The Lord has made me bold When I have labored most, And with his gifts so manifold, Has given the Holy Ghost
When I have idle been Until the sun went down, Mine eyes, so dim, have never seen His bright, prophetic crown.
O, praise the Lord for work Which maketh time so fleet, In which accusers never lurk, Whose end is very sweet.
Birds of Grace.
O little birds of grace, To-day ye sweetly sing, Yea, make my heart your nesting-place, And all your gladness bring.
When ye are in my heart, How swiftly pa.s.s the days!
The fears and doubts of life depart, And leave their room to praise.
My work I find as play, And all day long rejoice; But, if I linger on my way, I hear this warning voice:
_With fervor work and pray, And let not coldness come, Or birds of grace will fly away To seek a warmer home_.
Duty.
O work that Duty shows Through her revealing light!
It is in thee my bosom glows With infinite delight!
The shadows flee away Like mist before the sun; And thy achievement seems to say, The will of G.o.d is done!
Ah, what if Duty seem A mistress cold and stern!
Can he who owns her rule supreme From her caresses turn?
O work that Duty shows In light so fair and clear, Whoever thy completion knows Is "minded heaven is near!
Moses.
In Pharaoh"s dazzling court No work did Moses find That could heroic life support And fill his heart and mind.
Beneath their grievous task Did not his kindred groan?
And a great voice above him ask, "Dost thou thy brethren own?"
The work which Duty meant At length he found and did, And built a grander monument Than any pyramid.
Sometimes his eyes were dim, All signs he could not spell; Yet he endured as seeing Him Who is invisible.
Discoverers.
In search of greener sh.o.r.es The Northmen braved the seas And reached, those faith-illumined rowers, Our dear Hesperides.
And when Oblivion Swept all their work away, And left for faith to feed upon But shadows lean and gray,
Columbus dreamed the dream Which fired a southern clime And hailed a world--O toil supreme!-- As from the womb of Time.
G.o.d"s dauntless witnesses For toil invincible, They gazed across uncharted seas On the invisible.
G.o.d"s Order.
In gazing into heaven In idle ecstacy, What progress make ye to the haven Where ye at length would be?
In heaven-appointed work The sure ascension lies.
O, never yet did drone or shirk Make headway to the skies.
Who in his heart rebels Has never ears to hear The morning and the evening bells On yonder sh.o.r.es so clear.
For work communion is With G.o.d"s one order here, And all the secret melodies Which fill our lives with cheer.
David.
In action day by day King David"s manhood grew, A character to live for aye, It was so strong and true.
Hordes of misrule became As stubble to the fire, Till songs of praise like leaping flame Burst from his sacred lyre.
He grappled with all rude And unpropitious things: A garden from the solitude Smiled to the King of kings.
And fiercer yet the strife With mighty foes within, Who stormed the fortress of his life And triumphed in his sin.
Good out of Evil.