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My
heart needs Thee, O Lord, my heart needs
Thee! No part of my being needs Thee
like my heart. All else within me
can be filled by Thy gifts. My
hunger can be satisfied by daily bread.
My thirst can be allayed by earthly
waters. My cold can be removed by
household fires. My weariness can be
relieved by outward rest. But no
outward thing can make my heart
pure. The calmest day will not calm
my passions. The fairest scene will
not beautify my soul. The richest
music will not make melody within.
The breeze can cleanse the air; but no
breeze ever cleansed a spirit.
The world has not provided for my heart.
It has provided for my eyes; it has provided for
my ear; it has provided for my touch; it has
provided for my taste; it has provided for my
sense of beauty---but it has not provided for my
heart. Provide Thou
for my heart, O Lord!
It is the only un-winged bird in all
creation; give it wings; its very power of
loving has often dragged it in the
mire. Be Thou the strength of my
heart. Be Thou its fortress in
temptation, its shield in remorse, its covert in
the storm, its star in the night, its voice in
the solitude! Guide it in its gloom;
help it in its heat; direct it in its doubt;
calm it in its conflict; fan it in its
faintness; prompt it in its perplexity; lead it
through its labyrinths; raise it from its
ruins! I cannot rule this heart of
mine; keep it under the shadow of Thine own
wings!
