All's Well! Part 3

"_Thy Will be done!_"

Tis not Thy Will That Sin or Sorrow rule the world.

Thy Will is Joy, and Hope, and Light; Thy Will is All-Triumphant Right.

And so, exultantly, we cry,-- "_Thy Will be done! Thy Will be done!_"

"_Thy Will be done!_"

It is Thy Will That all Life's wrongs should be redressed; That burdened souls their bonds should break; That Earth of Heavenly Joys partake.

And so, right wistfully, we cry,-- "_Thy Will be done! Thy Will be done!_"

"_Thy Will be done!_"

'Tis not Thy Will That man should kiss a chastening rod; But, heart abrim, and head to heaven, Should praise his G.o.d for mercies given, And ever cry right joyously,-- "_Thy Will be done! Thy Will be done!_"

"_Thy Will be done!_"

It is Thy Will That Life should seek its golden prime,-- That strife 'twixt man and man should cease,-- That all Thy sons should build Thy peace.

And so, full longingly, we cry,-- "_Thy Will be done! Thy Will be done!_"

"_Thy Will be done!_"

Then Earth were Heaven, If but Thy gracious Will prevailed; If every will that worketh ill Would bend to Thine, and Thine fulfil, And with us pray,--"_Bring in Thy Day!

Thy Will be done! Thy Will be done!_"

DIES IRAE--DIES PACIS

(_As earnestly as any I crave the victory of Right over this madness of Insensate Might against which we are contending. As certainly as any I would, if that were conceivably possible, have adequate punishment meted out to those who have brought this horror upon the world. But I see, as all save the utterly earth-blinded must see--that when the Day of Settlement comes, and we and our allies are in a position to impose terms, unless we go into the Council-Chamber with hearts set inflexibly on the Common Weal of the World--in a word, unless we invite Christ to a seat at the Board--the end may be even worse than the beginning;--this which we have hoped and prayed night be the final war may prove but the beginning of strifes incredible._)

"Only through Me!" ... The clear, high call comes pealing, Above the thunders of the battle-plain;-- "Only through Me can Life's red wounds find healing; Only through Me shall Earth have peace again.

Only through Me! ... Love's Might, all might transcending, Alone can draw the poison-fangs of Hate.

Yours the beginning!--Mine a n.o.bler ending,-- Peace upon Earth, and Man regenerate!

Only through Me can come the great awaking; Wrong cannot right the wrongs that Wrong hath done; Only through Me, all other G.o.ds forsaking, Can ye attain the heights that must be won.

Only through Me shall Victory be sounded; Only through Me can Right wield righteous sword; Only through Me shall Peace be surely founded; Only through Me! ... _Then bid Me to the Board!_"

_Can we not rise to such great height of glory?

Shall this vast sorrow spend itself in vain?

Shall future ages tell the woful story,-- "Christ by His own was crucified again"?_

JUDGMENT DAY

The nations are in the proving; Each day is Judgment Day; And the peoples He finds wanting Shall pa.s.s--by the Shadowy Way.

THE HIGH THINGS

The Greatest Day that ever dawned,-- It was a Winter's Morn.

The Finest Temple ever built Was a Shed where a Babe was born.

The Sweetest Robes by woman wrought Were the Swaths by the Baby worn.

And the Fairest Hair the world has seen, --Those Locks that were never shorn.

The n.o.blest Crown man ever wore,-- It was the Plaited Thorn.

The Grandest Death man ever died,-- It was the Death of Scorn.

The Sorest Grief by woman known Was the Mother-Maid's forlorn.

The Deepest Sorrows e'er endured Were by The Outcast borne.

The Truest Heart the world e'er broke Was the Heart by man's sins torn.

THE EMPTY CHAIR

Wherever is an empty chair-- Lord, be Thou there!

And fill it--like an answered prayer-- With grace of fragrant thought, and rare Sweet memories of him whose place Thou takest for a little s.p.a.ce!-- --With thought of that heroical Great heart that sprang to Duty's call; --With thought of all the best in him, That Time shall have no power to dim; --With thought of Duty n.o.bly done, And High Eternal Welfare won.

Think! Would you wish that he had stayed, When all the rest The Call obeyed?

--That thought of self had held in thrall His soul, and shrunk it mean and small?

Nay, rather thank the Lord that he Rose to such height of chivalry; --That, with the need, his loyal soul Swung like a needle to its pole; --That, setting duty first, he went At once, as to a sacrament.

So, Lord, we thank Thee for Thy Grace, And pray Thee fill his vacant place!

ROAD-MATES

From deepest depth, O Lord, I cry to Thee.

"_My Love runs quick to your necessity._"

I am bereft; my soul is sick with loss.

"_Dear one, I know. My heart broke on the Cross._"