Lizzie And The Angels

Little Lizzie, thoughtful, earnest,

Springing up at break of day,

Thinks she heard the angels whisper

Softly, as she knelt to pray.







"Yes, they whispered to me, mamma,

And they told me lots of things,--

And they said, 'O Lizzie, Lizzie,

'Tis your temper trouble brings!'



"Then they said: You, child, can never
< r /> Be a woman good and true,

If you let your fiery temper

And your own will govern you;

And they told me 'even Jesus

Said, 'Thy will, not mine, be done,'

And that if I grew up wilful,

All my life I can but mourn.



And they told me, too, dear mamma,

That if I were called to die,

I could not be glad in heaven,

For no heaven in me would lie.

Now, what shall I do, dear mamma,

That I may be good and true?

How shall I my temper govern,

And my wicked will subdue?"



"Lizzie, darling, if you listen,

You will hear a voice within,

That will tell you every moment,

What is Right, and what is Sin.

But you must not disobey it,

Or it will grow faint and weak;

You must watch to catch its whispers,

Hurry when you hear it speak.







"For if you should linger waiting,

There's another voice will say:

Never mind, nobody'll know it,

Even though you disobey.'

And this other voice, this Tempter,

Sure will lead you to the wrong,

While the voice of the good angel

Fills your life with cheer and song.



"In your play and in your working,

You the Golden Rule must heed;

Do by others as you'd have them

Do by you, if in their stead.

Better far to bear and suffer

Than to do a wrong, my child;

Better give up every pleasure,

Than to be by sin beguiled.



"In your eating, in your drinking,

In your clothing, in your talk,

You can glorify the Father,

Or in wickedness can walk.

For your little body, Lizzie,

God has said, 'Keep holy, pure,'

Tis His 'temple' He has lent you,

Keep its every gate secure,



"What you eat and drink makes muscles,

Bones and nerves, and brain, and thought;

And by food and drink improper,

Fearful evils may be wrought.

Much of meat and spice and candies,

Makes your blood impure, and then

All your body's in a jangle,

And your temper's wild again.



"And your clothes if tight or heavy,

Help to make your blood impure;

Help to make you weak and wicked,

Into evil ways to lure.

Foul air, too, your blood will poison

Sitting up too late at night;

All these things will make it harder

For you, child, to do the right.



"Bad companions also lead you

To the wrong, and tempt you sore

To defy the voice within you

Till it, grieved, will speak no more,--

Do not hesitate to tell them

You cannot their ways approve.

Do not yield to their enticements;

Tell them 'No!' with firmness, love.



"Do not ever let a single

Word unkind, nor coarse, impure,

Pass your lips; for these will lead you

Toward the bad, you may be sure.

Do not let a playmate tell you

Anything that must be kept

As a secret from your mother;--

Something's wrong, so don't accept.



"Always tell a thing precisely

As it is; don't try to make

It more fine and entertaining;

Tell the truth for Truth's dear sake.

Never lay a finger, darling,

On what is not quite your own,

Lest temptation overtake you,

And your honesty be gone.



"In the silence of your chamber,

When no human being's nigh,

Don't forget that God is with you,

Watching with all seeing-eye;

Don't forget that He will know it

If you do a thing that's wrong;

Keep yourself so pure and perfect,

That your life shall be His song.



"Now, dear child, the blessed Jesus

Always, when you wish it, hears,

Giving help to those who ask it,

Lightening woes, and lessening fears.

Follow always His example;

Take His precepts for your guide;

Learn to trust Him, for He's walking

Ever loving at your side."