Lord, what is man,
That thou art mindful of him?
Though in creation's van,
Lord, what is man?
He wills less than he can,
Lets his ideal scoff him!
Lord, what is man,
That thou art mindful of him?
--George Macdonald.
Lord, shall we grumble when thy flames do scourge us?
Our sins breathe fire; thy fire returns to purge us.
Lord, what an alchemist art thou, whose skill
Transmutes to perfect good from perfect ill!
--Francis Quarles.
The path of sorrow, and that path alone,
Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown;
No traveler e'er reached that blest abode
Who found not thorns and briers in his road.
--William Cowper.