 | Thoughts in Verse |  |
90
OPPORTUNITY.
Each moment brings an opportunity;
A moment lost can ne'er recovered be.
In wisdom, then, let each redeem the time—
The present hour, my friend, alone is thine!
Grasp, then, with power, the moments as they fly,
And into actions change ere they go by.
If all mankind would work with diligence
To make the most of life; oh! how intense—
How full and active would this short life be,
Well worthy of a blest eternity!
The 'lotted span of three score years and ten,
Equivalent to ages would be then.
A moment lost can ne'er recovered be.
In wisdom, then, let each redeem the time—
The present hour, my friend, alone is thine!
Grasp, then, with power, the moments as they fly,
And into actions change ere they go by.
If all mankind would work with diligence
To make the most of life; oh! how intense—
How full and active would this short life be,
Well worthy of a blest eternity!
The 'lotted span of three score years and ten,
Equivalent to ages would be then.
'Tis not the one who stays for many a year,
Who in reality lives longest here;
But they who make good use of every hour,
By doing right to all become a pow'r
In raising up to nobler state mankind,
And thus, by earnest work, contentment find.
A single year in active service spent,
Is worth a score in aimless indolence.
In just three years our Lord accomplished more,
Than any being who had lived before.
'Gainst sin and crime, the truth with power hurled;
Redeemed the time, and thus redeemed the world!
Who in reality lives longest here;
But they who make good use of every hour,
By doing right to all become a pow'r
In raising up to nobler state mankind,
And thus, by earnest work, contentment find.
A single year in active service spent,
Is worth a score in aimless indolence.
In just three years our Lord accomplished more,
Than any being who had lived before.
'Gainst sin and crime, the truth with power hurled;
Redeemed the time, and thus redeemed the world!
A poet lived three hundred years ago,
By application learned life's way to know.
His proposition, true of mortals then:
“There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at its flood, to fortune leads,”—
Is true to-day; and he who runs and reads,
Can, as a motto, in bright letters see:—
The Golden Tide is Opportunity!
By application learned life's way to know.
His proposition, true of mortals then:
“There is a tide in the affairs of men,
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Is true to-day; and he who runs and reads,
Can, as a motto, in bright letters see:—
The Golden Tide is Opportunity!
A beggar blind, beside the highway stood,
And begged for alms to buy his daily food.
Jesus the Great Physician passed that way,—
There was a stir in Jericho that day!
He heard the footsteps of the multitude,
Was doubtless pressed and jostled by the rude.
He asked: What can this great excitement mean?
A tumult such as this had seldom been!
'Tis Jesus Christ of Nazareth, they say,
Who, on His mission passeth by to-day!
And begged for alms to buy his daily food.
Jesus the Great Physician passed that way,—
There was a stir in Jericho that day!
He heard the footsteps of the multitude,
Was doubtless pressed and jostled by the rude.
He asked: What can this great excitement mean?
A tumult such as this had seldom been!
'Tis Jesus Christ of Nazareth, they say,
Who, on His mission passeth by to-day!
Has Jesus truly come? I've heard before
Of His compassion and his mighty power,
Brought from His home beyond the vaulted skies,—
I know that He can heal my sightless eyes!
And so he calls to Christ with all his might:
Have mercy, Son of David, give me sight!
And Christ stood still; and ordered that they call
Him that was blind. In wonder standeth all.
The tide is at its flood—the hour has come—
'Tis resting now; the ebb will follow soon!
Of His compassion and his mighty power,
Brought from His home beyond the vaulted skies,—
I know that He can heal my sightless eyes!
And so he calls to Christ with all his might:
Have mercy, Son of David, give me sight!
And Christ stood still; and ordered that they call
Him that was blind. In wonder standeth all.
The tide is at its flood—the hour has come—
'Tis resting now; the ebb will follow soon!
So throwing garment off in eagerness,
He comes, desiring Jesus Christ to bless—
His sight restore—infirmity to heal—
His faith to strengthen and his hope to seal.
Hark! hear the gracious words that thrill the soul:
Go now thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole.
Immediately for him shines in the day—
His sight restored, he follows in the way.
The blessed tide was taken at its flood,
And brought Bartimeus to the highest good.
The lesson taught, we all can plainly see:
In wisdom use each Opportunity!
He comes, desiring Jesus Christ to bless—
His sight restore—infirmity to heal—
His faith to strengthen and his hope to seal.
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Go now thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole.
Immediately for him shines in the day—
His sight restored, he follows in the way.
The blessed tide was taken at its flood,
And brought Bartimeus to the highest good.
The lesson taught, we all can plainly see:
In wisdom use each Opportunity!
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