NO other voice than Thine has ever spoken,
O Lord, to me—
No other words but Thine the stillness broken
Of life's lone sea.
There openeth the spirit's silent chamber
No other hand—
No other lips can speak the language tender,
speech of the Fatherland.
For others speak to one the eye beholdeth,
Who veils the soul within—
Some know not all the joy, and all the sorrow,
And none know all the sin.
They speak to one they love, it may be blindly,
Or hate, as it may be.
They speak but to the shadow, the illusion;
Thou speakest, Lord, to me.
It is unto the sheep the Shepherd calleth,
His voice they know,
No voice beside can lead them to the pastures
Where fountains flow.
None other tells unto my soul the secret,
The mystery divine—
The love that maketh glad the inner chambers,
His home and mine.
And therefore, O my God, with full assurance
I hear, and I rejoice;
The heart of Christ, beyond men's thoughts and dreamings,
Told in His voice.
T. S. M.