When clouds obscure the sunny sky,
When Sorrow surges o’er the heart;
When Pain’s dread presence hovers nigh,
Faith must triumph then, or die,
She conquers when we do our part!
The slowest feet were meant to climb;
The humblest life can honor God.
The present is the testing time
Forward Soul to heights sublime!
Thy work is here and not abroad.
LIGHT.
How could we work if once we knew
Just what for us in store,
The future holds; would we be true
And better than before?
Could we go forward fearing not,
To life’s results disclose?
Or would we tremble at a lot,
Where rue displaced the rose?
Courageous to the present meet,
Or woe or bliss it brings;
Confront its joys, its pleasures sweet,
Its hopes, its sufferings.
A soul, improving moments well,
Need never dread the days;
The space is small wherein we dwell,
But broader than our gaze.
The space is small but if we list,
Its limits will expand.
Each enemy of right resist
And gauge the hour’s demand.
To-morrow’s page we cannot read,
To-day alone is bright;
Each point to conscience we concede
Returns to us, as light.
IF A WORK IS WORTH THE DOING.
If a work is worth the doing
It is worth the doing well.
When a noble aim pursuing
Never have an idle spell.
There is danger in delaying
And a man may win his case,
By attention he is paying
To the language of a face.