Various pieces in verse and prose By the late Nathaniel Cotton. Many of which were never before published. In two volumes |
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PSALM XLII.
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 | Various pieces in verse and prose |  |
PSALM XLII.
[With fierce desire the hunted hart]
With fierce desire the hunted hart
Explores the cooling stream;
Mine is a passion stronger far,
And mine a nobler theme.
Explores the cooling stream;
Mine is a passion stronger far,
And mine a nobler theme.
115
Yes, with superior fervors, Lord,
I thirst to see thy face;
My languid soul would fain approach
The fountains of thy grace.
I thirst to see thy face;
My languid soul would fain approach
The fountains of thy grace.
Oh! the great plenty of thy house,
The rich refreshments there!
To live an exile from thy courts
O'erwhelms me with despair.
The rich refreshments there!
To live an exile from thy courts
O'erwhelms me with despair.
In worship when I join'd thy saints,
How sweetly pass'd my days!
Prayer my divine employment then,
And all my pleasure praise.
How sweetly pass'd my days!
Prayer my divine employment then,
And all my pleasure praise.
But now I'm lost to every joy,
Because detain'd from Thee;
Those golden periods ne'er return,
Or ne'er return to me.
Because detain'd from Thee;
Those golden periods ne'er return,
Or ne'er return to me.
116
Yet, O my soul, why thus deprest,
And whence this anxious fear?
Let former favours fix thy trust,
And check the rising tear.
And whence this anxious fear?
Let former favours fix thy trust,
And check the rising tear.
When darkness and when sorrows rose,
And press'd on every side,
Did not the Lord sustain thy steps,
And was not God thy guide?
And press'd on every side,
Did not the Lord sustain thy steps,
And was not God thy guide?
Affliction is a stormy deep,
Where wave resounds to wave;
Tho' o'er my head the billows roll,
I know the Lord can save.
Where wave resounds to wave;
Tho' o'er my head the billows roll,
I know the Lord can save.
Perhaps, before the morning dawns,
He'll reinstate my peace;
For He, who bade the tempest roar,
Can bid the tempest cease.
He'll reinstate my peace;
For He, who bade the tempest roar,
Can bid the tempest cease.
117
In the dark watches of the night
I'll count his mercies o'er;
I'll praise him for ten thousand past,
And humbly sue for more.
I'll count his mercies o'er;
I'll praise him for ten thousand past,
And humbly sue for more.
Then, O my soul, why thus deprest,
And whence this anxious fear?
Let former favours fix thy trust,
And check the rising tear.
And whence this anxious fear?
Let former favours fix thy trust,
And check the rising tear.
Here will I rest, and build my hopes,
Nor murmur at his rod;
He's more than all the world to me,
My health, my life, my God!
Nor murmur at his rod;
He's more than all the world to me,
My health, my life, my God!
| Various pieces in verse and prose | |