O Thou, in whose presence my soul takes delight, On whom in affliction I call, My comfort by day and my song in the night, My hope, my salvation, my all!
C
O Thou, in whose presence
F
my
C
soul
G
takes de
C
light,
G7
On
C
whom in
F
af
C
flic
D7
tion I
G-G7
call,
My
C
com
F
fort by
C
day and my
F
song
C
in the
G
night,
G7
My
C
hope, my
F
sal
C
va
G7
tion, my
C-F-C
all!
2
Where dost Thou, dear Shepherd, resort with Thy sheep, To feed them in pastures of love; Say, why in the valley of death should I weep, Or alone in this wilderness rove?
Where dost Thou, dear Shepherd, resort with Thy sheep,
To feed them in pastures of love;
Say, why in the valley of death should I weep,
Or alone in this wilderness rove?
C
Where dost Thou, dear Shepherd,
F C
resort
G
with Thy
C
sheep,
G7
To
C
feed them
F
in
C D7
pastures of
G-G7
love;
Say,
C
why
F
in the
C
valley of
F
death
C
should I
G
weep,
G7
Or
C
alone
F
in
C
this
G7 C-F-C
wilderness rove?
3
Oh, why should I wander, an alien from Thee, Or cry in the desert for bread? Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they see, And smile at the tears I have shed.
Oh, why should I wander, an alien from Thee,
Or cry in the desert for bread?
Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they see,
And smile at the tears I have shed.
C
Oh, why should I wander,
F
an
C G
alien from
C
Thee,
G7
Or
C
cry in
F
the
C D7
desert for
G-G7
bread?
Thy
C
foes
F
will
C
rejoice when my
F C
sorrows they
G
see,
G7
And
C
smile at
F
the
C
tears
G7
I have
C-F-C
shed.
4
Ye daughters of Zion, declare, have you seen The Star that on Israel shone? Say, if in your tents my Beloved has been, And where with His flocks He is gone.
Ye daughters of Zion, declare, have you seen
The Star that on Israel shone?
Say, if in your tents my Beloved has been,
And where with His flocks He is gone.
C
Ye daughters of Zion,
F
declare,
C
have
G
you seen
G7
The
C
Star that
F
on
C D7
Israel shone?
Say,
C
if
F
in your
C
tents my
F
Beloved
C
has been,
G7
And
C
where with
F
His
C
flocks
G7
He is
C-F-C
gone.
5
Dear Shepherd! I hear, and will follow Thy call; I know the sweet sound of Thy voice; Restore and defend me, for Thou art my all, And in Thee I’ll ever rejoice.
This hymn has so much meaning to me. It was sung in our home growing up. My mother's favorite hymn and became the family's favorite. It was sung at my sister's funeral who died exactly 7 months ago today. I woke up this morning singing this hymn not even realizing it was the seven month anniversary of her death until I started writing the comment. This song is so comforting. Let us bask in the blessings of the Lord.
As a child growing up in the Caribbean Islands my churh choir sang this song so beautifully. The tune was so soothing even though I did not understand the meaning of the lyrics. I woke up one morning and the Lord just laid this song on my heart. As I listened to it over and over again it brought tears of joy to my heart knowing that the Lord was our Shepherd then and is still our Shepherd now, and His voice has never changed.
Brother Arthur in the comment below added 3 more stanzas, a line impressed me;
"And bask in the smiles of His face."
The Merriam-Webster's definition for "Bask" is "to lie or relax in a pleasant warmth or atmosphere, to take pleasure or derive enjoyment."
O Our Lord Jesus is our pleasant warmth and our pleasant atmosphere, we take pleasure in the smiles of His face, we derive enjoyment from this Most Precious Person!
Other synonyms are rest, kick back, loll, lounge, relax, repose.
I've been going through lately; and all I could remember was the very first stanza. I learned over 50 years ago as a youth choir member and a very active child in the church. It speaks peace to my soul and spirit. I love all the old hymns; they are soothing. Some may say we need something different; but, I tend not to agree.