Precept and Practice – JUNE 1 – Gladness
Dear Lord, since Thou didst make the Earth,
Thou mad’st it not for grief but mirth,
Therefore will I be glad
And let who will be sad.
For if I load my life with care
What profits me the buxom air,
And what the sweet birds’ choir
And Heaven’s azure fire ?
But if I cannot choose but weep,
Weeping I’ll think I do but sleep
Till Thou shalt bid me wake
And triumph for Thy sake.
Lord! as ’tis Thine eternal state
With joy undimmed to contemplate
The World that Thou hast wrought
As mirror for Thy thought,
So every morning I would rise
And offer Thee for sacrifice
A spirit bright and clear As the wide atmosphere,
For, Lord, since all is well with
Thee It cannot well be ill with me.
Printed in ‘The Spectator’
oooOOOooo
From the Introduction to Precept and Practice
The kindly welcome given to my other little books, ‘Being and Doing’ and ‘Character and Conduct,’ must be my excuse for adding another collection of extracts to the number now in circulation.
The quotations are gathered from the books of many earnest thinkers, and deal with Life in all its length and breadth, with ourselves, our characters, our plain unvarnished faults and weaknesses, our often untoward circumstances, and with all that drags us down;- with our purposes, our religion, our love and friendships, and with all that uplifts us;- with our relation to others, our influence and responsibilities, and finally with those stages of our journey which bring us to the Road’s Last Turn and to the Silent Land.
CONSTANCE M. WHISHAW
Suffolk Vicar 