“Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off."
OH! the day has been a long one,
And a little trying, too:
Hand and brain alike are weary,
They have had so much to do;
But the night brings rest and silence,
Not a sound falls on my ear,
Save the gentle, even ticking
Of the old clock standing near.
I have fetched my precious Bible
From its place upon the shelf,
Feeling glad that with my finger
I can read it for myself;
And I turn its sacred pages
With a tender, reverent touch,
I am searching for a promise
I have learned to love so much:
'Tis a sweet and blessed promise,
And 'tis doubly sweet to me:
For it says the time is coming
When these eyes of mine shall see.
It was written by the prophet
In the ages long ago;
It was God who bade him write it,
Every word is true I know.
These my eyes shall look on Jesus,
That is what the promise tells;
I shall see Him in His beauty,
In the "far land" where He dwells.
I who never in my lifetime
Gazed on any lovely thing,
With a clear and perfect vision
Shall behold my Lord and King.
Christ, the Altogether Lovely,
Christ, our Shepherd good and true,
Christ, my ever blessed Savior,
And my mighty Keeper too.
He will only need to whisper
What He wants to say to me;
I shall be so very near Him,
When these eyes of mine shall see.
Oh! the joy this promise brings me!
What unutterable bliss!
I shall then be safely folded
In those loving arms of His.
Never more shall I be weary,
When I rest in His embrace,
All the darkness will be banished
By the light of His dear face.
For His eyes will beam upon me,
Bright with love-light all divine;
What a large full cup of blessing,
In that moment will be mine.
I shall see Him crowned as Monarch,
See Him seated on His throne;
I shall yield Him all the homage
That is due to Him alone.
What a blessed revelation,
What a wonder it will be,
When the glory bursts upon me,
And these eyes of mine shall see.
I shall keep so close to Jesus,
There will be so much to tell,
I shall talk about the dear ones
I have learned to love so well.
I will tell Him how they cheered me,
How they helped me in my need;
I will lovingly remember
Every little kindly deed.
Many will be there to greet me,
I shall see their faces bright;
We shall all rejoice together
In the glory of that light.
And the dear Lord will reward them,
For the kind things they have done,
For their tender ministrations
To His much-tried suffering one.
I shall praise Him for their friendship,
Which was always sweet to me;
I shall say, "'Twas all His mercy,”
When these eyes of mine shall see.
'Tis a little weary waiting,
For I long to reach my home;
But I must not be impatient,
For it may be He will come
Very soon. Perhaps at midnight,
Or at dawn of morning fair,
Bidding all His blood-bought children
Rise to meet Him in the air.
Oh! it would indeed be glory,
All at once to flit away,
From the darkness and the shadows
Into realms of endless day.
Yet it may be He will guide me
Through death's valley, awful shade!
But I know He will not leave me,
So I shall not be afraid.
I can trust my precious Savior,
For whichever it may be,
He will surely keep His promise,
And I know that I shall see.
M. J.