Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter
And he will make it plain.

A LITTLE BIRD I AM

MADAME GUYON

(Written in the Bastille)

Translated by Prof. T. C. Upham

A little bird I am,

Shut in from fields of air,
And in my cage I sit and sing,
To God who placed me there;
Well pleased a prisoner to be,
Because, my God, it pleases thee!
Naught have I else to do,

I sing the whole day long;
And he whom I most love to please

Doth listen to my song;

He caught and bound my wandering wing, And still he bends to hear me sing.

Thou hast an ear to hear,

A heart to love and bless;

And though my notes were e'er so rude,
Thou wouldst not hear the less;

Because thou knowest as they fall,

That love, sweet love, inspires them all.

My cage confines me round,

Abroad I cannot fly;

But though my wing is closely bound,

My heart's at liberty;

My prison walls cannot control

The flight, the freedom of the soul.

Oh, it is good to soar,

These bolts and bars above,
To him whose purpose I adore,
Whose providence I love;
And in thy mighty will to find
The joy, the freedom of the mind.

TO GOD

ROBERT HERRICK

Lord, I am like to mistletoe,
Which has no root and cannot grow
Or prosper, but by that same tree
It clings about: so I by thee.
What need I then to fear at all
So long as I about thee crawl?

But if that tree should fall and die,
Tumble shall heaven, and so down will I.

THE FLYING WHEEL

KATHARINE TYNAN HINKSON

When I was young the days were long,
O, long the days when I was young:
So long from morn to evenfall
As they would never end at all.

Now I grow old Time flies, alas!
I watch the years and seasons pass.
Time turns him with his fingers thin
A wheel that whirls while it doth spin.

There is no time to take one's ease,
For to sit still and be at peace:
Oh, whirling wheel of Time, be still,
Let me be quiet if you will!

Yet still it turns so giddily,

So fast the years and seasons fly,
Dazed with the noise and speed I run
And stay me on the Changeless One.

I stay myself on Him who stays
Ever the same through nights and days:
The One Unchangeable for aye,
That was and will be: the one Stay,

O'er whom Eternity will pass
But as an image in a glass;

To whom a million years are nought,-
I stay myself on a great Thought.

I stay myself on the great Quiet
After the noises and the riot;
As in a garnished chamber sit
Far from the tumult of the street.

Oh, wheel of Time, turn round apace!
But I have found a resting place.
You will not trouble me again
In the great peace where I attain.

THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE

ISAAC WATTS

Far in the Heavens my God retires:
My God, the mark of my desires.
And hides His lovely face;

When He descends within my view,

He charms my reason to pursue,

But leaves it tired and fainting in th' unequal chase.

Or if I reach unusual height

Till near His presence brought,

There floods of glory check my flight,

Cramp the bold pinions of my wit,
And all untune my thought;

Plunged in a sea of light I roll,

Where wisdom, justice, mercy, shines;
Infinite rays in crossing lines

Beat thick confusion on my sight, and overwhelm my soul.

Great God! behold my reason lies
Adoring: yet my love would rise
On pinions not her own:

Faith shall direct her humble flight,
Through all the trackless seas of light,
To Thee, th' Eternal Fair, the Infinite Unknown.

GOD MAKES A PATH

ROGER WILLIAMS

God makes a path, provides a guide,
And feeds a wilderness;

His glorious name, while breath remains,
O that I may confess.

Lost many a time, I have had no guide,
No house but a hollow tree!

In stormy winter night no fire,

No food, no company;

In Him I found a house, a bed,

A table, company;

No cup so bitter but's made sweet,
Where God shall sweetening be.

b. MODERN FAITH

THE DOUBTER'S PRAYER

ANNE BRONTË

Eternal Power, of earth and air!
Unseen, yet seen in all around;
Remote, but dwelling everywhere;
Though silent heard in every sound;
If e'er thine ear in Mercy lent,
When wretched mortals cried to Thee,
And if indeed, Thy Son was sent,
To save lost sinners such as me:

Then hear me now, while kneeling here,
I left to thee my heart and eye,
And all my soul ascends in prayer,
Oh, give me-Give me Faith! I cry.
While Faith is with me, I am blest;
It turns my darkest night to day;
But while I clasp it to my breast,
I often feel it slide away.

Then, cold and dark, my spirit sinks,
To see my light of life depart;
And every friend of Hell, methinks,
Enjoys the anguish of my heart.

What shall I do if all my love,

My hopes, my toil, are cast away,

And if there be no God above,

To hear and bless me while I pray?

If this be vain delusion all,

If death be an eternal sleep

And none can hear my secret call,
Or see the silent tears I weep!