The waiting time, my brothers,

Is the hardest time of all.

SARAH DOUDNEY, The Hardest Time of All

Father, show me how to praise Thee

When I seek Thy courts to-day;

Guide me by Thy love, and raise me --

Let me feel the words I say.

Bless me on this hallowed morning,

Bid my soul to Thee draw near;

Teach me, and my heart shall listen --

Speak, Lord, and Thy child shall hear.

The Master hath called us, in life’s early morning,

With spirits as fresh as the dew on the sod:

We turn from the world, with its smiles and its scorning,

To cast in our lot with the people of God.

Such simple words! But words are mighty things;

They cast us down, or lift us up to rest;

They charm and strengthen, till our angel sings

The last of all the life-songs, and the best.