O Thou in Whose Presence

Lyrics

Lyrics from A Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1841

• Notes: It is interesting how the order of the lyrics is different in this hymnal; it seems that normally the seventh and eighth verses are at the beginning. Also, it is interesting that Redeemer of Israel, a hymn very similar to this one, is also included in the same hymnal (no. 119).

Hymn 75
P.M.
1. 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!

2. Where dost thou at noon-tide
Resort with thy sheep,
To feed on the pastures of love!
For why in the valley
Of death should I weep,
Or alone in the wilderness rove?

3. O why should I wander
An alien from thee,
And cry in the desert for bread?
Thy foes will rejoice
When my sorrows they see,
And smile at the tears I have shed.

4. You 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?

5. This is my beloved:
His form is divine,
His vestments shed odors around;
The locks on his head
Are as grapes on the vine,
When autumn with plenty is crowned.

6. The roses of Sharon,
The lilies that grow
In the vales on the banks of the streams,
On his cheeks in the beauty
Of excellence blow,
And his eyes are as quivers of beams.

7. His voice, as the sound
Of the dulcimer sweet,
Is heard through the shadows of death;
The cedars of Lebanon
Bow at his feet,
The air is perfumed with his breath.

8. His lips as a fountain
Of righteousness flow,
That water the garden of grace;
From which their salvation
The Gentiles shall know,
And bask in the smiles of his face.

9. Love sits in his eyelids,
And scatters delight
Through all the bright mansions on high;
Their faces the cherubim
Veil in his sight,
And tremble with fulness of joy.

10. He looks, and ten thousands
Of angels rejoice,
And myriads wait for his word;
He speaks, and eternity,
Filled with his voice,
Re-echoes the praise of her Lord.