Monday Meditation: I Know Not What The Future Hath

 

"Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for
 those who fear, revere, and worship You,  goodness which You
have wrought for those who trust and take refuge in You
before the sons of men!
(Psalm 31:19)

Image courtesy/Pinterest

I know not what the future hath, 

  Of marvel or surprise,

Assured alone that life and death,

 God's mercy underlies.

And if my heart and flesh are weak,

  To bear an untried pain,

The bruised reed He will not break, 

 But strengthen and sustain.

And Thou, O Lord, by whom are seen

Thy creatures as they be,

Forgive me if too close I lean

My human heart on Thee.

And so beside the silent sea

I wait the muffled oar;

No harm from Him can come to me

On ocean or on shore.

I know not where His islands lift

Their fronded palms in air:

I only know I cannot drift

Beyond His love and care.

Amen

"I know Not What The Future Hath"
Based on the words of the poem,
"The Eternal Goodness"
(1867)
John Greenleaf Whittier
(1807-1892)
American Quaker poet