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The Poetical Works of Walter C. Smith

... Revised by the Author: Coll. ed.
Smith, Walter C. (1824-1908)

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THE BISHOP'S WALK AND THE BISHOP'S TIMES
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RABAN
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NORTH COUNTRY FOLK
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THOUGHTS AND FANCIES FOR SUNDAY EVENINGS
  
[Why should I always pray]
  
[One thing I of the Lord desire—]
  
[Lilies take no care]
  
[Once they sought the Cross of shame]
  
[It is the fashion now for wits to be]
  
[Hark! hark! the joyous lark]
  
[He led me out and in]
  
[Oh to be like my Lord! Yet must I be]
  
[Be still, and know He doeth all things well]
  
[Abba, Father! O to think that I]
  
[O barren fruitless years]
  
[Oft, Lord, I weary in Thy work]
  
[Lo! this our marching order still]
  
[The Master comes, and calls for thee]
  
[There where the hosts of darkness lie]
  
[Light the lamp that burneth cheery]
  
[Looking unto Jesus]
  
[Ah! you bring money in your hand]
  
[Learn, O my soul, to use]
  
[One writ a plea for Faith, and put]
  
[Sometimes my heart with hope is filled]
  
[Alone, to face the Powers of darkness here]
  
[Bright and glad the time has been]
  
[Were there no oxen feeding in the stall]
  
[Jesus, in the deep, dark night]
  
[Whatsoe'er I be or do]
  
[Not to be served, O Lord, but to serve man]
  
[Laying the foundations]
  
[I have heard a cry of wailing]
  
[What shall I do for all the grace and truth]
  
[All the springs of God are found]
  
[If I had got the cup]
  
[He had not gone to ply the net]
  
[What am I that there should be]
  
[Gird your loins about with truth]
  
[When I forget Thee, like a sun-parched land]
  
[Bind on me, Lord, the new law given]
  
[O heart, my heart, that burdened art and breaking]
  
[Lord, there is nothing I can give]
  
[He spake without one shade of guilt or blame]
  
[Oh we boast us of our law]
  
[Ah me! the secret sin]
  
[Not one regretful look behind]
  
[Higher still, and higher!]
  
[Dear to me the Church of Christ]
  
[Hast thou wandered far, my child?]
  
[Thy Kingdom come—the reign of truth and right]
  
[Waiting for the day to dawn]
  
[Bid me not look in heaven for only rest]
  
[Oh, are they near to us or far away?]
  
[O'er land and sea love follows with fond prayers]
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A HERETIC AND OTHER POEMS
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BALLADS FROM SCOTTISH HISTORY
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FUGITIVE PIECES

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[O barren fruitless years]

“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”—Eph. v. 16.

O barren fruitless years,
Lean wastes of desert sand—
Could I but water you with tears,
And make you fruitful land!
Oh years that once did reap
A crop of sinful deeds—
Would I might pile them in a heap,
And burn those noxious weeds!
Oh years of grief and pain
That brought me dull despair—
Might I your wine-press tread again,
And find the blessing there!
Oh mingled thread of days,
What have I made of you?
What garment have I wrought of praise
What robe of honour due?
Have ye no help in store,
For healing of the mind?
Or will it mend the road before
To grieve for that behind?
Though I must bear the blame
Of time misspent and ill,
Let me not clothe myself with shame
By what remaineth still.
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