Thursday, July 30, 2009

Pages 96 - 97 – Poem “Mizpah”





Pages 96 - 97 – Poem “Mizpah” Transcribed

Mizpah


Go thou thy way, and I go mine,
Apart, yet not afar;
Only a thin veil hangs between
The pathways where we are.
And “God keep watch ‘tween thee and me”;
This is my prayer;
He looks thy way, He looketh mine,
And keeps us near.

I know not where thy road may lie,
Or which way mine will be;
If mine will lead thro’ parching sands
And thine beside the sea;
Yet God keeps watch ‘tween thee and me,
So never fear;
He holds thy hands, He claspeth mine,”
And keeps us near.

Should wealth and fame perchance be thine,
And my lot lowly be,
Or you be sad and sorrowful,
And glory be for me,
Yet God keep watch ‘tween thee and me;
Both be His care;
One arm round thee and one round me
Will keep us near.

I sigh sometimes to see thy face,
But since this may not be,
I’ll leave thee to the care of Him
Who cares for thee and me.
“I’ll keep you both beneath my wings,”
This comforts, dear; One wing o’er thee
and one o’er me,
Will keep us near.

And though our paths be separate,
And thy way is not mine,
Yet coming to the Mercy seat,
My soul will meet with thine.
And “God keep watch ‘tween thee and me,”
I’ll whisper there.
He blesseth thee, He blesseth me,
And we are near.

3 comments:

  1. I love this poem!!

    Apparently, the word Mizpah means an emotional bond and is often found on headstones and the like.

    It appears in the Bible- "It was also called Mizpah, because he said, 'May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other...'"
    Genesis 31:49

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  2. This poem is on my grandfathers headstone and it will be read at my father's funeral this Thursday.. it's my favorite poem and I also have verse 1 and 5 tattooed on me.

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  3. I had a lighter given to me, by a special first love, with the inscription Mizpah on, this was in the mid 70's so the word was not so well known, I asked him what it meant, he would not tell me! Years later, of course I found out. The real spooky thing is, my Mother was sorting all her Jewerely out a few years ago and I spotted a two heart broach, with Mizpah, with the sentence.. It was my Grandmother's who I had never met, as she died, when my Mum was 14! That is SO special to me, as someone had pinched that lighter years ago...Faith Hope

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Thoughts from a century ago transcribed by Nick Flight is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.5 Australia License.