Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.
Habakkuk 3:17–18
Words: John Logan, in the Scottish Translations and Paraphrases, 1781.
Music: Bishopthorpe Jeremiah Clarke, 1700 (🔊 pdf nwc).
Alternate Tune:
If you know where to get a good picture of Logan (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels), or a better one of Clarke,
What though no flowers the fig tree clothe,
Though vines their fruit deny,
The labor of the olive fail,
And fields no meat supply?
Though from the fold, with sad surprise,
My flock cut off I see;
Though famine pine in empty stalls,
Where herds were wont to be?
Yet in the Lord will I be glad,
And glory in His love;
In Him I’ll joy, who will the God
Of my salvation prove.
He to my tardy feet shall lend
The swiftness of the roe;
Till, raised on high, I safely dwell
Beyond the reach of woe.
God is the treasure of my soul,
The source of lasting joy;
A joy which want shall not impair,
Nor death itself destroy.