Master, I set my seal that Thou art true, Of Thy good promise not one thing hath failed! And I would send a ringing challenge forth, To all who know Thy name, to tell it out, Thy faithfulness to every written word, Thy loving-kindness crowning all the days,-- To say and sing with me: 'The Lord is good, His mercy is for ever, and His truth Is written on each page of all my life!' Yes! there _is_ tribulation, but Thy power Can blend it with rejoicing. There _are_ thorns, But they have kept us in the narrow way, The King's Highway of holiness and peace. And there _is_ chastening, but the Father's love Flows through it; and would any trusting heart Forego the chastening and forego the love? And every step leads on to 'more and more,' From strength to strength Thy pilgrims pass and sing The praise of Him who leads them on and on, From glory unto glory, even here! Only for Jesus. Only for Jesus! Lord, keep it for ever Sealed on the heart and engraved on the life! Pulse of all gladness and nerve of endeavour, Secret of rest, and the strength of our strife. 'Vessels of Mercy, Prepared unto Glory.' (Rom. ix. 23.) Vessels of mercy, prepared unto glory! This is your calling and this is your joy! This, for the new year unfolding before ye, Tells out the terms of your blessed employ. Vessels, it may be, all empty and broken, Marred in the Hand of inscrutable skill; (Love can accept the mysterious token!) Marred but to make them more beautiful still. Jer. xviii. 4. Vessels, it may be, not costly or golden; Vessels, it may be, of quantity small, Yet by the Nail in the Sure Place upholden, Never to shiver and never to fall. Isa. xxii. 23, 24. Vessels to honour, made sacred and holy, Meet for the use of the Master we love, Ready for service, all simple and lowly, Ready, one day, for the temple above. 2 Tim. ii. 21. Yes, though the vessels be fragile and earthen, God hath commanded His glory to shine; Treasure resplendent henceforth is our burthen, Excellent power, not ours but Divine. 2 Cor. iv. 5, 6. Chosen in Christ ere the dawn of Creation, Chosen for Him, to be filled with His grace, Chosen to carry the streams of salvation Into each thirsty and desolate place. Acts ix. 15. Take all Thy vessels, O glorious Finer, Purge all the dross, that each chalice may be Pure in Thy pattern, completer, diviner, Filled with Thy glory and shining for Thee.