99

Jesus, the very thought of Thee

With sweetness fills the breast;

But sweeter far Thy face to see

And in Thy presence rest.

2. Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,

Nor can the memory find

A sweeter sound than Thy blest name,

O Savior of mankind!

3. O Hope of every contrite heart,

O Joy of all the meek!

To those who fall, how kind Thou art,

How good to those who seek!

4. But what to those who find?—Ah! this

Nor tongue nor pen can show;

The love of Jesus, what it is,

None but His loved ones know.

5. Jesus, our only Joy be Thou!

As Thou our Prize wilt be;

Jesus, be Thou our Glory now

And through eternity!

Bernard of Clairvaux, † 1153; E. Caswall, tr., 1849, a.

99

Chief of sinners though I be,

Jesus shed His blood for me;

Died that I might live on high,

Lived that I might never die;

As the branch is to the vine,

I am His, and He is mine.

2. O the height of Jesus’ love!

Higher than the heavens above,

Deeper than the depths of sea,

Lasting as eternity;

Love that found me,—wondrous thought!—

Found me when I sought Him not.

3. Jesus only can impart

Balm to heal the smitten heart;

Peace that flows from sin forgiv’n,

Joy that lifts the soul to heav’n;

Faith and hope to walk with God,

In the way that Enoch trod.

4. Chief of sinners though I be,

Christ is all in all to me;

All my wants to Him are known,

All my sorrows are His own;

Safe with Him from earthly strife,

He sustains the hidden life.

5. O my Savior, help afford

By Thy Spirit and Thy Word!

When my wayward heart would stray,

Keep me in the narrow way;

Grace in time of need supply

While I live and when I die.

Wm. McComb, 1848.

100

7s 6 l

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,

Christ, the true, the only Light,

Sun of Righteousness, arise,

Triumph o’er the shades of night.

Day-spring from on high, be near;

Day-star, in my heart appear.

2. Dark and cheerless is the morn

Unaccompanied by Thee;

Joyless is the day’s return

Till Thy mercy’s beams I see;

Till they inward light impart,

Cheer my eyes, and warm my heart.

3. Visit, then, this soul of mine,

Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;

Fill me, Radiancy Divine,

Scatter all my unbelief;

More and more Thyself display,

Shining to the perfect day.

Charles Wesley, 1740.

101

C. M.

To our Redeemer’s glorious name

Awake the sacred song!

O may His love, immortal flame,

Tune every heart and tongue!

2. His love, what mortal thought can reach!

What mortal tongue display!

Imagination’s utmost stretch

In wonder dies away.

3. He left His radiant throne on high,

Left the bright realms of bliss,

And came to earth to bleed and die,—

Was ever love like this?

4. Dear Lord, while we adoring pay

Our humble thanks to Thee,

May every heart with rapture say,

“The Savior died for me!”

5. O may the sweet, the blissful theme

Fill every heart and tongue

Till strangers love the charming name

And join the sacred song!

Anne Steele, 1760.

102

C. M.

Come, let us join our cheerful songs

With angels round the throne.

Ten thousand thousand are their tongues,

But all their joys are one.

2. “Worthy the Lamb that died,” they cry,

“To be exalted thus.”

“Worthy the Lamb,” our lips reply,

For He was slain for us.

3. Jesus is worthy to receive

Honor and power divine;

And blessings more than we can give,

Be, Lord, forever Thine.

4. Let all that dwell above the sky,

And air, and earth, and seas

Conspire to lift Thy glories high

And speak Thine endless praise!

5. The whole creation join in one

To bless the sacred name

Of Him that sits upon the throne,

And to adore the Lamb.

Isaac Watts, 1707.

103

8, 8, 7, 8, 8, 7, 4, 8, 4, 8

O Morning Star, how fair and bright

Thou beamest forth in truth and light!

O Sovereign meek and lowly!

Sweet Root of Jesse, David’s Son,

My King and Bridegroom, Thou hast won

My heart to love Thee solely!

Lovely art Thou,

Fair and glorious, All victorious,

Rich in blessing,

Rule and might o’er all possessing.

2. O King high-born, Pearl dearly won,

True Son of God and Mary’s Son,

Crown of exceeding glory!

My heart calls Thee a Lily, Lord,

Pure milk and honey is Thy Word,

Thy sweetest Gospel-story.

Rose of Sharon,

Hail! hosanna! Heavenly Manna,

Feed us ever;

Lord, I can forget Thee never!

3. Clear Jasper, Ruby fervent red,

Deep, deep into my heart now shed

Thy love’s pure fire forever;

Fill me with joy, grant me to be

Thy member, closely joined to Thee,

Whom naught from Thee may sever;

Toward Thee longing

Doth possess me: Come and bless me,

For Thy gladness

Eye and heart here pine in sadness.

4. But if Thou look on me in love,

There straightway falls from God above

A ray of purest pleasure;

Thy Word and Spirit, flesh and blood,

Refresh my soul with heavenly food,

Thou art my hidden Treasure.

Let Thy grace, Lord,

Warm and cheer me, O draw near me;

Thou hast taught us

Thee to seek since Thou hast sought us.

5. Lord God, my Father, mighty Shield,

Thou in Thy Son art all revealed

As Thou hast loved and known me;

Thy Son hath me with Him betrothed,

In His own whitest raiment clothed,

He for His bride will own me.

Hallelujah!

Life in heaven Hath He given,

With Him dwelling,

Still shall I His praise be telling.

6. Then touch the chords of harp and lute,

Let no sweet music now be mute,

But, joyously resounding,

Tell of the marriage-feast, the bride,

The heavenly Bridegroom at her side,

Mid love and joy abounding.

Shout for triumph,

Loudly sing ye, Praises bring ye,

Fall before Him,

King of kings, let all adore Him!

7. Here rests my heart and holds it fast;

The Lord I love is First and Last,

The End and the Beginning.

I welcome death, for I shall rise

Through Him to His own Paradise,

Above all tears and sinning.

Amen! Amen!

Come, Lord Jesus. Soon release us!

With deep yearning,

Lord, we look for Thy returning!

P. Nicolai, 1597; C. Winkworth, tr., a.

104

S. M. 8 l

Crown Him with many crowns,

The Lamb upon His throne;

Hark! how the heav’nly anthem drowns

All music but its own;

Awake, my soul, and sing

Of Him who died for thee,

And hail Him as thy matchless King

Through all eternity.

2. Crown Him the Virgin’s Son,

The God incarnate born,

Whose arm those crimson trophies won

Which now His brow adorn;

Fruit of the mystic rose,

As of that rose the stem;

The root whence mercy ever flows,

The Babe of Bethlehem.

3. Crown Him the Lord of love

Behold His hands and side,

Rich wounds, yet visible above,

In beauty glorified.

No angel in the sky

Can fully bear that sight,

But downward bends his wond’ring eye

At mysteries so bright.

4. Crown Him the Lord of peace,

Whose power a scepter sways

From pole to pole, that wars may cease

And all be prayer and praise.

His reign shall know no end,

And round His piercèd feet

Fair flowers of paradise extend

Their fragrance ever sweet.

5. Crown Him the Lord of years,

The Potentate of time,

Creator of the rolling spheres,

Ineffably sublime.

All hail, Redeemer, hail!

For Thou hast died for me;

Thy praise shall never, never fail

Throughout eternity.

M. Bridges, 1851.

105

S. M. 8 l

I was a wandering sheep,

I did not love the fold;

I did not love my Shepherd’s voice,

I would not be controlled;

I was a wayward child,

I did not love my home;

I did not love my Father’s voice,

I loved afar to roam.

2. The Shepherd sought His sheep,

The Father sought His child;

They followed me o’er vale and hill,

O’er deserts waste and wild;

They found me nigh to death,

Famished and faint and lone;

They bound me with the bands of love,

They saved the wandering one.

3. Jesus my Shepherd is,

’Twas He that loved my soul,

’Twas He that washed me in His blood,

’Twas He that made me whole;

’Twas He that sought the lost,

That found the wandering sheep;

’Twas He that brought me to the fold,

’Tis He that still doth keep.

4. I was a wandering sheep,

I would not be controlled.

But now I love my Shepherd’s voice,

I love, I love, the fold.

I was a wayward child,

I once preferred to roam,

But now I love my Father’s voice,

I love, I love, His home.

H. Bonar, 1844.

106

Jesus, Savior, come to me!

Let me ever be with Thee;

Come and nevermore depart,

Thou who reignest in my heart.

2. Lord, for Thee I ever sigh,

Nothing else can satisfy;

’Tis my constant cry to Thee:

Jesus, Jesus, come to me!

3. Earthly joys can give no peace,

Cannot bid my longing cease;

But to have my Jesus near,

This is perfect pleasure here.

4. All that makes the angels glad,

In their garb of glory clad,

Only fills me with distress

If Thy presence do not bless.

5. Take Thou all away from me,

I shall still thus minded be;

Thou who madest me Thine own

Shalt be e’er my Joy alone.

6. Lord, to none on earth beside

Thee my heart I open wide;

Enter Thou, possess it all,

Thee alone mine own I call.

7. Thou alone, my God and Lord,

Art my Glory and Reward;

Thou hast bled for me and died,

I will be no other’s bride.

8. Come, then, Lamb for sinners slain,

Come and ease me of my pain;

Evermore I cry to Thee:

Jesus, Jesus, come to me!

9. Patiently I wait Thy Day;

For this gift yet, Lord, I pray,

That, when death shall come to me,

My sweet Jesus Thou wilt be.

J. Scheffler, c. 1657.

107

7s 8 l

Jesus, Lover of my soul,

Let me to Thy bosom fly,

While the waters nearer roll,

While the tempest still is high.

Hide me, O my Savior, hide,

Till the storm of life is past;

Safe into the haven guide;

O receive my soul at last!

2. Other refuge have I none;

Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;

Leave, ah, leave me not alone,

Still support and comfort me!

All my trust on Thee is stayed,

All my help from Thee I bring;

Cover my defenseless head

With the shadow of Thy wing.

3. Wilt Thou not regard my call?

Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?

Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall;

Lo! on Thee I cast my care.

Reach me out Thy gracious hand!

While I of Thy strength receive,

Hoping against hope I stand,

Dying, and, behold, I live!

4. Thou, O Christ, art all I want;

More than all in Thee I find.

Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,

Heal the sick, and lead the blind.

Just and holy is Thy name;

I am all unrighteousness:

False and full of sin I am,

Thou art full of truth and grace.

5. Plenteous grace with Thee is found,

Grace to cover all my sin;

Let the healing streams abound;

Make and keep me pure within.

Thou of life the Fountain art,

Freely let me take of Thee;

Spring Thou up within my heart,

Rise to all eternity.

Charles Wesley, 1740.

108

C. M.

O for a thousand tongues to sing

My great Redeemer’s praise,

The glories of my God and King,

The triumphs of His grace!

2. My gracious Master and my God,

Assist me to proclaim,

To spread through all the earth abroad

The honors of Thy name.

3. Jesus! the name that charms our fears,

That bids our sorrows cease;

’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,

’Tis life and health and peace.

4. He breaks the power of canceled sin,

He sets the prisoner free;

His blood can make the foulest clean;

His blood avails for me.

5. Look unto Him, ye nations; own

Your God, ye fallen race;

Look and be saved through faith alone,

Be justified by grace.

6. See all your sins on Jesus laid;

The Lamb of God was slain;

His soul was once an offering made

For every soul of man.

7. Glory to God and praise and love

Be ever, ever giv’n

By saints below and saints above,

The Church in earth and heav’n.

Charles Wesley, 1739.

109

8s 10 l

O friend of souls, how blest am I

Whene’er Thy love my spirit calms!

From sorrow’s dungeon forth I fly

And hide me in Thy shelt’ring arms.

The night of weeping flies away

Before the heart-reviving ray

Of love that beams from out Thy breast;

Here is my heaven on earth begun.

Who is not joyful that has won

In Thee, O Lord, his joy and rest?

2. The world may call herself my foe,

So be it; for I trust her not,

E’en though a friendly face she show

And heap with her good things my lot.

In Thee alone will I rejoice,

Thou art the Friend, Lord, of my choice,

For Thou art true when friendships fail;

Mid storms of woe Thy truth is still

My anchor; hate me as she will,

The world shall o’er me ne’er prevail.

3. The Law may threaten endless death

From awful Sinai’s burning hill,

Straightway from its consuming breath

My soul through faith mounts higher still;

She throws herself at Jesus’ feet

And finds with Him a safe retreat,

Where curse and death can never come.

Though all foes threaten condemnation,

Yet, Jesus, Thou art my Salvation,

For in Thy love I find my home.

4. Through deserts of the cross Thou leadest;

I follow, leaning on Thy hand;

From out the clouds Thy child Thou feedest

And giv’st him water from the sand.

I know Thy wondrous ways will end

In love and blessing, Thou true Friend;

Enough, if Thou art ever near.

I know whom Thou wilt glorify

And raise o’er sun and stars on high,

Thou lead’st through depths and darkness here.

5. To others death seems dark and grim,

But not, Thou Life of life, to me.

I know Thou ne’er forsakest him

Whose heart and spirit rest in Thee.

Oh, who would fear his journey’s close

If from dark woods and lurking foes

He then find safety and release?

Nay, rather, with a joyful heart

From this dark region I depart

To Thy eternal light and peace.

6. O Friend of souls, then blest indeed

Am I when on Thy love I lean!

The world nor pain nor death I heed,

Since Thou, my God, my Joy hast been.

O let this peace that Thou hast giv’n

Be but a foretaste of Thy heav’n,

For goodness infinite is Thine.

Hence, world, with all thy flattering toys!

In God alone lie all my joys;

O rich delight, my Friend is mine!

W. C. Dessler, 1692; C. Winkworth, tr., a.