Who said November's face was grim? Who said her voice was harsh and sad? I heard her sing in wood paths dim, I met her on the shore so glad, So smiling, I could kiss her feet! There never was a month so sweet.
O worship the King, all glorious above, O gratefully sing his power and his love; Our Shield and Defender, the ancient of days, Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.
Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite? It breathes in the air, it shines in the light; It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain, And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.
Ye shall walk in all the way which Jehovah your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.
Almighty God, help me to make my life refulgent while I have the abundance of summer, that I may not find the November of life bleak and barren. Help me to live in the realities of life, that I may gain energy and repose, to use for the lonesome and anxious hours. May I be watchful for the conditions that thwart life, and with patience wait for the awakening of truth. Amen.
James Knox Polk, North Carolina, eleventh President United States, born 1795.
Overmastering pain--the most deadly and tragical element in life--alas! pain has its own way with all of us; it breaks in, a rude visitant, upon the fairy garden where the child wanders in a dream, no less surely than it rules upon the field of battle, or sends the immortal war-god whimpering to his father; and innocence, no more than philosophy, can protect us from this sting.
My hopes retire; my wishes as before Struggle to find their resting place in vain; The ebbing sea thus beats against the shore; The shore repels it; it returns again.
Yet Jehovah will command his loving-kindness in the day-time, And in the night his song shall be with me.
Loving Father, I bless thee for thy goodness and tender mercy which is over all. May I trust thy provision and love through all circumstances, and as I trust myself to thee may I have faith to believe that thou wilt give me strength for what I may have to endure, and believe that thou wilt care for me, as thou dost care for all. Amen.