Poems with Power to Strengthen the Soul

by Unknown

TRUST

I know not what the future holds,

Of good or ill for me and mine;

I only know that God enfolds

Me in his loving arms divine.

So I shall walk the earth in trust

That He who notes the sparrow's fall

Will help me bear whate'er I must

And lend an ear whene'er I call.

It matters not if dreams dissolve

Like mists beneath the morning sun,

For swiftly as the worlds revolve

So swiftly will life's race be run.

It matters not if hopes depart,

Or life be pressed with toil and care.

If love divine shall fill my heart

And all be sanctified with prayer.

Then let me learn submission sweet

In every thought, in each desire,

And humbly lay at his dear feet

A heart aglow with heavenly fire.

———

"SOMETIME"

Sometime, when all life's lessons have been learned,

And sun and stars forevermore have set,

The things which our weak judgment here had spurned,

The things o'er which we grieve with lashes wet,

Will flash before us out of life's dark night,

As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue,

And we shall see how all God's plans were right,

And how what seemed reproof was love most true.

And we shall see how, while we frown and sigh,

God's plans go on as best for you and me;

How when we called he heeded not our cry,

Because his wisdom to the end could see;

And even as prudent parents disallow

Too much of sweet to crooning baby's hest,

So God perhaps is keeping from us now

Life's sweetest things because it seemeth best.

And if sometimes commingled with life's wine

We find the wormwood, and rebel and shrink,

Be sure a wiser hand than yours or mine

Poured out the potion for our lips to drink;

And if some one we love is lying low,

Where human kisses can not reach the face,

O do not blame the loving Father so,

But wear your sorrow with obedient grace,

And you will shortly know that lengthened breath

Is not the sweetest gift God gives his friend;

And that sometimes the sable pall of death

Conceals the fairest boon his love can send.

If we could push ajar the gates of life,

And stand within, and all God's workings see,

We could interpret all this doubt and strife,

And for each mystery could find a key.

But not to-day. Then be content, poor heart,

God's plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold;

We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart,

Time will reveal the calyxes of gold.

And if through patient toil we reach the land

Where tired feet with sandals loosed may rest,

When we shall clearly know and understand,

I think that we will say: "God knew the best."

—May Louise Riley Smith.

———

O why and whither? God knows all;

I only know that he is good,

And that whatever may befall,

Or here or there, must be the best that could.

For He is merciful as just;

And so, by faith correcting sight,

I bow before his will, and trust

Howe'er they seem he doeth all things right.

—John Greenleaf Whittier.

———

NOT KNOWING

I know not what shall befall me;

God hangs a mist o'er my eyes,

And thus each step of my onward path

He makes new scenes to rise,

And every joy he sends me comes

As a sweet and glad surprise.

I see not a step before me

As I tread on another year;

But the past is in God's keeping,

The future his mercy shall clear,

And what looks dark in the distance

May brighten as I draw near.

For perhaps the dreaded future

Is less bitter than I think;

The Lord may sweeten the waters

Before I stoop to drink,

Or, if Marah must be Marah,

He will stand beside its brink.

It may be he keeps waiting

Till the coming of my feet

Some gift of such rare blessedness,

Some joy so strangely sweet,

That my lips shall only tremble

With the thanks they cannot speak.

O restful, blissful ignorance!

'Tis blessed not to know,

It stills me in those mighty arms

Which will not let me go,

And hushes my soul to rest

On the bosom which loves me so!

So I go on not knowing;

I would not if I might;

I would rather walk in the dark with God

Than go alone in the light;

I would rather walk with him by faith,

Than walk alone by sight.

My heart shrinks back from trials

Which the future may disclose,

Yet I never had a sorrow

But what the dear Lord chose;

So I send the coming tears back

With the whispered word, "He knows."

—Mary Gardner Brainard.

———

"Trust is truer than our fears,"

Runs the legend through the moss;

"Gain is not in added years,

Nor in death is loss."

—John Greenleaf Whittier.

———

CONFIDO ET CONQUIESCO

Fret not, poor soul; while doubt and fear

Disturb thy breast,

The pitying angels, who can see

How vain thy wild regret must be,

Say, "Trust and Rest."

Plan not, nor scheme, but calmly wait;

His choice is best;

While blind and erring is thy sight

His wisdom sees and judges right;

So Trust and Rest.

Strive not, nor struggle; thy poor might

Can never wrest

The meanest thing to serve thy will;

All power is his alone. Be still,

And Trust and Rest.

Desire thou not; self-love is strong

Within thy breast,

And yet he loves thee better still:

So let him do his loving will,

And Trust and Rest.

What dost thou fear? His wisdom reigns

Supreme confessed;

His power is infinite; his love

Thy deepest, fondest dreams above!

So Trust and Rest.

—Adelaide Anne Procter.

———

BE CAREFUL FOR NOTHING

My spirit on thy care,

Blest Saviour, I recline;

Thou wilt not leave me to despair,

For thou art Love divine.

In Thee I place my trust,

On thee I calmly rest;

I know thee good, I know thee just,

And count thy choice the best.

Whate'er events betide,

Thy will they all perform;

Safe in thy breast my head I hide,

Nor fear the coming storm.

Let good or ill befall,

It must be good for me;

Secure of having thee in all,

Of having all in thee.

—Henry F. Lyte.

———

IN HIM CONFIDING

Sometimes a light surprises

The Christian while he sings;

It is the Lord who rises

With healing on his wings.

When comforts are declining

He grants the soul again

A season of clear shining,

To cheer it after rain.

In holy contemplation

We sweetly then pursue

The theme of God's salvation,

And find it ever new.

Set free from present sorrow,

We cheerfully can say,

Let the unknown to-morrow

Bring with it what it may.

It can bring with it nothing

But He will bear us through;

Who gives the lilies clothing,

Will clothe his people too.

Beneath the spreading heavens

No creature but is fed;

And He who feeds the ravens

Will give his children bread.

Though vine nor fig tree neither

Their wonted fruit should bear,

Though all the fields should wither,

Nor flocks nor herds be there;

Yet God the same abiding,

His praise shall tune my voice;

For while in him confiding,

I cannot but rejoice.

—William Cowper.

———

TRUSTING GOD

Whoever plants a leaf beneath the sod,

And waits to see it push away the clod,

He trusts in God.

Whoever says, when clouds are in the sky,

"Be patient, heart; light breaketh by and by,"

He trusts in God.

Whoever sees 'neath winter's field of snow

The silent harvest of the future grow,

God's power must know.

Whoever lies down on his couch to sleep,

Content to lock each sense in slumber deep,

Knows God will keep.

———

TRUST IN GOD

The child leans on its parent's breast,

Leaves there its cares and is at rest;

The bird sits singing by his nest,

And tells aloud

His trust in God, and so is blest

'Neath every cloud.

He has no store, he sows no seed;

Yet sings aloud, and doth not heed;

By flowing stream or grassy mead,

He sings to shame

Men, who forget, in fear of need,

A Father's name.

The heart that trusts for ever sings,

And feels as light as it had wings;

A well of peace within it springs;

Come good or ill.

Whate'er to-day, to-morrow, brings,

It is his will.

—Isaac Williams.

———

NO FEARS

Give to the winds thy fears;

Hope, and be undismayed;

God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears;

God shall lift up thy head.

Through waves, and clouds, and storms,

He gently clears thy way;

Wait thou his time, so shall this night

Soon end in joyous day.

Still heavy is thy heart?

Still sink thy spirits down?

Cast off the weight, let fear depart,

And every care be gone.

What though thou rulest not?

Yet heaven, and earth, and hell

Proclaim, "God sitteth on the throne,

And ruleth all things well."

Leave to his sovereign sway

To choose and to command:

So shalt thou, wondering, own his way,

How wise, how strong his hand!

Far, far above thy thought,

His counsel shall appear,

When fully he the work hath wrought

That caused thy needless fear.

—Paul Gerhardt.

———

SIMPLE TRUST

I do not know why sin abounds

Within this world so fair,

Why numerous discordant sounds

Destroy the heavenly air—

I can't explain this thing, I must

Rely on God in simple trust.

I do not know why pain and loss

Oft fall unto my lot.

Why I must bear the heavy cross

When I desire it not—

I do not know, unless 'tis just

To teach my soul in God to trust.

I know not why the evil seems

Supreme on every hand:

Why suffering flows in endless streams

I do not understand—

Solution comes not to adjust

These mysteries. I can but trust.

I do not know why grief's dark cloud

Bedims my sunny sky,

The tear of bitterness allowed

To swell within my eye—

But, sorrow-stricken to the dust,

I will look up to God and trust.

—R. F. Mayer.

———

ALL IS YOURS

O foolish heart, be still!

And vex thyself no more!

Wait thou for God, until

He open pleasure's door.

Thou knowest not what is good for thee,

But God doth know—

Let him thy strong reliance be,

And rest thee so.

He counted all my days,

And every joy and tear,

Ere I knew how to praise,

Or even had learned to fear.

Before I him my Father knew

He called me child;

His help has guarded me all through

This weary wild.

The least of all my cares

Is not to him unknown—

He sees and he prepares

The pathway for his own;

And what his hand assigns to me,

That serves my peace;

The greatest burden it might be,

Yet joys increase.

I live no more for earth;

Nor seek my full joy here;

The world seems little worth

When heaven is shining clear.

Yet joyfully I go my way

So free, so blest!

Sweetening my toil from day to day

With thoughts of rest.

Give me, my Lord, whate'er

Will bind my heart to thee;

For that I make my prayer,

And know thou hearest me!

But all that might keep back my soul—

Make thee forgot—

Though of earth-good it were the whole,

O give it not!

When sickness, pains, distress,

And want doth follow fear,

And men their hate express,

My sky shall still be clear.

Then wait I, Lord, and wait for thee;

And I am still,

Though mine should unaccomplished be,

Do thou thy will!

Thou art the strength and stay

Of every weary soul;

Thy wisdom rules the way

Thy pity does control.

What ill can happen unto me

When thou art near?

Thou wilt, O God, my keeper be;

I will not fear.

—Christian F. Gellert (1715-1769).

———

I SHALL NOT WANT

I shall not want: in desert wilds

Thou spreadst thy table for thy child;

While grace in streams, for thirsting souls,

Through earth and heaven forever rolls.

I shall not want: my darkest night

Thy lovely smile shall fill with light;

While promises around me bloom,

And cheer me with divine perfume.

I shall not want: thy righteousness

My soul shall clothe with glorious dress;

My blood-washed robe shall be more fair

Than garments kings or angels wear.

I shall not want: whate'er is good

Of daily bread or angels' food

Shall to my Father's child be sure,

So long as earth and heaven endure.

—Charles F. Deems.

———

NO CARES

O Lord! how happy should we be

If we could leave our cares to thee;

If we from self could rest,

And feel at heart that One above,

In perfect wisdom, perfect love,

Is working for the best.

For when we kneel and cast our care

Upon our God, in humble prayer,

With strengthened souls we rise;

Sure that our Father, who is nigh

To hear the ravens when they cry,

Will hear his children's cries.

How far from this our daily life;

How oft disturbed by anxious strife,

By sudden wild alarm!

O could we but relinquish all

Our earthly props and simply fall

On thine Almighty arms!

We cannot trust him as we should,

So chafes weak nature's restless mood

To cast its peace away;

But birds and flowers around us preach

All, all, the present evil teach,

Sufficient for the day.

O may these anxious hearts of ours

The lesson learn from birds and flowers,

And learn from self to cease,

Leave all things to our Father's will,

And, in his mercy trusting, still

Find in each trial peace.

—Joseph Anstice.

———

CARE CAST ON GOD

Lord, I delight in thee,

And on thy care depend;

To thee in every trouble flee,

My best, my only Friend.

When nature's streams are dried

Thy fullness is the same;

With this will I be satisfied,

And glory in thy name.

Who made my heaven secure

Will here all good provide;

While Christ is rich can I be poor?

What can I want beside?

I cast my care on thee;

I triumph and adore;

Henceforth my great concern shall be

To love and please thee more.

—John Ryland.

———

GOD KNOWS ALL

Nay, all by Thee is ordered, chosen, planned;

Each drop that fills my daily cup; thy hand

Prescribes for ills none else can understand.

All, all is known to thee.

Be trustful, be steadfast, whatever betide thee,

Only one thing do thou ask of the Lord—

Grace to go forward wherever he guide thee,

Simply believing the truth of his word.

Whatsoe'er our lot may be,

Calmly in this thought we'll rest

Could we see as thou dost see

We should choose it as the best.

—Eliza Cleghorn Gaskell.

———

O FOR A PERFECT TRUST

O for the peace of a perfect trust,

My loving God, in thee;

Unwavering faith, that never doubts,

Thou choosest best for me.

Best, though my plans be all upset;

Best, though the way be rough;

Best, though my earthly store be scant;

In thee I have enough.

Best, though my health and strength be gone,

Though weary days be mine,

Shut out from much that others have;

Not my will, Lord, but thine!

And even though disappointments come,

They, too, are best for me—

To wean me from this changing world

And lead me nearer thee.

O for the peace of a perfect trust

That looks away from all;

That sees thy hand in everything,

In great events or small;

That hears thy voice—a Father's voice—

Directing for the best;

O for the peace of a perfect trust,

A heart with thee at rest!

———

A SONG OF TRUST

I cannot always see the way that leads

To heights above;

I sometimes quite forget that he leads on

With hands of love;

But yet I know the path must lead me to

Immanuel's land,

And when I reach life's summit I shall know

And understand.

I cannot always trace the onward course

My ship must take,

But, looking backward, I behold afar

Its shining wake

Illumined with God's light of love; and so

I onward go,

In perfect trust that he who holds the helm

The course must know.

I cannot always see the plan on which

He builds my life;

For oft the sound of hammers, blow on blow,

The noise of strife,

Confuse me till I quite forget he knows

And oversees,

And that in all details with his good plan

My life agrees.

I cannot always know and understand

The Master's rule;

I cannot always do the tasks he gives

In life's hard school;

But I am learning, with his help, to solve

Them one by one,

And, when I cannot understand, to say,

"Thy will be done."

—Gertrude Benedict Custis.

———

ALL IS WELL

The clouds which rise with thunder slake

Our thirsty souls with rain;

The blow most dreaded falls to break

From off our limbs a chain;

And wrongs of man to man but make

The love of God more plain.

As through the shadowy lens of even

The eye looks farthest into heaven—

On gleams of star and depths of blue

The glaring sunshine never knew.

—John Greenleaf Whittier.

———

CHOOSE FOR US, GOD

Still will we trust, though earth seem dark and dreary,

And the heart faint beneath his chastening rod;

Though rough and steep our pathway, worn and weary,

Still will we trust in God.

Our eyes see dimly till by faith anointed,

And our blind choosing brings us grief and pain;

Through him alone who hath our way appointed,

We find our peace again.

Choose for us, God! nor let our weak preferring

Cheat our poor souls of good thou hast designed;

Choose for us, God! thy wisdom is unerring,

And we are fools and blind.

Let us press on in patient self-denial,

Accept the hardship, shrink not from the loss;

Our portion lies beyond the hour of trial,

Our crown beyond the cross.

—William H. Burleigh.

———

ALL THINGS WORK GOOD

With strength of righteous purpose in the heart

What cause to fear for consequence of deed?

God guideth then, not we; nor do we need

To care for aught but that we play our part.

Most simple trust is often highest art.

The issue we would fly may be a seed

Ordained by God to bear our souls a meed

Of peace that no self-judging could impart.

"All things work good for him who trusteth God!"

Doth God not love us with a longing love

To make us happy, and hath he not sight

From end to end of our short earthly road?

This, Lord, I hold—aye, know that thou wouldst move

The world to lead one trusting soul aright.

—Edward Harding.

———

RELIGIOUS INFIDELS

How many chatterers of a creed

Think doubt the gravest sin,

Unmindful of her double birth—

For worry is her twin.

Ah! Christian atheism seems

The most insulting kind,

For, though the tongue says, God is love,

The heart is deaf and blind.

How he who marks the sparrow's fall

Must be aggrieved to see

These loud lip-champions manifest

Such infidelity!

Each fretful line upon their brow,

Dug by the plow of care,

Is treason to their pledge of faith

And satire on their prayer.

O just to hold, without one fear,

The strong, warm Hand above,

With orthodoxy of the heart—

The childlike creed of love!

None such can be a heretic;

Nay, only he forsooth

Who lives the falsity of doubt,

But prates the cant of truth.

—Frederic Lawrence Knowles.

———

Worry and Fret were two little men

That knocked at my door again and again.

"O pray let us in, but to tarry a night,

And we will be off with the dawning of light."

At last, moved to pity, I opened the door

To shelter these travelers, hungry and poor;

But when on the morrow I bade them "Adieu,"

They said, quite unmoved, "We'll tarry with you."

And, deaf to entreaty and callous to threat,

These troublesome guests abide with me yet.

———

Yet, in the maddening maze of things,

And tossed by storm and flood,

To one fixed trust my spirit clings:

I know that God is good!

—John Greenleaf Whittier.

———

MAKE THY WAY MINE

Father, hold thou my hand;

The way is steep;

I cannot see the path my feet must keep,

I cannot tell, so dark the tangled way,

Where next to step. O stay;

Come close; take both my hands in thine;

Make thy way mine!

Lead me. I may not stay;

I must move on; but oh, the way!

I must be brave and go,

Step forward in the dark, nor know

If I shall reach the goal at all—

If I shall fall.

Take thou my hand.

Take it! Thou knowest best

How I should go, and all the rest

I cannot, cannot see:

Lead me: I hold my hands to thee;

I own no will but thine;

Make thy way mine!

———

MY PSALM

All as God wills, who wisely heeds

To give or to withhold;

And knoweth more of all my needs

Than all my prayers have told!

Enough that blessings undeserved

Have marked my erring track;

That wheresoe'er my feet have swerved

His chastening turned me back;

That more and more a Providence

Of love is understood,

Making the springs of time and sense

Sweet with eternal good;

That death seems but a covered way

Which opens into light,

Wherein no blinded child can stray

Beyond the Father's sight.

—John Greenleaf Whittier.

———

What most you wish and long for

Might only bring you pain;

You cannot see the future,

God's purpose to explain.

So trust, faint heart, thy Master!

He doeth all things well,

He loveth more than heart can guess,

And more than tongue can tell.

———

BETTER TRUST

Better trust all and be deceived,

And weep that trust and that deceiving,

Than doubt one heart that, if believed,

Had blest one's life with true believing.

Oh, in this mocking world too fast

The doubting fiend o'ertakes our youth;

Better be cheated to the last

Than lose the blessed hope of truth.

—Frances Anne Kemble.

———

Be patient; keep thy life-work

Well in hand;

Be trustful where thou canst not

Understand;

Thy lot, whate'er it be, is

Wisely planned;

Whate'er its mysteries, God holds the key;

Thou well canst trust him, and bide patiently.

———

There is never a day so dreary

But God can make it bright;

And unto the soul that trusts him

He giveth songs in the night.

There is never a path so hidden

But God will show the way,

If we seek the Spirit's guidance

And patiently watch and pray.

———

Build a little fence of trust

Around to-day;

Fill the space with loving deeds,

And therein stay.

Look not through the sheltering bars

Upon to-morrow;

God will help thee bear what comes

Of joy or sorrow.

—Mary Frances Butts.

———

On God for all events depend;

You cannot want when God's your friend.

Weigh well your part and do your best;

Leave to your Maker all the rest.

—Cotton.

———

OUR STRONG STAY

Then, O my soul, be ne'er afraid;

On him who thee and all things made

With calm reliance rest;

Whate'er may come, where'er we go,

Our Father in the heavens must know

In all things what is best.

—Paul Fleming.

———

If the wren can cling

To a spray a-swing

In the mad May wind, and sing and sing

As if she'd burst for joy—

Why cannot I

Contented lie

In his quiet arms, beneath his sky,

Unmoved by life's annoy.

—Robert Haven Schauffler.

———

Be like the bird that, halting in her flight

Awhile on boughs too slight,

Feels them give way beneath her and yet sings—

Knowing that she hath wings.

—Victor Hugo.

———

Let not your heart be troubled, Jesus said;

Let not your heart be troubled or afraid.

My peace into your hands I freely give;

Trust in your God, and in his precepts live.

———

Thunder, lightning, fire and rain,

Poverty, sorrow, loss and gain,

Death and heaven, and earth and hell,

For us must work together well.

———

With patient course thy path of duty run

God nothing does, or suffers to be done,

But thou wouldst do the same if thou couldst see

The end of all events as well as he.

———

I welcome all thy sovereign will,

For all that will is love;

And when I know not what thou dost,

I wait the light above.

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