Joseph Friedlander, comp. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse. 1917.
By Phoebe PalmerThe Bible
B
How it doth my bosom cheer!
What hath earth like this to covet?
O, what stores of wealth are here!
Man was lost and doomed to sorrow;
Not one ray of light or bliss
Could he from earth’s treasures borrow,
’Till his way was cheered by this?
Precious Word, I’ll hide thee here;
Sure my very heart will bless thee,
For thou ever sayest “good cheer”:
Speak, my heart, and tell thy ponderings,
Tell how far thy rovings led,
When This Book brought back thy wanderings,
Speaking life as from the dead.
Deep, yes, deeper in this heart;
Thou, through all my life will guide me,
And in death we will not part.
Part in death? No! never! never!
Through death’s vale I’ll lean on thee;
Then, in worlds above, for ever,
Sweeter still thy truths shall be!