Full Lyrics
Still must I climb if I would rest,
The bird soars upward to its nest;
The young leaf on the treetop high
Cradles itself within the sky.
The streams that seem to hasten down
Return in clouds the hills to crown;
The plant arises from her root
To rock her flower and fruit.
I cannot in the valley stay,
The great horizons stretch away;
The very cliffs that wall me round
Are ladders unto higher ground.
To work, to rest, for watch a time,
I toil, but I must also climb;
What soul was ever quite at ease
Shut in by earthly boundaries.
I am not glad till I have known
Life that can lift me from my own;
A loftier level must be won,
A mightier strength to lean upon.
And heaven draws near as I ascend,
The breeze invites, the stars befriend;
All things are beckoning to the best,
I climb to thee, my God, my God, for rest.
