Poems (Kimball)/"I will never leave Thee, nor forsake Thee"
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"I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE, OR FORSAKE THEE."
HOW patient art Thou, dearest Lord,
And how perverse am I!
Still day by day some other way
To win me Thou dost try.
And how perverse am I!
Still day by day some other way
To win me Thou dost try.
Now under skies serenely bright
Thou leadest me along,
No cloud of ill my hopes to chill
Or turn to sighs my song.
Thou leadest me along,
No cloud of ill my hopes to chill
Or turn to sighs my song.
And now Thou sufferest cruel storms,
Misfortune's bitter blast,
To lay me low that I may know
Thy shelter o'er me cast.
Misfortune's bitter blast,
To lay me low that I may know
Thy shelter o'er me cast.
To-day companionships most sweet
To every hour give wings,
And morn and eve such visions weave
As shadow Heavenly things.
To every hour give wings,
And morn and eve such visions weave
As shadow Heavenly things.
The visions fade; bereft, cast down,
As in some desert waste
Thou leavest me that unto Thee
My lonely heart may haste.
As in some desert waste
Thou leavest me that unto Thee
My lonely heart may haste.
The awful consciousness of sin
Thou makest me to feel,
The sickness dread of heart and head
That only Thou canst heal.
Thou makest me to feel,
The sickness dread of heart and head
That only Thou canst heal.
Thou dost oppress me till I fall
Repentant at Thy feet,
That on Thy breast I may find rest
As undeserved as sweet.
Repentant at Thy feet,
That on Thy breast I may find rest
As undeserved as sweet.
Again, to meditation's shade
Thou lurest me aside,
And truths wouldst teach beyond the reach
Of any human guide,—
Thou lurest me aside,
And truths wouldst teach beyond the reach
Of any human guide,—
Soft whispers of the Spirit's lore
Whose wisdom saints attain;
But soon I say, "Some other day!"
And turn to what seems plain.
Whose wisdom saints attain;
But soon I say, "Some other day!"
And turn to what seems plain.
How faithful art Thou, dearest Lord,
But oh, how faithless I,
That o'er and o'er and more and more
Thy faithfulness I try!
But oh, how faithless I,
That o'er and o'er and more and more
Thy faithfulness I try!
Oh, were Thy sweet commandments writ
In this inconstant heart,
It could not be that I from Thee
Should ever walk apart!
In this inconstant heart,
It could not be that I from Thee
Should ever walk apart!
That I should leave the only Friend
Who will not me forsake,
But still doth plead, and plead, and plead,
As one whose heart must break!
Who will not me forsake,
But still doth plead, and plead, and plead,
As one whose heart must break!
Strive with me still, O Love Supreme;
Supremest Patience, strive!
Thou hast restored the lost, dear Lord,
Hast made the dead alive;
Supremest Patience, strive!
Thou hast restored the lost, dear Lord,
Hast made the dead alive;
And nothing is impossible
To Thy Almightiness
Whose glory found its boundless bound
In such divine redress.
To Thy Almightiness
Whose glory found its boundless bound
In such divine redress.
Thou sure must win me in the end
To Thy eternal claim,
Who didst create, regenerate,
And call me by Thy Name.
To Thy eternal claim,
Who didst create, regenerate,
And call me by Thy Name.
The day must come, the blessed day,
When I updrawn shall be,
And on the Cross count all things loss,
And dying live to Thee!
When I updrawn shall be,
And on the Cross count all things loss,
And dying live to Thee!