4.
“Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me,
cannot be My disciple.”
Oh, may we with an ever-deepening fear
Gaze on these sorrows, where Thy Form is found
With one Hand leaning on the bleeding ground—
One Hand that heavy burden strives to bear!
Thus may we to that awful cup draw near
Thou had'st to drink amid that multitude,—
Draw near, and look into that cup of Blood,
And see our very selves reflected there.
We too must of a cup of sorrow drink;
Our destined road is called “the vale of tears,”
Where we must bear our cross in human fears
And sorrows, and to earth in silence sink.
Each branch put forth in weakness must disclose
An image of the Tree on which it grows.
