Page:Poems Shipton.djvu/63

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ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED.
49

The fair buds unfolded before me,
Though heavy and wet with the rain;
And the message of peace that they bore me,
I would I could whisper again.

"God searcheth the heart, and He readeth
Its depths, and its weakness, and fears;
He knoweth the path that He leadeth:
These flowers were planted in tears.

"The dew of thy heart in thy sorrow
Fell over the seed. Dost thou see?
Thou art sowing to-day; but to-morrow
Shalt reap in the harvest with Me.

"My milk and my honey I gather;
The myrrh-dew is precious as wine:
Accepted in Me by My Father,
Thy love and thy labor are Mine."

For prayer, like a life-giving river,
Afar through the wilderness flows,
And faith's feeblest hold is for ever:
The desert shall bloom as the rose."

The ears of the deaf He will open,
The tongue of the dumb shall speak plain;
Oh, trust in the word He has spoken:
Thou never canst trust Him in vain.