WHEN rejoicing in the light of our Salvation,
With the Covenant of Peace upon the mind,
We reach the crowning joy of supplication
In prayer for all conditions of mankind.
Yes, sinful and weak-hearted fellow-mortal,
Yes, toiling brother convict on the chain;
We are kneeling at the throne of the immortal
For solace to your sorrows and your pain.
Ah! babes and little children, all unheeding
The trials that await you on the way,
You are smiling in your sleep while we are pleading
That your strength may be extended as your day.
Youths and maidens, now so hopefully surveying
The love-illumined avenue of life,
Raise your grateful hearts to Heaven while we are praying,
For your guidance in the struggle and the strife.
Oh, sadly crippled manhood, vainly yearning
For the action and the glory of the fray,
Will some angel check the torrent of your mourning
With a whisper that we pray for you to-day?
Ye aged men and women, sadly biding
The summons that shall lay you in the dust,
Look beyond the feeble barrier of dividing,
To the mansions of the Saviour whom we trust.
O, travellers by land and over ocean,
Where perils unsuspected may be near,
You are not beyond the range of our devotion –
Though strangers, we are praying for you here.
Idolaters and heathen, vainly shrieking
To a blood-besprinkled demon of the night,
From the Father of all mercy we are seeking
For help to lead your spirits to the Light.
Interceding for all types of tribulation,
The fatherless, the widow, the opprest,
Each breast will heave in secret supplication
For some dear one to be comforted and blest.
Friend of youth and fellow-pilgrim to the turning
By the devious paths of knowledge pointed out.
Thou hast gather’d in thy wider field of learning
A harvest of uncertainty and doubt.
Will the murmur of my pleading wake an echo
In a soul once turned to harmony with mine?
Will the striving of my spirit lift a shadow
From that warm but unbelieving heart of thine?
‘Tis not by distance only we are parted,
The troubled waves of doubt between us roll;
But God, who hears the prayer of the true-hearted,
May answer it in blessings on thy soul.
(Emily Mary Barton)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, God Poems, Life Poems, Night Poems, Light Poems, Mind Poems, Soul Poems, War & Peace Poems, Youth Poems, Friendship Poems, Pain PoemsBased on Keywords: tribulation, surveying, unsuspected, true-hearted, interceding, fellow-mortal, blood-besprinkled, idolaters, fellow-pilgrim, weak-hearted, love-illumined