Forgive us, Lord, our little faith; And help us all, from morn till e'en, Still to believe that lot the best Which is, not that which might have been. And grant we may so pass the days The cradle and the grave between, That death's dark hour not darker be For thoughts of what life might have been. THE ONE THING NEEDFUL My prayer to the promise shall cling-- I will not give heed to a doubt; For I ask for the one needful thing Which I cannot be happy without: A spirit of lowly repose In the love of the Lamb that was slain; A heart to be touched with his woes, And a care not to grieve him again; The peace that my Saviour has bought, The cheerfulness nothing can dim, The love that can bring every thought Into perfect obedience to him; The wisdom his mercy to own In the way he directs me to take-- To glory in Jesus alone, And to love and do good for his sake. All this thou hast offered to me In the promise whereon I will rest; For faith, O my Saviour! in thee, Is the substance of all my request. Thy word has commanded my prayer, Thy Spirit has taught me to pray; And all my unholy despair Is ready to vanish away. Thou wilt not be weary of me; Thy promise my faith shall sustain; And soon, very soon, shall I see I have not been asking in vain. --Anna Letitia Waring. Ah, God! I have not had thee day and night In thought, nor magnified thy name aright, Nor lauded thee, nor glorified, nor laid Upon thine altars one poor kusa-blade! Yet now, when I seek refuge, Lord! with thee, I ask, and thou wilt give, all good to me. --Edwin Arnold, from the Sanskrit. ABOVE ALL, THE SHIELD Faith fails; Then in the dust Lie failing rest and light and trust. So doth the troubled soul itself distress, And choke the fountain in the wilderness. I care not what your peace assails! The deep root is, faith fails. Faith fails When in the breast The Lord's sweet presence doth not rest; For who believes, clouds cannot make afraid; He knows the sun doth shine behind the shade; He rides at anchor through the gales. Do you not so? Faith fails. Faith fails; Its foes alarm, And persecution's threats disarm; False friends can scarcely wish it a good day, Before it taketh fright and shrinks away. When God doth guard, what foe prevails? Why then the fear? Faith fails. Faith fails; Else cares would die, And we should on God's care rely. Man for the coming day doth grieve and fret, And all past days doth sinfully forget. For every beast God's care avails; Why not for us? Faith fails.