Psalm of Life

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream !
-For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
Be a hero in the strife !

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o’erhead !

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

Far out on the desolate billow

Far out on the desolate billow
The sailor sails the sea,
Alone with the night and the tempest,
Where countless dangers be;
Yet never alone is the Christian,
Who lives by faith and prayer;
For God is a Friend unfailing,
And God is everywhere.

Far down in the earth’s dark bosom
The miner mines the ore;
Death lurks in the dark behind him,
And hides in the rock before.
Yet never alone is the Christian,
Who lives by faith and prayer;
For God is a Friend unfailing,
And God is everywhere.

Forth into the dreadful battle
The steadfast soldier goes;
No friend, when he lies adying,
His eyes to kiss and close.
Yet never alone is the Christian,
Who lives by faith and prayer;
For God is a Friend unfailing,
And God is everywhere.

Lord, grant as we sail life’s ocean,
Or delve in its mines of woe,
Or fight in its terrible conflict,
This comfort all to know,
That never alone is the Christian,
Who lives by faith and prayer;
For God is a Friend unfailing,
And God is everywhere.

I am with thee everywhere

(Van Dyke)

They who tread the path of labor follow where My feet have trod;
They who work without complaining, do the holy will of God;
Nevermore thou needest seek Me; I am with thee everywhere;
Raise the stone, and thou shalt find Me, cleave the wood and I am there.

Where the many toil together, there am I among my own;
Where the tired workman sleepeth, there am I with him alone:
I, the Peace that passeth knowledge, dwell amid the daily strife;
I, the Bread of heaven am broken in the sacrament of life.

Every task, however simple, sets the soul that does it free;
Every deed of love and mercy, done to man is done to Me.
Nevermore thou needest seek Me; I am with thee everywhere;
Raise the stone, and thou shalt find Me; cleave the wood, and I am there.

IF (for a Physician)

(With kind apologies to Rudyard Kipling)
By Prof K Rajasuriya

If you can bear in mind that you are dealing,
With human life & not with cases; pray
If you can treat them without discrimination
Whether they’re labelled pauper or to pay;
If you can rush with equal alacrity,
To see a case that needs attention state,
If it’s no matter there’s no ‘buckshee’ in it
Yet, if offered you can refuse if flat

If you can by a smile cheer up the ailing
Or by a touch relieve a sufferer’s pain
If you can by a word console the dying
Who’ll never taste this Earth’s tortures again
If you can force you heart & nerve & sinew
To work overtime for those who need you still
If all that counts is just the joy of serving
If matters not what happens to the bill.

If you can wait & not be tired by waiting,
For the fame that one-day perhaps you’ll earn,
Cheap notoriety the while disdaining;
Nor rush to print; cause there’s much more to learn.
If you can leave the trick of administering
To those who’ve made it a crooked art
Knowing it’s but a quack’s one accomplishment
Of honest men it never forms a part.

If you can talk touts and keep your virtue
Or treat big bugs, nor the poor lose touch
If neither wealth nor fame can yet corrupt you
If all beings count with you, but non too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds of work well done,
You’ll then have reached a noble professionals summit
And which is more you’ll die content, my son.

Who Would True Valour See

(John Bunyan Pilgrim’s Progress)

Who would true valour see,
Let him come hither;
One here will constant be,
Come wind, come weather
There’s no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.

Whoso beset him round
With dismal stories
Do but themselves confound;
His strength the more is.
No lion can him fright,
He’ll with a giant fight,
He will have a right
To be a pilgrim.

Hobgoblin nor foul fiend
Can daunt his spirit,
He knows he at the end
Shall life inherit.
Then fancies fly away,
He’ll fear not what men say,
He’ll labor night and day
To be a pilgrim.

Make Me A Blessing (By Karen Icenhour)

Make me a blessing, Lord, to every person I meet,
Cause the spirit within me to be God-honoring and sweet;
I never know when someone along life’s way,
Might need encouraging by something I say.

Make me a blessing, Lord, regardless of what people say,
Keep my eyes upon you with each passing day;
For I never know when the words that I speak,
Might be strength for the soul who’s weary or weak.

Make me a blessing, Lord, by the very look on my face,
Pour out upon my life your bountiful mercy and grace;
I never know when I might meet someone who’s down,
Who just needs a smile instead of a frown.

So make me a blessing, Lord, in my heart and soul,
I pray in every way, you’ll always have control;
Lead me down life’s pathway from day to day,
That you might be seen and heard in all I do and say.

A CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN’S OATH

A CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN’S OATH

• With gratitude to God, faith in Christ Jesus, and dependence on the Holy Spirit, I publicly profess my intent to practice medicine for the glory of God.
• With humility, I will seek to increase my skills. I will respect those who teach me and who broaden my knowledge. In turn, I will freely impart my knowledge and wisdom to others.
• With God’s help, I will love those who come to me for healing and comfort. I will honour and care for each patient as a person made in the image of God, putting aside selfish interests.
• With God’s guidance, I will endeavour to be a good steward of my skills and of society’s resources. I will convey God’s love in my relationships with family, friends, and community. I will aspire to reflect God’s mercy in caring for the lonely, the poor, the suffering, and the dying.
• With God’s blessing, I will respect the sanctity of human life. I will care for all my patients, rejecting those interventions, which either intentionally destroy or actively end the lives of the unborn, the infirm, and the terminally ill.
• With God’s grace, I will live according to this profession.

Christian Medical & Dental Associations (1991)

Father In Heaven, Who Lovest All

Rudyard Kipling

Hymn sung at the Beginning of Term Service at S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia

Father in Heaven, who lovest all,
O, help thy children when they call;
That they may build from age to age,
An undefiled Heritage.

Teach us to bear the yoke in youth,
With steadfastness & careful truth;
That in our time, Thy Grace may give
The truth whereby the nations live.

Teach us to rule ourselves always,
Controlled & cleanly night & day;
That we may bring if need arise,
No maimed or worthless sacrifice

Teach us to look, in all our ends
On Thee for judge & not our friends:
That we, with Thee, may walk uncowed
By fear or favour of the crowd.

Teach us the strength that cannot seek,
By deed or thought to hurt the weak:
That under Thee we may possess
Man’s strength to comfort man’s distress.

Teach us delight in simple things,
And mirth that has no bitter springs:
Forgiveness free of evil done,
And love to all men ‘neath the sun!

Lord Thou Has’t brought Us To Our Journey’s End

C A ARLINGTON

Hymn sung at the End of Term Service at S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia

Lord, Thou hast brought us to our journey’s end;
Once more to Thee our thankful praise ascend;
Once more we stand to praise Thee for the past;
Grant prayer & praise be honest at the last.

For all the joys which Thou hast deigned to share,
For all the pains which Thou hast deigned to bear,
For all our friends in life & death the same,
We thank Thee, Lord, & praise Thy glorious name.

If from Thy paths, by chastening undismayed,
If, for Thy gifts ungrateful we have strayed,
If in Thy house our prayers were faint & few,
Forgive, O Lord, & build our hearts anew.

If we have learnt to feel our neighbours need,
To fight for truth in thought & word & deed,
If there be lessons which the years have taught,
Then ’stablish, Lord, what Thou in us hast wrought.

So be our rest in palaces most fair,
Not built with hands, whose stones Thy praise declare:
Where war is not, & all Thy sons are free,
Where Thou art known, & all is known in Thee.

Prayers of the Sinhalese

I

නමො නමො මැවුම් කරුන්
නමො නමො මිදුම් කරුන්
නමො නමො සුදත් මුරුන්
නමො නමො තියෙක් මුරුන්

වැඳගෙන බැති පෙම් පෑමෙන්
දෙවිඳුට පැසසුම් දීමෙන්
දෙවි සරණය දැන් පැත්මෙන්
කරමුව ඇරයුම් සාමෙන්

සෞලොව මැව්තුම් ආදී දෙවින්ඳේ
මොක් සුව දුන් පුත් යේසු සාමින්ඳේ
සාසන රක්න සුද්ද සූරින්දේ
දැන් යහපත් වේවා අප මෑද්දේ

Worship unto the Creator
Worship unto the Redeemer
Worship unto the Blessed Spirit
Worship unto the Triune God

With Faith and Love we Adore
We Offer Praise unto God
We Take Refuge in You
With Peace we make our Intercessions

Almighty God, you created the Heaven and Earth
Blessed Son Jesus, you opened the Gate of Heaven
Holiest Spirit, you guide God’s people
Be present in our midst

II

ඔබ පිය දෙවි කර සරණය ගනිමි
ඔබ කිතු හිමි කර සරණය ගනිමි
ඔබ සුදතිඳු කර සරණය ගනිමි
ඔබ එක ඪෙවි කර සරණය ගනිමි

ඔබෙ සුර සසුණෙහි සරණය පතමි
ඔබෙ අණ විනයෙහි සරණය පතමි
ඔබෙ සුභ දහමෙහි සරණය පතමි
ඔබෙ මෙම දහමෙහි සරණය පතමි

I take refuge in you the Father accepting you as God
I take refuge in you the Son accepting you as Lord
I take refuge in you blest Spirit accepting you as Lord
I take refuge in you Three acknowledging you one God

I look for refuge in your holy Church
I look for refuge in your own precepts and laws
I look for refuge in your noble word
I look for refuge in this your community

 III

අති ශුද්ධ /// දෙව් පියේ
වඩිනුව අප වෙත ඔබ මෙත පාමිනෙ
වඩිනුව අප වෙත /// ඔබ මෙත පාමිනෙ

සව්බල /// යේසුනෙ
කුමටද ඔබ හැර වෙන කිසිවෙක් අනේ
කුමටද ඔබ හැර /// වෙන කිසිවෙක් අනේ

ශුද්ධාත්ම /// දෙවිඳේ
සවිබල ඩෙනු මෙන යෙදෙනට සේවයේ
සවිබල ඩෙනු මෙන /// යෙදෙනට සේවයේ

ත්රී එක /// දෙවිඳේ
අපි ඔබ අභියස සිටිනෙමු බැතිනේ
අපි ඔබ අභියස /// සිටිනෙමු බැතිනේ