STRENGTH.
As thy days, so shall thy strength be.—Deuteronomy, xxxiii. 25.
The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.—Psalm cxviii. 14.
He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name.
He hath shewed strength with his arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.—Luke, i. 49, 51.
Vigour from toil, from trouble patience grows.
The weakly blossom, warm in summer bower,
Some tints of transient beauty may disclose;
But ah! it withers in the chilling hour.
Mark yonder oaks! Superior to the power
Of all the warring winds of heaven they rise,
And from the stormy promontory tower,
And toss their giant arms amid the skies,
While each assailing blast increase of strength supplies.
Beattie.
The strength of man sinks in the hour of trial;
But there doth live a power, that to the battle
Girdeth the weak.
Joanna Baillie.
When adverse winds and waves arise,
And in my heart despondence sighs,—
While life her throng of care reveals,
And weakness o’er my spirit steals,—
Grateful I hear the kind decree,
That “as my day, my strength shall be.”
When, with sad footstep, memory roves
’Mid smitten joys, and buried loves,—
When sleep my tearful pillow flies,
And dewy morning drinks my sighs,—
Still to Thy promise, Lord, I flee,
That “as my day, my strength shall be.”
One trial more must yet be past,
One pang,—the keenest and the last;
And when, with brow convulsed and pale,
My feeble quivering heart-strings fail,
Redeemer, grant my soul to see
That “as her day, her strength shall be.”
Mrs. Sigourney.