Poems (Shipton)/The City of our God

4502876Poems — The City of our GodAnna Shipton

"STREAMS THAT MAKE GLAD THE CITY OF OUR GOD."

"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."—John iv. 14.
"He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."—John vii. 38.

Make me, Lord, as a fountain,
Spring from the depths below!
Far in channels of blessing
The waters of life may flow;
Soft as the night-dew falling,
Swift as the carrier dove,
Bearing my Master's message,
Telling my Saviour's love:

Springing up in the sunshine,
Glad in its dazzling light,
Cheering the heart-sick watcher,
Whispering songs in the night;
Loving the stars that lightened
The drops that in sadness fell,
Ever fresh springs rise in the darkness,
Deep from the fathomless well.
Then to run as a river—

A river of truth and joy—
A river to flow for ever,
When cisterns of earth are dry,
Bearing a brother's burden
Over the dark world's flood,
Filling a thousand fountains
To gladden the City of God.