Scripture Verse

Behold the Lamb of God! John 1:36

Introduction

portrait
Martin F. Shaw (1875–1958)

Words: Charles Wes­ley, Hymns and Sac­red Po­ems (Bris­tol, Eng­land: Fe­lix Far­ley, 1742), pag­es 194–95.

Music: Gen­tle Je­sus Mar­tin F. Shaw, 1915 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

portrait
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

Hymn Story

John B. Gough with a friend one day went up to a small gar­ret room. A fee­ble voice said, Come in! and they en­tered. Through the gloom they saw a boy, ten years old, lying on a heap of chips.

What are you do­ing there? they asked. Hush! he re­plied; I am hid­ing. As he showed his bruised and swoll­en arms, he add­ed: “Poor fa­ther got drunk and beat me be­cause I would not steal.

Once I went to rag­ged school and they taught me Thou shalt not steal, and told me about God in hea­ven. I will not steal, sir, if my fa­ther kills me.

The friend said: I don’t know what to do with you. Here’s a shill­ing. I will see what we can do for you.

The boy looked at it a min­ute, and then said: But please, sir, wouldn’t you like to hear my lit­tle hymn? They mar­veled that a lad suf­fer­ing from cold and hun­ger and bruis­es could sing a hymn; but they an­swered: Yes, we will hear you.

And then in a low, sweet voice he sang, Gen­tle Je­sus, meek and mild. At the con­clu­sion he said: That’s my lit­tle hymn. Good-by.

Next morn­ing they mount­ed the stairs again, knock­ing at the door, but there came no an­swer. They op­ened the door and went in.

The shill­ing lay on the floor, and there too lay the boy—dead, but with a brave smile on his face. His Gen­tle Je­sus had tak­en him home to hea­ven.

Price, p. 36

Lyrics

Gentle Je­sus, meek and mild,
Look upon a lit­tle child;
Pity my sim­pli­ci­ty,
Suffer me to come to Thee.

Fain I would to Thee be brought,
Dearest God, for­bid it not;
Give me, dear­est God, a place
In the king­dom of Thy grace

Put Thy hands up­on my head,
Let me in Thine arms be stayed;
Let me lean up­on Thy breast,
Lull me, lull me, Lord to rest.

Hold me fast in Thy em­brace,
Let me see Thy smil­ing face,
Give me, Lord, Thy bless­ing give,
Pray for me, and I shall live.

I shall live the sim­ple life,
Free from sin’s un­ea­sy strife,
Sweetly ig­no­rant of ill,
Innocent, and hap­py still.

O that I may ne­ver know
What the wick­ed peo­ple do;
Sin is con­tra­ry to Thee,
Sin is the for­bid­den tree.

Keep me from the great of­fense,
Guard my help­less in­no­cence;
Hide me, from all ev­il hide,
Self, and stub­born­ness, and pride.

Lamb of God, I look to Thee;
Thou shalt my ex­am­ple be;
Thou art gen­tle, meek, and mild;
Thou wast once a lit­tle child.

Fain I would be as Thou art;
Give me Thine obe­di­ent heart;
Thou art pi­ti­ful and kind,
Let me have Thy lov­ing mind.

Meek and low­ly may I be,
Thou art all hu­mil­ity;
Let me to my bet­ters bow,
Subject to Thy par­ents Thou.

Let me above all ful­fill
God my hea­ven­ly Fa­ther’s will
Never His good Spir­it grieve,
Only to His glo­ry live.

Thou didst live to God alone;
Thou didst ne­ver seek Thine own;
Thou Thy­self didst ne­ver please:
God was all Thy hap­pi­ness.

Loving Je­sus, gen­tle Lamb,
In Thy gra­cious hands I am;
Make me, Sav­ior, what Thou art,
Live Thy­self with­in my heart.

I shall then show forth Thy praise,
Serve Thee all my hap­py days;
Then the world shall al­ways see
Christ, the ho­ly Child, in me.