1818–1871

Introduction

portrait

Born: Ju­ly 5, 1818, Dun­mow, Es­sex, Eng­land.

Died: May 9, 1871, Cam­den Town, Mid­dle­sex, Eng­land. His last words: Now I am go­ing to be­gin to live.

Buried: Ab­ney Park Ce­me­tery, Lon­don, Eng­land.

Biography

Thomas was the son of sur­geon John Burke Lynch.

A min­is­ter, he served pas­tor­ates at High­gate, Mor­ti­mer Street, Graf­ton Street, and Fitz­roy Square, Lon­don (1849–56). He was then in­ca­pa­ci­tat­ed by ill­ness for three years.

But start­ing in 1860, and for the rest of his life, he served on Gow­er Street and in Hamp­stead Road, Lon­don.

Works

Poem

I Have Looked Above Me

I have looked above me,
Saying as I stood,
Shall I ever love Thee
Even as I would?

Hands together clasping
Prayer to Thee I urge;
Like a swimmer gasping
In the ocean surge.

I for love endeavor
As for breath of life;
Must I seek it ever
With a painful strife?
I on waves of thinking
Foothold cannot keep;
Downward I am sinking,
Over me they sweep.

Lord, Thou art above me,
Silent and serene;
Surely I could love Thee
If I once had seen
Christ as Savior ready
Fearful hearts to save;
Giving footsteps steady
Even on the wave.

Is He coming near me?
Will He by me stand?
Will He speak and cheer me,
Take me by the hand?
May the humble-minded
See Him on His way,
Though the proud are blinded
By the fretful spray?

O, if I but know Thee
In Thy human form;
O, if Thou but show me
Jesus in the storm;
Perils never counting,
In love’s air I’ll breathe;
Hugest doubts surmounting,
Though they cry and seethe.

Thomas Toke Lynch
The Rivulet, 1868

Sources

Lyrics