THE EYE OF FAITH I do not ask for earthly store Beyond a day's supply; I only covet more and more The clear and single eye. To see my duty face to face And trust the Lord for daily grace. I care not for the empty show That thoughtless worldlings see; I crave to do the best I know, And leave the rest with thee; Well satisfied that sweet reward Is sure to those who trust the Lord. Whate'er the crosses mine shall be, I will not dare to shun; I only ask to live for thee, And that thy will be done; Thy will, O Lord, be mine each day, While passing on my homeward way. And when at last, my labor o'er, I cross the narrow sea, Grant, Lord, that on the other shore My soul may dwell with thee, And learn what here I cannot know: Why thou hast ever loved me so. --J. J. Maxfield. HAVE FAITH IN GOD Have faith in God! for he who reigns on high Hath borne thy grief and hears the suppliant's sigh, Still to his arms, thine only refuge, fly. Have faith in God! Fear not to call on him, O soul distressed! Thy sorrow's whisper wooes thee to his breast; He who is oftenest there is oftenest blest. Have faith in God! Lean not on Egypt's reeds; slake not thy thirst At earthly cisterns. Seek the kingdom first. Though man and Satan fight thee with their worst, Have faith in God! Go tell him all! The sigh thy bosom heaves Is heard in heaven. Strength and grace he gives Who gave himself for thee. Our Jesus lives; Have faith in God! FAITH IN GOD Though time may dig the grave of creeds, And dogmas wither in the sod, My soul will keep the thought it needs-- Its swerveless faith in God. No matter how the world began, Nor where the march of science goes, My trust in something more than man Shall help me bear life's woes. Let progress take the props away, And moldering superstitions fall; Still God retains his regal sway-- The Maker of us all. Why cavil over that or this? One thought is vast enough for me-- The great Creator was, and is, And evermore will be. A STRONGER FAITH Perplext in faith, but pure in deeds, At last he beat his music out. There lives more faith in honest doubt, Believe me, than in half the creeds. He fought his doubts and gathered strength, He would not make his judgment blind, He faced the specters of the mind And laid them; thus he came at length To find a stronger faith his own, And Power was with him in the night, Which makes the darkness and the light, And dwells not in the light alone. --Alfred Tennyson. A PERFECT FAITH O for a faith that will not shrink Though pressed by every foe, That will not tremble on the brink Of any earthly woe!