Father, thy faithful love, Thy mercy, wise and mild, Sees what will blessing prove, Or what will hurt thy child; And what thy wise foreseeing Doth for thy children choose Thou bringest into being, Nor sufferest them to lose. Hope, then, though woes be doubled; Hope and be undismayed; Let not thy heart be troubled, Nor let it be afraid. This prison where thou art-- Thy God will break it soon, And flood with light thy heart In his own blessed noon. Up! up! the day is breaking; Say to thy cares, Good night! Thy troubles from thee shaking Like dreams in day's fresh light. Thou wearest not the crown, Nor the best course can tell; God sitteth on the throne And guideth all things well. --Paul Gerhardt, tr. by Elizabeth Rundle Charles. THE SILVER LINING There's never a day so sunny But a little cloud appears, There's never a life so happy But has its time of tears; Yet the sun shines out the brighter Whenever the tempest clears. There's never a garden growing With roses in every plot; There's never a heart so hardened But has one tender spot; We have only to prune the border To find the forget-me-not. There's never a sun that rises But we know 'twill set at night; The tints that gleam in the morning At evening are just as bright; And the hour that is the sweetest Is between the dark and light. There is never a cup so pleasant But has bitter with the sweet; There is never a path so rugged, Bearing not the print of feet, But we have a helper furnished For the trials we may meet. There is never a way so narrow But the entrance is made straight, There is always a guide to point us To the "little wicket gate." And the angels will be nearest To a soul that's desolate. There is never a heart so haughty But will some day bow and kneel; There is never a heart so wounded That the Saviour cannot heal; There is many a lowly forehead Bearing now the hidden seal. There's never a dream so happy But the waking makes us sad; There's never a dream of sorrow But the waking makes us glad; We shall look some day with wonder At the troubles we have had. Yet sometimes glimmers on my sight, Through present wrong, the eternal right; And, step by step, since time began, I see the steady gain of man. --John Greenleaf Whittier. FARTHER ON I hear it singing, singing sweetly, Softly in an undertone, Singing as if God had taught it, "It is better farther on!" Night and day it sings the song, Sings it while I sit alone, Sings so that the heart may hear it, "It is better farther on!"