The cry of man's anguish went up unto God:
"Lord, take away pain--
The shadow that darkens the world thou hast made,
The close-coiling chain
That strangles the heart, the burden that weighs
On the wings that would soar--
Lord, take away pain from the world thou hast made,
That it love thee the more!"
Then answered the Lord to the cry of his world:
"Shall I take away pain
And with it the power of the soul to endure,
Made strong by the strain?
Shall I take away pity, that knits heart to heart,
And sacrifice high?
Will ye lose all your heroes that lift from the fire
White brows to the sky?
Shall I take away love, that redeems with a price
And smiles at its loss?
Can ye spare from your lives, that would climb unto mine,
The Christ on his cross?"
'Tis not alone in the sunshine
Our lives grow pure and true;
There is growth as well in the shadow,
And pain has a work to do.
So it comes to me more and more
As I enter upon each new day:
The love of the Father eternal
Is over us all the way.
"In pastures green"? Not always; sometimes he
Who knoweth best in kindness leadeth me
In weary ways where heavy shadows be.
But where He leads me I can safely go,
And in the blest hereafter I shall know
Why in his wisdom he hath led me so.