LIFE THOUGHTS
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LIFE THOUGHTS
BY
PAUL R. AGER

TORONTO
WILLIAM BRIGGS
1912
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DEDICATED
TO
THE SERVICE OF GOD
FOR
MANY BLESSINGS IN
THE PAST
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PREFACE

      THE author hopes the message conveyed in the verses may prove spiritually helpful to many, and as they were written with that object in view the treatment of the subjects is of an advisory nature—to help, comfort and warn.

P. R. A.

EDMONTON, ALTA.,

1912. [page 5]

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CONTENTS.

	PAGE
THE OPTIMIST	9
LOVE AND FATE	11
PRAYER	13
THE AMBASSADORS OF GOD	14
REVERENCE	15
OBEDIENCE	16
THE SOUL’S STRENGTH	17
CONSOLATION	18
FORGIVENESS	19
GENEROSITY	20
JUDGMENT	21
TASTE	22
TACT	23
CONCENTRATION	24
ADMIRATION	25
MANHOOD	26
PRINCIPLES	27
INFLUENCE	28
THE WEAKEST LINK	29
PROFANITY	30
INTEMPERANCE	31
GAMBLING	32
IMPURITY	33
SMOKING	34
TEMPTATION	35
THOUGHT CONQUEST	36
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THE OPTIMIST

THO’ days be dark and efforts barred
   To do the righteous thing,
And unkind fate and powers ill
   Do naught but sorrow bring:
Yet on he strives with firm-set will,
   To bring to pass the deed
That deeply moved his spirit long
   Ere any would him heed.

Tho’ ill-health leaves a shatter’d frame
   And feeble life ensues,
And mind that once with vigor thrilled,
   Would fain its work excuse:
Yet on he strives thro’ toil and pain,
   To give the world his best,
That life may never wasted be,
   When spirit needs no rest.

Tho’ poverty would crush his hopes
   To live to ideals seen;
And hardships would his spirit break
   By bitter grief most keen:
Yet on he strives, not heeds the gloom
   That doth his life surround,
And keeps undimm’d the soul’s true Sight,
   Which leads to joys profound. [page 9]

Tho’ strife of sects and many creeds
   Would weaken his belief,
And cares of life and ways of men
   Bring their full share of grief:
Yet on he strives, with faith in God,
   That Truth and Love shall reign,
And Righteousness shall be earth’s Law,
   That all may true joy gain. [page 10]

LOVE AND FATE

IF thy soul loves the noble thought,
   The kindly word and deed,
And loves those realms wherein they dwell
   That joy may thy soul feed:
Then shall thy life reflect the thoughts
   And deeds which moved thy soul,
And radiate its lovely light,
   That cheers and makes life whole.

If thy soul loves ideals most fair
   Of service and duty,
And feels the worth of those great lives
   Who moulded its beauty:
Then shall thy life o’erflow with zeal
   To emulate them, too,
By nobler service everywhere—
   More loving and more true.

If thy soul loves the Word of God,
   And in it finds thy peace,
Believing that its mighty power,
   Alone will make strife cease:
Then shall thy life possess that strength
   Which comes from love divine,
And leads the soul to holy heights,
   That do earth’s joys outshine. [page 11]

If thy soul loves the noble mind,
   The good, the pure, the true,
The characters of priceless worth,
   The Christ-like men so few:
Then shall thy life bear worthy fruit,
   In actions small or great,
Which build God’s Kingdom in thy soul,
   And noble makes thy fate! [page 12]

PRAYER

PRAY that thy soul may Godward grow!
Then shall thy life true riches know,
Which gives the soul that peace most blest,
That stills the rush of life’s unrest,
For fame or place, or worldly things,
By holy joys the Spirit brings.

Pray that thy soul may Godward grow!
For tribulations ceaseless flow,
From evil sources deep and strong,
That wage their bitter warfare long,
Against the good, the just, the pure,
That evil powers may endure. 

Pray that thy soul may Godward grow!
Then will the Holy Spirit sow
The noble thought that blooms in deeds
Of sacrifice for others’ needs,
Which shapes the soul to form divine,
Ennobling man with virtue fine. [page 13]

THE AMBASSADORS OF GOD

AMBASSADOR of God!
Well guardest thou the sacred Truth,
To bless our lives in age and youth,
And pilot us to Heaven’s gate,
That perfect bliss may be our fate,
To dwell with Christ and loved ones blest,
Forever in His Home of rest.

     Ambassador of God!
The friendless have a friend in thee,
In sickness and in poverty,
Who with compassion strong and deep,
Will give glad services to keep
The sad, the poor, the sick in health,
That they may love the truest wealth.

     Ambassador of God!
Thy noble life uplifting all
With high ideals, that Godward call
The soul of man for purpose great,
That we may make a nobler state,
By holy life, and godly aims,
That love of God, and duty claims. [page 14]

REVERENCE

REVERE the Words of God and Life,
In His great Book so grand, so ride
With every good of noblest worth,
To upbuild man, and bless our earth,
With fullness of the perfect man,
Find moulded to the Christ-like plan.

Revere the message that e’er brings
Glad tidings of the only things
That give the soul its strength divine, 
To cope with sin, and undermine
Its fascination deep and strong,
And keeps the soul in virtue long.

Revere religion’s mighty aid
To make God’s will on earth pervade
And daily work its blessings fair,
In divers ways to meet life’s care
Of sin, injustice, pain, and woe,
That from man’s imperfections flow. [page 15]

OBEDIENCE

OBEDIENCE is a law divine! 
And in it doth God’s glory shine,
When man obeys His just decrees, 
And seeks His Maker’s will to please, 
That Righteousness may have full sway,
To rule our lives in Heaven’s way.

Obedience is a law divine!
The nation’s laws the man refine,
Ennobling justice, truth, and love,
That good o’er ill may rule above,
And bring to naught the pow’rs ill,
And chaos of the evil will.

Obedience is a law divine!
When duty calls ne’er be supine,
But heedful of the needed task,
To rightly do, nor ever mask
With vain excuses, oft to please
One’s selfishness and love of ease. [page 16]

THE SOUL’S STRENGTH

O FAITH that steadfast keeps thy gaze
Beyond the length of reason’s ways,
And sees that sight of beauty rare
Of the soul’s bliss in Heaven fair.
O may that Faith forever dwell
Within me, that my soul be well!

O Hope that bids the shadows go,
Which cloud life’s joys with tears and woe,
And gives the soul the trustful view
Of faith in God, the good, the true.
O in my soul increase thy pow’r,
That Hope may shine thro’ sorrow’s hour!

O Charity, thy name is Love,
The perfect gift of God above.
Thy spirit and thy deeds do bless
The sad soul with thy tenderness.
O may my soul with fullness be,
Of God’s majestic Charity! [page 17]

CONSOLATION

GRIEVE not, O Heart with woe opprest!
Let joyous hope grief’s way contest,
And staunch the burning tears of pain
When loved ones die, and life seems vain.
O let the Spirit heal thy soul,
With visions of Hope’s holy goal!

Grieve not, O Heart with woe opprest!
When sickness makes thy soul distrest
About thy work, and other’s needs,
Ere weakness stopt thy loving deeds.
O He will send the needed aid,
If all thy care on Him is laid!

Grieve not, O Heart with woe opprest!
As years speed on and bring unrest,
And thoughts of sadness, and of fears,
That soon will end life’s happy years.
O welcome that most joyous time
Of life with God, in Heavens sublime! [page 18]

FORGIVENESS

FORGIVE thy foe that served thee ill!
Passion’s heat doth quickly kill
The balance of the sanest mind,
As bitter words bring deeds unkind. 
Then heal the wrong with words of love,
That love o’er hate may rule above.

Forgive thy foe that served thee ill!
When words that envy doth instil
In weak, blind minds that cannot bear
Success in which they do not share.
Then nobly show the righteous way
Of silencing ill words away.

Forgive thy foe that served thee ill!
That cruel wrong that some did will,
Which robbed thee, and brought tears of pain,
And anguish keen of crushed hope’s bane.
Then turn thy soul to Him for aid,
That nobleness may never fade! [page 19]

GENEROSITY

BE generous in deeds of worth,
That they enrich, and bless our earth,
With righteousness, and works of love,
And nobleness from strength above.
For by example nobly set,
Men gather strength, and deeds beget.

Be generous to all the poor,
Whose ills thy kindness may oft cure,
By deeds of love, and gifts to gain
The famished soul some joy again.
For kindly deeds performed with grace,
May save some soul from sins most base. 

Be generous in giving much
To all who need, and causes such
As God requires for His great plan
Of building nobleness in man,
That soon His Kingdom may appear,
And sin and sorrow disappear. [page 20]

JUDGMENT

WEIGH well the use of golden time,
For worthy use makes life sublime,
As moments blest by service good,
Replace with joy where evil stood;
And happy he who can time mould,
Extracting from it all its gold.

Weigh well the choice of thy career,
That life’s work may thy heart endear,
Giving thy talents fullest scope
To meet life’s needs, and every hope
That builds for righteousness and love,
Ennobling man for joys above.

Weigh well the truest joys in life,
And cleave to those that bring not strife,
But peace, joy, love, and godly strength,
And greatest happiness at length.
For all true joy ennobles soul,
And leads to its immortal goal. [page 21]

TASTE

SEEK well the work that suits thee best,
And gives thy life its noblest zest,
And makes thee feel that it and thee
Are in the greatest harmony,
For service in life’s ample field,
That talent may its fullness yield.

Seek well the books which are the best
To feed thy soul, and in thy quest
Pay heed to none which foul the mind,
With worded filth of basest kind.
But lend thy ear to words of gold,
Inspiring, noble, true, and bold. 

Seek well that Faith which is the best
To bring content, and joys most blest,
In perfectness of Love and Hope,
And happiness that now doth ope
God’s paths of beauty and of grace,
That nobleness may sin displace. [page 22]

TACT

USE well the graceful art of tact!
In dealings with your fellows act
With highest motives, clothed with grace,
That heart in actions may have place
To smooth the feelings, and ne’er hurt
By carelessness, or manners pert. 

Use well the graceful art of tact! 
In speech or writing be exact,
Nor wander in vague, tedious ways
In many words that often slays
The real point of thy remark,
And leaves the hearer in the dark.

Use well the graceful art of tact!
In helping souls to know the fact
That Christ is powerful to save
The sinner, whose ill ways deprave:
Be patient, loving, full of grace,
And God will help thee save the base. [page 23]

CONCENTRATION

FIRM fix thy thoughts when study needs
They whole attention for truth’s seeds,
That wisdom may not hampered be,
By negligence of thoughts that flee
From learning’s stately ordered round,
To waste their strength in ways unsound.

Firm fix thy will to thy life’s plan
That strong decision may thee man,
And help thee use thy talent well,
That its glories may earth’s joys swell.
So by thy application keen,
Shall bring to pass the great unseen.

Firm fix thy aim on noble life,
That many gracious acts be rife,
Of love, of mercy, and of grace,
To bless, uplift, the human race.
Then shall thy soul more perfect be,
In faith, in hope, and charity. [page 24]

ADMIRATION

ADMIRE God’s majestic power,
In all, o’er all, it doth tower;
Truly glorious and sublime,
Victorious o’er space and time;
Immortal master forming all
In wondrous ways that shall not fall.

Admire the majesty of Love,
Whose sovereignty is from above,
Enthroning in the soul of man,
A Kingdom of the noblest plan,
Which God designed that man might feel
His sonship to Himself most real.

Admire the noble lives that give
Their services that souls may live
In happiness, and peace, and love.
Content in serving God above
With grateful hearts, and loving deeds,
To soothe the pain of human needs. [page 25]

MANHOOD

BE strong in purpose to excel
In thy life’s work, that it may swell
The glories of God’s noble man,
Who lives but to complete His plan
In fitting works, majestic, grand,
That perfectness may bless our land.

Be strong in truth, be kind, be just,
Be patient, noble, free from lust,
Despising vice in every form,
That its foul touch may ne’er deform
The beauty of the perfect soul—
In grace complete, in good works whole. 

Be strong in faith of that grand Hope
Which builds true greatness, and doth ope
The doors of Heaven’s immortal rest,
Where souls made perfect shall be blest
With harmony of life and love,
And fellowship with saints above. [page 26]

PRINCIPLES

BE true to Honor’s noble laws,
That thy life may be free from flaws
Of conduct false, unworthy, base,
Which bring discredit on one’s race,
And mocks God’s great and noble plan,
Of ever-growing grace in man.

Be true in thought, in word, in deed,
That Righteousness may ever lead
Thy life in virtue’s paths of peace,
And nobleness that shall increase
The measure of thy soul’s grand wealth
Which gives true joy, and perfect health.

Be true to God, be true to man,
And that grand Faith which leads the van
Of progress true throughout the earth,
And gives mankind its second birth
In nobleness, and love, and hope,
And every good is in its scope. [page 27]

INFLUENCE

HEED well the power thou dost sway!
And use it in the righteous way,
That makes for justice, truth, and love,
And service good for God above.
For only power nobly used,
Can cope with sin, and things abused.

Heed well the power thou dost sway!
That thy children may thee obey
With love, contentment, and good-will,
That happiness their lives may fill,
With love of God and all things fair,
That noble life may be their share.

Heed well the power thou dost sway!
For thou must give account some day
Of all thy talents, words, and deeds,
That they have met God’s righteous needs,
And thou for God hast done thy best,
To do His will, that life be blest. [page 28]

THE WEAKEST LINK

O NEVER be the weakest link!
To urge some soul to ways of drink,
And help one on the downward road
To curse the soul with drink’s foul load,
Who falls, but to your charge it be,
The ruined life, and misery. 

O never be the weakest link!
To mar some life that it may sink
Deep in the mire of vicious ways,
Which feed on weakness, and e’er slays
The soul’s full sov’reignty and pow’r,
That vice may have its evil hour.

O never be the weakest link!
That fears the combat, and doth shrink
From the stern fight for God and Right,
That Truth may ever shed its light
Upon sin’s foulness, that e’er slays
True happiness, and noble ways. [page 29]

PROFANITY

“SWEAR not at all!” our Saviour said,
All filthy words to hell are wed.
Then take heed of the havoc wrought
By obscene words and impure thought,
In youthful lives once innocent,
But God-less made as ill words bent.

“Swear not at all!” our Saviour said,
Blasphemies show a soul that’s dead.
Dost thou think words of no account
As they to Heaven upward mount?
Thou foolish one! Thy words are acts
That build thy fate as God exacts.

“Swear not at all!” our Saviour said,
Speak of God’s Name with love and dread,
Nor vainly use His sacred Name
In heated words, or jest defame,
For guiltless thou shalt never be,
Whilst careless of profanity. [page 30]

INTEMPERANCE

HATE thou the drink that lures to hell!
Its lovers doth their doom foretell,
Who cannot see its fatal sway,
Till joy in life has passed away.
Then would they leave its foul embrace,
But weakness binds them in disgrace.

Hate thou the drink that lures to hell!
And foul and frenzied deeds impel,
As its poison fires heart and brain,
And makes the strongest oft insane,
And lures on to some awful deed,
That lust and passion fan and feed.

Hate thou the drink that lures to hell!
Think of the convict in his cell,
Who, but for drink, would now be free
To rightly use his liberty,
And make this world a nobler place,
By keeping from sins mean and base. [page 31]

GAMBLING

O GAMBLER, shun thy evil ways!
Thy vice destroys, and virtue slays,
And misery soon follows on
The ill course thou art bent upon.
The blasted lives, the ruined homes,
Foretell thy doom when honor roams.

O gambler, shun thy evil ways!
True man ne’er on another preys,
And ruins souls for selfish ends.
The tainted joy that gold’s greed sends,
Unmakes the man who is its slave,
And quickly makes that man a knave.

O gambler, shun thy evil ways!
God’s curse doth rest, and heavy stays
On one who wrecks some weak one’s life,
For lust of gold that makes too rife
The liar, thief, and suicide,
And good names blast that e’er abide. [page 32]

IMPURITY

KEEP thy soul pure and lust despise!
The sensual vice destroys life’s prize
Of holy thoughts and noble deeds,
And reaps a harvest off foul seeds,
That withers all but vanity,
And quickly breeds insanity.

Keep thy soul pure and lust despise!
The Holy Spirit’s power dies
When lust’s fierce passion holds its sway,
Making the nobler man decay,
Sapping the good, the pure, the true,
And colors life with its dark hue.

Keep thy soul pure and lust despise!
Then shall thy soul with honor rise,
As mind and body, hand and brain,
Thrill with the life of God again,
That overcomes the passion’s strife,
And gives the soul the Royal Life. [page 33]

SMOKING

ESCHEW that foul and noxious weed!
That loathsome worms and goats do feed,
Which fouls the breath, and injures sight, 
And robs the heart of its full might,
Fouling the air, the clothes, the taste,
Burning money in smoke and waste.

Eschew that foul and noxious weed!
Which dirty habits quickly breed,
In person, home, and public weal,
And makes a nuisance very real,
In expectorating acts bad,
And smell and dirt to please a fad.

Eschew that foul and noxious weed!
Whose mastership doth too oft lead
To selfishness, that ever blights
The just measure of other’s rights,
Who have good habits, healthy, clean,
And love not pleasures which demean. [page 34]

TEMPTATION

REPULSE ill thoughts with instant prayer!
When evil would thy soul ensnare
And sap thy strength with lust and drink,
And foul thy soul that it must sink
Degraded from its kingly throne,
To grieve in darkness, and alone. 

Repulse ill thoughts with instant prayer!
When bitter loss would crush with care
Thy sad soul with grief’s hopeless thoughts
Of wasted life, and e’er distorts
The truth and worth of noble strife,
And urges thee to end thy life.

Repulse ill thoughts with instant prayer! 
When unbelief would make life bare
By faithless life, uncheered by hope
Of glories, which do ever ope
From Faith’s firm trust in God’s good will
To give true Peace, and vanquish ill. [page 35]

THOUGHT CONQUEST

BE victor in thy realm of thought!
That noble actions may be wrought
From godly thoughts, unselfish, true,
Which strengthen soul with life anew
To conquer sin, and Godward strive,
With noble life that soul may thrive.

Be victor in thy realm of thought!
And ne’er in subtle ways be caught,
In arguments to disobey
God’s holy Laws, that vice may prey
Upon man’s virtue, and his soul,
That passions may attain their goal.

Be victor in thy realm of thought!
And when for its good thou hast fought
And conquered over passions base,
By strength of soul, and God’s good grace,
Remember in thy victory,
The greatness of humility. [page 36]

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