1091    L.M.     J. Kent
The Well of Bethlehem. 2 Sam. 23. 15

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.