The Contented Man

Portrait of Robert William Service
Robert William Service 1874–1958

"How good God is to me," he said; "For have I not a mansion tall, With trees and lawns of velvet tread, And happy helpers at my call? With beauty is my life abrim, With tranquil hours and dreams apart; You wonder that I yield to Him That best of prayers, a grateful heart?"

"How good God is to me," he said; "For look! though gone is all my wealth, How sweet it is to earn one's bread With brawny arms and brimming health. Oh, now I know the joy of strife! To sleep so sound, to wake so fit. Ah yes, how glorious is life! I thank Him for each day of it."

"How good God is to me," he said; "Though health and wealth are gone, it's true; Things might be worse, I might be dead, And here I'm living, laughing too. Serene beneath the evening sky I wait, and every man's my friend; God's most contented man am I . . . He keeps me smiling to the End."

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