At cool of day with God I walk
My garden's grateful shade;
I hear his voice among the trees,
And I am not afraid.
I see his presence in the night--
And though my heart is awed
I do not quail before the sight
Or nearness of my God.
He speaks to me in every wind,
He smiles from every star;
He is not deaf to me, nor blind,
Nor absent, nor afar.
His hand, that shuts the flowers to sleep,
Each in its dewy fold,
Is strong my feeble life to keep,
And competent to hold.
I cannot walk in darkness long,
My light is by my side;
I cannot stumble or go wrong
While following such a guide.
He is my stay and my defense;
How shall I fail or fall?
My helper is Omnipotence!
My ruler ruleth all!
The powers below and powers above
Are subject to his care;
I cannot wander from his love
Who loves me everywhere.
Thus dowered, and guarded thus, with him
I walk this peaceful shade,
I hear his voice among the trees,
And I am not afraid.
--Caroline Atherton Mason.
From cellar unto attic all is clean:
Nothing there is that need evade the eye;
All the dark places, by the world unseen,
Are as well ordered as what open lie.
Ah! souls are houses; and to keep them well,
Nor, spring and autumn, mourn their wretched plight,
To daily toil must vigilance compel,
Right underneath God's scrutinizing light.