Yes, I am nearer Thee! Though still unseen,
Thy presence fills my life’s diviner part.
Now that no earthly shadows intervene,
I feel a deeper sense of what Thou art.
Yes, I am nearer Thee! Thy boundless love
Fills all my being with a rich increase,
And soft descending, like a heavenly dove,
I feel the benediction of Thy peace.
Yes, I am nearer Thee! All that I sought
Of Truth, or Wisdom, or Eternal Right,
Is clearly present to my inmost thought,
Like the uprising of a glorious light.
Yes, I am nearer Thee! O, calm and still,
And beautiful and blest beyond degree,
Is this surrender of my finite will—
Is this absorption of my soul in Thee.
“O Thou! whom men call God and know no more!”
When they shall leave the worship of the Past,
And learn to love Thee rather than adore,
All souls shall draw thus near to Thee at last.
THE SACRAMENT.
The aged pastor broke the bread—
With trembling hands he poured the wine—
“Eat—drink”—in earnest tones he said—
“These emblems of a life divine—
His body broken for your sins;
His blood for your salvation shed;
The priceless sacrifice that wins
Life and redemption from the dead.
“See how with tender love he stands,
And calls you to his faithful heart;
Lo! from his wounded side and hands
Again the crimson life-drops start.
O sinner! wherefore will you stay,
Regardless of your lost estate?
Come at your Saviour’s call to-day,
Before, alas! it is too late.”
Forth from his lonely seat apart,
A dark-browed, Ethiopian came,
As if new life had stirred the heart
That beat within his manly frame.
“O, give to me,” he meekly said,
“A portion of that heavenly food;
I too would eat the living bread,
And find salvation through his blood.”