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GOD'S FORGE

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International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 21, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 3.

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GOD'S FORGE.

By Mary E. Roper

THE hammer of thy discipline, O Lord, Strikes fast and hard. Life's anvil rings again To thy strong strokes. And yet we know 'tis then That from the heart's hot iron all abroad The rich glow spreads. Great Fashioner divine— Who sparest not, in thy far-seeing plan, The blows that shape the character of man, Or fire that makes him yield to touch of thine— Strike on, if so thou wilt! For thou alone Canst rightly test the temper of our will, Or tell how these base metals may fulfill Thy purpose, making all our life thine own. Only, we do beseech thee, let the pain Of fiery ordeals through which we go, Shed all around us such a warmth and glow, Such cheerful showers of sparks in golden rain, That hard hearts may be melted, cold hearts fired, And callous hearts be taught to feel and see That discipline is more to be desired Than all the ease that keeps us back from thee. —Mary E. Roper, in Sunday at Home.