A MOMENT IN THE MORNING

A moment in the morning, ere the cares of the day begin,

Ere the heart's wide door is open for the world to enter in,

Ah, then, alone with Jesus, in the silence of the morn,

In heavenly sweet communion, let your duty-day be born.

In the quietude that blesses with a prelude of repose

Let your soul be smoothed and softened, as the dew revives the rose.

A moment in the morning take your Bible in your hand,

And catch a glimpse of glory from the peaceful promised land:

It will linger still before you when you seek the busy mart,

And like flowers of hope will blossom into beauty in your heart.

The precious words, like jewels, will glisten all the day

With a rare effulgent glory that will brighten all the way;

When comes a sore temptation, and your feet are near a snare,

You may count them like a rosary and make each one a prayer.

A moment in the morning--a moment, if no more--

Is better than an hour when the trying day is o'er.

'Tis the gentle dew from heaven, the manna for the day;

If you fail to gather early--alas! it melts away.

So, in the blush of morning, take the offered hand of love,

And walk in heaven's pathway and the peacefulness thereof.

--Arthur Lewis Tubbs.