by William Cowper (1731 - 1800)
The waiting soul
Language: English
Breathe from the gentle south, O Lord, And cheer me from the north; Blow on the treasures of Thy word, And call the spices forth! I wish, Thou knowest, to be resign'd, And wait with patient hope; But hope delay'd fatigues the mind, And drinks the spirits up. Help me to reach the distant goal; Confirm my feeble knee; Pity the sickness of a soul, That faints for love of Thee! Cold as I feel this heart of mine, Yet, since I feel it so, It yields some hope of life divine Within, however low. I seem forsaken and alone, I hear the lion roar; And every door is shut but one, And that is Mercy's door. There, till the dear Deliverer come, I'll wait with humble prayer; And when He calls His exile home, The Lord shall find him there.
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Authorship:
- by William Cowper (1731 - 1800), "The waiting soul" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Charles Edward Ives (1874 - 1954), "The waiting soul", 1908. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 141