The task Thy wisdom hath assigned,
O let me cheerfully fulfil;

In all my works Thy presence find,
And prove Thine acceptable will.

Thee may I set at my right hand,
Whose eyes mine inmost spirit see ;
And labor on at Thy command,
And offer all my works to Thee.

176

LIGHT FOR ALL.

The light pours down from heaven
And enters where it may ;
The eyes of all earth's children
Are cheered with one bright day.

So let the mind's true sunshine
Be spread o'er earth as free,
And fill men's waiting spirits
As the waters fill the sea.

The soul can shed a glory
On every work well done,
As even things most lowly
Are radiant in the sun.

177

Then let each human spirit

Enjoy the vision bright :

The Truth which comes from heaven
Shall spread like heaven's own light,

Till earth becomes God's temple ;

And every human heart
Shall join in one great service,
Each happy in his part.

THE HALLOWED DAY.

This is the day of Light!

Let there be light to-day;

O dayspring, rise upon our night,

And chase its gloom away!

This is the day of Rest!

Our failing strength renew;
On aching heart and troubled breast
Shed Thou Thy freshening dew.

This is the day of Peace!

Thy peace our spirits fill ;

Bid Thou the blasts of discord cease,
The waves of strife be still.

This is the day of Prayer!

Let earth to heaven draw near;

Lift up our hearts to seek Thee there,
Come down to meet us here.

178

SABBATH PRAYER.

With grateful heart I greet again
This holy day of rest,
To chant within Thy holy fane,
And bow at Thy behest.

On Thee, O God! my hopes rely;
Thy name be ever praised;
Vouchsafe to bless and sanctify
These strains devoutly raised.

O banish hence, far from my mind,
All evil thoughts away;

And grant my soul may favor find,
On this, Thy holy day.

And at the altar as I bend
To supplicate Thy care,

In mercy, Lord! Thy blessing send

Upon my humble prayer.

179 THE MEMORY OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

Earth's transitory things decay,

Its pomps, its pleasures pass away;
But the sweet memory of the good
Survives in the vicissitude.

As 'midst the ever-rolling sea
The eternal isles established be,

'Gainst which the surges of the main
Fret, dash, and break themselves in vain ;

As in the heavens the urns divine

Of golden light forever shine;

Though clouds may darken, storms may rage,
They still shine on from age to age:

So, through the ocean-tide of years,
The memory of the just appears;
So through the tempest and the gloom
The good man's virtues light the tomb.

Happy the righteous! come what may,
Though heaven dissolve and earth decay;
Happy the righteous man! for he
Belongs to immortality.

180

PRAYER ACCEPTED.

How purely true, how deeply warm,
The inly-breathed appeal may be,
Though adoration wears no form,
In upraised hand or bended knee!
One spirit fills all boundless space,—
No limit to the when and where ;
And little recks the time or place

That leads the soul to praise and prayer.

Father above, Almighty one,

Creator, is that worship vain

That hails each mountain as Thy throne
And finds a universal fane?

When shining stars or spangled sod
Call forth devotion, who shall dare
To blame or tell me that a God

Will never deign to hear such prayer?

O God! how beautiful the thought,
How merciful the bless'd decree,
That grace can e'er be found when sought,
And nought shut out the soul from Thee!

The cell may cramp, the fetters gall,

The flame may scorch, the rack may tear, But torture-stake and prison-wall

Can be endured with faith and prayer.