The Well of Bethlehem. 2 Sam. 23. 15
J. Kent L.M.
1
How welcome to the soul oppressed,
In sorrow’s vale, by raging thirst,
Scorched by the sun’s meridian beam,
Is the sweet well of Bethlehem!
2
Prophets of old, and saints the same,
In every age, of every name,
Drank of this soul-reviving stream,
The water sweet of Bethlehem.
3
Water so pure, or half so good,
From nature’s fountains never flowed;
There’s curse and death in every stream,
Save in the well of Bethlehem.
4
Wide as the stretch of human woe,
Those death-consuming waters flow;
Spring up, O well! be this my theme,
Thou water sweet from Bethlehem.
5
To cheer when faint, when sick to heal,
Its wondrous virtues must prevail;
My sins to crush, my fears to quell,
Spring up, O stream! from Bethlehem’s well.
6
When nature sinks beneath her load,
Amidst the din of Jordan’s flood;
With this my every fear dispel,
One sip of Bethlehem’s sacred well.
