Drop Thy Still Dews of Quietness

With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of thy call,
As noiseless let thy blessing fall
As fell thy manna down.

Drop thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!

— John Greenleaf Whittier, 1872
From “The Brewing of Soma”

Feel quietness fall on you like dewdrops until all your strivings cease. Allow the Spirit to take from your soul the strain and stress, and let your ordered life confess the beauty of God’s peace.

How do you hear the still, small voice?

How do you create the conditions that help you hear that voice? What does “expectant waiting” mean to you?

Author

  • John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Whittier founded the anti-slavery Liberty Party in 1840 and ran for Congress in 1842.

    View all posts