1 Thou shepherd of Israel, and mine,
The joy, and desire of my heart;
For closer communion I pine,
I long to reside where Thou art:
The pasture I languish to find,
Where all, who their shepherd obey,
Are fed, on Thy bosom reclined,
Are screened from the heat of the day.
2 Ah! show me that happiest place,
That place of Thy people’s abode;
Where saints in an ecstasy gaze,
And hang on a crucified God:
Thy love for a sinner declare,
Thy passion and death on the tree;
My spirit to Calvary bear,
To suffer, and triumph with Thee.
3 ’Tis there with the lambs of Thy flock,
There only I covet to rest:
To lie at the foot of the rock,
Or rise to be hid in Thy breast;
’Tis there I would always abide,
And never a moment depart,
Concealed in the cleft of Thy side,
Eternally held in Thine heart.