Be Thou My Well

Be thou the well by which I lie and rest;

Be thou my tree of life, my garden ground; 

Be thou my home, my fire, my chamber blest, 

My book of wisdom, loved of all the best; 

Oh, be my friend, each day still newer found, 

As the eternal days and nights go round! 

Nay, nay—thou art my God, in whom all loves are bound!

--George MacDonald (1824-1905), Scots poet, preacher, fairy tale writer, and editor, influence on JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis; from A Book of Strife in the Form of the Diary of an Old Soul (1880

Image: St. Patrick's Holy Well, Marlfield Clonmell Ireland

Blind Bartimaeus

As Jesus went into Jericho town,
Twas darkness all, from toe to crown,
About blind Bartimeus.
He said, “My eyes are more than dim,
They are no use for seeing him:
No matter-he can see us!”

“Cry out, cry out, blind brother-cry;
Let not salvation dear go by.-
Have mercy, Son of David.”
Though they were blind, they both could hear-
They heard, and cried, and he drew near;
And so the blind were saved.

O Jesus Christ, I am very blind;
Nothing comes through into my mind;
‘Tis well I am not dumb:
Although I see thee not, nor hear,
I cry because thou may’st be near:
O son of Mary, come!

I hear it through the all things blind:
Is it thy voice, so gentle and kind-
“Poor eyes, no more be dim”?
A hand is laid upon mine eyes;
I hear, and hearken, see, and rise;-
‘Tis He! I follow him!

-- George MacDonald (1825-1905), Scots minister, poet, fairy tale writer.

Scripture Reference: Mark 10:46-52, Proper 25 B

Sabbath Bells

Oh holy Sabbath bells,
Ye have a pleasant voice!
Through all the land your music swells,
And man with one commandment tells
To rest and to rejoice.

As birds rejoice to flee
From dark and stormy skies
To brighter lands beyond the sea
Where skies are calm, and wings are free
To wander and to rise;

As thirsty travellers sing,
Through desert paths that pass,
To hear the welcome waters spring,
And see, beyond the spray they fling
Tall trees and waving grass;

So we rejoice to know
Your melody begun;
For when our paths are parched below
Ye tell us where green pastures glow
And living waters run.

--George MacDonald (1824-1905), Scottish poet, Celtic scholar, and minister, 1840


Photo: the big bell at Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis, originally made for the 1904 World's Fair.