When on My Day of Life

When on my day

Of life the night is fall­ing

And in the winds

From un­sunned spac­es blown

I hear far voic­es

Out of dark­ness call­ing

My feet to paths un­known.

Thou

who hast made

My home of life so plea­sant

Leave not its ten­ant

When its walls de­cay;

O love di­vine

O help­er ev­er pre­sent

Be Thou my strength and stay!

Be near me when

All else is from me drift­ing—

Earth

sky

home’s pic­tures

Days of shade and shine

And kind­ly faces

To my own up­lift­ing

The love which an­swers mine.

I have but Thee

my Fa­ther;

Let Thy Spir­it be with me then

To com­fort and up­hold;

No gate of pearl

No branch of palm I mer­it

Nor street of shin­ing gold.

Suffice it if—

My good and ill un­reck­oned

And both for­giv­en

Through Thy ab­ound­ing grace—

I find my­self

By hands fa­mil­iar beck­oned

Unto my fit­ting place.

Some hum­ble door

Among Thy ma­ny man­sions

Some shel­ter­ing shade

Where sin and striv­ing cease

And flows for­ev­er through

Heaven’s green ex­pan­sions

The riv­er of Thy peace.

There from the mu­sic

Round about me steal­ing

I fain would learn

The new and ho­ly song

And find at last

Beneath Thy trees of heal­ing

The life for which I long.