C. P. C. Is. xxxii.2 In the great and terrible wilderness I wandered in thirst and dread; The burning sands were beneath my feet, And the firece glow overhead. The fiery serpents and scorpions dire Dwelt in that lonely land, And around and afar, as a glimmering sea, The shadowless, trackless sand. Then came a day in my journey drear When I sank on the weary road, And there fell a shadow across the waste -- The shade of the wings of God. The shadow solemn, and dark, and still, Lay cool on the purple sand; The shadow deep of a mighty Rock In a weary, thirsty land. Of old from Heaven the thunder fell, And that mighty Rock was riven, And a river of water flowed down to me -- A stream of the rain of Heaven. And the Hand that reft with the thunder dread The Rock of the Ages hoar, Down to my lips the waters led, And I thirsted nevermore. For out of the great eternal deep Those glorious waters flowed; They flowed from the fathomless depths of joy, They flowed from the Heart of God. From the depths of the tenderness all unknown, That passeth knowledge, they flow; I know it as ages of bliss roll on, Yet I never shall say, "I know." And there, before the Rock that was riven, At the feet of the Lord who died, I drink of the depths of the love of Heaven, The mighty, exhaustless tide. "Drink, drink abundantly, O beloved! I was smitten, accursed for thee." O lips as lilies, O mouth most sweet, That tell Thy heart to me! |