Poems and Short Features

Fruit Bearing

Will the Master find fruit in my garden?
   Am I ready for him today?
Is it there for my Lord to gather
   When he comes along my way?

LOVE for the one unthankful.
   LONG-SUFFERING when sorely tried.
JOY when the way is dreary.
   MEEKNESS when hurt through pride.

GENTLENESS toward each other.
   PEACE ‘mid life’s stress and strain.
TRUST when around is darkness.
   FAITH spite the loss and pain.

GOODNESS his grace bestoweth.
   PATIENCE in suffering.
HOPE with its rainbow radiance.
   TEMPERANCE in everything.

This is the fruit he looks for,
   This is what he desires,
Fruit of the holy spirit,
   This is what he requires.

                       —Songs of the Nightingale, p. 98

I Will Be With Thee

To the humble ones now, as to Moses of old, God declares: “I will be with thee; I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say” [Exodus 4:12]. As one lesson is to have no confidence in ourselves or in our own judgment or strength, another important lesson is that we should have every confidence, absolute confidence, in God. Not until this lesson is learned will any be really fit to be God’s mouthpieces … Everything in the Scriptures points us to the fact that humility is a quality most essential to all of the Lord’s people who would be used of the Lord in any important or special work for Him. If the followers of the Lord could continually keep this in memory, and would persistently shape their course accordingly, how much they would be used, we may be sure.

—Reprints, p. 5262

Israel’s Call

Not to the mount that might be touched,
   Not to the flame that flared
Above its crest and o’er its breast,
   While heaven’s power was bared;
Not to the earth that, rended, quaked
   O’er dark, tempestuous way;
But to the land that God hath planned
   Move Zion’s hosts today.

Not to the law that Moses wrote
   On tabled stone of yore,
Giving each line of will divine
   In moral code and lore;
But to prophetic time that now
   Points to their rightful home,
From out the death-hued centuries
   God’s Israel has come.

Jerusalem awakes at length,
   Her royal robe puts on,
And glories as of former strength
   Shall clothe her as the sun;
And brighter shall her treasure grow,
   And all the world shall see
That God hath brought her foes to naught
   And sent her Jubilee.

Rich farming lands and orchards fair
   Her wealth in store proclaim,
And men rejoice to hear the voice
   That sounds abroad her name;
Each school in pride of learning stands,
   Each home of beauty marks
Modern advancement in the land
   Where dwelt the patriarchs.

God has his time to cause the morn
   To spread its gold on high,
And for the diamonds of the night
   To gem the vaulted sky;
So in the ages as they move
   Past as on mighty wing,
The time is set for Harvest Home,
   When Zion’s hills shall sing.

The world moves on from dark to light,
   The Plan of God is sure,
And all the fortresses of might
   ’Gainst justice can’t endure.
Have courage then, O Israel,
   And bear this fact in store,
Earth’s Golden Age, your heritage
   Of life forever more.

—Poems of the Way, p. 177

Onward to the Promised Land

Through the night of doubt and sorrow
   Onward goes the pilgrim band,
Singing songs of expectation,
   Marching to the Promised Land.

Clear before us through the darkness
   Gleams and burns the guiding light;
Brother clasps the hand of brother,
   Stepping fearless through the night.

One the Lamb, so pure and spotless,
   One the all-atoning blood,
Ent’ring in the veil most holy,
   Opening up the way to God.

One the Light of God’s own Presence
   O’er His ransomed people shed,
Chasing far the gloom and terror,
   Brightening all the path we tread:

One the object of our journey,
   One the faith which never tires,
One the earnest looking forward,
   One the hope our God inspires:

One the strain that lips of brethren
   Lift as from the heart of one;
One the conflict, one the peril,
   One the march in God begun:

One the gladness of rejoicing
   On the far eternal shore,
Where the One Almighty Father
   Reigns in love for evermore.

—The Bible Students’ Hymnal [England], #409

And finally...

God led Israel out of bondage into marvelous freedom. He brought them away from the idols of Egypt and gave them a divine Law with divine principles. Then he made them a remarkable offer. “If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine ... a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” This offer is fulfilled even more completely in the Gospel Age Church. “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation ... called out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Let us highly esteem this honor, and highly esteem those whom God has so honored.