Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father…So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29–31

Words: Emma C. Willard, 1831. Willard said she wrote the words on board the Sully during a voyage from France to America, July 1831. Her letter with the hymn and its history were published in the Southern Literary Messenger, Volume 1, Issue 10, June 1835, page 538. Some authors state that this hymn appears in Willard’s book of poems, Fulfillment of a Promise (New York: White, Gallagher & White, 1831), but we do not find it there.

Music: Joseph P. Knight (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good photo of Knight (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),

Rocked in the cradle of the deep,
I lay me down in peace to sleep;
Secure I rest upon the wave,
For Thou, O Lord, hast power to save.
I know Thou wilt not slight my call,
For Thou dost mark the sparrow’s fall.

Refrain

And calm and peaceful is my sleep,
Rocked in the cradle of the deep;
And calm and peaceful is my sleep,
Rocked in the cradle of the deep.

And such the trust that still were mine,
Though stormy winds sweep o’er the brine,
Or though the tempest’s fiery breath
Rouse me from sleep to wreck and death,
In ocean cave still safe with Thee,
The germ of immortality.

Refrain

Fair Wind and Flowing Sheet
Thomas R. Miles (1869–1888)

Scripture Verse

Introduction

Lyrics