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118

April 5 THANKS-BUILDING

“Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.”—Ps. cxxvii. 1.

Father, I thank Thee that I must
Expand the temple which I raise
For Thine indwelling out of trust,
And build yet nobler praise on praise;
That nothing fills me now or can
Compel to an enduring home,
Each moment magnifies Thy plan
And shows me purer bliss to come.
I thank Thee for the helpful flints
Which tear the feet with sordid aims,
And loving wounds that leave their prints
Upon the soul in grander claims;
When I would falter for a space
And dream of some poor false repose,
Or lose the vision of Thy Face,
If paradises here unclose.
I thank Thee for the purpose large
Which is a reflex of Thine own,
And carries me from marge to marge
To conquer still more worlds unknown;
That I shall nowhere anchor, save
Within Thine Arms which lift so high
My efforts now, and in the grave
When all seems lost are yet most nigh.
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