Eben E. Rexford.
O God, ever-living and ever-acting, all Thy works praise Thee, and Thy saints bless Thee! We rejoice that Thou art bringing in this new springtime, and art preparing to pour out Thy summer glory and bounty in garden and field and wood, that Thy children may be richly blessed. As Thou art working mightily in nature today so wilt Thou work in us, Thy children, that the blessed fruits of the Spirit may appear in all that we think and do and are? And may the spontaneous spring song of the woods find its counterpart in the perpetual gladness of our souls sunk deep in the love of Christ! Amen.
April 2
The sweetest sound our whole year round
'Tis the first robin of the spring!
The song of the full orchard choir,
Is not so fine a thing.
Edmund Clarence Stedman.
The grass comes, the flower laughs where lately lay the snow,
O'er the breezy hill top hoarsely calls the crow,
By the flowing river the alder catkins swing
And the sweet song sparrow cries, "Spring, it is Spring!"x
Celia Thaxter.
Accept from a heart of gratitude, O God, thanksgiving and praises for the glad anticipation of the coming days of spring. May the awakening of nature, this living garment in which Thou hast robed Thy mysterious loveliness, be to each of Thy children symbol of the new life which comes to those who put their trust in the risen Christ and of the higher life beyond where shadows are no more and light and gladness bless an eternity of joy. O, Thou Father of lights, make every hour of this opening day rich and radiant with Thy effulgent presence through Jesus Christ. Amen.