OH, where, in all the universe,
Do wide extremes unite?
Say, where shall finite man converse
With God the Infinite?
Thrice holy is the King of kings,
Enthroned in dazzling light;
How, then, shall men―poor, sinful things ―
Approach His glory bright?
One place, and only one, is found
Where grace doth freely flow;
Where mercy’s voice doth gladly sound
To all on earth below.
By faith a rugged cross I scan,
Upraised at Calvary;
And there I see a sinless Man
In deepest agony.
A Man―but more, the Son of God,
Thus veiled in human form;
Now smitten ‘neath Jehovah’s rod,
Afflicted by the storm:
That awful, awful storm of wrath
Which now ‘gainst sin has burst;
‘Gainst sin now laid on Him Who path
For sinners been accursed.
Oh, blacker than the blackest night,
Those hours of anguish deep;
When God upon the world’s true Light
Our darkest sins did heap.
* * * *
’Tis o’er! Now Justice sheathes the sword;
Now Truth is satisfied;
The Saviour’s precious blood is poured,
The Lord of Life has died.
“‘Tis finished!” oh, victorious cry―
Lo, Grace and Truth now meet;
See Righteousness and Peace draw nigh,
And do each other greet.
Oh, wondrous mystery divine―
That dark, accursed tree―
Where Grace and Truth their strength combine
To set the guilty free.
’Twas love unto a fallen race
That brought the Saviour down
From yonder glorious, happy place,
From yonder radiant crown.
But every drop of love so free
Meant burning wrath for Him;
And every beam of grace we see
But made His sky more dim.
Yet now He lives, He lives again―
For us the Mercy seat,
Where grace and truth united reign,
Where God cloth sinners meet.
* * * *
Here wide extremes at last unite,
Here man with God may meet;
The finite with the Infinite
May hold communion sweet.
J. C. J.