 | Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious |  |
32
WORKING AND WAITING.
“They also serve who only stand and wait.”
Milton.
Milton.
Father! I know, unless Thou build,
The builder's toil is gone for nought.
Thy presence therefore have I sought,
That Thy design may be fulfilled
The builder's toil is gone for nought.
Thy presence therefore have I sought,
That Thy design may be fulfilled
In me and in my work. To bend
Thy holy will by prayer to mine,
I do not ask; but make me Thine,
O Thou Who art my being's end!
Thy holy will by prayer to mine,
I do not ask; but make me Thine,
O Thou Who art my being's end!
Grant me a patient heart to keep,
Faithful alike through praise and blame,
In victory and defeat the same,
And whether I rejoice or weep;
Faithful alike through praise and blame,
In victory and defeat the same,
And whether I rejoice or weep;
And if Thou wilt, oh grant me this,
That I, Thy child, may ever be
A fellow-labourer with Thee,
And minister to others' bliss;
That I, Thy child, may ever be
A fellow-labourer with Thee,
And minister to others' bliss;
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But if the purpose should be Thine,
That I must only “stand and wait”
With myriad others at Thy gate,
O Father! let me not repine.
That I must only “stand and wait”
With myriad others at Thy gate,
O Father! let me not repine.
So may Thy will through mine be done,
Working or waiting, to the last;
And may I see, when death is past,
The face of Thine eternal Son!
Working or waiting, to the last;
And may I see, when death is past,
The face of Thine eternal Son!
| Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious | |