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HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING?

My life flows on in endless song,
Above earth’s lamentation;
I catch the sweet, the glorious hymn
That hails a new creation:
Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul,
How can I cease from singing?

Though earthly joys and comforts die
The Lord, my Saviour liveth:
What though the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night he giveth:
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

I lift my eyes: the cloud grows thin;
I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway shines
Since first I learned to love it:
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing,
All things are mine since I am his—
How can I keep from singing?
—F. J. Hartley.

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— January, 1885 —