I slept, and in my dream I dream’d,
A hill before me lay,
Which, like a mighty barrier, seem’d
To interrupt my way.
Its lofty summit touch’d the skies,
Its base the shades below;
And as I gazed, it seem’d to rise,
And still more threatening grow.
An icy stillness o’er me stole,
And thrill’d through every sense,
While doubt and horror fill’d my soul
With agony intense.
In sore distress I cried aloud
To God in fervent prayer;
And suddenly I saw a cloud
Glide slowly through the air.
And out of it there came a drop,
Like blood of crimson hue,
Which fell upon the mountain top,
As soft as Hermon’s dew.
And, lo, the mountain pass’d away,
And vanish’d from my sight,
Like wreaths of mist at break of day,
Before the morning light.
Beyond it lay a fruitful land,
With rivers deep and wide,
Which roll’d upon the golden sand
Their clear and crystal tide.
Beside them goodly trees indued
With healing virtue grew;
And flowers with ravish’d eyes I view’d,
Of every scent and hue.
And there His sheep a Shepherd fed,
In pastures green and fair,
And unto living fountains led
With ever watchful care.
Good Shepherd, well I know Thee now!
With ardent voice I cried,
Thou art my Lord and Saviour, Thou
The Lamb the Crucified!
The mountain was the load of guilt
Which on my conscience lay;
The drop, the blood of Jesus spilt
To wash my sins away.
My guilty soul Thou dost renew
In that all-cleansing stream,
And thus the vision shall be true,
And not a fleeting dream.
…………
The blood of Jesus Christ the Lord,
Avails for you and me;
And all who trust his precious Word,
Shall him in glory see.