When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, thought my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Make, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide:
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own grist, who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best, his State
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve, who only stand and wait."

From The New Oxford Book of Christian Verse, pp. 97-98
Oxford University Press, 1981