Poetry · Chapter
I Thirst explained
A poetic dialogue between two voices explores spiritual thirst and the search for divine healing.
What happens
A poetic dialogue between two voices explores spiritual thirst and the search for divine healing. The first voice expresses weariness and longing for a heavenly stream that brings peace, while the second voice redirects the seeker inward, declaring that the living fount of joy and love is already within the heart, accessible through faith.
Themes in this chapter
Faith and Divine Justice
The poem emphasizes faith in an inner divine source of healing and love, contrasting earthly suffering with spiritual peace.
Hope and Redemption
The promise of quenching spiritual thirst through an inner fount offers hope and redemption from worldly grief.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The first voice speaks of personal spiritual thirst and weariness.
- Christ
The second voice echoes Christ's teaching that the Word is near, within the heart.
Key passages
“I thirst, but earth cannot allay The fever coursing through my veins.”
I am desperately thirsty, but nothing on earth can soothe the burning pain inside me.
The speaker expresses a deep spiritual longing that material comforts cannot satisfy.
“The Word is nigh thee, even in thy heart.”
The divine message is close to you, actually within your own heart.
The second voice quotes a biblical principle that God's presence is internal and accessible.
“Within, in thee is one living fount, Fed from the springs above; There quench thy thirst till thou shalt bathe In God's own sea of love.”
Inside you is a living spring, supplied from heaven; drink from it until you are immersed in God's infinite love.
The poem concludes by directing the seeker to find spiritual fulfillment within, not through external quests.