Walking With God

O for a closer walk with God,
   A calm 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 once enjoy'd!
   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.

So shall my walk be close with God,
   Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
   That leads me to the Lamb.

                  ~ William Cowper

I Hear the Master Speak

In the song of birds at the break of day,
In the quiet hush before work and play,
In the early morn as I kneel and pray--
    I HEAR THE MASTER SPEAK!

In the budding life of a flowering seed,
In a hand outstretched in a time of need,
In a friendly smile and a thoughtful deed --
    I HEAR THE MASTER SPEAK!

In the fragile beauty of a butterfly,
In the strength of mountains towering high,
In the crimson glow of the evening sky --
    I HEAR THE MASTER SPEAK!

In the merry song of a silver brook,
In the peacefulness of a shady nook,
In a chapter read from God's Holy Book --
    I HEAR THE MASTER SPEAK!

                 ~ Beverly J. Anderson

Fulfillment

Help me, Lord,
to meet this day --
its challenges,
its changes,
its opportunities
to speak of Thee
whose loving care
arranges each transient hour
I live upon
this great
(though troubled) earth,
that when I kneel
at eventide
I'll have been for Thee --
some worth!

~ Alice Hansche Mortenson

Never Borrow Sorrow From Tomorrow

Deal only with the present,
Never step into tomorrow,
For God asks us just to trust Him
And to never borrow sorrow --
For the future is not ours to know
And it may never be,
So let us live and give our best
And give it lavishly --
For to meet tomorrow's troubles
Before they are even ours
Is to anticipate the Saviour
And to doubt His all-wise powers --
So let us be content to solve
Our problems one by one,
Asking nothing of tomorrow
Except "Thy Will be done."

             ~ Helen Steiner Rice

Something of God

Something of God pours into me
    from the blue of the sky above
    from the song of a bird,
    the red of the rose,
    the touch of the hand I love.

Something of God pours into me
    from the ocean's tidal roar
    as I stand alone
    on the windswept sand
    and watch the sea gull soar.

Something of God pours into me
    from the mountains capped with snow,
    from the pine trees
    swaying gently
    as the summer breezes blow.

There's something of God in everything,
    and in everyone we see,
    I pray for the grace
    to see Him in others
    and hope they will see Him in me.

                             ~ Leah Zink

Soaring

Sometimes God takes away our props
   that we might lean on Him,
allows temptations so we'll grow
   and triumph over sin.
Sometimes He takes away our strength
   for doing earthly things,
to rest our bodies that our souls
   may soar on eagle's wings
to heights ne'er dreamed
   when busy-ness did all our vision fill.
Let's not resent it when He says
   "Come ye apart--Be still",
nor chafe at disappointments
   and unexplained delays;
but keep on soaring 'neath His wings
   with gratitude and praise!

           ~ Alice Hansche Mortenson

Nobility

True worth is in being, not seeming, --
   In doing, each day that goes by,
Some little good--not in dreaming
   Of great things to do by and by.

For whatever men say in their blindness,
   And spite of the fancies of youth,
There's nothing so kingly as kindness,
   And nothing so royal as truth.

We get back our mete as we measure --
   We cannot do wrong and feel right,
Nor can we give pain and gain pleasure,
   For justice avenges each slight.

We cannot make bargains for blisses,
   Nor catch them like fishes in nets;
And sometimes the thing our life misses
   Helps more than the thing which it gets.

For good lieth not in pursuing,
   Nor gaining of great nor of small,
But just in the doing, and doing
  As we would be done by, is all.

                              ~ Alice Cary