My prayer to the promise shall cling--
I will not give heed to a doubt;
For I ask for the one needful thing
Which I cannot be happy without:
A spirit of lowly repose
In the love of the Lamb that was slain;
A heart to be touched with his woes,
And a care not to grieve him again;
The peace that my Saviour has bought,
The cheerfulness nothing can dim,
The love that can bring every thought
Into perfect obedience to him;
The wisdom his mercy to own
In the way he directs me to take--
To glory in Jesus alone,
And to love and do good for his sake.
All this thou hast offered to me
In the promise whereon I will rest;
For faith, O my Saviour! in thee,
Is the substance of all my request.
Thy word has commanded my prayer,
Thy Spirit has taught me to pray;
And all my unholy despair
Is ready to vanish away.
Thou wilt not be weary of me;
Thy promise my faith shall sustain;
And soon, very soon, shall I see
I have not been asking in vain.
--Anna Letitia Waring.
Ah, God! I have not had thee day and night
In thought, nor magnified thy name aright,
Nor lauded thee, nor glorified, nor laid
Upon thine altars one poor kusa-blade!
Yet now, when I seek refuge, Lord! with thee,
I ask, and thou wilt give, all good to me.
--Edwin Arnold, from the Sanskrit.