William Baxter Sickness (1843)

 

T H E   L A D I E S '   R E P O S I T O R Y .
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CINCINNATI, MARCH 1843.

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O r i g i n a l .
S I C K N E S S .
BY WILLIAM BAXTER.
WITH deep submission, gracious God,
    I to thy sovereign mandate bow;
Teach me my sinfulness to see,
    And praise the hand which lays me low.
Thou dost not chasten but for good
    The fallen sons of Adam's race;
In this my sore affliction, then,
    Teach me thy chast'ning hand to trace!
I'm all unworthy--all defiled--
    Unfit before thy face to stand;
Yet, O, I dare to seek thy grace,
    And strength from thy all powerful hand!
I know thou wilt not close thine ear
    Unto the vilest sinner's cry;
Restore me, then, O, gracious God,
    Or teach, O, teach me how to die!
Though rack'd with pain, if thou art near
    Thy presence bids each pain depart--
Makes smooth the troubled sea of thought,
    And fills with light my darken'd heart.
Give life or death, I'll humbly bow,
    And strive to let thy will be mine,
Assured, whatever change may come,
    In life or death I shall be thine.

 

[The Ladies' Repository 3 (March 1843): 67.]

ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC EDITION

      William Baxter's "Sickness" was first published in The Ladies' Repository, and Gatherings of the West: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to Literature and Religion, Vol. 3, No. 3, March 1843, p. 67. This volume, edited by L. L. Hamline, was published in Cincinnati by J. F. Wright and L. Swormstedt for the Methodist Episcopal Church.

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 2 April 2000.
Updated 28 June 2003.

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