Scripture Verse

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13–14

Introduction

portrait
Hubert P. Main (1839–1925)

Words: Jo­se­phine Poll­ard, in Fruits and Flow­ers, ed­it­ed by W. Wal­ker (Phi­la­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia: J. B. Lip­pin­cott, 1870).

Music: Hu­bert P. Main (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Josephine Pollard
1834–1892

Lyrics

I stood out­side the gate,
A poor, way­far­ing child;
Within my heart there beat
A tem­pest loud and wild;
A fear op­pressed my soul,
That I might be too late;
And oh, I trem­bled sore,
And prayed out­side the gate,
And prayed out­side the gate.

Oh, Mer­cy! loud I cried,
Now give me rest from sin!
I will, a voice re­plied;
And Mer­cy let me in;
She bound my bleed­ing wounds,
And soothed my heart op­pressed;
She washed away my guilt
And gave me peace and rest,
And gave me peace and rest.

In Mer­cy’s guise I knew
The Sav­ior long abused,
Who oft­en sought my heart,
And wept when I re­fused;
Oh! what a blest re­turn
For all my years of sin!
I stood out­side the gate,
And Je­sus let me in,
And Je­sus let me in.