Hos. ii. 14.
Allured into the
desert, with God alone, apart,
There spirit
meeteth spirit, there speaketh heart to heart.
Far, far on that
untrodden shore, God's secret place I find,
Alone I pass the
golden door, the dearest left behind.
There God and
I--none other; oh far from men to be!
Nay, midst the
crowd and tumult, still, Lord, alone with Thee.
Still folded close
upon Thy breast, in field, and mart, and street,
Untroubled in that
perfect rest, that isolation sweet.
O God, Thou art far
other than men have dreamed and taught,
Unspoken in all
language, unpictured in all thought.
Thou God art
God--he only learns what that great Name must be,
Whose raptured
heart within him burns, because he walks with Thee.
Stilled by that
wondrous Presence, that tenderest embrace,
The years of
longing over, do we behold Thy Face;
We seek no more
than Thou hast given, we ask no vision fair,
Thy precious Blood
has opened Heaven, and we have found Thee there.
O weary souls, draw
near Him; to you I can but bring
One drop of that
great ocean, one blossom of that spring;
Sealed with His
kiss, my lips are dumb, my soul with awe is still;
Let him that is
athirst but come, and freely drink his fill.
G. T. S.
