201. We would see Jesus
Anna B. Warner, 1820-1915
Based on John 12:20-23: “There were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.... And Jesus answered them saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.”
The hymn first appeared in six stanzas in Hymns of the Church Militant, compiled by Anna Warner, New York, 1858, and published in 1861. It is another example of a fine hymn contributed by a woman.
The third and fourth stanzas, omitted here, are of the same excellent quality as the others:
We would see Jesus: other lights are paling,
Which for long years we have rejoiced to see;
The blessings of our pilgrimage are failing;
We would not mourn them for we go to Thee.
We would see Jesus: yet the spirit lingers
Round the dear objects it has loved so long,
And earth from earth can scarce unclose its fingers;
Our love to Thee makes not this love less strong.
Anna Bartlett Warner, lived on Constitution Island in the Hudson River, near West Point, where she and her more famous sister, Susan Warner, conducted a Bible class for nearly two generations for the cadets of the United States Military Academy. Because of this service, she was buried with military honors upon her death in 1915. Miss Warner wrote novels under the pseudonym of “Amy Lothrop,” but she is best known for this hymn and the song beloved of all little children, “Jesus loves me: this I know.”
MUSIC. HENLEY. For comments on this tune see [Hymn 188].