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255

August 5 PRESENT SALVATION

“The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.”—Deut. xxx. 14.

There are who found salvation near,
Betwixt the trouble and the tear,
But ere they felt the burden press
It proved Thy Hand's Divine caress;
The timid doubt, the foolish fear,
Died in Thy Love and Graciousness.
It was Redemption first they fled,
Which by the Holy Cross was shed.
There are who dreamed salvation far,
As dim and distant as a star,
Beyond the reach of utmost thought
And by long times of travail bought;
They deemed, with iron bound and bar,
Somehow at length it might be wrought;
Until they saw Redemption nigh,
Betwixt the sorrow and the sigh.
There are who still in sorrow pray
And lift their hands unto the day,
Or toil with fond and fruitless might
And lean upon the unlovely night;
Although their feet are in the way,
And follow Jesus in their flight;
They drink Salvation at each breath,
But think Redemption's life is death.
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