Break all the bars that hold apart All men of n.o.bler mind and heart; Let all men find alone in Thee Their one and only sovereignty!

TUNE--_Old Hundredth_.

THROUGH ME ONLY

Out of all the reek and turmoil Of the dreadful battle-plain, Came a voice insistent, calling, Calling, calling, but in vain;-- "_Through Me only Shall the world have peace again._"

But our hearts were too sore-burdened, Fighting foes and fighting pain, And we heeded not the clear voice, Calling, calling all in vain;-- "_Through Me only Shall the world have peace again._"

Now, at last, the warfare ended, Dead the pa.s.sion, loosed the strain, Louder still that voice is calling; Shall it call and call in vain?

"_Through Me only Shall the world have peace again._"

Now we hear it; now we hearken, In the silence of our slain, Broken hearts new homes would build them Of the fragments that remain.

"_Through Me only Shall the world have peace again._"

Lord, we know it by our sorrows, Might of man can ne'er attain That Thou givest. Now we offer Thee the Kingship. Come and reign!

Through Thee only Shall our loss be turned to gain.

Show us, Lord, all Thou would'st have us Do to garner all Thy grain.

Thy deep ploughing, Thy sure sowing Richest harvest shall obtain.

Only come Thou, Come and dwell with us again!

TUNE--_Abbeycombe_.

PRINCE OF PEACE

O Thou who standest both for G.o.d and Man, O King of Kings, who wore no earthly crown, O Prince of Peace, unto Thy feet we come, And lay our burden down.

The weight had grown beyond our strength to bear, Thy Love alone the woful thrall can break, Thy Love, reborn into this world of care, Alone can life remake.

How shall we turn to good this weight of ill?

How of our sorrows build anew to Thee?

"Of your own selves ye cannot stand or build,-- Only through _Me_,--through _Me_!"

O, turn once more to Thee the hearts of men, Work through the leaven of our grief and pain, Let not these agonies be all in vain, Come, dwell with us again!

The world has nailed itself unto its cross; O, tender to Thy hands its heart will prove, For Thou alone canst heal its dreadful loss,-- Come Thou and reign in love!

Peace and the sword, Lord, Thou didst come to bring; Too long the sword has drunk to Thy decrease.

Come now, by this high way of suffering, And reign, O Prince of Peace!

TUNE--_Artavia_.

"_And didst Thou love the race that loved not Thee?_"

THE WINNOWING

Lord, Thou hast stricken us, smitten us sore, Winnowed us fine on the dread threshing-floor.

"Had I not reason?--far you had strayed, Vain was My calling, you would not be stayed."

Low in the dust, Lord, our hearts now are bowed, Roughly Thy share through our boasting has ploughed.

"So as My ploughing prepares for the seed, So shall the harvest our best hopes exceed."

Lord, we have lost of our dearest and best, Flung to the void and cast out to the waste.

"Nay then, not one of them fell from My hand, Here at My side in their glory they stand."

How shall we start, Lord, to build life again, Fairer and sweeter, and freed from its pain?

"Build ye in Me and your building shall be Builded for Time and Eternity."

TUNE--_Theodora_.

"_Rest of the weary, joy of the sad._"

TO THIS END

And hast Thou help for such as me, Sin-weary, stained, forlorn?

"_Yea then,--if not for such as thee To what end was I born?_"

But I have strayed so far away, So oft forgotten Thee.

"_No smallest thing that thou hast done But was all known to Me._"

And I have followed other G.o.ds, And brought Thy name to scorn.

"_It was to win thee back from them I wore the crown of thorn._"

And, spite of all, Thou canst forgive, And still attend my cry?

"_Dear heart, for this end I did live, To this end did I die._"

And if I fall away again, And bring Thy Love to shame?

"_I'll find thee out where'er thou art, And still thy love will claim._"

All this for me, whose constant lack Doth cause Thee constant pain?

"_For this I lived, for this I died, For this I live again._"

[Transcriber's note: The first two verses of this poem were inside the book's front cover, and its last two verses were inside its back cover.]