To a Waterfowl

 Image: Jeffrey Klinefelter

 Whither, 'midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
      Thy solitary way?

     Vainly the fowler's eye
Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong,
As, darkly painted on the crimson sky,
      Thy figure floats along. 

Seek'st thou the plashy brink
Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink
      On the chafed ocean side? 

      There is a Power whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,--
The desert and illimitable air,--
       Lone wandering, but not lost. 

     All day thy wings have fann'd
At that far height, the cold thin atmosphere:
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,
      Though the dark night is near. 

     And soon that toil shall end,
Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,
And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend
      Soon o'er thy sheltered nest. 

    Thou'rt gone, the abyss of heaven
Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart
Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,
      And shall not soon depart. 

    He, who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
      Will lead my steps aright.

1815 

By William Cullen Bryant

Inquire of the Lord

"And she went to inquire of the Lord." Gen 25:22

EXCELLENT example! Let us imitate Rebekah, for God commands us to do so. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy steps. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Are you in trouble? Go, and inquire of the Lord: What is the cause? Unite with holy Job, in praying, "Show me wherefore Thou contendest with me." Are you in perplexity? go, and inquire: What is the design? He will instruct thee and teach thee in the way thou shouldest go, He will guide thee with His eye. Go in an inquiring spirit. Go, persuaded whatever thy circumstances or trials may be, that, as a believer in Jesus, wrath and curse can have nothing to do with thee; they were exhausted when Jesus died in thy stead. Be assured that whatever comes from God is a blessing, a benefit, a favour, a proof of love; however painful, perplexing, or distressing it may be. Do not reason, but believe in the promise of thy God; do not despond, grieve, or complain; but go, and INQUIRE OF THE LORD; at His throne, of His word. He says, "I will be inquired of."

Prayer was appointed to convey
The blessings God designs to give;
Long as they live should Christians pray,
For only while they pray they live.

The Believer's Daily Remembrancer by James Smith

Be Not Blind

 Photo by EL.G

Be Not Blind to the Shining of His Face - Amy Carmichael

Far in the future lieth a fear;
Like a long, low, mist of gray,
Gathering to fall in dreary rain;
Thus doth thy heart within thee complain.
And even now thou art afraid, for round thy dwelling
The flying winds are ever telling
Of the fear that lieth gray
Like a gloom of brooding mist upon the way.

But The Lord is always kind;
Be not blind, be not blind To the shining of His face,
To the comforts of His grace.
Hath He ever failed thee yet?
Never, never. Wherefore fret?
O fret not thyself, nor let They heart be troubled,
Neither let it be afraid.

Near, by thy footfall, springeth a joy, Like a new-blown little flower
Growing for thee, to make thee glad.
Let thy countenance be no more sad,
But wake the voice of joy and health within thy dwelling,
And let thy tongue be ever telling,
Not of fear that lieth gray, But of little flowers beside the way.

For the Lord is always kind,
Be not blind, be not blind To the shining of His face,
To the comforts of His grace.
He hath never failed thee yet.
Never will His love forget.
O fret not thyself, nor let Thy heart be troubled,
Neither let it be afraid.