How Far From Home?

How Far From Home?

Text written in 1853 by Annie R. Smith (1828-1855)

Sung to the tune TIS MIDNIGHT HOUR

Isaiah 21:11, 12 A prophecy against Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir,

“Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”

The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.”

V. 1 How far from home? I asked, as on

I bent my steps--the watchman spake:

"The long, dark night is almost gone,

The morning soon will break.

Then weep no more, but speed thy flight,

With Hope's bright star thy guiding ray,

Till thou shalt reach the realms of light,

In everlasting day."

Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

V. 2 I asked the warrior on the field;

This was his soul-inspiring song:

"With courage, bold, the sword I'll wield,

The battle is not long.

Then weep no more, but well endure

The conflict, till thy work is done;

For this we know, the prize is sure,

When victory is won."

Luke 21:25 There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

Romans 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 

1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

V. 3 I asked again; earth, sea, and sun

Seemed, with one voice, to make reply:

"Time's wasting sands are nearly run,

Eternity is nigh.

Then weep no more--with warning tones,

Portentous signs are thickening round,

The whole creation, waiting, groans,

To hear the trumpet sound."

Revelation 7:14, 17 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’

‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ”

V. 4 Not far from home! O blessed thought!

The traveler's lonely heart to cheer;

Which oft a healing balm has brought,

And dried the mourner's tear.

Then weep no more, since we shall meet

Where weary footsteps never roam--

Our trials past, our joys complete,

Safe in our Father's home.

Still, Still With Thee

Still, Still With Thee

Text written in 1853 by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1812-1896)

Sung to CONSOLATION, arranged from Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Psalm 139:18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand, when I awake, I am still with you.

V. 1 Still, still with Thee, when purple morning breaketh,

When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee;

Fairer than morning, lovelier than daylight,

Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with Thee.

V. 2 Alone with Thee, amid the mystic shadows,

The solemn hush of nature newly born;

Alone with Thee in breathless adoration,

In the calm dew and freshness of the morn.

V. 3 Still, still with Thee! As to each newborn morning

A fresh and solemn splendor still is given,

So does this blessed consciousness, awaking,

Breathe each day nearness unto Thee and heaven.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

V. 4 So shall it be at last, in that bright morning,

When the soul waketh and life's shadows flee;

O in that hour, fairer than daylight dawning,

Shall rise the glorious thought, I am with Thee.

We Would See Jesus

We Would See Jesus

Text written by Anna B. Warner (1820-1915)

Tune written by F. E. Belden (1858-1945)

Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

John 12:21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 

V. 1 "We would see Jesus;" for the shadows lengthen

Across the little landscape of our life;

We would see Jesus, our weak faith to strengthen

For the last conflict, in this mortal strife.

Psalm 89:26 He will call out to me, "You are my Father,

my God, the Rock my Savior."

V. 2 "We would see Jesus," Rock of our salvation,

Whereon our feet were set with sovereign grace;

Not life, nor death, with all their agitation,

Can thence remove us, gazing on His face.

V. 3 "We would see Jesus;" other lights are paling,

Which for long years we did rejoice to see;

The blessings of this sinful world are failing;

We would not mourn them, in exchange for Thee.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 ...and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

V. 4 "We would see Jesus;" this is all we're needing--

Strength, joy, and willingness come with the sight;

We would see Jesus, dying, risen, pleading,

Soon to return and end this mortal night!

Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

Text written in 1824 by Henry F. Lyte (1793-1847)

Sung to ELLESDIE, arranged from Mozart in 1873 by Hubert P. Main (1839-1926)

Mark 10:28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”

V. 1 Jesus, I my cross have taken,

All to leave and follow Thee;

All things else I have forsaken;

Thou from hence my all shalt be.

Perish every fond ambition,

All I've sought, or hoped, or known;

Yet how rich is my condition,

While I prove the Lord my own.

Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Revelation 19:11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

V. 2 Let the world despise and leave me--

They have left my Savior, too;

Human hearts and looks deceive me--

Thou art faithful, Thou art true.

O, 'tis not in grief to harm me,

While Thy love is left to me;

O, 'twere not in joy to charm me,

If that love be hid from me.

1 Thessalonians 5:10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

V. 3 Soul, then know thy full salvation;

Rise o'er sin, and fear, and care;

Joy to find in every station

Something still to do or bear.

Think what Spirit dwells within thee;

Think what Father's smiles are thine;

Think that Jesus died to win thee;

Child of Heaven, canst thou repine?

Psalm 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.

V. 4 Haste thee on from grace to glory,

Armed by faith and winged by prayer;

Heaven's eternal day's before thee;

God's own hand shall guide thee there.

Soon shall close thy earthly mission,

Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days;

Hope shall change to glad fruition,

Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

Be Still, My Soul

Be Still, My Soul

Text written in 1752 by Katharina von Schlegel, (1697 - ? ), translated in 1855 by Jane Borthwick (1813-1897)

Sung to FINLANDIA, composed in 1899 by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

V. 1 Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul:  thy best, thy heavenly friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

V. 2 Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

V. 3 Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on

When we shall be forever with the Lord,

When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less

Text written in 1834 by Edward Mote (1797-1874)

Hymn tune composed in 1863 by Wm. B. Bradbury (1816-1868)

Psalm 143:11 For your name’s sake, Lord, preserve my life;

in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.

V. 1 My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

Matthew 7:24, 26  “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock....But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand."

Refrain: On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

Acts 15:11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.

Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.

V. 2 When darkness seems to veil His face,

I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every high and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

Psalm 18:18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.

V. 3 His oath, His covenant, and blood,

Support me in the whelming flood;

When all around my soul gives way,

He then is all my hope and stay.

Refrain

Philippians 3:9 ...And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 

Jude 24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.

V. 4 When He shall come with trumpet sound,

O may I then in Him be found;

Clad in His righteousness alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain

Just as I Am

A Hymn for Ash Wednesday

Just as I Am

Text written in 1834 by Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871)

Sung to SAFFRON WALDEN, composed by Arthur H. Brown (1830-1926)

John 6:37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

1 Thessalonians 5:10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

V. 1 Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me

And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come.

Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

V. 2 Just as I am, and waiting not

To rid my soul of one dark blot,

To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,

O Lamb of God, I come.

2 Corinthians 7:5 For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. 

V. 3 Just as I am, though tossed about

With many a conflict, many a doubt;

"Fightings within, and fears without,"

O Lamb of God, I come.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

V. 4 Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;

Sight, riches, healing of the mind,

Yea, all I need, in Thee I find,

O Lamb of God, I come.

1 John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

V. 5 Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,

Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;

Because Thy promise I believe,

O Lamb of God, I come.

V. 6 Just as I am, Thy love I own

Has broken every barrier down;

Now to be Thine, and Thine alone,

O Lamb of God, I come.

He Hideth My Soul

He Hideth My Soul

Text written by Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915)

Hymn tune composed by William J. Kirkpatrick (1838-1921)

Exodus 33:22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

V. 1 A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,

A wonderful Savior to me,

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,

Where rivers of pleasure I see.

Isaiah 32:2 Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

Refrain: He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock

That shadows a dry, thirsty land;

He hideth my life in the depths of His love,

And covers me there with His hand,

And covers me there with His hand.

Deuteronomy 33:25 The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days.

Psalm 16:8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

V. 2 A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,

He taketh my burden away,

He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved,

He giveth me strength as my day.

Refrain

Ephesians 3:19 ...and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

V. 3 With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,

And filled with His fullness divine,

I sing in my rapture, Oh, glory to God

For such a Redeemer as mine.

Refrain

1 Thessalonians 4:17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

V. 4 When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise

To meet Him in clouds of the sky,

His perfect salvation, His wonderful love,

I'll shout with the millions on high.

Refrain