Classic Poem

Begin the day with God!
He is thy sun and day;
His is the radiance of thy dawn,
To him address thy lay.

Sing a new song at morn!
Join the glad woods and hills;
Join the fresh winds and seas and plains,
Join the bright flowers and rills.

Sing thy first song to God!
Not to thy fellow-man;
Not to the creatures of his hand,
But to the glorious One.

Awake, cold lips, and sing!
Arise, dull knees, and pray;
Lift up, O man, thy heart and eyes;
Brush slothfulness away.

Look up, beyond these clouds!
Thither thy pathway lies;
Mount up, away, and linger not,
Thy goal is yonder skies.

Cast every weight aside!
Do battle with each sin;
Fight with the faithless world without,
The faithless heart within.

Take thy first meal with God!
He is thy heavenly food;
Feed with and on him; he with thee
Will feast in brotherhood.

Take thy first walk with God!
Let him go forth with thee;
By stream or sea or mountain-path,
Seek still his company.

Thy first transaction be
With God himself above;
So shall thy business prosper well,
And all the day be love.