Of self and sin, that's growing there;
And PLANT, instead, celestial seed;
And thus eternal fruitage bear.
Not by "the way side" shall it grow;
Not in a hard and rocky soil;
But where it shall not fail to know
The cultivator's tears and toil.
Plant in the good and honest heart;
Not tares, but heaven's celestial grain;
And pray the heavenly Father's art,
To give the sunshine and the rain.
And from that seed and sacred root,
The bud and flower thou soon shalt see;
The fragrant bloom, the golden fruit
Of Eden's bright, immortal tree.
— Christ in the Soul (1872) XXXIX.