O thou in whose presence my soul takes delight,

On whom in affliction I call;

My comfort by day and my song in the night,

My hope, my salvation, my all!

2 Where dost thou at noontide resort with thy sheep

To feed on the pastures of love?

For why in the valley of death should I weep,

Or alone in the wilderness rove?

3 O why should I wander an alien from thee,

And cry in the desert for bread?

Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they see,

And smile at the tears I have shed.

4 You daughters of Zion, declare have you seen

The star that on Israel shone?

Say if your tents my belovéd has been,

And where with his flock he is gone?

5 This is my belovéd; his form is divine,

His vestments shed odors around,

The locks on his head are as grapes on the vine

When autumn with plenty is crowned.

6 The roses of Sharon, the lilies that grow

In the vales, on the banks of the streams,

On his cheeks in the beauty of excellence glow,

And his eyes are as quivers of beams.

7 His voice, as the sound of the dulcimer sweet,

Is heard through the shadows of death;

The cedars of Lebanon bow at his feet,

The air is perfumed with his breath.

8 His lips as a fountain of righteousness flow

That water the garden of grace;

From which their salvation the Gentiles shall know,

And bask in the smiles of his face.

9 Love sits on his eyelids, and scatters delight

Through all the bright mansions on high;

Their faces the cherubim vail in his sight,

And tremble with fullness of joy.

10 He looks, and ten thousands of angels rejoice,

And myriads wait for his word;

He speaks, and eternity, filled with his voice,

Re-echoes the praise of her Lord.