Skip to content

Breathe from the gentle South, O LORD

Book 3, Hymn 10 · William Cowper · Public-domain words

The words

  1. Stanza 1. Breathe from the gentle South, O LORD,And cheer me from the North;Blow on the treasures of thy word,And call the spices forth!

  2. Stanza 2. I wish, thou know’st, to be resigned,And wait with patient hope;But hope delayed fatigues the mind,And drinks the spirit up.

  3. Stanza 3. Help me to reach the distant goal;Confirm my feeble knee;Pity the sickness of a soulThat faints for love of thee.

  4. Stanza 4. Cold as I feel this heart of mine,Yet since I feel it so;It yields some hope of life divineWithin, however low.

  5. Stanza 5. I seem forsaken and alone,I hear the lion roar;And every door is shut but one,And that is mercy’s door.

  6. Stanza 6. There, till the dear Deliv’rer come,I’ll wait with humble prayerAnd when he calls his exile home,The Lord, shall find me there.

Olney Hymns (1779), Book 3, Hymn 10. William Cowper. Public domain. CCEL transcription with modernized spelling. www.praylock.com/olney-hymns/3-10

About these words

William Cowper lived from 1731 to 1800. These historical words are public domain.

This hymn belongs to the complete three-book collection first published in 1779.

The CCEL transcription modernizes spelling and some punctuation. Read this hymn at the source. Checked 23 October 2026.

No sheet music or recordings are included. This web collection is separate from the PrayLock iPhone app.

Begin with prayer.

Choose the apps that take your attention, and put prayer before them. PrayLock requires a Pro subscription.

Download on theApp Store
QR code linking to PrayLock on the App Store

On a computer? Scan with your iPhone camera to open PrayLock on the App Store.