297. C. H. M. Barton.
Blessed Are Ye That Sow Beside All Waters.
1 O, be not faithless! with the morn Cast thou abroad thy grain!
At noontide faint not thou forlorn, At evening sow again!
Blessed are they, whate"er betide, Who thus all waters sow beside.
2 Thou knowest not which seed shall grow, Or which may die, or live; In faith, and hope, and patience, sow!
The increase G.o.d shall give, According to His gracious will,-- As best his purpose may fulfil.
3 O, could our inward eye but view, Our hearts but feel aright, What faith, and love, and hope, can do, By their celestial might, We should not say, till these be dead, The power of miracle is fled.
298. 10s. M. Mrs. Case.
Love On!
1 Love on! love on! but not the things that own The fleeting beauty of a summer day; Truth, virtue, spring from G.o.d"s eternal throne, Nor quit the spirit when it leaves the clay: Love them! love them!
2 Love on! love on! though death and earthly change Bring mournful silence to a darkened home; Still let the heart rest where no eye grows strange, Where never falls a shadow from the tomb: Love there! love there!
3 Love on! love on! the voice of grief and wrong Comes from the palace and the poor man"s cot; Bid the proud bend, and bid the weak be strong, And life"s tired pilgrim meekly bear his lot: Give strength! give peace!
4 Love on! love on! and though the evening still Wear the stern clouds that veiled thy noonday sun, With changeless trust, with calm, unwavering will, Work! bravely work! till the last hour be done: Love G.o.d! love Man!
299. L. M. Anonymous.
Not Faithless, But Believing.
1 O, still trust on, if in the heart A holy inspiration rest,-- Though painful be the chosen part, With doubts, and fears, and cares opprest!
O, shrink not, brothers, though Christ"s call Demand our youth, our strength, our all!
2 No offering is made in vain; Some human soul shall feel our love; E"en weary hours of toil and pain Shall help to lift our souls above: And may our recompense be given, In leading many souls to heaven!
3 And still trust on! with trembling hand, "Tis ours a little seed to sow; It springs at the divine command,-- Shall, if G.o.d will, to ripeness grow; Beauty and fragrance it shall bring, And breathe an everlasting spring.
300. C. M. Jones Very.
As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap.
1 The bud will soon become a flower, The flower become a seed; Then seize, O youth, the present hour,-- Of that thou hast most need.
2 Do thy best always,--do it now,-- For in the present time, As in the furrows of a plough, Fall seeds of good or crime.
3 The sun and rain will ripen fast Each seed that thou hast sown; And every act and word at last By its own fruit be known.
4 And soon the harvest of thy toil Rejoicing thou shalt reap; Or o"er thy wild, neglected soil Go forth in shame to weep.
301. P. M. Whittier.
The Purpose of Life.
1 Hast thou, "midst life"s empty noises, Heard the solemn steps of Time, And the low, mysterious voices Of another clime?
2 Early hath life"s mighty question Thrilled within thy heart of youth, With a deep and strong beseeching,-- What, and where, is truth?
3 Not to ease and aimless quiet Doth the inward answer tend; But to works of love and duty, As our being"s end.
4 Earnest toil and strong endeavor Of a spirit which within Wrestles with familiar evil And besetting sin;
5 And without, with tireless vigor, Steady heart, and purpose strong, In the power of Truth a.s.saileth Every form of wrong.
302. S. M. Chr. Psalmist.
All Work Divine.
1 Teach me, my G.o.d and King, In all things Thee to see; And what I do in anything, To do it as for Thee!
2 To scorn the senses" sway, While still to Thee I tend; In all I do be Thou the way; In all be Thou the end.
3 All may of Thee partake; Nothing so small can be, But draws, when acted for Thy sake, Greatness and worth from Thee.
4 If done beneath Thy laws, E"en servile labors shine; Hallowed is toil, if this the cause; The meanest work divine.
303. L. M. Sterling.