Devotional Verses Founded on and Illustrative of select Texts of Scripture [by Bernard Barton] |
 |
THE REWARD OF PATIENT WAITING. |
 | Devotional Verses |  |
98
THE REWARD OF PATIENT WAITING.
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.”
—Psalm, xl. 1.
Such was the language us'd of yore,
O God! by Israel's shepherd king,
And they who patiently adore,
And wait,—thy goodness yet shall sing.
O God! by Israel's shepherd king,
And they who patiently adore,
And wait,—thy goodness yet shall sing.
Thou didst not hear unmov'd of old
Such waiting suppliant's plaintive cry,
Nor dost thou coldly now behold
The patient mourner's watchful eye.
Such waiting suppliant's plaintive cry,
Nor dost thou coldly now behold
The patient mourner's watchful eye.
Thy boundless mercy still is near
To those who would that mercy crave;
Undimm'd thine eye, unseal'd thine ear,
Thine arm omnipotent to save.
To those who would that mercy crave;
Undimm'd thine eye, unseal'd thine ear,
Thine arm omnipotent to save.
99
But, weaken'd by our sins, and cares,
Our ears and eyes nor hear nor see;
Our hearts grow weary, faint our prayers,
We wait not patiently for Thee.
Our ears and eyes nor hear nor see;
Our hearts grow weary, faint our prayers,
We wait not patiently for Thee.
Nor can we of ourselves obtain
The faith which keeps impatience dumb,
Which waits, though waiting seem in vain,
Believing that thy time will come.
The faith which keeps impatience dumb,
Which waits, though waiting seem in vain,
Believing that thy time will come.
Thy grace, which must the will prepare
To watch and pray at Wisdom's gate,
Must give the boon of patience there
For thy appointed time to wait.
To watch and pray at Wisdom's gate,
Must give the boon of patience there
For thy appointed time to wait.
| Devotional Verses | |