How happy is he born or taught
That serveth not another's will;
Whose armor is his honest thought
And simple truth his utmost skill!
Whose passions not his masters are,
Whose soul is still prepared for death,
Untied unto the world by care
Of public fame or private breath;
Who envies none that chance doth raise
Nor vice; hath ever understood
How deepest wounds are given by praise;
Nor rules of state, but rules of good:
Who hath his life from rumors freed,
Whose conscience is his strong retreat;
Whose state can neither flatterers feed,
Nor ruin make oppressors great;
Who God doth late and early pray
More of His grace than gifts to lend;
And entertains the harmless day
With a religious book or friend;
This man is freed from servile bonds
Of hope to rise, or fear to fall;
Lord of himself, though not of lands;
And having nothing, yet hath all.
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We
have this treasure in jars of clay, so that it may be made clear that
this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We
are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven
to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not
destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the
life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.
So
we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away,
our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary
affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all
measure, because we look not at what can be seen; for what can be seen
is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4 |