"Ho, Every One That Thirseth, Come Ye to the Waters"

"Ho, Every One That Thirseth, Come Ye to the Waters"

Ho, every one that thirsteth:

See ye where the waters flow,

Gleaming, gleaming, O how brightly!

In the blessed sunshine's glow?

Not a ripple swells their surface,

Not a stain dark earth hath given,

Not an image meets their pureness,

Save the boundless vault of heaven.

Ho, every one that thirsteth:

Taste ye of the living wave -

Why delay ye, when 'tis proffered

To the monarch and the slave?

Not the needy or the lowly

Shall the waters make to blench -

Not the proudest or the noblest

Here may fail their thirst to quench.

Ho, every one that thirsteth:

Would ye now for ever live -

Would ye know the priceless blessing,

That your Lord alone can give -

Here behold his bright stream flowing -

Taste its waters sweet and clear -

They will quench the spirit's yearning,

They will hush each earthly fear.

Ho, every one that thirsteth:

Though no price your hands may hold,

Sure the draught of God, salvation,

Is not bought with worthless gold:

It is given fully, freely -

Yea, 'tis urged on ye to drink -

Why will ye refuse the favor?

Why your hearts within ye shrink?

Ho, every one that thirsteth:

Would ye never thirst again?

Would ye never feel the torment

Of eternal years of pain?

O then haste ye, where the waters

In their fadeless beauty flow -

There, partaking of their freshness,

GOD shall free you from your wo.

Ho, every one that thirsteth:

Hear ye not your Saviour call?

See ye not those choicest treasures

Which he proffers now to all?

O then hasten to the waters -

Drink ye, drink ye, ere you die;

Drink ye, and ye shall be gifted,

With an endless life on high.

Ion

New Series 1:42, p. 4

1840.12.19

From the Churchman