Lead On, O King Eternal

Lead on, O King Eternal,
The day of march has come;
Hence-forth in fields of conquest
Thy tents shall be our home;
Through days of preparation
Thy grace has made us strong,
And now, O King Eternal,
We lift our battle song.

Lead on, O King Eternal,
Till sin's fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet Amen of peace;
For not with swords loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums,
With deeds of love and mercy,
The heav'nly kingdom comes.

Lead on, O King Eternal,
We follow, not with fears,
For gladness breaks like morning
Where'er Thy face appears;
Thy cross is lifted o'er us;
We journey in its light;
The crown awaits the conquest;
Lead on, O God of might.

--Ernest W. Shurtleff, 1862-1917

The Broken Pinion

I walked through the woodland
      meadows,
  Where sweet the thrushes sing;
And I found on a bed of mosses
  A bird with a broken wing.
I healed its wound, and each morning
  It sang its old sweet strain,
But the bird with the broken pinion
  Never soared as high again.

I found a young life broken
  By sin's seductive art;
And, touched with a Christ-like pity,
  I took him to my heart.
He lived with a noble purpose
  And struggled not in vain;
But the life that sin had stricken
  Never soared as high again.

But the bird with the broken pinion
  Kept another from the snare;
And the life that sin had stricken
  Raised another from despair.
Each loss has its compensation,
  There is healing for every pain;
But the bird with a broken pinion
  Never soars as high again.

--Hezekiah Butterworth, 1839-1905

A Prayer

Oh, not for more or longer days, dear Lord,
  My prayer shall be--
But rather teach me how to use the days
  Now given me.

I ask not more of pleasure or of joy
  For this brief while--
But rather let me for the joys I have
  Be glad and smile.

I ask not ownership of vast estates
  Nor piles of gold--
But make me generous with the little store
  My hands now hold.

Nor shall I ask that life should give to me
  Another friend--
Just keep me true to those I have, dear Lord,
  Until the end.

--B.Y. Williams

Pass It On

Have you had a kindness shown?
  Pass it on.
'Twas not given for thee alone,
  Pass it on.
Let it travel down the years,
Let it wipe another's tears,
'Till in heav'n the deed appears--
  Pass it on.

Did you hear the loving word?
  Pass it on--
Like the singing of a bird?
  Pass it on.
Let its music live and grow,
Let it cheer another's woe;
You have reaped what others sow--
  Pass it on.

'Twas the sunshine of a smile--
  Pass it on.
Staying but a little while!
  Pass it on.
April beam a little thing,
Still it wakes the flowers of spring,
Makes the silent birds to sing--
  Pass it on.

Have you found the heavenly light?
  Pass it on.
Souls are groping in the night,
  Daylight gone--
Hold thy lighted lamp on high,
Be a star in someone's sky,
He may live who else would die--
  Pass it on.

Be not selfish in thy greed,
  Pass it on.
Look upon thy brother's need,
  Pass it on.
Live for self, you live in vain;
Live for Christ, you live again;
Live for Him, with Him you reign--
  Pass it on.

--Henry Burton, 1840-1930

God and Man

Whenever I am prone to doubt and wonder,
  I check myself, and say, the mighty One
Who made the solar system cannot blunder,
  And for the best all things are being done.
He who set the stars on their eternal courses,
  Has fashioned this strange earth by some sure plan.
Bow low--bow low to those majestic forces,
  Nor dare to doubt their wisdom, puny man!

You cannot put one little star in motion,
  You cannot shape one single forest leaf,
Nor fling a mountain up, nor sink an ocean,
  Presumptuous pygmy, large with unbelief!
You cannot bring one dawn of regal splendor,
  Nor bid the day to shadowy twilight fall,
Nor send the pale moon forth with radiance tender;
  And dare you doubt the One who has done all?

--S.A. Nagel

The Doubter's Prayer

Eternal Power, of earth and air!
  Unseen, yet seen in all around;
Remote, but dwelling everywhere;
  Though silent heard in every sound;

If e'er Thine ear in Mercy lent,
  When wretched mortals cried to Thee,
And if indeed, Thy Son was sent,
  To save lost sinners such as me:

Then hear me now, while kneeling here,
  I lift to Thee my heart and eye,
And all my soul ascends in prayer,
  Oh, give me--Give me Faith! I cry.

While Faith is with me, I am blest;
  It turns my darkest night to day;
But while I clasp it to my breast,
  I often feel it slide away.

Then, cold and dark, my spirit sinks,
  To see my light of life depart;
And every fiend of Hell, methinks,
  Enjoys the anguish of my heart.

What shall I do if all my love,
  My hopes, my toil, are cast away,
And if there be no God above,
  To hear and bless me while I pray?

If this be vain delusion all,
  If death be an eternal sleep
And none can hear my secret call,
  Or see the silent tears I weep!

O help me God! for Thou alone
  Canst my distracted soul relieve;
Forsake it not, it is Thine own,
  Though weak, yet longing to believe.

--Anne Brontë, 1820-1849

What If I Say--

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 therefrom 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.

--Maud Frazer Jackson