O Love divine, that stooped to share
Our sharpest pang, our bitterest tear!
On Thee we cast each earthborn care;
We smile at pain while Thou art near.
Though long the weary way we tread,
And sorrow crown each lingering year,
No path we shun, no darkness dread,
Our hearts still whispering, “Thou art near!”
When drooping pleasure turns to grief,
And trembling faith is changed to fear,
The murmuring wind, the quivering leaf,
Shall softly tell us Thou art near!
On Thee we fling our burdening woe,
O Love divine, forever dear!
Content to suffer while we know,
Living and dying, Thou art near!
Oliver W Holmes was born this date, 8/29/1809, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was professor of anatomy and physiology and later dean at Harvard Medical School. He was a poet – wrote “Old Ironsides” and “The Chambered Nautilus.” (His son Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. became Supreme Court Justice.) Holmes died 10/7/1894, Boston, Massachusetts.
Separate-Holy 