A Lancashire Doxology

"PRAISE God from whom all blessings flow."  

  Praise Him who sendeth joy and woe.

  The Lord who takes, — the Lord who gives, —

  O praise Him, all that dies, and lives.

  He opens and He shuts his hand,

  But why, we cannot understand:

  Pours and dries up his mercies' flood,

  And yet is still All-perfect Good.

  We fathom not the mighty plan,

 The mystery of God and man;

 We women, when afflictions come,

 We only suffer and are dumb.

 And when, the tempest passing by,

 He gleams out, sun-like, through our sky,

 We look up, and through black clouds riven,

 We recognize the smile of Heaven.

 Ours is not wisdom of the wise,

 We have no deep philosophies:

 Childlike we take both kiss and rod,

 For he who loveth knoweth God.

Composition date is unknown - the above date represents the first publication date.The lyrical form of this poem is aabb."Some cotton has lately been imported into Farringdon,where the mills have been closed for a considerable time.The people, who were previously in the deepest distress, wentout to meet the cotton: the women wept over the bales and kissed them, and finally sang the Doxology over them."                        Spectator of May 14, 1863.

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