Saturday, February 16, 2008

Not Till Then


When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When we stand with Christ in glory,
Looking o'er life's finished story,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.

When I hear the wicked call
On the rocks and hills to fall,
When I see them start and shrink
On the fiery deluge brink,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.

When I stand before the throne,
Dressed in beauty not my own,
When I see thee as thou art,
Love thee with unsinning heart,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.

When the praise of heav'n I hear,
Loud as thunders to the ear,
Loud as many waters' noise,
Sweet as harp's melodious voice,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.

Chosen not for good in me,
Wakened up from wrath to flee,
Hidden in the Saviour's side,
By the Spirit sanctified,
Teach me, Lord, on earth to show,
By my love, how much I owe.
~Robert Murray McCheyne

6 comments:

Beka said...

This is such a powerful hymn. I heard it the other day on the radio, and as I listened, I was so struck by the lines,

Teach me, Lord, on earth to show,
By my love, how much I owe.

sparrow's song said...

you shared,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.


I was reading down and these lines jumped at me. If that was the author's intention, it worked well.

Beverly said...

I'd almost forgotten about this hymn - I haven't heard it in so long.

My favorite stanza is the third - the hope of what IS to come for believers in Christ.

Cathy said...

Those are beautiful words, and I have not heard it before. I have something for you over at my blog.

Theresa's Notes said...

That is was beautiful! Now that would be a hymn I would like to learn!

Barbara said...

Maxine, that is beautiful. I have never heard that before.