| Share page | Visit Us On FB |
All is bright and cheerful round us;
all above is soft and blue;
spring at last hath come and found us,
spring and all its pleasures too:
every flower is full of gladness;
dew is bright and buds are gay;
earth, with all its sin and sadness,
seems a happy place today.
If the flowers, that fade so quickly,
if a day, that ends in night,
if the sky, that clouds so thickly
often cover from our sight,
if they all have so much beauty,
what must be God’s land of rest,
where his sons, that do their duty,
after many toils are blessed?
There are leaves that never wither,
there are flowers that ne’er decay;
nothing evil goeth thither,
nothing good is kept away.
They that came from tribulation,
washed their robes and made them white,
out of every tongue and nation,
there have rest and peace and light.
They through grief and pain and scorning
gave thee, Lord, their willing names,
like the saints we praise this morning,
like Saint Philip and Saint James.
O that we might, ceasing never,
follow them, as they did thee,
till we magnify for ever
God the blessèd Trinity!
For the feast of Saints Philip and James (May 1), which is, of course, May Day, hence the spring imagery.
(1818-1866)
D