Midnight
This Mrs. _ Margery _ thought the happiest Period of her Life ; but more Happiness was in Store for her . GOD Almighty heaps up Blessings for all those who love him , and though for a Time he may suffer them to be poor and distressed , and hide his good Purposes from human Sight , yet in the End they are generally crowned with Happiness here , and no one can doubt of their being so hereafter . On this Occasion the following Hymn , or rather a Translation of the twenty-third Psalm , is said to have been written , and was soon after published in the _ Spectator _ . The Lord my Pasture shall prepare , And feed me with a Shepherd 's Care : His Presence shall my Wants supply , And guard me with a watchful Eye ; My Noon-day Walks he shall attend , And all my Midnight Hours defend . When in the sultry Glebe I faint , Or on the thirsty Mountain pant ; To fertile Vales and dewy Meads , My weary wand ` ring Steps he leads ; Where peaceful Rivers , soft and slow , Amid the verdant Landskip flow . Tho ' in the Paths of Death I tread , With gloomy Horrors overspread , My stedfast Heart shall fear no ill , For thou , O Lord , art with me still ; Thy friendly Crook shall give me Aid , And guide me thro ' the dreadful Shade . Tho ' in a bare and rugged Way , Thro ' devious lonely Wilds I stray , Thy Bounty shall my Pains beguile : The barren Wilderness shall smile , With sudden Greens & herbage crown 'd , And Streams shall murmur all around .