This world is not a fleeting show

This world is not a fleeting show,
For man’s illusion given;
He that hath soothed a widow’s woe,
Or wiped an orphan’s tear, doth know
There’s something here of heaven.

And he who walks life’s thorny way
With feelings calm and even,
Whose path is lit, from day to day,
By virtue’s bright and steady ray,
Feels something here of heaven.

He that the Christian course hath run,
And all his foes forgiven,
Hath measured out this life’s short span
In love to God and love to man,
On earth has tasted heaven.

Source: A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.) #296