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BETHESDA

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 1, 1877

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 49, No. 5.

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BETHESDA

O HEALING waters, clear and cool, Fringing the temple’s hem! Thronged waters of Bethesda’s pool, In far Jerusalem!
O house of mercy and of truce To sad-eyed suffering! Oh! sweeter far than Hermon’s dews, Fair fountain of the King!
Thou wert a precious gift of God, Where, ’neath the holy hill, Thy stream, by angel footsteps trod, Went softly, slow, and still.
But angel fingers smote thy face, And stirred thy tranquil wave, To fit thee for God’s dwelling place And give thee power to save.
So in our consecrated life, We are not healed through peace; Our crown of resting comes through strife, Through bondage, our release.
’Tis not the unveiled winds o’erhead, Nor flame-winged fires below; No jar of elemental tread Breaks up our fountain’s flow.
The pain, the stroke, in mercy given, Are angels’ ministerings; Our lives are shadowed o’er by Heaven, And fanned with yearning wings.
O love divine! how sweet and clear Dark waters are to faith! God’s image is in every tear, He hides in every breath!
—Christian Weekly.