BENEFICENCE

Otago Witness, Issue 3148, 15 July 1914, Page 61

BENEFICENCE

My theme is of God—the first of all friends J Mindful of mercies that daily descends I lean on His love; I long for more light Because of my feeble, circumscribed sight. No features I see, no form will unfold,. The glory of God I may not behold; But blessings abundant daily declare ' His shielding and shrouding Fatherly car« What though God’s goodness is patent and clear. The infidel preaches, no parent is near; ’Tis Nature’s good hand, not Gcd, who ia kind, , . Forgetting that goodness springs from a mind. Nature unguided would be most austere— Burning by sunshine or freezing severe; Waters would waste us, winds would dcstroj Were they not compassed by goodness on high. Nature’s munificent only because It is controlled by beneficent laws; Thus bound ana blended by infinite might, Nature is gentle—a strength and delight. Nature’s best service is duties diverse, Called and controlled by inscrutable force; Nature’s conversion to goodness is shown By blending of forces, fatal alone. Heat blends with cold, each losing their harm; , The storm’s strident course is stayed by the calm; The streaming of sunshine through the cold air Refreshes with rain, that burdened c.ouds bear. The air that surrounds, unseen by the eyes. For breath and protection, God surely supplies ; No rthink this a truth 100 trivial to cite, Meteors millions by friction ignite. The dawning of day is ever assured, The night for onr needs is always secured. Silently sealing our senses in sloop, Disclosing earth’s daily, definite sweep. Thus. then, there flows these great forces benign, Where Nature’s activities ever combine; Man in his might, and with masterful mind. May never rule matter, light, or the wind. There moves then in Nature more than man’s mind — Can it be found in its rude forces blind; Should we not rather, discerning, declare God and the angels in greatness are there? Learning oft lectures on Nature’s concerns, Finding but Nature in all it discerns, Science, irreverent, seeks to evolve Good without God. as His problems they solve. But I would assert, 'tis Gcd ■'nd His good Tracing hi blessings truths misunderstood. By movements of air, the shade and the light, The common, the constant, grand and the trite. Patatowai.