The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.
Matthew 11:5
Words: John Needham, Hymns Devotional and Moral on Various Subjects (Bristol, England: S. Farley, 1768), number 88.
Music: Eversley Arthur Cottman, 1875 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good picture of Needham (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
No rod of vengeance Jesus takes
Like that which Moses bore;
His peaceful scepter shows He came
To save and to restore.
Laden with woes the sons of men
To this Physician fly:
He lends an ear to their complaints
And looks with pitying eye.
The powerful word He speaks, and lo!
The eyes long closed in night
Lift up their lids, with sweet surprise,
To hail the joyous light.
New life the withered cripple feels
Diffused through every part:
His couch and crutch he now forgets,
And leaps like any hart.
A word the deaf restores; the dumb
With ease their tongues employ;
Amazed, and pleased at their own voice,
They sing and shout for joy.
Behold at once the lepers cleansed,
Touched by the Savior’s hand:
Palsy, and fever, and each plague
Depart at His command.
The winds and waves, midst all their rage,
His powerful voice obey:
Devils His awful presence flee,
Nor dare they longer stay.
Repeat my soul, these wondrous acts,
And all His honors spread:
Tell how His voice unbarred the tomb,
And waked the silent dead.
Jesus, my Savior and my Lord,
How bright Thy glories shine!
Thy works all praise exceed, and speak
Thy character divine.