How Shall I Meet Thee?

How shall I meet Thee? How my heart

Receive her Lord aright?

Desire of all the earth Thou art!

My hope

my sole de­light!

Kindle the lamp

Thou Lord

alone

Half-dying in my breast

And make Thy gra­cious plea­sure known

How I may greet Thee best.

Her bud­ding boughs and fair­est palms

Thy Zion strews around;

And songs of praise and sweet­est psalms

From my glad heart shall sound.

My de­sert soul breaks forth in flow­ers

Rejoicing in Thy fame;

And puts forth all her sleep­ing pow­ers

To hon­or Je­sus’ name.

In hea­vy bonds I lang­uished long

Thou com’st to set me free;

The scorn of ev­ery mock­ing tongue—

Thou com’st to hon­or me.

A heav­en­ly crown wilt Thou be­stow

And gifts of price­less worth

That van­ish not as here be­low

The fad­ing wealth of earth.

Naught

naught

dear Lord

has pow­er to move

Thee from Thy right­ful place

Save that most strange and bless­èd love

Wherewith Thou dost em­brace

This wea­ry world and all her woe

Her load of grief and ill

And sor­row

more than man can know—

Thy love is deep­er still.

O write this pro­mise in your hearts

Ye sor­row­ful

on whom

Fall thick­en­ing cares

while joy de­parts

And dark­er grows your gloom.

Despair not

for your help is near

He stand­eth at the door

Who best can com­fort you and cheer

He comes

nor stay­eth more.

Nor vex your souls with care

nor grieve

And la­bor long­er thus

As though your arm could ought achieve

And bring Him down to us.

He comes

He comes with rea­dy will

By pi­ty moved alone

To soothe our ev­ery grief and ill

For all to Him are known.

Nor ye

O sin­ners

shrink aside

Afraid to see His face

Your dark­est sins our Lord will hide

Beneath His pi­ty­ing grace.

He comes

He comes

to save from sin

And all its pangs as­suage

And for the sons of God to win

Their pro­per her­it­age.

Why heed ye then the craft and noise

The fu­ry of His foes?

Lo

in a breath the Lord de­stroys

All who His rule op­pose.

He comes

He comes

as king to reign!

And earth­ly pow­ers may band

Against Him

yet they strive in vain

His might may none with­stand.

He comes to judge the earth

and ye

Who mocked Him

feel His wrath;

But they who loved and sought Him see

His light o’er all their path.

O Sun of Right­eous­ness! arise

And guide us on our way

To yon fair man­sion in the skies

Of joy­ous cloud­less day.