As Hagar in the desert,

Thrust forth by blows and strife,

Sat lonely by the well side,

Aweary of her life,

There came the angel message,

Arise and homeward fare;

For, though the wild seemed empty,

The mighty God was there.

 

When secret sins beset me,

And temptings snare my feet,

While hid from human vision

I think their fruits are sweet;

Thy presence hovers o’er me,

I cannot hide or flee—

O thought how dread and awful,

That Thou, God, seest me.

 

O’er my every single moment’s pass,

Thou hast seen my weary, wand’ring path;

And though I’ve felt lost, from this I cannot flee:

My God, Thou watcheth over me.

 

When turned from paths of evil,

I dare not lift my face,

But kneel in deep abasement

Before the throne of grace;

When only tears are telling

The prayers I bring to Thee,

O thought how sweet and tender,

That Thou, God, seest me.

 

When, lost in life’s great desert,

Worn out by sin and strife,

I long to sip Thy fountain

Where springs the stream of life,

Send Thou the angel message;

Let my one comfort be,

Still, still, where’er I wander,

That Thou, God, seest me.