Because I seek thee not O seek thou me! Because my lips are dumb O hear the cry I do not utter as thou passest by, And from my lifelong bondage set me free! Because, content, I perish far from thee, O seize me, snatch me from my fate and try My soul in thy consuming fire! Draw nigh And let me, blinded, thy salvation see. If I were pouring at thy feet my tears, If I were clamoring to see thy face, I should not need thee, Lord, as now I need, Whose dumb, dead soul knows neither hopes nor fears, Nor dreads the outer darkness of this place. _Because_ I seek not, pray not, give thou heed. PHARISEE AND PUBLICAN Two went to pray? O, rather say One went to brag, the other to pray; One stands up close and treads on high, Where the other dares not lend his eye; One nearer to God's altar trod, The other to the altar's God. --Richard Crashaw. A MOMENT IN THE MORNING A moment in the morning, ere the cares of the day begin, Ere the heart's wide door is open for the world to enter in, Ah, then, alone with Jesus, in the silence of the morn, In heavenly sweet communion, let your duty-day be born. In the quietude that blesses with a prelude of repose Let your soul be smoothed and softened, as the dew revives the rose. A moment in the morning take your Bible in your hand, And catch a glimpse of glory from the peaceful promised land: It will linger still before you when you seek the busy mart, And like flowers of hope will blossom into beauty in your heart. The precious words, like jewels, will glisten all the day With a rare effulgent glory that will brighten all the way; When comes a sore temptation, and your feet are near a snare, You may count them like a rosary and make each one a prayer. A moment in the morning--a moment, if no more-- Is better than an hour when the trying day is o'er. 'Tis the gentle dew from heaven, the manna for the day; If you fail to gather early--alas! it melts away. So, in the blush of morning, take the offered hand of love, And walk in heaven's pathway and the peacefulness thereof. --Arthur Lewis Tubbs. AN INVITATION TO PRAYER Come to the morning prayer, Come, let us kneel and pray; Prayer is the Christian pilgrim's staff To walk with God all day. At noon, beneath the Rock Of Ages rest and pray; Sweet is the shadow from the heat When the sun smites by day. At eve, shut to the door, Round the home altar pray; And finding there "the house of God" At "heaven's gate" close the day. When midnight seals our eyes, Let each in spirit say, "I sleep, but my heart waketh, Lord, With thee to watch and pray." --James Montgomery. SELFISH PRAYER