her savior stung,
not she denied him with unholy tongue;
she, while apostles shrank, could dangers brave,
last at the cross and earliest at the grave.
E. S. Barret
LORD GIVE ME FAITH - J.O.
Lord, give me faith! - to live from day to day,
with tranquil heart to do my simple part,
and, with my hand in Thine, just go Thy way.
Lord, give me faith - to trust, if not to know;
with quiet mind in all things Thee to find,
and child-like, go where Thou wouldst have me go.
Lord, give me faith! - to leave it all to Thee,
the future is Thy gift, I would not lift
the veil Thy love has hung 'twixt it and me. 297
297 ' MORE THAN THEY ALL'
'two mites' - a simple little farthing,
it was so small!
and yet - she might e'en then have halved it.
it was her all.
one mite for God and one she needed,
of wealth so small?
no; trusting to the God of widows,
she gave her all.
and so, in sight of Him who 'saw' it,
it was not small,
for He who watched 'how' it was given - said,
'More than they all.'.
L. M. Warner
PERSEVERANCE
Say, the man's not a man
who can quit when he can;
who will cast down the load
in the heat of the road
and not share in the sweat of the fray.
No! - the man is a man
Who will stay!
there are cowards who fight
when the going is right;
but the cause is forgot
when the battle is hot -
and the foe takes the spoils of the day.
but the man is a man
Who will stay!
many soldiers have fought
where their efforts found naught
but the smile of the brave
O'er the sod of their grave:
all their trophies were taken away -
Yet the man is a man
Who will stay!
many soldiers have fought
where their efforts found naught
but the smile of the brave
O'er the sod of their grave:
all their trophies were taken away -
yet the man is a man
who will stay!
so let others disdain
all the torture and pain
that must come with the fight
against forces of night;
all our loss He will richly repay!
He loves men - stubborn men -
Who will stay!
and when God meets His men
at the roll call in Heav'n
and the crown and the throne
shall belong to his own,
then with glory and grace he will say,
'You are Mine! You are men
Who will stay!
Author unknown
OVERHEARD IN AN ORCHARD
said the Robin to the Sparrow:
'I should really like to know
why these anxious human beings
rush about and worry so'.
Said the Sparrow to the Robin;
'Friend, I think that it must be
that they have no heavenly Father
such as cares for you and me'.
Elizabeth Cheney
O FOR A FAITH THAT WILL NOT SHRINK
O for a faith that will not shrink,
though pressed by every foe,
that will not tremble on the brink
of any earthy woe!
that will not murmur nor complain
beneath the chastening rod,
but, in the hour of grief or pain,
will lean upon its God;
a faith that shines more bright and clear
when tempests rage without;
that when in danger knows no fear,
in the darkness feels no doubt.
William H. Bathurst
298 THE RIFT - Ruth Margaret Gibbs
there was a rift tonight;
i saw a grey cloud break and let the light
shine through - a ray of hope to all the earth;
long had i waited here; i found it hard to say,
'the clouds will drift apart, the darkness melt away
before the radiance of the night's new birth'.
that promised glow to guide a wayward one;at last, after long hours of doubt and fear,
came light again and life and sweet security,
as though a hidden ray from God's eternity
peeped out, that I might look and see it there.
so, if I can but wait,
I know that God will send it, soon or late -
this break within my life's grey cloud; His gift
to me, one star of perfect love to shine and show
that they who walk by faith are told the way to go,
and after storm will come the blessed rift.
Ruth Margaret Gibbs
THE ONE WHO PLANS
often darkness fills the pathway of the pilgrim's onward track,
and we shrink from going forward -trembling, feel like going back:
but the Lord, who plans so wisely, leads us on both day and night,
till at last, in silent wonder, we rejoice in wisdom's light.
though the tunnel may be tedious thro' the narrow, darkened way,
yet it amply serves its purpose - soon it brings the light of day;
and the way so greatly dreaded, as we backward take a glance,
shows the skill of careful planning: never the result of chance!
is your present path a tunnel, does the darkness bring you fear?
to the upright, oh, remember, He doth cause a light to cheer.
press on bravely, resting calmly, though a way you dimly see,
till, at length, so safely guided, you emerge triumphantly.
trust the Engineer Eternal, surely all His works are right,
though we cannot always trace them, faith will turn at last to sight:
then no more the deepening shadows of the dark and dismal way,
there for ever in clear sunlight, we'll enjoy 'the perfect day'.
Author unknown
299 BY FAITH
by faith and not by sight,
Saviour, I walk with Thee;
lead Thou my feet aright;
Choose thou the path for me.
Choose Thou the path for me;
i would not if I could;
for only Thou canst see
my highest, heavenly good.
by Love upon His Throne
my life is planned aright;
secure in Christ alone
i walk by faith, not sight.
E. Margaret Clarkson
FEET OF CLAY
feet of clay! feet of clay!
man has but feet of clay -
a heart of gold and love untold
but hands and feet of clay.
i took my eyes from God one day
and looked to man alone -
a certain man, a christian man
like one you may have known.
this man was faithful, kind and good
as good as he could be;
but as i looked i saw he, too,
had feet like you and me.
feet of clay! feet of clay!
man has but feet of clay -
a hear of gold and love untold
but hands and feet of clay.
for only God has perfect love,
the same both night and day -
a heart divine, not gold like mine,
nor hands and feel of clay.
Phyllis C. Michael
WE MAY NOT UNDERSTAND
we may not understand nor know
just how the giant oak trees throw
their spreading branches wide,
nor how upon the mountain-side
the dainty wild-flowers grow.
we may not understand nor see
into the depth and mystery
of suffering and tears;
yet, thro' the stress of patient years
the flowers of sympathy
spring up and scatter everywhere
their perfume on the fragrant air:
but lo! the seed must die,
if it would bloom and multiply
and ripened fruitage bear.
Thomas Kimber
300 HITHERTO
we have come very safely - hitherto;
and sometimes seas were calm and skies were blue;
sometimes the wild waves rose - the tempests roared;
but never barque went down with Christ on board.
and so it shall be to the very end -
through ebb or flow, the one unchanging Friend,
ruling the waves which sink at His command,
holding them in the hollow of His hand.
a lonely track perchance, a darkened sky,
a mist of tears and only God knows why -
is he not worth our trust the voyage through,
He who has never failed us - hitherto?
here all things pass, but Heaven keeps them fair;
the partings here - the joyous meetings there -
god's waves and winds drive onward to that rest;
tossed home, as children to a Father's breast.
there comes an hour, when, every tempest o'er,
the harbour lights are reached, the golden shore:
never, o never more to fret or fear -
Christ, give us faith to praise Thee even here.
Mary Gorges
MY CREED - Henry W. Frost
that God doth live, enthroned in heaven above,
existing in three persons and yet One,
the everlasting Father, Spirit, Son,
whom i may worship and forever love;
that Jesus died for me on Calvary's tree,
and then ascended to His Father's throne,
thenceforth for e'er to intercede for me
until He comes to gather home His own:
that God hath sent the Holy Spirit down,
to keep, to guide, to sanctify, to bless,
so i may wear, at last, a victor's crown
and reign with Christ, who will my name confess:
this -'spite of sin and failure's shadowing grief -
this I believe; Lord, help mine unbelief!
301 CAN GOD?
'Can God? the subtle Tempter breathes within,
when all seems lost, excepting sure defeat,
'Can God roll back the raging seas of sin?
'Can God? the fainting heart doth quick repeat.
'God can! in trumpet tones rings faith's glad cry,
and, david-like, it fears no giant foe,
for faith dwells on the Mount; serene, and high,
while unbelief's dark clouds roll far below.
'God can! His Saints of old did ever give
their fullest confirmation o'er and o'er,
and He Who made the long-dead bones to live,
e'en now can bring the dead to life once more.
'God can! then let us fear not, but arise!
our motto be this word that He doth give,
if we have faith, before our wondering eyes
A MIGHTY ARMY SHALL ARISE AND LIVE!
J.A.R.
GOD KNOWETH
i know not what awaits me,
God kindly veils mine eyes,
and o'er each step of my onward way
He makes new scenes to rise;
and every joy He sends me, comes
a sweet and glad surprise.
where He may lead I'll follow,
my trust in Him repose;
and every hour in perfect peace
I'll sing , He knows, He knows.
one step i see before me,
'Tis all i need to see,
the light of heaven more brightly shines,
when earth's illusions flee;
and sweetly through the silence,
came His loving 'Follow Me'.
O blissful lack of wisdom,
'Tis blessed not to know;
He holds me with His own right hand,
and will not let me go,
and lulls my troubled soul to rest
in Him who loves me so.
so on i go not knowing,
i would not if i might;
I'd rather walk in the dark with God
than go alone in the light;
I'd rather walk by faith with Him
than go alone by sight.
Mary G. Brainard and P.P.Bliss
302 BLESSED - Freda Hanbury Allen
Blessed is he whose faith is not offended,
when all around his way
the power of God is working out deliverance
for others day by day;
though in some prison drear his own soul languish,
till life itself be spent,
yet still can trust his Rather's love and purpose,
and rest therein content.
Blessed is he who, through long years of suffering,
cut off from active toil,
still shares by prayer and praise the work of others,
and thus 'divides the spoil'
Blessed art thou, O child of God, who sufferest,
and canst not understand
the reason for thy pain, yet gladly leavest
thy life in His blest Hand.
Yea, blessed art thou whose faith is 'not offended'
by trials unexplained,
by mysteries unsolved, past understanding,
until the goal is gained.
GOD MAKES A PATH - Roger Williams
God makes a path, provides a guide,
and feeds a wilderness;
His glorious name, while breath remains,
O that i may confess.
lost many a time, i have had no guide,
no house but a hollow tree!
in stormy winter night no fire,
no food, no company;
in Him i found a house, a bed,
a table, company;
no cup so bitter but's made sweet,
where God shall sweetening be.
FEELING, FAITH AND FACT
three men were walking on a wall,
Feeling, Faith and Fact,
when Feeling got an awful fall,
and Faith was taken back.
so close was Faith to Feeling,
he stumbled and fell too,
but Fact remained,
and pulled Faith back
and Faith brought Feeling too.
Author unknown
Sunday, February 19, 2017
2.19.2017 GL#11 SELF-DENIAL
43 when a believer begins to discover something of the awful tyranny of the self-life, or has been endlessly struggling against that tyranny, he becomes intensely concerned about the denial of self with the resultant freedom to rest and grow in Christ. man has many ways of seeking to escape the thralldom of self; God has but one way. first then, some of these man-centered methods.
MORTIFICATION Denying oneself certain things for a time, or even for all time, is not even close to the answer since the old nature will adjust and thrive under any conditions - anything short of death to self. 'there have been those who have thought that to get themselves out of the way it was necessary to withdraw from society; so they denied all natural human relationships and went into the desert or the mountain or the hermit's cell to fast and labor and struggle to mortify the flesh. while their motive was good it is impossible to commend their method. for it is not scriptural to believe that the old Adam nature can be conquered in that manner. it yields to nothing less than the death of the cross. it is altogether too tough to be killed by abusing the body or starving the affections'. A.W.Tozer
CONQUEST Probably the most drawn out and exhausting effort of all is the believer's struggle to conquer and control this rebel self. more meetings, more Bible study, more prayer are all resorted to, but neither are these God's answer to this problem.
44 TRAINING here is a favorite that has been tried and found wanting down through the ages. good christian training and culture in the right homes, churches, and schools have been relied on to subdue the old nature and bring it into line.
REVIVALISM another failure has been the practice of holding special meetings once or twide a year. this involves outside leadership (a stranger to the individual problems), and the devastating revival routine (confession, new resolutions, etc.), in the hope that something will change - but it rarely does, and then not for long.
GROWTH so many dear christians just keep plodding (or racing) through the deadening routine of their multitudinous church activities and duties, expecting that in time self will change for the better as they grow. but self never changes into anything but more of the same! 'that this self is entirely bad, as when it is angry, spiteful, unkind, unjust, untruthful, unloving, catty. in other cases a good exterior conceals an evil heart, as when we are proud of our humility, conceited about our christian service, boastful of our orthodoxy. and an overforwardness and obvious conceit at the sound of one's own voice spoils many a prayer meeting'.
CLEANSING up-to-the-moment confession and consequent cleansing have also constituted a popular method. however, I John 1.9 has to do with sins already committed, and not with the source (self) from which they emanate. '[our sins are dealt with by the blood, we ourselves are dealt with by the cross. the blood procures our pardon, the cross procures deliverance from what we are in Adam. the blood can wash away my sins, but it cannot wash away my old man: I need the cross to crucify me - the sinner'.
EXPERIENCES today one of the prevalent attempts for something better is to go in for 'the baptism of the Spirit', speaking in tongues, etc. this is by far
45 the most dangerous and pathetic trap of all, as it is simply self, neurotically and religiously rampant. 'Calvary precedes Pentecost. death with Christ precedes the fullness of the Spirit. Power! yes, God's children need power, but God does not give power to the old creation, nor to the uncrucified soul, satan will give power to the 'old Adam', but not God.'
which of us does not know something of the failure of our ways, well-intentioned as they may be? what most do not know is what this very failure is the path to learning and entering into, god's way. 'for My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts'. Isaiah 55.8,9 now just what is God's way of self-denial? he has but one way and it is no the basis of all His other ways: the principle of the finished work. his way for us in everything is the way He has already traveled, conquered and completed in Christ.
THE CROSS, GOD'S WAY it was on the Cross of Calvary that god, in Christ, dealt fully and finally with self, the nature from which all our sins flow. 'we know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that (our) body, (which is the instrument) of sin, might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin' rom. 6.6, Amplified
the reason there is no other way for self to be denied is that God has done the work in this way: our identification with Christ Jesus in His death and resurrection! it is done; now ours to believe.
'the 'flesh' will only yield to the cross; not to all the reslutions you may make at a conference, not to any self-effort, not to any attempted self-crucifixion; only to co-crucifixion, crucified together with Christ. falatians 2.20 it is not by putting yourself to death, but by taking, through faith and surrender
MORTIFICATION Denying oneself certain things for a time, or even for all time, is not even close to the answer since the old nature will adjust and thrive under any conditions - anything short of death to self. 'there have been those who have thought that to get themselves out of the way it was necessary to withdraw from society; so they denied all natural human relationships and went into the desert or the mountain or the hermit's cell to fast and labor and struggle to mortify the flesh. while their motive was good it is impossible to commend their method. for it is not scriptural to believe that the old Adam nature can be conquered in that manner. it yields to nothing less than the death of the cross. it is altogether too tough to be killed by abusing the body or starving the affections'. A.W.Tozer
CONQUEST Probably the most drawn out and exhausting effort of all is the believer's struggle to conquer and control this rebel self. more meetings, more Bible study, more prayer are all resorted to, but neither are these God's answer to this problem.
44 TRAINING here is a favorite that has been tried and found wanting down through the ages. good christian training and culture in the right homes, churches, and schools have been relied on to subdue the old nature and bring it into line.
REVIVALISM another failure has been the practice of holding special meetings once or twide a year. this involves outside leadership (a stranger to the individual problems), and the devastating revival routine (confession, new resolutions, etc.), in the hope that something will change - but it rarely does, and then not for long.
GROWTH so many dear christians just keep plodding (or racing) through the deadening routine of their multitudinous church activities and duties, expecting that in time self will change for the better as they grow. but self never changes into anything but more of the same! 'that this self is entirely bad, as when it is angry, spiteful, unkind, unjust, untruthful, unloving, catty. in other cases a good exterior conceals an evil heart, as when we are proud of our humility, conceited about our christian service, boastful of our orthodoxy. and an overforwardness and obvious conceit at the sound of one's own voice spoils many a prayer meeting'.
CLEANSING up-to-the-moment confession and consequent cleansing have also constituted a popular method. however, I John 1.9 has to do with sins already committed, and not with the source (self) from which they emanate. '[our sins are dealt with by the blood, we ourselves are dealt with by the cross. the blood procures our pardon, the cross procures deliverance from what we are in Adam. the blood can wash away my sins, but it cannot wash away my old man: I need the cross to crucify me - the sinner'.
EXPERIENCES today one of the prevalent attempts for something better is to go in for 'the baptism of the Spirit', speaking in tongues, etc. this is by far
45 the most dangerous and pathetic trap of all, as it is simply self, neurotically and religiously rampant. 'Calvary precedes Pentecost. death with Christ precedes the fullness of the Spirit. Power! yes, God's children need power, but God does not give power to the old creation, nor to the uncrucified soul, satan will give power to the 'old Adam', but not God.'
which of us does not know something of the failure of our ways, well-intentioned as they may be? what most do not know is what this very failure is the path to learning and entering into, god's way. 'for My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts'. Isaiah 55.8,9 now just what is God's way of self-denial? he has but one way and it is no the basis of all His other ways: the principle of the finished work. his way for us in everything is the way He has already traveled, conquered and completed in Christ.
THE CROSS, GOD'S WAY it was on the Cross of Calvary that god, in Christ, dealt fully and finally with self, the nature from which all our sins flow. 'we know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that (our) body, (which is the instrument) of sin, might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin' rom. 6.6, Amplified
the reason there is no other way for self to be denied is that God has done the work in this way: our identification with Christ Jesus in His death and resurrection! it is done; now ours to believe.
'the 'flesh' will only yield to the cross; not to all the reslutions you may make at a conference, not to any self-effort, not to any attempted self-crucifixion; only to co-crucifixion, crucified together with Christ. falatians 2.20 it is not by putting yourself to death, but by taking, through faith and surrender
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