Mark 4:28: Thou dost not say, The seed springs up

Thou dost not say, The seed springs up
Into an instantaneous crop;
But waiting long for its return.
We see the blade, the ear, the corn:
The weak; and then the stronger grace,
And after that full holiness.

Thou then the fond delusion stop
Of nature's unsupported hope.
Which bids us snatch the' unlabour'd prize.
And into sudden pillars rise,
Step o'er the cross, and work between,
And sleeping dream — "we cannot sin"!

Let us with lawful violence strive,
And toil to rest, and die to live,
Humbly in all Thy footsteps go,
From babes to youths, and fathers grow,
From faith, by just gradation move,
Through patient hope, to perfect love.