“Oft had the angel unto others come,
And borne while yet he prayed the spirit home,
At last the white-robed messenger one day,
Knocked at his heart and beckoned him away.
The Master calls for thee; he quickly rose,
The work is ended comes the sure repose,
The Cross so bravely borne at last laid down,
Above him glitters the unfading crown.”
“In Immanuel’s Land”
During a Gospel service in one of the Open-Air Mission “Soldiers’ Welcomes,” the well-known hymn, “The sands of time are sinking,” was sung, and one of the soldier lads present afterward told the following story: ―
“I was one of a stretcher-bearing party, one night, not long ago, and we went out on to the battlefield to bring in the wounded and dying. We came upon four very serious cases, and as we were carrying these poor fellows in, one of them, who was fast dying, began to sing ‘The sands of time are sinking,’ and the others took it up also. The dear lad had led the singing and came to the last verse:
‘With mercy and with judgment
My web of time He wove,
And aye the dews of sorrow
Were lustered by His love;
I’ll bless the hand that guided,
I’ll bless the heart that planned,
When throned where glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.’
“Just as he finished the last words he passed away, doubtless to sing ‘in Immanuel’s land.’ This experience made me realize, more than ever before, the unspeakable blessing of knowing Christ.”