Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FOR THE MASTER'S SAKE, by MINNIE MASON BEEBE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FOR THE MASTER'S SAKE, by                    
First Line: I sat in the gathering twilight
Last Line: That we lived for the master's sake.
Subject(s): Crucifixion; Jesus Christ - Suffering & Sacrifice; Jesus Christ - Crucifixion


I sat in the gathering twilight
At the close of a busy day
And anon I fell to musing
As the shadows round me lay;
Then my soul seemed strangely lifted
From the fleeting things of time
Till I caught some few, faint glimpses
Of a realm beyond, sublime.

I thought that my life here had ended
That the angels had come for me
And borne me away to those mansions
Beyond the crystal sea.
How my heart was filled with rapture
As I reached the beautiful shore
That at last I could be with Jesus
And with loved ones gone before.

But not till I gazed on the brightness
Of that land of endless light
Then looked on the world in its darkness
Of ignorance, vileness, and night,
Did I know the full love of a Savior
Who, to lead sinful man to the sky,
Left the glory He had with the Father
And came here to suffer and die.

How could the dear Father have given
His only, belovèd Son?
How could the Redeemer leave Heaven
His eternal, inherited throne?
'Twas love, boundless love that impelled it,
Love enfolding the whole human race,
For without the great sacrifice offered
Not one could behold e'er His face.

What joy to my life the old story
Had brought with its comfort and cheer!
How good that to me had been granted
A home where of Christ I might hear!
But e'en as I thought on these mercies
'Mid the heavenly hosts above
I remembered the millions in darkness
Who had never yet heard of His love.

Then deep sorrow, regret filled my being
That while on the earth I had dwelt
I had done so little to help them,
So little pity had felt,
And I longed for one more chance to send them
The story that Jesus had died,
That their lives might be brighter and better
Through faith in the Crucified.

Just then I awoke from my dreaming
To find that the chance was not gone.
God's children on earth have a privilege
Denied e'en the angelic throng.
One more soul from death we may rescue,
Once more the old story repeat,
Once again give our tithes for the Master
To bring wandering ones to His feet.

Soon life with us all will be over.
In a twinkling, a brief moment's space
The veil that now hides will be lifted,
We shall see our dear Lord face to face.
Shall we then regret wasted talents,
Regret that we haven't done more,
That so few we have saved will there greet us
With the blest on the Heavenly shore?

We spend time and money for bubbles
That must burst and soon vanish away.
All these things that attract us must perish,
They last at the most but a day.
Yet away in the regions of darkness,
Amid famine, and idols, and sin,
There are millions now languishing, dying,
Millions whom Jesus would win.

Oh what shall we say when the Master
Demandeth our stewardship here?
What He gave have we used for His glory,
In the end have we nothing to fear?
Remember the words that He uttered,
"Inasmuch as ye did it to these";
Then can we not sacrifice something
Our blessed Redeemer to please?

To us without measure He giveth
Endless mercies, unmerited, free.
Teach us, Lord, by Thine own loving Spirit
How to consecrate all things to Thee!
The tithes that we bring to the Master
Are as treasure laid up in the sky;
They are safe in His infinite keeping,
We shall have them returned bye-and-bye.

When life's fleeting moments are over
And before Him the myriads stand,
When we learn that we helped to save some one
In our own or in distant land,
What peace will be ours never ceasing
What joy throughout Heaven 'twill make
That we thought not of self but of others
That we lived for the Master's sake.





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