quote · Legacy record
Master, to do great work for Thee, my hand Is far too weak! Thou givest what may suit, Some little chips to cut with care minute, Or tint, or grave, or polish. Others stand Before their quarried marble, fair and grand, And make a life-work of the grand design Which Thou hast traced; or, many-skilled, combine To build vast temples, gloriously planned. Yet take the tiny stones which I have wrought Just one by one, as they were given by Thee, Not knowing what came next in Thy wise thought. Let each stone by Thy master-hand of grace Form the mosaic as Thou wilt for me And in Thy temple-pavement give it place.
Master, to do great work for Thee, my hand Is far too weak! Thou givest what may suit, Some little chips to cut with care minute, Or tint, or grave, or polish. Others stand Before their quarried marble, fair and grand, And make a life-work of the grand design Which Thou hast traced; or, many-skilled, combine To build vast temples, gloriously planned. Yet take the tiny stones which I have wrought Just one by one, as they were given by Thee, Not knowing what came next in Thy wise thought. Let each stone by Thy master-hand of grace Form the mosaic as Thou wilt for me And in Thy temple-pavement give it place.
In print by 1911 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Frances Ridley Havergal
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1911 AD · modern
In print by 1911: recorded in The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911) (1911 AD)
Complete signed selection 324; printed byline: Frances Ridley Havergal; Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1911; printed copyright 1907
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.