In the dark Ages long ago,
When God looked down from Heaven;
The Earth was full of violence,
For men to sin were given;
Yet, the’ with good, their homes were filled,
“Depart from us,” said they;
Their hearts loved only wickedness,
And evil was their way.
Corruption, too, spread everywhere;
Not being under Law,
Men lived in carnal ease and lust,
Which made God’s heart feel sore,
“Until” the storm of Judgment came,
And swept them all away;
Save Noah and his family,
Who in God’s Ark did stay.
Forth from the fold, a wandering sheep
Once strayed o’er mountains wild;
In willful haste she lost her wav,
Just like a foolish child.
The tender Shepherd heard her cry,
And crossed o’er hill and dell;
With weary feet He still pressed on,
For that sheep loved He well
“Until” at last He found His sheep,
And on His shoulders laid;
Safe home He brought her to the fold,
From which so far she’d strayed.
“Rejoice with Me, My friends,” said He,
“My lost sheep have I found”:
So with lost sinners is it, too,
When by God’s grace they’re found!
For nineteen centuries that Grace
Hath blessing brought to man;
And countless multitudes have found
Salvation in God’s Lamb.
Meanwhile the Bride hath waited long
Her Bridegroom’s Face to see;
Washed in His own most precious blood,
She longs like Him to be.
“Until the Morning breaks,” she cries,
“Earth’s shadows flee away.”
Oh, come! Thou “Fairest of the Fair,”
And take me hence away;
I long to hear Thy blessed Voice,
Gaze on Thy wounded side;
I wait for Thee, “the Morning Star,”
Who for my sins hath died.
S.T. 9th July 1920.