O, be not faithless! with the morn
Cast thou abroad thy grain!
At noontide faint not thou forlorn,
At evening sow again!
Blessed are they, whate’er betide,
Who thus all waters sow beside.
Thou knowest not which seed shall grow,
Or which may die, or live;
In faith, and hope, and patience, sow!
The increase God shall give,
According to His gracious will,—
As best his purpose may fulfil.
O, could our inward eye but view,
Our hearts but feel aright,
What faith, and love, and hope, can do,
By their celestial might,
We should not say, till these be dead,
The power of miracle is fled.
Source: A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.) #297
Barton, Bernard, commonly known as the "Quaker Poet," was born in London Jan. 31, 1784, and educated at a Quaker school at Ipswich. In 1798 he was apprenticed to Mr. S. Jesup, a shopkeeper at Halstead, Essex, with whom he remained until 1806, when he removed to Woodbridge, Suffolk, and entered into business with his brother, as a coal and corn merchant. On the death of his wife at the end of the first year of their married life, he proceeded to Liverpool, where he acted as a private tutor for a short time. He returned to Woodbridge in 1810, where he secured an engagement in the local bank of the Messrs. Alexander. This appointment he held for 40 years. He died at Woodbridge, Feb. 19, 1849. During the same year his daughter published his Poe… Go to person page >
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