Poem November 8, 1919 Issue

[From The Christian Science Monitor (Copyright)]...

[From The Christian Science Monitor (Copyright)]

Turn back, O ye nations, in your prayers,
To the long ago;
When a victor king, after sacrifice,
Heard the voice of God, in a dream,
Commanding, Ask now what it is
That I shall give to thee;
That I shall give to thee;
And the victor king implored:
Give thy servant an understanding heart,
To discern between good and bad;
Give thy servant an understanding heart—
Just that, O God, and no more!

To-day is our Gibeon—God is calling—
O nations, hush and withdraw,
And pray, as he prayed and found favor with God;
Nor for long life—
Such life as the senses weave in myth,
Bound fast on the looms of time;
Not for riches, piled high, to melt once more
Into munitions of death;
But pray for the understanding heart
That shall know the good from the bad,
And forswear the carnal idol, at last,
For man as the image of God.