Questions & Answers
"Awake thou that sleepest;" thy slumber unbroken, Thou art dead in trespass and sin; But list to the word that in stillness is spoken, The voice that is speaking within. There is work for all in this land of the living, A work that belongs to each one; If only a cup of cold water you 're giving, His kind voice will whisper, "Well done.
I stooped to raise a flower, Trampled by unthinking feet. The blossom, having drunk its fill Of cooling water sweet— Oh, flower's gratitude— Did offer to me all its precious treasure Of rich perfume, And lifting up its drooping head the while, Its petal lips did open in a smile.
The light of morn has touched a rose, A bud of promise rare ; Its head upraised unto the day, It breathes its fragrance on the air. The light of Love has touched a heart Awaiting Life's demand; And thought, uplifted to the truth, Obeys the Father's wise command.
" Thy will be done"! Then there can be no more of sin and doubt To mar the purpose of Thy love to all, No mortal thought nor aim within to hold In thrall and hide Thy path, nor hush Thy call. "Thy will be done"! Then shall we see Thy tender, guiding love, And Spirit-led, fulfill Thy highest plan; While Life and Love illume the waking thought, And Truth, as light unfettered, shines through man.
When innocence and purity unite, Clad in the spotless garments of the light; When Truth, unfolding paths before unseen, Illumes the rugged way, proves right is might; Ah! then no shafts of error, malice, hate, Without, within, can sully or demean; No breath of slander may calumniate, May judge or bar the heart wherein these dwell, Nor mar its perfect peace, enwrapped in Love— Dear Love divine, who doeth all things well.
The angels came—those holy thoughts so high Of peace, and strength, and perfect constancy; For from the mind had flown the fearful thoughts Of haste and fear, impatient, headstrong will, Which to the sense of men all sorrows bring— The judging thought, which sees our brother-man As less than good, or deems him base or mean. Now Love divine has swept the heart so free, That angels can their message bring to me.
"Let there be light," the fiat rang Upon the new-made earth; And symmetry and beauty sprang To instantaneous birth. And man's perfection, graceful, free, Reflecting Spirit's might, Was outlined for eternity— God spake, and "there was light.
Snowflakes drifting to the ground Softly fall without a sound, Till a mantle, pure and white, Covers all the earth from sight. Tiny flakes of beauty rare, Gently filling all the air, Well you symbolize to me Thoughts of love and purity Ever falling from above, From the Father's heart of love — Thoughts of gentleness and peace That must evermore increase Till they weave a garment fair, Christ's own robe beyond compare, At whose touch, the fettered soul Finds itself released and whole.
He said to his disciples, as they came Back to his side, from mission at his word, Worn by their toil amidst the heedless throng, Sad that so few the wondrous message heard: "Come ye .
Upon the verge of that vast wilderness Which from Akabah's salt-encrusted shore Extends its lonely wastes towards the East Unto the threshold of those watered lands Erstwhile the seat of proud Assyria's power, And southward rock-encircled Petra meets, The sculptured gate of hermit Araby, The shepherds from Judea's terraced hills Guarded their flocks far from abodes of men. There, amid sun-scorched rocks and wind-swept sands, In wadies deep, where scanty herbage grew, Remote from all the world's vain murmurings, Where thought broods undisturbed by jarring note, By jealous strife or frown of tyrant kings, But free and unconfined high heaven greets, The omnipresent God Himself reveals To those receptive of His grace divine.