Part 1
"Shall thirst again"―and oh, how soon!
She comes to draw ere yet 'tis noon.
The weary Master sat to rest
And watched the empty vessel brought,
Well knowing He alone possessed
The "living water" which she sought.
Thou, too, art thirsting, and in vain
Thou drinkest here, to thirst again.
"Shall thirst again."―For what? For bliss?
It grows not in a soil like this.
For fame―the mirage of the brain?
It mocks the traveler's aching eye.
For riches? They are care and pain,
Nor one short hour of peace can buy.
Are these thy quest? They cannot fill,
But needs must leave thee thirsting still.
"Shall thirst again"―forever thirst.
Come, lift the wail and know the worst!
See Dives with his parched tongue,
And not a moment's solace given;
Hear cries of burning anguish wrung
From souls designed for God and heaven.
Their doom is fixed; thou still art free;
Why wilt thou thirst eternally?
Part 2
"Shall never thirst!"―Oh, wondrous thought?
What! In this barren land of drought
Is there a river of delight
Whose streams of healing ceaseless flow?
Wells there a fountain pure and bright
Unstained by human guilt and woe?
Oh, weary sinner! Taste and try,
When all thine earthly springs run dry.
"Shall never thirst!"―Above the skies,
'Tis there the well-spring takes its rise;
Its waters feed that blessed tree,
To mortal longings lost through sin,
Unguarded growing now and free,
Where no fell fiend can enter in.
"Take now," thy Savior says to thee,
"Yea, drink, O friend, abundantly.”
"Shall never thirst."―How cant thou thirst,
When He is there who loved thee first!
E'en here His presence to thy heart
Is nearer than the dearest friend,
Though now we only know in part
What there is perfect, without end.
To live is Christ, to die is gain―
Then drink, and never thirst again!