The Well is Deep
(John iv.)
"The well is deep."
Look back into the purposes of God,
And scan Eternity. Trace to their source
His wisdom and His power. Fathom, if thou canst,
His everlasting mercy. Should thy brain
Grow dizzy, and refuse to sound such depths,
Confess thy feebleness, and meekly say-
"The well is deep."
"The well is deep." Take for thy longest line
The cords of vanity- the rope of sins
Unnumbered. Choose then the heaviest weight;
Take thee thine own poor hardened heart of stone:
Now plumb the depths of God's unbounded love.
They lead seems light- thy lengthened line run out-
E'en with such instruments thou hast but plunged
Beneath the surface of the tide. Below,
Far, far below, in depths unfathomable,
Springs undisturbed, the ceaseless flow of love,
Embosomed in eternity. Here rest,
And humbly bend the knee, and own again,
"The well is deep."
"The well is deep." Mark now the wounded side
Of Him who hung upon the tree. Haste thee
To hide within that cleft; and, as the springs
Of living waters from the riven rock
Gush freely forth, ponder the depths of woe
From whence they rise. Behold that broken heart!
Drink ! stranger, drink ! and quench thy thirsty soul,
From out of depths which ceaselessly abound.
The more thy need, the fuller still the fount;
The more thy thirst, the deeper still the spring;
No sealed fountain this; no spring shut up;
But, flowing forth to every child of want,
It cries, Come unto me and drink- invites
The heavy-laden to repose- cleanses
Whist giving life, and gladdens whist it heals.
The thoughtless sinner, who, at Jacob's well,
Tasted the living waters fresh from God,
Has yet to learn, through all eternity,
The truth of words she ignorantly spake
Touching Samaria's failing earthly spring:-
"The well is deep."
from: "Things New and Old" Vol. XIII
London:
G. Morrish, 24, Warwick Lane,
Paternoster Row, E.C.
_____
1870
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