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 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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THE PILGRIM'S STAFF 
 
 BY 
 MAY LOUISE TIBBITS 
 
 Hope is the pilgrim's staff, 
 
 A friend 
 
 Unto life's journ«y's end. 
 
 BOSTON 
 SHERMAN, FRENCH & COMPANY 
 
 1911 
 

 
 Copyright, 1911 
 Sherman, French &> Company 
 
 ©GI.A300421 
 
TO 
 
 MY 
 SISTER CECELIA 
 
 Thy faithfulness, O sister soul, 
 
 Will help me reach the Heavenly goal. 
 
The following poems are used by kind permission 
 of The Christian Advocate, Western Christian Advocate, 
 Sunday School Journal and Bible Students Magazine: 
 
 The Soul's Flight 
 
 If We Could Understand 
 
 Kindness 
 
 Poured Out 
 
 Service 
 
 Sorrow's Alchemy 
 
 Thy Day 
 
 As a Little Child 
 
 Anywhere 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE SOUL'S FLIGHT 1 
 
 GOD'S ACRE 2 
 
 IF WE HAD ONLY KNOWN 3 
 
 OUR OWN 4 
 
 PURIFIED 5 
 
 SORROW'S ALCHEMY 6 
 
 GOD'S SCHOOL 7 
 
 COMPANIONSHIP 8 
 
 FAITH >9 
 
 AS A LITTLE CHILD 10 
 
 HAPPINESS 11 
 
 TRANSMUTATION 12 
 
 SAFE 13 
 
 BLESSINGS 14 
 
 A DAY 15 
 
 MY ROSARY 16 
 
 LIFE 17 
 
 DEATH 18 
 
 VTA DOLOROSA : : . 19 
 
 DIVINE LOVE . 20 
 
 CONFIDENCE 21 
 
 PURPOSE 22 
 
 BREAD OF LIFE . 23 
 
 PEACE . ; 24 
 
 LONGINGS 25 
 
 UNFREIGHTED SHIPS 26 
 
 IF 27 
 
 A PRAYER 28 
 
 GOD'S CARE 29 
 
PAGE 
 
 ASSURANCE 30 
 
 THE WAYS OF LIFE 31 
 
 WITHOUT— WITHIN 32 
 
 APART 33 
 
 THE SOUL'S CRY 34 
 
 SERVICE 35 
 
 INASMUCH 36 
 
 COMPENSATION . 37 
 
 CONSECRATION 38 
 
 ANYWHERE 39 
 
 THY DAY 40 
 
 IF WE COULD UNDERSTAND 41 
 
 THE MASTER'S PORTION 43 
 
 KINDNESS 44 
 
 A HALLOWED DAY 45 
 
 INFLUENCE 46 
 
 POURED OUT 47 
 
 LOVE'S MINISTRY 48 
 
 RESURRECTION MORN 49 
 
 THE SOUL'S MARCH ......... 50 
 
 DIVINE PITY 51 
 
 RESPONSIBILITY 52 
 
 POSSESSION S3 
 
 THE CROSS-ROADS 54 
 
 THE MESSAGE OF THE HOURS 55 
 
 FORGIVENESS . . 56 
 
 WEAKNESS 57 
 
 CHARITY 58 
 
 MY HERITAGE 59 
 
 SONGS IN THE NIGHT 60 
 
PAGE 
 
 SYMPATHY . 61 
 
 THE COMMON TASK 62 
 
 THY KINGDOM 63 
 
 THE CHRIST 64 
 
 THE UPLANDS . 65 
 
 OPPORTUNITY 66 
 
 LIFE'S LOOM 67 
 
 SORROW 68 
 
 INJUSTICE 69 
 
 RENUNCIATION 70 
 
 BURDEN-SHARING 71 
 
 TRUST . 72 
 
 GOD'S BOUNTY 73 
 
 LIFE'S MUSIC 74 
 
 DIVINITY 75 
 
 THE OLD YEAR 76 
 
THE SOUL'S FLIGHT 
 
 A birdling poised on the edge of the nest 
 
 Tried its wings for flight 
 
 In the morning light, 
 
 And fluttering fell to the ground. 
 No strength in the wings that have had no 
 fight with the air. 
 
 But now see it soar 
 
 Far up the blue. 
 
 As it passes from sight 
 
 In its newborn might. 
 
 A lesson it brings to this soul of mine 
 That with pinions poised sought to mount to 
 
 the skies, 
 But for lack of strength it could not rise. 
 
 The years speed by, this soul of mine 
 
 Is on the wing. 
 
 And soaring sings glad freedom's strain. 
 
 The strength that only God can give 
 
 Doth bid it live 
 
 In realms of light and love 
 
 With him above. 
 
 [1] 
 
GOD'S ACRE 
 
 She is not there; 
 
 It is the pain racked tenement that held the 
 
 spirit 
 Fettered, until God called it to its mansion 
 
 fair. 
 The spirit had outgrown 
 Its earthly home. 
 We lay the precious dust away 
 Until the resurrection day. 
 The casket there, 
 
 The jewel safe within the Father's care. 
 As life in all its fulness grows 
 It bursts its bonds ; 
 No longer can it stay 
 Encased in gloom from light of day. 
 Can chrysalis for'ere enfold 
 The lovely creature we behold? 
 Or can the lily's bloom 
 Remain in murky tomb? 
 We mourn them lost, 
 O, can it be redemption's cost 
 Can mean so little? 
 
 We have a living Saviour, not a dead one: 
 They live, not here, but there, 
 So safe within the Father's care. 
 
 [2] 
 
IF WE HAD ONLY KNOWN 
 
 If we had only known, 
 
 How kind and gentle day by day 
 
 We would have grown; 
 
 How tender of our loved one's way, 
 
 If we had only known 
 
 That we so soon must walk alone. 
 
 If we could only see 
 
 The end from the beginning, 
 
 Would we not ever be 
 
 Just kind and winning? 
 
 How softly would we touch life's lute 
 
 Before it had grown mute. 
 
 If we another's life 
 
 Could know; its purpose and its strife, 
 
 Would it not make our own 
 
 More thoughtful, soften every tone? 
 
 Would we not banish day by day 
 
 The shadows from our brother's way? 
 
 [3] 
 
OUR OWN 
 
 Just gone before 
 
 Our own bark shall be launched for Heaven's 
 
 shore ; 
 A little space 
 
 And we, too, shall reach the place 
 Where tired feet may rest: 
 While we abide within this tenement of clay, 
 What though the light of God's eternal day 
 Be hid from view? 
 We know we shall live too ; 
 It is his promise: 
 Why strain eyes dim with tears? 
 Why break sad hearts at shrouded biers? 
 The spirit fair has winged its way 
 To glories of immortal day. 
 Our loss is gain to that dear one 
 Whose sands of life have early run 
 The hour-glass of Time. 
 He, who did tread the wine-press all alone, 
 Whose grave fast-locked with sealed stone. 
 Released by power divine. 
 Has entered Port with yours and mine. 
 
 [4] 
 
PURIFIED 
 
 "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." 
 Mai. 3:3. 
 
 He sitteth at the furnace door 
 
 Lest flame consume the precious ore; 
 
 It is His hand controls the heat 
 
 That makes complete 
 
 The perfect jewel. 
 
 Shall we not bear 
 
 The heat of life's affliction bravely 
 
 Since in His care we are, the care of One 
 
 Who is the Father's Son. 
 
 When dross is all consumed and He beholds 
 
 His perfect image in our souls, 
 
 He'll stay the flame and set us free. 
 
 Thrice blessed ministry. 
 
 [5] 
 
SORROW'S ALCHEMY 
 
 Life mends itself by using other lives 
 
 To fill the rent made by the hand of sorrow. 
 
 When we can borrow 
 
 From some sadder heart 
 
 A larger part 
 
 Of grief, 
 
 'Tis then we find relief. 
 
 To feed 
 
 Another's need 
 
 Makes our own lighter grow. 
 
 We know 
 
 Christ came not to receive but give. 
 
 'Tis thus we live. 
 
 [6] 
 
GOD'S SCHOOL 
 
 So patient is the Master; 
 
 And we 
 
 Who cannot see 
 
 The end from the beginning, 
 
 Grow restless when the lessons set 
 
 By Him are hard ; we fret, 
 
 And try to put aside the rule 
 
 Of God's own school: 
 
 The task is hard, we say, 
 
 And so we turn away; 
 
 Forgetting that when lessons hard are learned, 
 
 We shall have grown in grace, 
 
 The glory of his face 
 
 Will shine in us. 
 
 And we shall fitted be 
 
 For life's eternity. 
 
 'Tis not the Master's way to be unkind ; 
 
 Did He not come to bind 
 
 Up the broken-hearted? 
 
 Some day we'll understand 
 
 The lessons set by God's own hand, 
 
 And then we'll wonder why it was that we 
 
 Had failed to see 
 
 God's goodness in the tasks 
 
 He set for you and me. 
 
 [7] 
 
COMPANIONSHIP 
 
 If baptized I am with Thee 
 I must have my Calvary ; 
 Not alone the cross to bear, 
 I, too, with my Lord, may share 
 All the glories of the Mount; 
 May I then not surely count 
 It joy to be 
 With Him, in Gethsemane? 
 
 [8] 
 
FAITH 
 
 Blind to all Thy purposes are we; 
 
 And yet to see 
 
 The way along life's road 
 
 Would bode 
 
 No good, but ill: 
 
 Life's brightest day is all too dim for mortal 
 
 sight : 
 To walk aright 
 Each day, 
 
 Man must be led along life's way. 
 When Heaven's portals open wide. 
 And faith and sight stand side by side, 
 Man's eyes no more will holden be, 
 For in eternity 
 
 The light of God's immortal day 
 Will shine undimmed on life's rough way. 
 
 [9] 
 
AS A LITTLE CHILD 
 
 For some wise reason God withholds from you 
 and me 
 
 The mysteries of Eternity. 
 Can we not trust, until he opens wide the gate, 
 
 His love so great? 
 As little children we must be. 
 If we would come to see 
 
 The Father's face, 
 
 So full of love and grace. 
 Can we not clasp the Father's hand and be at 
 
 rest 
 Because he knoweth best? 
 
 As little children we must find 
 The peace for which we pine. 
 For he who holds the key 
 
 To life's dark mystery 
 Some day will lift from eyes the seal, 
 And to the trusting soul reveal 
 The way o'er which he led his child 
 To pastures green, through deserts wild. 
 
 [10] 
 
HAPPINESS 
 
 It is not happiness to travel on life's road 
 
 And feel the pressure of no load, 
 
 No burden weighing down ; 
 
 Without the cross there is no crown : 
 
 To have no part in God's redemptive plan 
 
 For man : 
 
 But happiness it is to feel the thrill 
 
 That comes from doing of God's will: 
 
 With Him to place the choosing of our way, 
 
 Then not to stay 
 
 With laggard feet, 
 
 But fleet 
 
 Of foot, to go where He appoints; 
 
 In Nature's book we read 
 
 That every tiny seed 
 
 Fulfills its mission ; 
 
 Happy he 
 
 Who doth fulfill life's destiny. 
 
 [11] 
 
TRANSMUTATION 
 
 In the crucible of life's great urn 
 
 Sorrow into joy will turn 
 
 If the alchemy aright is used, 
 
 And the love of God is fused 
 
 Into fervid heat; nothing can withstand 
 
 The love of God to man. 
 
 [la] 
 
SAFE 
 
 When winds do blow 
 
 My tiny craft now to and fro; 
 
 If in the ship He lies at rest, 
 
 E'en though the crest 
 
 Of curling wave o'erwiielm my bark, 
 
 And stars have paled, and it be dark. 
 
 He'll bid the troubled waters cease. 
 
 And all my soul shall be at peace. 
 
 [13] 
 
BLESSINGS 
 
 We quite forget that blessings low do lie, 
 
 Not in the sky 
 
 Far out of sight, is Christ, 
 
 But here among his own 
 
 Where he can hear life's moan : 
 
 "Singing birds their nests build low:" 
 
 Touching earth is God's rainbow: 
 
 Truth is found at Jesus' feet 
 
 Where Mary sat in contemplation sweet. 
 
 [14,] 
 
A DAY 
 
 A day; what is it but a span 
 
 Of time allotted man 
 
 To work in partnership with God, 
 
 And fellowship with Christ the Lord, 
 
 To carry out his plan divine, 
 
 On this his day and mine? 
 
 This day, dear Lord, thou givest me 
 
 To mould and fashion it for thee; 
 
 Divinely fair ; may I not mar 
 
 Its symmetry ; be no bar 
 
 To purposes of thine 
 
 On this thy day and mine. 
 
 This is thy day, dear Lord, not mine; 
 Transfigured by thy touch divine. 
 Each homely duty glorified will be 
 When wrought for thee; 
 And I may sing upon my way 
 On this thy day. 
 
 When dawn grows into noon, and noon to 
 
 night, 
 And fades the light, 
 I fain would ask 
 That no unfinished task 
 Shall bid it stay. 
 This, this thy day. 
 
 [15] 
 
MY ROSARY 
 
 Life is my rosary, on which is strung the beads 
 of day : 
 Each day a pearl. 
 Tremulously I finger each priceless gem, 
 Some day to be worn in my diadem. 
 
 [16] 
 
LIFE 
 
 As I arise each day 
 
 And from Thy hand, 
 
 Dear Lord, I take life's potion. 
 
 May I understand 
 
 The fullness of its meaning; 
 
 The power that within myself doth lie, 
 
 That I may try 
 
 To rise on wings of high endeavor, 
 
 Until at length 
 
 In Thy great strength. 
 
 Some vision of its power may see, 
 
 The vision of the Christ in me. 
 
 [17] 
 
DEATH 
 
 I count it gain, not loss ; 
 
 A crown, no cross ; 
 A leaving of the shuttle and the loom 
 To pass into life's upper room ; 
 A going out from strife and sin 
 To perfect peace within ; 
 A traveling through a darkened way 
 Into the light of endless day; 
 A tuning of the lute 
 
 That in Life's sluggish hand has grown so 
 mute; 
 
 A harbor, where 
 The soul is safe from anxious care ; 
 A spirit winging heaven's way 
 
 From tenement of clay; 
 A shelter from the wintry blast, 
 A haven with the Christ at last. 
 
 [18] 
 
VIA DOLOROSA 
 
 The way of sorrow 
 May lead thee to a glad to-morrow; 
 Take thou thy cross, and cheerfully it bear 
 Up Calvary's steep, the Christ will meet thee 
 there. 
 
 [19] 
 
DIVINE LOVE 
 
 Love eternal, light immortal, 
 
 Shines serene from Calvary's brow ; 
 
 Cross upraised for God's law broken. 
 
 Lamb as sacrificial token ; 
 Through the Christ God's pardon spoken: 
 "It is finished," Jesus cried ; 
 Deity was satisfied. 
 
 [ao] 
 
CONFIDENCE 
 
 Though we fail to understand 
 
 Appointed ways, a gentle hand 
 
 Leads us up the rugged steep, 
 
 Over land or on the deep ; 
 
 Never need we walk alone, 
 
 This his promise — he will ever keep his own. 
 
 If the way be dark we tread, 
 
 Joy is ours because we're led; 
 
 Rough the road? why should we care, 
 
 He has promised to be there: 
 
 Boasted strength or favoring tide, 
 
 Shall they take us from thy side? 
 
 [21] 
 
PURPOSE 
 
 Mine to do and dare 
 
 Large things, and bear 
 
 The sting of trial with a grace 
 
 That comes from gazing on His face. 
 
 Mine to be brave and true, 
 A putting off the old and on the new 
 Creation, that I equipped may be 
 For every task He sendeth me. 
 
 Mine to freight the hour 
 
 With heavenly power, 
 
 A lever that will lift to God 
 
 A burdened world for Christ my Lord. 
 
 [22] 
 
BREAD OF LIFE 
 
 'Tis manna from yon Heaven 
 
 To mortals given. 
 
 Fresh every day from God's own hand, 
 
 It covers all the land. 
 
 Life giving, making whole 
 
 The sin-sick soul. 
 
 It is God's way 
 
 That we the manna gather every day. 
 
 Our need is great, 
 
 But greater still his bounteous store 
 
 From which we draw 
 
 Our need ; 
 
 Lord, feed 
 
 Us evermore. 
 
 [23] 
 
PEACE 
 
 Outside of self man's efforts must be spent, 
 
 Unto another must his life be lent 
 
 Ere peace be found; 
 
 Self once uncrowned, 
 
 An exile far from home, 
 
 Then peace will come. 
 
 Self wars, and peace is all unknown, 
 
 Self overcome, and peace is on the throne. 
 
 I Ml 
 
LONGINGS 
 
 Thy face, 
 
 Dear Lord, to see; thy grace 
 
 To know 
 
 That here below 
 
 A Heaven may be. 
 
 Touched with thy great divinity: 
 
 Thy truth to know, 
 
 Thy love to flow 
 
 Through me 
 
 That all the beauty of my Lord may see. 
 
 My life a prayer; 
 
 With Thee, all joys to share: 
 
 Within Thy law to live; 
 
 To make Thy word my daily food, 
 
 The sum of human good. 
 
 To walk and talk with Thee, 
 
 And so to live in charity. 
 
 [25] 
 
UNFREIGHTED SHIPS 
 
 Unfreighted ships on life's restless sea; 
 
 On board, 
 
 There is no cargo for the Lord: 
 
 Where is the gold He gavest in trust? 
 
 Where have we put it, where moth and where 
 
 rust 
 Its value consume? or where thieves enter in 
 And seize it for sin? 
 Only on board we find fruitless fears, 
 There is no trace of the wealth of the years. 
 Unfreighted ships on life's restless sea, 
 Bound for the Port of Eternity. 
 
 [26] 
 
IF 
 
 If we could only know how deep the hurt would 
 be 
 
 To our own souls 
 For Time and for Eternity, 
 How careful of life's jar and fret ; 
 
 But we forget. 
 
 If we could only feel the world's great ache of 
 heartj 
 
 From life's deep stress 
 Would we still hold apart 
 
 With faces set, 
 
 Try to forget? 
 
 If when we hear the world's sad measured tread, 
 
 We'd Christlike be, 
 And banish clouds that hover overhead; 
 
 No vain regret 
 Would then be ours because we did forget. 
 
 [27] 
 
A PRAYER 
 
 Grant, dear Lord, that I may be 
 
 In all sweet charity 
 
 Like unto Thee ; 
 
 Patient in suffering, attentive to thy lightest 
 
 whisper ; 
 Do Thou this day 
 Help to faithfulness, I pray ; 
 Grant that some soul through me 
 Now blest may be: 
 In life's great work, 
 Help me in sunny fields, or in the murk 
 Of city street. 
 To be fleet- 
 
 Footed for thy every task. 
 This, Lord, I ask: 
 To lift some burden weighing down, 
 To smooth away the frown ; 
 Give strength to sow the seed 
 Of service, man's great need; 
 Of kindness, God's sweet gift ; 
 Of power to send a rift 
 Of light into some darkened heart; 
 To be a part 
 Of Thy great plan 
 For man. 
 
 [28] 
 
GOD'S CARE 
 
 What of the raging sea, 
 
 If the Christ of Galilee 
 
 Be at thy side 
 
 Rebuking the fretting wave? 
 
 His power is mighty to save. 
 
 What of the dungeon dark? 
 
 What of thy storm-tossed bark? 
 
 The Maker of earth and sea 
 
 Is the God of Eternity. 
 
 Fear ye the furnace glow? 
 
 Do ye not know 
 
 The figure of a third is there, 
 
 And ye are in his loving care? 
 
 [^9] 
 
ASSURANCE 
 
 The meadow lark mounts up on high 
 And flings a challenge from the sky; 
 God is in Heaven, 
 All praise to Him be given. 
 
 It is in lovely, budding flower 
 We see the resurrection power; 
 Our Christ in Heaven, 
 What hope to mortals given. 
 
 [30] 
 
THE WAYS OF LIFE 
 
 The ways of life are with the Lord ; 
 
 'Tis He who guides the spheres 
 
 Through all the years ; 
 
 Eternal laws obey His will, 
 
 Shall not our troubled souls be still? 
 
 The ways of life are with the Lord ; 
 What though we do not understand? 
 Our life is safe within His hand ; 
 No power is there 
 To pluck us from our Father's care. 
 
 The ways of life are with the Lord; 
 He draweth nigh with healing touch, 
 And in such 
 
 Tender tones He bids us trust the One 
 Who is the Father's Son, 
 
 [31] 
 
WITHOUT— WITHIN 
 
 What if the day be cold and dark, 
 If there be sunshine in my heart, 
 If God's abiding love be there, 
 Can I despair? 
 
 Without may be as drear as night. 
 What matter, so within be light? 
 Without the storm, within the joy, 
 What is it can Thy peace destroy? 
 
 What if the strife wage fierce and long, 
 So that within there be a song? 
 Without the strife, within the peace. 
 Without the care, within release. 
 
 [33] 
 
APART 
 
 "And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went 
 up into a mountain apart to pray." Matt. 14:23. 
 
 Spent with the heavy load of human grief, 
 
 He sought relief 
 
 On mountain side alone, 
 
 Far from the world's sad moan. 
 
 Apart from the busy throng, 
 
 That pressed Him all day long. 
 
 Away from earth's voices loud. 
 
 Far from the surging crowd. 
 
 In communion with His Lord, 
 
 The Son of God 
 
 Sought strength. 
 
 The life God gavest. 
 
 Take thou from busy care. 
 
 To where 
 
 The Man of Galilee 
 
 As Bread to thy soul shalt be. 
 
 [33] 
 
THE SOUL'S CRY 
 
 MORNING. 
 
 Lord, this day 
 
 For strength, I pray ; 
 
 Give me Thy peace ; 
 
 My shackled soul release 
 
 From torturing care ; 
 
 And may my spirit wear 
 
 The Heavenly dress : 
 
 Grant me success 
 
 In all Thou givest me to do ; 
 
 May I be true to high attainment; 
 
 Ever faithful be 
 
 In thought and word to Thee. 
 
 NIGHT. 
 
 The day is spent: 
 
 On bended knee I plead 
 
 Full pardon for the deed 
 
 Unkind ; 
 
 For hours unfreighted with the day's best good; 
 
 For words misunderstood; 
 
 For what I might have been, and failed to be, 
 
 For lack of constancy; 
 
 Oh take away my sins, sins of the day, 
 
 1 pray ; 
 
 Turn not Thy face from me aside. 
 But grant me peace at eventide. 
 
 [ 34i ] 
 
SERVICE 
 
 Strength for the world's great need, 
 
 Not selfish ends I plead. 
 
 Life's greatest good lies not within the me and 
 
 mine, 
 This I can only find 
 In service for mankind. 
 Man ever strives for pleasure, 
 Not taking other lives within the measure 
 Of his own plan. 
 Earth's joys will burst as bubbles to the 
 
 touch, 
 Or handled over much 
 Distasteful grow. 
 Blast not thy hope 
 To seek within the scope 
 Of thine own life 
 That depth of joy 
 That service blest alone can give. 
 'Tis only thus we live. 
 
 [35] 
 
INASMUCH 
 
 For that brother in the night 
 
 Will your lamp be trimmed and bright, 
 
 Sending forth its joyous ray 
 
 Lest the wandering feet should stray? 
 
 Some lone pilgrim on life's strand 
 
 Needing now a helping hand. 
 
 Know ye not the deed shall be 
 
 To the Christ of Galilee? 
 
 "Inasmuch" the words are those 
 
 Of the Master, He who chose 
 
 In the humblest of his o^ti 
 
 To be found and ever known ; 
 
 If to such the deed be done. 
 
 It is to the Father's Son. 
 
 [36] 
 
COMPENSATION 
 
 The chords of life grim Sorrow broke, 
 And lo, a seraph's song awoke; 
 The shattered tenement of clay 
 Set's free the spirit Heaven's way; 
 The dying breath of some fair flower 
 With perfume fills the passing hour; 
 Born of the storm is rainbow hue, 
 It is God's pledge to man anew; 
 For death is life, abundant, free, 
 O blessed immortality. 
 
 [37] 
 
CONSECRATION 
 
 If Thou have need of me. 
 
 May I but willing be 
 
 To live and work for Thee. 
 
 Find not too hard the road, 
 And cheerful bear the load 
 Thou givest me. 
 
 The way cannot be long, 
 If Thou but give a song. 
 Amid life's busy throng. 
 
 No task too hard for Thee 
 Dear Lord, can ever be; 
 Give of Thy strength to me. 
 
 Do Thou but lead the way 
 
 To service, I obey ; 
 
 Be Thou my guide and stay. 
 
 Give grace in shade and sun 
 Until life's work be done. 
 Life's victory won. 
 
 [38] 
 
ANYWHERE 
 
 In any place, 
 So that I see Thy face, 
 And feel Thy love untold 
 Thy child enfold. 
 I would not choose the spot 
 
 To place my lot ; 
 It is but joy to go 
 Where rivers of His grace do flow; 
 To dwell with Him apart 
 In busy mart ; 
 Or to some distant shore set sail 
 In answer to the Christless wail; 
 
 Him would I serve; 
 Ready now to stay or go 
 When my Master wills it so ; 
 If I can carry but a smile. 
 
 The while. 
 Into some lonely, sinful spot. 
 This be my lot; 
 If I, in midst of tears. 
 Can calm the fears 
 Of some weak soul 
 Longing to be whole. 
 Lead some poor wanderer home to rest, 
 Then am I blest. 
 
 [39] 
 
THY DAY 
 
 This is Thy day, O, Lord, lent to us 
 
 For our soul's refreshment; 
 
 At evening's close may we but give 
 
 It back to Thee, 
 
 A record of sweet ministry. 
 
 For Thy dear sake; 
 
 And if some little sacrifice we make 
 
 On this Thy day. 
 
 It will shed brightness on the way 
 
 Of other days, wherein the stress of duty 
 
 Robs life of beauty, 
 
 And makes us long for quiet and repose. 
 
 When day shall close. 
 
 This is Thy day, 
 
 Dear Lord; we pray 
 
 That it may be a sacred trust 
 
 From Thee to us ; 
 
 And may Thy promises divine 
 
 Give strength sublime 
 
 For holy tasks. 
 
 The Sabbath of the soul, 
 
 May it enfold 
 
 These lives of ours 
 
 With heavenly powers. 
 
 [40] 
 
IF WE COULD UNDERSTAND 
 
 If we could understand what comes to us each 
 
 day, 
 Or see the path we tread along life's rugged 
 
 way; 
 Why our poor lives are compassed so about 
 With fear and doubt; 
 Why strength 
 Forever 
 Is spent in vain endeavor; 
 Why droops some royal flower 
 Bent low by wind and storm within its bower. 
 
 If we could understand the mysteries of life, 
 Would we then be contented with this daily 
 
 strife? 
 If eyes were not so blinded by the tears that 
 
 fall like rain, 
 If ears were not so deadened by earth's dis- 
 cordant strain, 
 
 We might the music hear 
 Of another sphere. 
 Or see some heavenly vision clear. 
 And yet, should we that knowledge gain. 
 Sweet Trust were slain. 
 Our souls would losers be 
 Through all eternity. 
 If we could understand. 
 
 [41] 
 
THE MASTER'S PORTION 
 
 "Take eat," 
 
 It is the Master's voice that bids us to the 
 
 feast 
 From greatest to the least; 
 Upon each royal guest 
 Is pressed 
 
 The emblems of a body broken, 
 Love's wondrous token; 
 And holy wine, 
 Blood of the Man Divine : 
 Shall we give less 
 A world to bless? 
 It is the Master's portion; 
 Surely it is mete 
 We give a life complete: 
 "Freely ye have received," as freely give 
 If ye would truly live; 
 Lose your life if you would find 
 It multiplied in humankind: 
 It is the Master's portion; 
 Is this too much 
 For such 
 
 A One who counted life not dear unto Himself? 
 For sin He paid the price: 
 Your life a living sacrifice 
 Is His desire, 
 Not burned out ashes of life's fire: 
 
 [4^] 
 
It is the Master's portion, who counted it not 
 
 loss 
 To bear the cross : 
 The Master's gift to you and me 
 And ours to Him, what shall it be? 
 
 [43] 
 
KINDNESS 
 
 Be kind: 
 
 Why do we walk life's wayside blind, 
 
 When breaking hearts so need our care, 
 
 And stooping shoulders burdens bear 
 
 That we could lift. 
 
 And through the darkness send a rift 
 
 Of sunlight. 
 
 Deaf to the heart-beats of that one who needs 
 
 Kind words and deeds. 
 
 Life's harp strings quiver with the stress of 
 
 tears, 
 There are so many biers ; 
 
 A kind word shot athwart the sky of sorrow 
 May bring a glad to-morrow; 
 Life's funeral pyres on which are laid the 
 Hopes and fears 
 Of all the years. 
 
 Into a mound of roses changed may be 
 By some kind word from you and me. 
 
 [44] 
 
A HALLOWED DAY 
 
 May this day hallowed be 
 
 In thought and word, a part of Thee: 
 
 No dread, no fear. 
 
 Thy presence near; 
 
 What need to know 
 
 The outcome of the day's hard toil, 
 
 Or soil 
 
 The soul with doubt? 
 
 Perchance I may be one of that blest companie 
 
 That thou wilt call to walk 
 
 And talk 
 
 With Thee, as chosen ones of old 
 
 To whom Thou didst unfold 
 
 Thy message : 
 
 I, this day, 
 
 While led in Thy appointed way, 
 
 Will surely to new consciousness awake 
 
 Of fuller powers ; 
 
 And if my Lord and I keep companie. 
 
 This day will truly be 
 
 A benediction sweet 
 
 To all I meet. 
 
 [45] 
 
INFLUENCE 
 
 Thoughts, words, deeds alive with heart-throbs, 
 
 yours and mine, 
 Cruel thing's or things Divine; 
 Out into the world, strange birds they fly 
 With their message far and nigh: 
 Ripples on the Stream of Time 
 Lapping shores in some far clime: 
 Ships upon a boundless sea 
 Reaching to Eternity. 
 
 [46] 
 
POURED OUT 
 
 How cool the ointment poured 
 On tired feet of Mary's Lord. 
 Her tresses like the sunbeams kissed the weary 
 
 feet 
 That throbbed and beat 
 Road-spent, 
 
 On heavenly errands bent; 
 That brow thorn-pressed, 
 Those eyes love blest. 
 That face so full of grace. 
 Those lips that drank life's cup of woe 
 To its great overflow: 
 Deep waves of sorrow rolling in 
 Upon His anguished soul; 
 The whole 
 Of life poured out. 
 Libation on the altar of man's sin, 
 His love to win. 
 
 [47] 
 
LOVE'S MINISTRY 
 
 Love knows not self 
 
 Or selfish ends ; 
 
 Its friends 
 
 Abound 
 
 Where want is found: 
 
 Love knows no measure, 
 
 Her treasure 
 
 Lavishly she gives ; 
 
 She lives 
 
 For others' need; fair 
 
 Messenger of God in service rare. 
 
 Self out of sight, 
 
 Man can unite 
 
 With God and be 
 
 With Him in blessed ministry. 
 
 [48] 
 
RESURRECTION MORN 
 
 Hope slept 
 
 While guards their lonely vigil kept: 
 
 Ere rosy fingers of the dawn 
 
 Had touched the morn, 
 
 The sealed tomb 
 
 Was brushed by angel wing, no longer gloom 
 
 Within the portal, 
 
 But light immortal: 
 
 An angel came the sleeping Christ to wake 
 
 For mortals' sake ; 
 
 Hope spoke 
 
 When Christ awoke. 
 
 [49] 
 
THE SOUL'S MARCH 
 
 "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against 
 principalities, against powers; against the rulers of the 
 darliuess of this world; against spiritual wickedness in 
 high places." Eph. 6:12. 
 
 Not to drum and to fife 
 
 Is the march of the soul 
 
 In the battle of life; 
 
 But a voice still and small 
 
 Is the summons ; the call 
 
 To duty; obey 
 
 And be victor in life's fiercest fray. 
 
 The call, danger's alarm 
 
 In life's pleasant calm; 
 
 The foe all unseen ; 
 
 A screen 
 
 Is the flesh 
 
 That hides from man's sight 
 
 The enemy's might. 
 
 But proof 'gainst the weakness of man 
 
 Is the armor of God ; 
 
 No foe can withstand the Word of the Lord: 
 
 For the victor, the Master's "Well done," 
 
 When battles are won. 
 
 [50] 
 
DIVINE PITY 
 
 Man stained with sin, 
 So foul within, 
 Brought from above 
 A Saviour's love. 
 
 A pierced side. 
 Love's cleansing tide, 
 A sin-sick soul, 
 By Christ made whole. 
 
 At Calvary 
 Love set men free; 
 At empty tomb. 
 Light banished gloom. 
 
 [61J 
 
RESPONSIBILITY 
 
 Alone, no man may walk, 
 
 For tracking him 
 
 Are shadows grim; 
 
 Or at his side, 
 
 Joy will abide 
 
 As his companion, 
 
 For seeds of kindness sown, 
 
 For deeds of mercy done ; 
 
 Alone, he may not walk ; 
 
 No man liveth to himself, no never, 
 
 Nor can he sever 
 
 His frail life 
 
 From that of brother man ; 
 
 Man lives or dies as to another, 
 
 And he his brother. 
 
 Alone, he may not walk. 
 
 Accusing or excusing him each day 
 
 Upon life's way. 
 
 The still small voice 
 
 That causes him to weep or to rejoice: 
 
 A power for uplift, man may be 
 
 Or send adrift 
 
 Some soul, a derelict, upon life's boundless sea. 
 
 [5a] 
 
POSSESSION 
 
 Not what I have, but what I am, is mine ; 
 
 No worldly goods I boast, 
 
 But all my gifts come from the hand Divine: 
 
 They are the sum of all things ; 
 
 The riches of His grace. 
 
 The glory of His face 
 
 Revealed to me ; 
 
 His promises are sure, 
 
 They will endure ; 
 
 And they are mine ; 
 
 More wonderful than jewels they shall shine 
 
 Upon my path ; 
 
 And I may carry them to yonder shore, 
 
 Mine they shall be forever more. 
 
 [53] 
 
THE CROSS-ROADS 
 
 One leads to Calvary: 
 
 The dawn of Hope transfigures all the way ; 
 Nor heat, nor cold 
 
 The feet delay ; nor thorny path the eyes be- 
 hold; 
 Naught is there that can intervene 
 To hide the distant scene. 
 The other leads from Calvary's brow, 
 A road with flowers strewn; 
 But soon 
 
 'Tis desert land, the flowers decay 
 Along this way: 
 To hills of Paradise, 
 No road save by the way of sacrifice. 
 
 [64] 
 
THE MESSAGE OF THE HOURS 
 
 Redeem the time while ye may, 
 
 Golden our gifts, they say ; 
 
 Fresh from the hand of God, to the children of 
 
 men. 
 Blessings we bring again and again. 
 Golden treasure 
 Without measure 
 
 Is the gift they leave at our door each day, 
 Then silently steal away. 
 Throw away gold.'' 
 Manifold 
 
 Greater the power 
 That lies in each passing hour. 
 In life's short day 
 Throw gold away? 
 A spendthrift is he 
 Who squanders such treasure aimlessly. 
 
 [55] 
 
FORGIVENESS 
 
 Alone, husks for his hunger: 
 
 His father has enough, enough to spare, 
 
 And eager he to share 
 
 With one 
 
 Who is his son. 
 
 The wandering feet 
 
 Wooed by the father's open door. 
 
 Turned back upon their way 
 
 While yet 'twas day. 
 
 Not grudgingly doth love bestow forgiveness. 
 
 "A great way off" the father runs to meet 
 
 The weary one, all spent with heat 
 
 Of toilsome road 
 
 Bearing his load 
 
 Of sin. 
 
 Unworthy? yes, but love restores again 
 
 To men 
 
 Their heritage. 
 
 Wide open is the door 
 
 To welcome him once more. 
 
 [56] 
 
WEAKNESS 
 
 Weary ? Faint-hearted ? 
 
 In weakness, My strength 
 
 All sufficient shall be, 
 
 For am I not He 
 
 Who flingeth the stars into space, 
 
 And holdeth the spheres in their place? 
 
 Who bindeth the waves of the sea 
 
 That they overwhelm not? 
 
 Who hath said, sufficient My strength shall 
 
 evermore be? 
 Thy burden is heavy? 
 Then cast it on One who has known 
 The weight of the Cross, 
 And didst bear it alone. 
 
 [57] 
 
CHARITY 
 
 'Tis Love's sweet task 
 
 To ask 
 
 No questions, 
 
 But o'er the sullied past 
 
 To cast 
 
 Her ample robe ; 
 
 To blot from Memory's tablet 
 
 Unkindness' sting, 
 
 The thing 
 
 That hurts, the jar. 
 
 The fret, 
 
 All to forget: 
 
 Greater than Faith is Love 
 
 That thinketh evil never; 
 
 And Hope, the pilgrim's staff 
 
 To mortals given, is less though from above, 
 
 For God Himself is Love. 
 
 [68] 
 
MY HERITAGE 
 
 Have I no palace fair within to dwell, 
 
 I still can tell of my possessions : 
 
 A sky aflame with love Divine, 
 
 The glowing colors of the dying day, 
 
 Each starlit ray, 
 
 Are mine: 
 
 And as I step upon the fragrant sod, 
 
 There too, I see the hand of God 
 
 In tree and flower 
 
 Mine to enjoy this hour: 
 
 Yea, all are mine; 
 
 No man from me can take 
 
 The glory that is far and nigh. 
 
 My heritage from God on high. 
 
 [59] 
 
SONGS IN THE NIGHT 
 
 There's never a day so full of care 
 But Jesus the load will help you bear ; 
 A lifted load makes burdens light, 
 Christ bringeth cheer in darkest night; 
 Then sing, O soul, upon thy way. 
 Be glad for trials thine this day. 
 
 If borne aright they lead to God, 
 The Son of Man passed under the rod ; 
 He knows each heart, He'll send relief, 
 He giveth joy for bitter grief; 
 Then sing, soul, upon thy way, 
 And welcome trials thine this day. 
 
 [60] 
 
SYMPATHY 
 
 To say "I know" 
 
 When in the presence of another's woe 
 
 We stand ; 
 
 To comfort others with the comfort given us 
 
 of God, 
 This is the lesson that our Lord 
 Would have us learn; 
 How could we understand 
 Another's woe had we not felt affliction's hand? 
 
 [61] 
 
THE COMMON TASK 
 
 "I am among you as he that serveth." Luke 22:27. 
 
 What if it be in lowly ways we find 
 
 Our task; 'tis service for mankind; 
 
 It can be beautified by One 
 
 Who was the Son 
 
 Of Joseph; man yet God 
 
 Feared not to soil 
 
 His hands in daily toil: 
 
 Each common task transformed may be 
 
 By this same Christ of Galilee. 
 
 [62] 
 
THY KINGDOM 
 
 Thou suffered woe 
 That man might know 
 A Heaven below. 
 
 What price to pay 
 For Heaven's way 
 In Life's short day. 
 
 Thy work begun, 
 Thy will here done 
 From sun to sun. 
 
 What need to pray 
 
 Thy kingdom come this day, 
 
 Unless we work as well as pray? 
 
 [63] 
 
THE CHRIST 
 
 Not o'er the trackless desert need we go 
 To find the Christ: 
 For wheresoe'er men's feet have trod, 
 There may be found the Son of God : 
 O, blessed day when Christ was bom, 
 O, blessed, holy Christmas morn ; 
 So wondrous Thy nativity. 
 More wondrous still is Calvary. 
 
 [64] 
 
THE UPLANDS 
 
 To reach the summit's height 
 
 By might 
 
 Of will; 
 
 To feel the thrill 
 
 Of effort, crowned with vision rare ; 
 
 To bear 
 
 Within the heart, achievement's power: 
 
 Not easy won the goal, 
 
 Effort the toll 
 
 To pay for upland joy, the cost 
 
 Lost 
 
 In the wonder of it all. 
 
 There things of earth grow small: 
 
 He who hath trod 
 
 The uplands in communion with his God, 
 
 Must richer be 
 
 For that great vision of Eternity. 
 
 [65] 
 
OPPORTUNITY 
 
 On winged-feet he comes, bearing the hour's 
 
 need: 
 He pauses at our door 
 And knocks ; unanswered, he is gone with 
 
 treasures rich he bore. 
 
 [66] 
 
LIFE'S LOOM 
 
 So tangled is the skein of life 
 
 And spoiled the pattern in the strife 
 
 By hands unskilled: 
 
 But there is One who'll stand beside us at the 
 
 loom 
 If we for Him will but make room : 
 Beyond all price 
 
 He tells us is the thread of sacrifice ; 
 And bids us weave with tender care 
 The golden thread of Love so rare: 
 So fast the shuttles fly; sometimes by sight 
 We weave the colors dark or bright ; 
 Sometimes in blindness we must weave, 
 And leave 
 Results with One who knoweth all our trials 
 
 and our fears, 
 He sees our tears. 
 And He will wipe them all away 
 In that great day 
 
 When we have left the shuttle and the loom 
 To meet Him in life's upper room. 
 
 [67] 
 
SORROW 
 
 Through pain and sorrow there is wrought 
 
 Within the temple of the soul 
 
 A beauty fair ; 
 
 Shall we not thank Thee, Lord, for gems so 
 
 rare ? 
 Why do we grasp the thorn, forget the flower 
 That blooms for us in sorrow's hour? 
 God's view of life so different from our own; 
 When we have grown 
 Out of this narrow bound, 
 We will have found 
 Our lives were planned aright; 
 Here we must walk by faith, not sight. 
 
 [68] 
 
INJUSTICE 
 
 Yea, He bore it too; 
 
 Bore scofF and sting with heavenly calm, 
 
 And having borne it, giveth balm 
 
 To all who suffer from the stings 
 
 Injustice brings ; 
 
 Yea, patiently He bore it all. 
 
 That He might save us from its thrall. 
 
 [69] 
 
RENUNCIATION 
 
 Self so obstructs the way 
 
 That leads to fulness of Life's day. 
 
 The Master sought to know 
 
 Another's woe, 
 
 And in the quest, His life unbound 
 
 From self. He found 
 
 His work; untrammeled He could do 
 
 The hour's need. Self lost, we too 
 
 May find 
 
 Our task for heart and mind. 
 
 [70] 
 
BURDEN-SHARING 
 
 If I live my life aright, 
 It will make the burden light 
 For another. 
 
 If I do with heart and mind 
 Whatsoever task I find, 
 Then another 
 
 Will be helped because I'm true 
 In the work I have to do. 
 He, my brother. 
 
 [71] 
 
TRUST 
 
 "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a 
 little child he shall not enter therein." Mark 10:15. 
 
 A ladder that doth reach from earth to Heaven 
 
 To mortals given ; 
 
 By which we mount each golden round up to 
 
 the gate, 
 Where soon or late 
 As little children we must come 
 If we would find the Father's home. 
 
 [72] 
 
GOD'S BOUNTY 
 
 Into uplifted hearts He'll pour 
 Rich treasure from His bounteous store. 
 The flower's cup runs o'er with dew, 
 And more, yea more. He'll give to you 
 Of His rich grace, abundant, free, 
 Measured by God's eternity. 
 
 [73] 
 
LIFE'S MUSIC 
 
 The world is full of the power of song 
 
 If touched are life's chords aright; 
 
 The darkest night cannot be long, 
 
 For Hope dwells in the light. 
 
 The Master's hand repairs the lute 
 
 When broken with the strain 
 
 Of pain 
 
 It lieth mute. 
 
 Unskilled is man in love's fine art; 
 
 When taught of God, he setteth free 
 
 Life's melody. 
 
 [74] 
 
DIVINITY 
 
 The spark divine that smoulders in each breast. 
 Fanned into flame at Love's behest, 
 A mighty force 
 Becomes, consuming dross 
 
 Of base desire. 
 An unquenched fire: 
 
 The gold refine, 
 Man then is power divine. 
 
 [75] 
 
THE OLD YEAR 
 
 The Old Year is dead, we say, 
 
 When at break of day 
 
 A New Year dawns, 
 
 As the Old Year passes away. 
 
 And yet, is it true, since naught can sever 
 
 Man from his past? Deeds live forever. 
 
 The days that have flown 
 
 We never again may call our own: 
 
 But when Memory's door shall open wide. 
 
 There are the deeds that have never died. 
 
 And over the grave of the year that has gone 
 
 You and I may be called to mourn. 
 
 [76] 
 
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