"IT CANNOT BE" IT cannot be that He who made And know on earth no life but this, With only one finite survey Of all its beauty and its bliss. It cannot be that all the years Of toil and care and grief we live It cannot be that, after all The mighty conquests of the mind, Our thoughts shall pass beyond recall And leave no record here behind; That all our dreams of love and fame, And hopes that time has swept away,— All that enthralled this mortal frame,Shall not return some other day. It cannot be that all the ties Of kindred souls and loving hearts David Banks Sickels [1837 A Thanksgiving to God for His House 3467 A THANKSGIVING TO GOD FOR HIS HOUSE A little house, whose humble roof Under the spars of which I lie Where Thou, my chamber for to ward, Of harmless thoughts, to watch and keep Low is my porch, as is my fate; And yet the threshold of my door Who thither come, and freely get Like as my parlor, so my hall A little buttery, and therein Which keeps my little loaf of bread Some brittle sticks of thorn or briar Close by whose living coal I sit, Lord, I confess too, when I dine, And all those other bits that be There placed by Thee: The worts, the purslain, and the mess Which of Thy kindness Thou hast sent; Makes those, and my beloved beet, To be more sweet. "Tis Thou that crown'st my glittering hearth And giv'st me wassail bowls to drink, Lord, 'tis Thy plenty-dropping hand And giv'st me, for my bushel sown, Thou mak'st my teeming hen to lay Besides, my healthful ewes to bear The while the conduits of my kine All these, and better, Thou dost send That I should render, for my part, Which, fired with incense, I resign, -But the acceptance, that must be, My Christ, by Thee. Robert Herrick [1591-1674] THE SHEPHERD BOY SINGS IN THE VALLEY OF HUMILIATION From "The Pilgrim's Progress" He that is down needs fear no fall, He that is low, no pride; He that is humble ever shall Have God to be his guide. I am content with what I have, And, Lord, contentment still I crave, Because Thou savest such. Fullness to such a burden is That go on pilgrimage: Here little, and hereafter bliss, Is best from age to age. John Bunyan [1628-1688] "The Bird, Let Loose in Eastern Skies" 3469 THE PILGRIM From "The Pilgrim's Progress" WHO would true valor see, Whoso beset him round His strength the more is. No lion can him fright; But he will have a right Hobgoblin, nor foul fiend, He'll labor, night and day, To be a Pilgrim. John Bunyan [1628-1688] "THE BIRD, LET LOOSE IN EASTERN SKIES" THE bird, let loose in eastern skies, When hastening fondly home, Ne'er stoops to earth her wing, nor flies Where idle warblers roam; But high she shoots through air and light, Where nothing earthly bounds her flight, So grant me, God! from every care Thomas Moore [1779-1852] "HE LIVETH LONG WHO LIVETH WELL" HE liveth long who liveth well! Of living most for heavenly gain. He liveth long who liveth well! He liveth longest who can tell Of true things truly done each day. Waste not thy being; back to Him Be what thou seemest! live thy creed! Fill up each hour with what will last; Is the ripe fruit of life below. |