When the heavenly hosts shall gather,
And the heavenly courts shall ring
With the rapture of the ransomed
And the New Song they shall sing,
Though they come from every nation,
Every kindred, every race,
None can ever learn that music
Till he knows God’s pardoning grace.
All those vast eternities to come
Will never be too long
To tell the endless story
And to sing the endless song: –
“Unto Him Who loved us,”
And Who “loosed us from our sin” –
We shall finish it in heaven,
But ’tis here the words begin.
“Unto Him Who loved us” –
We shall sing it o’er and o’er.
“Unto Him Who loved us” –
We shall love it more and more:
“Unto Him Who loved us” –
Song of songs most sweet and dear;
But, if we would know it yonder,
We must learn the music here.
Here, where there was none to save us,
None to help us, none to care,
Here, where Jesus came to seek us,
Lost in darkness and despair,
Here, where on the cross of anguish
He redeemed us from our sins,
Here, where first we know the Saviour,
It is here the song begins;
Here, amid the toils and trials
Of this fleeting earthly life,
Here, amid the din and turmoil
Of this troubled earthly strife,
Here, in suffering and sorrow,
Here, in weariness and wrong,
We shall finish it in heaven,
But ‘tis here we start the song,
“Unto Him Who loved us” –
We must sing it every day,
“Unto Him Who loved us” –
Who is Light and Guide and Way;
“Unto Him Who loved us” –
And Who holds us very dear;
If we’d know it over yonder,
We must learn the music here.
There will be no silent voices
In that ever-blessed throng,
There will be no faltering accents
In that hallelujah song;
Like the sound of mighty waters
Shall the mighty paean be,
When the Lord’s redeemed shall praise Him
For the grace that set them free.
But ‘tis here the theme is written,
It is here we tune our tongue;
It is here the first glad notes of joy
With stammering lips are sung;
It is here the first faint echoes
Of that chorus reach our ear;
We shall finish it in heaven,
But our hearts begin it here.
“Unto Him Who loved us” –
To the Lamb for sinners slain,
“Unto Him Who loved us” –
Evermore the joyful strain,
“Unto Him Who loved us” –
Full and strong and sweet and clear,
But, if we would know it yonder,
We must learn to sing it here.