ROD.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.—Psalm xxiii. 4.
I will cause you to pass under the rod.—Ezekiel, xx. 37.
The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.—Micah, vi. 9.
Give me the voice of mirth, the sound of laughter,
The sparkling glance of pleasure’s roving eye,
The past is past,—Avaunt thou dark hereafter!
“Come, eat and drink—to-morrow we must die!”
So, in his desperate mood, the fool hath spoken—
The fool whose heart hath said, “There is no God.”
But for the stricken heart, the spirit broken,
There’s balm in Gilead yet.—The very rod,
If we but kiss it, as the stroke descendeth,
Distilleth balm to allay the inflicted smart,
And “Peace that passeth understanding,” blendeth
With the deep sighing of the contrite heart.
Caroline Bowles.
He who each bitter cup rejects,
No living spring shall quaff;
He whom Thy rod in love corrects,
Shall lean upon Thy staff:
Happy, thrice happy, then, is he,
Who knows the chastening is from Thee!
Bernard Barton.
Faith and hope
Will teach me how to bear my lot;
To think Almighty Wisdom best,
To bow my head and murmur not.
The chastening hand of One above
Falls heavy, but I kiss the rod:
He gives the wound, and I must trust
Its healing to the self-same God.
Eliza Cook.