~~TODAY~~
Upon the threshold of “today” I stand,
It lies before me, fresh from God’s own hand,
Without a blemish-mine, for good or ill.
But, if I trust to self, to my weak will
To keep it spotless I shall surely fail;
Thy strength and guidance can alone avail.
so now my heart goes out in earnest plea,
That, for today, Thou wilt abide with me.
Life’s yesterdays forevermore have passed
Beyond my reach; and now, O Lord, Thou has
Them in Thy keeping.
Let thy righteousness hide the dark stains they bear.
Help me to press on toward the mark.
Humbly, dear Lord, I pray,
That as each “morrow” merges in “today”
I may surrender all I am to Thee,
And that Thy presence may abide with me.
For so abiding doubt and strife must cease.
With Thee to lead me on, the perfect peace
That passeth understanding I shall know;
Alike through calm and gale I needs must go
My way content. Then on the morrow fair
Which brings deliverance, grant Thou my prayer,
That immortality my part may be.
So shall I evermore abide with Thee.
~~THE ETERNAL GOODNESS~~
I know not what the future hath
Of marvel or surpise;
Assured alone that life and death
His mercy underlies.
And if my heart and flesh are weak
To bear an untried pain,
The bruised reed He will not break,
But strengthen and sustain.
No offerings of my own I have,
No works my faith to prove;
I can but give the gifts He gave,
And please His love for love.
And so, beside the silent sea,
I wait for the muffled oar;
No harm from Him can come to me
On ocean or on shore.
I know not where His islands lift
Their fronded palms in air;
I only know I cannot drift
Beyond His love and care.
~John Greenleaf Whittier~
~~THE LIFE THAT COUNTS~~
The life that counts must toil and fight;
Must hate the wrong and love the right;
Must stand for truth, by day, by night
This is the life that counts.
The life that counts must hopeful be;
In darkest night make melody;
Must wait the dawn on bended knee
This is the life that counts.
The life that counts must aim to rise
Above the earth to sunlit skies;
Must fix it’s gaze on Paradise
This is the life that counts.
The life that counts must helpful be;
The cares and needs of others see;
Must seek the slaves of sin to free
This is the life that counts.
The life that counts is linked with God;
And turns not from the cross the rod;
But walks with joy where Jesus trod
This is the life that counts.
~~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 oblivious sea
Will sweep across the place
Where I have trod the sandy shore
Of time, and then 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~~
~~OUT IN THE FIELDS WITH GOD~~
The little cares that fretted me
I lost them yesterday,
Among the fields, above the sea,
Among the winds at play;
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.
The foolish fears of what may pass,
I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the new-mown hay;
Among the rustling of the corn,
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born,
Out in the fields with God.
~Author Unknown~
