To think of Thee

The thought of God is like the tree

Beneath whose shade I lie,

And watch the fleets of snowy clouds

Sail o'er the silent sky.

It is a thought which ever makes

Life's sweetest smiles from tears,

And is a daybreak to our hopes,

A sunset to our fears.

One while it bids the tears to flow,

Then wipes them from the eyes,

Most often fills our souls with joy,

And always sanctifies.

To think of Thee is almost prayer,

And is outspoken praise;

And pain can even passive thoughts

To actual worship raise.

All murmurs lie inside Thy Will

Which are to Thee addressed;

To suffer for Thee is our work,

To think of Thee our rest.

Frederick William Faber was a British hymn writer and theologian.
(28 June 1814 — 26 September 1863)