I wail in keenest anguish,
Must I sink beneath the sod,
On earth, not find my Father,
In death, not reach my God?
The clouds above me open,
And a glorious ray of light
Comes streaming out of darkness,
A voice speaks thro’ the night,
“You have a faithful promise,
Escape for you is near,
When grows the tempter’s presence
Too great for you to bear.
“Arise and journey onward:
A two-edged, flaming sword
Directs you to your Saviour,
Through His Almighty Word.”
WHERE LILIES GROW.
Where lilies grow;
The dewdrops linger on the flowers,
The birds’ sweet singing chimes the hours,
I love to sit there listening,
And watch the fish there glistening.
They glance and dart both in and out,
And turn themselves all round about,
Where lilies grow.
Where lilies grow;
A pace or two the violets sweet
Spread like a carpet ’neath my feet;
The rushes tall in clusters stand;
I reach and touch them with my hand;
And yellow kingcups there unfold,
They circle like a band of gold
Where lilies grow.
Where lilies grow;
So calm, so still it is, and deep,
Around the edge green fringes peep,
Just up above the trailing weeds
Entwining, spread among the reeds,
Then hang them down along the pool,
Which lies beneath so calm and cool,
Where lilies grow.
NATURE’S LESSONS.
Tell me whether you have ridden
Gallant steed a lengthy mile!
As he galloped, in your saddle
Could you sit and calmly smile,
For you hardly felt the motion,
Tho’ his feet fell firm and strong,
Sending sparks in feathery flashes
From the flint-strewn road along?