Bearing the Cross

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Jan 26, 1905

Bearing the Cross

The heavier cross, the nearer heaven: No cross without, no God within: Death, judgment, from the hearts are driven, Amidst the world's false glare and din. O, happy he, with all his loss, Whom God hath set beneath the cross!

The heavier cross, the better Christian; This is the touchstone God applies. How many a garden would lie wasting, Unwet by showers from weeping eyes! The gold by fire is purified: The Christian is by trouble tried.

The heavier cross, the stronger faith; The loaded palm strikes deeper root; The vine-juice sweetly issueth When men have pressed the clustered fruit; And courage grows where dangers come, Like pearls beneath the salt sea-foam.

The heavier cross, the heartier prayer; The bruised herbs most fragrant are; If wind and skies were always fair, The sailor would not watch the star; And David's psalms had ne'er been sung If grief his heart had never wrung.

The heavier cross, the more aspiring; From vales we climb to mountain crest; The pilgrim, of the desert tiring, Longs for the Canaan of his rest; The dove has here no rest in sight, And to the ark she wings her flight.

* * * *

Thou Crucified! the cross I carry, The longer may it dearer be; And, lest I faint whilst here I tarry, Implant thou such a heart in me That faith, hope, love, may flourish there, Till for my cross the crown I wear!

— From the German.