Note to the Reader

Dear Reader,

We are living in sobering and sometimes cruel times. Words are cheap, and they are also sharp. This quatrain was written for that weather: not to deny what earth may say, but to remember that God hath already named His own.

“Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”

—Isaiah 43:1

“Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.”

—Romans 8:33

—The Poet

Let earth still speak, if speak it will;

the Father’s naming holds thee sure.

Beloved, chosen, Mine be still—

go forth in joy, for evermore.