Poems and Bible Verses
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FICA blues? Each dog his day, then fly away Make straight the way of the Lord! Reflections on a *really bad day* at the sweat shop A puke, a ballad, a beard, a whistle, then... eternity And the dead in Christ shall rise first No fool like an old fool

FICA blues?
The golf links lie so near the mill That almost every day The laboring children can look out And see the men at play. "The Golf Links" by Sarah N. Cleghorn		The children ought not to lay up for the parents, But the parents for the children. 2 Corinthians 12.14b
Each dog his day, then fly away
When all the world is young, lad, And all the trees are green; And every goose a swan, lad, And every lass a queen; Then hey for boot and horse, lad, And round the world away; Young blood must have its course, lad, And every dog his day. continued -->		When all the world is old, lad, And all the trees are brown; And all the sport is stale, lad, And all the wheels run down; Creep home, and take your place there, The spent and maimed among: God grant you find one face there, You loved when all was young. "Young and Old" by Charles Kingsley
The length of our days is seventy years-- Or eighty, if we have the strength. Yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, For they quickly pass, And we fly away. Psalm 90.10

Make straight the way of the Lord!
When you turn away from ill, Christ approaches o'er your hill. When you repent from sin to good, Christ is walking in your wood. When your heart prays, "Father, pardon!" Then the Lord is in your garden. When stern Duty wakes to watch, Then Christ's hand is on the latch. But when Hope your heart does rouse, Then the Lord is in your house. When to love is all your wit, Christ does at your table sit. When God's will is your heart's goal, Jesus is your very soul. "Approaches" by George MacDonald		LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart. He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend. Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. Psalms 15.1-3 & 24.3-5

Reflections on a *really baaad* day at the sweat shop
I wonder what *He* charged for chairs at Nazareth. And did men try to beat *Him* down And boast about it in the town -- "I bought it cheap for half-a-crown From that mad Carpenter?" And did they promise and not pay, Put it off to another day? O, did they break His heart that way, My Lord, the Carpenter? I wonder did He have bad debts, And did He know my fears and frets? The gospel writer here forgets, To tell about the Carpenter. But that's just what I want to know. Ah! Christ in glory, here below Men cheat and lie to one another so; It's hard to be a carpenter. "The Carpenter" by G.A. Studdert-Kennedy		For you do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with your weaknesses, Because Jesus was in all points tempted as you are, yet without sin. Therefore you can come boldly to God's throne of grace, So that you may obtain mercy and find grace to help you in time of need. Heb 4.15-16 Think about how Jesus also endured hostility from sinners against Himself, Lest you become weary & discouraged in your souls. Heb 12.3 And do not grow weary while doing good. In due season you shall reap If you do not lose heart. Gal 6.9

A puke, a ballad, a beard, a whistle, then... eternity
All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages... At first the infant, Mewling & puking in the nurse's arms. And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel, And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard*, Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon's mouth. -->		And then the Justice, In fair round belly with good capon* lin'd, With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws* and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, His youthful hose well sav'd -- a world too wide For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans* teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. From "As You Like It" by William Shakespeare * pard - leopard | capon lin'd - lined his belly with fat by eating capon chickens? | saws - sayings | sans - without
I have seen the God-given task with which the children of men are to be occupied. God has made everything beautiful in its time. God has put eternity in your heart, Except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. Remember now your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. Then your dust will return to the earth as it was, And your spirit will return to God who gave it. Ecclesiates 3.10-11, 12.6-7

And the dead in Christ shall rise first
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, but thou art not so; For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death; nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow; And soonest our best men with thee do go -- Rest of their bones and souls' delivery! Thou'rt slave to fate, chance, kings, & desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell; And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well And better than thy stroke. Why swell'st thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And Death shall be no more. Death, thou shalt die! "Death, Be Not Proud" by John Donne		[Death is release] Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints. [Death is an interloper] Through one man sin entered the world, And death through sin. Thus death spread to all men, Because all sinned. [Death is an enemy. Death shall be destroyed!] The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. ...and when this mortal has put on immortality, The saying shall be brought to pass that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?" Ps 116.15 [also 2 Kings 22.19-20]; Rom 5.12a; First Cor 15.26, 15.54b-55

No fool like an old fool
Rejoice, O young man, in your youth. And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, NOW is the day of salvation! Eccl 11.9 2 Cor 6.2b
I remember, I remember The house where I was born, The little window where the sun Came peeping in at morn. He never came a wink too soon Nor brought too long a day; But now, I often wish the night Had borne my breath away. I remember, I remember The roses, red and white, The violets, and the lily-cups -- Those flowers made of light! The lilacs where the robin built, And where my brother set The *laburnum on his birth-day, -- The *tree is living yet! next column ->		I remember, I remember Where I was used to swing, And thought the air must rush as fresh To swallows on the wing. My spirit flew in feathers then That is so heavy now, And summer pools could hardly cool The fever on my brow. I remember, I remember The fir trees dark and high; I used to think their slender tops Were close against the sky. It was a childish ignorance, But now 'tis little joy To know I'm farther off from Heaven Than when I was a boy. "I remember, I remember" by Thomas Hood

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