Poems (Howard)/Cast Down

by Hattie Howard

Cast Down.

"Out of the depths", I cry,
 And know Thou nearest me,
Who, from Thy throne on high,
 In tender sympathy
Art looking down where I
 O'ershadowed, cling to Thee.

Dark grows the path I tread;
 And when the gloom of night,
Around me and o'erhead,
 Shall steal upon my sight,
Oh! shall I then be led
 By Thy celestial light?

Thick clouds obscure my sky—
 I walk in shifting sand
Where pitfalls thickly lie,
 And scarce can understand
That there is ever nigh
 My Father's guiding hand.

Oh! may I not despair,
 Though by affliction tried;
Still may I look up where
 Sits Christ, the Crucified,
And cast on Him my care,
 And in His love abide.