Living Waters

There are some hearts like wells, green-mossed and deep As ever Summer saw; And cool their water is,—yea, cool and sweet;— But you must come to draw. They hoard not, yet they rest in calm content, And not unsought will give; They can be quiet with their wealth unspent, So self-contained they live. And there are some like springs, that bubbling burst To follow dusty ways, And run with offered cup to quench his thirst Where the tired traveller strays; That never ask the meadows if they want What is their joy to give;— Unasked, their lives to other life they grant, So self-bestowed they live! And One is like the ocean, deep and wide, Wherein all waters fall; That girdles the broad earth, and draws the tide, Feeding and bearing all; That broods the mists, that sends the clouds abroad, That takes, again to give;— Even the great and loving heart of God, Whereby all love doth live.