Poems with Power to Strengthen the Soul Part 62

In me thou, I in thee, By thy sweet courtesy.

My chamber, Lord, prepare Whither thou deignest come; I may not seek to share The making of thy home; In me thou, I in thee, By thy sweet courtesy.

Thy gracious gifts bestow, Humility and love; O cause my heart to glow By fire sent from above.

In me thou, I in thee, By thy sweet courtesy.

--Alexander B. Grosart.

Thy name to me, thy nature grant; This, only this be given; Nothing besides my G.o.d I want, Nothing in earth or heaven.

Come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost And seal me thine abode; Let all I am in thee be lost, Let all I am be G.o.d.

--Charles Wesley.

PERFECTION

O how the thought of G.o.d attracts, And draws the heart from earth, And sickens it of pa.s.sing shows And dissipating mirth!

'Tis not enough to save our souls, To shun the eternal fires; The thought of G.o.d will rouse the heart To more sublime desires.

G.o.d only is the creature's home, Though rough and strait the road; Yet nothing less can satisfy The love that longs for G.o.d.

Oh, utter but the name of G.o.d Down in your heart of hearts, And see how from the world at once All tempting light departs.

A trusting heart, a yearning eye Can win their way above; If mountains can be moved by faith Is there less power in love?

How little of that road, my soul, How little hast thou gone!

Take heart, and let the thought of G.o.d Allure thee further on.

Dole not thy duties out to G.o.d, But let thy hand be free; Look long at Jesus; his sweet blood-- How was it dealt to thee?

The perfect way is hard to flesh; It is not hard to love; If thou wert sick for want of G.o.d How swiftly wouldst thou move.

Be docile to thine unseen Guide; Love him as he loves thee; Time and obedience are enough, And thou a saint shalt be.

--Frederick William Faber.

Thou broadenest out with every year Each breadth of life to meet; I scarce can think thou art the same, Thou art so much more sweet.

With gentle swiftness lead me on, Dear G.o.d, to see thy face; And meanwhile in my narrow heart O make thyself more s.p.a.ce!

--Frederick William Faber.

LONGING

Of all the myriad moods of mind That through the soul come thronging, Which one was e'er so dear, so kind, So beautiful, as Longing?

The thing we long for, _that_ we are For one transcendent moment, Before the Present poor and bare Can make its sneering comment.

Still, through our paltry stir and strife, Glows down the wished ideal, And longing molds in clay what life Carves on the marble real; To let the new life in, we know, Desire must ope the portal; Perhaps the longing to be so Helps make the soul immortal.

Longing is G.o.d's fresh heavenward will With our poor earthward striving; We quench it that we may be still Content with merely living; But, would we learn that heart's full scope Which we are hourly wronging, Our lives must climb from hope to hope, And realize our longing.

Ah! let us hope that to our praise Good G.o.d not only reckons The moments when we tread his ways, But when the spirit beckons; That some slight good is also wrought, Beyond self-satisfaction, When we are simply good in thought Howe'er we fail in action.

--James Russell Lowell.

MORE HOLINESS

More holiness give me; More strivings within.

More patience in suffering, More sorrow for sin.

More faith in my Saviour, More sense of his care, More joy in his service, More purpose in prayer.

More grat.i.tude give me, More trust in the Lord, More pride in his glory, More hope in his word.

More tears for his sorrows, More pain at his grief, More meekness in trial, More praise for relief.

More purity give me, More strength to o'ercome, More freedom from earth-stains, More longings for home; More fit for the kingdom, More used I would be, More blessed and holy-- More, Saviour, like thee.

--Philip Paul Bliss.

"MY SOUL DOTH MAGNIFY THE LORD"

My soul shall be a telescope, Searching the distant bounds of time and s.p.a.ce, That somehow I may image, as I grope, Jehovah's power and grace.

My soul a microscope shall be, In all minutest providences keen Jehovah's patient thoughtfulness to see, And read his love between.

My soul shall be a burning-gla.s.s That diligence to wors.h.i.+p may succeed, That I may catch G.o.d's glories as they pa.s.s, And focus to a deed.

So, even so, A mote in his creation, even I Seeking alone to do, to feel, to know, The Lord must magnify.

--Amos R. Wells.

Lord, let me not be too content With life in trifling service spent-- Make me aspire!

When days with petty cares are filled Let me with fleeting thoughts be thrilled Of something higher!

Help me to long for mental grace To struggle with the commonplace I daily find.

May little deeds not bring to fruit A crop of little thought to suit A shriveled mind.

I know this earth is not my sphere, For I cannot so narrow me but that I still exceed it.

--Robert Browning.