These words from William Cowper are breathing life into walking with God through a life-long battle with spiritual depression and an undying desire for intimacy with Him:
I. Walking with God from Olney Hymns (1771-1772)
Oh! for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heav'nly frame;
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!
Where is the blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul-refreshing view
Of Jesus, and his word?
What peaceful hours I once enjoy'd!
How sweet their mem'ry still!
But they have left an aching void,
The world can never fill.
Return, O holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made thee mourn,
And drove thee from my breast.
The dearest idol I have known
Whate'er that idol be;
Help me to tear it from thy throne,
And worship only thee.
So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.
-William Cowper
(ed. Rhodes, Nick; Selected Poems of William Cowper; Carcanet Press Limited, 1984)
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