Without Jesus earth would weary,
Seem almost like hell to be;
But if Jesus I see near me
Earth is almost heaven to me.
Am I hungry, he doth give
Bread on which my soul can live.

Spent with him, one little hour
Giveth a year's worth of gain;
Grace and peace put forth their power
Joy doth wholly banish pain;
One faith-glance that findeth him
Maketh earthly crowns look dim.

O how light upon my shoulder
Lies my cross, now grown so small!
For the Lord is my upholder,
Fits it to me, softens all;
Neither shall it always stay,
Patience, it will pass away.

Those who faithfully go forward
In his changeless care shall go,
Nothing's doubtful or untoward,
To the flock who Jesus know.
Jesus always is the same;
True and faithful is his name.

CHRIST'S SYMPATHY

If Jesus came to earth again,
And walked and talked in field and street,
Who would not lay his human pain
Low at those heavenly feet?

And leave the loom, and leave the lute,
And leave the volume on the shelf,
To follow him, unquestioning, mute,
If 'twere the Lord himself?

How many a brow with care o'erworn,
How many a heart with grief o'er-laden,
How many a man with woe forlorn,
How many a mourning maiden,

Would leave the baffling earthly prize,
Which fails the earthly weak endeavor,
To gaze into those holy eyes
And drink content forever!

His sheep along the cool, the shade,
By the still watercourse he leads;
His lambs upon his breast are laid;
His hungry ones he feeds.

And I where'er he went would go,
Nor question where the paths might lead;
Enough to know that here below
I walked with God indeed!

If it be thus, O Lord of mine,
In absence is thy love forgot?
And must I, when I walk, repine
Because I see thee not?

If this be thus, if this be thus,
Since our poor prayers yet reach thee, Lord,
Since we are weak, once more to us
Reveal the living Word!

O nearer to me, in the dark,
Of life's low house, one moment stand;
And give me keener eyes to mark
The moving of thy hand.

--Edward Bulwer Lytton.

There's not a craving in the mind
Thou dost not meet and still;
There's not a wish the heart can have
Which thou dost