Or o'er thy wild, neglected soil
Go forth in shame to weep.

301. P. M. Whittier.

The Purpose of Life.

1 Hast thou, 'midst life's empty noises,
Heard the solemn steps of Time,
And the low, mysterious voices
Of another clime?

2 Early hath life's mighty question
Thrilled within thy heart of youth,
With a deep and strong beseeching,--
What, and where, is truth?

3 Not to ease and aimless quiet
Doth the inward answer tend;
But to works of love and duty,
As our being's end.

4 Earnest toil and strong endeavor
Of a spirit which within
Wrestles with familiar evil
And besetting sin;

5 And without, with tireless vigor,
Steady heart, and purpose strong,
In the power of Truth assaileth
Every form of wrong.

302. S. M. Chr. Psalmist.

All Work Divine.

1 Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see;
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for Thee!

2 To scorn the senses' sway,
While still to Thee I tend;
In all I do be Thou the way;
In all be Thou the end.

3 All may of Thee partake;
Nothing so small can be,
But draws, when acted for Thy sake,
Greatness and worth from Thee.

4 If done beneath Thy laws,
E'en servile labors shine;
Hallowed is toil, if this the cause;
The meanest work divine.

303. L. M. Sterling.

Divine Meaning in Humble Things.

1 Thou, Lord, who rear'st the mountain's height,
And mak'st the cliffs with sunshine bright;
O, grant that we may own Thy hand
No less in every grain of sand!

2 With forests huge, of dateless time,
Thy will has hung each peak sublime;
But withered leaves beneath the tree
Have tongues that tell as loud of Thee.

3 Teach us that not a leaf can grow,
Till life from Thee within it flow;
That not a grain of dust can be,
O Fount of being! save by Thee;

4 That every human word and deed,
Each flash of feeling, will, or creed,
Hath solemn meaning from above,
Begun and ended all in love.

304. L. M. Keble.