Treasure Chest

Treasure Chest

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Poem by Horatius Bonar — For A Night


Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.   Psalm 30:5

‘Tis first the true, and then the beautiful
Not first the beautiful and then the true.
First the wild moor, with rock and fen and pool
Then the gay garden rich in scent and hue .

Not first the glad and then the sorrowful
But first the sorrowful and then the glad,
Tears for a day, for earth of tears is full,
Then we forget that we were ever sad.

Not first the bright and after that the dark,
But first the dark and after that the bright;
First the thick cloud, and then the rainbow’s arc,
First the dark grave, then resurrection light.

‘Tis first the night, stern night of storm and war
Long night of heavy clouds and veiled skies,
Then the far sparkle of the Morning Star
That bids the saints awake and dawn arise."

Friday, March 29, 2013

Poem by WIlliam Sharp — Perfect Peace



And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.   
Philippians 4:7


It lives not on the sunlit hill
Nor on the sunlit plain;
Nor even on any running stream
Nor on the unclouded main ----
But sometimes through the soul of man
Slow moving o’er his pain,
The moonlight of a perfect peace
Floods heart and brain

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Poem by John Bunyan — To Be A Pilgrim


They were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.   Hebrews 11:13

 He who would valiant be
Gainst all disaster,
Let him in constancy
Follow the Master.
There’s no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.

Who so beset him round
With dismal stories,
To but themselves confound ----
His strength the more in
No lion can him fright;
He’ll with a giant fight
But he will have the right
To be a pilgrim.

Since, Lord, Thou dost defend
Us with Thy Spirit,
We know we at the end
Shall life inherit.
Then, fancies, flee away!
I’ll fear not, what men may say,
I’ll labor night and day
To be a pilgrim.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Prayer by Phillips Brooks


O Lord, by all thy dealings with us, whether of joy or pain,of light or darkness, let us be brought to Thee. Let us value no treatment of Thy grace simply because it makes us happy or because it makes us sad, because it gives us or denies us what we want; but may all that Thou sendest us bring us to Thee, that knowing Thy perfectness we may be sure in every disappointment that thou art still loving us, and in every darkness that thou art still enlightening us, and in every enforced idleness that Thou are still using us;yea, in every death Thou art giving us life; as in His death thou didst give life to Thy Son our Saviour, Jesus Christ

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Quote by Peter Marshall


Peter Marshall former chaplain of the U.S. Senate prayed at one time as he began his daily official duty:

"Lord Jesus, thou who art the way, the truth, and the life; hear us as we pray for the truth that shall make us free. Teach us that liberty is not only to be loved but also to be lived. Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books. It costs too much to be hoarded. Help us to see that our liberty is not the right to do as we please, but the opportunity to please to do what is right."

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Poem by George Matheson — Make Me A Captive


Make me a captive, Lord,
And then I shall be free;
Force me to render up my sword,
And I shall conqueror be,
I sink in life’s alarms
When in myself I stand;
Imprison me within Thine arms,
And strong shall be my hand.

My heart is weak and poor
Until it master find;
It has no spring of action sure----
It varies with the wind.
It cannot freely move
Till Thou hast wrought its chain;
Enslave it with Thy matchless love,
And deathless it shall reign.

My power is faint and low
Till I have learned to serve;
It wants the needed fire to glow,
It wants the breeze to nerve;
It cannot drive the world
Until itself be driven;
Its flag can only be unfurled
When Thou shalt breathe from heaven.

My will is not my own
Till Thou has made it Thine;
If it would reach a monarch’s throne
It must its crown resign;
It only stands unbent
Amid the clashing strife,
When on Thy bosom it has leant
And found in Thee its life.

                                                

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — I Heard Him Call


I heard Him call ----
“Come, follow,” that was all.
My gold grew dim
My soul went after Him
I rose and followed, that was all.
Who would not follow
If they heard Him call?

Him evermore I behold
Walking in Galilee ,
Through the corn-fields’ waving gold,
In hamlet, or grassy world.
By the shores of the Beautiful Sea ,
He touched the sightless eyes
Before Him the demons flee;
To the dead He sayeth, Arise!
To the living, Follow Me!
And that Voice still soundeth on
From the centuries that are gone
To the centuries that shall be.