The angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said,
Genesis 16:7–8Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? And whither wilt thou go?
Words: Florence S. Smith, in The International Lesson Hymnal (Chicago, Illinois: David C. Cook, 1878), number 7.
Music: Madeira David B. Way, 1879 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Smith or Way (head-and-shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels), would you ?
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,
Till 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.
When turned from paths of evil,
I dare not seek Thy 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 sit beside the 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.