at cleanseth from all sin,
Our purchase paid by Christ above?
Whoever will may drink! Oh, why,
Worn toilers in this earthly strife,
Reject a mansion in the sky,
Reject heaven's bliss and endless life?
GO WANDER
Go, wander, little book,
Nor let thy wand'ring cease;
May all who on these pages look
From sin find sweet release,
Through Christ, God's holy son,
Who left his throne in heaven
And e'en death's anguish did not shun
That we might be forgiven.
How should our thoughts and deeds
Exalt this mighty friend,
Who died, yet lives and intercedes
And loves us to the end!
LOVE
_For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God._--Ephesians 2:8.
Christ might have called the angels down
To bear him safe above,
To shield his brow from sorrow's crown,
From death's cold blight, and bitter frown,
Had it not been for love.
Our glorious King, our Prince of Peace,
Has left his throne above
To give our souls from sin release,
To make our pain and anguish cease,
And all because of love.
By faith in him, we all may see
In realms of light above,
Through streams of blood on Calvary,
A joyful immortality;--
The purchase price was love.
THE LILIES
_Consider the lilies._--Luke 2:27.
Emblems of Christ our Lord,
Roses and lilies fair,
These flowers in His word,
His glory seem to share.
The lilies of the field,
Sweet teachers of the soul,
Which will their lessons yield
Long as the seasons roll,
They neither toil nor spin,
Exist without a care,
And yet no earthly king can win
A garb so chaste and rare.
Frozen, they burst to life,
To nature's minstrelsy--
A resurrection type
Of immortality.
TELL PETER
_And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself._--John 18:25.
Peter, it was not outward cold
But inward chill thy bosom froze,
Made thee deny with falsehood bold
Thy Lord and Master to his foes.
When we find cheer at Satan's fires
The world is there to work us harm,
To deaden all our pure desires
With its deceitful lure and charm.
Peter, the voice of chanticleer
Fulfilled what Christ had prophesied;
And oh, that pitying look sincere
From him whom thou hadst just denied!
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