Presence of Christ



“I have not now, of a long time, found such high spring-tides as formerly. The sea is out, the wind of His Spirit calm; and I cannot buy a wind, or, by requesting the sea, cause it to flow again; only I wait on upon the banks…… Till the Lord send a full sea…… Yet sorrow for His absence is sweet; and sighs, with ‘Saw ye Him whom my soul loveth?’ have their own delights.”
(Samuel Rutherford, Aberdeen, 1637 to Lady Boyd)
My sea is out, the Spirit’s wind is still,
And desolate the shore;
Those high spring-tides I used to know
I long to know once more.
I cannot buy a wind and it is vain
To beg the tide to flow;
I can but wait upon the bank
Until God’s wind shall blow.
A house I build of pining strong desire
To find my absent Lord;
Yet sorrow has its own delights
And pain can joy afford.
I spin a web of hopeful sighs and tears,
My dreams of Him are sweet,
For ere He left, He pledged His love -
A token till we meet.
As misty dews may cheer the drooping flower
Athirst for gentle rain,
So Christ with secret dews of grace
My heart shall still sustain.
But when He comes to flood the waiting soul
With love’s full flowing tide,
He bursts the banks with streams of grace,
And I am satisfied.

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