When in the golden harbor of Thanksgiving Day The harvest season sinks, at rest; ‘Tis then I raise my song of humble gratitude For bounties richly given of nature’s best. In every fertile field, in every patch of grain, I see God’s loving hands; his substance there Bestowed to satisfy the hungry ones; For he […]
O shepherds of the Bethlehem hills, When earth in slumber lay, so dark and still; And in the solemn hush of night When quickly shone a dazzling light— While hovering in that golden aureole bright You saw an angel robed in purest white— Were you afraid? O humble watchmen of the sheep, Who fearlessly your […]
How precious is Gethsemane to every Christian heart, A place to worship, to adore,…and weep. In thought I stand with three disciples there, And while the Savior prays he begs us vigil keep. How very close we stand, the distance of a stone’s throw, We hear ‘strong crying’ and the sound of tears; His suffering […]
Could I proclaim in tones of clearest language, And spread abroad the words, that all could hear; I would waft forth a song this blessed season Of glorious hope, to men both far and near. Describing, too, the vigil of the shepherds, Who, trembling, heard the clarion herald voice; They joined the ecstasy of holy […]
Their huddled forms loomed dark against the blazing fire, A barrier built against the piercing cold— Columns of smoke rose steadily into the clear, brisk air, Then spiraled into fading mist upon a rising stair. The shepherds spoke in muffled tones as though the hills could hear, And heaven’s canopy, star-strewn, seemed very near. But […]
A flask-shaped grey cocoon Hung near, its mystic wonder I would see! For snug within lay an Emperor Moth, Through the narrow neck its release must be… But its body is large, the opening small, Escape is to flight and airy bliss; With great labor its strives and struggles within, But haste clips the chrysalis. […]
The wheat lay lush and golden, Fast ripened ‘neath the Oriental sun; Sun-drenched and ready, waiting for the knife, Each grain is cut before the day is done. Bound carefully into a generous bundle Of precious life. And now, my heart, this lesson learn: Thou, too, art bundled with the ties of God’s own love. […]
My memory wings its way, lest it be late— Beyond the old Damascus gate, Where lies the pathway Jesus walked, cross-bound, Each step seems holy ground. My ears pressed close, I hear the rabble cry, And faintly…ah, the tortured sign! But graven deep, indelibly, is Calvary, Grim…gaunt…with crosses three. The sunlight which had swiftly filtered […]
The sullen sky leans close about the somber earth, And weird, black shapes of gnarled olive trees in line Look strange, grotesque, against the pallid light That falls upon the kneeling form of the One Divine. The scene is laid: Behold a battle-ground, A grim and fearful hour, the blackest day of days, When Jesus […]