STILL Thou art near when fades the glowing daylight,
And night is brooding over land and sea,
Father of lights, unwearied Thou art watching,
For, dark or light, it matters not to Thee.
So near Thine Own, when, wrapped in peaceful slumbers,
They lie secure beneath Thy sheltering wing,
Unconscious as the forest-bird of danger,
While angel-guards methinks do sweetly sing.
Nearer than Angels when in pain we languish,
And sleep has spread her wings and flown afar,
Then may we hear Thy whispers in the stillness,
And glimpse the radiance of the Morning Star.
Lord, even here, the sweetness of Thy Presence
Brings rest and comfort to our weary hearts.
Though faith is feeble, and our eyes are holden,
Yet will we trust Thee till the clouds depart.
O gracious Father keep our hearts from wandering;
These wayward hearts so prone to go astray.
Be Thou our Light and let Thy radiant Presence
Illume our path, and chase the mists away.
Nearer and nearer dawns the fadeless morning
That ushers in the long eternal day,
When we shall see Thee, in unclouded glory,
In that fair land beyond the shadows gray.
A.W.