DAY BY DAY by MARGARET ELIZABETH MUNSON SANGSTER

WITH staff and shoon I journey,
Up hill the way I take,
Past many a tangled thicket
O'ergrown with brier and brake;
And oft my feet are weary,
And oft my steps are slow,
By day by day I'm nearer
The land to which I go.

The foes who hate my Master
Have spread the path with snares,
In hope to stay my progress
And catch me unawares.
But ever to my spirit
New light and strength are given,
For never hosts of evil
Shall bar the road to heaven.

Far worse than all temptations
That lure me from without
Are grewsome clouds and terrors
That compass me about.
Dear Lord, Thine eye can measure
The strife of fears within,
And Thou canst guide me safely,
Unscathed by shame or sin.

With staff and shoon I journey,
And still before mine eyes
The Lord who goes before me
Holds up a radiant prize.
And though I faint and falter
I yet shall overcome,
And win with saints and angels
The endless rest at home.

And sweet it is when tired
Because the way is long,
To pause beside a mile-stone
And lift a pilgrim's song.
For who shall lose his courage
However steep the way,
Who, with the Lord to help him,
Fares onward day by day?

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