The day will not give place to night,—
The darkness pierces like the light;
My care prolongs the noontide glare,
And makes a desert everywhere.
O! what will ease a burning brain,
And the weariness that is worse than pain?
. . . . . . . . . .
Think of twilight and the dew,—
The stars serenely shining through
The tranquil depths of peaceful blue;
Muse on the moon’s majestic grace;
How worshipful her radiant face
In midnight’s solemn loneliness!
Nature is silent unto God—
His comforts are exceeding broad.
. . . . . . . . . .
Receive the word his works declare:
“The peace of God is everywhere.”
Too weak for praise, too faint for prayer,
The benediction of the air
Be thine whose lot it is to share
Life’s ceaseless, slow-corroding care.
Be still, and breathe the balm divine,
Arcturus’ joy, Orion’s wine;
So shalt thou know the blessed law
Whence stars their strength and beauty draw,
Inheriting their influence
In quietness and confidence,
And ever, cheerfully as they,
Press onward in thy heavenward way.
THE REWARD.
From green to gold
The year grows old,
With beautiful increase;
The seasons wane
To ripened grain
And Nature’s deepest peace.
The same sure plan
Is thine, O man!
Alike for sod and soul,
The law of love—
Enthroned above—
That guides thee to thy goal.
Have faith in God;—
Who gives the clod
Its meed of fruit or flower.
Shall crown thy cares,
Thy tears, thy prayers,
With an immortal dower.
STRUGGLE AND REST.
My life was overcast with care,
And doubt pursued me everywhere;
Still farther into gloom unknown
I wandered desolately lone,
Till, in the depths of self-despair,
The darkness deepened into prayer;
And lo! when hope was almost gone,
The midnight brightened into dawn.
. . . . . . . . . .
Around my heart was drawn the coil
Of cheerless, unrelenting toil;
Nor any respite could I find,
Nor any comfort for the mind,
When His dear cross appeared to me,
Whose service is true liberty;—
The thought of Jesus brought me rest,
And meekness made my burden blest.