WANT.
For want and famine they were solitary.—Job, xxx. 3.
That which is wanting cannot be numbered.—Ecclesiastes, i. 15.
Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.—Daniel, v. 27.
Want is a bitter and hateful good,
Because its virtues are not understood.
Yet many things, impossible to thought,
Have been, by need, to full perfection brought.
Sharpness of wit, and active diligence;
Prudence at once, and fortitude it gives,
And, if in patience taken, mends our lives;
For even that indigence that brings me low,
Makes me myself, and Him above, to know.
Dryden.
Lord, grant, oh grant me thy compassion,
For I in thee my trust have placed;
Display thy wings for my salvation,
Until my griefs are overpast.
To thee I sue, oh God most high,
To thee that canst all want supply.
George Wither.
On God for all events depend;
You cannot want when God’s your friend.
Weigh well your part, and do your best;
Leave to your Maker all the rest.
The hand which formed thee in the womb,
Guides from the cradle to the tomb.
Cotton.
Father, ’tis thine each day to yield
Thy children’s wants a fresh supply;
Thou cloth’st the lilies of the field,
And hearest the young ravens cry;
On thee we cast our care, we live
Through thee, who know’st our every need,
O feed us with thy grace, and give
Our souls this day the living bread!
J. Wesley.