After our labor is finished, After the struggle is done, A restful surcease awaits us At the setting of life's sun. If when our toil seemed the sorest The heart refused to retreat From a grand and noble purpose, Till the vic'try was complete, Then shall joyous crown await us, Resplendent with jewels rare, And a radiance of honor The face shall benignly wear; Not that our works were all faultless And free from error and wrong, But because our sincere purpose Made us brave and true and strong. Results of labor thus rendered, Are safely trusted to Heaven, For He who knows ev'ry motive, Understands why we have striven. If to man were given the balance To adjust with equity, His weakness and imperfection, His greed and his jealousy, And his judgment go astray, Through the frailties of his nature— Imperfect humanity The Infallible in knowledge, Whose true balance never swerves, Knows every man's Gethsemane, And the merit he deserves. He will not ask figs of the thorns; Of talents will not demand A greater increase than is just From a faithful steward's hand. Feeling the weight of the mission Incumbent upon our care; Searching the heart's deep recesses That vice may not shelter there; Working courageously onward The truth and right to defend; And asking a perfect guidance, We calmly welcome the end. |