ree,

When over dizzy steeps we go
One soft hand blinds our eyes,
The other leads us, safe and slow,
O love of God, most wise!

And though we turn us from thy face,
And wander wide and long,
Thou hold'st us still in thine embrace,
O love of God most strong!

The saddened heart, the restless soul,
The toil-worn frame and mind,
Alike confess thy sweet control,
O love of God most kind!

But not alone thy care we claim
Our wayward steps to win;
We know thee by a dearer name,
O love of God, within!

And filled and quickened by thy breath
Our souls are strong and free
To rise o'er sin, and fear, and death,
O love of God, to thee!

--Eliza Scudder.

Ah, how skillful grows the hand
That obeyeth Love's command!
It is the heart, and not the brain,
That to the highest doth attain,
And he who followeth Love's behest
Far excelleth all the rest.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

If I truly love the One
All the loves are mine;
Alien to my heart is none
And life grows divine.

GOD'S MERCY

There's a wideness in God's mercy
Like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in his justice
Which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Saviour;
There is healing in his blood.

There is no place where earth's sorrows
Are more felt than up in heaven;
There is no place where earth's failings
Have such kindly judgment given.
There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.

For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man's mind,
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more simple,
We should take him at his word,
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord.

--Frederick William Faber.

THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE

Not what I am, O Lord, but what thou art,
That, that alone, can be my soul's true rest;
Thy love, not mine, bids fear and doubt depart,
And stills the tempest of my tossing breast.

It is thy perfect love that casts out fear;
I know the voice that speaks the "It is I."
And