"When Satan appears
To stop up our path,
And fills us with fears,
We triumph by faith.
He cannot take from us,
Though oft he has tried,
This heart-cheering promise,
'The Lord will provide.'
"He tells us we're weak,
Our hope is in vain,
The good that we seek
We ne'er shall obtain;
But when such suggestions
Our spirits have tried,
This answers all questions,
'The Lord will provide.'
"No strength of our own,
Or goodness we claim;
But since we have known
The Saviour's great name,
In this, our strong tower,
For safety we hide;
The Lord is our power!
'The Lord will provide.'
"When life sinks apace,
And death is in view,
This word of his grace
Shall comfort us through.
No fearing nor doubting,
With Christ on our side,
We hope to die shouting
'The Lord will provide!' "
Guy listened very attentively to the whole. He was very far from understanding the meaning of several of the verses, but the bounding expression of confidence and hope he did understand, and did feel.
"Happy to be so deluded!" he thought. "I almost wish I could share the delusion!"
He was gloomily silent when she had done, and little Fleda's eyes were so full that it was a little while before she could look towards him, and ask in her gentle way, "Do you like it, Mr. Carleton?"
She was gratified by his grave "Yes!"
"But Elfie," said he, smiling again, "you have not told me your thoughts yet. What had these verses to do with the sea you were looking at so hard?"
"Nothing; I was thinking," said Fleda, slowly, "that the sea seemed something like the world I don't mean it was like, but it made me think of it; and I thought how pleasant it is to know that God takes care of his people."