Questions & Answers
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.
More steadfast than the mountains are, More boundless than the sea, Compassionate than mother-love, Is love of God for thee; More gracious than the clear sunlight Upon the dewy rose, More restful than the warm hearth-glow Of home, at daylight's close. Know then, this love enfolds thee now, Protects thee with its care; Its grace and tenderness divine Attend thee everywhere.
Teach me Thy will, that I may know How best to follow Thee, In storm or shine, that I may go The way Thou hast for me. Give me the faith I need to climb Earth's steep and rugged way, That I may hear the perfect chime Of Love's immortal lay.
We need not fear that Truth will die! In ages past, nor you nor I Stood by to watch it fall or stand; But still our God's sustaining hand Made sure it never fell! Oh, what a comfort just to know, That on through ages as we go, God's truth makes safe each darksome turn, Where roads may meet, or hatred burn, And men seem near to hell! The word means much; it makes full plain That aching hearts, all earthly pain, But seem—because we know not Love, Nor lift our eyes to look above, Where shines the light for all! Oh, weary wanderer on earth,— Whate'er the time you came to birth,— Man always was, in God, complete; Whose law has never known defeat, Nor change, nor great, nor small!
Fill your eyes with heaven's smile; Let its welcome well attend Every stranger, foe, or friend, Who would come to rest awhile. Fill your heart with heaven's song, That its pulsing may be heard In your every spoken word, That the feeble may be strong.