“Learn to suffer without complaining.”
(Some of the Emperor Frederick’s last words.)
LEARN to suffer!” ‘Tis a lesson that the life does well to know,
Though the heart may beat in sadness, and the clouds may hover low;
The iron crown of suffering may press the weary head,
And cypress hang about the path our faltering footsteps tread.
“Learn to suffer!” ‘Tis a glory that shall shine about the strife;
“Learn to suffer!” ‘Tis a triumph that shall sanctify the life;
“Learn to suffer!” for life’s leading strings are in the Hands of love;
And those who weep in sackcloth here shall walk in white above.
“Learn to suffer!” Yes, He calls me to tread the valley dim,
The mists around me rising, but I love to follow Him;
I pass the grave of many a hope, the scene of many a prayer,
And where the fount of tears has flowed, I’ve been with Jesus there.
I pass through many a shadow, to the golden gates beyond;
Through the sense of human weakness, to the triumph of the strong:
Through the storm of life’s wild ocean, to the quiet haven Home;
Through the busy hours of labor, to the rest of labor done.
My King once bowed His lowly Head, and laid His scepter by,
And for the Kingly raiment His, wore our humanity;
His footsteps mark this desert scene, where thorns and briars grow
A stranger in a hostile world, where few His glory know.
My Lord! I bear Thy blessed Name, and I will bear Thy cross,
And in a world that cast Thee out, I count its gain my loss;
And I would learn to suffer here, and more like Jesus be—
And where the “Man of sorrows” wept, His blest companion be.
H. W.